Showing papers on "Written language published in 2016"

Translation into the Second Language

Abstract: Chapter 1: What is translation competence? The scope of this work The importance of translator-centred view on translation Recent studies on translation competence Possible ways of conceptualising translation competence Psychological modelling Translation quality assessment Translation pedagogy Translation competence and translation into a second language Translation competence in an interlanguage framework Some propositions about translation competence Some remarks on data in translation competence research Concluding remarks Chapter 2: Challenging the insistence on translation into the first language Aims Translation and immigration The supply-demand paradox in the Australian translation scheme What is a second language? Some problems of definition Industry need for translators into a second language Translation labour market forces in Finland The importance of modelling translation competence in translators into the second laguage Concluding remarks Chapter 3: A case study of candidates for translator education Aims The setting of the study The language tests The questionnaire data Concluding remarks Chapter 4: Translation into a second language and second language competence Aims The difference between translation into a first and a second language Second language competence as an aspect of second language translation competence Translation and written language A case study approach to describing textual competence in translators into a second language Concluding remarks Chapter 5: Translation competence and grammar Aims The grammatical task of the second language translator Biber's multi-feature/multi-dimensional approach to genre variation The target texts and their processing Comparisons with Biber's norms Concluding remarks Chapter 6: Translation competence and lexis Aims The disposition study The lexical transfers study Concluding remarks Chapter 7: Monitoring translation performance Aims Issues in monitoring translation output Quality of output: the assessment study Monitoring ability: the editing study Concluding remarks Chapter 8: Towards a model of translation competence Aims Components of the model and their implications Relationship of the model to other trends in translation research Wider applicability of the model Translation competence, pedagogy and assessment Concluding remarks References Appendix 1: Examples of target texts with varying combinations of textual competence, risk-taking and persistence Appendix 2: Real-time edited texts

Predicting Patterns of Grammatical Complexity Across Language Exam Task Types and Proficiency Levels

Abstract: In the present article, we explore the extent to which previous research on register variation can be used to predict spoken/written task-type variation as well as differences across score levels in the context of a major standardized language exam (TOEFL iBT). Specifically, we carry out two sets of linguistic analyses based on a large corpus of TOEFL iBT responses: one investigating the use of 23 grammatical complexity features, and the second based on co-occurrence patterns among linguistic features, using Multi-Dimensional (MD) analysis. The first set of analyses confirms the predictions from research on register variation: there are systematic linguistic differences among spoken versus written and independent versus integrated task types. However, hypothesized developmental progressions in the use of these grammatical complexity features were generally not confirmed by score-level differences. In contrast, the MD analysis yielded more robust predictors of both task types and score-level differences, indicating that linguistic descriptions are more reliable and informative when they are based on dimensions of co-occurring lexico-grammatical features. In conclusion, we discuss the application of such dimensions as holistic complexity measures in language development/testing research.

Gaming as an English language learning resource among young children in Denmark

Abstract: This paper presents a study of Danish young English language learners’ (YELLs’) contact with and use of Extramural English (EE) (N = 107, aged 8 (n = 49) and 10 (n = 58)). They have received little formal English instruction: two weekly lessons for one year. Data on EE-habits were collected with a one-week language diary (self-report with parental guidance). Participants reported minutes spent each day on seven EE-activities: gaming, listening to music, reading, talking, watching television, writing and other. Vocabulary proficiency scores were obtained using the Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test (PPVT™-4). The results show that most time was spent on gaming, music and watching television. Boys gamed significantly more (p < .001) than girls (235 minutes/week vs. 47 minutes/week). Additionally, the results show that gaming with both oral and written English input and gaming with only written English input are significantly related to vocabulary scores, in particular for boys. By investigating the EE-habits of YELLs and relations with second language (L2) English vocabulary learning, this study adds valuable new insights and knowledge about a topic that is becoming increasingly important for children in a globalized world.

