English grammar in lectures : designed to render its principles easily adapted to the mind of the young learner, and its study entertaining /

Mode of access: Internet.

English grammar in lectures : designed to render its principles easily adapted to the mind of the young learner, and its study entertaining /

Mode of access: Internet.

Modern language instruction in Canada.

An annotated bibliography of modern language methodology: v.1, p. 1-428.

Talking to children: The within-classroom nature of everyday adult language in the early childhood educational environment

Group-size effects, as changes in the adult language when speaking to individual or multiple children in two- and three-year-olds' Australian childcare centre classrooms were investigated. The language addressed to children by 21 staff members was coded for social (e.g., non-verbal, inferential and pragmatic), and linguistic (e.g., morphological, lexical, syntactic and referential) features. In the two-year-olds' classrooms, minimal differences were found between the language used in dyads (addressed to a single child) and polyads (addressed to more than one child). More extensive group-size effects, particularly in syntactic complexity, were found in the three-year-olds' classrooms. Explanations for the constancy of the adult language input in the younger classrooms, and the changes noted in the older rooms will be discussed in terms of plurality (i.e., more than one listener), methodology, and group-size effects that may be specific to the early childhood educational setting.

Publication practices of English language occupational therapy journals

The aim of this study was to determine the characteristics and publication practices of English language occupational therapy journals. An adapted version of the Survey of Editors Regarding Publishing Practices was posted to the editors of English language occupational therapy journals (n = 14) in September 2001. The response rate was 92.9% (n = 13). Journals were published on average 4.77 times per year and comprised 89% text and 10% advertising. The preferred average length of manuscripts was 20 pages using American Psychological Association format. The average acceptance rate of unsolicited manuscripts was 46.6%. All the journals were peer-reviewed publications and 80% were research oriented. The most frequently cited reasons for rejection of manuscripts were methodology problems, poorly developed idea, poorly written and data interpretation problems. The professional focus of published manuscripts was on research and the clinical foci were on paediatrics, gerontology and physical medicine. The study concludes that there are a variety of publishing opportunities available to occupational therapists. It is essential that prospective authors consult the journal guidelines for authors, including the types of manuscript accepted.

Living on the ground research: Steps towards white women researching in collaboration with indigenous people

De Ishtar discusses ways in which Whites could develop research epistemologies and methodologies which responded to and reflected those being developed by Indigenous researchers across Australia and around the world. She details her own explorations in developing a methodology which enabled her to work in collaboration with a group of Indigenous women elders from Western Australia's Great Sandy Desert. She stresses that if collaborative research with Indigenous women is to be possible, White feminists must learn how to do research which is culturally unobtrusive, and that means taking responsibility for their own cultural practices, attitudes and values.

A visiting occupational therapy service to indigenous children in school: Results of a pilot project

The need for additional support for Indigenous children at school is well documented. Occupational therapists are well positioned to form part of this support. However, many occupational therapists report that Indigenous families do not access their services and when they do, the occupational therapist feels uncertain about how best to meet their needs. This article documents a pilot project which delivered occupational therapy services within several schools and preschools in Brisbane which had significant numbers of Indigenous students. The project was evaluated using a qualitative methodology and included focus groups and interviews with teachers and parents. The results indicated that in general the service provided valuable support to students, teachers and parents. In particular, providing the service within the school context was seen as critical to its success. Suggestions for improvements in future support services are also provided.

Rapport-building through call in teaching Chinese as a foreign language: An exploratory study

Technological advances have brought about the ever-increasing utilisation of computer-assisted language learning ( CALL) media in the learning of a second language (L2). Computer-mediated communication, for example, provides a practical means for extending the learning of spoken language, a challenging process in tonal languages such as Chinese, beyond the realms of the classroom. In order to effectively improve spoken language competency, however, CALL applications must also reproduce the social interaction that lies at the heart of language learning and language use. This study draws on data obtained from the utilisation of CALL in the learning of L2 Chinese to explore whether this medium can be used to extend opportunities for rapport-building in language teaching beyond the face-to-face interaction of the classroom. Rapport's importance lies in its potential to enhance learning, motivate learners, and reduce learner anxiety. To date, CALL's potential in relation to this facet of social interaction remains a neglected area of research. The results of this exploratory study suggest that CALL may help foster learner-teacher rapport and that scaffolding, such as strategically composing rapport-fostering questions in sound-files, is conducive to this outcome. The study provides an instruction model for this application of CALL.

