Tool support for CSP-CASL.

This work presents the design of the specification language CSP-CASL, and the design and implementation of parsing and static analysis tools for that language. CSP-CASL is an extension of the algebraic specification language CASL, adding support for the specification of reactive systems in the style of the process algebra CSP. While CSP-CASL has been described and used in previous works, we present the first formal description of the language's syntax and static semantics. Indeed, this is the first formalisation of the static semantics of any CSP-like language of which we are aware. We describe Csp-Casl both informally and formally. We introduce and systematically describe its various components, with examples, and consider various design decisions made along the way. On the formal side, we present grammars for its abstract and concrete syntax, specify its static semantics in the style of natural semantics, and formulate a solution to the problem of computation of local lop elements of Csp-Casl specifications. Going on, we describe tool support for the language, as implemented using the functional programming language Haskell, in particular, we have a parser utilising the monadic combinator library Parsec, and a static analyser directly implementing our static semantics in Haskell. The implementation extends Hets, an existing toolset for specifications written in heterogeneous combinations of languages based on Casl

An analysis of the translation of vocabulary lists in textbooks for teaching Chinese as a foreign language (TCFL)

Recent research in the Teaching Chinese as a Foreign Language (TCFL) field has focused on the pedagogical perspectives underlying TCFL textbooks and their compilation. With the increasing interaction between China and other countries in global contexts such as culture, economics and commerce, there is a great need to expand research regarding all areas and issues within TCFL, especially in the important area of vocabulary and its translation in TCFL textbooks (Tsung and Cruickshank, 2011). This research investigates a range of translation problems related to the accuracy of the vocabulary lists featured in 12 selected representative TCFL textbooks for teaching Chinese as a foreign language. This thesis presents findings from three triangulation cases (questionnaire survey, corpus research, and assessment test) involving two different groups of participants (e.g. Chinese teachers who completed the questionnaire survey and Chinese undergraduates majoring in English who underwent the assessment test). The contribution of this study is as follows: 1) I conduct a series of empirical evidence based on the viewpoints of practitioners regarding the identified translation problems to fill the gap that there are more descriptive and pedagogical works in the vocabulary translation of TCFL textbooks; 2) I adopt functional equivalence theory of translation and linguistics–based approaches (semantic, pragmatic and grammatical perspectives) to establish a theoretical framework which provides a flexible way of analysing translation and enables the original meanings of Chinese words to be analysed through various perspectives, especially for Chinese and English vocabulary analysis and translation; 3) I draw on translation quality evaluation theory to generate a translation quality evaluation framework which can serve as a reference point for other translation evaluation work regarding vocabulary conducted during other relevant studies; 4) I demonstrate that the majority of translation problems gathered from the selected TCFL textbooks were found at the preliminary level and in the content word class which have much practical relevance and research value for the pedagogical purpose of vocabulary teaching and translation; and 5) I build up a specific parallel corpus with passages and vocabulary lists of the selected TCFL textbooks

Development of activity-based language learning of Chinese for a primary school in western Sydney : a participatory action research study

This study explores the use of activity-based learning in the Chinese as a Foreign Language classroom, for young learners in the western Sydney region. The research takes account of current opportunities and the challenges arising from language policy in the Australian context. Activity-based learning is the focus of this research, with hands-on experiments and various classroom activities used rather than having students passively listening to the teacher. In this study, to engage students and to improve their Chinese learning, a wide range of activities, using music, drama games and visual arts, were implemented in the classroom. This thesis aims to answer the following three research questions: How can activity-based learning be used to teach Chinese language to learners who do not have a Chinese language background, in a western Sydney primary school? What factors influence the implementation of an activity-based approach of this kind? What evidence of learning, in relation to outcomes listed in the NSW Chinese K-10 syllabus for Stage 2 students, can be ascertained following the implementation of an activity- based approach to learning Chinese language? This study applied a qualitative methodology using action research with a teacher-as-researcher. The action research involved planning, acting, observing, reflecting and re-planning in a spiral cycle. The teacher-researcher, also a beginning teacher, fostered her own professional learning through reflection, on a weekly basis, on her own teaching practice and used the action research mode to improve the teaching activities. Two cycles of data were collected from a variety of sources, including: feedback from the classroom teacher obtained through observation and interviews; the teacher-researcher’s weekly reflective journal: student focus groups; and checklists completed by students at the end of each cycle. This research shows that the use of an activity-based learning approach for young learners in western Sydney has a significant impact on their Chinese language learning. Such approaches can engage students emotionally, behaviourally and cognitively through a variety of classroom activities. By using various activities such as simple drama games, Chinese songs and visual arts activities, students have achieved the outcomes outlined in the Chinese syllabus, in a relaxing and productive learning environment. Different classroom activities, incorporating various art forms, make Chinese easier to learn and remember, which helps to keep students emotionally engaged and to maintain their interest in learning Chinese. Hence, it is an effective way to motivate students to continue studying Chinese at the next stage. In the meantime, the teacher-researcher’ s professional learning has been enhanced in the process of conducting this research with the help of the teacher-as-researcher mode of action research

