Our country is celebrating, as any other Arab and Islamic country, the occasion of Ramadhan (the month of mercy and the month in which Qur'an sent down as a mercy for people).
Ramadhan is an occasion during which all Moslems carry out the duty of fasting and almsgiving, following 'Sonnah' of our Prophet Mohammed( all peace be upon him).

Islam came to save the Islamic nation from depravity and show the right path for people. It came to change peoples' lives from illiteracy to religious sciences. Islam came to improve the morality and righteous acts of the people. It came to raise the way of living of the Islamic nations. Ramadhan is a month of worship, mercy and almsgiving in which people have to carry out their religious duties. We have to repent for whatever we have done, deal kindly with others, and follow the religious values. Moslems have to keep themselves away from sins.

Yemeni people are distinguished from any other Arab society during this month in their social, Islamic and humanitarian customs. These customs are a part of daily life of Yemeni people. If we look to the last days of 'Shab'an'(the month before Ramadhan), we find that the way of living of the Yemeni people takes on distinctive features. You can see people walking here and there to buy whatever they need during this month. They concentrate on beverages, vegetables, milk and other food stuffs. As Moslems carry out their religious duty, their bond with God is strengthened.

During this occasion, Yemeni people adopt social practices. On the eve of Ramadhan, people wait to see the crescent of Ramadhan to confirm the advent of the month. This phenomenon is found in all Arab and Islamic countries.
A committee has been formed in the Ministry of Justice to determine the first and last day of Ramadhan. This committee consists of scientists and jurists. As people hear the declaration of Ramadhan, they become very happy. Then they begin preparation for the month.

You can hear the voices of prayer and worship coming out from mosques in all cities of Yemen. You can also hear what we call 'Adhan', which augments our religious feelings. 'Adhan' is used to call people to come to mosques to pray.
During the first night of Ramadhan, people celebrate until dawn. Each one goes to his friend to congratulate him on the religious occasion. On this night which is called 'Qoratt Ramadhan', all the people gather at mosques to recite the Qur'an and read Prophetic Hadiths until dawn. Then they take their meal which is called 'Sahoor'. This meal consists of bread, boiled milk and ghee. All these ingredients are put inside pot and are mixed together. Then the people go to bed.

In the beginning of Ramadhan, tranquility reigns throughout cities. Faces of people are submissive and merciful. You can hear spiritual chants coming out from the mosques. Mosques are full of those who come to recite Qur'an. The markets are full of people who come to buy different things, hawkers spread their wares in corners of streets, especially before the time of 'Ifttar' (the meal in which people eat by the end of the day of fasting). All members of the family cooperate to prepare food and arrange the home for guests.
People go to the mosque to pray after sunset, and then return to their homes to eat the main meal, 'Ifttar'.

Saleh Abdubaqi
Yemen Times

Dr. P.A. Abraham
Faculty of Education,
Amran

The ultimate objective of teaching literature is the study of words, idioms and syntax at the highest level of thought and imagination. It is an exercise depicting as to how words and sentences are made and molded in order to communicate what the writer wants to say. I often wonder if there is something like pure literature teaching. Or if there is a person like pure English literature teacher. Or if there is a group of pure English literature students.

In other words, the end result of teaching English literature courses turns out to be a reinforcement of English language. The medium becomes the thing and all that is literary becomes secondary, airy and abstract! My experience of teaching English literature, both to undergraduate and post graduate classes in India and even in Yemen has revealed to me a progressive bluntness in leaning, imbibing and appreciating anything literary or aesthetic. How many of our literature students know the classical, Christian and the native strands of English literature? Do they follow the Western theory of art and aesthetics. I am not underestimating the ability of our students to deal with English literature at all. But we have accept the reality that certain historical factors have brought about a shift of attitude towards teaching of English literature especially in the third world countries like Yemen and India.

The sum and substance of this shift of focus and emphasis is that the study of English literature has gradually been losing its literary aspect giving way to the study of English alone. So, if the role of English is progressively going to be language oriented, then our literature teaching courses must catch up to make themselves realistic and meaningful.

Language through literature is probably an accepted solution where literature is used as a medium for teaching linguistic features. On the contrary, the notion of literature through language may raise of a few eyebrows. Both students and teachers agree that the materials for classroom teaching should have a human interest, must appeal on the imagination, and should generate aesthetic feelings. Isolated sentences are never effective even while teaching grammar. It is in this context that we should consider the idea of literature through language. Of course, students must be taught literature, but it must be done through creating an awareness of linguistic possibilities and sensibility. It is not literature through literature that is to be emphasized, but literature through language. The medium is language; the content and form of a literary work arouses interest in the meaningful use of that medium. The selection of literary texts should be done very carefully so that it arouses interest in learning the features of language.

Short stories, narrative poems and one-act plays which do not have extreme examples of dialect usage may be used to provide models of language in every day use. All types of literary works including expository essays, the informal personal essay, diary notes, biography, autobiography, lyrics, plays and novels can be legitimate ELT (English Language Teaching) materials. It is important that they should be used judiciously as practice materials in the process of language learning.

Beyond the sentence is both a challenge and an opportunity. It is a training in the logic of linguistic expression, coherence, sense of direction, and arrangements of ideas. Punctuation, paragraphing ..etc are all important characteristics of linguistic communication at an advanced level. It is at this level that a student should learn the grammar of the isolated structures. The grammar of discourse is rhetoric. The devices of rhetoric become part of language acquisition from the point of view of an advanced level of communication. Selection from pieces of literature should be so made as to cater for the needs of developing linguistic skills.
In the final analysis we must remember that a text is only a pretext. What we do with it is what matters. There are different ways of handling anything unskillfully just as there are different ways of skillful and effective handling. Literature through language makes a plea that literary works judiciously selected may provide useful materials for language learning.