Drama by Mansoor Ahmed Khan
Methuen Drama (A&C Black Publishers Ltd) allowed me to cite from the text of Top Girls used in Ca... more Methuen Drama (A&C Black Publishers Ltd) allowed me to cite from the text of Top Girls used in Caryl Churchill Plays: 2.1 would like to acknowledge Michael Daniels for permission to print his photo of Bianca Amato as Marlene from the Guthrie 1996 production of Top Girls on the cover of this book. Of course I would also like to acknowledge Caryl Churchill for writing such a thought-provoking play.
I would very much like to thank Janelle Reinelt for inspiring my interest in Caryl Churchill and for her numerous helpful suggestions during the writing process of this book. I am grateful to Elaine Aston and Graham Saunders for their welcoming generosity and knowledge while researching in the UK. I would also like to thank faculty members at the University of California, Irvine and University of California, San Diego for their encouragement, especially Bryan Reynolds, John Rouse, Nadine George, Laura O'Connor and Jim Carmody.
Personally, I would like to express my gratitude to Kandace Korth and Gordon Wiser for providing me with wonderful getaways where I could write in peace. Thank you to Patricia Wilshire and Caroline Brooks for always welcoming me to London. Many thanks to Genny Blewett, Golnag Tahsini and Mark Alkons for their assistance during the writing process. Thanks to Janna Segal for many late-night conversations. Finally, but definitely not least, many thanks to my family for their ongoing support, especially my brother Vince for sharing my interest in all things dramatic, my father Bert for always talking to me about politics, and most of all, my mother for exposing me to the joys of the theatre.
The dialectic of Top Girls is wide-ranging, covering universal dilemmas facing women, but focuses... more The dialectic of Top Girls is wide-ranging, covering universal dilemmas facing women, but focuses on major themes of contemporary life. The critique of feminist ambitions is a clear central theme and Churchill's selection of women from the past and modern world shows sympathy for the feminist cause and disdain for the male oppressor, but there is no sentimentality an no comfortable solution is offered for their problems.
Marlene hosts a dinner party in a London restaurant to celebrate her promotion to managing director of 'Top Girls' employment agency. Her guests are five women from the past: Isabella Bird (1831- 1904) - the adventurous traveller; Lady Nijo (b1258) - the mediaeval courtesan who became a Buddhist nun and travelled on foot through Japan; Dull Gret, who as Dulle Griet in a Bruegel painting, led a crowd of women on a charge through hell; Pope Joan - the transvestite early female pope and last but not least Patient Griselda, an obedient wife out of Chaucer's Canterbury Tales. As the evening continues we are involved with the stories of all five women and the impending crisis in Marlene's own life. A classic of contemporary theatre, Churchill's play is seen as a landmark for a new generation of playwrights. It was premiered by the Royal Court in 1982.
The New York Times comments: "An old bum receives shelter in a cluttered room of an abandoned hou... more The New York Times comments: "An old bum receives shelter in a cluttered room of an abandoned house. His samaritan is a gentle young man whose kindness is so casual that he seems almost indifferent. Dirty, tattered, unkempt, itching and scratching, the tramp is by turns wheedling, truculent and full of bravado He speaks the proud lingo of those who have untold resources awaiting them at near-by havens. He pronounces his meager phrases with the exaggerated precision of one unaccustomed to being heeded. He flails a fist into a palm or into the air with the belligerence of a fighter no one will ever corner. He associates himself with fastidious practices like soap as if they were his daily habit. He is very funny at first. But the laughter shades increasingly into pity. Like a cornered animal, he cannot believe that anyone means to be kind to him He hates foreigners. He trusts no one, and fears everyone. He alienates the two brothers who separately have offered him a job as caretaker of the premises. Their offers and the job itself become themes with subtle overtones. Aston, the samaritan, lives in personal and emotional isolation, tinkering with gadgets and dreaming of building a shed out in the yard. And Mick, who carries on like a man of affairs, inhabits a dream world that resembles an extrovert's nightmares. Mr. Pinter has been vehement in his assertions that his play is no more than the story it tells. But he cannot prevent his audiences from finding in it a modern parable to derisive scorn and bitter sorrow.
Encyclopedia by Mansoor Ahmed Khan
Linguistics by Mansoor Ahmed Khan
Why global English may mean the end of 'English as a Foreign Language'
This article reports the results of an experiment investigating the role of comic strips on ESL l... more This article reports the results of an experiment investigating the role of comic strips on ESL learners' reading comprehension. The students' proficiency levels were estimated, and students were organized into a low intermediate-level proficiency group (low-level students) and a high intermediate-level proficiency group (high-level students). Students in each group were presented with either a high-level text or a low-level text, and the text was presented with or without a comic strip. Two-way and three-way ANOVAs run on data from 107 immediate recall protocols reveal that the low-level students receiving the high-level text with the comic strip scored significantly higher than their counterparts receiving the high-level text only. They also show that providing a comic strip with the high-level text did not enhance the high-level students' recall. In addition to offering pedagogical suggestions, I discuss results in light of the dual coding theory and refer to other cognitive theories such as mental model, noticing, and the repetition hypothesis. E FL and ESL teachers often give students reading materials accom-
evaluating learners' acquisition of the target language. An important area of concern in testing ... more evaluating learners' acquisition of the target language. An important area of concern in testing is how students view their own achievements. Often students' expectations of test results differ from actual results. Students' grade expectations are often higher, which may negatively affect student motivation. This situation calls for raising students' awareness of their abilities.