The Routledge Handbook of Language Learning and Technology

Abstract: List of figures List of tables Acknowledgements Permissions List of acronyms List of contributors Introduction Fiona Farr and Liam Murray Part I: Historical and conceptual contexts * Language learning and technology: past, present, and future Deborah Healey * Theory in Computer-Assisted Language Learning research and practice Philip Hubbard and Mike Levy * Towards an 'ecological' CALL theory: theoretical perspectives and their instantiation in CALL research and practice Francoise Blin Part II: Core issues * Technology standards for language teacher preparation Greg Kessler * Researching participatory literacy and positioning in online learning communities Mirjam Hauck, Rebecca Galley and Sylvia Warnecke * Language materials development in a digital age Gary Motteram * Researching in language learning and technology Mike Levy * Literacies, technology and language teaching Gavin Dudeney and Nicky Hockly * Evaluation in CALL: tools, interactions, outcomes Catherine Caws and Trude Heift * Language testing and technology James Dean Brown * From age and gender to identity in technology-mediated language learning Elisabeth R. Hayes and Yoonhee N. Lee * Culture, language learning, and technology Robert Godwin-Jones * Language learning and technology in varied technology contexts HyunGyung Lee and Joy Egbert * Limitations and boundaries in language learning and technology Rick Kern and Dave Malinowski * Teacher education and technology Elizabeth Hanson-Smith * Sustainable CALL development Francoise Blin, Juha Jalkanen and Peppi Taalas Part III: Interactive and collaborative technologies for language learning * Telecollaboration and language learning Francesca Helm and Sarah Guth * Social networking and language learning Lara Lomicka and Gillian Lord * Computer supported collaborative writing and language learning Muriel Grosbois * Interactive whiteboards and language learning Euline Cutrim Schmid * Mobile language learning Glenn Stockwell * Virtual worlds and language learning: an analysis of research Mark Peterson * Online and blended language learning Pete Sharma and Kevin Westbrook Part IV: Corpora and data-driven learning * Introduction to data-driven learning Martin Warren * Spoken language corpora and pedagogic applications Andrew Caines, Michael McCarthy and Anne O'Keeffe * Written language corpora and pedagogic applications Angela Chambers * Learner corpora and pedagogic applications Fanny Meunier * Corpus types and uses Brona Murphy and Elaine Riordan * Designing and building corpora for language learning Randi Reppen Part V: Gaming and language learning 30. Metaphors for digital games and language learning Jonathon Reinhardt and Steven Thorne * Mini-games for language learning Frederik Cornillie and Piet Desmet * Gaming and young language learners Pia Sundqvist Part VI: Purpose designed language learning resources * CALL tools for lexico-grammatical acquisition Li Li * CALL tools for reading and writing Hsien-Chin Liou * CALL tools for listening and speaking Una Clancy and Liam Murray * Multimodality and CALL Nicolas Guichon and Cathy Cohen * Intelligent CALL and written language Cornelia Tschichold and Mathias Schulze * Translation and technology: the case of translation games for language learning Pierrette Bouillon, Cristiana Cervini and Manny Rayner

Viewpoints: The Word and the World - Reconceptualizing Written Language Development Or Do Rainbows Mean a

Abstract: Arguing that current research has fragmented educators' vision of both written language and development, this article aims to contribute to a more integrative vision, one that preserves the integrity of written language as a symbol system. Based on a critical considera- tion of literature both on written language growth and on the role of symbols in human experience, the article suggests five principles that would seem to characterize written language development: the estab- lishment of equivalences, exploration and orchestration of the system, reliance on shifting relationships of form and function, differentiation and integration of symbolic functions, and participation in social di- alogue. These principles highlight the dialectical relationship between function and form, between child construction and adult guidance. The articulated vision of development differs in fundamental ways from most current viewpoints, as it does not consider written language as simply an extension of the child's oral language but as the evolution of a distinct symbolic option with links to the child's entire symbolic repertoire. The implications of this viewpoint for both sociopolitical and pedagogical issues of literacy construction in early schooling are discussed. On the last day of the school year, Margaret asked her kindergarten through third-grade students to remember with her the stories they had written during their years in the primary school. The third graders especially discussed the value writing had come to have in their lives as a way of sharing experiences, developing their "imaginations," and expressing themselves as "artists," and they looked back with both puzzlement and appreciation to their kindergarten year. For example, Gina commented, "The one thing I know meant a lot to me in kindergarten was rainbows, 'cause every single um story in my journal has a rainbow in it" - an observation Margaret agreed with: kindergarten girls' sto- ries "have lots of rainbows and stars and flowers and hearts."