Syntactic complexity measures and their relation to oral proficiency in Japanese as a foreign language

The study reported in this article is a part of a large-scale study investigating syntactic complexity in second language (L2) oral data in commonly taught foreign languages (English, German, Japanese, and Spanish; Ortega, Iwashita, Rabie, & Norris, in preparation). In this article, preliminary findings of the analysis of the Japanese data are reported. Syntactic complexity, which is referred to as syntactic maturity or the use of a range of forms with degrees of sophistication (Ortega, 2003), has long been of interest to researchers in L2 writing. In L2 speaking, researchers have examined syntactic complexity in learner speech in the context of pedagogic intervention (e.g., task type, planning time) and the validation of rating scales. In these studies complexity is examined using measures commonly employed in L2 writing studies. It is assumed that these measures are valid and reliable, but few studies explain what syntactic complexity measures actually examine. The language studied is predominantly English, and little is known about whether the findings of such studies can be applied to languages that are typologically different from English. This study examines how syntactic complexity measures relate to oral proficiency in Japanese as a foreign language. An in-depth analysis of speech samples from 33 learners of Japanese is presented. The results of the analysis are compared across proficiency levels and cross-referenced with 3 other proficiency measures used in the study. As in past studies, the length of T-units and the number of clauses per T-unit is found to be the best way to predict learner proficiency; the measure also had a significant linear relation with independent oral proficiency measures. These results are discussed in light of the notion of syntactic complexity and the interfaces between second language acquisition and language testing. Adapted from the source document

The advanced learner variety:the case of French

This volume originates from a workshop entitled 'Revisiting advanced varieties in L2 learning' organized by the editors at Aston University (Birmingham, UK) in June 2006. It consists of a peer-reviewed selection of the best contributions. Many different approaches have been used in the study of advanced learners and their characteristics. Specific areas of language have repeatedly been found to remain problematic even at advanced levels, and much empirical research has been carried out. In particular, areas of grammar such as the tense or agreement systems often pose difficulties, as well as lexical idiosyncrasies such as formulaic sequences, and the discourse/pragmatic constraints operating in French. This volume brings together recent research exploring the advanced learner capabilities in each of those domains, as well as possible explanations for the difficulties they raise for the L2 learner of French. Additionally, one of the areas which has received considerable attention in the French L2 literature on advanced learners, tense and aspect, is also explored from the point of view of French learners of English, to explore any parallels. In presenting this research, the book clarifies the concept of the advanced learner: how does s/he differ from native speakers and why?

Aspects of the learner's dictionary with special reference to advanced Pakistani learners of English

The present work is an empirical investigation into the lq`reference skills' of Pakistani learners and their language needs on semantic, phonetic, lexical and pragmatic levels in the dictionary. The introductory chapter discusses the relatively problematic nature of lexis in comparison with the other aspects in EFL learning and spells out the aim of this study. Chapter two provides an analytical survey of the various types of research undertaken in different contexts of the dictionary and explains the eclectic approach adopted in the present work. Chapter three studies the `reference skills' of this category of learners in the background of highly sophisticated information structure of learners' dictionaries under evaluation and suggests some measures for improvement in this context. Chapter four considers various criteria, eg. pedagogic, linguistic and sociolinguistic for determining the macro-structure of learner's dictionary with a focus on specific Ll speakers. Chapter five is concerned with various aspects of the semantic information provided in the dictionaries matched against the needs of Pakistani learners with regard to both comprehension and production. The type, scale and presentation of grammatical information in the dictionary is analysed in chapter six with the object of discovering their role and utility for the learner. Chapter seven explores the rationale for providing phonological information, the extent to which this guidance is vital and the problems of phonetic symbols employed in the dictionaries. Chapter eight brings into perspective the historical background of English-Urdu bilingual lexicography and evalutes the currently popular bilingual dictionaries among the student community, with the aim of discovering the extent to which they have taken account of the modern tents of lexicography and investigating their validity as a useful reference tool in the learning of English language. The final chapter concludes the findings of individual aspects in a coherent fashion to assess the viability of the original hypothesis that learners' dictionaries if compiled with a specific set of users in mind would be more useful.

