Oral Interaction in Task-Based EFL Learning: The Use of the L1 as a Cognitive Tool

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

de la Colina, Ana Alegria; Mayo, Maria del Pilar Garcia

2009-01-01

The role of the first language (L1) in the learning of a second language (L2) has been widely studied as a source of cross-linguistic influence from the native system (Gass and Selinker, "Language Transfer in Language Learning," John Benjamins, 1992). Yet, this perspective provides no room for an understanding of language as a cognitive tool…

Language Arts Curriculum Instructional Guide: Grades 4-6.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Wilmington Public Schools, MA.

This curriculum guide, designed for teachers of language at the elementary level, outlines major language topics and suggests related learning activities for use in the classroom. The following divisions are made: General Introduction, Introduction to Oral-Aural Communication, Oral-Aural Experiences, General Introduction to Composing, The Writing…

Phonological awareness and oral language proficiency in learning to read English among Chinese kindergarten children in Hong Kong.

PubMed

Yeung, Susanna S; Chan, Carol K K

2013-12-01

Learning to read is very challenging for Hong Kong children who learn English as a second language (ESL), as they must acquire two very different writing systems, beginning at the age of three. Few studies have examined the role of phonological awareness at the subsyllabic levels, oral language proficiency, and L1 tone awareness in L2 English reading among Hong Kong ESL kindergarteners. This study aims to investigate L1 and L2 phonological awareness and oral language proficiency as predictors of English reading among children with Chinese as L1. One hundred and sixty-one typically developing children with a mean age of 5.16 (SD=.35) selected from seven preschools in Hong Kong. Participants were assessed for English reading, English and Chinese phonological awareness at different levels, English oral language skills, and letter naming ability. Hierarchical regression analyses indicated that both oral language proficiency and phonological awareness measures significantly predicted L2 word reading, when statistically controlled for age and general intelligence. Among various phonological awareness units, L2 phonemic awareness was the best predictor of L2 word reading. Cross-language transfer was shown with L1 phonological awareness at the tone level, uniquely predicting L2 word reading. The present findings show the important role of phonological awareness at the subsyllabic levels (rime and phoneme) and oral language proficiency in the course of L2 reading development in Chinese ESL learners. The significant contribution of L1 tone awareness to L2 reading suggests that phonological sensitivity is a general competence that ESL children need to acquire in early years. The findings have significant implications for understanding L2 reading development and curriculum development. © 2012 The British Psychological Society.

Tableau's Influence on the Oral Language Skills of Students with Language-Based Learning Disabilities

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Anderson, Alida; Berry, Katherine A.

2017-01-01

This study examined the influence of tableau on the expressive language skills of three students with language-based learning disabilities in inclusive urban fourth-grade English language arts (ELA) classroom settings. Data were collected on linguistic productivity, specificity, and narrative cohesion through analysis of students' responses to…

Using Oral Language Skills to Build on the Emerging Literacy of Adult English Learners. CAELA Network Brief

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Vinogradov, Patsy; Bigelow, Martha

2010-01-01

In addition to learning to read and write for the first time, adult English language learners with limited or emerging literacy skills must acquire oral English. Often, learners with limited print literacy in their first language have oral skills in English that exceed their English literacy skills (Geva & Zadeh, 2006). While this mismatch of oral…

VR-Based Gamification of Communication Training and Oral Examination in a Second Language

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Reitz, Liesa; Sohny, Aline; Lochmann, Gerrit

2016-01-01

The authors present a novel way of oral language training by embedding the English as a foreign language (EFL) learning process into a generic 3D Cooperative Virtual Reality (VR) Game. Due to lack of time, resources and innovation, the language classroom is limited in its possibilities of promoting authentic communication. Therefore, the…

Learner Perspectives on Task Design for Oral-Visual eTandem Language Learning

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

El-Hariri, Yasmin

2016-01-01

Constituting a more specific form of online collaboration, eTandem Language Learning (eTLL) shows great potential for non-formal, self-directed language learning. Research in this field, particularly regarding task design, is still scarce. Focusing on their beliefs and attitudes, this article examines what learners think about how…

User-Centred Design for Chinese-Oriented Spoken English Learning System

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Yu, Ping; Pan, Yingxin; Li, Chen; Zhang, Zengxiu; Shi, Qin; Chu, Wenpei; Liu, Mingzhuo; Zhu, Zhiting

2016-01-01

Oral production is an important part in English learning. Lack of a language environment with efficient instruction and feedback is a big issue for non-native speakers' English spoken skill improvement. A computer-assisted language learning system can provide many potential benefits to language learners. It allows adequate instructions and instant…

Supporting English Second-Language Learners in Disadvantaged Contexts: Learning Approaches That Promote Success in Mathematics

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Warren, Elizabeth; Miller, Jodie

2015-01-01

In the Australian context, children living in disadvantaged circumstances, whose second language is English, are one of the groups at risk of failing in mathematics. This paper explores the impact purposely developed learning activities (Representations, Oral Language and Engagement in Mathematics Learning activities) have on pupils' mathematics…

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…

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…

Authentic Oral Language Production and Interaction in CALL: An Evolving Conceptual Framework for the Use of Learning Analytics within the SpeakApps Project

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Nic Giolla Mhichíl, Mairéad; van Engen, Jeroen; Ó Ciardúbháin, Colm; Ó Cléircín, Gearóid; Appel, Christine

2014-01-01

This paper sets out to construct and present the evolving conceptual framework of the SpeakApps projects to consider the application of learning analytics to facilitate synchronous and asynchronous oral language skills within this CALL context. Drawing from both the CALL and wider theoretical and empirical literature of learner analytics, the…

Online and Face-to-Face Language Learning: A Comparative Analysis of Oral Proficiency in Introductory Spanish

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Moneypenny, Dianne Burke; Aldrich, Rosalie S.

2016-01-01

The primary resistance to online foreign language teaching often involves questions of spoken mastery of second language. In order to address this concern, this research comparatively assesses undergraduate students' oral proficiency in online and face-to-face Spanish classes, while taking into account students' previous second language…

The Language Exchange Programme: Plugging the Gap in Formal Learning

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Beaven, Tita; Gutiérrez, Mara Fuertes; Motzo, Anna

2017-01-01

In the context of distance language learning, speaking is frequently perceived as the most challenging skill; this paper reports on a 12 week summer language exchange programme providing students with new ways of practising their oral abilities. Students who completed an undergraduate beginners' language module took part in regular online,…

Language Learning Disability and Individual Differences: Can We See between the Lines?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Silliman, Elaine R.

2010-01-01

In honor of Dr. Katherine Butler's extraordinary leadership of "Topics in Language Disorders," this article takes up her 1982 challenge to reach toward greater understanding of individual differences in the use of oral and written language by children with language learning disability. The article focuses on 3 interconnected dimensions of learning…

Classroom Promotion of Oral Language (CPOL): protocol for a cluster randomised controlled trial of a school-based intervention to improve children’s literacy outcomes at grade 3, oral language and mental health

PubMed Central

Goldfeld, Sharon; Snow, Pamela; Eadie, Patricia; Munro, John; Gold, Lisa; Le, Ha N D; Orsini, Francesca; Shingles, Beth; Lee, Katherine; Connell, Judy; Watts, Amy

2017-01-01

Introduction Oral language and literacy competence are major influences on children’s developmental pathways and life success. Children who do not develop the necessary language and literacy skills in the early years of school then go on to face long-term difficulties. Improving teacher effectiveness may be a critical step in lifting oral language and literacy outcomes. The Classroom Promotion of Oral Language trial aims to determine whether a specifically designed teacher professional learning programme focusing on promoting oral language can lead to improved teacher knowledge and practice, and advance outcomes in oral language and literacy for early years school children, compared with usual practice. Methods and analysis This is a two-arm cluster multisite randomised controlled trial conducted within Catholic and Government primary schools across Victoria, Australia. The intervention comprises 4 days of face-to-face professional learning for teachers and ongoing implementation support via a specific worker. The primary outcome is reading ability of the students at grade 3, and the secondary outcomes are teacher knowledge and practice, student mental health, reading comprehension and language ability at grade 1; and literacy, writing and numeracy at grade 3. Economic evaluation will compare the incremental costs of the intervention to the measured primary and secondary outcomes. Ethics and dissemination This trial was approved by the Monash University Human Research Ethics Committee #CF13/2634-2013001403 and later transferred to the University of Melbourne #1545540. The investigators (including Government and Catholic partners) will communicate trial results to stakeholders, collaborators and participating schools and teachers via appropriate presentations and publications. Trial registration number ISRCTN77681972; Pre-results. PMID:29162571

Primary Progressive Aphasia in a Bilingual Speaker: A Single-Case Study

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Zanini, Sergio; Angeli, Valentina; Tavano, Alessandro

2011-01-01

We report on the case of an elderly bilingual woman presenting with a diagnosis of primary progressive aphasia. The participant's native language was Friulian (L1), a predominantly oral Romance language, and her second language was Italian (L2), formally learned at primary school in oral and written forms. We investigated her linguistic abilities…

Second Language Prosody and Oral Reading Comprehension in Learners of Brazilian Portuguese

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

McCune, W. M. Duce, II

2011-01-01

Learning to read can pose a major challenge to students, and much of this challenge is due to the fact that written language is necessarily impoverished when compared to the rich, continuous speech signal. Prosodic elements of language are scarcely represented in written text, and while oral reading prosody has been addressed in the literature…

Using a Humanoid Robot to Develop a Dialogue-Based Interactive Learning Environment for Elementary Foreign Language Classrooms

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Chang, Chih-Wei; Chen, Gwo-Dong

2010-01-01

Elementary school is the critical stage during which the development of listening comprehension and oral abilities in language acquisition occur, especially with a foreign language. However, the current foreign language instructors often adopt one-way teaching, and the learning environment lacks any interactive instructional media with which to…

Teaching How to Listen. Blended Learning for the Development and Assessment of Listening Skills in a Second Language

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Caruso, Marinella; Gadd Colombi, Anna; Tebbit, Simon

2017-01-01

This paper discusses the integration and effectiveness of blended learning for the development and assessment of listening skills in a second language. The development of oral abilities (listening and speaking) is one of the most challenging and neglected aspects of second language learning (Vandergrift & Goh 2012, Graham & Santos 2015).…

Output-Based Instruction, Learning Styles and Vocabulary Learning in the EFL Context of Iran

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Rastegar, Behnaz; Safari, Fatemeh

2017-01-01

Language learners' productive role in teaching and learning processes has recently been the focus of attention. Therefore, this study aimed at investigating the effect of oral vs. written output-based instruction on English as a foreign language (EFL) learners' vocabulary learning with a focus on reflective vs. impulsive learning styles. To this…

IDEA: Stimulating Oral Production.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Easley, Jacob J.

1995-01-01

Presents daily activities that facilitate complete sentence response, promote oral production, and aid the learning of vocabulary in foreign-language classes. Because speech is the primary form of communication in the foreign-language classroom, it is important to stimulate students to converse as soon as possible. (Author/CK)

A Case Study of the Features of Oral Narratives Produced by a Small Group of Children with Sensory Processing Disorder

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kingston, Helen Chen

2009-01-01

Research indicates that oral narrative is the discourse form that functions as a bridge between conversational oral language and language skills that contribute to the acquisition of literacy in children (Westby, 1991). Learning to tell stories, therefore, is important to children's literacy development. Mastering extended discourse tasks such as…

The Effect of Focus on Form and Task Complexity on L2 Learners' Oral Task Performance

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Salimi, Asghar

2015-01-01

Second Language learners' oral task performance has been one of interesting and research generating areas of investigations in the field of second language acquisition specially, task-based language teaching and learning. The main purpose of the present study is to investigate the effect of focus on form and task complexity on L2 learners' oral…

Global Trends and Research Aims for English Academic Oral Presentations: Changes, Challenges, and Opportunities for Learning Technology

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Barrett, Neil E.; Liu, Gi-Zen

2016-01-01

English has become the de facto language for communication in academia in many parts of the world, but English language learners often lack the language resources to make effective oral academic presentations. However, English for academic purposes (EAP) research is beginning to provide valuable insights into this emerging field. This literature…

The Development and Validation of a Spanish Elicited Imitation Test of Oral Language Proficiency for the Missionary Training Center

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Thompson, Carrie A.

2013-01-01

The Missionary Training Center (MTC), affiliated with the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, needs a reliable and cost effective way to measure the oral language proficiency of missionaries learning Spanish. The MTC needed to measure incoming missionaries' Spanish language proficiency for training and classroom assignment as well as to…

On the Road to Science Literacy: Building Confidence and Competency in Technical Language through Choral Repetition

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hohenshell, Liesl M.; Woller, Michael J.; Sherlock, Wallace

2013-01-01

In order to be successful, students must acquire the language of science for both oral and written communication. In this article we examine an oral language learning technique called choral repetition for its role in building literacy in the context of an animal physiology course. For 3 weeks, the instructor conducted choral repetitions of nine…

Boosting Vocabulary Learning through Self-Assessment in an English Language Teaching Context

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Duque Micán, Adriana; Cuesta Medina, Liliana

2017-01-01

This study explores the influence of self-assessment of vocabulary competence on a group of students' oral fluency. Twenty-four young adult learners participated in a learning process that promoted their oral skills and vocabulary development. Self-assessment was mainly examined through the analysis of students' learning logs, field notes and…

Talking Classrooms: Shaping Children's Learning through Oral Language Instruction.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Smith, Patricia G., Ed.

This book offers a variety of viewpoints relevant to teachers and researchers who are interested in the practical application of the theory and philosophy behind oral language instruction. Through an assortment of international essays, the authors demonstrate the changing nature of children's talk in the writing circle, reading conference, English…

Living Language: Self-Assessment, Oral Production, and Domestic Immersion

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Dolosic, Haley N.; Brantmeier, Cindy; Strube, Michael; Hogrebe, Mark C.

2016-01-01

With 24 adolescent students enrolled in a French language summer camp, the present study examines the relationship between self-assessment and oral production in French, interpreting results through a framework of individual learning variables. Participants were surrounded by French inside and outside the classroom. Self-assessment was measured…

Oracy and the Educational Achievement of Pupils with English as an Additional Language: The Impact of Bringing "Talking Partners" into Bradford Schools.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kotler, Angie; Wegerif, Rupert; LeVoi, Martin

2001-01-01

Examined whether an intervention based on what is known about how children learn language could make a significant difference to English as an additional language learners' control over oral language, particularly in relation to literacy learners. Results from a range of assessments show it is possible to accelerate such learning. (Author/VWL)

Learning and Not Learning English: Latino Students in American Schools. Multicultural Education Series.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Valdes, Guadalupe

This book examines the experiences of four Mexican children in American middle schools struggling to learn English. It discusses policy and instructional dilemmas surrounding English language education for immigrant children. Using analysis of the children's oral and written language and examination of their classrooms, schools, and communities,…

Creating an Online Learning Community in a Flipped Classroom to Enhance EFL Learners' Oral Proficiency

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Wu, Wen-Chi Vivian; Hsieh, Jun Scott Chen; Yang, Jie Chi

2017-01-01

Since the advent of new technology for learning, innovative language instructors have been constantly seeking new pedagogy to match the potential of technology-enhanced instruction. While previous studies have supported the adoption of technologies to facilitate language teaching and learning, research into enhancing English as a foreign language…

Language Learning Going Global: Linking Teachers and Learners via Commercial Skype-Based CMC

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Terhune, N. M.

2016-01-01

This paper reports on students' use of face-to-face synchronous computer-mediated communication (CMC) for oral language learning. It describes a university English language class designed to prepare students for overseas study in which a Skype-based English conversation school was piloted. The study offers analysis of how students used the CMC…

Gender Differences in Attitudes towards Learning Oral Skills Using Technology

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Harb, Jibrel; Abu Bakar, Nadzrah; Krish, Pramela

2014-01-01

This paper reports a quantitative study on gender differences in attitudes when learning oral skills via technology. The study was conducted at Tafila Technical University, Jordan, with 70 female and 30 male students, to find out if female students are better and faster in learning a language than male. Specifically, it seeks to investigate…

Sequential Prediction of Literacy Achievement for Specific Learning Disabilities Contrasting in Impaired Levels of Language in Grades 4 to 9.

PubMed

Sanders, Elizabeth A; Berninger, Virginia W; Abbott, Robert D

Sequential regression was used to evaluate whether language-related working memory components uniquely predict reading and writing achievement beyond cognitive-linguistic translation for students in Grades 4 through 9 ( N = 103) with specific learning disabilities (SLDs) in subword handwriting (dysgraphia, n = 25), word reading and spelling (dyslexia, n = 60), or oral and written language (oral and written language learning disabilities, n = 18). That is, SLDs are defined on the basis of cascading level of language impairment (subword, word, and syntax/text). A five-block regression model sequentially predicted literacy achievement from cognitive-linguistic translation (Block 1); working memory components for word-form coding (Block 2), phonological and orthographic loops (Block 3), and supervisory focused or switching attention (Block 4); and SLD groups (Block 5). Results showed that cognitive-linguistic translation explained an average of 27% and 15% of the variance in reading and writing achievement, respectively, but working memory components explained an additional 39% and 27% of variance. Orthographic word-form coding uniquely predicted nearly every measure, whereas attention switching uniquely predicted only reading. Finally, differences in reading and writing persisted between dyslexia and dysgraphia, with dysgraphia higher, even after controlling for Block 1 to 4 predictors. Differences in literacy achievement between students with dyslexia and oral and written language learning disabilities were largely explained by the Block 1 predictors. Applications to identifying and teaching students with these SLDs are discussed.

Exploring Relationships between Oral Reading Fluency and Reading Comprehension amongst English Second Language Readers in South Africa

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Pretorius, Elizabeth J.; Spaull, Nic

2016-01-01

Most analyses of oral reading fluency (ORF) are based on L1 reading, and the norms that have been developed in English are based on first language reading data. This is problematic for developing countries where many children are learning in English as a second language. The aim of the present study is to model the relationship between English…

"Rompiendo el Silencio": Meta-Analysis of the Effectiveness of Peer-Mediated Learning at Improving Language Outcomes for ELLs

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Cole, Mikel W.

2013-01-01

This article reports the results of a meta-analysis of the effectiveness of peer-mediated learning for English language learners. Peer-mediated learning is presented as one pedagogical tool with promise for interrupting a legacy of structural and instructional silencing of culturally and linguistically diverse students. Oral language…

Teacher Training in a Synchronous Cyber Face-to-Face Classroom: Characterizing and Supporting the Online Teachers' Learning Process

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Wang, Yuping; Chen, Nian-Shing; Levy, Mike

2010-01-01

This article discusses the learning process undertaken by language teachers in a cyber face-to-face teacher training program. Eight tertiary Chinese language teachers attended a 12-week training program conducted in an online synchronous learning environment characterized by multimedia-based, oral and visual interaction. The term "cyber…

Growth in Oral Reading Fluency of Spanish ELL Students with Learning Disabilities

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Rubin, Daniel Ian

2016-01-01

The process of learning to read is difficult for many children, and this is especially true for students with learning disabilities (LD). Reading in English becomes even more difficult when a student's home language is not English. For English language learner (ELL) students with LD, acquiring the necessary skills to read fluently is an even…

Oral Reading Miscues of Hispanic Students: Implications for Assessment of Learning Disabilities.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Miramontes, Ofelia

1987-01-01

The study analyzed oral reading miscues in both first and second reading languages of 20 Hispanic successful and 20 learning disabled readers in the intermediate grades. Significant differences were found for English reading in grammatical relationships, comprehension, and grammatical function. (Author/DB)

Examining the literacy component of science literacy: 25 years of language arts and science research

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yore, Larry D.; Bisanz, Gay L.; Hand, Brian M.

2003-06-01

This review, written to celebrate the 25th anniversary of the International Journal of Science Education, revealed a period of changes in the theoretical views of the language arts, the perceived roles of language in science education, and the research approaches used to investigate oral and written language in science, science teaching, and learning. The early years were dominated by behavioralist and logico-mathematical interpretations of human learning and by reductionist research approaches, while the later years reflected an applied cognitive science and constructivist interpretations of learning and a wider array of research approaches that recognizes the holistic nature of teaching and learning. The early years focus on coding oral language into categories reflecting source of speech, functional purpose, level of question and response, reading research focused on the readability of textbooks using formulae and the reader's decoding skills, and writing research was not well documented since the advocates for writing in service of learning were grass roots practitioners and many science teachers were using writing as an evaluation technique. The advent of applied cognitive science and the constructivist perspectives ushered in interactive-constructive models of discourse, reading and writing that more clearly revealed the role of language in science and in science teaching and learning. A review of recent research revealed that the quantity and quality of oral interactions were low and unfocused in science classrooms; reading has expanded to consider comprehension strategies, metacognition, sources other than textbooks, and the design of inquiry environments for classrooms; and writing-to-learn science has focused on sequential writing tasks requiring transformation of ideas to enhance science learning. Several promising trends and future research directions flow from the synthesis of this 25-year period of examining the literacy component of science literacy - among them are critical listening and reading of various sources, multi-media presentations and representations, effective debate and argument, quality explanation and the role of information and communication technologies/environments.

Individualization of Foreign Language Learning in America, V.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Bockman, John F., Ed.; Gougher, Ronald L., Ed.

This newsletter contains a series of brief reports concerning methods of individualizing language learning and describes several ongoing experiments. The first article illustrates how individualized achievement charts aid in determining students' instructional needs. Group work and oral testing are discussed as a means of individualizing a course…

Montessori and Learning Differences. Children with Disabilities.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Pickering, Joyce S.

2003-01-01

This article discusses how children with oral and written language disorders can benefit from the Montessori method, especially if the Montessorian is trained to use a Multisensory Structured Language approach. Questions are answered regarding the number of children with learning disabilities, considerations in training the classroom assistant,…

Developing Phonological Awareness in Blended-Learning Language Courses

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Dell'Aria, Carmela; McLoughlin, Laura Incalcaterra

2013-01-01

This study is based on Second Language Acquisition through blended learning and explores the application of new educational technologies in the development of distance education. In particular, the paper focuses on ways to enhance oral, aural, and intercultural skills through learners' engagement, develop authentic social interaction and…

A Blended Learning Scenario to Enhance Learners' Oral Production Skills

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kim, Hee-Kyung

2015-01-01

This paper examines the effectiveness of a mobile assisted blended learning scenario for pronunciation in Korean language. In particular, we analyze how asynchronous oral communication between learners of Korean and native speakers via "kakaotalk" (an open source mobile phone application) may be beneficial to the learner in terms of…

Melanges Pedagogiques (Pedagogical Mixture), 1988.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Melanges Pedagogiques, 1988

1988-01-01

The 1988 issue of the journal on second language teaching and learning contains six articles in French and two in English, including: "Production orale: Comment mettre en place des strategies d'enseignment/apprentissage (Oral Production: How To Put Teaching/Learning Strategies in Place)" (Francis Carton, Richard Duda); "Trois jours pour parler…

Language and Communication.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ransom, Grayce A.

An analysis of the relationship of language to learning, particularly as it affects "avoidance behaviors" of remedial readers in the classroom, strongly emphasized the importance of greater stress on oral language development. New concern for cognitive and personality development in children stresses the role of language as an interaction medium…

Who Says What's Correct and How Do You Say It? Multimodal Management of Oral Peer-Assessment in a Grammar Boardgame in a Foreign Language Classroom

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Konzett, Carmen

2015-01-01

This paper describes how a small group of students in a foreign language classroom manage the interactional task of orally assessing the correctness of verb forms while playing a board game aimed at revising verb conjugation. In their interaction, the students orient to the institutional context of this activity as a language learning exercise by…

Advanced ESL Students' Prior EFL Education and Their Perceptions of Oral Corrective Feedback

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Lee, Eun Jeong

2016-01-01

The author in this study examines how advanced-level adult English as a Second Language (ESL) students' previous English as a Foreign Language (EFL) classroom experiences influence their perceptions of their teachers' oral corrective feedback (CF). It uses in-depth qualitative data to characterize the participants' prior English learning, and to…

Using Audioblogs to Assist English-Language Learning: An Investigation into Student Perception

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hsu, Hui-Yin; Wang, Shiang-Kwei; Comac, Linda

2008-01-01

This pilot study investigates how the use of audioblogs can help to meet an instructor's need to improve instruction in English as a second language (ESL). In this study, the instructor uses audioblogs to manage oral assignments, to interact with learners, and to evaluate performance outcomes. Learners record oral assignments through cellular…

Assessing Second-Language Oral Proficiency for Research: The Spanish Elicited Imitation Task

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Bowden, Harriet Wood

2016-01-01

Proficiency is a key variable in late second language (L2) learning, but one that is undermeasured in current research. This study investigates whether L2 oral proficiency can be quickly and reliably assessed via the Spanish "elicited imitation task" (EIT; Ortega, Iwashita, Rabie, & Norris, 1999). Thirty-seven L2 learners of Spanish…

Measuring Preschool Teachers' Perceived Competency and Knowledge of Oral Language Development

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Prestwich, Dian Teer

2012-01-01

Research has demonstrated the impact of early oral language development on a child's later reading comprehension. Additionally, research has suggested that teachers' knowledge of effective practices in literacy plays an important role in students' ability to learn to read. The problem is that preschool teachers' knowledge of…

Reading: Cognitive Input and Output.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kopp, Harriet Green

Descriptions of language learning and reading behaviors are presented, in this paper, within the context of a model of cognitive processing that reflects a continuum for the logical procession of language skills in human maturation and learning. Portions of the paper differentiate silent and oral reading in terms of cognitive load, which is a…

Influence of Personality and Motivation on Oral Presentation Performance.

PubMed

Liang, Hsin-Yi; Kelsen, Brent

2018-01-19

Personality and motivation have been identified as influential variables associated with foreign language learning; however, few studies have investigated their effect on oral presentations. This study addresses the importance of both personality and motivation in students' collaborative oral presentation performance. A Big Five personality trait questionnaire measuring Extraversion, Agreeableness, Conscientiousness, Neuroticism and Openness to Experience, together with the Collaborative Inquiry-based Project Questionnaire measuring Task, Project Work, Reinforcement, Social Learning and Social Pressure motivational constructs were employed to evaluate 257 university students. In general, the results showed that Extraversion, Project Work and Social Pressure were significant correlates of oral presentation scores. The first result suggests that extraverts possess superiority in situations where oral language production is central to communication. This was particularly true for lower-level students, inferring that extraverted personalities can compensate for a lower English language ability. The second indicates that the inquiry-based nature of the assignments was an intrinsic motivator especially valued by extraverts. The third implies that extrinsic motivation was a factor influencing student performance. These findings extend previous research by highlighting the contextual relationships between these affective variables and performance in collaborative oral presentation contexts.

A Practical Guide to the Teaching of English as a Second or Foreign Language.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Rivers, Wilga M.; Temperley, Mary S.

This text, designed for future teachers of English as a second or foreign language, considers language teaching methodology in the light of recent research in psychology and linguistics. Many aspects of language learning that contribute to effective language use are discussed: oral communication, pronunciation, grammar instruction, listening…

Metanotes (Written Languaging) in a Translation Task: Do L2 Proficiency and Task Outcome Matter?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ishikawa, Masako

2015-01-01

Languaging has been identified as a contributor to language learning. Yet, compared to oral languaging, such as collaborative dialogs in contextualized settings, little seems to be known about written languaging. In order to fill this gap, this study investigates languaging in the form of "metanotes," that is, metatalk in a written…

Oral motor deficits in speech-impaired children with autism

PubMed Central

Belmonte, Matthew K.; Saxena-Chandhok, Tanushree; Cherian, Ruth; Muneer, Reema; George, Lisa; Karanth, Prathibha

2013-01-01

Absence of communicative speech in autism has been presumed to reflect a fundamental deficit in the use of language, but at least in a subpopulation may instead stem from motor and oral motor issues. Clinical reports of disparity between receptive vs. expressive speech/language abilities reinforce this hypothesis. Our early-intervention clinic develops skills prerequisite to learning and communication, including sitting, attending, and pointing or reference, in children below 6 years of age. In a cohort of 31 children, gross and fine motor skills and activities of daily living as well as receptive and expressive speech were assessed at intake and after 6 and 10 months of intervention. Oral motor skills were evaluated separately within the first 5 months of the child's enrolment in the intervention programme and again at 10 months of intervention. Assessment used a clinician-rated structured report, normed against samples of 360 (for motor and speech skills) and 90 (for oral motor skills) typically developing children matched for age, cultural environment and socio-economic status. In the full sample, oral and other motor skills correlated with receptive and expressive language both in terms of pre-intervention measures and in terms of learning rates during the intervention. A motor-impaired group comprising a third of the sample was discriminated by an uneven profile of skills with oral motor and expressive language deficits out of proportion to the receptive language deficit. This group learnt language more slowly, and ended intervention lagging in oral motor skills. In individuals incapable of the degree of motor sequencing and timing necessary for speech movements, receptive language may outstrip expressive speech. Our data suggest that autistic motor difficulties could range from more basic skills such as pointing to more refined skills such as articulation, and need to be assessed and addressed across this entire range in each individual. PMID:23847480

Children's Expressive Language Skills and Their Impact on the Relation between First-and Second-Language Phonological Awareness Skills

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Goodrich, J. Marc; Lonigan, Christopher J.; Farver, JoAnn M.

2014-01-01

The purpose of this study was to evaluate whether the cross-language relations between the phonological awareness (PA) skills of preschool children learning more than one language are dependent upon their first-and second-language oral language skills. Four hundred sixty-six Spanish-speaking language minority children participated in this study.…

Courseware Integration into Task-Based Learning: A Case Study of Multimedia Courseware-Supported Oral Presentations for Non-English Major Students

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Tsai, Shu-Chiao

2011-01-01

This study reports on the integration of English for Specific Purposes (ESP) multimedia courseware for oral presentations into a self-learning and elective program for non-English major students in an English as a Foreign Language (EFL) setting. A computer-aided instruction approach, combined with a task-based learning approach, was adopted.…

Science education researchers as orthographers: documenting Keiyo (Kenya) knowledge, learning and narratives about snakes

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Thomson, Norman

2003-01-01

Using Keiyo (Kenya) knowledge, learning and oral narratives about snakes, the paper advances the argument that science educators have a pivotal role as orthographers in 'preserving and promoting science for all'. Linguists, and a growing number of scientists, realize that in processes of globalisation, many indigenous languages and cultures are facing extinction, especially languages that remain unwritten, such as the Keiyo language. Within these languages are several thousand years of indigenous science education that include knowledge, teaching and learning about local environments. Science educators are a missing link in the ongoing conversations between biologists, linguists and indigenous cultures. Today, it is also known that reptiles are at greater risk for extinction than amphibians. In an area noted for its reptiles (Kenya's Rift Valley), Keiyo elders and students (n = 748) were interviewed or given a questionnaire to determine indigenous names for snakes and how Keiyo oral narratives of snakes are used in teaching and learning. They provided names for 19 of 34 (55%) snake species and 278 narratives that include snakes. The data are being used to document Keiyo language and construct relevant written science curriculum materials for Keiyo children

The Effects of CLIL on Oral Comprehension and Production: A Longitudinal Case Study

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Pérez Cañado, María Luisa; Lancaster, Nina Karen

2017-01-01

This article reports on the outcomes of a longitudinal case study to gauge the impact of content and language integrated learning (CLIL) on two of the least researched language skills: oral comprehension and production. It worked with 24 students in the fourth grade of Compulsory Secondary Education in a public school in Andalusia (southern Spain)…

Berlin Kompass: Multimodal Gameful Empowerment for Foreign Language Learning

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kallioniemi, Pekka; Posti, Laura-Pihkala; Hakulinen, Jaakko; Turunen, Markku; Keskinen, Tuuli; Raisamo, Roope

2015-01-01

This article presents an innovative, gameful, multimodal, and authentic learning environment for training of oral communication in a foreign language--a virtual adventure called Berlin Kompass. After a brief presentation of the pedagogical and technological backgrounds, the system is described. Central results of a series of pilots in autumn 2013…

Implementation and Evaluation of an Early Foreign Language Learning Project in Kindergarten

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Griva, Eleni; Sivropoulou, Rena

2009-01-01

The purpose of present paper was twofold. Firstly, it aimed at outlining the rationale for and the process of introducing an English language learning intervention to kindergarten children in a playful and supportive environment. It focused on developing children's oral skills through participating in creative child-appropriate activities and…

Differential Diagnosis of Dysgraphia, Dyslexia, and OWL LD: Behavioral and Neuroimaging Evidence

PubMed Central

Berninger, Virginia W.; Richards, Todd; Abbott, Robert D.

2015-01-01

In Study 1, children in grades 4 to 9 (N= 88, 29 females and 59 males) with persisting reading and/or writing disabilities, despite considerable prior specialized instruction in and out of school, were given an evidence-based comprehensive assessment battery at the university while parents completed questionnaires regarding past and current history of language learning and other difficulties. Profiles (patterns) of normed measures for different levels of oral and written language used to categorize participants into diagnostic groups for dysgraphia (impaired subword handwriting) (n=26), dyslexia (impaired word spelling and reading) (n=38), or oral and written language learning disability OWL LD (impaired oral and written syntax comprehension and expression) (n=13) or control oral and written language learners (OWLs) without SLDs (n=11) were consistent withreported history. Impairments in working memory components supporting language learning were also examined. In Study 2, right handed children from Study 1 who did not wear braces (controls, n=9, dysgraphia, n= 14; dyslexia, n=17, OWL LD, n=5) completed an fMRI functional connectivity brain imaging study in which they performed a word-specific spelling judgment task, which is related to both word reading and spelling, and may be impaired in dysgraphia, dyslexia, and OWL LD for different reasons. fMRI functional connectivity from 4 seed points in brain locations involved in written word processing to other brain regions also differentiated dysgraphia, dyslexia, and OWL LD; both specific regions to which connected and overall number of functional connections differed. Thus, results provide converging neurological and behavioral evidence, for dysgraphia, dyslexia, and OWL LD being different, diagnosable specific learning disabilities (SLDs) for persisting written language problems during middle childhood and early adolescence. Translation of the research findings into practice at policy and administrative levels and at local school levels is discussed. PMID:26336330

Reading disorders and dyslexia.

PubMed

Hulme, Charles; Snowling, Margaret J

2016-12-01

We review current knowledge about the nature of reading development and disorders, distinguishing between the processes involved in learning to decode print, and the processes involved in reading comprehension. Children with decoding difficulties/dyslexia experience deficits in phoneme awareness, letter-sound knowledge and rapid automatized naming in the preschool years and beyond. These phonological/language difficulties appear to be proximal causes of the problems in learning to decode print in dyslexia. We review data from a prospective study of children at high risk of dyslexia to show that being at family risk of dyslexia is a primary risk factor for poor reading and children with persistent language difficulties at school entry are more likely to develop reading problems. Early oral language difficulties are strong predictors of later difficulties in reading comprehension. There are two distinct forms of reading disorder in children: dyslexia (a difficulty in learning to translate print into speech) and reading comprehension impairment. Both forms of reading problem appear to be predominantly caused by deficits in underlying oral language skills. Implications for screening and for the delivery of robust interventions for language and reading are discussed.

