Search results for: language comprehension

Authors: Mohammad Hadi Mahmoodi, Mojtaba Farahani

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The present study aimed at investigating whether reflective thinking differentiates Iranian EFL learners regarding language learning strategy use, beliefs about language learning and teaching, and L2 proficiency. To this end, the researcher adopted a mixed method approach. First, 94 EFL learners were asked to complete Reflective Thinking Questionnaire (Kember et al., 2000), Beliefs about Language Learning and Teaching Inventory (Horwitz, 1985), Strategy Inventory for Language Learning (Oxford, 1990), and Oxford Quick Placement Test. The results of three separate one-way ANOVAs indicated that reflective thinking significantly differentiates Iranian EFL learners concerning: (a)language learning strategy use, (b) beliefs about language learning and teaching, and (c) general language proficiency. Furthermore, to see where the differences lay, three separate post-hoc Tukey tests were run the results of which showed that learners with different levels of reflectivity (high, mid, and low) were significantly different from each other in all three dependent variables. Finally, to increase the validity of the findings thirty of the participants were interviewed and the results were analyzed through template organizing style method (Crabtree & Miller, 1999). The results of the interview analysis supported the results of quantitative data analysis.

Keywords: reflective thinking, language learning strategy use, beliefs toward language learning and teaching

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Authors: Dennis Infante, Leonora Yambao

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The Philippines is a multilingual community. A Filipino learns at least three languages throughout his lifespan. Since languages are learned and picked up simultaneously in the environment, a student naturally develops a language system that combines features of at least three languages: the local language, English and Filipino. This study seeks to investigate this particular phenomenon and aspires to propose a theoretical framework of unique language acquisition in the elementary, high school and college in the three languages spoken and used in media, community, business and school: Kapampangan, the local language; Filipino, the national language; and English. The study randomly selects five students from three participating schools in order to acquire language samples. The samples were analyzed in the subsentential, sentential and suprasentential levels using grammatical theories. The data are classified to map out the pattern of substitution or shifting from one language to another.

Keywords: language acquisition, mother tongue, multiculturalism, multilingual education

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Authors: Nadia Akbarpour

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Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma is a forceful and obliterating illness, which is portrayed by intrusiveness, fast movement, and significant protection from treatment. Advances in neurotic arrangement and malignant growth hereditary qualities have worked on our illustrative comprehension of this infection; be that as it may, significant parts of pancreatic disease science remain ineffectively comprehended. A superior comprehension of pancreatic disease science should lead the way to more viable medicines. In the course of the most recent couple of years, there have been significant advances in the sub-atomic and organic comprehension of pancreatic malignancy. This included comprehension of the genomic intricacy of the illness, the job of pancreatic malignant growth undifferentiated organisms, the importance of the growth microenvironment, and the one-of-a-kind metabolic transformation of pancreas disease cells to acquire supplements under hypoxic climate. Endeavors have been made towards the advancement of the practical answer for its treatment with compelled achievement due to its complicated science. It is grounded that pancreatic malignancy undifferentiated cells (CSCs), yet present in a little count, contribute extraordinarily to PC inception, movement, and metastasis. Standard chemo and radiotherapeutic choices, notwithstanding, grow general endurance, the connected aftereffects are a huge concern. In the midst of the latest decade, our understanding with regards to atomic and cell pathways engaged with PC and the job of CSCs in its movement has expanded massively. By and by, the center is to target CSCs. The natural items have acquired a lot of thought as of late as they, generally, sharpen CSCs to chemotherapy and target atomic flagging engaged with different cancers, including PC. Some arranged investigations have demonstrated promising outcomes recommending that assessments in this course bring a ton to the table for the treatment of PC. Albeit preclinical investigations uncovered the significance of natural items in lessening pancreatic carcinoma, restricted examinations have been led to assess their part in centers. The current survey gives another knowledge to late advances in pancreatic malignancy science, treatment, and the current status of natural items in its expectation.

Keywords: pancreatic, genomic, organic, cancer

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Authors: Gabriela Smeckova

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The entire world is becoming more and more diverse. The reasons why people migrate are different and unique for each family /individual. Professionals delivering services (including speech-language pathologists) must be prepared to work with clients coming from different cultural and/or linguistic backgrounds. Well-educated speech-language pathologists will consider many factors when delivering services. Some of them will be discussed during the presentation (language spoken, beliefs about health care and disabilities, reasons for immigration, etc.). The communication styles of the client can be different than the styles of the speech-language pathologist. The goal is to become culturally responsive in service delivery.

