PROCESSABILITY APPROACHES TO RECEPTIVE THIRD LANGUAGE ACQUISITION: IMPLICATIONS FOR MULTILINGUAL CLASSROOMS

Existing research indicates a qualitative difference between Second Language Learning and Third Language Acquisition, and certain psycholinguistic and developmental aspects to multilingual learners merit investigation. The present paper examines stages in receptive learner acquisition of English as a Third Language at Italian-medium primary schools in South Tyrol in Italy employing a picture selection task and implicational scaling analysis. It highlights the role that processing approaches to acquisition proposing constraints on developmental readiness and cross-linguistic influence may play for the emergence of receptive competence in morpho-syntactic structures.

Aquatic Competencies and Drowning Prevention in Children 2–4 Years: A Systematic Review

Aquatic competencies have been proposed as a prevention strategy for children aged 2–4 years who are over-represented in drowning statistics. For this recommendation to be made, exploration of the connection between aquatic competencies and drowning is required. This review critically analyzed studies exploring aquatic competencies and their effect on drowning and/or injury severity in children 2–4 years. English language peer-reviewed literature up to 31 July 2019 was searched and the PRISMA process utilized. Data were extracted from twelve studies that fulfilled the inclusion criteria. Findings from this study included that aquatic competencies were not found to increase risk of drowning and demonstrated children aged 2–4 years are capable of developing age-appropriate aquatic competencies. Age-appropriate aquatic competencies extracted were propulsion/locomotion, flotation/buoyancy, water familiarization, submersion and water exits. The acquisition of these competencies holds benefit for the prevention of drowning. No evidence was found relating to injury severity. There was limited exploration of the relationship between aquatic competencies attainment and age-related developmental readiness. The review highlights the need for consistent measures of exposure, clarity around skills acquisition, better age-specific data (2 years vs. 3 years vs. 4 years), studies with larger sample sizes, further exploration of the dose–response relationship and consistent skill level testing across age groups. Further investigation is required to establish the efficacy of aquatic competencies as a drowning prevention intervention, as well as exploring the relationship between aquatic competencies and age-related developmental readiness. In conclusion, early evidence suggests aquatic competencies can help to reduce drowning.

The Developmental Readiness of Government School Teachers

School readiness involves readiness in terms of ability to reading, writing and use numbers along with emotional and psychological readiness to make successful entry to formal schooling. It has been established that academic readiness is the most important component of school readiness. The present study was aimed to assess the knowledge of rural and urban government school teachers of Ludhiana regarding developmental readiness. The study was based on 100 teachers (i.e. 50 rural and 50 urban) teaching Class – I. The sample was selected from seven Government Primary Schools purposively selected from rural as well as urban locales of Ludhiana District. Self- Structured Teachers’ Knowledge Questionnaire was used to assess the academic readiness of rural and urban government school children. The questionnaire comprised of five open ended questions relating to academic readiness expected to be achieved by students of Class-I. The comparison between knowledge levels of rural and urban teachers revealed that urban teachers had better knowledge than rural teachers. Teachers play an important role in building a child’s success in their first years of school. They provide structure and help children grow in their pre-reading and pre-writing skills, teach pre-arithmetical skills and help children understand themselves.

CASE STUDIES IN ENGINEERING AND TECHNOLOGY INNOVATION IN THE CARIBBEAN: A FOCUS ON EDUCOLCOM AND BEVCOM

Caribbean SMEs (EduColCom and BevCom) identified Industry 4.0 (I4.0) enabling technologies integrating areas of their value networks. This enabled them to be innovative, competitive and sustainable within the global marketplace. This paper illustrated Proof of Concept examples of I4.0 technologies and overcoming implementation challenges by horizontally integrating with a vendor. Structured interviews with C-level executives determined each SME’s I4.0 developmental readiness and the methods used to select and adopt new technologies. Their strategies were based on the existing stability of each system and reinforced the need of C-level support for transformation. Their evolution roadmaps can be duplicated by other SMEs to achieve similar improvements.

