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Sample records for actions speak louder

  1. Action speaks louder than words

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Grønhøj, Alice; Thøgersen, John

    2012-01-01

    Adolescents’ environmentally relevant behaviour is primarily carried out in a family context. Yet, it is usually studied and discussed in an individual decision-making perspective only. In a survey involving 601 Danish families, we examine to which extent adolescents’ everyday pro......-environmental behaviour is the outcome of their own pro-environmental attitudes or the product of social influence within the family, that is, a reflection of the dominating values and norms in the family group as manifested most clearly in their parents’ attitudes and behaviour. In addition, we examine the moderating...... effects of two family characteristics, parenting style and the ‘‘generation gap’’ (parent–child age difference), on the relative weight of adolescents’ personal attitudes vs. social influences within the family as predictors of adolescents’ pro-environmental behaviour. Results show that the adolescents...

  2. When Self-Descriptions Contradict Behavior: Actions Do Speak Louder Than Words.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Amabile, Teresa M.; Kabat, Loren G.

    To examine whether a person's actions are more important in determining impressions of personality than are self-descriptions, subjects in two separate studies viewed two videotapes, one depicting a stimulus person's self-description and the other depicting that person's behavior in a conversation. Subjects rated the stimulus person on several…

  3. Book Review “Louder than words: The new science of how the mind makes meaning”

    OpenAIRE

    Schultz, Jeffrey

    2018-01-01

    This paper examines Benjamin K. Bergen’s book, “Louder than words: The new science of how the mind makes meaning.” Using cognitive linguistic experiments and neuropsychology, Bergen explains the action-sentence compatibility effect paradigm, that is, how the brain uses the areas that control movement to process language and create meaning. In so doing, he gives good examples of research into how the brain creates language and how this research is supported by neurobiology.

  4. Action Speaks Louder than Words: Young Children Differentially Weight Perceptual, Social, and Linguistic Cues to Learn Verbs

    Science.gov (United States)

    Brandone, Amanda C.; Pence, Khara L.; Golinkoff, Roberta Michnick; Hirsh-Pasek, Kathy

    2007-01-01

    This paper explores how children use two possible solutions to the verb-mapping problem: attention to perceptually salient actions and attention to social and linguistic information (speaker cues). Twenty-two-month-olds attached a verb to one of two actions when perceptual cues (presence/absence of a result) coincided with speaker cues but not…

  5. Actions speak louder than words in socially foraging human groups.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sumner, Seirian; King, Andrew J

    2011-11-01

    SOCIAL FORAGING IN HUMANS HAS A DEEP EVOLUTIONARY HISTORY: early hominids searched for dispersed food sources in a patchy, uncertain environment. A fundamental assumption is that social foragers benefit by exchanging information about food sources, in order to make collective decisions based on pooled information. We conducted the first experimental test of this assumption, and showed that, as predicted, communication significantly enhanced group performance. A further, unexpected result was that physical communication through gesturing, rather than verbal communication, appeared to play a crucial role in the early stages of group interaction, facilitating consensus decision making by groups.  The importance of gestures in human interactions may therefore be underestimated, and this has important implications for modern human societies, where communications are becoming increasingly dominated by virtual modes of communication that preclude the use of gestures. 

  6. Do Actions Speak Louder Than Words?: Adolescent Interpretations of Parental Substance Use.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ebersole, Diana S; Miller-Day, Michelle; Raup-Krieger, Janice

    2014-01-01

    Parents are powerful socialization agents for children and as children reach adolescence parental role models, among other sources of influence, become particularly salient in adolescents' decision-making regarding initiation of substance use. Open parent-adolescent communication about substances is associated with less substance use by adolescents; however, it is unclear how youth interpret anti-drug use messages from their parents, especially if the parents engage in legal and/or illicit substance use themselves. Framed by social learning theory and social constructionism, this study analyzed in-depth interviews with 108 adolescents about personal experiences with substance use, family communication about substance use, and adolescent interpretations of parental use. Emergent themes in the data include : positive parental influence , parental contradictions , and negative outcomes of use . Prevalence of parental use-regardless of legality, rarity of explicit communication about parental use, and various interpretations of parental use are discussed.

  7. Actions speak louder: a look at congressional votes on human life issues.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Shannon, D; Mazpule, D

    1991-01-01

    The decision to bring a new life into the world is the most important decision a caring person can make. Many fundamental factors must be considered like: housing, income, food, clothing, etc. The terms pro-choice and pro-life are used to describe both sides of the abortion debate, a debate that is of critical importance when making that decision about new life. While most members of Congress who are pro-choice also support social programs that make raising children easier; most members who are pro-life do not support such social justice programs. It seems paradoxical that someone claiming to be pro-life would then be anti-social justice. To be truly pro-life, a person must not only support a woman's right to choose, but must also support programs and policies that help parents to raise healthy, happy, and productive children. Yet it is the very people who claim to be pro-life that fight equally as hard against choice and against social justice. They fight legal abortion, but they also fight legislation that would make abortion less necessary. This article includes charts of the voting records of all members of the 101st Congress on legislation supported by 7 pro-choice or pro-child organizations. Planned Parenthood Federation of America (PPFA), the Children's Defense Fund (CDF), the Leadership Conference on Civil Rights (LCCR), the National Women's Political Caucus (NWPC), the American Public Health Association (APHA) and the League of Conservation Voters (LCV). The CDF, LCCR, and LCV do not have positions on abortion rights. The voting record of the JustLife Educational Fund are also given. In comparing the voting records, those that supported PPFA at least 75% of the time were labeled pro-choice, those that supported PPFA less than 25% of the time were called anti-choice, and those that supported it 26-74% of the time were called mixed. Once this determination is made, a comparison of their voting records for the other organizations clearly confirm that those who are anti-choice are also against supporting human life.

  8. Augmentative Device Helps Max Speak. PACER Center ACTion Information Sheets. PHP-c75

    Science.gov (United States)

    PACER Center, 2014

    2014-01-01

    This Action Information Sheet follows a family's process of selecting and using augmentative and alternative communication to help their young son, Max, speak. Max is affected by global dyspraxia, which makes learning new motor skills--especially speech--quite difficult. For the first years of his life, Max could not say words. Before he and his…

  9. Teaching Speaking Through Debate Technique

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    . Suranto

    2016-07-01

    Full Text Available Abstract : Teaching Speaking Through Debate Technique. Speaking is one of the basic competence from the other fourth basic competence (listening, speaking, reading and writing. Speaking ability should be mastered by every students, in order to achieve that competence students should be given the right technique to study sepaking. The successfull of the students speaking can be seen from their ability to express idea, thought and feeling through speaking. The objective of this Action Research is to improve students’s oral communication skill through the debate technique. This study was conducted at MA Ma’arif Nu 5 Sekampung Lampung Timur from March to April 2014. The research data were taken from students in the eleventh class, with 28 students and analyzed qualitatively and quantitatively. The research findings indicate that there are improvements in students’ english speaking skill through the debate technique. By analyzing data qualitatively and quantitatively from the end of the first cycle to the second cycle and it was found that the students’ English speaking skill increased 20,9% over the standard that has been determined by the researcher that is 65%. The researcher concludes that the students’ english speaking skill can be improve through the debate technique in learning process.   Key words : action research, debate technique, english speaking skill

  10. [The medical French-speaking world].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gouazé, André

    2002-01-01

    Medicine has always been and remains the most solid base of the French-speaking world which was born in Africa and Indochina with the admirable action of "colonial" military physicians, the implantation of the Pasteur Institutes and the emergence of resulting overseas medical schools. Obviously, we are referring to the French-speaking medical world. Since the first International Conference of the Deans of French-Speaking Medical Schools in Abidjan in 1981, today medical schools from 40 French-speaking countries participate. The conference undertakes co-operative medical school initiatives in a multi-lateral spirit, comprised by concrete, practical actions to assist universities in developing countries strive for excellence. These actions, which are conducted with the help of both institutional (AUF, MAE, WHO, UNESCO) and private partners mainly concentrate on promoting medical education of medicine, the evaluation of medical schools, the development of scientific and technical information and training teachers in the methodology of scientific clinical research and in public health. For the future, the Conference has three important objectives, to assist in training researchers and consequently in the development of research centres in emerging countries, to promote continuing medical education in rural areas far from medical schools by taking advantage of modern computer technology, and finally to open horizons toward other communities which speak other languages, and first of all, towards non French-speaking countries who live in a French-speaking environment.

  11. The Speaking Brain

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Hagoort, P.; Levelt, W.J.M.

    2009-01-01

    How does intention to speak become the action of speaking? It involves the generation of a preverbal message that is tailored to the requirements of a particular language, and through a series of steps, the message is transformed into a linear sequence of speech sounds (1, 2). These steps include

  12. Dual-task interference effects on cross-modal numerical order and sound intensity judgments: the more the louder?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Alards-Tomalin, Doug; Walker, Alexander C; Nepon, Hillary; Leboe-McGowan, Launa C

    2017-09-01

    In the current study, cross-task interactions between number order and sound intensity judgments were assessed using a dual-task paradigm. Participants first categorized numerical sequences composed of Arabic digits as either ordered (ascending, descending) or non-ordered. Following each number sequence, participants then had to judge the intensity level of a target sound. Experiment 1 emphasized processing the two tasks independently (serial processing), while Experiments 2 and 3 emphasized processing the two tasks simultaneously (parallel processing). Cross-task interference occurred only when the task required parallel processing and was specific to ascending numerical sequences, which led to a higher proportion of louder sound intensity judgments. In Experiment 4 we examined whether this unidirectional interaction was the result of participants misattributing enhanced processing fluency experienced on ascending sequences as indicating a louder target sound. The unidirectional finding could not be entirely attributed to misattributed processing fluency, and may also be connected to experientially derived conceptual associations between ascending number sequences and greater magnitude, consistent with conceptual mapping theory.

  13. An Action Research Study Designed to Implement Student Negotiation to Improve Speaking Classroom Practice in Turkey

    Science.gov (United States)

    Uztosun, Mehmet Sercan; Skinner, Nigel; Cadorath, Jill

    2014-01-01

    This paper reports the second stage of an action research study designed to improve the effectiveness of speaking classes through negotiating the lesson contents with students. The data were collected through interviews, questionnaires and observations as a way of eliciting students' views. The research, conducted in an English language teaching…

  14. Exploring Constructivist Social Learning Practices in Aiding Russian-Speaking Teachers to Learn Estonian: An Action Research Approach

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kiilo, Tatjana; Kutsar, Dagmar

    2012-01-01

    Based on appreciative inquiry and threshold concepts from an intercultural learning perspective, the article makes insights into the constructivist social learning practice of Estonian language learning amongst Russian-speaking teachers in Estonia. The application of educational action research methodology, more specifically that of Bridget…

  15. Object and Action Naming: A Study on Persian-Speaking Children

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Reza Nilipour

    2013-04-01

    Full Text Available Objectives: Nouns and verbs are the central conceptual linguistic units of language acquisition in all human languages. While the noun-bias hypothesis claims that nouns have a privilege in children’s lexical development across languages, studies on Mandarin and Korean and other languages have challenged this view. More recent cross-linguistic naming studies on children in German, Turkish, English and Korean demonstrate that all languages, including Korean show a noun advantage however the degree of this discrepancy differs between languages. The aim of this study wasto look at object and action naming in normal Persian children as a measure of conceptual developmentin preschool children and its possible use for screening and therapeutic procedures. Methods: In this analytical study, noun bias and processing dissociation of object and action naming in 64 three to six year old healthy monolingual Persian-speaking children was investigated. A black and white picture naming task, consisting of 36 nouns (natural and man-made, and 36 verbs (transitive and intransitive was designed using DMDX software to measure response accuracy and reaction time of the subjects. Results: The results indicate a significant noun advantage with regard to accuracy and naming latencies. The results also reveal that transitive verbs are named more accurately than intransitive ones in Persianspeaking children. Also,the data indicate that accuracy of object and action namingimprove with age (P=0.000. Discussion: Based on the resultswe recommended that a standardized Persian object and action naming battery be used. Such a tool would have the potential of screening lexical development delay and possible noun-verb performance gap in preschool children.

  16. Action video games improve reading abilities and visual-to-auditory attentional shifting in English-speaking children with dyslexia.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Franceschini, Sandro; Trevisan, Piergiorgio; Ronconi, Luca; Bertoni, Sara; Colmar, Susan; Double, Kit; Facoetti, Andrea; Gori, Simone

    2017-07-19

    Dyslexia is characterized by difficulties in learning to read and there is some evidence that action video games (AVG), without any direct phonological or orthographic stimulation, improve reading efficiency in Italian children with dyslexia. However, the cognitive mechanism underlying this improvement and the extent to which the benefits of AVG training would generalize to deep English orthography, remain two critical questions. During reading acquisition, children have to integrate written letters with speech sounds, rapidly shifting their attention from visual to auditory modality. In our study, we tested reading skills and phonological working memory, visuo-spatial attention, auditory, visual and audio-visual stimuli localization, and cross-sensory attentional shifting in two matched groups of English-speaking children with dyslexia before and after they played AVG or non-action video games. The speed of words recognition and phonological decoding increased after playing AVG, but not non-action video games. Furthermore, focused visuo-spatial attention and visual-to-auditory attentional shifting also improved only after AVG training. This unconventional reading remediation program also increased phonological short-term memory and phoneme blending skills. Our report shows that an enhancement of visuo-spatial attention and phonological working memory, and an acceleration of visual-to-auditory attentional shifting can directly translate into better reading in English-speaking children with dyslexia.

  17. It's All in the Mime: Actions Speak Louder than Words When Teaching the Cranial Nerves

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dickson, Kerry Ann; Stephens, Bruce Warren

    2015-01-01

    Cranial nerve (CN) knowledge is essential for students in health professions. Gestures and body movements (e.g., mime) have been shown to improve cognition and satisfaction with anatomy teaching. The aim of this pilot study was to compare the effectiveness of didactic lecturing with that of miming lecturing for student learning of the CNs. The…

  18. Communicative Language Teaching: Changing Students’ Speaking Skill

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Juni Bayu Saputra

    2015-04-01

    This article points out the results of the study attempting to solve the speaking problem faced by students in one of the Higher School of Teacher Training and Education (STKIP in Central Lampung. For the purpose of the topic, 30 fellow students were selected as the subject. Research method was Classroom Action Research with Kemmis and Taggart model. It was conducted for about four cycles. According to the results of speaking test, findings showed that using Communicative Language Teaching (CLT had positive meaningful effect on improving students’ speaking skill. To sum up, CLT is an effective method to teach speaking to the subject.

  19. How Poets Should Speak of the Gods. Plato, Republic II 377e6–378a1

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jera Marušič

    2004-12-01

    Full Text Available In Plato’s Republic, Socrates and his interlocutors assign to poetry an important educational task in the envisioned just state, but then find the existing poetry mostly unsuitable for it. Examining how poets speak about the gods, Socrates directs at Hesiod the criticism that he »did not speak falsely well« (377e7 when narrating the actions of Uranus and Cronus. We may find this criticism surprising: the poet is not reproached for speaking falsely about the actions of these two gods, but for not speaking falsely well about them. It seems, therefore, that Socrates would not disapprove of Hesiod’s false speaking, provided that the poet spoke falsely well. In order to clarify Socrates’ criticism, it is first examined what it means, in the case of Hesiod, »to speak falsely« (as opposed to »speaking truly«, and then what it means »not to speak falsely well« (as opposed to »speaking falsely well«. Relying on some further arguments by Socrates, a distinction is made between two kinds of claims that can be made about the gods: claims about what the gods are like and claims about what they did. As this paper tries to show, it is acceptable to Socrates if poets speak falsely about what the gods did (for, because there is no knowing about the divine actions, it is not possible to speak truly about this, as is suggested at 382c10–d3, but not about what they are like (for what we do know about the divine nature is that it is good and therefore cannot cause evil, and so it must be spoken of, as is argued at 379b1–16. It turns out, therefore, that poets speak falsely well about what the gods did when they attribute good actions to them, i.e. such actions as they could in fact have done: doing so, the poets speak falsely about what the gods did, but implicitly speak truly about what they are like. As Hesiod attributed bad actions to Uranus and Cronus, he implicitly spoke of the gods as capable of evil. Therefore he did not speak falsely only

  20. When action speaks louder than words: The effect of parenting on young consumers' pro-environmental behaviour

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Grønhøj, Alice; Thøgersen, John

    The present study examines intergenerational transfers of pro-environmental behaviours between parents and children. In a survey study involving 600 Danish families, we examine whether children's pro-environmental behaviours can be determined by their parents' attitudes and behaviours with respect...... to three "green" consumption activities: buying organic/environmentally friendly products, handling waste responsibly, and energy saving activities. In addition, we examine the effect of parenting on adolescents' pro-environmental behaviours by including a particular aspect of parenting style: parental...... autonomy support. Results show that the adolescents are influenced by their parents' behaviour, and especially how they perceive parents' behaviour, which seems to depend on how visible these behaviours are to them. Furthermore, parenting style influences the adolescents' behaviour in various ways....

  1. Pictures Speak Louder than Words in ESP, Too!

    Science.gov (United States)

    Erfani, Seyyed Mahdi

    2012-01-01

    While integrating visual features can be among the most important characteristics of English language textbooks, reviewing the current locally-produced English for Specific Purposes (ESP) ones reveals that they lack such a feature. Enjoying a rich theoretical background including Paivio's dual coding theory as well as Sert's educational semiotics,…

  2. Using Communicative Games in Improving Students' Speaking Skills

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dewi, Ratna Sari; Kultsum, Ummi; Armadi, Ari

    2017-01-01

    The aims of the study are to know whether communicative games have an impact on teaching speaking skill and describe how communicative games give an influence on speaking skills of students at junior high schools in Jakarta, Indonesia. Classroom Action Research (CAR) was implemented based on Kurt. L model. The procedures used were planning,…

  3. An Action Research Study into the Role of Student Negotiation in Enhancing Perceived Student Engagement during English Speaking Classes at University Level in Turkey

    Science.gov (United States)

    Uztosun, Mehmet Sercan; Skinner, Nigel; Cadorath, Jill

    2018-01-01

    A major issue in English language teaching in Turkey and other monolingual countries is the teaching of spoken English. This article reports the initial and final stages of an action research study which used student negotiation to enhance student engagement in speaking classes. The research was conducted in the English Language Teaching…

  4. Speak Up! Public Speaking for Libraries

    OpenAIRE

    Felkar, Sarah; Mallette, Michelle; Meunier, Shanna

    2010-01-01

    Learn about public speaking for libraries in a session that is fun, friendly and not intimidating (as public speaking often can be). The speakers will discuss how public speaking is often an important part of working in a library.

  5. Pictures Speak Louder than Words: Motivations for Using Instagram.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lee, Eunji; Lee, Jung-Ah; Moon, Jang Ho; Sung, Yongjun

    2015-09-01

    While Instagram, the rising photo-sharing social networking service, has received increasing attention from scholars and practitioners, little is known about the social and psychological factors that lead consumers to become fanatics of this app. To provide a baseline understanding of Instagram users, the current study aims to uncover the structural dimensions of consumers' motives for using Instagram and to explore the relationships between identified motivations and key attitudinal and behavioral intention variables. A comprehensive survey was developed in which a total of 212 Instagram users evaluated their motivation, primary activities, use intention, and attitude regarding Instagram. The results suggest that Instagram users have five primary social and psychological motives: social interaction, archiving, self-expression, escapism, and peeking. The implications of this study's findings are discussed.

  6. Predicting Intelligibility Gains in Dysarthria through Automated Speech Feature Analysis

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fletcher, Annalise R.; Wisler, Alan A.; McAuliffe, Megan J.; Lansford, Kaitlin L.; Liss, Julie M.

    2017-01-01

    Purpose: Behavioral speech modifications have variable effects on the intelligibility of speakers with dysarthria. In the companion article, a significant relationship was found between measures of speakers' baseline speech and their intelligibility gains following cues to speak louder and reduce rate (Fletcher, McAuliffe, Lansford, Sinex, &…

  7. Developing the Students’ English Speaking Ability Through Impromptu Speaking Method.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lumettu, A.; Runtuwene, T. L.

    2018-01-01

    Having multi -purposes, English mastery has becomea necessary for us.Of the four language skills, speaking skill should get the first priority in English teaching and speaking skills development cannot be separated from listening.One communicative way of developing speaking skill is impromptu speaking,a method sudden speaking which depends only on experience and insight by applying spontaneity or improvisation. It is delivered based on the need of the moment of speaking using simple language.This research aims to know (1). Why impromptu speaking is necessary in teaching speaking? (2). How can impromptu speaking develop the students’ speaking skills.The method of this research is qualitative method and the techniques of data collection are: observation,interview and documentation. The results of data analysis using Correlation shows a strong relation between the students’ speaking ability and impromptu speaking method (r = 0.80).The research show that by using impromptu speaking method, the students are trained to interact faster naturally and spontaneously and enrich their vocabulary and general science to support speaking development through interview, speech, presentation, discussion and storytelling.

  8. Lee Silverman Voice Treatment for People with Parkinson's: Audit of Outcomes in a Routine Clinic

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wight, Sheila; Miller, Nick

    2015-01-01

    Background: Speaking louder/more intensely represents a longstanding technique employed to manage voice and intelligibility changes in people with Parkinson's. This technique has been formalized into a treatment approach and marketed as the Lee Silverman Voice Treatment (LSVT®) programme. Evidence for its efficacy has been published. Studies…

  9. Do as I do, not as I say: Actions speak louder than words in preschoolers learning from others.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Corriveau, Kathleen H; Min, Grace; Chin, Jason; Doan, Stacey

    2016-03-01

    To date, no research has examined children's imitative abilities in the context of learning self-regulatory strategies from adults-especially when there is a conflict between communicative intent and later behavior. A sample of 84 4- and 5-year-olds performed a delay-of-gratification task after observing an adult perform the same task. Across four between-participants conditions, the model either did or did not state her intention to complete the task (positive vs. negative communication), modeled self-regulatory strategies, and then either did or did not complete the task successfully (positive vs. negative outcome). Children in the positive outcome conditions were more likely to imitate the novel strategies and successfully wait in both familiar and unfamiliar self-regulation tasks irrespective of the model's communicated intent. We discuss implications for practice and interventions. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  10. Action speaks louder than words: Empathy mainly modulates emotions from theory of mind-laden parts of a story

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Wallentin, Mikkel; Simonsen, Arndis; Nielsen, Andreas Højlund

    2013-01-01

    Narratives are thought to evoke emotions through empathy, which is thought to rely on theory of mind (a.k.a. “mentalizing”). In this study we investigated the extent to which these assumptions hold. Young adults rated their experienced emotional intensity while listening to a narrative...... and subsequently took an empathy test. We show how empathy correlates well with overall level of experienced intensity. However, no correlation with empathy is found in those parts of the story that received highest intensity ratings across participants. Reverse correlation analysis reveals that these parts...... contain physical threat scenarios, while parts where empathy score is highly correlated with intensity describe social interaction that can only be understood through mentalizing. This suggests that narratives evoke emotions, both based on “simple” physical contagion (affective empathy) and on complex...

  11. The Implementation of Group Investigation to Improve the Students’ Speaking Skill

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Iswardati Iswardati

    2016-12-01

    Full Text Available This research aimed to find out how group investigation improves the student’s speaking skill of the second grade students of SMA 2 Samarinda, how group investigation improves the student’s participation in speaking of second grade students of SMA 2 Samarinda, and what the obstacles are in the implementation of Group Investigation. The classroom action research was employed in this study and was done in two cycles. Each cycle consisted of four stages: (1 planning, (2 action, (3 observation, and (4 reflection. Each cycle took three meetings. The instruments used to collect the data were observation, checklist, field-note, and speaking test. After the implementation of Group Investigation through two cycles, the researcher concluded: First, Group Investigation improves the students’ speaking ability by (a increasing the students’ pronunciation, grammatical, vocabulary, and fluency, (b by reducing the students’ reluctance to speak, worry of making mistakes, and afraid of being laughed at by other students. Second, Group Investigation improves the students’ participation in speaking (a the students learnt how to investigate a certain problem and to solve the problem using English, (b how to share, (c how to discuss, (d how to give their ideas, (e how to accept other opinions, and (f how to present their ideas. Third, the obstacles in the implementation of Group Investigation are: (a The students were noisy, (b Some students spent too short in the presentation, (c Some students had difficulties in expressing their arguments and suggestion related to the topics, and (d Few students dominated the group investigation.

  12. Online Business Chinese Speaking Instruction: A Speak Everywhere Speaking Program for Practical Business Chinese

    OpenAIRE

    Li, Bailu; Fukada, Atsushi; Hong, Wei

    2012-01-01

    Despite the obvious importance of speaking skills, for technology and other reasons, it is difficult for foreign language instructors to provide ample speaking practice opportunities to students. However, particularly in business language teaching, speaking is crucial. To address this problem, the authors have created an oral program for a Business Chinese textbook on an online platform called Speak Everywhere. This article discusses general oral training issues and reports on the design of t...

  13. Is 9 louder than 1? Audiovisual cross-modal interactions between number magnitude and judged sound loudness.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Alards-Tomalin, Doug; Walker, Alexander C; Shaw, Joshua D M; Leboe-McGowan, Launa C

    2015-09-01

    The cross-modal impact of number magnitude (i.e. Arabic digits) on perceived sound loudness was examined. Participants compared a target sound's intensity level against a previously heard reference sound (which they judged as quieter or louder). Paired with each target sound was a task irrelevant Arabic digit that varied in magnitude, being either small (1, 2, 3) or large (7, 8, 9). The degree to which the sound and the digit were synchronized was manipulated, with the digit and sound occurring simultaneously in Experiment 1, and the digit preceding the sound in Experiment 2. Firstly, when target sounds and digits occurred simultaneously, sounds paired with large digits were categorized as loud more frequently than sounds paired with small digits. Secondly, when the events were separated, number magnitude ceased to bias sound intensity judgments. In Experiment 3, the events were still separated, however the participants held the number in short-term memory. In this instance the bias returned. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  14. Echoes of Photojournalism in Nigeria's Tell and Newswatch ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Since photographs speak louder than words, there is always the desire to create a circumstantial evident of the artistry of photography as a special art in journalism. In determining the photo-journalistic ethics surrounding press photos as related to prevalent “maxim of the Five Ws (and one H), (what, why, when, where , who ...

  15. Images of women's entrepreneurship: do pictures speak louder than words?

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Neergaard, Helle; Smith, Robert

    2004-01-01

    This paper elucidates how images of women's entrepreneurship presented by the media may be decoded and interpreted. The aim of the contribution is to enhance our understanding of how women interpret their opportunities and possibilities as entrepreneurs using foucs groups to analyze how images of...... of female entrepreneurs are visually constructed and represented in TV-documentaries....

  16. Language, Gesture, Action! A Test of the Gesture as Simulated Action Framework

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hostetter, Autumn B.; Alibali, Martha W.

    2010-01-01

    The Gesture as Simulated Action (GSA) framework (Hostetter & Alibali, 2008) holds that representational gestures are produced when actions are simulated as part of thinking and speaking. Accordingly, speakers should gesture more when describing images with which they have specific physical experience than when describing images that are less…

  17. Visual perceptual abilities of Chinese-speaking and English-speaking children.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lai, Mun Yee; Leung, Frederick Koon Shing

    2012-04-01

    This paper reports an investigation of Chinese-speaking and English-speaking children's general visual perceptual abilities. The Developmental Test of Visual Perception was administered to 41 native Chinese-speaking children of mean age 5 yr. 4 mo. in Hong Kong and 35 English-speaking children of mean age 5 yr. 2 mo. in Melbourne. Of interest were the two interrelated components of visual perceptual abilities, namely, motor-reduced visual perceptual and visual-motor integration perceptual abilities, which require either verbal or motoric responses in completing visual tasks. Chinese-speaking children significantly outperformed the English-speaking children on general visual perceptual abilities. When comparing the results of each of the two different components, the Chinese-speaking students' performance on visual-motor integration was far better than that of their counterparts (ES = 2.70), while the two groups of students performed similarly on motor-reduced visual perceptual abilities. Cultural factors such as written language format may be contributing to the enhanced performance of Chinese-speaking children's visual-motor integration abilities, but there may be validity questions in the Chinese version.

  18. Experimental public speaking: contributions to the understanding of the serotonergic modulation of fear.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Garcia-Leal, Cybele; Graeff, Frederico Guilherme; Del-Ben, Cristina Marta

    2014-10-01

    Public speaking is widely used as a model of experimental fear and anxiety. This review aimed to evaluate the effects of pharmacological challenges on public speaking responses and their implications for the understanding of the neurobiology of normal and pathological anxiety, specifically panic disorder. We also describe methodological features of experimental paradigms using public speaking as an inducer of fear and stress. Public speaking is a potent stressor that can provoke significant subjective and physiological responses. However, variations in the manners in which public speaking is modelled can lead to different responses that need to be considered when interpreting the results. Results from pharmacological studies with healthy volunteers submitted to simulated public speaking tests have similarities with the pharmacological responses of panic patients observed in clinical practice and panic patients differ from controls in the response to the public speaking test. These data are compatible with the Deakin and Graeff hypothesis that serotonin inhibits fear, as accessed by public speaking tasks, and that this inhibition is likely related to the actions of serotonin in the dorsal periaqueductal grey matter. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  19. A Narrative Evaluation of Mandarin-Speaking Children With Language Impairment.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hao, Ying; Sheng, Li; Zhang, Yiwen; Jiang, Fan; de Villiers, Jill; Lee, Wendy; Liu, Xueman Lucy

    2018-02-15

    We aimed to study narrative skills in Mandarin-speaking children with language impairment (LI) to compare with children with LI speaking Indo-European languages. Eighteen Mandarin-speaking children with LI (mean age 6;2 [years;months]) and 18 typically developing (TD) age controls told 3 stories elicited using the Mandarin Expressive Narrative Test (de Villiers & Liu, 2014). We compared macrostructure-evaluating descriptions of characters, settings, initiating events, internal responses,plans, actions, and consequences. We also studied general microstructure, including productivity, lexical diversity, syntactic complexity, and grammaticality. In addition, we compared the use of 6 fine-grained microstructure elements that evaluate particular Mandarin linguistic features. Children with LI exhibited weaknesses in 5 macrostructure elements, lexical diversity, syntactic complexity, and 3 Mandarin-specific, fine-grained microstructure elements. Children with LI and TD controls demonstrated comparable performance on 2 macrostructure elements, productivity, grammaticality, and the remaining 3 fine-grained microstructure features. Similarities and differences are noted in narrative profiles of children with LI who speak Mandarin versus those who speak Indo-European languages. The results are consistent with the view that profiles of linguistic deficits are shaped by the ambient language. Clinical implications are discussed.

  20. Satisfaction With Communication in Primary Care for Spanish-Speaking and English-Speaking Parents.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Flower, Kori B; Skinner, Asheley C; Yin, H Shonna; Rothman, Russell L; Sanders, Lee M; Delamater, Alan; Perrin, Eliana M

    Effective communication with primary care physicians is important yet incompletely understood for Spanish-speaking parents. We predicted lower satisfaction among Spanish-speaking compared to English-speaking Latino and non-Latino parents. Cross-sectional analysis at 2-month well visits within the Greenlight study at 4 pediatric resident clinics. Parents reported satisfaction with 14 physician communication items using the validated Communication Assessment Tool (CAT). High satisfaction was defined as "excellent" on each CAT item. Mean estimations compared satisfaction for communication items among Spanish- and English-speaking Latinos and non-Latinos. We used generalized linear regression modeling, adjusted for parent age, education, income, and clinic site. Among Spanish-speaking parents, we compared visits conducted in Spanish with and without an interpreter, and in English. Compared to English-speaking Latino (n = 127) and non-Latino parents (n = 432), fewer Spanish-speaking parents (n = 303) reported satisfaction with 14 communication items. No significant differences were found between English-speaking Latinos and non-Latinos. Greatest differences were found in the use of a greeting that made the parent comfortable (59.4% of Spanish-speaking Latinos endorsing "excellent" vs 77.5% English-speaking Latinos, P English-speaking Latinos, P < .01). After adjusting for parent age, education, income, and study site, Spanish-speaking Latinos were still less likely to report high satisfaction with these communication items. Satisfaction was not different among Spanish-speaking parents when the physician spoke Spanish versus used an interpreter. Satisfaction with physician communication was associated with language but not ethnicity. Spanish-speaking parents less frequently report satisfaction with communication, and innovative solutions to enhance communication quality are needed. Copyright © 2017 Academic Pediatric Association. Published by Elsevier Inc. All

  1. Tracheostomy tube - speaking

    Science.gov (United States)

    ... with others. However, you can learn how to speak with a tracheostomy tube. It just takes practice. There ... If it is hard to speak with a trach in place, special devices can help you learn to create sounds. One-way valves, called speaking valves, are placed ...

  2. Moral Courage or Heresy: The Benefits and Pitfalls of Military Leaders Speaking Out

    National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

    Matt, Jacob M

    2008-01-01

    Thesis: Military leaders who allow their experience and loyalty to their oath guide their actions when speaking out in the proper forums for or against policies, strategies, or ideals can positively affect...

  3. New Speak

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Harste, Gorm

    2008-01-01

      En ny form for samfundsvidenskabeligt set uklart sprogbrug anvendes stadig oftere i organisation og politik. Ord som "sammenhængskraft", "myndighedsbetjening" og "kvalitetsløft" kritiseres ofte og kaldes varm luft eller new speak. Jeg vil hævde, at ordene i new speak rummer et dobbelt perspektiv......, uddannelse, militær etc.). Derfor er der gået varm luft og new speak i politisk og organisatorisk sprogbrug. Hvor funktionssystemer internt betjener sig af binært kodet kommunikation, må meddelelser mellem funktionssystemer nemlig afstå fra den klare veldefinerede tale.  ...

