Search results for: language strategy

Authors: Pairah Bte Satariman

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This study is carried out to evaluate Malay Language Curriculum for secondary schools in Singapore. The evaluation focuses on the implementation of Spoken Interaction Skill which was recommended by the Curriculum Review Committee in 2010. The study found that the students face difficulty in communicating interactively with others in their daily activities. The purpose of the study is to evaluate the results (products) on the implementation of this skill since 2011. The research used a qualitative method which includes oral test and interview with students and teachers teaching the subject. Preliminary findings show that generally, the students are not able to communicate interactively and fluently in the oral test unless they are given enough prompts. The teachers feel that the implementation of the skill is timely as students are more keen to use English in their daily communication even in Malay Language Classes. Teachers also mentioned the challenges in the implementation such as insufficient curriculum time and teaching materials.

Keywords: evaluation, Malay language curriculum, spoken interaction skills, communication, implementation

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Authors: Hanqing Yang, Xiang Meng, Qi Li, Weirong Chen

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The SOC (state of charge) based droop control has limitations on the load power sharing among different energy storage units, due to the line impedance. In this paper, a distributed control strategy for dispersed energy storage units in the DC microgrid based on discrete consensus is proposed. Firstly, a sparse information communication network is built. Thus, local controllers can communicate with its neighbors using voltage, current and SOC information. An average voltage of grid can be evaluated to compensate voltage offset by droop control, and an objective virtual resistance fulfilling above requirement can be dynamically calculated to distribute load power according to the SOC of the energy storage units. Then, the stability of the whole system and influence of communication delay are analyzed. It can be concluded that this control strategy can improve the robustness and flexibility, because of having no center controller. Finally, a model of DC microgrid with dispersed energy storage units and loads is built, the discrete distributed algorithm is established and communication protocol is developed. The co-simulation between Matlab/Simulink and JADE (Java agent development framework) has verified the effectiveness of proposed control strategy.

Keywords: dispersed energy storage units, discrete consensus algorithm, state of charge, communication delay

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Authors: Onesimus Bulus Shiaki

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The study investigated the effect of cooperative learning strategy on mathematics achievement and retention among senior secondary school students of different abilities in Taraba State Nigeria. Cooperative learning strategy could hopefully contribute to students’ achievement which will spur the teachers to develop strategies for better learning. The quasi-experimental of pretest, posttest and control group design was adopted in this study. A sample of one hundred and sixty-four (164) Senior Secondary Two (SS2) students were selected from a population of twelve thousand, eight hundred and seventy-three (12,873) SS2 Students in Taraba State. Two schools with equivalent mean scores in the pre-test were randomly assigned to experimental and control groups. The experimental group students were stratified according to ability levels of low, medium and high. The experimental group was guided by the research assistants using the cooperative learning instructional package. After six weeks post-test was administered to the two groups while the retention test was administered two weeks after the post-test. The researcher developed a 50-item Mathematics Achievement Test (MAT) which was validated by experts obtaining the reliability coefficient of 0.87. Mean scores and standard deviations were used to answer the research questions while the Analysis of Co-variance (ANCOVA) was used to test the hypotheses. Major findings from the statistical analysis showed that cooperative learning strategy has a significant effect on the mean achievement of students as well as retention among students of high, medium and low ability in mathematics. However, cooperative learning strategy has no effect on the interaction of ability level and retention. Based on the results obtained, it was therefore recommended that the adoption of the use of cooperative learning strategy in the teaching and learning of mathematics in senior secondary schools be initiated, maintained and sustained for the benefit of senior secondary school students in Taraba State. Periodic Government sponsored in-service training in form of long vacation training programme, workshops, conferences and seminars on the nature, scope, and use of cooperative learning strategy should be organized for senior secondary school mathematics teachers in Taraba state.

Keywords: ability level, cooperative learning, mathematics achievement, retention

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Authors: Saifurahman Fayiz

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Afghanistan and India have close technical, political, economic, and diplomatic bilateral ties. The ties is not limited between the governments of the two countries, but their relationship are among the peoples. India is the best regional trustworthy partner and biggest donor for the development of Afghanistan. The objectives of this study to assess India’s foreign policy towards Afghanistan since 9\11. The research method conducted based on qualitative research method with descriptive. The research findings propose that; India should deal with and build up its strategy relations with neighbor countries.

