Narration in Swedish pre- and primary school : a recourse for language development and multilingualism

Increased immigration in Europe and worldwide has led to more pre- and primary school students being educated through the medium of a second language, and there is considerable research, much of it coming from Australia, to suggest that in order to cope with this situation, children will need to begin to acquire, from their earliest years in pre-school, a variety of knowledge-based language skills that will be sufficient to carry them through the subject-based education they will encounter in their subsequent schooling. This is particularly important for L2-students who are less likely to meet academic language outside the school. In this paper, based on transcripts of oral interactions in the classroom, it is argued that conversational and story-telling skills, oral and written, provide a rich environment for the development of academic school language, while at the same time promoting and making good use of the cultural diversity that is increasingly a feature of pre-primary and primary classrooms.

Mathematical Communication through Written and Oral Expression

In this action research study of my classroom of sixth grade mathematics, I investigated the use of communication of mathematics through both written and oral expression. Giving my students the opportunity to communicate mathematics both in writing and orally helped to deepen the students’ understanding of mathematics. The students’ levels of comprehension were increased when they were presented with a variety of instructional methods. Through discussion and reflection the students were able to find methods that worked best for them and their learning ability. Students’ understanding increased from probing questions that made the students reflect and re-evaluate their solutions. This learning took place when students were made aware of different solutions or ways of doing things from the class discussions that were held. I discovered that when students are challenged to express their thinking both in writing and orally, the students found that they could communicate their thinking in a new way. Some of my students were only comfortable expressing their thoughts in one of the two ways but by the time the project was completed, they all expressed that they enjoyed both ways, and maybe changed the original way they preferred doing mathematics. As a result of this research, I will continue to require students to communicate their thinking and reasoning both in writing and orally.

Emotion, Affect, Sentiment: The Language and Aesthetics of Feeling

Bringing together experts from linguistics, medieval and modern literary studies, this volume offers a transhistorical look at the language and cultural work of emotion in a variety of written, oral and visual texts. Contributors engage with the recent so-called affective turn, but also examine the language and use of emotion from a variety of perspectives, touching on issues such as Romantic and Modernist aesthetics, the history of emotions, melodramatic and the Gothic, reception aesthetics, rudeness, and medicine.

Association between dental-oral health in young adults and salivary glutathione, lipid peroxidation and sialic acid levels and carbonic anhydrase activity

The aim of the present study was to evaluate the relationship between salivary oxidative stress and dental-oral health. Healthy young adults, matched for gender and age, with (N = 21, 10 men, mean age: 20.3 ± 1 years) and without (N = 16, 8 men, mean age: 21.2 ± 1.8 years) caries were included in this study. The World Health Organization (WHO) caries diagnostic criteria were used for determining the decayed, missing, filled teeth (DMFT) index. The oral hygiene and gingival status were assessed using the simplified oral hygiene index and gingival index, respectively. Unstimulated salivary total protein, glutathione (GSH), lipid peroxidation and total sialic acid levels, carbonic anhydrase activity, and salivary buffering capacity were determined by standard methods. Furthermore, salivary pH was measured with pH paper and salivary flow rate was calculated. Simplified oral hygiene index and gingival index were not significantly different between groups but DMFT scores were significant (P < 0.01). Only, GSH values were significantly different (P < 0.05) between groups (2.2 and 1.6 mg/g protein in young adults without caries and with caries, respectively). There was a significant negative correlation between DMFT and GSH (r = -0.391; P < 0.05; Pearson's correlation coefficient). Our results suggest that there is an association between caries history and salivary GSH levels.

The Effects of Drama on Oral Fluency and Foreign Language Anxiety: An exploratory study

Previous research has suggested that drama has positive effects on learners' oral communication and anxiety; however, it is unclear which dimensions, or to what extent, they are affected by drama. This research narrows the investigation by examining how a drama-based EFL program impacts three dimensions of oral communication: fluency, comprehensibility, and accentedness, and one anxiety factor - foreign language speaking anxiety (FLSA) -, over time. Speech samples were collected from EFL learners in a treatment and a control group, and subsequently assessed by untrained Canadian-born raters. FLSA levels were measured through questionnaires and interviews. Pre- and post-test analysis indicate that learners in the treatment group made significant gains in oral fluency while oral fluency among learners in the control group remained unchanged. There was a significant reduction in FLSA levels among learners in both groups. Finally, qualitative analyses suggest that drama activities, among others, enhance learners' comfort levels in speaking English.

