An exploration of language identification techniques for the Dutch folktale database

The Dutch Folktale Database contains fairy tales, traditional legends, urban legends, and jokes written in a large variety and combination of languages including (Middle and 17th century) Dutch, Frisian and a number of Dutch dialects. In this work we compare a number of approaches to automatic language identification for this collection. We show that in comparison to typical language identification tasks, classification performance for highly similar languages with little training data is low. The studied dataset consisting of over 39,000 documents in 16 languages and dialects is available on request for followup research

Learner autonomy : the first language/ second language : some reflections on the nature and role of metalinguistic knowledge

Learner autonomy is classically defined as "the ability to take charge of one's learning" (Holec 1981:3). Such an ability presupposes a positive attitude towards the process, content and goals of learning, and is sustained and strengthened by a developing capacity for "detachment, critical reflection, decision-making, and independent action" (little 1991:4). The freedom that characterizes the autonomous learner is not absolute, but conditional and constrained. Learning, whether developmental/ experiential or formal, is always embedded in an interactive, social process (self- instruction entails an internalization of this process, so that our capacity for learning on our own develops out of our experience of learning in interaction with others; cf. Uttle 1991:5). This explains the paradox that learner autonomy can be fully understood as a theoretical construct and effectively pursued as a pedagogical goal only when we take full account of the social context in which learning takes place. The argument in favour of fostering learner autonomy has been conducted in both social and psychological terms. In adult education, for example, there has been a tendency to stress "the need to develop the individual's freedom by developing those abilities which will enable him to act more responsibly in running the affairs of the society in which he lives" (Holec 1981:1.). The link between educational purpose and political ideal could scarcely be plainer. Other explorations of the theory and practice of learner autonomy, by contrast, have focussed on the psychological dimension of learning, emphasizing that we can only ever learn on the basis of what we already know, and that no two individuals have exactly the same store of knowledge.peer-reviewe

Computational Sociolinguistics: A Survey

Language is a social phenomenon and variation is inherent to its social nature. Recently, there has been a surge of interest within the computational linguistics (CL) community in the social dimension of language. In this article we present a survey of the emerging field of "Computational Sociolinguistics" that reflects this increased interest. We aim to provide a comprehensive overview of CL research on sociolinguistic themes, featuring topics such as the relation between language and social identity, language use in social interaction and multilingual communication. Moreover, we demonstrate the potential for synergy between the research communities involved, by showing how the large-scale data-driven methods that are widely used in CL can complement existing sociolinguistic studies, and how sociolinguistics can inform and challenge the methods and assumptions employed in CL studies. We hope to convey the possible benefits of a closer collaboration between the two communities and conclude with a discussion of open challenges.Comment: To appear in Computational Linguistics. Accepted for publication: 18th February, 201

Strategic Approaches to the Development and Management of Personal Tutorial Systems in UK Higher Education

This chapter explores our experience, over nine years, of taking a strategic approach to personal tutoring within University of the Arts London. University of the Arts London comprises (at time of writing) five colleges and is specialist within the disciplines of art, design and communication. It is the biggest art and design educational institution in Europe and possibly the world. The chapter outlines the positive development we have been able to achieve in some colleges of the university and the tensions and difficulties encountered

Reconsidering the Measurement of Pragmatic Knowledge Using a Reciprocal Written Task Format

Current influential models of communicative language ability (Bachman & Palmer, 1996; Purpura, 2004) represent language knowledge as a set of separate yet related components, including grammatical and pragmatic dimensions, which interact with background knowledge, metacognitive strategies, and contextual features (Chapelle, 1998) in language use. Although some researchers have attempted to measure aspects of pragmatic knowledge, the vast majority have not incorporated a clearly articulated pragmatic component into the test construct. The purpose of the current study is to investigate the extent to which scores from a test designed for the current study can be interpreted as indicators of test-takers’ grammatical and pragmatic ability. This study attempts to address some of the limitations of prior pragmatics assessment research, namely, the issues of construct underrepresentation, the lack of highly contextually constrained reciprocal tasks, and the use of less sophisticated statistical tools to support claims of validity. This paper examines the construct validity of a test based on Purpura’s (2004) theoretical model, which specifies the grammatical and pragmatic (sociolinguistic, sociocultural, and psychological) components of language knowledge. This model accounts for the way in which grammatical resources are used to convey a range of pragmatic meanings in language use. The analysis explored a broader range of features of pragmatic knowledge than had previously been investigated

Creative analysis of NSS data and collaborative research to inform good practice in assessment feedback

Funded by the Subject Centre for Social Policy and Social Work (SWAP), this research project sought to identify student and academic staff perspectives as to what constitutes effective assessment feedback practice. It was, in part, a subject level exploration in response to the fact that assessment feedback has consistently emerged as an area of concern to students completing National Student Satisfaction Surveys. Using mixed research methods, including drawing on data from the 2009 National Student Survey, the research was undertaken across SWAP constituency subject-areas in three universities. Whilst supportive of previous research reports (for example, Nicol & Macfarlane-Dick 2004, McDowell 2008, McDowell and Sambell 1999, Crook et al 2006), findings from this project particularly highlight the central significance to students of the quality of their relationships with staff. Indeed, other generic factors that are often argued to impact on assessment feedback such as timeliness and consistency appear to be contingent on the quality of staff-student relationships within specific departmental context

Academic literacies twenty years on: a community-sourced literature review

In 1998, the paper ‘Student writing in higher education: an academic literacies approach’ by Mary Lea and Brian Street reinvigorated debate concerning ‘what it means to be academically literate’ (1998, p.158). It proposed a new way of examining how students learn at university and introduced the term ‘academic literacies’. Subsequently, a body of literature has emerged reflecting the significant theoretical and practical impact Lea and Street’s paper has had on a range of academic and professional fields. This literature review covers articles selected by colleagues in our professional communities of the Association for Learning Development in Higher Education (ALDinHE), BALEAP the global forum for English for Academic Purposes (EAP) professionals, and the European Association of Teachers of Academic Writing (EATAW). As a community-sourced literature review, this text brings together reviews of wide range of texts and a diverse range of voices reflecting a multiplicity of perspectives and understandings of academic literacies. We have organised the material according to the themes: Modality, Identity, Focus on text, Implications for research, and Implications for practice. We conclude with observations relevant to these themes, which we hope will stimulate further debate, research and professional collaborations between our members and subscribers

Reconsidering priorities for digital maternal and child health: community-centered perspectives from South Africa

Especially in developing regions, parents are rarely given a direct voice in the design of digital maternal and child health (MCH) interventions. Instead, MCH needs and requirements are driven by organizations and health workers. In this research, we engage with both rural and urban parents and community leaders to better understand their challenges and priorities for digital MCH and propose a parent-centered agenda for humancomputer interaction research. This paper reports on the community-based, digital MCH priorities identified in our research, and describes how we approached community discourse and co-design of digital initiatives for these priorities, through parent-centered workshops with low-resource South African communities. Furthermore, we provide the parent-centered design opportunities and tensions we discovered for digital MCH in South African contexts, such as designing for local contexts and languages, designing for accessibility and connectedness, and highlighting the underdeveloped digital MCH niches. Finally, we highlight the importance of including facilitators for co-design workshops, such as using intermediaries and design cards.