Keywords: strategy, policy, India, Afghanistan

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Authors: Navonil Hazra

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The paper discusses how and why aphasia can be understood as the language of nonverbal communication in musical performance and also looks for the elements that are required to classify it as a nonverbal language. Since music is regarded as a nonverbal medium that cannot be engaged in any language, it is concerned about how aphasia might be called the language of nonverbalization. The paper also talks about how it portrays the magnificence of a performance, and how it expresses its likings or dislikes. Regarding the reasons for aphasia, the paper talks about the seizure factor and elucidates on seizure subjects as well. Furthermore, it discusses collective seizures and individual seizures. It also tries to consider aphasia as a-posteriori rather than a-priori looking at it from the lens of ‘Pure Reason’. Along with aphasia, the paper tries to make a critique of silence and the possibilities of looking at silence differently, also looking at the ontology of silence and sound. This paper also critically examines silence and the significance of gestures in performance. It also investigates whether gestures are accompanied by silence, establishing the notion of agential silence. This paper also talks about the place and role of memory in the formulation and analysis of a performance, as well as the plaguing and reclamation of memory, how memory alters the linear course of time and taunts us to look for alternative models of temporalities. This paper discusses the concept of 'auditory labour', with active and passive listening.

Keywords: aphasia, gestures, memory, silence

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Authors: Ju May Wen, Chun Hung Lin, Eric Zhi Feng Liu

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Flow theory implies that people are persuaded by happiness. By focusing on an activity, people turn a blind eye to external factors. This study explores the influence of educational board games and fundamental Chinese language teaching on students’ learning motivation and flow experience. Fifty-three students studying Chinese language fundamental courses were used in the study. These students were divided into three groups: (1) flash card teaching group; (2) educational original board game teaching group; and (3) educational Chinese board game teaching group. Chinese language teaching was integrated with the educational board game titled ‘Transportation GO.’ The students were observed playing this game as the teacher collected quantitative and qualitative data. Quantitative data was collected from the learning motivation scale and flow experience scale. Qualitative data was collected through observing, recording, and visiting. The first result found that the three groups integrated with Chinese language teaching could maintain students’ high learning motivation and high flow experience. Second, there was no significant difference between the flow experience of the flash card group and the educational original board game group. Third, there was a significant difference in the flow experience and learning motivation of the educational Chinese board game group vs. the other groups. This study suggests that the experimental model can be applied to advanced Chinese language teaching. Apart from oral and literacy skills, the study of educational board games integrated with Chinese language teaching to enforce student writing skills will be continued.

Keywords: Chinese language instruction, educational board game, learning motivation, flow experience

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Authors: Kadiri Kayode Ibrahim, Kadiri Omowunmi

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The research study was concerned with an evaluation of the effect of marketing strategy on the performance of SMEs in Abuja. This was achieved, specifically, through the examination of the effect of disaggregated components of Marketing Strategy (Product, Price, Promotion, Placement and Process) on Sales Volume (as a proxy for performance). The study design was causal in nature, with the use of quantitative methods involving a cross-sectional survey carried out with the administration of a structured questionnaire. A multistage sample of 398 respondents was utilized to provide the primary data used in the study. Subsequently, path analysis was employed in processing the obtained data and testing formulated hypotheses. Findings from the study indicated that all modeled components of marketing strategy were positive and statistically significant determinants of performance among businesses in the zone. It was, therefore, recommended that SMEs invest in continuous product innovation and development that are in line with the needs and preferences of the target market, as well as adopt a dynamic pricing strategy that considers both cost factors and market conditions. It is, therefore, crucial that businesses in the zone adopt marker communication measures that would stimulate brand awareness and increase engagement, including the use of social media platforms and content marketing. Additionally, owner-managers should ensure that their products are readily available to their target customers through an emphasis on availability and accessibility measures. Furthermore, a commitment to consistent optimization of internal operations is crucial for improved productivity, reduced costs, and enhanced customer satisfaction, which in turn will positively impact their overall performance.

Keywords: product, price, promotion, placement

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Authors: Kristiina Teiss

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Estonians and children having Estonian as a one of their languages have lately become the fastest growing minority or bilingual group in Finland which underlines the importance of studying this target group. The acquisition of bilingualism by an infant is affected by many different issues like the child’s personal traits, language differences, and different environmental factors such as people´s attitudes towards languages and bilingualism. In the early years the most important factor is the children’s interaction with their parents and siblings. This poster gives an overview to the material and some preliminary findings of ongoing PhD study concerning code-mixing, code-switching and language attitudes of two bilingual 10-11 year old children. Data was collected from two different bilingual families, one of them living in Tampere, Finland and one of them moved during the study to Tallinn, Estonia. The data includes audio recordings of the families’ interactions with their children when they were aged 2-3 years old and then when they were 10-11 years old. The data also includes recorded semi-structured queries of the parents, as well as recorded semi-structured queries of the children when they were in the age of 10-11 years. The features of code-mixing can vary depending on norms or models in the families, or even according to its use by two parents in same family. The practices studied in the ongoing longitudinal case study, based on a framework of ethnography, contain parental conversational strategies and family attitudes as well as CS (code-switching and code-mixing) cases occurring both in children and adult language. The aim of this paper is to find out whether there is a connection between children’s attitudes and their daily language use. It would be also interesting to find some evidence, as to whether living in different countries has different impacts on using two languages. The results of dissertation maid give some directional suggestions on how language maintenance of Estonian-Finnish bilinguals could be supported, although generalizations on the base of case study could not be done.

