scholarly journals The influence of a short stay abroad experience on perceived foreign accent

2016 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
pp. 88-106 ◽  
Author(s):  
Àngels Llanes
Keyword(s):  
Native Speakers ◽  
Home School ◽  
Foreign Accent ◽  
Learning Context ◽  
Spanish Speaking ◽  
Home Group ◽  
Significant Difference ◽  
Native Speakers Of English ◽  
The Difference ◽  
The Impact

This study examines the impact of learning context on the L2 pronunciation of 14 Catalan/Spanish-speaking children. Eight children engaged in a two-month study abroad (SA) experience, whereas six students learned English (L2) in their home school. The participants were asked to describe a picture at three data collection times, namely prior to the SA group’s departure to Ireland, immediately after they returned from their stay abroad, and a further year later again. The excerpts were presented to a group of 11 native speakers of English who rated the degree of foreign accent. Results indicate that for the SA group, the difference between the pre- and post-tests was significant, and approaching significance between the pre- and delayed post-tests. For the at-home group of learners, no significant difference was found.

scholarly journals Communication Strategies Used by Iranian EFL Learners and English Native Speakers: Gender in Focus

2017 ◽  
Vol 2 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Layla Hajiesmaeli ◽  
Laya Heidari Darani
Keyword(s):  
Language Proficiency ◽  
Native Speakers ◽  
Communication Strategies ◽  
Numerical Data ◽  
Communication Strategy ◽  
Male And Female ◽  
Efl Learners ◽  
Significant Difference ◽  
Native Speakers Of English ◽  
The Difference

<p>This article was intended to explore the frequency and order of communication strategies used by Iranian male and female EFL earners as well as English native speakers while facing communication breakdowns. Furthermore, it was aimed to investigate the difference between native speakers and non-native speakers of English in their use of communication strategies. In addition, it was probed whether gender had any effects on the use of these strategies among native and non-native speakers. To this end, the data were collected through the communication strategy questionnaire distributed among 30 male and female Iranian intermediate EFL learners and 15 English native speakers. The design of this study was a quantitative one in which the questionnaire and thus numerical data were applied. To analyze the data, Cronbach alpha and independent-samples t-tests were used. The results indicated that non-verbal and social affective strategies were the most frequent strategies used by non-native speakers and native speakers of English, respectively. Furthermore, there was no significant difference between male and female Iranian EFL learners, but a significant difference between male and female English native speakers were seen. It can be concluded that language proficiency can contribute to the type and frequency of communications strategies which are used non-native speakers; likewise, it can play a significant role in gender differences in language use.<em></em></p>

Foreign accent in advanced learners

2007 ◽  
Vol 7 ◽  
pp. 171-190 ◽  
Author(s):  
Carmen Muñoz ◽  
David Singleton
Keyword(s):  
English Language ◽  
Native Speakers ◽  
Native Speaker ◽  
Foreign Accent ◽  
Control Group ◽  
Advanced Learners ◽  
Language Background ◽  
Significant Difference ◽  
Oral Retelling ◽  
Native Speakers Of English

Research has generally found age of learning (AOL) (i.e., age of initial significant L2 exposure) to predict degree of foreign accent (FA), while length of residence (LOR) has sometimes been seen as simply a corollary of AOL. The subjects in the present study were twelve late L2 learners of English with an average AOL of 22.5 and an average LOR of 10, plus a native-speaker control group. All the English-L2 subjects had Spanish and/or Catalan as L1. Short extracts were taken from their oral retelling of a film narrative and judged for FA by four native speakers of English. Language background data were elicited by questionnaire and interview. A significant difference overall emerged between native speakers and non-natives in terms of FA ratings. However, two of the learners scored within the native-speaker range. The discussion examines the possible influence of an array of factors on degree of FA, and explores what might underlie the native-like performance of the two most successful learners.

Speech Methodologies in Cleft Palate Assessment: A Pilot Project to Compare Two Phonetically Different Sentence Sets

2013 ◽  
Vol 20 (1) ◽  
pp. 49-72
Author(s):  
Jennie Smith ◽  
Tim Pring ◽  
Debbie Sell
Keyword(s):  
Cleft Palate ◽  
Pilot Project ◽  
Wilcoxon Test ◽  
Consecutive Series ◽  
Video Recordings ◽  
Significant Difference ◽  
The Difference ◽  
Audio Video ◽  
Age Range ◽  
The Impact

