Learners with English as additional language : support for phonological awareness fall-outs

PURPOSE: The primary purpose of this study was to investigate the impact of an auditory perceptual training programme on children within a traditional articulation therapy framework. As part of this larger purpose, this study identified perceptual vowel outcomes for English Additional Language (EAL) learners, as well as a preliminary impact on these learners’ articulation of English vowels, their receptive and expressive language abilities and their reading and spelling abilities. METHOD: Fourteen six- to seven-year-old EAL learners were randomly assigned to two conditions. Both the control and treatment groups were initially assessed with a repeated baseline assessment, and again after treatment eight months later. Auditory perceptual skills, specifically word discrimination (including vowel and consonant discrimination), phonological segmentation and blending, number memory and sentence memory, were measured by means of the Test of Auditory- Perceptual Skills Third Edition (TAPS-3). Children’s growth in receptive language was also assessed using measures derived from the Test for Auditory Comprehension of Language Third Edition (TACL-3). The number of vowel production errors on the Goldman-Fristoe Test for Articulation was measured before and after treatment. The control group received no treatment; the treatment group received auditory perceptual training (grapheme-phoneme coupling and vowel discrimination) which included production training and written exercises (phonemegrapheme coupling). RESULTS: The framework of teaching English vowels through traditional auditory perceptual and production training proved useful for phonological awareness of vowels, literacy teaching and articulation by the EAL learners. CONCLUSIONS: Results concluded that improved academic outcomes should be possible if the teaching of English vowels to EAL learners by EFL speech-language therapists is implemented. Improved auditory perception, articulator production and general language abilities culminate in improved academic outcomes.DOEL: Die hoofdoel van hierdie studie was om die effek van ʼn fonologiese bewustheidsopleidingsprogram, binne die raamwerk van tradisionele artikulasieterapie, op leerders met Engels as addisionele taal te ondersoek. As deel van hierdie groter doelwit, is die resultate van die opleidingsprogram op die ouditiewe persepsie van Engelse vokale deur leerders met Engels as addisionele taal bepaal. Die voorlopige invloed van die opleidingsprogram op hierdie leerders se artikulasie van Engelse vokale, reseptiewe en ekspressiewe taalvaardighede en lees- en spelvaardighede is ook ondersoek. RESULTATE: Die tradisionele artikulasieterapie-raamwerk waarbinne Engelse vokale van die leerders met Engels as addisionele taal deur middel van die opleidingsprogram aangespreek is, het ʼn positiewe invloed op hierdie leerders se fonologiese bewustheid van Engelse vokale, geletterdheidsonderrig en artikulasie van dié vokale gehad.http://www.journals.co.za/ej/ejour_akgees.htmlam201

Testing for consistency in ecosystem engineering : do cushion plants always turn up the heat?

Ecosystem engineers influence community structure and functioning by altering habitat and resource availability. However, few studies have assessed how consistent ecosystem engineers' impacts are on abiotic habitat conditions and/or community characteristics, either across species or between habitats. Here we test for the consistency of ecosystem engineering across, and within, cushion-forming plant species, a group of ecosystem engineers that are dominant in polar and alpine environments, by reviewing studies that document their effects on temperature. We find inconsistent effects, with cushion plants having contrasting impacts on temperatures in different studies. Even after limiting analyses to a single cushion plant morphology type or to just a single species, impacts on temperature were still inconsistent between studies. Therefore, while cushion plants have relatively consistent impacts on plant communities (e.g. increasing local species richness), their impact on temperature may not be the overarching abiotic mechanism driving this ecological effect. These results, therefore, highlight the need to explicitly test if ecosystem engineers’ biotic and abiotic impacts are consistent through space and time, and emphasize the importance of understanding context-dependence in the outcome of biotic interactions.The South African National Antarctic Programme of the South African National Research Foundation.https://www.elsevier.com/locate/actoechj2021Plant Production and Soil Scienc