Keywords: code switching, Estonian, Finnish, language attitudes

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Authors: Zhao Xinlei

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The outbreak of the Ukraine crisis has had an important impact on the global political and economic order, especially the global food crisis and energy crisis, thus aggravating social and political conflicts. At the same time, with the intensification of the Ukraine crisis, the United States and European countries have imposed severe economic sanctions on Russia to prevent and contain Russia's special military operations against Ukraine. The essence of the Ukraine crisis is a geopolitical conflict and competition between Russia and the United States. For a long time, the United States has always regarded Russia as a serious strategic crisis and challenge. Therefore, for the United States, the outbreak of the Ukraine crisis is an extremely important opportunity to condemn and stop Russia's actions from an international perspective. In this process, China plays a very special role. This special positioning is not only reflected in the long-term friendly relationship between China and Russia and mutual support and assistance on the international stage but also in the complex economic relationship and interdependence between China and the United States. Therefore, China has adopted a "hedging strategy" in dealing with the Ukrainian crisis, and the use of the hedging strategy not only plays a special role in safeguarding China's own security and interests but also because China can act as an intermediary to coordinate Russia and the United States to promote the resolution of the Ukrainian crisis in a peaceful manner.

Keywords: Ukraine crisis Russia-Ukraine conflict balanced strategy Sino-US competition

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Authors: Abdul Rofiq Badril Rizal M. Z.

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Reading becomes one of the most important skills in teaching and learning English. The purpose of this research was to improve the students' active participation, and reading comprehension achievement by using Know, Want to Know, Learned (KWL) strategy. The research design was Classroom Action Research. The area and participants of this research were chosen by using purposive method. The data were collected by observation, a reading comprehension test, interview, and documentation. The results showed that there was significant improvement in Cycle 1 to Cycle 2 of the research. In cycle 1, the students’ active participation increased 49.77% from 28% to 77.77. In addition, in cycle 2, the students’ active participation also increased by 14.17% from 77.77% to 81.94%. The students’ reading comprehension achievement also increased by 52.14% from 25% to 77.14% in Cycle 1 and increased by 5.71% from 77.14% to 82.85% in cycle 2. It indicated that using Know, Want to Know, Learned (KWL) strategy could enhance the Seventh C grade students’ descriptive text reading comprehension achievement, and active participation.

Keywords: active participation, reading comprehension, classroom action research, Indonesian folktales

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Authors: Boon Yih Mah

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Web-based Cognitive Writing Instruction (WeCWI)’s contribution towards language development can be divided into linguistic and non-linguistic perspectives. In linguistic perspective, WeCWI focuses on the literacy and language discoveries, while the cognitive and psychological discoveries are the hubs in non-linguistic perspective. In linguistic perspective, WeCWI draws attention to free reading and enterprises, which are supported by the language acquisition theories. Besides, the adoption of process genre approach as a hybrid guided writing approach fosters literacy development. Literacy and language developments are interconnected in the communication process; hence, WeCWI encourages meaningful discussion based on the interactionist theory that involves input, negotiation, output, and interactional feedback. Rooted in the e-learning interaction-based model, WeCWI promotes online discussion via synchronous and asynchronous communications, which allows interactions happened among the learners, instructor, and digital content. In non-linguistic perspective, WeCWI highlights on the contribution of reading, discussion, and writing towards cognitive development. Based on the inquiry models, learners’ critical thinking is fostered during information exploration process through interaction and questioning. Lastly, to lower writing anxiety, WeCWI develops the instructional tool with supportive features to facilitate the writing process. To bring a positive user experience to the learner, WeCWI aims to create the instructional tool with different interface designs based on two different types of perceptual learning style.

Keywords: WeCWI, literacy discovery, language discovery, cognitive discovery, psychological discovery

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Authors: Cheng Shuk Ling

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This paper examines the English syntactic errors and their patterns in the written assignments of a General Education course at City University of Hong Kong. Subjects are 60 local and non-local (exchange) undergraduate students who are all EFL learners and L2 users with diversified education and disciplinary background (i.e. their major of study), which are unrelated to English language studies. The objective of this paper brings to the foreground a broad discussion of EFL/L2 undergraduate learners’ average syntactic ability in terms of written assessment. This paper is an attempt in classifying the patterns and categories of syntactic errors committed by students who were brought up and educated in non-native English-speaking countries. Thus, pedagogical recommendations are offered for both EFL/L2 learners and educators in tertiary education settings in such ways as to calibrate how and in what manner English language as the medium of instruction can lead to more enduring effects in learners within non-native English-speaking countries.

