Search results for: grammar learning

Authors: Oleg Redkin, Olga Bernikova

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It is commonly accepted that every language is both pure linguistic phenomenon as well as socially significant communicative system, which exists on the basis of certain society - its collective 'native speaker'. Therefore the language evolution and features besides its own linguistic rules and regulations are also defined by the influence of a number of extra-linguistic factors. The above mentioned statement may be illustrated by the example of the Arabic language which may be characterized by the following peculiarities: - the inner logic of the Arabic language - the 'algebraicity' of its morphological paradigms and grammar rules; - association of the Arabic language with the sacred texts of Islam, its close ties with the pre-Islamic and Islamic cultural heritage - the pre-Islamic poetry and Islamic literature and science; - territorial distribution, which in recent years went far beyond the boundaries of its traditional realm due to the development of new technologies and the spread of mass media, and what is more important, migration processes; - association of the Arabic language with the so called 'Renaissance of Islam'. These peculiarities should be remembered while considering the status of the Modern Standard Arabic (MSA) language or the Classical Arabic (CA) language as well as the Modern Arabic (MA) dialects in synchrony or from the diachronic point of view. Continuity of any system in diachrony on the one hand depends on the level of its ability to adapt itself to changing environment and by its internal ties on the other. Structural durability of language is characterized by its inner logic, hierarchy of paradigms and its grammar rules, as well as continuity of their implementation in acts of everyday communication. Since the Arabic language is both linguistic and social phenomenon the process of the Arabic language acquisition and study should not be focused only on the knowledge about linguistic features or development of communicative skills alone, but must be supplied with the information related to culture, history and religion of peoples of certain region that will expand and enrich competences of the target audience.

Keywords: Arabic, culture, Islam, language

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Authors: Azeddine El-Hassouny, Chandrashekhar Meshram, Geraldin Nanfack

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In recent years, learning from data with noisy labels (Label Noise) has been a major concern in supervised learning. This problem has become even more worrying in Deep Learning, where the generalization capabilities have been questioned lately. Indeed, deep learning requires a large amount of data that is generally collected by search engines, which frequently return data with unreliable labels. In this paper, we investigate the Label Noise in Deep Learning using variational inference. Our contributions are : (1) exploiting Label Noise concept where the true labels are learnt using reparameterization variational inference, while observed labels are learnt discriminatively. (2) the noise transition matrix is learnt during the training without any particular process, neither heuristic nor preliminary phases. The theoretical results shows how true label distribution can be learned by variational inference in any discriminate neural network, and the effectiveness of our approach is proved in several target datasets, such as MNIST and CIFAR32.

Keywords: label noise, deep learning, discrete latent variable, variational inference, MNIST, CIFAR32

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Authors: Wajeehah Aayeshah, Joy Higgs

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The term “transcending pedagogies” has been created to refer to teaching and learning strategies that transcend the mode of student enrolment, the needs of different students, and different learning spaces. The value of such pedagogies in the current arena when learning spaces, technologies and preferences are more volatile than ever before, is a key focus of this paper. The paper will examine current and emerging pedagogies that transcend the learning spaces and enrollment modes of on campus, distance, virtual and workplace learning contexts. A further point of interest is how academics in professional and higher education settings interpret and implement pedagogies in the current global conversation space and re-creation of higher education. This study questioned how the notion and practice of transcending pedagogies enables us to re-imagine and reshape university curricula. It explored the nature of teaching and learning spaces and those professional and higher education (current and emerging) pedagogies that can be implemented across these spaces. We set out to identify how transcending pedagogies can assist students in learning to deal with complexity, uncertainty and change in the practice worlds and better appeal to students who are making decisions on where to enrol. The data for this study was collected through in-depth interviews and focus groups with academics and policy makers within academia.

