Sample records for academic language learning

  1. Academic language and the challenge of reading for learning about science.

    PubMed

    Snow, Catherine E

    2010-04-23

    A major challenge to students learning science is the academic language in which science is written. Academic language is designed to be concise, precise, and authoritative. To achieve these goals, it uses sophisticated words and complex grammatical constructions that can disrupt reading comprehension and block learning. Students need help in learning academic vocabulary and how to process academic language if they are to become independent learners of science.

  2. Re-Integrating Academic Development and Academic Language and Learning: A Call to Reason

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Percy, Alisa

    2014-01-01

    This paper argues for the re-integration of academic development (AD) and a academic language and learning (ALL) practitioners in Australian higher education. This argument is made as universities aim to develop internationally recognised, inter-disciplinary and standards-based curricula against the backdrop of international comparative education…

  3. Polylingual and Polycultural Learning Ecologies: Mediating Emergent Academic Literacies for Dual Language Learners

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Gutierrez, Kris D.; Bien, Andrea C.; Selland, Makenzie K.; Pierce, Daisy M.

    2011-01-01

    In this article, we examine the affordances of polylingual and polycultural learning ecologies in expanding the linguistic repertoires of children, particularly young Dual Language Learners. In contrast to settings that promote the development of English and academic language at the expense of maintaining and developing home language, we argue…

  4. A Neuroscientific Perspective on Second Language Learning and Academic Achievement.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Hawson, Anne

    It is proposed that research on neurological organization, cognitive psychology, and artificial intelligence can contribute to understanding the relationship between second language learning processes and academic achievement. Relevant research in these areas and in the field of neurolinguistics is reviewed, with several themes or topics…

  5. Developmental Diversity in the Academic Language-Learning Experiences of Adult English as a Second or Other Language Learners: A Constructive-Developmental Study

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Ouellette-Schramm, Jennifer R.

    2016-01-01

    Academic language is a challenging yet increasingly important skill for Adult Basic Education/English as a Second or Other Language learners. Related to academic language learning is an adult's developmental perspective. Developmental perspectives have been shown to vary in adulthood and shape qualitatively distinct ways of reasoning and learning…

  6. Social Positioning, Participation, and Second Language Learning: Talkative Students in an Academic ESL Classroom

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Kayi-Aydar, Hayriye

    2014-01-01

    Guided by positioning theory and poststructural views of second language learning, the two descriptive case studies presented in this article explored the links between social positioning and the language learning experiences of two talkative students in an academic ESL classroom. Focusing on the macro- and micro-level contexts of communication,…

  7. Four Language Skills Performance, Academic Achievement, and Learning Strategy Use in Preservice Teacher Training Programs

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Shawer, Saad Fathy

    2016-01-01

    This article examines the differences in language learning strategies (LLS) use between preservice teachers of English as a foreign language (EFL) and Arabic as a second language (ASL). It also examines the relationship between LLS use and language performance (academic achievement and four language skills) among ASL students. The study made use…

  8. Language Learning within Academic Constraints.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Blue, George M.

    This paper reports on a research project that examined nonnative Southampton University (England) students' attitudes to continued language learning and the importance of language learning and cultural adaptation. A survey was administered to pre-sessional and in-sessional students that included information on background, past and present language…

  9. Enhancing Academic Instruction for Adolescent English Language Learners with or at Risk for Learning Disabilities

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Haager, Diane; Osipova, Anna V.

    2017-01-01

    An increasing number of children worldwide attend schools where the language of instruction does not match their native language, presenting significant challenges with learning the content and vocabulary of academic content areas (e.g., social studies, science). In the U.S., these students are designated as English language learners…

  10. Measuring Opportunity to Learn and Academic Language Exposure for English Language Learners in Elementary Science Classrooms. CRESST Report 767

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Martinez, Jose Felipe; Bailey, Alison L.; Kerr, Deirdre; Huang, Becky H.; Beauregard, Stacey

    2010-01-01

    The present study piloted a survey-based measure of Opportunity to Learn (OTL) and Academic Language Exposure (ALE) in fourth grade science classrooms that sought to distinguish teacher practices with ELL (English language learner) and non-ELL students. In the survey, participant teachers reported on their instructional practices and the context…

  11. Language Specialists' Views on the Academic Language and Learning Abilities of English as an Additional Language Postgraduate Coursework Students: Towards an Adjunct Tutorial Model

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Fenton-Smith, Ben; Humphreys, Pamela

    2017-01-01

    As in other Anglophone nations, a large percentage of Australia's postgraduate international students come from English as an additional language (EAL) backgrounds, and many require development of their academic language and learning (ALL) capabilities to successfully navigate a higher degree. This paper investigates those capabilities through the…

  12. Teaching and Learning the Language of Science: A Case Study of Academic Language Acquisition in a Dual Language Middle School

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Gose, Robin Margaretha

    English language learners (EL) are the fastest growing sub-group of the student population in California, yet ELs also score the lowest on the science section of the California Standardized Tests. In the area of bilingual education, California has dramatically changed its approach to English learners since the passage of Proposition 227 in 1998, which called for most EL instruction to be conducted in English (Cummins, 2000; Echevarria, Vogt, & Short, 2008). In reality, this means that EL students are often placed in programs that focus on basic language skills rather than rigorous content, meaning that they are not getting access to grade level science content (Lee & Fradd, 1998). As a result, many EL students exit eighth grade without a strong foundation in science, and they continue to score below their English-speaking peers on standardized achievements. While the usefulness of the academic language construct remains controversial (Bailey, 2012), the language used in science instruction is nevertheless often unfamiliar to both EL and English proficient students. The discourse is frequently specialized for discipline-specific interactions and activities (Bailey, 2007; Lemke, 1990). This qualitative case study examined academic language instruction in three middle school science classrooms at a dual language charter school. The goal was to understand how teachers integrate academic language and content for linguistically diverse students. The findings fom this study indicate that targeting language instruction in isolation from science content instruction prohibits students from engaging in the "doing of science" and scientific discourse, or the ability to think, reason, and communicate about science. The recommendations of this study support authentically embedding language development into rigorous science instruction in order to maximize opportunities for learning in both domains.

  13. A Study of English Language Learning Beliefs, Strategies, and English Academic Achievement of the ESP Students of STIENAS Samarinda

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Hayati, Noor

    2015-01-01

    This research aimed to investigate; students' English academic achievement, beliefs about English language learning, English language learning strategies, and the relationship of them. Descriptive and correlational design, quantitative methods were applied in this research. The students' final English scores of the first year, BALLI, and SILL were…

  14. Reading-Writing Relationships in First and Second Language Academic Literacy Development

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Grabe, William; Zhang, Cui

    2016-01-01

    Reading and writing relations, as this concept applies to academic learning contexts, whether as a major way to learn language or academic content, is a pervasive issue in English for academic purposes (EAP) contexts. In many cases, this major link between reading/writing and academic learning is true even though explicit discussions of this…

  15. Language Learning Strategies of Language e-Learners in Turkey

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Solak, Ekrem; Cakir, Recep

    2015-01-01

    The purpose of this study was to determine the use of language learning strategies of e-learners and to understand whether there were any correlations between language learning strategies and academic achievement. Participants of the study were 274?e-learners, 132 males and 142 females, enrolled in an e-learning program from various majors and…

  16. Academic Language, Power and the Impact of Western Knowledge Production on Indigenous Student Learning

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    O'Brien, Karen

    2008-01-01

    This paper explores the prescriptive, distancing and separating qualities that exist in Western systems of knowledge production. It examines scientific language and how discrimination takes place in the university setting and explores the ways in which academic knowledge production affects the learning experiences, participation and completion…

  17. Using Learning Analytics for Preserving Academic Integrity

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Amigud, Alexander; Arnedo-Moreno, Joan; Daradoumis, Thanasis; Guerrero-Roldan, Ana-Elena

    2017-01-01

    This paper presents the results of integrating learning analytics into the assessment process to enhance academic integrity in the e-learning environment. The goal of this research is to evaluate the computational-based approach to academic integrity. The machine-learning based framework learns students' patterns of language use from data,…

  18. Assessing Second Language Writing in Academic Contexts.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Hamp-Lyons, Liz, Ed.

    The articles contained in this volume on second language writing evaluation focus on the evaluation of academic English learned as a second language (ESL). Essays include: "Assessment by Misconception: Cultural Influences and Intellectual Traditions" (Brigid Ballard, John Clanchy); "Reading the World Differently: A Cross-Cultural Approach to…

  19. Even Math Requires Learning Academic Language

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Barrow, Melissa A.

    2014-01-01

    ELLs need to practice using the language in their speech. Teachers can ask students to restate the definition in their own words and provide opportunities for students to use academic vocabulary in discussions. Chunking (instead of teaching inch in isolation, also teach foot, centimeter, and yard) helps students develop their schema and mentally…

  20. Corpus of High School Academic Texts (COHAT): Data-Driven, Computer Assisted Discovery in Learning Academic English

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Bohát, Róbert; Rödlingová, Beata; Horáková, Nina

    2015-01-01

    Corpus of High School Academic Texts (COHAT), currently of 150,000+ words, aims to make academic language instruction a more data-driven and student-centered discovery learning as a special type of Computer-Assisted Language Learning (CALL), emphasizing students' critical thinking and metacognition. Since 2013, high school English as an additional…

  1. Improving Science and Vocabulary Learning of English Language Learners. CREATE Brief

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    August, Diane; Artzi, Lauren; Mazrum, Julie

    2010-01-01

    This brief reviews previous research related to the development of science knowledge and academic language in English language learners as well as the role of English language proficiency, learning in a second language, and first language knowledge in science learning. It also describes two successful CREATE interventions that build academic and…

  2. The Influence of Classroom Drama on English Learners' Academic Language Use during English Language Arts Lessons

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Anderson, Alida; Loughlin, Sandra M.

    2014-01-01

    Teacher and student academic discourse was examined in an urban arts-integrated school to better understand facilitation of students' English language learning. Participants' discourse was compared across English language arts (ELA) lessons with and without classroom drama in a third-grade classroom of English learning (EL) students (N = 18) with…

  3. Online CLIL Scaffolding at University Level: Building Learners' Academic Language and Content-Specific Vocabulary across Disciplines through Online Learning

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Carloni, Giovanna

    2012-01-01

    Over the last two years, the University of Urbino, Italy, has been implementing Content and Language Integrated Learning (CLIL) courses in English across all disciplines. This study focuses on the online self-study CLIL scaffolding designed to help students involve in an Internationalization Project to build academic language and content-specific…

  4. Investigating Correspondence between Language Proficiency Standards and Academic Content Standards: A Generalizability Theory Study

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Lin, Chih-Kai; Zhang, Jinming

    2014-01-01

    Research on the relationship between English language proficiency standards and academic content standards serves to provide information about the extent to which English language learners (ELLs) are expected to encounter academic language use that facilitates their content learning, such as in mathematics and science. Standards-to-standards…

  5. Improving Language Learning Strategies and Performance of Pre-Service Language Teachers through a CALLA-TBLT Model

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Guapacha Chamorro, Maria Eugenia; Benavidez Paz, Luis Humberto

    2017-01-01

    This paper reports an action-research study on language learning strategies in tertiary education at a Colombian university. The study aimed at improving the English language performance and language learning strategies use of 33 first-year pre-service language teachers by combining elements from two models: the cognitive academic language…

  6. Supporting Academic Language Development in Elementary Science: A Classroom Teaching Experiment

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Jung, Karl Gerhard

    Academic language is the language that students must engage in while participating in the teaching and learning that takes place in school (Schleppegrell, 2012) and science as a content area presents specific challenges and opportunities for students to engage with language (Buxton & Lee, 2014; Gee, 2005). In order for students to engage authentically and fully in the science learning that will take place in their classrooms, it is important that they develop their abilities to use science academic language (National Research Council, 2012). For this to occur, teachers must provide support to their students in developing the science academic language they will encounter in their classrooms. Unfortunately, this type of support remains a challenge for many teachers (Baecher, Farnsworth, & Ediger, 2014; Bigelow, 2010; Fisher & Frey, 2010) and teachers must receive professional development that supports their abilities to provide instruction that supports and scaffolds students' science academic language use and development. This study investigates an elementary science teacher's engagement in an instructional coaching partnership to explore how that teacher planned and implemented scaffolds for science academic language. Using a theoretical framework that combines the literature on scaffolding (Bunch, Walqui, & Kibler, 2015; Gibbons, 2015; Sharpe, 2001/2006) and instructional coaching (Knight, 2007/2009), this study sought to understand how an elementary science teacher plans and implements scaffolds for science academic language, and the resources that assisted the teacher in planning those scaffolds. The overarching goal of this work is to understand how elementary science teachers can scaffold language in their classroom, and how they can be supported in that work. Using a classroom teaching experiment methodology (Cobb, 2000) and constructivist grounded theory methods (Charmaz, 2014) for analysis, this study examined coaching conversations and classroom

  7. Language Classroom: A "Girls' Domain"? Female and Male Students' Perspectives on Language Learning

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Nikitina, Larisa; Furuoka, Fumitaka

    2007-01-01

    Substantial research has been done on gender differences in relation to various aspects of learning and teaching. In the field of language learning learner's gender and its relationship with emotional (affective) components of language study has been a subject of numerous academic inquiries. These studies have focused on female and male students'…

  8. Designing ICT-Enhanced Language Programmes: Academic Writing for Postgraduate Studies

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Stepanek, Libor; Hradilova, Alena

    2013-01-01

    This paper presents a case study of a course on academic writing for postgraduate studies within a collaborative and interactive information and communication technologies (ICT) based language-learning setting. It describes the structure of an academic writing course for PhD students, focusing on three ICT-enhanced course activities: collaborative…

  9. Connecting English Language Learning and Academic Performance: A Prediction Study

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Kong, Jadie; Powers, Sonya; Starr, Laura; Williams, Natasha

    2012-01-01

    The purpose of this study was to investigate the use of English language proficiency and academic reading assessment scores to predict the future academic success of English learner (EL) students. Data from two cohorts of middle-school ELs were used to evaluate three prediction models. One cohort of students was used to develop the prediction…

  10. Supporting Academic Language Development in Elementary Science: A Classroom Teaching Experiment

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Jung, Karl Gerhard

    2017-01-01

    Academic language is the language that students must engage in while participating in the teaching and learning that takes place in school (Schleppegrell, 2012) and science as a content area presents specific challenges and opportunities for students to engage with language (Buxton & Lee, 2014; Gee, 2005). In order for students to engage…

  11. Toward Integration: An Instructional Model of Science and Academic Language

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Silva, Cecilia; Weinburgh, Molly; Malloy, Robert; Smith, Kathy Horak; Marshall, Jenesta Nettles

    2012-01-01

    In this article, the authors outline an instructional model that can be used to optimize science and language learning in the classroom. The authors have developed the 5R instructional model (Weinburgh & Silva, 2010) to support teachers as they integrate academic language into content instruction. The model combines five strategies already…

  12. Pedagogy and Related Criteria: The Selection of Software for Computer Assisted Language Learning

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Samuels, Jeffrey D.

    2013-01-01

    Computer-Assisted Language Learning (CALL) is an established field of academic inquiry with distinct applications for second language teaching and learning. Many CALL professionals direct language labs or language resource centers (LRCs) in which CALL software applications and generic software applications support language learning programs and…

  13. The nature and impact of changes in home learning environment on development of language and academic skills in preschool children.

    PubMed

    Son, Seung-Hee; Morrison, Frederick J

    2010-09-01

    In this study, we examined changes in the early home learning environment as children approached school entry and whether these changes predicted the development of children's language and academic skills. Findings from a national sample of the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development Study of Early Child Care and Youth Development (N = 1,018) revealed an overall improvement in the home learning environment from 36 to 54 months of children's age, with 30.6% of parents of preschoolers displaying significant improvement in the home environment (i.e., changes greater than 1 SD) and with only 0.6% showing a decrease. More important, the degree of change uniquely contributed to the children's language but not to their academic skills. Home changes were more likely to be observed from mothers with more education and work hours and with fewer symptoms of depression.

  14. Latina/os in Rhetoric and Composition: Learning from Their Experiences with Language Diversity

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Cavazos, Alyssa Guadalupe

    2012-01-01

    "Latina/os in Rhetoric and Composition: Learning from their Experiences with Language Diversity" explores how Latina/o academics' experiences with language difference contributes to their Latina/o academic identity and success in academe while remaining connected to their heritage language and cultural background. Using qualitative…

  15. Cognitive Academic Language Learning Approach (Project CALLA), Community School District 2 Special Alternative Instruction Program. Final Evaluation Report, 1992-93. OREA Report.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Lynch, Joanne

    Cognitive Academic Language Learning Approach (Project CALLA) was a federally funded program serving 960 limited-English-proficient students in 10 Manhattan (New York) elementary schools in 1992-93 its third year of operation. The project provided instruction in English as a Second Language (ESL), mathematics, science, and social studies in…

  16. Academic Language in Physical Education

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Constantinou, Phoebe

    2015-01-01

    This article focuses on defining academic language in physical education and provides a step-by-step approach designed to help preservice and inservice teachers understand and incorporated academic language into their lesson planning. It provides examples of discipline-specific vocabulary, language functions, syntax, and discourse, aiming to…

  17. What's Language Got to Do with It?: A Case Study of Academic Language Instruction in a High School "English Learner Science" Class

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Richardson Bruna, Katherine; Vann, Roberta; Perales Escudero, Moises

    2007-01-01

    This article presents a case study of academic language instruction in a high school "English Learner Science" course. It illustrates how a teacher's understanding of academic language affects her instruction and students' opportunities for learning. We examine a transcript of classroom discourse for the "didactic tension" that exists between this…

  18. A Critical Turn in Higher Education Research: Turning the Critical Lens on the Academic Language and Learning Educator

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Percy, Alisa Jane

    2015-01-01

    This paper suggests that historical ontology, as one form of reflexive critique, is an instructive research design for making sense of the political and historical constitution of the Academic Language and Learning (ALL) educator in Australian higher education. The ALL educator in this paper refers to those practitioners in the field of ALL, whose…

  19. Student Use of Academic Knowledge and Skills in Work-Based Learning

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Hawley, Joshua D.; Marks, Helen M.

    2006-01-01

    Using data from in a large Mid-western district, this study analyses the use of academic skills in work-based learning. The primary question asked in this study has to do with the impact of participating in work-based learning on the use of academic skills. Four sets of academic skills were measured using surveys (language arts, math, science, and…

  20. A Study of the Effects of Competitive Team-Based Learning and Structured Academic Controversy on the Language Proficiency of Iranian EFL College Seniors

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Hosseini, Seyed Mohammad Hassan

    2012-01-01

    This paper presents reports on an experimental study which intended to look into and compare the possible effects of this researcher's instructional innovation, Competitive Team-Based Learning (CTBL), with Structured Academic Controversy (SAC) -- the most popular method of Cooperative Learning (CL) -- on language proficiency of Iranian EFL college…

  1. Future Directions for the Learning of Languages in Universities: Challenges and Opportunities

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Pauwels, Anne

    2011-01-01

    The place of foreign language learning in education has a rich and diverse history since the introduction of compulsory schooling, with some countries including the learning of a foreign language as a compulsory part of the curriculum, whilst in others foreign language learning is seen as an optional subject suited for more academically minded…

  2. Routledge Encyclopedia of Language Teaching and Learning.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Byram, Michael, Ed.

    This encyclopedia of language teaching and learning is an authoritative handbook dealing with all aspects of this field of study. It has been produced specifically for language teaching professionals, but can also be used as a general reference work for academic studies at a postgraduate level. A comprehensive range of articles on contemporary…

  3. Adolescents' Use of Academic Language in Historical Writing

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Shen, Ting

    2011-01-01

    Despite its importance of academic language, research on academic language is often limited to academic vocabulary and focused on the English language learners. Informed by systemic functional linguistics, this study examined adolescents' use of academic language and the relationships between its use and students' reading ability and their writing…

  4. Examining the Effectiveness of an Academic Language Planning Organizer as a Tool for Planning Science Academic Language Instruction and Supports

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Jung, Karl G.; Brown, Julie C.

    2016-12-01

    To engage in the practices of science, students must have a strong command of science academic language. However, content area teachers often make academic language an incidental part of their lesson planning, which leads to missed opportunities to enhance students' language development. To support pre-service elementary science teachers (PSTs) in making language planning an explicit part of their science lessons, we created the Academic Language Planning Organizer (ALPO). The purpose of this study was to determine the effectiveness of the ALPO on two levels: first, by examining participants' interactions with the ALPO as they identified academic language features, objectives and supports; and second, by exploring the ways that participants translated identified language supports to planned science activities. Findings indicated that, when using the ALPO, PSTs identified clear language functions and relevant vocabulary terms, and also frequently developed clear, observable and measurable language objectives. When lesson planning, PSTs were largely successful in translating previously identified language supports to their lesson plans, and often planned additional language supports beyond what was required. We also found, however, that the ALPO did not meet its intended use in supporting PSTs in identifying discourse and syntax demands associated with specific academic language functions, suggesting that revisions to the ALPO could better support PSTs in identifying these academic language demands. Implications for supporting PSTs' planning for and scaffolding of science academic language use are presented.

  5. Long-Term English Language Learners' Perceptions of Their Language and Academic Learning Experiences

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Kim, Won Gyoung; García, Shernaz B.

    2014-01-01

    Long-term, adolescent English language learners (ELLs) experience persistent academic underachievement in spite of several years of schooling; yet, the research on this topic is scant. To increase our understanding of these students' educational experiences, we explored perceptions of 13 long-term ELLs about their schooling in the context of their…

  6. Effect of Foreign Language Classroom Anxiety on Turkish University Students' Academic Achievement in Foreign Language Learning

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Tuncer, Murat; Dogan, Yunus

    2015-01-01

    This study was carried out in order to identify to what extent the Turkish students' English classroom anxiety affects their academic achievement in English language. In this quantitative descriptive study, a correlational survey model was employed, and the convenience sampling was done. In order to collect data, the Foreign Language Classroom…

  7. An Exploration of Language Anxiety in L2 Academic Context for Chinese International Students in U.S. Universities

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Zhao, Qing

    2013-01-01

    This mix-methods study examined the language anxiety levels that the Chinese international students perceived in second language (L2) academic context at four universities in the northeastern region of the United States of America; it explored the impact of language anxiety that these students perceived on their academic learning; it also…

  8. Comparative-Descriptive Study of Academic Vocabulary Specific Instruction on 3rd Grade English Language Learner Reading Scores

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Ward, Shelley

    2017-01-01

    Language must be taught with academic vocabulary that is meaningful and that can be transferred between content and context. This comparative-descriptive research study examines how academic specific instruction increases students' learning of a second language acquisition (i.e., English). The conceptual framework of the study drew research…

  9. Academic Language in Early Childhood Classrooms

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Barnes, Erica M.; Grifenhagen, Jill F.; Dickinson, David K.

    2016-01-01

    This article defines academic language by examining the central features of vocabulary, syntax, and discourse function. Examples of each feature are provided, as well as methods of identifying them in oral language and printed text. We describe a yearlong study that found teachers used different types of academic language based on instructional…

  10. Gender Differences in Intelligence, Language, Visual-Motor Abilities, and Academic Achievement in Students with Learning Disabilities: A Review of the Literature.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Vogel, Susan A.

    1990-01-01

    Among conclusions of the review of the literature are that learning-disabled (LD) females have lower IQ's and more severe academic achievement deficits in some aspects of reading and math, but are somewhat better in visual-motor abilities, spelling, and written language mechanics than LD males. (Author/DB)

  11. The Relationship between Computer-Assisted Language Learning and Student Achievement on Language Tests

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Umstead, Lyubov

    2013-01-01

    The number of English Language Learners (ELLs) is rapidly growing. Teachers continue facing challenges in providing effective content instruction to ELLs while helping them learn English. New and improved approaches are necessary to meet the individual learning needs of this diverse group of students and help them progress academically while…

  12. Flipping the Classroom for English Language Learners to Foster Active Learning

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Hung, Hsiu-Ting

    2015-01-01

    This paper describes a structured attempt to integrate flip teaching into language classrooms using a WebQuest active learning strategy. The purpose of this study is to examine the possible impacts of flipping the classroom on English language learners' academic performance, learning attitudes, and participation levels. Adopting a…

  13. English Language Proficiency and Early School Attainment Among Children Learning English as an Additional Language.

    PubMed

    Whiteside, Katie E; Gooch, Debbie; Norbury, Courtenay F

    2017-05-01

    Children learning English as an additional language (EAL) often experience lower academic attainment than monolingual peers. In this study, teachers provided ratings of English language proficiency and social, emotional, and behavioral functioning for 782 children with EAL and 6,485 monolingual children in reception year (ages 4-5). Academic attainment was assessed in reception and Year 2 (ages 6-7). Relative to monolingual peers with comparable English language proficiency, children with EAL displayed fewer social, emotional, and behavioral difficulties in reception, were equally likely to meet curriculum targets in reception, and were more likely to meet targets in Year 2. Academic attainment and social, emotional, and behavioral functioning in children with EAL are associated with English language proficiency at school entry. © 2016 The Authors. Child Development published by Wiley Periodicals, Inc. on behalf of Society for Research in Child Development.

  14. Mixing Languages during Learning? Testing the One Subject-One Language Rule.

    PubMed

    Antón, Eneko; Thierry, Guillaume; Duñabeitia, Jon Andoni

    2015-01-01

    In bilingual communities, mixing languages is avoided in formal schooling: even if two languages are used on a daily basis for teaching, only one language is used to teach each given academic subject. This tenet known as the one subject-one language rule avoids mixing languages in formal schooling because it may hinder learning. The aim of this study was to test the scientific ground of this assumption by investigating the consequences of acquiring new concepts using a method in which two languages are mixed as compared to a purely monolingual method. Native balanced bilingual speakers of Basque and Spanish-adults (Experiment 1) and children (Experiment 2)-learnt new concepts by associating two different features to novel objects. Half of the participants completed the learning process in a multilingual context (one feature was described in Basque and the other one in Spanish); while the other half completed the learning phase in a purely monolingual context (both features were described in Spanish). Different measures of learning were taken, as well as direct and indirect indicators of concept consolidation. We found no evidence in favor of the non-mixing method when comparing the results of two groups in either experiment, and thus failed to give scientific support for the educational premise of the one subject-one language rule.

  15. Mixing Languages during Learning? Testing the One Subject—One Language Rule

    PubMed Central

    2015-01-01

    In bilingual communities, mixing languages is avoided in formal schooling: even if two languages are used on a daily basis for teaching, only one language is used to teach each given academic subject. This tenet known as the one subject-one language rule avoids mixing languages in formal schooling because it may hinder learning. The aim of this study was to test the scientific ground of this assumption by investigating the consequences of acquiring new concepts using a method in which two languages are mixed as compared to a purely monolingual method. Native balanced bilingual speakers of Basque and Spanish—adults (Experiment 1) and children (Experiment 2)—learnt new concepts by associating two different features to novel objects. Half of the participants completed the learning process in a multilingual context (one feature was described in Basque and the other one in Spanish); while the other half completed the learning phase in a purely monolingual context (both features were described in Spanish). Different measures of learning were taken, as well as direct and indirect indicators of concept consolidation. We found no evidence in favor of the non-mixing method when comparing the results of two groups in either experiment, and thus failed to give scientific support for the educational premise of the one subject—one language rule. PMID:26107624

  16. English Language Proficiency and Early School Attainment among Children Learning English as an Additional Language

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Whiteside, Katie E.; Gooch, Debbie; Norbury, Courtenay F.

    2017-01-01

    Children learning English as an additional language (EAL) often experience lower academic attainment than monolingual peers. In this study, teachers provided ratings of English language proficiency and social, emotional, and behavioral functioning for 782 children with EAL and 6,485 monolingual children in reception year (ages 4-5). Academic…

  17. Matching Vocabulary Learning Process with Learning Outcome in L2 Academic Writing: An Exploratory Case Study

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Ma, Qing

    2013-01-01

    This exploratory case study of two undergraduates links vocabulary learning approaches with lexical quality measured in academic writing. Employing an array of qualitative data, it is shown that in a "semi-language-rich" learning context, Chinese learners may dispense with rote learning and engage in a more natural learning approach in which…

  18. The Effects of Service Learning Participation in Foreign Language Classes on Students' Attitudes towards the Spanish Language and Culture and Their Language Proficiency

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Malkin, Fran

    2010-01-01

    This dissertation examines the effects of service learning experiences on participants' attitudes towards the Spanish language and culture and their language proficiency. It was hypothesized that using the Spanish language outside the confines of the academic environment would affect participants' attitudes and have an impact on their language…

  19. Early Learning Foundations. Indiana's Early Learning Development Framework Aligned to the Indiana Academic Standards, 2014

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Indiana Department of Education, 2015

    2015-01-01

    The "Foundations" (English/language arts, mathematics, social emotional skills, approaches to play and learning, science, social studies, creative arts, and physical health and growth) are Indiana's early learning development framework and are aligned to the 2014 Indiana Academic Standards. This framework provides core elements that…

  20. Contextualizing Instruction for English Language Learners with Learning Disabilities

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Miller, Rhonda D.

    2016-01-01

    English language learners (ELLs) with learning disabilities (LD) can find navigating the content areas quite difficult due to challenges involving limitations in English language proficiency, gaps in English academic vocabulary, difficulties with working memory and long-term memory, and limited background knowledge on content area topics. However,…

  1. An academic writing needs assessment of English-as-a-second-language clinical investigators.

    PubMed

    Wang, Min-Fen; Bakken, Lori L

    2004-01-01

    Academic writing for publication is competitive and demanding for researchers. For the novice English-as-a-second-language (ESL) researcher, the pressure to publish compounds the difficulties of mastering the English language. Very few studies have used ESL graduate and post-graduate students as academic writing research subjects. The purpose of this project was to assess the learning needs of ESL clinical investigators regarding academic writing for English scholarly publication. A qualitative evaluation approach was used to examine the gap between the current and desired proficiency level for the academic writing of ESL clinical investigators. We considered the perspectives of seven ESL clinical investigators plus three mentors and three writing instructors. Semi-structured questions were asked. Field notes were organized using a field-work recording system. They were analyzed using the constant comparative method. ESL clinical investigators do not accurately perceive their writing deficiencies. They have little knowledge of criteria for academic writing and they are influenced by their prior English learning experiences in their home culture, which engender passive attitudes toward seeking appropriate writing resources. Adequate time is especially needed to develop successful writing skills. Four basic steps are recommended to guide program planners in developing ESL writing activities for professional learning: (1) recognize discrepancies, (2) establish clear standards and performance criteria for scholarly writing, (3) develop individual plans, and (4) organize long-term writing assistance.

  2. Seamless Language Learning: Second Language Learning with Social Media

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Wong, Lung-Hsiang; Chai, Ching Sing; Aw, Guat Poh

    2017-01-01

    This conceptual paper describes a language learning model that applies social media to foster contextualized and connected language learning in communities. The model emphasizes weaving together different forms of language learning activities that take place in different learning contexts to achieve seamless language learning. it promotes social…

  3. A Card-Sorting Activity to Engage Students in the Academic Language of Biology

    PubMed Central

    WALLON, ROBERT C.; JASTI, CHANDANA; HUG, BARBARA

    2017-01-01

    The activity described in this article is designed to provide biology students with opportunities to engage in a range of academic language as they learn the discipline-specific meanings of the terms “drug,” “poison,” “toxicant,” and “toxin.” Although intended as part of an introductory lesson in a comprehensive unit for the high school level, this approach to teaching academic language can be adapted for use with older or younger students and can be modified to teach other terms. PMID:29307894

  4. Project LEAP: Learning English-for-Academic-Purposes. Training Manual Year Three.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Snow, Marguerite Ann, Ed.

    Project LEAP (Learning English-for-Academic-Purposes) is a three-year faculty development and supplemental instruction partnership to improve the academic literacy skills of native-born, immigrant, and international language minority students. This manual is the third set of faculty development materials produced by the project, presenting…

  5. Negotiating Grammatical Choices: Academic Language Learning by Secondary ESL Students

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Shin, Sarah J.

    2009-01-01

    This paper reports on a part of a year-long investigation into high school ESL students' academic language development. Eight participants were pulled out of their intermediate ESL class for weekly 50-minute sessions with the author for a year. While the main focus of the sessions was reading news magazine articles for meaning, the author…

  6. Reconceptualizing and Describing Teachers' Knowledge of Language for Content and Language Integrated Learning (CLIL)

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Morton, Tom

    2018-01-01

    Content and language integrated learning (CLIL) is an approach to bilingual education in which academic content and an additional language are taught at the same time. It is growing rapidly throughout the world, with the medium of instruction in most CLIL classrooms being English. This means that many teachers around the world are teaching…

  7. Web 2.0 Tools and Academic Literacy Development in a US Urban School: A Case Study of a Second-Grade English Language Learner

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Shin, Dong-shin

    2014-01-01

    This study explores a second-grade English language learner's literacy development and ability to use blogging for social and academic purposes, in the context of learning academic writing genres in a US urban school. Grounded in sociocultural theories, it conceptualizes learning as appropriation, and language as a dynamic and functional system of…

  8. Comparison of Oral Language Usage among English Language Learners Diagnosed with a Learning Disability and Those in General Education

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Pray, Lisa

    2009-01-01

    The investigator compared the linguistic characteristics of Spanish and English language samples taken from English language learners (ELLs) diagnosed with an academic learning disability (LD) and ELLs in general education to determine if the errors and characteristics of their language use differ. There was a statistically significant difference…

  9. Academic Language in Preschool: Research and Context

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Michael Luna, Sara

    2017-01-01

    Developing and scaffolding academic language is an important job of preschool teachers. This Teaching Tip provides five strategies that extend the topic of academic language by integrating previous research and field-based data into classroom practice.

  10. Relationships between Language Background, Secondary School Scores, Tutorial Group Processes, and Students' Academic Achievement in PBL: Testing a Causal Model

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Singaram, Veena S.; van der Vleuten, Cees P. M; Muijtjens, Arno M. M.; Dolmans, Diana H. J. M

    2012-01-01

    Little is known about the influence of language background in problem-based learning (PBL) tutorial groups on group processes and students' academic achievement. This study investigated the relationship between language background, secondary school score, tutorial group processes, and students' academic achievement in PBL. A validated tutorial…

  11. Assessing English Language Learners' Opportunity to Learn Mathematics: Issues and Limitations

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Abedi, Jamal; Herman, Joan

    2010-01-01

    Background/Context: English language learner (ELL) students are lagging behind because of the extra challenges they face relative to their peers in acquiring academic English language proficiency, and the added burden of learning content in a language in which they are not proficient. The mandated inclusion of ELL students in the nation's…

  12. Bilingual Pre-Service Teachers Grapple with the Academic and Social Role of Language in Mathematics Discussions

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    del Rosario Zavala, Maria

    2017-01-01

    Effectively engaging students in mathematics discourse is challenging, especially in a language other than the one in which you learned mathematics. Teachers must manage the academic as well as social function of language. In Spanish-English bilingual classrooms in the U.S., changing the language of instruction to Spanish may not be enough to…

  13. An Investigation of Motivation to Transfer Second Language Learning

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    James, Mark Andrew

    2012-01-01

    Research on motivation in second language (L2) education has tended to focus on learning; this study took an alternative perspective, examining students' motivation to transfer L2 learning. Data were gathered through semi-structured interviews with 40 students who were enrolled in several sections of a university English-for-academic-purposes…

  14. The Effect of Visual Variability on the Learning of Academic Concepts

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Bourgoyne, Ashley; Alt, Mary

    2017-01-01

    Purpose: The purpose of this study was to identify effects of variability of visual input on development of conceptual representations of academic concepts for college-age students with normal language (NL) and those with language-learning disabilities (LLD). Method: Students with NL (n = 11) and LLD (n = 11) participated in a computer-based…

  15. Examining the Effectiveness of an Academic Language Planning Organizer as a Tool for Planning Science Academic Language Instruction and Supports

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Jung, Karl G.; Brown, Julie C.

    2016-01-01

    To engage in the practices of science, students must have a strong command of science academic language. However, content area teachers often make academic language an incidental part of their lesson planning, which leads to missed opportunities to enhance students' language development. To support pre-service elementary science teachers (PSTs) in…

  16. Understanding the Academic Procrastination Attitude of Language Learners in Turkish Universities

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Bekleyen, Nilüfer

    2017-01-01

    The prevalence of academic procrastination has long been the subject of attention among researchers. However, there is still a paucity of studies examining language learners since most of the studies focus on similar participants such as psychology students. The present study was conducted among students trying to learn English in the first year…

  17. At the Interface between Language Testing and Second Language Acquisition: Language Ability and Context of Learning

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Gu, Lin

    2014-01-01

    This study investigated the relationship between latent components of academic English language ability and test takers' study-abroad and classroom learning experiences through a structural equation modeling approach in the context of TOEFL iBT® testing. Data from the TOEFL iBT public dataset were used. The results showed that test takers'…

  18. Multilingual Faculty across Academic Disciplines: Language Difference in Scholarship

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Cavazos, Alyssa G.

