Ongoing study for enhancing chinese-spanish translation with morphology strategies

Chinese and Spanish have different morphology structures, which poses a big challenge for translating between this pair of languages. In this paper, we analyze several strategies to better generalize from the Chinese non-morphology-based language to the Spanish rich morphologybased language. Strategies use a first-step of Spanish morphology-based simplifications and a second-step of fullform generation. The latter can be done using a translation system or classification methods. Finally, both steps are combined either by concatenation in cascade or integration using a factored-based style. Ongoing experiments (based on the United Nations corpus) and their results are described.Postprint (published version

Generación morfológica con algoritmos de aprendizaje profundo integrada en un sistema de traducción automática estadística

La variación morfológica entre un lenguaje fuente y el lenguaje destino genera dificultades a los algoritmos estándares de traducción como el estadístico basado en segmentos. En este trabajo planteamos dividir la tarea de traducción en dos partes: primero, simplificamos el lenguaje destino en términos morfológicos y construimos el sistema de traducción con esta modificación; y después utilizamos un algoritmo de clasificación para generar la morfología final. Este trabajo presenta una arquitectura de aprendizaje profundo que permite añadir de manera efectiva la información morfológica a la traducción simplificada generada por un traductor estadístico basado en segmentos. Demostramos que la arquitectura diseñada presenta resultados superiores a los algoritmos estado-del-arte en términos de precisión y que la calidad de la traducción mejora en términos de METEORPeer ReviewedPostprint (author's final draft

The L1 Context Embedding Method in Foreign Language Vocabulary Instruction: A Comparative Study with the Keyword Method

The L1 Context Embedding Method that has been proposed and tested by Zi-Gang (2015), consists of inserting target L2 vocabulary, with translations in brackets, into an L1 story text. It has been demonstrated by Zi-Gang (2015) to be more effective than rote memorization. This current study tested the L1 Context Embedding Method against the Keyword Method (Atkinson, 1975) to see if the two methods are comparable. Sixteen university students from an Elementary Spanish class were taught 10 novel Spanish words using each method in a counterbalanced presentation order. They were administered an immediate posttest for each set of 10 words according to each method, then a combined delayed posttest a week later. The test scores showed that the two methods are comparable, since outside factors affected the scores more than the methods themselves. The results also indicated that the L1 Context Embedding Method was slightly more effective in the immediate posttest, but the Keyword Method was moderately more effective in the delayed posttest

Enhancing metalinguistic knowledge: Preterite and imperfect in L2 Spanish

Framed within a Sociocultural theory perspective to L2 learning, this article investigated the potential of a suite of pedagogical materials for enhancing metalinguistic knowledge in a foreign/second (L2) language context. The linguistic focus of the project was the tense-aspect system, specifically the contrast between the Preterite and the Imperfect in Spanish given the challenges this poses for L2 learners. Six L1 English university students of L2 Spanish at intermediate level volunteered to participate in the study. Drawing on a pre/post-test research design as well as qualitative microgenetic analysis, the study revealed that all the participants benefited from the treatment and interaction with the pedagogical materials. The finding also reveal interesting insights into metalinguistic and strategic resources used by the participants to describe contrasts between the Preterite and Imperfect. The article concludes by discussing pedagogical and research implications regarding the alternative approach to L2 explicit grammar instruction considered in this study

How cultural identities are constructed in China's national holiday blockbuster : a perspective from political discourse analysis

The recent Chinese national blockbuster My People, My Country (MPMC), a movie consisting of 7 stories recounting 7 memorial moments and events since the founding of the People’s Republic of China, has evoked strong emotions among domestic Chinese citizens as well as Chinese diasporas overseas (Hou, 2019). Based on data by Maoyan’s website (2019), MPMC is ranked in the top ten of highest-grossing films in mainland China. As a propaganda film, the huge success of MPMC encourages us to wonder: why is it so successful and why did it receive such strong emotional responses? This question merits investigation as the answer will shed light on how cultural production is to create a shared national identity and further to serve political purpose in uniting populace in today’s new era (Gramsci, 1985; O’shannassy, 2008). Echoing the claim that MPMC was “aiming to awaken the shared memories of Chinese people around the world” (“China Focus”, 2019), I will take the approach of political discourse analysis (PDA) to probe into two specific questions: what strategies are used in constructing cultural identities? And how is MPMC different from past propaganda films, which, according to Teo (2019) and Veg (2012), directly extoll the virtues of the State and belong to high culture? In order to assess the effectiveness of the strategies employed in the movie in constructing national identities, I conducted a small-scale (25 samples) questionnaire survey among Chinese diasporas overseas to understand their feelings towards and comments on the movie (Hall, 2014). The questionnaire consists of 5 open questions investigating the participants’ feelings of this movie as well as which stories they liked/disliked the most. It was administered among 25 Chinese students studying at Ghent University. Feedback suggests that the audience is particularly impressed by elements they share affinity and familiarity with. For instance, the national anthem and theme song of the film (also entitled My People My Country) represent a shared memory: most, if not all, Chinese people, especially those born in 1980s and 1990s, were taught this song repeatedly in their school and university years. Interestingly, apart from these two general shared memories, smaller-scale but more targeted cultural content is employed too, such as the different dialects spoken by different characters throughout the narratives in the movie. These dialects represent the most spoken dialects in China. By employing cultural elements that are familiar to audience, MPMC manages to create proximity and further evoke a highly affective reaction with the participants. Moving to the second research question, I will particularly focus on examining the topics and structures of the 7 seemingly independent stories in the movie, both of which are considered important in PDA (Dunmire, 2012; van Dijk, 1997). The topics featuring the 7 stories vary but share several commonalities—all related to political events and ideologies, and are unfolded in a highly similar structure: all 7 stories end with success and happiness, at the expense of personal sacrifice. Based on such findings, I will further compare MPMC with previous nationalist films, such as Wolf Warrior 2 and Operation Red Sea, both of which are among top ten highest-grossing films and typical patriotic styles, as well as The Founding of a Republic, a tribute to the 60th national anniversary of People’s Republic of China. The comparison suggests an apparent shift from a focus on high-level or remote figures, such as soldiers from a special force or navy, to an emphasis on the popular culture in fostering patriotism. For example, inviting popular celebrities to act and seeing historical events from citizens’ perspectives are among the used strategies. The findings will enable us to better understand how cultural contents are used as tools for political purposes, such as creating unified national identity and maintain cultural hegemony (Gramsci, 1985)

