A descriptive study on ESL learners’ vocabulary knowledge through cognitive and metacognitive strategies

The present research was carried out to study the cognitive and metacognitive vocabulary learning strategies of 36 ESL learners’. Schmitt’s Vocabulary Learning Strategies questionnaire was used to conduct the study. The study revealed the subsequent array of cognitive and metacognitive strategies employed by ESL learners. Additionally, semi-structured interviews were also conducted with 10 ESL learners’ who completed the questionnaire to get more reliable information about learners’ strategies with vocabulary learning. The findings indicated that ‘Using English Language Media’, ‘Verbal repetition’, ‘Take notes in class’ were the most popular strategies, whereas ‘Skip or pass new word’ and ‘Put English labels on physical objects’ were least used. The results of this paper provide many implications for English language teaching. Detailed explanations of the participants’ cognitive and metacognitive strategies were given in the discussion

DIAGNOSING ESL LEARNERS’ VOCABULARY KNOWLEDGE THROUGH MEMORY STRATEGIES

Purpose of the study: The present study diagnoses the vocabulary knowledge employed by ESL learners’ through memory strategies. Schmiit’s (1990) Taxonomy of Vocabulary Learning Strategies (VLS) questionnaire was adopted and administered to 93 ESL learners. In order to get authenticities about the ESL learners’ memory strategies with vocabulary learning, semi-structured interviews were also conducted with 30 participants who completed the questionnaire. The result exposed the subsequent array of memory strategies used by ESL learners from the most frequent to the least frequent strategies, particularly findings revealed that ‘Use new word in sentences’, ‘Study word with a pictorial representation of its Meaning’, ‘Connect word to a personal experience’ are most popular whereas ‘Use scales for gradable adjectives’, ‘Relating word to unrelated items (Peg method)’ were least used memory strategies. Methodology: Schmitt’s Vocabulary Learning Strategies Questionnaire (VLSQ) (1997) was favored to diagnose the vocabulary knowledge through memory strategies of 93 ESL learners. Initially the responses were collected through Google Forms. Additionally, 30 ESL learners were randomly selected for interviews in accordance to reassure participants’ comprehension of the subject matters. Main Findings: The study finds effective result among 93 ESL learners in acquiring vocabulary knowledge while using memory strategies with the assistance of technological modalities. It also listed the most frequent and least frequent use of memory strategies in Schmitt’s Vocabulary Learning Strategies Questionnaire (VLSQ) (1997). Applications of this study: The present study is conducted in English Language Laboratory, where ESL learners’ can be benefitted and the learners can use these memory strategies while learning a new vocabulary when encountering a word. Novelty/Originality of this study: The existing technological modalities will assist the learners to correlate more effectively. Subject and language experts in the field can design the instructional materials and tools to assist ESL learners to improve vocabulary knowledge through memory strategies

On Polynomial Kernelization of H-free Edge Deletion

For a set H of graphs, the H-free Edge Deletion problem is to decide whether there exist at most k edges in the input graph, for some k∈N, whose deletion results in a graph without an induced copy of any of the graphs in H . The problem is known to be fixed-parameter tractable if H is of finite cardinality. In this paper, we present a polynomial kernel for this problem for any fixed finite set H of connected graphs for the case where the input graphs are of bounded degree. We use a single kernelization rule which deletes vertices ‘far away’ from the induced copies of every H∈H in the input graph. With a slightly modified kernelization rule, we obtain polynomial kernels for H-free Edge Deletion under the following three settings

