The role of metalinguistic awareness and of L2 proficiency in positive lexical transfer from English (L2) to German (L3) by French-speaking Quebeckers

Il a été avancé que des apprenants expérimentés développeraient des niveaux élevés de conscience métalinguistique (MLA), ce qui leur faciliterait l’apprentissage de langues subséquentes (p.ex., Singleton & Aronin, 2007). De plus, des chercheurs dans le domaine de l’acquisition des langues tierces insistent sur les influences positives qu’exercent les langues précédemment apprises sur l’apprentissage formel d’une langue étrangère (p.ex., Cenoz & Gorter, 2015), et proposent de délaisser le regard traditionnel qui mettait l’accent sur l’interférence à l’origine des erreurs des apprenants pour opter pour une vision plus large et positive de l’interaction entre les langues. Il a été démontré que la similarité typologique ainsi que la compétence dans la langue source influence tous les types de transfert (p.ex., Ringbom, 1987, 2007). Cependant, le défi méthodologique de déterminer, à la fois l’usage pertinent d’une langue cible en tant que résultat d’une influence translinguistique (p.ex., Falk & Bardel, 2010) et d’établir le rôle crucial de la MLA dans l’activation consciente de mots ou de constructions reliés à travers différentes langues, demeure. La présente étude avait pour but de relever ce double défi en faisant appel à des protocoles oraux (TAPs) pour examiner le transfert positif de l’anglais (L2) vers l’allemand (L3) chez des Québécois francophones après cinq semaines d’enseignement formel de la L3. Les participants ont été soumis à une tâche de traduction développée aux fins de la présente étude. Les 42 items ont été sélectionnés sur la base de jugements de similarité et d’imagibilité ainsi que de fréquence des mots provenant d’une étude de cognats allemands-anglais (Friel & Kennison, 2001). Les participants devaient réfléchir à voix haute pendant qu’ils traduisaient des mots inconnus de l’allemand (L3) vers le français (L1). Le transfert positif a été opérationnalisé par des traductions correctes qui étaient basées sur un cognat anglais. La MLA a été mesurée par le biais du THAM (Test d’habiletés métalinguistiques) (Pinto & El Euch, 2015) ainsi que par l’analyse des TAPs. Les niveaux de compétence en anglais ont été établis sur la base du Michigan Test (Corrigan et al., 1979), tandis que les niveaux d’exposition ainsi que l’intérêt envers la langue et la culture allemandes ont été mesurés à l’aide d’un questionnaire. Une analyse fine des TAPs a révélé de la variabilité inter- et intra-individuelle dans l’activation consciente du vocabulaire en L2, tout en permettant l’identification de niveaux distincts de prise de conscience. Deux modèles indépendants de régressions logistiques ont permis d’identifier les deux dimensions de MLA comme prédicteurs de transfert positif. Le premier modèle, dans lequel le THAM était la mesure exclusive de MLA, a déterminé cette dimension réflexive comme principal prédicteur, suivie de la compétence en anglais, tandis qu’aucune des autres variables indépendantes pouvait prédire le transfert positif de l’anglais. Dans le second modèle, incluant le THAM ainsi que les TAPs comme mesures complémentaires de MLA, la dimension appliquée de MLA, telle que mesurée par les TAPs, était de loin le prédicteur principal, suivie de la dimension réflexive, telle que mesurée par le THAM, tandis que la compétence en anglais ne figurait plus parmi les facteurs ayant une influence significative sur la variable réponse. Bien que la verbalisation puisse avoir influencé la performance dans une certaine mesure, nos observations mettent en évidence la contribution précieuse de données introspectives comme complément aux résultats basés sur des caractéristiques purement linguistiques du transfert. Nos analyses soulignent la complexité des processus métalinguistiques et des stratégies individuelles, ce qui reflète une perspective dynamique du multilinguisme (p.ex., Jessner, 2008).

