سر زمینِ سیالکوٹ صدیوں کی انسانی تہذیب و تمدن ،ادب و ثقافت اور فنونِ لطیفہ کا عظیم الشان گہوارہ ہے۔اس دھرتی کے تاریخی آثار ایک طویل مدت سے مورخین و ماہرین آثارِ قدیمہ کی دلچسپی کا سامان رہے ہیں۔اب بھی اس کی عظمت رفتہ کے قصے اہلِ تحقیق کو ورطۂ حیرت میں ڈالے ہوئے ہیں۔سیالکوٹ بہت قدیم شہر ہے۔اطہر سلیمی اس کی قدامت کے حوالے سے لکھتے ہیں:
سیالکوٹ کی تہذیب ٹیکسلا او رموہنجو ڈارو کی تہذیبوں کے ہم پلہ ہے۔(۲۴)
اس عظیم شہر کے رخ سے اگر ماضی کی تاریخ کے گہرے پردے کاٹے جائیں تو ہمیں اس کی تاریخی عظمتوں کا اعتراف کرنا پڑے گا۔سیالکوٹ نے قدیم شہر ہونے کی وجہ سے سینکڑوں روشن اورتاریک رخ دیکھے ہیں۔اس شہر کے سینے میں ہندوراجاؤں ،تاتاریوں اور مغلوں کے تاریخی افسانے پوشیدہ ہیں۔اس کے ذرے ذرے میں ہزاروں ہنگامے پنہاں ہیں۔سیالکوٹ کی ابتدائی تاریخ کی ورق گردانی کرنے پر سب سے پہلے ’’مہابھارات‘‘میں ہمیں اس کا ذکر ملتا ہے۔تقریباً پانچ ہزار سال قبل صوبہ پنجاب کے بہادر راجہ پانڈو خان کے بھتیجے راجہ سل نے اس شہر کو تعمیر کروایا تھا۔یہیں اس نے ایک قلعہ بھی بنوایا اور اپنے ہی نام پر اس کا نام سلکوٹ رکھا۔(۲۵)یعنی سل کا قلعہ جو بعد میں بگڑ کر سیالکوٹ کے نام سے مشہور ہوا ۔اس ضمن میں آتش لدھیانوی رقمطراز ہیں:
یہ راجہ سیاذات کا تھا۔ کہتے ہیں کہ اپنی ذات کی نسبت سے اس جگہ کا نام سیالکوٹ رکھا۔(۲۶)
جیسا کہ اوپر ذکر ہوا ہے کہ اس شہر کا ذکر ہندوؤں کی مذہبی کتب ’’مہابھارت‘‘ اور’’یران ‘‘ میں بھی آیا ہے۔محمد دین فوق نے بھی اس سلسلے میں لکھا ہے:
اس زمانے میں سیالکوٹ کانام شاکل...
The study examines English as Foreign Language (EFL) students’ attitude towards developing their speaking abilities at KRI University in order to better understand the disparities in speaking competency among undergraduates. The study utilized a quantitative approach and employed a 4-item interview survey to gather data for the study. The survey interview questionnaire was adopted from Wang, Kim, Bong, and Ahan (2013) and administered to 100 students in the departments of English of six universities in Iraq's Kurdistan Region. A semi-structured interview was developed for EFL students. The questionnaire was online and an open-ended one. The data from the participants was analyzed using thematic analysis with (SPSS) software. The finding revealed a perceived failure in EFL students' English-speaking skills and this was reported along with causes of the perceived difficulty. The finding also revealed a poor level of speaking ability among EFL undergraduates as well as little education in the skill at the university level. Apart from these, the study discovered some major challenges for EFL students such as lack of confidence, lack of planning, a demotivating atmosphere, incorrect word choice, poor gestures, and incorrect style which made the students not to be successful in their speaking abilities. The study suggested that EFL learners' competency should be securitized to strengthen their speaking abilities in the light of the results of the study. Speaking is a crucial ability in language acquisition and EFL teachers should help their students acquire it. As a means of improving students' communicative ability, task-based instruction should be utilized in educational institutions and universities. The implication of this paper is that speaking difficulties among EFL students in the Iraqi Kurdistan Region institution can be solved by putting greater focus on this ability. There are several issues to consider, including teachers, instructional methodologies, the curriculum, extracurricular activities, and assessment rules.
Europe is a melting pot of diverse cultures, civilizations and amalgamation of various ethnicities. It is a land which faced many catastrophes, high intensity conflicts and wars. Two world wars have been fought on this land. Almost all the major nations participated directly or indirectly at massive scale. France and Germany being neighbouring countries, having the status of two major nations of central Europe having a long history of rivalry and antagonism. Franco-German axis is terms to explain the relations of both the countries in the context of their mutual cooperation and their significant role in contemporary political affairs of Europe. Post war era 1945, congenial atmosphere of synchronization between both the countries replaced three century old French- German hostility. It is a fact that joint partnership of France and Germany is the most significant factor as for as the formation of European Union is concerned. In this regard, EU integration has been marked as the finest event of this century. France and Germany took a lead not only in the formation of European Union but they played a vital role in EU decision making. Franco German tandem also considered a significant stakeholder in the community enlargement and treaties development. Future role of Franco German in European Union decision making is concerned some member states of EU have their reservation or in other words they are of the view that this par is no more sustainable.