The Relationship Between Perceived Assertiveness/Shyness and Emergent Bilinguals’ Vocabulary Intervention Outcomes: A Preliminary Investigation

This preliminary study examined the relationship between clinicians’ perceptions (i.e., speech pathologists) of children’s scores on the Assertiveness scale of the Teacher-Child Rating Scale 2.1 and gains in naming and defining words following English-only or Spanish–English intervention for emergent bilinguals (EBs). Twenty-eight Spanish-speaking preschoolers were randomly assigned to participate in one of two vocabulary intervention groups: English-only ( n= 14) and Spanish-English with Spanish provided through a tablet computer ( n = 14). EBs were assessed in naming and definition before and after interventions. The clinicians provided perceptions of levels of assertiveness and shyness of both groups of EBs using the Assertiveness scale. A correlation analysis indicated a strong relationship between the Assertiveness scale and English word naming and definition gains in both groups (English-only and Spanish–English) and Spanish gains in the Spanish–English group. Clinicians’ perceptions of shyness should be considered as a variable of interest that affects response to intervention.

Effects of L1 Transfer Are Profound, Yet Native-Like Processing Strategy Is Attainable: Evidence From Advanced Learners’ Production of Complex L2 Chinese Structures

English as a verb-medial language has a short-before-long preference, whereas Korean and Japanese as verb-final languages show a long-before-short preference. In second language (L2) research, little is known regarding how L1 processing strategies affect the ultimate attainment of target structures. Existing work has shown that native speakers of Chinese strongly prefer to utter demonstrative-classifier (DCL) phrases first in subject-extracted relatives (DCL-SR-N) and DCLs second in object-extracted relatives (OR-DCL-N). But it remains unknown whether L2 learners with typologically different language backgrounds are able to acquire native-like strategies, and how they deviate from native speakers or even among themselves. Using a phrase-assembly task, we investigated advanced L2-Chinese learners whose L1s were English, Korean, and Japanese, because English lacks individual classifiers and has postnominal relative clause (RC), whereas Korean and Japanese have individual classifiers and prenominal RCs. Results showed that the English and Korean groups deviated from the native controls’ asymmetric pattern, but the Japanese group approximated native-like performance. Furthermore, compared to the English group, the Korean and Japanese groups favored the DCL-second configuration in SRs and ORs. No differences were found between the Korean and Japanese groups. Overall, our findings suggest that L1 processing strategies play an overarching role in L2 acquisition of asymmetric positioning of DCLs in Chinese RCs.

Listeners’ perception of the quality of simultaneous interpreting and perceived dependence on simultaneous interpreting

With the rise of the use of English as a lingua franca (ELF), the number of conference speakers and attendees who use English is increasing. Simultaneous interpreting (SI) into and from English may be provided at conferences to meet the needs of individuals with differing levels of English ability. This paper reports on the findings obtained from two sets of experiments that explored the link between listeners’ perceived dependence on SI and their perceptions of its quality. The first set of experiments was conducted onsite and the second using a remote simultaneous interpreting (RSI) setting. Native Hong Kong Cantonese-speaking participants were divided into two groups: one with Russian as the source language (SL) (Russian group) and the other with English as the SL (English group). Both groups listened to the same prerecorded simultaneous interpretation into Cantonese performed by a non-native interpreter. In the onsite setting, the Russian group perceived the non-native-accented interpretation more favorably than the English group did. This suggests that in onsite settings, perceived dependence on SI may be associated with perceptions of its quality; the greater the perceived dependence on SI, the higher the perceived SI quality. However, no significant differences were found between the two groups in the RSI setting. Factors such as the inaudible SL in the background, similar levels of perceived dependence, negative feelings about online learning and tensions in the state-society relationship may contribute to the similar quality perception ratings across the two RSI groups.

