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Exploring the Intersection of Formal Literacy and Self: A Critical Social Analysis of Written Discourse Among Public and Private Schools The present research explores the intersection of formal literacy and self-identity, its construction and representation through written discourse among students of grades 5th and 8th belonging to Public and Private schools in Multan, a District of Punjab, Pakistan. The present research employs CSA (Critical Social Analysis) that amalgamates functions of language by Roman Jakobson, 3D models of Fairclough for discourse analysis, and socio-cultural theory by Lev. Vygotsky. The introduction carries a context literacy, historical evolution of formal literacy, and its importance in personal and professional growth. And the division of formal literacy based on their educational institutional background. The difference between formal literacy (that encompasses reading, writing, communicative skills) is found in the present group among both institutional groups, which distinguishes on the basis of different acquisitions via formal education and its intersection with self-identity that involves the understanding of an individual’s emotions, behaviours, and thoughts. Formal literacy is acquired through education, and education helps to construct Self-Identity through personal growth and representation of self. All this is done through language. The absence of formal literacy can lead to many issues related to personal, professional growth, societal growth, and growth as a human being. So, language through formal literacy helps to cope with all these issues. The present research aims to explore the formal literacy impact on the construction and representation of students’ self-identity through written discourse in the form of essays on “Self”. The methodology carries a qualitative descriptive approach employing a 3D model, functions of language, and socio-cultural theory by using written essays by students in the 5th and 8th grades as a source of primary data. A sampling technique of stratified sampling provides the foundation to choose participants from public and private schools, and critical social analysis with comparative observation is applied to analyze the written essays. The results contribute valuable insights into distinctions among the Institutions of formal literacy. The students of Government schools construct nondynamic, cohesive self-identities, and students of non-government schools construct a dynamic and individualistic self-identity. Their self-identity representation vary from each other. Government school students represent strong, internalized, cohesive thoughts; on the other hand, non-government school students represent broad, critical, innovative, and accepting practical self-identity. The present research not only expands its understanding towards the intersection of formal literacy and self-identity but also provides recommendations for policymakers to fill the gap between both groups.
The Impact of CAPT on Pronunciation Accuracy: An Experimental Study of Pakistani English Language Learners This study explores the effectiveness of Computer-Assisted Pronunciation Training (CAPT) in improving the pronunciation accuracy of fifth-grade students at Falcon House Grammar School in Multan, Pakistan. This research included 50 students from the 2023-2024 academic session who were divided into control and experimental groups. Quasi experimental design was used for study, and purposive sampling was employed to select participants. Cambridge Online Dictionary was used as the primary reference for pronunciation, ensuring a widely accepted and standardized source for evaluation. A pretest was taken to evaluate students' pronunciation accuracy level before the CAPT treatment, then a six-week CAPT program was delivered to the experimental group. During this time period the experimental group of students carried out focused pronunciation exercises using CAPT software, whereas the control group continued to use traditional instruction, without technological enhancement. After a six week period both groups were given post tests to see if there had been any improvement in pronunciation. An analysis of test scores showed that test scores of the experimental group were exceedingly higher than those of the control group, thus suggesting that CAPT enhances pronunciation. These findings show that CAPT is a potential and practical tool to enhance English pronunciation, in Pakistani contexts of education, especially where pronunciation has normally been taught by rote learning but without any technological aid. Moreover, the study also suggests that CAPT could also be used and integrated within the broader educational policies and curricula to solve the pronunciation challenges in non native English speaking countries such as Pakistan.