Objective: To investigate the impact of the phonetic content of two sentence sets on speech outcomes, specifically the effects of nasal phonemes. Method: Audio-video recordings of a consecutive series of 15 participants (age range 4–22 years), with cleft palate (syndromic or non-syndromic), with and without velopharyngeal dysfunction were taken. Participants repeated Sentence Set 1 (with nasals across sentences) and Sentence Set 2 (without nasals except the three nasal target sentences) during a routine speech recording. Two experienced Specialist Speech and Language Therapists, blinded to the study’s purpose, analyzed participants’ speech using the Cleft Audit Protocol for Speech-Augmented (CAPS-A). On day 1, recordings included Sentence Set 1. On day 2, 23 days later, recordings included Sentence Set 2. Main results: The difference between Sentence Set 1 and Sentence Set 2 ‘total scores’ (sum of scores on all CAPS-A parameters) was significant. The Pearson Product Moment showed high correlation. A Wilcoxon test revealed a significant difference between Sets 1 and 2 on the hypernasality parameter, and this alone accounted for the significant difference in total scores. Conclusion: The inclusion or exclusion of nasal consonants in the sentence set significantly affected perceptual ratings of hypernasality but none of the other CAPS-A parameters, highlighting the need for further investigation into perceptual nasality ratings.

scholarly journals An Experimental Comparison of the Impact of ‘Warning’ and ‘Health Star Rating’ FoP Labels on Adolescents’ Choice of Breakfast Cereals in New Zealand

Nutrients ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (6) ◽  
pp. 1545 ◽  
Author(s):  
Robert Hamlin ◽  
Benjamin Hamlin
Keyword(s):  
New Zealand ◽  
Experimental Comparison ◽  
Vienna Convention ◽  
Single Star ◽  
Star Rating ◽  
Stop Sign ◽  
Significant Difference ◽  
Nutritional Label ◽  
The Difference ◽  
The Impact

This research investigated the performance of the red, octagonal Vienna Convention traffic ‘STOP’ sign as a front of pack (FoP) warning nutritional label. While the Vienna Convention traffic light system is an established FoP label, the potential of the ‘STOP’ sign in the role has not been investigated. The performance of the ‘STOP’ label was compared with that of a single star (low nutritional value) Australasian Health Star Rating (HSR) label using a fractionally replicated Latin square design. The labels were presented on choice diads of cold breakfast cereal packets. The sample of 240 adolescents aged 16–18 was drawn from a secondary school in the South Island of New Zealand. A large and significant main effect was observed at the p < 0.01 level for the difference between the ’STOP’ sign and the control condition (no nutritional FoP label), and at p < 0.05 for the difference between the HSR and the ‘STOP’ label. There was no significant difference between the HSR FoP and the control condition. A significant non-additivity (interaction) (p < 0.01) was also observed via the fractional replication. The results indicate that the Vienna Convention ‘STOP’ sign is worthy of further research with regard to its potential as an FoP nutritional label.

Attitudes towards sex with alcoholics

2011 ◽  
Vol 26 (S2) ◽  
pp. 67-67
Author(s):  
Z.M. Krivokapic ◽  
R.V. Sapic
Keyword(s):  
Sexual Experience ◽  
Social Situation ◽  
Control Group ◽  
List Type ◽  
Homosexual Orientation ◽  
The Social ◽  
Significant Difference ◽  
The Difference ◽  
Attitudes Toward Sex ◽  
The Impact

Attitude is defined as acquired disposition, readiness for a certain way of perception, thinking, emotional reacting and behaving. The formation of social attitudes is greatly in influence by a group (alcoholics group). Drinking alcohol also disrupts higher cognitive processes: abstraction, conceptualization, problem solving and influences on different opinions.Our research concerned the impact of chronic alcohol use and membership to alcoholic group as a framework that influences attitudes towards sexuality. 200 persons were sample in this research: 100 alcohol addicts and 100 persons of the control group. The instrument used in this study was-Scale of attitudes toward sex.Statistically significant difference was found in five attitudes:–Differences in two paragraphs point to some homosexual orientation. We can confidently say that this is a “latent homosexuality in an alcoholic”, it is possible that the difference arises because of the presence of homosexuals in the group of alcoholics, although the subjects did not say to have such orientation.–Some conservatism is present in the attitude drinkers to sexuality of the young, they argue that sexual experience can wait until more mature years.–Extramarital relationships are positively evaluated by the control group, while alcoholics show greater disapproval.–Alcoholics have the attitude that sexual arousal does not come with ease, unlike the control group.–They are more liberal about the social situation of people with HIV (a certain degree of identification with an estimated negative social group).Results showed small difference in attitudes between alcoholics and nonalcoholic.

