scholarly journals perception of the glottal fricative /h/ in onset position by Brazilian learners of English as a foreign language

2018 ◽  
Vol 3 (2) ◽  
pp. 48-71
Author(s):  
Karine Pinto Manfé ◽  
Paola Gabriella Biehl ◽  
Sidnei Werner Woelfer ◽  
Rosane Silveira
Keyword(s):  
Pilot Study ◽  
Foreign Language ◽  
Brazilian Portuguese ◽  
Production Task ◽  
Positive Correlation ◽  
Perception Task

In this study, we departed from the assumption that Brazilian Portuguese (BP) speakers of English have the tendency to mispronounce the English retroflex /?/ as the glottal fricative /h/. With the use of a Picture Elicitation L1 Production Task, a Background Questionnaire and an L2 Transcription Perception Task, the following was investigated: (1) Participants’ L1 rhotic production variations in onset position, and possible Cross Linguistic Influence of these productions in their perception of the English glottal fricative /h/; and (2) Participants’ experience with the TL and its correlation with their perception of the English glottal fricative /h/. 13 learners participated in the pilot study and 15 in the experiment. All of them were BP learners of English in different learning levels, with ages ranging from 26 to 42 years old. The data obtained revealed that all of them produced L1 rhotics as glottal fricatives, and more than 70% of them transcribed the words beginning with <h> using <r>. Moreover, results showed that there is a positive correlation between experience with the L2 and correct perception of TL glottal fricative as a rhotic in onset position.

scholarly journals The Acquisition of Parameters for Word Stress Production and Perception among Iraqi EFL Learners: A Pilot Study

2016 ◽  
Vol 5 (1) ◽  
pp. 22
Author(s):  
Zainab A. Ali ◽  
Alias Abd Ghani
Keyword(s):  
Pilot Study ◽  
Foreign Language ◽  
Production Test ◽  
Production Task ◽  
Efl Learners ◽  
Perception Task ◽  
Word Stress ◽  
Stress Placement

<div><p><em>This study investigates the acquisition of the parameters of word stress production and perception by 10 Iraqi learners of English as a foreign language (EFL)</em><em>. It aims at investigating Iraqi learners’ difficulties in resetting the parameters of word stress production and perception in L2. Two experiments are conducted to test the learners’ production and perception of word stress in isolation and in sentences. The first experiment is the production test and the second one is the perception test. The learners’ responses of word stress in both experimental tasks are elicited manually and analysed according to [7]</em><em> model of metrical parameters</em><em>   which is used </em><em>to investigate</em><em> the acquisition of parameters of word stress production and perception by Iraqi learners</em><em>. The findings</em><em> reveal that </em><em>Iraqi EFL learners are able to reset the parameters of L2 but even though they failed in resetting all the parameters completely. Besides, the learners used more ranking level kinds of the parameters in the perception task than in the production task which may cause Iraqi learners assign wrongly the word stress placement.</em></p></div>

Under- and Over-Estimation

2011 ◽  
Vol 58 (1) ◽  
pp. 39-49 ◽  
Author(s):  
Virginie Crollen ◽  
Julie Castronovo ◽  
Xavier Seron
Keyword(s):  
Empirical Data ◽  
Accurate Estimation ◽  
Numerical Estimation ◽  
Production Task ◽  
Estimation Task ◽  
Reproduction Task ◽  
Perception Task ◽  
Adult Participants ◽  
Mapping Hypothesis ◽  
Task Perception

Over the last 30 years, numerical estimation has been largely studied. Recently, Castronovo and Seron (2007) proposed the bi-directional mapping hypothesis in order to account for the finding that dependent on the type of estimation task (perception vs. production of numerosities), reverse patterns of performance are found (i.e., under- and over-estimation, respectively). Here, we further investigated this hypothesis by submitting adult participants to three types of numerical estimation task: (1) a perception task, in which participants had to estimate the numerosity of a non-symbolic collection; (2) a production task, in which participants had to approximately produce the numerosity of a symbolic numerical input; and (3) a reproduction task, in which participants had to reproduce the numerosity of a non-symbolic numerical input. Our results gave further support to the finding that different patterns of performance are found according to the type of estimation task: (1) under-estimation in the perception task; (2) over-estimation in the production task; and (3) accurate estimation in the reproduction task. Moreover, correlation analyses revealed that the more a participant under-estimated in the perception task, the more he/she over-estimated in the production task. We discussed these empirical data by showing how they can be accounted by the bi-directional mapping hypothesis ( Castronovo & Seron, 2007 ).

