No abstract

Creative industries have been considered crucial to the economic well-being of any country. Besides the economy, the advertising industry has been investigated in West for its influence on the minds of its consumers. Pakistan has a diversity of culture and impact of creative industries on common people is not studied yet. The present study analyses the advertising discourse to explore gender construction through language and visuals in Pakistani print media. The sample includes four national English newspapers collected over a period of one month. An asymmetrical and stereotypical portrayal of women emerges from discourse analysis. Along with gender-specific language, images are constructed to render women marginalised as compared to men in Pakistani society. Results imply that creative industries have a potential to exert an ever-lasting impact on mass-mind but have become a tool in the hands of influential people.

Learner autonomy in language classrooms received researchers' attention quite recently. The research intends to explore the prospects of promoting autonomy in Pakistani learners through collaborative tasks. The sample consists of 16 teachers working in public sector Engineering universities of Punjab. A qualitative approach and interpretive paradigm were selected for the present study. The role of collaborative learning in developing autonomy in learners is explored through gathering teachers' beliefs using semistructured interviews and observing their practices in the classrooms. A constructivist's lens was employed in collecting and analyzing data. The findings show that teachers believe that collaborative learning is inculcating independence, responsibility, confidence, motivation, skills, and positive interdependence which are required for autonomy promotion. They also believe that collaborative tasks, famous among Pakistani learners and few teachers, can be utilized as the right medium in autonomy development. However, classobservations do not depict a promising situation. Teachers are found inclined towards traditional teaching pedagogy, and collaborative tasks are found lacking true spirit. INDEX TERMS Learner autonomy, collaborative learning, group-work, Pakistani learning culture, English language learning.