    2015-01-01

    Due to the dominance of the English language in scholarship, multilingual academics often encounter challenges in achieving academic biliteracy and identifying successful language negotiation practices in academia. Through personal interviews with self-identified multilingual academics across academic disciplines, this paper explores how they…

  19. The Language of Ideas and the Language of Display: Reconceptualizing "Academic Language" in Linguistically Diverse Classrooms

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Bunch, George C.

    2014-01-01

    Introducing a distinction between language of ideas and language of display as a means of reconceptualizing what counts as "academic" language, I examine one brief stretch of talk by a small group of linguistically diverse 7th grade students in a U.S. mainstream social studies classroom designed to maximize academic and language…

  20. The Persistence and Functional Impact of English Language Difficulties Experienced by Children Learning English as an Additional Language and Monolingual Peers

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Whiteside, Katie E.; Norbury, Courtenay Frazier

    2017-01-01

    Purpose: This study explored whether a monolingual-normed English language battery could identify children with English as an additional language (EAL) who have persistent English language learning difficulties that affect functional academic attainment. Method: Children with EAL (n = 43) and monolingual English-speaking children (n = 46)…

  1. Early Science Instruction and Academic Language Development Can Go Hand in Hand. The Promising Effects of a Low-Intensity Teacher-Focused Intervention

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Henrichs, Lotte F.; Leseman, Paul P. M.

    2014-11-01

    Early science instruction is important in order to lay a firm basis for learning scientific concepts and scientific thinking. In addition, young children enjoy science. However, science plays only a minor role in the kindergarten curriculum. It has been reported that teachers feel they need to prioritize language and literacy practices over science. In this paper, we investigate whether science lessons might be integrated with learning the language functional for school: academic language. The occurrence of scientific reasoning and sophisticated vocabulary in brief science lessons with 5-year-olds is evaluated. The aim of the study was twofold: first, to explore the nature of kindergarten science discourse without any researcher directions (pre-intervention observation). Second, in a randomized control trial, we evaluated the effect on science discourse of a brief teacher training session focused on academic language awareness. The science lessons focussed on air pressure and mirror reflection. Analyses showed that teachers from the intervention group increased their use of scientific reasoning and of domain-specific academic words in their science discourse, compared to the control group. For the use of general academic words and for lexical diversity, the effect was task-specific: these dependent measures only increased during the air pressure task. Implications of the study include the need to increase teachers' awareness of possibilities to combine early science instruction and academic language learning.

  2. Learning approaches as predictors of academic performance in first year health and science students.

    PubMed

    Salamonson, Yenna; Weaver, Roslyn; Chang, Sungwon; Koch, Jane; Bhathal, Ragbir; Khoo, Cheang; Wilson, Ian

    2013-07-01

    To compare health and science students' demographic characteristics and learning approaches across different disciplines, and to examine the relationship between learning approaches and academic performance. While there is increasing recognition of a need to foster learning approaches that improve the quality of student learning, little is known about students' learning approaches across different disciplines, and their relationships with academic performance. Prospective, correlational design. Using a survey design, a total of 919 first year health and science students studying in a university located in the western region of Sydney from the following disciplines were recruited to participate in the study - i) Nursing: n = 476, ii) Engineering: n = 75, iii) Medicine: n = 77, iv) Health Sciences: n = 204, and v) Medicinal Chemistry: n = 87. Although there was no statistically significant difference in the use of surface learning among the five discipline groups, there were wide variations in the use of deep learning approach. Furthermore, older students and those with English as an additional language were more likely to use deep learning approach. Controlling for hours spent in paid work during term-time and English language usage, both surface learning approach (β = -0.13, p = 0.001) and deep learning approach (β = 0.11, p = 0.009) emerged as independent and significant predictors of academic performance. Findings from this study provide further empirical evidence that underscore the importance for faculty to use teaching methods that foster deep instead of surface learning approaches, to improve the quality of student learning and academic performance. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  3. The Persistence and Functional Impact of English Language Difficulties Experienced by Children Learning English as an Additional Language and Monolingual Peers

    PubMed Central

    Whiteside, Katie E.

    2017-01-01

    Purpose This study explored whether a monolingual-normed English language battery could identify children with English as an additional language (EAL) who have persistent English language learning difficulties that affect functional academic attainment. Method Children with EAL (n = 43) and monolingual English-speaking children (n = 46) completed a comprehensive monolingual-normed English language battery in Year 1 (ages 5–6 years) and Year 3 (ages 7–8 years). Children with EAL and monolingual peers, who either met monolingual criteria for language impairment or typical development on the language battery in Year 1, were compared on language growth between Year 1 and Year 3 and on attainment in national curriculum assessments in Year 2 (ages 6–7 years). Results Children with EAL and monolingual peers who met monolingual criteria for language impairment in Year 1 continued to display comparably impaired overall language ability 2 years later in Year 3. Moreover, these groups displayed comparably low levels of academic attainment in Year 2, demonstrating comparable functional impact of their language difficulties. Conclusion Monolingual-normed language batteries in the majority language may have some practical value for identifying bilingual children who need support with language learning, regardless of the origin of their language difficulties. PMID:28617919

  4. Learner Motivation in Self-Access Language Learning

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Gardner, David; Yung, Kevin W. H.

    2017-01-01

    This paper reports on the findings of a study looking at students' motivation to engage in self-access language learning (SALL) while taking an English for Academic Purposes course which contains a substantial integrated SALL component. To-date there has been limited research into the motivation of such students but it is an important area of…

  5. Effects of Academic and Non-Academic Instructional Approaches on Preschool English Language Learners' Classroom Engagement and English Language Development

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Markova, Ivana

    2017-01-01

    This research compared the relative impact of different preschool activities on the development of bilingual students' English-language skills. The study investigated whether bilingual preschool children would engage more, and use more of their second language (English), during free-play (non-academic) versus teacher-structured (academic)…

  6. The relationship between executive functioning and language: Examining vocabulary, syntax, and language learning in preschoolers attending Head Start.

    PubMed

    White, Lisa J; Alexander, Alexandra; Greenfield, Daryl B

    2017-12-01

    Early childhood marks a time of dynamic development within language and cognitive domains. Specifically, a body of research focuses on the development of language as related to executive functions, which are foundational cognitive skills that relate to both academic achievement and social-emotional development during early childhood and beyond. Although there is evidence to support the relationship between language and executive functions, existing studies focus mostly on vocabulary and fail to examine other components of language such as syntax and language learning skills. To address this gap, this study examined the relationship between executive functioning (EF) and three aspects of language: syntax, vocabulary, and language learning. A diverse sample of 182 children (67% Latino and 33% African American) attending Head Start were assessed on both EF and language ability. Findings demonstrated that EF related to a comprehensive latent construct of language composed of vocabulary, syntax, and language learning. EF also related to each individual component of language. This study furthers our understanding of the complex relationship between language and cognitive development by measuring EF as it relates to various components of language in a sample of preschoolers from low-income backgrounds. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  7. The Relationship between Mathematics and Language: Academic Implications for Children with Specific Language Impairment and English Language Learners

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Alt, Mary; Arizmendi, Genesis D.; Beal, Carole R.

    2014-01-01

    Purpose: The present study examined the relationship between mathematics and language to better understand the nature of the deficit and the academic implications associated with specific language impairment (SLI) and academic implications for English language learners (ELLs). Method: School-age children (N = 61; 20 SLI, 20 ELL, 21 native…

  8. Theory to Practice: Cultivating Academic Language Proficiency in Developmental Reading Classrooms

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Neal, Heather N.

    2015-01-01

    Academic language plays a key role in reading comprehension, disciplinary thinking, and overall academic success. However, many approaches to teaching academic language, such as a focus on academic vocabulary, overlook other language features that can pose challenges for students. Systemic Functional Linguistics (SFL), arguably one of the three…

  9. A Small-Scale, Feasibility Study of Academic Language Time in Primary Grade Language Arts

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Roskos, Kathleen A.; Zuzolo, Nicole; Primm, Ashley

    2017-01-01

    A small-scale feasibility study was conducted to explore the implementation of academic language time (ALT) in primary grade classrooms with and without access to digital devices. Academic language time is a structural change that dedicates a portion of language arts instructional time to direct vocabulary instruction using evidence-based…

  10. Learning difficulties or learning English difficulties? Additional language acquisition: an update for paediatricians.

    PubMed

    Clifford, Vanessa; Rhodes, Anthea; Paxton, Georgia

    2014-03-01

    Australia is a diverse society: 26% of the population were born overseas, a further 20% have at least one parent born overseas and 19% speak a language other than English at home. Paediatricians are frequently involved in the assessment and management of non-English-speaking-background children with developmental delay, disability or learning issues. Despite the diversity of our patient population, information on how children learn additional or later languages is remarkably absent in paediatric training. An understanding of second language acquisition is essential to provide appropriate advice to this patient group. It takes a long time (5 years or more) for any student to develop academic competency in a second language, even a student who has received adequate prior schooling in their first language. Refugee students are doubly disadvantaged as they frequently have limited or interrupted prior schooling, and many are unable to read and write in their first language. We review the evidence on second language acquisition during childhood, describe support for English language learners within the Australian education system, consider refugee-background students as a special risk group and address common misconceptions about how children learn English as an additional language. © 2013 The Authors. Journal of Paediatrics and Child Health © 2013 Paediatrics and Child Health Division (Royal Australasian College of Physicians).

  11. Higher Education Students' Reflections on Learning in Times of Academic Language Shift

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Kagwesage, Anne Marie

    2012-01-01

    This article deals with the current debate on the use of English as the only medium of instruction in contexts where it is a second or foreign language. More specifically, it investigates Rwandan students' reflections on using English as the sole medium of instruction in their everyday higher education academic activities. The study is mainly…

  12. Not Just Good Science Teaching: Supporting Academic Language Development

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Silva, Cecilia; Weinburgh, Molly; Smith, Kathy Horak

    2013-01-01

    In this article, the authors explore ways in which they have worked together in understanding the complexities of academic language within the science classroom and discuss strategies they have used to teach academic language to young adolescent English Language Learners (ELLs) within inquiry-based science lessons. They discuss strategies they use…

  13. Developing Academic Language and Content for Emergent Bilinguals through a Science Inquiry Unit

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Mercuri, Sandra; Ebe, Ann E.

    2011-01-01

    There is growing evidence that schools are not meeting the needs of emergent bilinguals who are falling behind in both academic language development and content knowledge learning. In response to this concern, this article proposes five research-based guidelines for promoting effective instruction for emergent bilinguals. In order to connect…

  14. Socialization to Academic Language in a Kindergarten Classroom

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Gallagher, Colleen

    2016-01-01

    Recognizing the importance of academic language for students' success in schools, this article reports on an investigation of how narrative-focused literacy events in the classroom provide opportunities for academic language socialization. Data were collected from one public elementary school in a major metropolitan area in the Mid-Atlantic region…

  15. Embedded academic writing support for nursing students with English as a second language.

    PubMed

    Salamonson, Yenna; Koch, Jane; Weaver, Roslyn; Everett, Bronwyn; Jackson, Debra

    2010-02-01

    This paper reports a study which evaluated a brief, embedded academic support workshop as a strategy for improving academic writing skills in first-year nursing students with low-to-medium English language proficiency. Nursing students who speak English as a second language have lower academic success compared with their native English-speaking counterparts. The development of academic writing skills is known to be most effective when embedded into discipline-specific curricula. Using a randomized controlled design, in 2008 106 students pre-enrolled in an introductory bioscience subject were randomized to receive either the intervention, a 4-day embedded academic learning support workshop facilitated by two bioscience (content) nursing academics and a writing and editing professional, or to act as the control group. The primary focus of the workshop was to support students to work through a mock assignment by providing progressive feedback and written suggestions on how to improve their answers. Of the 59 students randomized to the intervention, only 28 attended the workshop. Bioscience assignment results were analysed for those who attended (attendees), those randomized to the intervention but who did not attend (non-attendees), and the control group. Using anova, the results indicated that attendees achieved statistically significantly higher mean scores (70.8, sd: 6.1) compared to both control group (58.4, sd: 3.4, P = 0.002) and non-attendees (48.5, sd: 5.5, P = 0.001). A brief, intensive, embedded academic support workshop was effective in improving the academic writing ability of nursing students with low-to-medium English language proficiency, although reaching all students who are likely to benefit from this intervention remains a challenge.

  16. Adult English as a Second Language Students in the United States: Learner Characteristics, Goals, and Academic Writing Performance

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Lambert, Olga Demin

    2009-01-01

    Adult English as a second language (ESL) students learning English outside of traditional academic settings are an understudied population of second language learners. The purpose of the research reported here is to contribute to meeting the instructional needs of these students more effectively by investigating the relationships between their…

  17. Content and Language Integrated Learning and the inclusion of immigrant minority language students: A research review

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Somers, Thomas

    2017-08-01

    This article addresses the inclusion of immigrant minority language students in Content and Language Integrated Learning (CLIL) bilingual education programmes. It reviews results of research on (1) the reasons, beliefs and attitudes underlying immigrant minority language parents' and students' choice for CLIL programmes; (2) these students' proficiency in the languages of instruction and their academic achievement; and (3) the effects of first language typology on their second and third language proficiency. The author explores conditions and reasons for the effectiveness of CLIL pedagogy, as well as the comparative suitability of CLIL programmes for immigrant minority language students. The review shows that CLIL programmes provide a means to acquire important linguistic, economic and symbolic capital in order to effect upward social mobility. Findings demonstrate that immigrant minority language students enrolled in CLIL programmes are able to develop equal or superior levels of proficiency in both languages of instruction compared to majority language students; with previous development of first language literacy positively impacting academic language development. CLIL programmes are found to offer immigrant minority language students educational opportunities and effective pedagogical support which existing mainstream monolingual and minority bilingual education programmes may not always be able to provide. In light of these findings, the author discusses shortcomings in current educational policy. The article concludes with recommendations for further research.[Figure not available: see fulltext.

  18. Learning preference as a predictor of academic performance in first year accelerated graduate entry nursing students: a prospective follow-up study.

    PubMed

    Koch, Jane; Salamonson, Yenna; Rolley, John X; Davidson, Patricia M

    2011-08-01

    The growth of accelerated graduate entry nursing programs has challenged traditional approaches to teaching and learning. To date, limited research has been undertaken in the role of learning preferences, language proficiency and academic performance in accelerated programs. Sixty-two first year accelerated graduate entry nursing students, in a single cohort at a university in the western region of Sydney, Australia, were surveyed to assess their learning preference using the Visual, Aural, Read/write and Kinaesthetic (VARK) learning preference questionnaire, together with sociodemographic data, English language acculturation and perceived academic control. Six months following course commencement, the participant's grade point average (GPA) was studied as a measurement of academic performance. A 93% response rate was achieved. The majority of students (62%) reported preference for multiple approaches to learning with the kinaesthetic sensory mode a significant (p=0.009) predictor of academic performance. Students who spoke only English at home had higher mean scores across two of the four categories of VARK sensory modalities, visual and kinaesthetic compared to those who spoke non-English. Further research is warranted to investigate the reasons why the kinaesthetic sensory mode is a predictor of academic performance and to what extent the VARK mean scores of the four learning preference(s) change with improved English language proficiency. Copyright © 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  19. A Typology of Tasks for Mobile-Assisted Language Learning: Recommendations from a Small-Scale Needs Analysis

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Park, Moonyoung; Slater, Tammy

    2014-01-01

    In response to the research priorities of members of TESOL (Teachers of English to Speakers of Other Languages), this study investigated language learners' realworld tasks in mobile-assisted language learning (MALL) to inform the future development of pedagogic tasks for academic English as a second language (ESL) courses. The data included…

  20. Towards New Cultures of Learning: Personal Learning Environments as a Developmental Perspective for Improving Higher Education Language Courses

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Laakkonen, Ilona; Taalas, Peppi

    2015-01-01

    This article provides readers with an understanding of the concept of the personal learning environment (PLE). It suggests that PLEs can be used in two complementary ways: as a developmental lens for integrating ICT and creating new pedagogical practices and digital literacies for academic language learning, and as a context in which learners can…

  1. Language Transfer in Language Learning. Issues in Second Language Research.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Gass, Susan M., Ed.; Selinker, Larry, Ed.

    Essays on language transfer in language learning include: excerpts from "Linguistics across Cultures" (Robert Lado); "Language Transfer" (Larry Selinker); "Goofing: An Indication of Children's Second Language Learning Strategies" (Heidi C. Dulay, Marina K. Burt); "Language Transfer and Universal Grammatical Relations" (Susan Gass); "A Role for the…

  2. High School Foreign Language Study and College Academic Performance.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Wiley, Patricia Davis

    1985-01-01

    Examines the correlation between high school foreign language study and success in college. Found that those who studied Latin, French, German, or Spanish in high school may be expected to perform better academically in college than students of equal academic ability who do not take a foreign language. (SED)

  3. The Challenge for Non-First-Language-English Academic Publishing in English Language Research Outlets

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Geiger, Vince; Straesser, Rudolf

    2015-01-01

    This paper is a reflective critique of practice within the field of mathematics education in relation to the challenges faced by non-first-language-English speaking academics when they attempt to publish in English language research outlets. Data for this study are drawn from communications between a German and an Australian academic as the…

  4. Academic Vocabulary Learning in First through Third Grade in Low-Income Schools: Effects of Automated Supplemental Instruction

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Goldstein, Howard; Ziolkowski, Robyn A.; Bojczyk, Kathryn E.; Marty, Ana; Schneider, Naomi; Harpring, Jayme; Haring, Christa D.

    2017-01-01

    Purpose: This study investigated cumulative effects of language learning, specifically whether prior vocabulary knowledge or special education status moderated the effects of academic vocabulary instruction in high-poverty schools. Method: Effects of a supplemental intervention targeting academic vocabulary in first through third grades were…

  5. Language Use in Kindergarten Science Lessons: Language Production and Academic Language during a Video Feedback Coaching Intervention in Kindergarten Science Lessons

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Menninga, Astrid; van Dijk, Marijn; Wetzels, Annemie; Steenbeek, Henderien; van Geert, Paul

    2017-01-01

    This paper aims to gain insight into language production and academic language of 4- and 5-year-old students and their teachers in the course of a teacher intervention during kindergarten science education. The study is based on videotaped classroom observations, and specifically focuses on the academic language use of students (N[subscript…

  6. Science as a second language: Analysis of Emergent Bilinguals performance and the impact of English language proficiency and first language characteristics on the Colorado measures of academic success for science

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Bruno, Joanna K.

    In an age when communication is highly important and states across the nation, including Colorado, have adopted Common Core State Standards, the need for academic language is even more important than ever. The language of science has been compared to a second language in that it uses specific discourse patterns, semantic rules, and a very specific vocabulary. There is a need for educators to better understand how language impacts academic achievement, specifically concerning Emergent Bilinguals (EBs). Research has identified the need to study the role language plays in content assessments and the impact they have on EBs performance (Abedi, 2008b; Abedi, Hofestter & Lord, 2004; Abedi & Lord, 2001). Since language is the means through which content knowledge is assessed, it is important to analyze this aspect of learning. A review of literature identified the need to create more reliable and valid content assessments for EBs (Abedi, 2008b) and to further study the impact of English proficiency on EBs performance on standardized assessments (Solorzano, 2008; Wolf, & Leon, 2009). This study contributes to the literature by analyzing EBs performance on a state-level science content assessment, taking into consideration English language proficiency, receptive versus productive elements of language, and students' home language. This study further contributes by discussing the relationship between language proficiency, and the different strands of science (physical, life, and earth) on the state science assessment. Finally, this study demonstrates that home language, English language proficiency, and receptive and productive elements of language are predictive of EBs' achievement on the CMAS for science, overall and by strand. It is the blending of the social (listening and speaking) with the academic (reading and writing) that is also important and possibly more important.

  7. Language and Academic Abilities in Children with Selective Mutism

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Nowakowski, Matilda E.; Cunningham, Charles E.; McHolm, Angela E.; Evans, Mary Ann; Edison, Shannon; St. Pierre, Jeff; Boyle, Michael H.; Schmidt, Louis A.

    2009-01-01

    We examined receptive language and academic abilities in children with selective mutism (SM; n = 30; M age = 8.8 years), anxiety disorders (n = 46; M age = 9.3 years), and community controls (n = 27; M age = 7.8 years). Receptive language and academic abilities were assessed using standardized tests completed in the laboratory. We found a…

  8. Service Learning and Student Engagement: A Dual Language Book Project

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Roessingh, Hetty

    2012-01-01

    A model is proposed followed by a case study of collaborative project work between student teachers, teachers and English language learners in kindergarten and grade 1. As a model, service learning provides a framework for making explicit linkages between course-based, credit bearing academic content, the identified need of the community school,…

  9. Age and Language Learning

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Collard, Lucien

    1977-01-01

    An investigation of the differences between first and second language acquisition and the relationship between age and second language learning. The stages in native language acquisition and the advantages of an early start in second language learning are discussed. (AMH)

  10. Academic achievement and course taking among language minority youth in U.S. schools: Effects of ESL placement

    PubMed Central

    Callahan, Rebecca; Wilkinson, Lindsey; Muller, Chandra

    2014-01-01

    The 1974 Lau decision requires that U.S. public schools ensure a meaningful education for students learning English. English as a Second Language (ESL) placement is an institutional response to the linguistic needs of these students; however, its academic implications remain largely unexplored. Using nationally representative data from the Educational Longitudinal Study (ELS), the effects of ESL placement on college preparatory course enrollment and academic achievement of language minority students are estimated, first with fixed effects regression models and then with multi-level propensity score matching techniques. While numerous school and individual level factors beyond language proficiency predict ESL placement, a significant negative estimated effect of ESL placement on science enrollment and cumulative GPA is consistently found. Perhaps more important, however, no positive effects of ESL placement on the achievement of language minority youth are found when accounting for English proficiency and other potential covariates. PMID:25431506

  11. Academic achievement and course taking among language minority youth in U.S. schools: Effects of ESL placement.

    PubMed

    Callahan, Rebecca; Wilkinson, Lindsey; Muller, Chandra

    2010-03-01

    The 1974 Lau decision requires that U.S. public schools ensure a meaningful education for students learning English. English as a Second Language (ESL) placement is an institutional response to the linguistic needs of these students; however, its academic implications remain largely unexplored. Using nationally representative data from the Educational Longitudinal Study (ELS), the effects of ESL placement on college preparatory course enrollment and academic achievement of language minority students are estimated, first with fixed effects regression models and then with multi-level propensity score matching techniques. While numerous school and individual level factors beyond language proficiency predict ESL placement, a significant negative estimated effect of ESL placement on science enrollment and cumulative GPA is consistently found. Perhaps more important, however, no positive effects of ESL placement on the achievement of language minority youth are found when accounting for English proficiency and other potential covariates.

  12. Computer Assisted Language Learning. Routledge Studies in Computer Assisted Language Learning

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Pennington, Martha

    2011-01-01

    Computer-assisted language learning (CALL) is an approach to language teaching and learning in which computer technology is used as an aid to the presentation, reinforcement and assessment of material to be learned, usually including a substantial interactive element. This books provides an up-to date and comprehensive overview of…

  13. English Language Proficiency and Teacher Judgments of the Academic and Interpersonal Competence of English Language Learners

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Freberg, Miranda E.

    2014-01-01

    The purpose of the study was to investigate how English language proficiency is related to teacher judgments of students' academic and interpersonal competence. It was hypothesized that English Language Learner (ELL) students would generally be perceived as having weaker academic and interpersonal skills than their non-ELL counterparts regardless…

  14. Intelligent Computer-Assisted Language Learning.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Harrington, Michael

    1996-01-01

    Introduces the field of intelligent computer assisted language learning (ICALL) and relates them to current practice in computer assisted language learning (CALL) and second language learning. Points out that ICALL applies expertise from artificial intelligence and the computer and cognitive sciences to the development of language learning…

  15. Language Learning.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Karolides, Nicholas J., Ed.

    1985-01-01

    The articles in this journal issue explore classroom methods for enhancing language acquisition. The titles of the articles and their authors are as follows: (1) Forests and Trees: Conservation and Reforestation" (Joyce S. Steward); (2) "Using Literature to Teach Language" (Richard D. Cureton); (3) "Language Learning through…

  16. Test Review: Canadian Academic English Language (CAEL) Assessment

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Malone, Margaret E.

    2010-01-01

    This article presents a review of the Canadian Academic English Language (CAEL) Assessment, a high stakes standardized test of the English language. It is a topic-based test that integrates listening, reading, writing and speaking. The test is designed to describe the level of English language proficiency of test takers planning to study at…

  17. Languages for Specific Academic Purposes or Languages for General Academic Purposes? A Critical Reappraisal of a Key Issue for Language Provision in Higher Education

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Krekeler, Christian

    2013-01-01

    The debate about the subject specificity of university language tuition has been going on for decades; it has mostly been discussed in the context of English for Academic Purposes. This paper considers the case for disciplinary specificity with regard to languages other than English. Few, if any, developed curricula, syllabuses, suitable textbooks…

  18. Harnessing the Barriers That Impact on Students' English Language Learning (ELL)

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Liton, Hussain Ahmed

    2016-01-01

    This study strives to single out the barriers and obstacles in terms of academic, course curriculum system and socio-cultural issues that impact on students' learning English language adversely in the prep year level at Jazan University, Saudi Arabia. This paper especially focuses on the factors affecting EFL ("English as a Foreign…

  19. Six principles of language development: implications for second language learners.

    PubMed

    Konishi, Haruka; Kanero, Junko; Freeman, Max R; Golinkoff, Roberta Michnick; Hirsh-Pasek, Kathy

    2014-01-01

    The number of children growing up in dual language environments is increasing in the United States. Despite the apparent benefits of speaking two languages, children learning English as a second language (ESL) often face struggles, as they may experience poverty and impoverished language input at home. Early exposure to a rich language environment is crucial for ESL children's academic success. This article explores how six evidenced-based principles of language learning can be used to provide support for ESL children.

  20. Using E-Books to Acquire Foundational Academic Vocabulary

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Love, Matthew L.; Spies, Tracy G.; Morgan, Joseph J.

    2017-01-01

    Secondary students identified as English language learners or with learning disabilities present diverse vocabulary and academic challenges related to their exceptional language needs. Limited academic vocabulary may hinder students in accessing academic content and serve as a barrier to achievement. The literature has documented the use of…

  1. Core Academic Language Skills: Moving beyond Vocabulary Knowledge to Predict Reading Comprehension

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Uccelli, Paola; Galloway, Emily Phillips; Kim, Ha Yeon; Barr, Christopher D.

    2015-01-01

    Despite a longstanding awareness of academic language as a pedagogically-relevant research area, the construct of academic language proficiency--understood as a more comprehensive set of skills than just academic vocabulary--has remained only vaguely specified. This study examines the potential--for both research and practice--of a more inclusive…

  2. Teaching the Anxiety of Learning a Foreign Language That Influences High School Students in Learning French as a Second Foreign Language "The Case of Denizli"

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Kusçu, Ertan

    2017-01-01

    The purpose of this study is to determine the reasons of anxiety levels of high school students who learn French as a second foreign language. The sample of the study consisted of four hundred fifty-six students from two high schools in Denizli province in 2015-2016 academic year. In this study, the effects of variables such as learners' gender,…

  3. The Language of Language: An Interdisciplinary Approach To Language Learning.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Mann, Jesse Thomas

    1993-01-01

    The study of language in general and the study of foreign languages in particular have attracted new interest in academic circles during the past decade. The concepts of the "global village" and "cultural diversity" have become commonplace in the jargon of the 1990s. The development of two new courses at Westminster College…

  4. Academic performance in ADHD when controlled for comorbid learning disorders, family income, and parental education in Brazil.

    PubMed

    Pastura, Giuseppe Mario Carmine; Mattos, Paulo; Araújo, Alexandra Prufer de Queiroz Campos

    2009-03-01

    Scholastic achievement in a nonclinical sample of ADHD children and adolescents was evaluated taking into consideration variables such as comorbid learning disorders, family income, and parental education which may also be associated with poor academic performance. After screening for ADHD in 396 students, the authors compared academic performance of 26 ADHD individuals and 31 controls paired for gender, age, and intelligence level considering both mathematics and Portuguese language scores. Learning disorders were investigated and the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (4th ed.; DSM-IV ) criteria were met using structured interviews. The prevalence of academic underachievement was 2.98 times higher in students with ADHD, the most frequent subtype being predominantly inattentive. Parental educational level, family income, and comorbid learning disorders could not explain the discrepancies between ADHD students and controls. ADHD seems to be associated with poor academic performance even in the absence of comorbid learning disorders, lower family income, and parental educational level.

  5. Language learning, language use and the evolution of linguistic variation

    PubMed Central

    Perfors, Amy; Fehér, Olga; Samara, Anna; Swoboda, Kate; Wonnacott, Elizabeth

    2017-01-01

    Linguistic universals arise from the interaction between the processes of language learning and language use. A test case for the relationship between these factors is linguistic variation, which tends to be conditioned on linguistic or sociolinguistic criteria. How can we explain the scarcity of unpredictable variation in natural language, and to what extent is this property of language a straightforward reflection of biases in statistical learning? We review three strands of experimental work exploring these questions, and introduce a Bayesian model of the learning and transmission of linguistic variation along with a closely matched artificial language learning experiment with adult participants. Our results show that while the biases of language learners can potentially play a role in shaping linguistic systems, the relationship between biases of learners and the structure of languages is not straightforward. Weak biases can have strong effects on language structure as they accumulate over repeated transmission. But the opposite can also be true: strong biases can have weak or no effects. Furthermore, the use of language during interaction can reshape linguistic systems. Combining data and insights from studies of learning, transmission and use is therefore essential if we are to understand how biases in statistical learning interact with language transmission and language use to shape the structural properties of language. This article is part of the themed issue ‘New frontiers for statistical learning in the cognitive sciences’. PMID:27872370

  6. Language learning, language use and the evolution of linguistic variation.

    PubMed

    Smith, Kenny; Perfors, Amy; Fehér, Olga; Samara, Anna; Swoboda, Kate; Wonnacott, Elizabeth

    2017-01-05

    Linguistic universals arise from the interaction between the processes of language learning and language use. A test case for the relationship between these factors is linguistic variation, which tends to be conditioned on linguistic or sociolinguistic criteria. How can we explain the scarcity of unpredictable variation in natural language, and to what extent is this property of language a straightforward reflection of biases in statistical learning? We review three strands of experimental work exploring these questions, and introduce a Bayesian model of the learning and transmission of linguistic variation along with a closely matched artificial language learning experiment with adult participants. Our results show that while the biases of language learners can potentially play a role in shaping linguistic systems, the relationship between biases of learners and the structure of languages is not straightforward. Weak biases can have strong effects on language structure as they accumulate over repeated transmission. But the opposite can also be true: strong biases can have weak or no effects. Furthermore, the use of language during interaction can reshape linguistic systems. Combining data and insights from studies of learning, transmission and use is therefore essential if we are to understand how biases in statistical learning interact with language transmission and language use to shape the structural properties of language.This article is part of the themed issue 'New frontiers for statistical learning in the cognitive sciences'. © 2016 The Authors.

  7. What Challenges and Benefits Can Non-Formal Law and Language Integrated Learning Bring to University Students?

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Atabekova, Atabekova; Gorbatenko, Rimma; Belousov, Aleksandr; Grebnev, Ruslan; Sheremetieva, Olga

    2016-01-01

    The paper explores the ways in which non-formal content and language integrated learning within university studies can affect students' academic progress. The research has included theoretical and empirical studies. The article focuses on the observation of students' learning process, draws attention to challenges and benefits students experienced…

  8. Does learning style preferences influence academic performance among dental students in Isfahan, Iran?

    PubMed Central

    2018-01-01

    Purpose The present study aimed to identify the learning preferences of dental students and to characterize their relationship with academic performance at a dental school in Isfahan, Iran. Methods This cross-sectional descriptive study included 200 undergraduate dental students from October to November 2016. Data were collected using a 2-part questionnaire. The first part included demographic data, and the second part was a Persian-language version of the visual, aural, read/write, and kinesthetic questionnaire. Data analysis was conducted with the chi-square test, 1-way analysis of variance, and multiple linear regression. Results The response rate was 86.6%. Approximately half of the students (51.5%) had multimodal learning preferences. Among the unimodal group (48.5%), the most common mode was aural (24.0%), followed by kinesthetic (15.5%), reading-writing (8.0%), and visual (1.0%). There was a significant association between academic performance and the reading/writing learning style preference (P< 0.01). Conclusion Multimodal learning styles were the most preferred. Among single-mode learning styles, the aural style was most common, followed by the kinesthetic style. Students with a reading/writing preference had better academic performance. The results of this study provide useful information for preparing a more problem-based curriculum with active learning strategies. PMID:29575848

  9. Language Revitalization and Language Pedagogy: New Teaching and Learning Strategies

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Hinton, Leanne

    2011-01-01

    Language learning and teaching of endangered languages have many features and needs that are quite different from the teaching of world languages. Groups whose languages are endangered try to turn language loss around; many new language teaching and learning strategies are emerging, to suit the special needs and goals of language revitalization.…

  10. Language Alternation and Language Norm in Vocational Content and Language Integrated Learning

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Kontio, Janne; Sylvén, Liss Kerstin

    2015-01-01

    The present article deals with language choice as communicative strategies in the language learning environment of an English-medium content and language integrated learning (CLIL) workshop at an auto mechanics class in a Swedish upper secondary school. The article presents the organisation and functions of language alternations (LAs) which are…

  11. A Comparative Study of Foreign Language Anxiety and Motivation of Academic- and Vocational-Track High School Students

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Liu, Hui-ju; Chen, Chien-wei

    2015-01-01

    This study aimed to investigate EFL learner language anxiety and learning motivation of high school students. Subjects included 155 students from the same private senior high school in central Taiwan, 60 in academic track and 95 in vocational track. The majority of the participants started taking English lessons either before entering elementary…

  12. Secondary Teachers' Reflections from a Year of Professional Learning Related to Academic Language

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Carter, Hannah; Crowley, Kimberly; Townsend, Dianna R.; Barone, Diane

    2016-01-01

    This article explores the changing beliefs and practices of 25 secondary teachers participating in a yearlong professional learning (PL) partnership. To demonstrate differences in teachers' approaches to and understandings resulting from that PL, the authors looked more closely at three teachers and found that their ideas about academic language…

  13. Understanding the Role of Academic Language on Conceptual Understanding in an Introductory Materials Science and Engineering Course

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Kelly, Jacquelyn

    Students may use the technical engineering terms without knowing what these words mean. This creates a language barrier in engineering that influences student learning. Previous research has been conducted to characterize the difference between colloquial and scientific language. Since this research had not yet been applied explicitly to engineering, conclusions from the area of science education were used instead. Various researchers outlined strategies for helping students acquire scientific language. However, few examined and quantified the relationship it had on student learning. A systemic functional linguistics framework was adopted for this dissertation which is a framework that has not previously been used in engineering education research. This study investigated how engineering language proficiency influenced conceptual understanding of introductory materials science and engineering concepts. To answer the research questions about engineering language proficiency, a convenience sample of forty-one undergraduate students in an introductory materials science and engineering course was used. All data collected was integrated with the course. Measures included the Materials Concept Inventory, a written engineering design task, and group observations. Both systemic functional linguistics and mental models frameworks were utilized to interpret data and guide analysis. A series of regression analyses were conducted to determine if engineering language proficiency predicts group engineering term use, if conceptual understanding predicts group engineering term use, and if conceptual understanding predicts engineering language proficiency. Engineering academic language proficiency was found to be strongly linked to conceptual understanding in the context of introductory materials engineering courses. As the semester progressed, this relationship became even stronger. The more engineering concepts students are expected to learn, the more important it is that they

  14. The relationship between mathematics and language: academic implications for children with specific language impairment and English language learners.