A Corpus-Based Study of Green Discourses in UNEP: An Eco-critical Perspective As ecolinguistics is an emerging field, it applies different linguistic frameworks for the analysis of environmental texts, highlighting hidden ideologies. These ideologies are cognitive models that have an effect on human behaviours, and people are unaware of their effects. There is less research that investigates the global plastic pollution discourse from different nonpolitical organisations in this regard. This study explores the ecological stories that are propagated through speeches within the United Nations Environmental Programme (UNEP) by employing a corpus-based approach. For this purpose, 23 speeches were selected, resulting in a corpus of 20021 words. This study focusses on the discursive strategies that are applied within the speeches at UNEP, aiming to analyse the representation and formation of plastic pollution discourses. By using an eco-critical lens, this research has focused on the ways in which UNEP‟s text contributes to forming global environmental awareness and policy frameworks related to combating plastic pollution. The researcher has used a mixedmethods approach and Stibbe‟s (2015) analytical framework to analyse the data critically. The findings reveal that grasping the green discourses that are propagated within the UNEP is important for understanding the global environmental narrative and speeding up the formulation of decisions that contribute to the formulation of environmental awareness and policy frameworks at the global level. By analysing UNEP‟s text from an eco-critical perspective and applying corpus, the research analyses the data qualitatively and supports the qualitative data with quantitative analysis as well, which shows that identity formation strategies like use of pronouns, different frames and metaphors, erasure (the void, the mask, the trace), evaluations (good or bad), conviction, salience (demonstratives, lexical choices, parallelism, etc.) have been applied in the formation of complex environmental rhetoric, which has an influence on shaping attitudes and policies effectively related to the environment.
‘Stories’ in Poetry: An Eco Linguistic Study of English Textbooks in Punjab from Primary to Higher Secondary Level The term "environment" refers to all the factors that affect and have an influence on the growth and sustainability of life for all living things on Earth. It exists and functions in the immediate environment of other living things. The current study examines the impact of eco-linguistics on poems included in English textbooks from grades 1 to higher secondary level. It explores how eco-linguistics influences students' understanding, mindset, and perceptions toward the environment and nature. Data, which is collected from English books published by the Punjab Textbooks Board from year 2021 to year 2023.These poems were analyzed using Stibbe's framework, "Stories in Poetry We Live By" (2015). The analysis employed qualitative document analysis approach focusing on ideology, framing, metaphor, identity, evaluation, conviction, erasure, and salience within the poems. Moreover, it brought under discussion how poems help children to understand the impact of the environment and how PTB incorporated poems to connect learners with nature and promote environmental awareness. The finding revealed that Stibbe's eight points aided the young minds to shape their thought process by influencing their ideology and changing their perceptions and behaviors towards the environment. This enhancement in perception strengthens poetic ideas and literary concepts related to environmental behavior and nature. The study also demonstrated that students improve their cognitive abilities, usage of vocabulary, processing of information, and the application of poetic devices. This leads to a more organized and effective implementation of eco-linguistic principles in their work.
The Branding Culture in Pakistan: A comparative Study of Visual and Verbal Practices used in Advertisements Now a days advertising uses every possible media to get its message through. It does this via several means of communication with a vast use of either visual or verbal practices or by both at a time. This research presents a comparative study of visual and verbal branding practices in clothing brand’s advertisements in Pakistan, using different linguistic terms, aiming to unravel the hint of interplay of visual and verbal practices. Through a multi modal approach incorporating content analysis, semiotic analysis and its impact, the research examines how visual and verbal elements are used by brands to communicate their ideology to the target audiences. The researcher has chosen three prominent Pakistani clothing brands, namely SANA SAFINAZ, GULL AHMED & AL-KARAM. Drawing on examples from diverse sectors such as fashion and telecommunication, the research elucidates the cultural meanings embedded in visual and verbal practices, used in media advertising campaigns. Moreover, it investigates the effectiveness of different approaches and the relative significance of visual and verbal communication in branding culture, this study offers valuable insights for linguists seeking to construct culturally resonant advertising strategies for the dynamic audience of Pakistan. The methodology of the study used by the researcher is Kress and Leuwen’s Multimodal Discourse Analysis for the data analysis and Krueger's (2000) model of focus group discussions for the validation of findings of semiotic analysis.
Decoding Religious Contents: A Comparative Study of English Textbooks at Primary Level in Pakistan Textbooks play an essential role in shaping students' minds, particularly during their formative years in primary education. Textbooks' discourses are significant means of disseminating desired ideology to the target readers and making them behave in a particular manner. Discursive strategies employed in this regard play a vital role in making certain ideologies common sense. The present study critically analyses the religious contents of primary English textbooks to lay bare implicit and explicit ideologies at work through the Multimodal Discourse Analysis technique. For this purpose, the data has been collected from the textbooks published in 2022. Moreover, the study employs Multimodality by Kress and Van Leeuwen (2006) and Focus Group Discussion by Krueger (2002) as a tool of analysis. Content Analysis has also been done to support the qualitative analysis quantitatively. The relevant data from the mentioned textbooks have been selected and analyzed. The present research highlights the significance of word-picture conjunction in the propagation of desired religious ideologies. The overall impression that is drawn from the linguistic and semiotic analyses of selected textbooks is that all textbooks contain religious contents. The percentage of religious contents in textbooks of Punjab, Balochistan, and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa is 28% whereas it is 40% in Sindh textbooks. The study contends that textbooks at the primary level play a significant role in shaping the mindset of young learners in the desired manner through their religious contents.
