Auditory processing disorder in patients with language-learning impairment and correlation with malformation of cortical development

Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq)

The interlanguage development in the spanish learning as foreign language in Teletandem under the View of the Complexity Theory

This article presents, under the perspective of Complexity Theory, the characteristics of the learning process of Spanish as a foreign language in Teletandem. Data were collected from two pairs of Portuguese-Spanish interagents, who were engaged in a systematic and regular interaction, based on the tandem principles. It was found that the learning experience is developed with the peculiarities that arise from the context, agents, members and their nuances, which revealed the presence of a shallow space between the systems of native and foreign languages.

Lexical Development in Adult Beginning Second Language Learners

This research tests the hypothesis that knowledge of derivational morphology facilitates vocabulary acquisition in beginning adult second language learners. Participants were mono-lingual English-speaking college students aged 18 years and older enrolled inintroductory Spanish courses. Knowledge of Spanish derivational morphology was tested through the use of a forced-choice translation task. Spanish lexical knowledge was measured by a translation task using direct translation (English word) primes and conceptual (picture) primes. A 2x2x2 mixed factor ANOVA examined the relationships between morphological knowledge (strong, moderate), error type (form-based, conceptual), and prime type (direct translation, picture). The results are consistent with the existence of a relationship between knowledge of derivational morphology andacquisition of second language vocabulary. Participants made more conceptually-based errors than form-based errors F (1,22)=7.744, p=.011. This result is consistent with Clahsen & Felser’s (2006) and Ullman’s (2004) models of second language processing. Additionally, participants with Strong morphological knowledge made fewer errors onthe lexical knowledge task than participants with Moderate morphological knowledge t(23)=-2.656, p=.014. I suggest future directions to clarify the relationship between morphological knowledge and lexical development in adult second language learners.

Delayed Development of Neural Language Organization in Very Preterm Born Children

This study investigates neural language organization in very preterm born children compared to control children and examines the relationship between language organization, age, and language performance. Fifty-six preterms and 38 controls (7–12 y) completed a functional magnetic resonance imaging language task. Lateralization and signal change were computed for language-relevant brain regions. Younger preterms showed a bilateral language network whereas older preterms revealed left-sided language organization. No age-related differences in language organization were observed in controls. Results indicate that preterms maintain atypical bilateral language organization longer than term born controls. This might reflect a delay of neural language organization due to very premature birth.

Courses in the language and culture of origin and their impact on youth development in cultural transition: A study among immigrant and dual heritage youth in Switzerland

Elena Makarova traces how the concept of intercultural education in German-speaking European countries promotes the inclusion of courses in the Language and Culture of Origin (LCO) for immigrant youth in the school curriculum of host countries. Such courses are assumed to have positive effects on the development of immigrant youth in the host country. Particularly, it has been suggested that participation in LCO courses increases the self-esteem of immigrant youth, facilitates the development of their bicultural identity and improves their integration in the host society. However, there is a lack of empirical evidence on the nature of the effects of LCO course attendance on the acculturation of immigrant youth and their cultural identity. Accordingly, the aim of the study detailed in the chapter is to examine the impact of immigrant youth’s attitudes towards LCO courses and of their attendance of such courses on their acculturation and cultural identity.

Use of cognitive interviewing in the development of a Spanish language genetic knowledge instrument

Study purpose. Genetic advances are significantly impacting healthcare, yet recent studies of ethnic group participation in genetic services demonstrate low utilization rates by Latinos. Limited genetic knowledge is a major barrier. The purpose of this study was to field test items in a Spanish-language instrument that will be used to measure genetic knowledge relevant to type 2 diabetes among members of the ethnically heterogeneous U.S. Latino community. Accurate genetic knowledge measurement can provide the foundation for interventions to enhance genetic service utilization. ^ Design. Three waves of cognitive interviews were conducted in Spanish to field test 44 instrument items Thirty-six Latinos, with 12 persons representative of Mexican, Central and South American, and Cuban heritage participated, including 7 males and 29 females between 22 and 60 years of age; 17 participants had 12 years or less of education. ^ Methods. Text narratives from transcriptions of audiotaped interviews were qualitatively analyzed using a coding strategy to indicate potential sources of response error. Through an iterative process of instrument refinement, codes that emerged from the data were used to guide item revisions at the conclusion of each phase; revised items were examined in subsequent interview waves. ^ Results. Inter-cultural and cross-cultural themes associated with difficulties in interpretation and grammatical structuring of items were identified; difficulties associated with comprehension reflected variations in educational level. Of the original 44 items, 32 were retained, 89% of which were revised. Six additional items reflective of cultural knowledge were constructed, resulting in a 38-item instrument. ^ Conclusions. Use of cognitive interviewing provided a valuable tool for detecting both potential sources of response error and cultural variations in these sources. Analysis of interview data guided successive instrument revisions leading to improved item interpretability and comprehension. Although testing in a larger sample will be essential to test validity and reliability, the outcome of field testing suggests initial content validity of a Spanish-language instrument to measure genetic knowledge relative to type 2 diabetes. ^ Keywords. Latinos, genetic knowledge, instrument development, cognitive interviewing ^

