Teaching degree students´ experience of teaching practice

The study is focussed on perception of teaching practices by pre-service teachers in preschool and primary education university programmes. Further, the study analysed the reality shock that occurred in these students during teaching practice. The sample consisted of 41 students in preschool education programmes, while 54 students followed the primary-level education programme. The data collection methods were student portfolios and student diaries from teaching practice. In the portfolios it was possible to analyse the activities, opinions, attitudes and products of student practice. Diaries reported students’ feelings and everyday experience in the schools. Qualitative content analysis was used to analyse the data. Two significant findings were obtained, i.e., supervising teachers’ frequent unprofessional behaviour towards student teachers, and the somatic and emotional exhaustion of students.

Distant learning as a way to meet challenges: teaching English for medical students

In 2020 the world encountered a new virus. Nobody could predict it but it happened. The boundaries between countries were closed, people were obliged to stay at home, schools and universities were shut and the education was transferred online. We have to admit that not all educational institutions were ready to switch to the online format of teaching in such a short period. However, in conditions when there are no possibilities for face-to-face teaching educators are forced to find the most efficient ways of teaching English. In this paper, the authors aim to investigate online resources able to compensate for the lack of face-to-face communication. While doing research critical analysis of existing literature and generalisation of teaching experience were used. The findings revealed that even in distant learning particular resources can recompense for the absence of offline learning.

The Shift to a Queer Pedagogy in the Italian-Language Classroom

Instructors of Italian are tasked with teaching not only the language, but also the culture. However, critical matters such as sexual identity are frequently not addressed in the Italian-language classroom. Current Italian-language pedagogy solely focuses on language-acquisition proficiency via heteronormative discourses, ignoring the more-diverse reality of Italian culture. This article aims to showcase how using a queer pedagogy based on queer theory can affect learners’ language acquisition and understanding of Italian culture. I used memoing and personal experiences as an Italian instructor to analyse the related literature. I propose that current pedagogy and curricula silence the lesbian-gay-bisexual-transgenderquestioning/queer-intersex-asexual (LGBTQIA+) community, causing exclusion, anxiety and sometimes harassment from others. Open discussion through queer pedagogy would create critical conversations, allowing for the inclusion of all learners and topics. Italian instructors should promote these conversations, question the standard Italian-language pedagogy and use materials that are inclusive of LGBTQIA+ members.

Corpus-based analysis of semi-automatically extracted artificial intelligence-related terminology

Artificial Intelligence (AI), as a multidisciplinary field, combines computer science, robotics and cognitive science, with increasingly growing applications in many diverse areas, such as engineering, business, medicine, weather forecasting, industry, translation, natural language, linguistics, etc. In Europe, interest in AI has been rising in the last decade. One of the greatest hurdles for researchers in automated processing of technical documentation is large amounts of specific terminology. The aim of this research is to analyse the semi-automatically extracted artificial intelligence-related terminology and the most common phrases related to artificial intelligence in English and Lithuanian in terms of their structure, multidisciplinarity and connotation. For selection and analysis of terms, two programmes were chosen in this study, namely SynchroTerm and SketchEngine. The paper presents the outcomes of an AI terminological project carried out with SynchroTerm and provides an analysis of a special corpus compiled in the field of artificial intelligence using the SketchEngine platform. The analysis of semi-automatic term extraction use and corpus-based techniques for artificial intelligence-related terminology revealed that AI as a specialized domain contains multidisciplinary terminology, and is complex and dynamic. The empiric data shows that the context is essential for the evaluation of the concept under analysis and reveals the different connotation of the term.

The positive benefits of the practical application of the simulation software

The research, related to innovation has been in a focus of academics for a long time. In the current study, the authors present the positive benefits of applying an innovative teaching method, based on primary research, applying a questionnaire-based survey. They targeted to examine how a business simulation software modifies the labour market efficiency of university students. The respondents consider themselves to be least competitive in terms of self-confidence and an initiative ability. Both skills can be developed as a result of the application of the business simulation software.

