More is more in language learning:reconsidering the less-is-more hypothesis

The Less-is-More hypothesis was proposed to explain age-of-acquisition effects in first language (L1) acquisition and second language (L2) attainment. We scrutinize different renditions of the hypothesis by examining how learning outcomes are affected by (1) limited cognitive capacity, (2) reduced interference resulting from less prior knowledge, and (3) simplified language input. While there is little-to-no evidence of benefits of limited cognitive capacity, there is ample support for a More-is-More account linking enhanced capacity with better L1- and L2-learning outcomes, and reduced capacity with childhood language disorders. Instead, reduced prior knowledge (relative to adults) may afford children with greater flexibility in inductive inference; this contradicts the idea that children benefit from a more constrained hypothesis space. Finally, studies of childdirected speech (CDS) confirm benefits from less complex input at early stages, but also emphasize how greater lexical and syntactic complexity of the input confers benefits in L1-attainment

Entrepreneurial Networking in China and Russia: Comparative Analysis and Implications for Western Executives

In this article, I compare personal networks of Chinese and Russian entrepreneurs in terms of network structure, relationships and resources accessed in networks. The Chinese data is composed of longitudinal phone interviews with 94 Internet entrepreneurs in Beijing, and the Russian data is comprised of longitudinal face-to-face interviews with 75 entrepreneurs in Moscow, Ekaterinburg and Petrozavodsk. Implications for Western executives are discussed.http://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/39905/3/wp520.pd

Content and language integrated learning (CLIL): limitations and possibilities

CLIL is currently enjoying a surge in popularity across the world in its cross-curricular form. While the structural difficulties in implementing CLIL are often recognised, there is little discussion of its inherent limitations. Focusing on cross-curricular programmes, this article analyses critically four of CLIL’s central claims against the evidence of the latest research. The claims analysed are: CLIL leads to greater linguistic proficiency, it boosts motivation, it is suitable for learners of all abilities and it leads to greater intercultural awareness. The article concludes that while all four claims are, to a large degree, substantiated by the evidence, there are also clear limitations, stemming from theoretical and methodological shortcomings of the CLIL model, as well as from its interaction with contextual factors. The article suggests a number of ways in which these limitations can be addressed and concludes that, unless remedied, they could lead to an understandable yet regrettable disappointment with a model that is genuinely promising.CLIL goza en estos momentos de enorme popularidad a nivel internacional. Mientras que sus dificultades logísticas y estructurales se reconocen ampliamente, sus limitaciones intrínsecas son objeto de escaso debate. Este artículo analiza de forma crítica cuatro de los postulados centrales de sus programas croscurriculares en base a las investigaciones más recientes. Los postulados analizados son los siguientes: CLIL conduce a mayor competencia lingüística, CLIL aumenta la motivación, CLIL es adecuado para alumnos de todas las capacidades y CLIL realza la comprensión intercultural. Nuestro artículo concluye que aunque estos postulados se ven confirmados en su mayor parte por los resultados de las investigaciones, hay claras limitaciones al modelo CLIL. Estas limitaciones resultan de deficiencias teóricas del modelo CLIL así como de su interacción con factores contextuales. Se sugieren algunas estrategias para superar estas limitaciones. A no ser que se aborden estas deficiencias, estamos abocados a una decepción comprensible aunque lamentable

Cultural diversity and human resources management in Europe

The increase in the international dimensions of human resources management and the extension of European Union represents important premises regarding the harmonization of human resources practices at the level of the European countries. Despite this, the main characteristic of the European model of management is diversity. During the last decade, the human resource function registered profound changes, determined especially by the economic, social, cultural and political context registered at Europe level. Thus, nowadays the human resource function integrates more and more a strategic vision. The human resource managers take part at the process of elaborating the strategies and policies at organizational level. The extension of the European Union contributes at the realization of a social, economic, political, legislative climate at the level of the entire continent, but despite these, the cultural differences among countries can be eliminated, that means that from the point of view of human resources practices, the European countries will be characterized by a series of differentiation elements.cultural diversity; regional differences; Hofstede’s approach; management style.

