Preliminary Results on the Development of the Perception of Spanish /e/ and /ei/ by Heritage Learners vs. L2 Learners of Spanish in the Classroom

This exploratory study gives a first glance at the development of the perception of the Spanish /e/-/ei/ contrast by heritage learners in comparison to that of L2 learners in the classroom. To this end, two types of semester-long, explicit phonetic instruction training are compared: High Phonetic Variability Training (HPVT) with exposure to multiple sources of speech, and regular standalone phonetics courses with low variability of speech input (LPVT). Data from two identical pre-test and post-test ABX perceptual discrimination tasks were obtained from 27 students, as well as 7 control speakers whose primary language is Spanish. Results show that heritage learners perceive the contrast better than L2 learners, and that HPVT significantly improves the perception of the /e/-/ei/ contrast. Although heritage learners perform close to a native ceiling and do not significantly differ from native controls, the improvement from pre-test to post-test is larger in heritage learners enrolled in HPVT than LPVT training. These results suggest that, although the discrimination accuracy of Spanish /e/ and /ei/ is already high for heritage learners at the pre-test stage, High Phonetic Variability Training can be beneficial in the perceptual development of their heritage language, even matching their accuracy to that of native speakers.

A Primer on the Individuals With Disabilities Education Improvement Act and Advocacy for Students Who Are Culturally and Linguistically Diverse

Well prepared educators are essential to the identification and delivery of services to students who have disabilities, most especially when it comes to students who are culturally and linguistically diverse (C/LD). Professionals must be aware of the requirements in IDEIA and assure that multiple and appropriate assessments are used in determining whether C/LD students are, in fact, disabled before being assigned to special education. This chapter identifies current issues such as the under and over identification of certain students who are C/LD in special education, second language acquisition, and the evaluation of children whose primary language is not English. It is a tool to assist professionals in assessing students who are C/LD and in educating families and guiding them to advocate for the provision of supported interventions in general education, appropriate assessment, and educational planning. Recommendations for advocating for students who are C/LD are presented and discussed.

Vocal Learning and Behaviors in Birds and Human Bilinguals: Parallels, Divergences and Directions for Research

Comparisons between the communication systems of humans and animals are instrumental in contextualizing speech and language into an evolutionary and biological framework and for illuminating mechanisms of human communication. As a complement to previous work that compares developmental vocal learning and use among humans and songbirds, in this article we highlight phenomena associated with vocal learning subsequent to the development of primary vocalizations (i.e., the primary language (L1) in humans and the primary song (S1) in songbirds). By framing avian “second-song” (S2) learning and use within the human second-language (L2) context, we lay the groundwork for a scientifically-rich dialogue between disciplines. We begin by summarizing basic birdsong research, focusing on how songs are learned and on constraints on learning. We then consider commonalities in vocal learning across humans and birds, in particular the timing and neural mechanisms of learning, variability of input, and variability of outcomes. For S2 and L2 learning outcomes, we address the respective roles of age, entrenchment, and social interactions. We proceed to orient current and future birdsong inquiry around foundational features of human bilingualism: L1 effects on the L2, L1 attrition, and L1<–>L2 switching. Throughout, we highlight characteristics that are shared across species as well as the need for caution in interpreting birdsong research. Thus, from multiple instructive perspectives, our interdisciplinary dialogue sheds light on biological and experiential principles of L2 acquisition that are informed by birdsong research, and leverages well-studied characteristics of bilingualism in order to clarify, contextualize, and further explore S2 learning and use in songbirds.

