Search results for: speaking English lesson

Authors: Guofang Zeng, Anisa Cheung

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Teacher emotions are vitally important for the classroom environment and students’ language attainment; however, studies concerning foreign language teaching anxiety (FLTA) remain scarce. This study examined FLTA by administering questionnaires to 235 in-service teachers to investigate the impacts of educational stages and teaching experience on FLTA. The statistical results show that secondary school teachers exhibit significantly higher levels of FLTA than their primary counterparts, especially in “lack of student interest” and “fear of negative evaluation”. Novice teachers are significantly more anxious than experienced teachers in the dimension of ‘teaching inexperience’, while no other differences are shown in other aspects. No interaction effects are found between the two variables. Pedagogical implications for understanding FLTA in different educational and experiential stages and corresponding anxiety-reducing strategies are discussed.

Keywords: foreign language teaching anxiety, in-service teachers, novice and experienced teachers, primary and secondary school

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Authors: Shunichiro Morishita

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This study examines the factors for attracting foreign guests in the Japanese lodging industry and discusses some measures taken for accepting foreign guests. It reviews three different accommodation providers acclaimed highly by foreign guests, Yamashiroya, Sawanoya and Fuji-Hakone Guest House, and identifies their characteristics. The common points for attracting foreign guests were: 1) making the best use of the old facilities, 2) multilingual signs, guidance and websites, 3) necessary and sufficient communication in English, 4) events and opportunities to experience Japanese culture, 5) omotenashi, warm and homely Japanese hospitality. These findings indicate that foreign guests’ dissatisfaction level can be decreased through internationalization utilizing ICT and by offering multilingual support. On the other hand, their satisfaction level can be increased by encouraging interaction with other guests and local Japanese people, providing events and opportunities to experience Japanese culture and omotenashi, home-style Japanese hospitality.

Keywords: hospitality management, foreign guests, Japanese lodging industry, Omotenashi

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Authors: Zhengrong Wu, Haibo Yang

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In the context of escalating global climate change and environmental degradation, the complexity and frequency of natural disasters are continually increasing. Confronted with an abundance of information regarding natural disasters, traditional knowledge graph construction methods, which heavily rely on grammatical rules and prior knowledge, demonstrate suboptimal performance in processing complex, multi-source disaster information. This study, drawing upon past natural disaster reports, disaster-related literature in both English and Chinese, and data from various disaster monitoring stations, constructs question-answer templates based on large language models. Utilizing the P-Tune method, the ChatGLM2-6B model is fine-tuned, leading to the development of a disaster knowledge graph based on large language models. This serves as a knowledge database support for disaster emergency response.

Keywords: large language model, knowledge graph, disaster, deep learning

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Authors: Serge Lacroix

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The proposed study looks at the psychoeducational assessment of bilingual students, in English and French in this case. It will be the opportunity to look at language of assessment and specifically how certain tests can be administered in one language and others in another language. It is also a look into the questioning of the validity of the test scores that are obtained as well as the quality and generalizability of the conclusions that can be drawn. Bilingualism and multiculturalism, although in constant expansion, is not considered in norms development and remains a poorly understood factor when it is at play in the context of a psychoeducational assessment. Student placement, diagnoses, accurate measures of intelligence and achievement are all impacted by the quality of the assessment procedure. The same is true for questionnaires administered to parents and self-reports completed by bilingual students who, more often than not, are assessed in a language that is not their primary one or are compared to monolinguals not dealing with the same challenges or the same skills. Results show that students, when offered to work in a bilingual fashion, chooses to do so in a significant proportion. Recommendations will be offered to support educators aiming at expanding their skills when confronted with multilingual students in an assessment context.

Keywords: psychoeducational assessment, bilingualism, multiculturalism, intelligence, achievement

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Authors: Melvin Ouma

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Language is one of the most crucial tools in medical interaction. Its importance is as great today as it was many decades ago. Difficulty in openly discussing certain diseases and body parts is one of the challenges in language use in medical contexts. Guided by H. P. Grice’s Cooperative Principle, this paper explores the flouting of the cooperative principles in Swahili speaking medical setting. The paper examines how men flout the maxims using the Swahili language when reporting reproductive health problems to the doctor. The data used was gathered from a qualitative study carried out in a reproductive health clinic in a public facility in Nakuru County, Kenya. All the research protocols were observed by acquiring all the research permits. Respondents' ethical considerations of consent, privacy, and confidentiality were observed. The respondents recruited were men who visited the reproductive health clinic and voluntarily agreed to participate in the study without coercion or compensation. Participant observation was the key data collection tool, with the doctor and patient conversation digitally recorded. The researcher was allowed into the clinic in a socially acceptable role. Male patients flouted the maxims of quantity, quality, relation, and manner in order to describe their reproductive health problems without embarrassment using the Swahili language. The flouting was done through the discursive strategies of narration and circumlocution. Flouting of the maxims was acceptable to the doctor and patient due to the fact that sexual intercourse and private body parts are taboo topics and uncomfortable to talk about. The quality of health care received by the patient depended on the doctor’s patience when all the maxims were flouted. In the reproductive health clinic, flouting of maxims hindered communication and, at the same time, enhanced communication between the doctor and patient.