Keywords: Transcending Pedagogies, teaching and learning strategies, learning spaces, pedagogies

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Authors: Jennifer Fane, Mike Gray, Melissa Sager

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Children with diagnosed or suspected learning disabilities frequently experience significant skill gaps in foundational learning areas such as reading, writing, and math. Remedial one-to-one instruction is a highly effective means of supporting children with learning differences in building these foundational skills and closing the learning gap between them and their same-age peers. However, due to the learning challenges children with learning disabilities face, and ensuing challenges with self-confidence, many children with learning differences struggle with motivation and self-regulation within remedial one-to-one learning environments - despite the benefits of these sessions. Socially Assistive Robots (SARs) are an innovative educational technology tool that has been trialled in a range of educational settings to support diverse learning needs. Yet, little is known about the impact of SARs on the learning of children with learning differences in a one-to-one remedial instructional setting. This study sought to explore the impact of SARs on the engagement of children (n=9) with learning differences attending one-to-one remedial instruction sessions at a non-profit remedial education provider. The study used a mixed-methods design to explore learner engagement during learning tasks both with and without the use of a SAR to investigate how the use of SARs impacts student learning. The study took place over five weeks, with each session within the study followed the same procedure with the SAR acting as a teaching assistant when in use. Data from the study included analysis of time-sample video segments of the instructional sessions, instructor recorded information about the student’s progress towards their session learning goal and student self-reported mood and energy levels before and after the session. Analysis of the findings indicates that the use of SARs resulted in fewer instances of off-task behaviour and less need for instructor re-direction during learning tasks, allowing students to work in more sustained ways towards their learning goals. This initial research indicates that the use of SARs does have a material and measurable impact on learner engagement for children with learning differences and that further exploration of the impact of SARs during one-to-one remedial instruction is warranted.

Keywords: engagement, learning differences, learning disabilities, instruction, social robotics.

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Authors: P. Jayashree, S. Rajkumar

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With the trend of virtual and augmented reality environments booming to provide a life like experience, gaming is a major tool in supporting such learning environments. In this work, a variant of Voronoi heuristics, employing supervised learning for the TRON game is proposed. The paper discusses the features that would be really useful when a machine learning bot is to be used as an opponent against a human player. Various game scenarios, nature of the bot and the experimental results are provided for the proposed variant to prove that the approach is better than those that are currently followed.

Keywords: artificial Intelligence, automation, machine learning, TRON game, Voronoi heuristics

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Authors: Sara Fallahi

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This paper reviews the importance of content familiarity of receptive skills and offers solutions to the issue of content unfamiliarity in language learning materials. Presently, language learning materials are mainly comprised of global issues and target language speakers’ culture(s) in receptive skills. This might leadlearners to focus on content rather than the language. As a solution, materials on receptive skills can be developed with a focus on learners’culture and social concerns, especially in the beginner levels of learning. Language learners often learn their target language through the receptive skills of listening and reading before language production ensues through speaking and writing. Students’ journey from receptive skills to productive skills is mainly concentrated on by teachers. There are barriers to language learning, such as time and energy, that can hinder learners’ understanding and ability to build the required background knowledge of the content. This is generated due to learners’ unfamiliarity with the skill’s content. Therefore, materials that improve content familiarity will help learners improve their language comprehension, learning, and usage. This presentation will conclude with practical solutions to help teachers and learners more authentically integrate language and culture to elevate language learning.

Keywords: language learning, listening content, reading content, content familiarity, ESL books, language learning books, cultural familiarity

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Authors: Angel Daniel Muñoz Guzmán

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E-learning is becoming more and more common every day. For online, hybrid or traditional face-to-face programs, there are some e-teaching platforms like Google classroom, Blackboard, Moodle and Canvas, and there are platforms for full e-learning like Coursera, edX or Udemy. These tools are changing the way students acquire knowledge at schools; however, in today’s changing world that is not enough. As students’ needs and skills change and become more complex, new tools will need to be added to keep them engaged and potentialize their learning. This is especially important in the current global situation that is changing everything: the Covid-19 pandemic. Due to Covid-19, education had to make an unexpected switch from face-to-face courses to digital courses. In this study, the students’ learning experience is analyzed by applying different e-tools and following the Tec21 Model and a flexible and digital model, both developed by the Tecnologico de Monterrey University. The evaluation of the students’ learning experience has been made by the quantitative PrEmo method of emotions. Findings suggest that the quantity of e-tools used during a course does not affect the students’ learning experience as much as how a teacher links every available tool and makes them work as one in order to keep the student engaged and motivated.

