Changing Informal Language Learning Networks in a Gulf Arab Community

This article provides a qualitative inquiry into the influences of immediate family members (i.e. parents and siblings) on a group of Gulf Arab EFL students regarding their language learning experiences and strategy use in their Arab homelands. The participants came from financially comfortable families, with different levels of education. The data collected from a written narrative and four subsequent semi-structured interviews suggest that the occupation and educational attainment of the participants’ family figures (mostly parents) affected the amount and kind of support these families offered to the participants while learning English. Less educated parents involved themselves indirectly in their children’s English language learning, and their involvement appeared at a late stage in the participants’ academic lives in the form of emotional and/or financial support. The language learning strategies (LLSs) used by these participants were mainly exam-oriented. Conversely, higher educated parents contributed to enabling their children to enact their desired future self-images confidently as English speakers from the beginning, for example by sending them to well-resourced private educational establishments throughout their education. From this qualitative study, pedagogical implications as well as areas for ongoing research are suggested.

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PLE & PLN FOR LANGUAGE LEARNING AND TEACHING: A CASE STUDY

International Journal for 21st Century Education ◽

10.21071/ij21ce.v3i2.5853 ◽

2016 ◽

Vol 3 (2) ◽

pp. 35

Author(s):

LETIZIA CINGANOTTO ◽

DANIELA CUCCURULLO

Keyword(s):

Language Learning ◽

Learning Environments ◽

Learning Networks ◽

Personal Learning Networks ◽

Learning And Teaching ◽

Personal Learning ◽

Personal Learning Environments ◽

Formación Permanente

Los recientes desarrollos de las tecnologías de aprendizaje están facilitando un cambio significativo en la experiencia formativa. El objetivo de este trabajo es explorar el potencial de los PLE (Personal Learning Environments) y de los PLN (Personal Learning Networks) a través de la descripción de un caso de estudio sobre una iniciativa de formación online: una respuesta innovadora a la gestión integrada de la "formación permanente" para la enseñanza de idiomas. El caso de estudio se refiere a una iniciativa online desarrollada a nivel internacional en 2012 y dirigida a profesores, formadores y educadores de todo el mundo, apasionados del aprendizaje de idiomas, utilizando tecnologías. Los autores planearon y moderaron una prueba de cinco semanas durante el "EVO 2012" (Electronic Village Online), ofreciendo una oportunidad libre para discutir y compartir ideas, prácticas y experiencias gracias a encuentros sincronizados en la plataforma Moodle, a través de videoconferencias con expertos internacionales y herramientas de trabajo asíncronos. El objetivo principal fue promover la conciencia de este tema, acompañando a profesorado y formadores en la explotación de las potencialidades de los PLE y de los PLN en clases de inglés para fines específicos (EFL en sus siglas en inglés).

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Is Social Software a New Mode of Second-Language Learning in the Information Age?

Journal of Education Culture and Society ◽

10.15503/jecs20132.116.123 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 4 (2) ◽

pp. 116-123

Author(s):

H. B. PATEL

Keyword(s):

Social Media ◽

Language Learning ◽

Social Life ◽

Social Software ◽

Modern World ◽

Learning Networks ◽

Personal Learning ◽

School Activities ◽

The Matrix ◽

Basic Characteristics

The basic characteristics of social media mirror much of the rhetoric and thinking aro-und educational reform in the modern world context. The basic cultural relevance of social media to young people enables them to learn how to bring their social life into the matrix of school activities. It also provides young learners with different audiences for different activities. Today, social media are probably the critical component in enabling individuals, both teachers and learners, to construct their own personal learning networks. Joining, building, growing and managing digital communities, whether relatively open or relatively closed, enables teachers and learners to connect with others with similar interests and to learn from other participants in those communities.

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Systematic Modification of Parental Input to Train Language Symbols

Language Speech and Hearing Services in Schools ◽

10.1044/0161-1461.1201.04 ◽

1981 ◽

Vol 12 (1) ◽

pp. 4-12 ◽

Cited By ~ 6

Author(s):

Barbara Culatta ◽

Donna Horn

Keyword(s):

Language Learning ◽

Meaningful Use ◽

Hearing Impaired ◽

Specific Language ◽

Parental Input ◽

Language Exposure ◽

Therapy Sessions ◽

Impaired Children ◽

Hearing Impaired Children ◽

At Home

This study attempted to maximize environmental language learning for four hearing-impaired children. The children's mothers were systematically trained to present specific language symbols to their children at home. An increase in meaningful use of these words was observed during therapy sessions. In addition, as the mothers began to generalize the language exposure strategies, an increase was observed in the children's use of words not specifically identified by the clinician as targets.

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Analyzing the Potential Benefit of Microcomputer Use for Teaching Figurative Language

American Journal of Speech-Language Pathology ◽

10.1044/1058-0360.0102.36 ◽

1992 ◽

Vol 1 (2) ◽

pp. 36-43 ◽

Cited By ~ 5

Author(s):

Marilyn A. Nippold ◽

Ilsa E. Schwarz ◽

Molly Lewis

Keyword(s):

Language Learning ◽

Children And Adolescents ◽

Standardized Tests ◽

Figurative Language ◽

Language Intervention ◽

School Age Children ◽

Educational Materials ◽

Language Learning Disabilities ◽

Promising Application ◽

Experience Difficulty

Microcomputers offer the potential for increasing the effectiveness of language intervention for school-age children and adolescents who have language-learning disabilities. One promising application is in the treatment of students who experience difficulty comprehending figurative expressions, an aspect of language that occurs frequently in both spoken and written contexts. Although software is available to teach figurative language to children and adolescents, it is our feeling that improvements are needed in the existing programs. Software should be reviewed carefully before it is used with students, just as standardized tests and other clinical and educational materials are routinely scrutinized before use. In this article, four microcomputer programs are described and evaluated. Suggestions are then offered for the development of new types of software to teach figurative language.