Effect of Learning Goal Orientation on Leadership Development

Effective leadership development has eluded many organizations and academia for a long time. Those who have attempted to improve the practice and study of leadership development focus on the same old elements of leadership development. The traditional elements of leadership development that have been studied and implemented previously include: the content of the leadership development programs, the delivery of leadership development programs, the length of the programs and advocating for leadership development programs that are entrenched in leadership theory. Despite numerous studies and implementation of the studies’ findings on leadership development, there exists widespread dissatisfaction with leadership development outcomes. Some scholars have observed that leader developmental readiness may be the missing ingredient in leadership development. Learning goal orientation is one of the five elements of leader developmental readiness. Therefore, this study examines the effect of learning goal orientation on leadership development. The study reveals that learning goal orientation has a significant effect on leadership development, F(1,286) = 62.346, p < 001. In addition, learning goal orientation accounts for 17.9% of the variation in leadership development. Thus, enhancing participants’ learning goal orientation should be part and parcel of any leadership development program in order to improve the effectiveness of leadership development.

Effect of developmental efficacy on leadership development

The study investigates the effect of developmental efficacy (one of the elements of leader developmental readiness) on leadership development. The study was conducted among MBA students within private universities in Kenya. Data was collected through a validated instrument and correlation, one-way ANOVA, and regression analyses were performed. The results revealed that developmental efficacy significantly affects leadership development, F(1,286) = 79.803, p < 001, also developmental potency accounts for 21.8 percent of the variations in leadership development. The study implies that leadership developers ought to help leadership learners to gain higher developmental efficacy before or during the developmental program, for them to benefit fully from the leadership developmental interventions.

Learnability of Grammatical Sequencing: A Processability Perspective of Textbook Evaluation in EFL Settings

This study conducts an acquisition-based evaluation of four primary-school English textbook series used in China. The evaluation aims to determine whether the sequencing of grammatical structures in the series is compatible with the L2 learning sequence stipulated in Processability Theory (PT). The results show a partial agreement between the sequencing of structures as teaching objectives in the series and the PT-based processability hierarchy. The sequencing of structures in the initial stages is consistent with the learning sequence of L2 English stated in PT. However, several structures in the intermediate or high stages are taught in a deviant way against their sequencing in PT. The deviant grading of those structures is possibly associated with the theme-based guidelines adopted in the textbooks. It appears that concerns with the utility of grammatical structures in a given context take precedence over concerns for L2 development. A number of suggestions are offered to textbook writers in terms of the role of input, the learners’ developmental readiness, and the issue of heterogeneity in L2 classrooms.

Perspective: Should Exclusive Breastfeeding Still Be Recommended for 6 Months?

ABSTRACT The WHO recommends exclusive breastfeeding of infants for the first 6 mo of life (EBF-6). We reviewed the evidence behind concerns related to this recommendation. The risk of iron deficiency among EBF-6 infants can be significantly reduced if delayed cord clamping is performed in all newborns. At the moment there is no population-level evidence indicating that exclusive breastfeeding for 6 mo compared with <6 mo increases the risk of developing food allergies. Mild to moderate maternal undernutrition may reduce amounts of some nutrients in breast milk but does not directly diminish milk volume. Persistent reports of insufficient milk by women globally are likely to be the result of lack of access to timely lactation counseling and social support rather than primary biological reasons. All newborns should have their growth, hydration status, and development carefully monitored. In instances where formula supplementation is required, it should be done under the guidance of a qualified provider taking into account that early introduction of breast-milk supplements is a risk factor for early termination of exclusive breastfeeding and any breastfeeding. We found no evidence to support changes to the EBF-6 public health recommendation, although variability in inter-infant developmental readiness is recognized. We suggest that infant and young feeding guidelines make clear that complementary foods should be introduced at around 6 mo of age, taking infant developmental readiness into account.