Who do you hang out with?

2021 ◽  
Vol 6 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Yushan Xie ◽  
Yongcan Liu
Keyword(s):  
Study Abroad ◽  
Social Interactions ◽  
Mixed Methods Research ◽  
Oral Proficiency ◽  
Dense Networks ◽  
L2 Development ◽  
Underlying Network ◽  
English Speaking ◽  
Group Relationships ◽  
The Relationship

Abstract Social interactions that take place during study abroad in linguistically rich settings are important for oral proficiency development; however, few studies have explicitly examined the underlying network structure of students’ social experiences in study abroad contexts and its role in oral proficiency development. This mixed-methods research examined the relationship between self-reported social network structures and self-perceived English oral proficiency gains among 88 Chinese international students at a UK university. While the majority of participants’ networks consisted of Chinese-speaking peers, most of them managed to develop strong and frequent relations with English-speaking peers. Students reported gains in oral proficiency, especially in areas related to language use that require higher levels of proficiency. Diverse networks with significant and high-frequency English-speaking relationships were more likely to be associated with L2 oral proficiency gains, while dense networks with only frequent and strong in-group relationships could potentially limit L2 development.

scholarly journals Overall L2 proficiency maintenance and development among returning ERASMUS study abroad participants

2020 ◽  
Vol 5 (1) ◽  
pp. 119-152
Author(s):  
Gianna Hessel
Keyword(s):  
Study Abroad ◽  
Social Interactions ◽  
Home Country ◽  
L2 Proficiency ◽  
Perceived Needs ◽  
Proficiency Level ◽  
Language Classes ◽  
L2 Development ◽  
The Uk ◽  
Academic Year

Abstract This study examines the sustainability of gains in overall English proficiency made by 81 German students on ERASMUS study abroad placements in the UK (lasting one term or one academic year) following their return to their home country. Students were tracked using C-tests and questionnaires from pre-study abroad up until nine months post-return. Their development was compared with that of 25 peers who applied for ERASMUS placements, but continued studying at home. The analysis presented focuses on the post-return phase and includes factors associated with individual differences in L2 proficiency development post-return, self-perceived L2 skills development, and returnees’ perceived needs regarding further language classes. Results show that students tended to sustain gains in overall L2 proficiency made during study abroad. L2 proficiency level achieved by the end of study abroad, self-efficacy in using the L2 in social interactions, and majoring in English were all positively associated with post-return L2 development.

scholarly journals Orthorexia nervosa and Instagram: exploring the Russian-speaking conversation around #opтopeкcия

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yana Zemlyanskaya ◽  
Martina Valente ◽  
Elena V. Syurina
Keyword(s):  
Orthorexia Nervosa ◽  
Online Questionnaire ◽  
Level Of Evidence ◽  
Russian Speakers ◽  
Global North ◽  
Harmful Content ◽  
English Speaking ◽  
Comparative Content ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
Informative Text

AbstractThis mixed-methods study explored the conversation around orthorexia nervosa (ON) on Instagram from a Russian-speaking perspective. Two quantitative data sources were implemented; a comparative content analysis of posts tagged with #opтopeкcия (n = 234) and #orthorexia (n = 243), and an online questionnaire completed by Russian-speakers (n = 96) sharing ON-related content on Instagram. Additionally, five questionnaire participants were interviewed, four of which identified with having (had) ON. Russian-speakers who share ON-related content on Instagram are primarily female, around their late-twenties, and prefer Instagram over other platforms. They describe people with ON as obsessed with correct eating, rather than healthy or clean eating. Instagram appears to have a dual effect; it has the potential to both trigger the onset of ON and encourage recovery. Positive content encourages a healthy relationship with food, promotes intuitive eating, and spread recovery advice. Harmful content, in turn, emphasizes specific diet and beauty ideals. Russian-speaking users mainly post pictures of food, followed by largely informative text that explains what ON is, and what recovery may look like. Their reasons for posting ON-related content are to share personal experiences, support others in recovery, and raise awareness about ON. Two main target audiences were people unaware of ON and people seeking recovery support. The relationship between ON and social media is not strictly limited to the global north. Thus, it may be valuable to further investigate non-English-speaking populations currently underrepresented in ON research.Level of evidence: Level V, descriptive study.

