The effects of bilingualism in the development of pre-reading skills

El aprendizaje de la lectura es fundamental en la educación de todos los niños. Hoy en día este proceso se ha complicado por la incorporación de la educación bilingüe en el aula. Este artículo trata de los efectos de la transferencia lingüística entre la lengua materna y una segunda lengua, en concreto entre castellano e inglés, y cómo estos efectos pueden afectar al proceso del desarrollo de la lectura en niños.Learning to read is fundamental in the education of each and every child. This process has become increasingly more complex in recent years because many schools have decided to introduce bilingualism into the classroom. This article discusses the effects of cross-language transfer between a learner's mother tongue and a second language, in particular between Spanish and English, and how such effects may affect the reading development process in young learners

Validity in the Assessment of Listening Skills in Language Learning

La evaluación auditiva es, sin duda, la más compleja de todas las destrezas lingüísticas puesto que no se observa directamente. Es una habilidad receptiva, por lo tanto, de cualquier evaluación ha de obtenerse una cuantificación externa y fiable de los procesos internos implicados. La necesidad de evaluar en la aula es indudable, se facilita información esencial sobre el proceso de enseñanza-aprendizaje y sus resultados, pero solo cuando se desarrolla y se implementa de una manera adecuada. Este artículo habla de la validez de constructo y la validez cognitiva en el proceso de evaluación.Listening is arguably the most complex language skill to assess due to the fact it cannot be observed directly. It is a receptive skill involving internal processes; hence, any test employed has to produce a reliable external quantification of such processes. The need for assessment in the classroom is unquestionable as it can provide invaluable information about the teaching and learning processes and outcomes, but only when it is properly developed and implemented. This article discusses construct and cognitive validity in the assessment process

The Listening Comprehension Process

La comprensión auditiva juega un papel fundamental en el aprendizaje de los idiomas. Es indispensable para profesores de idiomas entender bien de qué se trata este proceso tan complejo para que puedan abordar esta destreza lingüística en el aula y convertir los alumnos en buenos oyentes. Este artículo trata de proporcionar al lector un mejor entendimiento de los diferentes aspectos de la comprensión auditiva permitiéndole reflexionar sobre la enseñanza de la misma en el aula.Listening comprehension plays a fundamental role in language learning. A good understanding of what is involved in this highly complex process is a must for language teachers so that they can properly address this language skill in the classroom and develop their students into competent listeners. This article provides an insight into different aspects of the listening comprehension process allowing the reader to reflect upon listening instruction in the classroo

The development of phonological awareness in children

El desarrollo de la conciencia fonológica en los niños es fundamental para que se enfrenten de manera exitosa a la adquisición de lectura. Esta capacidad engloba una serie de destrezas que el niño debe progresivamente dominar. Se debe dar énfasis en la práctica docente a la enseñanza y a la evaluación de estas destrezas, proporcionando a los niños experiencias apropiadas y diversas. Este artículo ofrece una perspectiva general básica del desarrollo de la conciencia fonológica.The development of phonological awareness in children is essential if they are to substantially increase their chances of later achievement reading success. This ability encompasses a series of skills which a child must progressively master. It is therefore important for teachers to place emphasis on these skills in their classroom instruction and assessment, providing children with appropriate and diverse experiences. This article provides a basic overview of the phonological awareness development process

Exploring the boundaries of public space in the urban north

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Animal-Assisted Interventions in Health Care Settings: A Best Practices Manual for Establishing New Programs: Volunteer Manual Template

This document accompanies Animal-Assisted Interventions in Health Care Settings: A Best Practices Manual for Establishing New Programs (Purdue Press, 2019) and serves as a template for readers to personalize for their facility. The generic terms “ABC Health Care Facility” and “AAI Program” are intended to be replaced by the names of the reader\u27s facility and AAI program. The book can be purchased from Purdue University Press

Improvement in cognition following double-blind randomized micronutrient interventions in the general population

The impact of poor nutrition on physiological health is well understood (Costarelli et al., 2013). Less is known about the effects of diet on brain function and cognition in the general population (Ames, 2010; Parletta et al., 2013; White et al., 2017) and we are still in the early stages of understanding the role of specific nutrients to normal and pathological neuronal functioning. In the present study, the putative effect of a multivitamin/mineral or vitamin D supplement on cognitive function over an 8-week period was compared with volunteers taking vitamin C. Healthy adults (N = 60) were recruited, age range 21–59 years (Nx = 39.07 years, SD = 11.46), with participants randomly allocated to conditions in a double-blind protocol. Participants also completed a 14-day food diary to gather information on micronutrient intake. The cognitive test battery included measures from the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale-III (WAIS-III; Wechsler et al., 2008), Wechsler Memory Scale-IV (WMS-IV; Wechsler, 2009) and Delis-Kaplan Executive Function System (D-KEFS; Delis et al., 2001), along with the Doors and People (Baddeley et al., 1994) and a serial reaction time task. Analyses showed better performance on some tasks in all groups following the intervention period, notably on measures of verbal and visual memory and visuomotor processing speed. The Multivitamin group showed significant improvements on tasks of visual strategy generation (along with the Vitamin C group), motor planning, explicit and implicit learning, and working memory. This evidence suggests that sub-optimal micronutrient intake may have a negative effect on cognition across the lifespan

Healthy eating in the early years : a qualitative exploration of food provision in the childminder setting

Purpose – A nutritious diet is critical to the health and development of pre-school children. Children in the UK consume much food outside the home yet day-care food provision is unregulated, and informed by disparate and conflicting dietary guidelines. Factors affecting nursery food provision have been much studied, but less is known about food provision in the child-minder setting. The purpose of this paper is to examine factors influencing child-minders’ food provision. Design/methodology/approach – Qualitative methods were employed, combining participant observation with semi-structured interviews. Participants were selected via purposive and convenience sampling. Eight child-minders from an English borough were interviewed. Findings – The food provided by child-minders was not consistent with dietary guidelines for young children, following menu plans was reported to be difficult, and knowledge about healthy eating guidelines for young children was various. Child-minders reported limited time for food preparation, and problems catering for fussy children. Some child-minders obtained support through an informal peer network group. Only one child-minder reported availing of professional nutritional advice on healthy food provision. Communication with parents about food was considered important, although there was some evidence of discord between providers and parents in dietary objectives. Research limitations/implications – The study was small in size and regionally based. Due to the local nature of the study, it is not possible to make generalisations to the wider national context. Corroboration of the findings is necessary in a larger study. Practical implications – Child-minders have a pivotal role to play in the nutritional health and development of young children, and whilst their interest in provision of nutritious food was great, outside support was lacking. Support should include provision of one clear set of authoritative guidelines, practical guidance that accommodates the realities of providing food in the child-minder setting, investment to strengthen support structures at local level and the development of network groups. Originality/value – Whilst the factors underpinning food provision in nurseries have been examined in various regions of the UK, little attention has been given to child-minder settings. The current study addresses this gap