Keywords: cooperative principle, doctor, men, reproductive health

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Authors: Shakila Singh

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Dominant discourses constitute heterosexuality as natural, normal and the only legitimate sexuality, and diverse sexual subjectivities as abnormal, unnatural and socially taboo. Similarly, the cisgender subject is reified. There are ongoing debates about the inclusion and suitability of sexuality education in the school curriculum and research show that teachers are not adequately prepared to teach about such issues in the classroom. Not surprising then, that many young people enter these institutions having had limited previous exposure to, or education about, sex, gender and sexuality diversity. This paper discusses the presence of heterosexism and cissexism at multiple layers in higher education institutions, impacting students and staff. Increasing knowledge and awareness of sex, gender and sexuality diversities is also crucial to challenging existing perceptions of sex, gender and sexuality diversities that marginalise and subordinate a large proportion of students and staff. There is a persistent disjuncture between dominant discourses that generally position higher education institutions as socially progressive, open environments and the discourses that legitimate the ascendency of heterosexual and cisgender identities. This paper argues that such disjuncture must be addressed by providing inclusive physical and emotional spaces if universities are to affirm every individual and produce graduates across all disciplines with the cultural capability to engage with increasingly diverse communities. Given the key role of language in shaping cultural and social attitudes, using gender-inclusive language is a powerful way to promote gender equality and eradicate gender bias. This means speaking and writing in a way that does not discriminate against a particular sex, gender or sexual identity and does not perpetuate gender stereotypes. Individuals must be allowed to present themselves and identify in ways they choose and be addressed by their chosen pronouns.

Keywords: heteronormativity, inclusivity, gender, universities

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Authors: Asmaa Baghli

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Self-acceptance is one of the most pertinent notions that attracted the attention of many scholars. These latters believed that the sense of self-acceptance for people contributes in the emergence of their self-esteem and helps to improve their efficacy level. Simply defined, self-acceptance stands for the ability of the person to admire and accept herself and her potentials. This fact is believed to participate in the personal image creation depending on the qualities and features possessed. Hitherto, the following paper aims, first, to provide a brief and concise definition of self-acceptance, self-esteem and self-efficacy. It tries to explain the correlation between the three concepts along with its linkage to language teaching. Then, it examines teachers’ acceptance level and its influence on their classroom actions. For that purpose, the main methodology undertaken is the mixed method. That means the combination between both quantitative and qualitative research methods. The prime tools selected are a questionnaire and self-acceptance test for teachers. Finally, it suggests some techniques for developing teachers’ self-acceptance.

Keywords: competence, development, efficacy, Self-acceptance, self-esteem, teachers

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Authors: Thassanant Unnanantn, Suttipong Boonphadung

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This research study aimed to survey and analyze the attitudes of pre-service teachers’ the analytical thinking development based on Miller’s Model. The informants of this study were 22 third year teacher students majoring in Thai. The course where the instruction was conducted was English for Academic Purposes in Thai Language 2. The instrument of this research was an open-ended questionnaire with two dimensions of questions: academic and satisfaction dimensions. The investigation revealed the positive attitudes. In the academic dimension, the majority of 12 (54.54%), the highest percentage, reflected that the method of teaching analytical thinking and language simultaneously was their new knowledge and the similar percentage also belonged to text cohesion in writing. For the satisfaction, the highest frequency count was from 17 of them (77.27%) and this majority favored the openness or friendliness of the teacher.

Keywords: analytical thinking development, Miller’s Model, attitudes, pre-service teachers

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Authors: Yahya Ibrahim Harande

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The purpose of this study was to identify the journals that published articles on malaria disease in Africa and to determine the core of productive journals from the identified journals. The data for the study were culled out from African Index Medicus (AIM) database. A total of 529 articles was gathered from 115 journal titles from 1979-2011. In order to obtain the core of productive journals, Bradford`s law was applied to the collected data. Five journal titles were identified and determined as core journals. The data used for the study was analyzed and that, the subject matter used, Malaria was in conformity with the Bradford`s law. On the aspect dispersion of the literature, English was found to be the dominant language of the journals. (80.9%) followed by French (16.5%). Followed by Portuguese (1.7%) and German (0.9%). Recommendation is hereby proposed for the medical libraries to acquire these five journals that constitute the core in malaria literature for the use of their clients. It could also help in streamlining their acquision and selection exercises. More researches in the subject area using Bibliometrics approaches are hereby recommended.

