Department of English
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Item Impact of Automated Written Evaluated (AWE) Feedback on English Writing Accuracy of ESL University Students of Pakistan.(Library Information Services, COMSATS University Islamabad, Lahore Campus, 2025) Shiza Azam; CIIT/SP23-REL-022/LHR; Dr. Aasia Nusrat; LHR TP 10062Regardless of a lot of researches on use of Automated Written Evaluation (AWE) on students of English as a Second Language (ESL), this Quasi Experimental study examines the long term impact of Automated Written Evaluation Feedback (AWEF) on ESL students of Pakistani University. This study employed this technique because of its significance in examining the impact of AWE and with this design; this study explored how AWE with Grammarly helps students in improving English writing quality. Three testing occasions including Pre-Test, Post- Test and Delayed Post-Test were employed to examine the long term relative efficacy of AWE and Teacher Feedback. Over the course of semester, 60 students were divided into two groups: Experimental and Control group and were provided AWE feedback and Teacher feedback relatively. The study used quantitative techniques including t-test and ANOVA and focused on particular errors categories comprising Subject Verb Agreement, Article Usage and Spelling. The results of the post test showed that both groups, AWE and Teacher Feedback, contributed in short term improvement but the results of delayed post-test revealed that the students from the treatment group retained the improvement and showed a statistically notable improvement. This study advances the understanding of technological use in language acquisition and also pedagogically raises the prospect of using AWE along with teacher feedback to foster learning using limited resources. This study was concluded with discussion and limitations of this study.Item Language, Nature, and the Framing of Death: An Ecolinguistic Analysis of Muneer Niazi’s Taiz Hawa Aur Tanha Phool(Library Information Services, COMSATS University Islamabad, Lahore Campus, 2025) Amina Arif; CIIT/SP24-MEL-014/LHR; Dr. Aasia Nusrat; LHR TP 10058This thesis explores how Urdu lyric poetry, in this case, Taiz Hawa Aur Tanha Phool by Muneer Niazi (1994), is important in solving the global environmental crisis by promoting localized environmental ethics in Pakistan. The study uses the Ecological Discourse Analysis (EDA) according to the six-part framework of Arran Stibbe (Identity, Ideology, Salience, Metaphor, Conviction, and Erasure) to systematically deconstruct the way Niazi uses language as a positive, ecocentric discourse. The study is based on a qualitative, constructivist-interpretivist design, which examines twenty purposively sampled poems to fulfill two main goals: to examine how identity, ideology, and salience facilitate eco-consciousness, and to examine how metaphor, conviction, and erasure re-brand human mortality as an ecological flow. The main thesis is that Niazi manages to create an ecocentric worldview through the active agency of non-human things (challenging erasure), the creation of strong cyclical metaphors, and the creation of a moral belief in interdependence. This discussion moves the study of Niazi beyond conventional social interpretations, using a global approach to non-Western lyrical poetry and providing a resource base to South Asian ecocriticism and environmental communication.Item The Erasure of Nature in Corporate Greenwashing: An Ecolinguistic Analysis of Environmental Claims in Multinational Advertisements in Pakistan.(Library Information Services, COMSATS University Islamabad, Lahore Campus, 2025) Ajwa Sarosh Azhar; CIIT/SP24-MEL-002/LHR; Dr. Aasia Nusrat; LHR TP 10047This study aims to explore how multinational companies market environmental sustainability through "greenwashing" their marketing communication. It focuses on how these companies make "green" claims using linguistic techniques to trick consumers into thinking they are environmentally responsible. The researcher has selected twelve advertisements from an intentional sample of eight multinational companies. Dove, Pond's, Hemani Herbal, Garnier, Ariel, Surf Excel, Bonus, and Express Power. To better understand the issue, a mixed-method approach has been used for this study. The qualitative analysis was conducted through Stibbes Ecolinguistic analysis of the advertisements from the eight selected companies. The quantitative analysis was conducted through a closed-ended Likert-type survey that was given to 200 participants. The SPSS software was then used to analyze the data generated from the quantitative analyses. Qualitative analysis discovered that all of the companies assessed were using language such as "chemical-free," "pure," "organic," and "all-natural." The use of metaphorical language (cleanliness, purity, natural harmony) in the advertisements further reinforced these misleading bio facts. Results of the quantitative analysis showed that participants were aware of certain corporate practices of exploiting consumers through greenwashing; however, they were still impacted by the eco-linguistic cues employed in the advertisements. In summary, this study found that multinational corporations used the linguistic and symbolic tools at their disposal to create an environmentally friendly narrative that influences consumer perception, while simultaneously hiding their lack of true environmentally sustainable endeavor. This study has shown that, in order to establish stronger regulatory control over and enhance the integrity of the way advertising is performed in Pakistan, greater transparency in the methods of communicating an environmental message will need to be established in the marketplaceItem Comparing Grammarly Feedback and Teacher Feedback in ESLWriting: AQuantitative Study of Students’ Perceptions(Library Information Services, COMSATS University Islamabad, Lahore Campus, 2025) Fatima