48,734 research outputs found
Referential precedents in spoken language comprehension: a review and meta-analysis
Listenersâ interpretations of referring expressions are influenced by referential
precedentsâtemporary conventions established in a discourse that associate linguistic
expressions with referents. A number of psycholinguistic studies have investigated how
much precedent effects depend on beliefs about the speakerâs perspective versus more
egocentric, domain-general processes. We review and provide a meta-analysis of
visual-world eyetracking studies of precedent use, focusing on three principal effects: (1) a
same speaker advantage for maintained precedents; (2) a different speaker advantage for
broken precedents; and (3) an overall main effect of precedents. Despite inconsistent claims
in the literature, our combined analysis reveals surprisingly consistent evidence supporting
the existence of all three effects, but with different temporal profiles. These findings carry
important implications for existing theoretical explanations of precedent use, and challenge
explanations based solely on the use of information about speakersâ perspectives
Struggling and juggling: a comparison of assessment loads in research and teaching-intensive universities
In spite of the rising tide of metrics in UK higher education, there has been scant attention paid to assessment loads, when evidence demonstrates that heavy demands lead to surface learning. Our study seeks to redress the situation by defining assessment loads and comparing them across research-and teaching intensive universities. We clarify the concept of âassessment loadâ in response to findings about high volumes of summative assessment on modular degrees. We define assessment load across whole undergraduate degrees, according to four measures: the volume of summative assessment; volume of formative assessment; proportion of examinations to coursework; number of different varieties of assessment. All four factors contribute to the weight of an assessment load, and influence studentsâ approaches to learning. Our research compares programme assessment data from 73 programmes in 14 UK universities, across two institutional categories. Research-intensives have higher summative assessment loads and a greater proportion of examinations; teaching-intensives have higher varieties of assessment. Formative assessment does not differ significantly across both university groups. These findings pose particular challenges for students in different parts of the sector. Our study questions the wisdom that âmoreâ is always better, proposing that lighter assessment loads may make room for âslowâ and deep learning
Asymmetrical cognitive load Imposed by processing native and non-native speech
Intonation affects information processing and comprehension. Previous research has found that some international teaching assistants (ITAs) fail to exploit English intonation, potentially posing processing difficulties to students who are native English speakers. However, researchers have also found that non-native listeners found it easier to process sentences given by a non-native speaker with a shared language background, leading to an interlanguage speech intelligibility benefit (ISIB). Therefore, how native speaker teaching assistant (NSTA)âs and ITAâs classroom speech affects the processing, comprehension, and attitudes of listeners with different language backgrounds needs to be further investigated. Using a dual-task paradigm, a comprehension questionnaire, and an attitudinal questionnaire, the present study investigates how the pronunciation and intonation of a NSTA and an ITA affect native English speakersâ and Mandarin-speaking English learnersâ processing and comprehension of a lecture, and attitudes towards the two instructors. The present study found shared processing advantages when the listeners shared the L1 of the speaker, but overall lecture comprehension and attitude were unaffected. These findings support and extend prior research studies surveying ITAsâ intonational patterns and ISIB. These findings also have implications for research on the teaching of English pronunciation to non-native instructors.Published versio
Beat that Word : How Listeners Integrate Beat Gesture and Focus in Multimodal Speech Discourse
Peer reviewedPublisher PD
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