Metalinguistic awareness in L2 vocabulary acquisition : which factors influence learners’ motivations of form-meaning connections?

Research has shown that prompting learners to elaborate on the appropriateness of form-meaning links can be an efficient vocabulary learning exercise (Deconinck, Boers & Eyckmans, 2017). In this paper we wish to shed more light on the mental processes that occur during this specific elaborative task by investigating the influence of individual learner variables pertaining to prior linguistic knowledge and a number of word-specific features. To this end fifty Dutch-speaking EFL learners rated the congruency they perceived between the form and meaning of 24 English words on a 6-point Likert scale. The motivation of their scores was elicited by means of a think-aloud protocol, the transcriptions of which were analysed with regard to the type of elaborations made. Vocabulary size tests and a language background questionnaire provided us with additional information about the learners. We identified five types of elaborations: cross-lexical associations, sound-symbolic associations, word-form comparisons, morphological associations, and idiosyncratic associations. The data also reveal that the individual learner variables and word-specific features examined in the present study have an influence on the number of elaborations made by the learners. Pedagogical implications and suggestions for further research are discussed

The Relation of Aptitude Test Data to Fall Quarter Grades - 998 Cases - Fall 1931

This is a further study of the scholastic aptitude test which is given to entering students at Iowa State College. Research on this problem has been presented before the Academy of Science from time to time. Vance, in 1925, reported the correlations of parts of the test to quarter grades. In 1931, Cox, reporting on a revised form of the test, showed that tests 2 and 6, that is, tests on arithmetical reasoning and artificial language were most closely related with abilities in Chemistry, English and Mathematics as required of Freshman Engineers at Iowa State College

THE ASSOCIATION BETWEEN SLEEP DURATION AND DEMENTIA: A META-ANALYSIS

In the United States, the current cases of Alzheimer’s disease will double by 2050. Therefore, it is important to study risk factors associated with dementia such as sleep duration. This meta-analysis was conducted to understand the discrepancy in study results since some demonstrated a V shaped association between duration of sleep and dementia while others found no association. If there truly is an association then sleep duration could be targeted to decrease the burdens caused by dementia. A meta-analysis of published studies was conducted to assess the association between sleep duration and the different forms of dementia. The articles were found using PubMed, Embase, Scopus, and EBSCO with the search terms (“Sleep Duration” OR “Change in Sleep Duration”) AND (Alzheimer* OR Dementia) and reviewing bibliographies. Studies were included in the analysis if they met the following criteria 1) a longitudinal study 2) a cohort, case-control, or clinical trial 3) assessed the exposure and outcome of interest 4) diagnosed dementia using established diagnostic criteria 5) provided a risk estimate and 95% confidence interval (CI) 6) in English 7) a published paper. Analyses such as test of heterogeneity, sensitivity analysis, and tests of publication bias were done using STATA15. The analysis included 11 cohort studies with a total of 48,360 participants. No significant association was found between short or long sleep duration and any form of dementia. However, there was a significant association between increase in sleep and dementia but there were only two published papers that examined this association. This study suggests that there is likely no association between sleep duration and any form of dementia which differs from results of previous meta-analyses

Improving Students’ Reading Comprehension by Using Folktale

The objective of the study is to produce the instructional strategy by using folktale. The researcher limits the discussion only in the case of improving students' reading comprehension by using folktale in Elementary Class at An-Nahdloh English Course. This research uses a classroom action research method. This study aims to produce instructional strategies to read using folktale. The study was completed at Elementary Class An-Nahdloh English course with a total of 15 students. The research procedure is in the form of a cycle. Each cycle consists of four stages, including Planning, acting, observing, reflecting. Data collection techniques through tests. Data collection uses reading tests using folktale. In the test, the students read some folktale text, and the teacher gives 3 exercises. 1 question contains 10 points for use in taking scores. The results of the reading test in cycle 2 have increased from cycle 1. The average value in cycle 1 is 67,87 while in cycle 2 it becomes 91,33. In addition to the increased average scores, the percentage of students categorized as complete learning ≥ 75% also increased from 46,67% to 100%. Therefore, it was very clear that folktale could help students to improve their reading comprehension. From the results of the using folktale in Elementary Class at An-Nahdloh English Course can improve reading comprehension with the following steps as 1)  The teacher greets, 2) The teacher addresses students, 3) The teacher reviews the definition of Folktale, 4) The teacher forms a group, 5) The teacher gives the dialogue folktale text, 6) Students read folktale texts together with groups, 7) Questions and answers, 8) The teacher gives a conclusion, 9) The teacher gives a final greeting. &nbsp

The Effect of Performance Assessment and Grammar Mastery Upon the Writing Ability of the Fourth Semester Students of the English Study Program of Fkip Unmas Denpasar in the Academic Year 2012/2013