Keywords: culture, cultural competence, culturallly responsive practices, speech-language pathologist, cultural and linguistical variables, communication styles

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Authors: Maryam Maimota Shehu

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Words are the basic building blocks of a language. In everyday usage of a language, words are used, and new words are formed and reformed to contain and accommodate all entities, phenomena, qualities and every aspect of the entire life. Despite the fact that many studies have been conducted on morphological processes in The Hausa language. Most of the works concentrated on borrowing, affixation, reduplication and derivation, but blending has been neglected to the extent that some of the Hausa linguists claim that, blending does not exist in the language. Therefore, the current study investigates and examines blending as one of the word formation processes' in the language. The study focuses its main attention on blending as a word-formation process and how this process is used adequately in the formation of words in The Hausa language. To achieve the aims, the research answered these questions: 1) is blending used as a process of word formation in Hausa? 2) What are the words formed using this process? This study utilizes the Natural Morphology Theory proposed by Dressler, (1985) which was adopted by Belly (2007). The data of this study have been collected from newspaper articles, novels, and written literature of Hausa language. Based on the findings, this study found out that, there exist new kind of words formed in The Hausa language under blending, which previous findings did not either reveal or explain in detail. Another part of the finding shows that some of the words change their grammatical classes and meaning while blended.

Keywords: morphology, word formation, blending in hausa language, language

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Authors: Lorraine Ramos

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The question of heritage language learners in foreign language classrooms has been widely debated in second language education, especially with Spanish in a U.S. Instructors of Spanish as a foreign language have brought pedagogical focus to Spanish heritage language students in order to retain, develop and maintain their first language. This paper proposes a thorough examination of the use of conceptual metaphors within autobiographical linguistic narratives as a key indicator of the writing development of advanced Spanish-language students. By pairing genre theory from Systemic Functional Linguistics with metaphor theory, this paper will examine the metaphors used by 3rd and 4th year university Spanish students within the narrative genre from a corpus of 16, 091 words. The investigation has found that heritage language students use a variety of bicultural metaphors, transferred from both languages to conceptualize their linguistic development, in addition to using metaphor in specific narrative stages as a literary strategy. Since it has been found that the metaphors used were transcultural, the use of conceptual metaphors in heritage language learners can be further examined to help these students achieve their linguistic and academic goals in the Spanish by transferring from their knowledge in English. In conclusion, by closely examining the function of student discourse through their multicultural metaphoric competence, this study provides important insights on how to enable instructors to best further their students’ writing development in the target language.

Keywords: academic writing development, heritage language learners, language attitudes and ideologies, metaphor

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Authors: Abdelhadi Nadjer

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The structure of the text to the systemic school -(glossématique-Helmslev). At the beginning of the note we have a cursory look around the concepts of general linguistics The science that studies scientific study of human language based on the description and preview the facts away from the trend of education than we gave a detailed overview the founder of systemic school and most important customers and more methods and curriculum theory and analysis they extend to all humanities, practical action each offset by a theoretical and the procedure can be analyzed through the elements that pose as another method we talked to its links with other language schools where they are based on the sharp criticism of the language before and deflected into consideration for the field of language and its erection has outside or language network and its participation in the actions (non-linguistic) and after that we started our Valglosamatik analytical structure of the text is ejected text terminal or all of the words to was put for expression. This text Negotiable divided into types in turn are divided into classes and class should not be carrying a contradiction and be inclusive. It is on the same materials as described relationships that combine language and seeks to describe their relations and identified.