Mode in Theoretical and Empirical TBLT Research: Advancing Research Agendas

Abstract: In this article we explore how oral and written modes may differentially influence processes involved in second language acquisition (SLA) in the context of task-based language teaching (TBLT). We first start by reflecting on the differences between spoken and written language. In what follows, we provide a general description of tasks in relation to the SLA processes. We then establish the links between the learning processes and task phases/features in the two modes. Concluding that the role of mode has been underresearched, we call for a more integrative and mode-sensitive TBLT research agenda, in which hybridness of discourse (i.e., mingling of the two modes within one communicative event/task) is taken into account.

The impact of promoting transcription on early text production: Effects on bursts and pauses, levels of written language, and writing performance.

Abstract: Writing development seems heavily dependent upon the automatization of transcription. This study aimed to further investigate the link between transcription and writing by examining the effects of promoting handwriting and spelling skills on a comprehensive set of writing measures (viz., bursts and pauses, levels of written language, and writing performance). Second graders were randomly assigned to 1 of 3 intervention programs aimed to promote handwriting (n = 18), spelling (n = 17), or keyboarding (n = 20) skills. These programs were implemented during 10 weekly units composed of 4 30-min lessons. The most reliable and robust differences were found between the handwriting and keyboarding interventions. Handwriting students displayed greater handwriting fluency, showed longer bursts and shorter pauses, and wrote longer and better stories than keyboarding students. This study supports the contention that transcription is critical in writing by leveraging several aspects of early text production. Specifically, a key finding is that handwriting seems to be causally related to increases in burst length, which is a cornerstone in allowing writing fluency. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2016 APA, all rights reserved)

Influence of family socioeconomic status on IQ, language, memory and executive functions of Brazilian children

Abstract: The aim of this study was to assess the effect of family socioeconomic status (SES) and parental education on non-verbal IQ and on the processing of oral and written language, working memory, verbal memory and executive functions in children from different age ranges. A total of 419 Brazilian children aged 6–12 years old, attending public and private schools from Porto Alegre, RS participated in the study. Structural equation analyzes revealed that in the general model (for all ages), the SES contributed to cognitive performance – IQ, verbal memory, working memory, oral and written language and executive functions (28, 19, 36, 28 and 25 %, respectively). SES had stronger effects on younger children (up to nine years old), in most cognitive tasks examined. Probably, after this age, a combination of factors such as schooling, living in other social environments, among others, may mitigate the effects of family socioeconomic status.

The evolutionary history of genes involved in spoken and written language: beyond FOXP2

Abstract: Humans possess a communication system based on spoken and written language. Other animals can learn vocalization by imitation, but this is not equivalent to human language. Many genes were described to be implicated in language impairment (LI) and developmental dyslexia (DD), but their evolutionary history has not been thoroughly analyzed. Herein we analyzed the evolution of ten genes involved in DD and LI. Results show that the evolutionary history of LI genes for mammals and aves was comparable in vocal-learner species and non-learners. For the human lineage, several sites showing evidence of positive selection were identified in KIAA0319 and were already present in Neanderthals and Denisovans, suggesting that any phenotypic change they entailed was shared with archaic hominins. Conversely, in FOXP2, ROBO1, ROBO2, and CNTNAP2 non-coding changes rose to high frequency after the separation from archaic hominins. These variants are promising candidates for association studies in LI and DD.

The effect of language specific factors on early written composition: the role of spelling, oral language and text generation skills in a shallow orthography

Abstract: Spelling skills have been identified as one of the major barriers to written text production in young English writers. By contrast oral language skills and text generation have been found to be less influential in the texts produced by beginning writers. To date, our understanding of the role of spelling skills in transparent orthographies is limited. The current study addressed this gap by examining the contribution of spelling, oral language and text generation skills in written text production in Italian beginner writers. Eighty-three children aged 7–8 years participated in the study. Spelling, lexical retrieval, receptive grammar, and written sentence generation and reformulation skills were assessed and children were asked to write a text on a set topic. A factor analysis revealed that the children’s written text production was captured by three factors: productivity, complexity and accuracy. In contrast to results from children learning to write in opaque orthographies, such as English, this study showed that receptive grammar and written sentence generation skills accounted for significant variance in measures of productivity, complexity and accuracy in Italian children’s written text production. Spelling skills contributed to text accuracy and quality and explained more variance than receptive grammar in microstructural accuracy. By contrast, oral grammatical skills explained more variance in text quality than spelling. The current study shows the differential impact of language systems, such as Italian, on written text production. Implications for assessment and instruction are outlined.

