Training strategies for the improvement of NATO Level 2 results for English Functional Level exams in the armed forces

Background: As NATO (North Atlantic Treaty Organization) countries participate in many international missions and joint operations around the world, NATO considered it a necessity for personnel to be able to communicate in a common language. Therefore, one of the main tasks of the NATO multinational setting is the teaching and the assessment of languages. Consequently, there is a need for personnel to achieve the Standard Language Profiles (SLP). Each NATO country must develop SLP exams to achieve the required levels based on NATO STANAG (Standard agreement) 6001. If the examinees do not achieve those levels and the global results are unsatisfactory, NATO members can be affected by a reduction of financial support or the assignment to NATO postings. This study aimed to create a training strategies proposal (TSP) for personnel to achieve NATO L2. Methods: The study consisted of four separate studies: 1) Preliminary survey/interview of military personnel about NATO L2 training; 2) gathering data from NATO L2 exams after normal training; 3) gathering of data from NATO L2 exams after the TSP had been implemented; 4) Post-training survey. Data was collected from examinees over a period of six months or one year, using mixed data collection methods: surveys, interviews, and exam results. Results: A total of 50 examinees took part in the study. Results showed that the number of examinees who passed the NATO L2 increased after going through the TSP. Conclusions: The results show that the TSP, using newer methodologies and different techniques, improved NATO L2 results. The outcomes of this study will help to inform future training and education programs.

Dual Language Profiles in Spanish-Speaking English Learners

Purpose: This study examined systematic within-group differences in a large-scale sample of school-aged Hispanic, Spanish-speaking children designated as English Learners (ELs) by their school district.Method: Data for this study include 847 Spanish-speaking ELs from kindergarten to third grade. Spanish and English narrative retell language samples were collected from all participants. Four oral language measures were calculated in Spanish and English, including the subordination index (SI), moving average type-token ratio (MATTR), words per minute (WPM), and Narrative Structure Scheme (NSS) using Systematic Analysis of Language Transcript (SALT). These eight measures were used in a latent profile analysis to identify dual language profiles. Results: The optimal model represents a four-profile solution, including a Spanish-dominant group (average Spanish, low English), an English-dominant group (low Spanish, average English), and two balanced groups (a balanced-average group and a balanced-high group). Additionally, participants displayed uneven performance across language domains and distinct patterns of unique strength or weakness in a specific domain in one of their two languages.Conclusions: Findings from this study demonstrated large within-group variability in both English and Spanish oral language abilities in school-aged Spanish-speaking ELs. The presence of an English-dominant group in this sample challenged a common assumption that ELs are more proficient in their home language compared to English. These findings emphasized the importance of assessing both languages in multiple domains to paint a representative picture of a bilingual child’s language abilities.

Language Profiles and Their Relation to Cognitive and Motor Skills at 30 Months of Age: An Online Investigation of Low-Risk Preterm and Full-Term Children

Purpose Wide interindividual variability characterizes language development in the general and at-risk populations of up to 3 years of age. We adopted a complex approach that considers multiple aspects of lexical and grammatical skills to identify language profiles in low-risk preterm and full-term children. We also investigated biological and environmental predictors and relations between language profiles and cognitive and motor skills. Method We enrolled 200 thirty-month-old Italian-speaking children—consisting of 100 low-risk preterm and 100 comparable full-term children. Parents filled out the Italian version of the MacArthur–Bates Communicative Development Inventories Infant and Toddler Short Forms (word comprehension, word production, and incomplete and complete sentence production), Parent Report of Children's Abilities–Revised (cognitive score), and Early Motor Questionnaire (fine motor, gross motor, perception–action, and total motor scores) questionnaires. Results A latent profile analysis identified four profiles: poor (21%), with lowest receptive and expressive vocabulary and absent or limited word combination and phonological accuracy; weak (22.5%), with average receptive but limited expressive vocabulary, incomplete sentences, and absent or limited phonological accuracy; average (25%), with average receptive and expressive vocabulary, use of incomplete and complete sentences, and partial phonological accuracy; and advanced (31.5%), with highest expressive vocabulary, complete sentence production, and phonological accuracy. Lower cognitive and motor scores characterized the poor profile, and lower cognitive and perception–action scores characterized the weak profile. Having a nonworking mother and a father with lower education increased the probability of a child's assignment to the poor profile, whereas being small for gestational age at birth increased it for the weak profile. Conclusions These findings suggest a need for a person-centered and cross-domain approach to identifying children with language weaknesses and implementing timely interventions. An online procedure for data collection and data-driven analyses based on multiple lexical and grammatical skills appear to be promising methodological innovations. Supplemental Material https://doi.org/10.23641/asha.14818179