This study aimed to investigate the effect of performance assessment and grammar mastery upon the students' writing ability. The research method used in this research was experimental. The population was 6 classes consisted of 180 students of the fourth semester students of the English Education Study Program of FKIP UNMAS Denpasar in the academic year 2012/2013. The sample of this study was 60 students which was divided into 2 groups, namely experimental and control group, by Cluster Random Sampling Technique. The research instruments used to obtain the data in this research were in form of tests which were analyzed using Statistical Two-Way ANOVA and Tukey Test. The research findings are first, there is a significant effect of performance assessment on the writing ability of the fourth semester students of the English Study Program of FKIP Unmas Denpasar in the academic year 2012/2013. Second, there is a significant effect of grammar mastery on the writing ability of the fourth semester students of the English Study Program of FKIP Unmas Denpasar in the academic year 2012/2013. Third, there is a significant effect of performance assessment and grammar mastery on the writing ability of the fourth semester students of the English Study Program of FKIP Unmas Denpasar in the academic year 2012/2013. Fourth, there is a significant effect between the students who have high grammar mastery assessed using performance assessment and assessed using conventional technique. Fifth, there is no significant effect between the students who have low grammar mastery assessed using performance assessment and assessed using conventional assessment technique

Comprehension of Subject and Object Relative Clauses in a Trilingual Acquisition Context

Chinese relative clauses (RCs) have word order properties that are distinctly rare across languages of the world; such properties provide a good testing ground to tease apart predictions regarding the relative complexity of subject and object RCs in acquisition and processing. This study considers these special word order properties in a multilingual acquisition context, examining how Cantonese(L1)-English(L2)-Mandarin(L3) trilingual children process RCs in two Chinese languages differing in exposure conditions. Studying in an English immersion international school, these trilinguals are also under intensive exposure to English. Comparisons of the trilinguals with their monolingual counterparts are made with a focus on the directionality of cross-linguistic influence. The study considers how various factors such as language exposure, structural overlaps in the target languages, typological distance, and language dominance can account for the linguistic abilities and vulnerabilities exhibited by a group of children in a trilingual acquisition context. Twenty-one trilingual 5- to 6-year-olds completed tests of subject- and object- RC comprehension in all three languages. Twenty-four age-matched Cantonese monolinguals and 24 age-matched Mandarin monolinguals served as comparison groups. Despite limited exposure to Mandarin, the trilinguals performed comparable to the monolinguals. Their Cantonese performance uniquely predicts their Mandarin performance, suggesting positive transfer from L1 Cantonese to L3 Mandarin. In Cantonese, however, despite extensive exposure from birth, the trilinguals comprehended object RCs significantly worse than the monolinguals. Error analyses suggested an English-based head-initial analysis, implying negative transfer from L2 English to L1 Cantonese. Overall, we identified a specific case of bi-directional influence between the first and second/third languages. The trilinguals experience facilitation in processing Mandarin RCs, because parallels and overlaps in both form and function provide a transparent basis for positive transfer from L1 Cantonese to L3 Mandarin. On the other hand, they experience more difficulty in processing object RCs in Cantonese compared to their monolingual peers, because structural overlaps with competing structures from English plus intensive exposure to English lead to negative transfer from L2 English to L1 Cantonese. The findings provide further evidence that head noun assignment in object RCs is especially vulnerable in multilingual Cantonese children when they are under intensive exposure to English.published_or_final_versio

The Acquisition of Semantic Relations in English Nominal Compounds: A Pilot Study

Children acquire different linguistic constructions in approximately the same order and near the same time. Nominal (noun + noun) compounds, like “football,” are more complex than simple nominals, like “ball,” and are produced and comprehended later. Previous literature (Berko 1958, Berman 1987, Clark 1981, Clark et al 1985, Krott et al 2009, Nicoladis 2003) investigated how children understand the complexity of compounds, yet questions remain regarding children’s early abilities to produce novel compounds. The present study focused on the ability of one English acquisitionist, “Sam,” to form novel compounds encoding four types of semantic relations (HAS, MADE OF, LOCATED ON, and ABOUT). The tests were elicited production tasks, with one round at 2;6 and a second at 2;9. Sam was prompted to produce five novel compounds of each type. The materials in each round were distinct to ensure that the target is novel. For example, “water flamingo” was used at 2;6 and “soup zebra” at 2;9. At 2;6. Sam was only able to produce compounds in the HAS form, while he flawlessly formed each type at 2;9. These results suggest that HAS is the first strategy acquired, while MADE OF, LOCATED ON, and ABOUT are acquired later. However, it is uncertain whether these three types of compounds were acquired simultaneously or in a certain order. This experiment provides insight towards the abilities of young children to create novel compounds. The results support previous research showing that children begin to learn, understand, and even produce compounds at a young age. Yet, this research is new in showing that the production of novel compounds of different types need not begin simultaneously, and that, for English acquisitionists, it likely begins before the age of 2:6