Digital stories: Bringing multimodal texts to the Spanish writing classroom

Abstract: Despite the availability and growing use of digital story software for authoring and instructional purposes, little is known about learners’ perceptions on its integration in the foreign language writing class. Following both a social semiotics approach and activity theory, this study focuses on six advanced Spanish learners’ perceptions about the production of a digital story in which they integrated a variety of modes (written, oral, images, sounds) and manipulated the semiotic resources within each mode (size, color, lines in the image mode), to convey meaning. Analyzing participants’ reflections, questionnaires, and online journals, results highlight learners’ (a) interpretation of the tools and artifacts and their effect on their understanding of a final product, (b) connections between short-term goal-oriented actions and the longer-term object-oriented activity of developing a multimodal text, and (c) linguistic reorientations when creating a digital story.

The efficacy of unitary and polynomic models of codification in minority language contexts: ideological, pragmatic and pedagogical issues in the codification of Irish

Abstract: Although traditional, unitary models of language standardisation have been prominent in minority languages, it is contended that this approach reproduces dominant language hierarchies and hegemonies, diminishes linguistic diversity and marginalises speakers who do not conform to prestige models. The polynomic model has been described as an alternative that is possibly more efficacious in minority language maintenance, revitalisation and revival. Focusing on the codification of written Irish, this article assesses the efficacy of unitary and polynomic models of codification. The Irish context offers a rich locus for the study of these issues, owing to the long-standing presence there of conflicting ideologies of uniformity and plurality with regard to codification of the written variety. These conflicting orientations are manifest in the development of the 1958 unitary written standard, in a recent review of this standard for writing, and in the rejection of this review in favour of a more unitary model. T...

Oral and Written Expression in Children With Reading Comprehension Difficulties

Abstract: Several studies have highlighted that children with reading comprehension difficulties also have problems in tasks that involve telling a story, in writing or verbally. The main differences identified regard poor comprehenders’ lower level of coherence in their productions by comparison with good comprehenders. Only one study has compared poor and good comprehenders’ performance in both modalities (oral and written), however, to see whether these modalities differently influence poor comprehenders’ performance. We qualitatively and quantitatively compared the performance of good and poor comprehenders in oral and written narrative tasks with the aim of shedding light on this issue. Regression analyses were also used to explore the role of working memory and vocabulary in explaining individual differences. Our results showed that the two groups produced narratives of comparable length, with similar percentages of spelling mistakes, whereas they differed in terms of the quality of their narratives, regardle...