  4. Improving advance care planning for English-speaking and Spanish-speaking older adults: study protocol for the PREPARE randomised controlled trial

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sudore, Rebecca L; Barnes, Deborah E; Le, Gem M; Ramos, Roberto; Osua, Stacy J; Richardson, Sarah A; Boscardin, John; Schillinger, Dean

    2016-01-01

    Introduction Advance care planning (ACP) is a process that allows patients to identify their goals for medical care. Traditionally, ACP has focused on completing advance directives; however, we have expanded the ACP paradigm to also prepare patients to communicate their wishes and make informed decisions. To this end, we created an ACP website called PREPARE (http://www.prepareforyourcare.org) to prepare diverse English-speaking and Spanish-speaking older adults for medical decision-making. Here, we describe the study protocol for a randomised controlled efficacy trial of PREPARE in a safety-net setting. The goal is to determine the efficacy of PREPARE to engage diverse English-speaking and Spanish-speaking older adults in a full spectrum of ACP behaviours. Methods and analysis We include English-speaking and Spanish-speaking adults from an urban public hospital who are ≥55 years old, have ≥2 chronic medical conditions and have seen a primary care physician ≥2 times in the last year. Participants are randomised to the PREPARE intervention (review PREPARE and an easy-to-read advance directive) or the control arm (only the easy-to-read advance directive). The primary outcome is documentation of an advance directive and/or ACP discussion. Secondary outcomes include ACP behaviour change processes measured with validated surveys (eg, self-efficacy, readiness) and a broad range of ACP actions (eg, choosing a surrogate, identifying goals for care, discussing ACP with clinicians and/or surrogates). Using blinded outcome ascertainment, outcomes will be measured at 1 week and at 3, 6 and 12 months, and compared between study arms using mixed-effects logistic regression and mixed-effects linear, Poisson or negative binomial regression. Ethics and dissemination This study has been approved by the appropriate Institutional Review Boards and is guided by input from patient and clinical advisory boards and a data safety monitoring board. The results of this study will

  5. Causal Coherence in the Oral Narratives of Spanish-Speaking Children.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gutierrez-Clellen, Vera F.; Iglesias, Aquiles

    1992-01-01

    Forty-six Spanish-speaking children ages four, six, or eight years viewed a short silent film and told what happened in the film. The stories of older children included more narrative actions, more mental state/goal causes, more three-clause causal sequences, and a lower proportion of unrelated statements than those of younger children.…

  6. Speaking up in case management, part II: implementing speaking up behaviors.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Banja, John D; Craig, Kathy

    2010-01-01

    Case managers will occasionally witness colleagues from their own or other healthcare disciplines providing care in ways that frankly deviate from or violate standards of care, rules, regulations, policies, and procedures. This article discusses the case manager's ethical obligation to speak up in such instances, as well as lists strategies and techniques that facilitate and enhance professional communications around "speaking up." All case management work environments. When healthcare professionals practice in ways that deviate from established policies, procedures, rules, regulations, and standards of care, they jeopardize the safety and welfare of their clients and, often, their employing institutions. Unfortunately, professionals often remain silent about such errors and deviations for fear that they might suffer retaliation if they speak up or because they do not anticipate a constructive or positive organizational response. Nevertheless, organizations and employees who recognize the value of speaking up can use a variety of strategies described in this article that enable speaking up to become a professional and organizational reality. Because they practice in the midst of multidisciplinary care, case managers have a marked opportunity to witness any number of practice standards being ignored or violated. Case managers need to develop communication skills and organizational savvy regarding how to approach and remedy such situations, especially when deviations from standards of care have become routine or "normalized." Critical elements in speaking up include cultivating a method to discern the moral perils of remaining silent, learning communication techniques to conduct emotionally challenging conversations, and building organizational leadership that recognizes the value of speaking up and supports safe harbors for employees who speak up appropriately.

  7. Topical Knowledge in L2 Speaking Assessment: Comparing Independent and Integrated Speaking Test Tasks

    Science.gov (United States)

    Huang, Heng-Tsung Danny; Hung, Shao-Ting Alan; Plakans, Lia

    2018-01-01

    Integrated speaking test tasks (integrated tasks) provide reading and/or listening input to serve as the basis for test-takers to formulate their oral responses. This study examined the influence of topical knowledge on integrated speaking test performance and compared independent speaking test performance and integrated speaking test performance…

  8. Education as Invitation to Speak: On the Teacher Who Does Not Speak

    Science.gov (United States)

    Vansieleghem, Nancy; Masschelein, Jan

    2012-01-01

    As a response to "Le Fils," a film directed by the Dardenne brothers, we explore the idea of speaking as an invitation and juxtapose it against ideas of speaking as a transactional, calculative, calibrated, activity. Speaking tends to be understood as a relatively straightforward matter: as a means of communication structured by such values as the…

  9. Student Satisfaction with EFL Speaking Classes: Relating Speaking Self-Efficacy and Skills Achievement

    Science.gov (United States)

    Asakereh, Ahmad; Dehghannezhad, Maliheh

    2015-01-01

    This study investigated the relationship between student satisfaction with speaking classes, speaking skills self-efficacy beliefs, and speaking skills achievement. To this end, one hundred Iranian EFL undergraduate students filled out two questionnaires; a research-made and pilot-tested questionnaire for student satisfaction with speaking…

  10. Speaking of Speaking

    Science.gov (United States)

    Larmer, John; Mergendoller, John R.

    2013-01-01

    From the early elementary grades through high school, the Common Core State Standards ask students to organize and explain their ideas in oral presentations, use visual aids, and speak appropriately for various contexts and tasks. Although teachers could give assignments that teach some of these skills in isolation, the authors have found that…

  11. USING THINK-PAIR-SHARE TO IMPROVE SPEAKING ACHIEVEMENT OF THE SECOND SEMESTER ENGLISH STUDY PROGRAM OF TRIDINANTI UNIVERSITY PALEMBANG

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jenny Elvinna Manurung

    2017-09-01

    Full Text Available The study aimed at improving the speaking achievement of the second semester students of Tridinanti Palembang by using Think-Pair-Share strategy (TPR. This study was an action research study. The steps in conducting the study were planning, actions and observation of action and reflections. The population of the study was all of the second semester students of Tridinanti University in the academic year 2016/2017. The sample used one class (10students. The data collections used by the researcher were tests and observation. The learning improvement indicators included in two things; (1 learning achievement, (2 teaching and learning process. In the study, the implementation was conducted into two cycles. The results showed that the average score of students’ speaking achievement was 66 in cycle I and the observation result was 62.82. The result had not been reached the target yet that was >70. At least more than 85% students could achieve the score above 70. Thus, cycle II was necessary to be implemented. In cycle II, the average score of speaking test was 81and the observation result was 81.06. The students had reached the target and the cycle was stopped. In conclusion, the implementation of TPR had brought significant improvement to the students’ speaking achievement.

  12. Improving the EFL Learners’ Speaking Ability through Interactive Storytelling

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Marzuki Marzuki

    2016-06-01

    Full Text Available This present research was aimed to improve the EFL learners’ speaking ability and their classroom activities through the implementation of Interactive Storytelling Strategy. Therefore, this study was directed to explore the beneficial of Interactive Storytelling that closely related to the EFL learners’ everyday activities at their home and school. The subject consisted of 22 of Junior High of Indonesian EFL learners. A Classroom Action Research in two cycles had been conducted within 6 meetings for every cycle. The meetings were focused on the interactivity and communicative ability among learners. The research result showed that the learners’ speaking ability improved from 17 or 72,27% passed in Cycle 1 to 22 or 100% passed the criteria of success in Cycle 2. It also showed that their classroom activities improved from 8 or 36,36% who were very active (VA and 14 or 63,64% who were active (A to 18 or 81,82% were very active (VA and 4 or 18,18% were active (A. In conclusion, the implementation of Interactive Storytelling Strategy increased the EFL learners’ speaking ability and their classroom activities.

  13. THE IMPROVE SPEAKING ABILITY THROUGH EARLY CHILDHOOD EDUCATION 5-6 YEARS OLD THROUGH ROLE PLAY IN ANAK BANGSA KINDERGARTEN CIOMAS BOGOR

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Triyaningsih Triyaningsih

    2016-05-01

    Full Text Available Abstract: This study is attempled to investigate about how improve the speaking ability through Role Play in Anak Bangsa Kindergarten Ciomas Bogor. Hypothesis tested are : there is different between the beginning assessment and the end assessment This study is conducted in TK Anak Bangsa,Ciomas Bogor on March until May in the second semester 2009/2010. this study uses the Kemmis and Mc. Taggart model of action research which consist of the four stage, those are : a planning, 2 action, 3 observation, 4 reflection . the process of collecting the data is using the techigue of interview, observation, and portofolio. the data is analysed qualitatively and quantitatively. The result of the research shoe that, the learning analysis in the first cycle to the second cycle indicated that, the learning analysis in the first cycle to the second cycle indicated that, significantly theres is increasing oof the speaking ability of student which sight out by the positive respon to speaking ability performen. the quantitave data of student outcome learning is score of speaking performance with rating scale. the student more done their speakin performence ability with higt result. The research result also concluded that 1 The Role Play can impove speaking ability for kindergarden student, 2 managing and organization the condusive class can improve the speaking ability for kindergarten student, 3 portofolio assessment system improve the speaking ability for kindergarten student, and the other result of this research is Role Play can improve the learning activity and the student outcome learning. Keyword: kindergarten, speaking ability, assessment

  14. THE IMPROVE SPEAKING ABILITY THROUGH EARLY CHILDHOOD EDUCATION 5-6 YEARS OLD THROUGH ROLE PLAY IN ANAK BANGSA KINDERGARTEN CIOMAS BOGOR

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Triyaningsih Triyaningsih

    2016-05-01

    Full Text Available Abstract: This study is attempled to investigate about how improve the speaking ability through Role Play in Anak Bangsa Kindergarten Ciomas Bogor. Hypothesis tested are : there is different between the beginning assessment and the end assessment This study is conducted in TK Anak Bangsa,Ciomas Bogor on March until May  in the second semester 2009/2010. this study uses the Kemmis and Mc. Taggart model of action research which consist of the four stage, those are : a planning, 2 action, 3 observation, 4 reflection . the process of collecting the data is using the techigue of interview, observation, and portofolio. the data is analysed qualitatively and quantitatively. The result of the research shoe that, the learning analysis in the first cycle to the second cycle indicated that, the learning analysis in the first cycle to the second cycle indicated that, significantly theres is increasing oof the speaking ability of student which sight out by the positive respon to speaking ability performen. the quantitave data of student outcome learning is score of speaking performance with rating scale. the student more done their speakin performence ability  with higt result. The research result also concluded that 1 The Role Play can impove speaking ability for kindergarden student, 2 managing and organization the condusive class can improve the speaking ability for kindergarten student, 3 portofolio assessment system improve the speaking ability for kindergarten student, and the other result of this research is Role Play can improve the learning activity and the student outcome learning.  Keyword: kindergarten, speaking ability, assessment

  15. Increasing Senior High School Students’ Ability In Speaking English Through Contextual Storytelling Method

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Meyke Machrita Mamahit

    2017-12-01

    Full Text Available This research aimed (1 to increase the ability of students XII Grade Science 6 Senior High School state 7 Manado in speaking English through contextual storytelling method, (2 to increase the motivation and interest of students XII Grade Science 6 Senior High School state 7 Manado in speaking English through contextual storytelling method. This research is Classroom Action Research. The population was 325 students and the sample was 30 students. The research data was collected using performance test of cycle 1, 2, 3 and questionnaire. The research results indicated that the use of contextual storytelling method in learning English significantly increased the ability, interest and motivation of students XII Grade Science 6 Senior High School state 7 Manado in speaking English. The percentage of students who achieved the minimum score increased from 60 % in the first cycle became 70 % in the second cycle, and it increased 90 % in the third cycle. The students’ interest and motivation in speaking English increased from 70 % in first cycle became 80 % in the second cycle and it became 90 % in the third cycle.

  16. The Effect of “Speak Up” Training Toward Apprehension of Speaking in Front of Public

    OpenAIRE

    Amalia, Rizky Nur; Hidayati, Farida

    2013-01-01

    This study is aimed to evaluate the effect of “SPEAK uP” training toward apprehension of speaking in front of public.The characteristic subject of this study is to students of SMK Negeri 8 Semarang who took social worker studies as their major; mostly they are having apprehension in ability of speaking in front of public with high and extra high category level on apprehension of speaking in front of public, those students had agreed to join “SPEAK uP” training completely. This study generally...

  17. TEACHING SPEAKING THROUGH THE IMPLEMENTATION OF STORY TELLING TECHNIQUE BY USING STORY-TELLING

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Purwatiningsih Purwatiningsih

    2015-12-01

    Full Text Available Learning a language especially English is expected to help students to be able to use it as a means of communication. Communicating is understanding and expressing information, thought and feeling, and expanding science, technology and culture. Communicating ability means being able to understand a discourse, namely being able to understand and produce spoken and written texts through the four language skills: listening, speaking, reading and writing this classroom action research was conducted to solve the students’ problems in speaking. It is to improve the students’ ability in speaking through story-telling technique using picture series in terms of content and delivery of the story. The design of this study is classroom action research which was conducted in two cycles consisting of six meetings. The subjects of this study were students of grade x-9 of MAN 2 Madiun in 2012/2013 academic year. The instruments to collect the data were observation checklists, field notes, speaking task measured using scoring rubrics, and questionnaire. The criteria of success were determined on the basis of the students’ participation in the teaching-learning process, the students’ speaking achievement in terms of score (telling a story individually, and the students’ responses to the implementation of story-telling technique using picture series. The finding of the study indicated that the implementation of the technique was successful in improving the students’ speaking ability, since the criteria of success were achieved. The first criterion was if 70% of the students participate or are actively involved in the teaching and learning process, and the data analysis confirmed that 84% of students were actively involved. Concerning the second criterion was if 70% of the students achieve the score greater than or equal to 75, the finding showed that 81% of the students already achieved scores greater than 75. The last criterion, if 70% of students

  18. Dynamic Speaking Assessments

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hill, Kent; Sabet, Mehran

    2009-01-01

    This article describes an attempt to adopt dynamic assessment (DA) methods in classroom speaking assessments. The study reported in this article focused on four particular applications of dynamic speaking assessment (DSA). The first, "mediated assistance" (MA), involves interaction between an assistor and a learner to reveal problems in…

  19. Call to Action: Speaking to Educators on the Praxis of "Testimonio" and the "Nopal" Metaphor

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chandler, Vincent

    2016-01-01

    "Testimonio" is the intentional and rhetorical act of speaking and sharing one's story, history or narrative with a specific focus towards that which is experienced in and around issues of bias, prejudice, oppression, otherness, marginalization, resistance, and survival (Bernal, Burciaga, & Carmona, 2012; Reyes & Rodríguez,…

  20. MOBILE CONTENT AND ADVERTISEMENT CHOICES OF TURKISH SPEAKING MOBILE MEDIA USERS

    OpenAIRE

    Osman Köroğlu

    2011-01-01

    Turkish speaking mobile communication device users’ mobile content and advertisement choices researched via a questionnaire prepared in the light of reasoned action theory, technology acceptance model, diffusion of innovations theory, unified technology acceptance and usage theory, and uses and gratifications approach. Findings of research analyzed and explained descriptively and statistically. In mobile content choices, economic viability, environment, function and context are important issu...

  1. USING STORYTELLING TO INCREASE SPEAKING PERFORMANCE OF PAI STUDENTS OF MUHAMMADIYAH UNIVERSITY OF METRO

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Amirudin - Latif

    2013-10-01

    Full Text Available The study is intended to increase speaking performance of PAI students of Muhammadiyah University of Metro by using storytelling. The design of the research is collaborative classroom action research which involves a collaborator in whole process of the research. The instruments of the research are observation sheet, field notes, and speaking test. The criteria of success of the research are 100% from thirty students are active in the classroom and get score equal to or more than 70. The result shows that twenty two students get score 70 in Cycle 1 and thirty in Cycle 2.

  2. TOPICAL CASUAL TALKS AS RESPONSIVE LISTENING AND SPEAKING PERFORMANCES OF BEGINNERS

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Taranindya Zulhi Amalia

    2017-04-01

    Full Text Available Global communication concern brings human to be familiar with English as early as possible. Nowadays beginner students started English orally in elementary school even kindergarten. At this moment, they dealth with listening and speaking skills and put them into practice. When they came down to English, some beginners feel uncomfortable in their learning because of facing formal situation. The beginners who were typically keen on playing and having fun comfortably could not be treated in teaching-learning that was usually presented to intermediate level or adult. Teachers had to create informal situation so that they were more relaxed and got chemistry one another. Dealing with comfortable zone put into informal situation in listening and speaking practices for the beginners, this study focused on topical casual talks. It set up a relaxed spot in order to explore effective communication related to their subject matters. The teachers/tutors could apply one of classroom listening and speaking performance types, responsive. This study used qualitative approach. While it refered to library research. The primary source was Elementary School Silabus. Whereas the secondary data sources were English teaching-learning books. This issue discussed about listening and speaking skills for beginners. The beginners classified into age 6-8. In listening section, the students processed teacher talk instantly. Afterwards in speaking, suitable direct short response answered the teacher talk. This action could be assessed by subjective test in the form of wh-questions and short answers test. Ultimately, the next comparable studies may converse different competences and performances for beginners or any levels.

  3. THE APPLICATION OF JIGSAW AND NUMBERED HEADS TOGETHER TECHNIQUES IN IMPROVING STUDENTS’ ABILITY IN SPEAKING SKILL

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Siti Aimah

    2017-04-01

    Full Text Available This research was aimed to investigate how the study of speaking was developed through Jigsaw and Numbered Heads Together techniques and find out the improvement of students’ ability in speaking. For this purpose, 14 students of the second semester students were taken in the academic year of 2012/2013. A classroom action research was conducted in which consisted of two cycles through the stages of planning, action, observation, and reflection. The speaking tests, the observation note, and the questionnaire were taken as the data. The result of this research showed the students’ ability in speaking improved significantly. They were more enthusiastic in joining the class. They could learn together with their team in understanding the material and conveying it to the others well. They were also dared to tell what they wanted to tell the others without any pressuring from anyone else. They tried to snatch away each others in conveying their idea based on the number mentioned by the lecturer. In some cases, they even argued their argumentation attractively. While from the questionnaire which was distributed showed that more than 75% students felt the application of Jigsaw and Numbered Heads Together techniques helped them easily in developing their ability in speaking skill. And more than 80% students agreed those techniques facilitated them on having the accountability in understanding and conveying the material that they had learnt easily to the others. Studying in a team proved that the students enjoyed more in joining the English class. So it is suggested that the English lecturers should use the types of cooperative learning in teaching language skills.

  4. Enhancing Students` Speaking Skill through Task-Based Language Teaching (TBLT at English Tadris Department of STAIN Kerinci

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Heri Mudra

    2016-02-01

    Full Text Available This paper reports a classroom action research which conducted in an EFL classroom. The problem of this study is that teaching and learning process tends to be monotonous due to the single method used by English teachers. The learners` speaking course is familiarized with English structures. It requires a communicative and constructive method such as TBLT. The purpose of this study is to describe the effectiveness of TBLT in enhancing students` speaking skill. 30 EFL learners at the seventh semester at STAIN Kerinci took a part in this study. The instruments used to collect the data were speaking test, observation, and field-note. The results of the study showed that there were 2 cycles needed to implement the method. The process of teaching and learning in the first cycle indicates that TBLT improved learners` speaking skill, though some problems were needed to be solved. Unlike the cycle I, the process in the cycle II was improved in term of learners` speaking score and their motivation to attend the course if compared with those in cycle I. So, it is concluded that TBLT is an appropriate method to improve learners` speaking skill.

  5. The Search for Better Ways of Speaking about Culture, Identity and Values

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pearce, Richard

    2014-01-01

    This article aims to provide better metaphors for thinking and speaking about culture, identity and values. In terms of human behaviour, the words culture, identity and values are viewed as useful reifications which have allowed us to discuss human action in terms of nouns. However, the terms have been used over many years in various theoretical…

  6. Public speaking for the healthcare professional: Part III--after the program.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Baum, Neil

    2012-01-01

    Public speaking is one of life's greatest fears for many people. However, with practice, repetition, and planning, you can safely leave your comfort zone and make a presentation that will engage the members of the audience, attract their attention, and cause them to take action on your material. This third article in the series will discuss what to do after the last slide is shown.

  7. My Hesitation to Speak English

    Science.gov (United States)

    Oda, Naruha

    2015-01-01

    Even though English was the author's favorite subject, she was not good at speaking in English, and always tried to avoid it. However, it did not matter because she did not have to speak to demonstrate her English ability. After entering university, her lack of confidence in speaking English became a major issue, and other students face the same…

  8. Islamic-Content-TED Public Speaking as a Source Material for Improving Islamic Student’s Communication Skill

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Lyla Anggerwina Kusuma

    2017-10-01

    Full Text Available In applying communicative competence that became the utmost teaching method in teaching English program, the lecturers found the fact that the Islamic communication students are apparently reluctant to speak and communicate their ideas confidently. It happens because they thought that they do not know what they are going to say and how they are going to say their ideas. By knowing these problems the lecturers then tried to analyze the sequences of Islamic-content-TED and integrate those public speaking sequences from TED talks to STID Al-Hadid’s students to give an understanding and also to improve the confidence and quality in delivering public speaking speech for the sophomore students who are majoring Islamic Communication & Broadcasting. For further, in order to master this skill, students are also expected to find noble ideas to be shared in their personal public speaking. This action research study then found out that having sharing the sequences of TED talks, the student’s public speaking productions are more organized and powerful moreover; the fluency and also the student’s accuracy of the students could be controlled well.

  9. English-Speaking and Spanish-Speaking Domestic Violence Perpetrators: An MMPI-2 Assessment

    Science.gov (United States)

    Scott, Ronald L.; Flowers, John V.; Bulnes, Alejandro; Olmsted, Eileen; Carbajal-Madrid, Pedro

    2009-01-01

    The use of assessments to characterize domestic violence perpetrators continues to develop with an emphasis on increasing the effectiveness of domestic violence interventions. The present study examines and compares Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI)-2 responses from 41 English-speaking and 48 Spanish-speaking men who were in…

  10. Students’ Motivation in Speaking English

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Mas Darul Ihsan

    2016-05-01

    Full Text Available As the English teacher in the classroom, there will be some problems or conditions need to be accomplished. Teacher will see some of the students are very motivated, motivated or even feeling ignored in studying English. The learners who have contacted with English will find that some features are quite easy and extremely difficult. One of the more complicated problems of second or foreign languages learning and  teaching has been to define and apply the construct of motivation in the classroom. Motivation is a concept without physical reality, we cannot see motivation; we see effort, interest, attitude and desire. For speaking, it is important first to give competence and then performance. Competence is more likely to the extent a communicator is motivated to be so. Motivation is the extent to which a communicator is drawn towards or pushed away from communicating competently in a given context then performed. This is a descriptive  quantitative research. The data obtained from the questionnaire distributed and analyzed to get the result.  The date taken from the students of Muhammadiyah 1 Senior High School Gresik in Easy-Speaking course. The researcher wanted to know the students’ motivation in practicing speaking English in Easy-Speaking course. The results show that 1 the learners effort in practicing speaking English is 56.1 %. 2 The learners’ interest in practicing speaking English is 49.7 %. 3 The learners’ attitude towards practicing speaking English is 59.9 %. 4 The learners’ desire in practicing speaking English is 71.43 %. Then, some suggestions are made: 1 Using media is very important both to increase the learners’ motivation and to give a big opportunity to learners to explore their idea. 2 Giving more variations techniques in teaching and learning process in order do not monotonous. 3 Giving prizes, encouraging and giving extra points for learners who can express their idea by speaking English well. 4 Creating

  11. An Examination of English Speaking Tests and Research on English Speaking Ability.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nakamura, Yuji

    This paper examines both overseas and domestic tests of English speaking ability from the viewpoint of the crucial testing elements such as definition of speaking ability, validity, reliability, and practicality. The paper points out problems to be solved and proposes suggestions for constructing an oral proficiency test in order to determine the…

  12. Portuguese-speaking women voice their opinions: using their words to teach about wife abuse.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Barata, Paula C; McNally, Mary Jane; Sales, Isabel; Stewart, Donna E

    2005-01-01

    This study examined Portuguese-speaking women's definitions of wife abuse and beliefs about appropriate responses to abuse. The goals were to determine the breadth of definitions and to examine cultural stereotyping. This information was sought in an effort to design education strategies in the Portuguese-speaking community. One-on-one semistructured interviews were conducted with 163 Portuguese-speaking women living in Toronto, Canada. The participants' open-ended answers were first coded using Qualitative Software Research NUDIST and then narrowed and grouped. Responses were then tagged by group label to generate descriptive statistics using Statistical Package for Social Sciences. Participants defined wife abuse broadly with respect to kind, prevalence, and severity. Six themes for abuse emerged: physical, psychological, sexual, financial, patriarchal, and infidelity. Participants provided various responses to what women should do and actually do in response to abuse. Most participants believed that Portuguese-speaking women should leave their husbands and/or seek help for the abuse, but that they actually remain quiet about the abuse and take very little action. Their responses and explanations demonstrate that they hold stereotypes about their culture. The range of definitions reported by participants suggests that a continuum of wife abuse, using Portuguese-speaking women's own words, can be created to educate them about how abusive acts are linked and used to maintain control over women. The differences that emerged with respect to appropriate responses to abuse suggest that it may be important to challenge Portuguese-speaking women about the cultural stereotypes that they hold to help them see patriarchy as widespread rather than particular to their culture.

  13. Innovative Second Language Speaking Practice with Interactive Videos in a Rich Internet Application Environment

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pereira, Juan A.; Sanz-Santamaría, Silvia; Montero, Raúl; Gutiérrez, Julián

    2012-01-01

    Attaining a satisfactory level of oral communication in a second language is a laborious process. In this action research paper we describe a new method applied through the use of interactive videos and the Babelium Project Rich Internet Application (RIA), which allows students to practice speaking skills through a variety of exercises. We present…

  14. THE CONTRIBUTION OF ENGLISH STUDENTS’ SPEAKING STRATEGIES AND MOTIVATION ON THEIR SPEAKING ABILITY AT TARBIYAH FACULTY OF IAIN IMAM BONJOL PADANG

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Martin Kustati

    2012-02-01

    Full Text Available Abstract: The aims of the study are to describe: 1. Speaking strategies that are most frequently used by the students of the English Department in Tarbiyah Faculty; 2. The contribution of Students’ Speaking-Related LLS in developing their speaking ability; and, 3. The contribution of students’ learning motivation in the development of their speaking skills. speaking test, strategy inventory for language learning (SILL, and learning motivation questionnaire were employed to collect the data. The research findings revealed that there were thirty-four speaking strategies which were most frequently used by high, average, and low achievement students. The findings also showed that bothe students’ speaking strategies and motivation give significant contribution on students’ speaking ability.  Thus, speaking lecturers are expected to be able to implement innovative and varied teaching techniques.

  15. Students’ Learning Strategies for Developing Speaking Ability

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Sofyan A. Gani

    2015-03-01

    Full Text Available This study was done to study the learning strategies used by both low and high performance speaking students in developing their speaking skills as well as the differences between the learning strategies used by both groups of learners. The reason for conducting this research was the fact that the competency of many students in speaking English was still considered unsatisfactory in Banda Aceh. We postulated that one aspect involved in the process of developing speaking skills was the learning strategies used by the learners. In this study, the data was collected through field research by means of documents, questionnaires, and interviews. The result of this study indicated that high performance speaking students had better balance in using all kinds of learning strategies (memory, cognitive, compensatory, metacognitive, affective, and social for enhancing their speaking skills; the same could not be found with low performance speaking students. Besides, the high performance students employed more learning strategies consciously and appropriately compared to the low performance students. Based on the research results, it is suggested that students should be trained to be more aware of their own speaking learning strategies. They should use appropriate language learning strategies more consciously, purposefully, and frequently to be more successful in developing their speaking skills.

  16. An Assessment of IELTS Speaking Test

    Science.gov (United States)

    Karim, Shahzad; Haq, Naushaba

    2014-01-01

    The present study focused on assessing the speaking test of IELTS. The assessment discussed both positive aspects and weaknesses in IELTS speaking module. The researchers had also suggested some possible measures for the improvement in IELTS speaking test and increasing its validity and reliability. The researchers had analysed and assessed IELTS…

  17. The Effect of a High School Speech Course on Public Speaking Anxiety for Students in a College-Level Public Speaking Class

    Science.gov (United States)

    Johnson, Karen Hill

    2012-01-01

    Literature suggested public speaking is American's most feared activity. Additionally, the public speaking curriculum was removed from the K-12 school system after 2001. This study aimed to examine the effect of previous public speaking instruction, public speaking extra-curricular activity, gender, and self-esteem on public speaking anxiety…

  18. Assessing Second Language Speaking

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fulcher, Glenn

    2015-01-01

    While the viva voce (oral) examination has always been used in content-based educational assessment (Latham 1877: 132), the assessment of second language (L2) speaking in performance tests is relatively recent. The impetus for the growth in testing speaking during the 19th and 20th centuries is twofold. Firstly, in educational settings the…

  19. Fostering elementary school children’s public speaking skills

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Herbein, Evelin; Golle, Jessika; Tibus, Maike

    2018-01-01

    Mastering public speaking is a competence which is already required in elementary school. Surprisingly, however, systematic research on the promotion of public speaking competence among elementary school children is scarce. In order to address this gap, we developed and evaluated a public speaking...... the training effects on public speaking skills and speech anxiety. The dependent variables were assessed via self-ratings (extent of public speaking skills, speech anxiety) and video ratings of a public speech (appropriateness of public speaking skills). Findings revealed positive training effects on public...... speaking skills overall: Participating in the training elicited more appropriate speeches in terms of nonverbal and organizational skills but did not influence speech anxiety....

  20. RECORDED-ROLE PLAY IN EFL CLASSROOM: A WAY OF MAXIMIZING STUDENTS‟ POTENTIAL IN SPEAKING

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Krismiyati Krismiyati

    2017-04-01

    Full Text Available Teaching English for non English Department students will be quite a challenge as the students have various background and interest. Handling those students in a big number in a class that requires them to speak is another impending challenge. This is an action research on role-play in English classroom for Information Technology students. This study tries to see whether recorded-role play could maximize students‘ potential in speaking. This study involved 30 students taking English course in Information Technology Faculty. The students were given a situation in which they had to act the role play. They drafted the role -play before they recorded it. The result shows that students felt less tense in acting the role. They also got more time to practice their pronunciation before recording. It even gave students who felt reluctant and shy in the class to actively participate. In addition, students could play around with the supporting background sound to show their creativity. Surprisingly, most students do their best to show their effort in their speaking as the end-product would be played in the classroom, even the most quiet students performed really well. Finally, this recorded-role play proved to be an effective way to maximize students‘ potential in speaking.

  1. ACE Action Fellowship Bridges Climate Education into Action for Young People

    Science.gov (United States)

    Anderson, R. K.

    2016-12-01

    Alliance for Climate Education educates young people on the science of climate change and empowers them to take action. Since 2009, ACE has educated over two million students and trained more than 4,000 young leaders. The ACE Action Fellowship is a yearlong training program that gives young people the knowledge, skills and confidence to be strong climate leaders. Here, we present the results of the first year of evaluation of the Fellowship program in the 2014-15 school year. Sixty high school students completed matched surveys before and after completing the program. Students were evaluated on skills learned, actions taken, confidence gained, civic engagement, and plans to continue action on climate in the future. Results show that the Fellowship increases young people's confidence: 52% of Fellows report an increase in confidence in leading a group of peers on a climate-related campaign. Fellows also gained leadership skills. More than half of Fellows say they improved in the areas of recruitment, interpersonal communication skills, campaign planning, and public speaking. 50% of Fellows reported an increase in their likelihood of seeking elected office when of age. The Fellowship positively influences young people's intent to study a climate, energy or sustainability-related field. 63% of Fellows identify as people of color. Notably, despite entering the Fellowship with significantly lower self-ratings than white students in experience and skill sets, young people of color reported greater improvement in the areas of public speaking (25% improvement vs. 6% improvement) and petitioning (27% improvement vs. 1% improvement). These results show that the ACE Fellowship gives young people tangible skills and confidence that puts them on a path of climate leadership. Further evaluation will be done to expand the dataset, but early indications show that these young people are poised to make valuable contributions and bring a much needed diverse youth perspective to the

  2. Using Information Gap Activity to Increase Students' speaking Skill at the Twelve Grade of MAN 1 Pamekasan

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ansharul Fuqaha

    2015-05-01

    Full Text Available Based on the researchers’ observation on the preliminary study on the teachingof speaking, the problem was found that the students’ speaking skill in the teaching and learning was very low. It was because the class was heterogeneousand the teacher used monotonous teaching activity. To cope of this problem, theresearcher employed the Information gap activity. This study tries to prove how the Information-gap activity can increase students’ speaking skill at the thirdgrade of MAN 1 Pamekasan. The study was design to increase the students’speaking skill by using Information gap activity at MAN 1 Pamekasan. Thestudy was collaborative classroom action research in which the researcher andthe collaborator worked together, the researcher acted as the teacher while thecollaborator observed the students during the implementation of the strategy. This study was conducted in one cycle consisting of six meetings using thefollowing procedures; planning, implementing, observing and reflecting. The data of the study were collected through the observation checklists, field notes,and questionnaires. The subject of the study were 41 students of third grade on science 3 program MAN 1 Pamekasan. 

  3. USING VISUAL MEDIA IN TEACHING SPEAKING

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ahmad Baidawi

    2016-05-01

    Full Text Available Speaking is considered the most important skill of language especially English because having ability to speak is one of the evidence that someone has good proficiency of the language itself. Therefore, it is very urgent to teach speaking to the students in order that they master it well. To teach speaking, the teacher must design learning activities as well as possible and it also must be supported by various teaching media especially visual media such as pictures, realia, television etc. in order that learning activities is more various, interesting and motivates students to participate actively. The presence of visual media presents different learning experience which can stimulate students to think creatively so that they always get new idea to express when they want to speak. Therefore, the more various the teacher uses the media, the better learning objectives students achieve

  4. Human experimental anxiety: actual public speaking induces more intense physiological responses than simulated public speaking.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zuardi, Antonio Waldo; Crippa, José Alexandre de Souza; Hallak, Jaime Eduardo Cecílio; Gorayeb, Ricardo

    2013-01-01

    a) To perform a systematic and meta-analytic review to verify whether the Simulated Public Speaking Task (SPST) leads to a greater increase in self-rated anxiety than in physiological correlates of anxiety; and b) to compare the results obtained with the SPST with an actual public speaking task involving healthy volunteers. a) The PubMed and ISI Web of Knowledge databases were searched for studies involving the SPST prior to 2012. Eleven publications were eligible and provided data from 143 healthy volunteers for meta-analysis; b) 48 university students without somatic or psychiatric disorders were divided into three experimental groups of 16 subjects to undergo one of the following: SPST, real-world public speaking task (real-world), and control situation (control). The meta-analysis showed that the SPST induced a significant increase in the Visual Analogue Mood Scale (VAMS) anxiety factor, but no significant increases in systolic blood pressure or heart rate. The empirical study showed that the real-world public speaking task increased heart rate, systolic blood pressure and diastolic blood pressure significantly more than the control and SPST conditions. These results suggest that real public speaking might be better than SPST in inducing experimental anxiety.

  5. Auditory prediction during speaking and listening.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sato, Marc; Shiller, Douglas M

    2018-02-02

    In the present EEG study, the role of auditory prediction in speech was explored through the comparison of auditory cortical responses during active speaking and passive listening to the same acoustic speech signals. Two manipulations of sensory prediction accuracy were used during the speaking task: (1) a real-time change in vowel F1 feedback (reducing prediction accuracy relative to unaltered feedback) and (2) presenting a stable auditory target rather than a visual cue to speak (enhancing auditory prediction accuracy during baseline productions, and potentially enhancing the perturbing effect of altered feedback). While subjects compensated for the F1 manipulation, no difference between the auditory-cue and visual-cue conditions were found. Under visually-cued conditions, reduced N1/P2 amplitude was observed during speaking vs. listening, reflecting a motor-to-sensory prediction. In addition, a significant correlation was observed between the magnitude of behavioral compensatory F1 response and the magnitude of this speaking induced suppression (SIS) for P2 during the altered auditory feedback phase, where a stronger compensatory decrease in F1 was associated with a stronger the SIS effect. Finally, under the auditory-cued condition, an auditory repetition-suppression effect was observed in N1/P2 amplitude during the listening task but not active speaking, suggesting that auditory predictive processes during speaking and passive listening are functionally distinct. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  6. The Effectiveness of Learning Instruments of Speaking Containing Character Values toward Speaking Learning

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Wisudariani N. M. R.

