Today, English has emerged as an important means of communication across the world including Pakistan. In Pakistan, it enjoys the status of second language as it is offered as a compulsory subject from primary level up to higher classes. In addition, there is great need and demand for having a sound grasp over English language to encounter professional challenges. However, Pakistani learners still face various problems while speaking and writing English. This study examined the abuse of English prepositions by Pakistani learners. It focused on the types of prepositional errors found in their English writing. Moreover, the study investigated whether male learners committed more preposition errors or female. For this purpose, twenty six (26) students of HSSC (thirteen participants from each gender) were chosen through systematic random sampling under Quantitative research paradigm. The data were collected through composition test and essay writing which were then analyzed through tables and graphics. Consequently, the study found out various types of prepositional errors in the participants' writing. Besides, the study showed higher ratio of errors in female participants' writing than the males'. At the end of the study, some recommendations were given as how to lessen the ratio of English preposition errors in Pakistani learners' writing.

Purpose of the study: Language, culture, and gender affect the ways one refuses an offer, suggestion, request, or invitation. Moreover, what we say and how we say may change the contextual meaning. Therefore, a study was conducted to examine the use of speech acts of refusal by the Khowar language speakers to know whether there is any gender difference. Methodology: The undergraduate level students, aging between 15 and 25, participated in the study. An open-ended questionnaire was used for data collection. The questionnaire contained four hypothetical situations and each situation required the use of speech acts of refusal by the participants. A refusal classification format devised by Beebe (1990) was used to analyse the data. Main Findings: The findings showed that both males and females used almost similar refusal strategies in all four situations. Direct and indirect refusal speech acts with pre-and post-refusal strategies were used in nearly the same quantity. The study also revealed that language, culture, and social status did not play an important role in realising refusal strategies. Application of the study: The study will help linguists, language teachers, and anthropologists to understand the nature of male and female Khowar language speakers. It will also add valuable literature on the use of language and gender differences. The originality of the study: The study is significant being the first of its kind that addressed the gender difference and language use in Khowar language speakers. The study is also vital as it will preserve a minor language spoken in one of the remotest areas of Pakistan.

Coherence and cohesion are considered two main elements of essay writing. Despite their importance in writing, they are still regarded as difficult to teach and learn as compared to grammar and spelling. Theme-rheme development is suggested to be a tool to teach coherence and cohesion in writing. This experimental study was carried out to verify whether the teaching of theme-rheme approach helps the learners to improve their textual coherence. Forty graduate-level students (20 males and 20 females), aging between 19 and 23, participated in the study. The participants were equally divided into two groups. The experimental group was taught coherence and cohesion by using the thematic progression method, whereas the controlled group was taught by using the ordinary method. Pre- and post-tests were conducted to compare the effects of the thematic progression method. The findings show that the teaching of coherence and cohesion through the thematic progression method helped the learners to improve their essay writing quality. The experimental group outweighed the controlled group as it got twice higher marks in the post-test than the pre-test. In contrast, the controlled group showed a negligible improvement.

Teaching is a prophetic profession. It requires a considerable amount of professional knowledge and skills that allows any individual to become a competent teacher and play his role successfully in the school environment. The government of KP recently gave an open opportunity for everyone to apply on each and every teaching cadre/posts of teaching without having the professional degree. The purpose of study was to explore, compare and explain the concerns of stakeholders (professional degree holders) regarding this new recruitment policy for all cadres in district D.I.Khan. The mixed method, convergent parallel design was used for the study. Closed ended questionnaire on five point Likert scale (n=202) and semi-structured, open ended interview (n=12) as a tool was used for the study. Concerns regarding needs/importance of professional degree, dropping out professional degree and acceptance of policy were pointed out.

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