Keywords: syntactic errors, english as a foreign language, second language users, pedagogy

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Authors: Anželika Teresė

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In order to solve issues in sign language linguistics, address matters pertaining to maintaining high quality of sign language (SL) translation, contribute to dispelling misconceptions about SL and deaf people, and raise awareness and understanding of the deaf community heritage, this presentation discusses literature in Lithuanian Sign Language (LSL) and inherent metaphors that are created by using the phonological parameter –handshape, location, movement, palm orientation and nonmanual features. The study covered in this presentation is twofold, involving both the micro-level analysis of metaphors in terms of phonological parameters as a sub-lexical feature and the macro-level analysis of the poetic context. Cognitive theories underlie research of metaphors in sign language literature in a range of SL. The study follows this practice. The presentation covers the qualitative analysis of 34 pieces of LSL literature. The analysis employs ELAN software widely used in SL research. The target is to examine how specific types of each phonological parameter are used for the creation of metaphors in LSL literature and what metaphors are created. The results of the study show that LSL literature employs a range of metaphors created by using classifier signs and by modifying the established signs. The study also reveals that LSL literature tends to create reference metaphors indicating status and power. As the study shows, LSL poets metaphorically encode status by encoding another meaning in the same sign, which results in creating double metaphors. The metaphor of identity has been determined. Notably, the poetic context has revealed that the latter metaphor can also be identified as a metaphor for life. The study goes on to note that deaf poets create metaphors related to the importance of various phenomena significance of the lyrical subject. Notably, the study has allowed detecting locations, nonmanual features and etc., never mentioned in previous SL research as used for the creation of metaphors.

Keywords: Lithuanian sign language, sign language literature, sign language metaphor, metaphor at the phonological level, cognitive linguistics

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Authors: Olumide Yusuf Jimoh

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Reading comprehension is an interactive and purposeful process of getting meaning from and bringing meaning to a text. Over the years, teachers of the English Language (in Nigeria) have been glued to the monotonous method of making students read comprehension passages silently and then answer the questions that follow such passages without making the reading session interactive. Hence, students often find such exercises monotonous and boring. Consequently, students'’ interest in language learning continues to dwindle, and this often affects their overall academic performance. Relying on Communicative Accommodation Theory therefore, the study employed the qualitative research design method to x-ray Communicative Language Teaching Approach (CLTA) in reading comprehension. Moreover, techniques such as the Genuinely Collaborative Reading Approach (GCRA), Jigsaw reading, Pre-reading, and Post-reading tasks were examined. The researcher submitted that effective reading comprehension could not be done passively. Students must respond to what they read; they must interact not only with the materials being read but also with one another and with the teacher; this can be achieved by developing communicative and interactive reading programs.

Keywords: collaborative reading approach, communicative teaching, interactive reading program, pre-reading task, reading comprehension

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Authors: Ted Gournelos

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Marketing approaches in practice and academic literature usually foreground the importance of product and brand awareness in strategy. Decisions emphasize justifications and promotions of existing projects, which has the unintended consequence of pushing marketing, public relations, and other communications to secondary strategies and tactics rather than as inherent pieces of organizational development. In other words, marketers implement what others have already decided. This is a challenge not only for the communications field, but also for the organizations themselves, since integrated communications employees are often the primary, if not the only, touchpoints for client/customer/user research and interaction. Organizations thus become increasingly out of touch, raising the risk of public or human resources crisis and decreasing the focus on opportunities for development and growth. This paper will discuss the potential for social entrepreneurship to refocus marketing and communications professionals on primary strategy, and suggest best practices for developing initiatives not only to impact marketing efforts themselves, but also the guiding organizational approaches to project management, human resources, corporate social responsibility, and research. It will provide a comparative analysis of social media marketing efforts conducted by food security non-governmental organizations from several countries, pointing out both flaws and areas of opportunity for integration with for-profit organizational strategy, and discuss the implications of descriptive, proactive, and interactive messaging.