    PubMed

    Alt, Mary; Arizmendi, Genesis D; Beal, Carole R

    2014-07-01

    The present study examined the relationship between mathematics and language to better understand the nature of the deficit and the academic implications associated with specific language impairment (SLI) and academic implications for English language learners (ELLs). School-age children (N = 61; 20 SLI, 20 ELL, 21 native monolingual English [NE]) were assessed using a norm-referenced mathematics instrument and 3 experimental computer-based mathematics games that varied in language demands. Group means were compared with analyses of variance. The ELL group was less accurate than the NE group only when tasks were language heavy. In contrast, the group with SLI was less accurate than the groups with NE and ELLs on language-heavy tasks and some language-light tasks. Specifically, the group with SLI was less accurate on tasks that involved comparing numerical symbols and using visual working memory for patterns. However, there were no group differences between children with SLI and peers without SLI on language-light mathematics tasks that involved visual working memory for numerical symbols. Mathematical difficulties of children who are ELLs appear to be related to the language demands of mathematics tasks. In contrast, children with SLI appear to have difficulty with mathematics tasks because of linguistic as well as nonlinguistic processing constraints.

  15. Language-Learning Holidays: What Motivates People to Learn a Minority Language?

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    O'Rourke, Bernadette; DePalma, Renée

    2017-01-01

    In this article, we examine the experiences of 18 Galician language learners who participated in what Garland [(2008). "The minority language and the cosmopolitan speaker: Ideologies of Irish language learners" (Unpublished PhD thesis). University of California, Santa Barbara] refers to as a "language-learning holiday" in…

  16. Statistical learning and language acquisition

    PubMed Central

    Romberg, Alexa R.; Saffran, Jenny R.

    2011-01-01

    Human learners, including infants, are highly sensitive to structure in their environment. Statistical learning refers to the process of extracting this structure. A major question in language acquisition in the past few decades has been the extent to which infants use statistical learning mechanisms to acquire their native language. There have been many demonstrations showing infants’ ability to extract structures in linguistic input, such as the transitional probability between adjacent elements. This paper reviews current research on how statistical learning contributes to language acquisition. Current research is extending the initial findings of infants’ sensitivity to basic statistical information in many different directions, including investigating how infants represent regularities, learn about different levels of language, and integrate information across situations. These current directions emphasize studying statistical language learning in context: within language, within the infant learner, and within the environment as a whole. PMID:21666883

  17. The Internet, Language Learning, and International Dialogue: Constructing Online Foreign Language Learning Websites

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Kartal, Erdogan; Uzun, Levent

    2010-01-01

    In the present study we call attention to the close connection between languages and globalization, and we also emphasize the importance of the Internet and online websites in foreign language teaching and learning as unavoidable elements of computer assisted language learning (CALL). We prepared a checklist by which we investigated 28 foreign…

  18. Voices of Pedagogical Development--Expanding, Enhancing and Exploring Higher Education Language Learning

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Jalkanen, Juha, Ed.; Jokinen, Elina, Ed.; Taalas, Peppi, Ed.

    2015-01-01

    "Voices of Pedagogical Development" is a collection of articles written by teacher-researchers at the University of Jyväskylä Language Centre. It shares the fruits of their ideas and development work in the areas of academic literacies, new forms of teaching and learning, and internationalisation. Part one aims at establishing and…

  19. Commentary: Academic Enablers and School Learning.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Keith, Timothy Z.

    2002-01-01

    This commentary presents academic enablers within the broader, overlapping context of school learning theory, including the theories of Carroll, Harnishfeger and Wiley, Walberg, and others. Multivariate models are needed to understand the influences of academic enabler and school learning variables on learning, as well as the influences of these…

  20. The Cognitive and Academic Profiles of Reading and Mathematics Learning Disabilities

    PubMed Central

    Compton, Donald L.; Fuchs, Lynn S.; Fuchs, Douglas; Lambert, Warren; Hamlett, Carol

    2012-01-01

    The purpose of this study was to examine the cognitive and academic profiles associated with learning disability (LD) in reading comprehension, word reading, applied problems, and calculations. The goal was to assess the specificity hypothesis, in which unexpected underachievement associated with LD is represented in terms of distinctive patterns of cognitive and academic strengths and weaknesses. At the start of 3rd grade, the authors assessed 684 students on five cognitive dimensions (nonverbal problem solving, processing speed, concept formation, language, and working memory), and across Grades 3 through 5, the authors assessed performance in each academic area three to four times. Based on final intercept, the authors classified students as LD or not LD in each of the four academic areas. For each of these four LD variables, they conducted multivariate cognitive profile analysis and academic profile analysis. Results, which generally supported the specificity hypothesis, are discussed in terms of the potential connections between reading and mathematics LD. PMID:21444929

  1. The cognitive and academic profiles of reading and mathematics learning disabilities.

    PubMed

    Compton, Donald L; Fuchs, Lynn S; Fuchs, Douglas; Lambert, Warren; Hamlett, Carol

    2012-01-01

    The purpose of this study was to examine the cognitive and academic profiles associated with learning disability (LD) in reading comprehension, word reading, applied problems, and calculations. The goal was to assess the specificity hypothesis, in which unexpected underachievement associated with LD is represented in terms of distinctive patterns of cognitive and academic strengths and weaknesses. At the start of 3rd grade, the authors assessed 684 students on five cognitive dimensions (nonverbal problem solving, processing speed, concept formation, language, and working memory), and across Grades 3 through 5, the authors assessed performance in each academic area three to four times. Based on final intercept, the authors classified students as LD or not LD in each of the four academic areas. For each of these four LD variables, they conducted multivariate cognitive profile analysis and academic profile analysis. Results, which generally supported the specificity hypothesis, are discussed in terms of the potential connections between reading and mathematics LD.

  2. Examining Academic Writing Motivation of Prospective Indonesian Language Teachers Using Exploratory Factor Analysis

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Surastina; Dedi, Fransisca S. O.

    2018-01-01

    Motivation determines students' success in academic writing. The current study adopted 28 items of the academic writing motivation questionnaire by Payne (2012) translated into Indonesian language to explore students' motivation in academic writing. This study involved 120 prospective Indonesian language teachers at STKIP PGRI Bandar Lampung that…

  3. Digital Storytelling for Enhancing Student Academic Achievement, Critical Thinking, and Learning Motivation: A Year-Long Experimental Study

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Yang, Ya-Ting C.; Wu, Wan-Chi I.

    2012-01-01

    The purpose of this study was to explore the impact of Digital storytelling (DST) on the academic achievement, critical thinking, and learning motivation of senior high school students learning English as a foreign language. The one-year study adopted a pretest and posttest quasi-experimental design involving 110 10th grade students in two English…

  4. A Critical Appraisal of Foreign Language Research in Content and Language Integrated Learning, Young Language Learners, and Technology-Enhanced Language Learning Published in Spain (2003-2012)

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Dooly, Melinda; Masats, Dolors

    2015-01-01

    This state-of-the-art review provides a critical overview of research publications in Spain in the last ten years in three areas of teaching and learning foreign languages (especially English): context and language integrated learning (CLIL), young language learners (YLL), and technology-enhanced language learning (TELL). These three domains have…

  5. Bilinguals' Existing Languages Benefit Vocabulary Learning in a Third Language

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Bartolotti, James; Marian, Viorica

    2017-01-01

    Learning a new language involves substantial vocabulary acquisition. Learners can accelerate this process by relying on words with native-language overlap, such as cognates. For bilingual third language learners, it is necessary to determine how their two existing languages interact during novel language learning. A scaffolding account predicts…

  6. Language Learning Disabilities: The Ultimate Foreign Language Challenge

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    DiFino, Sharon M.; Lombardino, Linda J.

    2004-01-01

    In today's world where great value is placed on global understanding, the acquisition of languages is essential. Academics would agree that the study of other languages provides students access to the cultural and intellectual heritage of cultures other than their own. Additionally, such study gives new and different perspectives on the structure…

  7. Is Native-Language Decoding Skill Related to Second-Language Learning?

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Meschyan, Gayane; Hernandez, Arturo

    2002-01-01

    Investigated the mechanisms through which native-language (English) word decoding ability predicted individual differences in native- and second-language (Spanish) learning. Results are consistent with the hypothesis that second-language learning is founded on native-language phonological-orthographic ability among college-age adults, especially…

  8. Language Acquisition and Language Learning: A Plea for Syncretism.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Higgs, Theodore V.

    1985-01-01

    Discusses the apparent opposition between the concepts of language learning and language acquisition in the context of adult second-language study. Proposes that these two concepts are mutually supportive, not mutually exclusive. Demonstrates how the implications of learning vs. acquisition can be integrated into a communicative…

  9. Bilinguals’ Existing Languages Benefit Vocabulary Learning in a Third Language

    PubMed Central

    Bartolotti, James; Marian, Viorica

    2017-01-01

    Learning a new language involves substantial vocabulary acquisition. Learners can accelerate this process by relying on words with native-language overlap, such as cognates. For bilingual third language learners, it is necessary to determine how their two existing languages interact during novel language learning. A scaffolding account predicts transfer from either language for individual words, whereas an accumulation account predicts cumulative transfer from both languages. To compare these accounts, twenty English-German bilingual adults were taught an artificial language containing 48 novel written words that varied orthogonally in English and German wordlikeness (neighborhood size and orthotactic probability). Wordlikeness in each language improved word production accuracy, and similarity to one language provided the same benefit as dual-language overlap. In addition, participants’ memory for novel words was affected by the statistical distributions of letters in the novel language. Results indicate that bilinguals utilize both languages during third language acquisition, supporting a scaffolding learning model. PMID:28781384

  10. Bilinguals' Existing Languages Benefit Vocabulary Learning in a Third Language.

    PubMed

    Bartolotti, James; Marian, Viorica

    2017-03-01

    Learning a new language involves substantial vocabulary acquisition. Learners can accelerate this process by relying on words with native-language overlap, such as cognates. For bilingual third language learners, it is necessary to determine how their two existing languages interact during novel language learning. A scaffolding account predicts transfer from either language for individual words, whereas an accumulation account predicts cumulative transfer from both languages. To compare these accounts, twenty English-German bilingual adults were taught an artificial language containing 48 novel written words that varied orthogonally in English and German wordlikeness (neighborhood size and orthotactic probability). Wordlikeness in each language improved word production accuracy, and similarity to one language provided the same benefit as dual-language overlap. In addition, participants' memory for novel words was affected by the statistical distributions of letters in the novel language. Results indicate that bilinguals utilize both languages during third language acquisition, supporting a scaffolding learning model.

  11. Supporting the Academic Excellence, Engagement, and College Readiness of High School ESOL Students through ESOL Student Service Learning Clubs

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Maina, Nyambura Susan; McGaughey, Trisha; Wade, Julie

    2013-01-01

    The purpose of this study was to examine the impact of the English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL) Student Service Learning (SSL) Club on academic and non-academic outcomes for students receiving ESOL services during 2012-2013 in six high schools in Montgomery County (Maryland) Public Schools (MCPS). The ESOL SSL Club convenes regularly…

  12. English Language Learning in Mexico: A Case Study of Implementing Problem Based Learning into a Technology Enhanced Writing Curriculum

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Graham, Leah Sharice

    2006-01-01

    English for Academic Purposes literature is often criticized for its very functional interpretation of language (e.g. Benesch, 2001) which ignores the intellectual, cultural, and social side of learning in an attempt to appear "neutral." Furthermore, writing is the EAP skill area which seems to provide students with the most difficulty.…

  13. Language experience changes subsequent learning

    PubMed Central

    Onnis, Luca; Thiessen, Erik

    2013-01-01

    What are the effects of experience on subsequent learning? We explored the effects of language-specific word order knowledge on the acquisition of sequential conditional information. Korean and English adults were engaged in a sequence learning task involving three different sets of stimuli: auditory linguistic (nonsense syllables), visual non-linguistic (nonsense shapes), and auditory non-linguistic (pure tones). The forward and backward probabilities between adjacent elements generated two equally probable and orthogonal perceptual parses of the elements, such that any significant preference at test must be due to either general cognitive biases, or prior language-induced biases. We found that language modulated parsing preferences with the linguistic stimuli only. Intriguingly, these preferences are congruent with the dominant word order patterns of each language, as corroborated by corpus analyses, and are driven by probabilistic preferences. Furthermore, although the Korean individuals had received extensive formal explicit training in English and lived in an English-speaking environment, they exhibited statistical learning biases congruent with their native language. Our findings suggest that mechanisms of statistical sequential learning are implicated in language across the lifespan, and experience with language may affect cognitive processes and later learning. PMID:23200510

  14. Language Learning in Wittgenstein and Davidson

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Kotzee, Ben

    2014-01-01

    In this paper, I discuss language learning in Wittgenstein and Davidson. Starting from a remark by Bakhurst, I hold that both Wittgenstein and Davidson's philosophies of language contain responses to the problem of language learning, albeit of a different form. Following Williams, I hold that the concept of language learning can explain…

  15. Career Adventures from Learning Languages

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Kaye, Paul

    2016-01-01

    Learning and using languages has been a central feature of most of Paul Kaye's working life. In his current job, he helps to promote multilingualism, language learning, and the language industry in the UK, as well as to raise awareness of careers in the EU civil service for those with language knowledge. He is on temporary secondment from the…

  16. A Snapshot of Teacher Candidates' Readiness for Incorporating Academic Language in Lesson Plans

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Lim, Woong; Moseley, Lauren Jeneva; Son, Ji-Won; Seelke, John

    2014-01-01

    With the national rollout of edTPA that champions language supports in content lessons, there is a renewed interest in academic language across disciplines and related pedagogy in the U.S. This study examines current knowledge of academic language demonstrated by teacher candidates at middle grades. An analysis (n = 42) of teacher candidates'…

  17. The Influence of Teacher Power on English Language Learners' Self-Perceptions of Learner Empowerment

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Diaz, Abel; Cochran, Kathryn; Karlin, Nancy

    2016-01-01

    English language learners (ELL) are students with a primary language spoken other than English enrolled in U.S. educational settings. As ELL students take on the challenges of learning English and U.S. culture, they must also learn academic content. The expectation to succeed academically in a foreign culture and language, while learning to speak…

  18. Language Learning Strategies of Multilingual Adults Learning Additional Languages

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Dmitrenko, Violetta

    2017-01-01

    The main goal consisted in identifying and bringing together strategies of multilinguals as a particular learner group. Therefore, research was placed in the intersection of the three fields: language learning strategies (LLS), third language acquisition (TLA), and the didactics of plurilingualism. First, the paper synthesises the major findings…

  19. Learning Styles and Individual Differences in Learning English Idioms via Computer Assisted Language Learning in English as a Second Language.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Viteli, Jarmo

    The purpose of this study was to determine the learning styles of English-as-a-Second-Language (ESL) students and individual differences in learning English idioms via computer assisted language learning (CALL). Thirty-six Hispanic students, 26 Japanese students, and 6 students with various language backgrounds from the Nova University Intensive…

  20. Perceptions of Turkish EFL Students on Online Language Learning Platforms and Blended Language Learning

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Istifci, Ilknur

    2017-01-01

    The purpose of this study is to examine the perceptions of EFL students studying English at the School of Foreign Languages, Anadolu University (AUSFL) on blended language learning and online learning platforms. The participants of the study consisted of 167 students whose English language proficiency level was B2 according to the Common European…

  1. Technology and Second Language Learning

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Lin, Li Li

    2009-01-01

    Current technology provides new opportunities to increase the effectiveness of language learning and teaching. Incorporating well-organized and effective technology into second language learning and teaching for improving students' language proficiency has been refined by researchers and educators for many decades. Based on the rapidly changing…

  2. Gradient language dominance affects talker learning.

    PubMed

    Bregman, Micah R; Creel, Sarah C

    2014-01-01

    Traditional conceptions of spoken language assume that speech recognition and talker identification are computed separately. Neuropsychological and neuroimaging studies imply some separation between the two faculties, but recent perceptual studies suggest better talker recognition in familiar languages than unfamiliar languages. A familiar-language benefit in talker recognition potentially implies strong ties between the two domains. However, little is known about the nature of this language familiarity effect. The current study investigated the relationship between speech and talker processing by assessing bilingual and monolingual listeners' ability to learn voices as a function of language familiarity and age of acquisition. Two effects emerged. First, bilinguals learned to recognize talkers in their first language (Korean) more rapidly than they learned to recognize talkers in their second language (English), while English-speaking participants showed the opposite pattern (learning English talkers faster than Korean talkers). Second, bilinguals' learning rate for talkers in their second language (English) correlated with age of English acquisition. Taken together, these results suggest that language background materially affects talker encoding, implying a tight relationship between speech and talker representations. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  3. Supporting Academic Workloads in Online Learning

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Haggerty, Carmel E.

    2015-01-01

    Academic workloads in online learning are influenced by many variables, the complexity of which makes it difficult to measure academic workloads in isolation. While researching issues associated with academic workloads, professional development stood out as having a substantive impact on academic workloads. Many academics in applied health degrees…

  4. Native-language N400 and P600 predict dissociable language-learning abilities in adults

    PubMed Central

    Qi, Zhenghan; Beach, Sara D.; Finn, Amy S.; Minas, Jennifer; Goetz, Calvin; Chan, Brian; Gabrieli, John D.E.

    2018-01-01

    Language learning aptitude during adulthood varies markedly across individuals. An individual’s native-language ability has been associated with success in learning a new language as an adult. However, little is known about how native-language processing affects learning success and what neural markers of native-language processing, if any, are related to success in learning. We therefore related variation in electrophysiology during native-language processing to success in learning a novel artificial language. Event-related potentials (ERPs) were recorded while native English speakers judged the acceptability of English sentences prior to learning an artificial language. There was a trend towards a double dissociation between native-language ERPs and their relationships to novel syntax and vocabulary learning. Individuals who exhibited a greater N400 effect when processing English semantics showed better future learning of the artificial language overall. The N400 effect was related to syntax learning via its specific relationship to vocabulary learning. In contrast, the P600 effect size when processing English syntax predicted future syntax learning but not vocabulary learning. These findings show that distinct neural signatures of native-language processing relate to dissociable abilities for learning novel semantic and syntactic information. PMID:27737775

  5. Learning to Learn a Foreign Language. Principles of Second Language Acquisition: An Orientation for Foreign Language Teachers.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Pfannkuche, Anthony; And Others

    The manual designed to accompany an orientation seminar for students concerning language learning processes and strategies and the design of their program includes materials for five sessions, in three sections. The first section covers language learning and acquisition in general and contains a survey of the participants' foreign language…

  6. Language experience changes subsequent learning.

    PubMed

    Onnis, Luca; Thiessen, Erik

    2013-02-01

    What are the effects of experience on subsequent learning? We explored the effects of language-specific word order knowledge on the acquisition of sequential conditional information. Korean and English adults were engaged in a sequence learning task involving three different sets of stimuli: auditory linguistic (nonsense syllables), visual non-linguistic (nonsense shapes), and auditory non-linguistic (pure tones). The forward and backward probabilities between adjacent elements generated two equally probable and orthogonal perceptual parses of the elements, such that any significant preference at test must be due to either general cognitive biases, or prior language-induced biases. We found that language modulated parsing preferences with the linguistic stimuli only. Intriguingly, these preferences are congruent with the dominant word order patterns of each language, as corroborated by corpus analyses, and are driven by probabilistic preferences. Furthermore, although the Korean individuals had received extensive formal explicit training in English and lived in an English-speaking environment, they exhibited statistical learning biases congruent with their native language. Our findings suggest that mechanisms of statistical sequential learning are implicated in language across the lifespan, and experience with language may affect cognitive processes and later learning. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  7. Physically Active Math and Language Lessons Improve Academic Achievement: A Cluster Randomized Controlled Trial.

    PubMed

    Mullender-Wijnsma, Marijke J; Hartman, Esther; de Greeff, Johannes W; Doolaard, Simone; Bosker, Roel J; Visscher, Chris

    2016-03-01

    Using physical activity in the teaching of academic lessons is a new way of learning. The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of an innovative physically active academic intervention ("Fit & Vaardig op School" [F&V]) on academic achievement of children. Using physical activity to teach math and spelling lessons was studied in a cluster-randomized controlled trial. Participants were 499 children (mean age 8.1 years) from second- and third-grade classes of 12 elementary schools. At each school, a second- and third-grade class were randomly assigned to the intervention or control group. The intervention group participated in F&V lessons for 2 years, 22 weeks per year, 3 times a week. The control group participated in regular classroom lessons. Children's academic achievement was measured before the intervention started and after the first and second intervention years. Academic achievement was measured by 2 mathematics tests (speed and general math skills) and 2 language tests (reading and spelling). After 2 years, multilevel analysis showed that children in the intervention group had significantly greater gains in mathematics speed test (P < .001; effect size [ES] 0.51), general mathematics (P < .001; ES 0.42), and spelling (P < .001; ES 0.45) scores. This equates to 4 months more learning gains in comparison with the control group. No differences were found on the reading test. Physically active academic lessons significantly improved mathematics and spelling performance of elementary school children and are therefore a promising new way of teaching. Copyright © 2016 by the American Academy of Pediatrics.

  8. Theoractive Learning towards Academic Endeavour

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Rajbhandari, Mani Man Singh

    2018-01-01

    Theoractive learning is an essential ingredient that can complement various academic theories, making them easier to apply to a learning environment. Although it appears that theoractive learning is the effect of the beneficial causes of teaching and learning in certain contextual settings; theoractive learning is, however, actions-oriented and…

  9. Technology in Language Use, Language Teaching, and Language Learning

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Chun, Dorothy; Smith, Bryan; Kern, Richard

    2016-01-01

    This article offers a capacious view of technology to suggest broad principles relating technology and language use, language teaching, and language learning. The first part of the article considers some of the ways that technological media influence contexts and forms of expression and communication. In the second part, a set of heuristic…

  10. Learning Languages, 2000-2001.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Rosenbusch, Marcia H., Ed.

    2001-01-01

    This journal serves the profession by providing a medium for the sharing of information, ideas, and concerns among teachers, administrators, researchers, and others interested in the early learning of languages. Articles in this volume include the following: "Foreign Language Teaching: What We Can Learn from Other Countries" (Ingrid U.…

  11. Native-language N400 and P600 predict dissociable language-learning abilities in adults.

    PubMed

    Qi, Zhenghan; Beach, Sara D; Finn, Amy S; Minas, Jennifer; Goetz, Calvin; Chan, Brian; Gabrieli, John D E

    2017-04-01

    Language learning aptitude during adulthood varies markedly across individuals. An individual's native-language ability has been associated with success in learning a new language as an adult. However, little is known about how native-language processing affects learning success and what neural markers of native-language processing, if any, are related to success in learning. We therefore related variation in electrophysiology during native-language processing to success in learning a novel artificial language. Event-related potentials (ERPs) were recorded while native English speakers judged the acceptability of English sentences prior to learning an artificial language. There was a trend towards a double dissociation between native-language ERPs and their relationships to novel syntax and vocabulary learning. Individuals who exhibited a greater N400 effect when processing English semantics showed better future learning of the artificial language overall. The N400 effect was related to syntax learning via its specific relationship to vocabulary learning. In contrast, the P600 effect size when processing English syntax predicted future syntax learning but not vocabulary learning. These findings show that distinct neural signatures of native-language processing relate to dissociable abilities for learning novel semantic and syntactic information. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  12. The Complexity of Language Learning

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Nelson, Charles

    2011-01-01

    This paper takes a complexity theory approach to looking at language learning, an approach that investigates how language learners adapt to and interact with people and their environment. Based on interviews with four graduate students, it shows how complexity theory can help us understand both the situatedness of language learning and also…

  13. A Typology of Language-Brokering Events in Dual-Language Immersion Classrooms

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Coyoca, Anne Marie; Lee, Jin Sook

    2009-01-01

    This paper examines language-brokering events to better understand how children utilize their linguistic resources to create spaces where the coexistence of two languages can enable or restrict understanding and learning of academic content for themselves and others. An analysis of the structure of language-brokering events reveals that different…

  14. Own-Language Use in Language Teaching and Learning

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Hall, Graham; Cook, Guy

    2012-01-01

    Until recently, the assumption of the language-teaching literature has been that new languages are best taught and learned monolingually, without the use of the students' own language(s). In recent years, however, this monolingual assumption has been increasingly questioned, and a re-evaluation of teaching that relates the language being taught to…

  15. Dual Language Teachers' Use of Conventional, Environmental, and Personal Resources to Support Academic Language Development

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Lucero, Audrey

    2015-01-01

    This article reports findings from a study that investigated the ways in which first-grade dual language teachers drew on various resources to instructionally support academic language development among Spanish-English emergent bilingual students. Classroom observations, semistructured interviews, and document collection were conducted over a…

  16. Electronic Tandem Language Learning (eTandem): A Third Approach to Second Language Learning for the 21st Century

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Cziko, Gary A.

    2004-01-01

    Tandem language learning occurs when two learners of different native languages work together to help each other learn the other language. First used in face-to-face contexts, Tandem is now increasingly being used by language-learning partners located in different countries who are linked via various forms of electronic communication, a context…

  17. The Relationship between Iranian EFL Learners' Beliefs about Language Learning and Language Learning Strategy Use

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Zarei, Abbas Ali; Rahmani, Hanieh

    2015-01-01

    The present study investigated the relationship between Iranian EFL learners' beliefs about language learning and language learning strategy use. A sample of 104 B.A and M.A Iranian EFL learners majoring in English participated in this study. Three instruments, the Michigan Test of English Language Proficiency (MTELP), Beliefs about Language…

  18. A Mixed-Method Study of Language-Learning Motivation and Intercultural Contact of International Students

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Kormos, Judit; Csizér, Kata; Iwaniec, Janina

    2014-01-01

    The mixed-method study presented in this paper investigates the changes in direct and indirect intercultural contact and language-learning attitudes and effort of international students in the United Kingdom. Seventy international learners of English were asked to fill in a questionnaire three times during one academic year in an international…

  19. Are They Learning? Are We? Learning Outcomes and the Academic Library

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Oakleaf, Megan

    2011-01-01

    Since the 1990s, the assessment of learning outcomes in academic libraries has accelerated rapidly, and librarians have come to recognize the necessity of articulating and assessing student learning outcomes. Initially, librarians developed tools and instruments to assess information literacy student learning outcomes. Now, academic librarians are…

  20. Metacognition and Second/Foreign Language Learning

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Raoofi, Saeid; Chan, Swee Heng; Mukundan, Jayakaran; Rashid, Sabariah Md

    2014-01-01

    Metacognition appears to be a significant contributor to success in second language (SL) and foreign language (FL) learning. This study seeks to investigate empirical research on the role metacognition plays in language learning by focusing on the following research questions: first, to what extent does metacognition affect SL/FL learning? Second,…

  1. The Effect of Visual Variability on the Learning of Academic Concepts.

    PubMed

    Bourgoyne, Ashley; Alt, Mary

    2017-06-10

    The purpose of this study was to identify effects of variability of visual input on development of conceptual representations of academic concepts for college-age students with normal language (NL) and those with language-learning disabilities (LLD). Students with NL (n = 11) and LLD (n = 11) participated in a computer-based training for introductory biology course concepts. Participants were trained on half the concepts under a low-variability condition and half under a high-variability condition. Participants completed a posttest in which they were asked to identify and rate the accuracy of novel and trained visual representations of the concepts. We performed separate repeated measures analyses of variance to examine the accuracy of identification and ratings. Participants were equally accurate on trained and novel items in the high-variability condition, but were less accurate on novel items only in the low-variability condition. The LLD group showed the same pattern as the NL group; they were just less accurate. Results indicated that high-variability visual input may facilitate the acquisition of academic concepts in college students with NL and LLD. High-variability visual input may be especially beneficial for generalization to novel representations of concepts. Implicit learning methods may be harnessed by college courses to provide students with basic conceptual knowledge when they are entering courses or beginning new units.

  2. Cross-Cultural Learning: The Language Connection.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Axelrod, Joseph

    1981-01-01

    If foreign language acquisition is disconnected from the cultural life of the foreign speech community, the learning yield is low. Integration of affective learning, cultural learning, and foreign language learning are essential to a successful cross-cultural experience. (MSE)

  3. Philosophy and Language Learning

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Boyum, Steinar

    2007-01-01

    In this paper, I explore different ways of picturing language learning in philosophy, all of them inspired by Wittgenstein and all of them concerned about scepticism of meaning. I start by outlining the two pictures of children and language learning that emerge from Kripke's famous reading of Wittgenstein. Next, I explore how social-pragmatic…

  4. Language Learning Strategies and Beliefs about Language Learning in High-School Students and Students Attending English Institutes: Are They Different?

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Saeb, Fateme; Zamani, Elham

    2013-01-01

    This paper reports a comparative study exploring language learning strategy use and beliefs about language learning of high-school students and students attending English institutes. Oxford's (1990) strategy inventory for language learning (SILL) and Horwitz's (1987) beliefs about language learning inventory (BALLI), were used to collect data.…

  5. Web-Based English Language Learning

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Sarica, Gulcin Nagehan; Cavus, Nadire

    2008-01-01

    Knowledge of another language is an advantage and it gives people to look at the world and in particular to the world's cultures with a broader perspective. Learning English as a second language is the process by which students learn it in addition to their native language. Today, internet is an important part of our lives as English. For this…

  6. Learning to Teach English Language Arts in Urban Middle Schools: A Cultural and Interactional Perspective

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Buescher, Eileen M.

    2017-01-01

    This dissertation explores the experiences of middle childhood pre-service teachers (PST) across two academic years as they learn to teach English language arts to diverse students from conflicting sociocultural contexts. To help PSTs navigate the tensions across contexts, this study introduced culturally relevant (Ladson-Billings, 1995; 2014) and…

  7. Neurobiological Basis of Language Learning Difficulties.

    PubMed

    Krishnan, Saloni; Watkins, Kate E; Bishop, Dorothy V M

    2016-09-01

    In this paper we highlight why there is a need to examine subcortical learning systems in children with language impairment and dyslexia, rather than focusing solely on cortical areas relevant for language. First, behavioural studies find that children with these neurodevelopmental disorders perform less well than peers on procedural learning tasks that depend on corticostriatal learning circuits. Second, fMRI studies in neurotypical adults implicate corticostriatal and hippocampal systems in language learning. Finally, structural and functional abnormalities are seen in the striatum in children with language disorders. Studying corticostriatal networks in developmental language disorders could offer us insights into their neurobiological basis and elucidate possible modes of compensation for intervention. Copyright © 2016 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.. All rights reserved.

  8. Learning Languages: The Journal of the National Network for Early Language Learning, 1998-1999.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Rosenbusch, Marcia H., Ed.

    1999-01-01

    These three journals include articles on issues related to language learning. The fall 1998 journal presents: "Attention! Are You Seeking a Position with Excellent Long-Term Benefits? Be an Advocate!" (Mary Lynn Redmond); "National Town Meeting Energizes Support for Early Language Learning" (Marcia Harmon Rosenbusch);…

  9. Do Language Proficiency Levels Correspond to Language Learning Strategy Adoption?

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Gharbavi, Abdullah; Mousavi, Seyyed Ahmad

    2012-01-01

    The primary focus of research on employment of language learning strategies has been on identification of adoption of different learning strategies. However, the relationship between language learning strategies and proficiency levels was ignored in previous research. The present study was undertaken to find out whether there are any relationship…

  10. School Science and the Language Arts

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Ediger, Marlow

    2014-01-01

    An integrated science curriculum assists pupils to retain learnings better than to separate academic disciplines. Too frequently, science teachers teach each academic discipline as separate entities. However, there is much correlating of science with language, for example which might well be implemented in teaching and learning situations. Thus,…

  11. English Language Learners and Their Academic Progress: 2010-2011

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Shneyderman, Aleksandr

    2012-01-01

    This is the 2010-11 annual report on the academic progress of English language learners in the Miami-Dade County Public Schools. The purpose of the report is to: (1) Describe the demographic characteristics of students classified as English Language Learners (ELL) in the Miami-Dade County Public Schools (M-DCPS); (2) Provide data regarding ELL…

  12. Using Academic Language to Level the Playing Field for English-Language Learners in Physical Education: Part 1

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Constantinou, Phoebe; Wuest, Deborah A.

    2015-01-01

    With the common core emphasis on English language art and mathematics skills, physical educators are faced with a challenging task. Educators, in general, are expected to identifying the language demands of their discipline and develop academic language skills within each disciplinary area. In other words, educators are expected to prepare…

  13. The Reflection on the Domestic Research Status of Language Learning Strategies Used by Foreign Students Learning Chinese

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Min, M. A.

    Learning strategy is a psychological concept influenced by cognitive theory. It is a hot spot in the field of second language acquisition. This article analyses the research findings on Chinese learning strategies published by the domestic publications over the past ten years. The article introduces research achievements in the field of Chinese learning strategies, summarizes the research characteristic, and points out the shortcomings of the researches in three ways: the type of the research findings, research teams and research objects. The article suggests the researchers should enhance team cooperation, communicate with the researchers from Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan, establish the better academic platform and focus on the contrastive research on Chinese learner from different backgrounds.

  14. Cooperative Language Learning: Increasing Opportunities for Learning in Teams

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Wichadee, Saovapa; Orawiwatnakul, Wiwat

    2012-01-01

    This paper conceptualizes cooperative language learning, group instruction which is under the learner-centered approach where the groups are formed in such a way that each member performs his or her task to achieve the goal. Previous research indicates that cooperative language learning doesn't only improve learners' language skills, but also…

  15. Relationship between the Learning Styles Preferences and Academic Achievement

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Awang, H.; Samad, N. Abd; Faiz, N. S. Mohd; Roddin, R.; Kankia, J. D.

    2017-08-01

    The individual learning differences that have been much explored relate to differences in personality, learning styles, strategies and conceptual of learning. This article studies the learning style profile exhibited by students towards the academic achievement in Malaysian Polytechnic. The relationship between learning styles of Polytechnic students and their academic achievement based on VARK learning styles model. The target population was international business students of Malaysian Polytechnic. By means of randomly sampling method, 103 students were selected as sample of research. By descriptive - survey research method and a questionnaire adapted from VARK Learning Style Index, required data were collected. According to the results, no significantly difference between learning style and academic achievement of students. Students academic achievement was quite similar to their individual learning styles. These facts reveal that each learning style has its own strengths and weaknesses.

  16. "Words that Hold Us up": Teacher Talk and Academic Language in Five Upper Elementary Classrooms

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Ernst-Slavit, Gisela; Mason, Michele R.

    2011-01-01

    This study investigates the oral academic language used by English as a second language prepared teachers during content area instruction in five upper elementary classrooms in the United States. Using ethnographic and sociolinguistic perspectives the authors examine the oral, academic language exposure students received from their teachers during…

  17. Language Learning Strategies of English for Specific Purposes Students at a Public University in Malaysia

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Shah, Mohamed Ismail Ahamad; Ismail, Yusof; Esa, Zaleha; Muhamad, Ainon Jariah

    2013-01-01

    Studies on strategy research have shown the usefulness and importance of language learning strategies (LLS) for ESL and EFL learners. However, research on content-based learners in relation to English for Academic Purposes (EAP) and English for Occupational Purposes (EOP) has yet to be undertaken. This study, therefore, investigated the learning…

  18. Using Academic Language to Level the Playing Field for English Language Learners in Physical Education: Part 2

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Constantinou, Phoebe; Wuest, Deborah A.

    2015-01-01

    The common core, with its emphasis on the development of English language art and mathematics skills and literacy, presents challenges for teachers of all subjects. Academic language is expected to be developed within each disciplinary area. In other words, educators are expected to identify the language demands of their discipline and prepare…

  19. An Evaluation of a Counseling-Community Learning Approach to Foreign Language Teaching or Counseling-Learning Theory Applied to Foreign Language Learning. Final Report.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Gallagher, Rosina Mena

    This study evaluates the counseling-learning approach to foreign language instruction as compared with traditional methods in terms of language achievement and change in personal orientation and in attitude toward learning. Twelve students volunteered to learn Spanish or German under simultaneous exposure to both languages using the…

  20. Helping ELLs Meet Standards in English Language Arts and Science: An Intervention Focused on Academic Vocabulary

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    August, Diane; Artzi, Lauren; Barr, Christopher

    2016-01-01

    The Common Core State Standards and the Next Generation Science Standards require students to understand and produce academic language that appears in informational text. Vocabulary is a critical domain of academic language, but English language learners (ELLs) come to the English Language Arts classroom with more limited English vocabulary than…

  1. Learning bias, cultural evolution of language, and the biological evolution of the language faculty.

    PubMed

    Smith, Kenny

    2011-04-01

    The biases of individual language learners act to determine the learnability and cultural stability of languages: learners come to the language learning task with biases which make certain linguistic systems easier to acquire than others. These biases are repeatedly applied during the process of language transmission, and consequently should effect the types of languages we see in human populations. Understanding the cultural evolutionary consequences of particular learning biases is therefore central to understanding the link between language learning in individuals and language universals, common structural properties shared by all the world’s languages. This paper reviews a range of models and experimental studies which show that weak biases in individual learners can have strong effects on the structure of socially learned systems such as language, suggesting that strong universal tendencies in language structure do not require us to postulate strong underlying biases or constraints on language learning. Furthermore, understanding the relationship between learner biases and language design has implications for theories of the evolution of those learning biases: models of gene-culture coevolution suggest that, in situations where a cultural dynamic mediates between properties of individual learners and properties of language in this way, biological evolution is unlikely to lead to the emergence of strong constraints on learning.