Hechtius 1795/98 - der Gedanke der Transnationalität in der ersten Schrift zur Vergleichenden Erziehungswissenschaft

Der 1795-1798 verfasste Text "De re scholastica Anglica cum Germanica comparata" (Über das englische Schulwesen im Vergleich zum deutschen) des sächsischen Rektors Friedrich August Hecht ist die erste bekannte Schrift zur Vergleichenden Erziehungswissenschaft. Ihre zentrale Materialgrundlage bilden englische und deutsche Schulbücher für Latein- und Gelehrtenschulen. Aus deutschsprachiger Sekundärliteratur übernimmt Hecht darüber hinaus Informationen über schulorganisatorische, curriculare und didaktische Besonderheiten der englischen Public Schools Westminster und Eton, und setzt sie zu den ihm aus eigener Praxis bekannten deutschen (sächsischen) Schulverhältnissen in Beziehung. Der Gedanke der Transnationalität im Bildungsbereich, der sich aktuell etwa im Begriff von transnationalen Bildungsräumen ausdrückt, hat bei Hecht der Sache nach drei Anknüpfungspunkte: die bildungspolitische Wirksamkeit transnationaler Herrscherfamilien, die gemeineuropäische Bedeutung der Gebildeten- und Gelehrtensprache Latein und die nationübergreifende Dimension des humanistischen Bildungskanons. Das alte Europa kannte Nationen und Staaten, aber es kannte noch keine Nationalstaaten. Die Deutschen sind für Hecht noch eine alteuropäische Nation, die Engländer dagegen auf dem Wege zur oder sind schon Staatsnation. Die Vergleichende Erziehungswissenschaft entsteht mit Hechts Schrift in einer Situation, da die alte transnationale Ordnung der Nationen und Staaten in die neue internationale Ordnung der Nationalstaaten übergeht. (DIPF/Orig.)

Pancreatic large mucinous cystoadenoma with invasive ductal carcinoma in pregnancy. Case report

Background. Cystic tumour of the pancreas are infrequent and malignancy of the pancreas during pregnancy is extremely rare. Mucinous cystoadenomas is the most frequent cystic pancreatic neoplasm and it is seen mainly in women suggesting a sex hormone influence. Its presentation during pregnancy is extremely rare and entails difficulties in diagnosis and therapy. Case report. A 28 year old woman was referred to our service for abdominal mass. She had given birth to her second child two weeks previously. Ultrasound and CT scan showed a large cystic lesion, with sepitation and inner solid growth portions, involved mainly the left sovramesocolic space. An ultrasound-guided aspiration of the cystic fluid showed high level of CEA and CA. 19-9. The patient underwent laparotomic body-tail pancreatectomy and splenectomy. The histological examination showed mucinous cystoadenoma with associated invasive ductal carcinoma, with ovarian-like stroma and a well delimited fibrous capsule. Hystochemical study revealed a strong positivity for progesterone receptors. Conclusions. To our knowledge this is the eighth case of mucinous cystoadenoma reported in English literature and the forth with an invasive adenocarcinoma associated. This pathological entity should always be kept in mind in case of patient with an hepigastric mass during or soon after pregnancy. Aggressive approach is mandatory.

Biliteracy effects on phonological awareness, oral language proficiency and reading skills in Taiwanese Mandarin-English bilingual children

The present study examined the effect of learning to read a heritage language on Taiwanese Mandarin-English bilingual children’s Chinese and English phonological awareness, Chinese and English oral language proficiency, and English reading skills. Participants were 40 Taiwanese Mandarin-English bilingual children and 20 English monolingual children in the U.S. Based on their performance on a Chinese character reading test, the bilingual participants were divided into two groups: the Chinese Beginning Reader and Chinese Nonreader groups. A single child categorized as a Chinese Advanced Reader also participated. Children received phonological awareness tasks, produced oral narrative samples from a wordless picture book, and took standardized English reading subtests. The bilingual participants received measures in both English and Chinese, whereas English monolingual children received only English measures. Additional demographic information was collected from a language background survey filled out by parents. Results of two MANOVAs indicated that the Chinese Beginning Reader group outperformed the Chinese Nonreader and English Monolingual groups on some phonological awareness measures and the English nonword reading test. In an oral narrative production task in English, the English Monolingual group produced a greater total number of words (TNW) and more different words (NDW) than the Chinese Nonreader group. Multiple regression analyses were conducted to determine whether bilingual children’s Chinese character reading ability would still account for a unique amount of variance in certain outcome variables, independent of nonverbal IQ and other potential demographic or performance variables and to clarify the direction of causality for bilingual children’s performance in the three domains. These results suggested that learning to read in a heritage language directly or indirectly enhances bilingual children’s ability in phonological awareness and certain English reading skills. It also appears that greater oral language proficiency in Chinese promotes early reading in the heritage language. Advanced heritage reading may produce even larger gains. Practical implications of learning a heritage language in the U.S. are discussed.