Annotated Bibliography of Research in the Teaching of English

Since 2003, RTE has published the annual “Annotated Bibliography of Research in the Teaching of English,” and we are proud to share these curated and annotated citations once again. The goal of the annual bibliography is to offer a synthesis of the research published in the area of English language arts within the past year that may be of interest to RTE readers. Abstracted citations and those featured in the “Other Related Research” sections were published, either in print or online, between June 2019 and June 2020. The bibliography is divided into nine subject area sections. A three-person team of scholars with diverse research interests and background experiences in preK–16 educational settings reviewed and selected the manuscripts for each section using library databases and leading empirical journals. Each team abstracted significant contributions to the body of peer-reviewed studies that addressed the current research questions and concerns in their topic area

Negative vaccine voices in Swedish social media

Vaccinations are one of the most significant interventions to public health, but vaccine hesitancy creates concerns for a portion of the population in many countries, including Sweden. Since discussions on vaccine hesitancy are often taken on social networking sites, data from Swedish social media are used to study and quantify the sentiment among the discussants on the vaccination-or-not topic during phases of the COVID-19 pandemic. Out of all the posts analyzed a majority showed a stronger negative sentiment, prevailing throughout the whole of the examined period, with some spikes or jumps due to the occurrence of certain vaccine-related events distinguishable in the results. Sentiment analysis can be a valuable tool to track public opinions regarding the use, efficacy, safety, and importance of vaccination

Vocabulary acquisition with affixation: Learning English words based on prefixes & suffixes

This study was designed to investigate vocabulary learning. Non-native speakers have trouble in learning English word systems that have roots and standard rules for prefixes and suffixes that extend the way these core items are used. Therefore, I wanted to investigage which ways of studying vocabulary work best for non-native students: formally learning the underlying prefixes and suffixes or just incidentally learning without using the knowledge of affixation. This experiment was carried out over 10 weeks. Only10 minutes out of each 50-minute class were used for studying the English words that I selected. A total of 54 students took part in this experiment at a private English School in Korea. In the main experiment, the groups of students were organized into two groups: one group was scheduled to memorize English words using knowledge gained from their teachers’ affixation lectures, while the other group studied without instruction about affixation. The goal of the posttest was to determine how students acquired affixation patterns of English words and expanded their vocabulary knowledge and to investigate differences between the two groups. The assumption was that basic knowledge of commonly used affixes would help students learn English vocabulary much faster and avoid the need to repeatedly look up words

Developing a pedagogical framework for teaching Chinese aspect markers le, guo, zai and zhe - a comparative study of the Grammar-Translation approach and a communicative approach

The L2 acquisition of Chinese aspect markers has been investigated by many researchers (Sun, D. 1993; Zhao, L. 1996; Wen, X. 1997; Teng, S. 1999; Li, D. and Duff 1998, Duff and Li, D. 2002; Jin, L. and Hendriks 2005; Ma, L. 2006). Their studies show two main findings, one is the acquisition order of the aspect markers, and the other is the accuracy in using the aspect markers. Among those, only Duff and Li, D. (2002) mentioned the effect of teaching on the accuracy of using Chinese aspect. However, it is unknown what impacts teaching methods/approaches could have on learners’ use of the aspect markers. This thesis aims to contribute to filling that gap. It explores whether a specific teaching framework assists the learning of Chinese aspect markers by L2 learners. We designed a session of Chinese aspect following the acquisition order of the Chinese aspect markers suggested by previous studies. The session was delivered to two groups of beginner level learners in a UK university using different teaching approaches. One is the Grammar-Translation approach, which focuses on learning of aspectual forms, and the other is a communicative approach, which focuses on comprehension. The learners took a pre-test assessing their general knowledge of Chinese, an immediate test after the teaching session on aspect to compare the immediate impact of teaching approaches, and a post-test after two months to trace the lasting effect the teaching approaches. The results show that the Grammar-Translation approach leads to better accuracy levels than communicative approach in using aspects in grammatical tasks, whereas the communicative approach does not necessarily lead to learners’ better use of aspect than the grammar-translation approach in comprehension tasks