Rezension: Wie lehrt man interkulturelle Kompetenz? Theorien, Methoden und Praxis in der Hochschulausbildung. Ein Handbuch

Insbesondere im Zeitalter der Globalisierung und zunehmender Internationalisierung gewinnen Konzepte wie Inter- kulturalität und Interkulturelle Kommunikation (im Folgenden: IK) v.a. im Fremdsprachenunterricht, in Fremdphi- lologien wie der Auslandsgermanistik sowie in berufsorientierten Studiengängen an Bedeutung. Die Sammelpubli- kation Interkulturelle Kommunikation. Perspektiven einer anwendungsorientierten Germanistik illustriert die Ent- stehung und inhaltliche Konzeption eines Studienganges „Interkulturelle Kommunikation“ und bietet Impulse zum Thema IK mit ihren Anwendungsbereichen und berufspraktischen Möglichkeiten

Navigating institutional teaching culture in implementing language ePortfolios

Our article presents the case of ePortfolio use for university-level language learners in foreign, second, and heritage (L2) language classes. It outlines the multi-year initiative of a language center in a private university in the Northeastern U.S. to introduce and support the use of ePortfolios in language classes across its campus. The article takes the form of a narrative in two parts, and in two voices. First, the authors outline the rationale, stages of planning, faculty training initiatives, and technical considerations from the vantage point of the language center’s ePortfolio initiative. The second narrative portrays how this ePortfolio initiative took shape in one semester of an Advanced German course. There, the instructor experimented with ePortfolios to showcase students’ language skills and intercultural achievements, while cultivating their digital literacy. We argue that the potential for students to take ownership over their ePortfolios as tools for deeper academic and personal development resides significantly with their instructor’s pedagogical assumptions and approaches. Further, we suggest that language learners’ sustained and deeper use of ePortfolios can be best supported not by a single classroom instructor acting alone, but through coordinated pedagogical, administrative, and technological support across the institution

Synchronous Telecollaboration for Novice Language Learners: Effects on Speaking Skills and Language Learning Interests

Telecollaboration brings together learners in different parts of the world for collaborative language learning and cultural exchange. Defined by Belz as the "application of global communication networks in foreign language education" (2002: 61), telecollaboration holds a plethora of benefits for language learners. Mostly utilized in intermediate and advanced language classes, this article argues for the incorporation of telecollaboration at all language levels. Even novice learners can benefit in different ways from the direct exchange with native speakers of the target language. This article summarizes one example of telecollaboration aimed at exploring the effects of participation in a semester-long synchronous virtual exchange on the speaking proficiency of L2 learners of German, as well as their interest in the study of German and potential study abroad. A telecollaborative project was conducted between novice learners of German at a college in the US and advanced learners of English at a high school in Germany. Students formed tandem partnerships and completed voice-chats and text-chats in alternation each week. The results showed that students' speaking proficiency was not stronger than that of the control group after the exchange, but that their interest in learning German and studying abroad had increased

Maximizing L2 Speaking Practice through iPads

This study investigates the effects of additional out-of-class speaking practice, using a simple iPad application, on students’ overall speaking proficiency, fluency, and syntactic complexity. Students in the experimental and control groups (N = 52) completed an adapted Simulated Oral Proficiency Interview (SOPI) at the end of the semester, which was rated by two independent raters. Results of an independent-samples t-test revealed statistically significant differences between the two groups. The students who had received additional speaking practice on iPads achieved higher SOPI scores than the students in the control group. Two of the seven tasks of the SOPI test were used for the analysis of fluency and complexity. Results did not show any statistically significant differences between the two groups for fluency and complexity. The study suggests that mobile technology can be effectively implemented for beginning language learners to enhance their learning outcomes

Regards croisés sur la télécollaboration/Exchanging views on telecollaboration

Dirigé par Anthippi Potolia et Sofia Stratilak

Polycystic ovary syndrome

Copyright © 2007 Elsevier Ltd All rights reserved.Polycystic ovary syndrome is a heterogeneous endocrine disorder that affects about one in 15 women worldwide. The major endocrine disruption is excessive androgen secretion or activity, and a large proportion of women also have abnormal insulin activity. Many body systems are affected in polycystic ovary syndrome, resulting in several health complications, including menstrual dysfunction, infertility, hirsutism, acne, obesity, and metabolic syndrome. Women with this disorder have an established increased risk of developing type 2 diabetes and a still debated increased risk of cardiovascular disease. The diagnostic traits of polycystic ovary syndrome are hyperandrogenism, chronic anovulation, and polycystic ovaries, after exclusion of other conditions that cause these same features. A conclusive definition of the disorder and the importance of the three diagnostic criteria relative to each other remain controversial. The cause of polycystic ovary syndrome is unknown, but studies suggest a strong genetic component that is affected by gestational environment, lifestyle factors, or both.Robert J Norman, Didier Dewailly, Richard S Legro and Theresa E Hickeyhttp://www.elsevier.com/wps/find/journaldescription.cws_home/31066/description#descriptio