Keywords: productive journals, malaria disease literature, Bradford`s law, core journals, African scholars

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Authors: Josiane Yaguibou, Ngoy Kishimba, Issiaka V. Coulibaly, Sabrina Pestilli, Falinirina Razanalison, Hantanirina Andremanisa

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Background: Madagascar has one of the least developed road networks in the world with a majority of its national and local roads being earth roads and in poor condition. In addition, the country is affected by frequent natural disasters that further affect the road conditions limiting the accessibility to some parts of the country. In 2021 and 2022, 2.21 million people were affected by drought in the Grand Sud region, and by cyclones and floods in the coastal regions, with disruptions of the health system including last mile distribution of lifesaving maternal health commodities and reproductive health commodities in the health facilities. Program intervention: The intervention uses drone technology to deliver maternal health and family planning commodities in hard-to-reach health facilities in the Grand Sud and Sud-Est of Madagascar, the regions more affected by natural disasters. Methodology The intervention was developed in two phases. A first phase, conducted in the Grand Sud, used drones leased from a private company to deliver commodities in isolated health facilities. Based on the lesson learnt and encouraging results of the first phase, in the second phase (2023) the intervention has been extended to the Sud Est regions with the purchase of drones and the recruitment of pilots to reduce costs and ensure sustainability. Key findings: The drones ensure deliveries of lifesaving commodities in the Grand Sud of Madagascar. In 2023, 297 deliveries in commodities in forty hard-to-reach health facilities have been carried out. Drone technology reduced delivery times from the usual 3 - 7 days necessary by road or boat to only a few hours. Program Implications: The use of innovative drone technology demonstrated to be successful in the Madagascar context to reduce dramatically the distribution time of commodities in hard-to-reach health facilities and avoid stockouts of life-saving medicines. When the intervention reaches full scale with the completion of the second phase and the extension in the Sud-Est, 150 hard-to-reach facilities will receive drone deliveries, avoiding stockouts and improving the quality of maternal health and family planning services offered to 1,4 million people in targeted areas.

Keywords: commodities, drones, last-mile distribution, lifesaving supplies

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Authors: Jayati Bhattacharjee

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Teaching is a very dynamic profession. Teaching Science is as much challenging as Learning the subject if not more. For instance teaching of Chemistry. From the introductory concepts of subatomic particles to atoms of elements and their symbols and further presenting the chemical equation and so forth is a challenge on both side of the equation Teaching Learning. This paper combines the Neuroscience of Learning and memory with the knowledge of Learning style (VAK) and presents an effective tool for the teacher to authenticate Learning. The model of ‘Working Memory’, the Visio-spatial sketchpad, the central executive and the phonological loop that transforms short-term memory to long term memory actually supports the psychological theory of Learning style i.e. Visual –Auditory-Kinesthetic. A closer examination of David Kolbe’s learning model suggests that learning requires abilities that are polar opposites, and that the learner must continually choose which set of learning abilities he or she will use in a specific learning situation. In grasping experience some of us perceive new information through experiencing the concrete, tangible, felt qualities of the world, relying on our senses and immersing ourselves in concrete reality. Others tend to perceive, grasp, or take hold of new information through symbolic representation or abstract conceptualization – thinking about, analyzing, or systematically planning, rather than using sensation as a guide. Similarly, in transforming or processing experience some of us tend to carefully watch others who are involved in the experience and reflect on what happens, while others choose to jump right in and start doing things. The watchers favor reflective observation, while the doers favor active experimentation. Any lesson plan based on the model of Prescriptive design: C+O=M (C: Instructional condition; O: Instructional Outcome; M: Instructional method). The desired outcome and conditions are independent variables whereas the instructional method is dependent hence can be planned and suited to maximize the learning outcome. The assessment for learning rather than of learning can encourage, build confidence and hope amongst the learners and go a long way to replace the anxiety and hopelessness that a student experiences while learning Science with a human touch in it. Application of this model has been tried in teaching chemistry to high school students as well as in workshops with teachers. The response received has proven the desirable results.

Keywords: working memory model, learning style, prescriptive design, assessment for learning

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Authors: N. S. Achour, M. Hamdaoui, S. Ben Nasrallah, A. Perwuelz

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The main idea of this work is to investigate the effect of knitted fabrics characteristics on moisture management properties. Wetting and transport properties of single jersey, Rib 1&1 and English Rib fabrics made out of cotton and blended Cotton/Polyester yarns were studied. The dynamic water sorption of fabrics was investigated under same isothermal and terrestrial conditions at 20±2°C-65±2% by using the Moisture Management Tester (MMT) which can be used to quantitatively measure liquid moisture transfer in one step in a fabric in multi directions: Absorption rate, moisture absorbing time of the fabric's inner and outer surfaces, one-way transportation capability, the spreading/drying rate, the speed of liquid moisture spreading on fabric's inner and outer surfaces are measured, recorded and discussed. The results show that fabric’s composition and knit’s structure have a significant influence on those phenomena.

