The Effect of Inquiry Learning on the Academic Achievement and Bilingual Verbal Cognition of Young Bilingual Students

The issues that prompt this study are based on current research indicating the positive effects of inquiry learning on the cognitive development of children. The purpose of this case study was to understand the effects of inquiry learning on the academic achievement and bilingual verbal cognition of 5th grade bilingual students in a French/English dual immersion program. The treatment group of students completed research projects through a guided inquiry learning approach, while the control group experienced the traditional problem-solving research approach. Empirical findings reported a significant mean increase in mathematics achievement, bilingual verbal cognitive ability, higher motivation to learn and increased self-efficacy in the treatment versus the control group of students

Learning localization through Trans-Atlantic collaboration: bridging the gap between professions

In light of what has taken place since their presentation at the IEEE International Professional Communication Conference in 2005, the authors describe additional requirements and merits of matching technical writing students in the US with translation students in Europe in a collaborative assignment. Where the original article dealt with how to set up and organize the collaboration, this tutorial delves into the pedagogical challenges and the process dynamics involved in such an exchange, including mediation, power, and teamwork issues

Directional adposition use in English, Swedish and Finnish

Directional adpositions such as to the left of describe where a Figure is in relation to a Ground. English and Swedish directional adpositions refer to the location of a Figure in relation to a Ground, whether both are static or in motion. In contrast, the Finnish directional adpositions edellä (in front of) and jäljessä (behind) solely describe the location of a moving Figure in relation to a moving Ground (Nikanne, 2003). When using directional adpositions, a frame of reference must be assumed for interpreting the meaning of directional adpositions. For example, the meaning of to the left of in English can be based on a relative (speaker or listener based) reference frame or an intrinsic (object based) reference frame (Levinson, 1996). When a Figure and a Ground are both in motion, it is possible for a Figure to be described as being behind or in front of the Ground, even if neither have intrinsic features. As shown by Walker (in preparation), there are good reasons to assume that in the latter case a motion based reference frame is involved. This means that if Finnish speakers would use edellä (in front of) and jäljessä (behind) more frequently in situations where both the Figure and Ground are in motion, a difference in reference frame use between Finnish on one hand and English and Swedish on the other could be expected. We asked native English, Swedish and Finnish speakers’ to select adpositions from a language specific list to describe the location of a Figure relative to a Ground when both were shown to be moving on a computer screen. We were interested in any differences between Finnish, English and Swedish speakers. All languages showed a predominant use of directional spatial adpositions referring to the lexical concepts TO THE LEFT OF, TO THE RIGHT OF, ABOVE and BELOW. There were no differences between the languages in directional adpositions use or reference frame use, including reference frame use based on motion. We conclude that despite differences in the grammars of the languages involved, and potential differences in reference frame system use, the three languages investigated encode Figure location in relation to Ground location in a similar way when both are in motion. Levinson, S. C. (1996). Frames of reference and Molyneux’s question: Crosslingiuistic evidence. In P. Bloom, M.A. Peterson, L. Nadel & M.F. Garrett (Eds.) Language and Space (pp.109-170). Massachusetts: MIT Press. Nikanne, U. (2003). How Finnish postpositions see the axis system. In E. van der Zee & J. Slack (Eds.), Representing direction in language and space. Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press. Walker, C. (in preparation). Motion encoding in language, the use of spatial locatives in a motion context. Unpublished doctoral dissertation, University of Lincoln, Lincoln. United Kingdo

English Bilingual Education: the Challenge of Communication and Cognition Aspects of Content Language Integrated Learning (Clil) in Indonesia

This essay analyses the challenge of the implementation of Content Language Integrated Learning (CLIL) in the curriculum framework in Indonesia. Review on related literature and research findings support the arguments that the implementation of CLIL brings about the issues in cognition and communication aspects. Unless more appropriate English language education and more educational linguistic research are established, the implementation of CLIL should be reconsidered

Teaching learners to communicate effectively in the L2: Integrating body language in the students\u2019 syllabus

