Denigrating the local,glorifying the foreign: Malawian language policies in the era of African Renaissance

ABSTRACT

Malawi's Vision 2020 document, a national document that serves as a vehicle to project a future for a more developed, secure and democratically mature nation, laments the tendency of Malawians to denigrade local products and glorify all things foreign. Yet, paradoxically, the document does not address the important issue of promoting Malawi's indigenous languages. This silence can be interpreted as reflective of the population's inclination to ascribe greater value to foreign culture. In Malawi, as in many other African countries, indigenous languages are not considered worthy as media of education, subjects of advanced study or critical vehicles for national development. They are still victim to a discrimination rooted in Africa's 500 plus years of European enslavement and colonisation. Against the backdrop of the pursuit of an African Renaissance, this article looks at Malawi's language policies since independence in 1964, and at how, ten years short of an idyllic national vision, Malawi measures up on the important issue of language.     

Interpreting “Cumulative Extremism”: Six Proposals for Enhancing Conceptual Clarity

The concept of “cumulative extremism”—described in 2006 by Roger Eatwell as “the way in which one form of extremism can feed off and magnify other forms [of extremism],” has recently gained considerable traction in academic, policy, and practitioner discourses about extremism. Yet in spite of the growing usage of the term, particularly in analyses of the dynamic between extreme Islamist and extreme Right-Wing or anti-Muslim protest groups, there has to date been scant interrogation of the concept itself or of its application. In this article, we make a series of six proposals as to how we might enhance the conceptual clarity of these conversations about “cumulative extremism.” Our aim in doing so is to increase the likelihood that the concept might become a useful addition to the debates on extremism rather than becoming, to borrow a term from John Horgan—something of an “explanatory fiction”—an idea that appears to enable us to explain a great deal, but whose explanatory value is largely lost because there is insufficient scrutiny of the claims that it is used to make and whose liberal application becomes increasingly conducive to poor science.     

The Need for Gender-Sensitive Medical Interpreters for Victims with Limited English Proficiency in Sexual Assault Examinations

Abstract

The difficulties and trauma associated with sexual violence are exacerbated by language difficulties. Language difficulties pose particular barriers in accessing legal, social, medical and support services. This presents additional challenges for sexual assault response teams (SART). The SART members serve critical functions in supporting a victim of sexual violence from trauma to trial.

This paper addresses the need for trained gender-sensitive medical interpreters for adult female victims with limited English proficiency (LEP) in sexual assault examination, and thus the need for inclusion of trained medical interpreters in SART. Such needs were articulated from interviews with advocates and medical interpreters in the US, from literature reviews and conversations with women with LEP in the US. The paper closes with a set of specific recommendations that will promote comfortable accessible service to female victims of sexual violence with LEP.     

论英语语言学研究的多维视角

英语语言学研究在新的世纪不再是单纯的语言基础研究,应该本着开放的视野,更加注重研究的深度以及与其他学科连接的广度,并应随着学术研究的跨学科发展趋势,拓宽英语语言学的研究视角.英语语言学研究多维视角的提出有其必要性、合理性及可行性.外语工作者应不断深化哲学视角、文化学视角及政治学视角研究,推动英语语言学研究在新时期和新阶段的进一步发展.     

简析中西文化差异对商务英语教学的影响

商务英语有很强的专业性,它不仅应注重英语语言知识的讲授,也应注重英语国家文化背景的讲解。中西方文化差异体现在寒暄问候、商务谈判、商务宴请、时间观念和商标语言及产品的包装设计。针对以上差异提出高职商务英语教学应采取的教学方法。     

谈高职英语语篇教学方法的优化——基于语篇分析理论

语篇分析就是从具有完整思想内容的篇章的结构分析入手,从微观和宏观两个方面展开对语篇内容的研究。语篇分析教学是对传统的语法分析教学的否定,可以帮助我们解决传统英语教学中"单纯教语言"的问题。依据语篇分析理论,教师应充分重视非语言信息在语篇学习中的积极作用,改革创新语篇教学方法,从而使学生提高阅读水平,提高阅读课的教学质量。     

Britain First: The ‘Frontline Resistance’ to the Islamification of Britain

The British National Party and English Defence League forged new frontiers in British political spaces in relation to anti‐Islam, anti‐Muslim ideologies. Whereas the former sought to do so in formal political arenas, the latter did so as a street‐level movement. With the subsequent waning of both, Britain First has emerged seemingly to fill the political void they left. In many ways, Britain First combines the strategies and actions of the parties that preceded it, at both the formal and street levels. This article considers what is known about Britain First, about its history, development and its ideology, and how this is manifested in terms of its political strategies and actions. This includes such activities as standing for European elections and also undertaking ‘Christian patrols’ and mosque ‘invasions’. The article considers how Britain First, while having some similarities with the BNP and EDL, is more confrontational and militaristic and is informed by apocalyptic Christianity.     

浅议微课在高校英语教学中的应用

微课作为一种新型的教学模式,以其形式丰富多样、时间自由灵活、内容短小精悍、主题重点突出等特点引起了教育界的重视。在当前教育部推进高校课程改革的背景下,将微课应用于高校英语教学,对提升学生学习英语的兴趣、培养学生自主学习能力、提高学生综合英语水平等具有积极的作用。在实践过程中,应注重微课与传统课程的衔接融合,提高英语教师相关多媒体及网络操作技术,并为微课在高校教学中的应用提供相应的设施、平台与资源。     

高职英语分级教学的探讨与研究

高职英语教学中存在的许多问题,使我们意识到高职英语教学改革是一项刻不容缓的任务。高职英语分级教学是解决这些问题行之有效的改革良方,有利于提高学生学习效果及老师教学质量,促进教育的发展。     

浅论公安院校英语教学中的合作学习

警察由于其工作性质的特殊性,培养团结、协作的合作精神尤为重要。作为人民卫士摇篮的公安院校。无疑成为培养具有合作精神的人民警官的主战场,课堂教学则成为塑造具有合作能力的人民警官的主阵地。作为一名英语教师就必须利用英语课堂积极开展合作学习,通过合作学习的渗透,培养具有合作精神的高素质人民警官。