Keywords: text, language schools, linguistics, human language

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Authors: Brindusa Grigoriu

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Inscribing itself in the field of the history of multilingual communities with a focus on the evolution of language didactics, our paper aims at providing a pragmatic-interactional approach on a corpus proposing to scholars of the international scientific community a relevant text of early modern European literature: the first romance in French, The Conte of Flore and Blanchefleur by Robert d’Orbigny (1150). The multicultural context described by the romance is one in which an Arab-speaking prince, Floire, and his Francophone protégée, Blanchefleur, learn Latin together at the court of Spain and become fluent enough to turn it into the language of their love. This learning process is made up of interactional patterns of affective relevance, in which the proficiency of the protagonists in the domain of emotive acts becomes a matter of linguistic and pragmatic emulation. From five to ten years old, the pupils are efficiently stimulated by their teacher of Latin, Gaidon – a Moorish scholar of the royal entourage – to cultivate their competencies of oral expression and reading comprehension (of Antiquity classics), while enjoying an ever greater freedom of written expression, including the composition of love poems in this second language of culture and emotional education. Another relevant parameter of the educational process at court is that Latin shares its prominent role as a language of culture with French, whose exemplary learner is the (Moorish) queen herself. Indeed, the adult 'First lady' strives to become a pupil benefitting from lifelong learning provided by a fortuitous slave-teacher with little training, her anonymous chambermaid and Blanchefleur’s mother, who, despite her status of a war trophy, enjoys her Majesty’s confidence as a cultural agent of change in linguistic and theological fields. Thus, the two foreign languages taught at Spains’s court, Latin and French – as opposed to Arabic -, suggest a spiritual authority allowing the mutual enrichment of intercultural pioneers of cross-linguistic communication, in the aftermath of religious wars. Durably, and significantly – if not everlastingly – the language of physical violence rooted in intra-cultural solipsism is replaced by two Romance languages which seem to embody, together and yet distinctly, the parlance of peace-making.

Keywords: multilingualism, history of European language learning, French and Latin learners, multicultural context of medieval romance

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Authors: Tajudeen Yusuf

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Arabic language and its instruction occupy a prominent status in the contemporary world, especially in academic and research institutions. Arabic, like other international languages, consolidates understanding among people of different nations and societies. It is a promising medium of sharing thoughts and feelings. As a means of communication and interaction, the language has gained its outstanding status since ancient times, especially because of the relationship it maintains with Islam and its heritage. Adding to its importance is the rapid growth and advancement of Science and Technology in the contemporary Era which has eventually made communication between human societies all over the world inevitable. Despite, the Arabic language still experiences many challenges especially in some area such as irrelevant textbooks and other teaching materials, old versions of teaching methods and inadequate teachers who professionally trained. Eventually, these have resulted in difficulties in the teaching and learning of the language. Therefore, urgent and necessary measures to enhance the teaching and learning of Arabic language within and outside Arab countries are therefore needed to be taken.

Keywords: Arabic, language, challenges, modern era

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Authors: Kazeem Oluwatoyin Ajape

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The study is concerned with the problem of how to improve the teaching of Arabic as a foreign language in Nigerian Higher Education System. The paper traces the historical background of Arabic education in Nigeria and also outlines the problems facing the language in Nigerian Institutions. It lays down some of the essential foundation work necessary for bringing about systematic and constructive improvements in the Teaching of Arabic as a Foreign Language (TAFL) by giving answers to the following research questions: what is the appropriate medium of instruction in teaching a foreign or second language? What is the position of English language in the teaching and learning of Arabic/Islamic education? What is the relevance of the present curriculum of Arabic /Islamic education in Nigerian institutions to the contemporary society? A survey of the literature indicates that a revolution is currently taking place in FL teaching and that a new approach known as the Communicative Approach (CA), has begun to emerge and influence the teaching of FLs in general, over the last decade or so. Since the CA is currently being adapted to the teaching of most major FLs and since this revolution has not yet had much impact on TAPL, the study explores the possibility of the application of the CA to the teaching of Arabic as a living language and also makes recommendations towards the development of the language in Nigerian Institutions of Higher Learning.

Keywords: Arabic Language, foreign language, Nigerian institutions, curriculum, communicative approach

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Authors: Joao Carlos Koch Junior, Risa Takashima

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Learning disabilities have been extensively and increasingly studied in recent times. In spite of this, there is arguably a scarce number of studies addressing a key issue, which is the impact of foreign-language requirements on students with learning disabilities in higher education, and the lack of training or awareness of teachers regarding language learning disabilities. This study is an attempt to address this issue. An extensive review of the literature in multiple fields will be summarised. This, paired with a case-analysis of a university adopting a more inclusive approach towards special-needs students in its foreign-language programme, this presentation aims to establish a link between different studies and propose a number of suggestions to make language classrooms more inclusive.