Attitudes of preservice teachers having pedagogical formation certificate training towards instructional technology and material design course

The purpose of this study was to determine the attitudes of the trainees registered in Pedagogical Formation Certificate Program (PFCP) towards the Instructional Technologies and Material Design (ITMD) course and to analyze whether these attitudes differed according to gender, department and level of grade. The data were obtained from totally 110 trainees including 78 females and 38 males. In addition to the personal information form, the Attitude Scale towards ITMD Course was used as the data collection tool. The scale had three sub-dimensions as effectiveness, admiration and denial, and the internal consistency coefficients calculated for the current implementation were between .99 and .77. It was understood that the trainees regarded the ITMD course effective enough to be considered good, admired the course at a moderate level, and did not neglect the course very much. It was noticed that female trainees found the course more effective and admired it more rather than the male trainees. The trainees in the English group were determined to consider ITMD course more effective than the trainees in the philosophy group. Moreover, it was proved that the students in the English group admired more rather than the trainees in the theology and philosophy groups. The graduate trainees regarded ITMD course more effective than the ones who were still students. Keywords: instructional technologies, information technologies, instructional technologies and material design, attitude towards itmd course;

Comparing Writing vs. Smartphone Tapping Speed

As COVID-19 pushes the world into emergency remote teaching mode, many teachers struggle with designing online or computer-mediated language learning activities due to having little to no prior experience. It is imperative to understand how the use of technology affects not only the processes of learning, but also the outcomes. Particularly in Japan, where smartphone ownership among adults aged 18-34 topped 96% in 2018 (Pew Research Center, 2019), many students use their phones to access their schools’ learning management systems (LMS) and complete assignments (i.e., mobile learning). The current study therefore sought to elucidate how different writing media can affect the execution of a simple writing task by examining the differences in transcription speeds between handwriting and ‘tapping’ on a smartphone. A total of 176 participants were divided into 3 groups (L1-English, writing in English; L1-Japanese, writing in Japanese; and L1-Japanese, writing in English), and their times-on-task were recorded. While no difference was found for the L1-English group, the L1-Japanese groups were found to be significantly faster at one task than the other (tapping in Japanese and writing in English). Pedagogical implications suggest the need for instructors to be aware of the extreme difficulty language learners may have when using mobile devices for writing tasks.

Developing Suplementry Speaking Material in Digital Media

The purpose of this research was to develope and validate the suplementary speaking material in digital media for accounting students of SMK Negeri 1 Lubuklinggau. This research used Research and Development Method by applying Borg and Gall Model. There were ten steps, they are (1) research and information collecting (2) planning (3) developing preliminary form of product (4) preliminary field testing (5) main product revision (6) field testing (7) operational product revision (8) operational field testing (9) final product (10) dissemination and implementation.. The subjects were the Accounting students of eleventh grade in academic year 2020/2021. While, for step 6, 8 and 10 were applied by using Google Classroom application in English group of XI Accounting Program. The data showed that there were some problem faced by the students aespecially in finding a speaking book which concerning to accounting program. The teacher also need a book that can help English speaking skill not only for general English. After following the ten steps in R&D method, started from analyzing, evaluating, revising and trying out, it was concluded that the suplementary speaking material in digital media for accounting students can help them in learning English based on their need. It was proven by the average score of questionnaire (4.35) with very good criteria. Keywords: Developing, Supplementary Speaking Materials, Accounting Students

The Effect of Language Barriers at Discharge on Pediatric Adenotonsillectomy Outcomes and Healthcare Contact

Objective: Effective delivery of discharge instructions and access to postoperative care play a critical role in outcomes after pediatric surgery. Previous studies in the pediatric emergency department suggest that caregivers with language barriers have less comprehension of discharge instructions despite use of interpretation services. However, the impact of language barriers during discharge on surgical outcomes in a pediatric surgical setting has not been studied. This study examined the effect of parental language during discharge on number and mode of healthcare contact following pediatric adenotonsillectomy. Methods: A retrospective cohort study was conducted on children who underwent adenotonsillectomy at a tertiary care pediatric academic medical center from July 1, 2016 to June 1, 2018. Data were collected on consecutive patients with non-English-speaking caregivers and a systematic sampling of patients with English-speaking caregiver. Surgery-related complications and healthcare contacts within 90 days after discharge were collected. Two-tailed t tests, χ2 tests, and logistic regression were performed to assess the association between parental primary language and incidence of healthcare contact after surgery. Results: A total of 136 patients were included: 85 English-speaking and 51 non-English-speaking. The groups were comparable in age, sex, and comorbidities. The non-English group had more patients with public insurance (86% vs. 56%; P < .001). Number of encounters and types of complications following discharge were similar, but the non-English group was more likely to utilize the emergency department compared to phone calls (OR, 9.3; 95% CI, 2.3-38.2), even after adjustment for insurance type (OR, 7.9; 95% CI, 1.6-39.4). Conclusion: Language barriers at discharge following pediatric otolaryngology surgery is associated with a meaningful difference in how patients utilized medical care. Interventions to improve comprehension and access may help reduce preventable emergency department visits and healthcare costs.

