Needs before means: the dialectics of learning and technology

The general argument advanced in this paper is that in the changing context of present-day higher education it is vital that our educational purposes and student needs are clarified before decisions are taken about the means, including the use of learning technology, of satisfying those purposes and needs. The development of a critical understanding is still seen as the central purpose of higher education even in the context of a more vocationally relevant mass higher education. It is argued here that dialogue is the key to critical learning based on a process of dialectical communication. The task then is to construct an understanding learning environment which fosters interaction between students, staff and resources, reconciling individual needs with collective purposes. The specific role of learning technology as a means of encouraging dialogue within a learning environment is illustrated through examples of language learning such as TLTP CKS33 and the RACE Hipernet Project. Through a dialectical process, the appropriate use of learning technologies in meeting students' changing needs can be progressively refined

Promoting Student Success: Bilingual Education Best Practices and Research Flaws

This paper first determines the benefits which bilingual education offers and then compares transitional, dual-language, and heritage language maintenance programs. After exploring the outcomes, contexts, and practical implications of the various bilingual programs, this paper explores the oversight in most bilingual studies, which assess students’ syntax and semantics while neglecting their understanding of pragmatics and discourse structures (Maxwell-Reid, 2011). Incorporating information from recent studies which question traditional understandings of bilingualism and argue that biliteracy requires more than grammatical and vocabulary instruction, this paper proposes modifications in current research strategies and suggests best practices for transitional, dual-language, and heritage maintenance programs

The Integration of Reading, Writing, Speaking, and Listening Skills in the Middle School Social Studies Classroom

The purpose of this feasibility study is to provide evidence of how integrating reading, writing, speaking, and listening skills into eighth-grade social studies instruction facilitates student understanding of content material and ability to write about social studies content. In thiswithin-subjects paired-samples research study, 197 eighth-grade participants received instruction in a social studies content area and in argumentative writing. Data from a criterion-referenced social studies pre and posttest and data from pre and post instruction writing samples were analyzed to evaluate the influence of the integration of literacy tasks in middle school social studies classrooms oncontent area knowledge acquisition and argumentative writing quality. Analysis of the Criterion Referenced Test (CRT) data usingregression analysis showed that there was a statistically significant increase in the students’ performance on the CRT after the students engaged in literacy tasks emphasizing reading, writing, speaking, and listening during the social studies instruction. Analysis of the writing rubric scores using Cohen’s d showed statistically significant differences exist between the students pre and post essay scores. These results suggest that having students engage in reading, writing, speaking, and listening tasks and in explicit writing instruction and production during a social studies unit facilitates their content knowledge acquisition, improves the overall quality of students’ argumentative writing, and more specifically, improves the organization and development of that writing. It is recommended that further research be conducted to determine the best way to group students for collaboration when incorporating reading, writing, speaking, and listening tasks within content area instruction

Assessing the Readability of Capital Pattern Jury Instructions

Data obtained from the National Assessment of Adult Literacy (2003) indicate that 29% of adults have a Basic level of prose literacy. Prose literacy refers to the knowledge and skills needed to comprehend and use information from continuous texts, such as editorials, news stories, and instructional materials. In the current study we examined each state’s capital sentencing instructions for their readability using a highly reliable word-analysis tool. We found that reading levels of sentencing instructions significantly surpassed the reading comprehension abilities of American adults. All but three states’ instructions were above the twelfth grade reading level. In addition, legal principles embedded within the weighing language instruction were more difficult to comprehend compared to the aggravating or mitigating factors components of the instructions. By measuring the readability of instruction language and comparing it national literacy levels of adults, we provide an important explanation for poor comprehension of legal principles

The Relationship Between Vocabulary Depth and Argumentative Essay Writing Proficiency Among IELTS Test Takers in Pakistan

The main object of this correlational study was to determine the relationship between vocabulary depth and argumentative essay writing proficiency among Pakistani IELTS test takers. Students with greater vocabulary knowledge and discourse expertise would produce texts of higher quality as compared to students with less of these skills. For this purpose, it manipulated three instruments for collecting the required data: a prompt for writing an argumentative essay, an IELTS band descriptor for scoring writing tasks, and the Word Association Test (WAT) for assessing vocabulary depth knowledge. It involved 129 Pakistani IELTS test-takers as its population. The sample comprised 42 females and 87 male participants. The data was analysed using SPSS version 23. Pearson\u27s product moment analysis was used to determine the relationship between both continuous variables (vocabulary depth and argumentative essay writing), and the results revealed a negative or weak relationship between vocabulary depth and IELTS essay band scores (r = -.032, p =.721). The current findings concluded that there was no statistically significant correlation between both variables. Furthermore, this research study would have certain suggestions for teachers, test designers, and material originators on how to incorporate the dimension of word associations into the creation of word knowledge. It would have some pedagogical implications and instructions for increasing linguistic aptitude levels, which would be useful in academic institutions, language assessment, and language teaching and learning centres such as IELTS training centers. &nbsp

The real thing? : authenticity and academic listening

In this article we explore the usefulness of the criterion of authenticity for the selection and evaluation of EAP materials. These materials were specialised listening texts used on a first year undergraduate programme at a U.K. university. Using a student questionnaire and techniques of discourse analysis based on Halliday's concepts of field, tenor and mode, we investigated the levels of difficulty and relevance of materials using four media: published audio tapes, audio recordings of a live lecture, video materials and a short, simulated lecture by the teacher. We found that the texts which related to the students experience and permitted learner interaction appeared to have more potential for language learning than those which merely replicated the discourse of the target situation

The Creation of a Ninth Grade Literacy Course: One Teacher\u27s Experiences in Teaching a Standards-Based Literacy Course

This study examined one teacher’s experience with teaching a ninth grade literacy course. In response to consecutively low reading test scores, the administration in a rural high school in South Central Kentucky established a literacy course for all ninth grade students. This research illustrates the teacher’s implementation and instruction of that course. In addition, the research investigates how the results of a formal reading assessment might be used to improve the reading course in the future

MAINTAINING FIRST LANGUAGE: BILINGUALS’ VOICES

Indonesia is known as a multicultural country which has thousand different languages Most of its citizens are believed to be able to communicate by using two or morelanguages. This qualitative research, by employing case study approach, was done withthe purpose of figuring out and describing bilinguals’ voices in maintaining their firstlanguage. The discussion centered on their ways to keep their first language. Thisresearch was conducted at Jambi University and ten participants took part in this casestudy. To get the data, the researcher distributed demographic questionnaires andinterviewed the participants. Then, the researcher used within case and cross casedisplays and analysis (Miles and Huberman, 1994) to analyze the interview data. Thefindings showed that there were three major ways done by bilinguals to maintain theyfirst language, among others; 1) Doing interaction, 2) The use of ICT, and 3) The use obooks and song