Personal amplification for a teacher with voice problems

Onderwysers ervaar gereeld stemprobleme as gevolg van funksionele stemhiperfunksionering (die oormatige en verkeerde gebruik van stemgewing) en dit blyk dat beroepsverantwoordelikhede dikwels die suksesvolle implementering van gebruiklike instandhoudingstrategieë bemoeilik. Die oogmerk van hierdie enkelgevalstudie was om die gebruikswaarde van persoonlike stemversterking as ’n aanvullende opsie vir onderwysers met beroepsverwante stemprobleme te ondersoek. Spesifieke perseptuele en akoestiese stemeienskappe van ’n onderwyseres is voor en na ’n periode van gebruiklike instandhouding, en ook voor en na ’n periode waartydens ’n stemversterkingsapparaat as aanvullende strategie tot gebruiklike instandhouding aangewend is, geëvalueer. Tydens die studie is ’n volhardende stembandnodule in die belang van die proefpersoon chirurgies verwyder. Hierdie ad hoc-verandering aan die ontwerp was noodsaaklik, alhoewel nie aanvanklik beplan nie. Die navorsingsontwerp is daarvolgens aangepas en die ondersoek het gevolglik ’n voor- en ’n nachirurgiefase ingesluit, en etiese goedkeuring is vir beide fases verkry. Die perseptuele en akoestiese ontleding van stemkwaliteit het die positiewe effek van die chirurgiese ingreep bevestig. Alhoewel ’n paneel luisteraars nie ’n verbetering in die proefpersoon se stemkwaliteit opgemerk het nie, het verskeie van die akoestiese stemparameters verbeter of genormaliseer na die gebruik van die persoonlike stemversterking as ’n aanvullende instandhoudingstrategie. Die gevolgtrekking is dat persoonlike stemversterking, as ’n strategie aanvullend tot gebruiklike instandhouding, van waarde kan wees vir onderwysers wat beroepsverwante stemprobleme ervaar.Successful communication depends partly on the optimal use of voice. A large portion of the South African population depends on this optimal use of voice for their occupations. Voice problems for the professional voice user in particular therefore impact negatively on their livelihood. It is, however, especially professional voice users who are at risk of developing functional voice problems. One such a population is teachers. Teachers frequently experience voice problems due to functional voice hyperfunction (the excessive and incorrect use of voice). The South African school milieu with its high learner to teacher ratio, as well as the multilingual and multicultural nature of the learners, contribute to this vocal hyperfunction because of a higher level of background noise and the need to repeat instructions. Furthermore, it appears that these occupational responsibilities often complicate the successful implementation of the usual vocal exercise maintenance strategies. The main objective of this single-case study was to investigate the application value of personal amplification as an augmentative option for teachers with occupationally related voice problems. Subsidiary aims were to determine specific aspects before and after the usual vocal exercise maintenance strategies. In addition to these, aspects pertaining to the effect of the usual maintenance in combination with personal sound amplification were investigated. The subsidiary aims were therefore to compare and analyse these strategies perceptually and acoustically. Specific perceptual and acoustic voice characteristics of a teacher were evaluated. These evaluations took place before and after a period during which a voice amplification device was used as a supportive strategy to the usual maintenance strategies. Qualitative and quantitative comparison of the data took place by comparing the results of the various evaluations in phases 1 and 2. During this study, the participant displayed a persistent nodule of the vocal cord, which had to be surgically removed in the best interest of the participant. This ad hoc adaptation to the research design was necessary although not initially planned. The research design was accordingly adapted, and the investigation therefore included a pre- and post-surgical phase. Ethical clearance had been obtained for both phases. PERCEPTUAL EVALUATIONS : Average scale evaluations of the individual participants of the listeners’ panel (there were six listeners) were calculated to determine the final listener panel score. These evaluations were done using a rater’s scale form on which the listener panel evaluated the spontaneous answers to questions and a paragraph of reading according to eight combined speech stimuli. Listeners had to rate the extent to which voice quality deviated or not. During evaluations 1–3 the six listeners concurred in general that the participant’s use of voice, sounded moderately impaired. The surgical intervention improved the participant’s use of voice, according to the perceptual evaluation. The evaluation that was completed after the two maintenance strategies were implemented indicated a further normalisation of the voice quality of the participant. During the second phase no obvious difference between the effects of the various maintenance strategies was noted. The most obvious difference was the improvement in auditory perceptual voice quality after surgical intervention. ACOUSTIC ANALYSES : Various parameters related to voice quality were measured with the Multi Dimensional Voice Programme (MDVP) and compared. The average of the three measurements during each evaluation was calculated for each of the parameters. The results of the first and second reversed phase were compared to serve as a control. During evaluation 1–5 the fundamental frequency (F0) was within the norm for female speakers of the age group of the participant. However, this parameter increased slightly during evaluation 6–8. The F0 is related to the mass of the vocal cords. A lower mass results in an increase in the F0. The removal of vocal cord nodules (such as before evaluation 6) and the resultant reduction of mass will lead to a higher F0. This increased F0 was evidenced by the results of the second phase. The perceptual and acoustic analysis of voice quality corroborated the positive effect of the surgical intervention. Although the listeners’ panel did not notice the improvement in the participant’s voice quality, various acoustic voice parameters improved after the use of the personal voice amplification as an additional maintenance strategy. The conclusion was made that personal voice amplification as an augmentative strategy to usual vocal exercise maintenance strategies could be of value to teachers who experience occupation-related voice problems. The combined strategy had a positive influence on most of the acoustic parameters, although the listeners did not note the same level of difference. This study has added value to evidence-based practice in the field of voice therapy. Similar studies in which participants with organic voice pathologies (such as vocal cord nodules) are compared with studies of participants with healthy vocal cords may also shed more light on the mechanism of functional voice hyperfunction (Boone, McFarlane, Von Berg and Zraick 2009). The use of physiological methods of analyses could, for example, be used to trace the subtle changes in voice. The results of the present study confirmed that there is a definite need for further research to highlight the role of a single listener or a panel of listeners in detecting voice pathologies. Acoustic parameters and terminology describing the perceptually/auditorily detectable correlates also have to be studied in depth. Furthermore, the value of voice amplification for patients with Parkinson’s disease, for example, could be explored as well. Results of the present study may serve as a starting point to motivate funding of such amplification apparatus by the medical aid companies. The availability of these apparatuses in South Africa specifically must be considered due to high importing costs. Linking with local electronic engineers for the design of similar, but more cost-effective amplification apparatus than the model used in the present research may also provide work and study opportunities within the South African context.http://www.litnet.co.za/category/akademies/litnet-akademiesam2018Speech-Language Pathology and Audiolog

