scholarly journals What Can We Tell from These Temporal Measures? Temporal Measures as Indices of Oral Proficiency

2008 ◽  
Vol 1 (2) ◽  
pp. 21
Author(s):  
Binhong Wang
Keyword(s):  
English Proficiency ◽  
Weak Link ◽  
American University ◽  
English Teaching ◽  
Spoken English ◽  
Temporal Variables ◽  
Oral Speech ◽  
International Teaching ◽  
Temporal Measures ◽  
The U.S

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 4pt; line-height: 12pt; mso-line-height-rule: exactly;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;" lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;">Oral English teaching has long been a weak link in the science universities in China, let alone the research on oral English test by quantitative method. Therefore, OEPT in the U.S. sheds enlightening light on the spoken English teaching and researching in China. OEPT (Oral English Proficiency Test) is a spoken English test aimed to assess the oral English proficiency of prospective international teaching assistants in the U.S. In the past few years, temporal variables as indices of oral English proficiency to analyze examinees’ oral speech were explored and studied at a large Mid-western American university. Based on the descriptive statistics of the selected temporal variables, this paper aims to give an interpretation of the figures obtained by OEPT data in order to get enlightening implications on spoken English teaching in China. </span></span></p>

Empirical profiles of academic oral English proficiency from an international teaching assistant screening test

2016 ◽  
Vol 34 (1) ◽  
pp. 49-82 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ikkyu Choi
Keyword(s):  
Training Program ◽  
Language Proficiency ◽  
Screening Test ◽  
English Proficiency ◽  
Subscale Score ◽  
Screening Tests ◽  
Policy Makers ◽  
Spoken English ◽  
International Teaching Assistant ◽  
International Teaching

Language proficiency constitutes a crucial barrier for prospective international teaching assistants (ITAs). Many US universities administer screening tests to ensure that ITAs possess the required academic oral English proficiency for their TA duties. Such ITA screening tests often elicit a sample of spoken English, which is evaluated in terms of multiple aspects by trained raters. In this light, ITA screening tests provide an advantageous context in which to gather rich information about test taker performances. This study introduces a systematic way of extracting meaningful information for major stakeholders from an ITA screening test administered at a US university. In particular, this study illustrates how academic oral English proficiency profiles can be identified based on test takers’ subscale score patterns, and discusses how the resulting profiles can be used as feedback for ITA training and screening policy makers, the ITA training program of the university, ESL instructors, and test takers. The proficiency profiles were identified using finite mixture modeling based on the subscale scores of 960 test takers. The modeling results suggested seven profile groups. These groups were interpreted and labeled based on the characteristic subscale score patterns of their members. The implications of the results are discussed, with the main focus on how such information can help ITA policy makers, the ITA training program, ESL instructors, and test takers make important decisions.

Long Journey to a Huge Country

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Etsuko Takushi Crissey
Keyword(s):  
English Proficiency ◽  
Living Standards ◽  
Okinawa Island ◽  
The Family ◽  
Hollywood Movies ◽  
The U.S

Arriving in the U.S., women interviewed recalled worrying about leaving their parents and lacking English proficiency. They were impressed with the continent’s size compared to Okinawa Island and with America’s affluence. Yet some were disappointed that their husbands’ living standards fell short of what they’d seen in Hollywood movies. During the late 1940s and early 1950s women struggling to survive and support their children in Okinawa went into black marketing of commodities from Army post exchanges. One interviewee married the soldier who had been supplying her. When asked what had initially attracted them to their husbands, one woman recalled that, while she had hated Americans after the war, the soldiers she met impressed her with the courteous, gentle, and caring attitude they displayed toward women. Another remembered Americans as neatly groomed, smelling of soap, and well dressed in crisply starched uniforms. Some parents vehemently opposed their daughters’ marriages, even threatening to beat or disown them. But they later relented with the birth of their grandchildren, offering material and moral support to the family. As of 2010 there were at least thirty-eight Okinawa prefectural associations in the U.S., most founded by the wives of American soldiers they had met in Okinawa.