Character Recognition

Character recognition is one of the pattern recognition technologies that are most widely used in practical applications. This book presents recent advances that are relevant to character recognition, from technical topics such as image processing, feature extraction or classification, to new applications including human-computer interfaces. The goal of this book is to provide a reference source for academic research and for professionals working in the character recognition field

The development of oral competence: a semi-longitudinal study on English-speaking adult L2 learners of Chinese in Ireland

The semi-longitudinal study explores the impact of learning environments and task type on the oral Complexity, Accuracy, and Fluency (CAF) of adult English-speaking learners of Chinese, investigating when and how the oral performance of instructed L2 learners changes in two contexts: Formal Instruction at-home (FI) and Study Abroad (SA). Moreover, the study discusses relationships between the CAF constructs and those between the sub-constructs, to assess the oral performance of instructed L2 Chinese learners. Two widely documented theoretical hypotheses on attention allocation and tasks, the Trade-off Hypothesis (Skehan, 2009; Skehan and Foster, 2012) and the Cognition Hypothesis (Robinson, 2001; 2003; 2005; 2011) are examined with data collected from ten English-speaking undergraduates from five oral tests across 28 months (including 10-month of SA experience). Our results show that during the pre-and post-SA periods, the students benefit from SA in terms of syntactic complexity (subordination and length of the unit), lexical sophistication as well as speed fluency with small deductions in dysfluency at the cost of accuracy. This is attributable to the study abroad experience as well as rehearsed monologue tasks (cf. Wright, 2020) that the participants took in the study. The SA favors oral gains in terms of speech fluidity, syntactic complexity (length and subordination), and lexical sophistication. The factor of task design must also be taken into consideration when L2 learners’ oral gains are evaluated. After coming back to the FI context for 6 months, a significant decrease, in general, is observed regarding FI at-home maintenance on those oral gains benefited from the SA experience. However, lexical variety reveals significant improvement. The findings suggest that learners in the FI context tend to concentrate on learning vocabulary and syntactic complexity via subordination at the expense of fluency and accuracy (Juan-Garau and Pérez-Vidal, 2007) as well as other complexity measures (syntactic complexity via length and lexical sophistication) in this study. Generalized from the analysis after SA, trade-off effects are observed prevailingly between CAF constructs (in particular between complexity and accuracy, between accuracy and fluency), while simultaneous improvements are present within CAF, in particular, and between speed and breakdown within fluency, and between syntactic complexity and lexical sophistication within complexity. These results confirm Skehan’s predictions that, tensions between control (accuracy) and risk-taking (complexity), and between focusing on meaning (fluency) and form (accuracy) (Skehan, 2009; Wang & Skehan, 2014). Task characteristics were attributed to the analysis because the different characteristics support different performance areas (Skehan and Foster, 2012). Pre-planning is argued to elicit greater complexity and fluency (Skehan, 2009; Skehan and Foster, 2012). For the interrelationship between CAF measures, after learners return to FI at home context for six months, the analysis, in general, supports trade-off effects between lexical diversity and syntactic complexity via length, as well as lexical diversity between fluency. The results contribute to the trade-off hypothesis that, tensions can be found between subconstructs within CAF (complexity). The prioritization of attentional resources is determined by the task types and learning contexts, revealing that vocabulary development is at the cost of syntactic complexity and fluency during FI context (Juan-Garau & Pérez-Vidal, 2007). Moreover, the study provides pedagogical implications and recommendations for the development of L2 Chinese oral performance at university levels

2008-2009 Louisiana Tech University Catalog

The Louisiana Tech University Catalog includes announcements and course descriptions for courses offered at Louisiana Tech University for the academic year of 2008-2009.https://digitalcommons.latech.edu/university-catalogs/1006/thumbnail.jp

2006-2007 Louisiana Tech University Catalog

The Louisiana Tech University Catalog includes announcements and course descriptions for courses offered at Louisiana Tech University for the academic year of 2006-2007.https://digitalcommons.latech.edu/university-catalogs/1008/thumbnail.jp