Would-be Language Teachers' Perceptions and Challenges Towards Synchronous Language Learning

Believed to be a practical solution to eliminate the possibilities of any learning gap to befall, the adaption of online learning specifically the implementation of the synchronous mode of teaching and learning has been practiced in various universities in the arena of education amidst the covid-19 outbreak. In light of this, the present study sought to investigate the different perspectives of would-be language teachers towards synchronous learning. Moreover, this investigation aimed to determine the challenges encountered by the students during the course of learning. The participants of the study were seven students in the tertiary level taking a bachelor’s degree either in English or Filipino. Essentially, a descriptive qualitative research design was employed and individual in-depth interviews were conducted. Furthermore, thematic analysis was utilized to analyze the data gathered. With reference to the findings of this study, it has been noted that the respondents perceive synchronous learning differently, which includes both positive and negative remarks. In addition, internet connectivity issues, limited interaction in virtual platforms, technical difficulties, distractions in the environment, and lack of gadgets were the evident challenges experienced by the students during synchronous learning sessions.

Students’ Perceptions of Distance Language Learning in Vocational Training

The coronavirus pandemic has had a significant impact in almost all areas of human activity around the world with education being unquestionably affected as well. Universities and Vocational Training Institutes have been forced to close their doors in an effort to stop the spread of the COVID-19 virus. To ensure pedagogical continuity, distance learning courses have been recommended as immediate alternatives. The purpose of this contribution is to investigate how students of Vocational Training Institutes perceive distance education and effectiveness of online foreign language teaching. To this end, a quantitative research based on an online survey was conducted, which included 206, students of five (5) public Vocational Training Institutes and different specialties. The questions were intended to examine the participants' views on the use of platforms and the collaborative tools, the utility of the educational materials and activities proposed, the learning outcomes in the target language, and, the benefits and limitations of distance synchronous language learning.

Google Meet as a synchronous language learning tool for emergency online distant learning during the COVID-19 pandemic: perceptions of language instructors and preservice teachers

PurposeThere are currently no studies concerning the use of Google Hangout in North Cyprus. Thus, this study examines the perceptions of preservice teacher and language instructors on the use of Google Meet (GM) as a synchronous language learning tool for a distant online program in Cyprus.Design/methodology/approachTo elicit information on the perception of preservice teachers and language instructors on this issue, a quantitative research design was used for this study.FindingsThough the language instructors deemed GM effective and efficient as a language learning tool, the preservice teachers thought otherwise.Research limitations/implicationsIt was difficult to collect data during this pandemic outbreak. Obtaining ethical consent from the participants was difficult as well and so the sample size was small.Practical implicationsThe study was able to demonstrate that the use of GM was somewhat effective as a language learning tool for the online distant program, though the level of efficiency and effectiveness varies from preservice teachers to the language instructors. Also, the study was able to highlight the use of GM could be very effective if it is well managed by the teachers to stimulate student engagement during lessons. The study showcased that the unavailability of Internet data, poor Internet connection are possible constraints to the efficiency of GM. Recently, a university in Northern Cyprus has decided to partner with a telecommunication network (Turkcell) toward providing free Internet access for all registered students within a particular period of learning. This is a welcomed approach that can be emulated by other educational facilities in bridging the gap created by poor Internet connection in a remote online learning setting.Originality/valueThere are no studies within the context of North Cyprus on the use of GM as a synchronous language learning tool for online distant programs. Though the use of GM is adjured effective and efficient, this contextual overview of GM is a new insight into academia.

The interaction of the underived vocabulary of the Smolensk patois and the Belarusian language (incomplete lexical matches)

The work is focused on specific underived nouns that are functioning in the Smolensk patois and in the Belarusian language at the present stage of the existence of these language systems and are quite close, but not identical formations in semantic and structural terms. The subject of the study is the volume of lexical meaning and potential derivational connections of nouns recorded in two synchronous language formations. The relevance of the study is determined by the complex history of the Russian and Belarusian borderland, which is reflected both in the Smolensk patois and in the Belarusian language, which had been created on the dialect basis. The vocabulary of the Russian and Belarusian borderland belongs to a single cultural and historical continuum de-termined by the history of the region, it reflects the diverse material and spiritual ties of the two language idioms’ speakers. The complexity of the historical relations between the two language systems, one of which is codified and has the status of an official language (Belarusian language), and the second exists only in an oral form and has a norm due to internal language laws of devel-opment (Smolensk patois), has led to the fact that when studying two language formations at the present stage, it is possible to speak not only about unambiguous types of relations between words, but also about peripheral types, about zones of various transitions, changes in lexical and grammatical semantics, which can potentially be points of development of two idioms in the future and are therefore valuable for study.

Establishing Online Synchronous Support for Self-Access Language Learning

This paper explores expanding a self-access language learning desk online. In 2017, Osaka University’s Center for International Affairs expanded its Language Support Desk to allow students from different campuses to access its services via online synchronous language support sessions that mimic the in-person ones. While there is an abundance of resources available to students online through online writing labs and online writing centers, most of these services only consist of reference materials with no option for advising or language teaching. Furthermore, the few universities that offer language learning services usually implement an asynchronous system through a delayed medium such as email. In this paper, we describe the implementation of online sessions at Osaka Unversity and highlight issues and opportunities for the future based on our experience and observations.

Automated Generation of Synchronous Formal Models from SystemC Descriptions

SystemC is one of the most popular electronic system-level design language and it is embraced by a growing community that seeks to move to a higher level of abstraction. It lacks however a standard way of integrating formal methods and formal verification techniques into a SystemC design flow. In this paper, we show how SystemC descriptions are automatically transformed into the formal synchronous language Signal, while conserving the original structure and enabling the application of formal verification techniques. Signal provides a simple semantics of concurrency and time, and allows verification with an existing theorem prover and model checker. The approach that we propose consists of two steps: the extraction of the structure and the transformation of the behavior. In the first step, SystemC model is analyzed and the structural information is extracted. In the second step, for each SystemC module, the corresponding Signal behavior is generated and filled into the already prepared Signal structure.