Afzaal; CIIT/SP24-MEL-004/LHR; Dr. Aasia Nusrat; LHR TP 10049This study investigated ESL university students’ perceptions of teacher-written feedback and automated feedback provided by Grammarly in academic writing, with the aim of exploring the benefits, challenges, and overall effectiveness of each feedback modality. Grounded in Sociocultural Theory, the study examined how human and technological mediators support learners’ writing development, skill improvement, and autonomy. A quantitative research design was employed, involving 40 non-English major undergraduate students from two intact classes at a Pakistani university, purposively sampled based on prior English proficiency. One group of 20 students received teacher-written feedback, while the other 20 students received automated feedback via Grammarly across a four-week guided writing intervention. Data were collected using a structured questionnaire designed to measure perceived benefits, skill improvement, perceived challenges, and overall effectiveness of feedback. Reliability analyses indicated high internal consistency across the scale (Cronbach’s α = 0.70–0.82). Descriptive statistics revealed that students recognized multiple benefits from both feedback types, including enhanced accuracy, motivation, and awareness of recurring errors. Independent samples t-tests indicated no statistically significant differences between groups in perceived benefits, skill improvement, or perceived challenges, while teacher feedback was perceived as significantly more effective overall (t = 2.496, p = .017). The findings highlight the complementary nature of teacher and automated feedback: teacher feedback supports higher-order skills such as coherence, organization, and argumentation, while Grammarly facilitates surface-level linguistic accuracy, autonomous revision, and self-monitoring. The study underscores the importance of an integrated feedback approach in ESL writing instruction, combining human interpretive guidance with automated support to maximize learning outcomes. Pedagogical implications include the need for targeted instruction in interpreting automated feedback and prioritizing teacher feedback for conceptual and discourse-level guidance. Limitations related to sample size, self-reported measures, and study duration are discussed, alongside recommendations for longitudinal and performance-based research. The study contributes to the understanding of feedback-mediated learning in ESL contexts and provides evidence-based strategies for optimizing both teacher and technology- enhanced writing instruction.Item Exploring the Impact of Mobile Learning (Mlearning) on Vocabulary Acquisition(Library Information Services, COMSATS University Islamabad, Lahore Campus, 2018) Raheela Naz; FA16-REL-012; Dr. Aasia Nusrat; LHR TP 5172This study investigated the impact of an online mobile game Kahoot on English vocabulary acquisition of undergraduate students and establish how mobile game-based technology aids in improving the English vocabulary skills. An experimental design helped to determine the influence of the mobile game intervention on the learning process over the traditional paper-based English vocabulary acquisition method. Following a pre-test/post-test design, sixty undergraduate students from two classes randomly divided into a control and an experimental group participated in the present study. Each group contained 30 students who either used conventional paper-based methods or vocabulary learning mobile game over a period of six weeks. The findings of this study statistically analyzed via independent t-tests at the end of the experimental period indicated that students using the mobile game Kahoot had greater achievement in learning vocabulary than those using the traditional method in learning vocabulary. However, the results revealed no significant difference in vocabulary scores between male and female students who participated in traditional paper-based and mobile game-based learning methods. Thus, it would be essential to create awareness among the educators that the use of the new smart phone gaming technology is an effective tool for teaching and learning new vocabulary.Item Flouting of Gricean Maxims: An Analysis of Pakistani Comedy Talk Shows(Library Information Services, COMSATS University Islamabad, Lahore Campus, 2018) Ayesha Kinz ul Eman; FA16-REL-011; Dr. Aasia Nusrat; LHR TP 5171The study is carried out to investigate the phenomenon of flouting of Grice maxims in Urdu language with respect to Urdu comedy talk shows “Hasb-e-haal” and “Khabarnaak”. The reason why the researcher chooses this study because in the political talk shows flouting occurs when individual intentionally do not apply the maxims in order to persuade their listeners to derive the hidden meaning behind what is said, that is, the speakers employ implicature. The main purpose of this study is to find out how flouting create comedy and which is the frequently flouted maxim and reasons behind it. It is a qualitative study that focuses on flouting of maxim. The data of this research are interviews from only that part of the show in which current political issues have been discussed by the mimic artists of politicians and 40 instances from both the shows are selected. Based on the analysis, in results there are two points; first data analysis shows that every type of maxims is flouted by the participants in order to create comedy. Second, the most flouted maxim is manner maxim with 62.5% because participants using vague and ambiguous information which the implicature shows that interviewer and interviewee wants their audience to look for the hidden meaning.Item Effect of English as Instructional Language on Teacher Learning: An Analysis of Government Teachers Education in Pakistan(Library Information Services, COMSATS University Islamabad, Lahore Campus, 2018) Rabea Saeed; SP17-REL-002; Dr. Aasia Nusrat; LHR TP 5315Teacher educator development has taken integral