Keywords: knitted fabrics characteristics, moisture management properties, multi directions, the moisture management tester

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Authors: Shazia Salam

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This paper focuses on studying the literary reactions of selected Muslim women writers to the event of Partition of India in the north western region. It aims to explore how Muslim women experienced the Partition and how that experience was articulated through their writing. There is a serious dearth of research on the experience of Muslim women who had to witness the momentous event of the subcontinent. Since scholars have often questioned the silence around the historiography related to the experiences of Muslim women, this paper aims to explore if literature could provide insights that may be less readily available in other modes of narration. Using literature as an archival source, it aims to delve into the arenas of history that have been cloistered and closed. Muslim women have been silent about their experiences of Partition which at the cost of essentializing could be attributed to patriarchal constraints, and taboos, on speaking of intimate matters. These silences have consigned the question of their experience to a realm of anonymity. The lack of ethnographic research has in a way been compensated in the realm of literature, mainly poetry and fiction. Besides reportage, literature remains an important source of social history about Partition and how Muslim women lived through it. Where traditional history fails to record moments of rupture and dislocation, literature serves the crucial purpose. The central premise in this paper is that there is a need to revise the history of partition owing to the gaps in historiography. It looks into if literature can serve as a ground for developing new approaches to history since the question of the representation always confronts us--between what a text represents and how it represents it since imagination of the writer plays a great role in the construction of any text. With this approach as an entry point, this paper aims to unpack the questions of representation, the coalescing of history /literature and the gendered nature of partition history. It concludes that the gaps in the narratives of Partition and the memory of Partition can be addressed by way of suing literary as a source to fill in the cracks and fissures.

Keywords: gender, history, literature, partition

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Authors: Kumiko Inagaki

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In recent, years, Japanese universities have begun to face a dilemma: more than half of all high school graduates go on to attend an institution of higher learning, overwhelming Japanese universities accustomed to small student bodies. These universities have been forced to embrace qualitative changes to accommodate the increased number and diversity of students who enter their establishments, students who differ in their motivations for learning, their levels of eagerness to learn, and their perspectives on the future. One of these changes is an increase in awareness among Japanese educators of the importance of active learning, which deepens students’ understanding of course material through a range of activities, including writing, speaking, thinking, and presenting, in addition to conventional “passive learning” methods such as listening to a one-way lecture. 　The purpose of this study is to examine the effectiveness of the teaching method adapted to improve active learning. A teaching method designed to promote active learning was implemented in a social science course at one of the most popular universities in Japan. A questionnaire using a five-point response format was given to students in 2,305 courses throughout the university to evaluate the effectiveness of the method based on the following measures: ① the ratio of students who were motivated to attend the classes, ② the rate at which students learned new information, and ③ the teaching method adopted in the classes. The results of this study show that the percentage of students who attended the active learning course eagerly, and the rate of new knowledge acquired through the course, both exceeded the average for the university, the department, and the subject area of social science. In addition, there are strong correlations between teaching method and student motivation and between teaching method and knowledge acquisition rate. These results indicate that the active learning teaching method was effectively implemented and that it may improve student eagerness to attend class and motivation to learn.

Keywords: active learning, Japanese university, teaching method, university education

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Authors: Carla Michelle Gastelum Knight

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In an era where teacher educators and student teachers have almost unrestricted access to all kinds of sources through the internet, a research project carried out with a group of student-teachers has revealed how self-made videos are an exciting new way to motivate and engage students. The project was carried out at Universidad de Sonora, a public university in Northern Mexico, where 39 students of the Bachelor in Arts in English Language Teaching (B.A. in ELT) programme participated creating their own videos. In the process, they worked collaboratively, they exploited their creativity, they were highly motivated and showed more interest in the subject. The videos were shared in a private YouTube channel where students had the opportunity to review their peers’ work and where videos are available at any time for later viewing. This experience has led course instructor to face the challenge of planning and designing meaningful tasks that can and to find ways of exploiting the use of these resources for learning and training purposes.