Keywords: foreign language teaching, higher education, language teacher education, learning disabilities

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Authors: Tran Thi Thuy Oanh, Nguyen Ngoc Bao Tran

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In the view of Cognitive Linguistics (CL), knowledge and experience of things and events are used by human beings in expressing concepts, especially in their daily life. The human conceptual system is considered to be fundamentally metaphorical in nature. It is also said that the way we think, what we experience, and what we do everyday is very much a matter of language. In fact, language is an integral factor of cognition in that CL is a family of broadly compatible theoretical approaches sharing the fundamental assumption. The relationship between language and thought, of course, has been addressed by many scholars. CL, however, strongly emphasizes specific features of this relation. By experiencing, we receive knowledge of lives. The partial things are ideal domains, we make use of all aspects of this domain in metaphorically understanding abstract targets. The paper refered to applying this theory on pragmatics lessons for major English students at University of Foreign Language Studies - The University of Da Nang, Viet Nam. We conducted the study with two third – year students groups studying English pragmatics lessons. To clarify this study, the data from these two classes were collected for analyzing linguistic perspectives in the view of CL and traditional concepts. Descriptive, analytic, synthetic, comparative, and contrastive methods were employed to analyze data from 50 students undergoing English pragmatics lessons. The two groups were taught how to transfer the meanings of expressions in daily life with the view of CL and one group used the traditional view for that. The research indicated that both ways had a significant influence on students' English translating and interpreting abilities. However, the traditional way had little effect on students' understanding, but the CL view had a considerable impact. The study compared CL and traditional teaching approaches to identify benefits and challenges associated with incorporating CL into the curriculum. It seeks to extend CL concepts by analyzing metaphorical expressions in daily conversations, offering insights into how CL can enhance language learning. The findings shed light on the effectiveness of applying CL in teaching and learning English pragmatics. They highlight the advantages of using metaphorical expressions from daily life to facilitate understanding and explore how CL can enhance cognitive processes in language learning in general and teaching English pragmatics to third-year students at the UFLS - UDN, Vietnam in personal. The study contributes to the theoretical understanding of the relationship between language, cognition, and learning. By emphasizing the metaphorical nature of human conceptual systems, it offers insights into how CL can enrich language teaching practices and enhance students' comprehension of abstract concepts.

Keywords: cognitive linguisitcs, lakoff and johnson, pragmatics, UFLS

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Authors: Omar Baissane and, Hassan Zaid

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The purpose of this study was to determine whether self-efficacy, task value, and metacognitive self-regulation predict students’ English language achievement among Vietnamese high school students. In this non-experimental quantitative study, 403 Vietnamese random participants were required to fill out the Motivated Strategies for Learning Questionnaire to measure self-efficacy, task value and metacognitive self-regulation. Criterion for English language achievement was the final grade that students themselves reported. The results revealed that, unlike metacognitive self-regulation, self-efficacy and task value were significantly correlated with language achievement. Moreover, the findings showed that self-efficacy was the only significant predictor of language achievement.

Keywords: language achievement, metacognitive self-regulation, predictor, self-efficacy, task value

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Authors: Abdurrahman Arslanyilmaz, Salman Al Matouq, Durmus V. Doner

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Level 3 autonomous vehicles are able to take full responsibility over the control of the vehicle unless a system boundary is reached or a system failure occurs, in which case, the driver is expected to take-over the control of the vehicle. While this happens, the driver is often not aware of the traffic situation or is engaged in a secondary task. Factors affecting the duration and quality of take-overs in these situations have included secondary task type and nature, traffic density, take-over request (TOR) time, and TOR warning type and modality. However, to the best of the authors’ knowledge, no prior study examined time buffer for TORs when a system failure occurs immediately before intersections. The first objective of this study is to investigate the effect of time buffer (3 and 7 seconds) on the duration and quality of take-overs when a system failure occurs just prior to intersections. In addition, eye-tracking has become one of the most popular methods to report what individuals view, in what order, for how long, and how often, and it has been utilized in driving simulations with various objectives. However, to the extent of authors’ knowledge, none has compared drivers’ eye gaze behavior in the two different time buffers in order to examine drivers’ attention and comprehension of salient information. The second objective is to understand the driver’s attentional focus on comprehension of salient traffic-related information presented on different parts of the dashboard and on the roads.