  2. The Correlation between Early Second Language Learning and Native Language Skill Development

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Caccavale, Terry

    2007-01-01

    It has long been the assumption of many in the field of second language teaching that learning a second language helps to promote and enhance native language skill development, and that this correlation is direct and positive. Language professionals have assumed that learning a second language directly supports the development of better skills,…

  3. Language Views on Social Networking Sites for Language Learning: The Case of Busuu

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Álvarez Valencia, José Aldemar

    2016-01-01

    Social networking has compelled the area of computer-assisted language learning (CALL) to expand its research palette and account for new virtual ecologies that afford language learning and socialization. This study focuses on Busuu, a social networking site for language learning (SNSLL), and analyzes the views of language that are enacted through…

  4. Community-Academic Partnerships: Developing a Service-Learning Framework.

    PubMed

    Voss, Heather C; Mathews, Launa Rae; Fossen, Traci; Scott, Ginger; Schaefer, Michele

    2015-01-01

    Academic partnerships with hospitals and health care agencies for authentic clinical learning have become a major focus of schools of nursing and professional nursing organizations. Formal academic partnerships in community settings are less common despite evolving models of care delivery outside of inpatient settings. Community-Academic partnerships are commonly developed as a means to engage nursing students in service-learning experiences with an emphasis on student outcomes. The benefit of service-learning projects on community partners and populations receiving the service is largely unknown primarily due to the lack of structure for identifying and measuring outcomes specific to service-learning. Nursing students and their faculty engaged in service-learning have a unique opportunity to collaborate with community partners to evaluate benefits of service-learning projects on those receiving the service. This article describes the development of a service-learning framework as a first step toward successful measurement of the benefits of undergraduate nursing students' service-learning projects on community agencies and the people they serve through a collaborative community-academic partnership. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  5. The Effect of Integrating Movement into the Learning Environment of Kindergarten Children on Their Academic Achievements

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Shoval, Ella; Sharir, Tal; Arnon, Michal; Tenenbaum, Gershon

    2018-01-01

    The aim of this study was to test the notion that integrating movement into the learning environment contributes to the academic achievements of kindergarten students. One hundred and sixty 4-6 year-old kindergarten students participated in the study for 145 days, which included pre- and post-intervention tests in language, mathematics, and…

  6. Disproportionality and Learning Disabilities: Parsing Apart Race, Socioeconomic Status, and Language

    PubMed Central

    Shifrer, Dara; Muller, Chandra; Callahan, Rebecca

    2014-01-01

    The disproportionate identification of learning disabilities among certain socio-demographic subgroups, typically groups who are already disadvantaged, is perceived as a persistent problem within the education system. The academic and social experiences of students who are misidentified with a learning disability may be severely restricted, while students with a learning disability who are never identified are less likely to receive the accommodations and modifications necessary to learn at their maximum potential. We use the Education Longitudinal Study of 2002 to describe national patterns in learning disability identification. Results indicate that socio-demographic characteristics are predictive of identification with a learning disability. While some conventional areas of disproportionality are confirmed (males and language minorities), differences in SES entirely account for African-American and Hispanic disproportionality. Discrepancy between the results of bivariate and multivariate analyses confirms the importance of employing multivariate multilevel models in investigation of disproportionality. PMID:20587753

  7. Aptitude for Learning a Foreign Language.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Sparks, Richard; Ganschow, Leonore

    2001-01-01

    Review research on foreign language aptitude and its measurement prior to 1990. Describes research areas in the 1990s, including affective variables, language learning strategies, learning styles as contributors to aptitude and aptitude as a cognitive construct affected by language variables. Reviews research on individual differences and the…

  8. Assessment Tools to Differentiate between Language Differences and Disorders in English Language Learners

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Shenoy, Sunaina

    2014-01-01

    English language learners (ELLs) who are in the process of acquiring English as a second language for academic purposes, are often misidentified as having Language Learning Disabilities (LLDs). Policies regarding the assessment of ELLs have undergone many changes through the years, such as the introduction of a Response to Intervention (RTI)…

  9. Individual Values, Learning Routines and Academic Procrastination

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Dietz, Franziska; Hofer, Manfred; Fries, Stefan

    2007-01-01

    Background: Academic procrastination, the tendency to postpone learning activities, is regarded as a consequence of postmodern values that are prominent in post-industrialized societies. When students strive for leisure goals and have no structured routines for academic tasks, delaying strenuous learning activities becomes probable. Aims: The…

  10. Language Learning Strategies and Its Training Model

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Liu, Jing

    2010-01-01

    This paper summarizes and reviews the literature regarding language learning strategies and it's training model, pointing out the significance of language learning strategies to EFL learners and an applicable and effective language learning strategies training model, which is beneficial both to EFL learners and instructors, is badly needed.

  11. Learning skills and academic performance in children and adolescents with absence epilepsy.

    PubMed

    Talero-Gutiérrez, C; Sánchez-Torres, J M; Velez-van-Meerbeke, A

    2015-03-01

    Although cognitive and learning disorders have been described in patients with epilepsy, very few studies focus on specific disorders such as absence epilepsy. The aim of this study was to evaluate learning skills and academic performance in children and adolescents with absence epilepsy. Observational case-control study. Cases were chosen from the Central League against Epilepsy's clinic in Bogotá, Colombia. Controls were selected from a private school and matched with cases by age, school year, and sex. Medical history, seizure frequency, antiepileptic treatment, and academic performance were assessed. Academic abilities were tested with Batería de Aptitudes Diferenciales y Generales (BADyG) (a Spanish-language test of differential and general aptitudes). Data were analysed using Student t-test. The sample consisted of 19 cases and 19 controls aged between 7 and 16. In 15 patients, seizures were controlled; all patients had received antiepileptic medication at some point and 78.9% were actively being treated. Although cases had higher rates of academic failure, a greater incidence of grade retention, and more therapeutic interventions than controls, these differences were not significant. Similarly, there were no significant differences on the BADyG test, except for the immediate memory subcategory on which cases scored higher than controls (P=.0006). Children treated pharmacologically for absence epilepsy, whose seizures are controlled, have normal academic abilities and skills for their age. Copyright © 2013 Sociedad Española de Neurología. Published by Elsevier Espana. All rights reserved.

  12. Advances in Language Planning.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Fishman, Joshua A.

    This volume is an attempt to provide the sociology of language with the basic teaching-learning tools needed in order to facilitate its academic growth and consolidation. It provides the students and specialist in language planning with a comprehensive anthology of articles dealing with this area of research in the sociology of language. The…

  13. Language Evolution by Iterated Learning with Bayesian Agents

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Griffiths, Thomas L.; Kalish, Michael L.

    2007-01-01

    Languages are transmitted from person to person and generation to generation via a process of iterated learning: people learn a language from other people who once learned that language themselves. We analyze the consequences of iterated learning for learning algorithms based on the principles of Bayesian inference, assuming that learners compute…

  14. Academic and Social Media Practices of Arabic Language among Malaysian Students

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Ismail, Wail; Zailani, Muhammad Azhar; Awad, Zakaria Alcheikh Mahmoud; Hussin, Zaharah; Faisal, Mohd; Saad, Rahimi

    2017-01-01

    Nowadays, more and more countries are paying attention to graduates' language skill and sending their students abroad to learn languages. As an Islamic country, Malaysia has sent many students to learn Arabic language and Islamic knowledge. This paper aims at examining the level of practice of Arabic language among Malaysian students in Jordanian…

  15. The Use of the First Language in Second Language Learning Reconsidered

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Halasa, Najwa Hanna; Al-Manaseer, Majeda

    2012-01-01

    This paper aims to study new techniques in second language learning involving the active use of the mother tongue in classroom situations. Several teaching methods will be discussed such as The Alternating Approach, The New Concurrent Method, and Community Language Learning method. These methods of employing the first language recognise the link…

  16. On Using Intelligent Computer-Assisted Language Learning in Real-Life Foreign Language Teaching and Learning

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Amaral, Luiz A.; Meurers, Detmar

    2011-01-01

    This paper explores the motivation and prerequisites for successful integration of Intelligent Computer-Assisted Language Learning (ICALL) tools into current foreign language teaching and learning (FLTL) practice. We focus on two aspects, which we argue to be important for effective ICALL system development and use: (i) the relationship between…

  17. The Relationship between Socio-Economic Status, General Language Learning Outcome, and Beliefs about Language Learning

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Ariani, Mohsen Ghasemi; Ghafournia, Narjes

    2016-01-01

    The objective of this study is to explore the probable relationship between Iranian students' socioeconomic status, general language learning outcome, and their beliefs about language learning. To this end, 350 postgraduate students, doing English for specific courses at Islamic Azad University of Neyshabur participated in this study. They were…

  18. Personality, Self-Regulated Learning, and Academic Entitlement

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    McLellan, Chelsea K.; Jackson, Dennis L.

    2017-01-01

    The current study explored the relation between the Big-Five personality domains, self-regulated learning, and academic entitlement. Academic entitlement is defined as the tendency to possess expectations of unearned academic success, unearned/undeserved academic services, and/or the expectation of unrealistic accommodation (Chowning and Campbell…

  19. Individual values, learning routines and academic procrastination.

    PubMed

    Dietz, Franziska; Hofer, Manfred; Fries, Stefan

    2007-12-01

    Academic procrastination, the tendency to postpone learning activities, is regarded as a consequence of postmodern values that are prominent in post-industrialized societies. When students strive for leisure goals and have no structured routines for academic tasks, delaying strenuous learning activities becomes probable. The model tested in this study posits that postmodern value orientations are positively related to procrastination and to a lack of daily routines concerning the performance of academic activities. In contrast, modern values are negatively related to procrastination and positively to learning routines. Academic procrastination, in-turn, should be associated with the tendency to prefer leisure activities to schoolwork in case of conflicts between these two life domains. Seven hundred and four students from 6th and 8th grade with a mean age of 13.5 years participated in the study. The sample included students from all tracks of the German educational system. Students completed a questionnaire containing two value prototypes as well as scales on learning routines and procrastination. Decisions in motivational conflicts were measured using two vignettes. Results from structural equation modelling supported the proposed model for the whole sample as well as for each school track. A planned course of the day can prevent procrastination and foster decisions for academic tasks in case of conflicts. Students' learning takes place within a societal context and reflects the values held in the respective culture.

  20. Is CALL Obsolete? Language Acquisition and Language Learning Revisited in a Digital Age

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Jarvis, Huw; Krashen, Stephen

    2014-01-01

    In this article, Huw Jarvis and Stephen Krashen ask "Is CALL Obsolete?" When the term CALL (Computer-Assisted Language Learning) was introduced in the 1960s, the language education profession knew only about language learning, not language acquisition, and assumed the computer's primary contribution to second language acquisition…

  1. Defense Intelligence: Foreign Area/Language Needs and Academe.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    SRI International, Menlo Park, CA.

    The Department of Defense's (DOD) need for foreign language/area expertise was assessed, along with opportunities for the academic community to supplement government training. In addition to interviewing intelligence managers, questionnaires were administered to defense analysts to determine their background, training, and use of external…

  2. Using Language Learning Conditions in Mathematics. PEN 68.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Stoessiger, Rex

    This pamphlet reports on a project in Tasmania exploring whether the "natural learning conditions" approach to language learning could be adapted for mathematics. The connections between language and mathematics, as well as the natural learning processes of language learning are described in the pamphlet. The project itself is…

  3. Developmental Comparisons of Implicit and Explicit Language Learning

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Lichtman, Karen

    2013-01-01

    Conventional wisdom holds that children learn languages implicitly whereas older learners learn languages explicitly, and some have claimed that after puberty only explicit language learning is possible. However, older learners often receive more explicit instruction than child L2 learners, which may affect their learning strategies. This study…

  4. Poorer verbal working memory for a second language selectively impacts academic achievement in university medical students

    PubMed Central

    Canny, Benedict J.; Reser, David H.; Rajan, Ramesh

    2013-01-01

    Working memory (WM) is often poorer for a second language (L2). In low noise conditions, people listening to a language other than their first language (L1) may have similar auditory perception skills for that L2 as native listeners, but do worse in high noise conditions, and this has been attributed to the poorer WM for L2. Given that WM is critical for academic success in children and young adults, these speech in noise effects have implications for academic performance where the language of instruction is L2 for a student. We used a well-established Speech-in-Noise task as a verbal WM (vWM) test, and developed a model correlating vWM and measures of English proficiency and/or usage to scholastic outcomes in a multi-faceted assessment medical education program. Significant differences in Speech-Noise Ratio (SNR50 ) values were observed between medical undergraduates who had learned English before or after five years of age, with the latter group doing worse in the ability to extract whole connected speech in the presence of background multi-talker babble (Student-t tests, p < 0.001). Significant negative correlations were observed between the SNR50 and seven of the nine variables of English usage, learning styles, stress, and musical abilities in a questionnaire administered to the students previously. The remaining two variables, Perceived Stress Scale (PSS) and the Age of Acquisition of English (AoAoE) were significantly positively correlated with the SNR50 , showing that those with a poorer capacity to discriminate simple English sentences from noise had learnt English later in life and had higher levels of stress – all characteristics of the international students. Local students exhibited significantly lower SNR50 scores and were significantly younger when they first learnt English. No significant correlation was detected between the SNR50 and the students’ Visual/Verbal Learning Style (r = −0.023). Standard multiple regression was carried out to

  5. Poorer verbal working memory for a second language selectively impacts academic achievement in university medical students.

    PubMed

    Mann, Collette; Canny, Benedict J; Reser, David H; Rajan, Ramesh

    2013-01-01

    Working memory (WM) is often poorer for a second language (L2). In low noise conditions, people listening to a language other than their first language (L1) may have similar auditory perception skills for that L2 as native listeners, but do worse in high noise conditions, and this has been attributed to the poorer WM for L2. Given that WM is critical for academic success in children and young adults, these speech in noise effects have implications for academic performance where the language of instruction is L2 for a student. We used a well-established Speech-in-Noise task as a verbal WM (vWM) test, and developed a model correlating vWM and measures of English proficiency and/or usage to scholastic outcomes in a multi-faceted assessment medical education program. Significant differences in Speech-Noise Ratio (SNR50) values were observed between medical undergraduates who had learned English before or after five years of age, with the latter group doing worse in the ability to extract whole connected speech in the presence of background multi-talker babble (Student-t tests, p < 0.001). Significant negative correlations were observed between the SNR50 and seven of the nine variables of English usage, learning styles, stress, and musical abilities in a questionnaire administered to the students previously. The remaining two variables, Perceived Stress Scale (PSS) and the Age of Acquisition of English (AoAoE) were significantly positively correlated with the SNR50, showing that those with a poorer capacity to discriminate simple English sentences from noise had learnt English later in life and had higher levels of stress - all characteristics of the international students. Local students exhibited significantly lower SNR50 scores and were significantly younger when they first learnt English. No significant correlation was detected between the SNR50 and the students' Visual/Verbal Learning Style (r = -0.023). Standard multiple regression was carried out to assess

  6. The Impact of Language Experience on Language and Reading: A Statistical Learning Approach

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Seidenberg, Mark S.; MacDonald, Maryellen C.

    2018-01-01

    This article reviews the important role of statistical learning for language and reading development. Although statistical learning--the unconscious encoding of patterns in language input--has become widely known as a force in infants' early interpretation of speech, the role of this kind of learning for language and reading comprehension in…

  7. Influence of Perceptual Saliency Hierarchy on Learning of Language Structures: An Artificial Language Learning Experiment

    PubMed Central

    Gong, Tao; Lam, Yau W.; Shuai, Lan

    2016-01-01

    Psychological experiments have revealed that in normal visual perception of humans, color cues are more salient than shape cues, which are more salient than textural patterns. We carried out an artificial language learning experiment to study whether such perceptual saliency hierarchy (color > shape > texture) influences the learning of orders regulating adjectives of involved visual features in a manner either congruent (expressing a salient feature in a salient part of the form) or incongruent (expressing a salient feature in a less salient part of the form) with that hierarchy. Results showed that within a few rounds of learning participants could learn the compositional segments encoding the visual features and the order between them, generalize the learned knowledge to unseen instances with the same or different orders, and show learning biases for orders that are congruent with the perceptual saliency hierarchy. Although the learning performances for both the biased and unbiased orders became similar given more learning trials, our study confirms that this type of individual perceptual constraint could contribute to the structural configuration of language, and points out that such constraint, as well as other factors, could collectively affect the structural diversity in languages. PMID:28066281

  8. Influence of Perceptual Saliency Hierarchy on Learning of Language Structures: An Artificial Language Learning Experiment.

    PubMed

    Gong, Tao; Lam, Yau W; Shuai, Lan

    2016-01-01

    Psychological experiments have revealed that in normal visual perception of humans, color cues are more salient than shape cues, which are more salient than textural patterns. We carried out an artificial language learning experiment to study whether such perceptual saliency hierarchy (color > shape > texture) influences the learning of orders regulating adjectives of involved visual features in a manner either congruent (expressing a salient feature in a salient part of the form) or incongruent (expressing a salient feature in a less salient part of the form) with that hierarchy. Results showed that within a few rounds of learning participants could learn the compositional segments encoding the visual features and the order between them, generalize the learned knowledge to unseen instances with the same or different orders, and show learning biases for orders that are congruent with the perceptual saliency hierarchy. Although the learning performances for both the biased and unbiased orders became similar given more learning trials, our study confirms that this type of individual perceptual constraint could contribute to the structural configuration of language, and points out that such constraint, as well as other factors, could collectively affect the structural diversity in languages.

  9. Early Parenting Beliefs and Academic Achievement: The Mediating Role of Language

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Im-Bolter, Nancie; Zadeh, Zohreh Yaghoub; Ling, Daphne

    2013-01-01

    Studies have demonstrated the association between parenting style and children's academic achievement, but the specific mechanisms underlying this relationship remain unclear. The development of skills that lay the foundation for academic success might be found in early parent-child interactions that foster language competence. Early negative…

  10. MUET Preparation Language Learning Strategies

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Kuen, Yoong Li; Embi, Mohamed Amin

    2012-01-01

    The main objective of the study was to examine the English language learning strategies (LLS) used by Lower Six students in secondary schools who are sitting for their MUET test. It analyzed the language learning strategies that students use in order to prepare for the MUET test. Data were collected using a survey questionnaire with 300 students.…

  11. The Effect of Using Some Democratic Practices on the University Students' Attitudes towards English Language Learning

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Aly, Mahsoub Abdul-Sadeq

    2005-01-01

    The present study aimed at identifying the democratic practices that can be followed in the EFL university classes and investigating their effect on the students' attitude towards the English language learning at the postgraduate level. A democratic practices list was identified. These practices were followed in EFL classes all the academic year…

  12. The Relationship Between Artificial and Second Language Learning.

    PubMed

    Ettlinger, Marc; Morgan-Short, Kara; Faretta-Stutenberg, Mandy; Wong, Patrick C M

    2016-05-01

    Artificial language learning (ALL) experiments have become an important tool in exploring principles of language and language learning. A persistent question in all of this work, however, is whether ALL engages the linguistic system and whether ALL studies are ecologically valid assessments of natural language ability. In the present study, we considered these questions by examining the relationship between performance in an ALL task and second language learning ability. Participants enrolled in a Spanish language class were evaluated using a number of different measures of Spanish ability and classroom performance, which was compared to IQ and a number of different measures of ALL performance. The results show that success in ALL experiments, particularly more complex artificial languages, correlates positively with indices of L2 learning even after controlling for IQ. These findings provide a key link between studies involving ALL and our understanding of second language learning in the classroom. Copyright © 2015 Cognitive Science Society, Inc.

  13. Language Anxiety among Gifted Learners in Malaysia

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Kamarulzaman, Mohd Hasrul; Ibrahim, Noraniza; Yunus, Melor Md; Ishak, Noriah Mohd

    2013-01-01

    Language anxiety has significantly sparked great concern in the second and foreign language learning world. Researches have found negative correlation between language anxiety and academic achievement of English language learners; and, most of the studies focus on average school students and tertiary level students. This paper, however, explores…

  14. Technology-Enhanced Language Learning (Tell): An Update and a Principled Framework for English for Academic Purposes (EAP) Courses

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Chau, Juliana; Lee, Alfred

    2014-01-01

    The range and number of technologies currently available have yielded both opportunities and challenges for language educators. This study aims to review recent technology-enhanced language learning (TeLL) research, and to examine their potential relevance to EAP pedagogy, curricula, assessment and instruction. The results of this study show TeLL…

  15. Language Learning as Linguistic Entrepreneurship: Implications for Language Education

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    De Costa, Peter; Park, Joseph; Wee, Lionel

    2016-01-01

    The growing emphasis on accountability, competitiveness, efficiency, and profit demonstrates how language education has been impacted by neoliberalism. To bring out the implications of neoliberalism on language education, we explore how language learning is increasingly constructed as a form of linguistic entrepreneurship, or "an act of…

  16. The Impact of Online and Traditional Homework on the Attitudes, Achievement, and Learning Styles of Sixth Grade Language Arts Students

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Nordstrom, Hope McGee

    2012-01-01

    The purpose of this study was to examine the use of online homework as one way to bridge the gap between how students live and the diverse ways they learn by focusing on the attitudes, academic achievement, and learning styles of sixth grade language arts students. Students in the treatment group completed online homework, while the control group…

  17. Executive function predicts artificial language learning

    PubMed Central

    Kapa, Leah L.; Colombo, John

    2017-01-01

    Previous research suggests executive function (EF) advantages among bilinguals compared to monolingual peers, and these advantages are generally attributed to experience controlling two linguistic systems. However, the possibility that the relationship between bilingualism and EF might be bidirectional has not been widely considered; while experience with two languages might improve EF, better EF skills might also facilitate language learning. In the current studies, we tested whether adults’ and preschool children’s EF abilities predicted success in learning a novel artificial language. After controlling for working memory and English receptive vocabulary, adults’ artificial language performance was predicted by their inhibitory control ability (Study 1) and children’s performance was predicted by their attentional monitoring and shifting ability (Study 2). These findings provide preliminary evidence suggesting that EF processes may be employed during initial stages of language learning, particularly vocabulary acquisition, and support the possibility of a bidirectional relationship between EF and language acquisition. PMID:29129958

  18. Teachers' language practices and academic outcomes of preschool children.

    PubMed

    Dickinson, David K

    2011-08-19

    Early childhood programs have long been known to be beneficial to children from low-income backgrounds, but recent studies have cast doubt on their ability to substantially increase the rate of children's academic achievement. This Review examines research on the role of language in later reading, describes home and classroom factors that foster early language growth, and reviews research on preschool interventions. It argues that one reason interventions are not having as great an impact as desired is because they fail to substantially change the capacity of teachers to support children's language and associated conceptual knowledge.

  19. The Academic English Language Needs of Industrial Design Students in UiTM Kedah, Malaysia

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Adzmi, Nor Aslah; Bidin, Samsiah; Ibrahim, Syazliyati; Jusoff, Kamaruzaman

    2009-01-01

    The purpose of this study was to analyse the academic English language lacks and needs of Industrial Design students in Universiti Teknologi MARA Kedah (UiTM). It highlights the lacks and needs for English for Academic Purposes in helping the students to succeed in the program through the usage of English language. The research tools used were in…

  20. Designing Tailor-Made Academic Paths for University Language Students

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Beseghi, Micol; Bertolotti, Greta

    2013-01-01

    The Language Centre of the University of Parma is responsible for the organization and administration of foreign language tests to a large number of university students. In order to reduce the high rate of test failures, the Language Centre has recently devised a pilot programme as an alternative to more established modes of language learning,…

  1. Cognitive assessment of refugee children: Effects of trauma and new language acquisition.

    PubMed

    Kaplan, Ida; Stolk, Yvonne; Valibhoy, Madeleine; Tucker, Alan; Baker, Judy

    2016-02-01

    Each year, approximately 60,000 children of refugee background are resettled in Western countries. This paper reviews the effects of the refugee experience on cognitive functioning. The distinctive influences for these children include exposure to traumatic events and the need to acquire a new language, factors that need to be considered to avoid overdiagnosis of learning disorders and inappropriate educational placements. Prearrival trauma, psychological sequelae of traumatic events, developmental impact of trauma, and the quality of family functioning have been found to influence cognitive functioning, learning, and academic performance. In addition, the refugee child may be semiproficient in several languages, but proficient in none, whilst also trying to learn a new language. The influence that the child's limited English proficiency, literacy, and school experience may have on academic and test performance is demonstrated by drawing on the research on refugees' English language acquisition, as well as the more extensive literature on bilingual English language learners. Implications for interventions are drawn at the level of government policy, schools, and the individual. The paper concludes with the observation that there is a major need for longitudinal research on refugee children's learning and academic performance and on interventions that will close the academic gap, thereby enabling refugee children to reach their educational potential. © The Author(s) 2015.

  2. Evoked prior learning experience and approach to learning as predictors of academic achievement.

    PubMed

    Trigwell, Keith; Ashwin, Paul; Millan, Elena S

    2013-09-01

    In separate studies and research from different perspectives, five factors are found to be among those related to higher quality outcomes of student learning (academic achievement). Those factors are higher self-efficacy, deeper approaches to learning, higher quality teaching, students' perceptions that their workload is appropriate, and greater learning motivation. University learning improvement strategies have been built on these research results. To investigate how students' evoked prior experience, perceptions of their learning environment, and their approaches to learning collectively contribute to academic achievement. This is the first study to investigate motivation and self-efficacy in the same educational context as conceptions of learning, approaches to learning and perceptions of the learning environment. Undergraduate students (773) from the full range of disciplines were part of a group of over 2,300 students who volunteered to complete a survey of their learning experience. On completing their degrees 6 and 18 months later, their academic achievement was matched with their learning experience survey data. A 77-item questionnaire was used to gather students' self-report of their evoked prior experience (self-efficacy, learning motivation, and conceptions of learning), perceptions of learning context (teaching quality and appropriate workload), and approaches to learning (deep and surface). Academic achievement was measured using the English honours degree classification system. Analyses were conducted using correlational and multi-variable (structural equation modelling) methods. The results from the correlation methods confirmed those found in numerous earlier studies. The results from the multi-variable analyses indicated that surface approach to learning was the strongest predictor of academic achievement, with self-efficacy and motivation also found to be directly related. In contrast to the correlation results, a deep approach to learning was

  3. A Professional Learning Community's Impact on Academic Achievement

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Ransom, Minnie

    2016-01-01

    English language learners (ELL students) were not attaining and maintaining sufficient proficiency at public schools in Northern California, as measured by students' achievement scores on state and district assessments. The purpose of this quasi-experimental research was to determine whether there were differences in academic language arts…

  4. Talk Like a Scientist! Simple "Frames" to Scaffold the Language of Science

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Hoffman, Lisa

    2013-01-01

    This article shares a teaching strategy for science teachers to use when supporting language development among English language learners. Students from other language backgrounds who are learning English need to learn both grade-level academic content and the language necessary to express scientific concepts. However, most science teachers are not…

  5. Academic Performance and Learning Style Self-Predictions by Second Language Students in an Introductory Biology Course

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Breckler, Jennifer; Teoh, Chia Shan; Role, Kemi

    2011-01-01

    Academic success in first-year college science coursework can strongly influence future career paths and usually includes a solid performance in introductory biology. We wanted to know whether factors affecting biology student performance might include learning style preferences and one's ability and confidence in self-assessing those learning…

  6. Computer-Assisted Language Learning (CALL) in Support of (Re)-Learning Native Languages: The Case of Runyakitara

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Katushemererwe, Fridah; Nerbonne, John

    2015-01-01

    This study presents the results from a computer-assisted language learning (CALL) system of Runyakitara (RU_CALL). The major objective was to provide an electronic language learning environment that can enable learners with mother tongue deficiencies to enhance their knowledge of grammar and acquire writing skills in Runyakitara. The system…

  7. Community Language Learning and Counseling-Learning. TEAL Occasional Papers, Vol. l, 1977.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Soga, Lillian

    Community Language Learning (CLL) is a humanistic approach to learning which emphasizes the learner and learning rather than the teacher and teaching. In some situations where the teacher is not fluent in the various languages spoken by the students, such as in the English as a second language (ESL) classroom, advanced students may serve as…

  8. Computational Investigations of Multiword Chunks in Language Learning.

    PubMed

    McCauley, Stewart M; Christiansen, Morten H

    2017-07-01

    Second-language learners rarely arrive at native proficiency in a number of linguistic domains, including morphological and syntactic processing. Previous approaches to understanding the different outcomes of first- versus second-language learning have focused on cognitive and neural factors. In contrast, we explore the possibility that children and adults may rely on different linguistic units throughout the course of language learning, with specific focus on the granularity of those units. Following recent psycholinguistic evidence for the role of multiword chunks in online language processing, we explore the hypothesis that children rely more heavily on multiword units in language learning than do adults learning a second language. To this end, we take an initial step toward using large-scale, corpus-based computational modeling as a tool for exploring the granularity of speakers' linguistic units. Employing a computational model of language learning, the Chunk-Based Learner, we compare the usefulness of chunk-based knowledge in accounting for the speech of second-language learners versus children and adults speaking their first language. Our findings suggest that while multiword units are likely to play a role in second-language learning, adults may learn less useful chunks, rely on them to a lesser extent, and arrive at them through different means than children learning a first language. Copyright © 2017 Cognitive Science Society, Inc.

  9. English language proficiency and academic performance: A study of a medical preparatory year program in Saudi Arabia

    PubMed Central

    Kaliyadan, Feroze; Thalamkandathil, Nazer; Parupalli, Srinivas Rao; Amin, Tarek Tawfik; Balaha, Magdy Hassan; Al Bu Ali, Waleed Hamad

    2015-01-01

    Introduction: All medical schools in Saudi Arabia have English as the primary official medium of instruction. Most of the high school education, however, is delivered in Arabic and hence the transition to an English based learning environment tends to be difficult for some students. Our study aims to correlate English language proficiency with academic performance among medical students in their preparatory year. Methods: A cross-sectional study design was used. Test scores of 103 preparatory year students (54 female and 49 male) were analyzed after the students completed an English language course and medical introductory course in their preparatory year. The total score obtained in the English course assessment was compared to each component of the medical content assessment. Results: A significantly positive correlation (Spearman's Rho, at 0.01 levels) was seen between the scores of the English exam and the written exam (P <0.001) and the oral exam (P = −0.003) parts respectively of the medical examination. Significant correlation with the English exam score was not obtained for the other components of the medical assessment, namely; student assignments, presentations and portfolios. Conclusion: English language proficiency is an important factor in determining academic proficiency of medical students in our college at the preparatory year level. PMID:26629471

  10. English language proficiency and academic performance: A study of a medical preparatory year program in Saudi Arabia.

    PubMed

    Kaliyadan, Feroze; Thalamkandathil, Nazer; Parupalli, Srinivas Rao; Amin, Tarek Tawfik; Balaha, Magdy Hassan; Al Bu Ali, Waleed Hamad

    2015-01-01

    All medical schools in Saudi Arabia have English as the primary official medium of instruction. Most of the high school education, however, is delivered in Arabic and hence the transition to an English based learning environment tends to be difficult for some students. Our study aims to correlate English language proficiency with academic performance among medical students in their preparatory year. A cross-sectional study design was used. Test scores of 103 preparatory year students (54 female and 49 male) were analyzed after the students completed an English language course and medical introductory course in their preparatory year. The total score obtained in the English course assessment was compared to each component of the medical content assessment. A significantly positive correlation (Spearman's Rho, at 0.01 levels) was seen between the scores of the English exam and the written exam (P <0.001) and the oral exam (P = -0.003) parts respectively of the medical examination. Significant correlation with the English exam score was not obtained for the other components of the medical assessment, namely; student assignments, presentations and portfolios. English language proficiency is an important factor in determining academic proficiency of medical students in our college at the preparatory year level.

  11. How and What Do Academics Learn through Their Personal Networks

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Pataraia, Nino; Margaryan, Anoush; Falconer, Isobel; Littlejohn, Allison

    2015-01-01

    This paper investigates the role of personal networks in academics' learning in relation to teaching. Drawing on in-depth interviews with 11 academics, this study examines, first, how and what academics learn through their personal networks; second, the perceived value of networks in relation to academics' professional development; and, third,…

  12. Academic Students' Attitudes toward Students with Learning Disabilities

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Gonen, Ayala; Grinberg, Keren

    2016-01-01

    Background: Learning disabilities (LD) are lifelong disabilities that affect all facets of a person's life. Aim: Identifying the relationship between academic students' attitudes toward learning disability, self-image, and selected factors. Methods: A questionnaire was distributed to 213 students from an academic center in Israel. Two different…

  13. Student Modeling and Ab Initio Language Learning.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Heift, Trude; Schulze, Mathias

    2003-01-01

    Provides examples of student modeling techniques that have been employed in computer-assisted language learning over the past decade. Describes two systems for learning German: "German Tutor" and "Geroline." Shows how a student model can support computerized adaptive language testing for diagnostic purposes in a Web-based language learning…

  14. Learning Additional Languages as Hierarchical Probabilistic Inference: Insights From First Language Processing.

    PubMed

    Pajak, Bozena; Fine, Alex B; Kleinschmidt, Dave F; Jaeger, T Florian

    2016-12-01

    We present a framework of second and additional language (L2/L n ) acquisition motivated by recent work on socio-indexical knowledge in first language (L1) processing. The distribution of linguistic categories covaries with socio-indexical variables (e.g., talker identity, gender, dialects). We summarize evidence that implicit probabilistic knowledge of this covariance is critical to L1 processing, and propose that L2/L n learning uses the same type of socio-indexical information to probabilistically infer latent hierarchical structure over previously learned and new languages. This structure guides the acquisition of new languages based on their inferred place within that hierarchy, and is itself continuously revised based on new input from any language. This proposal unifies L1 processing and L2/L n acquisition as probabilistic inference under uncertainty over socio-indexical structure. It also offers a new perspective on crosslinguistic influences during L2/L n learning, accommodating gradient and continued transfer (both negative and positive) from previously learned to novel languages, and vice versa.

  15. Learning Additional Languages as Hierarchical Probabilistic Inference: Insights From First Language Processing

    PubMed Central

    Pajak, Bozena; Fine, Alex B.; Kleinschmidt, Dave F.; Jaeger, T. Florian

    2015-01-01

    We present a framework of second and additional language (L2/Ln) acquisition motivated by recent work on socio-indexical knowledge in first language (L1) processing. The distribution of linguistic categories covaries with socio-indexical variables (e.g., talker identity, gender, dialects). We summarize evidence that implicit probabilistic knowledge of this covariance is critical to L1 processing, and propose that L2/Ln learning uses the same type of socio-indexical information to probabilistically infer latent hierarchical structure over previously learned and new languages. This structure guides the acquisition of new languages based on their inferred place within that hierarchy, and is itself continuously revised based on new input from any language. This proposal unifies L1 processing and L2/Ln acquisition as probabilistic inference under uncertainty over socio-indexical structure. It also offers a new perspective on crosslinguistic influences during L2/Ln learning, accommodating gradient and continued transfer (both negative and positive) from previously learned to novel languages, and vice versa. PMID:28348442

  16. E-Learning Readiness in the Academic Sector of Thailand

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Laohajaratsang, Thanomporn

    2009-01-01

    As e-learning in the academic sector serves as a crucial driving force in the development of e-learning in Thailand, this article looks at e-learning readiness in Thailand with a focus on the academic sector. The article is divided into four parts: (1) a brief history of e-learning in Thailand; (2) the infrastructure related to e-learning…

  17. A Proposed Pedagogical Approach for Preparing Teacher Candidates to Incorporate Academic Language in Mathematics Classrooms

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Lim, Woong; Stallings, Lynn; Kim, Dong Joong

    2015-01-01

    The purpose of this article is to present issues related to prioritizing academic language in teaching performance assessments and to propose a pedagogical approach that prepares middle grades mathematics teacher candidates to teach academic language. Based on our experience with teacher candidates and our knowledge of edTPA standards involving…

  18. Academic Language in Shared Book Reading: Parent and Teacher Input to Mono- and Bilingual Preschoolers

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Aarts, Rian; Demir-Vegter, Serpil; Kurvers, Jeanne; Henrichs, Lotte

    2016-01-01

    The current study examined academic language (AL) input of mothers and teachers to 15 monolingual Dutch and 15 bilingual Turkish-Dutch 4- to 6-year-old children and its relationships with the children's language development. At two times, shared book reading was videotaped and analyzed for academic features: lexical diversity, syntactic…

  19. Connecting and Reflecting: Transformative Learning in Academic Libraries

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Hooper, Michaela D. Willi; Scharf, Emily

    2017-01-01

    This literature review is intended to examine transformative learning within the context of academic libraries and its applications for librarians. Although the main audience is academic librarians who facilitate student learning, it may also be of interest to other practitioners and researchers who are interested in applying transformative…

  20. The Effects of Writing to Learn (WTL) on Academic Achievement and Attitude to Lesson in English Classes

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Incirci, Ayhan; Parmaksiz, Ramazan Sükrü

    2016-01-01

    The aim of this study is to investigate the effects of applying the writing letter activity of writing to learn strategies on the English Language Academic Achievement and Attitude level of 11th grade students. The research was carried out with 84 students (43 male, 41 female) at one of the state schools in the Black Sea Region of Turkey. Mixed…

  1. A Working Model for Intercultural Learning and Engagement in Collaborative Online Language Learning Environments

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Lawrence, Geoff

    2013-01-01

    Given the emerging focus on the intercultural dimension in language teaching and learning, language educators have been exploring the use of information and communications technology ICT-mediated language learning environments to link learners in intercultural language learning communities around the globe. Despite the potential promise of…

  2. User-Centered Computer Aided Language Learning

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Zaphiris, Panayiotis, Ed.; Zacharia, Giorgos, Ed.