Keywords: self-made materials, student-teachers, teacher education programme, teacher training

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Authors: Antoniette Belle R. Bontuyan

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The aim of the study was to determine the levels of performance in Composition Writing of English 122: Writing in the Discipline of the Associate in Hospitality Management Freshman Students in relation to their reading and writing experiences at the Cebu Technological University Tuburan Campus, Academic Year 2009-2010 as basis for a proposed skill exercises. Specifically, this research answers the following questions: Firstly, based on the students’ written compositions, what the students’ levels of performance in the following are: Composition Topic with subcomponents of Topic Development, Organizational or Logical Conclusions, Accurate, Relevant Evidence or Detail, Voice/Tone/Style, and the Composition Conventions with subcomponents of Structure, Grammar and Usage, Spelling, Capitalization, Punctuation. Secondly, what the students’ extents of experiences in view of Writing and Reading Experiences are.

Keywords: COMPOSITION WRITING

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Authors: Kristine D. de Leon, Junifer A. Abatayo, Jose Cristina M. Pariña

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The current study is a comparative analysis of the use of shell nouns as a cohesive device (CD) in an English for Second Language (ESL) setting in order to identify their use and relationship in the quality of second language (L2) writing. As these nouns were established to anticipate the meaning within, across or outside the text, their use has fascinated writing researchers. The corpus of the study included published articles from reputable journals and graduate students’ papers in order to analyze the frequency of shell nouns using “highly prevalent” nouns in the academic community, to identify the different lexicogrammatical patterns where these nouns occur and to the functions connected with these patterns. The result of the study implies that published authors used more shell nouns in their paper than graduate students. However, the functions of the different lexicogrammatical patterns for the frequently occurring shell nouns are somewhat similar. These results could help students in enhancing the cohesion of their text and in comprehending it.

Keywords: anaphoric, cataphoric, lexico-grammatical, shell nouns

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Authors: Diwei Lin, Amanda Jh. Tan

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We present a very rare case of de novo large cell neuroendocrine carcinoma of the prostate (LCNEC) in an 84-year-old male on a background of high-grade, muscle-invasive transitional cell carcinoma of the bladder. While NE tumours account for 1% to 5% of all cases of prostate cancer and scattered NE cells can be found in 10% to 100% of prostate adenocarcinomas, pure LCNEC of the prostate is extremely rare. Most LCNEC of the prostate is thought to originate by clonal progression under the selection pressure of therapy and refractory to long-term hormonal treatment for adenocarcinoma of the prostate. De novo LCNEC is only described in case reports and is thought to develop via direct malignant transformation. Limited data in the English literature makes it difficult to accurately predict the prognosis of LCNEC of the prostate. However, current evidence suggesting that increasing NE differentiation in prostate adenocarcinoma is associated with a higher stage, high-grade disease, and a worse prognosis.

Keywords: large cell neuroendocrine cancer, prostate cancer, refractory cancer, medical and health sciences

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Authors: Nora El-Bilawia

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This paper discovers the challenges and/or opportunities to implementing multiple intelligence (MI) practices in English as foreign language (EFL) classrooms at Egyptian public schools as part of the government’s educational reform plan. It is found that Egyptian EFL teachers value the use of MI’s ways of teaching as means for active and higher order thinking. However, teachers believed they were underprivileged, as the government did not provide appropriate trainings, tools, or means to integrate MI in their daily lessons. They also conferred challenges they face due to some Egyptian schooling cultural practices. At the end of this chapter, a proposed need for a paradigm shift in the schooling culture in Egypt to implement practical changes in schools to promote hope in education such as the use of MI teaching tools. This study promotes cross-cultural understanding of educational opportunities and efforts for equal learning outcomes around the globe.

Keywords: professional development, schooling culture, acculturation, equitable education

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Authors: Meng-Na Dai, Bao-Fang Wen, Gao-Pei Zhu, Chen-Xi Zhang, Jing Sun, Chang-Hai Tang, Zhi-Qiang Feng, Wen-Qiang Yin

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Based on the analysis of literature in the health emergency management in China with recent 10 years, this paper discusses the Chinese current research hotspots, development trends and shortcomings in this field, and provides references for scholars to conduct follow-up research. CNKI(China National Knowledge Infrastructure), Weipu, and Wanfang were the databases of this literature. The key words during the database search were health, emergency, and management with the time from 2009 to 2018. The duplicate, non-academic, and unrelated documents were excluded. 901 articles were included in the literature review database. The main indicators of abstraction were, the number of articles published every year, authors, institutions, periodicals, etc. There are some research findings through the analysis of the literature. Overall, the number of literature in the health emergency management in China has shown a fluctuating downward trend in recent 10 years. Specifically, there is a lack of close cooperation between authors, which has not constituted the core team among them yet. Meanwhile, in this field, the number of high-level periodicals and quality literature is scarce. In addition, there are a lot of research hotspots, such as emergency management system, mechanism research, capacity evaluation index system research, plans and capacity-building research, etc. In the future, we should increase the scientific research funding of the health emergency management, encourage collaborative innovation among authors in multi-disciplinary fields, and create high-quality and high-impact journals in this field. The states should encourage scholars in this field to carry out more academic cooperation and communication with the whole world and improve the research in breadth and depth. Generally speaking, the research in health emergency management in China is still insufficient and needs to be improved.

