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1. Language Development among Immigrant Students from the Perspectives of Two Different Assimilated Instructors (EJ821976)
Author(s):
Porras, Dehlly; Matthews, Robert
Source:
Community College Journal of Research and Practice, v33 n1 p25-35 Jan 2009
Pub Date:
2009-01-00
Pub Type(s):
Journal Articles; Reports - Descriptive
Peer-Reviewed:
Yes
Descriptors: Immigrants; Second Language Learning; English (Second Language); Acculturation; Religion; Language Fluency; Ethnicity; Native Speakers; Teacher Attitudes; Minority Groups; Community Colleges; Educational Environment; Teaching Styles
Abstract: The authors present two experiences of assimilation, "melting-pot" and "salad-bowl" processes, their connections to the WASP framework of skin color, language, and religion, and their influences in the classroom. They focus on how fluency in the English language is the dominant assimilation factor for immigrant students and share their experiences of dealing with the issue of language in the classroom to assist immigrant students to become assimilated. Note:The following two links are not-applicable for text-based browsers or screen-reading software. Show Hide Full Abstract
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2. A Longitudinal Study of ESL Learners' Fluency and Comprehensibility Development (EJ808781)
Derwing, Tracey M.; Munro, Murray J.; Thomson, Ron I.
Applied Linguistics, v29 n3 p359-380 Sep 2008
2008-09-00
Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Descriptors: Mandarin Chinese; Slavic Languages; Native Speakers; Immigrants; English (Second Language); Second Language Learning; Longitudinal Studies; Oral Language; Language Fluency; Adults; Introductory Courses; Second Language Instruction; Language Proficiency; Evaluation Methods
Abstract: This longitudinal mixed-methods study compared the oral fluency of well-educated adult immigrants from Mandarin and Slavic language backgrounds (16 per group) enrolled in introductory English as a second language (ESL) classes. Speech samples were collected over a 2-year period, together with estimates of weekly English use. We also conducted interviews at the last data collection session. The participants' fluency and comprehensibility at three points over 22 months were judged by 33 native speakers of English. We examine the learners' progress in light of their exposure to English outside of their ESL class. The Slavic language speakers showed a small but significant improvement in both fluency and comprehensibility, whereas the Mandarin speakers' performance did not change over 2 years, although both groups started at the same level of oral proficiency. These differences may be attributable in part to degree of exposure to English outside the ESL courses. Neither group had extensive exposure outside of their classes because of employment and familial responsibilities (although the Slavic language speakers reported more opportunities). Thus both groups may have been disadvantaged by a lack of oral fluency instruction. The findings, both quantitative and qualitative, are interpreted using the Willingness to Communicate framework; we also discuss implications for the language classroom. Note:The following two links are not-applicable for text-based browsers or screen-reading software. Show Hide Full Abstract
3. Phonotactic Probability Effects in Children Who Stutter (EJ803605)
Anderson, Julie D.; Byrd, Courtney T.
Journal of Speech, Language, and Hearing Research, v51 n4 p851-866 Aug 2008
2008-08-01
Descriptors: Stuttering; Preschool Children; Speech Skills; Phonology; Language Fluency
Abstract: Purpose: The purpose of this study was to examine the influence of "phonotactic probability", which is the frequency of different sound segments and segment sequences, on the overall fluency with which words are produced by preschool children who stutter (CWS) as well as to determine whether it has an effect on the type of stuttered disfluency produced. Method: A 500+ word language sample was obtained from 19 CWS. Each stuttered word was randomly paired with a fluently produced word that closely matched it in grammatical class, word length, familiarity, word and neighborhood frequency, and neighborhood density. Phonotactic probability values were obtained for the stuttered and fluent words from an online database. Results: Phonotactic probability did not have a significant influence on the overall susceptibility of words to stuttering, but it did impact the type of stuttered disfluency produced. In specific, single-syllable word repetitions were significantly lower in phonotactic probability than fluently produced words, part-word repetitions, and sound prolongations. Conclusions: In general, the differential impact of phonotactic probability on the type of stuttering-like disfluency produced by young CWS provides some support for the notion that different disfluency types may originate in the disruption of different levels of processing. Note:The following two links are not-applicable for text-based browsers or screen-reading software. Show Hide Full Abstract
4. Adult Age Differences in Divergent Thinking: It's Just a Matter of Time (EJ799394)
Foos, Paul W.; Boone, David
Educational Gerontology, v34 n7 p587-594 Jul 2008
2008-07-00
Descriptors: Timed Tests; Young Adults; Age Differences; Thinking Skills; Problem Solving; Statistical Analysis; Older Adults; Language Fluency; Creative Thinking; Aging (Individuals); Performance; Gerontology
