Refining the use of the web (and web search) as a language teaching and learning resource

The web is a potentially useful corpus for language study because it provides examples of language that are contextualized and authentic, and is large and easily searchable. However, web contents are heterogeneous in the extreme, uncontrolled and hence 'dirty,' and exhibit features different from the written and spoken texts in other linguistic corpora. This article explores the use of the web and web search as a resource for language teaching and learning. We describe how a particular derived corpus containing a trillion word tokens in the form of n-grams has been filtered by word lists and syntactic constraints and used to create three digital library collections, linked with other corpora and the live web, that exploit the affordances of web text and mitigate some of its constraints

An Analysis of Cooperating Teacher Feedback: A Qualitative Inquiry

Cooperating teachers are a key component to the success of student teaching internships, serving an integral part in “raising” a teacher. To effectively facilitate the student teaching internship, teacher preparation programs must identify cooperating teachers who align philosophically with the pedagogical training delivered by university programs (Korthagen & Kessels, 1999; Tom, 1997), specifically, cooperating teachers who can reinforce the theoretical framework underpinning the professional coursework pre-service teachers experience in university teacher preparation programs. This qualitative study sought to better understand the feedback provided to future school-based agricultural education (SBAE) teachers during their student teaching experience. Through initial and secondary coding, the research team identified themes among the feedback provided to student teachers by their cooperating teachers. The study revealed cooperating teacher feedback reflects the pedagogical training provided via the teacher preparation program, specifically, around effective teaching behaviors. Understanding the cooperating teacher feedback provides insight for teacher preparation programs

Cloud services, interoperability and analytics within a ROLE-enabled personal learning environment

The ROLE project (Responsive Open Learning Environments, EU 7th Framework Programme, grant agreement no.: 231396, 2009-2013) was focused on the next generation of Personal Learning Environments (PLEs). A ROLE PLE is a bundle of interoperating widgets - often realised as cloud services - used for teaching and learning. In this paper, we first describe the creation of new ROLE widgets and widget bundles at Galileo University, Guatemala, within a cloud-based infrastructure. We introduce an initial architecture for cloud interoperability services including the means for collecting interaction data as needed for learning analytics. Furthermore, we describe the newly implemented widgets, namely a social networking tool, a mind-mapping tool and an online document editor, as well as the modification of existing widgets. The newly created and modified widgets have been combined in two different bundles that have been evaluated in two web-based courses at Galileo University, with participants from three different Latin-American countries. We measured emotional aspects, motivation, usability and attitudes towards the environment. The results demonstrated the readiness of cloud-based education solutions, and how ROLE can bring together such an environment from a PLE perspective

Key skills by design: Adapting a central Web resource to departmental contexts

Web‐based delivery of support materials for students has proved to be a popular way of helping small teams to implement key skills policies within universities. The development of ‘key’ or ‘transferable’ skills is now encouraged throughout education, but resources (both in terms of staffing and budget) tend to be limited. It is difficult for key skills teams to see learners face to face, and not feasible to print or distribute large amounts of paper‐based material. Web‐based delivery presents a means of overcoming these problems but it can result in generic study skills material simply being published online without due consideration of the needs of different groups of learners within different subject disciplines. Therefore, although a centralized Website for skills provision can overcome logistical problems, it may be perceived as irrelevant or unusable by the student population. This paper presents a model for Web‐based delivery of support for key skills which incorporates two separate approaches to the design of these resources. The model was implemented as part of a wider key skills pilot project at University College London, over a period of one year. It includes a ‘core’ Website, containing information and resources for staff and students. These can also be accessed via customized, departmental key skills homepages. This paper presents the basis for the design choices made in preparing these materials, and the evaluation of some of the pilot departments using them. It then draws some wider conclusions about the effectiveness of this design for supporting skills development