Keywords: health emergency management, research situation, bibliometrics, literature

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Authors: A. Falenski, A. Kaesbohrer, M. Filter

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Introduction: Risk assessments can be performed in various ways and in different degrees of complexity. In order to assess risks associated with imported foods additional information needs to be taken into account compared to a risk assessment on regional products. The present review is an overview on currently available best practise approaches and data sources used for food import risk assessments (IRAs). Methods: A literature review has been performed. PubMed was searched for articles about food IRAs published in the years 2004 to 2014 (English and German texts only, search string “(English [la] OR German [la]) (2004:2014 [dp]) import [ti] risk”). Titles and abstracts were screened for import risks in the context of IRAs. The finally selected publications were analysed according to a predefined questionnaire extracting the following information: risk assessment guidelines followed, modelling methods used, data and software applied, existence of an analysis of uncertainty and variability. IRAs cited in these publications were also included in the analysis. Results: The PubMed search resulted in 49 publications, 17 of which contained information about import risks and risk assessments. Within these 19 cross references were identified to be of interest for the present study. These included original articles, reviews and guidelines. At least one of the guidelines of the World Organisation for Animal Health (OIE) and the Codex Alimentarius Commission were referenced in any of the IRAs, either for import of animals or for imports concerning foods, respectively. Interestingly, also a combination of both was used to assess the risk associated with the import of live animals serving as the source of food. Methods ranged from full quantitative IRAs using probabilistic models and dose-response models to qualitative IRA in which decision trees or severity tables were set up using parameter estimations based on expert opinions. Calculations were done using @Risk, R or Excel. Most heterogeneous was the type of data used, ranging from general information on imported goods (food, live animals) to pathogen prevalence in the country of origin. These data were either publicly available in databases or lists (e.g., OIE WAHID and Handystatus II, FAOSTAT, Eurostat, TRACES), accessible on a national level (e.g., herd information) or only open to a small group of people (flight passenger import data at national airport customs office). In the IRAs, an uncertainty analysis has been mentioned in some cases, but calculations have been performed only in a few cases. Conclusion: The current state-of-the-art in the assessment of risks of imported foods is characterized by a great heterogeneity in relation to general methodology and data used. Often information is gathered on a case-by-case basis and reformatted by hand in order to perform the IRA. This analysis therefore illustrates the need for a flexible, modular framework supporting the connection of existing data sources with data analysis and modelling tools. Such an infrastructure could pave the way to IRA workflows applicable ad-hoc, e.g. in case of a crisis situation.

Keywords: import risk assessment, review, tools, food import

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Authors: Ahmed Tawfik, Fausto Giunchiglia, Vincenzo Maltese

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Ontologies provide a common understanding of a specific domain of interest that can be communicated between people and used as background knowledge for automated reasoning in a wide range of applications. In this paper we address the design of multilingual ontologies following well-defined knowledge engineering methodologies with the support of novel collaborative development approaches. In particular, we present a collaborative platform which allows ontologies to be developed incrementally in multiple languages. This is made possible via an appropriate mapping between language independent concepts and one lexicalization per language (or a lexical gap in case such lexicalization does not exist). The collaborative platform has been designed to support the development of the Universal Knowledge Core, a multilingual ontology currently in English, Italian, Chinese, Mongolian, Hindi, and Bangladeshi. Its design follows a workflow-based development methodology that models resources as a set of collaborative objects and assigns customizable workflows to build and maintain each collaborative object in a community driven manner, with extensive support of modern web 2.0 social and collaborative features.

Keywords: knowledge diversity, knowledge representation, ontology, development

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Authors: Siriwan Chatmaneerungcharoen