English: its role as the language of comity in an employment programme for Canadian immigrants.

This study explores the experiences of a culturally and linguistically diverse group of immigrant adult students as they attended a 12-week employment preparation course for newcomers to Canada. The main aim of the course was to equip the immigrants with knowledge and skills, including English for employment purposes, which are necessary to be competitive in the labour market. Using ethnographic methods, mainly participant observation with audio recording, to collect data, this paper analyses the communicative strategies that this group of multilingual speakers and their Canadian teachers deployed to discursively construct a ‘heterotopia’ defined here as ‘intensely affective spaces that redefine the experiential feeling of being and becoming’. Analysis of transcribed audio recordings reveals that despite differences in communication conventions and sociocultural backgrounds, the research participants from Congo, Haiti, India, Bangladesh, Jordan and the Philippines managed to establish a socially cohesive team that emphasises shared relational identity and in-group membership. The findings show how they creatively mobilised previously acquired pragmatic strategies and resources from their L1 to suit the demands of the ongoing interaction in English. It is suggested that language teaching in the context of preparing immigrants for labour market integration entails a pedagogical approach that foregrounds the affordances of English not only as the language of employment but perhaps more importantly as the ‘language of comity’. It is therefore suggested that the teaching of the host country’s language should focus less on grammatical correctness and focus more on providing the adult learners with opportunities to activate existing pragmatic resources and strategies which have to do with establishing rapport and friendly relations.

The principle of least effort within the hierarchy of linguistic preferences: external evidence from English

