Radical repetition effects in beginning learners of Chinese as a foreign language reading

Item does not contain fulltextThe aim of the present study was to examine whether repetition of radicals during training of Chinese characters leads to better word acquisition performance in beginning learners of Chinese as a foreign language. Thirty Dutch university students were trained on 36 Chinese one-character words for their pronunciations and meanings. They were also exposed to the specifics of the radicals, that is, for phonetic radicals, the associated pronunciation was explained, and for semantic radicals the associated categorical meanings were explained. Results showed that repeated exposure to phonetic and semantic radicals through character pronunciation and meaning trainings indeed induced better understanding of those radicals that were shared among different characters. Furthermore, characters in the training set that shared phonetic radicals were pronounced better than those that did not. Repetition of semantic radicals across different characters, however, hindered the learning of exact meanings. Students generally confused the meanings of other characters that shared the semantic radical. The study shows that in the initial stage of learning, overlapping information of the shared radicals are effectively learned. Acquisition of the specifics of individual characters, however, requires more training.11 p

Effects of content and language integrated learning in Europe: A systematic review of longitudinal experimental studies

Contains fulltext : 209181.pdf (publisher's version ) (Open Access)Content and language integrated learning (CLIL), an educational approach in which subject matter and a foreign language - predominantly English - are taught and learnt side by side, has developed into a very popular educational innovation in most European countries. A host of research studies have shown its benefits, and discuss favourable effects especially with respect to L2 gains. However, critical voices have underscored the fact that CLIL attracts or selects mainly high-achieving learners. Hence, the question arises whether it is justified to attribute improved L2 performance mainly to the CLIL intervention, or to favourable learner characteristics. Several reviews of literature were published in the past, but due to a lack of longitudinal findings no conclusive evidence about the added value of CLIL in the process of L2 learning could be produced. The present review aims to fill this void and has undertaken a search of two decades of longitudinal studies into the effects of CLIL on various linguistic skills in the field of English as a foreign language. The findings indicate that robust studies were undertaken in only a limited number of European countries, and that only a few of them were large scale. Yet, the conclusions provide clear indications regarding the contexts in which CLIL leads to significantly better L2 results.24 p

Predicting responsiveness to a sustained reading and spelling intervention in children with dyslexia

Contains fulltext : 203595.pdf (publisher's version ) (Open Access)The present study aimed to predict responsiveness to a sustained two-phase reading and spelling intervention with a focus on declarative and procedural learning respectively in 122 second-grade Dutch children with dyslexia. We related their responsiveness to intervention to precursor measures (phonological awareness, rapid automatized naming ability, letter knowledge, and verbal working memory) and related word and pseudoword reading and spelling outcomes of the sustained intervention to initial reading and spelling abilities, and first-phase, initial treatment success. Results showed that children with dyslexia improved in reading accuracy and efficiency and in spelling skills during the two phases of the intervention although the gap with typical readers increased. In reading efficiency, rapid automatized naming, and in reading and spelling accuracy phoneme deletion predicted children's responsiveness to intervention. Additionally, children's initial reading abilities at the start of the intervention directly (and indirectly, via initial treatment success, in reading efficiency) predicted posttest outcomes. Responsiveness to intervention in spelling was predicted by phoneme deletion, and spelling at posttest was indirectly, via initial treatment success, predicted by children's initial spelling abilities. Finally, children's initial treatment success directly predicted reading efficiency and spelling outcomes at posttest.17 p

The efficiency of briefly presenting word forms in a computerized repeated spelling training

Contains fulltext : 203623.pdf (publisher's version ) (Open Access)We investigated the efficiency of briefly presenting word forms (visual dictation) over and above word copying in 5 computerized repeated spelling training sessions of Dutch rule-based and loan words in advanced spellers in primary school. Using repeated measures analyses of variance, we compared the effects of 2 spelling feedback conditions in a between-subjects pretest/posttest control group design on growth in spelling accuracy and speed for trained and comparable untrained words. Children in the visual dictation condition (n = 29) had to spell a word from memory after briefly seeing the correct form, whereas children in the word copying condition (n = 30) just had to copy the correct form. In an additional control condition (n = 31), children only received feedback on correctness. We assessed improvement in the reading of trained words and in the reading and spelling of comparable untrained words via pre- and posttest. By the end of the training, children in the visual dictation condition outperformed the control group on spelling accuracy of both rule-based words and loan words (both ps < .001), whereas the word copying group only did so for loan words (p < .001). In contrast to the control group, the word copying group caught up with the visual dictation group on both word types; however, children in the visual dictation group attained higher spelling accuracy earlier during training. We found no differential transfer effects. We can thus conclude that visual dictation was the most efficient way of memorizing spelling representations of both rule-based words and loan words.18 p

The role of linguistic diversity in the prediction of early reading comprehension: A quantile regression approach

