scholarly journals DEVELOPING ONLINE PRACTICE TESTS TO CHECK THE ACQUISITION OF IDIOMATIC EXPRESSIONS WITH ANIMALS

2020 ◽  
pp. 54-63
Author(s):  
Vanya Ivanova ◽  
Gergana Petkova
Keyword(s):  
Mobile Phones ◽  
Native Speakers ◽  
Test Construction ◽  
Personal Computers ◽  
Practice Tests ◽  
Idiomatic Expressions ◽  
Typical Test

Idiomatic expressions, a large number of which refer to animals, are widely used in English since they tend to add color to the language and make everyday speech more interesting and exciting for native speakers. However, these expressions pose difficulties for learners of English as their meaning is not deductible from the meanings of the words comprising it. Furthermore, the meaning may not have any relation to the animals that they feature or there may not be a correspondence of similar expressions in the learners’ mother tongues. Therefore, strategies to facilitate learning are needed and some of them, which can help students remember idioms more easily, are described in this article. Emphasis is placed on online practice tests, which check the acquisition of idiomatic expressions and facilitate their longterm retention. Practice tests are designed by the teacher and done by students on their personal computers or mobile phones at their own convenience. Also, some criteria specifically developed to enhance test construction are listed together with typical test questions based on them. Examples of different tasks are presented to illustrate the process of test creation. Finally, an appendix of some of the most commonly used idiomatic expressions with animals is included.

Construction of online practice tests to check the acquisition of idiomatic expressions with colours

2020 ◽  
Vol 28 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Vanya Ivanova ◽  
◽  
Gergana Petkova
Keyword(s):  
Native Speakers ◽  
Test Construction ◽  
Cultural Knowledge ◽  
Test Items ◽  
Practice Tests ◽  
Idiomatic Expressions ◽  
Long Term Retention ◽  
Knowledge Of Learners ◽  
Selection Of

Idioms are metaphorical expressions that cannot be translated literally. They are widely used in English because they make everyday speech more interesting and entertaining for native speakers. It is assumed that there are about twenty-five thousand idiomatic expressions in English and one of the most common thematic areas for idioms is colour. Idiomatic expressions are a fun way to enhance the vocabulary and cultural knowledge of learners of English. However, mastering these expressions cause difficulties for students not only because their meaning is not deductible from the meanings of the words comprising it, but also due to the different meaning of colours in the cultures around the world. For instance, purple is usually connected with aristocracy, affluence, and piousness across the globe but in Thailand and Brazil it is the colour of bereavement. In this article we have described an approach to check the acquisition of idiomatic expressions and facilitate their long-term retention by using online practice tests. These tests are designed by the teacher and taken by students on their personal computers or mobile phones at their own convenience. Furthermore, specifically developed criteria for test construction are listed together with typical test questions based on them. Examples of test items are presented to illustrate the process of test creation. Finally, an appendix of a selection of the most widely used idiomatic expressions with colours is compiled.

scholarly journals Unruly intonation

Linguistica ◽  
2017 ◽  
Vol 57 (1) ◽  
pp. 29-43
Author(s):  
Michael George Ashby ◽  
Patricia Ashby
Keyword(s):  
Native Speakers ◽  
Reading Aloud ◽  
Frequency Of Occurrence ◽  
Advanced Students ◽  
Idiomatic Expressions ◽  
Lexical Items ◽  
The Right ◽  
Selection Of ◽  
Typical Test

In this paper we call into question the value of ‘rules’ concerning intonation to the learner of English. Are there predictive rules of sufficient generality and power to make them worth learning explicitly, or would learners’ time be better spent on habit-forming drills of common patterns? Examining a typical test passage for advanced students, we show that in all three systems of tonality, tonicity and tone, known ‘rules’ account only for a proportion of the ‘right’ or expected answers. There are plentiful instances where competent native speakers agree over the selection of a pattern, though no rule seems to guide their choice. We recommend that the utility of ‘rules’ should be evaluated in relation to the frequency of occurrence of the structures to which they apply, in the relevant types of discourse; that more attention be given to idiomatic expressions, and the prosodic patterns associated with particular lexical items; and that learners should be equipped with simple practical heuristics (e.g. for using punctuation as a guide to intonation when reading aloud).

scholarly journals Ratings of Affective and Non-Affective Aspects of German Idioms in Second Language Processing

