Thai lexical tone perception in native speakers of Thai, English and Mandarin Chinese: An event-related potentials training study

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Tone languages such as Thai and Mandarin Chinese use differences in fundamental frequency (F₀, pitch) to distinguish lexical meaning. Previous behavioral studies have shown that native speakers of a non-tone language have difficulty discriminating among tone contrasts and are sensitive to different F₀dimensions than speakers of a tone language. The aim of the present ERP study was to investigate the effect of language background and training on the non-attentive processing of lexical tones. EEG was recorded from 12 adult native speakers of Mandarin Chinese, 12 native speakers of American English, and 11 Thai speakers while they were watching a movie and were presented with multiple tokens of low-falling, mid-level and high-rising Thai lexical tones. High-rising or low-falling tokens were presented as deviants among mid-level standard tokens, and vice versa. EEG data and data from a behavioral discrimination task were collected before and after a two-day perceptual categorization training task.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Behavioral discrimination improved after training in both the Chinese and the English groups. Low-falling tone deviants versus standards elicited a mismatch negativity (MMN) in all language groups. Before, but not after training, the English speakers showed a larger MMN compared to the Chinese, even though English speakers performed worst in the behavioral tasks. The MMN was followed by a late negativity, which became smaller with improved discrimination. The High-rising deviants versus standards elicited a late negativity, which was left-lateralized only in the English and Chinese groups.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Results showed that native speakers of English, Chinese and Thai recruited largely similar mechanisms when non-attentively processing Thai lexical tones. However, native Thai speakers differed from the Chinese and English speakers with respect to the processing of late F₀contour differences (high-rising versus mid-level tones). In addition, native speakers of a non-tone language (English) were initially more sensitive to F₀onset differences (low-falling versus mid-level contrast), which was suppressed as a result of training. This result converges with results from previous behavioral studies and supports the view that attentive as well as non-attentive processing of F₀contrasts is affected by language background, but is malleable even in adult learners.</p

An Analysis of Enhanced Faculty Engagement on Student Success and Satisfaction in an Online Classroom

Difficulty building meaningful student and instructor relationships can create a challenge for online instructors. A Faculty of Practice (FoP) role was created in a large online university requiring greater faculty engagement to bolster student achievement. This study examined the impact of the FoP role on student success and satisfaction over a 6-month period. The position emphasized an increased engagement through enhanced personalized learning, subject-matter expertise, discipline mentoring, and community building. The increased engagement was promoted through requirements mandating a consistent presence in the classroom, personalized email interactions with students prior to course start, promotion and instruction of material through individual conferences, outreach to students with late or missing assignments, and weekly office hours including video conference options. None of these requirements are mandated for Associate Faculty (AF) teaching the courses. Data on student success included an analysis of student GPA, pass rates, completion rates, and progression to next course rates for FoP and AF courses. Student satisfaction was evaluated through the analysis of Student End-of-course Surveys (EoCS). Student data showed a significant increase in student GPA with the FoP when compared to AF courses. No differences were seen in pass, completion, or progression rates. Increase in student satisfaction for FoP courses as measured by EoCS was seen upon comparison with AF. Students noted a greater connection with the FoP and indicated stronger relationships with the FoP. Based on the analysis, we conclude the FoP role has the potential to improve student success and satisfaction in the online classroom

Personality, motivation, and language attitudes of learners of CTLs and LCTLs

Research has explored various characteristics of foreign language learners. However, little research has investigated how personality traits, motivation, and language attitudes are similarly or differently described between learners of Commonly Taught Languages (CTLs) and Less Commonly Taught Languages (LCTLs). The current study examined the correlations of academic achievement, personality, and motivation of learners in CTLs, LCTLs and Non-foreign languages (NFLs), respectively, and the extent to which learners in CTLs, LCTLs and NFLs may differ in these perspectives. The results indicated correlations between overall academic achievement and foreign language achievement of students in CTLs and LCTLs. In addition, students in CTLs, LCTLs and NFLs also experienced their unique correlations in personality and motivation factors. Significant differences were noticed in neuroticism and motivation of the target language: students studying LCTLs were less nervous and more motivated than those in CTLs. Strong tendencies occurred in integrativeness and attitudes toward the learning situation: students in LCTLs attained a more integrative orientation and a more positive attitude toward the learning environment

Enhanced Teaching Requirements: A Case Study of Instructional Growth on Student Academic Performance and Satisfaction in an Online Classroom

Online and brick-and-mortar universities are continually looking for a model that maximizes the student experience with the goal of enhancing retention and graduation rates among all student populations. Online education with its asynchronous nature and adult student populations need to hold faculty accountable for student performance in the classroom. This case study examined the effect of enhanced faculty requirements developed for online teaching on student academic performance and satisfaction. The enhanced requirements focused on increased faculty communication, subject-matter expertise, discipline mentoring, immediate assistance, and relationship building. Researchers compared student performance and satisfaction in courses taught under regular requirements with those taught by the same instructor under enhanced requirements. Results indicated that the enhanced requirements increased student satisfaction and performance measured by the end-of-course survey and the course academic metrics (e.g., GPA, course completion rate, and pass rate)

Thai lexical tone perception in native speakers of Thai, English and Mandarin Chinese: An event-related potentials training study-3

<p><b>Copyright information:</b></p><p>Taken from "Thai lexical tone perception in native speakers of Thai, English and Mandarin Chinese: An event-related potentials training study"</p><p>http://www.biomedcentral.com/1471-2202/9/53</p><p>BMC Neuroscience 2008;9():53-53.</p><p>Published online 23 Jun 2008</p><p>PMCID:PMC2483720.</p><p></p

Thai lexical tone perception in native speakers of Thai, English and Mandarin Chinese: An event-related potentials training study-1

Standards, defined separately for the language groups and test time.<p><b>Copyright information:</b></p><p>Taken from "Thai lexical tone perception in native speakers of Thai, English and Mandarin Chinese: An event-related potentials training study"</p><p>http://www.biomedcentral.com/1471-2202/9/53</p><p>BMC Neuroscience 2008;9():53-53.</p><p>Published online 23 Jun 2008</p><p>PMCID:PMC2483720.</p><p></p

Thai lexical tone perception in native speakers of Thai, English and Mandarin Chinese: An event-related potentials training study-2

<p><b>Copyright information:</b></p><p>Taken from "Thai lexical tone perception in native speakers of Thai, English and Mandarin Chinese: An event-related potentials training study"</p><p>http://www.biomedcentral.com/1471-2202/9/53</p><p>BMC Neuroscience 2008;9():53-53.</p><p>Published online 23 Jun 2008</p><p>PMCID:PMC2483720.</p><p></p