Keywords: autonomous vehicles, driving simulation, eye gaze, attention, comprehension, take-over duration, take-over quality, time buffer

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Authors: Rabih Joseph Nabhan

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This case study explores the impact of two major computer software programs Learn to Speak English and Learn English Spelling and Pronunciation, and some Internet search engines such as Google on mending the decoding and spelling deficiency of Simon X, a dyslexic student. The improvement in decoding and spelling may result in better reading comprehension and composition writing. Some computer programs and Internet materials can help regain the missing awareness and consequently restore his self-confidence and self-esteem. In addition, this study provides a systematic plan comprising a set of activities (four computer programs and Internet materials) which address the problem from the lowest to the highest levels of phoneme and phonological awareness. Four methods of data collection (accounts, observations, published tests, and interviews) create the triangulation to validly and reliably collect data before the plan, during the plan, and after the plan. The data collected are analyzed quantitatively and qualitatively. Sometimes the analysis is either quantitative or qualitative, and some other times a combination of both. Tables and figures are utilized to provide a clear and uncomplicated illustration of some data. The improvement in the decoding, spelling, reading comprehension, and composition writing skills that occurred is proved through the use of authentic materials performed by the student under study. Such materials are a comparison between two sample passages written by the learner before and after the plan, a genuine computer chat conversation, and the scores of the academic year that followed the execution of the plan. Based on these results, the researcher recommends further studies on other Lebanese dyslexic learners using the computer to mend their language problem in order to design and make a most reliable software program that can address this disability more efficiently and successfully.

Keywords: analysis, awareness, dyslexic, software

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Authors: Geoffrey A. Wright

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In an attempt to address shortcomings revealed in international assessments and lamented in legislation, many schools are reducing or eliminating elective courses, applying the rationale that replacing "non-essential" subjects with core subjects, such as mathematics and language arts, will better position students in the global market. However, there is evidence that systematically pairing a core subject with another complementary subject may lead to greater overall learning in both subjects. In this paper, we outline the methods and preliminary findings from a study we conducted analyzing the influence learning programming has on student mathematical comprehension and ability. The purpose of this research is to demonstrate in what ways two subjects might complement each other, and to better understand the principles and conditions that encourage what we call lateral transfer, the synergistic effect that occurs when a learner studies two complementary subjects.

Keywords: programming, engineering, technology, complementary subjects

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Authors: Malephole Philomena Sefotho

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Nowadays, it is a fact that the majority of people, worldwide, are bilingual rather than monolingual due to the surge of globalisation and mobility. Consequently, bilingual education is a topical issue of discussion among researchers. Several studies that have focussed on it have highlighted the importance and need for incorporating learners’ linguistic repertoires in multilingual classrooms and move away from the colonial approach which is a monolingual bias – one language at a time. Researchers pointed out that a systematic approach that involves the concurrent use of languages and not a separation of languages must be implemented in bilingual classroom settings. Translanguaging emerged as a systematic approach that assists learners to make meaning of their world and it involves allowing learners to utilize all their linguistic resources in their classrooms. The South African language policy also room for diverse languages use in bi/multilingual classrooms. This study, therefore, sought to explore how teachers apply translanguaging in bilingual classrooms in incorporating learners’ linguistic repertoires. It further establishes teachers’ perspectives in the use of more than one language in teaching and learning. The participants for this study were language teachers who teach at bilingual primary schools in Johannesburg in South Africa. Semi-structured interviews were conducted to establish their perceptions on the concurrent use of languages. Qualitative research design was followed in analysing data. The findings showed that teachers were reluctant to allow translanguaging to take place in their classrooms even though they realise the importance thereof. Not allowing bilingual learners to use their linguistic repertoires has resulted in learners’ negative attitude towards their languages and contributed in learners’ loss of their identity. This article, thus recommends a drastic change to decolonised approaches in teaching and learning in multilingual settings and translanguaging as a decolonial move where learners are allowed to translanguage freely in their classroom settings for better comprehension and making meaning of concepts and/or related ideas. It further proposes continuous conversations be encouraged to bring eminent cultural and linguistic genocide to a halt.

Keywords: bilingualism, decolonisation, linguistic repertoires, translanguaging

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Authors: Stefanie Siebenhütter

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Male and female speakers use language differently and with varying confidence levels. This paper contrasts gendered differences in language use with socioeconomic status and age factors. It specifically examines how Kui minority language use and competence are conditioned by the variable of gender and discusses potential reasons for this variation by examining gendered language awareness and sociolinguistic attitudes. Moreover, it discusses whether women in Kui society function as 'leaders of linguistic change', as represented in Labov’s sociolinguistic model. It discusses whether societal role expectations in collectivistic cultures influence the model of linguistic change. The findings reveal current Kui speaking preferences and give predictions on the prospective language use, which is a stable situation of multilingualism because the current Kui speakers will socialize and teach the prospective Kui speakers in the near future. It further confirms that Lao is losing importance in Kui speaker’s (female’s) daily life.

