scholarly journals Endogenous sources of variation in language acquisition

2016 ◽  
Vol 113 (4) ◽  
pp. 942-947 ◽  
Author(s):  
Chung-hye Han ◽  
Julien Musolino ◽  
Jeffrey Lidz
Keyword(s):  
Language Acquisition ◽  
Structural Feature ◽  
Core Knowledge ◽  
Clause Structure ◽  
Grammatical Knowledge ◽  
The Core ◽  
Syntactic Position ◽  
Parents And Children ◽  
Sources Of Variation ◽  
Unpredictable Variation

A fundamental question in the study of human language acquisition centers around apportioning explanatory force between the experience of the learner and the core knowledge that allows learners to represent that experience. We provide a previously unidentified kind of data identifying children’s contribution to language acquisition. We identify one aspect of grammar that varies unpredictably across a population of speakers of what is ostensibly a single language. We further demonstrate that the grammatical knowledge of parents and their children is independent. The combination of unpredictable variation and parent–child independence suggests that the relevant structural feature is supplied by each learner independent of experience with the language. This structural feature is abstract because it controls variation in more than one construction. The particular case we examine is the position of the verb in the clause structure of Korean. Because Korean is a head-final language, evidence for the syntactic position of the verb is both rare and indirect. We show that (i) Korean speakers exhibit substantial variability regarding this aspect of the grammar, (ii) this variability is attested between speakers but not within a speaker, (iii) this variability controls interpretation in two surface constructions, and (iv) it is independent in parents and children. According to our findings, when the exposure language is compatible with multiple grammars, learners acquire a single systematic grammar. Our observation that children and their parents vary independently suggests that the choice of grammar is driven in part by a process operating internal to individual learners.

66. Innovation in the academic half-day CanMEDS medical expert competency for residency educations

2007 ◽  
Vol 30 (4) ◽  
pp. 65
Author(s):  
H. R. Rajani ◽  
C. Good
Keyword(s):  
Core Competency ◽  
Core Knowledge ◽  
Specialist Training ◽  
Medical Expert ◽  
Learning Session ◽  
Training Requirements ◽  
The Core ◽  
Case Based Learning ◽  
Contact Hours ◽  
Didactic Presentation

Over the past decade we have attempted various iterations of the academic half-day, but recurring trainee complaints of only didactic sessions, a parallel resident-directed “Nelsons” rounds, and low attendance necessitated a reconsideration of the approach. After discussion with the postgraduate trainees we divided the academic year into two blocks. An initial 8 week “summer program” with 24 student contact hours, focuses on the introduction to and review of common, critical care and emergency pediatric issues. The following 40 weeks has 120 student contact hours. Two thirds of the time is directed at the CanMEDS Medical Expert Core Competency. The postgraduate trainees have developed a three year core knowledge curriculum. The 200 “core” topics are mapped onto four international curricula; the RCPSC’s Objectives of Training and Specialty Training Requirements in Pediatrics using the Systems-Based Educational Objectives in the Core Program in Pediatrics, the American Board of Pediatrics – General Pediatrics Outline, and the Royal College of Pediatrics & Child Health (RCPCH) Framework of Competencies for Basic Specialist Training, and Core Higher Specialist Training in Paediatrics. The two hour Medical Expert session is divided equally into a postgraduate trainee didactic presentation, and a collaborator case-based learning session. Six weeks prior to the scheduled session the trainee and the assigned faculty collaborator receive the core Medical Expert topic mapped to the four international curricula. The pediatric trainee develops a didactic presentation along with a two page summary. The collaborator, a resource for the trainee’s didactic presentation, develops three clinical cases that emphasize core knowledge, and attends as a Medical Expert resource person. We are currently surveying the postgraduate trainees and faculty about this international-based core medical expert program of study.

Desire for Self-healing

2017 ◽  
Vol 12 (1-2) ◽  
pp. 317-335
Author(s):  
Ngar-sze Lau
Keyword(s):  
Theravada Buddhism ◽  
Self Healing ◽  
Core Knowledge ◽  
The Third ◽  
The Core ◽  
Physical Suffering ◽  
Mind And Body ◽  
Core Practice ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
Contemporary Chinese

Abstract This practice report describes how Chinese meditators understand the “four foundations of mindfulness” (satipaṭṭhāna, sinianzhu 四念住) as a remedy for both mental and physical suffering. In the tradition of Theravāda Buddhism, satipaṭṭhāna is particularly recognized as the core knowledge for understanding the relationship between mind and body, and the core practice leading to liberation from suffering. Based on interviews with Chinese meditation practitioners, this study develops three main themes concerning how they have alleviated afflictions through the practice of satipaṭṭhāna. The first theme highlights how practitioners learn to overcome meditation difficulties with “right attitude.” The second theme is about practicing awareness with “six sense doors” open in order to facilitate the balance of the “five faculties.” The third theme explores how practitioners cultivate daily life practice through an understanding of the nature of mind and body as impermanent and as not-self. This paper details how these themes and embodied practices of satipaṭṭhāna constitute ways of self-healing for urban educated Buddhists in the contemporary Chinese context.

