Publications - Shafinaz Sikder

Academic Publications (Selected):

1. Sikder., Shafinaz & Haque., Mahmudul (2016). Speaking Anxiety and Learners’ Own Variety of English. Crossings (7), 185-193. 
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2. Sikder, S. (2021). Request Strategies and Gender Differences among Bangladeshi Students within Online Classrooms. International Journal of English Language Studies, 3(9), 01-08. 
   Abstract:
   This research tried to identify the type of requests made by the students within a few Bangladeshi online classrooms. The study also aimed at focusing on possible gender differences between the students based on the requests they made. It adopted the research method used by Onem (2016),who investigated how men and women make requests and observed how they differ in the case of being polite and showing directness. Since there have been no previous studies conducted like this before, this paper analysed and categorized the types of requests by addressing the research gap. The theoretical framework relied on the Cross-Cultural Speech Act Realization Project (CCSARP), outlined by Blum-Kulka and Olshtain (1984). Three video records of online classes of “London School of English, Keraniganj, Dhaka, Bangladesh” were undertaken as the main data which was observed naturally followed by analysis and interpretation. The data analysis framework was also undertaken from the Cross-Cultural Speech Act Realization Project (CCSARP) theory by Blum-Kulka and Olshtain (1984). To analyse the data gathered from the videos, a particular coding scheme of (CCSARP) was used. The result obtained showed that the female students made around 62.5% requests while the male students did only around 37.5%. The requests made by the female students were not only significantly higher but they were more polite than the males. Therefore, this small-scale study is expected to help teachers and both male and female students improve their communication skills. The types of requests identified in this study might help students of both genders become aware of their request-making techniques and help the researchers understand the process of request-making in the students' minds.
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3. Sikder., Shafinaz, Nadzri., Filzah & Karunagaran., Laneesha (2021). A Study of Written Noun Pattern Sequences among Secondary School Students in Malaysia. Journal of NELTA.
   Abstract:
   The following research work aimed to investigate the language change of learners through their usage of noun pattern in order to identify which words occur with which patterns and then create a repertoire of the three learners’ particular ways of using them. In order to do so, like previous studies, the study relied on the theoretical framework of Hunston’s Pattern Grammar Approach (1997) and the conceptual framework of Larsen-Freeman’s Complexity Theory (2006). This mixed method study adopted a longitudinal research approach into Chau (2015) students’ data to observe the commonly occurred noun pattern sequences within their writing tasks over three years. This helped to understand the changes on the noun pattern about language learning by associating meaning production via noun pattern sequences. Data collection and analysis method was adopted from Tashakkori & Teddlie, 2010. The codification of noun patterns were done quantitatively and then its frequency was quantified. The five nouns have been identified from the analysis at keyness cut-off of 25 via Keywords Extractor followed by a codification of noun pattern sequences done via the framework by Collins Cobuild English Dictionary and Francis et al. (1998). The result of the analysis shows that students do follow noun patterns yet they also tend to produce structures in their very unique ways. Likewise, the repetition of pattern over the years observed in learners suggests language could be both regressing and progressing simultaneously, unlike the developmental leader metaphor applied in most educational settings. In other words, the study suggests that students should be acquainted with patterns instead of words in isolation because their association with different words makes them a natural accompaniment to a lexical approach. This paves the way for unorthodox scoring or marking system, shifting the focus from error analysis to meaningful production of language.
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