The Place of Writing in Preserving an Oral Language.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Bennett, Ruth; Mattz, Pam; Jackson, Silish; Campbell, Harold

This paper shows how a traditional story can be used to teach an indigenous language, and how the inclusion of writing can help students learn the language effectively. Hupa people have told Coyote stories for thousands of years. Such Hupa stories are incorporated in Hupa language instruction using the Language Proficiency Method, which involves a…

Increasing EFL Learners' Oral Production at a Public School through Project-Based Learning

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Vaca Torres, Ady Marcela; Gómez Rodríguez, Luis Fernando

2017-01-01

This research study examined how a group of ninth graders enhanced the speaking skill in an English as a foreign language classroom through project-based learning. Data about the experience were collected through field notes, transcripts of learners' oral performance, and one interview. Grounded theory was implemented for data analysis, out of…

Influences of Early English Language Teaching on Oral Fluency

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

de Wolf, Stephana; Smit, Nienke; Lowie, Wander

2017-01-01

Elementary-level foreign language education is currently receiving a lot of attention in the literature on second language learning, and has emerged as an important educational policy issue. The present study aims to contribute to this discussion by focusing on the fluency benefits gained from early foreign language teaching. The participants were…

Language and Thought in Mathematics Staff Development: A Problem Probing Protocol

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kabasakalian, Rita

2007-01-01

Background/Context: The theoretical framework of the paper comes from research on problem solving, considered by many to be the essence of mathematics; research on the importance of oral language in learning mathematics; and on the importance of the teacher as the primary instrument of learning mathematics for most students. As a nation, we are…

Learning Opportunities in Synchronous Computer-Mediated Communication and Face-to-Face Interaction

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kim, Hye Yeong

2014-01-01

This study investigated how synchronous computer-mediated communication (SCMC) and face-to-face (F2F) oral interaction influence the way in which learners collaborate in language learning and how they solve their communicative problems. The findings suggest that output modality may affect how learners produce language, attend to linguistic forms,…

The Use of Song in Class as an Important Stimulus in the Learning of a Language.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Garcia-Saez, Santiago

Music awakens interest during language learning, and use of song can stimulate students to greater oral participation. Songs are universally enjoyed, break the day's monotony, and make repetition enjoyable. They also allow linguistic exercise in a noncompetitive situation and offer a more authentic linguistic experience than most classroom…

Project Based-Content Language Integrated Learning (CLIL) at Mathematics Department Universitas Lampung

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Yufrizal, Hery; Huzairin; Hasan, Basturi

2017-01-01

This article aims at exploring whether project based content language integrated learning (CLIL) has a significant effect on the oral capability of students of science department of the University of Lampung. The number of students involved in this study was 88 students. Quantitative data was obtained from the value of students' English…

The Survival of Native American Languages.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Forbes, Jack D.

1981-01-01

Before the white invasion, Native American peoples possessed an extremely rich and varied heritage with highly developed oral literatures, and constant development of new phrases, expressions, and patterns of pronunciation. Examples of Indian people's adeptness with language include: many learned to speak more than two languages fluently;…

Benefits of Multisensory Structured Language Instruction for At-Risk Foreign Language Learners: A Comparison Study of High School Spanish Students.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Sparks, Richard L.; Artzer, Marjorie; Patton, Jon; Ganschow, Leonore; Miller, Karen; Hordubay, Dorothy J.; Walsh, Geri

1998-01-01

A study examined the benefits of multisensory structured language (MSL) instruction in Spanish for 39 high school students at risk for foreign-language learning difficulties and 16 controls. On measures of oral and written foreign-language proficiency, the MSL and control groups scored significantly higher than those instructed using traditional…

Effects on Reading of an Early Intervention Program for Children at Risk of Learning Difficulties

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

González-Valenzuela, María-José; Martín-Ruiz, Isaías

2017-01-01

The study aimed to analyze the effects on reading of an early oral and written language intervention program for Spanish children at risk of learning difficulties. The goal of this classroom-based program was to prioritize a systematic approach to reading and writing and to foster phonological knowledge and the development of oral language…

Oral Language Impairments in Developmental Disorders Characterized by Language Strengths: A Comparison of Asperger Syndrome and Nonverbal Learning Disabilities

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Stothers, M. E.; Cardy, J. Oram

2012-01-01

Asperger syndrome (AS) and nonverbal learning disabilities (NLD) are developmental disorders in which linguistic ability is reported to be stronger than in disorders from which they must be distinguished for diagnosis. Children and adults with AS and NLD share pragmatic weaknesses, atypical social behaviours, and some cognitive features. To date,…

Young Children and Their Writing.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

DeFord, Diane E.

1980-01-01

As children move toward learning specified forms of writing, they organize print in their environment and learn generalized communication strategies. Learning to write is developmentally similar to the acquisition of oral language. Ten stages are suggested for understanding the development of children's writing. (JN)

Pour une pedagogie integree du code oral et du code ecrit (Toward a Pedagogy Integrating Oral and Written Codes).

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Guillen-Diaz, Carmen

1990-01-01

A classroom approach that brings oral and written language learning closer together is outlined. The strategy focuses on proper pronunciation using minimal pairs and uses exercises designed for listening and visualization, production, discrimination, re-use and reinforcement, and computer-assisted instruction. (MSE)

Language, reading, and math learning profiles in an epidemiological sample of school age children.

PubMed

Archibald, Lisa M D; Oram Cardy, Janis; Joanisse, Marc F; Ansari, Daniel

2013-01-01

Dyscalculia, dyslexia, and specific language impairment (SLI) are relatively specific developmental learning disabilities in math, reading, and oral language, respectively, that occur in the context of average intellectual capacity and adequate environmental opportunities. Past research has been dominated by studies focused on single impairments despite the widespread recognition that overlapping and comorbid deficits are common. The present study took an epidemiological approach to study the learning profiles of a large school age sample in language, reading, and math. Both general learning profiles reflecting good or poor performance across measures and specific learning profiles involving either weak language, weak reading, weak math, or weak math and reading were observed. These latter four profiles characterized 70% of children with some evidence of a learning disability. Low scores in phonological short-term memory characterized clusters with a language-based weakness whereas low or variable phonological awareness was associated with the reading (but not language-based) weaknesses. The low math only group did not show these phonological deficits. These findings may suggest different etiologies for language-based deficits in language, reading, and math, reading-related impairments in reading and math, and isolated math disabilities.

Language, Reading, and Math Learning Profiles in an Epidemiological Sample of School Age Children

PubMed Central

Archibald, Lisa M. D.; Oram Cardy, Janis; Joanisse, Marc F.; Ansari, Daniel

2013-01-01

Dyscalculia, dyslexia, and specific language impairment (SLI) are relatively specific developmental learning disabilities in math, reading, and oral language, respectively, that occur in the context of average intellectual capacity and adequate environmental opportunities. Past research has been dominated by studies focused on single impairments despite the widespread recognition that overlapping and comorbid deficits are common. The present study took an epidemiological approach to study the learning profiles of a large school age sample in language, reading, and math. Both general learning profiles reflecting good or poor performance across measures and specific learning profiles involving either weak language, weak reading, weak math, or weak math and reading were observed. These latter four profiles characterized 70% of children with some evidence of a learning disability. Low scores in phonological short-term memory characterized clusters with a language-based weakness whereas low or variable phonological awareness was associated with the reading (but not language-based) weaknesses. The low math only group did not show these phonological deficits. These findings may suggest different etiologies for language-based deficits in language, reading, and math, reading-related impairments in reading and math, and isolated math disabilities. PMID:24155959

The e-Learning Tool Voxopop and Its Benefits on Oral Skills: Activities for Final Year Students of German

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Stollhans, Sascha

2015-01-01

This case study demonstrates how Voxopop, a voice based e-learning tool, can be used to practise oal skills in the target language by presenting activities which have been developed for students of German at the University of Nottingham. The focus lies on an ongoing innovative project designed to improve final year students' oral skills by having…

Using Moos To Help Learn English; Video Jigsaw; Practicing Speaking with Follow-Up Interviews and Student-Read Dictations; "Ask the Expert": Oral Presentations that Work; The Medium Is the Message.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Miller, James; Reynolds, Judith; Noble, P. C.; Altschuler, Lee; Schauber, Holli

2001-01-01

Four short articles provide teaching tips for the English-as-a-Second/Foreign-Language classroom, including the use of Moos, a video jigsaw, practicing oral language skills with interviews and student-read dictations, an ask the expert activity which builds learner confidence in speaking in front of groups of people. (Author/VWL)

Language-Building Activities and Interaction Variations with Mixed-Ability ESL University Learners in a Content-Based Course

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Serna Dimas, Héctor Manuel; Ruíz Castellanos, Erika

2014-01-01

The preparation of both language-building activities and a variety of teacher/student interaction patterns increase both oral language participation and content learning in a course of manual therapy with mixed-language ability students. In this article, the researchers describe their collaboration in a content-based course in English with English…

Talk or Chat? Chatroom and Spoken Interaction in a Language Classroom

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hamano-Bunce, Douglas

2011-01-01

This paper describes a study comparing chatroom and face-to-face oral interaction for the purposes of language learning in a tertiary classroom in the United Arab Emirates. It uses transcripts analysed for Language Related Episodes, collaborative dialogues, thought to be externally observable examples of noticing in action. The analysis is…

Oral Language Comprehension Using Hearing Aids and Tactile Aids: Three Case Studies.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Proctor, Adele

1990-01-01

Three prelinguistic, profoundly deaf children (aged three to four) used a wearable, single channel, vibrotactile communication aid in conjunction with hearing aids during individual speech and language therapy at school. Subjects exhibited a faster than average rate of learning to understand spoken language after the onset of vibrotactile…

Melanges Pedagogiques (Pedagogical Mixture), 1986/87.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Melanges Pedagogiques, 1987

1987-01-01

The 1986/87 issue of the journal on second language teaching and learning contains seven articles in French and four in English, including: "Learning How To Learn English"; "Socrate est-il un chat? Pratiquer le syllogisme pour apprendre a argumenter (Is Socrates a Cat? Practicing Syllogisms To Learn To Argue)"; "La production orale en francais des…

Before They Read: Teaching Language and Literacy Development through Conversations, Interactive Read-Alouds, and Listening Games

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Miller, Cathy Puett

2010-01-01

Preschool and kindergarten educators know that strong oral language skills must be in place before children can learn to read. In "Before They Read: Teaching Language and Literacy Development through Conversations, Interactive Read-Alouds, and Listening Games," Cathy Puett Miller helps educators teach those early literacy skills with engaging…

The Development of L2 Fluency during Study Abroad: A Cross-Language Study

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Di Silvio, Francesca; Diao, Wenhao; Donovan, Anne

2016-01-01

Examining speech samples from 75 American university students learning 1 of 3 languages (Mandarin, Russian, and Spanish), this article reports on a study of second language (L2) learners' oral fluency development and its relationship with their gains in holistic proficiency ratings during a semester abroad. In study abroad research, there is a…

Signs as Pictures and Signs as Words: Effect of Language Knowledge on Memory for New Vocabulary.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Siple, Patricia; And Others

1982-01-01

The role of sensory attributes in a vocabulary learning task was investigated for a non-oral language using deaf and hearing individuals, more or less skilled in the use of sign language. Skilled signers encoded invented signs in terms of linguistic structure rather than as visual-pictorial events. (Author/RD)

Refining Pragmatically-Appropriate Oral Communication via Computer-Simulated Conversations

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Sydorenko, Tetyana; Daurio, Phoebe; Thorne, Steven L.

2018-01-01

To address the problem of limited opportunities for practicing second language speaking in interaction, especially delicate interactions requiring pragmatic competence, we describe computer simulations designed for the oral practice of extended pragmatic routines and report on the affordances of such simulations for learning pragmatically…

Observe, Explain, Connect

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Vardell, Sylvia M.; Wong, Janet S.

2014-01-01

Like science, poetry often involves a high level of abstraction in language and ideas, requiring specific critical-thinking skills and promoting interaction. Casteel and Isom (1994) acknowledge, "The literacy processes are the means by which science content is learned because content information is rooted in written and oral language"…

Associations between Preschool Language and First Grade Reading Outcomes in Bilingual Children

PubMed Central

Davison, Megan Dunn; Hammer, Carol; Lawrence, Frank R.

2011-01-01

It is well established that monolingual preschoolers’ oral language development (vocabulary and oral comprehension) contributes to their later reading abilities; however, less is known about this relationship in bilingual populations where children are developing knowledge of two languages. It may be that children’s abilities in one language do not contribute to their reading abilities in their other language or that children’s experiences with either language assist them in developing a common underlying proficiency that they draw upon when learning to read. The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship among bilingual children’s receptive language development and reading outcomes in first grade. Eighty-one bilingual children who were attending Head Start participated in the study. Growth curve models were used to examine the relationship between children’s language abilities during two years in Head Start and reading outcomes at the end of first grade. Children’s growth in both English and Spanish receptive vocabulary and oral comprehension predicted their English and Spanish reading abilities at the end of first grade within languages. Associations were also observed between languages with growth in English receptive language predicting Spanish reading comprehension and growth in Spanish receptive language predicting English reading comprehension. PMID:21477813

Un Test contrastif oral pour l'evaluation des difficultes lexicales dans l'apprentissage de l'anglais L2 (An Oral Contrastive Test for the Evaluation of Lexical Difficulties in Learning English as a Second Language).

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Haeusser, Christiane

1978-01-01

The test described here is a particular type of diagnostic test; it is part of a series of tests designed to explore systematically areas of potential lexical difficulty in the English language for French-speaking students of English. The lexical units are considered under their formal, morphological, syntactic and semantic aspects. The test has…

Bilingualism and Biliteracy in Down Syndrome: Insights From a Case Study.

PubMed

Burgoyne, Kelly; Duff, Fiona J; Nielsen, Dea; Ulicheva, Anastasia; Snowling, Margaret J

2016-12-01

We present the case study of MB-a bilingual child with Down syndrome (DS) who speaks Russian (first language [L1]) and English (second language [L2]) and has learned to read in two different alphabets with different symbol systems. We demonstrate that, in terms of oral language, MB is as proficient in Russian as English, with a mild advantage for reading in English, her language of formal instruction. MB's L1 abilities were compared with those of 11 Russian-speaking typically developing monolinguals and her L2 abilities to those of 15 English-speaking typically developing monolinguals and six monolingual English-speaking children with DS; each group achieving the same level of word reading ability as MB. We conclude that learning two languages in the presence of a learning difficulty need have no detrimental effect on either a child's language or literacy development.

Bilingualism and Biliteracy in Down Syndrome: Insights From a Case Study

PubMed Central

Burgoyne, Kelly; Duff, Fiona J.; Nielsen, Dea; Ulicheva, Anastasia

2016-01-01

We present the case study of MB—a bilingual child with Down syndrome (DS) who speaks Russian (first language [L1]) and English (second language [L2]) and has learned to read in two different alphabets with different symbol systems. We demonstrate that, in terms of oral language, MB is as proficient in Russian as English, with a mild advantage for reading in English, her language of formal instruction. MB's L1 abilities were compared with those of 11 Russian‐speaking typically developing monolinguals and her L2 abilities to those of 15 English‐speaking typically developing monolinguals and six monolingual English‐speaking children with DS; each group achieving the same level of word reading ability as MB. We conclude that learning two languages in the presence of a learning difficulty need have no detrimental effect on either a child's language or literacy development. PMID:27917003

I Help, Therefore, I Learn: Service Learning on Web 2.0 in an EFL Speaking Class

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Sun, Yu-Chih; Yang, Fang-Ying

2015-01-01

The present study integrates service learning into English as a Foreign Language (EFL) speaking class using Web 2.0 tools--YouTube and Facebook--as platforms. Fourteen undergraduate students participated in the study. The purpose of the service-learning project was to link service learning with oral communication training in an EFL speaking class…

Assessing Oral Proficiency for Intercultural Professional Communication: The CEFcult Project

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Beaven, Ana; Neuhoff, Antje

2012-01-01

Technology has been part of the language learning process, both inside and outside the classroom, for decades, helping to bridge the gap between different contexts of learning. At the same time, the concept of lifelong-learning has widened our understanding of what learning is, what different forms it can take, and of the importance of considering…

Does Gender Play a Role in the Assessment of Oral Proficiency?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Motallebzadeh, Khalil; Nematizadeh, Shaahin

2011-01-01

Gender has been a controversial issue which affects the language learning process. McNamara (1996) has proposed that there are some variables affecting second language performance one of which is sex. In much the same way, it has been reported that gender plays a role in the area of language testing (Brown, 2003; Lumley & O'Sullivan, 2005;…

SpeakApps 2: Speaking Practice in a Foreign Language through ICT Tools

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Appel, Christine; Nic Giolla Mhichíl, Mairéad; Jager, Sake; Prizel-Kania, Adriana

2014-01-01

SpeakApps 2 is a project with support of the Lifelong Learning Programme, Accompanying Measures. It follows up on the work and results reached during the KA2 project "SpeakApps: Oral production and interaction in a foreign language through ICT tools". The overarching aim of SpeakApps 2 is to further enhance Europeans' language learning…

The Primacy of Poetry: Oral Culture and the Young Child.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Obbink, Laura Apol

1990-01-01

Discusses the importance of the spoken word and the tradition of nursery verse and other forms of poetry. Encourages teachers and students to never abandon the rhythm, balance, and pleasurable taste of language as it was first learned through oral chants, jingles, and rhymes of early childhood. (MG)

DOTI: Databank of Oral Teletandem Interactions

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Aranha, Solange; Leone, Paola

2016-01-01

This contribution aims at (1) discussing the characteristics of collecting, filing and storing data to have a databank of oral interactions between university students whose main objective is the learning of a second language through teletandem; and (2) defining the steps for further collections and storage. Our data are Skype sessions of foreign…

[Neuropsychological profiles associated with the children's oral language disorders].

PubMed

Conde-Guzón, P A; Conde-Guzón, M J; Bartolomé-Albistegui, M T; Quirós-Expósito, P

Oral language disorders constitute a group of syndromes with a high prevalence among the childhood population. They form a heterogeneous group that ranges from simple problems in articulating a phoneme (dyslalias) to severe disorders affecting communication, such as children's dysarthrias and aphasias. In this paper our objective is to review the neuropsychological profiles of children who manifest different oral language disorders. Due to the wide range of clinical pictures and causations covered by children's oral language disorders, very few systematic reviews have been conducted to obtain an overall view of the neuropsychological profiles of these children. Although the linguistic signs and symptoms of these disorders are well understood, the associated neuropsychological signs and symptoms have not been studied. In some cases, these neuropsychological signs cause greater learning problems in children than the actual language problems themselves. Childhood language disorders are associated with different neuropsychological problems. The most commonly associated neuropsychological deficits are problems involving memory, attention, executive functions, motor dysfunctions, temporal perception, tactile recognition, body scheme, spatial orientation and difficulties in visual discrimination. Mnemonic disorders (essentially in short-term and working auditory memory) are usually a common denominator in the different clinical pictures that make up language disorders. The mnemonic impairment associated to dyslalias deserves special attention as this disorder is sometimes similar to that seen in language problems deriving from clinical pictures with important neurological alterations.

Managing eating and drinking difficulties (dysphagia) with children who have learning disabilities: What is effective?

PubMed

Harding, Celia; Cockerill, Helen

2015-07-01

People who work with children who have neurological and learning disabilities frequently need to manage the health and emotional risks associated with eating, drinking and swallowing (dysphagia). Some approaches can support children to develop oral feeding competence or to maximise their ability to maintain some oral intake supplemented with tube feeding. However, some clinicians feel that oral-motor exercises can support eating and drinking skills as well as speech and language development, whereas there is little evidence to support this.The implied "beneficial" association between oral-motor exercises, speech and swallowing skills gives a false impression in terms of future outcomes for parents and carers of children with learning disabilities. This paper considers oral-motor approaches in the remediation of dysphagia and the need for a cultural shift away from this view. Realistic and useful outcomes for people with learning disabilities need to be an essential part of therapeutic intervention. © The Author(s) 2014.

[Validation of BREV: comparison with reference battery in 173 children with learning disorders].

PubMed

Billard, C; Ducot, B; Pinton, F; Coste-Zeitoun, D; Picard, S; Warszawski, J

2006-01-01

The BREV battery (Battery for rapid evaluation of cognitive functions) is a tool which can be used for the rapid neuropsychological evaluation of children aged between 4 and 9 years. After standardization (700 unaffected children) and validation by comparison with a reference battery (202 children with epilepsy), the aim of this study was further validation in 173 children with learning disorders. The study protocol included administration of the BREV, precise neuropsychological examination and evaluation of oral and written language. Statistical analysis was used to compare the findings of the BREV with those of the reference method, and the recommendations indicated by the BREV with the final diagnoses, and to define the sensitivity and the specificity of the BREV battery. All the correlations between BREV tests and reference tests were significant. Recommendations after the BREV were in agreement with the conclusions of the reference evaluation in 168/172 children for language, 145/173 for the psychometric evaluation. For only 4 chidren, the results of the BREV were false negative. Diagnoses corresponded in 168/173 children for oral language, in 102/110 for written language, 166/173 for praxis disorders and 157/173 for intellectual deficit. The most predictive subtests of the BREV and sensitivity and specificity of verbal and non-verbal scores were calculated. The BREV is a reliable examination, in learning disorders, to determine the most complementary investigations both in terms of language disorders and for non-verbal or global learning disabilities.

Learning through Conversation.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kelly, Patricia R.; Klein, Adria F.; Pinnell, Gay Su

1996-01-01

Through teacher-child conversation, experts use oral language to help novices take on more complex tasks; and Reading Recovery children, who are obviously having difficulty with school-based learning, are especially in need of significant conversations with adults. Reading and writing processes are supported through conversation with Reading…

Helping Families Connect Early Literacy with Social-Emotional Development

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Santos, Rosa Milagros; Fettig, Angel; Shaffer, LaShorage

2012-01-01

Early childhood educators know that home is a child's first learning environment. From birth, children are comforted by hearing and listening to their caregivers' voices. The language used by families supports young children's development of oral language skills. Exposure to print materials in the home also supports literacy development. Literacy…

Teacher Talk in General and Special Education Elementary Classrooms

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hollo, Alexandra; Wehby, Joseph H.

2017-01-01

Teachers' oral language use may be an important factor in student achievement, particularly for students who struggle with language, learning, and behavior. This study examined features of teacher talk during whole-class instruction in 14 general education (GE) and 14 self-contained special education (SE) elementary classrooms that included…

Teaching Culture in the Classroom to Arabic Language Students

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Eldin, Ahmad Abdel Tawwab Sharaf

2015-01-01

Arabic language learning comprises of certain elements, including syntactic ability, oral capability, dialect proficiency, and a change in state of mind towards different culture or society. For teachers and laymen alike, cultural competence, i.e., the knowledge of the customs, beliefs, and systems of another country, is indisputably an integral…

Task-Modality and L1 Use in EFL Oral Interaction

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Azkarai, Agurtzane; del Pilar García Mayo, María

2015-01-01

This study examines whether task-modality (speaking vs. speaking+writing) influences first language (L1) use in task-based English as a foreign language (EFL) learner-learner interaction. Research on the topic has shown that different task-modality triggers different learning opportunities with collaborative speaking tasks drawing learners'…

Computer Instruction in Handwriting, Spelling, and Composing for Students with Specific Learning Disabilities in Grades 4 to 9.

PubMed

Berninger, Virginia W; Nagy, William; Tanimoto, Steve; Thompson, Rob; Abbott, Robert D

2015-02-01

Effectiveness of iPad computerized writing instruction was evaluated for 4 th to 9 th graders ( n =35) with diagnosed specific learning disabilities (SLDs) affecting writing: dysgraphia (impaired handwriting), dyslexia (impaired spelling), and oral and written language learning disability (OWL LD) (impaired syntax composing). Each of the 18 two-hour lessons had multiple learning activities aimed at improving subword - (handwriting), word - (spelling), and syntax - (sentence composing) level language skills by engaging all four language systems (listening, speaking, reading, and writing) to create a functional writing system. To evaluate treatment effectiveness, normed measures of handwriting, spelling, and composing were used with the exception of one non-normed alphabet writing task. Results showed that the sample as a whole improved significantly from pretest to posttest in three handwriting measures, four spelling measures, and both written and oral syntax construction measures. All but oral syntax was evaluated with pen and paper tasks, showing that the computer writing instruction transferred to better writing with pen and paper. Performance on learning activities during instruction correlated with writing outcomes; and individual students tended to improve in the impaired skill associated with their diagnosis. Thus, although computers are often used in upper elementary school and middle school in the United States (US) for accommodations (alternatives to pen and paper) for students with persisting SLDs affecting writing, this study shows computers can also be used for Tier 3 instruction to improve the writing skills of students in grades 4 to 9 with history of persisting writing disabilities.

Computer Instruction in Handwriting, Spelling, and Composing for Students with Specific Learning Disabilities in Grades 4 to 9

PubMed Central

Berninger, Virginia W.; Nagy, William; Tanimoto, Steve; Thompson, Rob; Abbott, Robert D.

2014-01-01

Effectiveness of iPad computerized writing instruction was evaluated for 4th to 9th graders (n=35) with diagnosed specific learning disabilities (SLDs) affecting writing: dysgraphia (impaired handwriting), dyslexia (impaired spelling), and oral and written language learning disability (OWL LD) (impaired syntax composing). Each of the 18 two-hour lessons had multiple learning activities aimed at improving subword- (handwriting), word- (spelling), and syntax- (sentence composing) level language skills by engaging all four language systems (listening, speaking, reading, and writing) to create a functional writing system. To evaluate treatment effectiveness, normed measures of handwriting, spelling, and composing were used with the exception of one non-normed alphabet writing task. Results showed that the sample as a whole improved significantly from pretest to posttest in three handwriting measures, four spelling measures, and both written and oral syntax construction measures. All but oral syntax was evaluated with pen and paper tasks, showing that the computer writing instruction transferred to better writing with pen and paper. Performance on learning activities during instruction correlated with writing outcomes; and individual students tended to improve in the impaired skill associated with their diagnosis. Thus, although computers are often used in upper elementary school and middle school in the United States (US) for accommodations (alternatives to pen and paper) for students with persisting SLDs affecting writing, this study shows computers can also be used for Tier 3 instruction to improve the writing skills of students in grades 4 to 9 with history of persisting writing disabilities. PMID:25378768

Signs of Resistance: Peer Learning of Sign Languages within "Oral" Schools for the Deaf

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Anglin-Jaffe, Hannah

2013-01-01

This article explores the role of the Deaf child as peer educator. In schools where sign languages were banned, Deaf children became the educators of their Deaf peers in a number of contexts worldwide. This paper analyses how this peer education of sign language worked in context by drawing on two examples from boarding schools for the deaf in…

Bilingualism and Biliteracy in Down Syndrome: Insights from a Case Study

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Burgoyne, Kelly; Duff, Fiona J.; Nielsen, Dea; Ulicheva, Anastasia; Snowling, Margaret J.

2016-01-01

We present the case study of MB--a bilingual child with Down syndrome (DS) who speaks Russian (first language [L1]) and English (second language [L2]) and has learned to read in two different alphabets with different symbol systems. We demonstrate that, in terms of oral language, MB is as proficient in Russian as English, with a mild advantage for…

The Effects of Meaning-Focused Pre-Tasks on Beginning-Level L2 Writing in German: An Exploratory Study

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Abrams, Zsuzsanna; Byrd, David R.

2017-01-01

Most studies on task-based language learning focus on the oral performance of advanced level learners of English as a second language (ESL), while little research examines the written performance of beginning language learners in non-ESL contexts. This exploratory study aims to address this gap, by examining the effect of pre-writing tasks on…

Moving closer to a public health model of language and learning disabilities: the role of genetics and the search for etiologies.

PubMed

Miller, Brett; McCardle, Peggy

2011-01-01

Continued progress in language and learning disabilities (LDs) research requires a renewed focused on issues of etiology. Genetics research forms a central tenet of such an agenda and is critical in clarifying relationships among oral language development, acquisition of literacy and mathematics, executive function skills, and comorbid conditions. For progress to be made, diversified efforts must continue to emphasize molecular and behavioral genetics (including quantitative genetics) approaches, in concert with multi-disciplinary and multi-modal projects, to provide an integrated understanding of the behavioral and biological manifestations of language and learning disabilities. Critically, increased efforts to include ethnic, socio-economic, and linguistically diverse participant samples across a range of developmental stages is required to meet the public health needs of learners in the US and across the world. Taken together, this body of work will continue to enhance our understanding of LDs and help us move toward a truly prevention based approach to language and learning disabilities.

Mediated Vocabulary in Native Speaker-Learner Interactions during an Oral Portfolio Activity

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Tocaimaza-Hatch, C. Cecilia

2016-01-01

This project investigated vocabulary learning from a sociocultural perspective--in particular, the way in which lexical knowledge was mediated in Spanish second language (L2) learners' and native speakers' (NSs') interactions. Nine students who were enrolled in an advanced conversation course completed an oral portfolio assignment consisting of…

Strategies Instruction to Improve the Preparation for English Oral Exams

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Abad, José Vicente; Alzate, Paula Andrea

2016-01-01

This article presents the results of an inter-institutional research study that assessed the impact of strategies instruction on students' preparation for and performance in oral exams. Two teacher-researchers at different universities trained 26 students in their respective B1-English-level courses in using language learning strategies. The study…

Researching Oral Production Skills of Young Learners

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Szpotowicz, Magdalena

2012-01-01

This chapter focuses on the development of young learners' ability to communicate in a foreign language. An empirical study was carried out to determine whether, after four years of learning English as a compulsory school subject, children are ready to engage in oral interaction in a semi-controlled task and produce answers and questions in…

Perceptual context and individual differences in the language proficiency of preschool children.

PubMed

Banai, Karen; Yifat, Rachel

2016-02-01

Although the contribution of perceptual processes to language skills during infancy is well recognized, the role of perception in linguistic processing beyond infancy is not well understood. In the experiments reported here, we asked whether manipulating the perceptual context in which stimuli are presented across trials influences how preschool children perform visual (shape-size identification; Experiment 1) and auditory (syllable identification; Experiment 2) tasks. Another goal was to determine whether the sensitivity to perceptual context can explain part of the variance in oral language skills in typically developing preschool children. Perceptual context was manipulated by changing the relative frequency with which target visual (Experiment 1) and auditory (Experiment 2) stimuli were presented in arrays of fixed size, and identification of the target stimuli was tested. Oral language skills were assessed using vocabulary, word definition, and phonological awareness tasks. Changes in perceptual context influenced the performance of the majority of children on both identification tasks. Sensitivity to perceptual context accounted for 7% to 15% of the variance in language scores. We suggest that context effects are an outcome of a statistical learning process. Therefore, the current findings demonstrate that statistical learning can facilitate both visual and auditory identification processes in preschool children. Furthermore, consistent with previous findings in infants and in older children and adults, individual differences in statistical learning were found to be associated with individual differences in language skills of preschool children. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Implementing the Teaching/Learning of Oral Skills in Secondary Education in Aragón: Gauging Teachers' Attitudes, Beliefs and Expectations

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Plo, Ramón; Hornero, Ana; Mur-Dueñas, Pilar

2014-01-01

Curent national curicula, the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages, and EFL materials highlight the importance of the students' development of oral skils. This study stems from a cros-sectional survey of the teaching of oral skils in Secondary Education in a Spanish local context (Aragón) caried out in 2012 on both teachers and…

Assessing Language for Literacy: A Microanalysis of Children's Vocabulary, Syntax and Narrative Grammar

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Scull, Janet

2013-01-01

This paper examines the oral language resources that enhance children's reading and comprehension processes. Using data from a study of 16 children, the microanalysis of the three more successful readers, identified salient factors from the individual children's learning profiles that were observed as associated with their positive comprehension…

Teaching Poetry through Collaborative Art: An Analysis of Multimodal Ensembles for Transformative Learning

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Wandera, David B.

2016-01-01

This study is anchored on two positions: that every communication is multimodal and that different modalities within multimodal communication have particular affordances. Written and oral language and other modalities, such as body language and audio/visual media, are interwoven in classroom communication. What might it look like to strategically…

The Influence of Learner Strategies on Oral Presentations: A Comparison between Group and Individual Performance

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Chou, Mu-hsuan

2011-01-01

Cooperative learning has frequently been used in language classrooms, from in-class task-based group work to group presentations. Research suggests that cooperative learning provides mutual support, as well as successful and effective learning outcomes of tasks. The present research addressed a number of problems discovered in group oral…

Access to oral health care services among adults with learning disabilities: a scoping review.

PubMed

Naseem, Mustafa; Shah, Altaf H; Khiyani, Muhammad Faheem; Khurshid, Zohaib; Zafar, Muhammad Sohail; Gulzar, Shabnam; AlJameel, AlBandary H; Khalil, Hesham S

2016-01-01

The prevalence of oral diseases including dental caries and periodontal conditions is remarkably higher in people with disabilities. The provision of accessible oral health services for people with learning disabilities may be challenging. The objectives of the review were to identify barriers in accessing oral health care that persists within society, enabling or disabling people with learning disabilities. Using the Arksey O'Malley framework, a scoping review was conducted on PubMed/Medline, OVIDSP, and EMBASE. Studies were evaluated and short-listed based on the inclusion criteria, which consisted of: (1) study participants or population with learning disabilities, (2) aged 16 years or over, (3) reporting on access to oral health services, (4) published in the English language. Those that justified the inclusion criteria were carefully chosen after a blind peer-reviewed process when relevance and quality were debated. Nine studies were eventually included from searches. Tabulation of data was done under the heading of study type, outcomes, the year of publication and patient selection. The majority of studies provided a biomedical overview of access for adults with learning disabilities. The concept of access for people with disability is still ill-defined and obscure. Access to oral health care and needs of people with learning disabilities are complex and multi-facet.

Evidence-Based Diagnosis and Treatment for Specific Learning Disabilities Involving Impairments in Written and/or Oral Language

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Berninger, Virginia W.; May, Maggie O'Malley

2011-01-01

Programmatic, multidisciplinary research provided converging brain, genetic, and developmental support for evidence-based diagnoses of three specific learning disabilities based on hallmark phenotypes (behavioral expression of underlying genotypes) with treatment relevance: dysgraphia (impaired legible automatic letter writing, orthographic…

Movement Issues Identified in Movement ABC2 Checklist Parent Ratings for Students with Persisting Dysgraphia, Dyslexia, and OWL LD and Typical Literacy Learners.

PubMed

Nielsen, Kathleen; Henderson, Sheila; Barnett, Anna L; Abbott, Robert D; Berninger, Virginia

2018-01-01

Movement, which draws on motor skills and executive functions for managing them, plays an important role in literacy learning (e.g., movement of mouth during oral reading and movement of hand and fingers during writing); but relatively little research has focused on movement skills in students with specific learning disabilities as the current study did. Parents completed normed Movement Assessment Battery for Children Checklist, 2nd edition (ABC-2), ratings and their children in grades 4 to 9 ( M = 11 years, 11 months; 94 boys, 61 girls) completed diagnostic assessment used to assign them to diagnostic groups: control typical language learning ( N = 42), dysgraphia (impaired handwriting) ( N = 29), dyslexia (impaired word decoding/reading and spelling) ( N = 65), or oral and written language learning disability (OWL LD) (impaired syntax in oral and written language) ( N = 19). The research aims were to (a) correlate the Movement ABC-2 parent ratings for Scale A Static/Predictable Environment (15 items) and Scale B Dynamic/Unpredictable Environment (15 items) with reading and writing achievement in total sample varying within and across different skills; and (b) compare each specific learning disability group with the control group on Movement ABC-2 parent ratings for Scale A, Scale B, and Scale C Movement-Related (Non-Motor Executive Functions, or Self-Efficacy, or Affect) (13 items). At least one Movement ABC-2 parent rating was correlated with each assessed literacy achievement skill. Each of three specific learning disability groups differed from the control group on two Scale A (static/predictable environment) items (fastens buttons and forms letters with pencil or pen) and on three Scale C items (distractibility, overactive, and underestimates own ability); but only OWL LD differed from control on Scale B (dynamic/unpredictable environment) items. Applications of findings to assessment and instruction for students ascertained for and diagnosed with persisting specific learning disabilities in literacy learning, and future research directions are discussed.

Identification and Remediation of Learning Disability Subtypes: Preliminary Findings.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Lyon, G. Reid

1985-01-01

Current literature on identification and instructional remediation of subtypes of learning-disabled readers (LDR) are reviewed. Preliminary findings suggest that not all LDR children manifest the same oral language, memory, and perceptual deficits that impede decoding accuracy and efficiency and all do not respond equally well (or poorly) to the…

Promising Directions for Research and Development in Early Childhood Education.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Elliott, David L.

A survey of research and development studies currently needed in early childhood education stresses child development and its relation to instruction. Topics which have been discussed are perception, oral language, concept formation, learning set, motivation, and the psychology of learning. Universities and public school systems working together…

'You find yourself.' Perceptions of nursing students from non-English speaking backgrounds of the effect of an intensive language support program on their oral clinical communication skills.