ANALYSIS OF MIXED INDONESIAN LANGUAGE WITH OTHER LANGUAGES ON SOCIAL MEDIA

Indonesian is a national and unity language for Indonesian people. Every day, Indonesian people use Indonesian as the primary language to communicate with others. In this era of digitalization, the use of the Indonesian language on social media is inseparable. In social media language style, everyone has their way. One of them is using the language mixture while communicating on social media. Indonesian people often mix the Indonesian language with other languages such as local language and foreign language. Based on this situation, this research aims to provide facts and analyze the use of language mixture between the Indonesian language and other languages on social media. The method research is descriptive qualitative with observation through 5 social media platforms such as Facebook, Instagram, Tiktok, Twitter, and Youtube. The results of this research are 50 data from 5 social media platforms that mixed the Indonesian language with other languages. This research has limitations that are, the data observation-only observed 5 social media platforms and got only 50 data of mixed-language.

Różnorodność językowa przesiedleńców z dawnych wschodnich województw II Rzeczypospolitej. Fonetyka

Linguistic Diversity of People Resettled from the Former Eastern Provinces of the Second Polish Republic: PhoneticsThis article is a summary of a sociolinguistic study conducted in the north­ern part of the Lubusz region in 2009–2019. The study concerned the linguistic diversity of people resettled after 1945 from the former eastern provinces of the Second Polish Republic to the Lubusz region. The informants were people from the oldest generation who were born between 1911 and 1942 in the former Polish administrative provinces in the east of pre-war Poland: Wilno (Vilnius), Nowogródek (Navahrudak), Polesia, Volhynia, Tarnopol (Ternopil), Lwów (Lviv), Stanisławów (today: Ivano-Frankivsk) and Białystok. As described, the interdisciplinary nature of the study required the use of several research methods: field research, biographical interview, linguistic biography, grounded theory, and methods of idiolect analysis (quantitative analysis). On the basis of the collected sociolinguistic material, the interlocu­tors are classified according to their self-declared primary language prior to the resettlement. This means that the linguonyms used in the article come from the language of the respondents. Accordingly, the following groups are distinguished: speakers of (1) Ukrainian and Polish, (2) Belarusian and Polish, (3) Polish and Belarusian, (4) Polish and Ukrainian, (5) Polish and Khakhlak. Based on a quantitative analysis, the article presents the linguistic diversity in the Lubusz region.Różnorodność językowa przesiedleńców z dawnych wschodnich województw II Rzeczypospolitej. FonetykaArtykuł jest podsumowaniem socjolingwistycznych badań prowadzonych na terenie północnej części województwa lubuskiego w latach 2009–2019. Badania dotyczyły różnorodności językowej wśród osób przesiedlonych po 1945 r. z dawnych wschodnich województw II Rzeczypospolitej do regionu lubuskiego. Moimi rozmówcami były osoby urodzone w latach 1911–1942 na terenie województw: wileńskiego, nowogródzkiego, poleskiego, wołyńskiego, tarnopolskiego, lwowskiego, stanisławowskiego i białostockiego. Charakter interdyscyplinarnych badań wymagał wykorzystania kilku metod badawczych. W artykule można znaleźć opis metody badań terenowych, metody wywiadu biograficznego, metody biografii językowej, metody teorii ugruntowanej oraz metody analizy idiolektów (analizy ilościowej). Na podstawie zebranego mate­riału socjolingwistycznego klasyfikowałam rozmówców według deklaracji wskazanego przez nich języka prymarnego przed przesiedleniem. Oznacza to, że lingwonimy użyte w artykule pochodzą z języka respondentów. W taki sposób wyróżniłam grupę deklarującą mówienie 1) po ukraińsku i polsku, 2) po białorusku i polsku, 3) po polsku i białorusku, 4) po polsku i ukraińsku oraz 5) po polsku i chachłacku. Na podstawie analizy ilościowej przedstawiam w artykule różnorodność językową w regionie lubuskim.

Evaluating the impact of language concordance on COVID-19 contact tracing outcomes among Spanish-speaking adults in San Francisco between June and November 2020

We evaluated the impact of language concordance—clinician or public health worker fluency in a patient’s primary language—on COVID-19 contact tracing outcomes among 2668 Spanish-speaking adults in San Francisco. Language concordance was associated with 20% greater odds of COVID-19 testing and 53% greater odds of support service referrals.