2019 ◽  
Vol 5 (1) ◽  
pp. 11-42
Author(s):  
Teodor Petrič
Keyword(s):  
Second Language ◽  
Language Processing ◽  
Emotional Processing ◽  
Figurative Language ◽  
Second Language Learners ◽  
Native Speakers ◽  
Emotional Valence ◽  
Large Set ◽  
Language Technology ◽  
Idiomatic Expressions

AbstractIn this paper psycholinguistic and emotional properties of 619 German idiomatic expressions are explored. The list of idiomatic expressions has been adapted from Citron et al. (2015), who have used it with German native speakers. In our study the same idioms were evaluated by Slovene learners of German as a foreign language. Our participants rated each idiom for emotional valence, emotional arousal, familiarity, concreteness, ambiguity (literality), semantic transparency and figurativeness. They also had the task to describe the meaning of the German idioms and to rate their confidence about the attributed meaning. The aims of our study were (1) to provide descriptive norms for psycholinguistic and affective properties of a large set of idioms in German as a second language, (2) to explore the relationships between psycholinguistic and affective properties of idioms in German as a second language, and (3) to compare the ratings of the German native speakers studied in Citron et al. (2015) with the ratings of the Slovene second language learners from our study. On one hand, the results of the Slovene participants show many similarities with those of of the German native speakers, on the other hand, they show a slight positivity bias and slightly shallower emotional processing of the German idioms. Our study provides data that could be useful for future studies investigating the role of affect in figurative language in a second language setting (methodology, translation science, language technology).

scholarly journals Transformation of Personal Computers and Mobile Phones into Genetic Diagnostic Systems

2014 ◽  
Vol 86 (18) ◽  
pp. 9236-9241 ◽  
Author(s):  
Faye M. Walker ◽  
Kareem M. Ahmad ◽  
Michael Eisenstein ◽  
H. Tom Soh
Keyword(s):  
Mobile Phones ◽  
Personal Computers ◽  
Diagnostic Systems

scholarly journals On the Analysis of Youth Slang as one of the Subsystems of Modern Russian and English Languages

2019 ◽  
Vol 69 ◽  
pp. 00090
Author(s):  
Svetlana Sheshukova ◽  
Svetlana Lapitskaja ◽  
Elena Proudchenko
Keyword(s):  
Foreign Language ◽  
Native Speakers ◽  
Essential Element ◽  
Listening Skills ◽  
Phrasal Verbs ◽  
Study Materials ◽  
Language Class ◽  
Foreign Countries ◽  
Idiomatic Expressions ◽  
Modern Russian

Slang is an essential element of culture. Learning a foreign language is inextricably linked with the study of the culture of native speakers. Teaching slang, idiomatic expressions and phrasal verbs in foreign language classes contributes to the students' vocabulary, understanding informal speech patterns found in media texts and everyday communication with native speakers, developing speaking and listening skills. As a rule, at a foreign language class, students improve their listening, reading, speaking and writing skills through various study materials. Even with these skills, you can fail to communicate with native speakers, read magazines, watch television programmes and travel to foreign countries. The paper discusses the possibility of teaching slang, idiomatic expressions and phrasal verbs in a foreign language class at a technical university. To substantiate the need to study slang, idiomatic expressions and phrasal verbs, the authors attempted to find out how the youth slang is formed and the reasons for its functioning. Youth slang in modern Russian and English languages has been compared and analyzed.

scholarly journals 136 COMPOSITIONALITY/NON-COMPOSITIONALITY OF IDIOMS: NON-NATIVE SPEAKERS’ CONSTRAINTS TO COMPREHENSION

2016 ◽  
Vol 6 (1) ◽  
pp. 135
Author(s):  
Yvonne Pedria Velasco
Keyword(s):  
Group Performance ◽  
Native Speakers ◽  
College Freshman ◽  
Statistical Relationship ◽  
Validity And Reliability ◽  
Idiom Comprehension ◽  
Significant Difference ◽  
Idiomatic Expressions ◽  
Sample Test ◽  
Native Speakers Of English