Keywords: student, experience, e-learning, e-teaching, e-tools, technology, education

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Authors: Carlos Oliveira

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This paper is a criticism of the traditional model of teaching and presents alternative teaching methods, different from the traditional lecture. These methods are accompanied by reports of experience of their application in a class. It was concluded that in the lecture, the student has a low learning rate and that other methods should be used to make the most engaging learning environment for the student, contributing (or facilitating) his learning process. However, the teacher should not use a single method, but rather a range of different methods to ensure the learning experience does not become repetitive and fatiguing for the student.

Keywords: educational practices, experience report, IT in education, teaching methods

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Authors: Abrar Al-Hasan

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Web 2.0 has significantly increased the amount of information available to users not only about firms and their offerings, but also about the activities of other individuals in their networks and markets. It is widely acknowledged that this increased availability of ‘social’ information, particularly about other individuals, is likely to influence a user’s behavior and choices. However, there are very few systematic studies of how such increased information transparency on the behavior of other users in a focal users’ network influences a focal users’ behavior in the emerging marketplace of online language learning. This study seeks to examine the value and impact of ‘social activities’ – wherein, a user sees and interacts with the learning activities of her peers – on her language learning efficiency. An online experiment in a peer-to-peer language marketplace was conducted to compare the learning efficiency of users with ‘social’ information versus users with no ‘social’ information. The results of this study highlight the impact and importance of ‘social’ information within the language learning context. The study concludes by exploring how these insights may inspire new developments in online education.

Keywords: e-Learning, language learning marketplace, peer-to-peer, social network

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Authors: Ann-May Marais

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South African higher education institutions are following the global adoption of a blended approach to teaching and learning. Blended learning is viewed as a transformative teaching-learning approach, as it provides students with the optimum experience by mixing the best of face-to-face and online learning. Although academics realise the benefits of blended learning, they find it challenging and time-consuming to implement blended strategies. Professional development is a critical component of the adoption of higher education teaching-learning approaches. The Institutional course for higher education academics offered at a South African University was designed in a blended model, implemented and evaluated. This paper reports on a study that investigated the experiences of academics on the blended approach used during the induction course. A qualitative design-based research methodology was employed, and data was collected using participant feedback and document analysis. The data gathered from each of the four ICNL offerings were used to inform the design of the next course. Findings indicated that lecturers realised that blended learning could cater to student diversity, different learning styles, engagement, and innovation. Furthermore, it emerged that the course has to cater for diversity in technology proficiency and readiness of participants. Participants also require ongoing support in technology usage and discipline-specific blended learning workshops. This paper contends that the modelling of a blended approach to professional development can be an effective way to motivate academics to apply blended learning in their teaching-learning experiences.

Keywords: blended learning, professional development, induction course, integration of technology

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Authors: Abeer Heider

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This paper explores and classifies the different kinds of avoidances that students commonly make in the acquisition of Arabic as a second/foreign language, and suggests specific strategies to help students lessen their avoidance trends in hopes of streamlining the learning process. Students most commonly use avoidance strategies in grammar, and word choice. These different types of strategies have different implications and naturally require different approaches. Thus the question remains as to the most effective way to help students improve their Arabic, and how teachers can efficiently utilize these techniques. It is hoped that this research will contribute to understand the role of avoidance in the field of the second language acquisition in general, and as a type of input. Yet some researchers also note that similarity between L1 and L2 may be problematic as well since the learner may doubt that such similarity indeed exists and consequently avoid the identical constructions or elements (Jordens, 1977; Kellermann, 1977, 1978, 1986). In an effort to resolve this issue, a case study is being conducted. The present case study attempts to provide a broader analysis of what is acquired than is usually the case, analyzing the learners ‘accomplishments in terms of three –part framework of the components of communicative competence suggested by Michele Canale: grammatical competence, sociolinguistic competence and discourse competence. The subjects of this study are 15 students’ 22th year who came to study Arabic at Qatar University of Cairo. The 15 students are in the advanced level. They were complete intermediate level in Arabic when they arrive in Qatar for the first time. The study used discourse analytic method to examine how the first language affects students’ production and output in the second language, and how and when students use avoidance methods in their learning. The study will be conducted through Fall 2015 through analyzing audio recordings that are recorded throughout the entire semester. The recordings will be around 30 clips. The students are using supplementary listening and speaking materials. The group will be tested at the end of the term to assess any measurable difference between the techniques. Questionnaires will be administered to teachers and students before and after the semester to assess any change in attitude toward avoidance and selectivity methods. Responses to these questionnaires are analyzed and discussed to assess the relative merits of the aforementioned strategies to avoidance and selectivity to further support on. Implications and recommendations for teacher training are proposed.