Species differ in their responses to wind : the underexplored link between species fine-scale occurrences and variation in wind stress

Questions Species distribution models have traditionally relied heavily on temperature and precipitation, often ignoring other potentially important variables. However, recent advances have shown other climatic variables, including snow cover and solar radiation, may strongly improve predictions of species occurrence. Wind has long been known to have mechanical and physiological impacts on plants, but has not yet received adequate attention as a driver of species distributions. Location Marion Island, sub-Antarctic. Methods Using data from 1,440 plots in a chronically windy system, we test if wind stress (a combination of wind exposure and wind speed) improves species distribution models of vascular plant species, examining predictions for both species occurrence and cover. Results Wind stress was a significant predictor of the occurrence of 12 of the 16 species, even after accounting for seven other ecophysiologically important abiotic variables. Species showed differential responses to wind, but wind stress was among the four most important drivers for the majority of species when modelling occurrence patterns (10 of 16) and variation in cover (12 of 16). Further, wind stress was more important than all temperature and precipitation variables in predicting the occurrence of six species (and three species' cover). Conclusions Wind conditions were most influential for species that are characteristic of open, wet environments and for pteridophyte species, likely due to high wind speeds and exposure increasing the potential for moisture loss. This research highlights the value of incorporating wind metrics into species distribution models, particularly under changing wind patterns.Peer reviewe