<p>Informed by Jackendoff’s (1997) Representational Modularity (RM) Hypothesis which states that, similar to how people make sense of categories, they also systematically make sense of language. This study seeks to discover the way non-native speakers of English negotiate meaning when faced with idiomatic expressions that are modified either by a process of passivization or by a process of quantification; and whether idiom comprehension influence judgments of appropriateness of use of the modified expressions. Employing a researcher-made questionnaire that underwent content validity and reliability tests, the instrument was administered to four college freshman classes from four different higher education institutions. Findings reveal that a significant difference was found between group performance in the passivization and quantification tests through a one-sample test. However, an absence of a statistical relationship between the scores in the test and the participants’ judgment of appropriateness of use (spoken, written, spoken and written) was revealed by the statistical analysis.</p>

Design and Implementation of Multiplatform Mobile-Learning Environment as an Extension of SCORM 2004 Specifications

2010 ◽  
pp. 164-181
Author(s):  
Kiyoshi Nakabayashi
Keyword(s):  
Learning Environment ◽  
Mobile Phones ◽  
Personal Computers ◽  
Adaptive Function ◽  
Server Side ◽  
Learning Content ◽  
Offline Learning ◽  
Application Programming ◽  
Level Of Knowledge ◽  
Common Content

A learner-adaptive self-learning environment has been developed in which both mobile phones and personal computers can be used as client terminals. The learner-adaptive function has been implemented using SCORM 2004 specifications. The specifications were extended to enable offline learning using mobile phones. Because the application-programming environment of mobile phones varies from carrier to carrier, a common content format was specified for the learning content and content-execution mechanisms were developed for each carrier’s environment to maximize content-platform interoperability. The latest learning results achieved by using mobile phones were synchronized with the latest ones on the server-side sequencing engine so that the learner-adaptive function was available from personal computers as well. The system can provide adaptive courses such that the results of a pre-test taken on mobile phones can modify the lecture content on personal computers, fitting them to each learner’s level of knowledge and understanding. The functionality and usability of the system was evaluated through two trial experiments, the first of which involved adult learners and the second with small children and their parents.

scholarly journals SEMIOTIC ANALYSIS OF IDIOMATIC IN THE MAZE RUNNER: THE DEATH CURE MOVIE

2021 ◽  
Vol 6 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-9
Author(s):  
Anisa Alawiyyah ◽  
Ria Saparianingsih ◽  
Nadia Nurul Maulidiyah
Keyword(s):  
Qualitative Research ◽  
Content Analysis ◽  
Cultural Differences ◽  
Native Speakers ◽  
Semiotic Analysis ◽  
Phrasal Verbs ◽  
Idiomatic Expressions ◽  
Descriptive Approach ◽  
The Impact

This research discussed the semiotic analysis of idiomatic expressions found in The Maze Runner: The Death Cure movie by Wess Ball and its impact on English. This research aimed to find idiomatic expressions revealed in the dialogue in the movie; to find the meaning of symbols contained idiomatic expressions in dialogues; to find the impact of semiotic analysis in idiomatic expressions found in movie. In this research, researchers used qualitative research in the type of content analysis using descriptive approach to help the analysis of the data that found in the movie. The researchers looked for idiomatic expressions in the movie and symbols of idiomatic expressions. Finally, researchers reveal the impact of semiotic analysis in idioms found in movie on English. From the results, there are 59 idiom expressions divided into lexemic and sememic idioms. From lexemic idiom found 37 phrasal verbs; 2 irreversible binomials; 10 phrasal compounds; and 1 incorporating verb. From the sememic idiom found 2 idioms of politeness; 1 idiom of detachment; 4 idioms of greeting; and 2 famous quotations idioms. There are 26 symbols from 59 idiom expression in the movie. Its effects on English make students more fluent in English and look like native speakers, add new vocabulary, make students aware of cultural differences in language, and know more about meaning.

scholarly journals Mobile Assisted Language Learning (MALL) – A Brief Survey

2018 ◽  
Vol 2 (2) ◽  
pp. 37-45 ◽  
Author(s):  
Maaruf Ali ◽  
Shayma K. Miraz
Keyword(s):  
Mobile Computing ◽  
Language Learning ◽  
Mobile Devices ◽  
Mobile Phones ◽  
Native Speakers ◽  
Mobile Assisted Language Learning ◽  
Research Article ◽  
Linguistic Ability ◽  
Cellular Mobile

This research article presents a brief survey of language learning applications implemented on mobile computing devices, such as cellular mobile phones. The corpus of the literature show the efficacy and effectiveness of using mobile devices to disseminate, train, retain and improve the linguistic ability of non-native speakers.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document