Assessment of Intelligibility in Children with Velopharyngeal Insufficiency: The Relationship between Intelligibility in Context Scale and Experimental Measures

2021 ◽  
pp. 1-12
Author(s):  
Hedieh Hashemi Hosseinabad ◽  
Karla N. Washington ◽  
Suzanne E. Boyce ◽  
Noah Silbert ◽  
Ann W. Kummer
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Clinical Application ◽  
Speech Intelligibility ◽  
Velopharyngeal Insufficiency ◽  
Point Scale ◽  
Indirect Measure ◽  
English Speaking ◽  
Parental Reports ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
Children's Speech

<b><i>Purpose:</i></b> The purpose of this study was to investigate the clinical application of the Intelligibility in Context Scale (ICS) instrument in children with velopharyngeal insufficiency (VPI). This study investigated the relationship between clinical speech outcomes and parental reports of speech intelligibility across various communicative partners. <b><i>Methods:</i></b> The ICS was completed by the parents of 20 English-speaking children aged 4–12 years diagnosed with VPI. The parents were asked to rate their children’s speech intelligibility across communication partners using a 5-point scale. Clinical metrics obtained using standard clinical transcription on the Picture-Cued SNAP-R Test were: (1) percentage of consonants correct (PCC), (2) percentage of vowels correct (PVC), and (3) percentage of phonemes correct (PPC). Nasalance from nasometer data was included as an indirect measure of nasality. Intelligibility scores obtained from naive listener’s transcriptions and speech-language pathologists’ (SLP) ratings were compared with the ICS results. <b><i>Result:</i></b> Greater PCC, PPC, PVC, and transcription-based intelligibility values were significantly associated with higher ICS values, respectively (<i>r</i>[20] = 0.84, 0.82, 0.51, and 0.70, respectively; <i>p</i> &#x3c; 0.05 in all cases). There was a negative and significant correlation between ICS mean scores and SLP ratings of intelligibility (<i>r</i> = –0.74; <i>p</i> &#x3c; 0.001). There was no significant correlation between ICS values and nasalance scores (<i>r</i>[20] = –0.28; <i>p</i> = 0.22). <b><i>Conclusion:</i></b> The high correlations obtained between the ICS with PCC and PPC measures indicate that articulation accuracy has had a great impact on parents’ decision-making regarding intelligibility in this population. Significant agreement among ICS scores with naive listener transcriptions and clinical ratings supports use of the ICS in practice.

scholarly journals Normative Data for a Tablet-Based Dual-Task Assessment in Healthy Older Adults

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Maxime Lussier ◽  
Kathia Saillant ◽  
Tudor Vrinceanu ◽  
Carol Hudon ◽  
Louis Bherer
Keyword(s):  
Older Adults ◽  
Dual Task ◽  
Normative Data ◽  
Healthy Older Adults ◽  
Highly Educated ◽  
Coefficient Of Variability ◽  
French And English ◽  
Task Assessment ◽  
English Speaking ◽  
The Relationship

Abstract Objective The objective of this study is to provide normative data for a tablet-based dual-task assessment in older adults without cognitive deficits. Method In total, 264 participants aged between 60 and 90 years, French and English-speaking, were asked to perform two discrimination tasks, alone and concurrently. The participants had to answer as fast as possible to one or two images appearing in the center of the tablet by pressing to the corresponding buttons. Normative data are provided for reaction time (RT), coefficient of variation, and accuracy. Analyses of variance were performed by trial types (single-pure, single-mixed, dual-mixed), and linear regressions assessed the relationship between performance and sociodemographic characteristics. Results The participants were highly educated and a large proportion of them were women (73.9%). The accuracy on the task was very high across all blocks. RT data revealed both a task-set cost and a dual-task cost between the blocks. Age was associated with slower RT and with higher coefficient of variability. Men were significantly slower on dual-mixed trials, but their coefficient of variability was lower on single-pure trials. Education was not associated with performance. Conclusions This study provides normative data for a tablet-based dual-task assessment in older adults without cognitive impairment, which was lacking. All participants completed the task with good accuracy in less than 15 minutes and thus, the task is transferable to clinical and research settings.

scholarly journals Relationship between Social Skills and Happiness: Differences by Gender

