157 research outputs found

    Trinity Tripod, 1954-12-15

    Get PDF

    Commonwealth Times 2002-11-04

    Get PDF
    https://scholarscompass.vcu.edu/com/2288/thumbnail.jp

    Gesture as a Communication Strategy in Second Language Discourse : A Study of Learners of French and Swedish

    Get PDF
    Gesture is always mentioned in descriptions of compensatory behaviour in second language discourse, yet it has never been adequately integrated into any theory of Communication Strategies (CSs). This study suggests a method for achieving such an integration. By combining a cognitive theory of speech-associated gestures with a process-oriented framework for CSs, gesture and speech can be seen as reflections of similar underlying processes with different output modes. This approach allows oral and gestural CSs to be classified and analysed within a unified framework. The respective fields are presented in introductory surveys, and a review is provided of studies dealing specifically with compensatory gesture–in aphasia as well as in first and second language acquisition. The experimental part of this work consists of two studies. The production study examines the gestures exploited strategically by Swedish learners of French and French learners of Swedish. The subjects retold a cartoon story in their foreign language to native speakers in conversational narratives. To enable comparisons between learners and proficiency conditions both at individual and group level, subjects performed the task in both their first and their second language. The results show that, contrary to expectations in both fields, strategic gestures do not replace speech, but complement it. Moreover, although strategic gestures are used to solve lexical problems by depicting referential features, most learner gestures instead serve either to maintain visual co-reference at discourse level, or to provide metalinguistic comments on the communicative act itself. These latter functions have hitherto been ignored in CS research. Both similarities and differences can be found between oral and gestural CSs regarding the effect of proficiency, culture, task, and success. The influence of individual communicative style and strategic communicative competence is also discussed. Finally, native listeners’ gestural behaviour is shown to be related to the co-operative effort invested by them to ensure continued interaction, which in turn depends on the proficiency levels of the non-native narrators. The evaluation study investigates native speakers’ assessments of subjects’ gestures, and the effect of gestures on evaluations of proficiency. Native speakers rank all subjects as showing normal or reduced gesture rates and ranges–irrespective of proficiency condition. The influence of gestures on proficiency assessments is modest, but tends to be positive. The results concerning the effectiveness of gestural strategies are inconclusive, however. When exposed to auditory learner data only, listeners believe gestures would improve comprehension, but when learner gestures can be seen, they are not regarded as helpful. This study stresses the need to further examine the effect of strategic behaviour on assessments, and the perception of gestures in interaction. An integrated theory of Communication Strategies has to consider that gestures operate in two ways: as local measures of communicative ‘first-aid’, and as global communication enhancement for speakers and listeners alike. A probabilistic framework is outlined, where variability in performance as well as psycholinguistic and interactional aspects of gesture use are taken into account

    Spartan Daily, October 13, 1988

    Get PDF
    Volume 91, Issue 32https://scholarworks.sjsu.edu/spartandaily/7758/thumbnail.jp

    Investigating Teachers’ and Language Learners’ use of Language in Public Primary Schools in Cyprus

    Get PDF
    The current research investigated the ways language was used by mainstream primary school teachers and language learners whose native language was other than the official language of instruction. The setting of the study was the island of Cyprus, where the mainstream population’s language, Standard Modern Greek, is taught as the educational first language to native speakers of the Greek Cypriot dialect. At the same time, Standard Modern Greek is taught as an additional language to non-native Greek speakers. The main aim of the study was the investigation of the teachers’ and language learners’ use of language in the multilingual schools, to provide information regarding the way participants managed to ‘get along’ socially and academically. Upon examination of this use, the existence of the sociolinguistic phenomenon of bidialectism (the coexistence of two varieties), presented a further complication. The investigation was set within a sociocultural framework, following a neo-Vygotskyan perspective. The investigation was approached through a multiple case study conducted in three first grade primary school classrooms in Cyprus, in which ten language learners and three mainstream teachers were observed for more than 1500 minutes in the classroom and in the playground area. The study was also supported by interviews with the teachers and the GAL learners. In addition, interviews using the young learners’ drawings and persona dolls were conducted to investigate the perspectives of the children. The originality of the study was reflected in the variety of the research methods used, the inclusion of young children in the research, the consideration of bidialectism, the reflection upon both socialising and educational purposes through the use of language and, finally, the different settings where the participants were observed. The results of the study revealed that the instructors used the various linguistic varieties to achieve educational goals through the communication process, in that way prioritising communication over a preferred language. It also became clear that the teachers’ use of language was shown to prioritise communication rather than language learners’ socialisation in a preferred language culture. Moreover, teachers seemed to use the unofficial variety more often than any other linguistic variety as one of the most powerful means of communication they had with the language learners. Similarly, language learners were observed using the unofficial variety almost exclusively while the official variety use was observed only inside the classroom and only in activities that were related to written texts. Also, the playground area was observed to allow young learners to use language more freely, without worrying about mistakes and thus a much more extensive use of verbal speech was noticed. Finally, language learners seemed to use the language first and foremost to become equal members of their school and their class, while their use of language for educational purposes through communication was not a priority as it was for the teachers. None of the previous studies reviewed in the field managed to apply such a rich methodological design, include young students’ voices and examine the language use taking into account the bidialectal phenomenon

    Courier Gazette : February 17, 1931

    Get PDF

    Fanfiction Reviews and Academic Literacy: Potential Impacts and Implications

    Get PDF
    This study is meant to elucidate how fanfiction-related activities can incorporate many types of critical review, to call attention to what has been overlooked as significant forms of learning, and to understand and take advantage of the opportunities fanfiction\u27s unconventional writing affords in lieu of more deliberate learning environments. This thesis was undertaken due to the significant gap in work done by aca-fan — a portmanteau of academic and fan— scholars who have strong links to the fanfiction community and culture. The aspects explored are the technical writing skills and techniques demonstrated in fanfiction reviews, the influence of the nontraditional online learning environment, the rhetorical strategies that reviewers use to give feedback, the significant categories of things that reviewers comment on, and the value of skills taught peer-to-peer in this manner. The results of my research suggest that peer review in a relaxed, non-academic context leads to improved confidence and skill among a wide demographic range. This thesis proposes that fanfiction writing, reading, and reviewing supports learning. The evidence suggests that it be incorporated where applicable in formal classroom learning to supplement traditional understandings of grammar, syntax, tone, and the use of universal tropes
    • …
    corecore