PubMed

Rogan, Fran; San Miguel, Caroline; Brown, Di; Kilstoff, Kathleen

2006-10-01

Nurses of ethnically diverse backgrounds are essential in providing multicultural populations in western societies with culturally and linguistically competent health care. However, many nurses from non-English speaking backgrounds (NESB) are at high risk of failure in university programs particularly during clinical placements. Few studies investigate the clinical experiences of students from NESB and strategies to support their learning. This study describes perceptions of fifteen undergraduate nursing students from NESB about their first clinical placement in an Australian university program and the effect of a language support program on their oral clinical communication skills. Three categories arose: *Wanting to belong but feeling excluded; *Wanting to learn how to...; and *You find yourself. While many students find clinical placement challenging, it appeared difficult for students in this study as language and cultural adjustments required some modification of their usual ways of thinking and communicating, often without coping strategies available to other students.

A Comparison of EFL Teachers' and Students' Attitudes to Oral Corrective Feedback

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Roothooft, Hanne; Breeze, Ruth

2016-01-01

A relatively small number of studies on beliefs about oral corrective feedback (CF) have uncovered a mismatch between teachers' and students' attitudes which is potentially harmful to the language learning process, not only because students may become demotivated when their expectations are not met, but also because teachers appear to be reluctant…

The counting abilities of children with specific language impairment: a comparison of oral and gestural tasks.

PubMed

Fazio, B B

1994-04-01

This study examined the counting abilities of preschool children with specific language impairment compared to language-matched and mental-age-matched peers. In order to determine the nature of the difficulties SLI children exhibited in counting, the subjects participated in a series of oral counting tasks and a series of gestural tasks that used an invented counting system based on pointing to body parts. Despite demonstrating knowledge of many of the rules associated with counting, SLI preschool children displayed marked difficulty in counting objects. On oral counting tasks, they showed difficulty with rote counting, displayed a limited repertoire of number terms, and miscounted sets of objects. However, on gestural counting tasks, SLI children's performance was significantly better. These findings suggest that SLI children have a specific difficulty with the rote sequential aspect of learning number words.

Word Recognition and Vocabulary Understanding Strategies for Literacy Success. Bill Harp Professional Teachers Library.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Sinatra, Richard

This book lets readers see how children and youth learn words in the oral and written languages--and how teachers can best assist learners in the understanding, reading, and writing of words for successful literacy development. In the book teachers learn the differing rationales for using sound/symbol or phonics approaches in word learning, for…

Tadpole Tales and Other Totally Terrific Treats for Readers Theatre.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Fredericks, Anthony D.

Readers theater is a storytelling device that stimulates the imagination and promotes all of the language arts. Readers theater is an oral interpretation of a piece of literature read in a dramatic style. It involves and motivates students, energizes the language arts program, and stimulates learning. Geared for children in grades 1-4, this book…

Teaching and Learning Foreign Languages via System of "Voice over Internet Protocol" and Language Interactions Case Study: Skype

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Wahid, Wazira Ali Abdul; Ahmed, Eqbal Sulaiman; Wahid, Muntaha Ali Abdul

2015-01-01

This issue expresses a research study based on the online interactions of English teaching specially conversation through utilizing VOIP (Voice over Internet Protocol) and cosmopolitan online theme. Data has been achieved by interviews. Simplifiers indicate how oral tasks require to be planned upon to facilitate engagement models propitious to…

Reading and the Structure of the English Language.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ediger, Marlow

Understanding the structure of the English language can assist learners in getting the feeling for what comes next sequentially in oral or silent reading. Noting that the structure of knowledge movement during the 1960s-1970s emphasized the selection of what is relevant and important to teach and that pupils learn ideas inductively, this paper…

Opportunities and Outcomes: The Role of Peers in Developing the Oral Academic English Proficiency of Adolescent English Learners

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Carhill-Poza, Avary

2015-01-01

Although researchers often acknowledge the importance of linguistically rich interactions in the academic language development of emergent bilingual students, few studies have explicitly examined the role of linguistic peer support and the underlying structure of social relationships in the second language learning experiences and outcomes of…

"Lo Cotidiano": The Effectiveness of Critical Task-Based Instruction in Teaching the Culture of Everyday Life

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

García-Villada, Eduardo

2014-01-01

Teaching cultural competency in the language classroom can be a challenge. This study explores the effectiveness of task-based instruction (Lee, 2000) on the learning of culture by students in college-level Spanish language courses. Students were required to record oral presentations, write essays, and make comparisons between the culture and…

Syntax of Kindergarten and Elementary School Children: A Transformational Analysis.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

O'Donnell, Roy C.; And Others

This investigation sought to learn about the oral and written language behavior of students from kindergarten age through grade 7, and to determine the validity of different analytic techniques for measuring children's development in control of syntax. Language samples were collected from 180 children (grades K-3, 5, and 7) by having the children…

Radio Waves and Curriculum Pathways: Jamaican "At Risk" Learners Construct Media

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Feraria, Paulette J.

2018-01-01

This paper explores radio play as an alternative space for learning language and literacy for Jamaican students labeled as 'at-risk' learners. Through the creation of a make-believe radio station in the classroom, students developed oral language skills as a necessary precursor for social literacy. They connected reading and writing activities and…

Mobile-Based Chatting for Meaning Negotiation in Foreign Language Learning

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Castrillo, María Dolores; Martín-Monje, Elena; Bárcena, Elena

2014-01-01

This paper analyzes the adequacy of mobile chatting via Whatsapp for the enhancement of a type of spontaneous and colloquial written interaction which has a strong connection with oral discourse. This is part of a research project undertaken with Spanish students of German as a foreign language with a beginner's or quasi-beginner's level. The…

Guidelines for Evaluating Auditory-Oral Programs for Children Who Are Hearing Impaired.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Alexander Graham Bell Association for the Deaf, Inc., Washington, DC.

These guidelines are intended to assist parents in evaluating educational programs for children who are hearing impaired, where a program's stated intention is promoting the child's optimal use of spoken language as a mode of everyday communication and learning. The guidelines are applicable to programs where spoken language is the sole mode or…

Texas Papers in Foreign Language Education: Contemporary Issues in Foreign and Second Language Learning and Teaching, Fall 1999.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Fox, Amy L., Ed.; Karam, Morris A., Ed.; Reese, Curt L., Ed.

1999-01-01

This journal presents the following four papers: "Begin with Beliefs: Exploring the Relationship Between Beliefs and Learner Autonomy Among Advanced Students" (Beverly-Anne Carter); "An Exploratory Comparison of Oral Narrative Styles in Korea and the U.S." (Jungmin Ko); "Rethinking the Red Ink: Audio-Feedback in the ESL…

Can Synchronous Computer-Mediated Communication (CMC) Help Beginning-Level Foreign Language Learners Speak?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ko, Chao-Jung

2012-01-01

This study investigated the possibility that initial-level learners may acquire oral skills through synchronous computer-mediated communication (SCMC). Twelve Taiwanese French as a foreign language (FFL) students, divided into three groups, were required to conduct a variety of tasks in one of the three learning environments (video/audio, audio,…

Overcoming Language and Literacy Barriers: Using Student Response System Technology to Collect Quality Program Evaluation Data from Immigrant Participants

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Walker, Susan K.; Mao, Dung

2016-01-01

Student response system technology was employed for parenting education program evaluation data collection with Karen adults. The technology, with translation and use of an interpreter, provided an efficient and secure method that respected oral language and collective learning preferences and accommodated literacy needs. The method was popular…

Relations between Indian Children's Home Literacy Environment and Their English Oral Language and Literacy Skills

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kalia, Vrinda; Reese, Elaine

2009-01-01

More than 90 million Indian children are becoming literate in English, yet the home literacy environment for Indian children learning English has not been explored. Preschool children (N = 50) from Bangalore, India, were assessed for vocabulary, phonological awareness, and print skills in English, their language of schooling. Parents reported on…

Effects of maternal sensitivity and cognitive and linguistic stimulation on cochlear implant users' language development over four years.

PubMed

Quittner, Alexandra L; Cruz, Ivette; Barker, David H; Tobey, Emily; Eisenberg, Laurie S; Niparko, John K

2013-02-01

To examine the effects of observed maternal sensitivity (MS), cognitive stimulation (CS), and linguistic stimulation on the 4-year growth of oral language in young, deaf children receiving a cochlear implant. Previous studies of cochlear implants have not considered the effects of parental behaviors on language outcomes. In this prospective, multisite study, we evaluated parent-child interactions during structured and unstructured play tasks and their effects on oral language development in 188 deaf children receiving a cochlear implant and 97 normal-hearing children as controls. Parent-child interactions were rated on a 7-point scale using the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development's Early Childcare Study codes, which have well-established psychometric properties. Language was assessed using the MacArthur Bates Communicative Development Inventories, the Reynell Developmental Language Scales, and the Comprehensive Assessment of Spoken Language. We used mixed longitudinal modeling to test our hypotheses. After accounting for early hearing experience and child and family demographics, MS and CS predicted significant increases in the growth of oral language. Linguistic stimulation was related to language growth only in the context of high MS. The magnitude of effects of MS and CS on the growth of language was similar to that found for age at cochlear implantation, suggesting that addressing parenting behaviors is a critical target for early language learning after implantation. Copyright © 2013 Mosby, Inc. All rights reserved.

Access to oral health care services among adults with learning disabilities: a scoping review

PubMed Central

Naseem, Mustafa; Shah, Altaf H; Khiyani, Muhammad Faheem; Khurshid, Zohaib; Zafar, Muhammad Sohail; Gulzar, Shabnam; AlJameel, AlBandary H.; Khalil, Hesham S.

2016-01-01

Summary Background The prevalence of oral diseases including dental caries and periodontal conditions is remarkably higher in people with disabilities. The provision of accessible oral health services for people with learning disabilities may be challenging. Objectives The objectives of the review were to identify barriers in accessing oral health care that persists within society, enabling or disabling people with learning disabilities. Methods Using the Arksey O’Malley framework, a scoping review was conducted on PubMed/Medline, OVIDSP, and EMBASE. Studies were evaluated and short-listed based on the inclusion criteria, which consisted of: (1) study participants or population with learning disabilities, (2) aged 16 years or over, (3) reporting on access to oral health services, (4) published in the English language. Those that justified the inclusion criteria were carefully chosen after a blind peer-reviewed process when relevance and quality were debated. Results Nine studies were eventually included from searches. Tabulation of data was done under the heading of study type, outcomes, the year of publication and patient selection. The majority of studies provided a biomedical overview of access for adults with learning disabilities. Conclusions The concept of access for people with disability is still ill-defined and obscure. Access to oral health care and needs of people with learning disabilities are complex and multi-facet. PMID:28149451

Incorporating Learning Style and Personality Preferences into an Oral Communication Course Syllabus

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hadas, Michael

2011-01-01

Individual difference factors of personality typology and learning style preference and their effect on second language acquisition have been the focus of several prominent SLA theorists over the past twenty-five years. However, few articles have demonstrated how individual learner difference research can be applied within a classroom by second…

The Contributions of Domain-General and Numerical Factors to Third-Grade Arithmetic Skills and Mathematical Learning Disability

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Cowan, Richard; Powell, Daisy

2014-01-01

Explanations of the marked individual differences in elementary school mathematical achievement and mathematical learning disability (MLD or dyscalculia) have involved domain-general factors (working memory, reasoning, processing speed, and oral language) and numerical factors that include single-digit processing efficiency and multidigit skills…

Learning Activities and Resource Units: Intermediate 4-8. [Arizona] Migrant Child Institute.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Wheelock, Warren H., Ed.

A requirement of Arizona's Migrant Teacher Institutes was the preparation of instructional resource units. Development of these units was a key element in the three-stage recommendations related to individualizing instruction in both reading and oral language. The three stages were: Room Organization--Realistic Learning Centers, Unit Themes and…

"Call for Papers." International Correctional Education Conference (40th, Atlanta, Georgia, July 14-17, 1985).

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Littlefield, John F., Ed.

These proceedings contain four papers. In "Identifying Learning Disabilities in Correctional Facilities," Ronald E. Fritsch and Donna D. Tynan discuss two types of learning disabilities that may affect incarcerated youth: developmental (problems in attention, memory, perception, thinking, and oral language) and academic (problems in reading,…

The Effect of Google Earth and Wiki Models on Oral Presentation Skills of University EFL Learners

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Awada, Ghada; Diab, Hassan B.

2018-01-01

This article reports the results of an experimental study that investigated the effectiveness of Google Earth and Wiki tools in improving the oral presentation skills of English as a Foreign Language (EFL) learners and boosting their motivation for learning. The participants (n =81) are enrolled in writing classes at two English-medium…

Developing the Oral Skill in Online English Courses Framed by the Community of Inquiry

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Herrera Díaz, Luz Edith; González Miy, Darlene

2017-01-01

Over the last decade, the community of inquiry framework has proved successful for online learning experiences in diverse disciplines, although studies in the teaching of English as a foreign language arena are still scarce. In this vein, this article reports a preliminary study about the development of the oral skill in a Basic English online…

Expressive Phonology as Evaluative Comment in Personal Oral Narrative: The Play Frame and Language Learning

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Mischler, James J., III

2008-01-01

This article presents a case study of phonological types of internal evaluation in the personal oral narrative of one non-native speaker of English. The purpose was twofold: (1) to study whether laughter and exhaled breath can serve the functions of expressive phonology; i.e., phonological features which provide commentary and point of view for…

Children with Specific Language Impairment are not impaired in the acquisition and retention of Pavlovian delay and trace conditioning of the eyeblink response☆

PubMed Central

Hardiman, Mervyn J.; Hsu, Hsin-jen; Bishop, Dorothy V.M.

2013-01-01

Three converging lines of evidence have suggested that cerebellar abnormality is implicated in developmental language and literacy problems. First, some brain imaging studies have linked abnormalities in cerebellar grey matter to dyslexia and specific language impairment (SLI). Second, theoretical accounts of both dyslexia and SLI have postulated impairments of procedural learning and automatisation of skills, functions that are known to be mediated by the cerebellum. Third, motor learning has been shown to be abnormal in some studies of both disorders. We assessed the integrity of face related regions of the cerebellum using Pavlovian eyeblink conditioning in 7–11 year-old children with SLI. We found no relationship between oral language skills or literacy skills with either delay or trace conditioning in the children. We conclude that this elementary form of associative learning is intact in children with impaired language or literacy development. PMID:24139661

Auditory access, language access, and implicit sequence learning in deaf children.

PubMed

Hall, Matthew L; Eigsti, Inge-Marie; Bortfeld, Heather; Lillo-Martin, Diane

2018-05-01

Developmental psychology plays a central role in shaping evidence-based best practices for prelingually deaf children. The Auditory Scaffolding Hypothesis (Conway et al., 2009) asserts that a lack of auditory stimulation in deaf children leads to impoverished implicit sequence learning abilities, measured via an artificial grammar learning (AGL) task. However, prior research is confounded by a lack of both auditory and language input. The current study examines implicit learning in deaf children who were (Deaf native signers) or were not (oral cochlear implant users) exposed to language from birth, and in hearing children, using both AGL and Serial Reaction Time (SRT) tasks. Neither deaf nor hearing children across the three groups show evidence of implicit learning on the AGL task, but all three groups show robust implicit learning on the SRT task. These findings argue against the Auditory Scaffolding Hypothesis, and suggest that implicit sequence learning may be resilient to both auditory and language deprivation, within the tested limits. A video abstract of this article can be viewed at: https://youtu.be/EeqfQqlVHLI [Correction added on 07 August 2017, after first online publication: The video abstract link was added.]. © 2017 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Enhancing Collaborative and Meaningful Language Learning Through Concept Mapping

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Marriott, Rita De Cássia Veiga; Torres, Patrícia Lupion

This chapter aims to investigate new ways of foreign-language teaching/learning via a study of how concept mapping can help develop a student's reading, writing and oral skills as part of a blended methodology for language teaching known as LAPLI (Laboratorio de Aprendizagem de LInguas: The Language Learning Lab). LAPLI is a student-centred and collaborative methodology which encourages students to challenge their limitations and expand their current knowledge whilst developing their linguistic and interpersonal skills. We explore the theories that underpin LAPLI and detail the 12 activities comprising its programme with specify reference to the use of "concept mapping". An innovative table enabling a formative and summative assessment of the concept maps is formulated. Also presented are some of the qualitative and quantitative results achieved when this methodology was first implemented with a group of pre-service students studying for a degree in English and Portuguese languages at the Catholic University of Parana (PUCPR) in Brazil. The contribution of concept mapping and LAPLI to an under standing of language learning along with a consideration of the difficulties encountered in its implementation with student groups is discussed and suggestions made for future research.

Enhancing Collaborative and Meaningful Language Learning through Concept Mapping

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

de Cássia Veiga Marriott, Rita; Torres, Patrícia Lupion

This chapter aims to investigate new ways of foreign-language teaching/learning via a study of how concept mapping can help develop a student's reading, writing and oral skills as part of a blended methodology for language teaching known as LAPLI (Laboratorio de Aprendizagem de LInguas: The Language Learning Lab). LAPLI is a student-centred and collaborative methodology which encourages students to challenge their limitations and expand their current knowledge whilst developing their linguistic and interpersonal skills. We explore the theories that underpin LAPLI and detail the 12 activities comprising its programme with specify reference to the use of “concept mapping”. An innovative table enabling a formative and summative assessment of the concept maps is formulated. Also presented are some of the qualitative and quantitative results achieved when this methodology was first implemented with a group of pre-service students studying for a degree in English and Portuguese languages at the Catholic University of Parana (PUCPR) in Brazil. The contribution of concept mapping and LAPLI to an understanding of language learning along with a consideration of the difficulties encountered in its implementation with student groups is discussed and suggestions made for future research.

Speech, Language, and Cognition in Preschool Children with Epilepsy

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Selassie, G. Rejno-Habte; Viggedal, G.; Olsson, I.; Jennische, M.

2008-01-01

We studied expressive and receptive language, oral motor ability, attention, memory, and intelligence in 20 6-year-old children with epilepsy (14 females, six males; mean age 6y 5mo, range 6y-6y 11mo) without learning disability, cerebral palsy (CP), and/or autism, and in 30 reference children without epilepsy (18 females, 12 males; mean age 6y…

The Optimal Distribution of Practice for the Acquisition of L2 Morphology: A Conceptual Replication and Extension

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Suzuki, Yuichi

2017-01-01

This study examined optimal learning schedules for second language (L2) acquisition of a morphological structure. Sixty participants studied the simple and complex morphological rules of a novel miniature language system so as to use them for oral production. They engaged in four training sessions in either shorter spaced (3.3-day interval) or…

Developing and Testing EVALOE: A Tool for Assessing Spoken Language Teaching and Learning in the Classroom

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Gràcia, Marta; Vega, Fàtima; Galván-Bovaira, Maria José

2015-01-01

Broadly speaking, the teaching of spoken language in Spanish schools has not been approached in a systematic way. Changes in school practices are needed in order to allow all children to become competent speakers and to understand and construct oral texts that are appropriate in different contexts and for different audiences both inside and…

Contrasting Effects of Starting Age and Input on the Oral Performance of Foreign Language Learners

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Muñoz, Carmen

2014-01-01

The present study focuses on the influence of starting age and input on foreign language learning. In relation to starting age, the study investigates whether early starters in instructional settings achieve the same kind of long-term advantage as learners in naturalistic settings and it complements previous research by using data from oral…

A Computer Assisted Method to Track Listening Strategies in Second Language Learning

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Roussel, Stephanie

2011-01-01

Many studies about listening strategies are based on what learners report while listening to an oral message in the second language (Vandergrift, 2003; Graham, 2006). By recording a video of the computer screen while L2 learners (L1 French) were listening to an MP3-track in German, this study uses a novel approach and recent developments in…

Using Webquests for Oral Communication in English as a Foreign Language for Tourism Studies

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Laborda, Jesus Garcia

2009-01-01

A long-standing debate in native and foreign language learning revolves around the use of computers to promote genuine social and professional communication. Webquests are a very common way of using Web resources to research a variety of topics, and if appropriately used can trigger the situations necessary to develop both written and oral…

Moyamoya disease: impact on the performance of oral and written language.

PubMed

Lamônica, Dionísia Aparecida Cusin; Ribeiro, Camila da Costa; Ferraz, Plínio Marcos Duarte Pinto; Tabaquim, Maria de Lourdes Merighi

Moyamoya disease is an unusual form of occlusive, cerebrovascular disorder that affects the arteries of the central nervous system, causing acquired language alterations and learning difficulties. The study aim was to describe the oral/written language and cognitive skills in a seven-year-and-seven-month-old girl diagnosed with Moyamoya disease. The assessment consisted of interviews with her parents and application of the following instruments: Observation of Communicative Behavior, Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test, Academic Performance Test, Profile of Phonological Awareness, Raven's Progressive Matrices Test, Special Scale, Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children, Bender Visual Motor Gestalt Test, and Wisconsin Card Sorting Test. Two episodes of stroke in the left and right temporal-parietal and left frontal areas occurred until the age of six years and five months. Revascularization surgery and medication treatment were conducted. The audiologic and ophthalmologic assessments indicated normality. At the time of the study, the girl was attending the second grade of elementary school. She presented changes in oral and written language (syllabic-alphabetic), non-naming of all graphemes, low arithmetic and writing means, reading skill below first grade level and psycholinguistic delay, and pre-school level phonological processing skills. The psychological evaluation indicated satisfactory intellectual level; however, it also showed cognitive performance impairment in verbal and execution tasks and limitations on graphic-perceptual-motor skills and sequential logic organization. The stroke episodes influenced the performance of learning processes, affecting the analysis, integration, and interpretation of relevant visual and auditory information.

Methodological Proposal for Elaboration of Learning Materials in Sign Language in University Teaching

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Viera-Santana, J. Guillermo; Rodríguez-Esparragón, Dionisio; Hernández-Haddad, Juan C.; Castillo-Ortiz, Jesús

2015-01-01

Hearing impairment may constitute a barrier for accessing to information and communication in public places. Since the oral communication forms the basis of the learning process, this problem becomes of particular relevance at schools and universities. To cope with this situation is not enough to provide a textual translation for people with…

Criminal Offending and Learning Disabilities in New Zealand Youth: Does Reading Comprehension Predict Recidivism?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Rucklidge, Julia J.; McLean, Anthony P.; Bateup, Paula

2013-01-01

Sixty youth (16-19 years) from two youth prison sites participate in a prospective study examining criminal offending and learning disabilities (LD), completing measures of estimated IQ, attention, reading, and mathematical and oral language abilities. Prevalence rates of LDs exceed those of international studies, with 91.67% of the offenders…

Cross-Cultural Communication through Course Linkage: Utilizing Experiential Learning in Speech 110 (Introduction to Speech/Communication) & ESL 009 (Oral Skills).

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Mackler, Tobi; Savard, Theresa

Taking advantage of the opportunity to heighten cultural awareness and create an intercultural exchange, this paper presents two articles that provide a summary of the rationale, methodology, and assignments used to teach the linked courses of an introductory speech communication course and an English-as-a-Second-Language Oral Skills course. The…

From Metalinguistic Instruction to Metalinguistic Knowledge, and from Metalinguistic Knowledge to Performance in Error Correction and Oral Production Tasks

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Serrano, Raquel

2011-01-01

The purpose of this study is to analyse the effect of metalinguistic instruction on students' metalinguistic knowledge on the one hand, and on students' performance in metalinguistic and oral production tasks on the other hand. Two groups of primary school students learning English as a foreign language were chosen. One of them (Rule group) was…

L1 Use and Morphosyntactic Development in the Oral Production of EFL Learners in a CLIL Context

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Lazaro, Amparo; Garcia Mayo, Maria del Pilar

2012-01-01

This paper explores the effects of Content and Language Integrated Learning (CLIL) instruction on the oral production of 15 high-school learners of English. The learners' use of the L1s (Basque and Spanish) in discourse markers and repair sequences as well as the learners' overall morphosyntactic development were analysed at two testing times (age…

Pecha Kucha Style Powerpoint Presentation: An Innovative Call Approach to Developing Oral Presentation Skills of Tertiary Students

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Murugaiah, Puvaneswary

2016-01-01

In computer-assisted language learning (CALL), technological tools are often used both as an end and as a means to an end (Levy & Stockwell, 2006). Microsoft PowerPoint is an example of the latter as it is commonly used in oral presentations in classrooms. However, many student presentations are often boring as students generally read from…

Sound Symbolism Facilitates Word Learning in 14-Month-Olds

PubMed Central

Imai, Mutsumi; Miyazaki, Michiko; Yeung, H. Henny; Hidaka, Shohei; Kantartzis, Katerina; Okada, Hiroyuki; Kita, Sotaro

2015-01-01

Sound symbolism, or the nonarbitrary link between linguistic sound and meaning, has often been discussed in connection with language evolution, where the oral imitation of external events links phonetic forms with their referents (e.g., Ramachandran & Hubbard, 2001). In this research, we explore whether sound symbolism may also facilitate synchronic language learning in human infants. Sound symbolism may be a useful cue particularly at the earliest developmental stages of word learning, because it potentially provides a way of bootstrapping word meaning from perceptual information. Using an associative word learning paradigm, we demonstrated that 14-month-old infants could detect Köhler-type (1947) shape-sound symbolism, and could use this sensitivity in their effort to establish a word-referent association. PMID:25695741

Theory-of-mind development in oral deaf children with cochlear implants or conventional hearing aids.

PubMed

Peterson, Candida C

2004-09-01

In the context of the established finding that theory-of-mind (ToM) growth is seriously delayed in late-signing deaf children, and some evidence of equivalent delays in those learning speech with conventional hearing aids, this study's novel contribution was to explore ToM development in deaf children with cochlear implants. Implants can substantially boost auditory acuity and rates of language growth. Despite the implant, there are often problems socialising with hearing peers and some language difficulties, lending special theoretical interest to the present comparative design. A total of 52 children aged 4 to 12 years took a battery of false belief tests of ToM. There were 26 oral deaf children, half with implants and half with hearing aids, evenly divided between oral-only versus sign-plus-oral schools. Comparison groups of age-matched high-functioning children with autism and younger hearing children were also included. No significant ToM differences emerged between deaf children with implants and those with hearing aids, nor between those in oral-only versus sign-plus-oral schools. Nor did the deaf children perform any better on the ToM tasks than their age peers with autism. Hearing preschoolers scored significantly higher than all other groups. For the deaf and the autistic children, as well as the preschoolers, rate of language development and verbal maturity significantly predicted variability in ToM, over and above chronological age. The finding that deaf children with cochlear implants are as delayed in ToM development as children with autism and their deaf peers with hearing aids or late sign language highlights the likely significance of peer interaction and early fluent communication with peers and family, whether in sign or in speech, in order to optimally facilitate the growth of social cognition and language.

Obstructive sleep apnea and oral language disorders.

PubMed

Corrêa, Camila de Castro; Cavalheiro, Maria Gabriela; Maximino, Luciana Paula; Weber, Silke Anna Theresa

Children and adolescents with obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) may have consequences, such as daytime sleepiness and learning, memory, and attention disorders, that may interfere in oral language. To verify, based on the literature, whether OSA in children was correlated to oral language disorders. A literature review was carried out in the Lilacs, PubMed, Scopus, and Web of Science databases using the descriptors "Child Language" AND "Obstructive Sleep Apnea". Articles that did not discuss the topic and included children with other comorbidities rather than OSA were excluded. In total, no articles were found at Lilacs, 37 at PubMed, 47 at Scopus, and 38 at Web of Science databases. Based on the inclusion and exclusion criteria, six studies were selected, all published from 2004 to 2014. Four articles demonstrated an association between primary snoring/OSA and receptive language and four articles showed an association with expressive language. It is noteworthy that the articles used different tools and considered different levels of language. The late diagnosis and treatment of obstructive sleep apnea is associated with a delay in verbal skill acquisition. The professionals who work with children should be alert, as most of the phonetic sounds are acquired during ages 3-7 years, which is also the peak age for hypertrophy of the tonsils and childhood OSA. Copyright © 2016 Associação Brasileira de Otorrinolaringologia e Cirurgia Cérvico-Facial. Published by Elsevier Editora Ltda. All rights reserved.

Analyzing the Effect of Context of Second Language Learning: Domestic Intensive and Semi-Intensive Courses vs. Study Abroad in Europe

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Serrano, Raquel; Llanes, Angels; Tragant, Elsa

2011-01-01

This study examines the second language (L2) written and oral performance of three groups of Spanish-speaking university students after being exposed to English in different contexts. One group of learners was spending some time abroad (Erasmus students in the UK), and two groups were following classroom instruction in two different types of…

Language development in a non-vocal child.

PubMed

Rogow, S M

1994-01-01

Many children who cannot speak, comprehend both oral and written language. Having knowledge of language is not the same as being able to use language for social transactions. Non-vocal children learn to use augmented and assisted systems, but they experience specific difficulties in initiating and maintaining conversations and making use of the pragmatic functions of language. The purpose of this study was to investigate the semantic and syntactic knowledge of a child with severe multiple disabilities who can read and write and comprehend two languages, but does not initiate conversation. The study demonstrates that high levels of language comprehension and ability to read and write do not automatically transfer to conversational competence or narrative ability.

Widening the lens: what the manual modality reveals about language, learning and cognition.

PubMed

Goldin-Meadow, Susan

2014-09-19

The goal of this paper is to widen the lens on language to include the manual modality. We look first at hearing children who are acquiring language from a spoken language model and find that even before they use speech to communicate, they use gesture. Moreover, those gestures precede, and predict, the acquisition of structures in speech. We look next at deaf children whose hearing losses prevent them from using the oral modality, and whose hearing parents have not presented them with a language model in the manual modality. These children fall back on the manual modality to communicate and use gestures, which take on many of the forms and functions of natural language. These homemade gesture systems constitute the first step in the emergence of manual sign systems that are shared within deaf communities and are full-fledged languages. We end by widening the lens on sign language to include gesture and find that signers not only gesture, but they also use gesture in learning contexts just as speakers do. These findings suggest that what is key in gesture's ability to predict learning is its ability to add a second representational format to communication, rather than a second modality. Gesture can thus be language, assuming linguistic forms and functions, when other vehicles are not available; but when speech or sign is possible, gesture works along with language, providing an additional representational format that can promote learning. © 2014 The Author(s) Published by the Royal Society. All rights reserved.

Modeling Oral Reading Fluency Development in Latino Students: A Longitudinal Study Across Second and Third Grade

PubMed Central

Al Otaiba, Stephanie; Petscher, Yaacov; Williams, Rihana S.; Pappamihiel, N. Eleni; Dyrlund, Allison K.; Connor, Carol

2009-01-01

This study examines growth in oral reading fluency across 2nd and 3rd grade for Latino students grouped in 3 English proficiency levels: students receiving English as a second language (ESL) services (n = 2,182), students exited from ESL services (n = 965), and students never designated as needing services (n = 1,857). An important focus was to learn whether, within these 3 groups, proficiency levels and growth were reliably related to special education status. Using hierarchical linear modeling, the authors compared proficiency levels and growth in oral reading fluency in English between and within groups and then to state reading benchmarks. Findings indicate that oral reading fluency scores reliably distinguished between students with learning disabilities and typically developing students within each group (effect sizes ranging from 0.96 to 1.51). The growth trajectory included a significant quadratic trend (generally slowing over time). These findings support the effectiveness of using oral reading fluency in English to screen and monitor reading progress under Response to Intervention models, but also suggest caution in interpreting oral reading fluency data as part of the process in identifying students with learning disabilities. PMID:25132688

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.

Research Report

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Dawes, Lyn

2004-06-01

This paper examines what is important about talk between learners during school science and, having identified this, suggests how we can ensure that what we consider important happens. By looking at the interaction between teachers and learners talking about science, it is possible to indicate ways in which learners can be helped to continue this learning conversation with one another when teacher support is withdrawn. Strategies for teaching and learning are examined. The paper reports on the findings of a research project designed to teach children how to negotiate their ideas about science concepts through rational dialogue. Children's development of scientific concepts in classrooms is undertaken through structured activity and mediated through oral language. Children must move forward simultaneously in their use of specialized vocabulary and in their understanding of current scientific explanations, models and ideas. New language and new ways of using language are learned by doing, which means for children, primarily speaking and listening. Children's understanding of science can benefit from teaching them to understand that spoken language is a powerful tool for thinking together.

How Children Learn to Write: A Longitudinal Study. Final Report, September 1, 1979-August 31, 1980 and January 1, 1977-March 31, 1980.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

King, Martha L.; Rentel, Victor M.

Described in this report is a longitudinal study that examined the transition that children make from oral to written texts in respect to their use of cohesive devices and particular story structure elements in two modes of oral and one mode of written language. The first section provides an overview of the study and discusses literacy…

Science Education Researchers as Orthographers: Documenting Keiyo (Kenya) Knowledge, Learning and Narratives about Snakes.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Thomson, Norman

2003-01-01

Advances the argument that science educators have a pivotal role as orthographers in preserving and promoting science for all. Interviews Keiyo elders and students (n=748) to determine indigenous names for snakes and how Keiyo oral narratives of snakes are used in teaching and learning. Uses the data to document Keiyo language and construct…

The Role of the Syllable in Foreign Language Learning: Improving Oral Production through Dual-Coded, Sound-Synchronised, Typographic Annotations

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Stenton, Anthony

2013-01-01

The CNRS-financed authoring system SWANS (Synchronised Web Authoring Notation System), now used in several CercleS centres, was developed by teams from four laboratories as a personalised learning tool for the purpose of making available knowledge about lexical stress patterns and mother-tongue interference in L2 speech production--helping…

Explicit Instruction and Implicit Use of L2 Learning Strategies in Higher Secondary EFL Course Books

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Bueno-Alastuey, M. Camino; Agulló, Gloria Luque

2015-01-01

Research has shown that teaching second language (L2) learning strategies explicitly promotes an increase in strategy use and in oral proficiency. Consequently, a checklist based on the six types of strategies from Oxford's taxonomy (1990) was created to analyze strategic instruction in the most common textbooks used in the last year of Higher…

Virginia Standards of Learning (Grades 6 through 12) That Are Covered When Students Attend Live Performances of Shakespeare's Plays.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Brookshire, Cathy A.

This paper outlines Standards of Learning for grades 6-12 students in Virginia that are covered when they attend live performances of William Shakespeare's plays. The paper details separate standards for each grade in English, subdivided into standards which fulfill requirements in Oral Language, Reading/Literature, Writing, and Research, along…

African American English-speaking students: an examination of the relationship between dialect shifting and reading outcomes.

PubMed

Craig, Holly K; Zhang, Lingling; Hensel, Stephanie L; Quinn, Erin J

2009-08-01

In this study, the authors evaluated the contribution made by dialect shifting to reading achievement test scores of African American English (AAE)-speaking students when controlling for the effects of socioeconomic status (SES), general oral language abilities, and writing skills. Participants were 165 typically developing African American 1st through 5th graders. Half were male and half were female, one third were from low-SES homes, and two-thirds were from middle-SES homes. Dialect shifting away from AAE toward Standard American English (SAE) was determined by comparing AAE production rates during oral and written narratives. Structural equation modeling evaluated the relative contributions of AAE rates, SES, and general oral language and writing skills on standardized reading achievement scores. AAE production rates were inversely related to reading achievement scores and decreased significantly between the oral and written narratives. Lower rates in writing predicted a substantial amount of the variance in reading scores, showing a significant direct effect and a significant indirect effect mediated by measures of oral language comprehension. The findings support a dialect shifting-reading achievement hypothesis, which proposes that AAE-speaking students who learn to use SAE in literacy tasks will outperform their peers who do not make this linguistic adaptation.

Learning Through Reading Scientific Papers.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Valderrama, Jose O.

1986-01-01

Describes an activity in which undergraduate students read an international publication to help them have a broader vision of the subject being studied, encourage constructive criticism, promote discussion, and stimulate efforts toward better oral and written communication in the students' native language. (JN)

Challenges in oral communication for internationally educated nurses.

