Ethnic Networks and Language Proficiency Among Immigrants

2019 ◽  
pp. 301-322
Author(s):  
George J. Borjas ◽  
Barry R. Chiswick ◽  
George J. Borjas ◽  
Barry R. Chiswick ◽  
George J. Borjas ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Language Proficiency ◽  
Language Skills ◽  
Minority Language ◽  
Data Set ◽  
English Writing ◽  
English Reading ◽  
Ethnic Network ◽  
Concentration Measure ◽  
Ethnic Press

Recent research on the linguistic adjustment of minority-language-speaking immigrants in several destinations has found that acquisition of destination language skills is inhibited by living in an area where many others speak the same minority language. This chapter uses a unique data set for Australia (1988) that includes a variety of ethnic network variables to analyze the role of the language concentration measure. These ethnic variables, in particular, ethnic press, relatives in Australia, and spouse's origin language, are highly statistically significant. Their inclusion in the equation eliminates the effect of the minority-language concentration variable. The model for analyzing the determinants of English reading and English writing skills in Australia is also shown to be very similar to the model for speaking fluency, including the effect of the ethnic network variables.

scholarly journals Improving English Language Proficiency of Graduate Students by Online Learning Apps available on Smartphone

2019 ◽  
Vol IV (III) ◽  
pp. 535-543
Author(s):  
Shahida Naz ◽  
Mamuna Ghani ◽  
Shahid Nawaz
Keyword(s):  
Online Learning ◽  
Graduate Students ◽  
Language Learning ◽  
Language Proficiency ◽  
Digital Literacy ◽  
English Language ◽  
Language Skills ◽  
English Language Proficiency ◽  
English Language Skills

The field of digital literacy is developing rapidly; consequently, the interest of researchers has also shifted now. The current research study was to explore the role of online learning Apps available on smartphones in improving graduate students' English language proficiency. Quantitative and qualitative research methods were used in this study. Data were collected through a questionnaire that had close-ended and open-ended questions. Questionnaires were distributed among 480 graduate-level students studying in 6 universities of Punjab, Pakistan. Data were analyzed by using Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS 22.0) to find out results in the form of Percentage, Mean Score, Standard Deviation by applying the Independent Sample T-Test. The results of the study demonstrated the potential of Mobile Assisted Language Learning (MALL) as an anticipatory approach to improving English language skills. Results showed that students were pleased to use smartphones to improve their English language proficiency. They responded positively about the role of smartphones in improving English language skills. On the basis of findings, the researcher concluded that smartphone plays an important role in improving students' English language proficiency.

scholarly journals Bilingual health communicators:role delineation issues

2000 ◽  
Vol 23 (3) ◽  
pp. 104 ◽  
Author(s):  
Clair Matthews ◽  
Maree Johnson ◽  
Cathy Noble
Keyword(s):  
Language Proficiency ◽  
Health Care Services ◽  
Language Skills ◽  
Secondary Analysis ◽  
Collaborative Group ◽  
Health Staff ◽  
Care Providers ◽  
Care Services ◽  
Frequent Use

Managers of health care services are seeking new opportunities to improve communication with clients who havelimited English proficiency. An increase in bilingual health staff and the frequent use of their language skills in patientencounters provides opportunities but also brings with it confusion surrounding the role of interpreters and bilingualhealth staff. Secondary analysis of transcripts from 18 focus groups with monolingual and bilingual health staff has provided amethod of distinguishing the roles of these complementary communicators. This paper clarifies the roles of interpretersand bilingual communication facilitators using seven key features: scope of language, language proficiency, nature ofcommunication/interaction, nature of the contact and relationship, client responsibilities, and relationship with otherhealth care providers. We discuss differences in how bilingual health staff use language when providing care, andalternative types of interactions interpreters could adopt to extend their current role. A collaborative group ofcommunicators located within a health team is proposed, that is able to identify need and select the best communicatorfor the task.

scholarly journals Picture-based vocabulary assessment versus parental questionnaires: A cross-linguistic study of bilingual assessment methods

2017 ◽  
Vol 23 (2) ◽  
pp. 437-456 ◽  
Author(s):  
Pernille Hansen ◽  
Magdalena Łuniewska ◽  
Hanne Gram Simonsen ◽  
Ewa Haman ◽  
Karolina Mieszkowska ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Language Proficiency ◽  
Language Impairment ◽  
Assessment Tool ◽  
Longitudinal Research ◽  
Language Attitudes ◽  
Language Skills ◽  
Rank Correlation ◽  
Minority Language ◽  
Indirect Measure ◽  
The Uk