    2018-01-01

    Full Text Available This development research aimed at describing the effectiveness of learning instruments of speaking that were contained in character values. The objects of the study were a syllabus, lesson plan, textbook, and assessment. The subjects of the study were the lecturers of Speaking and the 2nd-semester students of IIA, IIB, and IIC in the academic year of 2015/2016. The data was collected through observation, questionnaire, and test. The data was analyzed by administering descriptive qualitative technique and descriptive statistics. The results of the study showed that the learning instruments was effective to be used in the teaching and learning process, to improve students understanding on the materials, to improve students speaking skill, and to shape characters such as religious, polite, communicative, open, democratic, respectful, responsible, curious, discipline, confident, cooperative, appreciate achievement, logic, critic, creative and innovative, and love reading. The results of the study indicated that the learning instruments of speaking contained of character values were effective so that it was feasible to be used by both lecturers and students of Indonesian Language and Literature Department, Language and Art Faculty of Ganesha University of Education.

  7. Improving Students’ Speaking Skill through Communication Game, Recorded Role Play and Peer Feedback

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Friska Arismayang

    2016-08-01

    Full Text Available This study aims to improve students’ speaking skills using the combined strategies of communication game, recorded role play and peer feedback activities. This action research took place at an English institution in Jakarta, Indonesia and collected the data by observing the learning process with the collaborator, analyzing the video during the class, making field notes, conducting tests (pretest and post test and interviewing students. There were three cycles in this study. Results of the tests showed that students’ speaking skills improved. The mean score of pre-test was 3.1, while the mean score of post-test in cycle one was 3.3, cycle two 3.5 and cycle three 3.6. Based on the interview, all students were interested in and excited about the use of the three strategies above. However, there was a problem with the implementation of peer feedback activities; it was time consuming. The results of this study can not only promote an idea for EFL teachers to use the strategies as an alternative approach to teaching speaking skills but also inspire EFL teachers to be more creative in using these three strategies

  8. Improving English Speaking Ability Through Classroom Discussion

    OpenAIRE

    Afrizal, M

    2015-01-01

    Speaking is one of important parts in teaching language because it includes one of four basic language skills. Nevertheless, in MA NU BANAT Kudus, the writer found that most of students there still get the difficulties in studying speaking. It may be caused by the method used in teaching English, especially speaking. Classroom Discussion is a method that can be applied in teaching English, especially to improve the ability of speaking. In this method, hopefully, the students get a big opportu...

  9. THE IMPORTANCE OF SPEAKING FOR SENIOR MANAGERS: HOW A DIRECTOR SHOULD SPEAK?

    OpenAIRE

    Alemdar Yalçın; Ferah Burgul Adıgüzel

    2014-01-01

    The participants of this study, the aim of which was to determine the importance of speaking in career according to senior manager and speaking traits which a director should have, constitute fifteen senior manager who are working as counselor, deputy counselor, general director and chairman who were assigned by minister, prime minister or president. In this study which was based on qualitative data, semi-structured interviews were conducted and the data obtained was descriptively analyzed. A...

  10. Moving the hands and feet specifically impairs working memory for arm- and leg-related action words.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Shebani, Zubaida; Pulvermüller, Friedemann

    2013-01-01

    Language and action systems of the human brain are functionally interwoven. Speaking about actions and understanding action-related speech sparks the motor system of the human brain and, conversely, motor system activation has an influence on the comprehension of action words and sentences. Although previous research has shown that motor systems become active when we understand language, a major question still remains whether these motor system activations are necessary for processing action words. We here report that rhythmic movements of either the hands or the feet lead to a differential impairment of working memory for concordant arm- and leg-related action words, with hand/arm movements predominantly impairing working memory for words used to speak about arm actions and foot/leg movements primarily impairing leg-related word memory. The resulting cross-over double dissociation demonstrates that body part specific and meaning-related processing resources in specific cortical motor systems are shared between overt movements and working memory for action-related words, thus documenting a genuine motor locus of semantic meaning. Copyright © 2011. Published by Elsevier Srl.

  11. Speaking Effectively: A Guide for Air Force Speakers

    National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

    Kline, John

    1989-01-01

    Speaking Effectively presents techniques on how to speak successfully. It takes a "how-to" approach to effective speaking in the Air Force and presents proven techniques as concisely and completely as possible...

  12. THE EFFECTIVENESS OF ROLE PLAY IN TEACHING SPEAKING

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Lilis Suryani

    2015-12-01

    Full Text Available Speaking is one of essential skills that should be mastered by students. In fact, the students face difficulties in speaking such as difficulty to arrange the sentences, fear of making mistakes, and lack of motivation. It is supported by Nunan (1993, he states that there are some challenges in teaching speaking skill in EFL classroom namely lack of motivation, and they tend to use their first language. Related to those problems, role play is offered to overcome the problems in speaking. The aim of the research was to know the effect of using role play in teaching speaking. The research used pre-experimental design with one group pre test and post test design which consist of 30 students as the sample. The data were obtained by using pre test and post test. Then, obtained data were analyzed by using SPSS 20. The result of the research showed that significance value was .00 and it is lower than the significance level .05. It means that the null hypothesis was rejected. Thus, teaching speaking by using role play has a significant effect on improving the students’ speaking ability.    Keywords: role play, speaking, motivation

  13. How do gestures influence thinking and speaking? The gesture-for-conceptualization hypothesis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kita, Sotaro; Alibali, Martha W; Chu, Mingyuan

    2017-04-01

    People spontaneously produce gestures during speaking and thinking. The authors focus here on gestures that depict or indicate information related to the contents of concurrent speech or thought (i.e., representational gestures). Previous research indicates that such gestures have not only communicative functions, but also self-oriented cognitive functions. In this article, the authors propose a new theoretical framework, the gesture-for-conceptualization hypothesis, which explains the self-oriented functions of representational gestures. According to this framework, representational gestures affect cognitive processes in 4 main ways: gestures activate, manipulate, package, and explore spatio-motoric information for speaking and thinking. These four functions are shaped by gesture's ability to schematize information, that is, to focus on a small subset of available information that is potentially relevant to the task at hand. The framework is based on the assumption that gestures are generated from the same system that generates practical actions, such as object manipulation; however, gestures are distinct from practical actions in that they represent information. The framework provides a novel, parsimonious, and comprehensive account of the self-oriented functions of gestures. The authors discuss how the framework accounts for gestures that depict abstract or metaphoric content, and they consider implications for the relations between self-oriented and communicative functions of gestures. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2017 APA, all rights reserved).

  14. TEACHING SPEAKING BY ROLE-PLAY ACTIVITY

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Fadilah Fadilah

    2016-11-01

    Full Text Available The students often find some problems in practising English speaking. The problem frequently found is that their native language causes them difficult to use the foreign language. Other reason is because of motivation lack to practice the second language in daily conversation. They are also too shy and afraid to take part in the conversation. Many factors can cause the problem of the students’ speaking skills namely the students’ interest, the material, and the media among others including the technique in teaching English. There are many ways that can be done by the students to develop their ability in speaking English. The appropriate technique used by the English teacher also supports their interested in practising their speaking. One of the techniques that can be applied is role play.

  15. BRINGING POP-CULTURE INTO CLASSROOM: SPEAKING 3’S GOT TALENT ACTIVITY TO ENHANCE SPEAKING SKILL OF UNIVERSITY STUDENTS

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Muhamad Hasbi

    2017-03-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Following the widespread and growing popularity of English communication across the globe, the implementation of and the research on innovation in language teaching is mushrooming, especially in the teaching of English speaking. This study aims at measuring how far pop-culture themed classroom activity named Speaking 3’s Got Talent gives impacts for students speaking skill improvement at IAIN Salatiga, through an observation of a class in the English Department with a number of students of 30 undertaking Speaking 3 course in the odd-semester of the academic year of 2016/2017. Using a quantitative approach, this research utilizes questionnaire and direct observation for collecting data, and makes use of three methods of data analysis namely questionnaire scale-analysis, CEFR (The Common European Framework speaking grid, and teacher’s made rubric for speaking for assessment which pinpoint three key measured variables namely students’ attitude toward the activity, teacher’s assessment toward students’ performance referring to both CEFR and teacher’s made rubric. This research finds that students had positive (excellent and very good attitude towards the time, English, avatar, expertise and assessment variables of the activity and viewed that it is effective in downgrading their degree of stage fright; secondly, students obtain excellent and very good assessment in both the CEFR and teacher’s made rubric model. The three methods of measurements implied its affectivity in enhancing university students’ speaking skill and both student and teacher assessment recommend this activity to be applied in English classrooms. Keywords: speaking skill, pop-cultural activity, attitude, stage fright, assessment

  16. Affective strategies, attitudes, and a model of speaking performance development for engineering students

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wijirahayu, S.; Dorand, P.

    2018-01-01

    Learning English as a Foreign language (EFL) as one of the challenges especially for students majoring in Telecommunication Engineering to develop their communication skill as a professional could be one of the chances for them to face a more global era. Yet, there are important factors that may influence the progress of the speaking performance and attitude is one of them. Therefore, a survey involving two main psychological variables in language learning namely attitude and affective strategies and the third variable is speaking performance was conducted and a model of affective strategies in language learning developing through the application of Content Language Integrated Learning and multimedia instruction was introduced. This study involved 71 sophomore students and two classes of university students majoring in Telecommunication Engineering and Electrical Engineering. The researchers used both survey and action research method with quantitative as well as qualitative in approach.

  17. Improving Students' Speaking Ability through Scaffolding Technique

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Gede Ginaya

    2018-03-01

    Full Text Available Students often got confused and felt hesitant when they speak English. This situation had caused poor speaking ability, which then lead to serious problem in the teaching-learning process.  The application of scaffolding technique in the EFL learning might be the ideal solution; it had some principles that could improve the students’ speaking ability. This research is aimed at finding out the effect of the implementing Scaffolding Technique towards the students’ speaking ability. Participants were 50 (27 males and 23 females third-semester students, enrolled in a three-year diploma program in Travel and Tourism Business, State Polytechnic of Bali in 2017/2018 academic year. The students in the experimental group were given communicative activities such as brainstorming, business games, simulation, WebQuest, problem-solving, which were carefully designed to necessitate the implementation of the scaffolding technique. The students in the control group were taught by the deductive method of the lesson book. The students’ performance in the post-test was compared for both groups in order to determine whether there were significant differences between the groups in relation to the treatment. Significant differences occurring in the experimental group’s post-test speaking performance when compared to the pre-test indicate that the implementation of scaffolding technique can improve students’ speaking ability. The result of this study indicates scaffolding technique has the potential for use in promoting students’ speaking ability

  18. Online Speaking Strategy Assessment for Improving Speaking Ability in the Area of Language for Specific Purposes: The Case of Tourism

    Science.gov (United States)

    Phaiboonnugulkij, Malinee; Prapphal, Kanchana

    2013-01-01

    The purpose of this study was to compare the differences in strategies used in an online language for specific purposes (LSP) speaking test in tourism with two proficiency groups of students, and to investigate the strategies that should be used for low-proficiency students to improve their LSP speaking ability. The Web-based Speaking Test in…

  19. Action identity: evidence from self-recognition, prediction, and coordination.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Knoblich, Günther; Flach, Rüdiger

    2003-12-01

    Prior research suggests that the action system is responsible for creating an immediate sense of self by determining whether certain sensations and perceptions are the result of one's own actions. In addition, it is assumed that declarative, episodic, or autobiographical memories create a temporally extended sense of self or some form of identity. In the present article, we review recent evidence suggesting that action (procedural) knowledge also forms part of a person's identity, an action identity, so to speak. Experiments that addressed self-recognition of past actions, prediction, and coordination provide ample evidence for this assumption. The phenomena observed in these experiments can be explained by the assumption that observing an action results in the activation of action representations, the more so, when the action observed corresponds to the way in which the observer would produce it.

  20. Peran Public Speaking dalam Kegiatan Open Mic (Studi tentang Peran Public Speaking terhadap Kemampuan Comic dalam Kegiatan Open Mic Komunitas Stand Up Indo Kota Medan)

    OpenAIRE

    Rovis, Disa Yumna

    2016-01-01

    This study, entitled "The Role of Public Speaking on Open Mic Activity". The aim of the research is knowing the public speaking proses and the use of public speaking on the ability of comic on open mic activity. Public speaking theory is used for this research. Descriptive qualitative method is used in this research by nonparticipant observation tecnique through interviewing the comic. Based on this research, open mic activity uses the specific elements of public speaking. They are, the speak...

  1. Tornado hazard communication disparities among Spanish-speaking individuals in an English-speaking community.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ahlborn, Leslie; Franc, Jeffrey Michael

    2012-02-01

    The state of Oklahoma, known for destructive tornados, has a native Spanish-speaking (NSS) population of approximately 180,241, of which 50% report being able to speak English "very well" (US Census Bureau). With almost 50% of these native Spanish-speaking persons being limited English proficient (LEP), their reception of tornado hazard communications may be restricted. This study conducted in northeast Oklahoma (USA) evaluates the association between native language and receiving tornado hazard communications. This study was a cross-sectional survey conducted among a convenience sample of NSS and native English-speaking (NES) adults at Xavier Clinic and St. Francis Trauma Emergency Center in Tulsa, OK, USA from September 2009 through December 2009. Of the 82 surveys administered, 80 were returned, with 40 NES and 40 NSS participants. A scoring system (Severe Weather Information Reception (SWIR)) was developed to quantify reception of hazard information among the study participants (1-3 points=poor reception, 4-5=adequate reception, 6-8=excellent reception). Pearson's chi-squared test was used to calculate differences between groups with Yates' continuity correction applied where appropriate, and SWIR scores were analyzed using ANOVA. P-valuestornado siren. NSS were less likely to have Internet access (Ptornado warning reception between NSS and NES. Poor English proficiency was noted to be 75% among NSS, which is approximately 25% more than estimated by the US Census Bureau. This study demonstrates a need for emergency managers to recognize when appropriate and overcome communication disparities among limited English proficient populations.

  2. Multilingualism in Brussels: "I'd Rather Speak English"

    Science.gov (United States)

    O'Donnell, Paul; Toebosch, AnneMarie

    2008-01-01

    Language is both a divisive and a unifying force in Brussels. Historically predominantly Dutch-speaking, surrounded by the officially Dutch-speaking federal state of Flanders, located in a majority Dutch-speaking nation-state, and with the majority of its Belgian citizens Francophone, Brussels has officially been bilingual Dutch-French since 1962.…

  3. Speaking Code

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Cox, Geoff

    Speaking Code begins by invoking the “Hello World” convention used by programmers when learning a new language, helping to establish the interplay of text and code that runs through the book. Interweaving the voice of critical writing from the humanities with the tradition of computing and software...

  4. Strategies of Learning Speaking Skill by Indonesian Learners of English and Their Contribution to Speaking Proficiency

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mistar, Junaidi; Umamah, Atik

    2014-01-01

    This paper was a subset report of a research project on skill-based English learning strategies by Indonesian EFL learners. It focusses on the attempts to reveal: (1) the differences in the use of strategies of learning speaking skill by male and female learners, and (2) the contribution of strategies of learning speaking skill on the learners'…

  5. PICTURES FOR IMPROVING INDONESIAN EFL STUDENTS’ SPEAKING COMPETENCE

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Muhammad Aprianto Budie Nugroho

    2014-06-01

    Full Text Available The purpose of this study is to investigate whether to what extent pictures can improve students’ speaking competence. It was carried out at SMAN in Cigugur for three months. The subject of the research was the students of SMAN in Cigugur in the academic year 2012/2013. The research method was classroom research and it was conducted in two cycles. The data was collected through interview, observation, diaries, document and test. The qualitative data were analyzed by using constant comparative method. While the quantitative data were analyzed by descriptive statistic to calculate the mean scores of pre-test, test, and post-test. The research findings show pictures can improve the students’ speaking competence by indicating their speaking fluency, appropriate vocabularies, grammatical sentences, and good pronunciation. The advantages of pictures were also shown by the classroom situation, i.e.: during the speaking class the students can answer teacher’s questions; the students had courage to express their idea freely; the speaking activities was not limited in the written way; and their attention in speaking class.

  6. Effects of Sustained Impromptu Speaking and Goal Setting on Public Speaking Competency Development: A Case Study of EFL College Students in Morocco

    Science.gov (United States)

    El Mortaji, Latifa

    2018-01-01

    Research on impact of sustained impromptu speaking on public speaking competency development is scarce and lacking. The researcher investigated Moroccan college students' public speaking competency development through extemporaneous (i.e. carefully prepared and rehearsed) speech performance, after implementation of a teaching strategy involving…

  7. Speak up-related climate and its association with healthcare workers' speaking up and withholding voice behaviours: a cross-sectional survey in Switzerland.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Schwappach, David; Richard, Aline

    2018-03-23

    To determine frequencies of healthcare workers (HCWs) speak up-related behaviours and the association of speak up-related safety climate with speaking up and withholding voice. Cross-sectional survey of doctors and nurses. Data were analysed using multilevel logistic regression models SETTING: 4 hospitals with a total of nine sites from the German, French and Italian speaking part of Switzerland. Survey data were collected from 979 nurses and doctors. Frequencies of perceived patient safety concerns, of withholding voice and of speaking up behaviour. Speak up-related climate measures included psychological safety, encouraging environment and resignation. Perceived patient safety concerns were frequent among doctors and nurses (between 62% and 80% reported at least one safety concern during the last 4 weeks depending on the single items). Withholding voice was reported by 19%-39% of HCWs. Speaking up was reported by more than half of HCWs (55%-76%). The frequency of perceived concerns during the last 4 weeks was positively associated with both speaking up (OR=2.7, pspeaking up frequency (OR=1.3, p=0.005) and lower withholding voice frequency (OR=0.82, p=0.006). Resignation was associated with withholding voice (OR=1.5, pspeak up-supportive safety climate for staff safety-related communication behaviours, specifically withholding voice. This study indicates that a poor climate, in particular high levels of resignation among HCWs, is linked to frequent 'silence' of HCWs but not inversely associated with frequent speaking up. Interventions addressing safety-related voicing behaviours should discriminate between withholding voice and speaking up. © Article author(s) (or their employer(s) unless otherwise stated in the text of the article) 2018. All rights reserved. No commercial use is permitted unless otherwise expressly granted.

  8. 29 CFR 1606.7 - Speak-English-only rules.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-07-01

    ... 29 Labor 4 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 false Speak-English-only rules. 1606.7 Section 1606.7 Labor... BECAUSE OF NATIONAL ORIGIN § 1606.7 Speak-English-only rules. (a) When applied at all times. A rule requiring employees to speak only English at all times in the workplace is a burdensome term and condition...

  9. Speaking and writing strategies for the TOEFL IBT

    CERN Document Server

    Stirling, Bruce

    2014-01-01

    Comprehensive Prep for the TOEFL Increase your TOEFLʼ iBT score by increasing your speaking and writing scores. How? By using the strategy called argument mapping. Why argument mapping? Because the TOEFLʼ iBT speaking and writing sections are all argument-based tasks. That means if you want high speaking and writing scores, you must know how to map out (develop and deliver) spoken and written arguments, quickly and proficiently. With argument mapping, you will be able to do just that. Best of all, you can apply argument mapping to all six speaking tasks and both writing tasks. That means you w

  10. Teaching Public Speaking Using Aristotle's "Rhetoric."

    Science.gov (United States)

    Finkel, Candida

    Rather than relegating Aristotle's "Rhetoric" to history of rhetoric courses, where it is regarded with only an antiquarian interest, it can be used as a practical text for introductory public speaking courses. The advantages would be threefold: (1) its emphasis is essentially on rhetoric as a speaking art rather than an art of…

  11. ORIGINAL ARTICLE Speaking Strategies Employed by Second ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    NEW

    speaking skills and more strategy training should be given in using wide varieties of speaking .... helpful, and meta cognitive strategies are important for ..... think of. Similarly, in compensating for the missing knowledge, gestures, word coinage.

  12. "SPEAKING-FOR" AND "SPEAKING-AS": PSEUDO-SURROGACY IN PHYSICIANPATIENT-COMPANION MEDICAL ENCOUNTERS ABOUT ADVANCED CANCER

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mazer, Benjamin L.; Cameron, Rachel A.; DeLuca, Jane M.; Mohile, Supriya G.; Epstein, Ronald M.

    2014-01-01

    Objective To examine using audio-recorded encounters the extent and process of companion participation when discussing treatment choices and prognosis in the context of a life-limiting cancer diagnosis. Methods Qualitative analysis of transcribed outpatient visits between 17 oncologists, 49 patients with advanced cancer, and 34 companions. Results 46 qualifying companion statements were collected from a total of 28 conversations about treatment choices or prognosis. We identified a range of companion positions, from “pseudo-surrogacy” (companion speaking as if the patient were not able to speak for himself), “hearsay”, “conflation of thoughts”, “co-experiencing”, “observation as an outsider”, and “facilitation”. Statements made by companions were infrequently directly validated by the patient. Conclusions Companions often spoke on behalf of patients during discussions of prognosis and treatment choices, even when the patient was present and capable of speaking on his or her own behalf. Practice Implications The conversational role of companions as well as whether the physician checks with the patient can determine whether a companion facilitates or inhibits patient autonomy and involvement. Physicians can reduce ambiguity and encourage patient participation by being aware of the when and how companions may speak on behalf of patients and by corroborating the companion's statement with the patient. PMID:24862913

  13. Pragmatic Activities for the Speaking Classroom

    Science.gov (United States)

    Siegel, Joseph

    2016-01-01

    Being able to speak naturally and appropriately with others in a variety of situations is an important goal for many English as a foreign language (EFL) learners. Because the skill of speaking invariably involves interaction with people and using language to reach objectives (e.g., ordering food, making friends, asking for favors), it is crucial…

  14. Prevention of adolescent depression in the Spanish-speaking world

    OpenAIRE

    Horn, Andrea B; Canizares, Catalina; Gomez, Yvonne

    2014-01-01

    This paper aims at presenting programs targeted at the prevention of adolescent depression applied with Spanish-speaking populations that have been developed in Spanish-speaking countries and are mostly published in Spanish. These programs have been developed under different cultural contexts in Spain and Latin-America. The main goal of this paper is to make the studies and movements of the Spanish-speaking literature in this field accessible to the non-Spanish-speaking part of the research c...

  15. STUDENTS’ ATTRIBUTIONS ON THEIR ENGLISH SPEAKING ENHANCEMENT

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Yustinus Mali

    2015-01-01

    Full Text Available Abstract: Attribution refers to explanations and reasons that people provide for progress, achievement, and even failure towards something they have experienced, particularly in their language learning. This study aimed to investigate the attributions that students had for their English-speaking enhancement. The participants of the study were eighteen students at Sekolah Tinggi Pariwisata Ambarukmo Yogyakarta (STIPRAM. Open-ended questionnaire and interview were used as the instruments to collect the data. On the questionnaire, the participants were specifically asked to provide written responses to three statements, while in the interview process, the researcher involved three participants to provide further clarification toward their written responses on the questionnaire. The data analysis revealed that a clear purpose of doing particular English speaking activities, strategy, and the positive motivation/encouragement from friends as well as from the teacher became the major students’ attributions on their English-speaking enhancement. Besides, this study would seem to indicate that a teacher took an essential role in the enhancement of the students’ English speaking skill. Eventually, this study proposed some pedagogical implications for the development of teaching and learning in English speaking classes specifically in Indonesian context.

  16. Using Mobile Phone to Overcome Students’ Anxiety in Speaking English

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Machmud Karmila

    2018-01-01

    Full Text Available The goal of this research is to discover whether the use of mobile phone can minimize students’ anxiety in speaking English and in turn will improve their speaking skill. Anxiety has become a major problem for students when asked to speak in a speaking class. Using quasi experimental method, the data of this research was collected through questionnaire of foreign language anxiety classroom scale, and oral test for speaking ability. Factorial design 2 x2 using ANOVA is used to analyze the data of this research. The result has shown: (1 the score of students’ learning achievement in speaking English who were taught by using mobile phone application was higher than the students’ who were taught by using conventional teaching. It means that the use of mobile phone application results in better influence towards students’ speaking ability; (2 The learning achievement of the students with high anxiety in speaking English who were taught by using mobile phone application was higher than the high-anxiety students who were taught by conventional teaching; (3 The learning achievement in speaking English of low anxiety students who were taught by using mobile phone application was higher than low anxiety students’ who were taught by conventional teaching.

  17. Scientists must speak

    National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

    Walters, D. Eric; Walters, Gale Climenson

    2011-01-01

    .... Scientists Must Speak: Bringing Presentations to Life helps readers do just that. At some point in their careers, the majority of scientists have to stand up in front of an inquisitive audience or board and present information...

  18. Incorporating TED Talk Assignments into a Public-Speaking Course

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hayward, Pamela A.

    2017-01-01

    Courses: Introduction to public speaking, advanced public speaking, hybrid/survey introduction to communication. Objectives: At the end of this activity, students will be able to (1) explain the elements of a speaking outline and discover these elements in real-world speech examples, (2) recreate outline formats effectively in their personal…

  19. Fear of Public Speaking: Perception of College Students and Correlates.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ferreira Marinho, Anna Carolina; Mesquita de Medeiros, Adriane; Côrtes Gama, Ana Cristina; Caldas Teixeira, Letícia

    2017-01-01

    The aims of the study were to determine the prevalence of fear of public speaking among college students and to assess its association with sociodemographic variables and those related to the voice and oral communication. A cross-sectional descriptive and analytic study was conducted with 1135 undergraduates aged 17-58 years. The assessment instruments were (1) a questionnaire addressing the variables sex, age, field of undergraduate study, voice, and frequency of exposure to public speaking, and (2) the Self-statements During Public Speaking Scale (SSPS), which includes variables implicated in specific domains of public speaking. A descriptive analysis was performed of the variables as well as uni- and multivariate logistic regressions to examine their association with fear of public speaking. The level of significance was set at 5%. In all, 63.9% of the college students reported fear of public speaking. As many as 89.3% of the students would like their undergraduate program to include classes to improve public speaking. Being female, having infrequent participation as speakers in groups, and perceiving their voice as high-pitched or too soft increase the odds of exhibiting fear of public speaking compared with students without those features. A great number of undergraduates report fear of public speaking. This fear is more prevalent among women, students who participate in few activities involving speaking to groups of people, and those who have a self-perception of their voice as high-pitched or too soft. Copyright © 2017 The Voice Foundation. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  20. Making non-fluent aphasics speak: sing along!

    Science.gov (United States)

    Racette, Amélie; Bard, Céline; Peretz, Isabelle

    2006-10-01

    A classic observation in neurology is that aphasics can sing words they cannot pronounce otherwise. To further assess this claim, we investigated the production of sung and spoken utterances in eight brain-damaged patients suffering from a variety of speech disorders as a consequence of a left-hemisphere lesion. In Experiment 1, the patients were tested in the repetition and recall of words and notes of familiar material. Lyrics of familiar songs, as well as words of proverbs and prayers, were not better pronounced in singing than in speaking. Notes were better produced than words. In Experiment 2, the aphasic patients repeated and recalled lyrics from novel songs. Again, they did not produce more words in singing than in speaking. In Experiment 3, when allowed to sing or speak along with an auditory model while learning novel songs, aphasics repeated and recalled more words when singing than when speaking. Reduced speed or shadowing cannot account for this advantage of singing along over speaking in unison. The results suggest that singing in synchrony with an auditory model--choral singing--is more effective than choral speech, at least in French, in improving word intelligibility because choral singing may entrain more than one auditory-vocal interface. Thus, choral singing appears to be an effective means of speech therapy.

  1. "Speaking-for" and "speaking-as": pseudo-surrogacy in physician-patient-companion medical encounters about advanced cancer.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mazer, Benjamin L; Cameron, Rachel A; DeLuca, Jane M; Mohile, Supriya G; Epstein, Ronald M

    2014-07-01

    To examine using audio-recorded encounters the extent and process of companion participation when discussing treatment choices and prognosis in the context of a life-limiting cancer diagnosis. Qualitative analysis of transcribed outpatient visits between 17 oncologists, 49 patients with advanced cancer, and 34 companions. 46 qualifying companion statements were collected from a total of 28 conversations about treatment choices or prognosis. We identified a range of companion positions, from "pseudo-surrogacy" (companion speaking as if the patient were not able to speak for himself), "hearsay", "conflation of thoughts", "co-experiencing", "observation as an outsider", and "facilitation". Statements made by companions were infrequently directly validated by the patient. Companions often spoke on behalf of patients during discussions of prognosis and treatment choices, even when the patient was present and capable of speaking on his or her own behalf. The conversational role of companions as well as whether the physician checks with the patient can determine whether a companion facilitates or inhibits patient autonomy and involvement. Physicians can reduce ambiguity and encourage patient participation by being aware of when and how companions may speak on behalf of patients and by corroborating the companion's statement with the patient. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

  2. Adaptation and Assessment of a Public Speaking Rating Scale

    Science.gov (United States)

    Iberri-Shea, Gina

    2017-01-01

    Prominent spoken language assessments such as the Oral Proficiency Interview and the Test of Spoken English have been primarily concerned with speaking ability as it relates to conversation. This paper looks at an additional aspect of spoken language ability, namely public speaking. This study used an adapted form of a public speaking rating scale…

  3. Revisiting the thinking-for-speaking hypothesis

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Wessel-Tolvig, Bjørn Nicola; Paggio, Patrizia

    2016-01-01

    Many studies try to explain thought processes based on verbal data alone and often take the linguistic variation between languages as evidence for cross-linguistic thought processes during speaking. We argue that looking at co-speech gestures might broaden the scope and shed new light on different...... thinking-for-speaking patterns. Data comes from a corpus study investigating the relationship between speech and gesture in two typologically different languages: Danish, a satellite-framed language and Italian, a verb-framed language. Results show cross-linguistic variation in how motion components......: In 28% of the cases, in fact, Italian speakers express manner in path-only speech constructions gesturally. This finding suggests that gestures may be instrumental in revealing what semantic components speakers attend to while speaking; in other words, purely verbal data may not fully account...

  4. The Development and Evaluation of Speaking Learning Model by Cooperative Approach

    Science.gov (United States)

    Darmuki, Agus; Andayani; Nurkamto, Joko; Saddhono, Kundharu

    2018-01-01

    A cooperative approach-based Speaking Learning Model (SLM) has been developed to improve speaking skill of Higher Education students. This research aimed at evaluating the effectiveness of cooperative-based SLM viewed from the development of student's speaking ability and its effectiveness on speaking activity. This mixed method study combined…

  5. Public speaking attitudes: does curriculum make a difference?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hancock, Adrienne B; Stone, Matthew D; Brundage, Shelley B; Zeigler, Mark T

    2010-05-01

    In light of infamous levels of fear associated with public speaking, businesses are training staff in communication effectiveness and universities are requiring courses in public speaking. A variety of approaches to individual training are available, but few studies have assessed effectiveness of group instruction, as in academic curricula. The specific purpose of this study was to compare changes in scores on measures of self-perceived confidence, competence, and apprehension associated with public speaking after two types of courses: one focused on knowledge of the vocal mechanism and mastering vocal characteristics (pitch, volume, rate, quality), and one addressing general communication theory and public speaking. Seventy-one undergraduate students enrolled in "Voice and Diction" at George Washington University (GWU) and 68 enrolled in "Fundamental Speech" at Florida State University completed questionnaires before and after the courses. Scores on Self-Perceived Communication Competence Scale, Personal Report of Confidence as a Speaker, and Personal Report of Communication Apprehension-24, were compared within subjects (ie, prepost course) and between courses. Significant differences (ppublic speaking curriculum of how to design and deliver a speech and curriculum tailored to the voice and speech mechanism succeeded in reducing public speaking apprehension and increasing feelings of confidence and competency for these undergraduate students. (c) 2010 The Voice Foundation. Published by Mosby, Inc. All rights reserved.

  6. Exploring interaction between a non-speaking boy using aided AAC and his everyday communication partners: features of turn organizing and turn design

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Pilesjö, Maja Sigurd; Rasmussen, Gitte

    2011-01-01

    -at-action is suggested. The analyses demonstrate that the boy’s turn-at-actions are oriented to as a co-constructed and thus interactionally achieved unit: the boy points at a bliss symbol which is given voice by the speaking co-participant. In and through the relevant made voicing of the turn-at-action, a turn...... AAC, bliss symbolics. The analysis indicates that the participants can collaborately create and orient to units in interaction equivalent to turns in interaction although they differ dramatically from ordinary turns-at-talk. In order to capture the nature of the described units, the category turn...

  7. Conquering Credibility for Monetary Policy Under Sticky Confidence

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jaylson Jair da Silveira

    2015-06-01

    Full Text Available We derive a best-reply monetary policy when the confidence by price setters on the monetary authority’s commitment to price level targeting may be both incomplete and sticky. We find that complete confidence (or full credibility is not a necessary condition for the achievement of a price level target even when heterogeneity in firms’ price level expectations is endogenously time-varying and may emerge as a long-run equilibrium outcome. In fact, in the absence of exogenous perturbations to the dynamic of confidence building, it is the achievement of a price level target for long enough that, due to stickiness in the state of confidence, rather ensures the conquering of full credibility. This result has relevant implications for the conduct of monetary policy in pursuit of price stability. One implication is that setting a price level target matters more as a means to provide monetary policy with a sharper focus on price stability than as a device to conquer credibility. As regards the conquering of credibility for monetary policy, it turns out that actions speak louder than words, as the continuing achievement of price stability is what ultimately performs better as a confidence-building device.

  8. Speaking up behaviors and safety climate in an Austrian university hospital.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Schwappach, David; Sendlhofer, Gerald; Häsler, Lynn; Gombotz, Veronika; Leitgeb, Karina; Hoffmann, Magdalena; Jantscher, Lydia; Brunner, Gernot

    2018-04-26

    To analyze speaking up behavior and safety climate with a validated questionnaire for the first time in an Austrian university hospital. Survey amongst healthcare workers (HCW). Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, Cronbach's alpha was calculated as a measure of internal consistencies of scales. Analysis of variance and t-tests were used. The survey was conducted in 2017. About 2.149 HCW from three departments were asked to participate. To measure speaking up behavior and safety climate. To explore psychological safety, encouraging environment and resignation towards speaking up. About 859 evaluable questionnaires were returned (response rate: 40%). More than 50% of responders perceived specific concerns about patient safety within the last 4 weeks and observed a potential error or noticed rule violations. For the different items, between 16% and 42% of HCW reported that they remained silent though concerns for safety. In contrast, between 96% and 98% answered that they did speak up in certain situations. The psychological safety for speaking up was lower for HCW with a managerial function (P speak up (P speaking up behaviors for the first time in an Austrian university hospital. Only moderately frequent concerns were in conflict with frequent speaking up behaviors. These results clearly show that a paradigm shift is needed to increase speaking up culture.