Keywords: social enterprise, strategy, innovation, social media

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Authors: Fateme Mazbanpoor, Sayed Mohammad Amiri

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In this article, we will examine the Persian words in Quran and study the reasons of their presence in this holy book. Writers of this paper extracted about 70 Persian words of Quran by referring to resources. (Alalfaz ol Moarab ol Farsieh Edishir, Almoarabol Javalighi, Almahzab va Etghan Seuti; Vocabulary involved in Quran Arthur Jeffry;, and etc…), some of these words are: ‘Abarigh, ‘Estabragh’,’Barzakh’, ‘Din’,’Zamharir, ‘Sondos’ ‘Sejil’,’ Namaregh’, ‘Fil’ etc. These Persian words have entered Arabic and finally entered Quran in two ways: 1) directly from Persian language, 2) via other languages. The first way: because of the Iranian dominance on Hira, Yemen, whole Oman and Bahrein land in Sasanian period, there were political, religious, linguistic, literary, and trade ties between these Arab territories causing the impact of Persian on Arabic; giving way to many Persian-loan words into Arabic in this period of time. The second way: Since the geographical and business conditions of the areas were dominated by Iran, Hejaz had lots of deals and trades with Mesopotamia and Yemen. On the other hand, Arabic language which was relatively a young language at that time, used to be impressed by Semitic languages in order to expand its vocabulary (Syrian and Aramaic were influenced by the languages of Iran). Consequently, due to the long relationship between Iranian and Arabs, some of the Persian words have taken longer ways through Aramaic and Syrian to find their way into Quran.

Keywords: Quran, Persian word, Arabic language, Persian

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Authors: Fahd Hamad Alqasham

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This longitudinal study investigates Saudi students’ use trajectory and experiences of Twitter as an innovative tool for in-class learning of the English language in a Saudi tertiary English as a foreign language (EFL) context for a 12-week semester. The study adopted van Lier’s agency theory (2008, 2010) as the analytical framework to obtain an in-depth analysis of how the learners’ could utilize Twitter to create innovative ways for them to engage in English learning inside the language classroom. The study implemented a mixed methods approach, including six data collection instruments consisting of a research log, observations, focus group participation, initial and post-project interviews, and a post-project questionnaire. The study was conducted at Qassim University, specifically at Preparatory Year Program (PYP) on the main campus. The sample included 25 male students studying in the first level of PYP. The findings results revealed that although Twitter’s affordances initially paled a crucial role in motivating the learners to initiate their agency inside the classroom to learn English, the contextual constraints, mainly anxiety, the university infrastructure, and the teacher’s role negatively influenced the sustainability of Twitter’s use past week nine of its implementation.

Keywords: CALL, agency, innovation, EFL, language learning

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Authors: Ibrahim Isa Ali (Pantami), Abdu Jaafaru Bambale, Abimbola Alale, Danjuma Ibrahim Ndihgihdah, Muhammad Alkali, Adamu Idris Umar, Moshood Kareem, Samson Olufunmilayo Abodunrin, Muhammad Dokko Zubairu

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The National Digital Economy Policy and Strategy, NDEPS document developed by Nigeria’s Federal Ministry of Communications & Digital Economy (FMoCDE) is anchored on 8 pillars for the acceleration of the National Digital Economy for a Digital Nigeria. NIGCOMSAT-1R and the planned HTS communication Satellite are critical assets for supporting the pillars in the drive for sustainable growth and development. This paper discusses on the gains and contribution of the strategy as a solid infrastructure. The paper also highlights these assets’ contribution as platform for Indigenous Content Development & Adoption, Digital Literacy & Skills, and Digital Services Development & Promotion.

Keywords: FMoCDE, HTS, NDEPS, nigcomsat!R, pillars

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Authors: Khadija Refouh

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Culture bound-expressions have been a bottleneck for Natural Language Processing (NLP) and comprehension, especially in the case of machine translation (MT). In the last decade, the field of machine translation has greatly advanced. Neural machine translation NMT has recently achieved considerable development in the quality of translation that outperformed previous traditional translation systems in many language pairs. Neural machine translation NMT is an Artificial Intelligence AI and deep neural networks applied to language processing. Despite this development, there remain some serious challenges that face neural machine translation NMT when translating culture bounded-expressions, especially for low resources language pairs such as Arabic-English and Arabic-French, which is not the case with well-established language pairs such as English-French. Machine translation of opaque idioms from English into French are likely to be more accurate than translating them from English into Arabic. For example, Google Translate Application translated the sentence “What a bad weather! It runs cats and dogs.” to “يا له من طقس سيء! تمطر القطط والكلاب” into the target language Arabic which is an inaccurate literal translation. The translation of the same sentence into the target language French was “Quel mauvais temps! Il pleut des cordes.” where Google Translate Application used the accurate French corresponding idioms. This paper aims to perform NMT experiments towards better translation of opaque idioms using high quality clean multilingual corpus. This Corpus will be collected analytically from human generated idiom translation. AutoML translation, a Google Neural Machine Translation Platform, is used as a custom translation model to improve the translation of opaque idioms. The automatic evaluation of the custom model will be compared to the Google NMT using Bilingual Evaluation Understudy Score BLEU. BLEU is an algorithm for evaluating the quality of text which has been machine-translated from one natural language to another. Human evaluation is integrated to test the reliability of the Blue Score. The researcher will examine syntactical, lexical, and semantic features using Halliday's functional theory.