On Polynomial Kernelization of H\mathcal{H}-free Edge Deletion

For a set of graphs $\mathcal{H}$, the \textsc{$\mathcal{H}$-free Edge Deletion} problem asks to find whether there exist at most $k$ edges in the input graph whose deletion results in a graph without any induced copy of $H\in\mathcal{H}$. In \cite{cai1996fixed}, it is shown that the problem is fixed-parameter tractable if $\mathcal{H}$ is of finite cardinality. However, it is proved in \cite{cai2013incompressibility} that if $\mathcal{H}$ is a singleton set containing $H$, for a large class of $H$, there exists no polynomial kernel unless $coNP\subseteq NP/poly$. In this paper, we present a polynomial kernel for this problem for any fixed finite set $\mathcal{H}$ of connected graphs and when the input graphs are of bounded degree. We note that there are \textsc{$\mathcal{H}$-free Edge Deletion} problems which remain NP-complete even for the bounded degree input graphs, for example \textsc{Triangle-free Edge Deletion}\cite{brugmann2009generating} and \textsc{Custer Edge Deletion($P_3$-free Edge Deletion)}\cite{komusiewicz2011alternative}. When $\mathcal{H}$ contains $K_{1,s}$, we obtain a stronger result - a polynomial kernel for $K_t$-free input graphs (for any fixed $t> 2$). We note that for $s>9$, there is an incompressibility result for \textsc{$K_{1,s}$-free Edge Deletion} for general graphs \cite{cai2012polynomial}. Our result provides first polynomial kernels for \textsc{Claw-free Edge Deletion} and \textsc{Line Edge Deletion} for $K_t$-free input graphs which are NP-complete even for $K_4$-free graphs\cite{yannakakis1981edge} and were raised as open problems in \cite{cai2013incompressibility,open2013worker}.Comment: 12 pages. IPEC 2014 accepted pape

The chromatic discrepancy of graphs

For a proper vertex coloring cc of a graph GG, let φc(G)φc(G) denote the maximum, over all induced subgraphs HH of GG, the difference between the chromatic number χ(H)χ(H) and the number of colors used by cc to color HH. We define the chromatic discrepancy of a graph GG, denoted by φ(G)φ(G), to be the minimum φc(G)φc(G), over all proper colorings cc of GG. If HH is restricted to only connected induced subgraphs, we denote the corresponding parameter by View the MathML sourceφˆ(G). These parameters are aimed at studying graph colorings that use as few colors as possible in a graph and all its induced subgraphs. We study the parameters φ(G)φ(G) and View the MathML sourceφˆ(G) and obtain bounds on them. We obtain general bounds, as well as bounds for certain special classes of graphs including random graphs. We provide structural characterizations of graphs with φ(G)=0φ(G)=0 and graphs with View the MathML sourceφˆ(G)=0. We also show that computing these parameters is NP-hard

Technological modality to influence persuasive and argumentative vocabulary for effective communication with reference to selected TED talk videos

English as the Second language learning recently gained attention in the field of research. The ESL (English as Second Language) learners need vocabulary enhancement and fluency for proficiency of the language which can be achieved through training. By learning and practicing a language with enhanced vocabulary will increase the vocabulary. TED (Technology, Entertainment, and Design) talks are a world’s biggest digital platform for public speaking. Vocabulary elements given in the TED talks can be defined as a lexicon of language which plays a significant role in communication. The aim of this research conveys the significant role of TED talk videos’ speaker and its influence towards its audiences. This can be achieved only by practical use of vocabulary by the ESL and EFL learners. In this research work, Persuasive and Argumentative vocabulary in the transcript of random 25 TED talk videos with time frame of 0-6mins, and sorted by ‘newest’ tab are analyzed. Also, in-depth analyses of both Persuasive and Augmentative keywords used and its frequencies are listed out from the 25 videos. This research significantly concludes that for effective communication, the learner has to be proficient in vocabulary acquisition

Quantum entanglement: The unitary 8-vertex braid matrix with imaginary rapidity

We study quantum entanglements induced on product states by the action of 8-vertex braid matrices, rendered unitary with purely imaginary spectral parameters (rapidity). The unitarity is displayed via the "canonical factorization" of the coefficients of the projectors spanning the basis. This adds one more new facet to the famous and fascinating features of the 8-vertex model. The double periodicity and the analytic properties of the elliptic functions involved lead to a rich structure of the 3-tangle quantifying the entanglement. We thus explore the complex relationship between topological and quantum entanglement.Comment: 4 pages in REVTeX format, 2 figure

Geometrical approach to mutually unbiased bases

We propose a unifying phase-space approach to the construction of mutually unbiased bases for a two-qubit system. It is based on an explicit classification of the geometrical structures compatible with the notion of unbiasedness. These consist of bundles of discrete curves intersecting only at the origin and satisfying certain additional properties. We also consider the feasible transformations between different kinds of curves and show that they correspond to local rotations around the Bloch-sphere principal axes. We suggest how to generalize the method to systems in dimensions that are powers of a prime.Comment: 10 pages. Some typos in the journal version have been correcte