  9. Exploring problem solving strategies on multiple-choice science items: Comparing native Spanish-speaking English Language Learners and mainstream monolinguals

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kachchaf, Rachel Rae

    The purpose of this study was to compare how English language learners (ELLs) and monolingual English speakers solved multiple-choice items administered with and without a new form of testing accommodation---vignette illustration (VI). By incorporating theories from second language acquisition, bilingualism, and sociolinguistics, this study was able to gain more accurate and comprehensive input into the ways students interacted with items. This mixed methods study used verbal protocols to elicit the thinking processes of thirty-six native Spanish-speaking English language learners (ELLs), and 36 native-English speaking non-ELLs when solving multiple-choice science items. Results from both qualitative and quantitative analyses show that ELLs used a wider variety of actions oriented to making sense of the items than non-ELLs. In contrast, non-ELLs used more problem solving strategies than ELLs. There were no statistically significant differences in student performance based on the interaction of presence of illustration and linguistic status or the main effect of presence of illustration. However, there were significant differences based on the main effect of linguistic status. An interaction between the characteristics of the students, the items, and the illustrations indicates considerable heterogeneity in the ways in which students from both linguistic groups think about and respond to science test items. The results of this study speak to the need for more research involving ELLs in the process of test development to create test items that do not require ELLs to carry out significantly more actions to make sense of the item than monolingual students.

  10. SOLVING THE STUDENTS’ SPEAKING PROBLEM IN DELIVERING ENGLISH PRESENTATION THROUGH 3-P TECHNIQUE

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Nadif Ulfia

    2017-01-01

    Full Text Available Abstract: Solving the Students’ Speaking Problem in Delivering English Presentation Through 3-P Technique. The aims of this study were to (1 identify whether and to what extent 3-P Technique can improve the students’ speaking competence in delivering presentation;(2 describe the teaching and learning when 3-P technique is implemented in English class. This research was conducted at the eleventh grades of MAN 1 Bojonegoro. The subjects of the research were the teacher and the students in the academic year 2016/2017. This study applied 3 cycle action research. In collecting the data, the researcher used observations through field notes, video recording, questionnaire and interview. To analyze the quantitative data, the researcher applied descriptive statistics. Besides, to analyze qualitative data, the researcher applied constant comparative method as suggested by Garner. The findings shows that: (1 3-P Technique can improve students’ speaking competence in delivering presentation in terms of students achievement, fluency, pronunciation, ability to express their opinions, arguments, and ideas using appropriate vocabulary and grammatical form, using appropriate body language, voice control, gesture, and eye contact; and (2 3-P technique can improve classroom situation in terms of increasing students’ motivation and participation, creating live teaching atmosphere, and increasing teacher motivation. Key words: Speaking, 3 P technique, Action research Abstrak: Memecahkan Masalah Keterampilan Berbicara Siswa dalam Menyampaikan Presentasi Berbahasa Inggris Melalui Teknik 3-P. Tujuan dari penelitian ini adalah untuk (1 mengidentifikasi dan mengetahui sejauh mana teknik 3-P dapat meningkatkan kemampuan berbicara para siswa dalam menyampaikan sebuah presentasi; (2 mendeskripsikan kegiatan pembelajaran dalam penerapan teknik 3-P dalam pembelajaran Bahasa Inggris. Penelitian ini dilakukan pada kelas sebelas MAN 1 Bojonegoro. Subyek  penelitian ini

  11. Current status of knowledge on public-speaking anxiety.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pull, Charles B

    2012-01-01

    This review examines the current knowledge on public-speaking anxiety, that is, the fear of speaking in front of others. This article summarizes the findings from previous review articles and describes new research findings on basic science aspects, prevalence rates, classification, and treatment that have been published between August 2008 and August 2011. Recent findings highlight the major aspects of psychological and physiological reactivity to public speaking in individuals who are afraid to speak in front of others, confirm high prevalence rates of the disorder, contribute to identifying the disorder as a possibly distinct subtype of social anxiety disorder (SAD), and give support to the efficacy of treatment programs using virtual reality exposure and Internet-based self-help. Public-speaking anxiety is a highly prevalent disorder, leading to excessive psychological and physiological reactivity. It is present in a majority of individuals with SAD and there is substantial evidence that it may be a distinct subtype of SAD. It is amenable to treatment including, in particular, new technologies such as exposure to virtual environments and the use of cognitive-behavioral self-help programs delivered on the Internet.

  12. Brief virtual reality therapy for public speaking anxiety.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Harris, Sandra R; Kemmerling, Robert L; North, Max M

    2002-12-01

    The primary goal of this research program was to investigate the effectiveness of virtual reality therapy (VRT) in reducing public speaking anxiety of university students. The prevalence and impact of public speaking anxiety as a type of Social Phobia are discussed. Studies of VRT as an emerging treatment for psychological problems are reviewed. In the present study, eight students completed VRT individual treatment and post-testing, and six students in a Wait-List control group completed post-testing. Assessment measures included four self-report inventories, self-report of Subjective Units of Discomfort during exposure to VRT and physiological measurements of heart rate during speaking tasks. Four weekly individual exposure treatment sessions of approximately 15 min each were conducted by the author serving as therapist. Results on self-report and physiological measures appear to indicate that four virtual reality treatment sessions were effective in reducing public speaking anxiety in university students, corroborating earlier studies of VRT's effectiveness as a psychotherapeutic modality. Future research directions are discussed, primarily the need for research on younger populations, to assess the effectiveness of VRT for earlier intervention with public speaking anxiety.

  13. PELATIHAN PUBLIC SPEAKING KADER PKK KELURAHAN TANDANG KECAMATAN TEMBALANG SEMARANG

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Tarcisia Sri Suwarti

    2014-09-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Many people do not understand the importance of public speaking technique. The most frequent phenomenon of public speaking is in PKK (Family Welfare Guidance as one of the organization within our closest community. Therefore, there should be a training of public speaking skills for PKK cadres of RW VI, Tandang Village, Tembalang Subdistrict, Semarang. It is expected to explore the potency of PKK cadres to improve their confidence and bravery to speak up in public. After training, it is also expected that the PKK cadres can continuously implement all of the training materials. Thus, these cadres can sharpen their ability to do public speaking in front of?é?á forum which can produce other achievements that can improve the quality of PKK cadres. It can result on the increasing of their role and involvement in every governmental or non governmental activity or program. Keywords: public speaking, PKK cadres, technique performance, giving information

  14. Do I Know What I'm Doing? Cognitive Dissonance and Action Identification Theory.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fointiat, Valérie; Pelt, Audrey

    2015-11-27

    Our main purpose was to explore hypotheses derived from the Identification of Action Theory in a particular situation that is, a dissonant situation. Thus, we varied the identification (low versus high-level) of a problematic behavior (to stop speaking for 24 hours) in the forced compliance paradigm. Two modes of dissonance reduction were presented: cognitive rationalization (classical attitude-change) and behavioral rationalization (target behavior: to stop speaking for 48 hours). As predicted, the results showed that high-level identity of action leads to cognitive rationalization whereas low-level identity leads to behavioural rationalization. Thus, participants identifying the problematic behavior at a low-level were more inclined to accept the target behavior, compared with participants identifying their problematic behavior at a higher-level. These results are of particular interest for understanding the extent to which the understanding of the discrepant act interferes with the cognitive processes of dissonance reduction.

  15. The International English Language Testing System (IELTS): The Speaking Test.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ingram, D. E.

    1991-01-01

    The International English Language Testing System (IELTS) assesses proficiency in English both generally and for special purposes of non-native English speakers studying, training, or learning English in English-speaking countries. The Speaking subtest of the IELTS measures a candidate's general proficiency in speaking in everyday situations via a…

  16. Prevention of Adolescent Depression in the Spanish-Speaking World

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Andrea B. Horn

    2014-05-01

    Full Text Available This paper aims at presenting programs targeted at the prevention of adolescent depression applied with Spanish-speaking populations that have been developed in Spanish-speaking countries and are mostly published in Spanish. These programs have been developed under different cultural contexts in Spain and Latin-America. The main goal of this paper is to make the studies and movements of the Spanish-speaking literature in this field accessible to the non-Spanish-speaking part of the research community. Therefore, after an introduction referring to possible cultural differences regarding depression in general and epidemiological basics, several programs are introduced. In total 11 programs will be shortly presented and discussed. After revising the programs it can be concluded that in the Spanish-speaking world many programs have been developed and conducted following current state of the art-approaches for adolescent depression prevention. Further research is needed especially targeting possible cultural and contextual aspects of prevention measures and their efficacy and efficiency.

  17. Prevention of adolescent depression in the Spanish-speaking world.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Horn, Andrea B; Cañizares, Catalina; Gómez, Yvonne

    2014-05-27

    This paper aims at presenting programs targeted at the prevention of adolescent depression applied with Spanish-speaking populations that have been developed in Spanish-speaking countries and are mostly published in Spanish. These programs have been developed under different cultural contexts in Spain and Latin-America. The main goal of this paper is to make the studies and movements of the Spanish-speaking literature in this field accessible to the non-Spanish-speaking part of the research community. Therefore, after an introduction referring to possible cultural differences regarding depression in general and epidemiological basics, several programs are introduced. In total 11 programs will be shortly presented and discussed. After revising the programs it can be concluded that in the Spanish-speaking world many programs have been developed and conducted following current state of the art-approaches for adolescent depression prevention. Further research is needed especially targeting possible cultural and contextual aspects of prevention measures and their efficacy and efficiency.

  18. The Extinction and Return of Fear of Public Speaking.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Laborda, Mario A; Schofield, Casey A; Johnson, Emily M; Schubert, Jessica R; George-Denn, Daniel; Coles, Meredith E; Miller, Ralph R

    2016-11-01

    Prior studies indicate extinguished fear often partially returns when participants are later tested outside the extinction context. Cues carried from the extinction context to the test context sometimes reduce return of fear, but it is unclear whether such extinction cues (ECs) reduce return of fear of public speaking. Here we assessed return of fear of public speaking, and whether either of two types of ECs can attenuate it. Participants gave speeches of increasing difficulty during an exposure practice session and were tested 2 days later in a different context. Testing occurred in the presence of physical ECs, after mentally rehearsing the exposure session, or without either reminder. Practice reduced fear of public speaking, but fear partially returned at test. Neither physical nor mental ECs reduced partial return of fear of public speaking. The return of extinguished fear of public speaking, although small, was reliable, but not appreciably sensitive to presence of ECs. © The Author(s) 2016.

  19. Giving Speaking Practice in Self-Access Mode a Chance

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Kerstin Dofs

    2012-12-01

    Full Text Available Finding resources and activities which will interest students and promote speaking in a self-access resource can be challenging. This article describes how the School of English at Christchurch Polytechnic Institute of Technology (CPIT, Christchurch, New Zealand, works to enable speaking practice in their Language Self Access Centre (LSAC. The activities which students are encouraged to do were produced consequent to research and an examination of good practice world- wide within the field of autonomy in language learning. The article will explore some basic design principles and conditions which were followed with the aim of creating maximal “comprehensible outputs” for speaking (Anderson, Maclean & Lynch, 2004, and, at the same time, creating conditions for these speaking tasks which would optimise development of autonomous language use (Thornbury, 2005. This is followed by an analysis of how the resources provided in a designated speaking area in the LSAC fulfil these principles and conditions, and how they may foster autonomous learning.

  20. Pedagogy in Speaking: Challenges Addressed by Teacher-Student in the ESL Context

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Md. Kawser Ahmed

    2018-05-01

    Full Text Available Teaching speaking is perhaps one of the major challenges for teachers teaching in English as a Second Language (ESL classroom environment. Like writing, speaking is not linear and easy approach to ensure the best utilization among learners.  Since speaking is a real life event and face to face conversation, it needs more sophisticated care, practice oriented session for the students and effective means to implement it in the ESL situation. Even language experts often grope to outline effective and mediocre way to help learners have a good understanding in speaking.  This paper attempts to delineate the focal points where teachers and students face problems in teaching and learning speaking. It immensely chalks out with methodological study, qualitative data analysis and the underlining factors ESL teachers face enormously in the pedagogy of speaking for second language learners. My paper will outline the pedagogical tenets of speaking in the realistic non-native set ups and diagnose the impediments faced by learners when they are supposed to speak and by teachers when they teach speaking for their students.

  1. Capitalizing on Speaking Skill of EFL Learners for the Language Literacy

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Fauzia Hasan Siddiqui

    2014-03-01

    Full Text Available This study aims at grabbing the attention of EFL /ESL teachers, trainers, and administrators towards the importance of teaching speaking skill to enhance overall language proficiency of EFL learners. Comprehensive research done in the field of applied linguistics and English Language Teaching (ELT establishes a positive correlation of speaking skill with the overall language proficiency. Despite this obvious significance of speaking skill in language learning process, it has not gained sufficient attention in the ELT or the assessments in Oman.  Relying on the available literature on the importance of the speaking skill and its effective role in enhancing other language macro skills (listening, reading, and writing, this exploratory research analyzes the currents status of speaking skill in ELT and assessments at the General Foundation Programme (GFP in Oman. As many GFP’s have IELTS (International English Language Testing System  exam as their programme exit examination, the study begins with measuring the correlation of speaking skill grades with other macro skill in order to accentuate the positive impact of speaking skill on other language skills. Secondly, it presents the statistics of time devoted to teaching and weights that speaking skill hold in the GFP in Oman. Finally, the study suggests the ways to optimize speaking skill opportunities to create successful literacy experience among adult EFL learners.

  2. Post-Colonial Theory and Action Research

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    Jim Parsons

    2011-02-01

    Full Text Available This essay explores connections between post-colonial theory and action research. Post-colonial theory is committed to addressing the plague of colonialism. Action research, at its core, promises to problematize uncontested ‘colonial’ hegemonies of any form. Both post-colonial theory and action research engage dialogic, critically reflective and collaborative values to offer a fuller range of human wisdom. The authors contend that post-colonialism theory calls for justice and seeks to speak to social and psychological suffering, exploitation, violence and enslavement done to the powerless victims of colonization around the world by challenging the superiority of dominant perspectives and seeking to re-position and empower the marginalized and subordinated. In similar ways, action research works to eradicate oppression, powerlessness and worthlessness by affirming solidarity with the oppressed, helping humans move from passive to active and by fundamentally reshaping power. Because both post-colonial theory and action research position the insider or oppressed in an ethic of efficacy, it values community, relationships, communication and equality, and is committed to reciprocity, reflexivity and reflection. Thus, both hold the potential to help reconstruct conditions for a more democratic and just society

  3. Post-Colonial Theory and Action Research

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jim B. Parsons

    2011-04-01

    Full Text Available This essay explores connections between post-colonial theory and action research. Post-colonial theory is committed to addressing the plague of colonialism. Action research, at its core, promises to problematize uncontested ‘colonial’ hegemonies of any form. Both post-colonial theory and action research engage dialogic, critically reflective and collaborative values to offer a fuller range of human wisdom. The authors contend that post-colonialism theory calls for justice and seeks to speak to social and psychological suffering, exploitation, violence and enslavement done to the powerless victims of colonization around the world by challenging the superiority of dominant perspectives and seeking to re-position and empower the marginalized and subordinated. In similar ways, action research works to eradicate oppression, powerlessness and worthlessness by affirming solidarity with the oppressed, helping humans move from passive to active and by fundamentally reshaping power. Because both post-colonial theory and action research position the insider or oppressed in an ethic of efficacy, it values community, relationships, communication and equality, and is committed to reciprocity, reflexivity and reflection. Thus, both hold the potential to help reconstruct conditions for a more democratic and just society.

  4. "You never know who are Sami or speak Sami" Clinicians' experiences with language-appropriate care to Sami-speaking patients in outpatient mental health clinics in Northern Norway.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dagsvold, Inger; Møllersen, Snefrid; Stordahl, Vigdis

    2016-01-01

    The Indigenous population in Norway, the Sami, have a statutory right to speak and be spoken to in the Sami language when receiving health services. There is, however, limited knowledge about how clinicians deal with this in clinical practice. This study explores how clinicians deal with language-appropriate care with Sami-speaking patients in specialist mental health services. This study aims to explore how clinicians identify and respond to Sami patients' language data, as well as how they experience provision of therapy to Sami-speaking patients in outpatient mental health clinics in Sami language administrative districts. Data were collected using qualitative method, through individual interviews with 20 therapists working in outpatient mental health clinics serving Sami populations in northern Norway. A thematic analysis inspired by systematic text reduction was employed. Two themes were identified: (a) identification of Sami patients' language data and (b) experiences with provision of therapy to Sami-speaking patients. Findings indicate that clinicians are not aware of patients' language needs prior to admission and that they deal with identification of language data and offer of language-appropriate care ad hoc when patients arrive. Sami-speaking participants reported always offering language choice and found more profound understanding of patients' experiences when Sami language was used. Whatever language Sami-speaking patients may choose, they are found to switch between languages during therapy. Most non-Sami-speaking participants reported offering Sami-speaking services, but the patients chose to speak Norwegian. However, a few of the participants maintained language awareness and could identify language needs despite a patient's refusal to speak Sami in therapy. Finally, some non-Sami-speaking participants were satisfied if they understood what the patients were saying. They left it to patients to address language problems, only to discover patients

  5. Test Writing and Speaking at GCE Ordinary Level

    Science.gov (United States)

    Harding, Ann

    1974-01-01

    Discusses diversity which has arisen in testing of productive skills at GCE O level. Criteria to apply in assessment of foreign language acquisition, and writing and speaking tests in particular, are discussed, as well as the weighting of writing and speaking at O level. (RM)

  6. Public Speaking: Revisited.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Taufen, Phyllis M.

    There is a simple but effective process for developing public speakers in elementary and junior high schools. After discussing the importance of effective speaking, the teacher puts a topic sentence, on favorite desserts for example, on the board or overhead projector and students think of their favorite desserts and some related words and…

  7. The Effect of Instructional Methods and Cognitive Styles toward Speaking Skill

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Nita Kaniadewi

    2017-01-01

    Full Text Available This study investigated the effect of instructional method s and students’ cognitive styles toward speaking skill. It was an experimental research using a two -factor ANOVA at 0.05 and 0.01 significance level. Because an interaction between the variables involved was found, the analysis was then continued by Tuckey Test. The data was collected using oral test rating cale and a cognitive style questionnaire. The findings showed the following points: (1 the speaking skill of the students taught by CLL (Cooperative Language Learning was higher than the students taught by TBL(Task-Based Language Learning; (2 the speaking skill of FD (Field Dependent students was higher than FI (Field Independent students; (3 there was an interaction between instructional methods and cognitive style to speaking skill; (4 the speaking skill of the students taught by CLL was higher than the students taught by TBL in the group of FD students; (5 there was no significant difference of the speaking skill of the students taught by CLL and the students taught by TBL in the group of FI students. The findings above led to a conclusion that generally CLL was more effective than TBL in teaching speaking skill. Moreover, besides instructional methods, cognitive style also gives a significant effect to students’ speaking skill

  8. Young Learners' Response Processes When Taking Computerized Tasks for Speaking Assessment

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lee, Shinhye; Winke, Paula

    2018-01-01

    We investigated how young language learners process their responses on and perceive a computer-mediated, timed speaking test. Twenty 8-, 9-, and 10-year-old non-native English-speaking children (NNSs) and eight same-aged, native English-speaking children (NSs) completed seven computerized sample TOEFL® Primary™ speaking test tasks. We investigated…

  9. Fearless Public Speaking: Oral Presentation Activities for the Elementary Classroom

    Science.gov (United States)

    Boyce, Janet S.; Alber-Morgan, Sheila R.; Riley, Jeanetta G.

    2007-01-01

    Nausea, sweating, weak knees, and a dry mouth are all symptoms associated with the fear of standing in front of an audience. Considering the anxiety that public speaking produces, students of any age are facing a significant challenge when they speak in front of a group. While speaking is considered to be an integral part of language arts, it…

  10. Reduced Cortisol Output during Public Speaking Stress in Ostracized Women.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Weik, Ulrike; Ruhweza, Jennifer; Deinzer, Renate

    2017-01-01

    Ostracism (being excluded or ignored) is experienced as unpleasant and distressing. In previous studies, an immediate pre-stress experience of ostracism induced by Cyberball, a virtual ball-tossing game, was found to inhibit cortisol reactivity to public speaking stress in female students. The present study examines whether the effect will persist when a 15-min time gap between the Cyberball experience and subsequent psychological stress is introduced. N = 84 women were randomly assigned to Cyberball ostracism vs. inclusion. 15 min after playing Cyberball, all women were subjected to public speaking stress. Salivary cortisol and mood were repeatedly assessed during the course of the experiment. These are the main findings of the study: Repeated measures ANCOVA revealed that public speaking stress resulted in a significant increase of cortisol in both groups (inclusion vs. ostracism). However, cortisol levels were significantly lower in the ostracism group. In earlier studies when Cyberball was played immediately before public speaking stress, the cortisol response to public speaking was completely suppressed in ostracized women. By introducing a waiting period between Cyberball and public speaking stress in the present study, the main effect of an ostracism induced reduction of cortisol remained, although both groups showed an increase of cortisol as a response to public speaking. These results again suggest that the experience of ostracism might inhibit hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis activity, thereby confirming previous results. The formerly observed total suppression of HPA axis responsiveness to public speaking, however, seems to be a rather short-term effect.

  11. Effects of Board Game on Speaking Ability of Low-proficiency ESL Learners

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    Yong Mei Fung

    2016-05-01

    Full Text Available ESL learners often experience anxiety and feel uncomfortable when speaking in the target language. This paper examines the anxiety level of polytechnic students when speaking English and the effects of board game on their speaking performance. The participants were selected from two intact classes which were randomly assigned into experimental and control groups comprising 30 students each. Data were obtained from pre- and post-treatment speaking tests and questionnaire. The questionnaire measuring anxiety factors was adapted from Yaikhong and Usaha (2012 and Woodrow (2006. The board game “What Say You” employed during the treatment was a speaking activity which required players to speak on a topic within a given time frame. The experimental group played the board games over six sessions. The results from the experimental and control groups showed significant difference in the pre- and post-treatment speaking test scores. However, the speaking performance of the experimental group revealed significantly higher scores. Students who were initially hesitant and passive were more willing to speak and were able to present and justify their ideas more confidently as compared to the control group after the treatment. The findings reveal that the board game is a useful tool to engage learners’ participation in class and to enhance the speaking ability of low-proficiency ESL learners.

  12. THE DIRECTIVE SPEECH ACTS USED IN ENGLISH SPEAKING CLASS

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    Muhammad Khatib Bayanuddin

    2016-12-01

    Full Text Available This research discusses about an analysis of the directive speech acts used in english speaking class at the third semester of english speaking class of english study program of IAIN STS Jambi. The aims of this research are to describe the types of directive speech acts and politeness strategies that found in English speaking class. This research used descriptive qualitative method. This method used to describe clearly about the types and politeness strategies of directive speech acts based on the data in English speaking class. The result showed that in English speaking class that there are some types and politeness strategies of directive speech acts, such as: requestives, questions, requirements, prohibitives, permissives, and advisores as types, as well as on-record indirect strategies (prediction statement, strong obligation statement, possibility statement, weaker obligation statement, volitional statement, direct strategies (imperative, performative, and nonsentential strategies as politeness strategies. The achievement of this research are hoped can be additional knowledge about linguistics study, especially in directive speech acts and can be developed for future researches. Key words: directive speech acts, types, politeness strategies.

  13. [Cardiovascular disease prevention and health promotion in the French speaking community of Belgium].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Coppieters, Y; Béduwé, C; Collignon, J L; Hubens, V; Levêque, A

    2010-01-01

    Cardiovascular diseases remain the first cause of mortality in Belgium and are a priority for the Five-year program of health promotion in the French speaking Community. It is declined in operational programs by priority thematics, including the heart health. With this framework, it appeared necessary to operationalize cardiovascular priorities. A process of systemic and participative planning was set up in order to seek operational strategies and actions, and to cover the whole population and actors concerned with these health problems. The various cardiovascular risk factors, which potentiate one another, are approached together and in a global way. Upstream to the risk factors, social health determinants play an important role in cardiovascular diseases and others diseases like cancers. Tracking cardiovascular risk factors among people 30 to 75 years is also proposed. It makes it possible to identify people at risk and to put forward individual and adapted measures. The plan integrates actions of health promotion (acting on the health determinants and factors which influence them) as well as actions aiming at improving tracking and the accompaniment of the patients in secondary and tertiary prevention. Actions on health determinants and the factors influencing them present moreover the advantage of being often common to many chronic diseases.

  14. EIGHT KEYS BEFORE LEARNING TO SPEAK ENGLISH: (A Proposal for Motivating EFL Speaking Learners in Indonesia

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    Abd Wafi

    2015-11-01

    Full Text Available Being able to speak English fluently is as measuring rod for someone who is said to be good at English. In Indonesian context, English is still as foreign language and this becomes problem for them who want to learn it. The problem could be caused by the difficulty of the English itself, the learners’ personality and the process in learning it. There are ample solutions to deal with those difficulties; however, the writer provides a solution as a proposal for motivating the learners; there are 8 keys to be possessed by the learners before they learn to speak English. They are (1 Listen up, (2 be good at imitating, (3 use the mouth, (4 check the voice, (5 have the motion, (6 smile, (7 thank God, and (8 love. The solution is as inner drive or  instrinsic motivation for the learners and it can also be used by the teachers, tutors and lecturers as reference for motivatingthe learners in learning or in mastering English speaking.

  15. HIGHER CHOREOGRAPHIC EDUCATION: THE EXPERIENCE OF GERMAN-SPEAKING COUNTRIES

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    Iryna Tkachenko

    2017-03-01

    Full Text Available The current state of higher choreographic education and features of professional training of choreographers in the German-speaking countries, in particular Austria, Germany and Switzerland were analyzed. It is found that most of the German-speaking countries are Germany, Austria and Switzerland, which became the object of study. The considered the structure of higher choreographic education in the German-speaking countries. Universities, higher dance schools and higher art schools are functioning in Germany. Universities and academies are functioning in Austria and Switzerland. The institutions of theatre sciences, faculty of pedagogy and psychology, departments of performing arts are the structural units of the universities. The institutions of higher education have both private and state ownership. It is found out that the main areas for which training is future choreographers in the German-speaking countries there is a "Dance", "Dance pedagogy", "Modern dance", "Science of dance", "Choreography". German-speaking countries recognized by the training of specialists in the specialty choreography of Modern dance that has no analogues in Ukraine. The term of study is four (bachelor and two (master years. Higher choreographic education in these countries has a different approach and aims at mastering a separate specialty that provides future dance instructors completely and thoroughly master the basic knowledge and skills in this specialty. Specific conditions and rules of admission to the higher educational institutions of German-speaking countries.

  16. Improving English Speaking Fluency: The Role of Six Factors

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    Gholamhossein Shahini

    2017-12-01

    Full Text Available This qualitative study, using an open interview, set out to investigate the roles six factors, including age, university education, teachers of English Language institutes, teaching English, dictionary, and note-taking, played in improving English speaking fluency of seventeen fluent Iranian EFL speakers. The participants were chosen purposefully based on the speaking scale of Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFRL. The findings indicated that early age had a great impact on the participants’ speaking fluency. They mentioned that they could not pick up fluency if they had started learning English at older ages. Moreover, university education had no effect on enhancing their fluency. They stated that not having enough opportunities to speak English in classrooms, being exposed to wrong amounts of input from their classmates or even from some university instructors, having no access to English native speakers in English Language Departments, professors’ talking in native language out of classes, in their offices or even sometimes in classes all led to their losing motivation after entering the university. In contrast, teachers in English language institutes had a supportive role in increasing the participants’ English learning. Although two participants quit teaching English since it had a negative influence on their speaking, it had a positive impact on improving speaking ability of the rest. And finally, fruitful strategies were suggested on how to use dictionaries and note-takings.

  17. Using Critical Communication Pedagogy to Teach Public Speaking

    Science.gov (United States)

    De La Mare, Danielle M.

    2014-01-01

    Using Critical Communication Pedagogy, this semester-long service-learning approach to public speaking requires students to apply public speaking concepts to a speech they develop and deliver to a specific community audience, to examine their own biases, and to explore and evaluate various strategies for adapting to their audience.

  18. Improving Lecture Quality through Training in Public Speaking

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mowbray, Robert; Perry, Laura B.

    2015-01-01

    Lecturing is a common instructional format but poor lecturing skills can detract from students' learning experiences and outcomes. As lecturing is essentially a form of public communication, training in public speaking may improve lecture quality. Twelve university lecturers in Malaysia participated in a six-week public speaking skills training…

  19. Speaking Strategies Employed by Second Year Students at Mettu ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Communicative language teaching should not just aim to teach learners the ... the speaking strategies employed by second year English major students at Mettu ... activities and strategy training in teaching learning process of speaking skills.

  20. The Efficacy of Child-Centered Play Therapy with Hispanic Spanish-Speaking Children when Conducted by a Monolingual English-Speaking Counselor

    Science.gov (United States)

    McGee, Lola V.

    2010-01-01

    The purpose of this study was to investigate the effectiveness of child-centered play therapy as an intervention when the client and the counselor do not speak the same language. The participants of the study were 34 Spanish-speaking children of Hispanic descent ranging in age from 4 to 8 who were referred to counseling for exhibiting…

  1. Speech task effects on acoustic measure of fundamental frequency in Cantonese-speaking children.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ma, Estella P-M; Lam, Nina L-N

    2015-12-01

    Speaking fundamental frequency (F0) is a voice measure frequently used to document changes in vocal performance over time. Knowing the intra-subject variability of speaking F0 has implications on its clinical usefulness. The present study examined the speaking F0 elicited from three speech tasks in Cantonese-speaking children. The study also compared the variability of speaking F0 elicited from different speech tasks. Fifty-six vocally healthy Cantonese-speaking children (31 boys and 25 girls) aged between 7.0 and 10.11 years participated. For each child, speaking F0 was elicited using speech tasks at three linguistic levels (sustained vowel /a/ prolongation, reading aloud a sentence and passage). Two types of variability, within-session (trial-to-trial) and across-session (test-retest) variability, were compared across speech tasks. Significant differences in mean speaking F0 values were found between speech tasks. Mean speaking F0 value elicited from sustained vowel phonations was significantly higher than those elicited from the connected speech tasks. The variability of speaking F0 was higher in sustained vowel prolongation than that in connected speech. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

  2. IELTS speaking instruction through audio/voice conferencing

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Hamed Ghaemi

    2012-02-01

    Full Text Available The currentstudyaimsatinvestigatingtheimpactofAudio/Voiceconferencing,asanewapproachtoteaching speaking, on the speakingperformanceand/orspeakingband score ofIELTScandidates.Experimentalgroupsubjectsparticipated in an audio conferencing classwhile those of the control group enjoyed attending in a traditional IELTS Speakingclass. At the endofthestudy,allsubjectsparticipatedinanIELTSExaminationheldonNovemberfourthin Tehran,Iran.To compare thegroupmeansforthestudy,anindependentt-testanalysiswasemployed.Thedifferencebetween experimental and control groupwasconsideredtobestatisticallysignificant(P<0.01.Thatisthecandidates in experimental group have outperformed the ones in control group in IELTS Speaking test scores.

  3. Factors that enhance English-speaking speech-language pathologists' transcription of Cantonese-speaking children's consonants.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lockart, Rebekah; McLeod, Sharynne

    2013-08-01

    To investigate speech-language pathology students' ability to identify errors and transcribe typical and atypical speech in Cantonese, a nonnative language. Thirty-three English-speaking speech-language pathology students completed 3 tasks in an experimental within-subjects design. Task 1 (baseline) involved transcribing English words. In Task 2, students transcribed 25 words spoken by a Cantonese adult. An average of 59.1% consonants was transcribed correctly (72.9% when Cantonese-English transfer patterns were allowed). There was higher accuracy on shared English and Cantonese syllable-initial consonants /m,n,f,s,h,j,w,l/ and syllable-final consonants. In Task 3, students identified consonant errors and transcribed 100 words spoken by Cantonese-speaking children under 4 additive conditions: (1) baseline, (2) +adult model, (3) +information about Cantonese phonology, and (4) all variables (2 and 3 were counterbalanced). There was a significant improvement in the students' identification and transcription scores for conditions 2, 3, and 4, with a moderate effect size. Increased skill was not based on listeners' proficiency in speaking another language, perceived transcription skill, musicality, or confidence with multilingual clients. Speech-language pathology students, with no exposure to or specific training in Cantonese, have some skills to identify errors and transcribe Cantonese. Provision of a Cantonese-adult model and information about Cantonese phonology increased students' accuracy in transcribing Cantonese speech.

  4. Beat the Fear of Public Speaking: Mobile 360° Video Virtual Reality Exposure Training in Home Environment Reduces Public Speaking Anxiety.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Stupar-Rutenfrans, Snežana; Ketelaars, Loes E H; van Gisbergen, Marnix S

    2017-10-01

    With this article, we aim to increase our understanding of how mobile virtual reality exposure therapy (VRET) can help reduce speaking anxiety. Using the results of a longitudinal study, we examined the effect of a new VRET strategy (Public Speech Trainer, PST), that incorporates 360° live recorded VR environments, on the reduction of public speaking anxiety. The PST was developed as a 360° smartphone application for a VR head-mounted device that participants could use at home. Realistic anxiety experiences were created by means of live 360° video recordings of a lecture hall containing three training sessions based on graded exposure framework; empty classroom (a) and with a small (b) and large audience (c). Thirty-five students participated in all sessions using PST. Anxiety levels were measured before and after each session over a period of 4 weeks. As expected, speaking anxiety significantly decreased after the completion of all PST sessions, and the decrement was the strongest in participants with initially high speaking anxiety baseline levels. Results also revealed that participants with moderate and high speaking anxiety baseline level differ in the anxiety state pattern over time. Conclusively and in line with habituation theory, the results supported the notion that VRET is more effective when aimed at reducing high-state anxiety levels. Further implications for future research and improvement of current VRET strategies are discussed.

  5. Enhancing The EFL Learners’ Speaking Skill Through Folktales Based Instruction

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    Nyoman Mantra Ida Bagus

    2018-01-01

    Full Text Available This present research was conducted to improve the EFL learners’ speaking skill through the implementation of Folktales Based Instruction. Consequently this study was intended to explore the valuable usefulness of folktales based instruction implemented intensively in EFL classroom. The subject of the present study consisted of 30 EFL adult learners. The study was conducted in two consecutive cycles in which two learning sessions were carried out for each cycle. The t ea ching ses sions were s t rongly focused on the learners’ active engagement in various communicative classroom activities to ensure that the learners gain higher level of speaking ability. The research result showed that the learners’ speaking skill improved significantly in the second cycle compared to the first cycle. The questionnaire result also showed that the learners strongly enjoyed learning speaking through the integration of folktales based instruction.Therefore it is recommended that teachers should consider utilizing folktales based instruction in teaching speaking skill.