Keywords: the second language acquisition, learning languages, selectivity, avoidance

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Authors: Liang Wang, Wei Zhang

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There have been some existing researches on design-based engineering learning (DBEL) and project-based or problem-based engineering learning (PBEL). Those findings have greatly promoted the reform of engineering education in China. However, the engineering with a big E means that more and more engineering activities are designed and operated by communities of practice (CoPs), namely community-based engineering learning. However, whether community-based engineering learning can promote students' innovation has not been verified in published articles. This study fills this gap by investigating the relationship between community-based learning approach and students’ creativity, using engineering identity as an intermediary variable. The goal of this study is to discover the core features of community-based engineering learning, and make the features more beneficial for students’ creativity. The study created and adapted open survey items from previously published studies and a scale on learning community, students’ creativity and engineering identity. Firstly, qualitative content analysis methods by MAXQDA were used to analyze 32 open-ended questionnaires. Then the authors collected data (n=322) from undergraduate students in engineering competition teams and engineering laboratories in Zhejiang University, and structural equation modelling (SEM) was used to understand the relationship between different factors. The study finds: (a) community-based engineering learning has four main elements like real-task context, self-inquiry learning, deeply-consulted cooperation and circularly-iterated design, (b) community-based engineering learning can significantly enhance the engineering undergraduate students’ creativity, and (c) engineering identity partially moderated the relationship between community-based engineering learning and undergraduate students' creativity. The findings further illustrate the value of community-based engineering learning for undergraduate students. In the future research, the authors should further clarify the core mechanism of community-based engineering learning, and pay attention to the cultivation of undergraduate students’ engineer identity in learning community.

Keywords: community-based engineering learning, students' creativity, engineering identity, moderate effect

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Authors: Nihad Alem

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Nowadays, distance learning (DL) is widely perceived as a reformed type of education that takes advantage of technology to give more appealing opportunities especially for learners whose life conditions impede their attendance to regular classrooms however, creating interactional environment for students to expand their learning community and alleviate the feeling of loneliness and isolation should receive more attention when designing a distance learning course. This research aims to explore whether the audio/video peer learning can offer pedagogical add-ons to the Algerian distance learners and what are the pros and cons of its application as an educational experience in a synchronous environment mediated by Skype. Data were collected using video recordings of six sessions, reflective logs, and in-depth semi-structured interviews and will be analyzed by qualitatively identifying and measuring the three constitutional elements of the educational experience of peer learning namely the social presence, the cognitive presence, and the facilitation presence using a modified community of inquiry coding template. The findings from this study will provide recommendations for effective peer learning educational experience using the facilitation presence concept.

Keywords: audio/visual peer learning, community of inquiry, distance learning, facilitation presence