The Continua of Biliteracy

Abstract: This issue's theme of biliteracy invites readers to consider the possibilities when we acknowledge and build on students' existing language and literacy abilities. Nancy H. Hornberger, professor and Chair of Educational Linguistics at the University of Pennsylvania's Graduate School of Education, and Iliana Reyes, research scientist at CINVESTAV, Mexico City, and associated faculty in Language, Reading, and Culture at the University of Arizona, discuss the continua of biliteracy and how teachers have used it to better acknowledge student language as a resource.This excerpted conversation was recorded on december 10, 2015, and has been edited for publication. The full conversation is available as a podcast at http://www.ncte.org/journals/la/podcasts.Iliana Reyes: Hi. We're glad to have Nancy Hornberger join us in our conversation today about her work on bilingualism and biliteracy. Hi, Nancy.Nancy Hornberger: Hi, Iliana. Thank you for inviting me to do this.IR: Thank you. We are glad you're here. We want to begin by asking you some questions about your work and how it has been translated in different ways into classroom practice-especially your continua of biliteracy model. Can you tell us how that has influenced classroom practices and, equally important, classroom policies in terms of language and biliteracy?NH: I guess a starting place is to mention how the continua of biliteracy framework arose. It was in the context of some ongoing long-term ethnographic work I was doing in classrooms in Philadelphia-both in the Puerto Rican community of North Philadelphia and in classrooms of the community where I live that had many Cambodian immigrant children at that time. I was interested in looking into their classrooms at how the teachers were able to draw on the students' languages as they helped them develop literacy. And I wanted to look at research literature to help me think about these issues.As I was reading the literature and spending time in these classrooms, interacting regularly with the teachers and students, it started to strike me that researchers were constantly referring to the dichotomies that we tend to use when we analyze language and literacy: first language and second language; oral and written language; speaking and listening; reading and writing. In the research, people were saying, Well, it isn't so clear cut-these distinctions don't really exist in real life, in the real ways people use language in the classroom and also outside in their communities. The lines aren't so clearly drawn.And so that's how I came up with using the idea of continuum. The idea was to say: Okay, we have these analytical end points. We have these things we talk about like first language and second language. But actually, what we should be looking at is the spaces in between along what I call the continuum. It's represented as a line from one thing to the other, but it's all about the spaces there in between. And then it got even more complex, because I thought about all the different kinds of dichotomies that I could break up; I ended up with nine in the original framework. Then we (a student of mine who did some work also in the Cambodian community and I) ended up adding three more. So we ended up with twelve different continua, and we talked about how they create three-dimensional spaces. So without going into great, great detail on it, I think the main idea was to think about how child learners and also adult learners-anyone using language and literacy-are usually in these fluid dynamic spaces between what we call first and second language or monolingualism and multilingualism. That concept and the fact that I put it into a framework that had pieces really got taken up by people all over the world. Many actually contacted me, so that goes a little bit to the ways it's been taken up and used in classroom practice.IR: Yes. I was going to ask you, Nancy, about your definition of the continua of biliteracy and how that has also developed over time, considering the different contexts that you have worked in. …

If You’re House Is Still Available, Send Me an Email: Personality Influences Reactions to Written Errors in Email Messages

Abstract: The increasing prevalence of social media means that we often encounter written language characterized by both stylistic variation and outright errors. How does the personality of the reader modulate reactions to non-standard text? Experimental participants read ‘email responses’ to an ad for a housemate that either contained no errors or had been altered to include either typos (e.g., teh) or homophonous grammar errors (grammos, e.g., to/too, it’s/its). Participants completed a 10-item evaluation scale for each message, which measured their impressions of the writer. In addition participants completed a Big Five personality assessment and answered demographic and language attitude questions. Both typos and grammos had a negative impact on the evaluation scale. This negative impact was not modulated by age, education, electronic communication frequency, or pleasure reading time. In contrast, personality traits did modulate assessments, and did so in distinct ways for grammos and typos.

To what extent do learners benefit from indirect written corrective feedback? A study targeting learners of different proficiency and heritage language status

Abstract: Should teachers spend hours correcting students’ errors, or should they simply underline the errors, leaving it up to the students to self-correct them? The current study examines the utility of indirect feedback on learners’ written output. Journal entries from students enrolled in intact second language (L2) Korean classes (n = 40) were collected and returned to the students with all of their errors underlined (indirect feedback). The students were then given class time to either identify the target of their errors, or to self-correct them. The results were compared across two proficiency levels (beginning vs. intermediate) and across learners’ prior language exposure/learning experiences (heritage language vs. non-heritage language learners). The results showed that the learners in general were able to self-correct more than a third of their errors, and that the non-heritage language learners were significantly better at perceiving their errors on orthography and particles. It was also found that the h...

Self-regulation of learning and preference for written versus audio-recorded feedback by distance education students

Abstract: Teacher feedback is critically related to student learning. This study sought to determine the relationships between distance education (DE) student level of self-regulated learning (SRL) and their preference for audio-recorded vs. written feedback from tutors. DE students (n = 102) enrolled in a first-year university course completed an online questionnaire that assessed eight dimensions of SRL as well as a personal evaluation of written vs. audio-recorded tutor feedback that was provided during the academic study period. In general, the participating DE students expressed preference for written over audio-recorded feedback. However, complex patterns of relationships emerged between dimensions of SRL and evaluation of written vs. audio-recorded feedback. For example, DE students who were most likely to listen to audio-recorded feedback appreciated peer interaction and personal challenges more than students who preferred written feedback. In DE learning environments, a variety of feedback formats ...