scholarly journals WYMOGI WSPÓŁCZESNEGO RYNKU PRACY W ODNIESIENIU DO KOMPETENCJI ABSOLWENTÓW KIERUNKÓW HUMANISTYCZNYCH

Neofilolog ◽  
2019 ◽  
pp. 43-57
Author(s):  
Magdalena Dańko ◽  
Ewa Wieszczeczyńska
Keyword(s):  
Pilot Study ◽  
Foreign Language ◽  
New Technologies ◽  
Foreign Languages ◽  
General Knowledge ◽  
Knowledge And Skills ◽  
Language Knowledge ◽  
Specialized Language ◽  
Personal Competencies ◽  
Lower Silesia

This paper presents the results of a pilot study conducted in 60 selected companies located in Wrocław and Lower Silesia. The main objective of the study was to get information about prospective employers’ expectations of graduates of humanities with foreign language knowledge and skills, should those companies decide to employ them. It was found that according to employers social and personal competencies are as important as skills in using specialized language and new technologies. Preferred are graduates who are fluent in two foreign languages (English and German) and who have extensive general knowledge.

scholarly journals Exploring content selection strategies for Multilingual Multi-Document Summarization based on the Universal Network Language (UNL)

2017 ◽  
Vol 26 (1) ◽  
pp. 45 ◽  
Author(s):  
Matheus Rigobelo Chaud ◽  
Ariani Di Felippo
Keyword(s):  
Foreign Language ◽  
Brazilian Portuguese ◽  
Statistical Measure ◽  
Document Summarization ◽  
Content Selection ◽  
Selection Strategies ◽  
Multilingual Corpus ◽  
Universal Network ◽  
Network Language

Multilingual Multi-Document Summarization aims at ranking the sentences of a cluster with (at least) 2 news texts (1 in the user’s language and 1 in a foreign language), and select the top-ranked sentences for a summary in the user’s language. We explored three concept-based statistics and one superficial strategy for sentence ranking. We used a bilingual corpus (Brazilian Portuguese-English) encoded in UNL (Universal Network Language) with source and summary sentences aligned based on content overlap. Our experiment shows that “concept frequency normalized by the number of concepts in the sentence” is the measure that best ranks the sentences selected by humans. However, it does not outperform the superficial strategy based on the position of the sentences in the texts. This indicates that the most frequent concepts are not always contained in first sentences, usually selected by humans to build the summaries because they convey the main information of the collection.Keywords: content selection; concept; statistical measure; multilingual corpus; multi-document summarization.

scholarly journals Task and L1 effects

2019 ◽  
Vol 8 (1) ◽  
pp. 24-40
Author(s):  
Paz González ◽  
Tim Diaubalick
Keyword(s):  
Pilot Study ◽  
Multiple Choice ◽  
Individual Variability ◽  
Task Type ◽  
Choice Task ◽  
Production Task ◽  
Experimental Task ◽  
L2 Learners

Abstract Research on tense-aspect phenomena has shown that the type of experimental task can affect the performance of L2 learners. This pilot study on the understudied language combination Dutch-Spanish investigates this issue by focusing on the interaction between known affecting variables (inherent aspect; L1 effects) and different tasks (multiple-choice, fill-in-the-blanks, free production). First findings show that, indeed, both task type and L1 have an influence on the outcome. Generally, Dutch learners seem to prefer the Imperfect over the Preterit. This stands in contrast to previous research but can be explained by the imperfective features of the Dutch Simple Past with which the learners associate the L2 forms. Whereas this L1 effect is not visible in the multiple-choice task where the choice is forced, it manifests itself in tasks where students can choose freely between forms they know. Especially in the free production task, the L1 effect interacts with a high individual variability.