Purpose: As a contribution to the endeavour of developing appropriate tools for bilingual language assessment, this paper investigates the concurrence between two new tools from the recent COST Action IS0804 (Bi-SLI), and the differences between children across two different migrant communities. Approach: Two new tools from the battery Language Impairment Testing in Multilingual Settings (LITMUS) were used: the direct assessment tool Cross-linguistic Lexical Tasks (CLT) and the reporting instrument Parents of Bilingual Children Questionnaire (PaBiQ), which offers an indirect measure of overall language skills. Data: The participants were 36 children (4;2–6;6) of Polish immigrants to Norway or the UK. Correlations were investigated with Kendall’s rank correlation, and comparisons carried out with Wilcoxon rank sum tests. Findings: The results from the two tools correlated. The CLT results were higher in the minority language (Polish) than in the majority language, with no difference between the groups. Still, the parents in the UK judged their children as less proficient in Polish than those in Norway did. Two different accounts for this incongruity are discussed. Firstly, parents in the UK may set higher benchmarks for their children’s minority language skills than the parents in Norway. Alternative accounts of this interpretation related to differences in the parents’ socio-economic background, minority language proficiency or language attitudes are discussed. Secondly, parental report may indicate early stages of attrition of the minority language among the children in the UK that the direct lexical assessment tool may not be sensitive enough to uncover. Originality: The study used two new tools designed for multilingual children to compare two groups of children of a recent and growing immigration group, whose language development is currently underinvestigated. Implications: The findings underscore the complexity of assessing bilingual children’s full language competence. The cross-cultural differences documented call for further longitudinal research comparing immigrant children from different language backgrounds.

scholarly journals Role of the Literature in ELT Course of Mid-Western University

2018 ◽  
Vol 5 ◽  
pp. 56-64
Author(s):  
Resham Bahadur Bist
Keyword(s):  
Learning Style ◽  
Language Proficiency ◽  
Language Skills ◽  
Literary Texts ◽  
Learner Motivation ◽  
English Curriculum ◽  
Efl Context ◽  
Linguistic Input ◽  
Language Areas

 This article identifies the role of literature course included in B.Ed. English Curriculum of Mid-Western University for the promotion of language skills and areas. It begins with the general introduction of literary course either it supports to EFL/ESL context. The research questions and objectives are set to examine the role of literature course in ELT classroom. Then it is closely observed literature contents in B.Ed. English curriculum. It is discussed via self-inspection and reflection of my own experience. It reaches in conclusion that literary texts provide rich linguistic input and effective stimuli for students to express themselves, and a potential source of learner motivation. These texts also provide an opportunity for multi-sensorial classroom experiences and can appeal to learners with different learning style. The students can promote their creativity and language proficiency in ESL/EFL context of ELT classroom. Therefore, it is essential to design the literary texts in ELT course to promote both the language skills (i.e. listening, speaking, reading, and writing) and language areas (i.e. vocabulary, grammar, and pronunciations).Journal of NELTA Surkhet, Vol. 5 January, 2018, Page: 56-64

How do narrative and language skills relate to each other?

2012 ◽  
Vol 22 (2) ◽  
pp. 307-331 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jennifer Yusun Kang
Keyword(s):  
Foreign Language ◽  
Language Proficiency ◽  
Language Skills ◽  
Narrative Structure ◽  
Efl Learners ◽  
Related Quality ◽  
Cross Language ◽  
Narrative Conventions

Past studies on narratives have identified two main dimensions of narrative production: the story-related narrative quality, which relates to the narrative structure and evaluations, and the language-related quality, which relates to the appropriate use of linguistic devices that contribute to the overall discourse cohesion. Although studies on the language development of monolinguals and bilinguals have demonstrated the developmental nature of the two different narrative dimensions, little attention has been paid to the potential relationship between them. Thus, this study aimed to identify the interrelationship between the two main narrative quality skills and explored the role of cross-language facilitations for performance on each of these narrative dimensions. Oral Frog Story narratives produced by 70 six-year-old Korean English as a Foreign Language (EFL) learners were analyzed. The findings indicated that the two narrative sub-dimensions play facilitative roles for each other within English (L2), and that there are cross-language contributions for only the linguistic quality of narratives. The findings are discussed in relation to the bilingual children’s language proficiency and the degree of differences in narrative conventions across the two languages.

scholarly journals Mitä ihmiset osaavat, kun he osaavat kieltä?

2020 ◽  
pp. 17-32
Author(s):  
Hannele Dufva
Keyword(s):  
Language Proficiency ◽  
Language Skills ◽  
Alternative View ◽  
Different Types ◽  
Fresh Perspective ◽  
Language And Cognition ◽  
Skilled Action ◽  
Distributed Language

The paper introduces a fresh perspective on individual language skills, or, language proficiency. Based on dialogical thinking, theory of distributed language and cognition and sociolinguistics, it will be argued that ’mental grammar’ is an inappropriate metaphor for describing an individuals’ language skills. To present an alternative view, language is here understood as ’resources’ that will be appropriated by individuals for developing a ’personal repertoire’. Focusing here on the role of embodiment and materiality, the personal repertoire is seen an assemblage of embodied skilled action that helps the learners to act upon different types of affordances in different material environments.

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