Keywords: gender, identity construction, language change, minority language, multilingualism, sociolinguistics, social Networks

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Authors: Nadir Ali Mugheri

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This study has explored the perceptions of English language teachers (ELT) regarding use of technology in learning English as a second language (L2) at Universities in Pakistan. In this regard, 200 ELT teachers from 80 leading universities were selected through a judgmental sampling method. Results established that most of the teachers supported integration and incorporation of technology in the language classroom so as to teach L2 in an effective and efficient way. This study unearthed that the teachers termed the use of technology in learning English as a second language (ESL) as a positive step towards enhancing the learning capabilities and improving the personal traits of the students or learners. Findings suggest that the integration of technology in the language learning makes the learners within the classroom active and enthusiastic, and the teachers need to be equipped with the latest knowledge of mobile assisted language learning (MALL) and computer assisted language learning (CALL) so that they may ensure use of this innovative technology in their teaching practices. Results also indicated that the technology has proved itself a stimulus for improving language in the ELT milieu. The use of technology helps teachers develop themselves professionally. This study discovered that there are many determinants that make teaching and learning within the classroom efficacious, while the use of technology is one of them. Data was collected through qualitative design in order to get a complete depiction. Semi-structured interviews were conducted and analyzed through thematic analysis.

Keywords: english language teaching, computer assisted language learning, use of technology, thematic analysis

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Authors: Majed Al-Quran

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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: Sakib Hasn, Shahid Anwar

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This study highlights the vital importance of assessing the Simulator Sickness Questionnaire and presence measures as virtual reality (VR) incorporation into language teaching gains popularity. To address user discomfort, which prevents efficient learning in VR environments, the measurement of SSQ becomes crucial. Additionally, evaluating presence metrics is essential to determine the level of engagement and immersion, both crucial for rich language learning experiences. This paper designs a VR-based Chinese language application and proposes a thorough test technique aimed at systematically analyzing SSQ and presence measures. Subjective tests and data analysis were carried out to highlight the significance of addressing user discomfort in VR language education. The results of this study shed light on the difficulties posed by user discomfort in VR language learning and offer insightful advice on how to improve VR language learning applications. Furthermore, the outcome of the research explores ‘VR-based language education,’ ‘inclusive language learning platforms," and "cross-cultural communication,’ highlighting the potential for VR to facilitate language learning across diverse cultural backgrounds. Overall, the analysis results contribute to the enrichment of language learning experiences in the virtual realm and underscore the need for continued exploration and improvement in this field.

Keywords: virtual reality (VR), language education, simulator sickness questionnaire, presence metrics, VR-based Chinese language education

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Authors: Mobina Sahraee Juybari

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There are around 300 languages spoken in Australia, and more than one-fifth of the population speaks a language other than English at home. The presence of international students in schools raises this number still further. Although the multilingual and multicultural status of Australia has been acknowledged by the government in education policy, the strong focus on English in institutional settings threatens the maintenance and learning of other languages. This is particularly true of universities’ language provisions. To cope with the financial impact of Covid-19, the government has cut funding for a number of Asian languages, such as Indonesian, Japanese and Chinese. This issue threats the maintenance of other languages in Australia and leaves students unprepared for the future job market. By taking account of the current reality of Australia’s diverse cultural and lingual makeup, this research intends to uncover the positioning of languages by having a historical look at Australia’s language policy and examining the value of languages and the probable impact of Covid-19 on the place of languages taught in Australian universities. A qualitative study will be adopted with language program tutors and course coordinators, with semi-structured interviews and government language policy analysis. This research hopes to provide insights into both the maintenance and learning of international language programs in tertiary language education in Australia and more widely.

Keywords: Australia, COVID-19, higher education sector, language maintenance, language and culture diversity

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Authors: Azucena Yearby

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This study examined if cultural intelligence can be developed through the study of a foreign language. Specifically, the study sought to determine if strategies such as the Arts/History, Vocabulary and Real or Simulated Experiences have an effect on the development of cultural intelligence in the foreign language classroom. Students enrolled in Spanish 1114 or level 1 Spanish courses at the University of Central Oklahoma (UCO) completed Linn Van Dyne’s 20-item questionnaire that measures Cultural Intelligence (CQ). Results from the study indicated a slight cultural intelligence increase in those students who received an intervention. Therefore, the study recommended that foreign language educators implement the considered strategies in the classroom in order to increase their students’ cultural intelligence.