position in education sector, and, with launch of various programmes, the emphasis on using English as medium of instructions (EMI) in teacher education has increased too. However, language proficiency of teacher educators, who are placed in EMI immersion programmes, stands as one the biggest challenge not only in Pakistan but globally too (Huq, 2018). Teacher Language Awareness (TLA) (Andrews, 2007) framework connects teacher language awareness to pedagogical content, and reveals that a teacher educators language awareness, with respect to both declarative and procedural knowledge, affects the pedagogical content knowledge. Applying this framework, written assessments of non-native teacher educators (Pakistan) are assessed and analysed. Present study is mix-method research that uses qualitative and quantitative methods for data analysis. Value of relationship coefficient ‘r’ between EMI and teacher performance reveals a strong downhill relationship indicating negative effect of EMI on teacher performance in Pakistani context. Similarly, a qualitative analysis of the assessments reveals that EMI inversely affects subject matter cognitions. These findings necessitate measures to be taken which could help improve language proficiency of the teacher educators, as well as reconsider the choice of medium for maximum output and effective learning.Item Critical Discourse Analysis of Tahir-ul-Qadri and Imran Khan’s Dharna 2014 Speeches: A Comparative Analysis(Library Information Services, COMSATS University Islamabad, Lahore Campus, 2018) Shaista Shahzadi; FA16-REL-001; Dr. AasiaNusrat; LHR TP 5318This study is done to explore the two-dimensional power play (Fairclough, 1989) in Dharna 2014 speeches of Imran khan and Tahir-ul-Qadri. Considering the two dimensions, power within discourse and power behind discourse, the research method applies thematic analysis and utilizes Fairclough’s three dimensional model (1989) as data analysing tool. All the speeches of Dharna 2014 which are available on the internet are analyzed by considering Textual, Discursive and Societal levels of discourse provided by Fairclough 3D Model. The findings established that discourses have the capacity to form and being formed by social practices.. The research would enable common public of Pakistan to understand their politicians in terms of the concept of power by comprehending the meaning that language conveys.Item THE STUDY OF IDEOLOGICAL REPRESENTATION OF MUSLIMS IN HOLLYWOOD CINEMA: CRITICAL DISCOURSE ANALYSIS(Library Information Services, COMSATS University Islamabad, Lahore Campus, 2018) Arfa Aemen; FA16-REL-005; Dr. Aasia Nusrat; LHR TP 5317The current study aims at finding out how Hollywood presents the image of Muslims in a negative way through the source of media. The study exposes the way film directors and writers set their aim to propagate against Muslims with the presentation of language in forms of dialogues. Critical Discourse Analysis as a research tool has been used to analyze the corpus of two Hollywood movies: The Kingdom (2007) and Zero Dark Thirty (2011) which were produced after 9/11 Twin Tower attack. Both Hollywood movies are based on the terrorism genre in which Muslims are depicted as terrorist. Fairclough’s three dimensional model (1989) has been used to explore linguistics features and discourse structures. Three levels of Fairclough’s (1989) model (descriptive, discursive and social practices) analyze the text on each level separately. The findings reveal that discourse of terrorism is embedded in the text which represents Muslims with the tag of terrorists. It has been examined that through hidden ideology and manipulated language, Muslims are labeled as terrorists and biased picture is shown in Hollywood movies. The findings indicate that Muslims received negative coverage and an exaggerated picture of being shown as terrorists is drawn on a big scale of media and it is very difficult to perceive the true side of the picture.Item Investigating ESL Undergrad Pakistani Students’ Vocabulary Learning Strategies with Respect to Gender(Library Information Services, COMSATS University Islamabad, Lahore Campus, 2018) Farhana Ahsan Javed; FA16-REL-016; Dr. Aasia Nusrat; LHR TP 5319This research study is intended to explore vocabulary learning strategies of undergraduate English as second language students at COMSATS University Lahore, Pakistan. The main purpose of this study is to investigate the most and the least frequently used vocabulary learning strategies, to find out significant difference between male and female students in learning strategies for vocabulary, and to explore the types of strategies for learning vocabulary employed by undergraduate students. Data are collected through questionnaire and interviews. Questionnaire of vocabulary learning strategies is based on Schmitt’s taxonomy (1997). Semi structured interview is conducted to find out what strategies undergrad students employ in learning vocabulary to get in depth detail concerning vocabulary learning strategies. There were 300 participants involving 157 female students and 143 male students who filled the questionnaire. There were 8 participants who were randomly selected for Interview. Descriptive Statistics (Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS), Version 23), Independent sample t-test and ANOVA (Analysis of Variance) are used to analyze data. The findings of this study revealed that there is significant difference between males and females in using strategies for learning vocabulary. Female students most frequently used memory strategies whereas male students use determination strategies. Concerning the most and the least frequently used vocabulary learning strategies, determination strategies are used most frequently, and cognitive strategies are least frequently used by the ESL undergraduate students. Large number of variance is found in the usage of group of strategies for learning vocabulary by the students.