PubMed

Lum, Lillie; Dowedoff, Penny; Bradley, Pat; Kerekes, Julie; Valeo, Antonella

2015-01-01

Achieving English language proficiency, while key to successful adaptation to a new country for internationally educated nurses (IENs), has presented more difficulties for them and for educators than previously recognized. Professional communication within a culturally diverse client population and maintaining collaborative relationships between nurses and other team members were perceived as new challenges for IENs. Learning an additional language is a long-term, multistage process that must also incorporate social and cultural aspects of the local society and the profession. This article provides a descriptive review of current research literature pertaining to English language challenges, with a focus on oral language, experienced by IENs. Educational strategies for teaching technical language skills as well as the socio-pragmatics of professional communication within nursing programs are emphasized. Bridging education programs must not only develop students'academic language proficiency but also their ability to enter the workforce with the kind of communication skills that are increasingly highlighted by employers as essential attributes. The results of this review are intended to facilitate a clearer understanding of the English language and communication challenges experienced by IENs and identify the implications for designing effective educational programs. © The Author(s) 2014.

ERP correlates of German Sign Language processing in deaf native signers.

PubMed

Hänel-Faulhaber, Barbara; Skotara, Nils; Kügow, Monique; Salden, Uta; Bottari, Davide; Röder, Brigitte

2014-05-10

The present study investigated the neural correlates of sign language processing of Deaf people who had learned German Sign Language (Deutsche Gebärdensprache, DGS) from their Deaf parents as their first language. Correct and incorrect signed sentences were presented sign by sign on a computer screen. At the end of each sentence the participants had to judge whether or not the sentence was an appropriate DGS sentence. Two types of violations were introduced: (1) semantically incorrect sentences containing a selectional restriction violation (implausible object); (2) morphosyntactically incorrect sentences containing a verb that was incorrectly inflected (i.e., incorrect direction of movement). Event-related brain potentials (ERPs) were recorded from 74 scalp electrodes. Semantic violations (implausible signs) elicited an N400 effect followed by a positivity. Sentences with a morphosyntactic violation (verb agreement violation) elicited a negativity followed by a broad centro-parietal positivity. ERP correlates of semantic and morphosyntactic aspects of DGS clearly differed from each other and showed a number of similarities with those observed in other signed and oral languages. These data suggest a similar functional organization of signed and oral languages despite the visual-spacial modality of sign language.

ERP correlates of German Sign Language processing in deaf native signers

PubMed Central

2014-01-01

Background The present study investigated the neural correlates of sign language processing of Deaf people who had learned German Sign Language (Deutsche Gebärdensprache, DGS) from their Deaf parents as their first language. Correct and incorrect signed sentences were presented sign by sign on a computer screen. At the end of each sentence the participants had to judge whether or not the sentence was an appropriate DGS sentence. Two types of violations were introduced: (1) semantically incorrect sentences containing a selectional restriction violation (implausible object); (2) morphosyntactically incorrect sentences containing a verb that was incorrectly inflected (i.e., incorrect direction of movement). Event-related brain potentials (ERPs) were recorded from 74 scalp electrodes. Results Semantic violations (implausible signs) elicited an N400 effect followed by a positivity. Sentences with a morphosyntactic violation (verb agreement violation) elicited a negativity followed by a broad centro-parietal positivity. Conclusions ERP correlates of semantic and morphosyntactic aspects of DGS clearly differed from each other and showed a number of similarities with those observed in other signed and oral languages. These data suggest a similar functional organization of signed and oral languages despite the visual-spacial modality of sign language. PMID:24884527

Tips from the Classroom: Word Building [and] Can't Say "Yes" or "No" [and] Three-Peat or How to Engage Students in Revising Their Oral Presentations [and] Taking the Minutes Is Time Well Spent [and] Puzzles.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Nicklous, Nan G.; And Others

1997-01-01

Presents useful tips for improving classroom learning. These include inviting native- and nonnative-English-speaking students to engage in world building while improving their language and cultural knowledge; highly motivated conversational activities; students' revision of their oral presentations; having students record classroom activities; and…

Effects of Multimedia Task-Based Teaching and Learning Approach on EFL Learners' Accuracy, Fluency and Complexity of Oral Production

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Bava Harji, Madhubala; Gheitanchian, Mehrnaz

2017-01-01

Albeit Task-Based Language Teaching (TBLT) has been extensively researched, there appears to be limited studies that focus on the effects of multimedia technology (MT) enhanced TBLT approach on EFL development. A study was conducted to examine the effects of a MT imbued TBLT, i.e. Multimedia Task-Based Teaching and Learning (MMTBLT) approach on…

Statistical Learning is Related to Early Literacy-Related Skills

PubMed Central

Spencer, Mercedes; Kaschak, Michael P.; Jones, John L.; Lonigan, Christopher J.

2015-01-01

It has been demonstrated that statistical learning, or the ability to use statistical information to learn the structure of one’s environment, plays a role in young children’s acquisition of linguistic knowledge. Although most research on statistical learning has focused on language acquisition processes, such as the segmentation of words from fluent speech and the learning of syntactic structure, some recent studies have explored the extent to which individual differences in statistical learning are related to literacy-relevant knowledge and skills. The present study extends on this literature by investigating the relations between two measures of statistical learning and multiple measures of skills that are critical to the development of literacy—oral language, vocabulary knowledge, and phonological processing—within a single model. Our sample included a total of 553 typically developing children from prekindergarten through second grade. Structural equation modeling revealed that statistical learning accounted for a unique portion of the variance in these literacy-related skills. Practical implications for instruction and assessment are discussed. PMID:26478658

The question of sign-language and the utility of signs in the instruction of the deaf: two papers by Alexander Graham Bell (1898).

PubMed

Bell, Alexander Graham

2005-01-01

Alexander Graham Bell is often portrayed as either hero or villain of deaf individuals and the Deaf community. His writings, however, indicate that he was neither, and was not as clearly definite in his beliefs about language as is often supposed. The following two articles, reprinted from The Educator (1898), Vol. V, pp. 3-4 and pp. 38-44, capture Bell's thinking about sign language and its use in the classroom. Contrary to frequent claims, Bell does not demand "oral" training for all deaf children--even if he thinks it is the superior alternative--but does advocate for it for "the semi-deaf" and "the semi-mute." "In regard to the others," he writes, "I am not so sure." Although he clearly voices his support for oral methods and fingerspelling (the Rochester method) over sign language, Bell acknowledges the use and utility of signing in a carefully-crafted discussion that includes both linguistics and educational philosophy. In separating the language used at home from that in school and on the playground, Bell reveals a far more complex view of language learning by deaf children than he is often granted. (M. Marschark).

Cultural transmission through infant signs: Objects and actions in U.S. and Taiwan.

PubMed

Wang, Wen; Vallotton, Claire

2016-08-01

Infant signs are intentionally taught/learned symbolic gestures which can be used to represent objects, actions, requests, and mental state. Through infant signs, parents and infants begin to communicate specific concepts earlier than children's first spoken language. This study examines whether cultural differences in language are reflected in children's and parents' use of infant signs. Parents speaking East Asian languages with their children utilize verbs more often than do English-speaking mothers; and compared to their English-learning peers, Chinese children are more likely to learn verbs as they first acquire spoken words. By comparing parents' and infants' use of infant signs in the U.S. and Taiwan, we investigate cultural differences of noun/object versus verb/action bias before children's first language. Parents reported their own and their children's use of first infant signs retrospectively. Results show that cultural differences in parents' and children's infant sign use were consistent with research on early words, reflecting cultural differences in communication functions (referential versus regulatory) and child-rearing goals (independent versus interdependent). The current study provides evidence that intergenerational transmission of culture through symbols begins prior to oral language. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

The Development of Bilingual Narrative Retelling Among Spanish-English Dual Language Learners Over Two Years.

PubMed

Lucero, Audrey

2018-05-25

This exploratory study investigates the development of oral narrative retell proficiency among Spanish-English emergent bilingual children longitudinally from kindergarten to second grade in Spanish and English as they learned literacy in the 2 languages concurrently. Oral narrative retell assessments were conducted with children who spoke Spanish at home and were enrolled in a dual language immersion program (N = 12) in the spring of kindergarten and second grade. Retells were transcribed and coded for vocabulary and grammar at the microlevel (Miller, 2012) and story structure at the macrolevel (Heilmann, Miller, Nockerts, & Dunaway, 2010). In microstructure paired-sample t tests, children showed significant improvements in vocabulary in both languages (Spanish total number of words η2 = .43, Spanish number of different words η2 = .44, English total number of words η2 = .61, English number of different words η2 = .62) but not grammar by second grade. At the macrostructure level, children showed significantly higher performance in English only (English narrative scoring scheme η2 = .47). The finding that children significantly improved in vocabulary in both languages but in overall story structure only in English suggests that discourse skills were being facilitated in English whereas Spanish discourse development may have stagnated even within a dual language immersion program. Results contribute to what is currently known about bilingual oral narrative development among young Spanish speakers enrolled in such programs and can inform assessment and instructional decisions.

Speaking and Listening in Content Area Learning

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Fisher, Douglas; Frey, Nancy

2014-01-01

Oral language development facilitates print literacy. In this article, we focus on the ways in which teachers can ensure students' speaking and listening skills are developed. We provide a review of some time-tests classroom routines as well as some that can be enhanced with technology.

Early writing deficits in preschoolers with oral language difficulties.

PubMed

Puranik, Cynthia S; Lonigan, Christopher J

2012-01-01

The purpose of this study was to investigate whether preschool children with language impairments (LI), a group with documented reading difficulties, also experience writing difficulties. In addition, a purpose was to examine if the writing outcomes differed when children had concomitant cognitive deficits in addition to oral language problems. A group of 293 preschool children were administered an assessment battery that included measures to examine oral language, nonverbal cognition, emergent reading, and writing. Children were divided into four groups based on their language and cognitive performance. The findings from this study show that as early as preschool, children with weaker oral language skills lag behind their peers with stronger oral language skills in terms of their writing-related skills. Children with oral language and cognitive deficits performed more poorly than children whose deficits were confined to oral language. A child's cognitive ability also has an impact on emergent writing skills, but it appears to be moderated by oral language skills. These results are consistent with research documenting links between preschool language and emergent reading in children with a history of LI. © Hammill Institute on Disabilities 2012.

Early Writing Deficits in Preschoolers with Oral Language Difficulties

PubMed Central

Puranik, Cynthia S.; Lonigan, Christopher J.

2016-01-01

The purpose of this study was to investigate whether preschool children with language impairments (LI), a group with documented reading difficulties, also experience writing difficulties. In addition, a purpose was to examine if the writing outcomes differed when children had concomitant cognitive deficits in addition to oral language problems. A group of 293 preschool children were administered an assessment battery that included measures to examine oral language, nonverbal cognition, emergent reading, and writing. Children were divided into four groups based on their language and cognitive performance. The findings from this study show that as early as preschool, children with weaker oral language skills lag behind their peers with stronger oral language skills in terms of their writing-related skills. Children with oral language and cognitive deficits performed more poorly than children whose deficits were confined to oral language. A child’s cognitive ability also has an impact on emergent writing skills, but it appears to be moderated by oral language skills. These results are consistent with research documenting links between preschool language and emergent reading in children with a history of LI. PMID:22043027

A Lesson from Opal.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Keiper, Anne M.

1987-01-01

A five-year-old hearing impaired girl who arrives at a residential school for the deaf without having had the opportunity to learn to communicate goes through the early stages of writing development. Similarities between the developmental stages of oral and written language and the importance of providing behavior models are discussed. (VW)

Teaching and Learning in Preschool: Using Individually Appropriate Practices in Early Childhood Literacy Instruction

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Venn, Elizabeth Claire; Jahn, Monica Dacy

2004-01-01

Students will benefit from this unique preschool framework that integrates individually appropriate practices, literacy activities, play, and explicit instruction into content area lessons. Included are chapters on Oral language development; Phonological awareness; Early reading and writing; Print concepts; Instruction in content areas; and…

Motivating Literacy Learners in Today's World

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Fletcher, J., Ed.; Parkhill, F., Ed.; Gillon, G., Ed.

2010-01-01

"Motivating Literacy Learners in Today's World" provides insights into a broad spectrum of children's literacy learning. Motivation is the key theme and the authors show how this can be achieved through reading for pleasure; in writing activities at a number of levels; and through oral language development. Chapters include: (1)…

Indigenous Knowledge Construction and Experiential Learning of Taiwanese Aborigines

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Lee, Ying

2009-01-01

Indigenous peoples in Taiwan belong to the Austronesian racial group. Confined to their oral language tradition, knowledge about Taiwan aborigines based on written documents reflected the positionality of dominant ethnic groups. This qualitative study employed participatory research approach to explore the process of producing their own knowledge…

Occupational Literacy Education.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Rush, R. Timothy; And Others

Intended for teachers of adult basic education as well as teachers in job retraining programs, this book focuses on the development of written and oral language competencies required in occupational and training settings. The first four chapters offer a concise synthesis of recent research on adult learning and on workplace literacy for ten…

Literacy Inquiry and Pedagogy through a Photographic Lens

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Cappello, Marva; Hollingsworth, Sandra

2008-01-01

This paper explores the potential of photography for teaching, learning, and studying literacy in elementary school classrooms. We examine the ways shifting between communication systems (photography, oral language and writing) impacts students' ability to problem solve and create rich texts. Specifically, we explore the roles photography plays in…

Lip Movement Exaggerations during Infant-Directed Speech

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Green, Jordan R.; Nip, Ignatius S. B.; Wilson, Erin M.; Mefferd, Antje S.; Yunusova, Yana

2010-01-01

Purpose: Although a growing body of literature has identified the positive effects of visual speech on speech and language learning, oral movements of infant-directed speech (IDS) have rarely been studied. This investigation used 3-dimensional motion capture technology to describe how mothers modify their lip movements when talking to their…

Cross Currents: Communication/Language/Cross-Cultural Skills. Volume 5, Number 1.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Matreyek, Deborah B., Ed.

1978-01-01

This issue of "Cross Currents" includes the following articles: "More About Drama for the Classroom" by Richard A. Via; "Student-Created Media: One Approach to ESL Instruction" by Kathy Campbell; "Some Advice for Japanese Students Learning English" by Yoshi-Mitsu Shimazu; "Patterns of Oral Communication…

Questioning and Oracy in a Reading Program

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Vaish, Viniti

2013-01-01

This paper is about the questioning patterns of teachers in an early intervention reading program and the exceptions to this typical interactional pattern. Literacy experts recommend a rich diet of oral language for young learners of English literacy. Teachers offer this rich diet by creating an appropriate learning environment in the classroom…

From Action to English: Reality in the Classroom.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Zuern, Guenther

1982-01-01

Describes use of total physical response as a teaching strategy in English-as-a-second-language classes. Students act out commands from teacher with no initial emphasis on oral production. This approach makes a lesson more real to students and physically involving them makes for more successful learning. (Author/BK)

Engaging Children with Autism in Shared Book Reading: Strategies for Parents

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Fleury, Veronica P.

2015-01-01

The presence of a developmental disability has been associated with failures in learning to read (Landgren, Kjellman, & Gillberg, 2003). Given that children with disabilities are at higher risk for reading difficulties, it is especially important that they receive repeated opportunities to develop emergent skills--particularly oral language,…

Orthography and Learning to Decode in Japanese.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Muraishi, Shozo

The Language Play Method (LPM), a teaching method developed to systematically instruct preschool children in the structure of Japanese and Hiragana letters, is described in this paper. LPM develops three fundamental abilities which contribute to oral skill and literacy in kindergartners: the ability to recognize letters, the ability to decode…

Applying Generalizability Theory for Making Quantitative RTI Progress-Monitoring Decisions

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Fan, Chung-Hau; Hansmann, Paul R.

2015-01-01

Language in the Individuals With Disabilities Education Improvement Act (IDEIA) allows the use of response-to-intervention (RTI) methodology in the identification of specific learning disabilities. However, there is no consensus on decision rules using curriculum-based measurement of oral reading fluency (CBM-R) for defining responsiveness. The…

Syntactic Maturity and Vocabulary Richness Learning Disabled Children at Four Age Levels.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Andolina, Charlene

Four age levels of 80 learning disabled (LD) students (7.5-8.11, 9.0-10.5, 10.6-11.11, and 12.0-13.5 years) participated in an examination of syntactic maturity and vocabulary richness in their oral language. Ss were shown two films without the sound turned on, and were then tape recorded as they told the story of the film in their own words.…

A new model of sensorimotor coupling in the development of speech.

PubMed

Westermann, Gert; Reck Miranda, Eduardo

2004-05-01

We present a computational model that learns a coupling between motor parameters and their sensory consequences in vocal production during a babbling phase. Based on the coupling, preferred motor parameters and prototypically perceived sounds develop concurrently. Exposure to an ambient language modifies perception to coincide with the sounds from the language. The model develops motor mirror neurons that are active when an external sound is perceived. An extension to visual mirror neurons for oral gestures is suggested.

From emergent literacy to reading: how learning to read changes a child's brain.

PubMed

Horowitz-Kraus, Tzipi; Hutton, John S

2015-07-01

The ability to comprehend language is uniquely human. Behavioural and neuroimaging data reinforce the importance of intact oral language as foundational for the establishment of proficient reading. However, proficient reading is achieved not only via intact biological systems, but also a stimulating Home Literacy Environment. Behavioural and neuroimaging correlates for linguistic ability and literacy exposure support the engagement of neural circuits related to reading acquisition. ©2015 Foundation Acta Paediatrica. Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Brain connectivity associated with cascading levels of language.

PubMed

Richards, Todd; Nagy, William; Abbott, Robert; Berninger, Virginia

2016-01-01

Typical oral and written language learners (controls) (5 girls, 4 boys) completed fMRI reading judgment tasks (sub-word grapheme-phoneme, word spelling, sentences with and without spelling foils, affixed words, sentences with and without affix foils, and multi-sentence). Analyses identified connectivity within and across adjacent levels (units) of language in reading: from subword to word to syntax in Set I and from word to syntax to multi-sentence in Set II). Typicals were compared to (a) students with dyslexia (6 girls, 10 boys) on the subword and word tasks in Set I related to levels of language impaired in dyslexia, and (b) students with oral and written language learning disability (OWL LD) (3 girls, 2 boys) on the morphology and syntax tasks in Set II, related to levels of language impaired in OWL LD. Results for typical language learners showed that adjacent levels of language in the reading brain share common and unique connectivity. The dyslexia group showed over-connectivity to a greater degree on the imaging tasks related to their levels of language impairments than the OWL LD group who showed under-connectivity to a greater degree than did the dyslexia group on the imaging tasks related to their levels of language impairment. Results for these students in grades 4 to 9 (ages 9 to 14) are discussed in reference to the contribution of patterns of connectivity across levels of language to understanding the nature of persisting dyslexia and dysgraphia despite early intervention.

Oral Language and Listening Comprehension: Same or Different Constructs?

PubMed

2017-05-24

The purpose of this study was to add to our understanding of the dimensionality of oral language in children and to determine whether oral language and listening comprehension are separate constructs in children enrolled in preschool (PK) through 3rd grade. In the spring of the school year, children from 4 states (N = 1,869) completed multiple measures of oral language (i.e., expressive and receptive vocabulary and grammar) and listening comprehension as part of a larger study of the language bases of reading comprehension. Initial confirmatory factor analysis found evidence that measures of oral language and listening comprehension loaded on two separate factors in PK through 3rd grade; however, these factors were highly correlated at all grades. These results suggest that oral language and listening comprehension are best characterized as a single oral language construct in PK through 3rd grade. The implications for early identification and intervention are discussed.

Written cohesion in children with and without language learning disabilities.

PubMed

Koutsoftas, Anthony D; Petersen, Victoria

2017-09-01

Cohesion refers to the linguistic elements of discourse that contribute to its continuity and is an important element to consider as part of written language intervention, especially in children with language learning disabilities (LLD). There is substantial evidence that children with LLD perform more poorly than typically developing (TD) peers on measures of cohesion in spoken language and on written transcription measures; however, there is far less research comparing groups on cohesion as a measure of written language across genres. The current study addresses this gap through the following two aims. First, to describe and compare cohesion in narrative and expository writing samples of children with and without language learning disabilities. Second, to relate measures of cohesion to written transcription and translation measures, oral language, and writing quality. Fifty intermediate-grade children produced one narrative and one expository writing sample from which measures of written cohesion were obtained. These included the frequency, adequacy and complexity of referential and conjunctive ties. Expository samples resulted in more complex cohesive ties and children with TD used more complex ties than peers with LLD. Different relationships among cohesion measures and writing were observed for narrative verse expository samples. Findings from this study demonstrate cohesion as a discourse-level measure of written transcription and how the use of cohesion can vary by genre and group (LLD, TD). Clinical implications for assessment, intervention, and future research are provided. © 2016 Royal College of Speech and Language Therapists.

Oral language disorders and enuresis in children.

PubMed

Birenbaum, Thelma Kilinsky; Cunha, Maria Claudia

2010-01-01

Co-occurrence of oral language disorders and enuresis in children. To identify and analyze the relationship between instances of oral language disorders and enuresis in children. Clinical, quantitative and qualitative study, with a descriptive/interpretative outline, presented through two distinct situations. "Situation 1" refers to a group of 120 children between 3:0 and 10:0 years old, independently of gender and age, from a philanthropic Institution in Greater São Paulo. "Situation 2" refers specifically to the evaluation of children who have oral language disorders and enuresis. Results indicated that enuretic children present a higher percentage of oral language disorders when compared to non-enuretic children, especially phonological disorders and talking very little. These results support the studies on co-occurrence of enuresis and oral language disorders, presented in papers that attribute a bio-psychic etiology to this co-morbidity. Results indicated a relationship between enuresis and oral language disorders. Considering the interactions among language, body and psyche, it is suggested that speech therapists, when dealing with oral language disorders in children, also investigate the acquisition of their bladder sphincter control, in a bio-psychical approach.

Computerized Writing and Reading Instruction for Students in Grades 4 to 9 With Specific Learning Disabilities Affecting Written Language

PubMed Central

Tanimoto, Steven; Thompson, Rob; Berninger, Virginia W.; Nagy, William; Abbott, Robert D.

2015-01-01

Computer scientists and educational researchers evaluated effectiveness of computerized instruction tailored to evidence-based impairments in specific learning disabilities (SLDs) in students in grades 4 to 9 with persisting SLDs despite prior extra help. Following comprehensive, evidence-based differential diagnosis for dysgraphia (impaired handwriting), dyslexia (impaired word reading and spelling), and oral and written language learning disability (OWL LD), students completed 18 sessions of computerized instruction over about 3 months. The 11 students taught letter formation with sequential, numbered, colored arrow cues with full contours who wrote letters on lines added to iPAD screen showed more and stronger treatment effects than the 21 students taught using only visual motion cues for letter formation who wrote on an unlined computer monitor. Teaching to all levels of language in multiple functional language systems (by ear, eye, mouth, and hand) close in time resulted in significant gains in reading and writing skills for the group and in diagnosed SLD hallmark impairments for individuals; also, performance on computerized learning activities correlated with treatment gains. Results are discussed in reference to need for both accommodations and explicit instruction for persisting SLDs and the potential for computers to teach handwriting, morphophonemic orthographies, comprehension, and composition. PMID:26858470

Using English Language Arts to Teach a Song

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Cardany, Audrey Berger

2017-01-01

Music and reading domains require similar auditory processing skills. Students employ these skills when learning a new song through an oral/aural or rote-teaching approach. In this article, I review literature on the effectiveness of immersion and phrase-by-phrase approaches for teaching a song with or without words. Then, using an amusing…

Online Lexical Competition during Spoken Word Recognition and Word Learning in Children and Adults

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Henderson, Lisa; Weighall, Anna; Brown, Helen; Gaskell, Gareth

2013-01-01

Lexical competition that occurs as speech unfolds is a hallmark of adult oral language comprehension crucial to rapid incremental speech processing. This study used pause detection to examine whether lexical competition operates similarly at 7-8 years and tested variables that influence "online" lexical activity in adults. Children…

Literacy, Teaching and Learning: An International Journal of Early Literacy, 1996.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Literacy Teaching and Learning: An International Journal of Early Literacy, 1996

1996-01-01

Developed as a vehicle of communication for the Reading Recovery Council of North America, this journal represents an international effort to connect researchers, teachers, and all those interested in early literacy. Articles in the first issue of this second volume are: "Oral Language: Assessment and Development in Reading Recovery in the…

Listening: The Agent for Positive Change in ESL.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Vanasco, Lourdes C.

This paper discusses the importance of listening comprehension in the learning of English as a Second Language (ESL). It is argued that more emphasis needs to be given to the neglected skills of listening comprehension, since most training in oral communication at the secondary and college level focuses on effective speaking. The paper outlines…

Teaching Nonliterate Adults in Oral Cultures: Findings from Practitioners

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Thompson, LaNette W.

2015-01-01

Literacy is the gatekeeper to modern information. In the world today, approximately 740 million adults are excluded from adult education if that education uses literate instructional strategies. Nearly 3/4 of a billion adults, many of whom speak unwritten languages, do not use reading to learn new information nor share information through writing.…

Creativity in the English Class: Activities to Promote EFL Learning

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Avila, Hernán A.

2016-01-01

This article introduces a pedagogical intervention that includes a set of creative activities designed to improve the oral and written production of students in the English classroom, especially those who have shown a lack of interest or attention. It was observed that participants initially seemed careless about studying the language. Eventually…

Maturation of Rapid Auditory Temporal Processing and Subsequent Nonword Repetition Performance in Children

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Fox, Allison M.; Reid, Corinne L.; Anderson, Mike; Richardson, Cassandra; Bishop, Dorothy V. M.

2012-01-01

According to the rapid auditory processing theory, the ability to parse incoming auditory information underpins learning of oral and written language. There is wide variation in this low-level perceptual ability, which appears to follow a protracted developmental course. We studied the development of rapid auditory processing using event-related…

Teaching World Geography to Late-Arrival Immigrant Students: Highlighting Practice and Content

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Salinas, Cinthia; Franquiz, Maria E.; Reidel, Michelle

2008-01-01

In this case study, the work of an exemplary high school social studies teacher is highlighted. In her class, late-arrival immigrant students participated in oral, writing, and demonstration activities as they learned the physical, cultural, and historical traditions of geography education. As newcomers to the English language, the students'…

Spoken Oral Language and Adult Struggling Readers

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Bakhtiari, Dariush; Greenberg, Daphne; Patton-Terry, Nicole; Nightingale, Elena

2015-01-01

Oral language is a critical component to the development of reading acquisition. Much of the research concerning the relationship between oral language and reading ability is focused on children, while there is a paucity of research focusing on this relationship for adults who struggle with their reading. Oral language as defined in this paper…

Developing a Standard Based Advanced Lab Course that Fulfills COM3 Requirements

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Michalak, Rudi

2015-03-01

An advanced physics lab has been developed into a course that fulfills the requirements for a university studies program `COM3' course using Standard Teaching (ST) methods. The COM3 course is a capstone course under the new USP2015 study requirements for all majors. It replaces the WC writing requirement, typically filled in the English Dept., and adds the teaching of oral and digital communication skills. ST is a method that replaces typical assessments (homework / exam grades) with new assessments that measure certain specified learning outcomes. In combination with oral assessments and an oral final exam, the ST proves an efficient tool to implement the USP Learning Outcomes into a physics course. COM3 requires an unprecedented seven learning outcomes in a single course. Variety of learning outcomes: interdisciplinary goals, levels of writing (with drafting steps), organizational structure, standard language metrics, research and presentation deliverance skills, appropriate addressing of a variety of audiences, etc. With other assessment approaches than ST this variety would be difficult to meet in a physics course. An extended ST rubric has been developed for this course and will be presented and discussed in some detail.

Exploring Australian speech-language pathologists' use and perceptions ofnon-speech oral motor exercises.

PubMed

Rumbach, Anna F; Rose, Tanya A; Cheah, Mynn

2018-01-29

To explore Australian speech-language pathologists' use of non-speech oral motor exercises, and rationales for using/not using non-speech oral motor exercises in clinical practice. A total of 124 speech-language pathologists practising in Australia, working with paediatric and/or adult clients with speech sound difficulties, completed an online survey. The majority of speech-language pathologists reported that they did not use non-speech oral motor exercises when working with paediatric or adult clients with speech sound difficulties. However, more than half of the speech-language pathologists working with adult clients who have dysarthria reported using non-speech oral motor exercises with this population. The most frequently reported rationale for using non-speech oral motor exercises in speech sound difficulty management was to improve awareness/placement of articulators. The majority of speech-language pathologists agreed there is no clear clinical or research evidence base to support non-speech oral motor exercise use with clients who have speech sound difficulties. This study provides an overview of Australian speech-language pathologists' reported use and perceptions of non-speech oral motor exercises' applicability and efficacy in treating paediatric and adult clients who have speech sound difficulties. The research findings provide speech-language pathologists with insight into how and why non-speech oral motor exercises are currently used, and adds to the knowledge base regarding Australian speech-language pathology practice of non-speech oral motor exercises in the treatment of speech sound difficulties. Implications for Rehabilitation Non-speech oral motor exercises refer to oral motor activities which do not involve speech, but involve the manipulation or stimulation of oral structures including the lips, tongue, jaw, and soft palate. Non-speech oral motor exercises are intended to improve the function (e.g., movement, strength) of oral structures. The majority of speech-language pathologists agreed there is no clear clinical or research evidence base to support non-speech oral motor exercise use with clients who have speech sound disorders. Non-speech oral motor exercise use was most frequently reported in the treatment of dysarthria. Non-speech oral motor exercise use when targeting speech sound disorders is not widely endorsed in the literature.

Reading Aloud to Children: Benefits and Implications for Acquiring Literacy Before Schooling Begins.

PubMed

Massaro, Dominic W

2017-01-01

Extensive experience in written language might provide children the opportunity to learn to read in the same manner they learn spoken language. One potential type of written language immersion is reading aloud to children, which is additionally valuable because the vocabulary in picture books is richer and more extensive than that found in child-directed speech. This study continues a comparison between these 2 communication media by evaluating their relative linguistic and cognitive complexity. Although reading grade level has been used only to assess the complexity of written language, it was also applied to both child-directed and adult-directed speech. Five measures of reading grade level gave an average grade level of 4.2 for picture books, 1.9 for child-directed speech, and 3.0 for adult-directed speech. The language in picture books is more challenging than that found in both child-directed and adult-directed speech. It is proposed that this difference between written and spoken language is the formal versus informal genre of their occurrence rather than their text or oral medium. The value of reading books aloud therefore exposes children to a linguistic and cognitive complexity not typically found in speech to children.

First, You Have to Hear It! ESL Oral Language Practice

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

LeLoup, Jean W.; Ponterio, Robert

2005-01-01

There is no question that the development of oral language skills in second (as well as first) language learners is of prime importance. Language learners must focus on oral language proficiency because it is eventually the skill they will most use. But oracy in second language learners does not develop in a vacuum. It is inextricably intertwined…

The Grammar Movie Project

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kreutner, Edith

2015-01-01

In this case study, I will show how directing a movie on grammar can help students improve their oral skills as well as their language competency, team working and planning skills, and also teach them about learning itself. I will present an innovative teaching project that uses the medium of film to get students engaged with grammar and that aims…

Teaching with Stories as the Content and Context for Learning

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Vitali, Frances

2016-01-01

Undergraduate teacher education program students have the opportunity to work with diverse student populations in a local school district in the Four Corners Area in the Northwest part of New Mexico. The family oral history practicum is a way to connect theory and practice while recognizing the issue that language is not a neutral landscape. What…

An Experimental Study of the Effects of Listening on Speaking for College Students

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Zhang, Yan

2009-01-01

As China enters WTO, more college graduates with higher oral English proficiency are required. However, we learned that even students in some distinguished universities are lack of this ability. Based on her teaching experiences and the theory proposed by Krashen and some other well-know foreign languages teaching researchers, the author of this…

On Attitude and Language in Students' Talk and Their Impact on Students' Texts

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Lindahl, Mats Gunnar; Folkesson, Anne-Mari

2016-01-01

Students' learning is assumed to be promoted through peer-group discussion. Most studies show the presence of qualitative improvements in either oral or written reasoning as a result of such interactions. However, knowledge on the relationship between talk qualities and text qualities is scarce. We adopt an explorative design using statistical…

Measuring Explicit and Implicit Knowledge: A Psychometric Study in SLA

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ebadi, Mandana Rohollahzadeh; Abedalaziz, Nabeel; Saad, Mohd Rashid Mohd

2015-01-01

Lack of valid means of measuring explicit and implicit knowledge in acquisition of second language is a concern issue in investigations of explicit and implicit learning. This paper endeavors to validate the use of four tests (i.e., Untimed Judgment Grammatical Test, UJGT; Test of Metalinguistic Knowledge, TMK; Elicited Oral Imitation Test, EOIT;…

Interactive Book Reading in Early Education: A Tool to Stimulate Print Knowledge as Well as Oral Language

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Mol, Suzanne E.; Bus, Adriana G.; de Jong, Maria T.

2009-01-01

This meta-analysis examines to what extent interactive storybook reading stimulates two pillars of learning to read: vocabulary and print knowledge. The authors quantitatively reviewed 31 (quasi) experiments (n = 2,049 children) in which educators were trained to encourage children to be actively involved before, during, and after joint book…

Influence of Speech Anxiety on Oral Communication Skills among ESL/EFL Learners

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Khan, Said Muhammad

2015-01-01

The realization of speech anxiety among ESL/EFL learners is important. Once understood, these feelings of fear or nervousness may be relieved and the desired objectives of learning the target language may be achieved. The study has attempted to measure the level of anxiety among ESL/EFL learners at HITEC University, Taxila, Pakistan. The current…

Measuring Oral Proficiency in Distance, Face-to-Face, and Blended Classrooms

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Blake, Robert; Wilson, Nicole L.; Cetto, Maria; Pardo-Ballester, Cristina

2008-01-01

Although the foreign-language profession routinely stresses the importance of technology for the curriculum, many teachers still harbor deep-seated doubts as to whether or not a hybrid course, much less a completely distance-learning class, could provide L2 learners with a way to reach linguistic proficiency, especially with respect to oral…

Speaking and Writing, K-12: Classroom Strategies and the New Research.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Thaiss, Christopher J., Ed.; Suhor, Charles, Ed.

To translate the recent research in writing and oral communication into useful suggestions for classroom practice, to focus on ways teachers can help their students grow as writers and speakers, and to stress activities that do not isolate the language arts into units and sever skills from content learning, the articles in this book were prepared…

Pig in the Middle? Effects of Mediating Tasks on Cognitive Processing of Text.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Allison, Desmond; And Others

This study of second language learning investigated the effects of a written reading comprehension exercise and an oral discussion activity as alternative tasks mediating between a written text and learners' summaries of the text. Subjects were 80 University of Hong Kong freshmen, randomly assigned to three groups. Each group was provided a…

Oral and written language in late adulthood: findings from the Nun Study.

PubMed

Mitzner, Tracy L; Kemper, Susan

2003-01-01

As a part of the Nun Study, a longitudinal investigation of aging and Alzheimer's disease, oral and written autobiographies from 118 older women were analyzed to examine the relationship between spoken and written language. The written language samples were more complex than the oral samples, both conceptually and grammatically. The relationship between the linguistic measures and participant characteristics was also examined. The results suggest that the grammatical and conceptual characteristics of oral and written language are affected by participant differences in education, cognitive status, and physical function and that written language samples have greater power than oral language samples to differentiate between high- and low-ability older adults.

Examining the communication skills of a young cochlear implant pioneer.

PubMed

Connor, Carol McDonald

2006-01-01

The purpose of this longitudinal case study was to closely examine one deaf child's experience with a cochlear implant and his speech, language, and communication skills from kindergarten through middle and high school using both developmental and sociocultural frameworks. The target child was one of the first children to receive a cochlear implant in the United States in 1988, when he was 5 years of age. The developmental analysis revealed that prior to receiving a cochlear implant the child demonstrated profound delays in speech and language skill development. His speech and language skills grew slowly during the first 3-4 years following implantation, very rapidly from about 5 through 7 years postimplantation, then slowed to rates that were highly similar to same-age peers with normal hearing. The sociocultural analysis revealed that the child's communicative competence improved; that he used sign language but use of sign language decreased as his oral communication skills improved; that as his oral communication skills improved, the adults talked and directed the topic of conversation less frequently; and that topics became less concrete and more personal over time. The results of this study indicate that we may learn more about how to support children who use cochlear implants by examining what they are saying as well as how they are saying it.