The thesis is an investigation of the principle of least effort (Zipf 1949 [1972]). The principle is simple (all effort should be least) and universal (it governs the totality of human behavior). Since the principle is also functional, the thesis adopts a functional theory of language as its theoretical framework, i.e. Natural Linguistics. The explanatory system of Natural Linguistics posits that higher principles govern preferences, which, in turn, manifest themselves as concrete, specific processes in a given language. Therefore, the thesis’ aim is to investigate the principle of least effort on the basis of external evidence from English. The investigation falls into the three following strands: the investigation of the principle itself, the investigation of its application in articulatory effort and the investigation of its application in phonological processes. The structure of the thesis reflects the division of its broad aims. The first part of the thesis presents its theoretical background (Chapter One and Chapter Two), the second part of the thesis deals with application of least effort in articulatory effort (Chapter Three and Chapter Four), whereas the third part discusses the principle of least effort in phonological processes (Chapter Five and Chapter Six). Chapter One serves as an introduction, examining various aspects of the principle of least effort such as its history, literature, operation and motivation. It overviews various names which denote least effort, explains the origins of the principle and reviews the literature devoted to the principle of least effort in a chronological order. The chapter also discusses the nature and operation of the principle, providing numerous examples of the principle at work. It emphasizes the universal character of the principle from the linguistic field (low-level phonetic processes and language universals) and the non-linguistic ones (physics, biology, psychology and cognitive sciences), proving that the principle governs human behavior and choices. Chapter Two provides the theoretical background of the thesis in terms of its theoretical framework and discusses the terms used in the thesis’ title, i.e. hierarchy and preference. It justifies the selection of Natural Linguistics as the thesis’ theoretical framework by outlining its major assumptions and demonstrating its explanatory power. As far as the concepts of hierarchy and preference are concerned, the chapter provides their definitions and reviews their various understandings via decision theories and linguistic preference-based theories. Since the thesis investigates the principle of least effort in language and speech, Chapter Three considers the articulatory aspect of effort. It reviews the notion of easy and difficult sounds and discusses the concept of articulatory effort, overviewing its literature as well as various understandings in a chronological fashion. The chapter also presents the concept of articulatory gestures within the framework of Articulatory Phonology. The thesis’ aim is to investigate the principle of least effort on the basis of external evidence, therefore Chapters Four and Six provide evidence in terms of three experiments, text message studies (Chapter Four) and phonological processes in English (Chapter Six). Chapter Four contains evidence for the principle of least effort in articulation on the basis of experiments. It describes the experiments in terms of their predictions and methodology. In particular, it discusses the adopted measure of effort established by means of the effort parameters as well as their status. The statistical methods of the experiments are also clarified. The chapter reports on the results of the experiments, presenting them in a graphical way and discusses their relation to the tested predictions. Chapter Four establishes a hierarchy of speakers’ preferences with reference to articulatory effort (Figures 30, 31). The thesis investigates the principle of least effort in phonological processes, thus Chapter Five is devoted to the discussion of phonological processes in Natural Phonology. The chapter explains the general nature and motivation of processes as well as the development of processes in child language. It also discusses the organization of processes in terms of their typology as well as the order in which processes apply. The chapter characterizes the semantic properties of processes and overviews Luschützky’s (1997) contribution to NP with respect to processes in terms of their typology and incorporation of articulatory gestures in the concept of a process. Chapter Six investigates phonological processes. In particular, it identifies the issues of lenition/fortition definition and process typology by presenting the current approaches to process definitions and their typology. Since the chapter concludes that no coherent definition of lenition/fortition exists, it develops alternative lenition/fortition definitions. The chapter also revises the typology of phonological processes under effort management, which is an extended version of the principle of least effort. Chapter Seven concludes the thesis with a list of the concepts discussed in the thesis, enumerates the proposals made by the thesis in discussing the concepts and presents some questions for future research which have emerged in the course of investigation. The chapter also specifies the extent to which the investigation of the principle of least effort is a meaningful contribution to phonology.

A systematic review on the factors associated with positive experiences in carers of someone with cancer.

The aim of this review was to identify the factors associated with positive experiences in non-professional carers of someone with a cancer diagnosis. A systematic search of the following electronic databases was undertaken: Cochrane Library, CINAHL, PsycINFO, SocINDEX and Medline. Literature was searched using terms relating to cancer, caring and positive experiences. Additional records were identified through a manual search of relevant reference lists. The search included studies published in English from 1990- June 2015. Two raters were involved in data extraction, quality appraisal, coding, synthesis, and analysis. Evolutionary concept analysis was used as a guiding framework in order to focus on attributes associated with positive experiences. Fifty two articles were included in this review. Analysis identified four overarching attributes: ‘gender’, ‘personal resources’, ‘finding meaning’ and ‘social context’. Despite the challenges associated with caring this combination of internal and external factors enabled some carers to report positive experiences related to caring. This knowledge may be clinically helpful when designing supportive interventions. Strengths and limitations of these claims are discussed.

The Literature of Disaffection: Political Dysphoria and British Modernism after 1930

This dissertation argues that “disaffection” is an overlooked but foundational posture of mid-twentieth-century British and Anglophone literature. Previously misdiagnosed as quietism or apathy, disaffection instead describes how many late modernist writers mediated between their ideological misgivings and the pressure to respond to dire political crises, from the Second World War to the creation of new postcolonial nations. Stylists of disaffection—such as Henry Green, Virginia Woolf, Elizabeth Bowen, and V. S. Naipaul—grappled with how limiting cultural assumptions, for instance, about class and nation, seemed to inhere in particular aesthetic techniques like stream of consciousness or realism. Disaffected literature appeals to but then disrupts a given technique’s projection of these assumptions and the social totality that they imagine. This literary “bait-and-switch” creates a feeling of dysphoria whereby readers experience a text unnervingly different from what they had been led to expect. Recognizing the formative work of literary disaffection in late modernism offers an original way to conceptualize the transition between modernist and postmodernist literature in the twentieth century.

