Language and executive functioning: Children’s benefit from induced verbal strategies in different tasks

The interplay of language and cognition in children’s development has been subject to research for a long time. The present study followed up on recently reported deleterious effects of articulatory suppression on children’s executive functioning (Fatzer & Roebers, 2012), aiming to provide more empirical evidence on the differential influence of language on executive functioning. In the present study, verbal strategies were induced in three executive functioning tasks. The tasks were linked to the three central executive functioning dimensions of updating (Complex Span task), shifting (Cognitive Flexibility task) and inhibition (Flanker task). It was expected that the effects of the verbal strategy instruction would counter the results of articulatory suppression and thus be strong in the Complex Span task, weak but present in the Cognitive Flexibility task and small or nonexistent in the Flanker task. N = 117 children participated in the study, with n = 39 four-year-olds, n = 38 six-year-olds, and n = 40 nine-year-olds. As expected, results revealed a benefit from induced verbal strategies in the Complex Span and the Cognitive Flexibility task, but not in the Flanker task. The positive effect of strategy instruction declined with increasing age, pointing to more frequent spontaneous and self-initiated use of verbal strategies over the course of development. The effect of strategy instruction in the Cognitive Flexibility task was unexpectedly strong in the light of the only small detrimental effect of articulatory suppression in the preceding study. Implications for language’s involvement in the different executive functioning dimensions and for practice are discussed.

Acculturation and cultural identity of immigrant youth: The impact of courses in the language and culture of origin

Career choices in the fields of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) are favoured by men and often avoided by women; on the other hand, women tend to choose fields such as the social sciences. This not only leads to a shortage of employees with STEM degrees, but also reinforces the prejudice that certain (personality) characteristics are ‘typically female’ or ‘typically male’. Career orientation motives of young women and men can have important implications for gender (a-)typical career choices. However, there is little empirical research on the correlates of career orientation motives in young women in the field of STEM. This study seeks to address this gap by outlining the components of career orientation motives and showing relationships among them. Therefore, our results provide insight into the circumstances and conditions that are associated with academic and career choices.

How gender fair are German schoolbooks in the twenty-first century? An analysis of language and illustrations in schoolbooks for mathematics and German

Schoolbooks convey not only school-relevant knowledge; they also influence the development of stereotypes about different social groups. Particularly during the 1970s and 1980s, many studies analysed schoolbooks and criticised the overall predominance of male persons and of traditional role allocations. Since that time, women’s and men’s occupations and social functions have changed considerably. The present research investigated gender portrayals in schoolbooks for German and mathematics that were recently published in Germany. We examined the proportions of female and male persons in pictures and texts and categorized their activities, occupational and parental roles. Going beyond previous studies, we added two criteria: the use of gender-fair language and the spatial arrangements of persons in pictures. Our results show that schoolbooks for German contained almost balanced depictions of girls and boys, whereas women were less frequently shown than men. In mathematics books, males outnumbered females in general. Across both types of books, female and male persons were engaged in many different activities, not only gendertyped ones; however, male persons were more often described via their profession than females. Use of gender-fair language has found its way into schoolbooks but is not used consistently. Books for German were more gender fair in terms of linguistic forms than books for mathematics. For spatial arrangements, we found no indication for gender biases. The results are discussed with a focus on how schoolbooks can be optimized to contribute to gender equality.

A language exchange program: sustainability innovation in language and culture engagement

Spanish Educational Laws have been promoting the widespread use of English; as a result, Spanish Uni versities are looking for ways to give students more international training in order to prepare them for a future that will increasingly involve global problems and partnerships. Therefore, the Polytechnic University of Madrid, Spain (UPM), and the University of British Columbia, Okanagan, Canada (UBCO) have come together to offer opportunities for international collaboration and learning, thus facilitating virtual encounters among Spanish and Canadian students. The Language Exchange Program between the UPM and UBCO acts as a model for sustainability innovation in language and culture engagement as the students can interact with native speakers in communication tasks. This interdisciplinary initiative supports the latest methodological principles observed in the Common European Framework for Languages, such as autonomous and life-long learning, self-assessment and peer-assessment as well as the incorporation of new technologies to the learning process. Additionally the ‘virtual’ mobility is provided at no extra cost. This article presents the preliminary results of two virtual exchange programs that have been offering varied forms of study which are venue-independent, and have clearly expanded the range of scenarios for the students on both sides by promoting collaborative work and cultural exchange.

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.

Second language and international studies : policy study and recommentations /

"February, 1986."

Pre-Service Teachers’ Mathematics Language and Reflection in the Context of an Early Childhood Mathematics Methods Course

Thesis (Ph.D.)--University of Washington, 2016-06

A sociocultural analysis of language learning: New forms of literacy practices in a language and culture awareness programme

This paper reports on a sociocultural study conducted in a Catholic primary school in the Australian outback and provides insights into how policy related to Languages Other Than English (LOTE) programmes is implemented in a specific location and interwoven within the literacy practices of children, parents and teachers. A case study that tracked a Year Four student's learning and development during a Language and Culture Awareness Programme is discussed within a discourse of cultural and linguistic practices. Significant aspects of the student's learning related to a phenomenon called multi-tiered scaffolding temporarily disrupted the established literacy practices in the school community. Implications of the research for second-language teaching and learning in Australian primary schools are elaborated.

Language and peace

This study seeks to demonstrate how critical discourse analysis can elucidate the relationship between language and peace. It provides a view on the notion of peace put forward by peace researchers, namely that peace includes not only the absence of war or physical violence, but also the absence of structural violence. Approaching the topic from various perspectives, the volume argues that language is a factor to be considered together with social and economic factors in any examination of the social conditions and institutions that prevent the achievement of a comprehensive peace. It illustrates a framework of concepts and methodologies that offer to help guide future linguistic research in this area, and also calls for foreign language, second language and peace educators to include critical linguistic education into their curricula and describes an approach for doing so.

Effect of the Florida A+ Plan on curriculum and instruction in Title I public elementary schools

The purpose of this research was to study the effect of the Florida A+ Plan accountability program on curriculum and instruction in four Title I public elementary schools in the Miami-Dade County Public Schools system. It focused on the experiences of the school principals and the classroom teachers of the four schools as they related to curriculum and instruction. The study included an analysis of the school improvement plans in curriculum and instruction for each school during the school years 1998-2004. ^ The study was conducted in the format of interviews with the school principals and principal selected classroom teachers who taught third, fourth, or fifth grade during the first six years of the Florida A+ Plan. The analysis of the school improvement plans focused on the implementation of curriculum and instruction for each of the four schools. It focused on the goals and measurable objectives selected by each school to improve its instructional program in the academic subjects of reading, mathematics, writing, and science. ^ The findings indicated that under the pressure to improve their school grade on the Florida A+ Plan, each of the target schools, based on individual needs assessments, and restructured their instructional program each school year as documented in their school improvement plans. They altered their programs by analyzing student performance data to realign curriculum and instruction. The analysis of the interviews with the principals and the teachers showed that each school year they restructured their program to align it with the FCAT content. This realigning was a collaborative effort on the part of the administration and the instructional staff. ^

Scaffolding in Second Language Learning and Instruction

In a study of the triadic interaction among pairs of advanced second language learners engaged in a complex language task, it was found that the scaffolding provided by the researcher was determinant in keeping the participants on task and encouraging language production, thus facilitating both language development and comprehension.