Grammar and variation in the classroom

Grammar is the structural foundation of successful communication, language use, and literacy development. Grammar is therefore sometimes viewed as the heart of language with an important place in language teaching. In a classroom setting, regulation of grammar knowledge through teachers is strongly influenced by teachers’ linguistic competence and beliefs. In this paper, we will first show the diversity in this knowledge by means of teacher interviews and speeded grammatical-acceptability data from pupils and students. We will then sketch a socio- and psycholinguistic perspective on several selected morphosyntactic variables in German. These will be discussed with reference to social forces that determine what is standard in a language (language norm authorities, language experts, model texts, and codifiers). Finally, we will draw a roadmap for teachers, language practitioners and editors looking for a qualified solution to grammatical cases of doubt in contemporary German and provide practical examples by drawing upon the German reference corpus.

Quantum-Inspired Uncertainty Quantification

Reasonable quantification of uncertainty is a major issue of cognitive infocommunications, and logic is a backbone for successful communication. Here, an axiomatic approach to quantum logic, which highlights similarity to and differences to classical logic, is presented. The axiomatic method ensures that applications are not restricted to quantum physics. Based on this, algorithms are developed that assign to an incoming signal a similarity measure to a pattern generated by a set of training signals.

SPEECH BEHAVIOR: COMMUNICATIVE AND PRAGMATIC ASPECT (ON POLITICAL DISCOURSE BASIS)

The article is devoted to the communicative and pragmatic aspect of an utterance. A review of the basic principles and maxims leading to successful communication is made by the author. The purpose of the investigation involved is to identify actively used speech tactics, their structural features to achieve the perlocution. The material of the research is the political speeches by D. Cameron, a representative of the British Conservative Party. Based on the investigation, some conclusions can be made. In the political discourse self-presentation and accusation / blame tactics are regarded as the most active ones created on the explicature and implicature basis.

Teaching Strategies of Georgian Colloquials and their integration in Georgian as SL Class

In the process of learning a foreign/second language, students should learn spoken/colloquial language in addition to formal language. This is important for successful communication in a reallife situation. Spoken/informal language occupies a significant part of everyday communication. Moreover, colloquial language and face to face interaction represent the essential aspects in both learning and teaching process and plays an important role in terms of linguistic and cognitive development of learner (Hinkel, 2006). According to Engkent, students “are wellequipped if they can handle a basic formal! informal distinction and understand the principles of register use” (Engkent; 1986). Georgian as a second language teaching resource does not include materials discussing this part of the language. As a result, language learners do not have the appropriate skills and knowledge to select the correct forms and expressions, taking into account the quality of language formality and the actual communication situation, speaking, as well as obstacles in understanding the information received in everyday speech, which also requires specific knowledge. The aim of the article is to study the situation in Georgian higher education, to identify the level of students' knowledge and learning activities and approaches, and to develop relevant recommendationsto address the above-mentioned problem. The research was conducted on the basis of Georgian higher education institutions, foreign students who speak Georgian as a foreign language took part in the research. Finally, 35 students of different nationalities participated in the study. The paper is mainly based on qualitative research. In addition, the interview method was used in the study; informants were 35 students who completed the questionnaires with open-ended and closed- ended questions. The observation method was also used in the research. We looked at the components of teaching speaking and reading. We conducted an experiment during the research process. Students were given a text with the same content in formal and informal style to read. In addition, we offered them the task of participating in a conversation situation on the same topic in a different context in terms of formality/language register and the results in both activities were observed. The study involved a relatively small focus group, which prevents a more in-depth and generalized picture from being displayed and the results obtained. Observations of the lesson process have shown that students understand the formal text more easily than informal style language. Even when the teacher provides spoken language forms, students find it difficult to comprehend such material. This is due to the fact that spoken language learning activities are more spontaneous, less systematic and do not reinforce such knowledge in the audience. Student surveys and questionnaires completed by them revealed the following: At a certain level of language proficiency they find it relatively easy to learn information from university-created texts in literary language, but in everyday situations, it is difficult to establish successful communication and comprehend information due to ignorance of spoken forms. In addition, such activities are less covered in the curriculum as well as in the textbooks and in thisregard, the experience of both teachers and students is relatively scarce. The experiment revealed that students understand the text of a formal genre more easily and correctly than spoken, informal information. The same goes for building a talking situation. In order for the student to realize the similarities and differences between formal and informal languages, it is necessary to carry out a variety of activities in the learning environment, including 1. Identify formal and informal distinguishing marks, which is achieved by reading, processing and comparing different texts according to different levels, genres and formality levels. 2. Use of lexical activities: Identify lexical items (slang, language contractions, acronyms, etc.) in texts, create a dictionary and perform relevant exercises. 3. Conversational activities on different topics: The teacher presents and discusses a particular form with a student, after which the students build the spoken situation in different language registers and make a presentation through role-playing games. 4. Use of authentic recordings and multimedia to master natural, informal language forms and structures.