Keywords: multilingual corpora, natural language processing (NLP), neural machine translation (NMT), opaque idioms

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Authors: Masoumeh Pirhadi

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Air pollution is becoming a major health problem affecting millions. In support of this observation, the world health organization estimates that many people feel unhealthy due to pollution. This is a coupled fact that one of the main global sources of air pollution in cities is greenhouse gas emissions due heavy traffic. Green walls are developed as a sustainable strategy to reduce pollution by increasing vegetation in developed areas without occupying space in the city. This concept an offer advantageous environmental benefits and they can also be proposed for aesthetic purposes, and today they are used to preserve the urban environment. Green walls can also create environments that can promote a healthy lifestyle. Findings of multiple studies also indicate that Green infrastructure in cities is a strategy for improving air quality and increasing the sustainability of cities. Since these green solutions (green walls) act as porous materials that affect the diffusion of air pollution they can also act as a removing air vents that clean the air. Therefore, implementation of this strategy can be considered as a prominent factor in achieving a cleaner environment.

Keywords: green vegetation, air pollution, green wall, urban area

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Authors: ShuPei Wang, Yina Patterson

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This article outlines strategies for improving oral expression to advance proficiency in speaking and listening skills through structured argumentation. The objective is to empower students to effectively use the target language to express opinions and construct compelling arguments. This empowerment is achieved by honing learners' debating and questioning skills, which involves increasing their familiarity with vocabulary and phrases relevant to debates and deepening their understanding of the cultural context surrounding pertinent issues. Through this approach, students can enhance their ability to articulate complex concepts and discern critical points, surpassing superficial comprehension and enabling them to engage in the target language actively and competently.

Keywords: debate, teaching and materials design, spoken expression, listening proficiency, critical thinking

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Authors: Warsa Melles

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This study examines the way second-generation Eritrean immigrants living in the French-speaking part of Switzerland behave linguistically and culturally. The aim of this research is to demonstrate how the participants deal with their bilingualism (Tigrinya and French). More precisely, how does their language use correlates with their socio-cultural attitudes and how do these aspects (re)construct their identity? Data for this research was collected via, questionnaires and semi-structured interviews. Participants were asked to answer questions regarding their linguistic habits, their perception on being bilingual and their cultural identity. The major findings demonstrate that generation 2 relates more with the host country’s language since French is used as the main language in their daily interactions. On the other hand, due to the fact that they have never lived in Eritrea yet were raised by Eritrean born parents in a foreign country, it is more difficult for them to unanimously identify with just one culture. In that sense, intergenerational transmission plays a major role in the perception of identity. All the participants have at least a basic knowledge of Tigrinya, but the use of languages varies according to the purpose. Proficiency in the native language and sense of belonging can be correlated with the frequency of visits to Eritrea. In conclusion, the question of identity in the second-generation Eritrean community cannot be given a categorical and clear-cut answer instead, the new-self image that this social group aims to build is shaped by different factors that are essential to take into consideration.

Keywords: biculturalism, identity, language, migration

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Authors: Toumi Khamari

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This abstract presents an ecolinguistic investigation of the role of language in cultivating environmental consciousness within the Algerian context. Grounded in the field of applied linguistics, this study aims to explore how language shapes perceptions, attitudes, and behaviors related to the environment in Algeria. By examining linguistic practices and discourse patterns, this research sheds light on the potential for language to inspire ecological sustainability and foster environmental awareness. Employing a qualitative research design, the study incorporates discourse analysis and ethnographic methods to analyze language use and its environmental implications. Drawing from Algerian linguistic and cultural contexts, we investigate the unique ways in which language reflects and influences environmental consciousness among Algerian individuals and communities. This research explores the impact of linguistic features, metaphors, and narratives on environmental perceptions, addressing the complex interplay between language, culture, and the natural world. Previous studies have emphasized the significance of language in shaping environmental ideologies and worldviews. In the Algerian context, linguistic representations of nature, such as traditional proverbs and indigenous knowledge, hold immense potential in cultivating a harmonious relationship between humans and the environment. This research delves into the multifaceted connections between language, cultural heritage, and ecological sustainability, aiming to identify linguistic practices that promote environmental stewardship and conservation in Algeria. Furthermore, the study investigates the effectiveness of ecolinguistic interventions tailored to the Algerian context. By examining the impact of eco-education programs, eco-literature, and language-based environmental campaigns, we aim to uncover the potential of language as a catalyst for transformative environmental change. These interventions seek to engage Algerian individuals and communities in dialogue, empowering them to take active roles in environmental advocacy and decision-making processes. Through this research, we contribute to the field of ecolinguistics by shedding light on the Algerian perspective and its implications for environmental consciousness. By understanding the linguistic dynamics at play and leveraging Algeria's rich linguistic heritage, we can foster environmental awareness, encourage sustainable practices, and nurture a deeper appreciation for Algeria's unique ecological landscapes. Ultimately, this research seeks to inspire a collective commitment to environmental stewardship and contribute to the global discourse on language, culture, and the environment.