An overview of the ciao multiparadigm language and program development environment and its design philosophy

We describe some of the novel aspects and motivations behind the design and implementation of the Ciao multiparadigm programming system. An important aspect of Ciao is that it provides the programmer with a large number of useful features from different programming paradigms and styles, and that the use of each of these features can be turned on and off at will for each program module. Thus, a given module may be using e.g. higher order functions and constraints, while another module may be using objects, predicates, and concurrency. Furthermore, the language is designed to be extensible in a simple and modular way. Another important aspect of Ciao is its programming environment, which provides a powerful preprocessor (with an associated assertion language) capable of statically finding non-trivial bugs, verifying that programs comply with specifications, and performing many types of program optimizations. Such optimizations produce code that is highly competitive with other dynamic languages or, when the highest levéis of optimization are used, even that of static languages, all while retaining the interactive development environment of a dynamic language. The environment also includes a powerful auto-documenter. The paper provides an informal overview of the language and program development environment. It aims at illustrating the design philosophy rather than at being exhaustive, which would be impossible in the format of a paper, pointing instead to the existing literature on the system.

Design, development and field evaluation of a Spanish into sign language translation system

This paper describes the design, development and field evaluation of a machine translation system from Spanish to Spanish Sign Language (LSE: Lengua de Signos Española). The developed system focuses on helping Deaf people when they want to renew their Driver’s License. The system is made up of a speech recognizer (for decoding the spoken utterance into a word sequence), a natural language translator (for converting a word sequence into a sequence of signs belonging to the sign language), and a 3D avatar animation module (for playing back the signs). For the natural language translator, three technological approaches have been implemented and evaluated: an example-based strategy, a rule-based translation method and a statistical translator. For the final version, the implemented language translator combines all the alternatives into a hierarchical structure. This paper includes a detailed description of the field evaluation. This evaluation was carried out in the Local Traffic Office in Toledo involving real government employees and Deaf people. The evaluation includes objective measurements from the system and subjective information from questionnaires. The paper details the main problems found and a discussion on how to solve them (some of them specific for LSE).

Development of a Knowledge Base for smart screening of language disorders in primary care

Monitoring of neuro-evolutive development from birth until the age of six is a decisive factor in a child's quality of life. Early detection of development disorders in early childhood can facilitate necessary diagnosis and/or treatment. Primary-care pediatricians play a key role in early detection of development alterations as they can undertake the preventive and therapeutic actions necessary in the interest of a child's optimal development. The focus of this research paper is the construction of a Knowledge Base for smart screening aimed to assist pediatricians in processes of early referral in language disorders. The proposed model provides health professionals with a decision-making tool that supports referral processes. In this way, essential diagnostic and/or therapeutic actions are triggered for a comprehensive individual development. The resulting system was developed on the basis of an analysis and verification of 21 cases of children with language disorders.

Examining the Complex Relationships of Early Intervention on Language and Psychosocial Development in Families Facing Multiple Risks with a Focus on Children of Hispanic Immigrants

Abundant research has shown that poverty has negative influences on young child academic and psychosocial development, and unfortunately, disparities in school readiness between low and high income children can be seen as early the first year of life. The largest federal early care and education intervention for these vulnerable children is Early Head Start (EHS). To diminish these disparate child outcomes, EHS seeks to provide community based flexible programming for infants and toddlers and their families. Given how relatively recent these programs have been offered, little is known about the nuances of how EHS impacts infant and toddler language and psychosocial development. Using a framework of Community Based Participatory Research (CBPR) this paper had 5 goals: 1) to characterize the associations between domain specific and cumulative risk and child outcomes 2) to validate and explore these risk-outcome associations separately for Children of Hispanic immigrants (COHIs), 3) to explore relationships among family characteristics, multiple environmental factors, and dosage patterns in different EHS program types, 4) to examine the relationship between EHS dosage and child outcomes, and 5) to examine how EHS compliance impacts child internalizing and externalizing behaviors and emerging language abilities. Results of the current study showed that risks were differentially related to child outcomes. Poor maternal mental health was related to child internalizing and externalizing behaviors, but not related to emerging child language skills. Although child language skills were not related to maternal mental health, they were related to economic hardship. Additionally, parent level Spanish use and heritage orientation were associated with positive child outcomes. Results also showed that these relationships differed when COHIs and children with native-born parents were examined separately. Further, unique patterns emerged for EHS program use, for example families who participated in home-based care were less likely to comply with EHS attendance requirements. These findings provide tangible suggestions for EHS stakeholders: namely, the need to develop effective programming that targets engagement for diverse families enrolled in EHS programs.

English grammar. The English language in its elements and forms. With a history of its origin and development. Abridged from the octavo edition. Designed for general use in schools and families.

Incl. Prof. F. A. Marsh's Method of philological study of the English laguages.