First and Second Language Patterns of Brain Activation in Korean Layrngeal Contrasts

2008 ◽  
Vol 14 ◽  
pp. 1-19 ◽  
Author(s):  
Haeil Park ◽  
Gregory Iverson
Keyword(s):  
Second Language ◽  
Native Speakers ◽  
Occipital Lobe ◽  
Brain Regions ◽  
Second Language Speakers ◽  
Significant Difference ◽  
Native Speakers Of English ◽  
Specific Activities ◽  
The Right ◽  
The Brain

Abstract. This study aims to localize the brain regions involved in the apprehension of Korean laryngeal contrasts and to investigate whether the Internal Model advanced by Callan et al. (2004) extends to first versus second language perception of these unique three-way laryngeal distinctions. The results show that there is a significant difference in activation between native and second-language speakers, consistent with the findings of Callan et al. Specific activities unique to younger native speakers of Korean relative to native speakers of English were seen in the cuneus (occipital lobe) and the right middle frontal gyrus (Brodmann Area [BA] 10), areas of the brain associated with pitch perception. The current findings uphold Silva's (2006) conclusion that the laryngeal contrasts of Korean are increasingly distinguished less by VOT differences than by their effect on pitch in the following vowel. A subsequent experiment was conducted to establish whether more traditional, older native speakers of Korean who still make clear VOT distinctions also activate both the cuneus and BA 10 in the same task. Preliminary results indicate that they do not, whereas speakers with overlapping VOT distinctions do show intersecting activations in these areas, thus corroborating Silva's claim of emergent pitch sensitivity in the Korean laryngeal system.

Investigating the apology strategies of Saudi learners of English

2018 ◽  
Vol 9 (4) ◽  
pp. 598-625 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dina Abdel Salam El-Dakhs
Keyword(s):  
Language Learning ◽  
Native Speakers ◽  
Foreign Language Learning ◽  
Theoretical Models ◽  
Positive Influence ◽  
Pragmatic Competence ◽  
Learning Context ◽  
Completion Test ◽  
Native Speakers Of English ◽  
Saudi Arabic

Abstract The present study examines the apologetic behavior of Saudi learners of English in a foreign language learning context. The study also investigates the influence of language exposure, gender, distance and dominance on the learners’ apologies. To this end, a Discourse Completion Test was completed by (1) 411 Saudi learners of English, (2) 42 native speakers of Saudi Arabic and (3) 47 native speakers of English. The groups of native speakers provided the norms of apologetic behavior in the learners’ first (L1) and second (L2) languages. The results showed the Saudi participants’ preference for face-saving strategies to both the speaker and hearer, and a positive influence for increased L2 exposure on the learners’ pragmatic competence. The variables of gender, distance and dominance also proved influential but to varying degrees. The results are interpreted in light of the existing literature and theoretical models. Pedagogical implications and research directions are proposed.

Pollinator Insects and their Impact on Crop Yield of Mustard in Kusma, Parbat, Nepal

2019 ◽  
Vol 24 (2) ◽  
pp. 68-75
Author(s):  
Narayan Subedi ◽  
Indra Prasad Subedi
Keyword(s):  
Crop Yield ◽  
Fruit Set ◽  
Apis Cerana ◽  
Qualitative And Quantitative ◽  
Significant Difference ◽  
The Difference ◽  
Four Blocks ◽  
And Control ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Pod Length

The diversity of insect pollinators and their impact on crop yield of mustard were studied in Kusma, Parbat, Nepal from December 2018 to April 2019 in four blocks with each having 12 m2 areas. Two plots; treatment and control, were established in each block. Insect diversity was observed from 8 to 16 hrs, with the interval of an hour for three consecutive months (Jan-Feb). Eighty mustard plants were randomly selected, 40 from each plot just before flowering to find the impact of insect pollination on crop yield and these selected plants were examined for various qualitative and quantitative parameters. Altogether 16 species of pollinator insects belonging to five orders and nine families were recorded. Hymenoptera (36 %) was the most abundant order visiting mustard flowers followed by Diptera (34 %), Coleoptera (17 %), Lepidoptera (12 %) and Heteroptera (1 %). The most abundant family was Apidae (35.64 %), followed by Syrphidae (31.84 %). Apis cerana and Eristalis sp. were the most important pollinator insects of mustard. Seven species were found foraging both on pollen and nectar, four species foraging only on nectar and remaining five as casual visitors. The peak foraging activities of majority of the insects were observed between 12 hr to 14 hr. A significant difference was observed in the number of pods (59.80 ± 1.967 and 70.47 ± 2.431), fruit set (70.55 ± 1.362 and 80.94 ± 0.638), number of seeds per pods (16.70 ± 0.248 and 19.30 ± 0.330), diameter of seed (0.133 ± 0.2547 and 0.275 ± 0.0051) and weight of 100 dry seeds (0.33 ± 0.058 and 0.48 ± 0.023) in control and treatment plots whereas, the difference was non-significant in case of pod length between control and treatment plots (P=0.163).

scholarly journals Linguistic Markers and Stylistic Attributes of Hedging in English Academic Papers Written by Native and Non-Native Speakers of English

