Studying Language in Society and Society through Language: Context and Multimodal Communication

2016 ◽  
pp. 227-248
Author(s):  
Rebekah Wegener
Keyword(s):  
Multimodal Communication ◽  
Language Context

scholarly journals Toddler-directed and adult-directed gesture frequency in monolingual and bilingual caregivers

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Monika Molnar ◽  
Kai Ian Leung ◽  
Jodee Santos Herrera ◽  
Marcel Giezen
Keyword(s):  
Communication Strategies ◽  
Multimodal Communication ◽  
Linguistic Context ◽  
Cognitive Linguistic ◽  
Language Context ◽  
Communication Demands ◽  
Representational Gestures

Aims and ObjectivesThis study was designed to assess whether bilingual caregivers, compared to monolingual caregivers, modify their nonverbal gestures to match the increased communicative and/or cognitive-linguistic demands of bilingual language contexts - as would be predicted based on the Facilitative Strategy Hypothesis.MethodologyWe recorded the rate of representational and beat gestures in monolingual and bilingual caregivers when they retold a cartoon story to their child or to an adult, in a monolingual and a bilingual context (‘synonym’ context for monolingual caregivers).Data and AnalysisWe calculated the frequency of all gestures, representational gestures, and beat gestures for each addressee (adult-directed vs. toddler-directed) and linguistic context (monolingual vs. bilingual/synonym), separately for the monolingual and the bilingual caregivers. Using ANOVA, we contrasted monolingual vs. bilingual caregivers’ gesture frequency for each gesture type separately - based on addressee and linguistic context. Findings/ConclusionsBilingual caregivers gesture more than monolingual caregivers, irrespective of addressee and language context. Furthermore, we found evidence in support of the Facilitative Strategy hypothesis across both monolingual and bilingual caregivers, as all caregivers increased the rate of their representational gestures in the child-directed re-telling. However, we found no clear patterns showing that bilingual caregivers, compared to monolingual caregivers, adjust their gestures when the communication demands from their child’s perspective are presumably high (i.e., the child is listening to a story in two languages). In summary, both monolingual and bilingual caregivers similarly adjust their gestures to aid their child’s comprehension, and bilinguals generally gesture more than monolinguals.OriginalityTo our knowledge, this is the first study of gesture use in child-directed communication in monolingual and bilingual caregivers.Significance/ImplicationsIndependent of their monolingual or bilingual status, caregivers adjust their child-directed multimodal communication strategies (specifically gestures) when interacting with their children.

The Influence of Language Context on Repetitive Speech Use in Children With Autism Spectrum Disorder

2020 ◽  
Vol 29 (1) ◽  
pp. 327-334 ◽  
Author(s):  
Allison Gladfelter ◽  
Cassidy VanZuiden
Keyword(s):  
Autism Spectrum Disorder ◽  
Autism Spectrum ◽  
Individual Characteristics ◽  
Receptive Vocabulary ◽  
Spectrum Disorder ◽  
School Age Children ◽  
Social Responsiveness ◽  
Contributing Factors ◽  
Children With Asd ◽  
Language Context

Purpose Although repetitive speech is a hallmark characteristic of autism spectrum disorder (ASD), the contributing factors that influence repetitive speech use remain unknown. The purpose of this exploratory study was to determine if the language context impacts the amount and type of repetitive speech produced by children with ASD. Method As part of a broader word-learning study, 11 school-age children with ASD participated in two different language contexts: storytelling and play. Previously collected language samples were transcribed and coded for four types of repetitive speech: immediate echolalia, delayed echolalia, verbal stereotypy, and vocal stereotypy. The rates and proportions of repetitive speech were compared across the two language contexts using Wilcoxon signed-ranks tests. Individual characteristics were further explored using Spearman correlations. Results The children produced lower rates of repetitive speech during the storytelling context than the play-based context. Only immediate echolalia differed between the two contexts based on rate and approached significance based on proportion, with more immediate echolalia produced in the play-based context than in the storytelling context. There were no significant correlations between repetitive speech and measures of social responsiveness, expressive or receptive vocabulary, or nonverbal intelligence. Conclusions The children with ASD produced less immediate echolalia in the storytelling context than in the play-based context. Immediate echolalia use was not related to social skills, vocabulary, or nonverbal IQ scores. These findings offer valuable insights into better understanding repetitive speech use in children with ASD.

Dialogic Teaching and Translanguaging in Deaf Education

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ruth Swanwick
Keyword(s):  
Language Learning ◽  
Learning Experience ◽  
Deaf Education ◽  
Deaf Children ◽  
Learning Needs ◽  
Learning And Teaching ◽  
Diverse Learning ◽  
Language Context ◽  
Pedagogical Framework

This chapter proposes a pedagogical framework for deaf education that builds on a sociocultural perspective and the role of interaction in learning. Pedagogical principles are argued that recognize the dialogic nature of learning and teaching and the role of language as “the tool of all tools” in this process. Building on established work on classroom talk in deaf education, the issues of dialogue in deaf education are extended to consider deaf children’s current learning contexts and their diverse and plural use of sign and spoken languages. Within this broad language context, the languaging and translanguaging practices of learners and teachers are explained as central to a pedagogical framework that is responsive to the diverse learning needs of deaf children. Within this pedagogical framework practical teaching strategies are suggested that draw on successful approaches in the wider field of language learning and take into account the particular learning experience and contexts of deaf children.