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Authors: Emma Nemishalyan

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It is believed that learners’ mother tongue (L1 hereafter) has a huge impact on their second language acquisition (L2 hereafter). This hypothesis has been exposed to both positive and negative criticism. Based on research results of a wide range of learners’ corpora (Chinese, Japanese, Spanish among others) the hypothesis has either been proved or disproved. However, no such study has been conducted on the Armenian learners. The aim of this paper is to understand the implication of the hypothesis on the Armenian learners’ corpus in terms of the use of the passive voice. To this end, the method of Contrastive Interlanguage Analysis (hereafter CIA) has been used on native speakers’ corpus (Louvain Corpus of Native English Essays (LOCNESS)) and Armenian learners’ corpus which has been compiled by me in compliance with International Corpus of Learner English (ICLE) guidelines. CIA compares the interlanguage (the language produced by learners) with the one produced by native speakers. With the help of this method, it is possible not only to highlight the mistakes that learners make, but also to underline the under or overuses. The choice of the grammar issue (passive voice) is conditioned by the fact that typologically Armenian and English are drastically different as they belong to different branches. Moreover, the passive voice is considered to be one of the most problematic grammar topics to be acquired by learners of the English language. Based on this difference, we hypothesized that Armenian learners would either overuse or underuse some types of the passive voice. With the help of Lancsbox software, we have identified the frequency rates of passive voice usage in LOCNESS and Armenian learners’ corpus to understand whether the latter have the same usage pattern of the passive voice as the native speakers. Secondly, we have identified the types of the passive voice used by the Armenian leaners trying to track down the reasons in their mother tongue. The results of the study showed that Armenian learners underused the passive voices in contrast to native speakers. Furthermore, the hypothesis that learners’ L1 has an impact on learners’ L2 acquisition and production was proved.

Keywords: corpus linguistics, applied linguistics, second language acquisition, corpus compilation

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Authors: Bogdan Walek, Vladimir Bradac, Radim Farana

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Distance learning systems offer useful methods of learning and usually contain final course test or another form of test. The paper proposes web application for evaluating tests using expert system in distance learning systems. Proposed web application is appropriate for didactic tests or tests with results for subsequent studying follow-up courses. Web application works with test questions and uses expert system and LFLC tool for test evaluation. After test evaluation the results are visualized and shown to student.

Keywords: distance learning, test, uncertainty, fuzzy, expert system, student

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Authors: R. Herscu-Kluska

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The rise of the flipped or inverted classroom meet the conceptual needs of our time. The evidence of increased student satisfaction and course grades improvement promoted the flipped learning approach. Due to the successful outcomes of the inverted classroom, the flipped learning became a pedagogy and educational rising strategy among all education sciences. The aim of this study is to analyze the effect of flipped classroom on higher order learning in chemistry courses since it has been suggested that in higher education courses, class time should focus on knowledge application. The results of this study indicate improving meta-cognitive thinking and learning skills. The students showed better ability to cope with higher order learning assignments during the actual class time, using inverted classroom strategy. These results suggest that flipped learning can be used as an effective pedagogy and educational strategy for developing higher order thinking skills, proved to contribute to building lifelong learning.

Keywords: chemistry education, flipped classroom, flipped learning, inverted classroom, science education

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Authors: Nahıd Naderı Anarı, Mojdeh Shafıee

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Languaging has been identified as a contributor to language learning. Compared to oral languaging, written languaging seems to have been less explored. In order to fill this gap, this paper examined the effect of ‘metanotes’, namely metatalk in a written modality to identify whether written languaging actually facilitates language learning. Participants were instructed to take metanotes as they performed a translation task. The effect of metanotes was then analyzed by comparing the results of these participants’ pretest and posttest with those of participants who performed the same task without taking metanotes. The statistical tests showed no evidence of the expected role of metanotes in foreign language learning.

Keywords: EFL learners, foreign language learning, language teaching, metanotes

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Authors: Jinan Fiaidhi, Sabah Mohammed

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Cross-domain learning in the medical field is a research challenge as many conditions, like in oncology imaging, use different imaging modalities. Moreover, in most of the medical learning applications, the sample training size is relatively small. Although few-shot learning (FSL) through the use of a Siamese neural network was able to be trained on a small sample with remarkable accuracy, FSL fails to be effective for use in multiple domains as their convolution weights are set for task-specific applications. In this paper, we are addressing this problem by enabling FSL to possess the ability to shift across domains by designing a two-layer FSL network that can learn individually from each domain and produce a shared features map with extra modulation to be used at the second layer that can recognize important targets from mix domains. Our initial experimentations based on mixed medical datasets like the Medical-MNIST reveal promising results. We aim to continue this research to perform full-scale analytics for testing our cross-domain FSL learning.