MANUSYA ◽  
2015 ◽  
Vol 18 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-22
Author(s):  
Amara Prasithrathsint
Keyword(s):  
Foreign Language ◽  
Academic Writing ◽  
Language Use ◽  
Native Speakers ◽  
Linguistic Features ◽  
Linguistic Markers ◽  
Native Speakers Of English ◽  
English Academic Writing ◽  
The Impact

Hedging means mitigating words so as to lessen the impact of an utterance. It may cause uncertainty in language but is regarded as an important feature in English academic writing. The purpose of this paper is to analyze the style of academic writing in English with particular reference to the significant role of hedging and the linguistic features that mark it. The data was taken from academic articles in the humanities written by native speakers of English, Filipino speakers of English, and Thai speakers of English. It is hypothesized that speakers of English as a foreign language use fewer and different hedging devices than native speakers of English. The result of the analysis shows that the prominent linguistic markers of hedging are the auxiliaries may, might, could, the verbs suggest, appear, seem, and the adverbs perhaps and often. They are divided into three groups according to their stylistic attributes of hedging; namely, probability, indetermination, and approximation. The use of hedging found in the data confirms what Hyman (1994) says; i.e., that hedging allows writers to express their uncertainty about the truth of their statements. It is also found that English native speakers use hedges most frequently. The Filipino speakers of English are the second, and the Thai speakers of English use hedges the least frequency. This implies that hedging is likely to be related to the level of competence in English including knowledge of stylistic variation, and that it needs to be formally taught to those who speak English as a second or foreign language.

Revalidation of the Flipi Score in the Era of Immunotherapy.

Blood ◽  
2007 ◽  
Vol 110 (11) ◽  
pp. 4437-4437
Author(s):  
German Stemmelin ◽  
Carlos Doti ◽  
Claudia Shanley ◽  
Jose Ceresetto ◽  
Oscar Rabinovich ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Bone Marrow ◽  
High Risk ◽  
Univariate Analysis ◽  
Risk Groups ◽  
Marrow Transplant ◽  
Intermediate Risk ◽  
Significant Difference ◽  
The Difference ◽  
The One ◽  
The Impact

Abstract The FLIPI prognosis score for follicular lymphoma (FL) was developed based on cases diagnosed between 1985 and 1992, and treated with different schemes that did not include rituximab (R). In the present study, we report the evolution of all FL treated in a single institution through the last decade and analize whether FLIPI mantains its effectiveness to identify different risk groups within patients treated with the new therapeutic alternatives available. Material and Methods: We identified sixty two patients with diagnosis of grade I-II-IIIa FL. Patients characteristics: median age 57.5 yr (r, 30–80); 36 males; 63% stages III–IV, and 37% with bone marrow infiltration at the time of diagnosis. Thirty eight percent had a low risk by FLIPI, 34% had an intermediate risk and 27.4% had a high risk. In 19 pts (30.6%) the initial decision was “watch and wait” but 82% received a form of treatment at some point. R was used in 36 pts (58%) with some of the following regimes: chemotherapy (chemo) + R and/or R as consolidation therapy and/or R as monotherapy and/or R as maintenance therapy. Of all prescribed treatments (excluding R as monotherapy and/or maintenance treatment), 52.8% were chemo alone, 20.2% chemo + R, 21.3% radiotherapy and 5.6% received a bone marrow transplant. Results: we considered the analysis of overall survival (OS) the most appropiate approach, since most treatments were seeking the control of the FL, and not the complete remission or cure. The follow up median time was 53.2 months ± 34.8 1SD. The 5-yr OS for the 62 pts was 81.8% ± 11.3 CI 95%. The 5-yr OS for those with a low, intermediate and high risk FLIPI was 100% −5, 84.2% ± 21 and 52% ±26.2, respectively. The difference in 5-yr OS was statistically significant between low and high risk, intermediate and high risk, but failed to prove a significant difference between low and intermediate risk. Among the different risk factors tested in a univariate analysis only age ≥ < 60 yr old demonstrated a significant difference, 60.7% vs 90%, respectively. Conclusions: The 5-yr OS in our series is higher than the one described in the original FLIPI study (Blood2004; 104:1258–65) which was 81.8% vs 71% for the whole group; 90% vs 78.1% for pts <60 yr old; 60.7% vs 57.7% for ≥ 60 yr old; 100% vs 90.6% for low FLIPI and 84.2% vs 77.6% for intermediate FLIPI. The only group that failed to prove an improvement was the high risk FLIPI with 52% vs 52.5%. The impact of novel therapies was more evident in patients with a low or intermediate FLIPI and was even more evident in patients younger than 60 yr old. According to our results, FLIPI maintains its effectiveness in differentiating two risk groups, i.e., low-intermediate vs high. We believe that the OS curves will probably continue to improve as the treatments that are considered today as the most effective ones, were just included in our series in the last three years.

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