A communicative approach to computer-assisted-learning in teaching Japanese as a foreign language

This study looks at the use of CAL (Computer-AssistedLearning) for TJFL (Teaching Japanese as a Foreign Language). An Appropriate model of CAL is sought based on language teaching and learning theories. The model consists of teachers' and students' aspects. Core ideas of language teaching, factors of learning, and an educational aspect are blended into a theoretically ideal CAL syllabus. Existing course (soft) ware systems are classified based on this model and are examined. Suggestions for improvements and ideas for CAL in TJFL are presented

Script Effects as the Hidden Drive of the Mind, Cognition, and Culture

This open access volume reveals the hidden power of the script we read in and how it shapes and drives our minds, ways of thinking, and cultures. Expanding on the Linguistic Relativity Hypothesis (i.e., the idea that language affects the way we think), this volume proposes the “Script Relativity Hypothesis” (i.e., the idea that the script in which we read affects the way we think) by offering a unique perspective on the effect of script (alphabets, morphosyllabaries, or multi-scripts) on our attention, perception, and problem-solving. Once we become literate, fundamental changes occur in our brain circuitry to accommodate the new demand for resources. The powerful effects of literacy have been demonstrated by research on literate versus illiterate individuals, as well as cross-scriptal transfer, indicating that literate brain networks function differently, depending on the script being read. This book identifies the locus of differences between the Chinese, Japanese, and Koreans, and between the East and the West, as the neural underpinnings of literacy. To support the “Script Relativity Hypothesis”, it reviews a vast corpus of empirical studies, including anthropological accounts of human civilization, social psychology, cognitive psychology, neuropsychology, applied linguistics, second language studies, and cross-cultural communication. It also discusses the impact of reading from screens in the digital age, as well as the impact of bi-script or multi-script use, which is a growing trend around the globe. As a result, our minds, ways of thinking, and cultures are now growing closer together, not farther apart. ; Examines the origin, emergence, and co-evolution of written language, the human mind, and culture within the purview of script effects Investigates how the scripts we read over time shape our cognition, mind, and thought patterns Provides a new outlook on the four representative writing systems of the world Discusses the consequences of literacy for the functioning of the min

Applying a framework for psycholinguistic environment design to an online synchronous language learning course: Virtual language learning - Japanese in the Cal State University

1 online resource (PDF, 94 pages). Submitted July, 2010 as a Plan B paper in partial fulfillment of the requirements for a master's degree in English as a Second Language from the University of Minnesota.Can an online synchronous language course provide the psycholinguistic environments considered necessary for language learning? “Virtual Language Learning- Japanese” was the product of a content base developed at the turn of the millennium in the pursuit of developing language learning courses among California State University (CSU) campuses that would use synchronous and asynchronous delivery modes via internet technologies. That project sought to enhance and strengthen existing programs in order to maximize cost effectiveness and enrollments for strategic and less commonly taught languages. However the psycholinguistic support for learning from the materials and approach to instruction for the course developed in that project have not been reviewed. This study reviews the course, “Japan: Land and People” that has persisted from that project and is currently offered in synchronous online mode from California State University, Monterey Bay to students from around the CSU system, through the lens of Doughty and Long’s (2003) framework of Methodological Principles for Computer Assisted Language Learning. The framework’s 10 principles are identified, and are related to Second Language Acquisition theory and research findings. After exploring the principles and their basis, the paper explains the organization and motivation of the course, and a detailed description of a single lesson from the course is provided. The lesson is then reviewed from the perspective of the methodological principles. This study concludes that incorporating synchronous technology based learning with robust backend data driven tools to assist the instructor in classroom decisions successfully meets the psycholinguistic requirements for language learning

Bidirectional perception of lexical prominence in Spanish and Japanese as second languages

Perception of novel phonetic contrasts in a second language has been studied extensively, but suprasegmentals have seen relatively little attention even though difficulties at this level can strongly impact comprehension. Available studies suggest that the perception of segmental and suprasegmental categories are subject to similar factors, but evidence is not entirely conclusive. Additionally, studies focusing on the perception of lexical prominence have suggested that perception across languages with different accent types might be particularly problematic, meaning that these effects in particular would be independent of the direction of language learning. This dissertation explores both of these questions by studying the perception of lexical prominence by second-language learners in Spanish (a stress-accent language) and Japanese (a pitch-accent language). Following a bidirectional approach, it examines whether the perception of phonologically different types of lexical prominence is subject to similar effects as those traditionally identified for cross-linguistic segmental perception, and how these relate to the direction of learning. A first set of studies provides a comparative acoustic description of prominence in both languages, and presents the results of an identification task with natural words in different positions within a sentence. Using multiple speakers, these tests showed that the difficulties seen by both groups are different and related to features in their L1, and that despite phonological differences, contexts existed in which high performance was possible. A second set of studies explored the sensitivity of non-native listeners to secondary acoustic cues and the development of new accentual categories, and showed effects of learning for both groups and a strong sensitivity to duration for learners of Spanish. Learners of Japanese showed extremely poor category development for unaccented words in particular. Overall results show that existing research on SLA is applicable to suprasegmental perception, and that the transfer effects affecting both groups have different domains and scope. The implications for language teaching and theories of L2 perception are discussed

College Senate Minutes April 27, 2017

Minutes for the meeting of the College Senate on April 27, 2017

Whittier College Course Catalog 2011-2013 (Volume 91 • Fall 2011)

https://poetcommons.whittier.edu/catalog/1005/thumbnail.jp

The Nature of Writing – A Theory of Grapholinguistics [book cover]

Cover illustration: Purgatory: Canto VII – The Rule of the Mountain from A Typographic Dante (2008) by Barrie Tullett (also displayed in Barrie Tullett, Typewriter Art: A Modern Anthology, London: Laurence King Publishing, 2014, p. 167). With kind permission by Barrie Tullett. The text is taken from Dante. The Divine Comedy, translated by Dorothy L. Sayers, Harmondsworth­Middlesex: The Penguin Classics, 1949. On the lower part of the illustration, one can read the concluding verses of the Canto: But now the poet was going on before; “Forward!” said he; “look how the sun doth stand Meridian­high, while on the Western shore Night sets her foot upon Morocco’s strand.