Keywords: eco-linguistics, environmental consciousness, language and culture, Algeria and North Africa

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Authors: Eyup Bayram Guzel, Osman Tunc

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People have been fairly interested in what technology offers to them around a scope of human necessities and it has become a part of human life. In this study, experimental studies were reviewed for the purpose of how technology helps language learners improve their phonemic awareness, reading comprehension and vocabulary development skills. As a conclusion, experimental studies demonstrated that students showed significant improvements up to 70% in phonological awareness, while they demonstrated up to 76% of improvements in reading comprehension and up to 77% in vocabulary development. The use of computer-assisted technologies and its positive outcomes were encouraged to be used more widely in order to meet the diverse needs of students.

Keywords: technology, phonemic awareness, reading comprehension, vocabulary development

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Authors: Rania Ahmed Kadry Abdel Gawad Birry, Mohamed El-Habrouk

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This paper presents a brief survey of the techniques used for sign language recognition along with the types of sensors used to perform the task. It presents a modified method for identification of an isolated sign language gesture using Microsoft Kinect with the OpenNI framework. It presents the way of extracting robust features from the depth image provided by Microsoft Kinect and the OpenNI interface and to use them in creating a robust and accurate gesture recognition system, for the purpose of ASL translation. The Prime Sense’s Natural Interaction Technology for End-user - NITE™ - was also used in the C++ implementation of the system. The algorithm presents a simple finger counting algorithm for static signs as well as directional Finite State Machine (FSM) description of the hand motion in order to help in translating a sign language gesture. This includes both letters and numbers performed by a user, which in-turn may be used as an input for voice pronunciation systems.

Keywords: American sign language, finger counting, hand tracking, Microsoft Kinect

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Authors: Janos Farkas, Maria Czeller, Ildiko Tar

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A remarkable feature of today’s language teaching is the learners’ language learning motivation. It is always considered as a very important factor and has been widely discussed and investigated. This paper aims to present a research study conducted in higher education institutions among students majoring in business and administration in Hungary. The aim of the research was to investigate the motivational factors of students learning languages for business purposes and set up a multivariate statistical model of language learning motivation, and examine the model's main components by different social background variables. The research question sought to answer the question of whether the motivation of students of business learning LSP could be characterized through some main components. The principal components of LSP have been created, and the correlations with social background variables have been explored. The main principal components of learning a language for business purposes were "professional future", "abroad", "performance", and "external". In the online voluntary questionnaire, 28 questions were asked about students’ motivational attitudes. 449 students have filled in the questionnaire. Descriptive statistical calculations were performed, then the difference between the highest and lowest mean was analyzed by one-sample t-test. The assessment of LSP learning was examined by one-way analysis of variance and Tukey post-hoc test among students of parents with different qualifications. The correlations between student motivation statements and various social background variables and other variables related to LSP learning motivation (gender, place of residence, mother’s education, father’s education, family financial situation, etc.) have also been examined. The attitudes related to motivation were seperated by principal component analysis, and then the different language learning motivation between socio-economic variables and other variables using principal component values were examined using an independent two-sample t-test. The descriptive statistical analysis of language learning motivation revealed that students learn LSP because this knowledge will come in handy in the future. It can be concluded that students consider learning the language for business purposes to be essential and see its future benefits. Therefore, LSP teaching has an important role and place in higher education. The results verify the second linguistic motivational self-system where the ideal linguistic self embraces the ideas and desires that the foreign language learner wants to achieve in the future. One such desire is to recognize that students will need technical language skills in the future, and it is a powerful motivation for them to learn a language.

Keywords: higher education, language learning motivation, LSP, statistical analysis

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Authors: Laura de Almeida

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This paper aims to present research involving the translation of classical books originally in English and translated into the Portuguese language. The objective is to analyze the linguistic varieties evident and how they appear in the other language the work was translated into. We based our study on the sociolinguistics theory, more specifically, the study of the Black English Vernacular. Our methodology is built on collecting data from the speech characters of the Black English Vernacular from some books such as The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain. On doing so, we compare the two versions of a book and how they reflected the linguistic variety. Our purpose is to show that some translators do not worry when dealing with linguistic variety. In other words, they just translate the story without taking into account some important linguistic aspects which need attention, such as language variation.