Oral French Communication in French Immersion Canadian and World Studies Classrooms: A Primer for Educators

This project presents a primer for secondary French Immersion teachers that facilitates the use of French oral communicative activities in secondary Canadian and World Studies courses. The primer supports collaborative and inclusive teaching strategies that invite students to speak and develop their oral French communication skills. The primer is divided into 2 main components: (a) Rationale for the Primer, and (b) the Strategies themselves, comprising succinct descriptions as well as potential uses and suggestions. A critical content analysis of various Ontario Ministry of Education documents was undertaken in order to explore the importance of oral communication in second-language learning in Ontario secondary schools. Furthermore, holistic and invitational education perspectives were examined in order to define the advantages of collaborative learning. Moreover, research in the stream of French Immersion studies was also referenced to frame the relevance of second-language learning and the significant role the French Immersion teacher plays. The aforementioned research contributes to the advancement of theory and practice regarding the importance of opportunities for oral French communication in secondary Canadian and World Studies courses.

A Teacher’s Formative Assessment Perceptions and Practices in Oral Intermediate English Courses at the Université de Montréal

Au cours des dernières années, les pratiques de l’évaluation comme aide à l’apprentissage (c’est-à-dire l’auto-évaluation, l’évaluation par les pairs, la rétroaction) dans la salle de classe ont été de plus en plus considérées comme des éléments essentiels (Black & Wiliam, 1998; Harlen & Winter, 2004; van de Watering & van der Rijt, 2006). Cependant, dans le domaine de l’apprentissage d’une langue seconde la recherche sur ce sujet est plutôt limitée. En nous fondant sur les études de Colby-Kelly et Turner (2007) et de Lyster et Ranta (1997), nous avons mené une recherche exploratoire visant à combler ce besoin. L’objectif général était de comprendre comment l’évaluation formative se réalise dans deux cours d’anglais intermédiaire à l’Université de Montréal, et de comparer comment ces pratiques sont perçues et vécues par la professeure et ses étudiants. Trois questions de recherche étaient posées: 1. Quelle est la nature de l’évaluation formative dans une salle de classe d’anglais langue seconde? 2. Est-ce que les pratiques de la professeure reflètent ce qu’elle pense de l’évaluation formative? 3. Quels sont les correspondances et différences entre les croyances de la professeure et les perceptions de ses étudiants quant aux bénéfices de l’évaluation formative pour l’apprentissage de l’anglais langue seconde? La collecte de données comprend des observations en classe, des entrevues auprès de la professeure et des questionnaires pour les étudiants. Pour répondre à notre première question de recherche, nous avons analysé la rétroaction donnée par la professeure pendant une production orale réalisée par ses étudiants à partir de la typologie de feedback et de uptake de l’étude de Lyster et Ranta (1997). En ce qui a trait à la deuxième question de recherche, nous avons fait des entrevues avec la professeure en vue d’expliciter ses perceptions relativement à l’évaluation formative. À la fin du trimestre, nous avons comparé ses réponses avec sa pratique à partir des enregistrements vidéo produits en classe. Finalement, pour répondre à notre dernière question de recherche nous avons comparé les réponses données par la professeure aux entrevues avec les réponses des étudiants à un questionnaire adapté à partir de celui de Colby-Kelly et Turner. Finalement, nous présentons et discutons les résultats les plus significatifs obtenus dans cette étude qualitative Nous concluons cette thèse en proposant de avenues pour des recherches futures.

Language, education and ethnicity: whose rights will prevail in an age of globalisation?