Developing Oral Language Skills in Middle School English Learners

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Fisher, Douglas; Frey, Nancy

2018-01-01

Oral language development can help English learners develop academic proficiency with the English language. In this investigation, at one middle school, teachers focused on improving oral language skills. Using a formative experiment process, the teachers developed an intervention to accomplish their pedagogical goal and then tracked data to see…

The relationship between oral and written language.

PubMed

de Montfort Supple, M

1998-01-01

It has been agreed for some time now that reading is primarily a language-based activity and that deficits in oral language will be reflected in deficits in reading ability. This paper explores the association between specific aspects of oral and written language as reflected in current literature and research.

Effective Oral Language Development Strategies for Elementary Teachers

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kohler, Karen L.

2016-01-01

This action research study explored first and second grade classroom teachers' knowledge of oral language development and interventions for students at-risk of an oral language delay. This was accomplished through collaboration between a speech-language pathologist and classroom teachers. The data was aligned with assessments, the Response to…

Literacy learning in secondary school science classrooms: A cross-case analysis of three qualitative studies

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Dillon, Deborah R.; O'Brien, David G.; Moje, Elizabeth B.; Stewart, Roger A.

The purpose of this cross-case analysis is to illustrate how and why literacy was incorporated into science teaching and learning in three secondary classrooms. Research questions guiding the analysis include: (a) How were literacy events shaped by the teachers' philosophies about teaching science content and teaching students? and (b) How was literacy (reading, writing, and oral language) structured by the teachers and manifested in science lessons? The methodology of ethnography and the theoretical framework of symbolic interactionism were employed in the three studies on which the cross-case analysis was based. The researchers assumed the role of participant observers, collecting data over the period of 1 year in each of the three classrooms. Data, in the form of fieldnotes, interviews, and artifacts, were collected. In each study, data were analyzed using the constant comparative method (Glaser & Strauss, 1967) to determine patterns in the teachers' beliefs about learning and how these influenced their choice of literacy activities. The cross-case analysis was conducted to determine patterns across the three teachers and their classrooms. The findings from this analysis are used to compare how the teachers' philosophies of teaching science and their beliefs about how students learn influenced their use of literacy practices during lessons. Specifically, each teacher's use of literacy activities varied based on his or her beliefs about teaching science concepts. Furthermore, reading, writing, and oral language were important vehicles to learning science concepts within daily classroom activities in the three classrooms.Received: 1 April 1993; Revised: 30 August 1993;

The Memory Stack: New Technologies Harness Talking for Writing.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Gannon, Maureen T.

In this paper, an elementary school teacher describes her experiences with the Memory Stack--a HyperCard based tool that can accommodate a voice recording, a graphic image, and a written text on the same card--which she designed to help her second and third grade students integrate their oral language fluency into the process of learning how to…

What Is the Impact of Video Conferencing on the Teaching and Learning of a Foreign Language in Primary Education?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Gruson, Brigitte; Barnes, Francoise

2012-01-01

Under the French national project "1000 video conferencing systems for primary schools", a growing number of schools are being equipped of video conferencing systems. The assumption underlying this project is that, by putting students in a position to communicate with distant native speakers, it will enable them to improve their oral and…

Teaching Self-Determination and Arizona Standards for K-12 Students with Disabilities Lesson Plan Portfolio.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Libby, Amanda

This document presents eight lesson plans designed to teach self-determination and Arizona academic standards to students with disabilities in grades K-12. The lesson plans include: (1) an oral language lesson plan for students with learning disabilities in grades 1-2; (2) a reading acquisition lesson that teaches color words to students with…

Writing and Reading with Art: Adult Literacy, Transformation, and Learning

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Azevedo, Nair Rios; Goncalves, Maria Jose

2012-01-01

Especially in a time of economic and social crisis, besides poverty and social segregation, immigrants face an additional difficulty to get integrated in a new society: lack of oral and written knowledge of the language of the country they are now living in. This paper describes an on-going research project--Writing and Reading with Art (WRAP)…

Parents Helping Their Children Learn to Read: The Effectiveness of Paired Reading and Hearing Reading in a Developing Country Context

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Shah-Wundenberg, Mihika; Wyse, Dominic; Chaplain, Roland

2013-01-01

This paper reports research that investigated parental support for children's reading of English in an inner-city school in the developing country context of an Indian city, Ahmedabad. Children had oral proficiency in the regional language but were beginning to acquire conventional forms of literacy in English. Sociocultural mediation theory…

Latent Profiles of Reading and Language and Their Association with Standardized Reading Outcomes in Kindergarten through 10th Grade

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Foorman, Barbara R.; Petscher, Yaacov; Stanley, Christopher

2016-01-01

The idea of targeting reading instruction to profiles of students' strengths and weaknesses in component skills is central to teaching. However, these profiles are often based on unreliable descriptions of students' oral reading errors, text reading levels, or learning profiles. This research utilized latent profile analysis (LPA) to examine…

Effects of Automated Tier 2 Storybook Intervention on Vocabulary and Comprehension Learning in Preschool Children with Limited Oral Language Skills

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kelley, Elizabeth Spencer; Goldstein, Howard; Spencer, Trina D.; Sherman, Amber

2015-01-01

This early efficacy study examined the effects of an automated storybook intervention designed to promote school readiness among at-risk prekindergarten children. Story Friends is a small-group intervention in which vocabulary and question-answering lessons are embedded in a series of storybooks.A randomized group design with an embedded…

Assessment of Preschool Early Literacy Skills: Linking Children's Educational Needs with Empirically Supported Instructional Activities

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Lonigan, Christopher J.; Allan, Nicholas P.; Lerner, Matthew D.

2011-01-01

The importance of the preschool period in becoming a skilled reader is highlighted by a significant body of evidence that preschool children's development in the areas of oral language, phonological awareness, and print knowledge is predictive of how well they will learn to read once they are exposed to formal reading instruction in elementary…

The Educational Soundscape: Participation and Perception in Japanese High School English Lessons

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Meacham, Sarah S.

2007-01-01

In this article I discuss the emergence of practices of "hearing" in the midst of English language learning activities. I focus on listening activities during oral English lessons at two public high schools in Tokyo, Japan. One setting is a liberal arts high school. The other is a technical high school where students are trained in…

A developmental perspective on reading dysfunction: accuracy and rate criteria in the subtyping of dyslexic children.

PubMed

Lovett, M W

1984-05-01

Children referred with specific reading dysfunction were subtyped as accuracy disabled or rate disabled according to criteria developed from an information processing model of reading skill. Multiple measures of oral and written language development were compared for two subtyped samples matched on age, sex, and IQ. The two samples were comparable in reading fluency, reading comprehension, word knowledge, and word retrieval functions. Accuracy disabled readers demonstrated inferior decoding and spelling skills. The accuracy disabled sample proved deficient in their understanding of oral language structure and in their ability to associate unfamiliar pseudowords and novel symbols in a task designed to simulate some of the learning involved in initial reading acquisition. It was suggested that these two samples of disabled readers may be best described with respect to their relative standing along a theoretical continuum of normal reading development.

The Genetic Architecture of Oral Language, Reading Fluency, and Reading Comprehension: A Twin Study From 7 to 16 Years

PubMed Central

2017-01-01

This study examines the genetic and environmental etiology underlying the development of oral language and reading skills, and the relationship between them, over a long period of developmental time spanning middle childhood and adolescence. It focuses particularly on the differential relationship between language and two different aspects of reading: reading fluency and reading comprehension. Structural equation models were applied to language and reading data at 7, 12, and 16 years from the large-scale TEDS twin study. A series of multivariate twin models show a clear patterning of oral language with reading comprehension, as distinct from reading fluency: significant but moderate genetic overlap between oral language and reading fluency (genetic correlation rg = .46–.58 at 7, 12, and 16) contrasts with very substantial genetic overlap between oral language and reading comprehension (rg = .81–.87, at 12 and 16). This pattern is even clearer in a latent factors model, fit to the data aggregated across ages, in which a single factor representing oral language and reading comprehension is correlated with—but distinct from—a second factor representing reading fluency. A distinction between oral language and reading fluency is also apparent in different developmental trajectories: While the heritability of oral language increases over the period from 7 to 12 to 16 years (from h2 = .27 to .47 to .55), the heritability of reading fluency is high and largely stable over the same period of time (h2 = .73 to .71 to .64). PMID:28541066

The genetic architecture of oral language, reading fluency, and reading comprehension: A twin study from 7 to 16 years.

PubMed

Tosto, Maria G; Hayiou-Thomas, Marianna E; Harlaar, Nicole; Prom-Wormley, Elizabeth; Dale, Philip S; Plomin, Robert

2017-06-01

This study examines the genetic and environmental etiology underlying the development of oral language and reading skills, and the relationship between them, over a long period of developmental time spanning middle childhood and adolescence. It focuses particularly on the differential relationship between language and two different aspects of reading: reading fluency and reading comprehension. Structural equation models were applied to language and reading data at 7, 12, and 16 years from the large-scale TEDS twin study. A series of multivariate twin models show a clear patterning of oral language with reading comprehension, as distinct from reading fluency: significant but moderate genetic overlap between oral language and reading fluency (genetic correlation r g = .46-.58 at 7, 12, and 16) contrasts with very substantial genetic overlap between oral language and reading comprehension (r g = .81-.87, at 12 and 16). This pattern is even clearer in a latent factors model, fit to the data aggregated across ages, in which a single factor representing oral language and reading comprehension is correlated with-but distinct from-a second factor representing reading fluency. A distinction between oral language and reading fluency is also apparent in different developmental trajectories: While the heritability of oral language increases over the period from 7 to 12 to 16 years (from h² = .27 to .47 to .55), the heritability of reading fluency is high and largely stable over the same period of time (h² = .73 to .71 to .64). (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2017 APA, all rights reserved).

An overview of learning disabilities: psychoeducational perspectives.

PubMed

Johnson, D J

1995-01-01

In general, people with learning disabilities are a heterogeneous population that require a multidisciplinary evaluation and careful, well-planned intervention. Despite this heterogeneity, patterns of problems often co-occur. Therefore, diagnosticians and educators should look beyond single areas of achievement such as reading or arithmetic. In addition, problems in one area of learning typically have secondary impacts on higher levels of learning. That is, comprehension problems typically interfere with expression. Every effort should be made to examine patterns of problems and to avoid fragmentation of services so that each area of underachievement is not treated separately. Although learning disabilities usually interfere with school performance, they are not simply academic handicaps. They interfere with certain social activities as well as occupational pursuits. In many instances, they impact on mental health and self-esteem. Therefore, students need multiple services. And, as emphasized throughout this journal issue, learning disabled individuals may have comorbid conditions such as attention deficit disorder, depression, and neurologic problems. Furthermore, the problems may change over time. Children may first be identified because of language comprehension problems but later have reading or mathematics difficulty. With intervention, oral expressive problems may be alleviated but may be manifested later in written language.

[Early development of language in small children with autism spectrum disorder using alternative systems].

PubMed

Fortea-Sevilla, M Sol; Escandell-Bermúdez, M Olga; Castro-Sánchez, José Juan; Martos-Pérez, Juan

2015-02-25

The latest research findings show the importance of early intervention in children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) in all areas of development, including language. The use of augmentative and alternative communication systems (AACS) favors linguistic and communicative development. To show the effectiveness of AACS to develop oral language in non-verbal toddlers diagnosed with ASD. Thirty children (25 males and 5 females) diagnosed with ASD when they were between 18 and 30 months of age, through the instruments ADOS and ADIR. None of them displayed oral language development at the time of assessment. An intervention program in the area of language was designed based on the use of total communication by the therapist and training the child in the Picture Exchange Communication System (PECS). One year later, the formal aspects of language were assessed with the PLON-R because oral language had been developed. All the children had developed oral language to some extent over a one-year period. Early intervention and the use of AACS with visual props favor the development of oral language in children with ASD in the first years of life.

Interrelationship between learning English language and students' medical education.

PubMed

Milosavljević, Natasa

2008-01-01

Medical students and researchers need to learn English, not only because it is the means of teaching and learning, but also because its knowledge is necessary in their research activities. The objective of this study was to determine the importance of the study of English language learning for student medical education. The investigation was carried out among students of the Medical Faculty of Nis in 2006. The investigation included 312 students of all years of study and departments and was conducted using a questionnaire. Average rate in writing skill was 4.64 +/- 0.6, in speaking skill 4.62 +/- 0.6, while the students of the College of Nursing showed significantly lower average value. The average value of learning the foreign language was: writing (3.161 +/- .09); speaking (3.27 +/- 1.1); reading (3.84 +/- 1.0) and understanding (3.85 +/- 1.1). The students of the College of Nursing showed significantly lower grades in comparison to the other three Departments. The comparison analysis was done in order to determine the relation of writing and speaking skills in mother tongue and foreign language. As for the English language, the relation of writing and speaking skills was very strong (Pearson C = 0.641, p < 0.01), while in the mother tongue it was slightly lower (Pearson C = 0.44, p < 0.01). The percentage of students satisfied with their economic status was 55% and with social status 79%. The writing and speaking skills in the mother tongue and in English were significantly positively associated with students' satisfaction with their social and economic status, while satisfaction with achievements at the Faculty was associated only with the ability of verbal expression in the mother tongue. The students' satisfaction with their social and economic status was mostly associated with good oral skills in English, which indicates that good knowledge of a foreign language is of great influence on the status of an individual in a society.

Foreign Language Tutoring in Oral Conversations Using Spoken Dialog Systems

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lee, Sungjin; Noh, Hyungjong; Lee, Jonghoon; Lee, Kyusong; Lee, Gary Geunbae

Although there have been enormous investments into English education all around the world, not many differences have been made to change the English instruction style. Considering the shortcomings for the current teaching-learning methodology, we have been investigating advanced computer-assisted language learning (CALL) systems. This paper aims at summarizing a set of POSTECH approaches including theories, technologies, systems, and field studies and providing relevant pointers. On top of the state-of-the-art technologies of spoken dialog system, a variety of adaptations have been applied to overcome some problems caused by numerous errors and variations naturally produced by non-native speakers. Furthermore, a number of methods have been developed for generating educational feedback that help learners develop to be proficient. Integrating these efforts resulted in intelligent educational robots — Mero and Engkey — and virtual 3D language learning games, Pomy. To verify the effects of our approaches on students' communicative abilities, we have conducted a field study at an elementary school in Korea. The results showed that our CALL approaches can be enjoyable and fruitful activities for students. Although the results of this study bring us a step closer to understanding computer-based education, more studies are needed to consolidate the findings.

Oral-diadochokinesis rates across languages: English and Hebrew norms.

PubMed

Icht, Michal; Ben-David, Boaz M

2014-01-01

Oro-facial and speech motor control disorders represent a variety of speech and language pathologies. Early identification of such problems is important and carries clinical implications. A common and simple tool for gauging the presence and severity of speech motor control impairments is oral-diadochokinesis (oral-DDK). Surprisingly, norms for adult performance are missing from the literature. The goals of this study were: (1) to establish a norm for oral-DDK rate for (young to middle-age) adult English speakers, by collecting data from the literature (five studies, N=141); (2) to investigate the possible effect of language (and culture) on oral-DDK performance, by analyzing studies conducted in other languages (five studies, N=140), alongside the English norm; and (3) to find a new norm for adult Hebrew speakers, by testing 115 speakers. We first offer an English norm with a mean of 6.2syllables/s (SD=.8), and a lower boundary of 5.4syllables/s that can be used to indicate possible abnormality. Next, we found significant differences between four tested languages (English, Portuguese, Farsi and Greek) in oral-DDK rates. Results suggest the need to set language and culture sensitive norms for the application of the oral-DDK task world-wide. Finally, we found the oral-DDK performance for adult Hebrew speakers to be 6.4syllables/s (SD=.8), not significantly different than the English norms. This implies possible phonological similarities between English and Hebrew. We further note that no gender effects were found in our study. We recommend using oral-DDK as an important tool in the speech language pathologist's arsenal. Yet, application of this task should be done carefully, comparing individual performance to a set norm within the specific language. Readers will be able to: (1) identify the Speech-Language Pathologist assessment process using the oral-DDK task, by comparing an individual performance to the present English norm, (2) describe the impact of language on oral-DDK performance, and (3) accurately detect Hebrew speakers' patients using this tool. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

The Effects of Audio-Visual Recorded and Audio Recorded Listening Tasks on the Accuracy of Iranian EFL Learners' Oral Production

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Drood, Pooya; Asl, Hanieh Davatgari

2016-01-01

The ways in which task in classrooms has developed and proceeded have receive great attention in the field of language teaching and learning in the sense that they draw attention of learners to the competing features such as accuracy, fluency, and complexity. English audiovisual and audio recorded materials have been widely used by teachers and…

High School Students' Topic Preferences and Oral Development in an English-Only Short-Term Intensive Language Program

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hsieh, Hui-Chen

2016-01-01

Developing the ability to speak English is a daunting task that has long been omitted in a test-driven pedagogy context (Chang, 2011; Li, 2012a, 2012b; Chen & Tsai, 2012; Katchen, 1989, 1995). Since speaking is not tested for school admissions, most students are not motivated to learn it (Chang, 2011; Chen & Tsai, 2012). Now, globalization…

Systematic Replication of the Effects of a Supplementary, Technology-Assisted, Storybook Intervention for Preschool Children with Weak Vocabulary and Comprehension Skills

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Greenwood, Charles R.; Carta, Judith J.; Kelley, Elizabeth S.; Guerrero, Gabriela; Kong, Na Young; Atwater, Jane; Goldstein, Howard

2016-01-01

In 2013, Spencer, Goldstein, Sherman, et al. reported the promising effects of a supplemental, technology-assisted, storybook intervention (Tier 2) containing embedded instruction targeting the oral language learning of preschool children at risk for delays. We sought to advance knowledge of the intervention by replicating it in a new sample and…

Reading, Comprehension, and Memory Processes: Abstracts of Doctoral Dissertations Published in "Dissertation Abstracts International," July through September 1977 (Vol. 38 Nos. 1 through 3).

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

ERIC Clearinghouse on Reading and Communication Skills, Urbana, IL.

This collection of abstracts is part of a continuing series providing information on recent doctoral dissertations. The 14 titles deal with the following topics: children's ability to read their own dictated oral language; adjunct structure and reading comprehension; learning and comprehension of simultaneously presented stimuli in children of…

Perception of chemesthetic stimuli in groups who differ by food involvement and culinary experience.

PubMed

Byrnes, Nadia; Loss, Christopher R; Hayes, John E

2015-12-01

In the English language, there is generally a limited lexicon when referring to the sensations elicited by chemesthetic stimuli like capsaicin, allyl isothiocyanate, and eugenol, the orally irritating compounds found in chiles, wasabi, and cloves, respectively. Elsewhere, experts and novices have been shown to use language differently, with experts using more precise language. Here, we compare perceptual maps and word usage across three cohorts: experts with formal culinary education, naïve individuals with high Food Involvement Scale (FIS) scores, and naïve individuals with low FIS scores. We hypothesized that increased experience with foods, whether through informal experiential learning or formal culinary education, would have a significant influence on the perceptual maps generated from a sorting task conducted with chemesthetic stimuli, as well as on language use in a descriptive follow-up task to this sorting task. The low- and highFIS non-expert cohorts generated significantly similar maps, though in other respects the highFIS cohort was an intermediate between the lowFIS and expert cohorts. The highFIS and expert cohorts generated more attributes but used language more idiosyncratically than the lowFIS group. Overall, the results from the expert group with formal culinary education differed from the two naïve cohorts both in the perceptual map generated using MDS as well as the mean number of attributes generated. Present data suggest that both formal education and informal experiential learning result in lexical development, but the level and type of learning can have a significant influence on language use and the approach to a sorting task.

Perception of chemesthetic stimuli in groups who differ by food involvement and culinary experience

PubMed Central

Byrnes, Nadia; Loss, Christopher R.; Hayes, John E.

2015-01-01

In the English language, there is generally a limited lexicon when referring to the sensations elicited by chemesthetic stimuli like capsaicin, allyl isothiocyanate, and eugenol, the orally irritating compounds found in chiles, wasabi, and cloves, respectively. Elsewhere, experts and novices have been shown to use language differently, with experts using more precise language. Here, we compare perceptual maps and word usage across three cohorts: experts with formal culinary education, naïve individuals with high Food Involvement Scale (FIS) scores, and naïve individuals with low FIS scores. We hypothesized that increased experience with foods, whether through informal experiential learning or formal culinary education, would have a significant influence on the perceptual maps generated from a sorting task conducted with chemesthetic stimuli, as well as on language use in a descriptive follow-up task to this sorting task. The low- and highFIS non-expert cohorts generated significantly similar maps, though in other respects the highFIS cohort was an intermediate between the lowFIS and expert cohorts. The highFIS and expert cohorts generated more attributes but used language more idiosyncratically than the lowFIS group. Overall, the results from the expert group with formal culinary education differed from the two naïve cohorts both in the perceptual map generated using MDS as well as the mean number of attributes generated. Present data suggest that both formal education and informal experiential learning result in lexical development, but the level and type of learning can have a significant influence on language use and the approach to a sorting task. PMID:26516297

Integrated language education - a means of enhancing engineers' social competences

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lappalainen, P.

2010-08-01

The changes facing industries are necessitating a concomitant change in university curriculum. Before instigating a reform, however, education providers need to acquire an understanding of the most pertinent development needs essential for filling industrial competence gaps. The Language Centre at the Helsinki University of Technology in Finland set out to respond to the emerging competence demands by examining industrial requirements through previous research and stakeholder analyses. Surveys conducted among employers and students corroborated a need to shift focus towards oral communication abilities. More specifically, university education needs to address interaction skills essential in meetings and managerial tasks. As a result, a so-called integrated language course was designed and piloted to train students into multi-disciplinary, culturally and ethically aware communicators who possess leveraged self-leadership and managerial abilities. 'Organisational Communications' integrates substance matters such as finance, strategy, leadership and ethics into a language course, while harnessing the English language as a tool. Course methodology is based on project- and problem-based learning and situational learning, rooting the students in real working life by imitating authentic corporate cases and industrial contexts. The course aims to provide the students with preparedness, ability and mindset to deal with working life challenges and ways of working while applying their specialist discourse, that is, the appropriate industrial jargon and linguistic practices. The learning outcomes and student feedback from this course indicate that the pedagogy in use in this experiment, drawing from exercises emulating authentic, industrial problems, offers an effective method of preparing students for working life requirements.

The Use of Technology as an Oral Achievement Testing Tool: Analysis of Students' Perceptions and Oral Performance in a Portuguese Language Program

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Santana-Paixao, Raquel C.

2017-01-01

Oral testing administration plays a significant role in foreign language programs aiming to foster the development of students' speaking abilities. With the development of language teaching software, the use of computer based recording tools are becoming increasingly used in language courses as an alternative to traditional face-to-face oral…

Redefining Individual Growth and Development Indicators: Oral Language

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Bradfield, Tracy A.; Besner, Amanda C.; Wackerle-Hollman, Alisha K.; Albano, Anthony D.; Rodriguez, Michael C.; McConnell, Scott R.

2014-01-01

Language skills developed during preschool contribute strongly to later reading and academic achievement. Effective preschool assessment and intervention should focus on core components of language development, specifically oral language skills. The Early Language and Literacy Individual Growth and Development Indicators (IGDIs) are a set of…

Supporting Children's Oral Language Development in the Preschool Classroom

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Whorrall, Jennifer; Cabell, Sonia Q.

2016-01-01

Supporting children's oral language development during the preschool years is critical for later reading success. Research shows that preschool teachers may be missing opportunities to engage children in the kinds of conversations that foster the development of rich oral language skills. Teachers hoping to support these skills can provide children…

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

PubMed

Goodrich, J Marc; Lonigan, Christopher J

2017-08-01

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 proficiency model for the early literacy skills of Spanish-speaking language-minority children using confirmatory factor analysis. Eight hundred fifty-eight Spanish-speaking language-minority preschoolers (mean age = 60.83 months, 50.2% female) participated in this study. Results indicated that bifactor models that consisted of language-independent as well as language-specific early literacy factors provided the best fits to the data for children's phonological awareness and print knowledge skills. Correlated factors models that only included skills specific to Spanish and English provided the best fits to the data for children's oral language skills. Children's language-independent early literacy skills were significantly related across constructs and to language-specific aspects of early literacy. Language-specific aspects of early literacy skills were significantly related within but not across languages. These findings suggest that language-minority preschoolers have a common underlying proficiency for code-related skills but not language-related skills that may allow them to transfer knowledge across languages.

Gestalt Imagery: A Critical Factor in Language Comprehension.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Bell, Nanci

1991-01-01

Lack of gestalt imagery (the ability to create imaged wholes) can contribute to language comprehension disorder characterized by weak reading comprehension, weak oral language comprehension, weak oral language expression, weak written language expression, difficulty following directions, and a weak sense of humor. Sequential stimulation using an…

Health literacy in the "oral exchange": an important element of patient-provider communication.

PubMed

Nouri, Sarah S; Rudd, Rima E

2015-05-01

Oral communication between health care providers and patients--the "oral exchange"--greatly impacts patient health outcomes; however, only recently have health literacy inquiries been incorporated into this field. This review examines the intersection between oral and aural literacy and the oral exchange. A systematic literature search was carried out. Papers published in English since 2003 that specifically examine oral/aural literacy and oral patient-provider communication were included. The search yielded 999 articles, 12 of which were included in this review. Three tools have been developed to measure either patient or provider oral/aural literacy. There is a discrepancy between patient and provider oral/aural literacy levels, and high literacy demand is associated with reduced patient learning. Low patient oral/aural literacy is associated with poor health outcomes. Two interventions have been developed to reduce literacy demand. This review demonstrates the critical role of oral and aural literacy in the oral exchange, the importance of reducing literacy demand, and the need for future research in this field. Recommendations include the use of plain language and teach-back by providers, as well as incorporation of awareness of oral and aural literacy into community programs and health care provider education and training. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

Expanding the developmental models of writing: A direct and indirect effects model of developmental writing (DIEW)

PubMed Central

Kim, Young-Suk Grace; Schatschneider, Christopher

2016-01-01

We investigated direct and indirect effects of component skills on writing (DIEW) using data from 193 children in Grade 1. In this model, working memory was hypothesized to be a foundational cognitive ability for language and cognitive skills as well as transcription skills, which, in turn, contribute to writing. Foundational oral language skills (vocabulary and grammatical knowledge) and higher-order cognitive skills (inference and theory of mind) were hypothesized to be component skills of text generation (i.e., discourse-level oral language). Results from structural equation modeling largely supported a complete mediation model among four variations of the DIEW model. Discourse-level oral language, spelling, and handwriting fluency completely mediated the relations of higher-order cognitive skills, foundational oral language, and working memory to writing. Moreover, language and cognitive skills had both direct and indirect relations to discourse-level oral language. Total effects, including direct and indirect effects, were substantial for discourse-level oral language (.46), working memory (.43), and spelling (.37), followed by vocabulary (.19), handwriting (.17), theory of mind (.12), inference (.10), and grammatical knowledge (.10). The model explained approximately 67% of variance in writing quality. These results indicate that multiple language and cognitive skills make direct and indirect contributions, and it is important to consider both direct and indirect pathways of influences when considering skills that are important to writing. PMID:28260812

Language in Early Childhood Education.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Cazden, Courtney B., Ed.

Eight articles about oral language education for preschool children are presented. They are: (1) a point of view on oral language education--"Suggestions from Studies of Early Language Acquisition,""Language Programs for Young Children: Notes from England and Wales," and "The Issue of Structure," by Courtney Cazden; (2) suggestions for curriculum…

Spoken Spanish Language Development at the High School Level: A Mixed-Methods Study

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Moeller, Aleidine J.; Theiler, Janine

2014-01-01

Communicative approaches to teaching language have emphasized the centrality of oral proficiency in the language acquisition process, but research investigating oral proficiency has been surprisingly limited, yielding an incomplete understanding of spoken language development. This study investigated the development of spoken language at the high…

Concurrent and Construct Validity of Oral Language Measures with School-Age Children with Specific Language Impairment

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hoffman, LaVae M.; Loeb, Diane Frome; Brandel, Jayne; Gillam, Ronald B.

2011-01-01

Purpose: This study investigated the psychometric properties of 2 oral language measures that are commonly used for diagnostic purposes with school-age children who have language impairments. Method: Two hundred sixteen children with specific language impairment were assessed with the Test of Language Development--Primary, Third Edition (TOLD-P:3;…

Linguistic Interdependence between Spanish Language and English Language and Reading: A Longitudinal Exploration from Second through Fifth Grade

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Proctor, C. Patrick; Harring, Jeffrey R.; Silverman, Rebecca D.

2017-01-01

This study explored effects of Spanish oral language skills (vocabulary and syntax) on the development of English oral language skills (vocabulary, morphology, semantics, syntax) and reading comprehension among 156 bilingual Latino children in second through fifth grade whose first language was Spanish and whose second language was English. Using…

A cross-linguistic study of the development of gesture and speech in Zulu and French oral narratives.

PubMed

Kunene Nicolas, Ramona; Guidetti, Michèle; Colletta, Jean-Marc

2017-01-01

The present study reports on a developmental and cross-linguistic study of oral narratives produced by speakers of Zulu (a Bantu language) and French (a Romance language). Specifically, we focus on oral narrative performance as a bimodal (i.e., linguistic and gestural) behaviour during the late language acquisition phase. We analyzed seventy-two oral narratives produced by L1 Zulu and French adults and primary school children aged between five and ten years old. The data were all collected using a narrative retelling task. The results revealed a strong effect of age on discourse performance, confirming that narrative abilities improve with age, irrespective of language. However, the results also showed cross-linguistic differences. Zulu oral narratives were longer, more detailed, and accompanied by more co-speech gestures than the French narratives. The parallel effect of age and language on gestural behaviour is discussed and highlights the importance of studying oral narratives from a multimodal perspective within a cross-linguistic framework.

Using Children's Folksongs to Transition Beginning Readers from the Familiar Structure of Oral Language to the Structure of Written Language.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Rietz, Sandra A.

Children will meet one less obstacle to making the transition from spoken to written fluency in language if, during the transition period, they experience written language that corresponds structurally to their spoken language patterns. Familiar children's folksongs, because they contain some of the structure of children's oral language, provide…

The Multiple Role of Oral Language Assessment: Language Status, Research, and Curriculum Development.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Matluck, Joseph H.

An oral language assessment test not only can determine the relative proficiency of a child in one or more languages and his or her language preference, but also can provide diagnostic information as to the child's strengths and weaknesses in each language. This information can serve as a guide to curriculum development and to prescriptive…

Examining the Reliability and Validity of ADEPT and CELDT: Comparing Two Assessments of Oral Language Proficiency for English Language Learners

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Chavez, Gina

2013-01-01

Few classroom measures of English language proficiency have been evaluated for reliability and validity. This research examined the concurrent and predictive validity of an oral language test, titled A Developmental English Language Proficiency Test (ADEPT), and the relationship to the California English Language Development Test (CELDT) in the…

Pathway Towards Fluency: Using 'disaggregate instruction' to promote science literacy

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Brown, Bryan A.; Ryoo, Kihyun; Rodriguez, Jamie

2010-07-01

This study examines the impact of Disaggregate Instruction on students' science learning. Disaggregate Instruction is the idea that science teaching and learning can be separated into conceptual and discursive components. Using randomly assigned experimental and control groups, 49 fifth-grade students received web-based science lessons on photosynthesis using our experimental approach. We supplemented quantitative statistical comparisons of students' performance on pre- and post-test questions (multiple choice and short answer) with a qualitative analysis of students' post-test interviews. The results revealed that students in the experimental group outscored their control group counterparts across all measures. In addition, students taught using the experimental method demonstrated an improved ability to write using scientific language as well as an improved ability to provide oral explanations using scientific language. This study has important implications for how science educators can prepare teachers to teach diverse student populations.

The union of narrative and executive function: different but complementary

PubMed Central

Friend, Margaret; Bates, Raven Phoenix

2014-01-01

Oral narrative production develops dramatically from 3 to 5 years of age, and is a key factor in a child's ability to communicate about the world. Concomitant with this are developments in executive function (EF). For example, executive attention and behavioral inhibition show marked development beginning around 4 years of age. Both EF and oral narrative abilities have important implications for academic success, but the relationship between them is not well understood. The present paper utilizes a cross-lagged design to assess convergent and predictive relations between EF and narrative ability. As a collateral measure, we collected a Language Sample during 10 min of free play. Language Sample did not share significant variance with Narrative Production, thus general language growth from Wave 1 to Wave 2 cannot account for the predictive relations between EF and Narrative. Our findings suggest that although EF and Narrative ability appear independent at each Wave, they nevertheless support each other over developmental time. Specifically, the ability to maintain focus at 4 years supports subsequent narrative ability and narrative ability at 4 years supports subsequent facility and speed in learning and implementing new rules. PMID:24872811

Primary Discourse and Expressive Oral Language in a Kindergarten Student

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Fiano, Darcy A.

2014-01-01

This seven-month ethnographic case study elucidated a kindergarten student's navigation through her first formal schooling experience with relation to expressive oral language. Gee's theory of Discourses and methodology of discourse analysis were used to examine expressive oral language in use. Two discursive contexts germane to…

Building Oral Language and Vocabulary through the Use of Literature

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

McCorquodale, Gwenyth J.; Kirkland, Lynn

2006-01-01

Children are coming to classrooms across the United States with a need to develop their oral language. With the increased promotion of the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001, commercialized programs are being provided for teachers to use to build oral language in their students. The authors believe that schools and teachers can best enhance…

Home Literacy Environments and Young Hispanic Children's English and Spanish Oral Language: A Communality Analysis

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Gonzalez, Jorge E.; Uhing, Brad M.

2008-01-01

The authors examine dimensions of the home literacy environment relative to oral language outcomes for high-risk Hispanic children. They also illustrate the use of commonality analysis for understanding the contribution of home literacy to oral language outcomes. Forty-eight children and their families participated in the study. Commonality…

Assessing Young Children's Oral Language: Recommendations for Classroom Practice and Policy

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Malec, Alesia; Peterson, Shelley Stagg; Elshereif, Heba

2017-01-01

A systematic review of research on oral language assessments for four-to-eight-year- old children was undertaken to support a six-year action research project aimed toward co-creating classroom oral language assessment tools with teachers in northern rural and Indigenous Canadian communities. Through an extensive screening process, 10 studies were…

Oral Language and Listening Comprehension: Same or Different Constructs?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Journal of Speech, Language, and Hearing Research, 2017

2017-01-01

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to add to our understanding of the dimensionality of oral language in children and to determine whether oral language and listening comprehension are separate constructs in children enrolled in preschool (PK) through 3rd grade. Method: In the spring of the school year, children from 4 states (N = 1,869)…

The Role of Oral Language Skills in Reading and Listening Comprehension of Text: A Comparison of Monolingual (L1) and Bilingual (L2) Speakers of English Language

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Babayigit, Selma

2014-01-01

The study examined the role of oral language skills in reading comprehension and listening comprehension levels of 125 monolingual (L1) and bilingual (L2) English-speaking learners (M = 121.5 months, SD = 4.65) in England. All testing was conducted in English. The L1 learners outperformed their L2 peers on the measures of oral language and text…

Oral and Written Language and the Cognitive Processes of Children

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Olson, David R.