Idiosyncratic sound systems of the South African Bantu languages : research and clinical implications for speech-language pathologists and audiologists

The objective of this article is to create awareness amongst speech-language pathologists and audiologists in South Africa regarding the difference between the sound systems of Germanic languages and the sound systems of South African Bantu languages. A brief overview of the sound systems of two Bantu languages, namely isiZulu and Setswana, is provided. These two languages are representative of the Nguni language group and the Sotho group respectively. Consideration is given to the notion of language-specific symptoms of speech, language and hearing disorders in addition to universal symptoms. The possible impact of speech production, language and hearing disorders on the ability to produce and perceive speech in these languages, and the challenges that this holds for research and clinical practice, are pointed out.http://www.sajcd.org.za/am201

Verbal working memory in second language reading comprehension : a correlational study

This study investigated the correlation and predictive capacity of verbal working memory (VWM) to the reading comprehension of children in their first language (L1) and second language (L2). The term verbal working memory refers to a cognitive system with a limited capacity that can hold and manipulate verbal and auditory information temporarily. A sub-aim was to investigate the contribution of L2 linguistic knowledge in L2 reading comprehension. Sixty-three Grade 3 South African children completed a reading comprehension test and VWM assessment (forward span, backward span, and sentence repetition tasks). L2 participants completed a receptive language assessment to delineate whether their linguistic knowledge (L2 vocabulary and grammar knowledge) would be more predictive of L2 reading comprehension in comparison with VWM. Regression and correlation analyses revealed that VWM is not predictive of L1 or L2 reading comprehension. L2 linguistic knowledge, however, significantly correlates with L2 comprehension and VWM capacity, although it is not a significant predictor of L2 reading comprehension. Our findings suggest that reading in an L2 is a multidimensional skill in which no single isolated variable can account for good versus poor reading comprehension.http://cdq.sagepub.comhj2023Speech-Language Pathology and Audiolog

Phonological awareness and learning to read in Afrikaans: the role of working memory

BACKGROUND : Phonological awareness (PA) skills and working memory (WM) are universally regarded as crucial precursors to skilled reading. The orthography of the language being read influences the ease with which a child learns to read. Research has been undertaken on reading in languages with an opaque orthography. Research on the role of PA and WM in Afrikaans with its transparent orthography is limited. AIM : The study investigated and described the role of WM in the acquisition of PA and ultimately reading in Afrikaans. SETTING : The research study was conducted in private schools with Afrikaans as the language of learning and teaching (LoLT) in Grade 2. METHOD : A descriptive research design with correlational components was applied. RESULTS : Phonetic decoding was employed more than eidetic decoding. Word reading skills developed rapidly and exceeded the expectations in the first two quarters of the year. Participants who read the comprehension test fluently scored higher on the questions than those who did not read fluently. The correlation between WM and reading comprehension was not statistically significant. The statistically significant correlation between WM and word reading seems to be present in both transparent and opaque orthographies. The statistically significant correlation between PA and word reading was not found in other transparent orthographies. The correlation between phonemic awareness (PhA) and word reading is the same in other orthographies. CONCLUSION : The statistically significant correlation between WM and word reading indicates that WM supports reading development as the ability to hold information in memory supports phoneme-grapheme associations.http://www.sajce.co.zaScience, Mathematics and Technology EducationSpeech-Language Pathology and Audiolog

South African professionals and developmental dyslexia: Knowledge, needs and perspective