This book is about the English language in the 21st century: about who will speak it and for what... more This book is about the English language in the 21st century: about who will speak it and for what purposes. It is a practical briefing document, written for educationists, politicians, managersindeed any decision maker or planning team with a professional interest in the development of English worldwide.
The volumes in this series set out to provide a contemporary record of the spread and development... more The volumes in this series set out to provide a contemporary record of the spread and development of the English language in South, Southeast, and East Asia from both linguistic and literary perspectives. Volumes in this series reflect themes that cut across national boundaries, including the study of language policies; globalization and linguistic imperialism; English in the media; English in law, government and education; 'hybrid' Englishes; and the bilingual creativity manifested by the vibrant creative writing found in a swathe of Asian societies.
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Drama by Mansoor Ahmed Khan
I would very much like to thank Janelle Reinelt for inspiring my interest in Caryl Churchill and for her numerous helpful suggestions during the writing process of this book. I am grateful to Elaine Aston and Graham Saunders for their welcoming generosity and knowledge while researching in the UK. I would also like to thank faculty members at the University of California, Irvine and University of California, San Diego for their encouragement, especially Bryan Reynolds, John Rouse, Nadine George, Laura O'Connor and Jim Carmody.
Personally, I would like to express my gratitude to Kandace Korth and Gordon Wiser for providing me with wonderful getaways where I could write in peace. Thank you to Patricia Wilshire and Caroline Brooks for always welcoming me to London. Many thanks to Genny Blewett, Golnag Tahsini and Mark Alkons for their assistance during the writing process. Thanks to Janna Segal for many late-night conversations. Finally, but definitely not least, many thanks to my family for their ongoing support, especially my brother Vince for sharing my interest in all things dramatic, my father Bert for always talking to me about politics, and most of all, my mother for exposing me to the joys of the theatre.
Marlene hosts a dinner party in a London restaurant to celebrate her promotion to managing director of 'Top Girls' employment agency. Her guests are five women from the past: Isabella Bird (1831- 1904) - the adventurous traveller; Lady Nijo (b1258) - the mediaeval courtesan who became a Buddhist nun and travelled on foot through Japan; Dull Gret, who as Dulle Griet in a Bruegel painting, led a crowd of women on a charge through hell; Pope Joan - the transvestite early female pope and last but not least Patient Griselda, an obedient wife out of Chaucer's Canterbury Tales. As the evening continues we are involved with the stories of all five women and the impending crisis in Marlene's own life. A classic of contemporary theatre, Churchill's play is seen as a landmark for a new generation of playwrights. It was premiered by the Royal Court in 1982.
Encyclopedia by Mansoor Ahmed Khan
Linguistics by Mansoor Ahmed Khan
I would very much like to thank Janelle Reinelt for inspiring my interest in Caryl Churchill and for her numerous helpful suggestions during the writing process of this book. I am grateful to Elaine Aston and Graham Saunders for their welcoming generosity and knowledge while researching in the UK. I would also like to thank faculty members at the University of California, Irvine and University of California, San Diego for their encouragement, especially Bryan Reynolds, John Rouse, Nadine George, Laura O'Connor and Jim Carmody.
Personally, I would like to express my gratitude to Kandace Korth and Gordon Wiser for providing me with wonderful getaways where I could write in peace. Thank you to Patricia Wilshire and Caroline Brooks for always welcoming me to London. Many thanks to Genny Blewett, Golnag Tahsini and Mark Alkons for their assistance during the writing process. Thanks to Janna Segal for many late-night conversations. Finally, but definitely not least, many thanks to my family for their ongoing support, especially my brother Vince for sharing my interest in all things dramatic, my father Bert for always talking to me about politics, and most of all, my mother for exposing me to the joys of the theatre.
Marlene hosts a dinner party in a London restaurant to celebrate her promotion to managing director of 'Top Girls' employment agency. Her guests are five women from the past: Isabella Bird (1831- 1904) - the adventurous traveller; Lady Nijo (b1258) - the mediaeval courtesan who became a Buddhist nun and travelled on foot through Japan; Dull Gret, who as Dulle Griet in a Bruegel painting, led a crowd of women on a charge through hell; Pope Joan - the transvestite early female pope and last but not least Patient Griselda, an obedient wife out of Chaucer's Canterbury Tales. As the evening continues we are involved with the stories of all five women and the impending crisis in Marlene's own life. A classic of contemporary theatre, Churchill's play is seen as a landmark for a new generation of playwrights. It was premiered by the Royal Court in 1982.