Designing a methodology for an office communication and information system:for executives in the Malaysian public sector : the Prime Minister's office

Modern managers are under tremendous pressure in attempting to fulfil a profoundly complex managerial task, that of handling information resources. Information management, an intricate process requiring a high measure of human cognition and discernment, involves matching a manager's lack of information processing capacity against his information needs, with voluminous information at his disposal. The nature of the task will undoubtedly become more complex in the case of a large organisation. Management of large-scale organisations is therefore an exceedingly challenging prospect for any manager to be faced with. A system that supports executive information needs will help reduce managerial and informational mismatches. In the context of the Malaysian public sector, the task of overall management lies with the Prime Minister and the Cabinet. The Prime Minister's Office is presently supporting the Prime Minister's information and managerial needs, although not without various shortcomings. The rigid formalised structure predominant of the Malaysian public sector, so opposed to dynamic treatment of problematic issues as faced by that sector, further escalates the managerial and organisational problem of coping with a state of complexity. The principal features of the research are twofold: the development of a methodology for diagnosing the problem organisation' and the design of an office system. The methodological development is done in the context of the Malaysian public sector, and aims at understanding the complexity of its communication and control situation. The outcome is a viable model of the public sector. `Design', on the other hand, is developing a syntax or language for office systems which provides an alternative to current views on office systems. The design is done with reference to, rather than for, the Prime Minister's Office. The desirable outcome will be an office model called Office Communication and Information System (OCIS).

A legal perspective of integrated surface mining, solid waste landfill reclamation and land conservation

In the area of international environmental law this thesis proposes the formulation of one-step planning and permitting regulation for the integrated utilisation of new surface mines as depositories for municipal solid waste. Additionally, the utilisation of abandoned and currently operated surface mines is proposed as solid waste landfills as an integral step in their reclamation. Existing laws, litigation and issues in the United Kingdom, the U.S. and Canada are discussed because of their common legal system, language and heritage. The critical shortage of approved space for disposal of solid waste has caused an urgent and growing problem for both the waste disposal industry and society. Surface mining can serve three important environmental and societal functions inuring to the health and welfare of the public: (1) providing basic minerals for goods and construction; (20 sequentially, to provide critically needed, safe burial sites for society's wastes, and (3) to conserve land by dual purpose use and to restore derelict land to beneficial surface use. Currently, the first two functions are treated environmentally, and in regulation, as two different siting problems, yet they both are earth-disturbing and excavating industries requiring surface restoration. The processes are largely duplicative and should be combined for better efficiency, less earth disturbance, conservation of land, and for fuller and better reclamation of completed surface mines returning the surfaces to greater utility than present mined land reclamation procedures. While both industries are viewed by a developed society and its communities as "bad neighbours", they remain essential and critical for mankind's existence and welfare. The study offers successful examples of the integrated process in each country. The study argues that most non-fuel surface mine openings, if not already safe, can economically, through present containment technology, be made environmentally safe for use as solid waste landfills. Simultaneously, the procedure safeguards and monitors protection of ground and surface waters from landfill contamination.

Vision2020 and the English language : a study of the role of language in national development.

The research reported here is an investigation into the problems of social and economic development of a multiethic and multicultural country which has the added challenge of adopting a non-indigenous code to facilitate the development process. Malaysia's power to negotiate outcomes favourable to the interest of the country is critical for the successful attainment of the goals and objectives of VISION2020. Therefore the mechanisms of the human resource development programme have to be efficacious. The three hypotheses of this study are as follows: 1. there is a fear that the problems and challenges posed by the development plans, have been conceptually trivialised; 2. based on (1) above there is a concern that solutions proposed are inadequate and inappropriate and 3. the outcome of both (1) and (2) can lead to the potential underachievement of national goals and objectives. The study proposes a complex model for conceptualising the problem which looks at the relationship between society and language, which any solutions proposed must take into proper consideration. The study looks at the mechanisms available for the smooth absorption of new Malaysian members to new and international communities. A large scale investigation was undertaken with the researcher functioning as a participant observer. An in-depth study of one particular educational ecology yielded approximately 38 hours of interviews and 100 questionnaires. These data were analysed both for explicit information and implicit implications. By some criteria national policies appear to be having the desired effect, and can be given a clean bill of health. By others it is clear that major adjustments would be necessary if the nation is to achieve its objectives in full. Based on the evidence gathered, thr study proposes an apprenticeship approach to training programmes for effective participation of new members in the new ecologies.