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Keep social distance: The linguistic landscape of the major malls in Jeddah amid the COVID-19 pandemicThis study examines the linguistic landscape of the two major malls in Jeddah, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, through social distancing posters and signs during the COVID-19 pandemic. The study draws on the conceptual framework of linguistic landscape theory, speech acts and semiotics to unveil language dominance, linguistic messages, image-text relations and poster elements that enforce social distancing. A survey questionnaire, primarily aimed at expats, was also administered to find out how they view and interpret the use of bilingual modes in disseminating the social distancing measures. The semiotic analysis reveals that Arabic and English are used in most of the posters, but Arabic remains the dominant language and the preferred medium of information dissemination. Speech acts analysis shows that representatives and directives facilitate implementation of social distancing. The findings also suggest that semiotic modes and signifiers (inscription and materiality) reinforce the effectiveness of the posters. Overall, the use of Arabic and English reflects the country’s stance on language policy and economic vision for Jeddah to be a truly global city amid the pandemic.
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Teacher Feedback: Impact on Students’ Impromptu SpeechThis study centered on the impact of teachers’ feedback on students’ impromptu speech. In addition, it aimed to unveil the aspects of students’ impromptu speech which teachers provide feedback on. This study utilized descriptive qualitative and quasi-experimental method. The participants of this study were English teachers and grade eight students from De La Salle University- Junior High School. The study utilized interview, survey, audio recording, and pre- and post-impromptu speech tests as data collection techniques. The study revealed that teachers gave more emphasis on the content of the student speech when giving feedback. Moreover, the statistical treatment showed that there is a significant difference between the pre- and post- impromptu speech scores. The analysis of students’ impromptu speeches and teacher feedback provide opportunity for teachers to reflect more on how they give feedback to their students and be more familiar with how their students deliver their speeches in terms of technical and contextual aspects of speaking. This study recommends that public speaking be offered as one of the elective subjects in English so students can enhance more their speaking skills. In the same way, teachers can be given more opportunities to be more exposed to giving quality feedback. A feedback model was made to aid teachers in giving feedback to their students during speaking performances.