Temporal Characteristics of Aerodynamic Segments in the Speech of Children and Adults

2002 ◽  
Vol 39 (4) ◽  
pp. 432-438 ◽  
Author(s):  
David J. Zajac ◽  
Alyssa M. Hackett
Keyword(s):  
Older Children ◽  
Total N ◽  
Temporal Characteristics ◽  
Temporal Variables ◽  
Coefficients Of Variation ◽  
Secondary Objective ◽  
Temporal Measures ◽  
Main Effects ◽  
Normal Speech ◽  
Age And Sex

Objectives The primary purpose of this study was to determine the temporal characteristics of aerodynamic segments in the normal speech of children and adults without cleft palate. A secondary objective was to determine the withinspeaker variability of the segments. Method Speakers consisted of 46 children aged 6 to 8 years, 41 older children aged 11 to 12 years, and 41 adults aged 18 to 37 years (total n = 128) who repeated the word “hamper” during continuous utterances. The pressure-flow method was used to determine the duration of six segments of the oral air pressure and nasal airflow pulses associated with the /mp/ sequence. Descriptive statistics, including coefficients of variation (COV), were computed for each segment as a function of age and sex of the speakers. Analysis of variance (ANOVA) procedures were used to determine the effects of age, sex, or both on the temporal variables. Results ANOVAs indicated statistically significant main effects (p < .008) for age on five of the six temporal measures and for sex on three of the six measures. Five of the six COVs were also statistically significant for age. There were no statistically significant interactions between speaker age and sex for any measure. Conclusions The results indicate distinct patterns of timing for aerodynamic segments of speech produced by children and adults. Overall, adults exhibited less temporal variability than children. The generally longer and more variable segments produced by children suggest diagnostic and treatment implications relative to speakers with velopharyngeal dysfunction.

scholarly journals The power of language-concordant care: a call to action for medical schools

2019 ◽  
Vol 19 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Rose L. Molina ◽  
Jennifer Kasper
Keyword(s):  
Global Health ◽  
Health Outcomes ◽  
Health Equity ◽  
Limited English Proficiency ◽  
English Proficiency ◽  
Medical Schools ◽  
Dental Students ◽  
Language Concordance ◽  
The World ◽  
The U.S

Abstract We live in a world of incredible linguistic diversity; nearly 7000 languages are spoken globally and at least 350 are spoken in the United States. Language-concordant care enhances trust between patients and physicians, optimizes health outcomes, and advances health equity for diverse populations. However, historical and contemporary trauma have impaired trust between communities of color, including immigrants with limited English proficiency, and physicians in the U.S. Threats to informed consent among patients with limited English proficiency persist today. Language concordance has been shown to improve care and serves as a window to broader social determinants of health that disproportionately yield worse health outcomes among patients with limited English proficiency. Language concordance is also relevant for medical students engaged in health care around the world. Global health experiences among medical and dental students have quadrupled in the last 30 years. Yet, language proficiency and skills to address cultural aspects of clinical care, research and education are lacking in pre-departure trainings. We call on medical schools to increase opportunities for medical language courses and integrate them into the curriculum with evidence-based teaching strategies, content about health equity, and standardized language assessments. The languages offered should reflect the needs of the patient population both where the medical school is located and where the school is engaged globally. Key content areas should include how to conduct a history and physical exam; relevant health inequities that commonly affect patients who speak different languages; cultural sensitivity and humility, particularly around beliefs and practices that affect health and wellbeing; and how to work in language-discordant encounters with interpreters and other modalities. Rigorous language assessment is necessary to ensure equity in communication before allowing students or physicians to use their language skills in clinical encounters. Lastly, global health activities in medical schools should assess for language needs and competency prior to departure. By professionalizing language competency in medical schools, we can improve patients’ trust in individual physicians and the profession as a whole; improve patient safety and health outcomes; and advance health equity for those we care for and collaborate with in the U.S. and around the world.

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