SINGLE HOP AUTHENTIC BROADCASTING IN SOCIAL MOBILE NETWORKS USING BLUETOOTH

This paper aims to create infrastructure-free networking capabilities for people in need such as when inadequate infrastructure including mobile cell towers and power supplies are damaged or when all communication means are restricted. In general, this means finding a way to communicate without mobile cell towers, repeaters, or Wi-Fi hotspots on mobile devices. This paper focuses on introducing an ad-hoc network based on Bluetooth where users can communicate without barriers. The proposed network implementation uses Google’s API Nearby Connection which is one of Google Play Services that can provide high bandwidth, low latency, encrypted data transfers between nearby devices in a fully-offline P2P mode. Kotlin language was used to program an application called BlueEmergency installed on Android devices to broadcast data as bytes payloads in a form of text messages from one node to all nodes in proximity using Bluetooth only. The test and verification of the system are performed showed that successful communication is achieved with the latest versions of both the Android operating system and Bluetooth. Finally, the designed network can be extended to cover large geographical areas by multi-hopping the messages between devices to make the system more efficient to use in the time of need.

To the Issue of Psychological and Pedagogical Support of University Students with Health Impairments

В статье рассмотрены оранизационно-методические подходы к осуществлению психолого-педагогического сопровождения обучающихся с ограниченными возможностями здоровья и инвалидностью в системе высшего образования. Представлена модель психолого-педагогического сопровождения студентов-инва­лидов в Мининском университете (г. Нижний Новгород), подробно описаны его цель, основные задачи, направления, содержание, условия, формы реализации, критерии оценивания успешности. Целью такого сопровождения является организация толерантного «безбарьерного» пространства, обеспечивающего условия для обучения, социализации и самореализации данной категории студентов. Основными направлениями психологической и педагогической поддержки обучающихся с ограниченными возможностями здоровья и инвалидностью в вузе являются диагностика, консультирование, профилактика, коррекция и развитие, научно-исследова­тельская (методологическая) деятельность, которые реализуются в ходе организации комплексной, системной работы со студентами, их родителями и преподавателями высшей школы. Диагностика обучающихся проводится по актуальным направлениям психолого-педагогического сопровождения и связана с реализацией возрастно-психологических задач. Психологические консультации, которые осуществляются со всеми субъектами образовательного процесса, прежде всего включают обсуждение вопросов выбора направления и профиля обучения, успешной адаптации к процессу обучения в вузе, проблем межличностных отношений в студенческой группе и конфликтов с преподавателями. Коррекционная работа предполагает, в первую очередь, коррекцию уровня тревожности и стресса с целью более эффективной адаптации к вузу. Психологическая профилактика направлена на предотвращение возможных социальных и психологических проблем у студентов с ограниченными возможностями здоровья (ОВЗ) и инвалидностью. Модель психолого-педагогического сопровождения в вузе обучающихся с ограни­ченными возможностями здоровья и инвалидностью рекомендована Ресурсным учебно-методическим центром по обучению инвалидов и лиц с ограниченными возможностями здоровья для использования в системе инклюзивного высшего образования. The article treats methodological approaches to psychological and pedagogical support of university students with health impairments. The article presents a model of psychological and pedagogical support of students with health impairments which is used in Minin University (Nizhny Novgorod). It describes the aim and the objectives of the program, its content, conditions, forms of implementation and efficiency assessment criteria. The aim of psychological and pedagogical support is the organization of barrier-free environment which will guarantee accessible education, socialization and self-actualization opportunities to all categories of students. The major trends of psychological and pedagogical support of students with health impairments are diagnosis, consultation, prophylaxis, correction and improvement, research (methodological) activities realized through systemic work with students, parents, and educators. The diagnosis pertains to relevant trends of psychological and pedagogical support and is associated with developmental tasks. The procedure of psychological consultation, which can be performed by any participants of the educational process, focuses on issues related to the choice of a career path, successful adaptation to tertiary learning environment, successful communication with teachers and other students. Correction and improvement presupposes the reduction of anxiety levels and the improvement of stress resilience to ensure better adjustment to university environment. Psychological prophylaxis is aimed at preventing potential behaviour problems in students with health impairments. The model of psychological and pedagogical support of university students with health impairments is recommended by the Resource and Methodology Centre for Teaching Students with Health Impairments and can be used in inclusive learning environments in higher education institutions.

Thai elf Users’ Characteristics of Relative Clauses

To build up the empirical description of elf’s morphosyntactic system, this study examines Thai elf users’ characteristics of relative clauses and analyses the causes underlying their use of the construction. Data were taken from the writing of 116 advanced and upper-intermediate English majors at a university in Bangkok. The results indicated that Thai elf users’ relative clauses exhibit preferences for unmarked and explicit structures. Both linguistic and functional causes are responsible for their production of the construction: they form relative clauses full of basic and transparent structures in order to ensure simple and successful communication. The overall results reveal the nature of elf communication. Although Thai elf users’ relative clauses are associated with some specific patterns, their use of this grammatical construction is governed by general linguistic processes which have been found to operate in the interactions of many groups of elf speakers, especially at the phonological and pragmatic levels.