  6. Stimulus variability and the phonetic relevance hypothesis: effects of variability in speaking style, fundamental frequency, and speaking rate on spoken word identification.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sommers, Mitchell S; Barcroft, Joe

    2006-04-01

    Three experiments were conducted to examine the effects of trial-to-trial variations in speaking style, fundamental frequency, and speaking rate on identification of spoken words. In addition, the experiments investigated whether any effects of stimulus variability would be modulated by phonetic confusability (i.e., lexical difficulty). In Experiment 1, trial-to-trial variations in speaking style reduced the overall identification performance compared with conditions containing no speaking-style variability. In addition, the effects of variability were greater for phonetically confusable words than for phonetically distinct words. In Experiment 2, variations in fundamental frequency were found to have no significant effects on spoken word identification and did not interact with lexical difficulty. In Experiment 3, two different methods for varying speaking rate were found to have equivalent negative effects on spoken word recognition and similar interactions with lexical difficulty. Overall, the findings are consistent with a phonetic-relevance hypothesis, in which accommodating sources of acoustic-phonetic variability that affect phonetically relevant properties of speech signals can impair spoken word identification. In contrast, variability in parameters of the speech signal that do not affect phonetically relevant properties are not expected to affect overall identification performance. Implications of these findings for the nature and development of lexical representations are discussed.

  7. Who speaks for science?

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ray, D.L.

    1990-01-01

    A missinformed or uninformed public can stop anything even when it is clearly in society's benefit and the public will remain uninformed and uneducated in science until the media professionals decide otherwise, until they stop quoting charlatans and quacks, and until respected scientists speak up

  8. The Effect of Genre-Based Teaching on EFL Learners' Speaking Performance

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Mohammad Bagher Khatibi

    2014-09-01

    Full Text Available Abstract The present study examined the effect of genre-based tasks on EFL learners' speaking performance and probed whether genre-based tasks may empower EFL learners to perform better on speaking tests. A further concern of the study was to explore whether the effect of genre-based tasks on speaking ability of EFL learners varied across different age groups, i.e. teenagers (13-16 years old and young adults (24-27 years old. To this end, some generic based consciousness-raising tasks (CRT were adapted from the model proposed by Benedict (2006 to develop control of a genre used as the treatment procedures. Two different speaking tests of different genres (e.g. recount, report, review, etc., used as pretest and posttest, were administered to 120 senior university students majoring in English language translation. The results indicated that consciousness-raising tasks significantly affected EFL learners' speaking performance. However, the effect of generic-based CRTs did not vary across different age groups. Overall, the findings provided empirical support for the facilitative effect of generic-based consciousness-raising tasks on speaking performance of EFL learners. The findings may promise implications for EFL speaking syllabuses and provide guidelines to designers to accommodate the insights derived from the genre-based instruction perspective.

  9. “You never know who are Sami or speak Sami” Clinicians’ experiences with language-appropriate care to Sami-speaking patients in outpatient mental health clinics in Northern Norway

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Inger Dagsvold

    2016-11-01

    Full Text Available Background: The Indigenous population in Norway, the Sami, have a statutory right to speak and be spoken to in the Sami language when receiving health services. There is, however, limited knowledge about how clinicians deal with this in clinical practice. This study explores how clinicians deal with language-appropriate care with Sami-speaking patients in specialist mental health services. Objectives: This study aims to explore how clinicians identify and respond to Sami patients’ language data, as well as how they experience provision of therapy to Sami-speaking patients in outpatient mental health clinics in Sami language administrative districts. Method: Data were collected using qualitative method, through individual interviews with 20 therapists working in outpatient mental health clinics serving Sami populations in northern Norway. A thematic analysis inspired by systematic text reduction was employed. Findings: Two themes were identified: (a identification of Sami patients’ language data and (b experiences with provision of therapy to Sami-speaking patients. Conclusion: Findings indicate that clinicians are not aware of patients’ language needs prior to admission and that they deal with identification of language data and offer of language-appropriate care ad hoc when patients arrive. Sami-speaking participants reported always offering language choice and found more profound understanding of patients’ experiences when Sami language was used. Whatever language Sami-speaking patients may choose, they are found to switch between languages during therapy. Most non-Sami-speaking participants reported offering Sami-speaking services, but the patients chose to speak Norwegian. However, a few of the participants maintained language awareness and could identify language needs despite a patient's refusal to speak Sami in therapy. Finally, some non-Sami-speaking participants were satisfied if they understood what the patients were saying

  10. IMPROVING THE STUDENTS’ABILITY IN SPEAKING BY USING ROLE PLAYING METHOD IN THE DRAMA LESSON OF ENGLISH DEPARTMENT AT 2015/2016 ACADEMIC YEARS

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Diani Syahputri

    2017-11-01

    Full Text Available This study aimed to describe the improvement of the students’ achievement in speaking by Role Playing at Drama lesson at English department at Faculty of Teacher Training and Education University of Muhammadiyah Sumatera Utara. The specific aim was how using to apply role play in studying drama and how the role play method can improve the students’ achievement in speaking. This research was used an action research that used two cycles. The subject of the study was 42 students at Academic 2015 – 2016 from English Department. The instrument of research was speaking test, questioners and observation to collect the data. Technique for collecting data was descriptive qualitative and quantitative. Technique for analyzing data was used descriptive which describe the finding of research which used some tables, frequency which was benefit to describe the achievements of the students in speaking from pre-test, and cycle 1 up to cycle 2. The finding of research was the students’ achievement in speaking were good by using Role playing which conducted one semester. Based on the data, the students’ achievements got improvement in every cycle. The students got A was 23.8 %, B/A and B 76, 1 % and there were not students got C/B and D and E. It meant the indicators of this research could achieve by using Role playing at drama lesson when we compared with conventional method. The study by using role playing is more interested than conventional method.

  11. EFL Speaking Anxiety among Senior High School Students and Policy Recommendations

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    Amirul Mukminin

    2015-08-01

    Full Text Available This report drew on a larger study which was to describe and understand the sources of senior high school students’ English language speaking anxiety at senior high schools in Jambi, Indonesia. The purpose of this paper was to report some of findings from the qualitative interview data on the sources of senior high school students’ English language speaking anxiety at one senior high school in Jambi, Indonesia. Data were collected through demographic profiles and semi-structured interview with senior high school students. The demographic data were analysed descriptively while the interview data were transcribed and analysed line by line to generate and develop codes and themes. An analysis of the interview data revealed that five major themes were related to students’ English language speaking anxiety, including (1 low speaking skill due to lack of vocabulary and grammar, (2 fear of negative responses from others, (3 low self-esteem to speak in English, (4 fear of being evaluated by teachers, and (5 cultural influences to speak English due to a more teacher-centred style. Suggestions and policy implications are also discussed.

  12. A survey on virtual environment applications to fear of public speaking.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Vanni, F; Conversano, C; Del Debbio, A; Landi, P; Carlini, M; Fanciullacci, C; Bergamasco, M; Di Fiorino, A; Dell'Osso, L

    2013-06-01

    Social Anxiety Disorder (SAD) is one of the most prevalent anxiety disorders in Europe and comprises the fear of public speaking as its typical sub-type. Cognitive-Behavioural Therapy (CBT) is the intervention of choice for SAD, and it includes exposure to anxiety-provoking stimuli to induce systematic desensitization and reduce anxiety. Similarly, exposure therapy per se has been used and found effective, although it is not as specific as CBT for the treatment of SAD. Interestingly, exposure to anxiety-provoking situations can be achieved in Virtual Environments (VEs) through the simulation of social situations allowing individuals with public speaking anxiety to live and develop real exposure-like reactions. The Virtual Reality Exposure Therapy (VRET) is the treatment of anxiety disorders based on such VEs. This article aims to provide an overview of the scientific literature related to the applications of Virtual Reality to the treatment of fear of public speaking. We conducted the literature review on PubMed and Google Scholar for studies including the fear-of-public-speaking VEs. Reviewed studies addressed two main aspects: the design parameters of the VEs for adequate reactions to synthetic social stimuli, and the efficacy of VEs for fear of public speaking treatment. VEs resulted effective for triggering as-if-real reactions in relation to public speaking. VE-based exposures reduced public speaking anxiety measurements, decreased scores and maintained them at 3 month follow-up. Studies comparing VRET to pharmacological therapy are lacking, and there are few randomized controlled trials that compare VRET to CBT, especially on fear of public speaking treatment.

  13. Exploring “Speak-O-Rama” as a Public Speaking Module: A Pilot Study in an Islamic Integrated Primary School

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    Nurul Iman Ahmad Bukhari

    2017-01-01

    Full Text Available This paper describes the pilot study in implementing a public speaking module for a primary school level. The module development was structured according to ASSURE Model with the Communicative Language Teaching (CLT as the basis used in designing the module activities.  One group of Year 4 students from an Islamic integrated school was selected and the research method employed was the quasi-experimental research with pre and post-tests as well as interviews with the English teachers on the students’ performance and self-confidence.  Students were also interviewed to identify their self confidence level before and after the implementation of the public speaking module. This research project is hoped to increase students’ oral proficiency along with increasing self-confidence in public speaking at a young age, and to propose the implementation of this module as reference in primary education.

  14. Health Care Disparities Among English-Speaking and Spanish-Speaking Women With Pelvic Organ Prolapse at Public and Private Hospitals: What Are the Barriers?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Alas, Alexandriah N; Dunivan, Gena C; Wieslander, Cecelia K; Sevilla, Claudia; Barrera, Biatris; Rashid, Rezoana; Maliski, Sally; Eilber, Karen; Rogers, Rebecca G; Anger, Jennifer Tash

    The objective of this study was to compare perceptions and barriers between Spanish-speaking and English-speaking women in public and private hospitals being treated for pelvic organ prolapse (POP). Eight focus groups, 4 in English and 4 in Spanish, were conducted at 3 institutions with care in female pelvic medicine and reconstructive surgery. Standardized questions were asked regarding patients' emotions to when they initially noticed the POP, if they sought family support, and their response to the diagnosis and treatment. Transcripts were analyzed using grounded theory qualitative methods. Thirty-three women were Spanish-speaking and 25 were English-speaking. Spanish speakers were younger (P = 0.0469) and less likely to have a high school diploma (P speaking women had more concerns that the bulge or treatments could lead to cancer, were more resistant to treatment options, and were less likely to be offered surgery. Women in the private hospital desired more information, were less embarrassed, and were more likely to be offered surgery as first-line treatment. The concept emerged that patient care for POP varied based on socioeconomic status and language and suggested the presence of disparities in care for underserved women with POP. The discrepancies in care for Spanish-speaking women and women being treated at public hospitals suggest that there are disparities in care for POP treatment for underserved women. These differences may be secondary to profit-driven pressures from private hospitals or language barriers, low socioeconomic status, low health literacy, and barriers to health care.

  15. Anxiety Level in Students of Public Speaking: Causes and Remedies

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    Farhan Uddin Raja

    2017-06-01

    Full Text Available Despite being competent in their field of work, professional’s worldwide struggle due to lack of good public speaking skills. Their assessments and appraisals are often not depictive of their professional competitiveness; therefore, it is important for students to overcome public speaking anxiety before they transit from academic life to professional life. The purpose of this study is to analyze the reasons behind the anxiety level in undergraduate students of a public speaking class and recommend strategies to overcome this fear. This study was entailed quantitative research paradigm on a sample of 50 students using convenience sampling technique from a reputable private sector business school in Karachi. The findings showed that students who fear public speaking can perform well if they use certain strategies to fight their fears. 75% participants admitted their fear of public speaking and 95% participants agreed that if proper counseling, instruction and coaching is provided, this fear can be overcome. Research revealed that exposure to virtual environment can facilitate student confidence and enables themto face audience irrespective of the size.

  16. Overview of “Splendid Speaking” Website (http://splendid-speaking.com

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    Peter Travis

    2011-03-01

    Full Text Available It is natural for adult learners preparing for upper-intermediate and advanced speaking examinations like the Cambridge Certificate in Advanced English (CAE, the Business English Certificate (BEC or International English Language Teaching System (IELTS to feel daunted by the Speaking examination. Having their spoken English assessed ‘live’ in a high stakes situation can be quite stressful. To perform at their best in the exam learners need to be able to contribute fully to the various task formats within their spoken exam.Students preparing for these exams need to have regular practice in responding fully to questions, working cooperatively with a partner, and generally taking the opportunity to showcase their use of English. In our experience there was little in the way of freely-available structured materials for advanced speaking skills online. We decided we would like to help learners preparing for their respective exams as well as general upper intermediate to advanced students wishing to develop their speaking skills. We launched splendid-speaking.com in 2006.

  17. Inclusion of non-English-speaking patients in research: A single institution experience.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bernier, Rachel; Halpin, Erin; Staffa, Steven J; Benson, Lindsey; DiNardo, James A; Nasr, Viviane G

    2018-05-01

    Considering the recent increase in medical care provided to patients from foreign countries and the diversity of languages spoken by families living within the United States, it is important to determine whether non-English-speaking patients have access to participate in clinical research from which they may benefit. We aimed to determine the number of non-English-speaking patients presenting to Boston Children's Hospital for medical care between 2011 and 2016, the number of clinical research protocols active within the Department of Anesthesiology, Critical Care and Pain Medicine approved to enroll non-English-speaking patients, as well as the number of both non-English- and English-speaking patients approached and enrolled in these studies. Furthermore, we attempted to determine barriers that may have prevented non-English-speaking patients from inclusion in clinical research. We conducted a retrospective review of various data sources during a 5-year period. Data included the number of non-English-speaking patients presenting to Boston Children's Hospital for care as well as the number of English- and non-English-speaking patients approached for studies at the Department of Anesthesiology each year. Additionally, we reviewed data from the IRB which included the justification that research teams provided when opting to exclude non-English-speaking participants. In addition, we attempted to determine the barriers that may have prevented these patients from inclusion in research protocols. We found that the number of non-English-speaking patients presenting to Boston Children's Hospital increased over time. However, the number of studies approved to enroll non-English-speaking patients within the Department of Anesthesiology and the rate of enrollment of these patients did not increase at the same rate. In order to increase the number of non-English-speaking patients approached to participate in research, we must improve cultural awareness and provide investigators

  18. Expression of schizophrenia in black Xhosa-speaking and white ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Objective. To inv:estigate whether schizophrenia manifests itself differently in Xhosa-speaking South Africans, compared with English-speaking white South Africans. Design. A comparative study ·of the presentation of schizophrenia in two groups of patients. Settings and subjects. A sample of 63 patients (43 Xhosaspeaking ...

  19. Fear of Public Speaking: How Can I Overcome It?

    Science.gov (United States)

    ... I overcome it? How can I overcome my fear of public speaking? Answers from Craig N. Sawchuk, Ph.D., L.P. Fear of public speaking is a common form of ... It can range from slight nervousness to paralyzing fear and panic. Many people with this fear avoid ...

  20. Speaking up for patient safety by hospital-based health care professionals: a literature review.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Okuyama, Ayako; Wagner, Cordula; Bijnen, Bart

    2014-02-08

    Speaking up is important for patient safety, but often, health care professionals hesitate to voice concerns. Understanding the influencing factors can help to improve speaking-up behaviour and team communication. This review focused on health care professionals' speaking-up behaviour for patient safety and aimed at (1) assessing the effectiveness of speaking up, (2) evaluating the effectiveness of speaking-up training, (3) identifying the factors influencing speaking-up behaviour, and (4) developing a model for speaking-up behaviour. Five databases (PubMed, MEDLINE, CINAHL, Web of Science, and the Cochrane Library) were searched for English articles describing health care professionals' speaking-up behaviour as well as those evaluating the relationship between speaking up and patient safety. Influencing factors were identified and then integrated into a model of voicing behaviour. In total, 26 studies were identified in 27 articles. Some indicated that hesitancy to speak up can be an important contributing factor in communication errors and that training can improve speaking-up behaviour. Many influencing factors were found: (1) the motivation to speak up, such as the perceived risk for patients, and the ambiguity or clarity of the clinical situation; (2) contextual factors, such as hospital administrative support, interdisciplinary policy-making, team work and relationship between other team members, and attitude of leaders/superiors; (3) individual factors, such as job satisfaction, responsibility toward patients, responsibility as professionals, confidence based on experience, communication skills, and educational background; (4) the perceived efficacy of speaking up, such as lack of impact and personal control; (5) the perceived safety of speaking up, such as fear for the responses of others and conflict and concerns over appearing incompetent; and (6) tactics and targets, such as collecting facts, showing positive intent, and selecting the person who has

  1. CONTRIBUTING FACTORS TO THE STUDENTS’ SPEAKING ABILITY

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Irwan

    2017-09-01

    Full Text Available The use of English in Indonesia has developed quickly in all of the fields. It is affected by many things in many ways. The need of English has also increased quickly in many parts of Indonesian life. To face it, teaching English at young ages or studentseems like the solution. Speaking is one of the skills that should be tough to the student. To get effective learning, it's useful to know what are factors contributing to the student speaking development. This research showed that there are some contributing factors to the students’ speaking development. Those factors are Teacher, Daily Practice, Listening to English Music, Family Support, Watching English Video and Movie, Motivation to Learn, Classroom Environment, Learning Material. Such as a good teacher would provide good learning. Support of the family would also give an effective outcome for the student's development. So, the factors should be known to get a better outcome for the students

  2. Speaking of Science: Stepping out of the Stereotype

    Science.gov (United States)

    Castro, J. M.

    2014-12-01

    Just because we are scientists and engineers, does not mean that our presentations must be dry and boring. Step out of the stereotype! Success in your career depends not only upon the rigor of your research, but also hinges on your ability to communicate with your peers and with the public. According to many somewhat dubious internet polls, public speaking is the number one human fear. And yet public speaking is defined as speaking to more than four people at any given time. Hence, you are a public speaker more than you may realize. Given this seemingly natural fear, it is not surprising that delivering a presentation at large, or even small, science gatherings can be frightening, overwhelming, and intimidating, but it can also be extremely gratifying. On very few occasions do we, as scientists and engineers, reach out to dozens or hundreds of our colleagues in a single event. Make the most of your moment on stage, wherever that stage may be.If you would like to improve your public speaking skills, please join me for a session on making your presentation interesting and effective, while also reducing your stress and actually enjoying the experience. Participants will leave the workshop with a greater skill set to develop and deliver presentations. The workshop is interactive and builds on the collective experience of the audience and the instructor. "The problem with most bad presentations I see is not the speaking, the slides, the visuals, or any of the other things people obsess about. Instead, it's the lack of thinking." Scott Berkun, 2010

  3. Linguistic Skills and Speaking Fluency in a Second Language

    Science.gov (United States)

    De Jong, Nivja H.; Steinel, Margarita P.; Florijn, Arjen; Schoonen, Rob; Hulstijn, Jan H.

    2013-01-01

    This study investigated how individual differences in linguistic knowledge and processing skills relate to individual differences in speaking fluency. Speakers of Dutch as a second language ("N" = 179) performed eight speaking tasks, from which several measures of fluency were derived such as measures for pausing, repairing, and speed…

  4. Should Philosophers and Educators Be Speaking to Each Other?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fenstermacher, Gary D.

    2002-01-01

    Responds to Arcilla's article, "Why Aren't Philosophers and Educators Speaking to One Another?" suggesting that philosophers and educators are actually speaking to one another, copiously and productively, though the conversation sometimes takes other, less direct modes. The paper asks whether they should be talking to each other,…

  5. Virtual Reality Therapy: case study of fear of public speaking.

    Science.gov (United States)

    North, Max M; Schoeneman, Curt M; Mathis, James R

    2002-01-01

    The major goal of this research case study was to investigate the effectiveness of Virtual Reality Therapy (VRT) in the treatment of the fear of public speaking. A twenty-eight-year-old Caucasian male was selected from questionnaires distributed to a class of undergraduate students enrolled at Kennesaw State University. Two assessment measures were used in this study. The first measure used was the Attitude Towards Public Speaking (ATPS) Questionnaire. The second measure used was the eleven-point Subjective Units of Disturbance (SUD) scale. These measurements assessed the anxiety, avoidance, attitudes and disturbance associated with the subject's fear of public speaking before and after each VRT treatment session. This case study of public speaking fear indicates that VRT may be used as an effective treatment method for reducing self-reported anxiety.

  6. Analysing Test-Takers’ Views on a Computer-Based Speaking Test

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Marian Amengual-Pizarro

    2017-11-01

    Full Text Available This study examines test-takers’ views on a computer-delivered speaking test in order to investigate the aspects they consider most relevant in technology-based oral assessment, and to explore the main advantages and disadvantages computer-based tests may offer as compared to face-to-face speaking tests. A small-scale open questionnaire was administered to 80 test-takers who took the APTIS speaking test at the Universidad de Alcalá in April 2016. Results reveal that examinees believe computer-based tests provide a valid measure of oral competence in English and are considered to be an adequate method for the assessment of speaking. Interestingly, the data suggest that personal characteristics of test-takers seem to play a key role in deciding upon the most suitable and reliable delivery mode.

  7. Effective oral presentations: speaking before groups as part of your job.

    Science.gov (United States)

    McConnell, Charles R

    2009-01-01

    Fear of public speaking is a widespread phenomenon that afflicts a large percentage of the population. Some working people will go to great lengths to avoid having to speak before a group; however, inability or unwillingness to speak in public can contribute to limiting an individual's promotional possibilities and thus capping a career at a level beneath the individual's technical abilities. This can be especially true in an arena such as health care in which oral communication in group settings figures so strongly in work relations. Yet anyone can overcome speaking fear through thorough preparation and practice. It is necessary to research one's topic thoroughly, outline the points the intended talk will cover, study the composition of one's audience, and plan on targeting some specific level of understanding and remaining ever conscious of the few areas in which problems can occur. With conscientious preparation and plenty of practice, anyone can learn to speak before any group of people, although it may mean facing one's fear head-on a number of times before gaining a level of confidence sufficient to control the fear of speaking.

  8. Cultural Speak: Culturally Relevant Pedagogy and Experiential Learning in a Public Speaking Classroom

    Science.gov (United States)

    Colvin, Janet; Tobler, Nancy

    2013-01-01

    This study describes the efficacy of modifications made to a higher education Latina/o public speaking course to enhance student growth and understanding. The changes included the addition of a service-learning component and the incorporation of culturally relevant pedagogy. Selected research, particularly related to college students, on…

  9. Using a Disciplinary Literacy Framework to Teach High School Physics: An Action Research Study

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hurley, Brian P.; Henry, Michael P.

    2015-01-01

    This action research study investigated the impact of teaching physics using a disciplinary literacy framework for instruction across all units in one academic year. Through a suite of vocabulary strategies and lessons that encourage students to write, speak, draw, mathematically translate, and design experiments, students learn to do physics by…

  10. Improving advance care planning for English-speaking and Spanish-speaking older adults: study protocol for the PREPARE randomised controlled trial

    OpenAIRE

    Sudore, RL; Barnes, DE; Le, GM; Ramos, R; Osua, SJ; Richardson, SA; Boscardin, J; Schillinger, D

    2016-01-01

    Introduction Advance care planning (ACP) is a process that allows patients to identify their goals for medical care. Traditionally, ACP has focused on completing advance directives; however, we have expanded the ACP paradigm to also prepare patients to communicate their wishes and make informed decisions. To this end, we created an ACP website called PREPARE (http://www.prepareforyourcare.org) to prepare diverse English-speaking and Spanish-speaking older adults for medical decision-making. H...

  11. Rater Judgment and English Language Speaking Proficiency. Research Report

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chalhoub-Deville, Micheline; Wigglesworth, Gillian

    2005-01-01

    The paper investigates whether there is a shared perception of speaking proficiency among raters from different English speaking countries. More specifically, this study examines whether there is a significant difference among English language learning (ELL) teachers, residing in Australia, Canada, the UK, and the USA when rating speech samples of…

  12. Parents' Perspectives on Navigating the Work of Speaking Up in the NICU.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lyndon, Audrey; Wisner, Kirsten; Holschuh, Carrie; Fagan, Kelly M; Franck, Linda S

    To describe parents' perspectives and likelihood of speaking up about safety concerns in the NICU and identify barriers and facilitators to parents speaking up. Exploratory, qualitatively driven, mixed-methods design. A 50-bed U.S. academic medical center, open-bay NICU. Forty-six parents completed questionnaires, 14 of whom were also interviewed. Questionnaires, interviews, and observations with parents of newborns in the NICU were used. The qualitative investigation was based on constructivist grounded theory. Quantitative measures included ratings and free-text responses about the likelihood of speaking up in response to a hypothetical scenario about lack of clinician hand hygiene. Qualitative and quantitative analyses were integrated in the final interpretation. Most parents (75%) rated themselves likely or very likely to speak up in response to lack of hand hygiene; 25% of parents rated themselves unlikely to speak up in the same situation. Parents engaged in a complex process of Navigating the work of speaking up in the NICU that entailed learning the NICU, being deliberate about decisions to speak up, and at times choosing silence as a safety strategy. Decisions about how and when to speak up were influenced by multiple factors including knowing my baby, knowing the team, having a defined pathway to voice concerns, clinician approachability, clinician availability and friendliness, and clinician responsiveness. To engage parents as full partners in safety, clinicians need to recognize the complex social and personal dimensions of the NICU experience that influence parents' willingness to speak up about their safety concerns. Copyright © 2017 AWHONN, the Association of Women's Health, Obstetric and Neonatal Nurses. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  13. THE ROLES OF TED TALKS AND VLOG IN ENHANCING STUDENTS‘ ACTIVENESS IN SPEAKING CLASS

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Candradewi Wahyu Anggraeni

    2017-12-01

    Full Text Available The aims of this research are to describe the roles of TED Talks and Vlog in enhancing students‘ activeness in speaking class and to explain the students‘ perspectives toward the use of TED Talks and Vlog in speaking class. The research method used in this research is qualitative research design in the form of case study. The instruments of data collection are documents of students‘ vlog, observation, questionnaire, and interview. The participants of this research are the students of speaking class. This research has three significances which consist of theoretical, practical, and pedagogical significances. The theoretical significance is the research contributes to prove and add the speaking theories, whereas the practical significance is the research can be conducted by teachers, lecturers, or researchers to figure out the roles and the ways to improve students‘ participation in speaking class. In addition, the pedagogical significance shows that this research provides a reference of the use TED Talks and Vlog in enhancing students‘ activeness in speaking class, helps the students to be active in speaking class by following the lecturer‘s instruction toward the speaking activities given, and can be used as the empirical research finding toward students‘ activeness in speaking class. The findings show that TED Talks and Vlog have seven roles in order to help the students to be more active in speaking class and reveal the students‘ perceptions about virtues and hurdles toward the use of TED Talks and Vlog in speaking class.

  14. Pre-Service English Teachers' Beliefs on Speaking Skill Based on Motivational Orientations

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dinçer, Ali; Yesilyurt, Savas

    2013-01-01

    This study aimed to explore pre-service English teachers' perceptions of teaching speaking in Turkey, the importance they give to this language skill, and their self-evaluation of their speaking competence. With case design and maximum variation sampling approach, seven pre-service English teachers' beliefs about speaking skills were gathered in…

  15. Implementing Debate To Improve The Speaking Skill Of The Eleventh Grade Students Of SMK 17 Agustus 1945 Muncar Banyuwangi

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    Ridwan Ridwan

    2017-10-01

    Full Text Available This study is aimed at improving the student’ Speaking skill by implementing debate. The result problem is “how can English debate improve the speaking skill of the eleventh grade students of SMK 17 Agustus 1945 Muncar Banyuwangi?” The researcher stated the problem because of the result of pre liminary study. The average classical score was 50.00 in a 0-100 scale. All of them had not reached the criteria of success. They did not feel self confident in speaking English. and it  opposited with the target of SMK. The class room action research (CAR aims to discover teaching and learning strategy which suited to the learner’s style and to solve the teacher’s problem in finding appropriate technique in teaching. The research taken in SMK 17 Agustus 1945 Muncar Banyuwangi on 39 students of eleventh grade of AK1 was conducted in two cycles with the phases of planning, implementation, observation, and reflection. The instruments that used for data collection were observation form, questioner and students opinion about debate. The teaching learning procedure was divided into three steps; pre activity, main activity, and post activity. The researcher found that the implementation of debate could improve the students’ speaking skill. It was proved by the result of the students’ speaking score. The average classical score in preliminary study was 50.00. They had improvement from the first cycle, but did not fulfill the criteria of success that was 66.66. That was still under KKM. And it was found in the second cycle that the classical score was 83.33, and it could create the teaching and learning process relaxed, enjoyable atmosphere to speak spontaneously without nervous, and able to motivate student to be brave in speaking. The students’ speaking skill can be improved through debate with these following procedures: 1 The teacher introduced the Australasia debate model, stated the aim of the activity. 2 The teacher explained the procedures

  16. Capitalizing on Speaking Skill of EFL Learners for the Language Literacy

    OpenAIRE

    Fauzia Hasan Siddiqui

    2014-01-01

    This study aims at grabbing the attention of EFL /ESL teachers, trainers, and administrators towards the importance of teaching speaking skill to enhance overall language proficiency of EFL learners. Comprehensive research done in the field of applied linguistics and English Language Teaching (ELT) establishes a positive correlation of speaking skill with the overall language proficiency. Despite this obvious significance of speaking skill in language learning process, it has not gained suffi...

  17. Feedback in online course for non-native English-speaking students

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    Olesova, Larisa

    2013-01-01

    Feedback in Online Course for Non-Native English-Speaking Students is an investigation of the effectiveness of audio and text feedback provided in English in an online course for non-native English-speaking students. The study presents results showing how audio and text feedback can impact on non-native English-speaking students' higher-order learning as they participate in an asynchronous online course. It also discusses the results of how students perceive both types of the feedback provided. In addition, the study examines how the impact and perceptions differ when the instructor giving the

  18. Reducing Student Apprehension of Public Speaking: Evaluating Effectiveness of Group Tutoring Practices

    Science.gov (United States)

    Knight, Misty L.; Johnson, Karen Gabrielle; Stewart, Frances

    2016-01-01

    Research indicates that the fear of public speaking is an extraordinarily common phobia and that a significant portion of the population experiences some form of anxiety over public speaking. Although there is a great deal of research available on the etiology of public speaking anxiety, there is far less research available on interventional…

  19. Thinking Critically, Speaking Famously, and Writing Effortlessly: An Alternative Performative Public Speaking Assignment

    Science.gov (United States)

    Charlesworth, Dacia

    2005-01-01

    Although the concepts of style and delivery occupy a significant portion of any public speaking class, students often fail to make use of stylistic devices or delivery techniques while writing and presenting their speeches. This activity invites students to critically analyze a public speech and then present the critique using their own voice…

  20. Speak Up: Help Prevent Errors in Your Care: Laboratory Services

    Science.gov (United States)

    SpeakUP TM Help Prevent Errors in Your Care Laboratory Services To prevent health care errors, patients are urged to... SpeakUP TM ... are more likely to get better faster. To help prevent health care mistakes, patients are urged to “ ...

  1. BREAKING THE SILENCE: UTILIZING PECHA KUCHA TO PROMOTE STUDENTS’ SPEAKING SKILLS

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Aloisius Wisnu Mahendra

    2018-04-01

    Full Text Available This study aims to report the utility of Pecha Kucha in promoting students’ speaking skills in the general English course. As English known as the international language for communication, Indonesians expect to master English in order to broaden their future career opportunities. Most of them seek for English courses providing various communicative activities with the hope that they can improve and sharpen their speaking skills. Although the course has been designed for communication purpose, some students still are not be able to express their ideas freely during the speaking activities. They may feel afraid of making grammatical errors resulting to their low speaking performance. To facilitate students’ learning and encourage them to practice their speaking skills, Pecha Kucha has been utilized during the course. The study was conducted in the Language Institute of Sanata Dharma University in 2017. Recorded learning activities utilizing Pecha Kucha and field notes were collected through the classroom teaching-learning practices. Semi-structured interviews were also conducted to explore the findings and the analysis. The findings shows that the students actively engage with the utilization of Pecha Kucha by being able to explore their ideas and practice their speaking skills, and enjoy the learning process eventually.

  2. Something to "Speak" about: Addressing Sensitive Issues through Literature

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jackett, Mark

    2007-01-01

    "Speak," by Laurie Halse Anderson, is one of the most powerful young adult novels to come along in the past decade. It has won numerous awards, including the "School Library Journal" award for "Best Book of the Year," and was a National Book Award Finalist. Despite this acclaim, many English teachers are uncomfortable teaching "Speak" in their…

  3. CLASSROOM INTERACTION ANALYSIS IN INDONESIAN EFL SPEAKING CLASS

    OpenAIRE

    Sinta Hoerun Nisa

    2014-01-01

    This study entitles “Classroom Interaction Analysis in the EFL Speaking Class” aimed at analyzing the categories of teacher talk, student talk and classroom interaction types used during EFL speaking class. The research employed a qualitative design and applied a case study. Subjects of the research were an English teacher and 25 students at the second semester of English Education Department of the University of Kuningan. The data were gained through naturalistic observation and document ana...

  4. Lithuanian speaking childrens' bilingualism. language situation and policy

    OpenAIRE

    Paškauskaitė, Ieva

    2017-01-01

    Lithuanian Speaking Childrens' Bilingualism. Language Situation and Policy The purpose of this study is to investigate the language situation of Lithuanian speaking children in Sweden and its causes. This study is specifically concerned with the subjects of bilingualism and family language policy: language strategies and methods. The concept of bilingualism is complex and can be defined in different ways, therefore this study is based on a table which was introduced by T. Skutnabb-Kangas in 1...

  5. Brain Dominance And Speaking Strategy Use of Iranian EFL Learners

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Nastaran Mireskandari

    2015-05-01

    Full Text Available The present study investigated the effect of brain dominance on the use of Language learning speaking strategies. One hundred forty two undergraduate students of Shiraz University, Iran, participated in this study. The Hemispheric Dominance Test (HDT was employed to categorize participants as right-, left- and whole-brain dominant, and a Speaking Strategy Questionnaire was administered to evaluate their use of speaking strategies. The results were analyzed using a one-way between groups analysis of variance (ANOVA to investigate whether there were any significant differences between the three brain dominant groups in their overall use of speaking strategies. A MANOVA was also run to investigate whether the groups had preferences regarding the use of any particular strategy type. Results indicated a statistically significant difference between the whole brain dominant participants and both left brain and right brain dominant learners for using compensation speaking strategies. To teach and learn more effectively, instructors and learners need to better understand and appreciate individual differences and how they can affect the learning process. They could find ways to combine activities that accommodate both left and right brain learners, employing not only the usual linear, verbal model, but also the active, image-rich, visuo-spatial models so that learners would be able to use both hemispheres.

  6. The Health Literacy and ESL study: a community-based intervention for Spanish-speaking adults.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Soto Mas, Francisco; Ji, Ming; Fuentes, Brenda O; Tinajero, Josefina

    2015-04-01

    Although Hispanics have a documented high risk of limited health literacy, there is a scarcity of research with this population group, and particularly with Hispanic immigrants who generally confront language barriers that have been related to low health literacy. The National Action Plan to Improve Health Literacy identified community-based English-language instruction as a strategy that can facilitate a health literate society. However, the literature lacks discussion on this type of intervention. This randomized control trial aimed to test the feasibility of using conventional English-as-a-second-language (ESL) instruction for improving health literacy among Spanish-speaking adults. Objectives included the development, implementation, and evaluation of a health literacy/ESL curriculum. The Test of Functional Health Literacy in Adults (TOFHLA) in English was used to assess health literacy levels. Analyses included independent sample t test, chi-square, and multiple linear regression. A total of 155 people participated. Results showed a significantly higher increase in the TOFHLA posttest score in the intervention group (p = .01), and noticeable differences in health literacy levels between groups. Results indicate that ESL constitutes a promising venue for improving health literacy among Spanish-speaking adults. Incorporating health literacy-related content may provide additional benefits.