    2006-01-01

    In the field of computer aided language learning (CALL), there is a need for emphasizing the importance of the user. "User-Centered Computer Aided Language Learning" presents methodologies, strategies, and design approaches for building interfaces for a user-centered CALL environment, creating a deeper understanding of the opportunities and…

  3. Adult Learning in the Language Classroom

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Johnson, Stacey Margarita

    2015-01-01

    This book explores connections between the fields of foreign/second language teaching and adult learning. This interdisciplinary approach serves as a framework in order to: (a) understand the teaching methods that promote the deeper, more critical sort of language learning advocated by scholars and professional organizations, (b) understand how…

  4. Academic Vocabulary, Writing and English for Academic Purposes: Perspectives from Second Language Learners

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Coxhead, Averil

    2012-01-01

    This article focuses on vocabulary and writing at university level from the perspectives of 14 English as an additional language students studying at a New Zealand university. The students individually carried out an integrated reading and writing task and then participated in an interview which focused on their language learning background and…

  5. Understanding and Enacting Learning Outcomes: The Academic's Perspective

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Dobbins, Kerry; Brooks, Sara; Scott, Jon J. A.; Rawlinson, Mark; Norman, Robert I.

    2016-01-01

    Despite a detailed literature exploring the advancement of a learning outcomes approach in higher education, limited evidence exists concerning academics' use of them. This study employed a questionnaire survey and interviews with academic staff in three schools in one institution to explore their views and uses of learning outcomes. Whilst…

  6. Underserved populations in science education: Enhancement through learning community participation

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Gray, Jennifer Emily

    A positive relationship between college anatomy students' achievement and academic language proficiency in the context of a learning community was established. For many students the barrier to learning science is language. A relationship exists between low academic language proficiency and lack of success among students, in particular failure among at-risk minority and language-minority students. The sample consisted of Anatomy classes during the Fall semesters of the academic years, 2000, 2001, and 2002 at a community college in Central California having a high percentage of culturally and linguistically diverse students. Students from each semester participated in the academic language proficiency and science achievement studies. Twenty-two of the Fall 2002 students (n = 65) enrolled in the Learning Community (LC) that included instruction in academic language in the context of the anatomy course content. Fall 2002 students (n = 19) also participated in Peer-led Support (PLS) sessions. Fall 2001 students participated in a textbook use study (n = 44) and in a Cooperative-Learning (CL) (n = 35) study. Students in the LC and Non-LC groups took the academic language assessment; their results were correlated with course grades and attendance. Fall 2002 students were compared for: (1) differences regarding self-expectations, (2) program impressions, and (3) demographics. Fall 2001 student reading habits and CL participation were analyzed. Results identified: (1) selected academic language tasks as good predictors of science success, (2) a significant positive relationship between science success and participation in support interventions, (3) no differences in self expectations or demographic characteristics of participants and non-participants in the LC group, and (4) poor textbook reading habits. Results showed a significant positive relationship between academic language proficiency and science achievement in participatory instruction.

  7. Language-Independent and Language-Specific Aspects of Early Literacy: An Evaluation of the Common Underlying Proficiency Model

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Goodrich, J. Marc; Lonigan, Christopher J.

    2017-01-01

    According to the common underlying proficiency model (Cummins, 1981), as children acquire academic knowledge and skills in their first language, they also acquire language-independent information about those skills that can be applied when learning a second language. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the relevance of the common underlying…

  8. The Role of Consciousness in Second Language Learning.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Schmidt, Richard W.

    1990-01-01

    Summarizes recent psychological research and theory on the topic of consciousness, and looks at three questions in second-language learning related to the role of consciousness in input processing. The discussion involves the requirement in learning a second language of subliminal learning, implicit learning, and incidental learning. (142…

  9. GESTURE'S ROLE IN CREATING AND LEARNING LANGUAGE.

    PubMed

    Goldin-Meadow, Susan

    2010-09-22

    Imagine a child who has never seen or heard language. Would such a child be able to invent a language? Despite what one might guess, the answer is "yes". This chapter describes children who are congenitally deaf and cannot learn the spoken language that surrounds them. In addition, the children have not been exposed to sign language, either by their hearing parents or their oral schools. Nevertheless, the children use their hands to communicate--they gesture--and those gestures take on many of the forms and functions of language (Goldin-Meadow 2003a). The properties of language that we find in these gestures are just those properties that do not need to be handed down from generation to generation, but can be reinvented by a child de novo. They are the resilient properties of language, properties that all children, deaf or hearing, come to language-learning ready to develop. In contrast to these deaf children who are inventing language with their hands, hearing children are learning language from a linguistic model. But they too produce gestures, as do all hearing speakers (Feyereisen and de Lannoy 1991; Goldin-Meadow 2003b; Kendon 1980; McNeill 1992). Indeed, young hearing children often use gesture to communicate before they use words. Interestingly, changes in a child's gestures not only predate but also predict changes in the child's early language, suggesting that gesture may be playing a role in the language-learning process. This chapter begins with a description of the gestures the deaf child produces without speech. These gestures assume the full burden of communication and take on a language-like form--they are language. This phenomenon stands in contrast to the gestures hearing speakers produce with speech. These gestures share the burden of communication with speech and do not take on a language-like form--they are part of language.

  10. Reconceptualising Learning in Transdisciplinary Languages Education

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Scarino, Angela; Liddicoat, Anthony J.

    2016-01-01

    Understanding and working with the complexity of second language learning and use in an intercultural orientation necessitates a re-examination of the different theories of learning that inform the different schools of second language acquisition (SLA). This re-examination takes place in a context where explicitly conceptualizing the nature of…

  11. HOW TO LEARN AN UNWRITTEN LANGUAGE.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    GUDSCHINSKY, SARAH C.

    A PRACTICAL GUIDE FOR THE ANTHROPOLOGY STUDENT CONFRONTED WITH LEARNING A LANGUAGE IN THE FIELD, THIS BOOK FOCUSES ON ACQUIRING EVERYDAY CONVERSATION RATHER THAN DIFFICULT LINGUISTIC PROBLEMS. THE FORM AND CONTENT ARE BASED ON THE FOLLOWING BASIC PREMISES--(1) LEARNING A LANGUAGE CONSISTS OF DISCOVERING AND CONTROLLING AS AUTOMATIC HABITS THE…

  12. Stressors, academic performance, and learned resourcefulness in baccalaureate nursing students.

    PubMed

    Goff, Anne-Marie

    2011-01-01

    High stress levels in nursing students may affect memory, concentration, and problem-solving ability, and may lead to decreased learning, coping, academic performance, and retention. College students with higher levels of learned resourcefulness develop greater self-confidence, motivation, and academic persistence, and are less likely to become anxious, depressed, and frustrated, but no studies specifically involve nursing students. This explanatory correlational study used Gadzella's Student-life Stress Inventory (SSI) and Rosenbaum's Self Control Scale (SCS) to explore learned resourcefulness, stressors, and academic performance in 53 baccalaureate nursing students. High levels of personal and academic stressors were evident, but not significant predictors of academic performance (p = .90). Age was a significant predictor of academic performance (p = < .01) and males and African-American/Black participants had higher learned resourcefulness scores than females and Caucasians. Studies in larger, more diverse samples are necessary to validate these findings.

  13. Immersing the Library in English Language Learning

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Riley, Bobby

    2008-01-01

    The author relates how his school has a very active English Language Learner (ELL) program. ELL students typically have varying levels of social and academic language, but almost always have some English proficiency. Recently, his school established a Newcomer Program that drastically changed the school system. They acquired students lacking any…

  14. Morphological learning in a novel language: A cross-language comparison.

    PubMed

    Havas, Viktória; Waris, Otto; Vaquero, Lucía; Rodríguez-Fornells, Antoni; Laine, Matti

    2015-01-01

    Being able to extract and interpret the internal structure of complex word forms such as the English word dance+r+s is crucial for successful language learning. We examined whether the ability to extract morphological information during word learning is affected by the morphological features of one's native tongue. Spanish and Finnish adult participants performed a word-picture associative learning task in an artificial language where the target words included a suffix marking the gender of the corresponding animate object. The short exposure phase was followed by a word recognition task and a generalization task for the suffix. The participants' native tongues vary greatly in terms of morphological structure, leading to two opposing hypotheses. On the one hand, Spanish speakers may be more effective in identifying gender in a novel language because this feature is present in Spanish but not in Finnish. On the other hand, Finnish speakers may have an advantage as the abundance of bound morphemes in their language calls for continuous morphological decomposition. The results support the latter alternative, suggesting that lifelong experience on morphological decomposition provides an advantage in novel morphological learning.

  15. The Cognitive Coaching-Supported Reflective Teaching Approach in English Language Teaching: Academic and Permanence Success

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Akyildiz, Seçil Tümen; Semerci, Çetin

    2016-01-01

    This study aimed at investigating the effect of the cognitive coaching-supported reflective teaching approach in English language teaching on the academic success of students and on the permanence of success. It was conducted during the spring semester of 2013/2014 academic year at the School of Foreign Languages, Firat University, Elazig, Turkey.…

  16. [Information technology in learning sign language].

    PubMed

    Hernández, Cesar; Pulido, Jose L; Arias, Jorge E

    2015-01-01

    To develop a technological tool that improves the initial learning of sign language in hearing impaired children. The development of this research was conducted in three phases: the lifting of requirements, design and development of the proposed device, and validation and evaluation device. Through the use of information technology and with the advice of special education professionals, we were able to develop an electronic device that facilitates the learning of sign language in deaf children. This is formed mainly by a graphic touch screen, a voice synthesizer, and a voice recognition system. Validation was performed with the deaf children in the Filadelfia School of the city of Bogotá. A learning methodology was established that improves learning times through a small, portable, lightweight, and educational technological prototype. Tests showed the effectiveness of this prototype, achieving a 32 % reduction in the initial learning time for sign language in deaf children.

  17. The Relationship between Artificial and Second Language Learning

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Ettlinger, Marc; Morgan-Short, Kara; Faretta-Stutenberg, Mandy; Wong, Patrick C. M.

    2016-01-01

    Artificial language learning (ALL) experiments have become an important tool in exploring principles of language and language learning. A persistent question in all of this work, however, is whether ALL engages the linguistic system and whether ALL studies are ecologically valid assessments of natural language ability. In the present study, we…

  18. Beyond the Four Walls: Community-Based Learning and Languages

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    O'Connor, Anne

    2012-01-01

    At a time when languages in universities are under pressure, community-based learning language courses can have many positive benefits: they can increase interest in language learning, they can foster greater engagement with learning, and they can encourage active learning, creativity and teamwork. These courses, which link the classroom and the…

  19. Learning styles and academic achievement among undergraduate medical students in Thailand.

    PubMed

    Jiraporncharoen, Wichuda; Angkurawaranon, Chaisiri; Chockjamsai, Manoch; Deesomchok, Athavudh; Euathrongchit, Juntima

    2015-01-01

    This study aimed to explore the associations between learning styles and high academic achievement and to ascertain whether the factors associated with high academic achievement differed between preclinical and clinical students. A survey was conducted among undergraduate medical students in Chiang Mai University, Thailand. The Index of Learning Styles questionnaire was used to assess each student's learning style across four domains. High academic achievement was defined as a grade point average of at least 3.0. Of the 1,248 eligible medical students, 1,014 (81.3%) participated. Learning styles differed between the preclinical and clinical students in the active/reflective domain. A sequential learning style was associated with high academic achievement in both preclinical and clinical students. A reflective learning style was only associated with high academic achievement among preclinical students. The association between learning styles and academic achievement may have differed between preclinical and clinical students due to different learning content and teaching methods. Students should be encouraged to be flexible in their own learning styles in order to engage successfully with various and changing teaching methods across the curriculum. Instructors should be also encouraged to provide a variety of teaching materials and resources to suit different learning styles.

  20. Learning styles and academic achievement among undergraduate medical students in Thailand

    PubMed Central

    Jiraporncharoen, Wichuda; Angkurawaranon, Chaisiri; Chockjamsai, Manoch; Deesomchok, Athavudh; Euathrongchit, Juntima

    2015-01-01

    Purpose: This study aimed to explore the associations between learning styles and high academic achievement and to ascertain whether the factors associated with high academic achievement differed between preclinical and clinical students. Methods: A survey was conducted among undergraduate medical students in Chiang Mai University, Thailand. The Index of Learning Styles questionnaire was used to assess each student’s learning style across four domains. High academic achievement was defined as a grade point average of at least 3.0. Results: Of the 1,248 eligible medical students, 1,014 (81.3%) participated. Learning styles differed between the preclinical and clinical students in the active/reflective domain. A sequential learning style was associated with high academic achievement in both preclinical and clinical students. A reflective learning style was only associated with high academic achievement among preclinical students. Conclusion: The association between learning styles and academic achievement may have differed between preclinical and clinical students due to different learning content and teaching methods. Students should be encouraged to be flexible in their own learning styles in order to engage successfully with various and changing teaching methods across the curriculum. Instructors should be also encouraged to provide a variety of teaching materials and resources to suit different learning styles. PMID:26165948

  1. The English proficiency and academic language skills of Australian bilingual children during the primary school years.

    PubMed

    Dennaoui, Kamelia; Nicholls, Ruth Jane; O'Connor, Meredith; Tarasuik, Joanne; Kvalsvig, Amanda; Goldfeld, Sharon

    2016-04-01

    Evidence suggests that early proficiency in the language of school instruction is an important predictor of academic success for bilingual children. This study investigated whether English-proficiency at 4-5 years of age predicts academic language and literacy skills among Australian bilingual children at 10-11 years of age, as part of the Longitudinal Study of Australian Children ( LSAC, 2012 ). The LSAC comprises a nationally representative clustered cross-sequential sample of Australian children. Data were analysed from a sub-sample of 129 bilingual children from the LSAC Kindergarten cohort (n = 4983), for whom teachers completed the Australian Early Development Index (AEDI) checklist (a population measure of early childhood development) and the Academic Rating Scale (ARS) language and literacy subscale. Linear regression analyses revealed that bilingual children who commenced school with stronger English proficiency had higher academic language and literacy scores at the end of primary school (β = 0.45). English proficiency remained a significant predictor, even when accounting for gender and socio-economic disadvantage (β = 0.38). The findings indicate that bilingual children who begin school without English proficiency are at risk of difficulties with academic language and literacy, even after 6 years of schooling. Risk factors need to be identified so early support can be targeted towards the most vulnerable children.

  2. Video and Second Language Learning. Special Issue.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Gillespie, Junetta B., Ed.

    1985-01-01

    The extent to which video has come of age with respect to language learning is the focus of this special issue, which provides information on sources of materials and offers practical ideas for the effective and creative use of those materials in second language instruction. Articles include: "Video and Language Learning: A Medium Comes of Age"…

  3. The Academic and Functional Academic Skills of Youth Who Are at Risk for Language Impairment in Residential Care

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Hagaman, Jessica L.; Trout, Alexandra L.; DeSalvo, Cathy; Gehringer, Robert; Epstein, Michael H.

    2010-01-01

    Purpose: Undiagnosed language impairment (LI) for youth in residential care is a concern as similar populations have shown elevated levels of language delays. Therefore, the purposes of this study were to identify the percentage of youth in residential care who are at risk for LI and to compare the demographic, academic achievement, and functional…

  4. Cognitive Learning Strategy of BIPA Students in Learning the Indonesian Language

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Suyitno, Imam; Susanto, Gatut; Kamal, Musthofa; Fawzi, Ary

    2017-01-01

    The study outlined in this article aims to describe and explain the cognitive learning strategies used by foreign students in learning the Indonesian language. The research was designed as a qualitative study. The research participants are foreign students who were learning the Indonesian language in the BIPA program. The data sources of the…

  5. Which Methodology Works Better? English Language Teachers' Awareness of the Innovative Language Learning Methodologies

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Kurt, Mustafa

    2015-01-01

    The present study investigated whether English language teachers were aware of the innovative language learning methodologies in language learning, how they made use of these methodologies and the learners' reactions to them. The descriptive survey method was employed to disclose the frequencies and percentages of 175 English language teachers'…

  6. Autonomy in Language Learning.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Gathercole, Ian, Ed.

    Ten papers from a January 1990 conference in Britain on the meaning and implications of autonomy for school learners of second languages address theoretical and practical issues in independent study, learner-controlled instruction, cooperative learning, teacher-student relationship, learner responsibility, students with learning difficulties, and…

  7. Translanguaging in English Academic Writing Preparation

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Adamson, John; Coulson, David

    2015-01-01

    We investigate translanguaging (i.e. the co-use of first and second languages) in a Content and Language Integrated Learning course, as a pragmatic means to promote the skill of young university students in extended critical academic writing. We aimed to prepare new undergraduate students (n = 180) for courses where partial English-medium…

  8. Language Acquisition as Rational Contingency Learning

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Ellis, Nick C.

    2006-01-01

    This paper considers how fluent language users are rational in their language processing, their unconscious language representation systems optimally prepared for comprehension and production, how language learners are intuitive statisticians, and how acquisition can be understood as contingency learning. But there are important aspects of second…

  9. Exploring Effectiveness and Moderators of Language Learning Strategy Instruction on Second Language and Self-Regulated Learning Outcomes

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Ardasheva, Yuliya; Wang, Zhe; Adesope, Olusola O.; Valentine, Jeffrey C.

    2017-01-01

    This meta-analysis synthesized recent research on strategy instruction (SI) effectiveness to estimate SI effects and their moderators for two domains: second/foreign language and self-regulated learning. A total of 37 studies (47 independent samples) for language domain and 16 studies (17 independent samples) for self-regulated learning domain…

  10. "Your Thrust Is to Understand"--How Academically Successful Students Learn

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    McMillan, Wendy Jayne

    2010-01-01

    The article sets out to understand how academically successful students learn. Self-regulated learning theory is used as a lens to explicate the learning strategies adopted by a cohort of academically successful dentistry students. Data were collected from self-report interviews, observations of individual student's learning in a quasi-realistic…

  11. Integrating Culture into Language Teaching and Learning: Learner Outcomes

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Nguyen, Trang Thi Thuy

    2017-01-01

    This paper discusses the issue of learner outcomes in learning culture as part of their language learning. First, some brief discussion on the role of culture in language teaching and learning, as well as on culture contents in language lessons is presented. Based on a detailed review of previous literature related to culture in language teaching…

  12. Practice Theory in Language Learning

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Young, Richard F.; Astarita, Alice C.

    2013-01-01

    Ortega (2011) has argued that second language acquisition is stronger and better after the social turn. Of the post-cognitive approaches she reviews, several focus on the social context of language learning rather than on language as the central phenomenon. In this article, we present Practice Theory not as yet another approach to language…

  13. Drama Techniques in Language Learning.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Maley, Alan; Duff, Alan

    The drama activities in this teaching guide are designed to develop second language learning skills by constructing situations that require the student to concentrate on the meaning and emotional content of language rather than on its structure. In an attempt to involve the whole personality of the learner in the acquisition of language, the…

  14. A European Languages Virtual Network Proposal

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    García-Peñalvo, Francisco José; González-González, Juan Carlos; Murray, Maria

    ELVIN (European Languages Virtual Network) is a European Union (EU) Lifelong Learning Programme Project aimed at creating an informal social network to support and facilitate language learning. The ELVIN project aims to research and develop the connection between social networks, professional profiles and language learning in an informal educational context. At the core of the ELVIN project, there will be a web 2.0 social networking platform that connects employees/students for language practice based on their own professional/academic needs and abilities, using all relevant technologies. The ELVIN remit involves the examination of both methodological and technological issues inherent in achieving a social-based learning platform that provides the user with their own customized Personal Learning Environment for EU language acquisition. ELVIN started in November 2009 and this paper presents the project aims and objectives as well as the development and implementation of the web platform.

  15. Incidental Language Learning in Foreign Language Content Courses

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Rodgers, Daryl M.

    2015-01-01

    This study examined the extent to which 40 students enrolled in upper level foreign language literary/cultural studies content courses showed evidence of incidental language learning over the course of a semester. Students completed a cloze passage and provided both writing and speaking samples at the beginning and end of the semester. In…

  16. Studying the mechanisms of language learning by varying the learning environment and the learner

    PubMed Central

    Goldin-Meadow, Susan

    2015-01-01

    Language learning is a resilient process, and many linguistic properties can be developed under a wide range of learning environments and learners. The first goal of this review is to describe properties of language that can be developed without exposure to a language model – the resilient properties of language – and to explore conditions under which more fragile properties emerge. But even if a linguistic property is resilient, the developmental course that the property follows is likely to vary as a function of learning environment and learner, that is, there are likely to be individual differences in the learning trajectories children follow. The second goal is to consider how the resilient properties are brought to bear on language learning when a child is exposed to a language model. The review ends by considering the implications of both sets of findings for mechanisms, focusing on the role that the body and linguistic input play in language learning. PMID:26668813

  17. Studying the mechanisms of language learning by varying the learning environment and the learner.

    PubMed

    Goldin-Meadow, Susan

    Language learning is a resilient process, and many linguistic properties can be developed under a wide range of learning environments and learners. The first goal of this review is to describe properties of language that can be developed without exposure to a language model - the resilient properties of language - and to explore conditions under which more fragile properties emerge. But even if a linguistic property is resilient, the developmental course that the property follows is likely to vary as a function of learning environment and learner, that is, there are likely to be individual differences in the learning trajectories children follow. The second goal is to consider how the resilient properties are brought to bear on language learning when a child is exposed to a language model. The review ends by considering the implications of both sets of findings for mechanisms, focusing on the role that the body and linguistic input play in language learning.

  18. Measuring and Comparing Academic Language Development and Conceptual Understanding via Science Notebooks

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Huerta, Margarita; Tong, Fuhui; Irby, Beverly J.; Lara-Alecio, Rafael

    2016-01-01

    The authors of this quantitative study measured and compared the academic language development and conceptual understanding of fifth-grade economically disadvantaged English language learners (ELL), former ELLs, and native English-speaking (ES) students as reflected in their science notebook scores. Using an instrument they developed, the authors…

  19. Child first language and adult second language are both tied to general-purpose learning systems.

    PubMed

    Hamrick, Phillip; Lum, Jarrad A G; Ullman, Michael T

    2018-02-13

    Do the mechanisms underlying language in fact serve general-purpose functions that preexist this uniquely human capacity? To address this contentious and empirically challenging issue, we systematically tested the predictions of a well-studied neurocognitive theory of language motivated by evolutionary principles. Multiple metaanalyses were performed to examine predicted links between language and two general-purpose learning systems, declarative and procedural memory. The results tied lexical abilities to learning only in declarative memory, while grammar was linked to learning in both systems in both child first language and adult second language, in specific ways. In second language learners, grammar was associated with only declarative memory at lower language experience, but with only procedural memory at higher experience. The findings yielded large effect sizes and held consistently across languages, language families, linguistic structures, and tasks, underscoring their reliability and validity. The results, which met the predicted pattern, provide comprehensive evidence that language is tied to general-purpose systems both in children acquiring their native language and adults learning an additional language. Crucially, if language learning relies on these systems, then our extensive knowledge of the systems from animal and human studies may also apply to this domain, leading to predictions that might be unwarranted in the more circumscribed study of language. Thus, by demonstrating a role for these systems in language, the findings simultaneously lay a foundation for potentially important advances in the study of this critical domain.

  20. Modelling Typical Online Language Learning Activity

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Montoro, Carlos; Hampel, Regine; Stickler, Ursula

    2014-01-01

    This article presents the methods and results of a four-year-long research project focusing on the language learning activity of individual learners using online tasks conducted at the University of Guanajuato (Mexico) in 2009-2013. An activity-theoretical model (Blin, 2010; Engeström, 1987) of the typical language learning activity was used to…

  1. Data-Informed Language Learning

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Godwin-Jones, Robert

    2017-01-01

    Although data collection has been used in language learning settings for some time, it is only in recent decades that large corpora have become available, along with efficient tools for their use. Advances in natural language processing (NLP) have enabled rich tagging and annotation of corpus data, essential for their effective use in language…

  2. Online Estonian Language Learning

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Teral, Maarika; Rammo, Sirje

    2014-01-01

    This presentation focuses on computer-assisted learning of Estonian, one of the lesser taught European languages belonging to the Finno-Ugric language family. Impulses for this paper came from Estonian courses that started in the University of Tartu in 2010, 2011 and 2012. In all the courses the students gain introductory knowledge of Estonian and…

  3. Service-Learning as a Means of Vocabulary Learning for Second Language and Heritage Language Learners of Spanish

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Tocaimaza-Hatch, C. Cecilia; Walls, Laura C.

    2016-01-01

    Service-Learning (SL) has been defined as an experiential teaching methodology. Through SL, students participate in activities that benefit their community and enhance their learning experience. In the current study, Spanish as a second language (L2) and heritage language learners (HLLs) engaged in a SL project in which they translated English…

  4. The Lifelong Learning Iceberg of Information Systems Academics--A Study of On-Going Formal and Informal Learning by Academics

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Davey, Bill; Tatnall, Arthur

    2007-01-01

    This article describes a study that examined the lifelong learning of information systems academics in relation to their normal work. It begins by considering the concept of lifelong learning, its relationship to real-life learning and that lifelong learning should encompass the whole spectrum of formal, non-formal and informal learning. Most…

  5. Academic Vocabulary Learning in First Through Third Grade in Low-Income Schools: Effects of Automated Supplemental Instruction.

    PubMed

    Goldstein, Howard; Ziolkowski, Robyn A; Bojczyk, Kathryn E; Marty, Ana; Schneider, Naomi; Harpring, Jayme; Haring, Christa D

    2017-11-09

    This study investigated cumulative effects of language learning, specifically whether prior vocabulary knowledge or special education status moderated the effects of academic vocabulary instruction in high-poverty schools. Effects of a supplemental intervention targeting academic vocabulary in first through third grades were evaluated with 241 students (6-9 years old) from low-income families, 48% of whom were retained for the 3-year study duration. Students were randomly assigned to vocabulary instruction or comparison groups. Curriculum-based measures of word recognition, receptive identification, expressive labeling, and decontextualized definitions showed large effects for multiple levels of word learning. Hierarchical linear modeling revealed that students with higher initial Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test-Fourth Edition scores (Dunn & Dunn, 2007) demonstrated greater word learning, whereas students with special needs demonstrated less growth in vocabulary. This model of vocabulary instruction can be applied efficiently in high-poverty schools through an automated, easily implemented adjunct to reading instruction in the early grades and holds promise for reducing gaps in vocabulary development.

  6. The Association between Aerobic Fitness and Language Processing in Children: Implications for Academic Achievement

    PubMed Central

    Scudder, Mark R.; Federmeier, Kara D.; Raine, Lauren B.; Direito, Artur; Boyd, Jeremy K.; Hillman, Charles H.

    2014-01-01

    Event-related brain potentials (ERPs) have been instrumental for discerning the relationship between children’s aerobic fitness and aspects of cognition, yet language processing remains unexplored. ERPs linked to the processing of semantic information (the N400) and the analysis of language structure (the P600) were recorded from higher and lower aerobically fit children as they read normal sentences and those containing semantic or syntactic violations. Results revealed that higher fit children exhibited greater N400 amplitude and shorter latency across all sentence types, and a larger P600 effect for syntactic violations. Such findings suggest that higher fitness may be associated with a richer network of words and their meanings, and a greater ability to detect and/or repair syntactic errors. The current findings extend previous ERP research explicating the cognitive benefits associated with greater aerobic fitness in children and may have important implications for learning and academic performance. PMID:24747513

  7. Mother-adolescent language proficiency and adolescent academic and emotional adjustment among Chinese American families.

    PubMed

    Liu, Lisa L; Benner, Aprile D; Lau, Anna S; Kim, Su Yeong

    2009-04-01

    This study examined the role of adolescents' and mothers' self-reports of English and heritage language proficiency in youth's academic and emotional adjustment among 444 Chinese American families. Adolescents who were proficient in English tended to exhibit higher reading achievement scores, math achievement scores, and overall GPA. Mothers who were English proficient tended to have children with higher academic achievement and fewer depressive symptoms. Results also indicated that adolescents' heritage language maintenance was associated with positive adjustment, particularly amongst foreign-born youth and for youth whose parents were highly proficient in the heritage language. Mother-adolescent match in heritage language proficiency was related to higher math achievement scores and overall GPA. Additionally, higher heritage language proficiency was associated with fewer depressive symptoms for foreign-born but not U.S.-born youth. Overall, the findings suggest that proficiency in both the English and heritage language may confer advantages to Chinese American youth.

  8. An Analysis of Learners' Motivation and Attitudes toward Learning English Language at Tertiary Level in Turkish EFL Context

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Genc, Zubeyde Sinem; Aydin, Fulya

    2017-01-01

    The purpose of this study is to investigate Turkish students' (n = 462) motivation and attitudes toward learning English as a foreign language at a state university in Turkey and the relation between their attitudes, motivation and the variables such as gender, parental involvement, their fields of study at university, and academic achievement. It…

  9. Weblogs for English Language Learning: Students' Perceptions

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Wan, Juida; Tan, Bee Hoon

    2011-01-01

    The digital explosion of information on the Internet has resulted in a need for a new and up-to-date way for Digital Natives to learn English. Educators have reported numerous benefits of using weblogs in English language learning. This article presents a small scale study on the use of weblogs for English language learning at tertiary level in…

  10. Singing can facilitate foreign language learning.

    PubMed

    Ludke, Karen M; Ferreira, Fernanda; Overy, Katie

    2014-01-01

    This study presents the first experimental evidence that singing can facilitate short-term paired-associate phrase learning in an unfamiliar language (Hungarian). Sixty adult participants were randomly assigned to one of three "listen-and-repeat" learning conditions: speaking, rhythmic speaking, or singing. Participants in the singing condition showed superior overall performance on a collection of Hungarian language tests after a 15-min learning period, as compared with participants in the speaking and rhythmic speaking conditions. This superior performance was statistically significant (p < .05) for the two tests that required participants to recall and produce spoken Hungarian phrases. The differences in performance were not explained by potentially influencing factors such as age, gender, mood, phonological working memory ability, or musical ability and training. These results suggest that a "listen-and-sing" learning method can facilitate verbatim memory for spoken foreign language phrases.

  11. The Relationship between Language Literacy and ELL Student Academic Performance in Mathematics

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Lawon, Molly A.

    2017-01-01

    This quantitative study used regression analysis to investigate the correlation of limited language proficiency and the performance of English Language Learner (ELL) students on two commonly used math assessments, namely the Smarter Balanced Assessment Consortium (SBAC) and the Measures of Academic Progress (MAP). Scores were analyzed for eighth…

  12. Cognitive characteristics of learning Java, an object-oriented programming language

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    White, Garry Lynn

    Industry and Academia are moving from procedural programming languages (e.g., COBOL) to object-oriented programming languages, such as Java for the Internet. Past studies in the cognitive aspects of programming have focused primarily on procedural programming languages. Some of the languages used have been Pascal, C, Basic, FORTAN, and COBOL. Object-oriented programming (OOP) represents a new paradigm for computing. Industry is finding that programmers are having difficulty shifting to this new programming paradigm. This instruction in OOP is currently starting in colleges and universities across the country. What are the cognitive aspects for this new OOP language Java? When is a student developmentally ready to handle the cognitive characteristics of the OOP language Java? Which cognitive teaching style is best for this OOP language Java? Questions such as the aforementioned are the focus of this research Such research is needed to improve understanding of the learning process and identify students' difficulties with OOP methods. This can enhance academic teaching and industry training (Scholtz, 1993; Sheetz, 1997; Rosson, 1990). Cognitive development as measured by the Propositional Logic Test, cognitive style as measured by the Hemispheric Mode Indicator, and physical hemispheric dominance as measured by a self-report survey were obtained from thirty-six university students studying Java programming. Findings reveal that physical hemispheric dominance is unrelated to cognitive and programming language variables. However, both procedural and object oriented programming require Piaget's formal operation cognitive level as indicated by the Propositional Logic Test. This is consistent with prior research A new finding is that object oriented programming also requires formal operation cognitive level. Another new finding is that object oriented programming appears to be unrelated to hemispheric cognitive style as indicated by the Hemispheric Mode Indicator (HMI

  13. Morningness-eveningness preferences, learning approach and academic achievement of undergraduate medical students.

    PubMed

    Akram, Nimra; Khan, Naheed; Ameen, Mehreen; Mahmood, Shahmeera; Shamim, Komal; Amin, Marium; Rana, Qurrat Ul Ain

    2018-05-15

    Several studies have focused on determining the effect of chronotype and learning approach on academic achievement separately indicating that morning types have an academic advantage over the evening types and so have the deep learners over the surface learners. But, surprisingly none have assessed the possible relationship between chronotype and learning approach. So, the current study aimed to evaluate this association and their individual influence on academic performance as indicated by the Cumulative Grade Point Average (CGPA) as well as the effect of their interaction on academic performance. The study included 345 undergraduate medical students who responded to reduced Morningness-Eveningness Questionnaire and Biggs Revised Two-Factor Study Process Questionnaire. Morning types indulged in deep learning while evening types in surface learning. Morning and evening types did not differ on academic performance but deep learners had better academic outcomes than their counterparts. The interaction between chronotype and learning approach was significant on determining academic achievement. Our findings gave the impression that chronotype could have an impact on academic performance not directly but indirectly through learning approaches.

  14. Language Learning and Its Impact on the Brain: Connecting Language Learning with the Mind through Content-Based Instruction

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Kennedy, Teresa J.

    2006-01-01

    Cognitive sciences are discovering many things that educators have always intuitively known about language learning. However, the important point is actively using this new information to improve both students learning and current teaching practices. The implications of neuroscience for educational reform regarding second language (L2) learning…

  15. Academic procrastination, emotional intelligence, academic self-efficacy, and GPA: a comparison between students with and without learning disabilities.

    PubMed

    Hen, Meirav; Goroshit, Marina

    2014-01-01

    Academic procrastination has been seen as an impediment to students' academic success. Research findings suggest that it is related to lower levels of self-regulated learning and academic self-efficacy and associated with higher levels of anxiety, stress, and illness. Emotional intelligence (EI) is the ability to assess, regulate, and utilize emotions and has been found to be associated with academic self-efficacy and a variety of better outcomes, including academic performance. Students with learning disabilities (LD) are well acquainted with academic difficulty and maladaptive academic behavior. In comparison to students without LD, they exhibit high levels of learned helplessness, including diminished persistence, lower academic expectations, and negative affect. This study examined the relationships among academic procrastination, EI, and academic performance as mediated by academic self-efficacy in 287 LD and non-LD students. Results indicated that the indirect effect of EI on academic procrastination and GPA was stronger in LD students than in non-LD students. In addition, results indicated that LD students scored lower than non-LD students on both EI and academic self-efficacy and higher on academic procrastination. No difference was found in GPA.

  16. Mobile-Assisted Second Language Learning: Developing a Learner-Centered Framework

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Leow, Choy Khim; Yahaya, Wan Ahmad Jaafar Wan; Samsudin, Zarina

    2014-01-01

    The Mobile Assisted Language Learning concept has offered infinite language learning opportunities since its inception 20 years ago. Second Language Acquisition however embraces a considerably different body of knowledge from first language learning. While technological advances have optimized the psycholinguistic environment for language…

  17. How relevant is social interaction in second language learning?

    PubMed Central

    Verga, Laura; Kotz, Sonja A.