Distance learning and the development of speaking skills: Challenges and opportunities

Based on data from the GRAAL group's questionnaire on remote teaching, caused by the Covid-19 emergency as reported in Conti (2021, this issue), it emerges that oral production practice was neglected by both high school and college students. Aim of this paper is to reflect on how to promote and sustain speaking from the beginning of the language learning process, during in-person, remote and/or hybrid teaching. The framework presented indicates task-based language teaching (TBLT) as an effective approach to help learners participate in successful communication. The paper provides: 1. an overview of current literature on the subject; 2. applicable examples integrated with Flipgrid; 3. data analysis of students’ performance. Key words: REMOTE TEACHING; HYBRID TEACHING; TASK-BASED LANGUAGE TEACHING; SPEAKING SKILLS; TECHNOLOGY-SUPPORTED LEARNING De los datos del cuestionario del grupo GRAAL sobre la enseñanza virtual, causada por la emergencia Covid-19, como se informa en Conti (2021, este número), surge que la práctica de la producción oral fue descuidada tanto por los estudiantes de secundaria como por los universitarios. El objetivo de este trabajo es reflexionar sobre cómo promover y sostener el habla desde el inicio del proceso de aprendizaje del idioma, durante la enseñanza presencial, virtual y / o híbrida. El marco presentado indica que la enseñanza de idiomas basada en tareas (TBLT) es un enfoque eficaz para ayudar a los alumnos a participar en una comunicación exitosa. Este presente artículo ofrece: 1. una descripción general de la literatura actual sobre el tema; 2. ejemplos aplicables integrados con Flipgrid; 3. análisis de datos del rendimiento de los estudiantes. Palabras clave: ENSEÑANZA VIRTUAL; ENSEÑANZA HIBRIDA; ENSEÑANZA DE IDIOMAS BASADO BASADA EN TAREAS; APRENDIZAJE CON TICS Dai dati del questionario realizzato dal gruppo GRAAL sulla didattica a distanza dovuta dall'emergenza da Covid-19, riportati in Conti (2021, in questo numero), emerge che l’abilità di produzione orale è stata trascurata sia dagli studenti delle scuole superiori che nei corsi universitari. Il presente contributo si prefigge di riflettere su come promuovere e supportare la produzione orale fin dall'inizio del processo di apprendimento della lingua durante l'insegnamento in presenza, a distanza e/o ibrido. Il quadro proposto definisce il task-based language teaching (TBLT) quale approccio ideale per favorire strategie e pratiche efficaci al fine dello sviluppo del parlato. Il presente contributo fornisce: 1. una revisione della letteratura sull'argomento; 2. esempi applicativi integrati attraverso l’uso di un opportuno strumento digitale Flipgrid; 3. un’analisi dei dati sulle prestazioni degli studenti. Parole chiave: DIDATTICA A DISTANZA; DID; TBLT; ABILITÀ DI PRODUZIONE ORALE; TIC PER L’APPRENDIMENTO LINGUISTICO A

Speech modifications in interactive speech: effects of age, sex and noise type

When attempting to maintain conversations in noisy communicative settings, talkers typically modify their speech to make themselves understood by the listener. In this study, we investigated the impact of background interference type and talker age on speech adaptations, vocal effort and communicative success. We measured speech acoustics (articulation rate, mid-frequency energy, fundamental frequency), vocal effort (correlation between mid-frequency energy and fundamental frequency) and task completion time in 114 participants aged 8–80 years carrying out an interactive problem-solving task in good and noisy listening conditions (quiet, non-speech noise, background speech). We found greater changes in fundamental frequency and mid-frequency energy in non-speech noise than in background speech and similar reductions in articulation rate in both. However, older participants (50+ years) increased vocal effort in both background interference types, whereas younger children (less than 13 years) increased vocal effort only in background speech. The presence of background interference did not lead to longer task completion times. These results suggest that when the background interference involves a higher cognitive load, as in the case of other speech of other talkers, children and older talkers need to exert more vocal effort to ensure successful communication. We discuss these findings within the communication effort framework. This article is part of the theme issue ‘Voice modulation: from origin and mechanism to social impact (Part II)’.

The Interpersonal Communication Strategy between Doctors and Patients

Communication was a social process in which people used symbols to create and interpret meanings in their environment. The ability to communicate between doctors and patients determined the success of solving a patient's health problems. This study discussed what kind of interpersonal communication that the doctors used on multicultural patients at Mitra Sejati Hospital in North Sumatra, Indonesia. The methods used in this study were qualitative methods by using ethnography study. According to the study results, it was found that the multicultural communication process of doctors and patients initially proceeded in the form of verbal and non-verbal communication. Second, the barriers that occur in intercultural communication were language, perception, and cultural barriers. Third, the doctors used some techniques to make a successful communication, such as recognizing and naming the patient, greeting the patient, shaking hands or touching the patient, explaining the medical action taken, understanding the patient's condition through communication, and giving an opportunity to explain their conditions, gave a silent for a moment, and asked appropriate questions at the level of interpersonal communication with the patient.