Education and ethnicity cannot be discussed without taking language into account. This paper will argue that any discussion of ethnic minorities cannot ignore the question of language, nor can any discussion of human rights ignore the question of language rights. Unfortunately, in today's globalised world, governments and minorities are faced with conflicting pressures: on the one hand, for the development and use of education in a global/international language; on the other for the use and development of mother tongue, local or indigenous languages in education. Language complexity and ethnic plurality were largely brought about as a result of the creation of nation-states, which were spread around the world as a result of European colonialism. European languages and formal education systems were used as a means of political and economic control. The legacy that was left by the colonial powers has complicated ethnic relations and has frequently led to conflict. While there is now greater recognition of the importance of language both for economic and educational development, as well as for human rights, the forces of globalisation are leading towards uniformity in the languages used, in culture and even in education. They are working against the development of language rights for smaller groups. We are witnessing a sharp decline in the number of languages spoken. Only those languages which are numerically, economically and politically strong are likely to survive. As a result many linguistic and ethnic groups are in danger of being further marginalised. This paper will illustrate this thesis both historically and from several contemporary societies, showing how certain policies have exacerbated ethnic conflict while others are seeking to promote harmony and reconciliation. Why this should be so will be explored. (c) 2006 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Understanding of auditory discourse in older adults: the effects of syntax and working memory

Background: As people age, language-processing ability changes. While several factors modify discourse comprehension ability in older adults, syntactic complexity of auditory discourse has received scant attention. This is despite the widely researched domain of syntactic processing of single sentences in older adults. Aims: The aims of this study were to investigate the ability of healthy older adults to understand stories that differed in syntactic complexity, and its relation to working memory. Methods & Procedures: A total of 51 healthy adults (divided into three age groups) took part. They listened to brief stories (syntactically simple and syntactically complex) and had to respond to false/true comprehension probes following each story. Working memory capacity (digit span, forward and backward) was also measured. Outcomes & Results: Differences were found in the ability of healthy older adults to understand simple and complex discourse. The complex discourse in particular was more sensitive in discerning age-related language patterns. Only the complex discourse task correlated moderately with age. There was no correlation between age and simple discourse. As far as working memory is concerned, moderate correlations were found between working memory and complex discourse. Education did not correlate with discourse, neither simple, nor complex. Conclusions: Older adults may be less efficient in forming syntactically complex representations and this may be influenced by limitations in working memory.

Comprehension of reflexives and pronouns in sequential bilingual children: do they pattern similarly to L1 children, L2 adults, or children with specific language impairment?

This paper investigates how sequential bilingual (L2) Turkish-English children comprehend English reflexives and pronouns and tests whether they pattern similarly to monolingual (L1) children, L2 adults, or children with Specific Language Impairment (SLI). Thirty nine 6- to 9-year-old L2 children with an age of onset of 30-48 months and exposure to English of 30-72 months and 33 L1 age-matched control children completed the Advanced Syntactic Test of Pronominal Reference-Revised (van der Lely, 1997). The L2 children’s performance was compared to L2 adults from Demirci (2001) and children with SLI from van der Lely & Stollwerck (1997). The L2 children’s performance in the comprehension of reflexives was almost identical to their age-matched controls, and differed from L2 adults and children with SLI. In the comprehension of pronouns, L2 children showed an asymmetry between referential and quantificational NPs, a pattern attested in younger L1 children and children with SLI. Our study provides evidence that the development of comprehension of reflexives and pronouns in these children resembles monolingual L1 acquisition and not adult L2 acquisition or acquisition of children with SLI.

Design and use of mobile technology in distance language education : Matching learning practices with technologies-in-practice

This thesis focuses on the adaptation of formal education to people’s technology- use patterns, theirtechnology-in-practice, where the ubiquitous use of mobile technologies is central. The research question is: How can language learning practices occuring in informal learning environments be effectively integrated with formal education through the use of mobile technology? The study investigates the technical, pedagogical, social and cultural challenges involved in a design science approach. The thesis consists of four studies. The first study systematises MALL (mobile-assisted language learning) research. The second investigates Swedish and Chinese students’ attitudes towards the use of mobile technology in education. The third examines students’ use of technology in an online language course, with a specific focus on their learning practices in informal learning contexts and their understanding of how this use guides their learning. Based on the findings, a specifically designed MALL application was built and used in two courses. Study four analyses the app use in terms of students’ perceived level of self-regulation and structuration. The studies show that technology itself plays a very important role in reshaping peoples’ attitudes and that new learning methods are coconstructed in a sociotechnical system. Technology’s influence on student practices is equally strong across borders. Students’ established technologies-in-practice guide the ways they approach learning. Hence, designing effective online distance education involves three interrelated elements: technology, information, and social arrangements. This thesis contributes to mobile learning research by offering empirically and theoretically grounded insights that shift the focus from technology design to design of information systems.