Keywords: Siamese neural network, few-shot learning, meta-learning, metric-based learning, thick data transformation and analytics

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Authors: Anthony Vandarakis

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Today’s International Service Learning practices require an update: modern technologies, fresh educational frameworks, and a new operating system to accountably prosper. This paper describes a model of International Service Learning (ISL), which combines current technological hardware, electronic platforms, and asynchronous communications that are grounded in inclusive pedagogy. This model builds on the work around collaborative field trip learning, extending the reach to international partnerships across continents. Mobile technology, 21^st century skills and summit-basecamp modeling intersect to support novel forms of learning that tread lightly on fragile natural ecosystems, affirm local reciprocal partnership in projects, and protect traveling participants from common yet avoidable cultural pitfalls.

Keywords: International Service Learning, ISL, field experiences, mobile technology, out there in here, summit basecamp pedagogy

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Authors: Rukminingsih Rukmi

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This paper addresses the issue of L2 teaching speaking to ESL students by fostering their active learning through project-based learning. Project-based learning was employed in classrooms where teachers support students by giving sufficient guidance and feedback. The students drive the inquiry, engage in research and discovery, and collaborate effectively with teammates to deliver the final work product. The teacher provides the initial direction and acts as a facilitator along the way. This learning approach is considered helpful for fostering students’ active learning. that the steps in implementing of project-based learning that fosters students’ critical thinking in TEFL class are in the following: (1) Discussing the materials about Speaking Class, (2) Working with the group to construct scenario of ways on speaking practice, (3) Practicing the scenario, (4) Recording the speaking practice into video, and (5) Evaluating the video product. This research is aimed to develop a strategy of teaching speaking by implementing project-based learning to improve speaking skill in the second Semester of English Department of STKIP PGRI Jombang. To achieve the purpose, the researcher conducted action research. The data of the study were gathered through the following instruments: test, observation checklists, and questionnaires. The result was indicated by the increase of students’ average speaking scores from 65 in the preliminary study, 73 in the first cycle, and 82 in the second cycle. Besides, the results of the study showed that project-based learning considered to be appropriate strategy to give students the same amount of chance in practicing their speaking skill and to pay attention in creating a learning situation.

Keywords: active learning, project-based learning, speaking ability, L2 teaching speaking

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Authors: Huda Al Shuaily, Karen Renaud

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Databases comprise the foundation of most software systems. System developers inevitably write code to query these databases. The de facto language for querying is SQL and this, consequently, is the default language taught by higher education institutions. There is evidence that learners find it hard to master SQL, harder than mastering other programming languages such as Java. Educators do not agree about explanations for this seeming anomaly. Further investigation may well reveal the reasons. In this paper, we report on our investigations into how novices learn SQL, the actual problems they experience when writing SQL, as well as the differences between expert and novice SQL query writers. We conclude by presenting a model of SQL learning that should inform the instructional material design process better to support the SQL learning process.

Keywords: pattern, SQL, learning, model

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Authors: Wasila Lawan Gadanya

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This paper examines the problems of learning English vowel pronunciation. The objective is to identify some of the factors that affect the learning of English vowel sounds and their proper realization in words. The theoretical framework adopted is based on both error analysis and contrastive analysis. The data collection instruments used in the study are questionnaire and word list for the respondents (students) and observation of some of their lecturers. All the data collected were analyzed using simple percentage. The findings show that it is not a single factor that affects the learning of English vowel pronunciation rather many factors concurrently do so. Among the factors examined, it has been found that lack of correlation between English orthography and its pronunciation, not mother-tongue (which most people consider as a factor affecting learning of the pronunciation of a second language), has the greatest influence on students’ learning and realization of English vowel sounds since the respondents in this study are from different ethnic groups of Nigeria and thus speak different languages but having the same or almost the same problem when pronouncing the English vowel sounds.