Pedagogical Implications of AI in ELL Context: A Quasi-Experimental Research of ChatGPT on English Writing Skills at NUML Multan Campus The present research aims to investigate the pedagogical implications of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in the English Language Learning (ELL) context, specifically focusing on ChatGPT's impact on learning and teaching English writing skills among BS English students at NUML, Multan Campus and the perceptions of English language learners regarding the integration of ChatGPT in English Language Learning (ELL) classrooms. The study is significant as existing literature lacks thorough empirical investigation of ChatGPT's impact on English writing skills among BS English students, as well as broader pedagogical implications of AI integration in English Language Leaning (ELL) classrooms. The present study employs a quasi-experimental design to assess the impact of ChatGPT on English writing skills, using a mixed-method approach. Thirty students of BS English 2nd have been selected through purposive sampling method and assigned to experimental (N=15) and control (N=15) groups. The pre and post tests have been conducted from both groups to assess their English writing skills before and after the intervention period of six weeks. Additionally, a questionnaire based on the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) constructs (Perceived Ease of Use, Perceived Usefulness, Attitude towards Use and Behavioral Intention) has been administered from the experimental group to gauge learners' attitudes, perceptions and engagement towards ChatGPT. The pre and posttest results have been analyzed using descriptive (mean, median, mode, standard deviation) and inferential statistics (independent sample t- test), and qualitative data is thematically analyzed by applying the integrated theoretical framework of three theories comprising of Technology Acceptance Model (TAM), Constructivism and Technology Enhanced Language Learning (TELL) to provide deeper insights into the pedagogical implications of ChatGPT in English Language Learning (ELL) classrooms. The findings substantiate the hypothesis that the use of ChatGPT significantly improves English writing proficiency compared to traditional teaching methods and provide insights into the effectiveness and challenges of incorporating ChatGPT in language learning context, offering valuable recommendations for educators and policymakers by providing evidence-based insights.
Graphic Satire in Pakistani Print Media: A Multimodal Discourse Analysis of Political Cartoons Political cartoons serve as a powerful tool of rhetoric, by using symbols, caricatures, and captions to convey a subtle political commentary. This study explores the use of graphic satire in Pakistani print media through a comprehensive multimodal discourse analysis of political cartoons. By adopting a multimodal approach, this study examines the relationship between visual and textual elements within political cartoons, shedding light on their connotation and the effects. By doing thematic analysis, the study finds common themes in Pakistani political cartoons, ranging from corruption and political incompetence to social injustice and international relations. Additionally, this research examines the use of symbolism and metaphor in political cartoons, exploring how these rhetorical devices contribute to the cartoons’ effectiveness in critiquing the power and challenging the prevailing narratives. Humor emerges as a central feature of political cartoons, serving as a powerful tool for engaging readers emotionally and stimulating critical thinking. Moreover, the study considers participants’ interpretation, acknowledging the diverse ways in which political cartoons may be understood and the implications for public discourse. Overall, this thesis contributes to a deeper understanding of the role of graphic satire in Pakistani print media and its broader implications in politics, society, and culture.