L2 processing of filler-gap dependencies: Attenuated effects of naturalistic L2 exposure in a multilingual setting

In the online processing of long-distance wh-dependencies, native speakers have been found to make use of intermediate syntactic gaps, which has the effect of facilitating dependency resolution. This strategy has also been observed in second language (L2) speakers living in an L2 immersion context, but not in classroom L2 learners. This research note investigates whether there is evidence of use of the intermediate gap among L2 speakers that have received considerable naturalistic exposure to the L2 from a young age, but do not live in a standard immersion context. Two groups of participants, one L1 English and one L1 Afrikaans–L2 English, completed a self-paced reading task involving English sentences containing long-distance wh-dependencies. The data were analysed using Bayesian regression. The results indicate that the intermediate gap facilitated dependency resolution in the L1 English group but not in the L2 group. Increased L2 exposure seemed to increase sensitivity to the intermediate gap among the L2 speakers, but was not associated with faster dependency resolution. The findings suggest that although non-immersive L2 experience affects L2 processing of abstract grammatical cues, it may be less effective than fully immersive experience in engendering nativelike processing of long-distance wh-dependencies.

Establishing Teacher-Student Rapport in an English-Medium Instruction Class

English-medium instruction classes in higher education are increasing in countries where English is not the first language. Though these courses offer advantages, they also offer concerns and challenges. One of these challenges is creating a rapport between a teacher and students who are working in a language that is not their own. Rapport is important because it has been linked to academic performance. This study explored possible differences in rapport between two groups of students who were taking a class on Communications Research at a Mexican university. One group took the class in their native language, Spanish, and the other one took the class in English. The teacher, the programme, and the materials were identical in both cases; they only differed in the language of instruction. The study is qualitative in the ethnographic tradition. Videos of classroom interactions were used as a data source, which were analysed and coded. Codes were based on rapport-building activities. The teacher’s log and the nine-item Student-Instructor Rapport scale complemented the study. The videos showed evidence of rapport-building activities in both the Spanish and English groups. The results of the scale showed that the students in the English group perceived a stronger rapport between the instructor and the students, than those in the Spanish group.

Investigating Native English Speakers’ Perception of Novel Arabic Phonemes after First Exposure

This study reports on an experiment carried out to investigate native English speakers' perception of selected Arabic phonemes after first exposure to a controlled naturalistic input of a weather report. It closely follows Brown's model of L2 speech perception and L1 feature geometry (1998), which seeks to relate theories of segmental phonology to L2 speech perception and the first exposure treatment of Gullberg et al. (2010). Eight Arabic sounds were carefully selected for the experiment: /b/-/d/ which are found in both English and Arabic; /x/-/ɣ/ which are not found in English but are distinguished by features which are distinctive in English [dorsal, voice, continuant], and lastly the contrastive pairs /ʔ/-/ʕ/ and /h/-/ħ/, where the latter phoneme in each pair is alien to the phonemic inventory of English. These pairs are distinguished by the feature [RTR (retracted tongue root)] which is lacking in the feature geometry of English. Participants were divided into an Arabic control group, English+ group with prior exposure to Arabic, and an English group with no prior exposure to Arabic. The results from an AX discrimination task confirmed Brown's hypothesis that L2 perception of non-native contrasts is constrained by the L1 feature geometry.