Approach to Language Learning

2019 ◽  
pp. 1-24
Keyword(s):  
Language Learning ◽  
State Of The Art ◽  
Language Teaching ◽  
The State ◽  
Historical Survey ◽  
Instruction System ◽  
Teaching Community ◽  
Hierarchical Levels ◽  
Theoretical Significance

The idea of approach to language learning has been long developed in linguistic education. The evolution of the concept has resulted in a variety of conceptualized formations acquired or approved by the language teaching community. Being a conventional methodological category, approach is nevertheless subject to equivocal interpretation. The overemphasis of the theoretical significance of the concept entails its estrangement from the procedural dimensions of an instruction system and causes the loss of explicit links connecting approach with subordinate notions of lower hierarchical levels. Further research of the concept implies the development of a well-grounded conception of an integrative type. The main issues considered include established definitions of approach and the contiguous notions of method and technique, the problem of denomination (terminological accuracy), a historical survey of approaches in use, the category of approach in the post-method era, strengths and weaknesses of the state-of-the-art accomplishments, and comprehensiveness or one-sided emphasis (what the concept lacks).

scholarly journals Integrated multiscale biomaterials experiment and modelling: a perspective

2016 ◽  
Vol 6 (1) ◽  
pp. 20150098 ◽  
Author(s):  
Markus J. Buehler ◽  
Guy M. Genin
Keyword(s):  
State Of The Art ◽  
Biological Systems ◽  
The State ◽  
Computational Power ◽  
Multiscale Models ◽  
Predictive Capacity ◽  
Hierarchical Levels ◽  
Challenges And Opportunities

Advances in multiscale models and computational power have enabled a broad toolset to predict how molecules, cells, tissues and organs behave and develop. A key theme in biological systems is the emergence of macroscale behaviour from collective behaviours across a range of length and timescales, and a key element of these models is therefore hierarchical simulation. However, this predictive capacity has far outstripped our ability to validate predictions experimentally, particularly when multiple hierarchical levels are involved. The state of the art represents careful integration of multiscale experiment and modelling, and yields not only validation, but also insights into deformation and relaxation mechanisms across scales. We present here a sampling of key results that highlight both challenges and opportunities for integrated multiscale experiment and modelling in biological systems.

scholarly journals Learning from Interventions Using Hierarchical Policies for Safe Learning

2020 ◽  
Vol 34 (06) ◽  
pp. 10352-10360
Author(s):  
Jing Bi ◽  
Vikas Dhiman ◽  
Tianyou Xiao ◽  
Chenliang Xu
Keyword(s):  
Reaction Time ◽  
State Of The Art ◽  
The State ◽  
Policy Framework ◽  
Asymptotic Performance ◽  
Short Term ◽  
Learning From Demonstrations ◽  
Hierarchical Levels ◽  
Long Term Behavior

Learning from Demonstrations (LfD) via Behavior Cloning (BC) works well on multiple complex tasks. However, a limitation of the typical LfD approach is that it requires expert demonstrations for all scenarios, including those in which the algorithm is already well-trained. The recently proposed Learning from Interventions (LfI) overcomes this limitation by using an expert overseer. The expert overseer only intervenes when it suspects that an unsafe action is about to be taken. Although LfI significantly improves over LfD, the state-of-the-art LfI fails to account for delay caused by the expert's reaction time and only learns short-term behavior. We address these limitations by 1) interpolating the expert's interventions back in time, and 2) by splitting the policy into two hierarchical levels, one that generates sub-goals for the future and another that generates actions to reach those desired sub-goals. This sub-goal prediction forces the algorithm to learn long-term behavior while also being robust to the expert's reaction time. Our experiments show that LfI using sub-goals in a hierarchical policy framework trains faster and achieves better asymptotic performance than typical LfD.

Language learning in a study-abroad context: Research agenda

2018 ◽  
Vol 51 (4) ◽  
pp. 553-566 ◽  
Author(s):  
Naoko Taguchi ◽  
Joseph Collentine
Keyword(s):  
Second Language ◽  
Study Abroad ◽  
Language Learning ◽  
Learning Outcomes ◽  
Research Agenda ◽  
State Of The Art ◽  
The State ◽  
Empirical Methods ◽  
Theoretical Frameworks ◽  
Half Century

Isabelli-García, Bown, Plew & Dewey (forthcoming) presented the ‘state of the art’ in research on language learning abroad. Beginning with Carroll's (1967) claim that ‘time spent abroad is one of the most potent variables’ predicting second language (L2) abilities (p. 137), the scope of study-abroad research has grown multifold in guiding theoretical frameworks, empirical methods, and objects of examination. A half-century of work surveyed in Isabelli-García et al.’s review reveals diverse goals of investigation, ranging from studies focusing on documenting learning outcomes, to studies aiming to unveil the process and nature of learning in a study-abroad context.

Discovering the Past for Yourself

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jukka Tyrkkö
Keyword(s):  
Historical Data ◽  
State Of The Art ◽  
Language Teaching ◽  
Statistical Significance ◽  
The State ◽  
The Past ◽  
History Of ◽  
Digital Pedagogy ◽  
Basic Concepts ◽  
Corpus Tools

This chapter outlines the state of the art in corpus-based language teaching and digital pedagogy, focusing on the differences between using corpora with present-day and historical data. The basic concepts of corpus-based research such as representativeness, frequency, and statistical significance can be introduced to students who are new to corpus methods, and the application of these concepts to the history of English can deepen students’ understanding of how historical varieties of the language are researched. This chapter will also address some of the key challenges particular to teaching the history of English using corpora, such as dealing with the seemingly counterintuitive findings, non-standard features, and small datasets. Finally, following an overview of available historical corpora and corpus tools, several practical examples of corpus-driven activities will be discussed in detail, with suggestions and ideas on how a teacher might prepare and run corpus-based lessons.

scholarly journals Editor's note

2008 ◽  
Vol 41 (4) ◽  
pp. i-i
Keyword(s):  
Language Learning ◽  
State Of The Art ◽  
Language Teaching ◽  
Foreign Languages ◽  
Teaching Literature ◽  
Learning And Teaching ◽  
Comparative Review ◽  
Language And Literature ◽  
Definition Of ◽  
Positive Outlook

In his state-of-the-art review Amos Paran presents a very positive outlook on the use of literature in language teaching and suggests that in EFL, at last, there has been a move towards integrating language and literature. Reviewing recent research on reading, learning, and teaching literature in a variety of foreign languages, he focuses on the definition of literature, the language of literature, and on textbooks, and looks at emerging research in this area. Principled evidence is emerging which shows the benefits of using literature; this has much to offer language learning, as it combines attention to meaning with attention to form. The paper is accompanied by a comparative review of books by Heather Hewitt.

The Cambridge Guide to Pedagogy and Practice in Second Language Teaching

2012 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Language Learning ◽  
State Of The Art ◽  
Language Teaching ◽  
Teaching Methodology ◽  
Technology In The Classroom ◽  
Second Language Teaching ◽  
Large Classes ◽  
Key Issues ◽  
Key Topics ◽  
Pedagogical Approaches

This collection of original articles provides a state-of-the-art overview of key issues and approaches in contemporary language teaching. Written by internationally prominent researchers, educators, and emerging scholars, the chapters are grouped into five sections: rethinking our understanding of teaching, learner diversity and classroom learning, pedagogical approaches and practices, components of the curriculum, and media and materials. Each chapter covers key topics in teaching methodology such as reflective pedagogy, teaching large classes, outcomes-based language learning, speaking instruction, and technology in the classroom. Chapters assume no particular background knowledge and are written in an accessible style.

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