This research assesses the impact of digital novels on the vocabulary development of Kurdish EFL learners. Since vocabulary is an essential component of each language and given the increasing use of technology and digital materials in language instruction, the study seeks to address this problem. Using a mixed-methods design, data were collected from 54 English students at Charmo University via online questionnaires and individual semi-structured interviews. The quantitative data suggest a positive relationship between the use of digital novels and perceptions of vocabulary attainment, regardless of students’ proficiency levels. The qualitative data suggest that features such as hyperlinks to definitions, annotation tools, and interactive glossaries are most appreciated for facilitating vocabulary development in context and on the spot. Although some students preferred print novels, most respondents reported that digital novels enhanced their motivation, engagement, and ability to learn new vocabulary. The research demonstrates the need to include digital novels in the EFL syllabus while advocating the use of instructor digital pedagogy to enhance educational impact. The study also suggests further research with different populations and objective vocabulary measures to substantiate these claims. In conclusion, digital novels are a promising technology for vocabulary instruction in English as a foreign language in the Kurdistan Region. Keywords: Vocabulary learning, EFL students, Educational online resources, Digital novels

The research focuses on depicting the life of two pivotal soldiers struggling to cope with the stress and horrors of war in terms of escapism and heroism which ensues from a comparative approach between Kurt Vonnegut’s Slaughterhouse-Five and Stephen Crane The Red Badge of Courage. The paper attempts to show how the main character, Billy Pilgrim, in Slaughterhouse-Five grapples while experiencing war incompetently and unpreparedly to ultimately discover his comfort zone through mental diversion from unpleasant aspects of his daily life instead of performing his duty to triumph over the enemy. Whereas in The Red Badge of Courage, the protagonist, Henry Fleming who is enlisted in the military service with his determination and heroic ambition tackles and escapes while seeking courage to fight in the battlefield in order to maintain a good reputation as a duty-bound, fearless and confident soldier. Furthermore, through the close-reading of key scenes and by relying on a thorough analysis of war experiences of the two protagonists in the addressed books, the characters’ aspirational endeavors, and the authors’ non-identical views of the war come to surface as they portray a soldier-like personality, one with idealized notions of glory and heroism whereas the other one representing the senselessness of war. The contrasting reactions of the two central characters towards the war offer stimulating areas for discussion and arouse controversial opinions about the behavior of the presuming war heroes and escapists and how they are attained. As a result of the characters’ dissimilar preferences in shaping their outer and inner personality in public and private life, the research demonstrates how they endeavour desperately to achieve this aim by feeding their brains with different ingredients. Billy, on the one hand, chooses to fight the pointless battle with his own imagination to ease his mind from the harsh reality, and on the other hand, Fleming tortures his mind with his heroic thoughts to win the battle while suffering from an internal conflict. Keywords— Escape, Escapism, Heroism, Hero, Soldiers, Slaughterhouse-Five, The Red Badge of Courage, Wars