Engagement in Reading and Access to Print: The Relationship of Home and School to Overall Reading Achievement Among Fourth Grade English Speakers

The present study puts forward two models which examine the relationship between at home at school variables of (1) engagement in shared and independent reading and (2) access to print with reading achievement. Participants were fourth grade English speakers from Canada (Alberta, British Columbia, and Nova Scotia), New Zealand, England, and USA. Data from the Progress in International Reading Literacy Study (PIRLS) questionnaires and reading achievement test were used to design the two models, and Hierarchical linear modeling (HLM) was used to analyze the data where students (Level-1) were nested within classrooms (Level-2). The results of the Engagement in Reading Model demonstrate that activities of shared reading at home and at school did not statistically significantly relate or related negatively with reading achievement. Parents helping their children with school readings emerged as the strongest negative predictor of reading achievement in the entire model. However, the relationship between how often participants talked with their families about what they read on their own and reading achievement was positive. Additionally, independent reading at school, reading for fun at home, and reading printed material (books and magazines) at home predicated reading achievement positively; reading for homework did not predict reading achievement; and reading for information and reading on the internet at home predicted reading achievement negatively. The results of the Access to Print Model demonstrate that while access to books and other reading material at home related positively with reading achievement, access to books and other reading material at school did not overall relate to students’ reading achievement. Additionally, access to the library, generally, did not relate to reading achievement; and when statistical significance was found it was not replicated in all or even most of the countries. Based on the results of the present study, it is recommended that fourth graders be given ample opportunities to read books of their own choosing independently at school, and to develop students’ habits and motivation to read for leisure during their free after school time. Additionally, children should be provided with ample access to reading material at home which is geared towards their interests

ANALYSIS OF SPELLING PERFORMANCE IN ENGLISH AMONG STUDENTS WHOSE FIRST LANGUAGE IS ARABIC

One of the main differences between English monolinguals and English language learners is that the latter use their knowledge of their first language in spelling in English. Previous studies have shown that the nature of first language affects spelling in English. One of the factors which influence spelling in English is the phonology of first language. The main aim of this study was to examine the spelling performance in English among students whose first language was Arabic in two novel phonemes (/p/ and /v/) and their phoneme pairs (/f/ and /v/). The analyses were based on a dictation task. There were eight target words for each phoneme. Each word had a target phoneme embedded in the initial or the final position. There were 99 Arabic speaking participants from fourth grade whose performance was compared with 40 monolingual English speaking participants. Findings of the present study indicated that the Arabic participants had particular difficulty in spelling the novel phonemes /p/ and /v/ with large effect size. The participants mostly confused these two phonemes with their phoneme pairs and spelled /p/ as b and /v/ as f. The Arabic participants also had some difficulty in spelling the phoneme pairs /p/ and /v/, and spelled /b/ as p and /f/ and v. This finding had a medium effect size. Finally, both groups of participants generally performed better when the target phoneme was in the initial position. The present study is a contribution to the current literature about the effect of first language on spelling in English. In order to establish a universal theory about how language learners acquire the English spelling and to compare and contrast the acquisition of spelling of native speakers of English and English language learners, it is fundamental to examine the world's various languages and their effect on second language spelling acquisition. Additionally, the findings of this study can provide practical implications for language literacy classes which are designed for Arabic students

Assessment of the antioxidant properties of the caper fruit (Capparis spinosa L.) from Bahrain

Capparis spinosa, a wild plant of the family Capparidaceae, is said to be native to the Mediterranean basin and found in many parts. This shrub can grow very well on dry heat and under intense sunlight and can tolerate low temperature. Caper berries from different locations of contrasting habitats were evaluated for their antioxidant capacities using several methods, including reduction of ferrictripiridyltriazine [Fe(III)-TPTZ] (FRAP assay), 1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl radical scavenging (DPPH assay), and [2,2′-azinobis(3-ethylbenzothiazoline-6-sulfonic acid)] scavenging (ABTS assay). Total free phenolics, total flavonoids, and total carotenoids were also examined. The mean mmol Trolox equivalent/kg fresh weight for FRAP was 9.059 ± 1.450, DPPH 6.131 ± 0.607, and ABTS 8.127 ± 2,017. Mean % DPPH scavenging activity was 37.67% ± 7.19 and mean % ABTS scavenging activity was 31.29% ± 7.76. Partitioning studies revealed a higher antioxidant–antiradical capacity in the seed as compared to the flesh, and these capacities were associated more with hydrophobic and not lipophilic constituents. Antioxidant capacities strongly correlated with the total free phenolics, total flavonoids, and total carotenoids. Findings of this study contribute to the recent increase in scientific interest of a wild fruit which should be re-considered for its antioxidant constituencies and characteristics

Spelling Errors in the Preliminary English B1 Exam:Corpus-informed Evaluation of Examination Criteria for MENA Contexts

While the "corpus revolution" has advanced beyond lexicography and into the area of reference materials, coursebooks and data-driven learning for language learning, the role of corpora in informing language testing is still in its infancy. To address this dearth in the literature, this chapter centres on a corpus linguistic analysis of written assessments to evaulate learner language in different MENA contexts. The chapter presents an analysis of the error-annotated component of the Cambridge Learner Corpus, which is a 30-million-word corpus of learner language from Cambridge examinations. It focuses on comparing a subcorpora of Preliminary B1 written examinations by all Arabic speakers and all non-Arabic to those by students from Libya and the United Arab Emirates in order to test for variation across the MENA region. In the context of the Preliminary English B1 exam, errors are contrasted in order to illustrate that while similarities do occur in exam takers across MENA contexts, there are also important differences among Libyan and Emirati learners. Spelling errors are then discussed in greater detail and are contextualised in two case studies, concerned with misspelled verbs and misspelled words beginning with 'wh/w'. The findings are then considered in terms of the assessment criteria for the specified examination with the aim to produce and deliver guidance on how assessment criteria could be localised