Chapter 1: Fixed

I've taken Dr.'s advice and fixed some things in my Chapter 1. To be honest, I'm still reluctant to put my context of study because I'm afraid it would be difficult to get data later. Nevertheless, I've decided to conduct my study on Form 4 students in a secondary school which hasn't been decided on, yet.

It's hard and it depresses me that I still haven't started on Chapter 2 yet. It's not that I don't want to, but I think I need a rest for a day from Research. Haha.

You can view my completed and fixed Chapter 1 HERE. :)

So many people to quote. T.T

Chapter 1 Completed

You can view it HERE :)

Constructing Chapter 1

Today marks the third day of our mid-term break. I've been slaving off doing my Chapter 1 and it has increased my appetite by a manifold. T.T

On a more positive note, I am almost done writing my background of study. However, I can't help seeing it as a mini Literature Review. Is it really supposed to be that way? I have also searched for more journal articles, because apparently, 30++ references are still not enough to get my message across. There is a lot more reading to be done on my thesis topic, but I can't say that I am not having fun. I've broaden my choice of articles to not only ESL, but sociolinguistics, psychology, cognition, mental health etc. I think these journals would prove useful for my Chapter 2 later.

Also, what is left to be done for my Chapter 1 are more citations for my introduction, my limitations of study, the operational definition of emotion, and the conclusion to the chapter. As for my limitations, I can only think of one for now. Gahhh.

I know it still sounds like a lot of work, but I'll catch up. By the way, I've compiled all the new articles that I have found HERE. :)

Research Part 3: Finding Literature

I got more than 30 literature already! Some of them touches a bit on emotion, some a bit on ESL, some a bit on narrative composition. I used keywords such as "emotion in esl", "emotion in narrative", "esl narrative", "emotion in english", "emotion in language", and "labov" (the name of the person who studied emotions in language in depth, besides Dewaele and Pavlenko). I have yet to try searching with the keyword "affect".

The main problem I have with this topic is that emotions are more related to motivation in learning ESL (you remember the affective domain proposed by Bloom?) I want  to focus on emotions IN language usage, which is more on pragmatics and sociolinguistics. However, I'm relieved to know that a number of people are also having the same concern as I am. We are quite interested in the potential of affect in teaching English as a second language.

Another problem is, and I think this will never end until the end of time, is the amount of restricted journal articles and dissertations all over the Net. Gaaaaah why won't you share your insight for free? Hm I guess if you are good at something, might as well ask people to pay for it. 

Nevertheless, you can click here to browse the literature that I've found. :)

To think like a scholar, we have to look like a scholar. Hm, I should grow a beard.

Research Part 2: Constructing Chapter 1

So here, I've refined my problem statement, aim of research, research questions, and significance of my research. I'm holding off my limitations of research first, because I think that's the hardest part of Chapter 1. Now I have to work on my operational definitions. Sounds easy, but I got more than 30 literature to read. (u.u)

Keep climbing. Keep faith. Hihi.

Research Part 2: Problem Statement

I am currently in the process of writing my problem statement. Although my concern was well-justified based on the journals I found, I am still having trouble finding a context for my problem.

Although I've gotten a general idea that my research should be around secondary schools, but the context could be anyone - either the students, the students exposed to Literature, the teachers... I can do a comparative study between teachers who learn Literature during their university years and teachers who haven't, but I guess I have to ask Dr. Aziah about this.

My general aim is to investigate the trend of emotive language (or lack of it) in ESL secondary classroom. However, I'm still thinking of refining it. Based on my previous post, I think I've already had some RQs in mind.

That aside, you can see some journal articles corroborating my problem statement HERE. I'll post my problem statement in i-Learn later (and I might also put it in my blog if you would like to see my progress).

It's like an eternal struggle, but I'll cope.

Research Part 1: Topic Materialization (iii)

After giving it much thought, I've decided to broaden my topic a little bit. Initially, I'm interested in looking into the effects of framing and how it can help in teaching persuasive speech/essay. However, Dr. Aziah always asks HOW are we going to collect data. I found this question exceptionally difficult if I were to pick on this topic.

So, I think I will focus on language and emotions, and students/teacher's perception regarding this. I don't think we were taught how to relate language and our emotions throughout our 12 years of schooling. To be honest, I can only think about this topic after taking TESL and being exposed to a lot of Literature.

Why is emotive language important, you ask?

Thus, several questions can be asked here, i.e. How come students do not see this relation between language and emotion despite being exposed to Literature in secondary school? How effective is the knowledge of this relationship to students' linguistic ability? Is teaching English and relating it to emotions important at all?

Well, I think I'm on to something now. :)