Immediate and delayed effects of invented writing intervention in preschool

Abstract: This study examined the effects of a 10 week invented writing program with five-year-old preschoolers (mean age 5.7 years) on their immediate post intervention literacy skills and also the facilitative effects of the intervention on the subsequent learning to read during the first 6 months of schooling. The study included 105 children (54 girls) from 12 preschools in Norway. The preschools were randomly assigned to the experimental group with the invented writing program, or the control group with the ordinary program offered to preschoolers. The classroom-based programs (40 sessions) were conducted by the children’s regular teachers. The children’s emergent literacy skills were evaluated using a pre-test, a post-test and a follow-up test 6 months later, and the data were analyzed using latent autoregressive models. The results showed that the invented writing group performed significantly better than the control group on the post-test for the measures of phoneme awareness (d = .54), spelling (d = .65) and word reading (d = .36). Additionally, indirect effects were observed on the delayed follow-up tests on phoneme awareness (d = .45), spelling (d = .48) and word reading (d = .26). In conclusion, we argue that invented writing appeared to smooth the progress of emergent literacy skills in preschool, including the subsequent reading development in school. Contextualized in a semi-consistent orthography and a preschool tradition that does not encourage the learning of written language skills, the findings add to our knowledge of how children learn to write and read.

Instructional Implications from the Woodcock-Johnson IV Tests of Achievement

Abstract: The primary focus of the chapter is on the instructional implications that can be derived from the Woodcock–Johnson IV (WJ IV) Tests of Achievement. It also includes ways to incorporate information from both the WJ IV Tests of Cognitive Abilities and Tests of Oral Language. The importance of considering both qualitative and quantitative information is reviewed and two criterion-referenced scores, the relative proficiency index and the instructional zone, are highlighted. Patterns of cluster and test scores for three specific learning disability areas, reading, math, and written language, are presented within the context of three cross-domain clusters: academic skills, academic fluency, and academic applications (including oral language and knowledge). Instructional implications for each area, as well as the relationships among cognitive abilities, oral language, and academic performance are discussed. A case study is presented to illustrate how the WJ IV can be used to explore an individual’s cognitive and linguistic strengths and weaknesses to lead to informed instructional planning.

Demystifying Insider Threat: Language-Action Cues in Group Dynamics

Abstract: Written language as a symbolic medium of expression plays an important role in communications. In particular, written words communicated online can provide indications of an actor's behavioral intent. This paper describes an ongoing investigation into the interconnectivity between words and actions for a deceptive insider on group dynamics in virtual team collaboration. An experiment using an online game environment was conducted in 2014. Our findings support the hypothesis that language-action cues of group interactions will change significantly after an insider has been compromised. Deceptive actors tend to use more cognition, inclusivity and exclusivity words when interacting with group members. Future work will employ finely tuned complex Linguistic Inquiry and Word Count (LIWC) dictionaries to identify additional language-action cues for deception in various experimental conditions.

Linguistic Literacy and Later Language Development

Abstract: The chapter addresses the topic of developing literacy from the perspective of “later language development”, focusing on linguistic literacy. Attitudes to written language as a key component of linguistic literacy are reviewed across different periods in history and from the perspective of different disciplines. Lexical, syntactic, and discursive features of text construction are then analyzed as relatively more or less impacted by whether the medium of expression is speech or writing. The data-base consists of 160 personal-experience narratives produced by the same participants in both speech and writing, half in Californian English, half in Israeli Hebrew, from four age/schooling levels (middle childhood, pre-adolescence, adolescence, and educated adults). The chapter concludes by considering what changes in developing linguistic literacy from grade-school to middle- and high-school as manifested in writing/speech distinctiveness. Modality-driven differences between the two means of expression are evident from the youngest age-group: Written texts show greater density in packaging of information, while their spoken counterparts are longer and include more repetitions, and disfluencies. That is, processing factors inherent in the output demands of each modality tend to apply irrespective of age. On the other hand, speech/writing distinctiveness manifests a somewhat U-shaped developmental curve: In 4th and 7th grade, written expression is still largely anchored in the more familiar medium of spoken language; later, from high-school on, increasing differentiation between writing and speech reflects the two modes of expression as distinct styles of discourse; at a third phase of knowledge integration, literate adults manifest bi-directional effects between the two modes of expression, such that their spoken language demonstrates the impact of familiarity with written discourse.

