Language Learning and Interactive TV

The integration of engaging TV style content with the individualization and ‘intelligent’ content management offered by techniques from AI has the potential to provide learning environments that are both highly motivating and educationally sound. This paper describes why the area of language learning would be a particularly appropriate domain for interactive educational television to focus on. It also indicates some of the criteria to be fulfilled in order to provide optimal language learning conditions and how these might be satisfied using TV/Film content and techniques from AIED

Features of Group Cohesion in Cooperative Base Groups in an ESL Class

The first objective of this study was to investigate if there was cohesiveness in the relationships among base group members, and if there was, to identify descriptive-interpretive features of group cohesion. The identified features contribute significantly to theory building on group cohesion. The second objective was to formulate an organising scheme which classifies the descriptive-interpretive features of group cohesion into different categories and sub-categories. This is a helpful framework for future qualitative data analysis on group cohesion. This heuristic research was worked into a regular ESL class for one semester. The researcher was also the class teacher. Seventeen first semester UPM undergraduates enrolled in a level three English proficiency course were the subjects of the study. The students were divided into four heterogeneous base groups. The main instrument for data collection was the students' journals containing their written observations of their base groups. The journal entries were analysed inductively to identify descriptive-interpretive features of group cohesion, and to formulate an organising scheme. The organising scheme was validated and revised a couple of times before it arrived at its final form. The reliability of the formulated scheme and interpretation of the cohesive features was established by computing the degree of correspondence between the raters' categorisations with the researcher's; the reliability was found to be at .87 and .91 respectively. The questionnaire was used as a secondary instrument to verify the cohesive features identified from the journals

Parent Interaction Between an Infant with a Cochlear Implant and Additional Disabilities

Pediatric hearing loss has many spoken language learning issues that can impact parent-infant interaction. Moreover, additional disabilities are likely to increase stress, which could have cascading effects on communication. The purpose of the study was to examine interactions between mother- and father-child dyads with and without hearing loss and/or Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), Cytomegalovirus (CMV), and global delay. Recordings of the parents speaking with six infants in the study were analyzed: an infant with cochlear implants and ASD (low socioeconomic status, SES), two infants with cochlear implants and normal development (high SES and low SES), one infant with a cochlear implant and CMV (average SES), one infant with a cochlear implant and global delay (average SES), and one infant who was typically developing and had normal hearing (high SES). After analyzing the results for communication measures, such as vocalization attempts, turn-taking in utterances, mean-length of utterances, and type-token ratio, it was concluded that maternal and paternal interaction was negatively affected due not only to the difficulty of the hearing loss and/or additional disability, but rather due to a combination of factors, including the disability, SES, maternal and paternal education, and the home environment

Developing a Blended Learning strategy: ‘Motivating university students to learn English by implementing blended learning activities (instructional media and pedagogical considerations)’

The switch from the traditional face-to-face to an online model implementing technology in the classroom affects students’ motivation. By applying the blended learning approach in class I introduced the concepts of synchrony (integration of learning environment) and elasticity (integration of instructional media with instructional strategies) to ensure the right mix is attained. In my blended learning class, I combined modes of web-based technology with various pedagogical approaches to produce an optimal language learning environment. In attempting to achieve the optimal learning environment I employed a variety of activity types with group work and pair work, collaborative learning and independent learning to engage my learners in communicative language practice. As a teacher, I try to address the need for personalized learning through the introduction of self-study resources designed for independent study.      The participants in this study are students from different faculties, attending Basic English skills sessions (pre-intermediate, intermediate and upper-intermediate courses). Students completed a questionnaire designed to determine: 1) if blended learning activities done in and outside the classroom could enhance their learning of English; 2) what factors might motivate students to perform tasks; 3) what were possible underlying factors that affect students’ motivation, especially in stimulating students’ practical work, and enhancing their language learning achievement at the earliest stage of their university education. This study investigates the influence of competence-based learning in motivating students to learn English as a foreign language.

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

A Map of Update Constraints in Inductive Inference

We investigate how different learning restrictions reduce learning power and how the different restrictions relate to one another. We give a complete map for nine different restrictions both for the cases of complete information learning and set-driven learning. This completes the picture for these well-studied \emph{delayable} learning restrictions. A further insight is gained by different characterizations of \emph{conservative} learning in terms of variants of \emph{cautious} learning. Our analyses greatly benefit from general theorems we give, for example showing that learners with exclusively delayable restrictions can always be assumed total.Comment: fixed a mistake in Theorem 21, result is the sam

Age, Aptitude, and Autonomy: An Exploration of Self-Guided Learning and Autonomy Development in Adult Learners

Optimal language learning facilitation requires drawing on insights from many feeder disciplines. Key among them has been the field of second language acquisition. With the significant developments in technology and the urgency for English learners to compete in today’s globalized world, there has been a particular focus on more advanced learning strategies as well as on research in the area of student autonomy. The latter type of research has tapped into insights offered not just by applied linguists but also by polyglots who have achieved high levels of fluency in multiple languages. Independent language learning has drawn further attention as it has been shown to be an important factor in the experiences of learners who have acquired exceptional levels of attainment. This has necessitated a careful analysis and some revision of extant theories of language acquisition, with some promoting self-directed language learning as perhaps the most feasible method for individuals seeking optimal language development and cultural immersion conducive to deeper, expedited learning. This research paper seeks to understand traditional theories of second language acquisition as they relate to self-directed learning, and the fostering of autonomy in adult learners with limited educational background, studying in a somewhat mixed level context. The author will examine factors such as age, motivation, and aptitude, and correlate their interpretation in the literature with observations, surveys, and analyses of students in the context under study. To these she will add an emic perspective to self-directed learning, describing her own experience with three months of self-directed language learning. The goal of this multifaceted description is to shed light on methods, learning strategies, and other variables that determine levels of attainment outside conventional language learning approaches

Developing writing descriptive text using dialogue journal

Writing is process of exchanging ideas into written form. Many materials have been learnt in senior high school such as tenses, genres of text, and subject-verb agreement. In the eleventh grade of MA. Daarussalaam Cisaat Sukabumi, the students can not express their ideas into written form. Therefore, this study aims at investigating the implementation of dialogue journal in teaching and learning activities. It also aims to identify the improvement of students’ writing ability in descriptive text by the use of dialogue journal. It concerns on the students’ problem solving in writing descriptive text. The aspects are analyzed such as generic structure of descriptive text and subject-verb agreement. This study reports on qualitative approach with case study method involved one English teacher and nine participants of the eleventh grade students at MA. Daarussalaam Cisaat Sukabumi. The participants are categorized in three category achievements; low, middle, and high. The data on dialogue journal applied were gathered from observation, interview, and document analysis. The results of the study reveal that the students have done dialogue journal on writing descriptive text. The findings show that the teacher gave the comments on students’ writing and the students revised their writing to be better especially in subject-verb agreement. The improvement can be seen from the students’ dialogue journal book. In addition, the students felt enjoyable and got a motivation in writing. Besides, the teacher has known the students’ knowledge. The teacher revised the students’ writing based on their knowledge. Then, dialogue journal can extend contact time between the students and the teacher. Moreover, the teacher can manage the class with the students of varying abilities and levels. Therefore, it is suggested that it is important for the teachers to consider dialogue journal as a method in teaching writing which would be implemented in a classroom