Parameters or cues?

2004 ◽  
Vol 7 (1) ◽  
pp. 35-36 ◽  
Author(s):  
BRIAN MACWHINNEY
Keyword(s):  
Second Language ◽  
Second Language Acquisition ◽  
Language Acquisition ◽  
Hebbian Learning ◽  
Universal Grammar ◽  
Back Propagation ◽  
Parameter Setting ◽  
Functional Categories ◽  
The Core ◽  
Over Time

Truscott and Sharwood Smith (henceforth T&SS) attempt to show how second language acquisition can occur without any learning. In their APT model, change depends only on the tuning of innate principles through the normal course of processing of L2. There are some features of their model that I find attractive. Specifically, their acceptance of the concepts of competition and activation strength brings them in line with standard processing accounts like the Competition Model (Bates and MacWhinney, 1982; MacWhinney, 1987, in press). At the same time, their reliance on parameters as the core constructs guiding learning leaves this model squarely within the framework of Chomsky's theory of Principles and Parameters (P&P). As such, it stipulates that the specific functional categories of Universal Grammar serve as the fundamental guide to both first and second language acquisition. Like other accounts in the P&P framework, this model attempts to view second language acquisition as involving no real learning beyond the deductive process of parameter-setting based on the detection of certain triggers. The specific innovation of the APT model is that changes in activation strength during processing function as the trigger to the setting of parameters. Unlike other P&P models, APT does not set parameters in an absolute fashion, allowing their activation weight to change by the processing of new input over time. The use of the concept of activation in APT is far more restricted than its use in connectionist models that allow for Hebbian learning, self-organizing features maps, or back-propagation.

Approach to the Internal Medicine Board Examination

2014 ◽  
pp. 1103-1107
Author(s):  
Stuart B. Mushlin
Keyword(s):  
Internal Medicine ◽  
Medical Knowledge ◽  
Core Knowledge ◽  
Self Assessment ◽  
Medical Specialties ◽  
The Core ◽  
Body Of Knowledge ◽  
The Subject ◽  
The 1960S ◽  
Core Body

This chapter is different from the others. Its intent is to concentrate your mind on the American Board of Internal Medicine (ABIM) examination, its purpose, and its likely test scenarios. The ABIM moved to a written rather than oral test in the 1960s. The testing has been extensively validated and is unlikely to change much in its character. Essentially, the ABIM wants to determine if you have the core knowledge in all the disciplines to be an effective and efficient physician. It further wants to discriminate between you and the other test takers so that you can see how you compare with others taking the examination. Many candidates, in their increasing anxiety over the subject matter, lose sight of these major objectives. To pass the examination it is not necessary to regurgitate in photographic detail one of the standard textbooks of medicine or the latest Medical Knowledge Self-Assessment Program (MKSAP) review; however, you should feel that you know the core body of knowledge in all the major medical specialties.

scholarly journals Identification and management of the near-field knowledge of industrial design for innovative product shapes

2019 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
pp. 168781401881657
Author(s):  
JinTao He ◽  
Qian Yang ◽  
MengYa Zhu
Keyword(s):  
Industrial Design ◽  
Near Field ◽  
Knowledge Systems ◽  
Design Knowledge ◽  
Product Knowledge ◽  
Innovative Product ◽  
Core Knowledge ◽  
Efficient Design ◽  
The Core ◽  
Complex Process

Industrial design is a complex process that contains multifarious product knowledge systems which play different roles at different stages of product development. Based on the research of different theories and methods of knowledge classification, the article proposes a new method which divides industrial design knowledge into knowledge in the field, near-field knowledge, and far-field knowledge, and established a corresponding frame of the design knowledge. In order to differentiate the near-field knowledge which is more innovative in design from considerable knowledge to facilitate an efficient design process, mechanisms of similarity searching are used. If 0.3 < [Formula: see text] (similarity) < 0.6, then define the case as the near-field product case and the relative knowledge as near-field knowledge. The core knowledge can be retrieved to drive innovative modeling. Furthermore, the process of a laptop design is taken as an example and validated using this method.