Item does not contain fulltextUsing classical and quantile regression analyses, we investigated whether predictor variables for early reading comprehension differed depending on language background and ability level in a mixed group of 161 monolingual (L1) and bilingual (L2) children in second grade (6-8 years). Although L2 readers scored lower on oral language skills and reading comprehension, the prediction of reading comprehension was similar for L1 and L2 readers. Classical regression identified decoding, vocabulary, and morphosyntactic knowledge as unique predictors with no interaction with language background. Quantile regression demonstrated that the prediction of reading comprehension differed across ability levels; decoding and morphosyntactic knowledge were consistently unique predictors, but vocabulary was uniquely related only for poor comprehenders and working memory only for good comprehenders. In both types of analysis, language background did not explain unique variance, indicating that individual differences in the predictor variables explained the L1-L2 performance gap in early reading comprehension across the ability range.17 p

An analysis of the morphology and submarine landslide potential of the upper and middle continental slope offshore Fraser Island, Queensland, Australia

This study presents an investigation into the geomorphological, sedimentological and geotechnical properties of submarine landslides present on the continental slope offshore Fraser Island. An extensive range of previously undiscovered features including marginal plateaus, linear rills, ridges and gullies, canyon systems, as well as slides and slumps were identified. Gravity cores (5.65 m and 3.64 m long) taken in the ‘Upper Slope Slide’ (25 km2 in area, 200-300 m thick), and the ‘Middle Slope Slide’ (11 km2 in area, 100-150 m thick) indicate the slide scars contain drapes of Pleistocene to Recent hemipelagic mud. Shorter gravity cores (1.33 m and 0.43 m long) taken adjacent to both slides terminated in stiff muds of upper Pliocene to lower Pleistocene age (Upper Slope Slide), and upper Miocene to lower Pliocene age (Middle Slope Slide). This unique pattern shows that the sediment is being accumulated and protected inside the slide hollows, while being actively removed from the exposed adjacent slopes, most likely by abrasion. Biostratigraphic ages determined for the basal material demonstrate that the seafloor surfaces at both sites are effectively erosional unconformities. The basal, stiff sediments on the upper slope was deposited between 2 and 2.5 Ma BP; this material was scoured and then buried beneath a 1 m thick sediment drape at 0.45 Ma BP. Sediments exposed on the seafloor adjacent to the Middle Slope Slide were dated at around 6-8.5 Ma BP. This indicates that the smooth upper continental slope developed its morphology by the late-mid Pleistocene, while the middle slope is a Post-Pliocene feature. It is thought that Pliocene-Pleistocene geological events including fluctuations in the intensity of surface and abyssal ocean currents are responsible for re-sculpting the continental slope’s morphology and have a) increased abrasion and erosion of the middle and upper slope; while b) suppressed sediment delivery

Comprehension and navigation of networked hypertexts

Contains fulltext : 191141.pdf (Publisher’s version ) (Open Access)This study aims to investigate secondary school students' reading comprehension and navigation of networked hypertexts with and without a graphic overview compared to linear digital texts. Additionally, it was studied whether prior knowledge, vocabulary, verbal, and visual working memory moderated the relation between text design and comprehension. Therefore, 80 first-year secondary school students read both a linear text and a networked hypertext with and without a graphical overview. Logfiles registered their navigation. After reading the text, students answered textbased multiple choice questions and drew mindmaps to assess their structural knowledge of each text content. It was found that both textbased and structural knowledge were lower after reading a networked hypertext than a linear text, especially in students with lower levels of vocabulary. Students took generally more time to read the hypertext than the linear text. We concluded that networked hypertexts are more challenging to read than linear texts and that students may benefit from explicit training on how to read hypertexts.9 p

Modelling food storage management in ants: mechanisms and social implications.

According to the complementary learning systems (CLS) account of word learning, novel words are rapidly acquired (learning system 1), but slowly integrated into the mental lexicon (learning system 2). This two-step learning process has been shown to apply to novel word forms. In this study, we investigated whether novel word meanings are also gradually integrated after acquisition by measuring the extent to which newly learned words were able to prime semantically related words at two different time points. In addition, we investigated whether modality at study modulates this integration process. Sixty-four adult participants studied novel words together with written or spoken definitions. These words did not prime semantically related words directly following study, but did so after a 24-hour delay. This significant increase in the magnitude of the priming effect suggests that semantic integration occurs over time. Overall, words that were studied with a written definition showed larger priming effects, suggesting greater integration for the written study modality. Although the process of integration, reflected as an increase in the priming effect over time, did not significantly differ between study modalities, words studied with a written definition showed the most prominent positive effect after a 24-hour delay. Our data suggest that semantic integration requires time, and that studying in written format benefits semantic integration more than studying in spoken format. These findings are discussed in light of the CLS theory of word learning

Early bilingualism, language transfer, and phonological awareness

Contains fulltext : 56189.pdf (publisher's version ) (Open Access)16 p

Classificatie, preventie en behandeling van leesproblemen

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