The role of games in the development of oral skills in Teaching english as a foreign language to adult learners from An extension course at Universidad del Valle [recurso electr?nico]

This research arose from the notorious need to promote oral production in the adult learners of the English Extension courses at Universidad del Valle in 2014. This qualitative research was carried out in a 60 hour course divided along 15 sessions on Saturdays, and with an adult population between the ages of 22 and 65 years old. Its main objective was to describe the impact of games aimed at promoting oral production in English with a group of adult learners. Data were collected from one demographic survey, video-recordings of classroom events during the implementation of games, students? surveys after each game and a teacher?s journal. The analysis of data showed that games did have an impact in students? performance which was related to a positive atmosphere in the classroom. Students showed progress in terms of fluency, interaction and even pronunciation; however they still showed difficulties with accuracy in their spontaneous utterances. These learners? achievements seemed to have a relation with the class atmosphere during games where students showed high level of involvement, confidence, mutual support and enjoyment.

MEDIA IN THE ERA OF GLOBALIZATION IN LATIN AMERICA

Terms like Internet, cyberspace, virtual reality, in short, globalization, have been frequently words for all of us, in recent years. This refers to the phenomenon that has shaken the people of this world. Are rapidly changing due to technological advances and complex levels reaching relations between countries, corporations, partnerships and people.The attempt to understand the phenomenon of globalization is compounded when we try to understand the term, coined by Marshall McLuhan.McLuhan was born in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada and studied at the Universities of Manitoba and Cambridge, the latter of which he received his degree of Doctor of Philosophy specializing in English Literature. He taught at the universities of Wisconsin and St. Louis and University of the Assumption and Saint Michael's College, University of Toronto, where he was director of the Center for Culture and Technology.Marshall McLuhan and B. R. Powers, wrote the play, The Village Global1. The universe has become a village is the future predicted for them in the 60's. Today reality has overtaken the theory. However, this phenomenon is presented in this work, so whimsical style reminiscent of Jules Verne, but does not clarify the content of the term. While we believe that in the past there were attempts; globalize these attempts were very different from what we understand by globalization. 

Estimation of whole body muscle, adipose/fat mass, validation in health and during weight loss. Development of prediction equations using MRI as reference method

Background: Body composition is affected by diseases, and affects responses to medical treatments, dosage of medicines, etc., while an abnormal body composition contributes to the causation of many chronic diseases. While we have reliable biochemical tests for certain nutritional parameters of body composition, such as iron or iodine status, and we have harnessed nuclear physics to estimate the body’s content of trace elements, the very basic quantification of body fat content and muscle mass remains highly problematic. Both body fat and muscle mass are vitally important, as they have opposing influences on chronic disease, but they have seldom been estimated as part of population health surveillance. Instead, most national surveys have merely reported BMI and waist, or sometimes the waist/hip ratio; these indices are convenient but do not have any specific biological meaning. Anthropometry offers a practical and inexpensive method for muscle and fat estimation in clinical and epidemiological settings; however, its use is imperfect due to many limitations, such as a shortage of reference data, misuse of terminology, unclear assumptions, and the absence of properly validated anthropometric equations. To date, anthropometric methods are not sensitive enough to detect muscle and fat loss. Aims: The aim of this thesis is to estimate Adipose/fat and muscle mass in health disease and during weight loss through; 1. evaluating and critiquing the literature, to identify the best-published prediction equations for adipose/fat and muscle mass estimation; 2. to derive and validate adipose tissue and muscle mass prediction equations; and 3.to evaluate the prediction equations along with anthropometric indices and the best equations retrieved from the literature in health, metabolic illness and during weight loss. Methods: a Systematic review using Cochrane Review method was used for reviewing muscle mass estimation papers that used MRI as the reference method. Fat mass estimation papers were critically reviewed. Mixed ethnic, age and body mass data that underwent whole body magnetic resonance imaging to quantify adipose tissue and muscle mass (dependent variable) and anthropometry (independent variable) were used in the derivation/validation analysis. Multiple regression and Bland-Altman plot were applied to evaluate the prediction equations. To determine how well the equations identify metabolic illness, English and Scottish health surveys were studied. Statistical analysis using multiple regression and binary logistic regression were applied to assess model fit and associations. Also, populations were divided into quintiles and relative risk was analysed. Finally, the prediction equations were evaluated by applying them to a pilot study of 10 subjects who underwent whole-body MRI, anthropometric measurements and muscle strength before and after weight loss to determine how well the equations identify adipose/fat mass and muscle mass change. Results: The estimation of fat mass has serious problems. Despite advances in technology and science, prediction equations for the estimation of fat mass depend on limited historical reference data and remain dependent upon assumptions that have not yet been properly validated for different population groups. Muscle mass does not have the same conceptual problems; however, its measurement is still problematic and reference data are scarce. The derivation and validation analysis in this thesis was satisfactory, compared to prediction equations in the literature they were similar or even better. Applying the prediction equations in metabolic illness and during weight loss presented an understanding on how well the equations identify metabolic illness showing significant associations with diabetes, hypertension, HbA1c and blood pressure. And moderate to high correlations with MRI-measured adipose tissue and muscle mass before and after weight loss. Conclusion: Adipose tissue mass and to an extent muscle mass can now be estimated for many purposes as population or groups means. However, these equations must not be used for assessing fatness and categorising individuals. Further exploration in different populations and health surveys would be valuable.