  7. The Health Literacy and ESL Study: A Community-Based Intervention for Spanish-Speaking Adults

    Science.gov (United States)

    MAS, FRANCISCO SOTO; JI, MING; FUENTES, BRENDA O.; TINAJERO, JOSEFINA

    2015-01-01

    Although Hispanics have a documented high risk of limited health literacy, there is a scarcity of research with this population group, and particularly with Hispanic immigrants who generally confront language barriers that have been related to low health literacy. The National Action Plan to Improve Health Literacy identified community-based English-language instruction as a strategy that can facilitate a health literate society. However, the literature lacks discussion on this type of intervention. This randomized control trial aimed to test the feasibility of using conventional English-as-a-second-language (ESL) instruction for improving health literacy among Spanish-speaking adults. Objectives included the development, implementation, and evaluation of a health literacy/ESL curriculum. The Test of Functional Health Literacy in Adults (TOFHLA) in English was used to assess health literacy levels. Analyses included independent sample t test, chi-square, and multiple linear regression. A total of 155 people participated. Results showed a significantly higher increase in the TOFHLA posttest score in the intervention group (p = .01), and noticeable differences in health literacy levels between groups. Results indicate that ESL constitutes a promising venue for improving health literacy among Spanish-speaking adults. Incorporating health literacy-related content may provide additional benefits. PMID:25602615

  8. Confidence Scoring of Speaking Performance: How Does Fuzziness become Exact?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jin, Tan; Mak, Barley; Zhou, Pei

    2012-01-01

    The fuzziness of assessing second language speaking performance raises two difficulties in scoring speaking performance: "indistinction between adjacent levels" and "overlap between scales". To address these two problems, this article proposes a new approach, "confidence scoring", to deal with such fuzziness, leading to "confidence" scores between…

  9. Language Corrections and Language Ideologies in Israeli Hebrew-Speaking Classes

    Science.gov (United States)

    Netz, Hadar; Yitzhaki, Dafna; Lefstein, Adam

    2018-01-01

    This article is about language corrections in Israeli Hebrew-speaking primary classrooms. The ideological significance of language corrections, particularly within the highly contested context of Israeli society and Modern Hebrew, underlies the current study. Teachers in Israeli, Hebrew-speaking classes were found to frequently correct not only…

  10. ADHD and adolescent EFL learners’ speaking complexity, accuracy, and fluency in English

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Hamid Marashi

    2016-07-01

    Full Text Available This study was an attempt to investigate the relationships among Attention-Deficit/ Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD and speaking complexity, accuracy, and fluency (CAF among Iranian EFL learners. To fulfill the purpose of this study, the teachers and parents of 593 male students were given the Farsi version of the CSI-4 ADHD diagnostic questionnaire, out of which 61 students scored above the cut-off score of nine in both the teacher and parent questionnaires. These students then sat for a sample speaking section of the Key English Test (KET; the interviews were scored by two raters according to the measures of CAF. The data were thus analyzed and the results revealed a significant positive correlation between ADHD and speaking fluency; in contrast, a significant negative correlation was observed between ADHD and speaking complexity and ADHD and speaking accuracy. The regressions disclosed that ADHD is a significant predictor of complexity, accuracy, and fluency in speaking. The findings of this study have pedagogical implications for both parents and teachers in contact with students with ADHD with respect to the importance of identifying such students and thus planning and monitoring their progress.

  11. A HMM-Based System for Training of Second Language Aquisition

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    Lingyun Gu

    2003-12-01

    Full Text Available We describe a system for the training of Second Language Acquisition Pronunciation (SLAP for non-native speakers. This speech recognition-based system is designed to mimic the valuable interactions between second-language students and a fluent teacher. When a student speaks a word into SLAP's microphone, it is analyzed to determine the part of the word (if any that is incorrectly pronounced. A fluent utterance of the word is then played back to the student with emphasis on the mispronounced part of the word. Just as a live teacher naturally does, the difficult part of the word is played back louder, extended in time and possibly with higher pitch. We demonstrate SLAP on a multisyllabic word to show typical performance.

  12. The proposals that perhaps Karl Popper had propelled facing the enemies the open society of nowadays: for the XXI century, the reformism

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    Juan Guillermo Estay Sepúlveda

    2016-12-01

    Full Text Available During his complete work, the philosopher Karl Popper criticized in a strongly way the totalitarianism of the XX century, which was lived by him directly. We do not have any doubt that nowadays, he would speak with a louder tone in front of the other bad situation in politics which is observed in the horizon ad portas of the third decade of the new millennium, that is to say the fundamentalism. Although it is true, the Austrian philosopher attacks the political totalitarian regimes with the democracy, he is also a critic of it and at the same time, being a defender to the death of dialogue, he does not doubt in putting in front of the tyranny, the principles of tyrannicide.

  13. Neurocognitive performance and symptom profiles of Spanish-speaking Hispanic athletes on the ImPACT test.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ott, Summer; Schatz, Philip; Solomon, Gary; Ryan, Joseph J

    2014-03-01

    This study documented baseline neurocognitive performance of 23,815 athletes on the Immediate Post-Concussion Assessment and Cognitive Testing (ImPACT) test. Specifically, 9,733 Hispanic, Spanish-speaking athletes who completed the ImPACT test in English and 2,087 Hispanic, Spanish-speaking athletes who completed the test in Spanish were compared with 11,955 English-speaking athletes who completed the test in English. Athletes were assigned to age groups (13-15, 16-18). Results revealed a significant effect of language group (p Spanish-speaking athletes completing the test in Spanish scored more poorly than Spanish-speaking and English-speaking athletes completing the test in English, on all Composite scores and Total Symptom scores. Spanish-speaking athletes completing the test in English also performed more poorly than English-speaking athletes completing the test in English on three Composite scores. These differences in performance and reported symptoms highlight the need for caution in interpreting ImPACT test data for Hispanic Americans.

  14. Encouraging Teenagers to Improve Speaking Skills through Games in a Colombian Public School

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    William Urrutia León

    2010-04-01

    Full Text Available Our project was implemented with tenth grade students of a public school located in the Usme Zone in Bogotá. We decided to develop this action research project because we were concerned about our students' difficulties when attempting to speak English. They felt inhibited with activities that involved oral interaction mainly because they were afraid of criticism and jokes about what they said. To develop our project we used video recordings, the teacher's journal and questionnaires answered by the students. The results showed that students felt better, free and confident when they participated in oral tasks, particularly during games. We saw collaboration, solidarity and interaction among them. In addition, they were relaxed and happy at the time they had to perform in small groups.

  15. Public Speaking versus Hybrid Introductory Communication Courses: Exploring Four Outcomes

    Science.gov (United States)

    Broeckelman-Post, Melissa A.; Pyle, Andrew S.

    2017-01-01

    The purpose of this study was to compare student growth in public speaking and hybrid introductory communication skills courses on four outcomes: public speaking anxiety, self-perceived communication competence, intercultural effectiveness, and connected classroom climate. This study also sought to find out whether there were differences in the…

  16. Anxiety Level in Students of Public Speaking: Causes and Remedies

    Science.gov (United States)

    Raja, Farhan

    2017-01-01

    Despite being competent in their field of work, professional's worldwide struggle due to lack of good public speaking skills. Their assessments and appraisals are often not depictive of their professional competitiveness; therefore, it is important for students to overcome public speaking anxiety before they transit from academic life to…

  17. Developmental Eye Movement (DEM Test Norms for Mandarin Chinese-Speaking Chinese Children.

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    Yachun Xie

    Full Text Available The Developmental Eye Movement (DEM test is commonly used as a clinical visual-verbal ocular motor assessment tool to screen and diagnose reading problems at the onset. No established norm exists for using the DEM test with Mandarin Chinese-speaking Chinese children. This study aims to establish the normative values of the DEM test for the Mandarin Chinese-speaking population in China; it also aims to compare the values with three other published norms for English-, Spanish-, and Cantonese-speaking Chinese children. A random stratified sampling method was used to recruit children from eight kindergartens and eight primary schools in the main urban and suburban areas of Nanjing. A total of 1,425 Mandarin Chinese-speaking children aged 5 to 12 years took the DEM test in Mandarin Chinese. A digital recorder was used to record the process. All of the subjects completed a symptomatology survey, and their DEM scores were determined by a trained tester. The scores were computed using the formula in the DEM manual, except that the "vertical scores" were adjusted by taking the vertical errors into consideration. The results were compared with the three other published norms. In our subjects, a general decrease with age was observed for the four eye movement indexes: vertical score, adjusted horizontal score, ratio, and total error. For both the vertical and adjusted horizontal scores, the Mandarin Chinese-speaking children completed the tests much more quickly than the norms for English- and Spanish-speaking children. However, the same group completed the test slightly more slowly than the norms for Cantonese-speaking children. The differences in the means were significant (P0.05; compared with Spanish-speaking children, the scores were statistically significant (P0.05. DEM norms may be affected by differences in language, cultural, and educational systems among various ethnicities. The norms of the DEM test are proposed for use with Mandarin Chinese-speaking

  18. The Development and Test of the Public Speaking Competence Rubric

    Science.gov (United States)

    Schreiber, Lisa M.; Paul, Gregory D.; Shibley, Lisa R.

    2012-01-01

    In response to the demand for increased accountability within the university classroom, there have been calls for a new generation of rubrics that effectively assess students' competence in several areas, including public speaking. This article describes the development, test, and factor analyses of the Public Speaking Competence Rubric (PSCR), an…

  19. THE USE OF SKIT TECHNIQUE TO INCREASE STUDENTS’ SELF-CONFIDENCE IN SPEAKING

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    Dini Deswarni

    2017-12-01

    The study aimed to know the use of Skit Technique to increase students’ self-confidence in speaking English. Speaking is one of important skills in English. Self-Confidence is really need to speak in English. Someone needs self-confidence to express their idea and their feelings in a foreign language especially in English. Not all of the people have good self-confidence in using English to express or to share their idea and their opinion. The aim of this study is to know whether the Skit Technique can increase self- confidence in speaking English. In other words Skit Technique can help to increase self-confidence in speaking English. The design of this research is experiment. The population of the research is 46 students at the eight grade students of MTs Darul Ihsan Duri. The sample technique is random sampling. From the data, it can be seen that Ttable < Tvalue (2.101 < 12.466. It means Ha is accepted and Skit Technique done in experiment class.

  20. The Analysis of A1 Level Speaking Exam in Terms of Syntax: The Effect of General Competence on Syntax in A1 Level Speaking

    Science.gov (United States)

    Misir, Hülya

    2017-01-01

    This study aims at discovering the relevance of general competence of Turkish and Arab learners who have an A1 level of English proficiency in preparatory school of University of Turkish Aeronautical Association (UTAA) to their speaking skill in terms of syntax by analyzing the recordings of speaking exams in the first semester. One can ask why…

  1. Cultural transmission through infant signs: Objects and actions in U.S. and Taiwan.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wang, Wen; Vallotton, Claire

    2016-08-01

    Infant signs are intentionally taught/learned symbolic gestures which can be used to represent objects, actions, requests, and mental state. Through infant signs, parents and infants begin to communicate specific concepts earlier than children's first spoken language. This study examines whether cultural differences in language are reflected in children's and parents' use of infant signs. Parents speaking East Asian languages with their children utilize verbs more often than do English-speaking mothers; and compared to their English-learning peers, Chinese children are more likely to learn verbs as they first acquire spoken words. By comparing parents' and infants' use of infant signs in the U.S. and Taiwan, we investigate cultural differences of noun/object versus verb/action bias before children's first language. Parents reported their own and their children's use of first infant signs retrospectively. Results show that cultural differences in parents' and children's infant sign use were consistent with research on early words, reflecting cultural differences in communication functions (referential versus regulatory) and child-rearing goals (independent versus interdependent). The current study provides evidence that intergenerational transmission of culture through symbols begins prior to oral language. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  2. Acquisition of mental state language in Mandarin- and Cantonese-speaking children.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tardif, T; Wellman, H M

    2000-01-01

    Children's theory of mind appears to develop from a focus on desire to a focus on belief. However, it is not clear (a) whether this pattern is universal and (b) whether it could also be explained by linguistic and sociocultural factors. This study examined mental state language in 10 Mandarin-speaking (21-27 months) and 8 Cantonese-speaking (18-44 months) toddlers. The results suggest a pattern of theory-of-mind development similar to that in English, with early use of desire terms followed by other mental state references. However, the Chinese-speaking children used desire terms much earlier, and the use of terms for thinking was very infrequent, even for Mandarin-speaking adults. This finding suggests a consistency in the overall sequence, but variation in the timing of beginning and end points, in children's theory-of-mind development across cultures.

  3. Children's identification of graphic symbols representing four basic emotions: comparison of Afrikaans-speaking and Sepedi-speaking children.

    Science.gov (United States)

    DeKlerk, Hester M; Dada, Shakila; Alant, Erna

    2014-01-01

    Speech language pathologists recommend graphic symbols for AAC users to facilitate communication, including labelling and expressing emotions. The purpose of the current study was to describe and compare how 5- to 6-year-old Afrikaans- and Sepedi-speaking children identify and choose graphic symbols to depict four basic emotions, specifically happy, sad, afraid, and angry. Ninety participants were asked to select the graphic symbol from a 16-matrix communication overlay that would represent the emotion in response to 24 vignettes. The results of the t-tests indicated that the differences between the two groups' selection of target symbols to represent the four emotions are statistically significant. The results of the study indicate that children from different language groups may not perceive graphic symbols in the same way. The Afrikaans-speaking participants more often choose target symbols to represent target basic emotions than did the Sepedi-speaking participants. The most preferred symbols per emotion were identified and these different symbols were analysed in terms of facial features that distinguish them. Readers of this article will (1) recognise the importance of expressing basic emotions for children, particularly those that use AAC, (2) identify the possible limitations of line drawings for expressing and labelling basic emotions in typically developing children and (3) recognise the importance of cultural influences on recognition of basic emotions. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  4. Neuropsychological test performance and prediction of functional capacities among Spanish-speaking and English-speaking patients with dementia.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Loewenstein, D A; Rubert, M P; Argüelles, T; Duara, R

    1995-03-01

    Neuropsychological measures have been widely used by clinicians to assist them in making judgments regarding a cognitively impaired patient's ability to independently perform important activities of daily living. However, important questions have been raised concerning the degree to which neuropsychological instruments can predict a broad array of specific functional capacities required in the home environment. In the present study, we examined 127 English-speaking and 56 Spanish-speaking patients with Alzheimer's disease (AD) and determined the extent to which various neuropsychological measures and demographic variables were predictive of performance on functional measures administered within the clinical setting. Among English-speaking AD patients, Block Design and Digit-Span of the WAIS-R, as well as tests of language were among the strongest predictors of functional performance. For Spanish-speakers, Block Design, The Mini-Mental State Evaluation (MMSE) and Digit Span had the optimal predictive power. When stepwise regression was conducted on the entire sample of 183 subjects, ethnicity emerged as a statistically significant predictor variable on one of the seven functional tests (writing a check). Despite the predictive power of several of the neuropsychological measures for both groups, most of the variability in objective functional performance could not be explained in our regression models. As a result, it would appear prudent to include functional measures as part of a comprehensive neuropsychological evaluation for dementia.

  5. The experience of learning to speak up: a narrative inquiry on newly graduated registered nurses.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Law, Bernice Yee-Shui; Chan, Engle Angela

    2015-07-01

    To explore the process of learning to speak up in practice among newly graduated registered nurses. Speaking up is an important aspect of communication to ensure patient safety within a healthcare team. However, nurses have reported being hesitant about speaking up or being unable to be heard, despite adopting various safety tools. A power differential could be a factor in their hesitation to speak up. While a large number of new graduates are employed in the lower rungs of the hospital hierarchy to resolve local and global nursing shortages, the process of their learning to speak up remains under-explored. The narrative concept of experience is addressed through the three-dimensional space of a narrative inquiry. Eighteen new graduates were recruited. Stories of experiences of speaking up emerged naturally during repeated unstructured interviews and ongoing email conversations with three participants. The complex process of learning to speak up is schematically represented. Three interrelated narrative threads were identified: (1) learning to speak up requires more than one-off training and safety tools, (2) mentoring speaking up in the midst of educative and miseducative experiences and (3) making public spaces safe for telling secret stories. Speaking up requires ongoing mentoring to see new possibilities for sustaining professional identities in the midst of miseducative experiences under the potential shaping of the Chinese culture and generational differences. Appreciative inquiry might be a new approach that can be used to promote positive cultural changes to encourage newly graduated registered nurses to learn to speak up to ensure patient safety. Cultivating a safe and open culture of communication and mentoring new graduates to speak up will benefit patient safety now and in the future by helping to retain committed patient advocates who could mentor future generations. © 2015 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

  6. A cross-sectional analysis of perinatal depressive symptoms among Punjabi-speaking women: are they at risk?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sanghera, Raman; Wong, Sabrina T; Brown, Helen

    2015-07-22

    Depression is the leading cause of disability for childbearing women. We examined three specific research questions among Punjabi-speaking women residing in the Fraser Health Authority: 1) What are the prevalence rates of prenatal depressive symptoms? 2) Do Punjabi-speaking women have a higher likelihood of reporting depressive symptoms compared to English-speaking women after controlling for age, level of education and financial worries, and 3) Given the same level of exposure to level of education and financial worries, do Punjabi-speaking women have the same likelihood of reporting depressive symptoms? Data originated from the Fraser Health Authority prenatal registration database consisting of pregnant women (n = 9684) who completed a prenatal registration form between June 2009 and August 2010; 9.1 % indicated speaking Punjabi. The Whooley Depression Screen measured depressive symptoms. Chi-square tests and logistic multiple regression were used to examine the rates of reporting depressive symptoms among Punjabi-speaking women compared to English-speaking women. Punjabi-speaking women are at a higher risk for perinatal depressive symptoms. Women needing an interpreter were more likely to report prenatal depressive symptoms compared to English-speaking women. All registrants who reported financial worries had four and a half times the odds of reporting depressive symptoms. The impact of financial worries was significantly greater in the English-speaking women compared to the Punjabi-speaking women needing an interpreter. Using an established screening device, Punjabi-speaking women were found to be at higher risk for prenatal depressive symptoms.

  7. STUDENTS’ SELF ESTEEM IN SPEAKING ABILITY

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Elvira Rosyida MR

    2016-09-01

    Full Text Available One of principle of communicative competence is the students know how to uselanguage according to the setting and the participants. Actually, to be able to speaktarget language, the students ar not only expected to have a great ability in grammar,vocabulary, or writing, but how brave they express their idea and use target languageto others. Therefore, this study aimed to investigate students’ self esteem to theirspeaking ability This study was carried out at Hadist major at the fourth semester ofIAIN Raden Intan Lampung. The researcher used questionnaire, test, and interview.The data collected were analyzed quantitatively, and described to know clearly theprocess which was occurred during the research. The results indicate that students’self esteem influence their speaking ability.Key Words: speaking, self esteem, communicative competence

  8. Las Voces Nuevas del Sudoeste (New Voices of the Southwest). Symposium: "The Spanish-Speaking Child in the Schools of the Southwest" (Tucson, Arizona, October 30, 31, 1966).

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hart, Elinor, Ed.

    The symposium was held to publicize the positive efforts which were being undertaken to solve the problems of Spanish-speaking children and to provide a catalyst for the further action that was needed. The problems were explored from various points of view with two questions in mind: "What was being done?" and "What more could be…

  9. The Effect of Ethnolinguistic Differences on Proximity between Cantonese and Mandarin Speaking Children.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Leung, Lanna Oi-Ling; Lewis, George F.

    1999-01-01

    Examined effects of ethnolinguistic differences on social proximity between Cantonese- and Mandarin-speaking Chinese children in a day care center. Found that each group of children was more likely to be in closer proximity to children speaking their own language than to children speaking the other language during free choice floor- and group-time…

  10. THE EFFECTS OF HOMOGENEOUS AND HETEROGENEOUS PUSHED OUTPUT INSTRUCTIONS ON SPEAKING COMPLEXITY

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    Parviz Ghasedi

    2017-12-01

    Full Text Available This study was set out to investigate the efficacy of homogeneous and heterogeneous pushed output based instruction on upper-intermediate EFL learner’ speaking complexity. To do so, 41 (17 males and 24 females EFL learners were selected from University of Zabol based on the results of OPT. Then, they were put in control and experimental groups based on the predetermined criteria. Retelling and decision making tasks were used in the treatments of experimental groups while control group received placebo during 15 sessions, twice a week. Public versions of IELTS speaking test were used as pre/post-test. The results of Independent sample t-test indicated that experimental groups outperformed control group. On the other hand, statistical analyses showed no significant differences between male and female speech complexity. To sum up, the findings demonstrated the fruitful effects of collaborative pushed output activities on speaking sub-skills. Likewise, the results suggested the implementation of similar strategies in the development of male and female speaking dimensions. Based on the findings, it can be claimed that teacher preparation programs should put teaching speaking on their list of priorities and provide courses on effective strategies for the development of speaking dimensions through implementing the main tenants of pushed output hypothesis.

  11. Assessing public speaking fear with the short form of the Personal Report of Confidence as a Speaker scale: confirmatory factor analyses among a French-speaking community sample

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Heeren A

    2013-05-01

    Full Text Available Alexandre Heeren,1,2 Grazia Ceschi,3 David P Valentiner,4 Vincent Dethier,1 Pierre Philippot11Université Catholique de Louvain, Louvain-la-Neuve, Belgium; 2National Fund for Scientific Research, Brussels, Belgium; 3Department of Psychology, University of Geneva, Geneva, Switzerland; 4Department of Psychology, Northern Illinois University, DeKalb, IL, USABackground: The main aim of this study was to assess the reliability and structural validity of the French version of the 12-item version of the Personal Report of Confidence as Speaker (PRCS, one of the most promising measurements of public speaking fear.Methods: A total of 611 French-speaking volunteers were administered the French versions of the short PRCS, the Liebowitz Social Anxiety Scale, the Fear of Negative Evaluation scale, as well as the Trait version of the Spielberger State-Trait Anxiety Inventory and the Beck Depression Inventory-II, which assess the level of anxious and depressive symptoms, respectively.Results: Regarding its structural validity, confirmatory factor analyses indicated a single-factor solution, as implied by the original version. Good scale reliability (Cronbach’s alpha = 0.86 was observed. The item discrimination analysis suggested that all the items contribute to the overall scale score reliability. The French version of the short PRCS showed significant correlations with the Liebowitz Social Anxiety Scale (r = 0.522, the Fear of Negative Evaluation scale (r = 0.414, the Spielberger State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (r = 0.516, and the Beck Depression Inventory-II (r = 0.361.Conclusion: The French version of the short PRCS is a reliable and valid measure for the evaluation of the fear of public speaking among a French-speaking sample. These findings have critical consequences for the measurement of psychological and pharmacological treatment effectiveness in public speaking fear among a French-speaking sample.Keywords: social phobia, public speaking, confirmatory

  12. Assessing public speaking fear with the short form of the Personal Report of Confidence as a Speaker scale: confirmatory factor analyses among a French-speaking community sample.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Heeren, Alexandre; Ceschi, Grazia; Valentiner, David P; Dethier, Vincent; Philippot, Pierre

    2013-01-01

    The main aim of this study was to assess the reliability and structural validity of the French version of the 12-item version of the Personal Report of Confidence as Speaker (PRCS), one of the most promising measurements of public speaking fear. A total of 611 French-speaking volunteers were administered the French versions of the short PRCS, the Liebowitz Social Anxiety Scale, the Fear of Negative Evaluation scale, as well as the Trait version of the Spielberger State-Trait Anxiety Inventory and the Beck Depression Inventory-II, which assess the level of anxious and depressive symptoms, respectively. Regarding its structural validity, confirmatory factor analyses indicated a single-factor solution, as implied by the original version. Good scale reliability (Cronbach's alpha = 0.86) was observed. The item discrimination analysis suggested that all the items contribute to the overall scale score reliability. The French version of the short PRCS showed significant correlations with the Liebowitz Social Anxiety Scale (r = 0.522), the Fear of Negative Evaluation scale (r = 0.414), the Spielberger State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (r = 0.516), and the Beck Depression Inventory-II (r = 0.361). The French version of the short PRCS is a reliable and valid measure for the evaluation of the fear of public speaking among a French-speaking sample. These findings have critical consequences for the measurement of psychological and pharmacological treatment effectiveness in public speaking fear among a French-speaking sample.

  13. Speaking up for patient safety by hospital-based health care professionals: a literature review.

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Okuyama, A.; Wagner, C.; Bijnen, B.

    2014-01-01

    Background: Speaking up is important for patient safety, but often, health care professionals hesitate to voice concerns. Understanding the influencing factors can help to improve speaking-up behaviour and team communication. This review focused on health care professionals’ speaking-up behaviour

  14. Speaking up for patient safety by hospital-based health care professionals: a literature review

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Okuyama, A.; Wagner, C.; Bijnen, A.B.

    2014-01-01

    Background: Speaking up is important for patient safety, but often, health care professionals hesitate to voice concerns. Understanding the influencing factors can help to improve speaking-up behaviour and team communication. This review focused on health care professionals' speaking-up behaviour

  15. Creative Motor Actions As Emerging from Movement Variability.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Orth, Dominic; van der Kamp, John; Memmert, Daniel; Savelsbergh, Geert J P

    2017-01-01

    In cognitive science, creative ideas are defined as original and feasible solutions in response to problems. A common proposal is that creative ideas are generated across dedicated cognitive pathways. Only after creative ideas have emerged, they can be enacted to solve the problem. We present an alternative viewpoint, based upon the dynamic systems approach to perception and action, that creative solutions emerge in the act rather than before . Creative actions, thus, are as much a product of individual constraints as they are of the task and environment constraints. Accordingly, we understand creative motor actions as functional movement patterns that are new to the individual and/or group and adapted to satisfy the constraints on the motor problem at hand. We argue that creative motor actions are promoted by practice interventions that promote exploration by manipulating constraints. Exploration enhances variability of functional movement patterns in terms of either coordination or control solutions. At both levels, creative motor actions can emerge from finding new and degenerate adaptive motor solutions. Generally speaking, we anticipate that in most cases, when exposed to variation in constraints, people are not looking for creative motor actions, but discover them while doing an effort to satisfy constraints. For future research, this paper achieves two important aspects: it delineates how adaptive (movement) variability is at the heart of (motor) creativity, and it sets out methodologies toward stimulating adaptive variability.

  16. Speaking of Science: stepping out of the stereotype (Invited)

    Science.gov (United States)

    Castro, J. M.

    2013-12-01

    Just because we are scientists and engineers, does not mean that our presentations must be dry and boring. Step out of the stereotype! Success in your career depends not only upon the rigor of your research, but also hinges on your ability to communicate with your peers and with the public. According to many somewhat dubious internet polls, public speaking is the number one human fear. And yet public speaking is defined as speaking to more than four people at any given time. Hence, you are a public speaker more than you may realize. Given this seemingly natural fear, it is not surprising that delivering a presentation at large, or even small, science gatherings can be frightening, overwhelming, and intimidating, but it can also be extremely rewarding and gratifying. On very few occasions do we, as scientists and engineers, get to reach out to dozens or hundreds of our colleagues in a single session. Make the most of your moment on stage, wherever that stage may be. If you would like to improve your public speaking skills, please join me for a session on making your presentations interesting and effective, while also reducing your stress and actually enjoying the experience. Participants will leave the workshop with a greater skill set to develop and deliver presentations. The workshop is interactive and builds on the collective experience of the audience and the instructor. 'The problem with most bad presentations I see is not the speaking, the slides, the visuals, or any of the other things people obsess about. Instead, it's the lack of thinking.' Scott Berkun, Confessions of a Public Speaker, 2010

  17. The Latino Physician Shortage: How the Affordable Care Act Increases the Value of Latino Spanish-Speaking Physicians and What Efforts Can Increase Their Supply.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Daar, David A; Alvarez-Estrada, Miguel; Alpert, Abigail E

    2018-02-01

    The United States Latino population is growing at a rapid pace and is set to reach nearly 30% by 2050. The demand for culturally and linguistically competent health care is increasing in lockstep with this growth; however, the supply of doctors with skills and experience suited for this care is lagging. In particular, there is a major shortage of Latino Spanish-speaking physicians, and the gap between demand and supply is widening. The implementation of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) has increased the capacity of the US healthcare system to care for the growing Latino Spanish-speaking population, through health insurance exchanges, increased funding for safety net institutions, and efforts to improve efficiency and coordination of care, particularly with Accountable Care Organizations and the Hospital Readmissions Reduction Program. With these policies in mind, the authors discuss how the value of Latino Spanish-speaking physicians to the healthcare system has increased under the environment of the ACA. In addition, the authors highlight key efforts to increase the supply of this physician population, including the implementation of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals Act, premedical pipeline programs, and academic medicine and medical school education initiatives to increase Latino representation among physicians.

  18. 'Speak out' - issues in participatory materials development

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Zannie Bock

    2008-08-01

    Full Text Available This article outlines the development of a beginner English course called 'Speak Out' for adults in Adult Basic Education and Training classes in the early 1990s. The course uses an innovative roleplay methodology which builds on the experiences and language knowledge of the adult learners. It was conceptualised and developed within a participatory approach to adult learning and materials development. The article explores the tension between the ideals of the participatory approach and the constraints exerted by contextual and other factors. The article begins with an introduction of the context within which the materials were conceptualised, then offers a brief overview of the participatory approach, and then considers the following aspects of the 'Speak Out' course: the language learning methodology, issues of teacher competence and development, and lastly, the materials development process itself. Hierdie artikel beskryf die ontwikkeling van 'n beginnerskursus vir Engels, getitel 'Speak Out'. Dit is ontwerp vir volwassenes in klasse binne 'n Volwasse Basiese Onderrig en Opleiding-program in die vroee 1990s. Die kursus maak gebruik van innoverende rolspel as 'n metode wat spesifiek aansluit by die ervarings en taalkennis van volwasse leerders. Dit is gekonseptualiseer en ontwikkel as deel van 'n deelnemende benadering tot die opleiding van volwassenes en die ontwikkeling van hulpmiddels. Die artikel ondersoek die spanning tussen die ideale van 'n deelnemende benadering en die beperkinge wat opgele word deur kontekstuele en ander faktore. Die inleiding van die artikel gee 'n uiteensetting van die konteks waarbinne die hulpmiddels gekonseptualiseer is. Dan volg 'n kort oorsig oor die deelnemende benadering, en die volgende aspekte van die 'Speak Out'-kursus word oorweeg: die metodologie van taalaanleer, kwessies rondom onderwysers se vaardighede en ontwikkeling, en laastens, die proses van hulpmiddel-ontwikkeling self.

  19. DIFFICULTIES OF SPEAKING THAT ARE ENCOUNTERED BY ENGLISH LANGUAGE STUDENTS AT AL MARGEB UNIVERSITY

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Mohamed Dalem

    2017-11-01

    Full Text Available The aim of this paper is to explore the speaking difficulties encountered by English language students at Al Margeb University, and to discover the causes of such difficulties. Speaking English has been a vital importance in international communication. Speaking fluent English is a common problem among the nonnative speakers. The second language learners have gone through a variety of cases to learn how to speak not only correct grammar and using the right vocabulary but with correct accent and pronunciation. Many obstacles, therefore, have been known as the predictors of such a problem among the language learners.  According to the review of literature, appropriate speaking instruction was found to be the learners' priority and a field in which they need more attention. In this paper the writer highlight the speaking difficulties encountered by English language students at Al Margeb University, which are considered to be the most urgent for every teacher, such as fear of mistakes, shyness, anxiety, lack of confidence and lack of motivation. This paper can be useful to teachers to consider their language learners' speaking needs in English language teaching and learning context.

  20. Spanish-speaking patients' satisfaction with clinical pharmacists' communication skills and demonstration of cultural sensitivity.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kim-Romo, Dawn N; Barner, Jamie C; Brown, Carolyn M; Rivera, José O; Garza, Aida A; Klein-Bradham, Kristina; Jokerst, Jason R; Janiga, Xan; Brown, Bob

    2014-01-01

    OBJECTIVE To assess Spanish-speaking patients' satisfaction with their clinical pharmacists' communication skills and demonstration of cultural sensitivity, while controlling for patients' sociodemographic, clinical, and communication factors, as well as pharmacist factors, and to identify clinical pharmacists' cultural factors that are important to Spanish-speaking patients. DESIGN Cross-sectional study. SETTING Central Texas during August 2011 to May 2012. PARTICIPANTS Spanish-speaking patients of federally qualified health centers (FQHCs). MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE(S) A Spanish-translated survey assessed Spanish-speaking patients' satisfaction with their clinical pharmacists' communication skills and demonstration of cultural sensitivity. RESULTS Spanish-speaking patients (N = 101) reported overall satisfaction with their clinical pharmacists' communication skills and cultural sensitivity. Patients also indicated that pharmacists' cultural rapport (e.g., ability to speak Spanish, respectfulness) was generally important to Spanish speakers. Multiple linear regression analyses showed that cultural rapport was significantly related to satisfaction with pharmacists' communication skills and demonstration of cultural sensitivity. CONCLUSION Overall, patients were satisfied with pharmacists' communication skills and cultural sensitivity. Patient satisfaction initiatives that include cultural rapport should be developed for pharmacists who provide care to Spanish-speaking patients with limited English proficiency.

  1. Hypoglycemia perception: Cross-cultural differences in Punjabi and Hindi speaking postmenopausal women.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bhutani, Jaikrit; Kalra, Sanjay; Bhutani, Sukriti; Kalra, Bharti

    2013-10-01

    The cross cultural differences in perception of menopausal symptoms are well known and these differences in perception of hypoglycemic symptoms in Russian-speaking and Caucasian postmenopausal women have been reported. This study assessed cross - linguistic and cross - cultural differences in symptomatology of self reported hypoglycemia, between Punjabi and Hindi speaking diabetic post menopausal women. Thirty Punjabi speaking and 20 Hindi speaking diabetic postmenopausal women aged over 50 years, were recruited for this study. Each subject was asked, what happens to you when you have low sugar? in the language of her choice, and spontaneous answers were recorded verbatim. The data so obtained was analyzed by paper and pen method to obtain an understanding of the frequency of self reporting of various symptoms and then analyzed using Statistical Package for Social Science ver.19.0. Symptoms of hollowness, cold sweats and headache correlated significantly (P Punjabi speaking cohort were bilingual. Some symptoms of hypoglycemia may have been missed or over-reported by participants. Diabetes care professionals should be aware that persons with diabetes from varying linguistic backgrounds may report symptoms of hypoglycemia differently.