    2013-01-01

    Verbal language is the most widespread mode of human communication, and an intrinsically social activity. This claim is strengthened by evidence emerging from different fields, which clearly indicates that social interaction influences human communication, and more specifically, language learning. Indeed, research conducted with infants and children shows that interaction with a caregiver is necessary to acquire language. Further evidence on the influence of sociality on language comes from social and linguistic pathologies, in which deficits in social and linguistic abilities are tightly intertwined, as is the case for Autism, for example. However, studies on adult second language (L2) learning have been mostly focused on individualistic approaches, partly because of methodological constraints, especially of imaging methods. The question as to whether social interaction should be considered as a critical factor impacting upon adult language learning still remains underspecified. Here, we review evidence in support of the view that sociality plays a significant role in communication and language learning, in an attempt to emphasize factors that could facilitate this process in adult language learning. We suggest that sociality should be considered as a potentially influential factor in adult language learning and that future studies in this domain should explicitly target this factor. PMID:24027521

  18. How relevant is social interaction in second language learning?

    PubMed

    Verga, Laura; Kotz, Sonja A

    2013-09-03

    Verbal language is the most widespread mode of human communication, and an intrinsically social activity. This claim is strengthened by evidence emerging from different fields, which clearly indicates that social interaction influences human communication, and more specifically, language learning. Indeed, research conducted with infants and children shows that interaction with a caregiver is necessary to acquire language. Further evidence on the influence of sociality on language comes from social and linguistic pathologies, in which deficits in social and linguistic abilities are tightly intertwined, as is the case for Autism, for example. However, studies on adult second language (L2) learning have been mostly focused on individualistic approaches, partly because of methodological constraints, especially of imaging methods. The question as to whether social interaction should be considered as a critical factor impacting upon adult language learning still remains underspecified. Here, we review evidence in support of the view that sociality plays a significant role in communication and language learning, in an attempt to emphasize factors that could facilitate this process in adult language learning. We suggest that sociality should be considered as a potentially influential factor in adult language learning and that future studies in this domain should explicitly target this factor.

  19. The impact of second language learning on semantic and nonsemantic first language reading.

    PubMed

    Nosarti, Chiara; Mechelli, Andrea; Green, David W; Price, Cathy J

    2010-02-01

    The relationship between orthography (spelling) and phonology (speech sounds) varies across alphabetic languages. Consequently, learning to read a second alphabetic language, that uses the same letters as the first, increases the phonological associations that can be linked to the same orthographic units. In subjects with English as their first language, previous functional imaging studies have reported increased left ventral prefrontal activation for reading words with spellings that are inconsistent with their orthographic neighbors (e.g., PINT) compared with words that are consistent with their orthographic neighbors (e.g., SHIP). Here, using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) in 17 Italian-English and 13 English-Italian bilinguals, we demonstrate that left ventral prefrontal activation for first language reading increases with second language vocabulary knowledge. This suggests that learning a second alphabetic language changes the way that words are read in the first alphabetic language. Specifically, first language reading is more reliant on both lexical/semantic and nonlexical processing when new orthographic to phonological mappings are introduced by second language learning. Our observations were in a context that required participants to switch between languages. They motivate future fMRI studies to test whether first language reading is also altered in contexts when the second language is not in use.

  20. Teachers' and Students' Beliefs regarding Aspects of Language Learning

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Davis, Adrian

    2003-01-01

    The similarities and dissimilarities between teachers' and students' conceptions of language learning were addressed through a questionnaire survey concerning the nature and methods of language learning. The results indicate points of congruence between teachers' and students' beliefs about language learning in respect of eight main areas.…

  1. Learning a Language with Web 2.0: Exploring the Use of Social Networking Features of Foreign Language Learning Websites

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Stevenson, Megan P.; Liu, Min

    2010-01-01

    This paper presents the results of an online survey and a usability test performed on three foreign language learning websites that use Web 2.0 technology. The online survey was conducted to gain an understanding of how current users of language learning websites use them for learning and social purposes. The usability test was conducted to gain…

  2. Languaging as Competencing: Considering Language Learning as Enactment

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Hellermann, John

    2018-01-01

    The terms "interactional competence" and "learning" are discussed in the context of recent research in the areas of cognitive science and ethnomethodological conversation analysis studies of language learning. Two data excerpts from a longitudinal case study of a beginning learner of English are presented to illustrate (1) the…

  3. Myths about Foreign Language Learning and Learning Disabilities

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Sparks, Richard L.

    2016-01-01

    Conventional wisdom in education has suggested that students who are classified as learning disabled (LD) will exhibit inordinate difficulties learning a foreign language (FL). Even when not explicitly stated, the notion that those classified as LD have a disability for FL learning is implied. However, while beliefs about this purported disability…

  4. Internet-Based French as a Foreign Language Vocabulary Learning: Academic Success and Opinions on FFL Learners

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Erkan, Senem Seda Sahenk

    2017-01-01

    In the 21st century, globalization and technological developments in different domains of life have accentuated the importance of multilingualism and multiculturalism in studying English and French as foreign languages in different countries of the world, including Turkey. This research is aimed at determining the effects of learning vocabulary in…

  5. Multiple goals, motivation and academic learning.

    PubMed

    Valle, Antonio; Cabanach, Ramón G; Núnez, José C; González-Pienda, Julio; Rodríguez, Susana; Piñeiro, Isabel

    2003-03-01

    The type of academic goals pursued by students is one of the most important variables in motivational research in educational contexts. Although motivational theory and research have emphasised the somewhat exclusive nature of two types of goal orientation (learning goals versus performance goals), some studies (Meece, 1994; Seifert, 1995, 1996) have shown that the two kinds of goals are relatively complementary and that it is possible for students to have multiple goals simultaneously, which guarantees some flexibility to adapt more efficaciously to various contexts and learning situations. The principal aim of this study is to determine the academic goals pursued by university students and to analyse the differences in several very significant variables related to motivation and academic learning. Participants were 609 university students (74% women and 26% men) who filled in several questionnaires about the variables under study. We used cluster analysis ('quick cluster analysis' method) to establish the different groups or clusters of individuals as a function of the three types of goals (learning goals, performance goals, and social reinforcement goals). By means of MANOVA, we determined whether the groups or clusters identified were significantly different in the variables that are relevant to motivation and academic learning. Lastly, we performed ANOVA on the variables that revealed significant effects in the previous analysis. Using cluster analysis, three groups of students with different motivational orientations were identified: a group with predominance of performance goals (Group PG: n = 230), a group with predominance of multiple goals (Group MG: n = 238), and a group with predominance of learning goals (Group LG: n = 141). Groups MG and LG attributed their success more to ability, they had higher perceived ability, they took task characteristics into account when planning which strategies to use in the learning process, they showed higher persistence

  6. Academic learning for specialist nurses: a grounded theory study.

    PubMed

    Millberg, Lena German; Berg, Linda; Brämberg, Elisabeth Björk; Nordström, Gun; Ohlén, Joakim

    2014-11-01

    The aim was to explore the major concerns of specialist nurses pertaining to academic learning during their education and initial professional career. Specialist nursing education changed in tandem with the European educational reform in 2007. At the same time, greater demands were made on the healthcare services to provide evidence-based and safe patient-care. These changes have influenced specialist nursing programmes and consequently the profession. Grounded Theory guided the study. Data were collected by means of a questionnaire with open-ended questions distributed at the end of specialist nursing programmes in 2009 and 2010. Five universities were included. Further, individual, pair and group interviews were used to collect data from 12 specialist nurses, 5-14 months after graduation. A major concern for specialist nurses was that academic learning should be "meaningful" for their professional future. The specialist nurses' "meaningful academic learning process" was characterised by an ambivalence of partly believing in and partly being hesitant about the significance of academic learning and partly receiving but also lacking support. Specialist nurses were influenced by factors in two areas: curriculum and healthcare context. They felt that the outcome of contribution to professional confidence was critical in making academic learning meaningful. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  7. Differences in Errors between Students with Language and Reading Disabilities

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Avitia, Maria; Pagirsky, Matthew; Courville, Troy; DeBiase, Emily; Knupp, Tawnya; Ottone-Cross, Karen

    2017-01-01

    Children with a specific learning disability in reading/writing (LDRW) and/or language impairment (LI) are likely to have difficulties across all areas of academic achievement, as a great deal of teaching and learning depends on intact reading skill and linguistic communication. Despite a large number of studies examining academic difficulties…

  8. Self-Efficacy and Academic Performance in English

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Meera, K. P.; Jumana, M. K.

    2015-01-01

    This study reviews the relevant self-efficacy related literature, a central point of social cognitive theory, in the area of language learning. Role of self-efficacy in academic performance of learners is also considered. In the global world, English language has become the fundamental means of international affairs and communication. As a…

  9. Self-Regulated Out-of-Class Language Learning with Technology

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Lai, Chun; Gu, Mingyue

    2011-01-01

    Current computer-assisted language learning (CALL) research has identified various potentials of technology for language learning. To realize and maximize these potentials, engaging students in self-initiated use of technology for language learning is a must. This study investigated Hong Kong university students' use of technology outside the…

  10. Mastering Academic Language: Organization and Stance in the Persuasive Writing of High School Students

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Uccelli, Paola; Dobbs, Christina L.; Scott, Jessica

    2013-01-01

    Beyond mechanics and spelling conventions, academic writing requires progressive mastery of advanced language forms and functions. Pedagogically useful tools to assess such language features in adolescents' writing, however, are not yet available. This study examines language predictors of writing quality in 51 persuasive essays produced by high…

  11. Relationships of Attitudes toward Homework and Time Spent on Homework to Course Outcomes: The Case of Foreign Language Learning

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Chang, Charles B.; Wall, Daniel; Tare, Medha; Golonka, Ewa; Vatz, Karen

    2014-01-01

    In previous studies of homework in core academic subjects, positive student attitudes toward homework were linked to higher achievement, whereas time spent on homework showed an inconsistent relationship with achievement. This study examined the generalizability of these findings to foreign language learning by analyzing 2,342 adult students'…

  12. Implications of Parents' Socio-Economic Status in the Choice of English Language Learning Strategies among Nigeria's Secondary School Students

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Babikkoi, Mallam Adamu; Razak, Noor Zainab binti Abdul

    2014-01-01

    Studies have indicated that, less affluent families are less likely to have the financial and or time availability to provide their children with academic support compared to affluent families. This study investigated the relationship between Language Learning Strategies used by secondary school students in Nigeria and their Parents Socio-economic…

  13. The Relationship of Head Start Teachers' Academic Language Use and Children's Receptive Vocabulary

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Barnes, Erica M.; Dickinson, David K.

    2017-01-01

    Research Findings: This study examines lexical- and sentence-level dimensions of academic language to describe teachers' natural use of academic language and its association with vocabulary growth in 489 at-risk 4-year-olds enrolled in Head Start preschool classrooms. Using transcripts derived from video recordings of book-reading sessions in 52…

  14. Mother-Adolescent Language Proficiency and Adolescent Academic and Emotional Adjustment Among Chinese American Families

    PubMed Central

    Benner, Aprile D.; Lau, Anna S.; Kim, Su Yeong

    2009-01-01

    This study examined the role of adolescents’ and mothers’ self-reports of English and heritage language proficiency in youth’s academic and emotional adjustment among 444 Chinese American families. Adolescents who were proficient in English tended to exhibit higher reading achievement scores, math achievement scores, and overall GPA. Mothers who were English proficient tended to have children with higher academic achievement and fewer depressive symptoms. Results also indicated that adolescents’ heritage language maintenance was associated with positive adjustment, particularly amongst foreign-born youth and for youth whose parents were highly proficient in the heritage language. Mother-adolescent match in heritage language proficiency was related to higher math achievement scores and overall GPA. Additionally, higher heritage language proficiency was associated with fewer depressive symptoms for foreign-born but not U.S.-born youth. Overall, the findings suggest that proficiency in both the English and heritage language may confer advantages to Chinese American youth. PMID:19636729

  15. Self-Regulated Learning and Academic Achievement in College Students.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Lindner, Reinhard W.; Harris, Bruce

    This paper presents study results concerning the nature of successful academic performance, specifically examining to what extent self-regulated learning played a role in successful academic performance at the college level. (Self-regulated learning is defined as the integration and utilization of cognitive, metacognitive, motivational,…

  16. Pre-Service EFL Teachers' Beliefs about Foreign Language Learning

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Altan, Mustafa Zulkuf

    2012-01-01

    Beliefs are central constructs in every discipline which deals with human behaviour and learning. In addition to learner beliefs about language learning, language teachers themselves may hold certain beliefs about language learning that will have an impact on their instructional practices and that are likely to influence their students' beliefs…

  17. Relationship between learning environment characteristics and academic engagement.

    PubMed

    Opdenakker, Marie-Christine; Minnaert, Alexander

    2011-08-01

    The relationship between learning environment characteristics and academic engagement of 777 Grade 6 children located in 41 learning environments was explored. Questionnaires were used to tap learning environment perceptions of children, their academic engagement, and their ethnic-cultural background. The basis of the learning environment questionnaire was the International System for Teacher Observation and Feedback (ISTOF). Factor analysis indicated three factors: the teacher as a helpful and good instructor (having good instructional skills, clear instruction), the teacher as promoter of active learning and differentiation, and the teacher as manager and organizer of classroom activities. Multilevel analysis indicated that about 12% of the differences in engagement between children was related to the learning environment. All the mentioned learning environment characteristics mattered, but the teacher as a helpful, good instructor was most important followed by the teacher as promoter of active learning and differentiation.

  18. Defining Content and Language Integrated Learning for Languages Education in Australia

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Cross, Russell

    2014-01-01

    While there is much that Australia has done well with respect to languages education, many problems still persist in terms of mainstream provision of quality languages programs, attaining real outcomes and gains in language learning, and in relation to retention of students studying languages through to the senior years of school. The success of…

  19. Learner Behaviors and Perceptions of Autonomous Language Learning

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Bekleyen, Nilüfer; Selimoglu, Figen

    2016-01-01

    The purpose of the present study was to investigate the learners' behaviors and perceptions about autonomous language learning at the university level in Turkey. It attempts to reveal what type of perceptions learners held regarding teachers' and their own responsibilities in the language learning process. Their autonomous language learning…

  20. Informal Language Learning Setting: Technology or Social Interaction?

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Bahrani, Taher; Sim, Tam Shu

    2012-01-01

    Based on the informal language learning theory, language learning can occur outside the classroom setting unconsciously and incidentally through interaction with the native speakers or exposure to authentic language input through technology. However, an EFL context lacks the social interaction which naturally occurs in an ESL context. To explore…

  1. ESL for Non-Academic Adults: Parallels in L1 and L2. CATESOL Occasional Papers, Number 5.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Bassano, Sharron

    English as a second language for the non-academically oriented adult can be facilitated bY structuring their early linguistic input in a way similar to the way a parent structures input for a child learning a first language. The four components through which children learn their native language and which also concern adult learning are: (1)…

  2. Hypnosis and Language Learning.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Hammerman, Myrna Lynn

    A thorough investiqation is attempted of efforts to apply hypnosis and suggestive learning techniques to education in general and specifically to second language learning. Hypnosis is discussed in terms of its dangers, its definition, and its application. Included in this discussion is a comparison of auto- and hetero-hypnosis, an overview of the…

  3. Situated Language Learning: Concept, Significance and Forms

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Abdallah, Mahmoud M. S.

    2015-01-01

    Currently, there is a shift in language learning from the "acquisition" metaphor to the "participation" metaphor. This involves viewing learners as active constructors of knowledge who can collaborate together to create meaningful language learning situations and contextualised practices. Thus, this worksheet aims at exploring…

  4. Exploring Learner Autonomy: Language Learning Locus of Control in Multilinguals

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Peek, Ron

    2016-01-01

    By using data from an online language learning beliefs survey (n?=?841), defining language learning experience in terms of participants' multilingualism, and using a domain-specific language learning locus of control (LLLOC) instrument, this article examines whether more experienced language learners can also be seen as more autonomous language…

  5. The Language-Related Academic Self-Confidence of Noncitizen Students in US Higher Education

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Goodnight, Melissa Rae

    2017-01-01

    For this multivariate regression study I utilized data from the Cooperative Institutional Research Program (CIRP) surveys of freshman and senior undergraduates to examine the language-related academic self-confidence (LRASC) of noncitizen students in relationship to college environmental factors like academic disengagement and assertiveness.…

  6. Language Acquisition and Machine Learning.

    DTIC Science & Technology

    1986-02-01

    machine learning and examine its implications for computational models of language acquisition. As a framework for understanding this research, the authors propose four component tasks involved in learning from experience-aggregation, clustering, characterization, and storage. They then consider four common problems studied by machine learning researchers-learning from examples, heuristics learning, conceptual clustering, and learning macro-operators-describing each in terms of our framework. After this, they turn to the problem of grammar

  7. Engaging in vocabulary learning in science: the promise of multimodal instruction

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Townsend, Dianna; Brock, Cynthia; Morrison, Jennifer D.

    2018-02-01

    To a science 'outsider', science language often appears unnecessarily technical and dense. However, scientific language is typically used with the goal of being concise and precise, which allows those who regularly participate in scientific discourse communities to learn from each other and build upon existing scientific knowledge. One essential component of science language is the academic vocabulary that characterises it. This mixed-methods study investigates middle school students' (N = 59) growth in academic vocabulary as it relates to their teacher's instructional practices that supported academic language development. Students made significant gains in their production of general academic words, t(57) = 2.32, p = .024 and of discipline-specific science words, t(57) = 3.01, p = .004 in science writing. Results from the qualitative strand of this inquiry contextualised the students' learning of academic vocabulary as it relates to their teacher's instructional practices and intentions as well as the students' perceptions of their learning environment. These qualitative findings reveal that both the students and their teacher articulated that the teacher's intentional use of resources supported students' academic vocabulary growth. Implications for research and instruction with science language are shared.

  8. Learning behaviour and preferences of family medicine residents under a flexible academic curriculum

    PubMed Central

    Sy, Alice; Wong, Eric; Boisvert, Leslie

    2014-01-01

    Abstract Objective To determine family medicine residents’ learning behaviour and preferences outside of clinical settings in order to help guide the development of an effective academic program that can maximize their learning. Design Retrospective descriptive analysis of academic learning logs submitted by residents as part of their academic training requirements between 2008 and 2011. Setting London, Ont. Participants All family medicine residents at Western University who had completed their academic program requirements (N = 72) by submitting 300 or more credits (1 credit = 1 hour). Main outcome measures Amount of time spent on various learning modalities, location where the learning took place, resources used for self-study, and the objective of the learning activity. Results A total of 72 residents completed their academic requirements during the study period and logged a total of 25 068 hours of academic learning. Residents chose to spend most of their academic time engaging in self-study (44%), attending staff physicians’ teaching sessions (20%), and participating in conferences, courses, or workshops (12%) and in postgraduate medical education sessions (12%). Textbooks (26%), medical journals (20%), and point-of-care resources (12%) were the 3 most common resources used for self-study. The hospital (32%), residents’ homes (32%), and family medicine clinics (14%) were the most frequently cited locations where academic learning occurred. While all physicians used a variety of educational activities, most residents (67%) chose self-study as their primary method of learning. The topic for academic learning appeared to have some influence on the learning modalities used by residents. Conclusion Residents used a variety of learning modalities and chose self-study over other more traditional modalities (eg, lectures) for most of their academic learning. A successful academic program must take into account residents’ various learning preferences and

  9. Language effects in second-language learners: A longitudinal electrophysiological study of spanish classroom learning.

    PubMed

    Soskey, Laura; Holcomb, Phillip J; Midgley, Katherine J

    2016-09-01

    How do the neural mechanisms involved in word recognition evolve over the course of word learning in adult learners of a new second language? The current study sought to closely track language effects, which are differences in electrophysiological indices of word processing between one's native and second languages, in beginning university learners over the course of a single semester of learning. Monolingual L1 English-speakers enrolled in introductory Spanish were first trained on a list of 228 Spanish words chosen from the vocabulary to be learned in class. Behavioral data from the training session and the following experimental sessions spaced over the course of the semester showed expected learning effects. In the three laboratory sessions participants read words in three lists (English, Spanish and mixed) while performing a go/no-go lexical decision task in which event-related potentials (ERPs) were recorded. As observed in previous studies there were ERP language effects with larger N400s to native than second language words. Importantly, this difference declined over the course of L2 learning with N400 amplitude increasing for new second language words. These results suggest that even over a single semester of learning that new second language words are rapidly incorporated into the word recognition system and begin to take on lexical and semantic properties similar to native language words. Moreover, the results suggest that electrophysiological measures can be used as sensitive measures for tracking the acquisition of new linguistic knowledge. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  10. The impact of speech and language problems in kindergarten on academic learning and special education status in grade three.

    PubMed

    Janus, Magdalena; Labonté, Chantal; Kirkpatrick, Ryan; Davies, Scott; Duku, Eric

    2017-11-24

    This study addressed the implications of experiencing early speech-language pathologies (SLPs) in kindergarten on special education needs (SEN) and academic outcomes in grade three. Early Development Instrument (EDI) kindergarten data on development and the presence or absence of SLPs were matched with grade three school-system standardised tests of reading, writing and maths, and SEN classification in Ontario, Canada for 59 015 students. Children were classified as having a Persistent speech language pathology (SLP), Remittent SLP, Latent SEN or as a typically developing Control. Even though 72.3% of children's SLPs remitted by grade three, kindergarten SLPs conveyed higher likelihood of having an SEN, and of lower achievement levels in grade three. The degree of impact varied between Persistent and Remittent groups. Children in the Latent group had lower scores in kindergarten on all five EDI domains than Control children. These population level results provide strong evidence to indicate that all children who present with an SLP in kindergarten face further academic challenges, even if their SLP resolves over time. Findings have implications for early intervention and treatment for children with early SLPs.

  11. My Personal Mobile Language Learning Environment: An Exploration and Classification of Language Learning Possibilities Using the iPhone

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Perifanou, Maria A.

    2011-01-01

    Mobile devices can motivate learners through moving language learning from predominantly classroom-based contexts into contexts that are free from time and space. The increasing development of new applications can offer valuable support to the language learning process and can provide a basis for a new self regulated and personal approach to…

  12. Academic Motivation and Self-Regulated Learning in Predicting Academic Achievement in College

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Çetin, Baris

    2015-01-01

    The purpose of this study was to determine whether academic motivation and academic self-regulated learning predicted students' GPAs in the Early Childhood Education Department. The study participants consisted of 166 early childhood education majors enrolled in the 2014 spring semester at Georgia Southern University, USA. Data were gathered using…

  13. Integrating Language, Literacy, and Academic Development: Alternatives to Traditional English as a Second Language and Remedial English for Language Minority Students in Community Colleges

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Bunch, George C.; Kibler, Amanda K.

    2015-01-01

    This article argues for the importance of integrating a focus on language, literacy, and academic development for United States-educated language minority (US-LM) students, sometimes called "Generation 1.5." It describes four initiatives at community colleges in California that aim to do so. US-LM students have completed some K-12…

  14. Transform Modern Language Learning through Mobile Devices

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Tuttle, Harry Grover

    2013-01-01

    College professors can transform their modern language classes through mobile devices. Their students' learning becomes more active, more personalized, more contextual, and more culturally authentic as illustrated through the author's modern language mobile learning classroom examples. In addition, their students engage in many diverse types of…

  15. Learning Theories and Skills in Online Second Language Teaching and Learning: Dilemmas and Challenges

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Petersen, Karen Bjerg

    2014-01-01

    For decades foreign and second language teachers have taken advantage of the technology development and ensuing possibilities to use e-learning facilities for language training. Since the 1980s, the use of computer assisted language learning (CALL), Internet, web 2.0, and various kinds of e-learning technology has been developed and researched…

  16. High School Foreign Language Students' Perceptions of Language Learning Strategies Use and Self-Efficacy.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    National Capital Language Resource Center, Washington, DC.

    This study investigated the relationship of language learning strategies use and self-efficacy of high school students learning Chinese, German, Russian, Japanese, and Spanish. Through two questionnaires, The Language Learning Strategies Questionnaire and The Self-Efficacy Questionnaire, researchers were able to collect and analyze data on…

  17. Creating an Authentic Learning Environment in the Foreign Language Classroom

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Nikitina, Larisa

    2011-01-01

    Theatrical activities are widely used by language educators to promote and facilitate language learning. Involving students in production of their own video or a short movie in the target language allows a seamless fusion of language learning, art, and popular culture. The activity is also conducive for creating an authentic learning situation…

  18. English Language and Literature Academic Group at the National Institute of Education, Singapore

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Lee, Benny P. H.

    2010-01-01

    The National Institute of Education in Singapore (which is part of the Nanyang Technological University) is the leading national pre-service and in-service teacher training tertiary institution. It offers diploma, undergraduate and postgraduate programmes. The academic departments are called Academic Groups (AGs). The English Language and…

  19. English Language Learning Strategies Reported by Advanced Language Learners

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Lee, Juyeon; Heinz, Michael

    2016-01-01

    The purpose of the present study is to investigate effective English language learning strategies (LLSs) employed by successful language learners. The participants in this study were 20 student interpreters enrolled in the graduate school of interpretation and translation in Korea. Data on LLSs were collected through unstructured essay writing, a…

  20. Mobile Learning: A Powerful Tool for Ubiquitous Language Learning

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Gomes, Nelson; Lopes, Sérgio; Araújo, Sílvia

    2016-01-01

    Mobile devices (smartphones, tablets, e-readers, etc.) have come to be used as tools for mobile learning. Several studies support the integration of such technological devices with learning, particularly with language learning. In this paper, we wish to present an Android app designed for the teaching and learning of Portuguese as a foreign…

  1. Recreational Reading of International Students in Academic Libraries

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Bordonaro, Karen

    2011-01-01

    Recreational reading as a method of language learning has been a focus of investigation in second language education. This article considers recreational reading through the additional perspective of academic librarianship. Its purpose is to discover if recreational reading is a topic that lends itself to research through both perspectives. This…

  2. Professional Learning Communities Facilitator's Guide for the What Works Clearinghouse™ Practice Guide: Teaching Academic Content and Literacy to English Learners in Elementary and Middle School. REL 2015-105

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Dimino, Joseph A.; Taylor, Mary Jo; Morris, Joan

    2015-01-01

    This facilitator's guide is designed to assist professional learning communities (PLCs) in applying evidence-based strategies to help K-8 English learners acquire the language and literacy skills needed to succeed academically. Through this collaborative learning experience, educators will expand their knowledge base as they read, discuss, share,…

  3. Academic achievement in first-year Portuguese college students: the role of academic preparation and learning strategies.

    PubMed

    Soares, Ana Paula; Guisande, Adelina M; Almeida, Leandro S; Páramo, Fernanda M

    2009-06-01

    This paper analyses the role of academic preparation and learning strategies in the prediction of first-year Portuguese college students' academic achievement, considering students' sex and academic field attended. A sample of 445 first-year college students (68.5% female) from the University of Minho (25.8% enrolled in economics, 35.3% in science/technology, and 38.9% in humanities degrees) participated in the study. Students answered a questionnaire on learning strategies in the classroom at the end of the first semester, which consisted of 44 items organized in five dimensions: comprehensive approach, surface approach, personal competency perceptions, intrinsic motivation, and organization of study activities. Academic achievement (grade point average at the end of first year) and academic preparation (students' higher education access mark) were obtained through the academic records of the university. Results showed that academic preparation was the strongest predictor of first-year academic achievement, and only marginal additional variance was explained by learning strategies as assessed by the self-reported questionnaire. There were sex and academic field differences, but these variables do not seem strong enough to affect the results, although the different percentages of variance captured by each model and the different weights associated to higher education access mark, stimulate the use of these and/or other personal and contextual variables when analysing the phenomenon.

  4. Language Distance Learning for the Digital Generation

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Duran-Cerda, Dolores

    2010-01-01

    The purpose of this article was to shed light on the potential of distance learning to overcome challenges in distance, space, time, and human and economic resources that limit access to language learning opportunities in cultural, literary, historical, geographical, and cross-cultural frames. Language and literature educators collectively have…

  5. Pragmatics & Language Learning. Volume 13

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Greer, Tim, Ed.; Tatsuki, Donna, Ed.; Roever, Carsten, Ed.

    2013-01-01

    "Pragmatics & Language Learning. Volume 13" examines the organization of second language and multilingual speakers' talk and pragmatic knowledge across a range of naturalistic and experimental activities. Based on data collected among ESL and EFL learners from a variety of backgrounds, the contributions explore the nexus of pragmatic…

  6. Language-Mediated Concept Learning.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Follettie, Joseph F.

    The conditions whereby a concept might be learned on the basis of a language mediation process prior to the inductive learning of subordinate concepts are sketched. The view is expressed that grammar treatments which are apt to primary education should be defined on the basis of a pedagogy's needs for linguistic characterizations of concepts to be…

  7. CLIL in Galicia: Repercussions on Academic Performance

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    González Gándara, David

    2015-01-01

    There is a concern in Galicia (Spain) about possible negative effects on academic performance caused by the introduction of CLIL (content and language integrated learning) in schools. It has been said that when three languages coexist in the same context as vehicles of education, it is too much for the students, especially in primary education. In…

  8. Personality Traits, Learning and Academic Achievements

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Jensen, Mikael

    2015-01-01

    There has been an increased interest in personality traits (especially the five-factor model) in relation to education and learning over the last decade. Previous studies have shown a relation between personality traits and learning, and between personality traits and academic achievement. The latter is typically described in terms of Grade Point…

  9. Using Visual Literacy to Teach Science Academic Language: Experiences from Three Preservice Teachers

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Kelly-Jackson, Charlease; Delacruz, Stacy

    2014-01-01

    This original pedagogical study captured three preservice teachers' experiences using visual literacy strategies as an approach to teaching English language learners (ELLs) science academic language. The following research questions guided this study: (1) What are the experiences of preservice teachers' use of visual literacy to teach science…

  10. Early Foreign Language Learning: The Biological Perspective.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Peltzer-Karpf, Annemarie

    A discussion of the biological and developmental issues in early second language learning first looks at psycholinguistic research on brain growth patterns and the relationship of first and second language learning. Focus is on three phenomena observed in the self-organization of living systems: selection of input data; organization of specialized…

  11. Language-Switching Costs in Bilingual Mathematics Learning

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Grabner, Roland H.; Saalbach, Henrik; Eckstein, Doris

    2012-01-01

    Behavioral studies on bilingual learning have revealed cognitive costs (lower accuracy and/or higher processing time) when the language of application differs from the language of learning. The aim of this functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) study was to provide insights into the cognitive underpinnings of these costs (so-called…

  12. Investigating the Influence of the Open Court Language Arts Curriculum on Standardized Test Scores

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Eastman, Denise Nicole

    2012-01-01

    Language Arts is one of the most important subjects for students to learn. Encompassing reading, writing, and comprehension, skills learned through Language Arts instruction influence student ability to reach levels of academic achievement in all subjects. Additionally, Language Arts skills reach far past the classroom and into the workplace. In…

  13. The Scholarship of Teaching and Learning: Challenges for Malaysian Academics

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Harland, Tony; Raja Hussain, Raja Maznah; Bakar, Aishah Abu

    2014-01-01

    This paper explores the adoption of the scholarship of teaching and learning (SoTL) by 10 Malaysian university academics. SoTL was part of a pioneering sector-wide initiative for improving teaching and learning. The qualitative study showed that there had been no true learning phase for SoTL because academics had high expectations of rapid success…

  14. Modeling social learning of language and skills.

    PubMed

    Vogt, Paul; Haasdijk, Evert

    2010-01-01

    We present a model of social learning of both language and skills, while assuming—insofar as possible—strict autonomy, virtual embodiment, and situatedness. This model is built by integrating various previous models of language development and social learning, and it is this integration that, under the mentioned assumptions, provides novel challenges. The aim of the article is to investigate what sociocognitive mechanisms agents should have in order to be able to transmit language from one generation to the next so that it can be used as a medium to transmit internalized rules that represent skill knowledge. We have performed experiments where this knowledge solves the familiar poisonous-food problem. Simulations reveal under what conditions, regarding population structure, agents can successfully solve this problem. In addition to issues relating to perspective taking and mutual exclusivity, we show that agents need to coordinate interactions so that they can establish joint attention in order to form a scaffold for language learning, which in turn forms a scaffold for the learning of rule-based skills. Based on these findings, we conclude by hypothesizing that social learning at one level forms a scaffold for the social learning at another, higher level, thus contributing to the accumulation of cultural knowledge.

  15. Patterns of Language Learning Strategy Use.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Griffiths, Carol

    2003-01-01

    This study was conducted in a private language school in Auckland, New Zealand to investigate the relationship between course level and reported frequency of language learning strategy use by speakers of other languages and to look for patterns of strategy use according to course level and other learner variables (Author/VWL)

  16. Intellectual Estuaries: Connecting Learning and Creativity in Programs of Advanced Academics

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Beghetto, Ronald A.; Kaufman, James C.

    2009-01-01

    Academic learning and creativity should be overlapping goals that can be simultaneously pursued in programs of advanced academics. However, efforts aimed at nurturing creativity and academic learning sometimes are represented as two related but separate paths; this separation is unnecessary and can undermine the development of creative and…

  17. Is Online Learning Suitable for All English Language Students?

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Kuama, Settha; Intharaksa, Usa

    2016-01-01

    This study aimed to examine online language learning strategies (OLLS) used and affection in online learning of successful and unsuccessful online language students and investigate the relationships between OLLS use, affection in online learning and online English learning outcomes. The participants included 346 university students completing a…

  18. The Two-Way Language Bridge: Co-Constructing Bilingual Language Learning Opportunities

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Martin-Beltran, Melinda

    2010-01-01

    Using a sociocultural theoretical lens, this study examines the nature of student interactions in a dual immersion school to analyze affordances for bilingual language learning, language exchange, and co-construction of language expertise. This article focuses on data from audio- and video-recorded interactions of fifth-grade students engaged in…

  19. The Relationship between Iranian EFL Learners' Beliefs about Language Learning and Their Use of Learning Strategies

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Azar, Fereshteh Khaffafi; Saeidi, Mahnaz

    2013-01-01

    The present study investigated the relationship between Iranian EFL learners' learning strategies use and their language learning beliefs. A sample of 200 Iranian EFL learners who were all English language learners at different language institutes participated in this study. Two instruments, Beliefs about Language Learning Inventory (BALLI) and…

  20. Language Learning Strategy Use across Proficiency Levels

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Zarei, Abbas, Ali; Baharestani, Nooshin

    2014-01-01

    To investigate the use of language learning strategies (LLS) by Iranian EFL learners across proficiency levels, a total of 180 Iranian adult female EFL learners were selected and divided into three different proficiency level groups. To collect data, Oxford's (1990) Strategy Inventory for Language Learning (SILL) was used. One-way ANOVA procedures…

  1. Learning procedures from interactive natural language instructions

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Huffman, Scott B.; Laird, John E.

    1994-01-01

    Despite its ubiquity in human learning, very little work has been done in artificial intelligence on agents that learn from interactive natural language instructions. In this paper, the problem of learning procedures from interactive, situated instruction is examined in which the student is attempting to perform tasks within the instructional domain, and asks for instruction when it is needed. Presented is Instructo-Soar, a system that behaves and learns in response to interactive natural language instructions. Instructo-Soar learns completely new procedures from sequences of instruction, and also learns how to extend its knowledge of previously known procedures to new situations. These learning tasks require both inductive and analytic learning. Instructo-Soar exhibits a multiple execution learning process in which initial learning has a rote, episodic flavor, and later executions allow the initially learned knowledge to be generalized properly.

  2. Flipped Approach to Mobile Assisted Language Learning

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Yamamoto, Junko

    2013-01-01

    There are abundant possibilities for using smart phones and tablet computers for foreign language learning. However, if there is an emphasis on memorization or on technology, language learners may not develop proficiency in their target language. Therefore, language teachers should be familiar with strategies for facilitating creative…

  3. Executive function skills and academic achievement gains in prekindergarten: Contributions of learning-related behaviors.