False Anglicisms in Legal and Business English as a Lingua Franca (ELF): A Process of Back-borrowing

False Anglicisms are words which technically are not part of the English language, but "seem" English, due to their shape or resemblance to English words. These are usually the result of new creations/coinages in other languages and/or semantic shifts. Due to the use of English as a Lingua Franca, it is becoming quite common to come across these words in English with the "re-imported" shape and meaning they bring from other languages.

Investigating Miami English-Spanish Bilinguals' Treatment of English Deictic Verbs of Motion

This investigation focused on the treatment of English deictic verbs of motion by Spanish-English bilinguals in Miami. Although English and Spanish share significant overlap of the spatial deixis system, they diverge in important aspects. It is not known how these verbs are processed by bilinguals. Thus, this study examined Spanish-English bilinguals’ interpretation of the verbs come, go, bring, and take in English. Forty-five monolingual English speakers and Spanish-English bilinguals participated. Participants were asked to watch video clips depicting motion events and to judge the acceptability of accompanying narrations spoken by the actors in the videos. Analyses showed that, in general, monolinguals and bilinguals patterned similarly across the deictic verbs come, bring, go and take. However, they did differ in relation to acceptability of word order for verbal objects. Also, bring was highly accepted by all language groups across all goal paths, possibly suggesting an innovation in its use.

Breaking Images, Widening Perceptions : Reflections on Horacio Quiroga in Translation

Horacio Quiroga (1878-1937) es uno de los escritores más logrados por sus cuentos y sigue siendo aclamado por la crítica en el mundo de habla hispana. Sus obras son consideradas parte del canon dentro de la tradición literaria sudamericana. Algunas de sus historias más renombradas circulan para la audiencia más global, publicadas en diversas colecciones y antologías que han sido posibles por haber sido traducidas al inglés. La versión más disponible en inglés es la traducción realizada por Margaret Sayers Peden ((1976) 2004), Quiroga habla por medio de las elecciones que realizó la traductora. Sin embargo, cabe preguntarse: ¿es este el Horacio Quiroga que las generaciones anteriores conocieron, apreciaron y alabaron? ¿Han logrado sobrevivir a la operación traductológica en inglés su prosa exquisita y su narrativa fotográfica para los lectores en inglés? Este artículo intenta abordar temas centrales de la traducción literaria en cuanto los textos de Quiroga y de Sayers Peden. También trata sobre las estrategias de domesticación, sobre cómo la manipulación del original puede traer consecuencias para la legibilidad, además la importancia de conocer bien los rasgos sociopolíticos y las características geográficas y, no menor, la responsabilidad profesional implícita en el rol del traductor como mediador cultural ya que selecciona, edita y publica literatura que no pertenece a lo convencional y establecido.