Abstract: This study examined adult age differences on five tests of divergent thinking: associational fluency, expressional fluency, ideational fluency, word fluency, and consequences. Our hypothesis was that young adults ( M = 20.53, n = 60) would score higher than old adults (M = 72.10, n = 60) under standard timed test conditions, but old adults would perform as well as young adults when time limits were removed. The hypothesis was confirmed. Old adults can think as divergently as young adults, but they do so at a much slower rate. (Contains 1 table.) Note:The following two links are not-applicable for text-based browsers or screen-reading software. Show Hide Full Abstract
5. Inter-Interviewer Variation in Oral Interview Tests (EJ798533)
Nakatsuhara, Fumiyo
ELT Journal, v62 n3 p266-275 Jul 2008
Descriptors: Rating Scales; Scores; Interviews; Behavior; Visual Aids; Data Collection; Pronunciation; Language Fluency; Oral Language; Individual Differences; Test Results; Comparative Analysis
Abstract: Over the last two decades, research has suggested that candidates' test performances and scores are collaboratively achieved through interviewing/scoring processes and there could be unfair situations caused by the inter-interviewer variation. To investigate a precise picture of the impact of inter-interviewer variation, this research examines the variability of interviewer behaviour, its influence on a candidate's performance and raters' consequent perceptions of the candidate's ability on analytical rating scales (for example, pronunciation, grammar, fluency). The data are collected from two interview sessions involving the same candidate with two different interviewers, and the video-taped interviews are rated by 22 raters on five marking categories. The results show that a significantly different score was awarded to "pronunciation" and "fluency" in the two interviews. The reasons for the differences are discussed based on conversation analysis findings. This paper concludes with suggestions as to how the potential unfairness caused by interviewer variability could be solved. Note:The following two links are not-applicable for text-based browsers or screen-reading software. Show Hide Full Abstract
6. Conceptions over Time: Are Language and the Here-and-Now up to the Task? (EJ797475)
Hewson, Peter W.
Cultural Studies of Science Education, v3 n2 p263-276 Jul 2008
Journal Articles; Opinion Papers; Reports - Descriptive
No
Descriptors: Language Fluency; Science Education; Context Effect; Time Perspective; Scientific Concepts
Abstract: Is it possible to explain students' conceptions of natural phenomena purely in terms of the interactions between two people and the language they use during an interview? I argue that this hypothesis cannot be accepted on several grounds. First, contextual factors prior to the interview influence the course of its events, and that these in turn influence future events. Second, people have agency over their interactions and the ability to use language creatively in ways that a strong version of language preordination inherent in this hypothesis would not permit. Third, people bring language fluency and ideas to an interview that allow them to grapple with phenomena and issues they might not have previously considered, and formulate conceptions that they can and do use in future interactions. In addition, I argue that the field of science education is able to consider curricular and instructional issues relating to students' conceptions without resorting to the extremes of cultural relativism or intellectual imperialism, and that conceptual change theory addresses both the processes and outcomes of students' interactions. Note:The following two links are not-applicable for text-based browsers or screen-reading software. Show Hide Full Abstract
7. How Speakers Interrupt Themselves in Managing Problems in Speaking: Evidence from Self-Repairs (EJ810118)
Seyfeddinipur, Mandana; Kita, Sotaro; Indefrey, Peter
Cognition, v108 n3 p837-842 Sep 2008
Journal Articles; Reports - Evaluative
Descriptors: Speech Communication; Maintenance; Computational Linguistics; Language Fluency; Error Correction; Data Analysis; Identification; Phonemes; Language Processing
Abstract: When speakers detect a problem in what they are saying, they must decide whether or not to interrupt themselves and repair the problem, and if so, when. Speakers will maximize accuracy if they interrupt themselves as soon as they detect a problem, but they will maximize fluency if they go on speaking until they are ready to produce the repair. Speakers must choose between these options. In a corpus analysis, we identified 448 speech repairs, classified them as major (as in a fresh start) or minor (as in a phoneme correction), and measured the interval between suspension and repair. The results showed that speakers interrupted themselves not at the moment they detected the problem but at the moment they were ready to produce the repair. Speakers preferred fluency over accuracy. (Contains 3 figures and 3 tables.) Note:The following two links are not-applicable for text-based browsers or screen-reading software. Show Hide Full Abstract
8. The Effects of Divided Attention on Speech Motor, Verbal Fluency, and Manual Task Performance (EJ811638)
Dromey, Christopher; Shim, Erin
Journal of Speech, Language, and Hearing Research, v51 n5 p1171-1182 Oct 2008
2008-10-00
Descriptors: Sentences; Brain Hemisphere Functions; Young Adults; Language Fluency; Brain; Task Analysis; Handedness; Psychomotor Skills; Oral Language