The early Spanish and English writing development of simultaneous bilingual preschoolers

Abstract: This qualitative study investigated the progression in the biliterate levels of conceptualization about writing in Spanish and English of 28 simultaneous bilingual preschoolers. Using a constructiv...

Home Literacy Environment and its Influence on Singaporean Children’s Chinese Oral and Written Language Abilities

Abstract: In a bilingual environment such as Singaporean Chinese community, the challenge of maintaining Chinese language and sustaining Chinese culture lies in promoting the daily use of Chinese language in oral and written forms among children. Ample evidence showed the effect of the home language and literacy environment (HLE), on children’s language and literacy abilities. This study examined Singaporean Chinese–English bilingual children’s HLE and its influence on their Chinese oral and written language ability. Parents of seventy-six Chinese–English bilingual preschoolers completed a HLE survey. Children’s Chinese oral and written language abilities were measured with age appropriate tasks. Results of the HLE survey revealed that, on the average, children’s Chinese language and literacy related activities, either carried out independently or with parents, were not frequent, but correlated significantly with children’s oral and written language ability. A set of regression analyses showed that, after controlling for family socioeconomic status (SES), children’s language preference at home made a unique contribution, both to their Chinese language and literacy related activities and to their Chinese oral language ability. Similarly, children’s Chinese language and literacy related activities were found to make unique contribution to their Chinese written language ability after the effect of family SES and language preference was accounted for, emphasizing the crucial aspects of home literacy activities for developing children’s Chinese written language ability.

Invented Spelling Activities in Small Groups and Early Spelling and Reading.

Abstract: Our aim was to assess the impact of an invented spelling programme conducted in small groups on children’s written language acquisition in Portuguese. We expected the experimental group to have better post-test results than the control group in spelling and reading. Participants were 160 preschool-age children who were randomly divided into an experimental and a control group. Their age, cognitive ability, knowledge of letters and phonological abilities were controlled. Children’s spelling and reading were evaluated in a pre- and a post-test. In-between, experimental group participated in an invented spelling programme in small groups and the control group in story readings. The experimental group showed better results in spelling and reading in the post-test than the control one. Different dynamics occurred in the small groups which had different impacts on children’s acquisitions. These results provide empirical support for the proposal that invented spelling should be incorporated into early literacy i...

Reading--the grand illusion : how and why people make sense of print

Abstract: Foreword, Brian Cambourne Preface Chapter 1: Introduction-Perception, Illusions, Seeing, and Believing Chapter 2: The Grand Illusion in Reading Chapter 3: Reading with our brains Chapter 4: Making Sense: Putting Together What We Know About Reading Chapter 6: Words on Words and Wording Chapter 7: The Visible Level of Written Language: The Graphophonic Relations Chapter 8: Literacy for the Twenty-First Century and Beyond

The Influence of Foreign Scripts on the Acquisition of a Second Language Phonological Contrast.

Abstract: Recent studies in the acquisition of a second language (L2) phonology have revealed that orthography can influence the way in which L2 learners come to establish target-like lexical representations (Escudero et al., 2008, 2014; Escudero and Wanrooij, 2010; Showalter, 2012; Showalter and Hayes-Harb, 2013). Most of these studies, however, involve language pairs relying on Roman-based scripts. In comparison, the influence of a foreign or unfamiliar written representation on L2 phonological acquisition remains understudied. The present study therefore considers the effects of three L2 scripts on the early acquisition of an Arabic consonantal contrast word-initially (e.g. /ħal/–/χal/). Monolingual native speakers of English with no prior knowledge of Arabic participated in a word-learning experiment where they were instructed to learn six pairs of minimally contrastive words, each associated with a unique visual referent. Participants were assigned to one of four learning conditions: no orthography, Arabic scr...