Verb similarity: comparing corpus and psycholinguistic data

Similarity, which plays a key role in fields like cognitive science, psycholinguistics and natural language processing, is a broad and multifaceted concept. In this work we analyse how two approaches that belong to different perspectives, the corpus view and the psycholinguistic view, articulate similarity between verb senses in Spanish. Specifically, we compare the similarity between verb senses based on their argument structure, which is captured through semantic roles, with their similarity defined by word associations. We address the question of whether verb argument structure, which reflects the expression of the events, and word associations, which are related to the speakers' organization of the mental lexicon, shape similarity between verbs in a congruent manner, a topic which has not been explored previously. While we find significant correlations between verb sense similarities obtained from these two approaches, our findings also highlight some discrepancies between them and the importance of the degree of abstraction of the corpus annotation and psycholinguistic representations.La similitud, que desempeña un papel clave en campos como la ciencia cognitiva, la psicolingüística y el procesamiento del lenguaje natural, es un concepto amplio y multifacético. En este trabajo analizamos cómo dos enfoques que pertenecen a diferentes perspectivas, la visión del corpus y la visión psicolingüística, articulan la semejanza entre los sentidos verbales en español. Específicamente, comparamos la similitud entre los sentidos verbales basados en su estructura argumental, que se capta a través de roles semánticos, con su similitud definida por las asociaciones de palabras. Abordamos la cuestión de si la estructura del argumento verbal, que refleja la expresión de los acontecimientos, y las asociaciones de palabras, que están relacionadas con la organización de los hablantes del léxico mental, forman similitud entre los verbos de una manera congruente, un tema que no ha sido explorado previamente. Mientras que encontramos correlaciones significativas entre las similitudes de los sentidos verbales obtenidas de estos dos enfoques, nuestros hallazgos también resaltan algunas discrepancias entre ellos y la importancia del grado de abstracción de la anotación del corpus y las representaciones psicolingüísticas.La similitud, que exerceix un paper clau en camps com la ciència cognitiva, la psicolingüística i el processament del llenguatge natural, és un concepte ampli i multifacètic. En aquest treball analitzem com dos enfocaments que pertanyen a diferents perspectives, la visió del corpus i la visió psicolingüística, articulen la semblança entre els sentits verbals en espanyol. Específicament, comparem la similitud entre els sentits verbals basats en la seva estructura argumental, que es capta a través de rols semàntics, amb la seva similitud definida per les associacions de paraules. Abordem la qüestió de si l'estructura de l'argument verbal, que reflecteix l'expressió dels esdeveniments, i les associacions de paraules, que estan relacionades amb l'organització dels parlants del lèxic mental, formen similitud entre els verbs d'una manera congruent, un tema que no ha estat explorat prèviament. Mentre que trobem correlacions significatives entre les similituds dels sentits verbals obtingudes d'aquests dos enfocaments, les nostres troballes també ressalten algunes discrepàncies entre ells i la importància del grau d'abstracció de l'anotació del corpus i les representacions psicolingüístiques

Exploring the Impact of Teacher Collaboration on Student Learning: A Focus on Writing

In this yearlong case study, six English teachers in an urban high school in Northern California engaged in sustained collaboration focused on developing and enacting strategies to improve the writing skills of their culturally and linguistically diverse freshmen. The study was conducted between August 2018 and June 2019, to determine the connections, if any, between teacher collaboration and student learning. Qualitative data were analyzed from teacher collaboration and observation of classroom practices, focus groups and teacher-created artifacts. Students’ on-demand writing assessments in fall and spring were compared with instructionally supported writing. Student surveys were analyzed in a mixed methods approach. Findings suggest that students’ writing skills improved and students reported increased confidence in writing and other literacy practices. The lessons developed in the collaboration meetings and observed in practice, in tandem with student and teacher self-reports suggest a positive relationship between teacher collaboration and student learning outcomes

Speaking activities and pegagogical strategies to promote oral participation among fifth grade introverted students