The need for integration of reading, critical thinking and academic reading skills: a quantitative analysis of Slovak undergraduates’ reading performance

Based on recent research (Alderson, 2005; Khalifa and Weir, 2009), this study focuses on three areas of reading comprehension necessary for a successful academic career: general L2 EFL reading skills, more specific academic reading skills and critical thinking and reading. The study presents an analysis of quantitative research conducted in 2020, based on a sample of Slovak undergraduate students reading an academic text in English as L2 in EFL CLIL-formatted classes in humanities. The respondents’ general reading skills were analysed in the context of their critical reading skills and academic preparedness. When tested for general reading skills, respondents were asked to identify implicit and explicit information and the gist of the text. Academic abilities were tested via the ability to identify the attributes of an academic text, such as the system of references, rational and logical language and causeeffect type of argumentation, which indicated the author and genre of the text. In order to evaluate participants’ critical skills with a focus on the social aspects of the text, respondents were asked to identify the importance of the text for themselves and for their community and life. The participants’ mean scores and differences in their performances on each task type were compared using descriptive statistics, and multiple analysis of variance. The results suggest that the general reading skills of university undergraduates in Slovakia are adequate, however, more difficulty was encountered with implicit, rather than explicit, tasks. Students also need to improve their critical reading skills and reading for academic purposes. The research outcomes highlight the need to hone the education of future linguists to the new needs of a more text-based society.

Culinaronyms in formatting linguocultural competence in teaching Russian as a foreign language

Linguocultural approach is the new teaching direction in teaching Russian as a foreign language (RFL). Based on this approach, students are aimed to form a linguocultural competence. Studying scientific research show that there is a lot of linguistic units that are suitable to help students in forming their linguocultural competence. The purpose of the research is to apply the topic “Russian culinaronyms” (known as the name of Russian food) in the formation of the linguocultural competence of Vietnamese students who are learning Russian as a foreign language. The research was conducted by surveying and interviewing 26 Russian teachers in Vietnam by verifying the applicability of theory and practice of the topic “Russian culinaronyms”. The research results show that the teachers think that the application of this food topic in the formation of their linguocultural competence is appropriate with high survey results. Furthermore, it reveals the linguistic and cultural dimensions from Russian culinaronyms which can be used to form a linguocultural competence for Vietnamese students. The topic “Russian culinaronyms” can be applied in extracurricular sessions for language specialized students.

The temporary return to the homeland in Michael Ondaatje’s Running in the Family

This study concentrates on memory in Michael Ondaatje’s Running in the Family because it is the foundation for the whole novel. Ondaatje’s attempt creates a relationship with the past by performing all acts of the journey in physical and imaginary performances of listening and reproducing. His attempt depends on his own memory; however, his memory does not coincide with stories he has heard, and the historical documents tend to conflict with each other. In the interior of his travels, Ondaatje reveals the extent of his isolation and the impact of his displacement. As he narrates the stories, he faces difficulties in distinguishing between rumors and lies, in organizing fragments of knowledge, and in explaining challenges tied to his methods of cultural revival. These challenges are met in the non-linear and sometimes stunning text plans which he uses.

Online interaction descriptors: A tool for the development of tasks for language competences and language use

The study focuses on a new scale of the framework introduced by the CEFR Companion Volume. Slovak and Maltese teachers were invited to participate in the training sessions in which they were exposed to lists of descriptors related to online interaction. The goal of familiarisation activities related to indicating reference levels was to prepare teachers for constructing tasks designed for practicing online communication in language classes, relevant to the proficiency levels of their students. The data on teachers’ judgements are clearly displayed and analysed in order to find out similarities and differences between teachers’ perceptions of language proficiency in two countries. Workshop sessions stimulated in-depth discussions the conclusions of which are reflected in the recommendations for language educators and teachers.

Linguistic complexity of lecturers’ class register and its relationship to their personality traits

Many research studies indicated a correlation between classroom behaviour and the language of the instructors and learners. The inter-language that the teachers prefer to use in the class differs from the natural, daily life conversations in linguistic terms. It is characterized by more simplistic, repetitive, carefully selected language, or “classroom register”. The paper discusses a „foreign language classroom register” as a specific linguistic subsystem which is operated both by the rules of linguistic simplification and by constraints imposed by the specific social (school) setting. The standard language used in a classroom communication with a high ratio of short basic and coordinate sentences, more universal constructions, such as base case nominal phrases and active present indicative verb phrases, the limited reduction in morphological complexity as a result of a preference for a simple sentence structure. The research study examines a linguistic complexity of the teacher talk with focus on reductions, modifications, and simplifications. It also studies the personal attitudes of lecturers toward school discourse and the relation between teachers´ personality and a language complexity of their language.