Toward a Decolonizing Framework for Equity-Oriented English Language Teacher Education

In this article I critically review the current literature on English language teaching (elt), (neo)colonialism, and empire to advance a decolonizing framework for equity-oriented English language teacher education (elte). This framework first argues that teachers should be supported to understand and confront linguistic imperialism of the English empire to promote plurilingual approaches to elt while developing students’ critical awareness of power. Second, it contends that instead of asking elt professionals to apply Western centered pedagogies that are often ill-suited to their local instructional realities, they should be supported to develop their own praxis. Third, it calls for disrupting epistemological racism to reclaim local knowledge. Lastly, it emphasizes the need to unsettle colonial ontology of white supremacy and native-speakerism that render teachers of color and nonnative English speakers (nnes) as perpetual Others. The article concludes with a call for action to prepare language teachers to disrupt racism, (neo)colonialism, and inequality through their praxis.

Predicting Health Material Accessibility: Development of Machine Learning Algorithms

Background Current health information understandability research uses medical readability formulas to assess the cognitive difficulty of health education resources. This is based on an implicit assumption that medical domain knowledge represented by uncommon words or jargon form the sole barriers to health information access among the public. Our study challenged this by showing that, for readers from non-English speaking backgrounds with higher education attainment, semantic features of English health texts that underpin the knowledge structure of English health texts, rather than medical jargon, can explain the cognitive accessibility of health materials among readers with better understanding of English health terms yet limited exposure to English-based health education environments and traditions. Objective Our study explores multidimensional semantic features for developing machine learning algorithms to predict the perceived level of cognitive accessibility of English health materials on health risks and diseases for young adults enrolled in Australian tertiary institutes. We compared algorithms to evaluate the cognitive accessibility of health information for nonnative English speakers with advanced education levels yet limited exposure to English health education environments. Methods We used 113 semantic features to measure the content complexity and accessibility of original English resources. Using 1000 English health texts collected from Australian and international health organization websites rated by overseas tertiary students, we compared machine learning (decision tree, support vector machine [SVM], ensemble tree, and logistic regression) after hyperparameter optimization (grid search for the best hyperparameter combination of minimal classification errors). We applied 10-fold cross-validation on the whole data set for the model training and testing, and calculated the area under the operating characteristic curve (AUC), sensitivity, specificity, and accuracy as the measurement of the model performance. Results We developed and compared 4 machine learning algorithms using multidimensional semantic features as predictors. The results showed that ensemble tree (LogitBoost) outperformed in terms of AUC (0.97), sensitivity (0.966), specificity (0.972), and accuracy (0.969). Decision tree (AUC 0.924, sensitivity 0.912, specificity 0.9358, and accuracy 0.924) and SVM (AUC 0.8946, sensitivity 0.8952, specificity 0.894, and accuracy 0.8946) followed closely. Decision tree, ensemble tree, and SVM achieved statistically significant improvement over logistic regression in AUC, specificity, and accuracy. As the best performing algorithm, ensemble tree reached statistically significant improvement over SVM in AUC, specificity, and accuracy, and statistically significant improvement over decision tree in sensitivity. Conclusions Our study shows that cognitive accessibility of English health texts is not limited to word length and sentence length as had been conventionally measured by medical readability formulas. We compared machine learning algorithms based on semantic features to explore the cognitive accessibility of health information for nonnative English speakers. The results showed the new models reached statistically increased AUC, sensitivity, and accuracy to predict health resource accessibility for the target readership. Our study illustrated that semantic features such as cognitive ability–related semantic features, communicative actions and processes, power relationships in health care settings, and lexical familiarity and diversity of health texts are large contributors to the comprehension of health information; for readers such as international students, semantic features of health texts outweigh syntax and domain knowledge.

Seeing a Phrase " Time and Again" Matters: The Role of Phrasal Frequency in the Processing of Multiword Sequences

Are speakers sensitive to the frequency with which phrases occur in language? The authors report an eye-tracking study that investigates this by examining the processing of multiword sequences that differ in phrasal frequency by native and proficient nonnative English speakers. Participants read sentences containing 3-word binomial phrases (bride and groom) and their reversed forms (groom and bride), which are identical in syntax and meaning but that differ in phrasal frequency. Mixed-effects modeling revealed that native speakers and nonnative speakers, across a range of proficiencies, are sensitive to the frequency with which phrases occur in English. Results also indicate that native speakers and higher proficiency nonnatives are sensitive to whether a phrase occurs in a particular configuration (binomial vs. reversed) in English, highlighting the contribution of entrenchment of a particular phrase in memory. © 2011 American Psychological Association.

Seeing a Phrase " Time and Again" Matters: The Role of Phrasal Frequency in the Processing of Multiword Sequences

Are speakers sensitive to the frequency with which phrases occur in language? The authors report an eye-tracking study that investigates this by examining the processing of multiword sequences that differ in phrasal frequency by native and proficient nonnative English speakers. Participants read sentences containing 3-word binomial phrases (bride and groom) and their reversed forms (groom and bride), which are identical in syntax and meaning but that differ in phrasal frequency. Mixed-effects modeling revealed that native speakers and nonnative speakers, across a range of proficiencies, are sensitive to the frequency with which phrases occur in English. Results also indicate that native speakers and higher proficiency nonnatives are sensitive to whether a phrase occurs in a particular configuration (binomial vs. reversed) in English, highlighting the contribution of entrenchment of a particular phrase in memory. © 2011 American Psychological Association.