Keywords: cultural competency, cultural intelligence, foreign language, language

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Authors: Anastasia Sorokina

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Graduate language loss or attrition has been well documented in individuals who migrate and become emersed in a different language environment. This phenomenon of first language (L1) attrition is an example of non-pathological (not due to trauma) and can manifest itself in frequent pauses, search for words, or grammatical errors. While the widely experienced loss of one’s first language might seem harmless, there is convincing evidence from the disciplines of Developmental Psychology, Bilingual Studies, and even Psychotherapy that language plays a crucial role in the memory of self. In fact, we remember, store, and share personal memories with the help of language. Dual-Coding Theory suggests that language memory code deterioration could lead to forgetting. Yet, no one has investigated a possible connection between language loss and memory. The present study aims to address this research gap by examining a corpus of 1,495 memories of Russian-English bilinguals who are on a continuum of L1 (first language) attrition. Since phenomenological properties capture how well a memory is remembered, the following descriptors were selected - vividness, ease of recall, emotional valence, personal significance, and confidence in the event. A series of linear regression statistical analyses were run to examine the possible negative effects of L1 attrition on autobiographical memory. The results revealed that L1 attrition might compromise perceived vividness and confidence in the event, which is indicative of memory deterioration. These findings suggest the importance of heritage language maintenance in immigrant communities who might be forced to assimilate as language loss might negatively affect the memory of self.

Keywords: L1 attrition, autobiographical memory, language loss, memory phenomenology, dual coding

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Authors: A. van Staden, A. A. van Rhyn

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The numerous challenges South African, ESL learners experience were highlighted by the results of several literacy surveys and tests, which demonstrated that our learners’ literacy abilities are far below standard and very weak compared to other international countries. This study developed and implemented an interactive storybook intervention program to support the reading development of ESL learners. The researchers utilized an experimental pre-test/post-test research design, whereby 80 ESL learners from five participating schools, were purposively sampled to take part in this study. This paper, inter alia, discusses the key features of this intervention program whilst also reporting the results of the experimental investigation. Results are promising and show a significant improvement in the mean scores of the learners in the experimental group. Moreover, the results show the value of interactive storybook reading in creating responsive literacy environments to develop the literacy skills of ESL learners.

Keywords: ESL learners, reading comprehension, Interactive story book reading, South Africa

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Authors: Thao Thi Vu, Libby Lee-Hammond, Andrew McConney

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In Vietnam, the Vietnamese language is normally used as the language of instruction. The dominance of this language places children who have a different first language such as Indigenous children at a disadvantage when commencing school. This study explores preschool teachers’ beliefs about second language acquisition in Lai Chau provinces where is typical of highland provinces of Vietnam and the proportion of Indigenous minority groups in high. Data were collected from surveys with both closed-end questions and opened-end questions. The participants in this study were more than 200 public preschool teachers who come from eight different districts in Lai Chau. An analysis of quantitative data survey is presented to indicate several practical implications, such as the connection between teachers’ knowledge background that gained from their pre-service and in-service teacher education programs regarding second language teaching for Indigenous children and their practice. It also explains some factors that influence teachers’ beliefs and perspective about Indigenous children and pedagogies in their classes.

Keywords: indigenous children, learning Vietnamese, preschool, teachers’ beliefs

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Authors: Samantha Rix

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The purpose of this research paper is to investigate the cognitive processing of learners who receive input but produce very little or no output, and who, when they do produce output, exhibit a similar language proficiency as do those learners who produced output more regularly in the language classroom. Previous studies have investigated the benefits of output (with somewhat differing results); therefore, the presentation will begin with an investigation of what may underlie gains in proficiency without output. Consequently, a pilot study was designed and conducted to gain insight into the cognitive processing of low-output language learners looking, for example, at quantity and quality of noticing. This will be carried out within the paradigm of action classroom research, observing and interviewing low-output language learners in an intensive English program at a small Midwest university. The results of the pilot study indicated that autonomy in language learning, specifically utilizing strategies such self-monitoring, self-talk, and thinking 'out-loud', were crucial in the development of language proficiency for academic-level performance. The presentation concludes with an examination of pedagogical implication for classroom use in order to aide students in their language development.