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An emerging body of ‘21st century skills’-such as adaptability, complex communication skills, technology skills and the ability to solve non-routine problems--are valuable across a wide range of jobs in the national economy. Within the Thai context, a focus on the Philosophy of Sufficiency Economy is integrated into Science Education. Thai science education has advocated infusing 21st century skills and Philosophy of Sufficiency Economy into the school curriculum and several educational levels have launched such efforts. Therefore, developing science teachers to have proper knowledge is the most important factor to success of the goals. The purposes of this study were to develop 40 Cooperative Science teachers’ Technological Pedagogical Content Knowledge (TPACK) and to develop Professional Development Model integrated with Co-teaching Model and Coaching System (Co-TPACK). TPACK is essential to career development for teachers. Forty volunteer In-service teachers who were science cooperative teachers participated in this study for 2 years. Data sources throughout the research project consisted of teacher refection, classroom observations, Semi-structure interviews, Situation interview, questionnaires and document analysis. Interpretivist framework was used to analyze the data. Findings indicate that at the beginning, the teachers understood only the meaning of Philosophy of Sufficiency Economy but they did not know how to integrate the Philosophy of Sufficiency Economy into their science classrooms. Mostly, they preferred to use lecture based teaching and experimental teaching styles. While the Co- TPACK was progressing, the teachers had blended their teaching styles and learning evaluation methods. Co-TPACK consists of 3 cycles (Student Teachers’ Preparation Cycle, Cooperative Science Teachers Cycle, Collaboration cycle (Co-teaching, Co-planning, and Co-Evaluating and Coaching System)).The Co-TPACK enhances the 40 cooperative science teachers, student teachers and university supervisor to exchange their knowledge and experience on teaching science. There are many channels that they used for communication including online. They have used more Phuket context-integrated lessons, technology-integrated teaching and Learning that can explicit Philosophy of Sufficiency Economy. Their sustained development is shown in their lesson plans and teaching practices.

Keywords: technological pedagogical content knowledge, philosophy of sufficiency economy, professional development, coaching system

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Authors: I. Schiller, D. Morsomme, A. Remacle

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Children’s ability to process spoken language develops until the late teenage years. At school, where efficient spoken language processing is key to academic achievement, listening conditions are often unfavorable. High background noise and poor teacher’s voice represent typical sources of interference. It can be assumed that these factors particularly affect primary school children, because their language and literacy skills are still low. While it is generally accepted that background noise and impaired voice impede spoken language processing, there is an increasing need for analyzing impacts within specific linguistic areas. Against this background, the aim of the study was to investigate the effect of speech-shaped noise and imitated dysphonic voice on first-grade primary school children’s speech perception and sentence comprehension. Via headphones, 5 to 6-year-old children, recruited within the French-speaking community of Belgium, listened to and performed a minimal-pair discrimination task and a sentence-picture matching task. Stimuli were randomly presented according to four experimental conditions: (1) normal voice / no noise, (2) normal voice / noise, (3) impaired voice / no noise, and (4) impaired voice / noise. The primary outcome measure was task score. How did performance vary with respect to listening condition? Preliminary results will be presented with respect to speech perception and sentence comprehension and carefully interpreted in the light of past findings. This study helps to support our understanding of children’s language processing skills under adverse conditions. Results shall serve as a starting point for probing new measures to optimize children’s learning environment.

Keywords: impaired voice, sentence comprehension, speech perception, speech-shaped noise, spoken language processing

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Authors: Hui Liu, Xiaozan Wang, Jiarong Zhong, Ziming Shao

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Introduction: Related research shows that students don’t concentrate on teacher’s speaking in the classroom. The d2 attention test is a time-limited test about selective attention. The d2 attention test can be used to evaluate individual selective attention. Purpose: To use the d2 attention test tool to measure the difference between the attention level of the experimental class and the control class before and after Brain-Break and to explore the effect of Brain-Break in the classroom on students' selective attention. Methods: According to the principle of no difference in pre-test data, two classes in the fourth- grade of Shenzhen Longhua Central Primary School were selected. After 20 minutes of class in the third class in the morning and the third class in the afternoon, about 3-minute Brain-Break intervention was performed in the experimental class for 10 weeks. The normal class in the control class did not intervene. Before and after the experiment, the d2 attention test tool was used to test the attention level of the two-class students. The paired sample t-test and independent sample t-test in SPSS 23.0 was used to test the change in the attention level of the two-class classes around 10 weeks. This article only presents results with significant differences. Results: The independent sample t-test results showed that after ten-week of Brain-Break, the missed errors (E1 t = -2.165 p = 0.042), concentration performance (CP t = 1.866 p = 0.05), and the degree of omissions (Epercent t = -2.375 p = 0.029) in experimental class showed significant differences compared with control class. The students’ error level decreased and the concentration increased. Conclusions: Adding Brain-Break interventions in the classroom can effectively improve the attention level of fourth-grade primary school students to a certain extent, especially can improve the concentration of attention and decrease the error rate in the tasks. The new sport's learning model is worth promoting

Keywords: cultural class, micromotor, attention, D2 test

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Authors: Karlygash Adamova

Abstract:

This article is focused on the KazTest as one of the most important high-stakes tests and the key tool in Kazakh language assessment. The research will also include the brief introduction to the language policy in Kazakhstan. Particularly, it is going to be changed significantly and turn from bilingualism (Kazakh, Russian) to multilingual policy (three languages - Kazakh, Russian, English). Therefore, the current status of the abovementioned languages will be described. Due to the various educational reforms in the country, the language evaluation system should also be improved and moderated. The research will present the most significant test of Kazakhstan – the KazTest, which is aimed to evaluate the Kazakh language proficiency. Assessment is an ongoing process that encompasses a wide area of knowledge upon the productive performance of the learners. Test is widely defined as a standardized or standard method of research, testing, diagnostics, verification, etc. The two most important characteristics of any test, as the main element of the assessment - validity and reliability - will also be described in this paper. Therefore, the preparation and design of the test, which is assumed to be an indicator of knowledge, and it is highly important to take into account all these properties.