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Vocal Communications of a Developmentally Delayed Child

Language Speech and Hearing Services in Schools ◽

10.1044/0161-1461.1802.112 ◽

1987 ◽

Vol 18 (2) ◽

pp. 112-130

Author(s):

Mary Ann Romski ◽

Sharon Ellis Joyner ◽

Rose A. Sevcik

Keyword(s):

Language Learning ◽

Developmental Delays ◽

Developmentally Delayed ◽

Language Impaired ◽

Diary Data ◽

Word Acquisition ◽

Diary Studies ◽

Usage Patterns ◽

Vocal Communications ◽

Impaired Children

Studies of first-word acquisition in typical language-learning children frequently take the form of diary studies. Comparable diary data from language-impaired children with developmental delays, however, are not currently available. This report describes the spontaneous vocalizations of a child with a developmental delay for 14 months, from the time he was age 6:5 to age 7:7. From a corpus of 285 utterances, 47 phonetic forms were identified and categorized. Analysis focused on semantic, communicative, and phonological usage patterns.

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Comparative Effects of High-Tech Visual Scene Displays and Low-Tech Isolated Picture Symbols on Engagement From Students With Multiple Disabilities

Language Speech and Hearing Services in Schools ◽

10.1044/2019_lshss-19-0007 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 50 (4) ◽

pp. 693-702 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Christine Holyfield ◽

Sydney Brooks ◽

Allison Schluterman

Keyword(s):

Language Learning ◽

Augmentative And Alternative Communication ◽

Visual Analysis ◽

Multiple Disabilities ◽

Visual Scene ◽

Future Research ◽

High Tech ◽

Single Subject ◽

Wide Range ◽

The Difference

Purpose Augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) is an intervention approach that can promote communication and language in children with multiple disabilities who are beginning communicators. While a wide range of AAC technologies are available, little is known about the comparative effects of specific technology options. Given that engagement can be low for beginning communicators with multiple disabilities, the current study provides initial information about the comparative effects of 2 AAC technology options—high-tech visual scene displays (VSDs) and low-tech isolated picture symbols—on engagement. Method Three elementary-age beginning communicators with multiple disabilities participated. The study used a single-subject, alternating treatment design with each technology serving as a condition. Participants interacted with their school speech-language pathologists using each of the 2 technologies across 5 sessions in a block randomized order. Results According to visual analysis and nonoverlap of all pairs calculations, all 3 participants demonstrated more engagement with the high-tech VSDs than the low-tech isolated picture symbols as measured by their seconds of gaze toward each technology option. Despite the difference in engagement observed, there was no clear difference across the 2 conditions in engagement toward the communication partner or use of the AAC. Conclusions Clinicians can consider measuring engagement when evaluating AAC technology options for children with multiple disabilities and should consider evaluating high-tech VSDs as 1 technology option for them. Future research must explore the extent to which differences in engagement to particular AAC technologies result in differences in communication and language learning over time as might be expected.

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Deficits in Explicit Language Problem Solving Rather Than in Implicit Learning in Specific Language Impairment: Evidence From Learning an Artificial Morphological Rule

Journal of Speech Language and Hearing Research ◽

10.1044/2019_jslhr-l-17-0140 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 62 (10) ◽

pp. 3790-3807 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

Sara Ferman ◽

Liat Kishon-Rabin ◽

Hila Ganot-Budaga ◽

Avi Karni

Keyword(s):

Language Learning ◽

Language Impairment ◽

Specific Language Impairment ◽

Explicit Knowledge ◽

Procedural Memory ◽

Procedural Learning ◽

Specific Language ◽

Language Problems ◽

Morphological Rule ◽

Semantic Distinction

Purpose The purpose of this study was to delineate differences between children with specific language impairment (SLI), typical age–matched (TAM) children, and typical younger (TY) children in learning and mastering an undisclosed artificial morphological rule (AMR) through exposure and usage. Method Twenty-six participants (eight 10-year-old children with SLI, 8 TAM children, and ten 8-year-old TY children) were trained to master an AMR across multiple training sessions. The AMR required a phonological transformation of verbs depending on a semantic distinction: whether the preceding noun was animate or inanimate. All participants practiced the application of the AMR to repeated and new (generalization) items, via judgment and production tasks. Results The children with SLI derived significantly less benefit from practice than their peers in learning most aspects of the AMR, even exhibiting smaller gains compared to the TY group in some aspects. Children with SLI benefited less than TAM and even TY children from training to judge and produce repeated items of the AMR. Nevertheless, despite a significant disadvantage in baseline performance, the rate at which they mastered the task-specific phonological regularities was as robust as that of their peers. On the other hand, like 8-year-olds, only half of the SLI group succeeded in uncovering the nature of the AMR and, consequently, in generalizing it to new items. Conclusions Children with SLI were able to learn language aspects that rely on implicit, procedural learning, but experienced difficulties in learning aspects that relied on the explicit uncovering of the semantic principle of the AMR. The results suggest that some of the difficulties experienced by children with SLI when learning a complex language regularity cannot be accounted for by a broad, language-related, procedural memory disability. Rather, a deficit—perhaps a developmental delay in the ability to recruit and solve language problems and establish explicit knowledge regarding a language task—can better explain their difficulties in language learning.

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