Abstract: Purpose: The goal of this study was to evaluate aspects of the "functional distance hypothesis," which predicts that tasks regulated by brain networks in closer anatomic proximity will interfere more with each other than tasks controlled by spatially distant regions. Speech, verbal fluency, and manual motor tasks were examined to ascertain whether right-handed activity would interfere more with speech and language performance because of the presumed greater demands on the left hemisphere. Method: Twenty young adults completed a speech task (repeating a sentence), a verbal fluency task (listing words beginning with the same letter), and right- and left-handed motor tasks (placing pegs and washers in a pegboard) in isolation and concurrently. Results: Speech kinematic data showed that during concurrent performance of manual tasks, lip displacement and peak velocity decreased, whereas sound pressure level increased. Spatiotemporal variability increased when the nondominant hand was used for a motor task. Manual motor scores significantly decreased when concurrently performed with the verbal fluency task but not with sentence repetition. Conclusion: These findings suggest that the control of concurrent tasks may be more complex than is predicted by the functional distance hypothesis. Note:The following two links are not-applicable for text-based browsers or screen-reading software. Show Hide Full Abstract
9. Executive Functions in Preschool Children with Aggressive Behavior: Impairments in Inhibitory Control (EJ811278)
Raaijmakers, Maartje A. J.; Smidts, Diana P.; Sergeant, Joseph A.; Maassen, Gerard H.; Posthumus, Jocelyne A.; van Engeland, Herman; Matthys, Walter
Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology, v36 n7 p1097-1107 Oct 2008
Descriptors: Aggression; Females; Preschool Children; Inhibition; Short Term Memory; Factor Analysis; Gender Differences; Males; Cognitive Processes; Neurological Impairments; Behavior Problems; Correlation; Comparative Analysis; Attention Span; Language Fluency
Abstract: The question whether executive function (EF) deficits in children are associated with conduct problems remains controversial. Although the origins of aggressive behavior are to be found in early childhood, findings from EF studies in preschool children with aggressive behavior are inconsistent. The current study aimed to investigate whether preschool children with aggressive behavior show impairments in EF. From a population-based sample, 82 preschool children who were showing aggressive behavior as indicated by scores at or above the 93rd percentile on the Aggressive Behavior Scale of the CBCL 1 1/2-5 were selected. These children with aggressive behavior were matched on IQ to a group of typically developing control children (N = 99). Six neuropsychological tasks were administered to assess set shifting, inhibition, working memory and verbal fluency. A factor analysis was conducted which yielded one clear factor: inhibition. Aggressive preschool children showed poorer performance on this inhibition factor than control children and boys performed worse on this factor than girls. This association between aggressive behavior and inhibition deficits was maintained after controlling for attention problems. In addition, gender differences in all EFs measured were found with boys exhibiting more impairment in EF than girls. These findings demonstrate that preschool children with aggressive behavior show impairments in inhibition, irrespective of attention problems. Note:The following two links are not-applicable for text-based browsers or screen-reading software. Show Hide Full Abstract
10. Metaphor Awareness in Teaching Vocabulary (EJ815954)
Kalyuga, Marika; Kalyuga, Slava
Language Learning Journal, v36 n2 p249-257 Dec 2008
2008-12-00
Descriptors: Language Patterns; Figurative Language; Prior Learning; Short Term Memory; Vocabulary Development; Second Language Learning; Teaching Methods; Language Fluency; Phrase Structure; Russian; Grammar; Second Language Instruction
Abstract: Patterns of language are usually perceived, learned and used as meaningful chunks that are processed as a whole, resulting in a reduced learning burden and increased fluency. The ability to comprehend and produce lexical chunks or groups of words which are commonly found together is an important part of language acquisition. This paper demonstrates how an awareness of conceptual metaphor and grouping of various words and expressions in a metaphorical chunk may improve the process of vocabulary acquisition. Since words that appear in language as a result of metaphorical extensions resemble other etymologically related words, this method may help learners in establishing mental associations and speed up learning, especially if students already know words to which new vocabulary is related. In this way, learners' prior knowledge would assist in assimilating new information by reducing burden on limited-capacity working memory. The current paper offers a specific example of implementing this approach, and demonstrates how Russian words and idiomatic expressions can be presented in metaphorical chunks to facilitate cognitively efficient learning. It suggests that a similar approach may potentially be extended to syntactic properties of words that could be explained via conceptual metaphors encoded in their origin. By exploring this connection, a metaphorical approach could also be used in teaching grammar. (Contains 1 table.) Note:The following two links are not-applicable for text-based browsers or screen-reading software. Show Hide Full Abstract
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