Threat and right-wing attitudes: a cross-national approach

Threat relates to right-wing ideological attitudes at the individual level. The present study aims to extend this relationship to the national level. More specifically, in a sample of 91 nations, we collected country-level indicators of threat (including inflation, unemployment, gross national product, homicide rate, and life expectancy). Moreover, we analyzed data from the European and World Value Survey (total N = 134,516) to obtain aggregated country-level indicators for social-cultural and economic-hierarchical right-wing attitudes for each of these countries. In accordance with previous findings based on the individual level, a positive relationship between threat indicators and right-wing attitudes emerged. This relationship was stronger than what was usually reported at the individual level. In the discussion, we focus on the mutually reinforcing influence at the individual and national levels in terms of right-wing attitudes

Content and language integrated learning (CLIL): limitations and possibilities

CLIL is currently enjoying a surge in popularity across the world in its cross-curricular form. While the structural difficulties in implementing CLIL are often recognised, there is little discussion of its inherent limitations. Focusing on cross-curricular programmes, this article analyses critically four of CLIL’s central claims against the evidence of the latest research. The claims analysed are: CLIL leads to greater linguistic proficiency, it boosts motivation, it is suitable for learners of all abilities and it leads to greater intercultural awareness. The article concludes that while all four claims are, to a large degree, substantiated by the evidence, there are also clear limitations, stemming from theoretical and methodological shortcomings of the CLIL model, as well as from its interaction with contextual factors. The article suggests a number of ways in which these limitations can be addressed and concludes that, unless remedied, they could lead to an understandable yet regrettable disappointment with a model that is genuinely promising.CLIL goza en estos momentos de enorme popularidad a nivel internacional. Mientras que sus dificultades logísticas y estructurales se reconocen ampliamente, sus limitaciones intrínsecas son objeto de escaso debate. Este artículo analiza de forma crítica cuatro de los postulados centrales de sus programas croscurriculares en base a las investigaciones más recientes. Los postulados analizados son los siguientes: CLIL conduce a mayor competencia lingüística, CLIL aumenta la motivación, CLIL es adecuado para alumnos de todas las capacidades y CLIL realza la comprensión intercultural. Nuestro artículo concluye que aunque estos postulados se ven confirmados en su mayor parte por los resultados de las investigaciones, hay claras limitaciones al modelo CLIL. Estas limitaciones resultan de deficiencias teóricas del modelo CLIL así como de su interacción con factores contextuales. Se sugieren algunas estrategias para superar estas limitaciones. A no ser que se aborden estas deficiencias, estamos abocados a una decepción comprensible aunque lamentable

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

Unifying Amplitude and Phase Analysis: A Compositional Data Approach to Functional Multivariate Mixed-Effects Modeling of Mandarin Chinese

Mandarin Chinese is characterized by being a tonal language; the pitch (or $F_0$) of its utterances carries considerable linguistic information. However, speech samples from different individuals are subject to changes in amplitude and phase which must be accounted for in any analysis which attempts to provide a linguistically meaningful description of the language. A joint model for amplitude, phase and duration is presented which combines elements from Functional Data Analysis, Compositional Data Analysis and Linear Mixed Effects Models. By decomposing functions via a functional principal component analysis, and connecting registration functions to compositional data analysis, a joint multivariate mixed effect model can be formulated which gives insights into the relationship between the different modes of variation as well as their dependence on linguistic and non-linguistic covariates. The model is applied to the COSPRO-1 data set, a comprehensive database of spoken Taiwanese Mandarin, containing approximately 50 thousand phonetically diverse sample $F_0$ contours (syllables), and reveals that phonetic information is jointly carried by both amplitude and phase variation.Comment: 49 pages, 13 figures, small changes to discussio