El siguiente proyecto llamado “actividades de habla y estrategias pedagógicas para promover participación oral entre estudiantes introvertidos de quinto grado” es un estudio descriptivo e interpretativo de caso que usa como métodos de investigación( diarios investigativos, observaciones y entrevistas) con el objetivo de diagnosticar e interpretar situaciones dentro del aula de clase en relación a estrategias y actividades orales implementadas por los investigadores para promover participación oral entre los participantes. Este estudio se llevo a cabo en la ciudad de Pereira Colombia, cuyo enfoque educativo actual se relaciona con el desarrollo e implementación de un plan educativo de bilingüismo en instituciones educativas públicas. La escuela en la cual se desarrolló el estudio es una institución educativa pública llamada el “Pueblito” la cual tiene un acuerdo con la universidad de Pereira para que sus practicantes dicten clases de Inglés a los estudiantes y de esta manera generar un mayor nivel académico en esta área. Para fundamentar las bases de esta investigación se tomaron en cuenta una serie de autores y teorias relacionadas con el rol de la personalidad en el desarrollo de participación oral, y tipos de actividades para promover participación en este campo y la relación de esta con los estudiantes introvertidos. Los resultados encontrados en este estudio estan enfocados a dar respuestas a las siguientes preguntas de investigación: ¿Qué nos dicen las actividades de habla implementadas a estudiantes de quinto grado en un colegio publico de Pereira acerca de la participación oral en Ingles de estudiantes introvertidos? de igual manera. ¿Qué estrategias pedagógicas pueden ser consideradas para diseñar e implementar actividades orales que generen participación en inglés en un grupo de grado quinto en una escuela pública de Pereira que presenta estudiantes introvertidos? Los hallazgos encontrados en esta investigacion estan enfocados en lo siguiente: tipos de actividades usadas para promover participación oral entre estudiantes introvertidos, estrategias pedagógicas utilizadas para promover participación oral y sus respectivas sub-categorías.This research study titled “speaking activities and pedagogical strategies to promote oral participation among 5th grade introverted students” is a descriptive and interpretative case study. To respond to the reaserch questions three methods were used during the investigation. (Interview, observations and journals). The objective is to diagnose and analize the current situation, implement speaking activities and strategies to generate oral participation among introverted students. The current study took place in Pereira, Colombia where a plan of bilingualism is being carried out; therefore, there is a strong interest in the pedagogical procesess, methods, and approaches in relation to foreign language teaching. The educational institution were this investigation took place goes by the name of “El pueblito”. This primary school has an agreement of bilingualism with the University of Pereira. In order to build the bases of this thesis project and analyze data, various points of view will be mentioned by related authors that are involved in the field of personalty factors in learning, the role of speaking activities in EFL and the relationship it has with introverted language students. The results provided by the findings in this study are guided towards answering the following research questions: what do speaking activities proposed for a 5th grade course from a public Pereira school tells us about introverted student’s English oral participation? What pedagogical strategies should be considered when designing and implementing speaking activities for a 5th grade Pereira public school group with introverted students? The findings found in this project are the following type of speaking activities used to promote oral participation, Pedagogical strategies fostered oral participation among introverted participants and it respected sub categories

The acquisition of variable past-time expression in L2 Spanish: combining concept-oriented, form-oriented, and variationist research traditions within functionalism

The current dissertation contributes a comprehensive picture of the emergence and development of L2 Spanish past-time expression in a classroom setting (i.e., a large database corresponding to eight different proficiency levels from 1st semester to 7th/8th semester and a control group of near-native-speaker and native-speaker instructors). Such a comprehensive view was reached by the consideration of a plethora of past forms and the adoption of the most popular research traditions in the study of TA morphology: the concept-oriented, form-oriented, and the variationist research frameworks. According to the concept-oriented approach, our results showed that language complexity (i.e., embedding or syntactization) increased simultaneously with proficiency level, as did a number of non-morphological devices such as infinitive forms and verbal omission. The form-oriented approach in this dissertation yielded results that confirmed previous research: the present preceded the preterit as a default form, the preterit emerged as a default past form in the 1st semester prior to the imperfect, and both forms emerged and developed in combination with their prototypical meanings of perfectivity and imperfectivity, respectively. The other past forms (i.e., imperfect-progressive, preterit progressive, and the perfect) emerged after the preterit and imperfect but were minimally used even at higher levels, including the instructors’ group, confirming their status as peripheral gram types (Dahl, 1985). An analysis of formal accuracy indicated that both the present indicative and the preterit followed a U-shaped curve of development, with the 3rd and 4th semester levels exhibiting the highest rates of inaccurate well-formedness (e.g., overregularization, paradigm overgeneralization, etc.), whereas the imperfect showed a decreasing trend toward fewer formal errors. Lastly, the results pertaining to the variationist approach indicated that acquisition of past morphology is driven by multiple factors (i.e., lexical aspect, discourse grounding, adverbial modification, aspectual meaning, temporal reference, text type, and frequency), which have an increasing effect with increasing proficiency. Specifically, the results of mixed-effects binomial logistic regressions showed that as the learners’ verbal systems reorganized and restructured, past form usage rates became more native-like and past forms were increasingly predicted by a larger number of significant factors