Role of Simulations in the Thai Graduate Business English Program: Can They Engage and Elicit Learners’ Realistic Use of Specific Language?

2015 ◽  
Vol 5 (2) ◽  
pp. 282 ◽  
Author(s):  
Melada Sudajit-apa
Keyword(s):  
Business English ◽  
Specific Language ◽  
English Program

Learning and the Evolution of Language: The Role of Cultural Variation and Learning Costs in the Baldwin Effect

2002 ◽  
Vol 8 (4) ◽  
pp. 311-339 ◽  
Author(s):  
Steve Munroe ◽  
Angelo Cangelosi
Keyword(s):  
Language Acquisition ◽  
Structural Properties ◽  
Cultural Transmission ◽  
Cultural Variation ◽  
Baldwin Effect ◽  
Evolution Of Language ◽  
Specific Language ◽  
Acquisition Device ◽  
The Baldwin Effect

The Baldwin effect has been explicitly used by Pinker and Bloom as an explanation of the origins of language and the evolution of a language acquisition device. This article presents new simulations of an artificial life model for the evolution of compositional languages. It specifically addresses the role of cultural variation and of learning costs in the Baldwin effect for the evolution of language. Results show that when a high cost is associated with language learning, agents gradually assimilate in their genome some explicit features (e.g., lexical properties) of the specific language they are exposed to. When the structure of the language is allowed to vary through cultural transmission, Baldwinian processes cause, instead, the assimilation of a predisposition to learn, rather than any structural properties associated with a specific language. The analysis of the mechanisms underlying such a predisposition in terms of categorical perception supports Deacon's hypothesis regarding the Baldwinian inheritance of general underlying cognitive capabilities that serve language acquisition. This is in opposition to the thesis that argues for assimilation of structural properties needed for the specification of a full-blown language acquisition device.

The Role of Cognitive Patterns in Modelling Reality by Means of Natural Language (The Case Study of the English Cognitive Pattern “Cleanness / Dirtiness”)

2021 ◽  
pp. 69-81
Author(s):  
Ekaterina Savitskaya ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Natural Language ◽  
Cognitive Linguistics ◽  
Human Mind ◽  
Specific Language ◽  
Cognitive Patterns ◽  
Cognitive Pattern ◽  
The World ◽  
Internal Comparison

In the field of cognitive linguistics it is accepted that, before developing its capacity for abstract and theoretical thought, the human mind went through the stage of reflecting reality through concrete images and thus has inherited old cognitive patterns. Even abstract notions of the modern civilization are based on traditional concrete images, and it is all fixed in natural language units. By way of illustration, the author analyzes the cognitive pattern “сleanness / dirtiness” as a constituent part of the English linguoculture, looking at the whole range of its verbal realization and demonstrating its influence on language-based thinking and modeling of reality. Comparing meanings of language units with their inner forms enabled the author to establish the connection between abstract notions and concrete images within cognitive patterns. Using the method of internal comparison and applying the results of etymological reconstruction of language units’ inner form made it possible to see how the world is viewed by representatives of the English linguoculture. Apparently, in the English linguoculture images of cleanness / dirtiness symbolize mainly two thematic areas: that of morality and that of renewal. Since every ethnic group has its own axiological dominants (key values) that determine the expressiveness of verbal invectives, one can draw the conclusion that people perceive and comprehend world fragments through the prism of mental stereo-types fixed in the inner form of language units. Sometimes, in relation to specific language units, a conflict arises between the inner form which retains traditional thinking and a meaning that reflects modern reality. Still, linguoculture is a constantly evolving entity, and its de-velopment entails breaking established stereotypes and creating new ones. Linguistically, the victory of the new over the old is manifested in the “dying out” of the verbal support for pre-vious cognitive patterns, which leads to “reprogramming” (“recoding”) of linguoculture rep-resentatives’ mentality.

The Role of Memory in Processing Relative Clauses in Children With Specific Language Impairment

2015 ◽  
Vol 24 (1) ◽  
pp. 47-59 ◽  
Author(s):  
Pauline Frizelle ◽  
Paul Fletcher
Keyword(s):  
Working Memory ◽  
Language Impairment ◽  
Specific Language Impairment ◽  
Relative Clauses ◽  
Short Term Memory ◽  
Control Group ◽  
Matrix Clause ◽  
Specific Language ◽  
Almost All

Purpose This study investigated the relationship between 2 components of memory—phonological short-term memory (pSTM) and working memory (WM)—and the control of relative clause constructions in children with specific language impairment (SLI). Method Children with SLI and 2 control groups—an age-matched and a younger group of children with typical development—repeated sentences, including relative clauses, representing 5 syntactic roles and 2 levels of matrix clause complexity. The Working Memory Test Battery for Children was administered. Results All 3 groups showed significant associations between pSTM and both types of matrix clause construction. For children with SLI, significant associations emerged between (a) WM and more complex matrix clause constructions, (b) WM and relative clauses including a range of syntactic roles, and (c) pSTM and the least difficult syntactic role. In contrast, the age-matched control group could repeat almost all syntactic roles without invoking the use of either memory component. Conclusions The role of pSTM and WM in the production of relative clauses by children with SLI is influenced by the degree of difficulty of the structure to be recalled. In therapy, the effect of WM limitations can be minimized by approaching each structure within the context of a simple matrix clause.