The Effect of Interactive Vocabulary Retention Through STAD on Pakistani High School ESL Learners The present study has examined the effect of Student Teams Achievement Divisions (STAD) on the retention of vocabulary on grade 11th High School Pakistani ESL learners. The study evaluated the effects of STAD on learning vocabulary and its possible addition to Pakistan’s language curriculum of English to improve retention of vocabulary and it’s understanding. Moreover, the research focuses on the results like retention, comprehension, and the use of synonymous vocabulary, employing methods such as repetitive activities designed to help students to practice the understanding of different words with similar meaning, mnemonic techniques, and context-based learning to improve long lasting retention of vocabulary words and their conceptions. Furthermore, these practices help students comprehend and use vocabulary in context, helping in reading difficult narratives or texts and improve how to communicate by an understanding of the connotative and denotative meanings of words. A research model of Quasi Experimental design was used to conduct the study in which a criterion sampling technique was used for the collection of data. Before the intervention of STAD a pretest was administered, the participants were further divided into a Control-Group and an Experimental-Group, and a Posttest was then taken for the comparison of the variances in test marks. The experimental group was taught using STAD which showed significant improvement in vocabulary tests, with pretest and post test scores rising from 19.33 to 34.40, proving a notable mean difference and a very significant statistical change (t-value -6.030, df = 29, p < 0.001). This distinguished with the control group, which showed no change. The results highlighted the effectiveness and efficiency of STAD in significantly improving students’ performance, as demonstrated by the regression analysis showing that group collaboration considered for about 34% of difference in the marks, making sure that there is a considerable effect of STAD on the learning objectives of the students.
Impact of Peer Feedback on ESL Writing Skill of Students of Intermediate Level in Multan This study investigates the impact of peer feedback on the ESL writing skills of intermediate-level students in Multan, Pakistan. The purpose of the research is to assess whether peer feedback enhances writing performance, addressing the problem of limited student progress in English writing despite traditional teacher-led instruction. Peer feedback is considered an innovative pedagogical strategy that can encourage student collaboration, improve writing accuracy, and foster independent learning. The significance of the study lies in its potential to improve ESL teaching methods, offering a learner-centered approach that is particularly relevant in Pakistani educational contexts. A quasi-experimental design was used, involving 100 students from KIPS College, divided into experimental and control groups. The experimental group received structured peer feedback, while the control group followed traditional methods. Data was gathered through pre-tests, post-tests, surveys, classroom observations, and interviews. Analysis revealed that students who received peer feedback demonstrated significant improvements in grammar, content organization, and overall writing fluency compared to the control group. These findings support the effectiveness of peer feedback in enhancing ESL writing skills and suggest its broader application in language learning environments.
A Study on Improvement of Students Reading Skill through Cooperative Learning Strategies Using Jigsaw and STAD Students' English reading comprehension is developed in the classroom through cooperative learning tactics like STAD and jigsaw. Students can grasp concepts in the learning process more readily when they employ cooperative learning practices. Proficiency in reading is essential for utilizing and comprehending the English language. This study set out to investigate how cooperative learning affected the English reading and success of seventh-grade pupils. The total number of pupils enrolled in Grade 7 at Govt. Girls High School Multan was 64 in both sections. The study used a pre-test, post-test, and nonequivalent control group in a quasi-experimental design. The experimental and control groups were chosen at random using the tossing method. Jigsaw and STAD are two cooperative learning methodologies that were used with the experimental group. The control group was instructed by the researcher to utilize a grammatical translation method. The researcher worked hard to create the questionnaire with the assistance of a textbook and specialists who attested to the instrument's validity. The 21st edition of SPSS was utilized for data analysis. A comparison was made between the pre-test and post-tests to determine the average score of the students who received instruction in cooperative learning and grammar- translation. Therefore, it can be said that the Grade 7 students' English reading comprehension is significantly impacted by the Jigsaw and STAD cooperative learning methodologies. The study's conclusions and suggestions for enhancing English language learners' reading proficiency through cooperative learning methods were presented.
Transgender in Popular Culture: An Analysis of Trans Representation in Pakistani and American Movies The present research is an attempt to explore the visual and verbal practices employed by the transgender characters in popular media such as movies to propagate certain ideologies. The analysis of the visual and verbal practices has been done to find out the implicature behind them. To investigate the ideologies propagated through the representation of transgender characters in popular culture, two recently released movies i.e. Joyland (2022) and Anything’s Possible (2022) have been analyzed linguistically and semiotically in the research. The study in hand begins with the discussion on popular culture and how it shapes people’s perception and attitude towards certain ideologies. Both qualitative and quantitative approaches have been employed to investigate the ideologies propagated through the representation of transgender in Pakistani and American movies. The first section is quantitative, where frequency of occurrences of visual and verbal practices based on various themes such as binary structure, political, social and gendered divisions have been documented by applying Content Analysis (CA) adapted from Capuzza and Spencer (2017). Whereas, the second section deals with qualitative analysis, which employs a triangular method by combining the Feminist Model of Text by Mills (1995), Kress & Leeuwen’s (1996) Social Semiotic approach and Focus Group Discussion (FGD) by Krueger (2000). Moreover, for the validation of the analysis of the selected texts and images, the researcher has conducted two focus group discussions: one with a group of linguists and one with non-linguists. The research indicates that there is a favorable change in transgender representation. Even with shortcomings, the two movies under consideration have improved transgender representation in popular culture which suggests that the better and positive media representation of transgender, can help break the stereotypes towards their existence.