The role of parallel constructions in imposition

2019 ◽  
Vol 34 (2) ◽  
pp. 346-376 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ming Chew Teo
Keyword(s):  
Second Language Acquisition ◽  
Language Acquisition ◽  
Cognitive Linguistics ◽  
General Mechanism ◽  
Language Attrition ◽  
Linguistic Features ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Dominant Language ◽  
Syntactic Position

Abstract Imposition, a general mechanism of contact-induced change that manifests itself in creole formation, second language acquisition, and even language attrition (Winford 2013), is a result of unequal dominance in a multilingual’s languages, whereby linguistic features from an individual’s more dominant language are transferred to a less dominant language (van Coetsem 1988). In order to flesh out how imposition operates in multilinguals, this study compares the differences between Singaporean Chinese and Malay speakers in their use of already in Colloquial Singapore English. Based on sociolinguistic interview data from twelve Chinese and eight Malay individuals, it is found that Chinese and Malay speakers differ primarily in two ways: (1) the preferred syntactic position for already; (2) the frequency of different contexts that already appears in. By integrating theories from cognitive linguistics and findings from psycholinguistic studies, this paper argues that ‘equivalent’ constructions across two grammatical systems within a multilingual’s mind is a key channel through which imposition operates. To support this argument, differences between the speech of Chinese and Malay speakers are shown to be motivated by the presence or absence of ‘equivalent’ or parallel constructions.

Training in Ophthalmology

2016 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Clinical Skills ◽  
Treatment Options ◽  
Clinical Knowledge ◽  
Practical Skills ◽  
Training Curriculum ◽  
Core Knowledge ◽  
Specialist Training ◽  
Basic Sciences ◽  
Relative Lack ◽  
The Core

This title addresses the Royal College of Ophthalmologists syllabus for trainee ophthalmologists and is an essential read for those studying ophthalmology, optometry, and orthoptics. With the relative lack of ophthalmology teaching at medical school and the often inconsistent formal teaching of fundamental examination and clinical techniques during initial posts, ophthalmology trainees often feel they are being ‘thrown in at the deep end’ early on in their career. In addition, trainees are now expected to clearly demonstrate evidence of having acquired the expected knowledge, clinical, technical, and surgical skills at each stage of their training in order to progress. This book aims to help address these issues by mapping the stages of the Ophthalmic Specialist Training curriculum and providing trainees with the core knowledge and clinical skills they will require to succeed. As a theoretical and practical aid, it guides readers through postgraduate Ophthalmic Specialist Training. Emphasis is placed on the practical assessment and management of key ophthalmic conditions. Each chapter explores basic sciences, clinical skills, clinical knowledge, and practical skills. Conditions are discussed with general explanations of the pathophysiology and clinical evaluation, which are followed by differential diagnoses and treatment options.

Core Dynamics for the Mass Communication History Course

2018 ◽  
Vol 74 (3) ◽  
pp. 336-344
Author(s):  
Charles H. Ingold
Keyword(s):  
Mass Communication ◽  
Media History ◽  
Core Knowledge ◽  
College Courses ◽  
Journalism History ◽  
The Core ◽  
Communication History ◽  
Core Dynamics ◽  
General Mass ◽  
Patterns And Processes

Considering King’s “core knowledge” for college courses in journalism history, a set of “core dynamics” is proposed to provide additional perspective and suitability for courses in general mass communication history. The core dynamics approach aims to help media history courses impart advanced understanding of what forces, patterns, and processes have made things the way they are in the mass media, and in addition provides a framework for understanding current and future developments as they unfold.

THE CROSS-LINGUISTIC STUDY OF LANGUAGE ACQUISITION. VOL. 5: EXPANDING THE CONTEXTS.Dan Isaac Slobin (Ed.). Mahwah, NJ: Erlbaum, 1997. Pp. xiii + 339. $89.95 cloth.

2000 ◽  
Vol 22 (1) ◽  
pp. 113-114
Author(s):  
Susan A. Gelman
Keyword(s):  
Individual Differences ◽  
Language Acquisition ◽  
First Language ◽  
Main Topic ◽  
Linguistic Study ◽  
The Core ◽  
Acquisition Task ◽  
The Cross

This is the fifth volume in a renowned series edited by Dan Slobin, focusing on cross-linguistic studies of children acquiring their first language. The series is seminal for its focus on languages other than English and for addressing the astonishing diversity and complexity of the language acquisition task. Slobin notes that, in contrast to Chomskyan models that consider core grammar to be the main topic of interest, the series was conceived with the notion of showing “how much fruit there is beyond the core” (p. 14). The goal of Volume 5 is to explore themes that were relatively backgrounded in the others. Specifically, these themes include: typological analysis, semantic systems, phonology and prosody, individual differences, and diachronic processes.

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