Background: Despite extensive research on the specific learning disorder (developmental dyslexia) – SLD (DD), many fallacies still cause confusion amongst professionals worldwide. These myths involve the characteristics, diagnoses and treatment of SLD (DD) and should be eradicated. Aim: The authors aimed to determine the knowledge, needs and perspectives of South African professionals working with children with SLD (DD). Setting: A mixed-methods research design was implemented. Methods: A survey study was carried out and a sample of 108 respondents was obtained. The respondents include speech–language therapists (SLTs), occupational therapists (OTs) and psychologists. Results: Speech–language therapists and psychologists displayed better knowledge about the facts of SLD (DD), compared to OTs. Their knowledge levels were, however, not significantly affected by existing misconceptions surrounding the condition. The fallacy that SLD (DD) is caused by a visual impairment is still believed. An investigation into the professionals’ perspectives regarding the identification of SLD (DD) suggested that South African psychologists were the most confident of their ability to identify characteristics. Nonetheless, all professionals reported not being convinced of their ability to provide a differential diagnosis of the disorder. Statements regarding management highlighted the uncertainties about the importance of addressing phonological awareness skills in treatment. Additional training needs were also identified as SLTs, OTs and psychologists generally feel unprepared to assess and treat SLD (DD). Conclusion: The differences identified amongst professional groups were related to the knowledge of the facts and characteristics of SLD (DD) and the ability to identify and manage the condition. Additional training needs should be addressed. Contribution: The authors would like to acknowledge and thank the NRF for partially funding the publication of this article

The effect of pedagogical translanguaging on foundation phase classrooms in a South African private school

Classrooms across the world are becoming more diverse, forcing mainstream teachers to accept responsibility for teaching second language (L2) learners. As a result, pedagogical translanguaging has come to the fore as a potential practice to help L2 learners perform academically. In South Africa pedagogical translanguaging had not previously been studied where teachers and learners do not share a linguistic repertoire. Through design-based research we aimed to determine the effect of pedagogical translanguaging in a private school's foundation phase (FP) classrooms. The results indicate that teachers use pedagogical translanguaging for symbolic, scaffolding, and epistemological functions. While no direct academic benefit was observed for the L2 learners, their classroom participation and confidence improved because of the symbolic function of pedagogical translanguaging. The teachers deemed pedagogical translanguaging appropriate to their context. However, the monolingual mindset proved to be pervasive, despite participation in the study. Work needs to be done at all levels of the education system if we are to use multilingual practices to harness the abilities of all our learners.The Shuttleworth Foundation.http://www.tandfonline.com/loi/hlie202024-08-01hj2024Speech-Language Pathology and AudiologySDG-04:Quality Educatio

Investigating the prevalence and comorbidity of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder and developmental dyslexia in learners in a South African practice

BACKGROUND : Dyslexia and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) are marked comorbid neurodevelopmental disorders with an estimated bidirectional comorbidity of 25% - 40%. Previous international studies have identified strong hereditary and neurological overlap between these disorders, but the comorbidity of these developmental disorders in a South African practice has not yet been explored. METHODS : This retrospective study aimed to investigate the co-existence of ADHD and the specific learning disorder (SLD) related to reading known as developmental dyslexia (DD). Additionally, the study sought to determine possible correlations between the overlapping diagnostic factors of the two developmental disorders. The study database consisted of 847 learners ranging from 8 to 18 years of age. Study data were obtained through a parent questionnaire regarding scholastic difficulties as well as prior ADHD diagnosis and/or treatment. A comprehensive psychometric assessment of DD was conducted on each participant in the first language of educational instruction, that is English or Afrikaans, to establish a direct dyslexia diagnosis as inclusion criterion. RESULTS : Of the 847 participants analysed in this study, 38.6% presented with a co-existing diagnosis of both ADHD and DD. However, there was no evidence of statistically significant interdependency between overlapping diagnostic factors of these two disorders. CONCLUSIONS : The zero-correlations in the mentioned areas may indicate an overlap of shared symptoms rather than of distinctive diagnostic approaches.The authors acknowledge the Stark Griffin Dyslexia Academy practice for permitting the use of the research data collected over a period of 10 years (2010–2020).http://www.sajce.co.zaam2023Speech-Language Pathology and Audiolog