  2. The Impact of Problem-Based Learning on Iranian EFL Learners’ Speaking Proficiency

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    Loghman Ansarian

    2016-06-01

    Full Text Available The study investigated the effect of problem-based learning through cognition-based tasks on speaking proficiency of Iranian intermediate EFL learners in comparison to the effect of objective-based tasks. To this end, a true experimental research design was employed. Ninety five (N=95 language learners studying at a language institute in the city of Esfahan, Iran were given an IELTS listening and speaking test as the proficiency test and 75 learners were selected. In the next phase of the study, a second IELTS speaking test was administered as the homogeneity test and the pre-test to seventy five (N=75 learners chosen from the population and forty-eight (N=48 homogeneous intermediate learners were selected for the study (i.e., 24 learners in control group and 24 in experimental one. The results of an independent-sample t-test gained from the study proved that not only does implementation of problem-based learning through cognition-based tasks significantly increased intermediate participants’ speaking proficiency, but also it had more positive effect in comparison to objective-based tasks on participants’ speaking proficiency. Therefore, it is suggested that problem-based learning ought to be taken into account by educational scholars, those in charge of syllabus, material producers, language teachers and language learners. Keywords: Cognition-Based Tasks, Objective-Based Tasks, EFL Learners, Speaking Proficiency, Problem-Based Learning

  3. Cognitive behavioral therapy for public-speaking anxiety using virtual reality for exposure.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Anderson, Page L; Zimand, Elana; Hodges, Larry F; Rothbaum, Barbara O

    2005-01-01

    This study used an open clinical trial to test a cognitive-behavioral treatment for public-speaking anxiety that utilized virtual reality as a tool for exposure therapy. Treatment was completed by participants (n = 10) meeting the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM)-IV criteria for social phobia, or panic disorder with agoraphobia in which public speaking was the predominantly feared stimulus. Treatment was conducted by a licensed psychologist in an outpatient clinic. Treatment consisted of eight individual therapy sessions, including four sessions of anxiety management training and four sessions of exposure therapy using a virtual audience, according to a standardized treatment manual. Participants completed standardized self-report questionnaires assessing public-speaking anxiety at pre-treatment, post-treatment, and 3-month follow-up. Participants were asked to give a speech to an actual audience at pre- and post-treatment. Results showed decreases on all self-report measures of public-speaking anxiety from pre- to post-treatment, which were maintained at follow-up (n = 8; all P = 05). Participants were no more likely to complete a speech post-treatment than at pre-treatment. This study provides preliminary evidence that a cognitive-behavioral treatment using virtual reality for exposure to public speaking may reduce public-speaking anxiety and suggests that further research with a controlled design is needed. Copyright 2005 Wiley-Liss, Inc.

  4. CHALLENGING PROJECTS OF TEACHING ACTIVITIES IN SPEAKING CLASS

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    Teguh Sarosa

    2017-04-01

    Full Text Available This paper proposes an alternative way of teaching speaking through challenging classroom activities. The abundant number of teaching techniques in speaking skill designed by linguists and English practitioners make English second-language teachers exultant in searching and designing classroom activities. Since teaching speaking could do with accuracy and fluency, teachers should provide a conducive atmosphere for students’ free will in expressing their thoughts without being afraid of making mistakes as well as a favorable condition for fostering students’ correctness in producing utterances. Designing challenging projects which encompass interactive activities can be used as an alternative model for developing learners’ fluency and repetitive doings can be used for fostering learners’ accuracy. Interactive activities involving information gap demand the second-language learners’ critical thinking in organizing the logical relationships among ideas, the soundness of evidence, and the differences between fact and opinion in order to keep the communication flows. Whereas the repetitive doings help second-language learners in producing appropriate utterances. Besides, the project upshots contribute contentments to students in appreciating theirs collaborative efforts.

  5. Relationship between stuttering severity in children and their mothers’ speaking rate

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    Ali Dehqan

    Full Text Available CONTEXT AND OBJECTIVE: Stuttering is a complex disease that influences occupational, social, academic and emotional achievements. The aim of this study was to correlate the stuttering severity index with speaking rates of mothers and children. DESIGN AND SETTING: Cross-sectional study, at the child rehabilitation clinics of Tehran city. METHODS: 35 pairs of mothers and their children who stuttered were studied. There were 29 boys and six girls, of mean age 8.5 years (range: 5.1-12.0. Speech samples from the mother-child pairs were audiotaped for approximately 15 minutes, until a reciprocal verbal interaction had been obtained. This sample was then analyzed in accordance with a stuttering severity index test and speaking rate parameters. RESULTS: The research results outlined a significant relationship between the mothers’ speaking rate and their children’s stuttering severity. CONCLUSION: The results suggest that the mothers’ speaking rate should be incorporated in the assessment and treatment of stuttering.

  6. Youth Views of Experiences and Benefits of Public Speaking

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    Ben Silliman

    2009-06-01

    Full Text Available Ninety-eight youth participants, ages 9-17, involved in a public speaking event reported that preparation and presentation of a 5-12 minute demonstration or illustrated talk improved confidence, knowledge of a selected topic and skills in communicating, goal setting, organizing, working with others, and doing research. Positive benefits were reported from first-year as well as multi-year participants. Most youth surveyed indicated that they participated by choice and received adequate assistance in preparation for speaking. Similar results were found for a smaller group (N = 20 involved in a non-competitive performing arts event. A randomly-selected group (N = 37 interviewed about the extended effects of public speaking revealed that the experience helped them in school presentations, community leadership, and more in-depth involvement in specific topic areas. Implications of results for youth programming and engaging wider audiences of youth are discussed.

  7. Impromptu: great impromptu speaking is never just impromptu

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    Ramlah A. Nawi

    2015-10-01

    Full Text Available Great impromptu speaking, reciting and singing are never just an isolated impromptu act. It is the result of endless practice to perfect performance that can then be given impromptu. One of the main objectives of learning English as a Second Language (ESL is to be able to speak English impromptu, not just on the stage or in front of an audience but also in a casual meeting, on the street or during a formal meeting in a board-room. In fact to be able to speak “impromptu” should be the Holy Grail of teaching and learning ESL, more important than reading, writing and listening. So how come it is not given the priority it deserves – and how come it seems such a difficult goal? We believe it is because teachers and learners neglect to emphasize and practice the key to learning impromptu speaking. That key we believe is practice, practice and more practice. We can remember songs from our kindergarten years and we can still sing them because we practiced, practiced and practiced them. We believe that the teaching of ESL often overlooks the critical importance of lots of practice to create depth of learning and that creative methods of practicing need to be taught and practiced in ESL courses until such methods become deeply habitual, in fact they become a new personal paradigm. If our students aim to become great at ESL, they, too, must take continuous never-ending practice to heart.

  8. Untrained chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes schweinfurthii fail to imitate novel actions.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Claudio Tennie

    Full Text Available Social learning research in apes has focused on social learning in the technical (problem solving domain - an approach that confounds action and physical information. Successful subjects in such studies may have been able to perform target actions not as a result of imitation learning but because they had learnt some technical aspect, for example, copying the movements of an apparatus (i.e., different forms of emulation learning.Here we present data on action copying by non-enculturated and untrained chimpanzees when physical information is removed from demonstrations. To date, only one such study (on gesture copying in a begging context has been conducted--with negative results. Here we have improved this methodology and have also added non-begging test situations (a possible confound of the earlier study. Both familiar and novel actions were used as targets. Prior to testing, a trained conspecific demonstrator was rewarded for performing target actions in view of observers. All but one of the tested chimpanzees already failed to copy familiar actions. When retested with a novel target action, also the previously successful subject failed to copy--and he did so across several contexts.Chimpanzees do not seem to copy novel actions, and only some ever copy familiar ones. Due to our having tested only non-enculturated and untrained chimpanzees, the performance of our test subjects speak more than most other studies of the general (dis-ability of chimpanzees to copy actions, and especially novel actions.

  9. Untrained Chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes schweinfurthii) Fail to Imitate Novel Actions

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tennie, Claudio; Call, Josep; Tomasello, Michael

    2012-01-01

    Background Social learning research in apes has focused on social learning in the technical (problem solving) domain - an approach that confounds action and physical information. Successful subjects in such studies may have been able to perform target actions not as a result of imitation learning but because they had learnt some technical aspect, for example, copying the movements of an apparatus (i.e., different forms of emulation learning). Methods Here we present data on action copying by non-enculturated and untrained chimpanzees when physical information is removed from demonstrations. To date, only one such study (on gesture copying in a begging context) has been conducted – with negative results. Here we have improved this methodology and have also added non-begging test situations (a possible confound of the earlier study). Both familiar and novel actions were used as targets. Prior to testing, a trained conspecific demonstrator was rewarded for performing target actions in view of observers. All but one of the tested chimpanzees already failed to copy familiar actions. When retested with a novel target action, also the previously successful subject failed to copy – and he did so across several contexts. Conclusion Chimpanzees do not seem to copy novel actions, and only some ever copy familiar ones. Due to our having tested only non-enculturated and untrained chimpanzees, the performance of our test subjects speak more than most other studies of the general (dis-)ability of chimpanzees to copy actions, and especially novel actions. PMID:22905102

  10. Speaking in their Language: An Overview of the Major Difficulties Faced by the Libyan EFL Learners in Speaking Skill

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    Mustafa Mubarak Pathan

    2014-09-01

    Full Text Available Of the four major language skills, speaking is regarded as the most crucial and central one as it enables the learner to establish successful communication in that language, which is often the main aim of learning any foreign language. That is why it forms the focus of attention in any foreign language teaching and learning as failure to master this crucial language skill leads to the failure to establish successful communication. However, mastering this language skill does not go so easily with the EFL learners and particularly for the Arab EFL learners as many factors, including the mother tongue interference, hinder and influence the process of learning and mastering this crucial foreign language skill. The consequent result is that the EFL learners, especially Arab learners, encounter various difficulties while communicating in English and speak the language in their own way with the flavour of their mother tongue, Arabic. This problem of the Libyan EFL learners, encountered while speaking in English, is the subject of investigation in this paper. Various other problems, nature of these problems, sources of these problems and some pedagogical suggestion to overcome these problems are also some of the central topics of discussion in the paper.

  11. Building Interpersonal Relationships as a Key to Effective Speaking Center Consultations

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ward, Kiya; Schwartzman, Roy

    2009-01-01

    Although much interest has been generated regarding the functions speaking centers serve and the effects consultations can have, minimal research has addressed the dynamics of consultations themselves. This study documents what speaking center clients and consultants identify as barriers in consultations and how they address them. Analysis of…

  12. Designing an Automated Assessment of Public Speaking Skills Using Multimodal Cues

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chen, Lei; Feng, Gary; Leong, Chee Wee; Joe, Jilliam; Kitchen, Christopher; Lee, Chong Min

    2016-01-01

    Traditional assessments of public speaking skills rely on human scoring. We report an initial study on the development of an automated scoring model for public speaking performances using multimodal technologies. Task design, rubric development, and human rating were conducted according to standards in educational assessment. An initial corpus of…

  13. Speaking up, being heard: registered nurses' perceptions of workplace communication.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Garon, Maryanne

    2012-04-01

    The aim of the present study was to explore nurses' perceptions of their own ability to speak up and be heard in the workplace. Nurses are central to patient care and patient safety in hospitals. Their ability to speak up and be heard greatly impacts their own work satisfaction, team work as well as patient safety. The present study utilized a qualitative approach, consisting of focus group interviews of 33 registered nurses (RNs), in staff or management positions from a variety of healthcare settings in California, USA. Data were analysed using thematic content analysis. Findings were organized into three categories: influences on speaking up, transmission and reception of a message and outcomes or results. The present study supported the importance of the manager in setting the culture of open communication. It is anticipated that findings from the present study may increase understandings of nurse views of communication within healthcare settings. The study highlights the importance of nurse managers in creating the communication culture that will allow nurses to speak up and be heard. These open communication cultures lead to better patient care, increased safety and better staff satisfaction. © 2011 Blackwell Publishing Ltd.

  14. Language as a barrier to care for Xhosa-speaking patients at a ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    incompatibility between patients and health care providers and socioeconomic ... problem, 15% saying that it was a barrier that nurses and doctors did not speak ... The majority of doctors are first-language English speaking, followed by ...

  15. Speaking

    CERN Document Server

    Schofield, James

    2011-01-01

    Make yourself understood in business. This brand new self-study book is the perfect way for business people who spend a lot of time on the phone or in meetings and want to improve their spoken English, getting their message across effectively. The focus is on the key language required to speak English accurately in business. 'Collins English for Business' is a new series of self-study skills books which focus on the language you really need to do business in English - wherever you are in the world. Each title includes tips on how to communicate effectively and how to communicate inter-culturally. Other titles in the series: Listening and Writing. * Powered by COBUILD - using the real language of business English * Contents: Twenty 4-page units cover the key areas, such as Networking and Small Talk, Telephoning, Telephone and Video Conferencing, Presentations and Interviews. * Each unit contains: - Exercises focused on vocabulary or key structures - Grammar tips - Key phrases * Audio CD: dialogues are recorded...

  16. To Speak or Not to Speak: Promoting the Dartmouth Model at a Small Private College.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cipolla, William F.

    The paper reviews the selection and use of the Dartmouth Intensive Language Model at Western Maryland College. The purpose was to produce a student who could read, understand, speak, and write French easily enough to make a foreign language major attractive and less formidable. The program proposed a three-semester sequence of intensive French…

  17. The relation between public speaking anxiety and social anxiety: a review.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Blöte, Anke W; Kint, Marcia J W; Miers, Anne C; Westenberg, P Michiel

    2009-04-01

    This article reviewed the literature on public speaking anxiety in the context of social phobia subtyping. In total, 18 empirical studies on subtype issues related to public speaking anxiety were analyzed. Results of the reviewed studies are discussed in relation to their research method, that is, whether it focused on qualitative or quantitative aspects of subtype differences and whether it used a clinical or community sample. Evidence supported the premise that public speaking anxiety is a distinct subtype, qualitatively and quantitatively different from other subtypes of social phobia. The significance of this finding for social phobia studies using speech tasks to assess participants' state anxiety and behavioral performance is discussed.

  18. USP Marion: A Few Prisoners Summon the Courage to Speak

    OpenAIRE

    Stephen C. Richards

    2015-01-01

    USP Marion is the first supermax federal penitentiary. Marionization refers to the experimental control program used at this prison. The prisoners speaking in this article suffered many years of solitary confinement. This research brief discusses some of what they experienced in their own words. These are the recollections of a few Marion prisoners that have summoned the courage to speak out and share their darkest memories.

  19. Debate Instruction in EFL Classroom: Impacts on the Critical Thinking and Speaking Skill

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    Jaya Nur Iman

    2017-11-01

    Full Text Available The research was aimed to find out whether or not using debate significantly improved the students’ critical thinking and speaking skill achievements and how much debate contributed to each aspect of critical thinking and speaking skill. A quasi-experimental study of non-equivalent pretest- posttest control group design was used in this research. The findings showed that (1 there was a significant improvement in critical thinking and speaking skill, (2 there was also a significant mean difference between the experimental and control groups, (3 there was high contribution of the debate toward the whole aspects of critical thinking (0.821 or 82.1%. Partially, the contribution of each aspect of Critical Thinking (CT toward critical thinking (total achievement was as follows: context was 32.3%, issue was 26.2%, implication was 20.1%, and assumption was 6.6%. On the other side, there was high contribution of the debate toward the whole aspects of Speaking Skill (0.961 or 96.1%. Partially, the contribution of each aspect of Speaking Skill (SS toward Speaking Skill (total achievement was as follows: fluency was 67.4%, grammar was 13.7%, pronunciation was 8.3%, comprehension was 5.4%, and vocabulary was 1.4%.

  20. The Implementation of Group Investigation to Improve the Students' Speaking Skill

    Science.gov (United States)

    Iswardati

    2016-01-01

    This research aimed to find out how group investigation improves the student's speaking skill of the second grade students of SMA 2 Samarinda, how group investigation improves the student's participation in speaking of second grade students of SMA 2 Samarinda, and what the obstacles are in the implementation of Group Investigation. The classroom…

  1. Creative Motor Actions As Emerging from Movement Variability

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    Dominic Orth

    2017-10-01

    Full Text Available In cognitive science, creative ideas are defined as original and feasible solutions in response to problems. A common proposal is that creative ideas are generated across dedicated cognitive pathways. Only after creative ideas have emerged, they can be enacted to solve the problem. We present an alternative viewpoint, based upon the dynamic systems approach to perception and action, that creative solutions emerge in the act rather than before. Creative actions, thus, are as much a product of individual constraints as they are of the task and environment constraints. Accordingly, we understand creative motor actions as functional movement patterns that are new to the individual and/or group and adapted to satisfy the constraints on the motor problem at hand. We argue that creative motor actions are promoted by practice interventions that promote exploration by manipulating constraints. Exploration enhances variability of functional movement patterns in terms of either coordination or control solutions. At both levels, creative motor actions can emerge from finding new and degenerate adaptive motor solutions. Generally speaking, we anticipate that in most cases, when exposed to variation in constraints, people are not looking for creative motor actions, but discover them while doing an effort to satisfy constraints. For future research, this paper achieves two important aspects: it delineates how adaptive (movement variability is at the heart of (motor creativity, and it sets out methodologies toward stimulating adaptive variability.

  2. Correcting abnormal speaking through communication partners ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    The listed characteristics are called speech disorders. Abnormal speaking attracts some penalties to the speaker. The penalties are usually very disturbing to the speaker that undertaking some therapeutic measures becomes inevitable. Communication partners strategy is a speech correction approach which makes use of ...

  3. An Investigation of the Variables Predicting Faculty of Education Students' Speaking Anxiety through Ordinal Logistic Regression Analysis

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bozpolat, Ebru

    2017-01-01

    The purpose of this study is to determine whether Cumhuriyet University Faculty of Education students' levels of speaking anxiety are predicted by the variables of gender, department, grade, such sub-dimensions of "Speaking Self-Efficacy Scale for Pre-Service Teachers" as "public speaking," "effective speaking,"…

  4. Duty to speak up in the health care setting a professionalism and ethics analysis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Topazian, Rachel J; Hook, C Christopher; Mueller, Paul S

    2013-11-01

    Staff and students working in health care settings are sometimes reluctant to speak up when they perceive patients to be at risk for harm. In this article, we describe four incidents that occurred at our institution (Mayo Clinic). In two of them, health care professionals failed to speak up, which resulted in harm; in the other two, they did speak up, which prevented harm and improved patient care. We analyzed each scenario using the Physician's Charter on Medical Professionalism and prima facie ethics principles to determine whether principles were violated or upheld. We conclude that anyone who works in a health care setting has a duty to speak up when a patient faces harm. We also provide guidance for health care institutions on promoting a culture in which speaking up is encouraged and integrated into routine practice.

  5. USP Marion: A Few Prisoners Summon the Courage to Speak

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Stephen C. Richards

    2015-02-01

    Full Text Available USP Marion is the first supermax federal penitentiary. Marionization refers to the experimental control program used at this prison. The prisoners speaking in this article suffered many years of solitary confinement. This research brief discusses some of what they experienced in their own words. These are the recollections of a few Marion prisoners that have summoned the courage to speak out and share their darkest memories.

  6. Does Teaching Grammar Really Hinder Students' Speaking Abilities?

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    Kazumi Araki

    2015-01-01

    In the history of formal English education in Japan, grammar used to be the mainstream. In the secondary education system, teachers used to spend many hours teaching grammar to the students. However, it has been replaced by the aural/oral method of teaching a foreign language. There was even a remark that teaching grammar hinders students from communicating fluently. Literally, there was a time when grammar was set aside in formal English education. However, the author noticed that in grammar classes, the students speak English more loudly and confidently without much hesitation than in other types of English classes. One of the reasons is that they are not worried about the contents of the speeches. They are simply concentrating on the forms. They are not afraid of making major mistakes, and the errors they make are minor so they do not feel embarrassed in public. The atmosphere of the grammar classes is very positive and the students enjoy speaking English. In this paper, the author shows how grammar classes can contribute to the acquisition of the students' speaking abilities and manners. "Learning grammar was a precious experience", one student reported after the course.

  7. Benefits of Music Training in Mandarin-Speaking Pediatric Cochlear Implant Users

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fu, Qian-Jie; Galvin, John J., III; Wang, Xiaosong; Wu, Jiunn-Liang

    2015-01-01

    Purpose: The aims of this study were to assess young (5- to 10-year-old) Mandarin-speaking cochlear implant (CI) users' musical pitch perception and to assess the benefits of computer-based home training on performance. Method: Melodic contour identification (MCI) was used to assess musical pitch perception in 14 Mandarin-speaking pediatric CI…

  8. Joining a discourse community: How graduate students learn to speak like astronomers

    Science.gov (United States)

    Baleisis, Audra

    Almost half of all graduate students leave their doctoral programs without finishing. Who leaves, taking which skills and strengths with them, is still poorly understood, however, because it is hard to measure exactly what graduate students learn in their doctoral programs. Since the expertise required of a PhD holder is highly dependent on discipline, the development of a better understanding of graduate education and attrition requires studying the process at the departmental level. This is a qualitative study of the cultural values and norms of academic astronomy, as transmitted through the socialization of graduate students in to giving talks, asking questions, and participating in departmental speaking events. This study also looks at the conflicts that arise when implicit cultural norms, which are practiced but remain unacknowledged, are inconsistent with the official, explicit values and norms for speaking in astronomy. Doctoral students and faculty members in a single astronomy department, at a large western university, filled out a short survey about the stakes involved in astronomy speaking events. A subset of these individuals was interviewed in- depth about the goals of, and their experiences with, five departmental speaking events: Coffee Hour, Journal Club, research talks, Thesis defense talks, and Colloquia. These interviewees were: (1) graduate students who had given a verbal presentation at one of these events, and (2) graduate students and faculty members who were in the audience at a graduate student's presentation. The desired outcomes which were expressed for these speaking events included: (1) lively, informal discussion among all participants, (2) increasing graduate student verbal participation in these events as they "learn to speak like astronomers," and (3) the utility of these events in helping graduate students learn and practice their speaking and reasoning skills related to astronomy research. In practice these goals were not achieved

  9. Patient satisfaction among Spanish-speaking patients in a public health setting.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Welty, Elisabeth; Yeager, Valerie A; Ouimet, Claude; Menachemi, Nir

    2012-01-01

    Despite the growing literature on health care quality, few patient satisfaction studies have focused upon the public health setting; where many Hispanic patients receive care. The purpose of this study was to examine the differences in satisfaction between English and Spanish-speaking patients in a local health department clinical setting. We conducted a paper-based satisfaction survey of patients that visited any of the seven Jefferson County Department of Health primary care centers from March 19 to April 19, 2008. Using Chi-squared analyses we found 25% of the Spanish-speaking patients reported regularly having problems getting an appointment compared to 16.8% among English-speakers (p speaking patients controlling for center location, purpose of visit, and time spent waiting. Specifically, Spanish speaking patients were more likely to report problems getting an appointment and less likely to report having their medical problems resolved when leaving their visit as compared to those who spoke English. Findings presented herein may provide insight regarding the quality of care received, specifically regarding patient satisfaction in the public health setting. © 2011 National Association for Healthcare Quality.

  10. Observing Pair-Work Task in an English Speaking Class

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Diana Achmad

    2014-01-01

    Full Text Available This paper reports on students’ pair-work interactions to develop their speaking skills in an ELT classroom which consisted of international learners. A number of 16 learners of intermediate proficiency with IELTS score band 5.5 were observed. The teacher had paired those he considered among them to be the more competent ones (hereafter, stronger with the less competent ones (hereafter, weaker; therefore, eight pairs were observed during the lesson. The task given to the students was to express ‘Agree and Disagree’ in the context of giving opinions related to social life. Based on the observations, the task was successfully implemented by six pairs; thus, the two others faced some problems. From the first pair, it was seen that the stronger student had intimated the weaker one into speaking during the task. The other pair, who was both of the same native, did not converse in English as expected and mostly used their native language to speak with one another presumably due to respect from the stronger student towards the weaker one. In situations like this, when pair-work becomes unproductive, rotating pairs is recommended to strengthen information sharing and assigning roles to avoid a student from taking over the activity from his or her pair. In conclusion, pairing international learners with mixed speaking proficiency by teachers must be conducted as effectively as possible by initially identifying their ability and learning culture to profoundly expand the students’ language resources.

  11. Development of Teleological Explanations in Peruvian Quechua-Speaking and U.S. English-Speaking Preschoolers and Adults

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sánchez Tapia, Ingrid; Gelman, Susan A.; Hollander, Michelle A.; Manczak, Erika M.; Mannheim, Bruce; Escalante, Carmen

    2016-01-01

    Teleological reasoning involves the assumption that entities exist for a purpose (giraffes have long necks for reaching leaves). This study examines how teleological reasoning relates to cultural context, by studying teleological reasoning in 61 Quechua-speaking Peruvian preschoolers (M[subscript age] = 5.3 years) and adults in an indigenous…

  12. Peer-Reviewed Veterinary Journals From Arabic-Speaking Countries: A Systematic Review.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Robertson, Kristen M; Bowser, Jacquelyn E; Bernstein, Joshua; Aboul-Enein, Basil H

    The prevalence of diseases of foodborne and zoonotic origin in Arabic-speaking countries highlights the importance of collaboration between human and animal health professionals. However, accessibility of research and evidence-based practices in these countries is not well characterized. This brief report determines the availability of professional veterinary journals within the Arabic-speaking region. An electronic search using 6 databases assessed for publication period, activity status, and available languages incorporated all aspects of veterinary medicine and specialties. Among 29 veterinary journals identified, the oldest current publication originated 63 years ago, with 10 journals currently interrupted or ceased. All 19 currently active journals are available electronically as open access, with 8 also offered in paper format. Veterinary journals published within Arabic-speaking countries are predominantly produced in Egypt, Iraq, and Sudan. Electronic access is lacking compared with English-speaking countries, and there is a lack of journals with an Arabic-language option. The reasons associated with language options in veterinary publications are not immediately apparent, yet may highlight differences among public health, health education, and zoonotic professionals and the populations they serve. Veterinary journals in Arabic-speaking countries do not adequately represent the overall region and are limited in access. Further evaluation of regional culture and publisher preferences is indicated to identify new collaboration opportunities among health professionals and local stakeholders. Copyright © 2017 Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  13. An Analysis on Students' Speaking Skill at Second Grade SMP 8 Rambah Hilir

    OpenAIRE

    Harahap, Siti Surinah; Antoni, Rivi; Rasyidah, Ummi

    2015-01-01

    The purpose of this research was to find out students speaking skill. Speaking is one of the some skills among listening, writing, reading.This research used descriptive qualitative research design.where the writer described and analyzed the students' errors in speaking skill. The population of this research was taken from the second grade students' at Smp 8 Rambah Hilir in Rambah Hilir district is about 21 students.Based on the result, the writer concludes that the second grade students' of ...

  14. Library Service to the Spanish Speaking.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Peterson, Anita R.

    This manual was developed to formalize Inglewood Public Library's existing policies and programs regarding library services to the Spanish speaking, and to define future program goals. The introduction discusses why such services have been initiated, why the manual was developed, and the potential benefits the manual has for library…

  15. False belief understanding in Cantonese-speaking children.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tardif, Twila; Wellman, Henry M; Cheung, Kar Man

    2004-11-01

    The present study investigates the performance of 96 Cantonese-speaking three- to five-year-old preschoolers on three false belief tasks - a deceptive object, a change of location, and an unexpected contents task encompassing a variety of task factors. Most importantly, the research examines the possibility that false belief performance depends on specific linguistic factors such as the type of verb used in the test question--an explicitly false vs. a neutral belief verb. Cantonese was chosen as particularly useful for examining this question because it explicitly codes belief status as either neutral (nam5) or false (ji5wai4), and because it offers additional linguistic and cultural contrasts to research conducted on false belief with children learning English and other Indo-European languages. As expected, a strong age effect was found, as well as a significant advantage for children who received the explicit false belief (ji5wai4) wording and for those who were asked to explain rather than predict the protagonist's actions. Interestingly, there was also a strong task difference with children performing better on the deceptive object task than on the other two false belief tasks. We argue that these results point both to universal trajectories in theory of mind development and to interesting, but localized, effects of language and culture on children's false belief understanding.

  16. The Rwandan teachers' and learners' perceived speaking ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    owner

    The innovation of Spolsky's (1989) model of second language learning is that it was presented in the form of a mathematic ... perceived proficiency in speaking Kinyarwanda and English. Methods .... is very effective for the learners' learning.

  17. How Do Junior High School Students Utilize Interactional Strategies in Speaking Activity?

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Hidayatul Avia

    2018-02-01

    Full Text Available Interactional strategies are very important especially for English as a foreign language learners which can help the learners negotiate of the meaning during the interaction in speaking activity. The aim of this research is to analyze the interactional strategies (ISs utilized by three students at different levels (Low, Average, High in speaking activity at the eighth grade students of SMP Islam As-Sakinah Sidoarjo. This research uses qualitative descriptive as a research design, which all of the data are obtained through observation and interview for three students at different level such as low level learner (LLL, average level learner (ALL and high level learner (HLL. In brief, the results of this research show that LLL uses all aspects of interactional strategies in her speaking activity, average level learner (ALL uses some aspects of interactional strategies and high level learner (HLL almost never use the aspects of interactional strategies in his speaking activities.

  18. The Leuven Adolescent Perceived Parenting Scale (LAPPS): Reliability and Validity with French-Speaking Adolescents in Belgium

    OpenAIRE

    Marie Delhaye; Wim Beyers; Theo A Klimstra; Paul Linkowski; Luc Goossens

    2012-01-01

    The present study examined the reliability and validity of the Leuven Adolescent Perceived Parenting Scale (LAPPS), an instrument initially developed for use with Dutch-speaking adolescents in Belgium, in French-speaking adolescents living in that same country. The instrument was administered to a sample of French-speaking adolescents ('N' = 625) and a carefully matched sample of Dutch-speaking adolescents ('N' = 630). Internal consistency (Cronbach's alpha), factor structure, and mean scores...

  19. Word Order Acquisition in Persian Speaking Children

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Nahid Jalilevand

    2017-06-01

    Discussion: Despite the fact that the spoken-Persian language has no strict word order, Persian-speaking children tend to use other logically possible orders of subject (S, verb (V, and object (O lesser than the SOV structure.

  20. On the Conventionalization of Mouth Actions in Australian Sign Language.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Johnston, Trevor; van Roekel, Jane; Schembri, Adam

    2016-03-01

    This study investigates the conventionalization of mouth actions in Australian Sign Language. Signed languages were once thought of as simply manual languages because the hands produce the signs which individually and in groups are the symbolic units most easily equated with the words, phrases and clauses of spoken languages. However, it has long been acknowledged that non-manual activity, such as movements of the body, head and the face play a very important role. In this context, mouth actions that occur while communicating in signed languages have posed a number of questions for linguists: are the silent mouthings of spoken language words simply borrowings from the respective majority community spoken language(s)? Are those mouth actions that are not silent mouthings of spoken words conventionalized linguistic units proper to each signed language, culturally linked semi-conventional gestural units shared by signers with members of the majority speaking community, or even gestures and expressions common to all humans? We use a corpus-based approach to gather evidence of the extent of the use of mouth actions in naturalistic Australian Sign Language-making comparisons with other signed languages where data is available--and the form/meaning pairings that these mouth actions instantiate.

  1. Speaking of Satan in Zambia : The persuasiveness of contemporary narratives about Satanism

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Kamps, J.

    2018-01-01

    According to an old English proverb, ‘Speak of the devil, and he appears.’ In contemporary Zambia, many people are speaking about Satan and Satanists. Satanism refers in Zambia to a supposed organization, headed by Satan, dedicated to bring evil and harm, especially to Christians. Ex-Satanists claim

  2. Retention in mental health care of Portuguese-speaking patients

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gonçalves, Marta; Cook, Benjamin; Mulvaney-Day, Norah; Alegría, Margarita; Kinrys, Gustavo

    2013-01-01

    We compared service outcomes of dedicated language and cultural competency services in adequacy of care, ER, and inpatient care among Portuguese-speaking patients in ethnic- and non-ethnic-specific behavioral health clinics. We assessed adequacy of mental health care, and use of inpatient emergency department among Portuguese-speaking patients, comparing individuals receiving care from a culturally and linguistically competent mental health care setting (the Portuguese Mental Health Program [PMHP]) with usual mental health care in a community health care system in the USA. Propensity score matching was used to balance patients in treatment and control groups on gender, marital status, age, diagnosis of mental disorder, and insurance status. We used de-identified, longitudinal, administrative data of 854 Portuguese-speaking patients receiving care from the PMHP and 541 Portuguese-speaking patients receiving usual care from 2005–2008. Adequate treatment was defined as receipt of at least eight outpatient psychotherapy visits, or at least four outpatient visits of which one was a psychopharmacological visit. PMHP patients were more likely to receive adequate care. No differences were found in rates of ER use or inpatient mental health care. The present study suggests increased quality of care for patients that have contact with a clinic that dedicates resources specifically to a minority/immigrant group. Advantages of this setting include greater linguistic and cultural concordance among providers and patients. Further research is warranted to better understand the mechanisms by which culturally appropriate mental health care settings benefit minority/immigrant patients. PMID:23427258

  3. Improving Speaking Skill Of The Tenth Grade Students Of SMK 17 Agustus 1945 Muncar Through Direct Practice With The Native Speaker

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Mohamad Nor Shodiq

    2017-10-01

    Full Text Available The Classroom Action Research (CAR aims to invent teaching and learning strategy which fits the learners’ style and to solve the teachers’ problem in finding the appropriate technique in teaching. The researcher took SMK 17 Agustus 1945 Muncar Banyuwangi on 35 students of the tenth grade of AK 1 and was conducted in one cycle with the phases of planning, implementing, observing, and reflecting. The researcher found that the implementation of Direct Practice with the Native Speaker could improve the students’ speaking skill. It was proved by the result of the students’ speaking score. The average classical score in preliminary study was 50. 00. They had improvement from the third meeting but did not all of students meet the criteria of success and were still below the KKM. In the fourth meeting was found that all of the students could reach criteria of success and KKM score as 70. 00. Direct Practice with the Native Speaker creates the teaching and learning process fun, and good atmosphere of competition among the students.

  4. Re-Thinking Anxiety: Using Inoculation Messages to Reduce and Reinterpret Public Speaking Fears.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jackson, Ben; Compton, Josh; Thornton, Ashleigh L; Dimmock, James A

    2017-01-01

    Inoculation theory offers a framework for protecting individuals against challenges to an existing attitude, belief, or state. Despite the prevalence and damaging effects of public speaking anxiety, inoculation strategies have yet to be used to help individuals remain calm before and during public speaking. We aimed to test the effectiveness of an inoculation message for reducing the onset of public speaking anxiety, and helping presenters interpret their speech-related anxiety more positively. Participants (Mage = 20.14, SD = 2.72) received either an inoculation (n = 102) or control (n = 128) message prior to engaging a public speaking task and reported a range of anxiety-related perceptions. Accounting for personality characteristics and perceptions of task importance, and relative to control participants, those who received the inoculation message reported significantly lower pre-task anxiety, and following the task, reported that they had experienced lower somatic anxiety, and that the inoculation message had caused them to view their nerves in a less debilitating light. Inoculation messages may be an effective strategy for helping participants reframe and reduce their apprehension about public speaking, and investigating their efficacy in other stress-inducing contexts may be worthwhile.