Keywords: cognitive processing, language learners, language proficiency, learning strategies

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Authors: Nimasha Malalasekera

Abstract:

Working with the indigenous Adivasi (Vedda) community of Dambana in the district of Badulla in Sri Lanka, this research documents linguistic data to address language and cultural endangerment. The ancestral language of Adivasi has undergone sustained restructuration over a long historical period due to its contact with Sinhala, an Indo-Aryan language spoken by the majority Sinhalese. The Vedda language is highly endangered today. At present, all speakers of the Vedda language spoken in Dambana are Adivasi men in the parent generation, who are Sinhala-Vedda bilinguals. Adivasi women and children do not speak the Vedda language but Sinhala in everyday life. Women can understand the Vedda language and would respond to a Vedda language utterance in Sinhala. The use of the Vedda language is largely restricted to self-ascribing Adivasi men who employ it in the context of cultural tourism in Dambana to index ethnolinguistic otherness. Adivasi of Dambana often refers to this distinct linguistic code that they speak as baasapojja or language. This research employs a cooperative model of ethnographic documentation to explore the interrelations between discursive practices, linguistic structures, and linguistic (and broader sociocultural) ideologies in this community. The Vedda language has been previously identified as a dialect of Sinhala or a creole emerging in the contact between Sinhala and the ancestral Vedda language. This paper analyzes the current language endangerment context of bilingual Adivasi members that allows the birth of a mixed language. The aim of this research is to preserve ongoing linguistic innovation among this endangered language speech community. It contributes to the appreciation of creative cultural and linguistic production of a stigmatized minuscule indigenous community of South Asia that strives to assert a distinct linguistic and cultural identity from the dominant populations.

Keywords: Vedda language, language endangerment, mixed languages, indigenous identity

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Authors: Yuko Tomoto

Abstract:

The purpose of this research is to examine the assumption that female bilingual speakers more often change the way they talk or think depending on the language they use compared with male bilingual speakers. The author collected data through questionnaires on 241 bilingual speakers. Also, in-depth interview surveys were conducted with 13 Japanese/English bilingual speakers whose native language is Japanese and 16 English/Japanese bilingual speakers whose native language is English. The results indicate that both male and female bilingual speakers are more or less influenced consciously and unconsciously by the language they use, as well as by the background cultural values of each language. At the same time, it was found that female speakers are much more highly affected by the language they use, its background culture and also by the interlocutors they were talking to. This was probably due to the larger cultural expectations on women. Through conversations, speakers are not only conveying a message but also attempting to express who they are, and what they want to be like. In other words, they are constantly building up and updating their own identities by choosing the most appropriate language and descriptions to express themselves in the dialogues. It has been claimed that the images of ideal L2 self could strongly motivate learners. The author hopes to make the best use of the fact that bilingual speakers change their presence depending on the language they use, in order to motivate Japanese learners of English, especially female learners from the viewpoint of finding their new selves in English.

Keywords: cultural influence, gender expectation, language learning, L2 self

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Authors: Talar Agopian

Abstract:

Teaching English as a Second Language (ESL) is a common practice in many Lebanese schools. However, ESL teaching is done in traditional ways. Methods such as constructivism are seldom used, especially in villages. Here lies the significance of this research which joins constructivism and Piaget’s theory of cognitive development in ESL classes in Lebanese villages. The purpose of the present study is to explore the effects of applying constructivist student-centered strategies in teaching grammar, reading comprehension, and poetry on students in elementary ESL classes in two villages in Lebanon, Zefta in South Lebanon and Boqaata in Mount Lebanon. 20 English teachers participated in a training titled “Teaching English with Fun”, which focused on strategies that create a student-centered class where active learning takes place and there is increased learner engagement and autonomy. The training covered three main areas in teaching English: grammar, reading comprehension, and poetry. After participating in the training, the teachers applied the new strategies and methods in their ESL classes. The methodology comprised two phases: in phase one, practice-based research was conducted as the teachers attended the training and applied the constructivist strategies in their respective ESL classes. Phase two included the reflections of the teachers on the effects of the application of constructivist strategies. The results revealed the educational benefits of constructivist student-centered strategies; the students of teachers who applied these strategies showed improved engagement, positive attitudes towards poetry, increased motivation, and a better sense of autonomy. Future research is required in applying constructivist methods in the areas of writing, spelling, and vocabulary in ESL classrooms of Lebanese villages.

Keywords: active learning, constructivism, learner engagement, student-centered strategies

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