Keywords: classical books, linguistic variation, sociolinguistics, translation

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Authors: Bo Ning Lyu

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Blog assisted language learning (BALL) has been trialed by educators in language teaching with the development of Web 2.0 technology. Understanding the development trend of related research helps grasp the whole picture of the use of blog in language education. This paper reviews current research related to blogs enhanced language learning based on bibliometric analysis, aiming at (1) identifying the most frequently used keywords and their co-occurrence, (2) clustering research topics based on co-citation analysis, (3) finding the most frequently cited studies and authors and (4) constructing the co-authorship network. 330 articles were searched out in Web of Science, 225 peer-viewed journal papers were finally collected according to selection criteria. Bibexcel and VOSviewer were used to visualize the results. Studies reviewed were published between 2005 to 2016, most in the year of 2014 and 2015 (35 papers respectively). The top 10 most frequently appeared keywords are learning, language, blog, teaching, writing, social, web 2.0, technology, English, communication. 8 research themes could be clustered by co-citation analysis: blogging for collaborative learning, blogging for writing skills, blogging in higher education, feedback via blogs, blogging for self-regulated learning, implementation of using blogs in classroom, comparative studies and audio/video blogs. Early studies focused on the introduction of the classroom implementation while recent studies moved to the audio/video blogs from their traditional usage. By reviewing the research related to BALL quantitatively and objectively, this paper reveals the evolution and development trends as well as identifies influential research, helping researchers and educators quickly grasp this field overall and conducting further studies.

Keywords: blog, bibliometric analysis, language learning, literature review

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Authors: Marthadale Acibo Semacio

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Speaking skill is a crucial part of English language teaching and learning. This actually shows the great importance of this skill in English language classes. Through speaking, ideas and thoughts are shared with other people, and a smooth interaction between people takes place. The study examined the levels of speaking proficiency of the control and experimental groups on pronunciation, grammatical accuracy, and fluency. As a quasi-experimental study, it also determined the presence or absence of significant changes in their speaking proficiency levels in terms of pronouncing the words correctly, the accuracy of grammar and fluency of a language given the two methods to the groups of students in the English language, using the traditional and audio-lingual methods. Descriptive and inferential statistics were employed according to the stated specific problems. The study employed a video presentation with prior information about it. In the video, the teacher acts as model one, giving instructions on what is going to be done, and then the students will perform the activity. The students were paired purposively based on their learning capabilities. Observing proper ethics, their performance was audio recorded to help the researcher assess the learner using the modified speaking rubric. The study revealed that those under the traditional method were more fluent than those in the audio-lingual method. With respect to the way in which each method deals with the feelings of the student, the audio-lingual one fails to provide a principle that would relate to this area and follows the assumption that the intrinsic motivation of the students to learn the target language will spring from their interest in the structure of the language. However, the speaking proficiency levels of the students were remarkably reinforced in reading different words through the aid of aural media with their teachers. The study concluded that using an audio-lingual method of teaching is not a stand-alone method but only an aid of the teacher in helping the students improve their speaking proficiency in the English Language. Hence, audio-lingual approach is encouraged to be used in teaching English language, on top of the chalk-talk or traditional method, to improve the speaking proficiency of students.

Keywords: audio-lingual, speaking, grammar, pronunciation, accuracy, fluency, proficiency

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Authors: Carmela Perta

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Following the example of both International and European legislation, on 15 December 1999 the national law 482/99 Regulations regarding the protection of historic language minorities was approved, providing a national framework for the preservation and renaissance of minority languages «The Italian Republic sustains the language and culture of people speaking Albanian, Catalan, German, Greek, Slovene, Croatian, French, Francoprovençal, Friulan, Ladin, Occitan and Sard». The legislation made it possible to use these languages in education, in public offices, in local government, in the judicial system, in mass media, and allowed for the reinstatement of place and personal names. However, several practical problems have emerged, particularly those concerning the variety that should be used in education, in official documents and in other formal domains, i.e. the local variety, the standard of reference (if there is any), or an over regional koinè. In minority settings, it might seem eminently sensible to use the ready made standard of reference, accepting the Ausbausprache, rather than the language as practice, that is the local variety. However, this process seems to be pointless, as is demonstrated by the results of a fieldwork that was carried out in a small town in the South of Italy where members speak Faetar, the local variety of Francoprovençal. Here the language is largely used by the community members in all domains, moreover a deep sense of loyalty towards the variety they use and a manifested minority identity can be observed analysing the speakers’ attitudes. However, these positive attitudes are towards the vehicle for their distinctive history and culture, and not for an “external” standard, a system which local authorities and planners are trying to introduce in the community. In other words, according to the speakers' reactions, there is little point in struggling to maintain a language, if what is conserved is not the group’s language but another.

Keywords: maintenance, minority languages, endangered languages, francoprovençal

Procedia PDF Downloads 433