Keywords: multilingualism, language assessment, testing, language policy

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Authors: Kaoru Tomita

Abstract:

This study explores how visual information helps us to learn foreign language pronunciation. Visual assistance and its effect for learning foreign language have been discussed widely. For example, simplified illustrations in textbooks are used for telling learners which part of the articulation organs are used for pronouncing sounds. Vowels are put into a chart that depicts a vowel space. Consonants are put into a table that contains two axes of place and manner of articulation. When comparing a still picture and a moving picture for visualizing learners’ pronunciation, it becomes clear that the former works better than the latter. The visualization of vowels was applied to class activities in which native and non-native speakers’ English was compared and the learners’ feedback was collected: the positions of six vowels did not scatter as much as they were expected to do. Specifically, two vowels were not discriminated and were arranged very close in the vowel space. It was surprising for the author to find that learners liked analyzing their own pronunciation by linking formant ones and twos on a sheet of paper with a pencil. Even a simple method works well if it leads learners to think about their pronunciation analytically.

Keywords: feedback, pronunciation, visualization, vowel

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Authors: Majed Al-Quran

Abstract:

Language arts, as a domain of learning, principally covers the study of literature and the arts of reading and writing. These three areas deal with the art of conceptualizing and representing in language how people live and might live their lives. And all three are significantly concerned with gaining command of language and expression. Of course, there is no command of language separate from the command of thought. The paper addresses how EFL learners can develop insight and sense into what can be earned from literature and a sense of putting experiences into words. It further shows how critical thinking-based instruction helps students develop command of their own ideas, which consequently requires command over the words in which they express them. Critical thinking stipulates that in words and ideas, there is the power to create systems of beliefs and multiple conceptions of life. Remodeling language lessons aim at overcoming the challenge of stimulating learners to cultivate a new and different conception of language skills, including those of reading and writing.

Keywords: language arts, remodeling, critical thinking, pedagogy

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Authors: Joshua Chew, Vesa Cheng, David Thomson

Abstract:

Background: Hereditary angioedema (HAE) or C1 esterase deficiency is a relatively rare entity that has a potential for significant anesthetic complications. Methods: A literature review was performed of published cases of surgery in patients with HAE. Results were limited to English language only and cases were examined for management strategies and successful prevention of acute attacks. Results: The literature revealed the successful use of C1 esterase inhibitors as the most common agent in surgical prophylaxis therapy. Other therapeutic targets described included kallikrein inhibitors and bradykinin B2 receptor antagonists. Conclusions: Therapeutic targets that exist for the management of acute attacks in HAE have been successfully employed in the setting of surgery. The data is currently limited and could not be used as a firm evidence base, but the limited outcomes seen are positive and reassuring for the prospective anesthetic management of this potentially fatal condition.

Keywords: anesthesia, C1 esterase deficiency, hereditary angioedema, surgical prophylaxis

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Authors: Ellina Zipman

Abstract:

This research investigates the place of music education in aged care facilities through the implementation of a program of regular piano lessons for residents. Using a qualitative case study methodology, the research explores aged care residents’ experiences in learning to play the piano. Since the aged care homes are unlikely places for formal learning and since older adults, especially in residential care, are not considered likely candidates for learning, this research opens the door for innovative and transformative thinking about where and to whom educational programs can be delivered. By addressing the educational needs of residents in aged care facilities, this research fills the gap in the literature. The research took place in Australia in two of Melbourne’s residential aged care facilities, engaging two residents (a nonagenarian female and an octogenarian male) to participate in 12-months weekly individual piano lessons. The data was collected through video recording of lessons, observations, interviews, emails, and a reflective journal. Data analysis was done using Nvivo and hard copy analysis with identifications of themes. The case studies revealed that passion for music was a major driver in participants’ motivation to engage in a long-term piano lessons program. This participation led to experiences of positive emotions, positive attitude, successes and challenges, the exercise of control, maintaining and building new relationships, improved self-confidence through autonomy and independent skills development, and discovering new identities through finding a new purpose and new roles in life. Speaking through participants’ voices, this research project demonstrates the importance of music education for older adults and hopes to influence transformation in the residential aged care sector.

Keywords: adult music education, quality of life, passion, positive ageing, wellbeing

Procedia PDF Downloads 87