Keywords: English vowels, learning, Nigeria, pronunciation

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Authors: H. S. Saini, K. Vijayalakshmi, Rishi Sayal

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Network-based education has been growing rapidly in size and quality. Knowledge clustering becomes more important in personalized information retrieval for web-learning. A personalized-Learning service after the learners’ knowledge has been classified with clustering. Through automatic analysis of learners’ behaviors, their partition with similar data level and interests may be discovered so as to produce learners with contents that best match educational needs for collaborative learning. We present a specific mining tool and a recommender engine that we have integrated in the online learning in order to help the teacher to carry out the whole e-learning process. We propose to use sequential pattern mining algorithms to discover the most used path by the students and from this information can recommend links to the new students automatically meanwhile they browse in the course. We have Developed a specific author tool in order to help the teacher to apply all the data mining process. We tend to report on many experiments with real knowledge so as to indicate the quality of using both clustering and sequential pattern mining algorithms together for discovering personalized e-learning systems.

Keywords: e-learning, cluster, personalization, sequence, pattern

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Authors: Linhan Sun

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With the gradual strengthening of China's economic development, more and more people around the world are learning Chinese due to economic and trade needs, which has also promoted the research related to Chinese language education for foreigners. Because the Chinese language system is different from the Western language system, learning Chinese is not easy for many learners. In addition, language learning cannot be separated from the learning and understanding of culture. How to integrate cultural learning into the curriculum of Chinese language education for foreigners is the focus of this study. Through a semi-structured in-depth interview method, 15 foreigners who have studied or are studying Chinese participated in this study. This study found that cultural learning and Chinese as a foreign language are relatively disconnected. In other words, learners were able to acquire a certain degree of knowledge of the Chinese language through textbooks or courses but did not gain a deeper understanding of Chinese culture.

Keywords: Chinese language education, Chinese culture, qualitative methods, intercultural communication

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Authors: Meenalochana Inguva

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The context: The Center for Preparatory study is one of the strongest and most vibrant academic teaching units of the Sultan Qaboos University (SQU). The Foundation Programme English Language (FPEL) is part of a larger foundation programme which was implemented at SQU in fall 2010. The programme has been designed to prepare the students who have been accepted to study in the university in order to achieve the required educational goals (the learning outcomes) that have been designed according to Oman Academic Standards and published by the Omani Authority for Academic Accreditation (OAAA) for the English language component. The curriculum: At the CPS, the English language curriculum is based on the learning outcomes drafted for each level. These learning outcomes guide the students in meeting what is expected of them by the end of each level. These six levels are progressive in nature and are seen as a continuum. The study: A periodic evaluation of language programmes is necessary to improve the quality of the programmes and to meet the set goals of the programmes. An evaluation may be carried out internally or externally depending on the purpose and context. A self-study programme was initiated at the beginning of spring semester 2015 with a team comprising a total of 11 members who worked with-in the assigned course areas (level and programme specific). Only areas specific to FPEL have been included in the study. The study was divided into smaller tasks and members focused on their assigned courses. The self-study primarily focused on analyzing the programme LOs, curriculum planning, materials used and their relevance against the GFP exit standards. The review team also reflected on the assessment methods and procedures followed to reflect on student learning. The team has paid attention to having standard criteria for assessment and transparency in procedures. A special attention was paid to the staging of LOs across levels to determine students’ language and study skills ability to cope with higher level courses. Findings: The findings showed that most of the LOs are met through the materials used for teaching. Students score low on objective tests and high on subjective tests. Motivated students take advantage of academic support activities others do not utilize the student support activities to their advantage. Reading should get more hours. In listening, the format of the listening materials in CT 2 does not match the test format. Some of the course materials need revision. For e.g. APA citation, referencing etc. No specific time is allotted for teaching grammar Conclusion: The findings resulted in taking actions in bridging gaps. It will also help the center to be better prepared for the external review of its FPEL curriculum. It will also provide a useful base to prepare for the self-study portfolio for GFP standards assessment and future audit.