scholarly journals Young consumers' views on humorous BELFcommunication

2020 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Taina Vuorela ◽  
Sari Alatalo ◽  
Eeva-Liisa Oikarinen ◽  
Anne Poutiainen
Keyword(s):  
Communication Tool ◽  
Business English ◽  
Mediated Communication ◽  
Group Discussions ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Language And Culture ◽  
Young Consumers ◽  
In Transit ◽  
Linguistic Backgrounds

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to gain understanding of how young consumers with varying cultural and linguistic backgrounds experience and perceive humorous Business English lingua franca (BELF) mediated communication used in transit contexts.Design/methodology/approachFor the collection of qualitative data, the present study relies on focus group discussions in three European countries. The data were analyzed by the authors by applying the phenomenographic approach as a method.FindingsYoung European consumers expressed a preference for humor and playfulness in BELF-mediated communication, yet they can be a challenging group to be informed and entertained with humorous BELF communication, as they differ in their taste of humor due to varying language- and culture-based identities. However, BELF as a communication tool was seen as functional and unproblematic by the informants. These informants perceive the role of resonant – wit type of humor in BELF – messages with noncultural references as fulfilling some of the aims of the messages. Yet, the role of comic – wit humor in BELF – messages with cultural references is more challenging to interpret.Originality/valueThe present results bring original viewpoints on the use of humor in cross-cultural corporate communication via a unique perspective of how young consumers' perceive and value humor in BELF-mediated communication.

TBLT in Business English Communication

2013 ◽  
Vol 3 (1) ◽  
pp. 73-89 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael Thomas
Keyword(s):  
Foreign Language ◽  
Blended Learning ◽  
Second Life ◽  
Digital Technologies ◽  
Task Completion ◽  
Business English ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Research Questions ◽  
Uk Higher Education

Research on the use of task-based language teaching (TBLT) with digital technologies has increased over the last few years but few studies have focused specifically on its use with blended learning involving international undergraduate learners studying in a UK higher education context. This paper explores the role of a task-based approach with international students learning business communication in English with a focus on the use of two collaborative digital technologies to aid blended learning: the video conferencing software Adobe Connect and the virtual world of Second Life. The study was guided by two research questions: What are the strengths and challenges presented by each application in terms of aiding authentic task completion? How can the applications be used to support task-based learning in a blended format? A year-long study with students at a UK university utilised semi-structured interviews, observations and in-world ethnography. The research highlights the importance of a number of design principles necessary for effective task-based learning in a blended approach and calls for more research on the type of support required by international undergraduates to aid them fulfil their potential in foreign language environments.

Grammatical Morphology and the Role of Weak Syllables in the Speech of Italian-Speaking Children With Specific Language Impairment

1998 ◽  
Vol 41 (6) ◽  
pp. 1363-1374 ◽  
Author(s):  
Laurence B. Leonard ◽  
Umberta Bortolini
Keyword(s):  
Language Impairment ◽  
Specific Language Impairment ◽  
Specific Language ◽  
Auxiliary Verbs ◽  
Input Processing ◽  
Grammatical Morphology ◽  
Grammatical Morphemes ◽  
Present Tense ◽  
Verb Inflections

Italian-speaking children with specific language impairment (SLI) were compared to a group of younger control children in their use of auxiliary verbs, pronominal clitics, infinitives, present tense verb inflections, and articles. Differences favoring the control children were found for those morphemes that required the production of nonfinal weak syllables. On other grammatical morphemes, the two groups did not differ. A relationship was seen between the use of morphemes requiring nonfinal weak syllables and the use of nonfinal weak syllables that had no morpheme status. The findings are considered from the perspective of both prosodic production limitations and limitations in input processing.

The role of guided induction in paper-based data-driven learning

ReCALL ◽  
2014 ◽  
Vol 26 (2) ◽  
pp. 184-201 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jonathan Smart
Keyword(s):  
Data Driven ◽  
Grammar Instruction ◽  
Learning Context ◽  
Intensive English Program ◽  
Passive Voice ◽  
Treatment Groups ◽  
Instructional Treatment ◽  
Post Test ◽  
English Program

AbstractThis study examines the role of guided induction as an instructional approach in paper-based data-driven learning (DDL) in the context of an ESL grammar course during an intensive English program at an American public university. Specifically, it examines whether corpus-informed grammar instruction is more effective through inductive, data-driven learning or through traditional deductive instruction. In the study, 49 participants completed two weeks of ESL grammar instruction on the passive voice in English. The learners participated in one of three instructional treatments: a data-driven learning treatment, a deductive instructional treatment using corpus-informed teaching materials, and a deductive instructional treatment using traditional (i.e., non-corpus-informed) materials. Results from pre-test, post-test, and delayed post-test indicated that the DDL group significantly improved their grammar ability with the passive voice, while the other two treatment groups did not show significant gains. The findings from this study suggest that in this learning context there are measurable benefits to teaching ESL grammar inductively using paper-based DDL.

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