The relationship between listening and other language skills in International English Language Testing System

Listening comprehension is the primary channel of learning a language. Yet of the four dominant macro-skills (listening, speaking, reading and writing), it is often difficult and inaccessible for second and foreign language learners due to its implicit process. The secondary skill, speaking, proceeds listening cognitively. Aural/oral skills precede the graphic skills, such as reading and writing, as they form the circle of language learning process. However, despite the significant relationship with other language skills, listening comprehension is treated lightly in the applied linguistics research. Half of our daily conversation and three quarters of classroom interaction are virtually devoted to listening comprehension. To examine the relationship of listening skill with other language skills, the outcome of 1800 Iranian participants undertaking International English Language Testing System (IELTS) in Tehran indicates the close correlation between listening comprehension and the overall language proficiency.

Is the unigram relevance model term independent? Classifying term dependencies in query expansion

This paper develops a framework for classifying term dependencies in query expansion with respect to the role terms play in structural linguistic associations. The framework is used to classify and compare the query expansion terms produced by the unigram and positional relevance models. As the unigram relevance model does not explicitly model term dependencies in its estimation process it is often thought to ignore dependencies that exist between words in natural language. The framework presented in this paper is underpinned by two types of linguistic association, namely syntagmatic and paradigmatic associations. It was found that syntagmatic associations were a more prevalent form of linguistic association used in query expansion. Paradoxically, it was the unigram model that exhibited this association more than the positional relevance model. This surprising finding has two potential implications for information retrieval models: (1) if linguistic associations underpin query expansion, then a probabilistic term dependence assumption based on position is inadequate for capturing them; (2) the unigram relevance model captures more term dependency information than its underlying theoretical model suggests, so its normative position as a baseline that ignores term dependencies should perhaps be reviewed.

A tensor encoding model for semantic processing

This paper develops and evaluates an enhanced corpus based approach for semantic processing. Corpus based models that build representations of words directly from text do not require pre-existing linguistic knowledge, and have demonstrated psychologically relevant performance on a number of cognitive tasks. However, they have been criticised in the past for not incorporating sufficient structural information. Using ideas underpinning recent attempts to overcome this weakness, we develop an enhanced tensor encoding model to build representations of word meaning for semantic processing. Our enhanced model demonstrates superior performance when compared to a robust baseline model on a number of semantic processing tasks.

Real, complex, and binary semantic vectors

This paper presents a combined structure for using real, complex, and binary valued vectors for semantic representation. The theory, implementation, and application of this structure are all significant. For the theory underlying quantum interaction, it is important to develop a core set of mathematical operators that describe systems of information, just as core mathematical operators in quantum mechanics are used to describe the behavior of physical systems. The system described in this paper enables us to compare more traditional quantum mechanical models (which use complex state vectors), alongside more generalized quantum models that use real and binary vectors. The implementation of such a system presents fundamental computational challenges. For large and sometimes sparse datasets, the demands on time and space are different for real, complex, and binary vectors. To accommodate these demands, the Semantic Vectors package has been carefully adapted and can now switch between different number types comparatively seamlessly. This paper describes the key abstract operations in our semantic vector models, and describes the implementations for real, complex, and binary vectors. We also discuss some of the key questions that arise in the field of quantum interaction and informatics, explaining how the wide availability of modelling options for different number fields will help to investigate some of these questions.

Semantic judgement of medical concepts : combining syntagmatic and paradigmatic information with the tensor encoding model

This paper outlines a novel approach for modelling semantic relationships within medical documents. Medical terminologies contain a rich source of semantic information critical to a number of techniques in medical informatics, including medical information retrieval. Recent research suggests that corpus-driven approaches are effective at automatically capturing semantic similarities between medical concepts, thus making them an attractive option for accessing semantic information. Most previous corpus-driven methods only considered syntagmatic associations. In this paper, we adapt a recent approach that explicitly models both syntagmatic and paradigmatic associations. We show that the implicit similarity between certain medical concepts can only be modelled using paradigmatic associations. In addition, the inclusion of both types of associations overcomes the sensitivity to the training corpus experienced by previous approaches, making our method both more effective and more robust. This finding may have implications for researchers in the area of medical information retrieval.