    PubMed

    Nesbitt, Kimberly Turner; Farran, Dale Clark; Fuhs, Mary Wagner

    2015-07-01

    Although research suggests associations between children's executive function skills and their academic achievement, the specific mechanisms that may help explain these associations in early childhood are unclear. This study examined whether children's (N = 1,103; M age = 54.5 months) executive function skills at the beginning of prekindergarten (pre-K) predict their learning-related behaviors in the classroom and whether these behaviors then mediate associations between children's executive function skills and their pre-K literacy, language, and mathematic gains. Learning-related behaviors were quantified in terms of (a) higher levels of involvement in learning opportunities; (b) greater frequency of participation in activities that require sequential steps; (c) more participation in social-learning interactions; and (d) less instances of being unoccupied, disruptive, or in time out. Results indicated that children's learning-related behaviors mediated associations between executive function skills and literacy and mathematics gains through children's level of involvement, sequential learning behaviors, and disengagement from the classroom. The implications of the findings for early childhood education are discussed. (c) 2015 APA, all rights reserved).

  4. Processing Academic Language through Four Corners Vocabulary Chart Applications

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Smith, Sarah; Sanchez, Claudia; Betty, Sharon; Davis, Shiloh

    2016-01-01

    4 Corners Vocabulary Charts (FCVCs) are explored as a multipurpose vehicle for processing academic language in a 5th-grade classroom. FCVCs typically display a vocabulary word, an illustration of the word, synonyms associated with the word, a sentence using a given vocabulary word, and a definition of the term in students' words. The use of…

  5. Striatal degeneration impairs language learning: evidence from Huntington's disease.

    PubMed

    De Diego-Balaguer, R; Couette, M; Dolbeau, G; Dürr, A; Youssov, K; Bachoud-Lévi, A-C

    2008-11-01

    Although the role of the striatum in language processing is still largely unclear, a number of recent proposals have outlined its specific contribution. Different studies report evidence converging to a picture where the striatum may be involved in those aspects of rule-application requiring non-automatized behaviour. This is the main characteristic of the earliest phases of language acquisition that require the online detection of distant dependencies and the creation of syntactic categories by means of rule learning. Learning of sequences and categorization processes in non-language domains has been known to require striatal recruitment. Thus, we hypothesized that the striatum should play a prominent role in the extraction of rules in learning a language. We studied 13 pre-symptomatic gene-carriers and 22 early stage patients of Huntington's disease (pre-HD), both characterized by a progressive degeneration of the striatum and 21 late stage patients Huntington's disease (18 stage II, two stage III and one stage IV) where cortical degeneration accompanies striatal degeneration. When presented with a simplified artificial language where words and rules could be extracted, early stage Huntington's disease patients (stage I) were impaired in the learning test, demonstrating a greater impairment in rule than word learning compared to the 20 age- and education-matched controls. Huntington's disease patients at later stages were impaired both on word and rule learning. While spared in their overall performance, gene-carriers having learned a set of abstract artificial language rules were then impaired in the transfer of those rules to similar artificial language structures. The correlation analyses among several neuropsychological tests assessing executive function showed that rule learning correlated with tests requiring working memory and attentional control, while word learning correlated with a test involving episodic memory. These learning impairments significantly

  6. The Growth of English for Academic Communication in the Nordic Countries

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Brock-Utne, Birgit

    2001-07-01

    This article discusses the danger of subtractive English in higher education in Norway. If the use of a mother tongue as the medium of communication at the highest academic levels ceases, is drastically reduced and replaced through the use of a foreign tongue, we may speak of subtractive learning. If the mother tongue is being replaced by a foreign tongue in academic writing, in research and university level teaching, the mother tongue will stagnate. The vocabulary needed has not been allowed to develop at the highest academic level. The author maintains that the Norwegian language is threatened as an academic language and here discusses the following five phenomena, all contributing to this threat: 1. The increasing use of English words in Norwegian academic, bureaucratic or technological language. 2. The sale of more academic literature in English and stagnation of academic literature in Norwegian. 3. The recruitment of teaching staff who do not speak Norwegian. 4. The growth in Master degree courses taught in English. 5. The financial rewards being given to academic staff publishing in an international language (read: English) instead of in the mother tongue.

  7. Effects of Community Service-Learning on Heritage Language Learners' Attitudes toward Their Language and Culture

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Pascual y Cabo, Diego; Prada, Josh; Lowther Pereira, Kelly

    2017-01-01

    This study examined the effects of participation in a community service-learning experience on Spanish heritage language learners' attitudes toward their heritage language and culture. Quantitative and qualitative data from heritage language learners demonstrated that engagement in community service-learning activities as part of the Spanish…

  8. Musical Experience Influences Statistical Learning of a Novel Language

    PubMed Central

    Shook, Anthony; Marian, Viorica; Bartolotti, James; Schroeder, Scott R.

    2014-01-01

    Musical experience may benefit learning a new language by enhancing the fidelity with which the auditory system encodes sound. In the current study, participants with varying degrees of musical experience were exposed to two statistically-defined languages consisting of auditory Morse-code sequences which varied in difficulty. We found an advantage for highly-skilled musicians, relative to less-skilled musicians, in learning novel Morse-code based words. Furthermore, in the more difficult learning condition, performance of lower-skilled musicians was mediated by their general cognitive abilities. We suggest that musical experience may lead to enhanced processing of statistical information and that musicians’ enhanced ability to learn statistical probabilities in a novel Morse-code language may extend to natural language learning. PMID:23505962

  9. Language Learning in Virtual Reality Environments: Past, Present, and Future

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Lin, Tsun-Ju; Lan, Yu-Ju

    2015-01-01

    This study investigated the research trends in language learning in a virtual reality environment by conducting a content analysis of findings published in the literature from 2004 to 2013 in four top ranked computer-assisted language learning journals: "Language Learning & Technology," "CALICO Journal," "Computer…

  10. Language Learning Shifts and Attitudes towards Language Learning in an Online Tandem Program for Beginner Writers

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Tolosa, Constanza; Ordóñez, Claudia Lucía; Guevara, Diana Carolina

    2017-01-01

    We present findings of a project that investigated the potential of an online tandem program to enhance the foreign language learning of two groups of school-aged beginner learners, one learning English in Colombia and the other learning Spanish in New Zealand. We assessed the impact of the project on students' learning with a free writing…

  11. Reading and Language Learning: Crosslinguistic Constraints on Second Language Reading Development

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Koda, Keiko

    2007-01-01

    The ultimate goal of reading is to construct text meaning based on visually encoded information. Essentially, it entails converting print into language and then to the message intended by the author. It is hardly accidental, therefore, that, in all languages, reading builds on oral language competence and that learning to read uniformly requires…

  12. Judgments of Self-Perceived Academic Competence and Their Differential Impact on Students' Achievement Motivation, Learning Approach, and Academic Performance

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Ferla, Johan; Valcke, Martin; Schuyten, Gilberte

    2010-01-01

    Using path analysis, the present study focuses on the development of a model describing the impact of four judgments of self-perceived academic competence on higher education students' achievement goals, learning approach, and academic performance. Results demonstrate that academic self-efficacy, self-efficacy for self-regulated learning, academic…

  13. Contextual Dynamics in Foreign Language Learning Motivation

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Kozaki, Yoko; Ross, Steven J.

    2011-01-01

    Learning context has increasingly been postulated to exert an influence on the dynamics of individual differences in language learning. In a longitudinal design that tested the proficiency gains of 1,682 learners over a 2-year foreign language program, a multilevel modeling approach was deployed in this study to account for variation in second…

  14. Pedagogy of Language Learning in Higher Education: An Introduction. Advances in Foreign Language Pedagogy, Volume 2.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Brauer, Gerd, Ed.

    This second volume in the series "Advances in Foreign and Second Language Pedagogy" is an introduction to the pedagogy of language learning in higher education focusing on learner motivation, classroom environments, relationships for learning, and the future of language education. The book reveals numerous links to language education on the…

  15. Myths about English Language Learning

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Medina-Jerez, William; Campbell, Todd

    2015-01-01

    As the ethnic and racial diversity in U.S. classrooms continues to grow, myths about the education of English Language Learners (ELLs) persist, while many teachers feel ill-prepared to meet these students' academic needs. This article focuses on myths shared by in-service science teachers enrolled in a master's program at the University of Texas…

  16. New Ways to Learn a Foreign Language.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Hall, Robert A., Jr.

    This text focuses on the nature of language learning in the light of modern linguistic analysis. Common linguistic problems encountered by students of eight major languages are examined--Latin, Greek, French, Spanish, Portuguese, Italian, German, and Russian. The text discusses the nature of language, building new language habits, overcoming…

  17. Language learning and the technology of international communications

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Batley, Edward

    1991-03-01

    The author posits a reciprocal relationship between the recent popularisation of computer-based technology and the democratisation of Central and Eastern Europe. Brief reference is made to their common denominator, language and language change. The advent of the communicative approach to language learning and the new wave of language authenticity arising from it, both enhanced by the technological revolution, have made the defining of acceptability in the classroom and of communication in the process of testing more problematic than ever, although several advantages have also accrued. Advances in technology have generally outstripped our ability to apply their full or characteristic potential. While technology can personalise learning and in this way make learning more efficient, it can also impede motivation. Old methods, drills and routines are tending to be sustained by it. Lack of technology can also widen the gulf between developed, developing and underdeveloped countries of the world. The author proposes international partnerships as a means of preventing an imbalance which could threaten stability. Single language dominance is another threat to international understanding, given the growing awareness of our multilingual and multicultural environment. Enlightened language policies reaching from the individual to beyond the national community are needed, which adopt these aspects of language learning, explain decisions about the state's choice of languages and, at the same time, promote individual choice wherever practicable.

  18. Comparing Local and International Chinese Students' English Language Learning Strategies

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Anthony, Margreat Aloysious; Ganesen, Sree Nithya

    2012-01-01

    According to Horwitz (1987) learners' belief about language learning are influenced by previous language learning experiences as well as cultural background. This study examined the English Language Learning Strategies between local and international Chinese students who share the same cultural background but have been exposed to different…

  19. The Impact of an Instructional Intervention on the Science and Language Learning of Middle Grade English Language Learners

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    August, Diane; Branum-Martin, Lee; Cardenas-Hagan, Elsa; Francis, David

    2010-01-01

    The goal of this study was to assess the effectiveness of an intervention--Quality English and Science Teaching (QuEST)--designed to develop the science knowledge and academic language of middle grades English language learners studying science in their second language and their English-proficient classmates. Both English language learners and…

  20. Papers in Language Learning and Language Acquisition. AFinLA Yearbook 1980. No. 28.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Sajavaara, Kari, Ed.; And Others

    Papers include: (1) "Language Acquisitional Universals: L1, L2, Pidgins, and FLT" (Henning Wode); (2) "Language Acquisition, Language Learning and the School Curriculum" (Norman F. Davies); (3) "Language Teaching and Acquisition of Communication" (Kari Sajavaara, Jaakko Lehtonen); (4) "On the Distinction between…

  1. Media, Information Technology, and Language Planning: What Can Endangered Language Communities Learn from Created Language Communities?

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Schreyer, Christine

    2011-01-01

    The languages of Klingon and Na'vi, both created for media, are also languages that have garnered much media attention throughout the course of their existence. Speakers of these languages also utilize social media and information technologies, specifically websites, in order to learn the languages and then put them into practice. While teaching a…

  2. Cooperative Learning in the Secondary School: Maximizing Language Acquisition, Academic Achievement, and Social Development. NCBE Program Information Guide Series 12.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Holt, Daniel D.; And Others

    Cooperative learning is a valuable strategy for teaching secondary school students, especially useful with students from diverse linguistic and cultural backgrounds who are learning English as a Second Language. It offers a method for managing diversity, channeling peer influence into a positive force for improving school performance, and…

  3. The Role of Language and Literacy in College- and Career-Ready Standards: Rethinking Policy and Practice in Support of English Language Learners. Policy Brief

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Haynes, Mariana

    2012-01-01

    The Common Core State Standards spell out the sophisticated language competencies that students will need to perform in academic and technical subject areas. English language learners (ELLs) face a double challenge--they must learn grade-level content while simultaneously building their language proficiency. This policy brief discusses these…

  4. SignMT: An Alternative Language Learning Tool

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Ditcharoen, Nadh; Naruedomkul, Kanlaya; Cercone, Nick

    2010-01-01

    Learning a second language is very difficult, especially, for the disabled; the disability may be a barrier to learn and to utilize information written in text form. We present the SignMT, Thai sign to Thai machine translation system, which is able to translate from Thai sign language into Thai text. In the translation process, SignMT takes into…

  5. Learning Strategies Used by Successful Language Learners

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Thu, Tran Hoang

    2009-01-01

    This study examines the language learning strategies employed by successful learners of English as a foreign and second language. Two successful English learners whose first languages are Mandarin were interviewed, and asked to complete a questionnaire and a self-evaluation measure to indicate their perceived level of language proficiency as well…

  6. An Analysis of Social Network Websites for Language Learning: Implications for Teaching and Learning English as a Second Language

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Liu, M.; Abe, K.; Cao, M. W.; Liu, S.; Ok, D. U.; Park, J.; Parrish, C.; Sardegna, V. G.

    2015-01-01

    Although educators are excited about the potential of social network sites for language learning (SNSLL), there is a lack of understanding of how SNSLL can be used to facilitate teaching and learning for English as Second language (ESL) instructors and students. The purpose of this study was to examine the affordances of four selected SNSLL…

  7. Facilitating pragmatic skills through role-play in learners with language learning disability.

    PubMed

    Abdoola, Fareeaa; Flack, Penelope S; Karrim, Saira B

    2017-07-26

    Role-based learning involves the process whereby learners acquire skills, knowledge and understanding through the assumption of roles within real-life settings. Role-play holds potential as an effective learning strategy for children; however, there is limited research on the use of role-play as a therapy method within the field of speech-language pathology. Children with language learning disability (LLD) typically present with difficulties in social communication, which can negatively affect their social and academic achievement. The aim of this study was to determine the effectiveness of role-play as a therapy approach targeting the pragmatic skills of stylistic variation and requesting for clarification in learners with LLD. The use of combined positivist and interpretivist paradigms allowed for the implementation of an embedded mixed methods design. An experimental pretest-posttest design was implemented. Eight participants, who were learners with a diagnosis of LLD, were purposefully selected. Data collection was conducted over five phases, utilising the Clinical Evaluation of Language Fundamentals (4th Ed.) Pragmatics Profile, discourse completion tasks, session plans and session records. Quantitative data were analysed using descriptive statistics and were supplemented by qualitative data from session records. Results revealed improvements in stylistic variation and requesting for clarification post role-play intervention, with minimal changes in the control group. Limitations of the study have been reported for consideration when interpreting results. Role-play as a therapy approach targeting two pragmatic skills, stylistic variation and requesting for clarification, was found to be beneficial for learners with LLD. Recommendations for the implementation of role-play as a therapy approach were made.

  8. A Resource-Oriented Functional Approach to English Language Learning

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Li, Jia

    2018-01-01

    This article reports on a case study that investigates the learning preferences and strategies of Chinese students learning English as a second language (ESL) in Canadian school settings. It focuses on the interaction between second language (L2) learning methods that the students have adopted from their previous learning experience in China and…

  9. University Academic Excellence and Language Policy: A Case of Russia

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Atabekova, Anastasia A.; Gorbatenko, Rimma G.; Shoustikova, Tatyana V.

    2016-01-01

    The paper focuses on the university academic excellence projects worldwide and tries to explore the higher education institutions experience and trends regarding their language policies within the international landscape and increasing globalisation. The article agrees that English goes as a major medium of instruction at universities that strive…

  10. American Sign Language/English bilingual model: a longitudinal study of academic growth.

    PubMed

    Lange, Cheryl M; Lane-Outlaw, Susan; Lange, William E; Sherwood, Dyan L

    2013-10-01

    This study examines reading and mathematics academic growth of deaf and hard-of-hearing students instructed through an American Sign Language (ASL)/English bilingual model. The study participants were exposed to the model for a minimum of 4 years. The study participants' academic growth rates were measured using the Northwest Evaluation Association's Measure of Academic Progress assessment and compared with a national-normed group of grade-level peers that consisted primarily of hearing students. The study also compared academic growth for participants by various characteristics such as gender, parents' hearing status, and secondary disability status and examined the academic outcomes for students after a minimum of 4 years of instruction in an ASL/English bilingual model. The findings support the efficacy of the ASL/English bilingual model.

  11. Bots as Language Learning Tools

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Fryer, Luke; Carpenter, Rollo

    2006-01-01

    Foreign Language Learning (FLL) students commonly have few opportunities to use their target language. Teachers in FLL situations do their best to create opportunities during classes through pair or group work, but a variety of factors ranging from a lack of time to shyness or limited opportunity for quality feedback hamper this. This paper…

  12. Mobile-Assisted Language Learning: Student Attitudes to Using Smartphones to Learn English Vocabulary

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Davie, Neil; Hilber, Tobias

    2015-01-01

    This project examines mobile-assisted language learning (MALL) and in particular the attitudes of undergraduate engineering students at the South Westphalia University of Applied Sciences towards the use of the smartphone app Quizlet to learn English vocabulary. Initial data on attitudes to learning languages and to the use of mobile devices to do…

  13. Double threshold in bi- and multilingual contexts: preconditions for higher academic attainment in English as an additional language

    PubMed Central

    Lechner, Simone; Siemund, Peter

    2014-01-01

    Bi- and multilingualism has been shown to have positive effects on the attainment of third and additional languages. These effects, however, depend on the type of bi- and multilingualism and the status of the languages involved (Cenoz, 2003; Jessner, 2006). In this exploratory trend study, we revisit Cummins' Threshold Hypothesis (1979), claiming that bilingual children must reach certain levels of attainment in order to (a) avoid academic deficits and (b) allow bilingualism to have a positive effect on their cognitive development and academic attainment. To this end, we examine the attainment of English as an academic language of 16-years-old school children from Hamburg (n = 52). Our findings support the existence of thresholds for literacy attainment. We argue that language external factors may override positive effects of bilingualism. In addition, these factors may compensate negative effects attributable to low literacy attainment in German and the heritage languages. We also show that low attainment levels in migrant children's heritage languages preempt high literacy attainment in additional languages. PMID:24926277

  14. Child-Adult Differences in Implicit and Explicit Second Language Learning

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Lichtman, Karen Melissa

    2012-01-01

    Mainstream linguistics has long held that there is a fundamental difference between adult and child language learning (Bley-Vroman, 1990; Johnson & Newport, 1989; DeKeyser, 2000; Paradis, 2004). This difference is often framed as a change from implicit language learning in childhood to explicit language learning in adulthood, which is…

  15. Learning strategies and general cognitive ability as predictors of gender- specific academic achievement.

    PubMed

    Ruffing, Stephanie; Wach, F-Sophie; Spinath, Frank M; Brünken, Roland; Karbach, Julia

    2015-01-01

    Recent research has revealed that learning behavior is associated with academic achievement at the college level, but the impact of specific learning strategies on academic success as well as gender differences therein are still not clear. Therefore, the aim of this study was to investigate gender differences in the incremental contribution of learning strategies over general cognitive ability in the prediction of academic achievement. The relationship between these variables was examined by correlation analyses. A set of t-tests was used to test for gender differences in learning strategies, whereas structural equation modeling as well as multi-group analyses were applied to investigate the incremental contribution of learning strategies for male and female students' academic performance. The sample consisted of 461 students (mean age = 21.2 years, SD = 3.2). Correlation analyses revealed that general cognitive ability as well as the learning strategies effort, attention, and learning environment were positively correlated with academic achievement. Gender differences were found in the reported application of many learning strategies. Importantly, the prediction of achievement in structural equation modeling revealed that only effort explained incremental variance (10%) over general cognitive ability. Results of multi-group analyses showed no gender differences in this prediction model. This finding provides further knowledge regarding gender differences in learning research and the specific role of learning strategies for academic achievement. The incremental assessment of learning strategy use as well as gender-differences in their predictive value contributes to the understanding and improvement of successful academic development.

  16. Second Language Experience Facilitates Statistical Learning of Novel Linguistic Materials.

    PubMed

    Potter, Christine E; Wang, Tianlin; Saffran, Jenny R

    2017-04-01

    Recent research has begun to explore individual differences in statistical learning, and how those differences may be related to other cognitive abilities, particularly their effects on language learning. In this research, we explored a different type of relationship between language learning and statistical learning: the possibility that learning a new language may also influence statistical learning by changing the regularities to which learners are sensitive. We tested two groups of participants, Mandarin Learners and Naïve Controls, at two time points, 6 months apart. At each time point, participants performed two different statistical learning tasks: an artificial tonal language statistical learning task and a visual statistical learning task. Only the Mandarin-learning group showed significant improvement on the linguistic task, whereas both groups improved equally on the visual task. These results support the view that there are multiple influences on statistical learning. Domain-relevant experiences may affect the regularities that learners can discover when presented with novel stimuli. Copyright © 2016 Cognitive Science Society, Inc.

  17. Second language experience facilitates statistical learning of novel linguistic materials

    PubMed Central

    Potter, Christine E.; Wang, Tianlin; Saffran, Jenny R.

    2016-01-01

    Recent research has begun to explore individual differences in statistical learning, and how those differences may be related to other cognitive abilities, particularly their effects on language learning. In the present research, we explored a different type of relationship between language learning and statistical learning: the possibility that learning a new language may also influence statistical learning by changing the regularities to which learners are sensitive. We tested two groups of participants, Mandarin Learners and Naïve Controls, at two time points, six months apart. At each time point, participants performed two different statistical learning tasks: an artificial tonal language statistical learning task and a visual statistical learning task. Only the Mandarin-learning group showed significant improvement on the linguistic task, while both groups improved equally on the visual task. These results support the view that there are multiple influences on statistical learning. Domain-relevant experiences may affect the regularities that learners can discover when presented with novel stimuli. PMID:27988939

  18. Student Perceptions of E-Learning Environments, Self-Regulated Learning and Academic Performance

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Covington, Keisha Casan Danielle

    2012-01-01

    Student perceptions of e-learning are potential causes of student dropout in online education. The social cognitive theoretical view was used to investigate the relationship between perceived e-learning environments, self-regulated learning (SRL), and academic performance in online education. This mixed methods study used a quantitative…

  19. Neural signatures of second language learning and control.

    PubMed

    Bartolotti, James; Bradley, Kailyn; Hernandez, Arturo E; Marian, Viorica

    2017-04-01

    Experience with multiple languages has unique effects on cortical structure and information processing. Differences in gray matter density and patterns of cortical activation are observed in lifelong bilinguals compared to monolinguals as a result of their experience managing interference across languages. Monolinguals who acquire a second language later in life begin to encounter the same type of linguistic interference as bilinguals, but with a different pre-existing language architecture. The current study used functional magnetic resonance imaging to explore the beginning stages of second language acquisition and cross-linguistic interference in monolingual adults. We found that after English monolinguals learned novel Spanish vocabulary, English and Spanish auditory words led to distinct patterns of cortical activation, with greater recruitment of posterior parietal regions in response to English words and of left hippocampus in response to Spanish words. In addition, cross-linguistic interference from English influenced processing of newly-learned Spanish words, decreasing hippocampus activity. Results suggest that monolinguals may rely on different memory systems to process a newly-learned second language, and that the second language system is sensitive to native language interference. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  20. Skype me! Socially Contingent Interactions Help Toddlers Learn Language

    PubMed Central

    Roseberry, Sarah; Hirsh-Pasek, Kathy; Golinkoff, Roberta Michnick

    2013-01-01

    Language learning takes place in the context of social interactions, yet the mechanisms that render social interactions useful for learning language remain unclear. This paper focuses on whether social contingency might support word learning. Toddlers aged 24- to 30-months (N=36) were exposed to novel verbs in one of three conditions: live interaction training, socially contingent video training over video chat, and non-contingent video training (yoked video). Results suggest that children only learned novel verbs in socially contingent interactions (live interactions and video chat). The current study highlights the importance of social contingency in interactions for language learning and informs the literature on learning through screen media as the first study to examine word learning through video chat technology. PMID:24112079

  1. The Role of Language Learning Progressions in Improved Instruction and Assessment of English Language Learners

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Bailey, Alison L.; Heritage, Margaret

    2014-01-01

    This article addresses theoretical and empirical issues relevant for the development and evaluation of language learning progressions. The authors explore how learning progressions aligned with new content standards can form a central basis of efforts to describe the English language needed in school contexts for learning, instruction, and…

  2. The Journal of the Imagination in Language Learning, 1997.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Coreil, Clyde, Ed.; Napoliello, Mihri, Ed.

    1997-01-01

    Articles on second language teaching and learning include: "Creativity with a Small 'c'" (Alan Maley); "National Standards & the Role of the Imagination in Foreign Language Learning" (Rebecca M. Valette); "Who Am I in English? Developing a Language Ego" (Jean Zukowski/Faust); "Steps to Dance in the Adult EFL…

  3. Language Learning and Control in Monolinguals and Bilinguals

    PubMed Central

    Bartolotti, James; Marian, Viorica

    2012-01-01

    Parallel language activation in bilinguals leads to competition between languages. Experience managing this interference may aid novel language learning by improving the ability to suppress competition from known languages. To investigate the effect of bilingualism on the ability to control native-language interference, monolinguals and bilinguals were taught an artificial language designed to elicit between-language competition. Partial activation of interlingual competitors was assessed with eye-tracking and mouse-tracking during a word recognition task in the novel language. Eye-tracking results showed that monolinguals looked at competitors more than bilinguals, and for a longer duration of time. Mouse-tracking results showed that monolinguals’ mouse-movements were attracted to native-language competitors, while bilinguals overcame competitor interference by increasing activation of target items. Results suggest that bilinguals manage cross-linguistic interference more effectively than monolinguals. We conclude that language interference can affect lexical retrieval, but bilingualism may reduce this interference by facilitating access to a newly-learned language. PMID:22462514

  4. Visualization Analytics for Second Language Vocabulary Learning in Virtual Worlds

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Hsiao, Indy Y. T.; Lan, Yu-Ju; Kao, Chia-Ling; Li, Ping

    2017-01-01

    Language learning occurring in authentic contexts has been shown to be more effective. Virtual worlds provide simulated contexts that have the necessary elements of authentic contexts for language learning, and as a result, many studies have adopted virtual worlds as a useful platform for language learning. However, few studies so far have…

  5. An Intelligent Computer Assisted Language Learning System for Arabic Learners

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Shaalan, Khaled F.

    2005-01-01

    This paper describes the development of an intelligent computer-assisted language learning (ICALL) system for learning Arabic. This system could be used for learning Arabic by students at primary schools or by learners of Arabic as a second or foreign language. It explores the use of Natural Language Processing (NLP) techniques for learning…

  6. Second Language Word Learning through Repetition and Imitation: Functional Networks as a Function of Learning Phase and Language Distance.

    PubMed

    Ghazi-Saidi, Ladan; Ansaldo, Ana Ines

    2017-01-01

    Introduction and Aim : Repetition and imitation are among the oldest second language (L2) teaching approaches and are frequently used in the context of L2 learning and language therapy, despite some heavy criticism. Current neuroimaging techniques allow the neural mechanisms underlying repetition and imitation to be examined. This fMRI study examines the influence of verbal repetition and imitation on network configuration. Integration changes within and between the cognitive control and language networks were studied, in a pair of linguistically close languages (Spanish and French), and compared to our previous work on a distant language pair (Ghazi-Saidi et al., 2013). Methods : Twelve healthy native Spanish-speaking (L1) adults, and 12 healthy native Persian-speaking adults learned 130 new French (L2) words, through a computerized audiovisual repetition and imitation program. The program presented colored photos of objects. Participants were instructed to look at each photo and pronounce its name as closely as possible to the native template (imitate). Repetition was encouraged as many times as necessary to learn the object's name; phonological cues were provided if necessary. Participants practiced for 15 min, over 30 days, and were tested while naming the same items during fMRI scanning, at week 1 (shallow learning phase) and week 4 (consolidation phase) of training. To compare this set of data with our previous work on Persian speakers, a similar data analysis plan including accuracy rates (AR), response times (RT), and functional integration values for the language and cognitive control network at each measure point was included, with further L1-L2 direct comparisons across the two populations. Results and Discussion : The evidence shows that learning L2 words through repetition induces neuroplasticity at the network level. Specifically, L2 word learners showed increased network integration after 3 weeks of training, with both close and distant language

  7. Pragmatics & Language Learning. Volume 14

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Bardovi-Harlig, Kathleen, Ed.; Félix-Brasdefer, J. César, Ed.

    2016-01-01

    This volume contains a selection of papers presented at the 2014 International Conference of Pragmatics and Language Learning at Indiana University. It includes fourteen papers on a variety of topics, with a diversity of first and second languages, and a wide range of methods used to collect pragmatic data in L2 and FL settings. This volume is…

  8. Vocationally Oriented Language Learning Revisited

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Vogt, Karin; Kantelinen, Ritva

    2013-01-01

    Vocationally oriented language learning (VOLL) is often seen as a part of English for Specific Purposes/Language for Specific Purposes (ESP/LSP), which it is not in every case. The diverging characteristics and lines of development that these two branches of ELT have undergone are outlined and contrasted. Then, a discussion of the added value of a…

  9. Parental involvement, adolescents' self-determined learning and academic achievement in Urban China.

    PubMed

    Wang, Hongyu; Cai, Tianji

    2017-02-01

    Self-determined learning is essential to academic success. The motivational resources development model argues that parents promote academic success in their children indirectly by nurturing self-determined learner. In this study, applying a structural equation modelling and using data collected from 8th graders in Zhuhai, China (n = 1009) in 2012, we aim to answer 2 research questions: (a) What forms of parental involvement are highly correlated with self-determined learning and (b) Can self-determined learning fully mediate the relationship between parental involvement and students' academic performance? We find that parental leisure involvement is positively and significantly associated with the development of self-determined learning, which in turn is significantly and positively correlated with academic achievement. Parental provision of structure or parental academic assistance is not significantly associated with students' self-regulation and students' academic achievement. © 2015 International Union of Psychological Science.

  10. Predicting Academic Success from Academic Motivation and Learning Approaches in Classroom Teaching Students

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Çetin, Baris

    2015-01-01

    Our aim was to determine whether learning approaches and academic motivation together predict academic success of classroom teaching students. The sample of the study included 536 students (386 female, 150 male) studying at the Classroom Teaching Division of Canakkale 18 Mart University. Our research was designed as a prediction study. Data was…

  11. Academic Self-Concept and Learning Strategies: Direction of Effect on Student Academic Achievement

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    McInerney, Dennis M.; Cheng, Rebecca Wing-yi; Mok, Magdalena Mo Ching; Lam, Amy Kwok Hap

    2012-01-01

    This study examined the prediction of academic self-concept (English and Mathematics) and learning strategies (deep and surface), and their direction of effect, on academic achievement (English and Mathematics) of 8,354 students from 16 secondary schools in Hong Kong. Two competing models were tested to ascertain the direction of effect: Model A…

  12. Predictors of Spoken Language Learning

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Wong, Patrick C. M.; Ettlinger, Marc

    2011-01-01

    We report two sets of experiments showing that the large individual variability in language learning success in adults can be attributed to neurophysiological, neuroanatomical, cognitive, and perceptual factors. In the first set of experiments, native English-speaking adults learned to incorporate lexically meaningfully pitch patterns in words. We…

  13. The Distance Learning of Foreign Languages: A Research Agenda

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    White, Cynthia

    2014-01-01

    Research into the distance learning of languages is now established as a significant avenue of enquiry in language teaching, with evident research trajectories in several domains. This article selects and analyses significant areas of investigation in distance language learning and teaching to identify new and emerging gaps, along with research…

  14. Statistical Learning and Language: An Individual Differences Study

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Misyak, Jennifer B.; Christiansen, Morten H.

    2012-01-01

    Although statistical learning and language have been assumed to be intertwined, this theoretical presupposition has rarely been tested empirically. The present study investigates the relationship between statistical learning and language using a within-subject design embedded in an individual-differences framework. Participants were administered…

  15. Preferred Learning Styles in the Second Language Classroom.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Cincotta, Madeline Strong

    1998-01-01

    Outlines the preferred learning styles of students studying second languages, offering suggestions for their application in second-language classrooms. The paper describes the right-brain/left-brain theory and how the two brain hemispheres are involved in learning; presents four classroom strategies (diversification, contextualization,…

  16. Structural Equation Modeling towards Online Learning Readiness, Academic Motivations, and Perceived Learning

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Horzum, Mehmet Baris; Kaymak, Zeliha Demir; Gungoren, Ozlem Canan

    2015-01-01

    The relationship between online learning readiness, academic motivations, and perceived learning was investigated via structural equation modeling in the research. The population of the research consisted of 750 students who studied using the online learning programs of Sakarya University. 420 of the students who volunteered for the research and…

  17. Thinking and Content Learning of Mathematics and Science as Cognitional Development in Content and Language Integrated Learning (CLIL): Teaching Through a Foreign Language in Finland

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Jappinen, Aini-Kristiina

    2005-01-01

    This paper presents a study on thinking and learning processes of mathematics and science in teaching through a foreign language, in Finland. The entity of thinking and content learning processes is, in this study, considered as cognitional development. Teaching through a foreign language is here called Content and Language Integrated Learning or…

  18. A Review of Integrating Mobile Phones for Language Learning

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Darmi, Ramiza; Albion, Peter

    2014-01-01

    Mobile learning (m-learning) is gradually being introduced in language classrooms. All forms of mobile technology represent portability with smarter features. Studies have proven the concomitant role of technology beneficial for language learning. Various features in the technology have been exploited and researched for acquiring and learning…

  19. Cooperative Learning and Second-Language Teaching: Frequently-Asked Questions.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Jacobs, George M.; Gilbert, Charles C.; Lopriore, Lucilla; Goldstein, Sue; Thiyagarajali, Rosy

    1998-01-01

    Summarizes a discussion about cooperative learning in second-language teaching by 45 teachers, highlighting six issues: how to cover the syllabus, how long cooperative groups should stay together, how cooperative learning is affected by competition in society, using cooperative learning with low language proficiency students, using cooperative…

  20. Academic goals and learning quality in higher education students.

    PubMed

    Valle, Antonio; Núñez, José C; Cabanach, Ramón G; González-Pienda, Julio A; Rodríguez, Susana; Rosário, Pedro; Muñoz-Cadavid, María A; Cerezo, Rebeca

    2009-05-01

    In this paper, the relations between academic goals and various indicators that define the quality of the learning process are analyzed. The purpose was to determine to what extent high, moderate, or low levels of academic goals were positively or negatively related to effort regulation, the value assigned to academic tasks, meta-cognitive self-regulation, self-efficacy, beliefs about learning control, and management of time and study environment. The investigation was carried out with a sample of 632 university students (70% female and 30% male) and mean age of 21.22 (SD=2.2).The results show that learning goals, or task orientation, are positively related to all the indictors of learning quality considered herein. Although for other kinds of goals-work-avoidance goals, performance-approach goals, and performance-avoidance goals-significant relations were not found with all the indicators, there was a similar tendency of significant results in all cases; the higher the levels of these goals, the lower the levels of the indicators of learning quality.

  1. Language Learning and Control in Monolinguals and Bilinguals

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Bartolotti, James; Marian, Viorica

    2012-01-01

    Parallel language activation in bilinguals leads to competition between languages. Experience managing this interference may aid novel language learning by improving the ability to suppress competition from known languages. To investigate the effect of bilingualism on the ability to control native-language interference, monolinguals and bilinguals…

  2. Self-Regulation, Cooperative Learning, and Academic Self-Efficacy: Interactions to Prevent School Failure

    PubMed Central

    Fernandez-Rio, Javier; Cecchini, Jose A.; Méndez-Gimenez, Antonio; Mendez-Alonso, David; Prieto, Jose A.