2021 ◽  
Vol 18 (15) ◽  
pp. 7929
Author(s):  
Carlos Salavera ◽  
Pablo Usán
Keyword(s):  
Gender Differences ◽  
Social Skills ◽  
Social Interactions ◽  
Primary Education ◽  
Subjective Happiness ◽  
School Students ◽  
Related Factors ◽  
Subjective Happiness Scale ◽  
Social Settings ◽  
The Relationship

This study examines the relationship between social skills and happiness in 1st-year Teaching School students, as well as possible gender differences. The sample comprised 243 Teaching School students (Primary Education) in Zaragoza, including 110 men (45.27%) and 133 women (54.73%), aged 18–25 (average age 20.23 years; s.d. = 1.586). In order to analyse the relationship between social skills and subjective happiness, the Scale of Social Skills and Subjective Happiness Scale were used. While men scored higher in all social skills-related factors, women scored higher in all factors related to happiness. The study shows that factors such as self-expression in social settings and the ability to say no and cut off social interactions have a direct and significant effect on happiness among men, while self-expression in social settings and the ability to express anger led to a higher perception of happiness among women. Similarly, situations such as asking for and defending rights have an indirect and significant effect in men, reducing their levels of happiness. In the case of women, no social skills factors were found that led to lower happiness. It may be concluded that significant gender differences exist, although broader and lateral studies are needed in order to examine the relationship between gender identities, social skills and subjective happiness more in depth, and thus, understand the effect of these constructs in the development of personality.

Japanese English Majors’ Experiences and Attitudes to Study Abroad: A Case Study of Students at a Private University in Tokyo

2020 ◽  
Vol 13 (2) ◽  
pp. 38-52
Author(s):  
Anthony Tobin
Keyword(s):  
Study Abroad ◽  
English Language ◽  
Private University ◽  
Studying Abroad ◽  
Short Term Study ◽  
Overseas Travel ◽  
Recent Trends ◽  
English Speaking ◽  
Japanese English

This study investigates both the benefits of and recent trends in studying abroad for Japanese students and examines the results of a survey on study abroad taken by students majoring in English at a private university in Tokyo. Statistics from JASSO showed that the trend in study abroad before 2020 was for an increasing number of Japanese university students to spend a period of time studying abroad, though most of the increase was in short-term study. The English language questionnaire sought to discover what proportion of a group of seventy-two students had already studied abroad, or planned to do so, and to establish whether those who had gained experience had benefited from it, as well as detailing student anxieties which may have deterred students from studying abroad. The survey on study abroad, taken in January 2018, had a 100% response rate. Twenty-three (32%) of the students answered that they had already studied abroad, mostly for short durations in English-speaking countries. Most of the students who studied abroad had a positive experience, reputedly improved their English skills and recommended that other students study abroad. Twenty-six (53%) of the students without study abroad experience were planning to study abroad, even though they had some issues which concerned them, such as their ability to communicate in English, personal safety, and financial matters. The main reason for not electing to study abroad for this particular sample was found to be related to the overall costs of overseas travel, accommodation, and tuition. この研究では日本人学生に対する留学の利点および最近の留学の傾向を調べ、さら に東京の私立大学で英語を専攻している学生に対して実施した留学についての調査 の結果を検討している。JASSO の統計によると、２０２０年までは留学する日本人 大学生の数は増加傾向であったが、そのほとんどは短期留学であった。英語で行わ れたアンケート調査の目的は、著者の三つのクラスの７２名の学生のうちの何割が 留学経験がある、もしくは留学の予定があるか、またすでに留学した学生はその経 験から恩恵を受けたと感じているか、学生は留学をするにあたってどのような不安 を持つか、さらに留学しないと答えた学生の場合は留学しない理由を明らかにする ことである。２０１８年１月に行われた調査の回答率は１００パーセントであっ た。２３人（３２パーセント）の学生は留学経験があり、ほとんどの場合が英語圏 の国への短期留学である。留学経験のある学生の大半数が有益な経験ができ、英語 力が上達したと感じており、他の学生に留学を勧めると答えている。留学経験のな い学生の２６人（５３パーセント）が留学する予定だが、英語のコミュニケーショ ン、安全、金銭などについて不安を感じていた。留学しない理由については、旅 費、宿泊代、授業料など経済的な理由が大半であった。

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