Keywords: curriculum planning, learning outcomes, reflections, self-evaluation

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Authors: Ellen A. Kalinga

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Moodle is an open source learning management system that enables creation of a powerful and flexible learning environment. Many organizations, especially learning institutions have customized Moodle open source LMS for their own use. In general open source LMSs are of great interest due to many advantages they offer in terms of cost, usage and freedom to customize to fit a particular context. Tanzania Secondary School e-Learning (TanSSe-L) system is the learning management system for Tanzania secondary schools. TanSSe-L system was developed using a number of methods, one of them being customization of Moodle Open Source LMS. This paper presents few areas on the way Moodle OS LMS was customized to produce a functional TanSSe-L system fitted to the requirements and specifications of Tanzania secondary schools’ context.

Keywords: LMS, Moodle, e-learning, Tanzania, secondary school

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Authors: Sara Moridpour

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To meet emerging industry needs, engineering students must learn different software packages and enhance their computational skills. Traditionally, face-to-face is selected as the preferred approach to teaching software packages. Face-to-face tutorials and workshops provide an interactive environment for learning software packages where the students can communicate with the teacher and interact with other students, evaluate their skills, and receive feedback. However, COVID-19 significantly limited face-to-face learning and teaching activities at universities. Worldwide lockdowns and the shift to online and remote learning and teaching provided the opportunity to introduce different strategies to enhance the interaction among students and teachers in online and virtual environments and improve the learning and teaching of software packages in online and blended teaching methods. This paper introduces a blended strategy to teach engineering software packages to undergraduate students. This article evaluates the effectiveness of the proposed blended learning and teaching strategy in students’ learning by comparing the impact of face-to-face, online and the proposed blended environments on students’ software skills. The paper evaluates the students’ software skills and their software learning through an authentic assignment. According to the results, the proposed blended teaching strategy successfully improves the software learning experience among undergraduate engineering students.

Keywords: teaching software packages, undergraduate students, blended learning and teaching, authentic assessment

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Authors: Christian Neunzig, Simon Fahle, Jürgen Schulz, Matthias Möller, Bernd Kuhlenkötter

Abstract:

The widespread use of machine learning applications in production is significantly accelerated by improved computing power and increasing data availability. Predictive quality enables the assurance of product quality by using machine learning models as a basis for decisions on test results. The use of real Bosch production data based on geometric gauge blocks from machining, mating data from assembly and hydraulic measurement data from final testing of directional valves is a promising approach to classifying the quality characteristics of workpieces.

Keywords: machine learning, classification, predictive quality, hydraulics, supervised learning

Procedia PDF Downloads 205

Authors: Suriani Oxley

Abstract:

All teachers aim to conduct a successful and an effective teaching. Teacher will use a variety of teaching techniques and methods to ensure that students achieve the learning objectives but often the teaching and learning processes are interrupted by a number of things such as noisy students, students not paying attention, the students play and so on. Such disturbances must be addressed to ensure that students can concentrate on their learning activities. This qualitative study observed and captured a video of numerous tricks that teachers in Labuan have implemented in helping the students to pay attentions in the classroom. The tricks are such as Name Calling, Non-Verbal Clues, Body Language, Ask Question, Offer Assistance, Echo Clapping, Call and Response & Cues and Clues. All of these tricks are simple but yet interesting language learning strategies that helped students to focus on their learning activities.

Keywords: paying attention, observation, tricks, learning strategies, classroom

Procedia PDF Downloads 562

Authors: Nguyen Duc An

Abstract:

To the movement towards learning community, creating friendly, positive and appropriate learning environments which best suit the local features is the most salient and decisive factor of the development and success of that learning society. With the aim at building such an English language learning community for the inhabitants in Moc Chau - the national tourist zone, Tay Bac University has successfully designed and deployed the program ‘English in Tourism’ in the project ‘English for Community’. With the strong attachment to the local reality and close knit to the certain communicative situations, this program which was carefully designed and compiled with interesting and practical activities, has greatly helped the locals confidently introduce and popularize the natural beauty, unique culture and specific characteristics of Moc Chau to the foreign tourists; in addition, reinforce awareness of the native culture of the local people as well as improve the professional development in tourism and service.

Keywords: English for community, learning society, learning community, English in tourism

Procedia PDF Downloads 364