1977-01-01

Looks at the structures of childrens' oral language or "mother tongue" and the structures of adult literate prose and emphasizes the alternate conceptions of reality that those languages sustain. (MH)

The Structure of Oral Language and Reading and Their Relation to Comprehension in Kindergarten through Grade 2

PubMed Central

Foorman, Barbara R.; Herrera, Sarah; Petscher, Yaacov; Mitchell, Alison; Truckenmiller, Adrea

2016-01-01

This study examined the structure of oral language and reading and their relation to comprehension from a latent variable modeling perspective in Kindergarten, Grade 1, and Grade 2. Participants were students in Kindergarten (n = 218), Grade 1 (n = 372), and Grade 2 (n = 273), attending Title 1 schools. Students were administered phonological awareness, syntax, vocabulary, listening comprehension, and decoding fluency measures in mid-year. Outcome measures included a listening comprehension measure in Kindergarten and a reading comprehension test in Grades1 and 2. In Kindergarten, oral language (consisting of listening comprehension, syntax, and vocabulary) shared variance with phonological awareness in predicting a listening comprehension outcome. However, in Grades 1 and 2, phonological awareness was no longer predictive of reading comprehension when decoding fluency and oral language were included in the model. In Grades 1 and 2, oral language and decoding fluency were significant predictors of reading comprehension. PMID:27660395

What Is the Criterion of Interest in Identifying Limited-English Speaking Students: Language Dominance or Proficiency?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Estes, Gary D.; Estes, Carole

The issue of using language proficiency or language dominance to assess programs for high school students with limited English speaking backgrounds is addressed. The development and initial analyses of the Competency Based Oral Language Assessment (COLA) are discussed. Three components of oral language are rated separately: semantics; syntax and…

Home Literacy Environment and Its Influence on Singaporean Children's Chinese Oral and Written Language Abilities

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Li, Li; Tan, Chee Lay

2016-01-01

In a bilingual environment such as Singaporean Chinese community, the challenge of maintaining Chinese language and sustaining Chinese culture lies in promoting the daily use of Chinese language in oral and written forms among children. Ample evidence showed the effect of the home language and literacy environment (HLE), on children's language and…

The effects of sign language on spoken language acquisition in children with hearing loss: a systematic review protocol.

PubMed

Fitzpatrick, Elizabeth M; Stevens, Adrienne; Garritty, Chantelle; Moher, David

2013-12-06

Permanent childhood hearing loss affects 1 to 3 per 1000 children and frequently disrupts typical spoken language acquisition. Early identification of hearing loss through universal newborn hearing screening and the use of new hearing technologies including cochlear implants make spoken language an option for most children. However, there is no consensus on what constitutes optimal interventions for children when spoken language is the desired outcome. Intervention and educational approaches ranging from oral language only to oral language combined with various forms of sign language have evolved. Parents are therefore faced with important decisions in the first months of their child's life. This article presents the protocol for a systematic review of the effects of using sign language in combination with oral language intervention on spoken language acquisition. Studies addressing early intervention will be selected in which therapy involving oral language intervention and any form of sign language or sign support is used. Comparison groups will include children in early oral language intervention programs without sign support. The primary outcomes of interest to be examined include all measures of auditory, vocabulary, language, speech production, and speech intelligibility skills. We will include randomized controlled trials, controlled clinical trials, and other quasi-experimental designs that include comparator groups as well as prospective and retrospective cohort studies. Case-control, cross-sectional, case series, and case studies will be excluded. Several electronic databases will be searched (for example, MEDLINE, EMBASE, CINAHL, PsycINFO) as well as grey literature and key websites. We anticipate that a narrative synthesis of the evidence will be required. We will carry out meta-analysis for outcomes if clinical similarity, quantity and quality permit quantitative pooling of data. We will conduct subgroup analyses if possible according to severity/type of hearing disorder, age of identification, and type of hearing technology. This review will provide evidence on the effectiveness of using sign language in combination with oral language therapies for developing spoken language in children with hearing loss who are identified at a young age. The information from this review can provide guidance to parents and intervention specialists, inform policy decisions and provide directions for future research. CRD42013005426.

Language Is Everywhere! Universally Designed Strategies to Nurture Oral and Written Language

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Dixon, Susan D.

2008-01-01

In this article, the author describes how early childhood professionals can create positive environments that foster the growth of both oral and written language and how the concept of universal design can inform these practices. These activities are designed with a focus on children 3 to 5 years old. The author first looks at oral language…

Study of Thai Language Oral Reading Problems for Students with Down Syndrome: Grade Range 1

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kaewchote, Nantawan; Chongchaikit, Maturos

2011-01-01

The purpose of the study was to explore the Thai Language Oral Reading Problems of students with Down syndrome, Grade Range1 at Watnonsaparam School, Saraburi Thailand in favor of Web Quest Lessons Development Enhancing Oral Reading Skills of Down syndrome Students. The research instruments were the 2 observation forms on Thai Language Reading…

A Cross-Linguistic Study of the Development of Gesture and Speech in Zulu and French Oral Narratives

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Nicolas, Ramona Kunene; Guidetti, Michele; Colletta, Jean-Marc

2017-01-01

The present study reports on a developmental and cross-linguistic study of oral narratives produced by speakers of Zulu (a Bantu language) and French (a Romance language). Specifically, we focus on oral narrative performance as a bimodal (i.e., linguistic and gestural) behaviour during the late language acquisition phase. We analyzed seventy-two…

A Study of 3rd and 5th Grade Students' Oral Language during the Writing Process in Elementary Classrooms.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kasten, Wendy C.; Clarke, Barbara K.

Using ethnographic techniques to observe seven fifth grade and seven third grade students, a study examined the function of children's oral language during creative writing sessions in typical classroom situations. Findings indicated that oral language plays an important role in the writing process; specifically, that it (1) accompanies writing as…

Contribution of Oral Language Skills, Linguistic Skills, and Transcription Skills to Chinese Written Composition among Fourth-Grade Students

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Yeung, Pui-sze; Ho, Connie Suk-han; Chan, David Wai-ock; Chung, Kevin Kien-hoa

2013-01-01

The present study aimed to investigate the contribution of oral language skills, linguistic skills, and transcription skills to Chinese written composition among Grade 4 students in Hong Kong. Measures assessing verbal working memory, oral language skills, linguistic skills (i.e., syntactic skills and discourse skills), transcription skills (i.e.,…

Oral-Performance Language Tasks for CSL Beginners in Second Life

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Lan, Yu-Ju; Kan, Yu-Hsuan; Sung, Yao-Ting; Chang, Kuo-En

2016-01-01

The aim of this study was to determine the effects of different types of language tasks performed in Second Life (SL) on the oral performance of beginners of Chinese as a Second Language (CSL), focusing on oral accuracy. The 30 CSL beginners who participated in this study were randomly divided into two groups (n = 15 per group), required to…

The effects of early auditory-based intervention on adult bilateral cochlear implant outcomes.

PubMed

Lim, Stacey R

2017-09-01

The goal of this exploratory study was to determine the types of improvement that sequentially implanted auditory-verbal and auditory-oral adults with prelingual and childhood hearing loss received in bilateral listening conditions, compared to their best unilateral listening condition. Five auditory-verbal adults and five auditory-oral adults were recruited for this study. Participants were seated in the center of a 6-loudspeaker array. BKB-SIN sentences were presented from 0° azimuth, while multi-talker babble was presented from various loudspeakers. BKB-SIN scores in bilateral and the best unilateral listening conditions were compared to determine the amount of improvement gained. As a group, the participants had improved speech understanding scores in the bilateral listening condition. Although not statistically significant, the auditory-verbal group tended to have greater speech understanding with greater levels of competing background noise, compared to the auditory-oral participants. Bilateral cochlear implantation provides individuals with prelingual and childhood hearing loss with improved speech understanding in noise. A higher emphasis on auditory development during the critical language development years may add to increased speech understanding in adulthood. However, other demographic factors such as age or device characteristics must also be considered. Although both auditory-verbal and auditory-oral approaches emphasize spoken language development, they emphasize auditory development to different degrees. This may affect cochlear implant (CI) outcomes. Further consideration should be made in future auditory research to determine whether these differences contribute to performance outcomes. Additional investigation with a larger participant pool, controlled for effects of age and CI devices and processing strategies, would be necessary to determine whether language learning approaches are associated with different levels of speech understanding performance.

Motor impairment in children with Neurofibromatosis type 1: Effect of the comorbidity with language disorders.

PubMed

Iannuzzi, Stéphanie; Albaret, Jean-Michel; Chignac, Céline; Faure-Marie, Nathalie; Barry, Isabelle; Karsenty, Caroline; Chaix, Yves

2016-02-01

There is a body of evidence demonstrating comorbidity of motor and cognitive deficit in «idiopathic» developmental disorders. These associations are also found in developmental disorders secondary to monogenic disorders as in Neurofibromatosis type 1 for which the principal complication during childhood is learning disabilities. The comparison of motor impairment between developmental disorders either idiopathic or secondary as in NF1 could help us to better understand the cause of the combined language/motor deficit in these populations. The aim of this current study was to investigate motor impairment in children with NF1 for which oral language had been specified and then to compare the motors skills of the NF1 group to motor performance of children with Specific Language Disorder (SLD). Two groups of 49 children between 5 and 12years old were included and compared, the NF1 group and the SLD (Specific Language Disorder) group. Each child completed evaluation involving cognitive, language and motor assessment. In NF1 group, motor impairment was more frequent and more severe and concerned specifically balance rather than manual dexterity or ball skills, compared to a group of children with SLD. This motor impairment was independent of language status in the NF1 group. These results as well as other studies on the same topic could suggest that in NF1 children, fine motor skills impairment would be dependent on the existence of comorbidity with language disorders. Also, that gross motor skills impairment, and more precisely the balance deficit would be characteristic of NF1. This issue encourages studies of procedural learning that can involve the fronto-striatal or the fronto-cerebellar loops according to the type of motor tasks and the stage of learning. Copyright © 2015 The Japanese Society of Child Neurology. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Dimensions of Discourse Level Oral Language Skills and Their Relation to Reading Comprehension and Written Composition: An Exploratory Study

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kim, Young-Suk Grace; Park, Cheahyung; Park, Younghee

2015-01-01

We examined the relations of discourse-level oral language skills [i.e., listening comprehension, and oral retell and production of narrative texts (oral retell and production hereafter)] to reading comprehension and written composition. Korean-speaking first grade students (N = 97) were assessed on listening comprehension, oral retell and…

Indigenous language use and primary science teaching in a post-colonial society: The case of Shona in Zimbabwe

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Horcajo, Susan Lori

The historical legacy of colonialism in Zimbabwe is revealed in the continued use of the colonial language, English, in education. However, many teachers use the local language along with particular techniques to address this language gap so that children learn the content of the lessons, especially in the rural areas where access to modern conveniences and the school language outside of class is limited. This research examines the use of an indigenous language in an educational system in which content area curricula are administered in a second language. Three third grade classes in a rural Zimbabwean village were video recorded for three weeks each during the teaching of science. Lessons were transcribed and questions devised for the teachers and a small number of students in order to explore issues related to language use and scientific concept development. The lessons and interviews were reviewed in order to determine particular language usage in the indigenous Shona language and its local dialect, Ndau. The questions addressed were: (1) When and how does the teacher use Shona to explain scientific concepts? (2) When and how do children use Shona to discuss these concepts? (3) What is the relationship among cognition, the use of Shona in the classroom and the learning of science? Analysis of Shona language use in these lessons revealed that while Shona was most commonly used in single words for affection, to facilitate instruction, and to support the lesson, large segments of four sentences or more allowed for more culturally relevant teaching and the development of concepts which served the purpose of science learning through identification, description, explanation and the reaching of conclusions. Metalinguistic awareness and literacy were seen to be salient elements in the lessons, especially given the fact that only English is allowed to be written; that is, while the teacher often explained elements of the lessons orally, all writing on the board, in exercises and other tasks was done in English. Given the correlation between cognitive and linguistic development, the implications for education for national socio-economic development are great.

Are First- and Second-Language Factors Related in Predicting Second-Language Reading Comprehension? A Study of Spanish-Speaking Children Acquiring English as a Second Language from First to Second Grade

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Gottardo, Alexandra; Mueller, Julie

2009-01-01

First-language (L1) and 2nd-language (L2) oral language skills and L2 word reading were used as predictors to test the simple view of reading as a model of 2nd-language reading comprehension. The simple view of reading states that reading comprehension is related to decoding and oral language comprehension skills. One hundred thirty-one…

The Rhythm of Language: Fostering Oral and Listening Skills in Singapore Pre-School Children through an Integrated Music and Language Arts Program.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Gan, Linda; Chong, Sylvia

1998-01-01

Examined the effectiveness of a year-long integrated language and music program (the Expressive Language and Music Project) to enhance Singaporean kindergartners' English oral-language competency. Found that the natural communicative setting and creative use of resources and activities based on the Orff and Kodaly approaches facilitated language…

The Development of L2 Oral Language Skills in Two L1 Groups: A 7-Year Study

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Derwing, Tracey M.; Munro, Murray J.

2013-01-01

Researching the longitudinal development of second language (L2) learners is essential to understanding influences on their success. This 7-year study of oral skills in adult immigrant learners of English as a second language evaluated comprehensibility, fluency, and accentedness in first-language (L1) Mandarin and Slavic language speakers. The…

The Effects of Selected Language Stimulation Upon the Language Skills of Hard of Hearing School Children.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Spangenberg, Cynthia Pont

Results of a study involving 20 hard of hearing school aged students indicated that Ss in two experimental conditions (language stimulation by Big Brothers or Big Sisters and special training in oral and written language skills with a hearing specialist) increased in the complexity of their oral language more than control Ss did. (CL)

A Teacher's Exploratory Inquiry of Language Awareness: Language Learner Perceptions from Oral Presentations

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Leichsenring, Andrew

2015-01-01

This paper presents a teacher-led inquiry into learner language awareness and learner perceptions of: oral presentations using first language (L1) support when using a second language (L2); and L2 learner and user identity. The quantitative-based results of this preliminary inquiry represent a source of understanding for the researcher, who later,…

Observations of Kindergarten and First Grade Children's Development of Oral Language, Concepts about Print, and Reading Readiness.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Day, Kaaren C.; Day, H. D.

A study originally involving 56 children from four schools was undertaken to observe the development of children's oral language and concepts of print during the kindergarten year using the Record of Oral Language (ROL) and the Concepts about Print (Sand) tests. In addition, the Sand test was administered early in the first grade to the available…

Use of Oral Reflection in Facilitating Graduate EAL Students' Oral-Language Production and Strategy Use: An Empirical Action Research Study

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Huang, Li-Shih

2012-01-01

Research in the fields of second-language acquisition and education has supported the value of written reflection, but scant research has explored how other types of reflection may come into play when learners employ strategies and produce oral language. This paper reports findings from an action research study that focused on integrating…

Cross-Linguistic Transfer of Oral Language, Decoding, Phonological Awareness and Reading Comprehension: A Meta-Analysis of the Correlational Evidence

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Melby-Lervag, Monica; Lervag, Arne

2011-01-01

We present a meta-analysis of cross-linguistic transfer of oral language (vocabulary and listening comprehension), phonology (decoding and phonological awareness) and reading comprehension. Our findings show a small meta-correlation between first (L1) and second (L2) oral language and a moderate to large correlation between L1 and L2 phonological…

Instructional games: Scientific language use, concept understanding, and attitudinal development of middle school learners

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mongillo, Geraldine

The purpose of this qualitative study was to discover the influence of instructional games on middle school learners' use of scientific language, concept understanding, and attitude toward learning science. The rationale for this study stemmed from the lack of research concerning the value of play as an instructional strategy for older learners. Specifically, the study focused on the ways in which 6 average ability 7th grade students demonstrated scientific language and concept use during gameplay. The data were collected for this 6-week study in a southern New Jersey suburban middle school and included audio recordings of the 5 games observed in class, written documents (e.g., student created game questions, self-evaluation forms, pre- and post-assessments, and the final quiz) interviews, and researcher field notes. Data were coded and interpreted borrowing from the framework for scientific literacy developed by Bybee (1997). Based on the findings, the framework was modified to reflect the level of scientific understanding demonstrated by the participants and categorized as: Unacquainted, Nominal, Functional, and Conceptual. Major findings suggested that the participants predominantly achieved the Functional level of scientific literacy (i.e., the ability to adequately and appropriately use scientific language in both written and oral discourse) during games. Further, it was discovered that the participants achieved the Conceptual level of scientific literacy during gameplay. Through games participants were afforded the opportunity to use common, everyday language to explore concepts, promoted through peer collaboration. In games the participants used common language to build understandings that exceeded Nominal or token use of the technical vocabulary and concepts. Additionally, the participants reported through interviews and self-evaluation forms that their attitude (patterns included: Motivation, Interest, Fun, Relief from Boredom, and an Alternate Learning Approach) toward learning science was positively affected by playing games. This research confirmed the value of playing instructional games and indicated the potential benefits for teaching and learning scientific vocabulary and concepts in middle school settings. Educators are in need of finding methods that stimulate the often disinterested or disengaged adolescent student. Results from this investigation suggested that games provided a meaningful alternate learning approach that relieved the boredom associated with traditional science instruction.

Relations Among the Home Language and Literacy Environment and Children's Language Abilities: A Study of Head Start Dual Language Learners and Their Mothers.

PubMed

Lewis, Kandia; Sandilos, Lia E; Hammer, Carol Scheffner; Sawyer, Brook E; Méndez, Lucía I

This study explored the relations between Spanish-English dual language learner (DLL) children's home language and literacy experiences and their expressive vocabulary and oral comprehension abilities in Spanish and in English. Data from Spanish-English mothers of 93 preschool-age Head Start children who resided in central Pennsylvania were analyzed. Children completed the Picture Vocabulary and Oral Comprehension subtests of the Batería III Woodcock-Muñoz and the Woodcock-Johnson III Tests of Achievement. Results revealed that the language spoken by mothers and children and the frequency of mother-child reading at home influenced children's Spanish language abilities. In addition, the frequency with which children told a story was positively related to children's performance on English oral language measures. The findings suggest that language and literacy experiences at home have a differential impact on DLLs' language abilities in their 2 languages. Specific components of the home environment that benefit and support DLL children's language abilities are discussed.

Individual Differences in Anatomy Predict Reading and Oral Language Impairments in Children

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Leonard, Christiana; Eckert, Mark; Given, Barbara; Virginia, Berninger; Eden, Guinevere

2006-01-01

Developmental dyslexia (DD) and specific language impairment (SLI) are disorders of language that differ in diagnostic criteria and outcome. DD is defined by isolated reading deficits. SLI is defined by poor receptive and expressive oral language skills. Reading deficits, although prevalent, are not necessary for the diagnosis of SLI. An enduring…

The Language of Formal Education and the Role of Libraries in Oral-Traditional Societies.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

John, Magnus

1984-01-01

This essay addresses the effect of introducing a foreign language into the formal education of oral-traditional societies. Highlights include the nature of such societies, language in formal education, reading and language acquisition, developing a theory of high retention and recall, and overall implications for national development and…

The Impact of Powerful Oral Language Lab on Chilean EFL Preservice Teachers

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ward, Hsuying Chiou; Andruske, Cynthia Lee

2013-01-01

This exploratory qualitative case study reports the impact of using a public-speaking structure (Powerful Oral Language Lab [POLL]) in teaching preservice Chilean English pedagogy students. It describes how this task-based method of English as a Foreign Language (EFL) teacher training is related to language strategic competence. Twenty students…

Meaning-Based Scoring: A Systemic Functional Linguistics Model for Automated Test Tasks

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Gleason, Jesse

2014-01-01

Communicative approaches to language teaching that emphasize the importance of speaking (e.g., task-based language teaching) require innovative and evidence-based means of assessing oral language. Nonetheless, research has yet to produce an adequate assessment model for oral language (Chun 2006; Downey et al. 2008). Limited by automatic speech…

"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…

Self-directed learning: A heretical experiment in teaching physics

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Silverman, M. P.

1995-06-01

An account is given of the instruction of university-level introductory physics courses according to an educational framework in which (1) curiosity-driven inquiry is recognized as an essential activity of both science and science teaching; (2) the principal role of the instructor is to provide students the incentive to learn science through their pursuit of personally meaningful questions; (3) the commission of errors is regarded as a natural concomitant to learning and is not penalized; (4) emphasis is placed on laboratory investigations that foster minimally restrictive free exploration rather than prescriptive adherence to formal procedure; (5) research skills are developed through out-of-class projects that involve literature search, experiment, and the modeling of real-world physical phenomena: (6) the precise and articulate use of language is regarded as seminal to communication in science (as it is in the humanities) and is promoted through activities that help develop written and oral language skills; (7) the evaluation of student performance is based on a portfolio of accomplished work rather than on the outcome of formal testing.

Science learning and literacy performance of typically developing, at-risk, and disabled, non-English language background students

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Larrinaga McGee, Patria Maria

Current education reform calls for excellence, access, and equity in all areas of instruction, including science and literacy. Historically, persons of diverse backgrounds or with disabilities have been underrepresented in science. Gaps are evident between the science and literacy achievement of diverse students and their mainstream peers. The purpose of this study was to document, describe, and examine patterns of development and change in the science learning and literacy performance of Hispanic students. The two major questions of this study were: (1) How is science content knowledge, as evident in oral and written formats, manifested in the performance of typically developing, at-risk, and disabled non-English language background (NELB) students? and (2) What are the patterns of literacy performance in science, and as evident in oral and written formats, among typically developing, at-risk, and disabled NELB students? This case study was part of a larger research project, the Promise Project, undertaken at the University of Miami, Coral Gables, Florida, under the sponsorship of the National Science Foundation. The study involved 24 fourth-grade students in seven classrooms located in Promise Project schools where teachers were provided with training and materials for instruction on two units of science content: Matter and Weather. Four students were selected from among the fourth-graders for a closer analysis of their performance. Qualitative and quantitative data analysis methods were used to document, describe, and examine specific events or phenomena in the processes of science learning and literacy development. Important findings were related to (a) gains in science learning and literacy development, (b) students' science learning and literacy development needs, and (c) general and idiosyncratic attitudes toward science and literacy. Five patterns of science "explanations" identified indicated a developmental cognitive/linguistic trajectory in science learning. Students' learning needs appeared related to (a) depth of science knowledge, and (b) written communication in science. Students' performances and attitudes suggested a continuum of readiness for science inquiry. Differences in performances and attitudes revealed curricular, personal, social, cultural, cognitive, metacognitive, and linguistic aspects that could impact science learning and literacy development. Implications for instruction and assessment were discussed. Suggestions for further research were presented.

The Comprehension Problems for Second-Language Learners with Poor Reading Comprehension despite Adequate Decoding: A Meta-Analysis

PubMed Central

Spencer, Mercedes; Wagner, Richard K.

2016-01-01

We conducted a meta-analysis of 16 existing studies to examine the nature of the comprehension problems for children who were second-language learners with poor reading comprehension despite adequate decoding. Results indicated that these children had deficits in oral language (d = −0.80), but these deficits were not as severe as their reading comprehension deficit (d = −2.47). Second-language learners also had weaker oral language skills compared to native-speaking children regardless of comprehension status (d = −0.84). We discuss theoretical and practical implications of the finding that second-language learners who are poor at reading comprehension despite adequate decoding have deficits in oral language but the deficit is not sufficient to explain their deficit in reading comprehension. PMID:28461711

The Comprehension Problems for Second-Language Learners with Poor Reading Comprehension despite Adequate Decoding: A Meta-Analysis.

PubMed

Spencer, Mercedes; Wagner, Richard K

2017-05-01

We conducted a meta-analysis of 16 existing studies to examine the nature of the comprehension problems for children who were second-language learners with poor reading comprehension despite adequate decoding. Results indicated that these children had deficits in oral language ( d = -0.80), but these deficits were not as severe as their reading comprehension deficit ( d = -2.47). Second-language learners also had weaker oral language skills compared to native-speaking children regardless of comprehension status ( d = -0.84). We discuss theoretical and practical implications of the finding that second-language learners who are poor at reading comprehension despite adequate decoding have deficits in oral language but the deficit is not sufficient to explain their deficit in reading comprehension.

Oral Language Competence and the Transition to School: Socio-Economic and Behavioural Factors That Influence Academic and Social Success

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Snow, Pamela

2014-01-01

Oral language competence (skill in everyday talking and listening) is critical in the early years of school in two key respects: it underpins the transition to literacy in the early years, and is the means by which children form and maintain interpersonal relationships in the school setting. In this paper, the role of oral language competence with…

Oral English Language Proficiency and Reading Mastery: The Role of Home Language and School Supports

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Palacios, Natalia; Kibler, Amanda

2016-01-01

The analysis of 21,409 participants of the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study-Kindergarten cohort focused on home and school factors sought to understand the level of reading mastery that children experienced throughout elementary school and Grade 8 by relating home language use, timing of oral English language proficiency, and the provision of…

The Complex Relationship between Bilingual Home Language Input and Kindergarten Children's Spanish and English Oral Proficiencies

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Cha, Kijoo; Goldenberg, Claude

2015-01-01

This study examined how emergent bilingual children's English and Spanish proficiencies moderated the relationships between Spanish and English input at home (bilingual home language input [BHLI]) and children's oral language skills in each language. The sample comprised over 1,400 Spanish-dominant kindergartners in California and Texas. BHLI was…

Neurological Research on Language and the Implications for Teaching Bilingual Children to Read. Occasional Papers on Linguistics, No. 1.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Giordano, Gerard

Neurological data indicate that the universal aptitude for functional language is biologically based, species specific, and developmental. The universality of functional oral speech is indisputable. Everyone, however, does not exhibit similar expertise in processing oral and visual language. Many people can speak two languages functionally but…

Hidden Language Impairments in Children: Parallels between Poor Reading Comprehension and Specific Language Impairment?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Nation, Kate; Clarke, Paula; Marshall, Catherine M.; Durand, Marianne

2004-01-01

This study investigates the oral language skills of 8-year-old children with impaired reading comprehension. Despite fluent and accurate reading and normal nonverbal ability, these children are poor at understanding what they have read. Tasks tapping 3 domains of oral language, namely phonology, semantics, and morphosyntax, were administered,…

The Efficacy of Early Language Intervention in Mainstream School Settings: A Randomized Controlled Trial

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Fricke, Silke; Burgoyne, Kelly; Bowyer-Crane, Claudine; Kyriacou, Maria; Zosimidou, Alexandra; Maxwell, Liam; Lervåg, Arne; Snowling, Margaret J.; Hulme, Charles

2017-01-01

Background: Oral language skills are a critical foundation for literacy and more generally for educational success. The current study shows that oral language skills can be improved by providing suitable additional help to children with language difficulties in the early stages of formal education. Methods: We conducted a randomized controlled…

A Systematic Meta-Analytic Review of Evidence for the Effectiveness of the "Fast ForWord" Language Intervention Program

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Strong, Gemma K.; Torgerson, Carole J.; Torgerson, David; Hulme, Charles

2011-01-01

Background: Fast ForWord is a suite of computer-based language intervention programs designed to improve children's reading and oral language skills. The programs are based on the hypothesis that oral language difficulties often arise from a rapid auditory temporal processing deficit that compromises the development of phonological…

Discours oraux--discours ecrits: quelles relations? Actes du 4eme colloque d'orthophoine/logopedie (Neuchatel, 3-4 octobre, 1996) (Oral Discourse--Written Discourse: What Is the Relationship? Proceedings of the Colloquium on Speech Therapy (4th, Neuchatel, Switzerland, October 3-4, 1996).

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Py, Bernard, Ed.

1996-01-01

Research papers on the relationship between oral and written language include: "Une distinction bien fragile: oral/ecrit" ("A Fragile Distinction: Oral/Written") (Francoise Gadet); "Oral et ecrit dans les representations des enseignants et dans les pratiques quotidiennes de la classe de francais" ("Oral and Written Language in Teachers'…

The efficacy of early language intervention in mainstream school settings: a randomized controlled trial.

PubMed

Fricke, Silke; Burgoyne, Kelly; Bowyer-Crane, Claudine; Kyriacou, Maria; Zosimidou, Alexandra; Maxwell, Liam; Lervåg, Arne; Snowling, Margaret J; Hulme, Charles

2017-10-01

Oral language skills are a critical foundation for literacy and more generally for educational success. The current study shows that oral language skills can be improved by providing suitable additional help to children with language difficulties in the early stages of formal education. We conducted a randomized controlled trial with 394 children in England, comparing a 30-week oral language intervention programme starting in nursery (N = 132) with a 20-week version of the same programme starting in Reception (N = 133). The intervention groups were compared to an untreated waiting control group (N = 129). The programmes were delivered by trained teaching assistants (TAs) working in the children's schools/nurseries. All testers were blind to group allocation. Both the 20- and 30-week programmes produced improvements on primary outcome measures of oral language skill compared to the untreated control group. Effect sizes were small to moderate (20-week programme: d = .21; 30-week programme: d = .30) immediately following the intervention and were maintained at follow-up 6 months later. The difference in improvement between the 20-week and 30-week programmes was not statistically significant. Neither programme produced statistically significant improvements in children's early word reading or reading comprehension skills (secondary outcome measures). This study provides further evidence that oral language interventions can be delivered successfully by trained TAs to children with oral language difficulties in nursery and Reception classes. The methods evaluated have potentially important policy implications for early education. © 2017 Association for Child and Adolescent Mental Health.

Oral language and narrative skills in children with specific language impairment with and without literacy delay: a three-year longitudinal study.

PubMed

Vandewalle, Ellen; Boets, Bart; Boons, Tinne; Ghesquière, Pol; Zink, Inge

2012-01-01

This longitudinal study compared the development of oral language and more specifically narrative skills (storytelling and story retelling) in children with specific language impairment (SLI) with and without literacy delay. Therefore, 18 children with SLI and 18 matched controls with normal literacy were followed from the last year of kindergarten (mean age=5 years 5 months) until the beginning of grade 3 (mean age=8 years 1 month). Oral language tests measuring vocabulary, morphology, sentence and text comprehension and narrative skills were administered yearly. Based on first and third grade reading and spelling achievement, both groups were divided into a group with and a group without literacy problems. Results showed that the children with SLI and literacy delay had persistent oral language problems across all assessed language domains. The children with SLI and normal literacy skills scored also persistently low on vocabulary, morphology and story retelling skills. Only on listening comprehension and storytelling, they evolved towards the level of the control group. In conclusion, oral language skills in children with SLI and normal literacy skills remained in general poor, despite their intact literacy development during the first years of literacy instruction. Only for listening comprehension and storytelling, they improved, probably as a result of more print exposure. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Language matters in demonstrations of understanding in early years mathematics assessment

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mushin, Ilana; Gardner, Rod; Munro, Jennifer M.

2013-09-01

In classrooms tests, students are regularly required to demonstrate their understanding of mathematical concepts. When children encounter problems in demonstrating such understanding, it is often not clear whether this is because of the language of the teachers' questions and instructions or a genuine non-understanding of the concept itself. This paper uses Conversation Analysis to investigate the role that language plays in Year 1 oral maths assessment in an Australian Indigenous community school. This approach allows us to monitor the very subtle communicative gestures, verbal and non-verbal, that contribute to the trajectory of a particular test task. Here we are able to bring to light a range of ways in which language may interfere with demonstrations of understanding of mathematical concepts. These include particular mathematical words (e.g., size, shape, same), as well as problems with what is being asked in an instruction. We argue that while all children must learn new mathematical language in their early years of schooling, the challenge for the students we have recorded may be compounded by the language differences between the Indigenous variety of language they speak in the community, and the Standard Australian English of the classroom and teachers.

Preventing Boredom in the Language Laboratory

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Obanya, Pai

1978-01-01

An experimental year of oral testing using the language laboratory at Victoria University is described. A new first-year 12-credit course is primarily a language course based on audiovisual/lingual methods. The content, evaluation, and administration of oral expression tests and performance tapes are covered. (SW)

Embracing Plurality through Oral Language

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Nguyen, Bich; Oliver, Rhonda; Rochecouste, Judith

2015-01-01

The transmission and dissemination of knowledge in Aboriginal societies for the most part occurs orally in an Aboriginal language or in Aboriginal English. However, whilst support is given to speaking skills in Indigenous communities, in our education system less emphasis is given to developing equivalent oral communicative competence in Standard…

Relations Among the Home Language and Literacy Environment and Children's Language Abilities: A Study of Head Start Dual Language Learners and Their Mothers

PubMed Central

Lewis, Kandia; Sandilos, Lia E.; Hammer, Carol Scheffner; Sawyer, Brook E.; Méndez, Lucía I.

2015-01-01

Research Findings This study explored the relations between Spanish–English dual language learner (DLL) children's home language and literacy experiences and their expressive vocabulary and oral comprehension abilities in Spanish and in English. Data from Spanish–English mothers of 93 preschool-age Head Start children who resided in central Pennsylvania were analyzed. Children completed the Picture Vocabulary and Oral Comprehension subtests of the Batería III Woodcock–Muñoz and the Woodcock–Johnson III Tests of Achievement. Results revealed that the language spoken by mothers and children and the frequency of mother–child reading at home influenced children's Spanish language abilities. In addition, the frequency with which children told a story was positively related to children's performance on English oral language measures. Practice or Policy The findings suggest that language and literacy experiences at home have a differential impact on DLLs' language abilities in their 2 languages. Specific components of the home environment that benefit and support DLL children's language abilities are discussed. PMID:27429533

Fluency-dependent cortical activation associated with speech production and comprehension in second language learners.

PubMed

Shimada, K; Hirotani, M; Yokokawa, H; Yoshida, H; Makita, K; Yamazaki-Murase, M; Tanabe, H C; Sadato, N

2015-08-06

This functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) study investigated the brain regions underlying language task performance in adult second language (L2) learners. Specifically, we identified brain regions where the level of activation was associated with L2 fluency levels. Thirty Japanese-speaking adults participated in the study. All participants were L2 learners of English and had achieved varying levels of fluency, as determined by a standardized L2 English proficiency test, the Versant English Test (Pearson Education Inc., 2011). When participants performed the oral sentence building task from the production tasks administered, the dorsal part of the left inferior frontal gyrus (dIFG) showed activation patterns that differed depending on the L2 fluency levels: The more fluent the participants were, the more dIFG activation decreased. This decreased activation of the dIFG might reflect the increased automaticity of a syntactic building process. In contrast, when participants performed an oral story comprehension task, the left posterior superior temporal gyrus (pSTG) showed increased activation with higher fluency levels. This suggests that the learners with higher L2 fluency were actively engaged in post-syntactic integration processing supported by the left pSTG. These data imply that L2 fluency predicts neural resource allocation during language comprehension tasks as well as in production tasks. This study sheds light on the neural underpinnings of L2 learning by identifying the brain regions recruited during different language tasks across different modalities (production vs. comprehension). Copyright © 2015 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.. All rights reserved.

The Role of Oral Reading Fluency in ESL Reading Comprehension among Learners of Different First Language Backgrounds

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Jiang, Xiangying

2016-01-01

This study discusses the construct of oral reading fluency and examines its relationship to reading comprehension among adult English-as-a-Second-Language (ESL) learners of four first language (L1) backgrounds. One hundred and forty-nine adult learners of English with Arabic, Japanese, Spanish and Chinese language backgrounds participated in this…

Oral Language and Narrative Skills in Children with Specific Language Impairment with and without Literacy Delay: A Three-Year Longitudinal Study

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Vandewalle, Ellen; Boets, Bart; Boons, Tinne; Ghesquiere, Pol; Zink, Inge

2012-01-01

This longitudinal study compared the development of oral language and more specifically narrative skills (storytelling and story retelling) in children with specific language impairment (SLI) with and without literacy delay. Therefore, 18 children with SLI and 18 matched controls with normal literacy were followed from the last year of…

Increasing Language Awareness and Self-Efficacy of FL Students Using Self-Assessment and the ACTFL Proficiency Guidelines

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kissling, Elizabeth M.; O'Donnell, Mary E.

2015-01-01

This study describes how oral language was assessed in an advanced-level college foreign language (FL) conversation course. Learners used the American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages Proficiency Guidelines to guide self-analyses of their oral production at intervals throughout the course. The intent was to provide opportunities for…

Within- and Cross-Language Relations between Oral Language Proficiency and School Outcomes in Bilingual Children with an Immigrant Background

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Prevoo, Mariëlle J. L.; Malda, Maike; Mesman, Judi; van IJzendoorn, Marinus H.