Usage problems in American English

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Viktorija Kostadinova
Keyword(s):  
American English ◽  
Context Sensitivity ◽  
Point Of View ◽  
Social Implications ◽  
Language Context

This chapter explores the complexity of attitudes to the usage problems ain’t, literally, and like in American English, from the point of view of both prescriptivist discourse found in usage guides and speakers’ ideas about these usage problems. I argue that the stakes for speakers involved in using certain usage problems are different in different contexts, and that these usage problems merit more serious sociolinguistic attention. I pay particular attention to how the attitudes of speakers towards the usage problems considered in this chapter differ from those expressed in usage guides. One of the conclusions of this analysis is that different usage problems have different social implications for different speakers. Grammatical usage problems in particular seem to be more closely associated with education, although regional and language context sensitivity play a role as well.

Parent Coaching via Telepractice for Children From Latinx Backgrounds With Autism Spectrum Disorder

2021 ◽  
pp. 016264342110336
Author(s):  
Valeria A. Yllades ◽  
J. B. Ganz ◽  
Sanikan Wattanawongwan ◽  
Claudia Dunn ◽  
Lauren M. Pierson
Keyword(s):  
Autism Spectrum Disorder ◽  
Culturally Responsive ◽  
Single Case ◽  
Autism Spectrum ◽  
Language Instruction ◽  
Multimodal Communication ◽  
Spectrum Disorder ◽  
Communication Intervention ◽  
Probe Design ◽  
Parent Coaching

Individuals with autism spectrum disorder from bilingual homes have to learn and discriminate which language to use across settings and different people. Language instruction is complicated by the core deficits in social communication, which is common in individuals with autism spectrum disorder. Using a single case, multiple probe design across three parent-child dyads between 3 and 6 years from Spanish speaking backgrounds, the present study examined the effect of telepractice-based parent coaching in a multimodal communication intervention. Culturally responsive approaches were integrated within the coaching model, including targeted interview questions. There was also a 15-item rubric used for identifying criteria for culturally responsive research. Findings indicate that the use of multimodal communication intervention via telepractice parent coaching showed promising results. We can conclude that this approach can be a beneficial tool to help family members improve communication for bilingual children with autism spectrum disorder.

The Relation of Language Context and Religiosity to Trilemma Judgments

2021 ◽  
pp. 002202212110339
Author(s):  
Elyas Barabadi ◽  
Mohsen Rahmani Tabar ◽  
James R. Booth
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Second Language ◽  
Native Speakers ◽  
Native Language ◽  
Standard Measure ◽  
Moral Norms ◽  
The Individual ◽  
Language Context

Utilitarian judgments maximize benefit for the most people, whereas deontological judgments are based on moral norms. Previous work shows that people tend to make more utilitarian judgments in their second compared to their native language, whereas higher religiosity is associated with more deontological judgments. However, it is not known whether the effect of language context is moderated by the religiosity of the individual. We hypothesized that more religious participants from all three languages would favor deontological choices irrespective of language context. In order to investigate this, we studied native speakers of Persian who either had Arabic or English as their second language, and all participants were given a standard measure of religiosity. Decision making was measured by the classic trolley trilemma in which a participant could “push” a person to save the lives of more people which is considered a utilitarian judgment. Alternatively, they could “switch” a track to save the lives of more people (“indirect”), or do nothing (“inaction”), both of which are considered deontological. Consistent with the literature showing more utilitarian judgments in the second language, English participants preferred the push option, whereas Persian participants favored the inaction option. L2 Arabic participants more often chose the indirect option. However, participants’ religiosity moderated this effect of language context. Although L2 Arabic participants’ choices were not influenced by religiosity, higher religiosity in the L2 English and L1 Persian groups was associated with more deontological choices.

scholarly journals ¡Hola! Nice to Meet You: Language Mixing and Biographical Information Processing

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (6) ◽  
pp. 703
Author(s):  
Eneko Antón ◽  
Jon Andoni Duñabeitia
Keyword(s):  
Social Interactions ◽  
Personal Information ◽  
Initial Exposure ◽  
Delayed Recall ◽  
Immediate Recall ◽  
Mixed Language ◽  
Educational Implications ◽  
Social Encounters ◽  
Bilingual Communities ◽  
Language Context

In bilingual communities, social interactions take place in both single- and mixed-language contexts. Some of the information shared in multilingual conversations, such as interlocutors’ personal information, is often required in consequent social encounters. In this study, we explored whether the autobiographical information provided in a single-language context is better remembered than in an equivalent mixed-language situation. More than 400 Basque-Spanish bilingual (pre) teenagers were presented with new persons who introduced themselves by either using only Spanish or only Basque, or by inter-sententially mixing both languages. Different memory measures were collected immediately after the initial exposure to the new pieces of information (immediate recall and recognition) and on the day after (delayed recall and recognition). In none of the time points was the information provided in a mixed-language fashion worse remembered than that provided in a strict one-language context. Interestingly, the variability across participants in their sociodemographic and linguistic variables had a negligible impact on the effects. These results are discussed considering their social and educational implications for bilingual communities.

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