Critical theory and literacy

This handbook chapter explores the relationship between critical theory and seminal studies of literacy which investigate inequities in education. It identifies new research questions to explore the connections between literacy and power, but go beyond promises of emancipation.

Basic cognitive experiences and definitions in the Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English

This study applies theories of cognitive linguistics to the compilation of English learners’ dictionaries. Specifically, it employs the concepts of basic level categories and image schemas, two basic cognitive experiences, to examine the ‘definition proper’ of English dictionaries for foreign learners. In the study, the definition proper refers to the constituent part of a reference work that provides an explanation of the meanings of a word, phrase or term. This rationalization mainly consists of defining vocabulary, sense division and arrangement, as well as the means of defining (i.e. paraphrase, true definition, functional definition, and pictorial illustration). The aim of the study is to suggest ways of aligning the consultation and learning of definitions with dictionary users’ cognitive experiences. For this purpose, an analysis of the definition proper of the fourth edition of the Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English (LDOCE4) from the perspective of basic cognitive experiences has been undertaken. The study found that, generally, the lexicographic practices of LDOCE4 are consistent with theories of cognitive linguistics. However, there exist shortcomings that result from disregarding basic cognitive experiences.

Automatic query expansion : a structural linguistic perspective

A user’s query is considered to be an imprecise description of their information need. Automatic query expansion is the process of reformulating the original query with the goal of improving retrieval effectiveness. Many successful query expansion techniques ignore information about the dependencies that exist between words in natural language. However, more recent approaches have demonstrated that by explicitly modeling associations between terms significant improvements in retrieval effectiveness can be achieved over those that ignore these dependencies. State-of-the-art dependency-based approaches have been shown to primarily model syntagmatic associations. Syntagmatic associations infer a likelihood that two terms co-occur more often than by chance. However, structural linguistics relies on both syntagmatic and paradigmatic associations to deduce the meaning of a word. Given the success of dependency-based approaches and the reliance on word meanings in the query formulation process, we argue that modeling both syntagmatic and paradigmatic information in the query expansion process will improve retrieval effectiveness. This article develops and evaluates a new query expansion technique that is based on a formal, corpus-based model of word meaning that models syntagmatic and paradigmatic associations. We demonstrate that when sufficient statistical information exists, as in the case of longer queries, including paradigmatic information alone provides significant improvements in retrieval effectiveness across a wide variety of data sets. More generally, when our new query expansion approach is applied to large-scale web retrieval it demonstrates significant improvements in retrieval effectiveness over a strong baseline system, based on a commercial search engine.

Some extensions to representation and encoding of structure in models of distributional semantics

This thesis makes several contributions towards improved methods for encoding structure in computational models of word meaning. New methods are proposed and evaluated which address the requirement of being able to easily encode linguistic structural features within a computational representation while retaining the ability to scale to large volumes of textual data. Various methods are implemented and evaluated on a range of evaluation tasks to demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed methods.

The kineikonic mode : a multimodal analysis of students’ claymation movies

Globalised communication in society today is characterised by multimodal forms of meaning making in the context of increased cultural and linguistic diversity. This research paper responds to these imperatives, applying Halliday's (1978, 1994) categories of systemic functional linguistics - representational or ideational, interactive or interpersonal, and compositional or textual meanings. Following the work of Kress (2000), van Leeuwen (Kress and van Leeuwen, 1996), and Jewitt (2006), multimodal semiotic analysis is applied to claymation movies that were collaboratively designed by Year 6 students. The significance of this analysis is the metalanguage for textual work in the kineikonic mode - moving images.