Lexical measures as a proxy for bilingual language dominance?

In bilingualism research, language dominance has been conceptualized and operationalized in different ways. In this paper, we discuss this notion and investigate to what extent language dominance is congruent with vocabulary knowledge in each language. First, we summarize definitions and operationalizations of language dominance. We show that comparison of proficiency related measures is a common operationalization of language dominance. Yet, the importance of attitudinal, biographical, or use-related components is often stressed. Such components are included in survey instruments like the Bilingual Language Profile (BLP). Second, we analyze data on language profiles of 225 French/German and 70 Italian/German adult bilinguals. Correlation and regression models are fitted to investigate the relation between the multi-dimensional dominance metric (BLP) results and results based on lexical tests (LexTALE for German and French, the VSPT from Dialang for Italian). The results reveal a strong linear association between BLP and LexTale.

Transcultural and familial factors in bilingualism and language transmission: A qualitative study of maternal representations of French-Maghrebi Arabic bilingual children

This qualitative exploratory study examined transcultural and familial factors involved in bilingualism and minority language transmission among French and Arabic-speaking children. Participants included 30 children aged 4 to 6 years, born in France, and their bilingual French-Maghrebi Arabic-speaking parents. Children’s bilingual language profiles were assessed with the ELAL Scale for Maghrebi Arabic (minority language) and the Neel Scale for French (majority language). Mothers participated in qualitative interviews about cultural and language practices and representations. Interview contents were compared with the children’s language profiles. Results indicated that parents closely associated the transmission of the Arabic language with their cultural heritage transmission. The parents of fluent bilinguals had a strong desire to transmit the minority language. Mothers of minority language dominant bilingual children reported little perception of change in their lives since migration. Half of the mothers of majority language dominant bilingual children reported relationship or emotional difficulties with their children. Four minority language transmission types were identified: direct parent-child transmission; indirect transmission through private classes; indirect transmission through visits to family in the parents' native countries; and alternative transmission by another family member. Direct parent-child transmission was most frequent among the fluent bilinguals. Families' processes of hybridity were related to language transmission and bilingual development of children. Parental cultural affiliations to native country were related to minority language transmission. Perception of change since migration and affiliation to host country may also play a role in harmonious bilingual development. Moreover, the quality of family relationships can affect minority language transmission.

Student teachers’ expectations and their sense of fulfillment in a TESOL program

Student expectations have increasingly become a focus in Second Language Acquisition research. This study takes a closer look at student teachers’ expectations in a Master of Arts TESOL program at an Australian university to investigate their expectations and sense of fulfillment of these expectations. We employed a sequential explanatory mixed-methods design and conducted a questionnaire (N = 31) and interviews (N = 6) with student teachers. The results show that student teachers expect a well-balanced curriculum of theory and practice and consider teaching practice their top priority. While the expectations of most TESOL student teachers are met, different language profiles can lead to different expectations and potential conflict. Contrary to most previous research, this study showed that unmet expectations do not necessarily lead to unfavorable outcomes because of the student teachers’ ability to adjust in various ways. The study concludes with a discussion of implications for practice and future research.