    2017-01-01

    Learning to learn and learning to cooperate are two important goals for individuals. Moreover, self regulation has been identified as fundamental to prevent school failure. The goal of the present study was to assess the interactions between self-regulated learning, cooperative learning and academic self-efficacy in secondary education students experiencing cooperative learning as the main pedagogical approach for at least one school year. 2.513 secondary education students (1.308 males, 1.205 females), 12–17 years old (M = 13.85, SD = 1.29), enrolled in 17 different schools belonging to the National Network of Schools on Cooperative Learning in Spain agreed to participate. They all had experienced this pedagogical approach a minimum of one school year. Participants were asked to complete the cooperative learning questionnaire, the strategies to control the study questionnaire and the global academic self-efficacy questionnaire. Participants were grouped based on their perceptions on cooperative learning and self-regulated learning in their classes. A combination of hierarchical and κ-means cluster analyses was used. Results revealed a four-cluster solution: cluster one included students with low levels of cooperative learning, self-regulated learning and academic self-efficacy, cluster two included students with high levels of cooperative learning, self-regulated learning and academic self-efficacy, cluster three included students with high levels of cooperative learning, low levels of self-regulated learning and intermediate-low levels of academic self-efficacy, and, finally, cluster four included students with high levels of self-regulated learning, low levels of cooperative learning, and intermediate-high levels of academic self-efficacy. Self-regulated learning was found more influential than cooperative learning on students’ academic self-efficacy. In cooperative learning contexts students interact through different types of regulations: self, co, and

  3. Self-Regulation, Cooperative Learning, and Academic Self-Efficacy: Interactions to Prevent School Failure.

    PubMed

    Fernandez-Rio, Javier; Cecchini, Jose A; Méndez-Gimenez, Antonio; Mendez-Alonso, David; Prieto, Jose A

    2017-01-01

    Learning to learn and learning to cooperate are two important goals for individuals. Moreover, self regulation has been identified as fundamental to prevent school failure. The goal of the present study was to assess the interactions between self-regulated learning, cooperative learning and academic self-efficacy in secondary education students experiencing cooperative learning as the main pedagogical approach for at least one school year. 2.513 secondary education students (1.308 males, 1.205 females), 12-17 years old ( M = 13.85, SD = 1.29), enrolled in 17 different schools belonging to the National Network of Schools on Cooperative Learning in Spain agreed to participate. They all had experienced this pedagogical approach a minimum of one school year. Participants were asked to complete the cooperative learning questionnaire, the strategies to control the study questionnaire and the global academic self-efficacy questionnaire. Participants were grouped based on their perceptions on cooperative learning and self-regulated learning in their classes. A combination of hierarchical and κ -means cluster analyses was used. Results revealed a four-cluster solution: cluster one included students with low levels of cooperative learning, self-regulated learning and academic self-efficacy, cluster two included students with high levels of cooperative learning, self-regulated learning and academic self-efficacy, cluster three included students with high levels of cooperative learning, low levels of self-regulated learning and intermediate-low levels of academic self-efficacy, and, finally, cluster four included students with high levels of self-regulated learning, low levels of cooperative learning, and intermediate-high levels of academic self-efficacy. Self-regulated learning was found more influential than cooperative learning on students' academic self-efficacy. In cooperative learning contexts students interact through different types of regulations: self, co, and

  4. One More Reason to Learn a New Language: Testing Academic Self-Efficacy Transfer at Junior High School

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Fryer, Luke K.; Oga-Baldwin, W. L. Quint

    2017-01-01

    Self-efficacy is an essential source of motivation for learning. While considerable research has theorised and examined the how and why of self-efficacy in a single domain of study, longitudinal research has not yet tested how self-efficacy might generalise or transfer between subjects such as mathematics, native and foreign language studies. The…

  5. Statistical Learning in a Natural Language by 8-Month-Old Infants

    PubMed Central

    Pelucchi, Bruna; Hay, Jessica F.; Saffran, Jenny R.

    2013-01-01

    Numerous studies over the past decade support the claim that infants are equipped with powerful statistical language learning mechanisms. The primary evidence for statistical language learning in word segmentation comes from studies using artificial languages, continuous streams of synthesized syllables that are highly simplified relative to real speech. To what extent can these conclusions be scaled up to natural language learning? In the current experiments, English-learning 8-month-old infants’ ability to track transitional probabilities in fluent infant-directed Italian speech was tested (N = 72). The results suggest that infants are sensitive to transitional probability cues in unfamiliar natural language stimuli, and support the claim that statistical learning is sufficiently robust to support aspects of real-world language acquisition. PMID:19489896

  6. Statistical learning in a natural language by 8-month-old infants.

    PubMed

    Pelucchi, Bruna; Hay, Jessica F; Saffran, Jenny R

    2009-01-01

    Numerous studies over the past decade support the claim that infants are equipped with powerful statistical language learning mechanisms. The primary evidence for statistical language learning in word segmentation comes from studies using artificial languages, continuous streams of synthesized syllables that are highly simplified relative to real speech. To what extent can these conclusions be scaled up to natural language learning? In the current experiments, English-learning 8-month-old infants' ability to track transitional probabilities in fluent infant-directed Italian speech was tested (N = 72). The results suggest that infants are sensitive to transitional probability cues in unfamiliar natural language stimuli, and support the claim that statistical learning is sufficiently robust to support aspects of real-world language acquisition.

  7. From Pedagogically Relevant Corpora to Authentic Language Learning Contents

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Braun, Sabine

    2005-01-01

    The potential of corpora for language learning and teaching has been widely acknowledged and their ready availability on the Web has facilitated access for a broad range of users, including language teachers and learners. However, the integration of corpora into general language learning and teaching practice has so far been disappointing. In this…

  8. Language Learning Strategy Use among Iranian Engineering EFL Learners

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Nahavandi, Naemeh; Mukundan, Jayakaran

    2014-01-01

    The present study aimed at understanding the language learning strategy use of Iranian EFL learners' about learning a foreign language. The main purpose of the study was to understand if there was any relationship between proficiency level, gender and extra education in language institutes and strategy use. To achieve this end, 369 engineering…

  9. Language Learning of Gifted Individuals: A Content Analysis Study

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Gokaydin, Beria; Baglama, Basak; Uzunboylu, Huseyin

    2017-01-01

    This study aims to carry out a content analysis of the studies on language learning of gifted individuals and determine the trends in this field. Articles on language learning of gifted individuals published in the Scopus database were examined based on certain criteria including type of publication, year of publication, language, research…

  10. Formulaic Sequences and the Implications for Second Language Learning

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Xu, Qi

    2016-01-01

    The present paper is a review of literature in relation to formulaic sequences and the implications for second language learning. The formulaic sequence is a significant part of our language, and plays an essential role in both first and second language learning. The paper first introduces the definition, classifications, and major features of…

  11. Learning strategies and general cognitive ability as predictors of gender- specific academic achievement

    PubMed Central

    Ruffing, Stephanie; Wach, F. -Sophie; Spinath, Frank M.; Brünken, Roland; Karbach, Julia

    2015-01-01

    Recent research has revealed that learning behavior is associated with academic achievement at the college level, but the impact of specific learning strategies on academic success as well as gender differences therein are still not clear. Therefore, the aim of this study was to investigate gender differences in the incremental contribution of learning strategies over general cognitive ability in the prediction of academic achievement. The relationship between these variables was examined by correlation analyses. A set of t-tests was used to test for gender differences in learning strategies, whereas structural equation modeling as well as multi-group analyses were applied to investigate the incremental contribution of learning strategies for male and female students’ academic performance. The sample consisted of 461 students (mean age = 21.2 years, SD = 3.2). Correlation analyses revealed that general cognitive ability as well as the learning strategies effort, attention, and learning environment were positively correlated with academic achievement. Gender differences were found in the reported application of many learning strategies. Importantly, the prediction of achievement in structural equation modeling revealed that only effort explained incremental variance (10%) over general cognitive ability. Results of multi-group analyses showed no gender differences in this prediction model. This finding provides further knowledge regarding gender differences in learning research and the specific role of learning strategies for academic achievement. The incremental assessment of learning strategy use as well as gender-differences in their predictive value contributes to the understanding and improvement of successful academic development. PMID:26347698

  12. Skype me! Socially contingent interactions help toddlers learn language.

    PubMed

    Roseberry, Sarah; Hirsh-Pasek, Kathy; Golinkoff, Roberta M

    2014-01-01

    Language learning takes place in the context of social interactions, yet the mechanisms that render social interactions useful for learning language remain unclear. This study focuses on whether social contingency might support word learning. Toddlers aged 24-30 months (N = 36) were exposed to novel verbs in one of three conditions: live interaction training, socially contingent video training over video chat, and noncontingent video training (yoked video). Results suggest that children only learned novel verbs in socially contingent interactions (live interactions and video chat). This study highlights the importance of social contingency in interactions for language learning and informs the literature on learning through screen media as the first study to examine word learning through video chat technology. © 2013 The Authors. Child Development © 2013 Society for Research in Child Development, Inc.

  13. Interaction as Method and Result of Language Learning

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Hall, Joan Kelly

    2010-01-01

    The premise of this paper is that the interactional practices constituting teacher-student interaction and language learning are interdependent in that the substance of learners' language knowledge is inextricably tied to their extended involvement in the regularly occurring interactional practices constituting their specific contexts of learning.…

  14. Students' Evaluation of Their English Language Learning Experience

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Maizatulliza, M.; Kiely, R.

    2017-01-01

    In the field of English language teaching and learning, there is a long history of investigating students' performance while they are undergoing specific learning programmes. This research study, however, focused on students' evaluation of their English language learning experience after they have completed their programme. The data were gathered…

  15. Collaborative Work and Language Learners' Identities When Editing Academic Texts

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Caviedes, Lorena; Meza, Angélica; Rodriguez, Ingrid

    2016-01-01

    This paper presents a qualitative case study that involved three groups of English as a foreign language pre-service teachers at a Colombian private university. Each group attended tutoring sessions during an academic semester. Along these sessions, students were asked to work collaboratively in the editing process of some chapters of their thesis…

  16. Corporate Versus Academic Perceptions of the Need for Language Fluency.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Vande Berg, Camille Kennedy

    1997-01-01

    Discusses the academic emphasis on students acquiring fluency in a second language to foster their advancement in the business world of international commerce. Notes that human resource experts in U.S.-based international corporations often give a low priority to linguistic fluency and emphasize the need for cultural expertise. (Seven references)…

  17. Academic Entitlement in the Context of Learning Styles

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Andrey, Jean; Joakim, Erin; Schoner, Vivian; Hambly, Derrick; Silver, Amber; Jayasundera, Rohan; Nelson, Allen

    2012-01-01

    This study explores the linkages between students' sense of entitlement and their approaches to learning, based on survey research at a large public university in Canada. Through literature review and pilot testing, a questionnaire instrument was developed that measures four constructs: academic entitlement, deep learning, surface learning and…

  18. Language Learning Strategies and Language Self-Efficacy: Investigating the Relationship in Malaysia

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Wong, Mary Siew-Lian

    2005-01-01

    This study explored graduate pre-service teachers' language learning strategies and language self-efficacy and the relationship between these two constructs. Seventy-four graduate English-as-a-second-language (ESL) pre-service teachers (13 males, 61 females) from a teachers' college in Kuching, Sarawak, Malaysia, participated in this study. These…

  19. Factors Predicting Academic Success in Second and Third Language among Russian-Speaking Immigrant Students Studying in Israeli Schools

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Haim, Orly

    2014-01-01

    The purpose of this study was to investigate the factors predicting academic proficiency (AP), the specialised domains required for performing academic tasks, among Russian speaking (L1) immigrants currently studying Hebrew as a second language (L2) and English as a third language (L3) in Israeli schools. Specifically, the study examined the…

  20. Native language change during early stages of second language learning.

    PubMed

    Bice, Kinsey; Kroll, Judith F

    2015-11-11

    Research on proficient bilinguals has demonstrated that both languages are always active, even when only one is required. The coactivation of the two languages creates both competition and convergence, facilitating the processing of cognate words, but slowing lexical access when there is a requirement to engage control mechanisms to select the target language. Critically, these consequences are evident in the native language (L1) as well as in the second language (L2). The present study questioned whether L1 changes can be detected at early stages of L2 learning and how they are modulated by L2 proficiency. Native English speakers learning Spanish performed an English (L1) lexical decision task that included cognates while event-related potentials were recorded. They also performed verbal fluency, working memory, and inhibitory control tasks. A group of matched monolinguals performed the same tasks in English only. The results revealed that intermediate learners demonstrate a reduced N400 for cognates compared with noncognates in English (L1), and an emerging effect is visually present in beginning learners as well; however, no behavioral cognate effect was present for either group. In addition, slower reaction times in English (L1) are related to a larger cognate N400 magnitude in English (L1) and Spanish (L2), and to better inhibitory control for learners but not for monolinguals. The results suggest that contrary to the claim that L2 affects L1 only when L2 speakers are highly proficient, L2 learning begins to impact L1 early in the development of the L2 skill.

  1. Early Language Learning and Literacy: Neuroscience Implications for Education

    PubMed Central

    Kuhl, Patricia K.

    2011-01-01

    The last decade has produced an explosion in neuroscience research examining young children’s early processing of language that has implications for education. Noninvasive, safe functional brain measurements have now been proven feasible for use with children starting at birth. In the arena of language, the neural signatures of learning can be documented at a remarkably early point in development, and these early measures predict performance in children’s language and pre-reading abilities in the second, third, and fifth year of life, a finding with theoretical and educational import. There is evidence that children’s early mastery of language requires learning in a social context, and this finding also has important implications for education. Evidence relating socio-economic status (SES) to brain function for language suggests that SES should be considered a proxy for the opportunity to learn and that the complexity of language input is a significant factor in developing brain areas related to language. The data indicate that the opportunity to learn from complex stimuli and events are vital early in life, and that success in school begins in infancy. PMID:21892359

  2. In Our Learners' Shoes. A Language Teacher's Reflections on Language Learning.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Cervi, David A.

    1989-01-01

    A language teacher's Japanese-language learning experiences in educational and immersion environments lead to assertions about the ineffectiveness of exclusive use of traditional instructional methodologies; exclusive dependence on osmosis for developing fluency; instructional materials that students perceive as beneath them; and assumptions that…

  3. Surveying and Modeling Students' Motivation and Learning Strategies for Mobile-Assisted Seamless Chinese Language Learning

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Chai, Ching Sing; Wong, Lung-Hsiang; King, Ronnel B.

    2016-01-01

    Seamless language learning promises to be an effective learning approach that addresses the limitations of classroom-only language learning. It leverages mobile technologies to facilitate holistic and perpetual learning experiences that bridge different locations, times, technologies or social settings. Despite the emergence of studies on seamless…

  4. Learning Academic Work Practices in Discipline, Department and University

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Zukas, Miriam; Malcolm, Janice

    2017-01-01

    Purpose: This paper aims to examine the everyday practices of academic work in social science to understand better academics' learning. It also asks how academic work is enacted in relation to the discipline, department and university, taking temporality as its starting point. Design/methodology/approach: The study sought to trace academic…

  5. E-Learning Turkish Language and Grammar: Analyzing Learners' Behavior

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Georgalas, Panagiotis

    2012-01-01

    This study analyses the behavior and the preferences of the Greek learners of Turkish language, who use a particular e-learning website in parallel with their studies, namely: http://turkish.pgeorgalas.gr. The website offers free online material in Greek and English language for learning the Turkish language and grammar. The traffic of several…

  6. Teaching-and-Learning Language-and-Culture. Multilingual Matters: 100.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Byram, Michael; And Others

    A discussion of the cultural dimension in foreign/second language learning focuses on the need for research and theory development in this area. The first chapter addresses the role of culture in language learning and proposes areas in which theory may be developed. The second chapter looks at methodologies for teaching language and culture in…

  7. Assessment of Language Learning Strategies Used by Palestinian EFL Learners

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Khalil, Aziz

    2005-01-01

    This article assesses the language learning strategies (LLSs) used by 194 high school and 184 university English-as-a-foreign-language (EFL) learners in Palestine, using Oxford's (1990) Strategy Inventory for Language Learning (SILL). It also explores the effect of language proficiency and gender on frequency of strategy use. The findings show…

  8. Early Education of the Language-Learning Handicapped Child.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Easter Seal Treatment Center of Montgomery County, Rockville, MD.

    The brochure descrbies a demonstration program on the early education of the language learning handicapped preschool child. Discussed are symptoms of the language learning problem (such as misunderstanding what is said), a remedial approach based on specific disability intervention, the Easter Seal Treatment Center, project objectives (such as the…

  9. The Effects of Foreign Language Learning on Creativity

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Ghonsooly, Behzad; Showqi, Sara

    2012-01-01

    The present study investigates the possible influence of foreign language learning on individuals' divergent thinking abilities. Unlike the large body of research devoted to unfolding the effect of bilingualism on cognitive functions, foreign language learning has gained little attention. This study aimed at bringing into attention the distinctive…

  10. Mobile Collaborative Language Learning: State of the Art

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Kukulska-Hulme, Agnes; Viberg, Olga

    2018-01-01

    This paper presents a review of mobile collaborative language learning studies published in 2012-16 with the aim to improve understanding of how mobile technologies have been used to support collaborative learning among second and foreign language students. We identify affordances, general pedagogical approaches, second- and foreign-language…

  11. Malaysian Gifted Students' Use of English Language Learning Strategies

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Yunus, Melor Md; Sulaiman, Nur Ainil; Embi, Mohammed Amin

    2013-01-01

    Many studies have been done on language learning strategies employed by different type of learners and in various contexts. However, very little studies have been done on gifted students regarding language learning. Gifted students have unique characteristics and have different ways of thinking and learning. These characteristics affect how they…

  12. Social Interaction Affects Neural Outcomes of Sign Language Learning As a Foreign Language in Adults.

    PubMed

    Yusa, Noriaki; Kim, Jungho; Koizumi, Masatoshi; Sugiura, Motoaki; Kawashima, Ryuta

    2017-01-01

    Children naturally acquire a language in social contexts where they interact with their caregivers. Indeed, research shows that social interaction facilitates lexical and phonological development at the early stages of child language acquisition. It is not clear, however, whether the relationship between social interaction and learning applies to adult second language acquisition of syntactic rules. Does learning second language syntactic rules through social interactions with a native speaker or without such interactions impact behavior and the brain? The current study aims to answer this question. Adult Japanese participants learned a new foreign language, Japanese sign language (JSL), either through a native deaf signer or via DVDs. Neural correlates of acquiring new linguistic knowledge were investigated using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI). The participants in each group were indistinguishable in terms of their behavioral data after the instruction. The fMRI data, however, revealed significant differences in the neural activities between two groups. Significant activations in the left inferior frontal gyrus (IFG) were found for the participants who learned JSL through interactions with the native signer. In contrast, no cortical activation change in the left IFG was found for the group who experienced the same visual input for the same duration via the DVD presentation. Given that the left IFG is involved in the syntactic processing of language, spoken or signed, learning through social interactions resulted in an fMRI signature typical of native speakers: activation of the left IFG. Thus, broadly speaking, availability of communicative interaction is necessary for second language acquisition and this results in observed changes in the brain.

  13. Language Acquisition and Language Learning: Developing the System of External and Internal Perspectives

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Zascerinska, Jelena

    2010-01-01

    Introduction. The use of three-five languages is of the greatest importance in order to form varied cooperative networks for the creation of new knowledge. Aim of the paper is to analyze the synergy between language acquisition and language learning. Materials and Methods. The search for the synergy between language acquisition and language…

  14. Managing Online Presence in the E-Learning Environment: Technological Support for Academic Staff

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Islam, Nurul; Beer, Martin; Slack, Frances

    2015-01-01

    Over the last two decades the use of E-learning technology increased to such an extent that the role of the traditional academic has been forced to change. Focusing on academics' views, this study examines their interactions in the E-learning environment and whether online learning applications have increased academic workload (Eynon, 2005;…

  15. Active physiology learning in a diverse class: an analysis of medical student responses in terms of sex, home language, and self-reported test performance.

    PubMed

    Higgins-Opitz, Susan B; Tufts, Mark

    2012-06-01

    The student body at the Nelson R. Mandela School of Medicine (NRMSM) is very diverse, representing many cultures, religions, and languages. Research has shown that weakness in English can impact student performance. Recent studies have also highlighted sex-based differences in students' learning and listening styles. These factors pose both challenges and opportunities for teachers of physiology. Student presentations were incorporated for a number of years into the traditional didactic second-year medical physiology curriculum at the NRMSM. Feedback obtained about the perceived benefits of these presentations for the learning of gastrointestinal and endocrine physiology included demographic data pertaining to students' sex, home language, and self-reported performance in tests. Analysis of the 50-item questionnaire responses, obtained over a 2-yr period, provided some interesting insights. Student responses to the items differed significantly in 27 of the 50 items in the questionnaire, based on sex alone (22%), sex and home language (7%), home language alone (37%), performance alone (26%), and performance and home language (7%). Our analyses of student perceptions support the findings of other studies and show that factors such as sex, home language, and student performance can play an important role in the way students are motivated to learn. In designing active learning strategies, academics need to take into account the potential influences that might affect student learning in diverse, multicultural, and multilingual classes.

  16. Academic integrity in the online learning environment for health sciences students.

    PubMed

    Azulay Chertok, Ilana R; Barnes, Emily R; Gilleland, Diana

    2014-10-01

    The online learning environment not only affords accessibility to education for health sciences students, but also poses challenges to academic integrity. Technological advances contribute to new modes of academic dishonesty, although there may be a lack of clarity regarding behaviors that constitute academic dishonesty in the online learning environment. To evaluate an educational intervention aimed at increasing knowledge and improving attitudes about academic integrity in the online learning environment among health sciences students. A quasi-experimental study was conducted using a survey of online learning knowledge and attitudes with strong reliability that was developed based on a modified version of a previously developed information technology attitudes rating tool with an added knowledge section based on the academic integrity statement. Blended-learning courses in a university health sciences center. 355 health sciences students from various disciplines, including nursing, pre-medical, and exercise physiology students, 161 in the control group and 194 in the intervention group. The survey of online learning knowledge and attitudes (SOLKA) was used in a pre-post test study to evaluate the differences in scores between the control group who received the standard course introduction and the intervention group who received an enhanced educational intervention about academic integrity during the course introduction. Post-intervention attitude scores were significantly improved compared to baseline scores for the control and intervention groups, indicating a positive relationship with exposure to the information, with a greater improvement among intervention group participants (p<0.001). There was a significant improvement in the mean post-intervention knowledge score of the intervention group compared to the control group (p=0.001). Recommendations are provided for instructors in promoting academic integrity in the online environment. Emphasis should be made

  17. Do grammatical-gender distinctions learned in the second language influence native-language lexical processing?

    PubMed Central

    Kaushanskaya, Margarita; Smith, Samantha

    2015-01-01

    How does learning a second language influence native language processing? In the present study, we examined whether knowledge of Spanish – a language that marks grammatical gender on inanimate nouns – influences lexical processing in English – a language that does not mark grammatical gender. We tested three groups of adult English native speakers: monolinguals, emergent bilinguals with high exposure to Spanish, and emergent bilinguals with low exposure to Spanish. Participants engaged in an associative learning task in English where they learned to associate names of inanimate objects with proper names. For half of the pairs, the grammatical gender of the noun’s Spanish translation matched the gender of the proper name (e.g., corn-Patrick). For half of the pairs, the grammatical gender of the noun’s Spanish translation mismatched the gender of the proper noun (e.g., beach-William). High-Spanish-exposure bilinguals (but not monolinguals or low-Spanish-exposure bilinguals) were less accurate at retrieving proper names for gender-incongruent than for gender-congruent pairs. This indicates that second-language morphosyntactic information is activated during native-language processing, even when the second language is acquired later in life. PMID:26977134

  18. Explaining the Academic Achievement at School Leaving for Pupils with a History of Language Impairment: Previous Academic Achievement and Literacy Skills

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Dockrell, Julie E.; Lindsay, Geoff; Palikara, Olympia

    2011-01-01

    The relationships are explored between language and literacy and academic success at 16 years in an English sample of 62 young people with a history of specific language impairment identified at 8 years. Data were available from national assessments at 16 and 14; in addition the pupils had completed a range of standardized tests to examine…

  19. Self-regulated learning and academic performance in medical education.

    PubMed

    Lucieer, Susanna M; Jonker, Laura; Visscher, Chris; Rikers, Remy M J P; Themmen, Axel P N

    2016-06-01

    Medical schools aim to graduate medical doctors who are able to self-regulate their learning. It is therefore important to investigate whether medical students' self-regulated learning skills change during medical school. In addition, since these skills are expected to be helpful to learn more effectively, it is of interest to investigate whether these skills are related to academic performance. In a cross-sectional design, the Self-Regulation of Learning Self-Report Scale (SRL-SRS) was used to investigate the change in students' self-regulated learning skills. First and third-year students (N = 949, 81.7%) SRL-SRS scores were compared with ANOVA. The relation with academic performance was investigated with multinomial regression analysis. Only one of the six skills, reflection, significantly, but positively, changed during medical school. In addition, a small, but positive relation of monitoring, reflection, and effort with first-year GPA was found, while only effort was related to third-year GPA. The change in self-regulated learning skills is minor as only the level of reflection differs between the first and third year. In addition, the relation between self-regulated learning skills and academic performance is limited. Medical schools are therefore encouraged to re-examine the curriculum and methods they use to enhance their students' self-regulated learning skills. Future research is required to understand the limited impact on performance.

  20. Phonological similarity influences word learning in adults learning Spanish as a foreign language

    PubMed Central

    Stamer, Melissa K.; Vitevitch, Michael S.

    2013-01-01

    Neighborhood density—the number of words that sound similar to a given word (Luce & Pisoni, 1998)—influences word-learning in native English speaking children and adults (Storkel, 2004; Storkel, Armbruster, & Hogan, 2006): novel words with many similar sounding English words (i.e., dense neighborhood) are learned more quickly than novel words with few similar sounding English words (i.e., sparse neighborhood). The present study examined how neighborhood density influences word-learning in native English speaking adults learning Spanish as a foreign language. Students in their third-semester of Spanish language classes learned advanced Spanish words that sounded similar to many known Spanish words (i.e., dense neighborhood) or sounded similar to few known Spanish words (i.e., sparse neighborhood). In three word-learning tasks, performance was better for Spanish words with dense rather than sparse neighborhoods. These results suggest that a similar mechanism may be used to learn new words in a native and a foreign language. PMID:23950692

  1. Advances in Early Communication and Language Intervention

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Kaiser, Ann P.; Roberts, Megan Y.

    2011-01-01

    Learning to communicate using speech and language is a primary developmental task for young children. Delays in the acquisition of language are one of the earliest indicators of developmental deficits that may affect academic and social outcomes for individuals across the life span. In the period since the passage of PL 99-457, significant…

  2. Learning through an Aboriginal Language: The Impact on Students' English and Aboriginal Language Skills

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Usborne, Esther; Peck, Josephine; Smith, Donna-Lee; Taylor, Donald M.

    2011-01-01

    Aboriginal communities across Canada are implementing Aboriginal language programs in their schools. In the present research, we explore the impact of learning through an Aboriginal language on students' English and Aboriginal language skills by contrasting a Mi'kmaq language immersion program with a Mi'kmaq as a second language program. The…

  3. Some Questions Answered About "Right Brain" Language Learning and Teaching.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Lawlor, Michael

    1987-01-01

    Centers on the opinions of Michael Lawlor of the Society for Effective Affective Learning (S.E.A.L.) about "right brain" language learning and includes suggestions (with examples presented about learning Greek) for developing one's power of suggestion and applying it to foreign language learning. (CB)

  4. Technologies in Use for Second Language Learning

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Levy, Mike

    2009-01-01

    This article describes the technologies in use for second language learning, in relation to the major language areas and skills. In order, these are grammar, vocabulary, reading, writing, pronunciation, listening, speaking, and culture. With each language area or skill, the relevant technologies are discussed with examples that illustrate how…

  5. Skype Me! Socially Contingent Interactions Help Toddlers Learn Language

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Roseberry, Sarah; Hirsh-Pasek, Kathy; Golinkoff, Roberta M.

    2014-01-01

    Language learning takes place in the context of social interactions, yet the mechanisms that render social interactions useful for learning language remain unclear. This study focuses on whether social contingency might support word learning. Toddlers aged 24-30 months (N = 36) were exposed to novel verbs in one of three conditions: live…

  6. Challenges Facing Chinese Academic Staff in a UK University in Terms of Language, Relationships and Culture

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Hsieh, Hui-hua

    2012-01-01

    The recruitment of international academic staff is viewed as one of the strategies to internationalise the universities. International academic staff, however, usually encounter many challenges when in a foreign context. This study aims to investigate the challenges of Chinese academic staff teaching in the UK in terms of language, relationships…

  7. A Bourdieuian Analysis: Teachers' Beliefs about English Language Learners' Academic Challenges

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Shim, Jenna Min

    2014-01-01

    Using Pierre Bourdieu's concept of "habitus," this work analyzes five teachers' beliefs about English language learners' academic challenges. In reference to reproductive and inventive qualities of "habitus," this article argues that teachers' beliefs that are linked to their socio-cultural backgrounds can delimit or enhance…

  8. On the Effectiveness of Robot-Assisted Language Learning

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Lee, Sungjin; Noh, Hyungjong; Lee, Jonghoon; Lee, Kyusong; Lee, Gary Geunbae; Sagong, Seongdae; Kim, Munsang

    2011-01-01

    This study introduces the educational assistant robots that we developed for foreign language learning and explores the effectiveness of robot-assisted language learning (RALL) which is in its early stages. To achieve this purpose, a course was designed in which students have meaningful interactions with intelligent robots in an immersive…

  9. Power within Blended Language Learning Programs in Japan

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Hinkelman, Don; Gruba, Paul

    2012-01-01

    As blended language learning environments evolve within tertiary foreign language institutions, issues of power with regards to the privileging of electronic technologies come to the fore. Blended learning, or the principled mix of online and classroom-based activities, challenges the practices of traditional CALL and face-to-face teaching within…

  10. A longitudinal study on children's music training experience and academic development.

    PubMed

    Yang, Hua; Ma, Weiyi; Gong, Diankun; Hu, Jiehui; Yao, Dezhong

    2014-07-28

    This study examined the relation between long-term music training and child development based on 250 Chinese elementary school students' academic development of first language (L1), second language (L2), and mathematics. We found that musician children outperformed non-musician children only on musical achievement and second language development. Additionally, although music training appeared to be correlated with children's final academic development of L1, L2, and mathematics, it did not independently contribute to the development of L1 or mathematical skills. Our findings suggest caution in interpreting the positive findings on the non-musical cognitive benefits of music learning.

  11. Toward Mobile Assisted Language Learning Apps for Professionals That Integrate Learning into the Daily Routine

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Pareja-Lora, Antonio; Arús-Hita, Jorge; Read, Timothy; Rodríguez-Arancón, Pilar; Calle-Martínez, Cristina; Pomposo, Lourdes; Martín-Monje, Elena; Bárcena, Elena

    2013-01-01

    In this short paper, we present some initial work on Mobile Assisted Language Learning (MALL) undertaken by the ATLAS research group. ATLAS embraced this multidisciplinary field cutting across Mobile Learning and Computer Assisted Language Learning (CALL) as a natural step in their quest to find learning formulas for professional English that…

  12. Learning builds on learning: Infants' use of native language sound patterns to learn words

    PubMed Central

    Graf Estes, Katharine

    2014-01-01

    The present research investigated how infants apply prior knowledge of environmental regularities to support new learning. The experiments tested whether infants could exploit experience with native language (English) phonotactic patterns to facilitate associating sounds with meanings during word learning. Fourteen-month-olds heard fluent speech that contained cues for detecting target words; they were embedded in sequences that occur across word boundaries. A separate group heard the target words embedded without word boundary cues. Infants then participated in an object label-learning task. With the opportunity to use native language patterns to segment the target words, infants subsequently learned the labels. Without this experience, infants failed. Novice word learners can take advantage of early learning about sounds scaffold lexical development. PMID:24980741

  13. Learning to Read Words in a New Language Shapes the Neural Organization of the Prior Languages

    PubMed Central

    Mei, Leilei; Xue, Gui; Lu, Zhong-Lin; Chen, Chuansheng; Zhang, Mingxia; He, Qinghua; Wei, Miao; Dong, Qi

    2014-01-01

    Learning a new language entails interactions with one's prior language(s). Much research has shown how native language affects the cognitive and neural mechanisms of a new language, but little is known about whether and how learning a new language shapes the neural mechanisms of prior language(s). In two experiments in the current study, we used an artificial language training paradigm in combination with fMRI to examine (1) the effects of different linguistic components (phonology and semantics) of a new language on the neural process of prior languages (i.e., native and second languages), and (2) whether such effects were modulated by the proficiency level in the new language. Results of Experiment 1 showed that when the training in a new language involved semantics (as opposed to only visual forms and phonology), neural activity during word reading in the native language (Chinese) was reduced in several reading-related regions, including the left pars opercularis, pars triangularis, bilateral inferior temporal gyrus, fusiform gyrus, and inferior occipital gyrus. Results of Experiment 2 replicated the results of Experiment 1 and further found that semantic training also affected neural activity during word reading in the subjects’ second language (English). Furthermore, we found that the effects of the new language were modulated by the subjects’ proficiency level in the new language. These results provide critical imaging evidence for the influence of learning to read words in a new language on word reading in native and second languages. PMID:25447375

  14. The Linguistic Landscape as a Learning Space for Contextual Language Learning

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Aladjem, Ruthi; Jou, Bibiana

    2016-01-01

    One of the challenges of teaching and learning a foreign language is that students are not being sufficiently exposed to the target language. However, it is quite common to find linguistic and cultural exponents of different foreign languages in authentic contexts (termed the "Linguistic landscape"). Using the Linguistic landscape as a…

  15. Second Language Experience Facilitates Statistical Learning of Novel Linguistic Materials

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Potter, Christine E.; Wang, Tianlin; Saffran, Jenny R.

    2017-01-01

    Recent research has begun to explore individual differences in statistical learning, and how those differences may be related to other cognitive abilities, particularly their effects on language learning. In this research, we explored a different type of relationship between language learning and statistical learning: the possibility that learning…

  16. Minority Languages Learned Informally: The Social Construction of Language Skills through the Discourse of Ontario Employers. NALL Working Paper.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Goldberg, Michelle; Corson, David

    Many immigrants, refugees, and aboriginal Canadians learn their own languages in the normal, informal way. These minority languages learned informally are not valued as a skill that yields returns in the labor market in the same way the official languages or formally learned languages do. What counts as a skill in a society, in a given point in…

  17. Modeling the language learning strategies and English language proficiency of pre-university students in UMS: A case study

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Kiram, J. J.; Sulaiman, J.; Swanto, S.; Din, W. A.

    2015-10-01

    This study aims to construct a mathematical model of the relationship between a student's Language Learning Strategy usage and English Language proficiency. Fifty-six pre-university students of University Malaysia Sabah participated in this study. A self-report questionnaire called the Strategy Inventory for Language Learning was administered to them to measure their language learning strategy preferences before they sat for the Malaysian University English Test (MUET), the results of which were utilised to measure their English language proficiency. We attempted the model assessment specific to Multiple Linear Regression Analysis subject to variable selection using Stepwise regression. We conducted various assessments to the model obtained, including the Global F-test, Root Mean Square Error and R-squared. The model obtained suggests that not all language learning strategies should be included in the model in an attempt to predict Language Proficiency.

  18. Associations between Chinese EFL Graduate Students' Beliefs and Language Learning Strategies

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Tang, Mailing; Tian, Jianrong

    2015-01-01

    This study, using Horwitz's Beliefs about Language Learning Inventory and Oxford's Strategy Inventory for Language Learning, investigated learners' beliefs about language learning and their choice of strategy categories among 546 graduate students in China. The correlation between learners' beliefs and their strategy categories use was examined.…

  19. Authenticity in the Language Classroom and Beyond: Adult Learners

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Rilling, Sarah, Ed.; Dantas-Whitney, Maria, Ed.

    2009-01-01

    Adult language learners have specific learning goals that reflect their lives within a global society, and adults negotiate multiple and changing identities throughout their personal, academic, and professional lives. Chapters in "Authenticity in the Language Classroom and Beyond: Adult Learners" highlight how teachers have the ability…

  20. Facilitating pragmatic skills through role-play in learners with language learning disability

    PubMed Central

    Flack, Penelope S.

    2017-01-01

    Background Role-based learning involves the process whereby learners acquire skills, knowledge and understanding through the assumption of roles within real-life settings. Role-play holds potential as an effective learning strategy for children; however, there is limited research on the use of role-play as a therapy method within the field of speech-language pathology. Children with language learning disability (LLD) typically present with difficulties in social communication, which can negatively affect their social and academic achievement. Aim The aim of this study was to determine the effectiveness of role-play as a therapy approach targeting the pragmatic skills of stylistic variation and requesting for clarification in learners with LLD. Method The use of combined positivist and interpretivist paradigms allowed for the implementation of an embedded mixed methods design. An experimental pretest-posttest design was implemented. Eight participants, who were learners with a diagnosis of LLD, were purposefully selected. Data collection was conducted over five phases, utilising the Clinical Evaluation of Language Fundamentals (4th Ed.) Pragmatics Profile, discourse completion tasks, session plans and session records. Quantitative data were analysed using descriptive statistics and were supplemented by qualitative data from session records. Results Results revealed improvements in stylistic variation and requesting for clarification post role-play intervention, with minimal changes in the control group. Limitations of the study have been reported for consideration when interpreting results. Conclusion Role-play as a therapy approach targeting two pragmatic skills, stylistic variation and requesting for clarification, was found to be beneficial for learners with LLD. Recommendations for the implementation of role-play as a therapy approach were made. PMID:28828866