Modern humanities scholarship presents a scene of intriguing change. A leading figure like Professor Eagleton moves suddenly from theory to a fascination with culture, while still wrestling with literature's meaning and function. Creative non-fiction becomes fashionable while life writings retain a very wide readership. Language professionals, meanwhile, ask themselves if teaching an alien tongue can be done without teaching its associated culture, and what this might mean for individual and group identity - itself now an area of rising academic concern. Crucially, the present volume looks at...

Reading, a complex and multi-faceted skill, is essential for life and academic success. While its mysteries still baffle first-language research, the nature of reading in a foreign language presents an even greater puzzle. However, given reading's importance for EFL students who study their specializations in English, and whose future employment may depend on their competence in it, researchers must continue to investigate foreign language reading and devise ways of improving students' capacity for it. Hence, this book, with its thorough coverage of up-to-date theory, practice and research,...

Language learning is a complex and challenging endeavor. For students to achieve the desired proficiency in English as a Foreign Language (EFL) their institutions need to invest time, effort and huge resources in order to cater for different learning styles. To be cost effective, many language-teaching institutions strive to provide intensive foreign language (FL) instruction to reduce the time period needed to learn the target language. This explains the current interest in combining different methodologies with instructional technologies that promise to motivate learners and to respond...

Though diverse, the Arab world boasts a unique culture and native language, both of which are unlike those found in English-speaking countries. Perhaps due to the nature of these differences, Arab-Western relations have been described as existing on one of the world's great cultural fault-lines. Debate about the potential effects, both positive and negative, of English-medium education and the learning of English in the region's schools and universities is one expression of this. Even as debate continues, issues of politics, culture, social mobility, and identity are played out in the English...

Educators continue to strive for advanced teaching methods to bridge the gap between native and non-native English speaking students. Lessons on written forms of communication continue to be a challenge recognized by educators who wish to improve student comprehension and overall ability to write clearly and expressively. Methodologies for Effective Writing Instruction in EFL and ESL Classrooms brings together research and practices for successful written communication teaching among students of diverse linguistic backgrounds. With technological advancements and resources, educators are able...

This book explores an area that has been somewhat overlooked in the literature to date - the current status and future trends of English education in Oman. It offers a variety of theoretical and methodological approaches to the subject and explores areas of English education in Oman that have, until now, been little investigated.