How To Build a Better Robot . . . for Quick-Service Restaurants

Hospitality firms are exploring opportunities to incorporate innovative technologies, such as robotics, into their operations. This qualitative study used focus groups to investigate diner perspectives on issues related to using robot technology in quick-service restaurant (QSR) operations. QSR guests have major concerns regarding the societal impact of robotics entering the realm of QSR operations; the cleanliness and food safety of robot technology; and communication quality, especially voice recognition, from both native and nonnative English speakers. Participants also offered opinions about the functionality and physical appearance of robots, the value of the “human touch,” and devised creative solutions for deploying this technology. Surprisingly, few differences in attitudes and perceptions were found between age groups, and the participants were highly ambivalent about the technology. Future research may consider further exploration of robot applications in other restaurant segments, using quantitative methods with a larger sample.

Analyses of Rhetorical Moves and Linguistic Realizations in Accounting Research Article Abstracts Published in International and Thai-Based Journals

There has been a growing interest in the rhetorical move structure of research articles (RAs). Research studies reveal that articles written by native and nonnative English speakers show some similarities and differences in their rhetorical structure and linguistic features across disciplines. This study was therefore undertaken to investigate the rhetorical moves of English RA abstracts, which were written by authors from different cultural and linguistic backgrounds. Sixty RA abstracts from two corpora (international corpus and Thai corpus) in the field of accounting were analyzed using Hyland’s framework. The abstracts written by authors of different nationalities and published in internationally scholarly journals were collected for the international corpus, whereas the counterpart consisted of abstracts written by Thai authors and published in indexed Thailand-based journals. Both similarities and differences in terms of rhetorical move and linguistic realizations were found. The use of tenses and voices was quite different not only between the two corpora but also from the previous studies. The findings will provide practical and detailed description of the RA abstracts’ structures of the two corpora. This may lead to pedagogical implications for teaching students how to write accounting English RA abstracts effectively.

Language Diversity, Nonnative Accents, and Their Consequences at the Workplace: Recommendations for Individuals, Teams, and Organizations

As the workplace is becoming increasingly global, organizations are employing more persons who work in a nonnative language. Moreover, challenges in communication between employees with different linguistic background is inevitable in international mergers and acquisitions, and failure to recognize and address these challenges can create major obstacles to achieving effective integration benefits. Thus, it is imperative for global leaders and managers to understand the effects of language diversity on intraorganizational dynamics. The purpose of this article is to (1) examine the cognitive and affective experiences of both native and nonnative English speakers when they interact with one another and illustrate how language diversity can affect intergroup dynamics in organizations and (2) provide recommendations and interventions to global leaders and managers on how to create a productive and inclusive environment for both native and nonnative language-speaking employees at the individual, team, and organizational level.

Making Interactions Between Domestic and International Students Meaningful

The purpose of this practitioner narrative is to identify ways in which meaningful interaction can take place between English learners (ELs) and domestic students in a university setting. In order to learn English effectively, ELs require situations in which they can participate equally in an interaction with a domestic student capable of modifying their English so that it is comprehensible. We created a series of joint classes between teacher candidates and Japanese exchange students in an ESL class. In the class, the first author instructs the teacher candidates on strategies for teaching content to ELs. Second, the teacher candidates teach mini-lessons in their content area to Japanese students. The use of simplified English and visual aids allow ELs to gain confidence and the ability to participate more actively. Third, the Japanese students evaluate the teacher candidates in Japanese. Last, the first author translates the evaluations into English so the teacher candidates can gain meaningful feedback on their performance. The process effectively creates a balance of power that both educates teacher candidates in how to instruct nonnative English speakers and promotes meaningful communication and language growth in ELs. The conditions for meaningful interactions identified in this practice further contribute to the field of effective English learning for international students

Who perceives they are smarter? Exploring the influence of student characteristics on student academic self-concept in physiology

Academic self-concept is one’s perception of his or her ability in an academic domain and is formed by comparing oneself to other students. As college biology classrooms transition from lecturing to active learning, students interact more with each other and are likely comparing themselves more to other students in the class. Student characteristics can impact students’ academic self-concept; however, this has been unexplored in the context of undergraduate biology. In this study, we explored whether student characteristics can affect academic self-concept in the context of an active learning college physiology course. Using a survey, students self-reported how smart they perceived themselves to be in the context of physiology relative to the whole class and relative to their groupmate, the student with whom they worked most closely in class. Using linear regression, we found that men and native English speakers had significantly higher academic self-concept relative to the whole class compared with women and nonnative English speakers. Using logistic regression, we found that men had significantly higher academic self-concept relative to their groupmate compared with women. Using constant comparison methods, we identified nine factors that students reported influenced how they determined whether they were more or less smart than their groupmate. Finally, we found that students were more likely to report participating more than their groupmate if they had a higher academic self-concept. These findings suggest that student characteristics can influence students’ academic self-concept, which in turn may influence their participation in small-group discussion and their academic achievement in active learning classes.