2016-01-01

Sixteen meta-analyses were conducted to examine relations of typically developing bilingual immigrant-background children's oral language proficiency in their first and second language with the school outcomes of early literacy (k = 41), reading (k = 61), spelling (k = 9), mathematics (k = 9), and academic achievement (k = 9). Moderate to strong…

The Globalisation of (Educational) Language rights

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Skutnabb-Kangas, Tove

2001-07-01

Languages are today being murdered faster than ever before in human history: 90% of the world's oral languages may be dead or moribund (no longer learned by children) in a hundred years' time. The media and the educational systems are the most important direct agents in language murder. Behind them are the real culprits, the global economic, military and political systems. Linguistic human rights might be one way of promoting conflict prevention and self-determination, preventing linguistic genocide, and maintaining linguistic diversity and biodiversity (which are correlationally and also causally related). The most basic linguistic human rights for maintenance of linguistic diversity, specifically the right to mother tongue medium education, are not protected by the present provisions in human rights law. Linguistically, formal education is today often 'forcibly transferring children of one group to another group' (one of the definitions of genocide in the UN Genocide Convention). Human rights are supposed to act as correctives to the 'free market'. Despite good intentions, forces behind economic globalisation have instead given brutal market forces free range.

[Fragile X syndrome with Dandy-Walker variant: a clinical study of oral and written communicative manifestations].

PubMed

Lamônica, Dionísia Aparecida Cusin; Ferraz, Plínio Marcos Duarte Pinto; Ferreira, Amanda Tragueta; Prado, Lívia Maria do; Abramides, Dagma Venturini Marquez; Gejão, Mariana Germano

2011-01-01

The Fragile X syndrome is the most frequent cause of inherited intellectual disability. The Dandy-Walker variant is a specific constellation of neuroradiological findings. The present study reports oral and written communication findings in a 15-year-old boy with clinical and molecular diagnosis of Fragile X syndrome and neuroimaging findings consistent with Dandy-Walker variant. The speech-language pathology and audiology evaluation was carried out using the Communicative Behavior Observation, the Phonology assessment of the ABFW - Child Language Test, the Phonological Abilities Profile, the Test of School Performance, and the Illinois Test of Psycholinguistic Abilities. Stomatognathic system and hearing assessments were also performed. It was observed: phonological, semantic, pragmatic and morphosyntactic deficits in oral language; deficits in psycholinguistic abilities (auditory reception, verbal expression, combination of sounds, auditory and visual sequential memory, auditory closure, auditory and visual association); and morphological and functional alterations in the stomatognathic system. Difficulties in decoding the graphical symbols were observed in reading. In writing, the subject presented omissions, agglutinations and multiple representations with the predominant use of vowels, besides difficulties in visuo-spatial organization. In mathematics, in spite of the numeric recognition, the participant didn't accomplish arithmetic operations. No alterations were observed in the peripheral hearing evaluation. The constellation of behavioral, cognitive, linguistic and perceptual symptoms described for Fragile X syndrome, in addition to the structural central nervous alterations observed in the Dandy-Walker variant, caused outstanding interferences in the development of communicative abilities, in reading and writing learning, and in the individual's social integration.

"L'Atelier d'expression orale" (The Oral Expression Workshop).

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Tabensky, Alexis; Mesana, Corinne

1990-01-01

An extracurricular program in an Australian university French language program that brings together adults of varying ages and nationalities for oral language development activities is described. The program uses improvisation, psychodrama and role playing, and suggestopedia all together to develop a theme or in alternation, for creativity and…

Oral Reading Fluency in Second Language Reading

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Jeon, Eun Hee

2012-01-01

This study investigated the role of oral reading fluency in second language reading. Two hundred and fifty-five high school students in South Korea were assessed on three oral reading fluency (ORF) variables and six other reading predictors. The relationship between ORF and other reading predictors was examined through an exploratory factor…

The Told Tale: Oral Storytelling and the Young Child.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Zobairi, Nillofur; Gulley, Beverly

The importance of oral storytelling for children is examined. Inital discussion focuses on: (1) the purpose and benefits of storytelling; (2) the importance of storytelling in the early childhood setting; (3) development of language skills, including oral communication, nonverbal communication, and mastery over story material and story language;…

Classroom Activities: Oral Proficiency in Action.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hahn, Sidney; Michaelis, Joyce

It is important to introduce and facilitate oral activities in the second language classroom with enthusiasm in a climate of mutual support and cooperation. Students should understand that mistakes are inevitable but not fatal, and that each attempt will build greater ease and confidence in using the language for communication. Oral proficiency…

The Communicative Ability of Universiti Teknologi MARA Sarawak's Graduates

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hassan, Sharifah Zakiah Wan; Hakim, Simon Faizal; Rahim, Mahdalela; Noyem, John Francis; Ibrahim, Sueb; Ahmad, Johnny; Jusoff, Kamaruzaman

2009-01-01

This study explores Universiti Teknologi MARA (UiTM) Sarawak graduating students' oral proficiency, focusing on grammatical accuracy. Oral proficiency in English has always been the benchmark of language proficiency, and in the context of UiTM's language teaching curriculum, efforts to enhance students' oral proficiency are implemented through…

Relationships between Preschoolers' Oral Language and Phonological Awareness

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hipfner-Boucher, Kathleen; Milburn, Trelani; Weitzman, Elaine; Greenberg, Janice; Pelletier, Janette; Girolametto, Luigi

2014-01-01

This study examines the relationship between complex oral language and phonological awareness in the preschool years. Specifically, the authors investigate the relationship between concurrent measures of oral narrative structure (based on measures of both story retell and generation), and measures of blending and elision in a sample of 89 children…

Literacy Skills in Children With Cochlear Implants: The Importance of Early Oral Language and Joint Storybook Reading

PubMed Central

Ambrose, Sophie E.; Eisenberg, Laurie S.

2009-01-01

The goal of this study was to longitudinally examine relationships between early factors (child and mother) that may influence children's phonological awareness and reading skills 3 years later in a group of young children with cochlear implants (N = 16). Mothers and children were videotaped during two storybook interactions, and children's oral language skills were assessed using the “Reynell Developmental Language Scales, third edition.” Three years later, phonological awareness, reading skills, and language skills were assessed using the “Phonological Awareness Test,” the “Woodcock–Johnson-III Diagnostic Reading Battery,” and the “Oral Written Language Scales.” Variables included in the data analyses were child (age, age at implant, and language skills) and mother factors (facilitative language techniques) and children's phonological awareness and reading standard scores. Results indicate that children's early expressive oral language skills and mothers’ use of a higher level facilitative language technique (open-ended question) during storybook reading, although related, each contributed uniquely to children's literacy skills. Individual analyses revealed that the children with expressive standard scores below 70 at Time 1 also performed below average (<85) on phonological awareness and total reading tasks 3 years later. Guidelines for professionals are provided to support literacy skills in young children with cochlear implants. PMID:18417463

Oral Storytelling, Speaking and Listening and the Hegemony of Literacy: Non-Instrumental Language Use and Transactional Talk in the Primary Classroom

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hibbin, Rebecca

2016-01-01

The oral re-telling of traditional tales, modelled by a storyteller and taught to children in school, can be understood as "non-instrumental" practice in speaking and listening that emphasises oral language over the reading and writing of stories. While oral storytelling has significant benefits to children's education and development,…

Oral Language Competence, Young Speakers, and the Law

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Snow, Pamela C.; Powell, Martine B.; Sanger, Dixie D.

2012-01-01

Purpose: This paper highlights the forensic implications of language impairment in 2 key (and overlapping) groups of young people: identified victims of maltreatment (abuse and/or neglect) and young offenders. Method: Two lines of research pertaining to oral language competence and young people's interface with the law are considered: 1 regarding…

Procedures for Obtaining and Analyzing Writing Samples of School-Age Children and Adolescents

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Price, Johanna R.; Jackson, Sandra C.

2015-01-01

Purpose: Many students' writing skills are below grade-level expectations, and students with oral language difficulties are at particular risk for writing difficulties. Speech-language pathologists' (SLPs') expertise in language applies to both the oral and written modalities, yet evidence suggests that SLPs' confidence regarding writing…

Using Precision in STEM Language: A Qualitative Look

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Capraro, Mary M.; Bicer, Ali; Grant, Melva R.; Lincoln, Yvonna S.

2017-01-01

Teachers need to develop a variety of pedagogical strategies that can encourage precise and accurate communication--an extremely important 21st century skill. Precision with STEM oral language is essential. Emphasizing oral communication with precise language in combination with increased spatial skills with modeling can improve the chances of…

Teaching Reading with Puppets.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Bennett, Ruth

The use of traditional stories in American Indian language programs connects students' reading to their lives and familiarizes learners with the rhythms of the oral language. Puppet performances are one way of connecting reading programs to the Native oral tradition. A high school reading lesson in a first-year Hupa language class uses many…

Oral Language Skills Intervention in Pre-School--A Cautionary Tale

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Haley, Allyson; Hulme, Charles; Bowyer-Crane, Claudine; Snowling, Margaret J.; Fricke, Silke

2017-01-01

Background: While practitioners are increasingly asked to be mindful of the evidence base of intervention programmes, evidence from rigorous trials for the effectiveness of interventions that promote oral language abilities in the early years is sparse. Aims: To evaluate the effectiveness of a language intervention programme for children…

28 CFR 55.13 - Language used for oral assistance and publicity.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-07-01

... 28 Judicial Administration 2 2011-07-01 2011-07-01 false Language used for oral assistance and publicity. 55.13 Section 55.13 Judicial Administration DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE (CONTINUED) IMPLEMENTATION OF THE PROVISIONS OF THE VOTING RIGHTS ACT REGARDING LANGUAGE MINORITY GROUPS Determining the Exact...

28 CFR 55.13 - Language used for oral assistance and publicity.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-07-01

... 28 Judicial Administration 2 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 false Language used for oral assistance and publicity. 55.13 Section 55.13 Judicial Administration DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE (CONTINUED) IMPLEMENTATION OF THE PROVISIONS OF THE VOTING RIGHTS ACT REGARDING LANGUAGE MINORITY GROUPS Determining the Exact...

Stories That Sing: Stimulating Oral Language in Young Children.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Huffine, Karen; Ellis, DiAnn

Research indicates the importance of the relationship between music, adult/child interaction, language practice, rhythm, repetition, familiarity of content, and story time, and a child's oral language development. Folk songs that have been illustrated and put into book form--"stories that sing"--can be used by parents and teachers to…

Applications of Oral Proficiency Testing to Foreign Language. Instruction.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages, Hastings-on-Hudson, NY.

A guide to the adaptation of oral proficiency testing for classroom language instruction contains excerpts of projects by participants in an American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages (ACTFL) workshop. The excerpts are examples of proficiency based curricula and materials designed to personalize instruction and simulate real-life…

Early Writing Deficits in Preschoolers with Oral Language Difficulties

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Puranik, Cynthia S.; Lonigan, Christopher J.

2012-01-01

The purpose of this study was to investigate whether preschool children with language impairments (LI), a group with documented reading difficulties, also experience writing difficulties. In addition, a purpose was to examine if the writing outcomes differed when children had concomitant cognitive deficits in addition to oral language problems. A…

Early Oral Language and Later Reading Development in Spanish-Speaking English Language Learners: Evidence from a Nine-Year Longitudinal Study

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kieffer, Michael J.

2012-01-01

Using nationally-representative, longitudinal data on a cohort of Spanish-speaking English language learners in the U.S., this study investigated the extent to which early oral language proficiency in Spanish and English predicts later levels and rates of growth in English reading. Latent growth models indicated that both Spanish and English…

English Word-Level Decoding and Oral Language Factors as Predictors of Third and Fifth Grade English Language Learners' Reading Comprehension Performance

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Landon, Laura L.

2017-01-01

This study examines the application of the Simple View of Reading (SVR), a reading comprehension theory focusing on word recognition and linguistic comprehension, to English Language Learners' (ELLs') English reading development. This study examines the concurrent and predictive validity of two components of the SVR, oral language and word-level…

Effects of Adapted Dialogic Reading on Oral Language and Vocabulary Knowledge of Latino Preschoolers at Risk for English Language Delays

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Correa, Vivian I.; Lo, Ya-Yu; Godfrey-Hurrell, Kristi; Swart, Katie; Baker, Doris Luft

2015-01-01

In this single-case design study, we examined the effects of an adapted dialogic reading intervention on the oral language and vocabulary skills of four Latino preschool children who were at risk for English language delays. We used adapted dialogic reading strategies in English and two literacy games that included a rapid naming activity and…

Visual Word Recognition in Deaf Readers: Lexicality Is Modulated by Communication Mode

PubMed Central

Barca, Laura; Pezzulo, Giovanni; Castrataro, Marianna; Rinaldi, Pasquale; Caselli, Maria Cristina

2013-01-01

Evidence indicates that adequate phonological abilities are necessary to develop proficient reading skills and that later in life phonology also has a role in the covert visual word recognition of expert readers. Impairments of acoustic perception, such as deafness, can lead to atypical phonological representations of written words and letters, which in turn can affect reading proficiency. Here, we report an experiment in which young adults with different levels of acoustic perception (i.e., hearing and deaf individuals) and different modes of communication (i.e., hearing individuals using spoken language, deaf individuals with a preference for sign language, and deaf individuals using the oral modality with less or no competence in sign language) performed a visual lexical decision task, which consisted of categorizing real words and consonant strings. The lexicality effect was restricted to deaf signers who responded faster to real words than consonant strings, showing over-reliance on whole word lexical processing of stimuli. No effect of stimulus type was found in deaf individuals using the oral modality or in hearing individuals. Thus, mode of communication modulates the lexicality effect. This suggests that learning a sign language during development shapes visuo-motor representations of words, which are tuned to the actions used to express them (phono-articulatory movements vs. hand movements) and to associated perceptions. As these visuo-motor representations are elicited during on-line linguistic processing and can overlap with the perceptual-motor processes required to execute the task, they can potentially produce interference or facilitation effects. PMID:23554976

Visual word recognition in deaf readers: lexicality is modulated by communication mode.

PubMed

Barca, Laura; Pezzulo, Giovanni; Castrataro, Marianna; Rinaldi, Pasquale; Caselli, Maria Cristina

2013-01-01

Evidence indicates that adequate phonological abilities are necessary to develop proficient reading skills and that later in life phonology also has a role in the covert visual word recognition of expert readers. Impairments of acoustic perception, such as deafness, can lead to atypical phonological representations of written words and letters, which in turn can affect reading proficiency. Here, we report an experiment in which young adults with different levels of acoustic perception (i.e., hearing and deaf individuals) and different modes of communication (i.e., hearing individuals using spoken language, deaf individuals with a preference for sign language, and deaf individuals using the oral modality with less or no competence in sign language) performed a visual lexical decision task, which consisted of categorizing real words and consonant strings. The lexicality effect was restricted to deaf signers who responded faster to real words than consonant strings, showing over-reliance on whole word lexical processing of stimuli. No effect of stimulus type was found in deaf individuals using the oral modality or in hearing individuals. Thus, mode of communication modulates the lexicality effect. This suggests that learning a sign language during development shapes visuo-motor representations of words, which are tuned to the actions used to express them (phono-articulatory movements vs. hand movements) and to associated perceptions. As these visuo-motor representations are elicited during on-line linguistic processing and can overlap with the perceptual-motor processes required to execute the task, they can potentially produce interference or facilitation effects.

Le qualita espressive del linguaggio orale: Il simbolismo fonetico (The Expressive Qualities of Oral Language: Phonetic Symbolism).

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Cavaliere, Roberto

1988-01-01

Discusses a study of the expressive qualities of oral language. Results suggest that there is a natural rather than an arbitrary relationship between words and their meanings. Practical applications of this theory of phonetic symbolism in the area of commercial advertising are presented. (CFM)

Oral Corrective Feedback in Second Language Classrooms

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Lyster, Roy; Saito, Kazuya; Sato, Masatoshi

2013-01-01

This article reviews research on oral corrective feedback (CF) in second language (L2) classrooms. Various types of oral CF are first identified, and the results of research revealing CF frequency across instructional contexts are presented. Research on CF preferences is then reviewed, revealing a tendency for learners to prefer receiving CF more…

Final Technical Report on the Institute for Oral Language Programs for the Elementary School.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ince, Robert L.

This document is a complete evaluation of a National Defense Education Act (NDEA) University of Illinois Summer Institute for Advanced Study in Oral Language Programs for Elementary Schools. The institute was designed to help teachers understand and implement fully detailed programs for oral communication instruction in self-contained elementary…

Fostering Second Language Oral Communication through Constructivist Interaction in Desktop Videoconferencing

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Lee, Lina

2007-01-01

This article describes a classroom project using one-to-one desktop videoconferencing to enhance the development of second language (1.2) oral skills. Eighteen university students worked collaboratively with expert speakers to complete task-based activities. The author gathered data from video-recording samples, reflections, and oral interviews to…

Oral narrative skills: Explaining the language-emergent literacy link by race/ethnicity and SES.

PubMed

Gardner-Neblett, Nicole; Iruka, Iheoma U

2015-07-01

Although children's early language skills have been found to predict literacy outcomes, little is known about the role of preschool oral narrative skills in the pathway between language and emergent literacy or how these associations differ by race/ethnicity and socioeconomic status. The current study uses the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study to explore how language at age 2 is associated with narrative skills at age 4 and emergent literacy outcomes at age 5 for a nationally representative sample of children. Findings demonstrate that early language is associated with narrative skills for most children. Oral narrative skills were found to mediate the pathway between early language and kindergarten emergent literacy for poor and nonpoor African American children. Implications for children's literacy development and future research are discussed. (c) 2015 APA, all rights reserved).

Assessing Bilingual Knowledge Organization in Secondary Science Classrooms =

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wu, Jason S.

Improving outcomes for English language learners (ELLs) in secondary science remains an area of high need. The purpose of this study is to investigate bilingual knowledge organization in secondary science classrooms. This study involved thirty-nine bilingual students in three biology classes at a public high school in The Bronx, New York City. Methods included an in-class survey on language use, a science content and English proficiency exam, and bilingual free-recalls. Fourteen students participated in bilingual free-recalls which involved a semi-structured process of oral recall of information learned in science class. Free-recall was conducted in both English and Spanish and analyzed using flow-map methods. Novel methods were developed to quantify and visualize the elaboration and mobilization of ideas shared across languages. It was found that bilingual narratives displayed similar levels of organizational complexity across languages, though English recalls tended to be longer. English proficiency was correlated with narrative complexity in English. There was a high degree of elaboration on concepts shared across languages. Finally, higher Spanish proficiency correlated well with greater overlapping elaboration across languages. These findings are discussed in light of current cognitive theory before presenting the study's limitations and future directions of research.

Non-Native Speakers of the Language of Instruction: Self-Perceptions of Teaching Ability

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Samuel, Carolyn

2017-01-01

Given the linguistically diverse instructor and student populations at Canadian universities, mutually comprehensible oral language may not be a given. Indeed, both instructors who are non-native speakers of the language of instruction (NNSLIs) and students have acknowledged oral communication challenges. Little is known, though, about how the…

Performance Assessment and the Components of the Oral Construct across Different Tasks and Rater Groups.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Chalhoub-Deville, Micheline

This study investigated whether different groups of native speakers assess second language learners' language skills differently for three elicitation techniques. Subjects were six learners of college-level Arabic as a second language, tape-recorded performing three tasks: participating in a modified oral proficiency interview, narrating a picture…

Restorative Justice Conferencing, Oral Language Competence, and Young Offenders: Are These High-Risk Conversations?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Snow, Pamela

2013-01-01

This article is concerned with the oral language demands (both talking and listening) associated with restorative justice conferencing--an inherently highly verbal and conversational process. Many vulnerable young people (e.g., those in the youth justice system) have significant, yet unidentified language impairments, and these could compromise…

Direct and Mediated Effects of Language and Cognitive Skills on Comprehension or Oral Narrative Texts (Listening Comprehension) for Children

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kim, Young-Suk Grace

2016-01-01

We investigated component language and cognitive skills of oral language comprehension of narrative texts (i.e., listening comprehension). Using the construction--integration model of text comprehension as an overarching theoretical framework, we examined direct and mediated relations of foundational cognitive skills (working memory and…

Language and Social Factors in the Use of Cell Phone Technology by Adolescents with and without Specific Language Impairment (SLI)

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Conti-Ramsden, Gina; Durkin, Kevin; Simkin, Zoe

2010-01-01

Purpose: This study aimed to compare cell phone use (both oral and text-based) by adolescents with and without specific language impairment (SLI) and examine the extent to which language and social factors affect frequency of use. Method: Both interview and diary methods were used to compare oral and text-based communication using cell phones by…

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…

Restorative Justice conferencing and the youth offender: exploring the role of oral language competence.

PubMed

Snow, Pamela C; Sanger, Dixie D

2011-01-01

Restorative Justice is an approach to responding to youth offending that aims to be collaborative and conciliatory rather than adversarial. In this respect, it is a welcome innovation in justice, welfare, and educational settings, and is gaining favour around the world. To date, however, the Restorative Justice literature has not considered the possible implications of unidentified language impairment in the young offenders who are asked to participate in face-to-face conferences with their victim(s). The aims of this paper are (1) to bring two paradigms together: Restorative Justice on the one hand, and the literature on language and social cognition impairments in vulnerable and socially marginalized young people on the other; (2) to stimulate awareness and interest in this aspect of public policy and practice by speech-language pathologists; and (3) to suggest some research questions that need to be tackled from an oral language competence perspective. A narrative review of the relevant literature pertaining to both Restorative Justice and oral language competence in vulnerable young people was conducted, with particular emphasis on the implications of the undetected language impairments as a source of possible unintended harm to both victims and offenders in Restorative Justice conferences. This is the first paper that specifically addresses the oral language skills of vulnerable and socially marginalized young people with respect to their capacity to participate in Restorative Justice conferences. It is important that speech-language pathologists contribute their specialized knowledge and clinical skills to public policy-making and debate, and practice that pertains to marginalized young people who may have undetected oral language impairments. Speech-language pathology as a profession is well positioned to plan and execute important programmes of research on this growing approach to dealing with youth offending and reducing recidivism. © 2010 Royal College of Speech & Language Therapists.

Sequential Prediction of Literacy Achievement for Specific Learning Disabilities Contrasting in Impaired Levels of Language in Grades 4 to 9

PubMed Central

Sanders, Elizabeth A.; Berninger, Virginia W.; Abbott, Robert D.

2017-01-01

Sequential regression was used to evaluate whether language-related working memory components uniquely predict reading and writing achievement beyond cognitive-linguistic translation for students in grades 4–9 (N=103) with specific learning disabilities (SLDs) in subword handwriting (dysgraphia, n=25), word reading and spelling (dyslexia, n=60), or oral and written language (OWL LD, n=18). That is, SLDs are defined on basis of cascading level of language impairment (subword, word, and syntax/text). A 5-block regression model sequentially predicted literacy achievement from cognitive-linguistic translation (Block 1); working memory components for word form coding (Block 2), phonological and orthographic loops (Block 3), and supervisory focused or switching attention (Block4); and SLD groups (Block 5). Results showed that cognitive-linguistic translation explained an average of 27% and 15% of the variance in reading and writing achievement, respectively, but working memory components explained an additional 39% and 27% variance. Orthographic word form coding uniquely predicted nearly every measure, whereas attention switching only uniquely predicted reading. Finally, differences in reading and writing persisted between dyslexia and dysgraphia, with dysgraphia higher, even after controlling for Block 1 to 4 predictors. Differences in literacy achievement between students with dyslexia and OWL LD were largely explained by the Block 1 predictors. Applications to identifying and teaching students with these SLDs are discussed. PMID:28199175

Investigating Mobile-Assisted Oral Feedback in Teaching Chinese as a Second Language

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Xu, Qi; Peng, Hongying

2017-01-01

This article reports on an exploratory study investigating mobile-assisted oral feedback in teaching Chinese as a second language (CSL). It is aimed at exploring the characteristics of mobile-assisted feedback on oral production with the smartphone social communication app WeChat as a case in point and examining learners' perceptions of…

Student Perceptions of Oral Participation in the Foreign Language Classroom

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Tepfenhart, Karen L.

2011-01-01

This study attempts to determine which factors students find most influential in their oral participation in a foreign language class and their thoughts on what actions the teacher should take to encourage more oral participation in class. Participants were 38 students in Spanish 1 and 2 at a rural middle school and high school. Students completed…

Self-Consciousness and Assertiveness as Explanatory Variables of L2 Oral Ability: A Latent Variable Approach

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ockey, Gary

2011-01-01

Drawing on current theories in personality, second-language (L2) oral ability, and psychometrics, this study investigates the extent to which self-consciousness and assertiveness are explanatory variables of L2 oral ability. Three hundred sixty first-year Japanese university students who were studying English as a foreign language participated in…

Incidental acquisition of foreign language vocabulary through brief multi-modal exposure.

PubMed

Bisson, Marie-Josée; van Heuven, Walter J B; Conklin, Kathy; Tunney, Richard J

2013-01-01

First language acquisition requires relatively little effort compared to foreign language acquisition and happens more naturally through informal learning. Informal exposure can also benefit foreign language learning, although evidence for this has been limited to speech perception and production. An important question is whether informal exposure to spoken foreign language also leads to vocabulary learning through the creation of form-meaning links. Here we tested the impact of exposure to foreign language words presented with pictures in an incidental learning phase on subsequent explicit foreign language learning. In the explicit learning phase, we asked adults to learn translation equivalents of foreign language words, some of which had appeared in the incidental learning phase. Results revealed rapid learning of the foreign language words in the incidental learning phase showing that informal exposure to multi-modal foreign language leads to foreign language vocabulary acquisition. The creation of form-meaning links during the incidental learning phase is discussed.

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

Oral Proficiency Standards and Foreign Language Teacher Candidates: Current Findings and Future Research Directions

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Glisan, Eileen W.; Swender, Elvira; Surface, Eric A.

2013-01-01

The renewed national focus on teacher quality and effectiveness has resulted in more rigorous standards that describe the knowledge and skills required of teacher candidates across all disciplines. In the area of foreign languages, three sets of professional standards address the oral proficiency of teachers in the target languages they teach…

The Impact of Task Type on Oral Performance of English Language Preparatory School Students

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Baturay, Meltem Huri; Sancar Tokmak, Hatice; Dogusoy, Berrin; Daloglu, Aysegul

2011-01-01

In this study, the effects of narrative, descriptive and prediction-personal reaction task types with visuals on the oral performance of intermediate level English language learners were compared. The study was carried out at Gazi University Preparatory School, Research and Application Center for the Instruction of Foreign Languages with the…

Oral Spelling and Writing in a Logographic Language: Insights from a Chinese Dysgraphic Individual

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Han, Zaizhu; Bi, Yanchao

2009-01-01

The oral spelling process for logographic languages such as Chinese is intrinsically different from alphabetic languages. In Chinese only a subset of orthographic components are pronounceable and their phonological identities (i.e., component names) do not always correspond to the sound of the whole characters. We show that such phonological…

Oral History as an Innovative Language Teaching Technique for Spanish Heritage Language Learners

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Burgo, Clara

2016-01-01

Oral history is presented in this article as an interpretative exercise for historical events in a Spanish course for heritage language learners at the university level. Through the interview of a Latino immigrant family, students re-examined the history of their own families and increased their linguistic self-esteem. They were guided to become…

English as an Additional Language (EAL) "viva voce": The EAL Doctoral Oral Examination Experience

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Carter, Susan

2012-01-01

Is the doctoral "viva voce" a reasonable method of examination? This exploratory paper proposes that the doctoral "viva voce" (oral examination) is a slightly different hurdle for doctoral candidates for whom English is an additional language (EAL, also termed ESL) than for those whose first language is English. It investigates…

The Oral and Written Language Scales: Is It Useful for Older Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hartley, Sigan L.; Buckendorf, G. Robert; Haines, Kristin; Hall, Trevor A.; Sikora, Darryn M.

2008-01-01

Communication impairment is a defining feature of autism spectrum disorders (ASD). Little research attention has been devoted to establishing standardized methods for defining and identifying language impairment in children with known or suspected ASD. The present study examines the feasibility and utility of the Oral and Written Language Scales…

The Genetic Architecture of Oral Language, Reading Fluency, and Reading Comprehension: A Twin Study from 7 to 16 Years

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Tosto, Maria G.; Hayiou-Thomas, Marianna E.; Harlaar, Nicole; Prom-Wormley, Elizabeth; Dale, Philip S.; Plomin, Robert

2017-01-01

This study examines the genetic and environmental etiology underlying the development of oral language and reading skills, and the relationship between them, over a long period of developmental time spanning middle childhood and adolescence. It focuses particularly on the differential relationship between language and two different aspects of…

Contributions of Print Exposure to First and Second Grade Oral Language and Reading in Chile

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Strasser, Katherine; Vergara, Daniela; del Río, M. Francisca

2017-01-01

This study examines the contribution of print exposure to oral language (expressive vocabulary and listening comprehension) and reading (word reading and reading comprehension) in first and second grade in Chile, and tests whether the contribution of print exposure to reading comprehension is mediated by language and word reading skills.…

Language learning impairments: integrating basic science, technology, and remediation.

PubMed

Tallal, P; Merzenich, M M; Miller, S; Jenkins, W

1998-11-01

One of the fundamental goals of the modern field of neuroscience is to understand how neuronal activity gives rise to higher cortical function. However, to bridge the gap between neurobiology and behavior, we must understand higher cortical functions at the behavioral level at least as well as we have come to understand neurobiological processes at the cellular and molecular levels. This is certainly the case in the study of speech processing, where critical studies of behavioral dysfunction have provided key insights into the basic neurobiological mechanisms relevant to speech perception and production. Much of this progress derives from a detailed analysis of the sensory, perceptual, cognitive, and motor abilities of children who fail to acquire speech, language, and reading skills normally within the context of otherwise normal development. Current research now shows that a dysfunction in normal phonological processing, which is critical to the development of oral and written language, may derive, at least in part, from difficulties in perceiving and producing basic sensory-motor information in rapid succession--within tens of ms (see Tallal et al. 1993a for a review). There is now substantial evidence supporting the hypothesis that basic temporal integration processes play a fundamental role in establishing neural representations for the units of speech (phonemes), which must be segmented from the (continuous) speech stream and combined to form words, in order for the normal development of oral and written language to proceed. Results from magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and positron emission tomography (PET) studies, as well as studies of behavioral performance in normal and language impaired children and adults, will be reviewed to support the view that the integration of rapidly changing successive acoustic events plays a primary role in phonological development and disorders. Finally, remediation studies based on this research, coupled with neuroplasticity research, will be presented.

Cerebral organization of oral and signed language responses: case study evidence from amytal and cortical stimulation studies.

PubMed

Mateer, C A; Rapport, R L; Kettrick, C

1984-01-01

A normally hearing left-handed patient familiar with American Sign Language (ASL) was assessed under sodium amytal conditions and with left cortical stimulation in both oral speech and signed English. Lateralization was mixed but complementary in each language mode: the right hemisphere perfusion severely disrupted motoric aspects of both types of language expression, the left hemisphere perfusion specifically disrupted features of grammatical and semantic usage in each mode of expression. Both semantic and syntactic aspects of oral and signed responses were altered during left posterior temporal-parietal stimulation. Findings are discussed in terms of the neurological organization of ASL and linguistic organization in cases of early left hemisphere damage.

Sign Language and Spoken Language for Children With Hearing Loss: A Systematic Review.

PubMed

Fitzpatrick, Elizabeth M; Hamel, Candyce; Stevens, Adrienne; Pratt, Misty; Moher, David; Doucet, Suzanne P; Neuss, Deirdre; Bernstein, Anita; Na, Eunjung

2016-01-01

Permanent hearing loss affects 1 to 3 per 1000 children and interferes with typical communication development. Early detection through newborn hearing screening and hearing technology provide most children with the option of spoken language acquisition. However, no consensus exists on optimal interventions for spoken language development. To conduct a systematic review of the effectiveness of early sign and oral language intervention compared with oral language intervention only for children with permanent hearing loss. An a priori protocol was developed. Electronic databases (eg, Medline, Embase, CINAHL) from 1995 to June 2013 and gray literature sources were searched. Studies in English and French were included. Two reviewers screened potentially relevant articles. Outcomes of interest were measures of auditory, vocabulary, language, and speech production skills. All data collection and risk of bias assessments were completed and then verified by a second person. Grades of Recommendation, Assessment, Development, and Evaluation (GRADE) was used to judge the strength of evidence. Eleven cohort studies met inclusion criteria, of which 8 included only children with severe to profound hearing loss with cochlear implants. Language development was the most frequently reported outcome. Other reported outcomes included speech and speech perception. Several measures and metrics were reported across studies, and descriptions of interventions were sometimes unclear. Very limited, and hence insufficient, high-quality evidence exists to determine whether sign language in combination with oral language is more effective than oral language therapy alone. More research is needed to supplement the evidence base. Copyright © 2016 by the American Academy of Pediatrics.

Native Geosciences: Pathways to Traditional Knowledge in Modern Research and Education

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bolman, J. R.

2010-12-01

Native people have lived for millennia in distinct and unique ways in our natural sacred homelands and environments. Tribal cultures are the expression of deep understandings of geosciences shared through oral histories, language, traditional practices and ceremonies. Today, Native people as all people are living in a definite time of change. The developing awareness of "change" brings forth an immense opportunity to expand, elevate and incorporate Traditional Native geosciences knowledge into modern research and education to expand understandings for all learners. At the center of "change" is the need to balance the needs of the people with the needs of the environment. Native traditions and our inherent understanding of what is "sacred above is sacred below" is the foundation for a multi-faceted approach for increasing the representation of Natives in geosciences. The approach is centered on the incorporation of traditional knowledge into modern research/education. The approach is also a pathway to assist in Tribal language revitalization, connection of oral histories and ceremonies to place and building an intergenerational teaching/learning community. Humboldt State University, Sinte Gleska University and Tribes in Northern California (Hoopa, Yurok, & Karuk) and Great Plains (Lakota) Tribes have nurtured Native geosciences learning and research communities connected to Tribal Sacred Sites and natural resources. Native geoscience learning is centered on the themes of earth, wind, fire and water and the Native application of remote sensing technologies. Tribal Elders and Native geoscientists work collaboratively providing Native families in-field experiential intergenerational learning opportunities which invite participants to immerse themselves spiritually, intellectually, physically and emotionally in the experiences. Through this immersion and experience Native students and families strengthen the circle of our future Tribal communities and a return to traditional ways of supporting the development of our "story" or purpose for being. The opportunities include residential summer field experiences, interdisciplinary curriculums and development of Tribally-driven Native research/education experiences.

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.

Oral Societies and Colonial Experiences: Sub-Saharan Africa and the "de-facto" Power of the Written Word

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Abdi, Ali A.

2007-01-01

Pre-colonial traditional societies in Sub-Saharan Africa were mostly oral societies whose languages were not written. In the African context, especially, it was clear that the mostly oral traditions of these societies' languages were neither being appreciated nor promoted as media of communication, or means of education by the invading Europeans.…

Evaluating the Relationship among Parents' Oral and Written Language Skills, the Home Literacy Environment, and Their Preschool Children's Emergent Literacy Skills

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Taylor, Nicole A.