In communication a great deal of meaning is exchanged through body language, including gaze, posture, hand gestures and body movements. Body language is largely culture-specific, and rests, for its comprehension, on people\u2019s sharing socio-cultural and linguistic norms. In cross-cultural communication, L2 speakers\u2019 use of body language may convey meaning that is not understood or misinterpreted by the interlocutors, affecting the pragmatics of communication. In spite of its importance for cross-cultural communication, body language is neglected in ESL/EFL teaching. This paper argues that the study of body language should be integrated in the syllabus of ESL/EFL teaching and learning. This is done by: 1) reviewing literature showing the tight connection between language, speech and gestures and the problems that might arise in cross-cultural communication when speakers use and interpret body language according to different conventions; 2) reporting the data from two pilot studies showing that L2 learners transfer L1 gestures to the L2 and that these are not understood by native L2 speakers; 3) reporting an experience teaching body language in an ESL/EFL classroom. The paper suggests that in multicultural ESL/EFL classes teaching body language should be aimed primarily at raising the students\u2019 awareness of the differences existing across cultures

Erken çocukluk dönemindeki Rusça-Türkçe iki dilli çocukların Türkçe edinimi

In this empirical study focuses on acquisition of Turkish of Russian-Turkish bilingual children in early   childhood. The population of the study includes bilingual children at the age of 5 – 6 living in Turkey/Antalya. The sampling of the study consisted of 40 Russian-Turkish bilingual children in total. (20 children are for control group and 20 children are for experiment group). During the collection of data have been used Descoeudres Dictionary Test (DDT) and Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test (PPVT).  Both of the groups were applied pre test and post test.  Language – Focused Curriculum (LFC) was applied to experiment group for 16 weeks. Two factor ANOVA and t test were used in the analyses of data.  As a conclusion, it was understood that LFC is effective at developing Turkish receptive, expressive language and mean length of utterance of bilingual childrenDeneysel desende hazırlanan bu çalışma erken çocukluk dönemindeki iki dilli çocukların Türkçeyi edinimlerini incelemek amacıyla yapılmıştır. Araştırmanın evrenini  Türkiye/Antalyada yaşayan 5-6 yaş arası iki dilli çocuklar oluşturmuştur. Örneklemini ise random örnekleme yöntemiyle belirlenen 20 deney, 20 konrtol grubu olmak üzere toplam 40 Rusça-Türkçe iki dilli çocuk dahil edilmiştir. Verilerin toplanmasında Descoeudres Lugatçe Testi ve  Peabody Resim Kelime  Testi kullanılmıştır. Deney grubundaki çocuklara, 16 hafta Dil Merkezli Okul Öncesi Eğitim Programı uygulanmış. Uygulama öncesinde ve sonrasında  her iki gruba da ön ve son testler yapılmıştır. Verilerin analizinde iki faktörlü ANOVA ve ilişkisiz- t testi kullanılmıştır. Araştırmanın sonucunda  deney grubundaki iki dilli çocukların Türkçe alıcı dil, ifade edici dil ve ortalama sözce uzunluğu düzeylerinin kontrol grubundaki çocuklardan daha yüksek olduğu saptanmıştır

Making masks for Maui: Keeping the macro task in mind

New Zealand primary school children in technology lessons often design and create an artifact in response to a scenario that relates to their interests and experiences. Usually the task is undertaken over several days. In this paper we draw on data generated within the INSiTE study, a three-year study exploring the nature of effective student-teacher interactions around science and technology ideas. The teacher in this paper planned for her children to create a mask for their forthcoming school production: 'How Maui found the secret of fire'. As the children worked on the macro task, that of designing and making a mask, meso and micro tasks emerged. The teacher assisted the children to identity and resolve these, hearing in mind that the ultimate aim was their successful participation in the school production. When teachers assist children to maintain a focus on the overall or macro task goals their artifact fulfils the specifications of the scenario and children's technology understandings and skills are fostered