Political and Media Discourse in Pakistan: A Genre Analysis of the Letters to the Editors in Selected English Print Media Print media discourses are viewed as one of the best sites for ideological investment. The propagation of desired ideologies is carried through various genres within newspapers. The present study attempts to analyze letters to editor section focusing on social issues in three Pakistani English Newspapers such as ‘Dawn’, ‘Express Tribune’, and ‘The Nation’ daily. The time span for the present study ranges from February 1st, 2023 – March 31st, 2023. The present research employed an amended model based on Bhatia’s (1993) Genre analysis; Fairclough’s 2003 and 2013 research models. The rationale behind using Fairclough’s two research models is to devise a CSA (Critical Social Analysis) based research model because most of the letters which appeared in the mentioned newspapers deal with social issues of different kinds, and the levels of analysis include representation, metaphor, lexicalization, othering, comparison and presupposition, Marxist critique, normative critique, etc. The prominent themes in selected Pakistani newspapers—“The Nation,” “Express Tribune,” and “Dawn”—reveals varying priorities that cater to their readerships. The findings of the study reveal that Dawn prioritizes socio-political issues; 29% letters appeared in “Dawn” over the time period of two months addressed social issues and 25% of the letters were related to political issues; while issues related to education have been discussed frequently resulting in 24%; and issues like health, religion, and gender have been discussed less frequently with 12%, 8%, and 2%, respectively. However, “The Nation” focuses more on the educational issues, with 30% of letters on issues related to educational systems and critiques government policies and other national challenges to seek solutions. Health and gender issues are relatively less discussed in The Nation newspaper’s letters to the editor section with 8% and 1%, respectively. While, political theme is prevalent in the letters collected from Express Tribune for the mentioned time period. Religious and gender issues emerge as relatively minor themes based on their frequency in the letters. In contrast, the “Express Tribune” prioritizes political themes the most, accounting for 28%, followed by education at 26% and social issues at 25%. Health issues receive 14% of the focus, with gender and religious themes at 5% and 2% respectively. These findings of the study reveal each newspaper’s unique editorial focus and the diverse interests of their readers.
Analysing Undergraduate Students’ Linguistic Profile: A Study of Cognitive Structures used in Expressive Writing Throughout history, scholars have believed that our words provide clues about our psychological processes. However, the methods used to analyse psychological processes from language have evolved significantly over time. With the advancement in modern computational technologies, the researchers are now on the point of a major revolution in language analysis research. Similarly, the present research aims to investigate the cognitive structures and document the frequency of metadiscourse markers in expressive writings of undergraduate students. For this purpose, 50 samples from undergraduate students of NUML Multan Campus (Department of Management Sciences and English) are collected. Participants are randomly assigned to write about a topic The Current Situation of Pakistan. The purpose of assigning this topic is to make students express their thoughts so their cognitive structures can be analysed. The present research employs a software Linguistic Inquiry and Word Count (2022) to analyse cognitive structures and Hyland’s (2005) model of interactive metadiscourse analysis. The findings reveal that linguistic profiles have provided useful information for analysing the cognitive structures of participants. They have used more negative tone including tone of hopelessness, despair, and anxiety. Additionally, the cognitive process category which includes thinking and reasoning can be seen in all the texts. Moreover, the researcher also documents the frequency of occurrence of Hyland’s interactive metadiscourse markers in the text. The findings reveal that there is a higher use of transitional metadiscourse markers, followed by frame markers, evidentials, endophoric markers and code glosses. It shows that students have expressed their thoughts/opinions while maintaining the coherency and organization of their texts.