Visual stimuli and written production of deaf signers

PURPOSE: To verify the interference of visual stimuli in written production of deaf signers with no complaints regarding reading and writing. METHODS: The research group consisted of 12 students with education between the 4th and 5th grade of elementary school, with severe or profound sensorineural hearing loss, users of LIBRAS and with alphabetical writing level. The evaluation was performed with pictures in a logical sequence and an action picture. The analysis used the communicative competence criteria. RESULTS: There were no differences in the writing production of the subjects for both stimuli. In all texts there was no title and punctuation, verbs were in the infinitive mode, there was lack of cohesive links and inclusion of created words. CONCLUSION: The different visual stimuli did not affect the production of texts.

Social and regional variations in health status and health behaviours among Swiss young adults

OBJECTIVE To provide nationwide data on health status and health behaviours among young adults in Switzerland, and to illustrate social and regional variations. METHODS Data came from the Swiss Federal Surveys of Adolescents, conducted in 2010/11. The sample consisted of 32,424 young men and 1,467 young women. We used logistic regression models to examine patterns of social inequality for three measures of health status and three measures of health behaviour. RESULTS Among men, lower self-rated health, overweight and lower physical fitness levels were associated with lower educational and fewer financial resources. Patterns were similar among young women. Unfavourable self-rated health (odds ratio [OR]: men 0.83, women 0.75) and overweight (OR: men 0.84, women 0.85; p >0.05) were less common in the French- than in the German-language region. Low physical fitness was more common in the French- than in the German-language region. In both sexes, daily smoking was associated with fewer educational resources, and physical inactivity was associated with lower educational and fewer financial resources. Males from the Italian-language region were three times more likely to be physically inactive than their German-speaking counterparts (OR 2.95). Risk drinking was more widespread among males in the French- than in the German-speaking language region (OR 1.47). CONCLUSIONS Striking social and moderate regional differences exist in health status and health behaviours among young Swiss males and females. The current findings offer new empirical evidence on social determinants of health in Switzerland and suggest education, material resources and regional conditions to be addressed in public health practice and in more focused future research.

Dental erosive wear assessment among adolescents and adults utilizing the basic erosive wear examination (BEWE) scoring system.

OBJECTIVES To investigate erosive tooth wear and related variables among adolescents and adults in Israel, utilizing the new basic erosive wear examination (BEWE) scoring system, in an attempt to contribute to the ongoing review, evaluation, and further development of an international standardized index. MATERIAL AND METHODS A cross-sectional, descriptive, and analytic survey was conducted among 500 subjects of five age groups. Dental erosion was measured according to the new BEWE scoring system. Independent variables included gender, age, origin, education, employment status, and diet. A backward stepwise linear regression model was applied to identify significantly associated variables. RESULTS Fifty percent of the survey subjects demonstrated erosive tooth wear; among them, 10 % had distinct erosion of over 50 % of the dental surface. Total BEWE score differences by age groups were statistically significant; as the age increased, the mean total BEWE scores increased (p < 0.001). The association between acidic foods and erosion was evident among the younger population (p = 0.038). In a multiple regression model, age (p < 0.001) and diet (p = 0.044) achieved statistical significance as variables associated with dental erosive wear. CONCLUSIONS Our study is one of the first to use the BEWE scoring system in an epidemiological survey among adolescents and adults. It was found that the BEWE index is straightforward, easy to conduct, and comfortably accepted by the examinees. CLINICAL RELEVANCE The present findings, together with further international research, should contribute toward continued evaluation of the BEWE system as an international standard and thereby, toward more optimal understanding, evidence-based treatment, and prevention of dental erosive wear.