Multiliteracies and a new metalanguage for the moving image

Globalised communication in society today is characterised by multimodal forms of meaning making in a context of increased cultural and linguistic diversity, calling for the teaching of multiliteracies. This transformation requires the development of a new metalanguage or language of description for the burgeoning and hybridised variety of text forms associated with information and multimedia technologies. To continue to teach to a narrow band of print-based genres, grammars, and skills is to ignore the reality of textual practices outside of schools. This paper draws from classroom research in a multiliteracies classroom to provide a multimodal analysis of a claymation movie. The significance of the paper is the synthesis of a multimodal metalanguage for teachers and students to describe the features of work in the kineikonic (moving image) mode.

Term associations in query expansion : a structural linguistic perspective

Many successful query expansion techniques ignore information about the term dependencies that exist within natural language. However, researchers have recently demonstrated that consistent and significant improvements in retrieval effectiveness can be achieved by explicitly modelling term dependencies within the query expansion process. This has created an increased interest in dependency-based models. State-of-the-art dependency-based approaches primarily model term associations known within structural linguistics as syntagmatic associations, which are formed when terms co-occur together more often than by chance. However, structural linguistics proposes that the meaning of a word is also dependent on its paradigmatic associations, which are formed between words that can substitute for each other without effecting the acceptability of a sentence. Given the reliance on word meanings when a user formulates their query, our approach takes the novel step of modelling both syntagmatic and paradigmatic associations within the query expansion process based on the (pseudo) relevant documents returned in web search. The results demonstrate that this approach can provide significant improvements in web re- trieval effectiveness when compared to a strong benchmark retrieval system.

Learner strategy instruction and student uptake of strategies in a Japanese as a foreign language context

The Japanese language is recognised as being more difficult than European languages, needing three times more tuition time to reach comparable levels of proficiency. Encouraging Japanese as a Foreign Language (JFL) students to become aware of, and effectively use, learner strategies is one way to assist them become more controlled, effective learners leading to enhanced language learning. This thesis investigates the development and implementation of a JFL curriculum implemented in a university course for students learning JFL. The curriculum was developed specifically to assist beginner university students with the development of learner strategies appropriate for a JFL reading context. The theoretical underpinning of the study was informed by Educational Criticism (Eisner, 1998), which aims to describe, interpret and evaluate the processes of interaction between the teacher, the learner and the curriculum and the students' learning processes in a tertiary JFL classroom. The study investigated the effect on student learning processes of a JFL reading program that incorporated explicit learner strategy instruction and identified factors that enhanced or impeded the development of learner strategy knowledge. The participants in the study were 29 students enrolled in the course, 10 of whom volunteered to undertake additional tasks, and the two teachers who implemented the curriculum. Data collection involved a number of different strategies to observe the students' participation in the classroom and learning experiences. Learning processes were investigated through TOL protocols, classroom observations, course evaluations, interviews, and learner strategy use measurement instruments (SILL, SILK and SORS) to document student uptake of learner strategies. The design of the study and its applied focus recognised my expertise as a JFL teacher, curriculum writer and researcher, an approach that aligns with the purpose of a Professional Doctorate. Four general thematics, or principles, were identified in this study: „h Explicit learner strategy instruction provides the context for students to develop awareness of learner strategies and take control of their learning; „h Collaborative learning and interaction with teachers offers students the opportunity for shared knowledge construction; „h Reflection offers teachers and students the opportunity to reflect on their own learning style and strategy knowledge, and raises awareness of other available strategies; and „h Diverse cultural and linguistic backgrounds have an impact on curriculum implementation and student uptake of learner strategies. The study¡¦s methodological contribution is that it is one of the first in Australia to use Educational Criticism (Eisner, 1998) as a research methodology. The findings contribute to theoretical knowledge in the fields of Applied Linguistics, Second Language Teaching and Learning, Second Language Acquisition and JFL Teaching and Learning by offering new knowledge on the importance of learner strategies in the beginner JFL classroom, the potential of explicit strategy instruction, the value of reflection for both teachers and students, and the important role of the teacher in the process of curriculum implementation. The general principles identified and the findings of this in-depth study of a JFL classroom can be drawn upon to inform other teaching practice situations, and invite practitioners from not just Japanese, but from other language areas and other disciplines, to examine and improve their own practices, and suggest further research questions to pursue this line of enquiry.