2011-01-01

Studies have examined the impact of parents' educational level on their child's emergent literacy skills and have found positive associations (Korat, 2009). However, a review of the literature indicates that previous studies have not investigated whether parents' oral and written language skills relate to their child's emergent oral and written…

Effects of Targeted Test Preparation on Scores of Two Tests of Oral English as a Second Language

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Farnsworth, Tim

2013-01-01

This study investigated the effect of targeted test preparation, or coaching, on oral English as a second language test scores. The tests in question were the Basic English Skills Test Plus (BEST Plus), a scripted oral interview published by the Center for Applied Linguistics, and the Versant English Test (VET), a computer-administered and…

A Study on the Oral Disfluencies Developmental Traits of EFL Students--A Report Based on Canonical Correlation Analysis

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Gao, Ying; Du, Wanyi

2013-01-01

This paper traces 9 non-English major EFL students and collects their oral productions in 4 successive oral exams in 2 years. The canonical correlation analysis approach of SPSS is adopted to study the disfluencies developmental traits under the influence of language acquisition development. We find that as language acquisition develops, the total…

Examining General and Specific Factors in the Dimensionality of Oral Language and Reading in 4th–10th Grades

PubMed Central

Foorman, Barbara R.; Koon, Sharon; Petscher, Yaacov; Mitchell, Alison; Truckenmiller, Adrea

2015-01-01

The objective of this study was to explore dimensions of oral language and reading and their influence on reading comprehension in a relatively understudied population—adolescent readers in 4th through 10th grades. The current study employed latent variable modeling of decoding fluency, vocabulary, syntax, and reading comprehension so as to represent these constructs with minimal error and to examine whether residual variance unaccounted for by oral language can be captured by specific factors of syntax and vocabulary. A 1-, 3-, 4-, and bifactor model were tested with 1,792 students in 18 schools in 2 large urban districts in the Southeast. Students were individually administered measures of expressive and receptive vocabulary, syntax, and decoding fluency in mid-year. At the end of the year students took the state reading test as well as a group-administered, norm-referenced test of reading comprehension. The bifactor model fit the data best in all 7 grades and explained 72% to 99% of the variance in reading comprehension. The specific factors of syntax and vocabulary explained significant unique variance in reading comprehension in 1 grade each. The decoding fluency factor was significantly correlated with the reading comprehension and oral language factors in all grades, but, in the presence of the oral language factor, was not significantly associated with the reading comprehension factor. Results support a bifactor model of lexical knowledge rather than the 3-factor model of the Simple View of Reading, with the vast amount of variance in reading comprehension explained by a general oral language factor. PMID:26346839

The Importance of SES, Home and School Language and Literacy Practices, and Oral Vocabulary in Bilingual Children's English Reading Development

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Howard, Elizabeth R.; Páez, Mariela M.; August, Diane L.; Barr, Christopher D.; Kenyon, Dorry; Malabonga, Valerie

2014-01-01

This study explores the role that socioeconomic status (SES), home and school language and literacy practices, and oral vocabulary play in the development of English reading skills in Latino English language learners (ELLs) and how these factors contribute differentially to English reading outcomes for children of different ages and in different…

The Effectiveness of Drama as an Instructional Approach for the Development of Second Language Oral Fluency, Comprehensibility, and Accentedness

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Galante, Angelica; Thomson, Ron I.

2017-01-01

Although the development of second language (L2) oral fluency has been widely investigated over the past several decades, there remains a paucity of research examining language instruction specifically aimed at improving this cognitive skill. In this study, the researchers investigate how instructional techniques adapted from drama can positively…

Syntactic Complexity Measures and Their Relation to Oral Proficiency in Japanese as a Foreign Language

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Iwashita, Noriko

2006-01-01

The study reported in this article is a part of a large-scale study investigating syntactic complexity in second language (L2) oral data in commonly taught foreign languages (English, German, Japanese, and Spanish; Ortega, Iwashita, Rabie, & Norris, in preparation). In this article, preliminary findings of the analysis of the Japanese data are…

Long-Term Outcome of Oral Language and Phonological Awareness Intervention with Socially Disadvantaged Preschoolers: The Impact on Language and Literacy

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Henning, Caroline; McIntosh, Beth; Arnott, Wendy; Dodd, Barbara

2010-01-01

Early intervention aims to prevent poor literacy outcomes associated with social disadvantage. This study examined whether the short-term positive effect of a preschool classroom-based oral language and phonological awareness (PA) programme was maintained and transferred to literacy 2 years later. The vocabulary knowledge, grammatical skill,…

Increasing Engagement and Oral Language Skills of ELLs through the Arts in the Primary Grades

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Brouillette, Liane; Childress-Evans, Karen; Hinga, Briana; Farkas, George

2014-01-01

In this article, we look at the impact of an arts integration program offered at five large urban elementary schools on the daily attendance and oral language skills of children in kindergarten through second grade. Many of the children attending these schools spoke a language other than English at home. Teaching artists visited each class weekly…

The Effects of Group Members' Personalities on a Test Taker's L2 Group Oral Discussion Test Scores

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ockey, Gary J.

2009-01-01

The second language group oral is a test of second language speaking proficiency, in which a group of three or more English language learners discuss an assigned topic without interaction with interlocutors. Concerns expressed about the extent to which test takers' personal characteristics affect the scores of others in the group have limited its…

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…

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.…

Early Language and Reading Development of Bilingual Preschoolers From Low-Income Families.

PubMed

Hammer, Carol Scheffner; Miccio, Adele W

2006-01-01

Learning to read is a complex process and a number of factors affect a child's success in beginning reading. This complexity increases when a child's home language differs from that of the school and when the child comes from a home with limited economic resources. This article discusses factors that have been shown to contribute to children's success in early reading, namely-phonological awareness, letter-word identification, oral language, and the home literacy environment. Preliminary evidence suggests that bilingual children from low-income backgrounds initially perform poorly on phonological awareness and letter identification tasks, but appear to acquire these abilities quickly in kindergarten once these abilities are emphasized in early reading instruction. In addition, the findings show that bilingual preschoolers' receptive language abilities in English and Spanish positively impact their early letter-word identification abilities at the end of kindergarten. A positive relationship between bilingual preschoolers' home literacy environment and early reading outcomes has not been found to date. Educational implications for serving young, bilingual children from programs such as Head Start are discussed.

Oral language skills intervention in pre-school-a cautionary tale.

PubMed

Haley, Allyson; Hulme, Charles; Bowyer-Crane, Claudine; Snowling, Margaret J; Fricke, Silke

2017-01-01

While practitioners are increasingly asked to be mindful of the evidence base of intervention programmes, evidence from rigorous trials for the effectiveness of interventions that promote oral language abilities in the early years is sparse. To evaluate the effectiveness of a language intervention programme for children identified as having poor oral language skills in preschool classes. A randomized controlled trial was carried out in 13 UK nursery schools. In each nursery, eight children (N = 104, mean age = 3 years 11 months) with the poorest performance on standardized language measures were selected to take part. All but one child were randomly allocated to either an intervention (N = 52) or a waiting control group (N = 51). The intervention group received a 15-week oral language programme in addition to their standard nursery curriculum. The programme was delivered by trained teaching assistants and aimed to foster vocabulary knowledge, narrative and listening skills. Initial results revealed significant differences between the intervention and control group on measures of taught vocabulary. No group differences were found on any standardized language measure; however, there were gains of moderate effect size in listening comprehension. The study suggests that an intervention, of moderate duration and intensity, for small groups of preschool children successfully builds vocabulary knowledge, but does not generalize to non-taught areas of language. The findings strike a note of caution about implementing language interventions of moderate duration in preschool settings. The findings also highlight the importance of including a control group in intervention studies. © 2016 Royal College of Speech and Language Therapists.

The home literacy environment and Latino head start children's emergent literacy skills.

PubMed

Farver, Jo Ann M; Xu, Yiyuan; Lonigan, Christopher J; Eppe, Stefanie

2013-04-01

This study examined children's early literacy skills in both English and Spanish at entry to preschool to investigate the pattern of association among these skills and their families' home language and literacy practices. The participants were 392 primarily Latino immigrant (85%) families and their children. Mothers completed questionnaires about their families and their home literacy environment (HLE), and children's emergent literacy skills were measured in English and Spanish at the outset of the preschool year. Project assistants interviewed mothers in their homes and tallied the presence of literacy-related materials. Results of structural equation modeling showed that the 3 preliteracy skills were significantly associated within and across English and Spanish, suggesting the possible transfer of these early preliteracy skills across languages. For the English language HLE, parents' literacy-related behaviors, sibling-child reading, and families' literacy resources were all associated with children's English oral language skills, and their English print knowledge was associated with their home resources. For the Spanish language HLE, only parents' literacy-related behaviors were related to children's Spanish oral language and print knowledge skills. There were no significant cross-linguistic relations between any aspect of the English HLE and children's Spanish preliteracy skills, whereas parents' literacy-related behaviors in Spanish were negatively associated with children's English oral language and phonological awareness skills. Given the importance of oral language and vocabulary in promoting children's literacy, these results indicate that parents can support this skill in both languages, but their relative impact seems to be within rather across language. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2013 APA, all rights reserved).

Comparing and validating methods of reading instruction using behavioural and neural findings in an artificial orthography.

PubMed

Taylor, J S H; Davis, Matthew H; Rastle, Kathleen

2017-06-01

There is strong scientific consensus that emphasizing print-to-sound relationships is critical when learning to read alphabetic languages. Nevertheless, reading instruction varies across English-speaking countries, from intensive phonic training to multicuing environments that teach sound- and meaning-based strategies. We sought to understand the behavioral and neural consequences of these differences in relative emphasis. We taught 24 English-speaking adults to read 2 sets of 24 novel words (e.g., /buv/, /sig/), written in 2 different unfamiliar orthographies. Following pretraining on oral vocabulary, participants learned to read the novel words over 8 days. Training in 1 language was biased toward print-to-sound mappings while training in the other language was biased toward print-to-meaning mappings. Results showed striking benefits of print-sound training on reading aloud, generalization, and comprehension of single words. Univariate analyses of fMRI data collected at the end of training showed that print-meaning relative to print-sound relative training increased neural effort in dorsal pathway regions involved in reading aloud. Conversely, activity in ventral pathway brain regions involved in reading comprehension was no different following print-meaning versus print-sound training. Multivariate analyses validated our artificial language approach, showing high similarity between the spatial distribution of fMRI activity during artificial and English word reading. Our results suggest that early literacy education should focus on the systematicities present in print-to-sound relationships in alphabetic languages, rather than teaching meaning-based strategies, in order to enhance both reading aloud and comprehension of written words. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2017 APA, all rights reserved).

Comparing and Validating Methods of Reading Instruction Using Behavioural and Neural Findings in an Artificial Orthography

PubMed Central

2017-01-01

There is strong scientific consensus that emphasizing print-to-sound relationships is critical when learning to read alphabetic languages. Nevertheless, reading instruction varies across English-speaking countries, from intensive phonic training to multicuing environments that teach sound- and meaning-based strategies. We sought to understand the behavioral and neural consequences of these differences in relative emphasis. We taught 24 English-speaking adults to read 2 sets of 24 novel words (e.g., /buv/, /sig/), written in 2 different unfamiliar orthographies. Following pretraining on oral vocabulary, participants learned to read the novel words over 8 days. Training in 1 language was biased toward print-to-sound mappings while training in the other language was biased toward print-to-meaning mappings. Results showed striking benefits of print–sound training on reading aloud, generalization, and comprehension of single words. Univariate analyses of fMRI data collected at the end of training showed that print–meaning relative to print–sound relative training increased neural effort in dorsal pathway regions involved in reading aloud. Conversely, activity in ventral pathway brain regions involved in reading comprehension was no different following print–meaning versus print–sound training. Multivariate analyses validated our artificial language approach, showing high similarity between the spatial distribution of fMRI activity during artificial and English word reading. Our results suggest that early literacy education should focus on the systematicities present in print-to-sound relationships in alphabetic languages, rather than teaching meaning-based strategies, in order to enhance both reading aloud and comprehension of written words. PMID:28425742

Low-level neural auditory discrimination dysfunctions in specific language impairment-A review on mismatch negativity findings.

PubMed

Kujala, Teija; Leminen, Miika

2017-12-01

In specific language impairment (SLI), there is a delay in the child's oral language skills when compared with nonverbal cognitive abilities. The problems typically relate to phonological and morphological processing and word learning. This article reviews studies which have used mismatch negativity (MMN) in investigating low-level neural auditory dysfunctions in this disorder. With MMN, it is possible to tap the accuracy of neural sound discrimination and sensory memory functions. These studies have found smaller response amplitudes and longer latencies for speech and non-speech sound changes in children with SLI than in typically developing children, suggesting impaired and slow auditory discrimination in SLI. Furthermore, they suggest shortened sensory memory duration and vulnerability of the sensory memory to masking effects. Importantly, some studies reported associations between MMN parameters and language test measures. In addition, it was found that language intervention can influence the abnormal MMN in children with SLI, enhancing its amplitude. These results suggest that the MMN can shed light on the neural basis of various auditory and memory impairments in SLI, which are likely to influence speech perception. Copyright © 2017. Published by Elsevier Ltd.

Banque de strategies de production orale pour un enseignement explicite de la 1re a la 7e annee: Expose et interaction. Document d'appui pour les programmes d'etudes de francais langue premiere et de francais langue seconde--immersion de 1998 (Interactive Oral Presentation Strategies for Specific Instruction in Grades 1 through 7. Guide in Support of Programs Teaching French as a First Language and French as a Second Language--Immersion 1998).

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Alberta Learning, Edmonton. Direction de l'education francaise.

This teacher's guide, intended for the instruction of both French as a first language and French as a second language in an immersion setting, provides a host of strategies for teaching interactive oral presentation skills in the classroom (Grades 1 through 7). Section 1 is designed to bring the teacher's awareness to the training procedure,…

Banque de strategies de production orale pour un enseignement explicite de la 6e a la 12e annee: Expose et interaction. Document d'appui pour les programmes d'etudes de francais langue premiere et de francais langue seconde--immersion de 1998 (Interactive Oral Presentation Strategies for Specific Instruction in Grades 6 through 12. Guide in Support of Programs Teaching French as a First Language and French as a Second Language--Immersion 1998).

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Northwest Territories Dept. of Education, Culture and Employment, Yellowknife.

This teacher's guide, intended for the instruction of both French as a first language and French as a second language in an immersion setting, provides a host of strategies for teaching interactive oral presentation skills in the classroom (Grades 6 through 12). Section 1 is designed to bring the teacher's awareness to the training procedure,…

Componential skills of beginning writing: An exploratory study

PubMed Central

Kim, Young-Suk; Al Otaiba, Stephanie; Puranik, Cynthia; Folsom, Jessica Sidler; Greulich, Luana; Wagner, Richard K.

2011-01-01

The present study examined the components of end of kindergarten writing, using data from 242 kindergartners. Specifically of interest was the importance of spelling, letter writing fluency, reading, and word- and syntax-level oral language skills in writing. The results from structural equation modeling revealed that oral language, spelling, and letter writing fluency were positively and uniquely related to writing skill after accounting for reading skills. Reading skill was not uniquely related to writing once oral language, spelling, and letter writing fluency were taken into account. These findings are discussed from a developmental perspective. PMID:22267897

Students' and Teachers' Assessments of the Need for Accuracy in the Oral Production of German as a Foreign Language

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Chavez, Monika

2007-01-01

Previous research indicates that foreign language learners are much more focused on accuracy, particularly grammatical accuracy, than their teachers are. The purpose of the current study was to gain a more detailed understanding of American learners' views of the need for accuracy in the oral production of a foreign language (German) by (a)…

Language Revitalization.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hinton, Leanne

2003-01-01

Surveys developments in language revitalization and language death. Focusing on indigenous languages, discusses the role and nature of appropriate linguistic documentation, possibilities for bilingual education, and methods of promoting oral fluency and intergenerational transmission in affected languages. (Author/VWL)

English and Spanish oral cancer information on the internet: a pilot surface quality and content evaluation of oral cancer web sites.

PubMed

Irwin, Jeannie Y; Thyvalikakath, Thankam; Spallek, Heiko; Wali, Teena; Kerr, Alexander Ross; Schleyer, Titus

2011-01-01

Oral and pharyngeal cancers are responsible for over 7600 deaths each year in the United States. Given the significance of the disease and the fact that many individuals increasingly rely on health information on the Internet, it is important that patients and others can access clear and accurate oral cancer information on the Web. The objective of this study was threefold: (a) develop an initial method to evaluate surface and content quality of selected English- and Spanish-language oral cancer Web sites; (b) conduct a pilot evaluation; and (c) discuss implications of our findings for dental public health. We developed a search strategy to find oral cancer sites frequented by the public using Medline Plus, Google, and Yahoo in English and Spanish. We adapted the Information Quality Tool (IQT) to perform a surface evaluation and developed a novel tool to evaluate site content for 24 sites each in English and Spanish. English-language sites had an average IQT score of 76.6 (out of 100) and an average content score of 52.1 (out of 100). Spanish-language sites had an average IQT score of 50.3 and an average content score of 25.6. The study produced a quality assessment of oral cancer Web sites useful for clinicians and patients. Sites provided more information on clinical presentation, and etiology, and risk factors, than other aspects of oral cancer. The surface and quality of Spanish-language sites was low, possibly putting Hispanic populations at a disadvantage regarding oral cancer information on the Web.

28 CFR 55.20 - Oral assistance and publicity.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-07-01

... 28 Judicial Administration 2 2011-07-01 2011-07-01 false Oral assistance and publicity. 55.20 Section 55.20 Judicial Administration DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE (CONTINUED) IMPLEMENTATION OF THE PROVISIONS OF THE VOTING RIGHTS ACT REGARDING LANGUAGE MINORITY GROUPS Minority Language Materials and...

28 CFR 55.20 - Oral assistance and publicity.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-07-01

... 28 Judicial Administration 2 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 false Oral assistance and publicity. 55.20 Section 55.20 Judicial Administration DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE (CONTINUED) IMPLEMENTATION OF THE PROVISIONS OF THE VOTING RIGHTS ACT REGARDING LANGUAGE MINORITY GROUPS Minority Language Materials and...

The Foundations of Literacy Development in Children at Familial Risk of Dyslexia.

PubMed

Hulme, Charles; Nash, Hannah M; Gooch, Debbie; Lervåg, Arne; Snowling, Margaret J

2015-12-01

The development of reading skills is underpinned by oral language abilities: Phonological skills appear to have a causal influence on the development of early word-level literacy skills, and reading-comprehension ability depends, in addition to word-level literacy skills, on broader (semantic and syntactic) language skills. Here, we report a longitudinal study of children at familial risk of dyslexia, children with preschool language difficulties, and typically developing control children. Preschool measures of oral language predicted phoneme awareness and grapheme-phoneme knowledge just before school entry, which in turn predicted word-level literacy skills shortly after school entry. Reading comprehension at 8½ years was predicted by word-level literacy skills at 5½ years and by language skills at 3½ years. These patterns of predictive relationships were similar in both typically developing children and those at risk of literacy difficulties. Our findings underline the importance of oral language skills for the development of both word-level literacy and reading comprehension. © The Author(s) 2015.

Rethinking the connection between working memory and language impairment.

PubMed

Archibald, Lisa M D; Harder Griebeling, Katherine

2016-05-01

Working memory deficits have been found for children with specific language impairment (SLI) on tasks imposing increasing short-term memory load with or without additional, consistent (and simple) processing load. To examine the processing function of working memory in children with low language (LL) by employing tasks imposing increasing processing loads with constant storage demands individually adjusted based on each participant's short-term memory capacity. School-age groups with LL (n = 17) and typical language with either average (n = 28) or above-average nonverbal intelligence (n = 15) completed complex working memory-span tasks varying processing load while keeping storage demands constant, varying storage demands while keeping processing load constant, simple storage-span tasks, and measures of language and nonverbal intelligence. Teachers completed questionnaires about cognition and learning. Significantly lower scores were found for the LL than either matched group on storage-based tasks, but no group differences were found on the tasks varying processing load. Teachers' ratings of oral expression and mathematics abilities discriminated those who did or did not complete the most challenging cognitive tasks. The results implicate a deficit in the phonological storage but not in the central executive component of working memory for children with LL. Teacher ratings may reveal personality traits related to perseverance of effort in cognitive research. © 2015 Royal College of Speech and Language Therapists.

The Role of Mother Tongue Literacy in Language Learning and Mathematical Learning: Is There a Multilingual Benefit for Both?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Dahm, Rebecca; De Angelis, Gessica

2018-01-01

The present study examines the multilingual benefit in relation to language learning and mathematical learning. The objective is to assess whether speakers of three or more languages, depending on language profile and personal histories, show significant advantages in language learning and/or mathematical learning, and whether mother tongue…

Une Progression dans la Strategie Pedagogique pour assurer la Construction de Langage Oral L'ecole Maternelle [A Progression in Teaching Strategies to Ensure Oral Language Building in Nursery School].

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Durand, C.

1997-01-01

Summarizes progressions between 2 and 6 years of age in children's power of concentration, ability to express ideas, build logical relationships, structure spoken words, and play with the semantic, phonetic, syntactical, and morphological aspects of oral language. Notes that the progression depends on the educator's interaction with the child.…

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…

Dental Health - Multiple Languages

MedlinePlus

... Section Concerns and Discomforts of Pregnancy: Oral Health - English PDF Concerns and Discomforts of Pregnancy: Oral Health - ... Alliance Tips for Good Oral Health During Pregnancy - English PDF Tips for Good Oral Health During Pregnancy - ...

The Comprehension Problems of Children with Poor Reading Comprehension despite Adequate Decoding: A Meta-Analysis.

PubMed

Spencer, Mercedes; Wagner, Richard K

2018-06-01

The purpose of this meta-analysis was to examine the comprehension problems of children who have a specific reading comprehension deficit (SCD), which is characterized by poor reading comprehension despite adequate decoding. The meta-analysis included 86 studies of children with SCD who were assessed in reading comprehension and oral language (vocabulary, listening comprehension, storytelling ability, and semantic and syntactic knowledge). Results indicated that children with SCD had deficits in oral language ( d = -0.78, 95% CI [-0.89, -0.68], but these deficits were not as severe as their deficit in reading comprehension ( d = -2.78, 95% CI [-3.01, -2.54]). When compared to reading comprehension age-matched normal readers, the oral language skills of the two groups were comparable ( d = 0.32, 95% CI [-0.49, 1.14]), which suggests that the oral language weaknesses of children with SCD represent a developmental delay rather than developmental deviance. Theoretical and practical implications of these findings are discussed.

The Effect of Language Specific Factors on Early Written Composition: The Role of Spelling, Oral Language and Text Generation Skills in a Shallow Orthography

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Arfé, Barbara; Dockrell, Julie E.; De Bernardi, Bianca

2016-01-01

Spelling skills have been identified as one of the major barriers to written text production in young English writers. By contrast oral language skills and text generation have been found to be less influential in the texts produced by beginning writers. To date, our understanding of the role of spelling skills in transparent orthographies is…

"But Before I Go to My Next Step": A Longitudinal Study of Adolescent English Language Learners' Transitional Devices in Oral Presentations

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kibler, Amanda K.; Salerno, April S.; Palacios, Natalia

2014-01-01

This multiple case study examines patterns in the oral second language use of three Spanish-speaking English language learners in rehearsed presentations produced annually over 4 years (Grades 9-12) in a U.S. high school. Analysis focuses on students' changing use of transitional devices called frame markers (Hyland, 2005) as a lens for…

Reading skills in young adolescents with a history of Specific Language Impairment: The role of early semantic capacity.

PubMed

Buil-Legaz, Lucía; Aguilar-Mediavilla, Eva; Rodríguez-Ferreiro, Javier

2015-01-01

This study assessed the reading skills of 19 Spanish-Catalan children with Specific Language Impairment (SLI) and 16 age-matched control children. Children with SLI have difficulties with oral language comprehension, which may affect later reading acquisition. We conducted a longitudinal study examining reading acquisition in these children between 8 and 12 years old and we relate this data with early oral language acquisition at 6 years old. Compared to the control group, the SLI group presented impaired decoding and comprehension skills at age 8, as evidenced by poor scores in all the assessed tasks. Nevertheless, only text comprehension abilities appeared to be impaired at age 12. Individual analyses confirmed the presence of comprehension deficits in most of the SLI children. Furthermore, early semantic verbal fluency at age 6 appeared to significantly predict the reading comprehension capacity of SLI participants at age 12. Our results emphasize the importance of semantic capacity at early stages of oral language development over the consolidation of reading acquisition at later stages. Readers will recognize the relevance of prior oral language impairment, especially semantic capacity, in children with a history of SLI as a risk factor for the development of later reading difficulties. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

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…

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…

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…

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…

Toward interactive context-aware affective educational recommendations in computer-assisted language learning

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Santos, Olga C.; Saneiro, Mar; Boticario, Jesus G.; Rodriguez-Sanchez, M. C.

2016-01-01

This work explores the benefits of supporting learners affectively in a context-aware learning situation. This features a new challenge in related literature in terms of providing affective educational recommendations that take advantage of ambient intelligence and are delivered through actuators available in the environment, thus going beyond previous approaches which provided computer-based recommendation that present some text or tell aloud the learner what to do. To address this open issue, we have applied TORMES elicitation methodology, which has been used to investigate the potential of ambient intelligence for making more interactive recommendations in an emotionally challenging scenario (i.e. preparing for the oral examination of a second language learning course). Arduino open source electronics prototyping platform is used both to sense changes in the learners' affective state and to deliver the recommendation in a more interactive way through different complementary sensory communication channels (sight, hearing, touch) to cope with a universal design. An Ambient Intelligence Context-aware Affective Recommender Platform (AICARP) has been built to support the whole experience, which represents a progress in the state of the art. In particular, we have come up with what is most likely the first interactive context-aware affective educational recommendation. The value of this contribution lies in discussing methodological and practical issues involved.

Orality, Literacy, and Star Wars.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Havelock, Eric A.

1986-01-01

Argues that the educational system should encourage "down to earth" language by including oral recitation in the curricula, particularly recitation of popular poetry with accompaniment. Using the shuttle disaster as a striking example, claims that the modern media overuses conceptual language to disguise the hard meaning of what is being…

Research in Oral Language.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Petty, Walter T., Ed.

This collection of six articles on oral language is a product of the cooperative efforts of the National Conference on Research in English, the Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development, the International Reading Association, the Association for Childhood Education International, and the National Council of Teachers of English. It is…

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.…

The Potential of Past Tense Marking in Oral Reading as a Clinical Marker of Specific Language Impairment in School-Age Children

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Werfel, Krystal L.; Hendricks, Alison Eisel; Schuele, C. Melanie

2017-01-01

Purpose: The purpose of this study was twofold. The first aim was to explore differences in profiles of past tense marking in oral reading of school-age children with specific language impairment (SLI). The second aim was to explore the potential of past tense marking in oral reading as a clinical marker of SLI in school-age children. Method: This…

Justifying the Use of a Second Language Oral Test as an Exit Test in Hong Kong: An Application of Assessment Use Argument Framework

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Jia, Yujie

2013-01-01

This study employed Bachman and Palmer's (2010) Assessment Use Argument framework to investigate to what extent the use of a second language oral test as an exit test in a Hong Kong university can be justified. It also aimed to help test developers of this oral test identify the most critical areas in the current test design that might need…

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…

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…

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.

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…

Language Learning Strategies Used by Distance Learners of English: A Study with a Group of Turkish Distance Learners of EFL

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Altunay, Dilek

2014-01-01

Use of language learning strategies is important for language learning. Some researchers state that language learning strategies are important because their use affects the development of communicative competence (Lessard-Clouston, 1997 & Oxford, 1990). Effective use of language learning strategies has particular importance for distance…

Language Learning Strategies and Styles among Iranian Engineering and Political Science Graduate Students Studying Abroad

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Alireza, Shakarami; Abdullah, Mardziha H.

2010-01-01

Language learning strategies are used with the explicit goal of helping learners improve their knowledge and understanding of a target language. They are the conscious thoughts and behaviors used by students to facilitate language learning tasks and to personalize language learning process. Learning styles on the other hand, are "general…

Longitudinal Prediction of 1st and 2nd Grade English Oral Reading Fluency in English Language Learners: Which Early Reading and Language Skills Are Better Predictors?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Solari, Emily J.; Aceves, Terese C.; Higareda, Ignacio; Richards-Tutor, Cara; Filippini, Alexis L.; Gerber, Michael M.; Leafstedt, Jill

2014-01-01

This study investigates the relation between Spanish and English early literacy skills in kindergarten and first grade, and English oral reading fluency at the end of first and second grade in a sample of 150 Spanish-speaking English language learners. Students were assessed in kindergarten, first, and second grades on a broad bilingual academic…

The Effectiveness of Using Linguistic Classroom Activities in Teaching English Language in Developing the Skills of Oral Linguistic Performance and Decision Making Skill among Third Grade Intermediate Students in Makah

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Alshareef, Fahd Majed

2016-01-01

The study aimed to reveal the effectiveness of the use of certain classroom language activities in teaching English language in the development of oral linguistic performance and decision-making among intermediate third-grade students in Makah, and it revealed a statistically significant correlation relationship between the averages of the study…

Foreign-Language Pedagogy: Practical Applications to Theoretical Concerns. Selected Papers from the Loyola College Conference Entitled "Bridging Theory and Practice in the Foreign-Language Classroom" (Baltimore, Maryland, October 18-20, 1991).

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Wieczorek, Joseph A., Ed.

1993-01-01

Papers from the conference include the following: "Activites orales et motivation dans l'etude du vocabulaire d'une langue etrangere (Oral Activities and Motivation in the Study of Vocabulary in a Foreign Language)" (M. Guisset); "Bridging High School and College Classes through the Multicultural Approach: The Case of Francophone…

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…

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…

Talking and Testing: Discourse Approaches to the Assessment of Oral Proficiency. Studies in Bilingualism, Volume 14.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Young, Richard, Ed.; He, Agnes Weiyun, Ed.

Papers on second language oral proficiency testing include: "Language Proficiency Interviews: A Discourse Approach" (Agnes Weiyun He, Richard Young); "Re-Analyzing the OPI: How Much Does It Look Like Natural Conversation?" (Marysia Johnson, Andrea Tyler); "Evaluating Learner Interactional Skills: Conversation at the Micro…

Examining English Language Teachers' TPACK in Oral Communication Skills Teaching

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Debbagh, Mohammed; Jones, W. Monty

2018-01-01

This case study utilized the Technological Pedagogical Content Knowledge (TPACK) theoretical framework (Mishra & Koehler, 2006) as a lens to examine the instructional strategies of four English as a second language (ESL) teachers and their rationales for incorporating technology into their instructional practices in teaching oral communication…

Conversation Analysis--A Discourse Approach to Teaching Oral English Skills

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Wu, Yan

2013-01-01

This paper explores a pedagocial approach to teaching oral English---Conversation Analysis. First, features of spoken language is described in comparison to written language. Second, Conversation Analysis theory is elaborated in terms of adjacency pairs, turn-taking, repairs, sequences, openings and closings, and feedback. Third, under the…

The Assessment of Spoken Language under Varying Interactional Conditions.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Berry, Vivien

Two studies of individuals' oral second language performance in interaction with extraverts and introverts are reported here. The first, described briefly, investigated the effects of homogeneous (extravert/extravert or introvert/introvert) vs. heterogeneous pairings on oral performance in interviews. Subjects were 36 women students in a Japanese…

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…

Cognitive and Motor Aspects of Parkinson's Disease Associated with Dysphagia.

PubMed

Kim, Ji Sun; Youn, Jinyoung; Suh, Mee Kyung; Kim, Tae-Eun; Chin, Juhee; Park, Suyeon; Cho, Jin Whan

2015-11-01

Dysphagia is a common symptom and an important prognostic factor in Parkinson's disease (PD). Although cognitive and motor dysfunctions may contribute to dysphagia in patients with PD, any specific association between such problems and swallowing functions is unclear. Here, we examined the potential relationship between cognitive/motor components and swallowing functions in PD. We evaluated the contributions of cognition and motor function to the components of swallowing via video fluoroscopic swallowing (VFS) experiments. We prospectively enrolled 56 patients without dementia having PD. Parkinson's disease severity was assessed by the Unified Parkinson's Disease Rating Scale (UPDRS). All participants received neuropsychological tests covering general mental status, visuospatial function, attention, language, learning and memory, and frontal executive function. The well-validated "modified barium swallow impairment profile" scoring system was applied during VFS studies to quantify swallowing impairments. Finally, correlations between neuropsychological or motor functions and impairment in swallowing components were calculated. The most significant correlations were found between the frontal/executive or learning/memory domains and the oral phase of swallowing, though a minor component of the pharyngeal phase correlated with frontal function as well. Bradykinesia and the UPDRS total score were associated with both the pharyngeal and oral phases. Our findings suggest that cognitive dysfunctions are associated with the oral phase of swallowing in patients with early stage PD while the severity of motor symptoms may be associated with overall swallowing function.

The Language Growth of Spanish-Speaking English Language Learners

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Rojas, Raul; Iglesias, Aquiles

2013-01-01

Although the research literature regarding language growth trajectories is burgeoning, the shape and direction of English Language Learners' (ELLs) language growth trajectories are largely not known. This study used growth curve modeling to determine the shape of ELLs' language growth trajectories across 12,248 oral narrative language samples…

Characterizing Students' Attempts to Explain Observations from Practical Work: Intermediate Phases of Understanding

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mestad, Idar; Kolstø, Stein Dankert

2017-10-01

This study aims to characterize a group of students' preliminary oral explanations of a scientific phenomenon produced as part of their learning process. The students were encouraged to use their own wordings to test out their own interpretation of observations when conducting practical activities. They presented their explanations orally in the whole class after having discussed and written down an explanation in a small group. The data consists of transcribed video recordings of the presented explanations, observation notes, and interviews. A genre perspective was used to characterize the students' explanations together with analysis of the students use of scientific terms, gestures, and the language markers "sort of" and "like." Based on the analysis we argue to separate between event-focused explanations, where the students describe how objects move, and object-focused explanations, where the students describe object properties and interactions. The first type uses observable events and few scientific terms, while the latter contains object properties and tentative use of scientific terms. Both types are accompanied by an extensive use of language markers and gestures. A third category, term-focused explanations, is used when the students only provide superficial explanations by expressing scientific terms. Here, the students' use of language markers and gestures are low. The analyses shows how students' explanations can be understood as tentative attempts to build on their current understanding and observations while trying to reach out for a deeper and scientific way of identifying observations and building explanations and new ways of talking.

Students' performance in phonological awareness, rapid naming, reading, and writing.

PubMed

Capellini, Simone Aparecida; Lanza, Simone Cristina

2010-01-01

phonological awareness, rapid naming, reading and writing in students with learning difficulties of a municipal public school. to characterize and compare the performance of students from public schools with and without learning difficulties in phonological awareness, rapid naming, reading and writing. participants were 60 students from the 2nd to the 4th grades of municipal public schools divided into 6 groups. Each group was composed by 10 students, being 3 groups of students without learning difficulties and 3 groups with students with learning difficulties. As testing procedure phonological awareness, rapid automatized naming, oral reading and writing under dictation assessments were used. the results highlighted the better performance of students with no learning difficulties. Students with learning difficulties presented a higher ratios considering time/speed in rapid naming tasks and, consequently, lower production in activities of phonological awareness and reading and writing, when compared to students without learning difficulties. students with learning difficulties presented deficits when considering the relationship between naming and automatization skills, and among lexical access, visual discrimination, stimulus frequency use and competition in using less time for code naming, i.e. necessary for the phoneme-grapheme conversion process required in the reading and writing alphabetic system like the Portuguese language.

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…

Interaction through Language.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Lengyel, Peter, Ed.

1984-01-01

This issue dealing with language discusses language and social structure, social progress and sociolinguistics, oral and literate traditions, Portuguese Creole dialects in West Africa, a framework for describing how languages spread, socio-cultural conflict and bilingual education, linguistic variation in one-language societies, the language…

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…

"La Evaluacion de la Actuacion Oral de los Hispanoparlantes Bilingues Mediante las Directrices de ACTFL (Evaluation of the Oral Presentation of the Bilingual Spanish Speaking Professionals by Moderators of the ACTFL).

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Alonso, Esther

1997-01-01

Discusses the validity of a rating scale created by the American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages for the purpose of measuring the oral language proficiency of bilingual professionals who are speakers of English and Spanish. Notes that this scale measures various levels of competence and features of an individual's speech. (14…

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.

Language and Culture in the Multi-Ethnic Community: Spoken-Language Assessment

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Matluck, Joseph H.; Mace-Matluck, Betty J.

1975-01-01

Describes the research approach used to develop the MAT-SEA-CAL Oral Proficiency tests designed by the authors. Language test performance depends on both language proficiency and knowledge of the culture. (TL)