Influence of Emotional Content and Perceived Relevance on Spread of Urban Legends: A Pilot Study

2008 ◽  
Vol 102 (2) ◽  
pp. 623-629 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ellen M. Cotter
Keyword(s):  
Pilot Study ◽  
Significant Positive Correlation ◽  
Emotional Content ◽  
Strongly Correlated ◽  
Local Component ◽  
Positive Correlation ◽  
Urban Legends ◽  
Perceived Relevance ◽  
Local Connection

This study examined factors thought to be associated with the spread of urban legends. 62 participants (84% female, 65% white, M age = 22 yr.) read 15 urban legends, 3 of which had a stated local component, and rated various characteristics of each legend, including how scary it was, how believable it was, and how likely the participants would be to tell it to someone else. As predicted, both a high fear rating and a high believability rating were positively correlated with the reported intent to tell (p60 = .41, p<.0001 and p60 = .67, p<.02, respectively). There was also a significant positive correlation between familiarity and intent to tell (p60 = .22, p< .0001); however, presence of a local connection was not strongly correlated with intent to tell. It is possible that the local stories were less believable because they all involved ghosts.

Foreign language anxiety in relation to affective variables

2018 ◽  
Vol 41 (3) ◽  
pp. 328-348 ◽  
Author(s):  
Min Jung Jee
Keyword(s):  
Foreign Language ◽  
Risk Taking ◽  
Self Efficacy ◽  
Public University ◽  
Language Anxiety ◽  
Foreign Language Anxiety ◽  
Positive Correlation ◽  
Affective Variables

Abstract This study investigated Korean-as-a-foreign-language (KFL) students’ foreign language anxiety (FLA) in relation to five affective variables (i.e., unwillingness to communicate, classroom risk-taking, classroom sociability, motivation, and self-efficacy) as well as to self-rated Korean proficiency. One hundred and fifty-two KFL students who were enrolled in Korean classes in a large public university in Australia completed survey items for the study. Overall, KFL students in Australia showed moderate levels of anxiety (M = 2.79) and unwillingness to communicate (M = 2.58). Additionally, their levels of motivation (M = 3.92) and self-efficacy (M = 3.41) were high. Five affective variables were proven to be significantly related with FLA: a positive correlation between FLA and unwillingness to communicate; and negative correlations between FLA and classroom risk-taking, classroom sociability, motivation and self-efficacy. Among the variables, self-efficacy and self-rated overall Korean proficiency were found to be the best predictors of FLA.

scholarly journals Acceptance of Sexual Interest in Minors in Self-Referred Individuals Under Treatment – An Exploratory Pilot Study

2021 ◽  
Vol 12 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ute Lampalzer ◽  
Safiye Tozdan ◽  
Fritjof von Franqué ◽  
Peer Briken
Keyword(s):  
Sexual Abuse ◽  
Pilot Study ◽  
Sexual Desire ◽  
Sexual Interest ◽  
Child Pornography ◽  
Self Report ◽  
Motivation To Change ◽  
Positive Correlation ◽  
Dynamic Risk ◽  
Adolescent Sexual Abuse

Some therapists/scientists argue that “acceptance” of sexual interest in minors (SIM), i.e., the integration of the sexual preference into the individual self-concept, is a prerequisite for dealing with SIM in a responsible way. However, if one assumes that – even in some persons – SIM might change over time, “acceptance” could also run counter to therapeutic targets because the motivation to change as well as the specific self-efficacy for modifying SIM might be reduced. This exploratory pilot study analyzes the relationship between acceptance of SIM and (1) dynamic risk for contact sexual reoffending, (2) SIM and frequency of the use of child/adolescent (sexual abuse) imagery, (3) frequency of sexual desire/behavior toward children/adolescents, and (4) the change of the level of acceptance of SIM during the course of treatment. The majority of the participants (N = 79) was not exclusively interested in children (85%) and used child pornography but did not commit child sexual abuse (54%). Acceptance of SIM, frequency of the use of child/adolescent (sexual abuse) imagery and frequency of sexual desire/behavior toward children/adolescents are assessed via self-report questionnaires, dynamic risk for contact sexual reoffending is measured by STABLE-2007. Pretreatment data are analyzed via Spearman’s correlation (N = 79). Intragroup analysis compares acceptance of SIM from pre- and posttreatment (n = 35). There was no correlation between acceptance of SIM and dynamic risk for contact sexual reoffending. However, there was a medium, positive correlation between acceptance of SIM and the frequency of the use of legal imagery of children, a positive correlation between the item “My inclination is an integral part of my personality” and the frequency of the use of legal imagery of children, and a positive correlation between acceptance of SIM and the frequency of sexual activities with minors. Acceptance of SIM did not change during the course of treatment. The results suggest that “acceptance” of SIM has to be discussed in a differentiated way, i.e., as possibly being associated with positive and negative outcomes as well.

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