  5. Effects of Storytelling to Facilitate EFL Speaking Using Web-Based Multimedia System

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hwang, Wu-Yuin; Shadiev, Rustam; Hsu, Jung-Lung; Huang, Yueh-Min; Hsu, Guo-Liang; Lin, Yi-Chun

    2016-01-01

    This study applied storytelling in the English as a foreign language (EFL) classroom in order to promote speaking skills. Students were asked to practice speaking EFL through producing individual and interactive stories with a Web-based multimedia system. We aimed to investigate an effectiveness of applying individual and interactive storytelling…

  6. Idiom Comprehension in Mandarin-Speaking Children

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hsieh, Shelley Ching-Yu; Hsu, Chun-Chieh Natalie

    2010-01-01

    This study examines the effect of familiarity, context, and linguistic convention on idiom comprehension in Mandarin speaking children. Two experiments (a comprehension task followed by a comprehension task coupled with a metapragmatic task) were administered to test participants in three age groups (6 and 9-year-olds, and an adult control group).…

  7. Confident Communication: Speaking Tips for Educators.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Parker, Douglas A.

    This resource book seeks to provide the building blocks needed for public speaking while eliminating the fear factor. The book explains how educators can perfect their oratorical capabilities as well as enjoy the security, confidence, and support needed to create and deliver dynamic speeches. Following an Introduction: A Message for Teachers,…

  8. On the Awareness of English Polysemous Words by Arabic-Speaking EFL Learners

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Sulafah Abdul Salam Alnamer

    2017-04-01

    Full Text Available This study measures the extent to which Arabic-speaking EFL learners are aware of polysemy in English. It also investigates whether the English proficiency level of Arabic-speaking EFL learners plays a role in their ability to distinguish between the various meanings of English polysemous words, and whether they face problems when they encounter these words in unusual contexts (i.e. the contexts that employ the extended meanings of the target polysemous words. To these ends, a translation test in which the participants were asked to give full Arabic translation for fifteen English sentences was designed. The words open, run, and make were the target polysemous words in this study. The Results show that Arabic-speaking EFL learners have little awareness of polysemy in English, and their English proficiency level does play a role in their ability to distinguish between the different meanings of English polysemous words. It was also found that Arabic-speaking EFL learners have no problems guessing the primary meaning of the English polysemous words. However, they face difficulty guessing the extended meanings of polysemous words in unusual contexts. Moreover, some Arabic-speaking EFL learners can guess the extended meanings of the polysemous words they encounter in familiar contexts, or when they understand some cues provided to disambiguate these words. This study concludes with some pedagogical implications and recommendations for further studies.

  9. Two French-Speaking Cases of Foreign Accent Syndrome: An Acoustic-Phonetic Analysis

    Science.gov (United States)

    Roy, Johanna-Pascale; Macoir, Joel; Martel-Sauvageau, Vincent; Boudreault, Carol-Ann

    2012-01-01

    Foreign accent syndrome (FAS) is an acquired neurologic disorder in which an individual suddenly and unintentionally speaks with an accent which is perceived as being different from his/her usual accent. This study presents an acoustic-phonetic description of two Quebec French-speaking cases. The first speaker presents a perceived accent shift to…

  10. Development of Speaking Skills through Activity Based Learning at the Elementary Level

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ul-Haq, Zahoor; Khurram, Bushra Ahmed; Bangash, Arshad Khan

    2017-01-01

    Purpose: This paper discusses an effective instructional method called "activity based learning" that can be used to develop the speaking skills of students in the elementary school level. The present study was conducted to determine the effect of activity based learning on the development of the speaking skills of low and high achievers…

  11. Louisiana Speaks Regional Vision Transit Corridors, UTM Zone 15N NAD 83, Louisiana Recovery Authority (2007), [louisiana_speaks_vision_transit_corridors

    Data.gov (United States)

    Louisiana Geographic Information Center — This GIS shapefile data illustrates the primary and secondary transit corridors included in the Louisiana Speaks Regional Plan Vision. This network accommodates a...

  12. THE CORRELATION AMONG ATTITUDE, MOTIVATION AND SPEAKING ACHIEVEMENT OF COLLEGE STUDENTS ACROSS PERSONALITY FACTORS

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Siti Lailatul Khoiriyah

    2016-05-01

    Full Text Available Considering the important of understanding about the attitude, motivation and the personality of the students in the English learning process, this research is aimed at finding the relationship between attitude and motivation which are acknowledged as influential factors in speaking achievement across their personality factors. Sixty Non-EFL students of Maulana Malik Ibrahim State Islamic University of Malang who take English as their compulsory subject were participated as the research sample. They were the fourth semester undergraduate taking TOEFL and Speaking Course. Attitude and Motivation Test Battery (AMTB, The Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI, speaking test and TOEFL-like test were administered. The results of this research revealed that there was significant correlation among attitude, motivation and speaking achievement of extrovert and Introvert students.

  13. Articulation Skills in Spanish-Speaking Children.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Linares, Thomas A.

    The purpose of the research was to develop an articulation test for Spanish-speakers and to field-test the instrument in both a monolingual Spanish-speaking environment and a bilingual Spanish/English environment. Such a test is needed because there has been little available to enable the diagnostician, whose clientele includes Spanish-speakers,…

  14. Challenges in Learning to Speak Arabic

    Science.gov (United States)

    Haron, Sueraya Che; Ahmed, Ismaiel Hassanien; Mamat, Arifin; Ahmad, Wan Rusli Wan; Rawash, Fouad Mahmoud M.

    2016-01-01

    This paper describes a study to investigate the challenges and obstacles to speaking Arabic faced by good and poor Malay speakers of Arabic. The study used individual and focus group interviews with 14 participants to elicit data. The findings revealed 2 types of obstacles, namely, internal and external obstacles. Internal obstacles refer to the…

  15. Attentional Control Buffers the Effect of Public Speaking Anxiety on Performance.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jones, Christopher R; Fazio, Russell H; Vasey, Michael W

    2012-09-01

    We explored dispositional differences in the ability to self-regulate attentional processes in the domain of public speaking. Participants first completed measures of speech anxiety and attentional control. In a second session, participants prepared and performed a short speech. Fear of public speaking negatively impacted performance only for those low in attentional control. Thus, attentional control appears to act as a buffer that facilitates successful self-regulation despite performance anxiety.

  16. The Effect of Instructing Impression Management Behaviors on Maximizing Applicants' Performance in the IELTS Speaking Test

    Science.gov (United States)

    Namdar, Sara; Bagheri, Mohammad Sadegh

    2012-01-01

    Speaking proceeds under the constraint of time. While speaking, speakers are under constant pressure to follow the message being received and to formulate rapid responses to their partners. In the IELTS (International English Language Testing System) Speaking Test, the communicative nature of the interview creates an ideal situation for applicants…

  17. AN ANALYSIS OF STUDENTS’ SPEAKING ABILITY IN ENGLISH CONVERSATION CLUB (ECC PROGRAM AT THE 3rd SEMESTER

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    M. Fadhly Farhy Abbas

    2017-07-01

    Full Text Available This research is based on students’ speaking ability who had followed the EnglishConversation Club (ECC program especially for the third semester of English Department. Thepurpose of this study was to analyze the students’ speaking ability at the 3rd semester in the EnglishConversation Club FKIP UNILAK Pekanbaru. The type of the research was mixed method in typeof explanatory design. The number of participant was 53 students. The researcher used twoinstruments, those were test and interview. In analyzing the data, it used in descriptive statistics.The result of the analysis showed that the average score of 3rd semester students’ speaking abilitywas 45.42. It can be concluded that the students’ speaking ability was categorized into failed . Thescore of Standard Deviation was 7.02, Variance was 49.30, and Range was 36 points . It meansthat the students’ speaking ability was homogeneous. According to the Z-Score, it can be seen that49.06% students’ ability was higher than average and 50.94% students ability was below theaverage. In conclusion, the students’ ability in learning speaking English was failed, it had beenaffected by some factors, those were lack of vocabulary, grammar and motivation. It was supportedby the interview, eventhough the students’ perception to English Conversation Club (ECCprogram was positive, but in fact, the students’ frequency to speak English was seldom, they wereless practice speaking English everyday.Keywords : Speaking , English Conversation Club (ECC

  18. The phonological development of Danish-speaking children

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Clausen, Marit Carolin; Fox-Boyer, Annette

    2017-01-01

    . This was accomplished through a cross-sectional study, i.e. by collecting normative data on types and age of occurrence of children’s phonological processes as well as on the acquisition of phones and clusters. 443 Danish-speaking children aged 2;6-4;11 years from all regions of Denmark were assessed using a picture......Detailed knowledge of children’s speech development is of great importance for speech and language therapists since it provides a baseline for the evaluation of whether a child shows typical, delayed or deviant speech development. As previous studies have shown that differences are seen...... in the speech development across languages, language-specific data are of great importance in order to understand how the phonological system of the ambient language affects the children’s speech acquisition. To date, little is known about the typical speech development in Danish-speaking children...

  19. Gifted Education in German-Speaking Europe

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ziegler, Albert; Stoeger, Heidrun; Harder, Bettina; Balestrini, Daniel Patrick

    2013-01-01

    The authors first briefly describe how the concepts of talents and giftedness found in German-speaking Europe have evolved in the school system and in general over the past two centuries, and how the variety of gifted-education efforts found within and beyond schools as well as counseling efforts attest to these changes. They then discuss four…

  20. Louisiana Speaks Regional Plan Vision Reinvestment Centers, UTM Zone 15N NAD83, Louisiana Recovery Authority (2007), [louisiana_speaks_vision_reinvestment_centers

    Data.gov (United States)

    Louisiana Geographic Information Center — This GIS shapefile data illustrates reinvestment centers included in the Louisiana Speaks Regional Plan Vision. Reinvestment centers highlight communities that...

  1. Parent Training and Skill Acquisition and Utilization Among Spanish- and English-Speaking Latino Families.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ramos, Giovanni; Blizzard, Angela M; Barroso, Nicole E; Bagner, Daniel M

    2018-01-01

    In the U.S., there is a growing Latino population, in which parents primarily speak Spanish to their children. Despite the evidence that language preference is associated with level of acculturation and influences parenting practices in these families, no study has compared how Spanish-and English-speaking Latino families acquire and utilize the skills taught during parent-training programs such as Parent-Child Interaction Therapy (PCIT). Twenty-seven mother-infant Latino dyads received a home-based adaptation of the Child-Directed Interaction (CDI) phase of PCIT as part of a larger randomized control trial. Most infants were male (63%), and their average age was 13.7 months ( SD = 1.43). Most families (52%) lived below the poverty line. The Dyadic Parent-Child Interaction Coding System-Third Edition (DPICS-III) was employed to evaluate PCIT skills at baseline and post-treatment, as well as at 3- and 6-month follow-up, assessments. We conducted multiple linear regression analyses among Spanish-speaking (55%) and English-speaking (45%) families to examine differences in acquisition and utilization of do and don't skills at each assessment while controlling for mother's education. Results yielded no group differences in the acquisition rate of do or don't skills at any time point. However, Spanish-speaking mothers used significantly more don't skills than English-speaking mothers at each assessment. Specifically, Spanish-speaking families used significantly more commands at baseline, post-treatment, and the 6-month followup assessments, as well as more questions at post-treatment and at the 6-month follow-up assessments. These findings highlight the importance of addressing cultural values such as respeto to ensure culturally robust parent-training programs for Latino families.

  2. Public-speaking fears in a community sample. Prevalence, impact on functioning, and diagnostic classification.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Stein, M B; Walker, J R; Forde, D R

    1996-02-01

    Recent epidemiologic studies have revealed that social phobia is more prevalent than has been previously believed. An unresolved issue is the extent to which public-speaking fears constitute a recognizable form of social phobia in a community sample and, moreover, to what extent these fears are associated with functional morbidity. To examine the prevalence and impact of public-speaking fears and their relationship to social phobia in a community sample, we conducted a randomized telephone survey of 499 residents of Winnipeg, Manitoba, a medium-sized midwestern metropolitan area. One third of the respondents reported that they had excessive anxiety when they spoke to a large audience. The onset of fears was early (ie, 50%, 75%, and 90% by the ages of 13, 17, and 20 years, respectively). Anxious cognitions about public speaking included the following fears: doing or saying something embarrassing (64%), one's mind going blank (74%), being unable to continue talking (63%), saying foolish things or not making sense (59%), and trembling, shaking, or showing other signs of anxiety (80%). In total, 10% (n = 49) of the respondents reported that public-speaking anxiety had resulted in a marked interference with their work (2%), social life (1%), or education (4%), or had caused them marked distress (8%). Twenty-three persons (5%) had public-speaking anxiety in isolation (ie, without evidence of additional kinds of social fears). These data support the inclusion of severe forms of public-speaking fears within the social phobia construct and, furthermore, suggest that public-speaking anxiety may have a detrimental impact on the lives of many individuals in the community.

  3. An Exploratory Case Study of Young Children's Interactive Play Behaviours with a Non-English Speaking Child

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lee, Joohi; Md-Yunus, Sham'ah; Son, Won In; Meadows, Michelle

    2009-01-01

    This study is an examination of preschool-age English speaking children's interactive play behaviours with a non-English speaking child (NEC). The play types of a NEC were reported using the Parten's categories of solitary, parallel and interactive play. In addition, English-speaking children's interactive play with a NEC were reported in this…

  4. Encouraging Teenagers to Improve Speaking Skills through Games in a Colombian Public School (Motivación de adolescentes para mejorar su expresión oral mediante el juego en un colegio público colombiano)

    Science.gov (United States)

    León, William Urrutia; Cely, Esperanza Vega

    2010-01-01

    Our project was implemented with tenth grade students of a public school located in the Usme Zone in Bogotá. We decided to develop this action research project because we were concerned about our students' difficulties when attempting to speak English. They felt inhibited with activities that involved oral interaction mainly because they were…

  5. Enabling white, Afrikaans-speaking adolescents towards post ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Using rich qualitative data, we describe the ecosystemically-embedded protective antecedents that enabled 10 white, Afrikaans-speaking adolescents from divorced families towards resilience. The description both confirms and extends what was known about the roots of adolescent resilience, post-divorce. We use these ...

  6. Professional Development in Japanese Non-Native English Speaking Teachers' Identity and Efficacy

    Science.gov (United States)

    Takayama, Hiromi

    2015-01-01

    This mixed methods study investigates how Japanese non-native English speaking teachers' (NNESTs) efficacy and identity are developed and differentiated from those of native English speaking teachers (NESTs). To explore NNESTs' efficacy, this study focuses on the contributing factors, such as student engagement, classroom management, instructional…

  7. Acculturation profiles of Russian-speaking immigrants in Belgium and their socio-economic adaptation

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Grigoryev, Dmitry; van de Vijver, Fons

    2017-01-01

    This article presents the results of a study on the relationship of acculturation profiles of Russian-speaking immigrants in Belgium, the duration of their stay, and their socio-economic adaptation. The data came from a socio-psychological survey of 132 Russian-speaking immigrants in Belgium (first

  8. A Comparative Study of the Effect of Subliminal Messages on Public Speaking Ability.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Schnell, James A.

    A study investigated the effectiveness of subliminal techniques (such as tape recorded programs) for improving public speaking ability. It was hypothesized that students who used subliminal tapes to improve public speaking ability would perform no differently from classmates who listened to identical-sounding placebo tape programs containing no…

  9. Speaking and Listening in Content Area Learning

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fisher, Douglas; Frey, Nancy

    2014-01-01

    Oral language development facilitates print literacy. In this article, we focus on the ways in which teachers can ensure students' speaking and listening skills are developed. We provide a review of some time-tests classroom routines as well as some that can be enhanced with technology.

  10. Predictors of Likelihood of Speaking Up about Safety Concerns in Labour and Delivery

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lyndon, Audrey; Sexton, J. Bryan; Simpson, Kathleen Rice; Rosenstein, Alan; Lee, Kathryn A.; Wachter, Robert M.

    2011-01-01

    Background Despite widespread emphasis on promoting “assertive communication” by caregivers as essential to patient safety improvement efforts, fairly little is known about when and how clinicians speak up to address safety concerns. In this cross-sectional study we use a new measure of speaking up to begin exploring this issue in maternity care. Methods We developed a scenario-based measure of clinician’s assessment of potential harm and likelihood of speaking up in response to perceived harm. We embedded this scale in a survey with measures of safety climate, teamwork climate, disruptive behaviour, work stress, and personality traits of bravery and assertiveness. The survey was distributed to all registered nurses and obstetricians practicing in two US Labour & Delivery units. Results The response rate was 54% (125 of 230 potential respondents). Respondents were experienced clinicians (13.7 ± 11 years in specialty). Higher perception of harm, respondent role, specialty experience, and site predicted likelihood of speaking up when controlling for bravery and assertiveness. Physicians rated potential harm in common clinical scenarios lower than nurses did (7.5 vs. 8.4 on 2–10 scale; p<0.001). Some participants (12%) indicated they were unlikely to speak up despite perceiving high potential for harm in certain situations. Discussion This exploratory study found nurses and physicians differed in their harm ratings, and harm rating was a predictor of speaking up. This may partially explain persistent discrepancies between physicians and nurses in teamwork climate scores. Differing assessments of potential harms inherent in everyday practice may be a target for teamwork intervention in maternity care. PMID:22927492

  11. PERBANDINGAN KOMUNIKASI NONVERBAL PENUTUR ASLI DAN PENUTUR ASING BAHASA INGGRIS DALAM PUBLIC SPEAKING

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    I Made Suta Paramarta

    2016-08-01

    Full Text Available Abstrak Tujuan penelitian ini adalah untuk membandingkan fitur-fitur nonverbal penutur asli dan penutur asing dalam public speaking. Perbedaan budaya antara kedua kelompok penutur tersebut menimbulkan perbedaan penggunaan fitur nonverbal dalam public speaking. Desain penelitian ini adalah desain deskriptif kualitatif dengan 10 subjek. 5 subjek adalah video penutur asli Bahasa Inggris dan 5 video subjek yang lain adalah video mahasiswa Jurusan D III Bahasa Inggris Universitas Pendidikan Ganesha. Penutur asli menunjukkan gerakan nonverbal yang jauh lebih variatif dari penutur asing Bahasa Inggris. Penutur asli memiliki gerakan-gerakan spesifik yang mengacu pada makna yang spesifik juga. Di lain pihak, penutur asing menunjukkan gerakan nonverbal yang bersifat umum tanpa rujukan pasti pada maksud yang spesifik. Fitur nonverbal yang dicermati dikelompokkan pada gerakan kepala, gerakan badan, dan kontak mata. Kata kunci: perbandingan, nonverbal, public speaking Abstract The purpose of this research is to compare the nonverbal features of the native speakers and the non-native speakers of English in public speaking. Cultural differences between the two groups make significant differences on using the nonverbal features in public speaking. The design of this research was a descriptive-qualitative design with 10 subjects. 5 subjects were videos of 5 English native speakers and the other 5 subjects were the videos of 5 students of Diploma III English Department Universitas Pendidikan Ganesha. The native speakers showed more variative nonverbal movements compared to the non-native speakers. The native speakers made specific gestures which refered to certain specific meanings. On the other hand, the non-native speakers applied general nonverbal movements without specific referents. The investigated nonverbal features were grouped into head movements, body movements, and eye contacts. Keywords: comparison, nonverbal, public speaking

  12. Sense of mastery differences between working-age Swedish- and Finnish-speaking Finns: a population-based study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Reini, Kaarina; Nyqvist, Fredrica

    2017-06-01

    To examine the probability of a high sense of mastery in a population-representative sample of working-age people and to study the differences in mastery between Finnish-speaking and Swedish-speaking Finns in particular. The data originates from the Western Finland Mental Health Surveys (2008-2014). Associations between sense of mastery and language groups were analyzed with logistic regressions. Swedish-speaking Finns have a higher sense of mastery and the association is mediated by social support. Moreover, a difference in a high sense of mastery is found between Swedish- and Finnish-speaking married women that are outside the labor market. Our findings imply that Finnish-speaking women that are outside the labor market, e.g. on maternity leave or taking care of the household, should be recognized in health and social care services as a group that can benefit from additional support.

  13. CREATING AUDIO VISUAL DIALOGUE TASK AS STUDENTS’ SELF ASSESSMENT TO ENHANCE THEIR SPEAKING ABILITY

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Novia Trisanti

    2017-04-01

    Full Text Available The study is about giving overview of employing audio visual dialogue task as students creativity task and self assessment in EFL speaking class of tertiary education to enhance the students speaking ability. The qualitative research was done in one of the speaking classes at English Department, Semarang State University, Central Java, Indonesia. The results that can be seen from the rubric of self assessment show that the oral performance through audio visual recorded tasks done by the students as their self assessment gave positive evidences. The audio visual dialogue task can be very beneficial since it can motivate the students learning and increase their learning experiences. The self-assessment can be a valuable additional means to improve their speaking ability since it is one of the motives that drive self- evaluatioan, along with self- verification and self- enhancement.

  14. A Study on Strategies for Teaching Speaking and Reading Comprehension Skills

    OpenAIRE

    AHMAD; Prof. Dr.I Ketut Seken,MA; Dra. Luh Putu Artini, MA., Ph.D

    2013-01-01

    The central intention of this study was to analyze the English teachers’ strategies in teaching speaking and reading comprehension skills in SMPN 1 Selong. It was conducted to get detailed information about the students’ responses toward their teachers’ strategies in teaching speaking and reading comprehension skills. This study employed a qualitative research design. Necessary data were gathered using open-ended question, classroom observation, interview, and questionnaire. The result ...

  15. Negative mental imagery in public speaking anxiety: Forming cognitive resistance by taxing visuospatial working memory.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Homer, Sophie R; Deeprose, Catherine; Andrade, Jackie

    2016-03-01

    This study sought to reconcile two lines of research. Previous studies have identified a prevalent and causal role of negative imagery in social phobia and public speaking anxiety; others have demonstrated that lateral eye movements during visualisation of imagery reduce its vividness, most likely by loading the visuospatial sketchpad of working memory. It was hypothesised that using eye movements to reduce the intensity of negative imagery associated with public speaking may reduce anxiety resulting from imagining a public speaking scenario compared to an auditory control task. Forty undergraduate students scoring high in anxiety on the Personal Report of Confidence as a Speaker scale took part. A semi-structured interview established an image that represented the participant's public speaking anxiety, which was then visualised during an eye movement task or a matched auditory task. Reactions to imagining a hypothetical but realistic public speaking scenario were measured. As hypothesised, representative imagery was established and reduced in vividness more effectively by the eye movement task than the auditory task. The public speaking scenario was then visualised less vividly and generated less anxiety when imagined after performing the eye movement task than after the auditory task. Self-report measures and a hypothetical scenario rather than actual public speaking were used. Replication is required in larger as well as clinical samples. Visuospatial working memory tasks may preferentially reduce anxiety associated with personal images of feared events, and thus provide cognitive resistance which reduces emotional reactions to imagined, and potentially real-life future stressful experiences. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  16. The Use of Grammatical Morphemes by Mandarin-Speaking Children with High Functioning Autism

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhou, Peng; Crain, Stephen; Gao, Liqun; Tang, Ye; Jia, Meixiang

    2015-01-01

    The present study investigated the production of grammatical morphemes by Mandarin-speaking children with high functioning autism. Previous research found that a subgroup of English-speaking children with autism exhibit deficits in the use of grammatical morphemes that mark tense. In order to see whether this impairment in grammatical morphology…

  17. Embedding 'speaking up' into systems for safe healthcare product development and marketing surveillance.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Edwards, Brian; Hugman, Bruce; Tobin, Mary; Whalen, Matthew

    2012-04-01

    Robust, active cooperation, and effective, open communication between all stakeholders is essential for ensuring regulatory compliance and healthcare product safety; avoiding the necessity for whistle-blowing; and, most essentially, meeting the transparency requirements of public trust.The focus here is on what can be done within a healthcare product organization (HPO) to achieve actionable, sustainable policies and practices such as leadership, management, and supervision role-modelling of best practice; ongoing process review and improvements in every department; protection of those who report concerns through robust policies endorsed at Board level throughout an organization to eliminate the fear of retaliation; training in open, non-defensive team-working principles; and mediation structure and process for resolution of differences of opinion or interpretation of contradictory and volatile data.Based on analyses of other safety systems, workplace silence and interpersonal breakdowns are warning signs of defective systems underlying poor compliance and compromising safety. Remedying the situation requires attention to the root causes underlying such symptoms of dysfunction, especially the human factor, i.e. those factors that influence human performance. It is essential that leadership and management listen to employees' concerns about systems and processes, assess them impartially and reward contributions that improve safety.Fundamentally, the safety, transparency, and trustworthiness of HPOs, both commercial and regulatory, can be judged by the extent of the freedom of their staff to 'speak up' when the time is right. This, in turn, consolidates the trust of external stakeholders in the safety of a system and its products. The promotion of 'speaking up' in an organization provides an important safeguard against the risk of poor compliance and the undermining of societal confidence in the safety of healthcare products.

  18. Contemporary Euroscepticism as a Challenge to European Solidarity

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Mariia O. Shibkova

    2016-01-01

    Full Text Available The article analyses the influence of Eurosceptic sentiments on the level of solidarity among European Union member states. At the outset of the integration project construction the advantage of the Old Continent unification after being destroyed by the Second World War was apparent. However, with the European Union transformation and the emergence of new challenges, Eurosceptic voices are becoming louder and an increasing number of states start to question the efficiency of supranational institutions and choose to take measures on their own. The main trigger of the rise of Euroscepticism in the new millennium was the financial crisis with austerity measures and citizens' frustration with their low standard of living following. Without taking into consideration the results of the European Parliament Elections 2014, which proved the reinforcement of Eurosceptics, Brussels continued to further develop the integration process. However, with the lapse of time it became clear that Eurosceptics despite being deprived of the right to vote at the supranational level, can implement its potential to influence the EU through their activity within their countries. As a result of their actions the EU is faced up with two serious challenges: Brexit and inability to cope with the migration crisis by common effort. By giving certain examples of the reaction of member states' governments on the migration crisis and illustrating how these actions depend on the extent of Euroscepticism popularity in the countries the author shows that currently the level of European solidarity has become so low that it allows to speak about the transformation of the EU economic crisis into a truly political one.

  19. Promoting resilience among Sesotho-speaking adolescent girls ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    and how teachers champion resilience among black adolescent girls living in ... Using. Draw-and-Talk and Draw-and-Write methods, 28 Sesotho-speaking ... space for young people in the midst of trauma, structural disadvantage, ... It cannot be assumed, therefore, that .... preference for English may have led to less detailed.

  20. Speaking of food: connecting basic and applied plant science.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gross, Briana L; Kellogg, Elizabeth A; Miller, Allison J

    2014-10-01

    The Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) predicts that food production must rise 70% over the next 40 years to meet the demands of a growing population that is expected to reach nine billion by the year 2050. Many facets of basic plant science promoted by the Botanical Society of America are important for agriculture; however, more explicit connections are needed to bridge the gap between basic and applied plant research. This special issue, Speaking of Food: Connecting Basic and Applied Plant Science, was conceived to showcase productive overlaps of basic and applied research to address the challenges posed by feeding billions of people and to stimulate more research, fresh connections, and new paradigms. Contributions to this special issue thus illustrate some interactive areas of study in plant science-historical and modern plant-human interaction, crop and weed origins and evolution, and the effects of natural and artificial selection on crops and their wild relatives. These papers provide examples of how research integrating the basic and applied aspects of plant science benefits the pursuit of knowledge and the translation of that knowledge into actions toward sustainable production of crops and conservation of diversity in a changing climate. © 2014 Botanical Society of America, Inc.

  1. HIV-Related Stigma Among Spanish-speaking Latinos in an Emerging Immigrant Receiving City.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dolwick Grieb, Suzanne M; Shah, Harita; Flores-Miller, Alejandra; Zelaya, Carla; Page, Kathleen R

    2017-08-01

    HIV-related stigma has been associated with a reluctance to test for HIV among Latinos. This study assessed community HIV-related stigma within an emerging Latino immigrant receiving city. We conducted a brief survey among a convenience sample of 312 Spanish-speaking Latinos in Baltimore, Maryland. HIV-related stigma was assessed through six items. Associations between stigma items, socio-demographic characteristics, and HIV testing history were considered. Gender, education, and religiosity were significantly associated with stigmatizing HIV-related beliefs. For example, men were 3.4 times more likely to hold more than three stigmatizing beliefs than women, and were also twice as likely as women to report feeling hesitant to test for HIV for fear of people's reaction if the test is positive. These findings can help inform future stigma interventions in this community. In particular, we were able to distinguish between drivers of stigma such as fear and moralistic attitudes, highlighting specific actionable items.

  2. Acculturation Profiles of Russian-Speaking Immigrants in Belgium and Their Socio-Economic Adaptation

    Science.gov (United States)

    Grigoryev, Dmitry; van de Vijver, Fons

    2017-01-01

    This article presents the results of a study on the relationship of acculturation profiles of Russian-speaking immigrants in Belgium, the duration of their stay, and their socio-economic adaptation. The data came from a socio-psychological survey of 132 Russian-speaking immigrants in Belgium (first generation) and were processed using latent…

  3. Effects of Video Streaming Technology on Public Speaking Students' Communication Apprehension and Competence

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dupagne, Michel; Stacks, Don W.; Giroux, Valerie Manno

    2007-01-01

    This study examines whether video streaming can reduce trait and state communication apprehension, as well as improve communication competence, in public speaking classes. Video streaming technology has been touted as the next generation of video feedback for public speaking students because it is not limited by time or space and allows Internet…

  4. Construct Validity in TOEFL iBT Speaking Tasks: Insights from Natural Language Processing

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kyle, Kristopher; Crossley, Scott A.; McNamara, Danielle S.

    2016-01-01

    This study explores the construct validity of speaking tasks included in the TOEFL iBT (e.g., integrated and independent speaking tasks). Specifically, advanced natural language processing (NLP) tools, MANOVA difference statistics, and discriminant function analyses (DFA) are used to assess the degree to which and in what ways responses to these…

  5. Do You Speak African? Teaching for Diversity Awareness in an Era of Globalization

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kambutu, John; Nganga, Lydiah

    2014-01-01

    Africa is a continent, not a country. Yet, a monolithic misunderstanding of Africa as a country is prevalent especially in the United States. Thus, Africans in the diaspora who speak heritage languages other than English are asked frequently if they speak African. This study countered existing misunderstandings through cultural immersion in Kenya,…

  6. The development of the virtual reality system for the treatment of the fears of public speaking.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jo, H J; Ku, J H; Jang, D P; Shin, M B; Ahn, H B; Lee, J M; Cho, B H; Kim, S I

    2001-01-01

    The fear of public speaking is a kind of social phobias. The patients having the fear of public speaking show some symptoms like shame and timidity in the daily personal relationship. They are afraid that the other person would be puzzled, feel insulted, and they also fear that they should be underestimated for their mistakes. For the treatment of the fear of public speaking, the cognitive-behavioral therapy has been generally used. The cognitive-behavioral therapy is the method that makes the patients gradually experience some situations inducing the fears and overcome those at last. Recently, the virtual reality technology has been introduced as an alternative method for providing phobic situations. In this study, we developed the public speaking simulator and the virtual environments for the treatment of the fear of public speaking. The head-mounted display, the head-tracker and the 3 dimensional sound system were used for the immersive virtual environment. The imagery of the virtual environment consists of a seminar room and 8 virtual audiences. The patient will speak in front of these virtual audiences and the therapist can control motions, facial expressions, sounds, and voices of each virtual audience.

  7. The Effects and Perceptions of Trained Peer Feedback in L2 Speaking: Impact on Revision and Speaking Quality

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rodríguez-González, Eva; Castañeda, Martha E.

    2018-01-01

    The present study examined the impact of trained peer feedback on Spanish as a second language (L2) in terms of language performance, nature of feedback, and perceptions of peer feedback in speaking tasks. Participants in the study included 17 intermediate L2 Spanish learners enrolled in a conversation course that incorporated peer feedback…

  8. APLIKASI MEDIA AUDIO-VISUAL DALAM PEMBELAJARAN SPEAKING SKILL DENGAN PENDEKATAN AUDIOLINGUAL: Studi Kasus di MAN Batang

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Slamet Untung

    2012-10-01

    Full Text Available The research to study the application of audio and visual medium in order to learn speaking skill by audiolingual approach is a good contribution to educational world of senior high school and the Islamic one, particularly, in finding a way to improving the learning component relating directly to the medium and method of learning speaking skill. This research is to find out its significance and relevance. The main variable of this research includes the whole activities of the application of audio and visual medium in learning speaking skill by audio-lingual approach. The data were collected through observation, interview, questionnaire and documentation. This research took place in state Islamic senior high school of Batang in Central Java. The result shows that the application helps the students to speak English correctly and accurately and stresses the message of the speaking skill learning.

  9. A Comparison of English and Mandarin-Speaking Preschool Children’s Imitation of Motion Events

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Zhidan Wang

    2017-06-01

    Full Text Available Typically in English, a “satellite-framed” language, manner is expressed in the verb and path is expressed in supporting words. Past studies using looking time techniques suggest that English-speaking 3-year-olds show language-specific action processing, but 2.5-year-olds preferentially attend to path regardless of native language. In Study 1, we test whether language-specific action component preferences will be reflected in children’s imitation, as a more explicit measure. Children who spoke English saw an adult move an object along a series of platforms using one of two paths and manners. Then, the children were given the opportunity to move the object on a different test platform, which was designed to force them to choose to reproduce either the demonstrated path or the manner. The results showed that 3-year-olds, but not 2.5-year-olds, were more likely to imitate the manner versus the path. In Study 2, we extend the investigation to a less commonly studied language within this domain, Mandarin. Typically in Mandarin, an “equipollently framed” language, both manner and path are expressed within equally significant verbs. The results indicated that 3-year-olds did not show a consistent preference to imitate either the path or the manner. In contrast, 2.5-year-olds were more likely to imitate the path than the manner. This research highlights the potential for the imitation choice paradigm, as an explicit measure, to understand how language affects cognition, and suggests a new language-specific pattern in action interpretation.

  10. Debate Instruction in EFL Classroom: Impacts on the Critical Thinking and Speaking Skill

    Science.gov (United States)

    Iman, Jaya Nur

    2017-01-01

    The research was aimed to find out whether or not using debate significantly improved the students' critical thinking and speaking skill achievements and how much debate contributed to each aspect of critical thinking and speaking skill. A quasi-experimental study of non-equivalent pretest- posttest control group design was used in this research.…

  11. Validating TOEFL[R] iBT Speaking and Setting Score Requirements for ITA Screening

    Science.gov (United States)

    Xi, Xiaoming

    2007-01-01

    Although the primary use of the speaking section of the Test of English as a Foreign Language Internet-based test (TOEFL[R] iBT Speaking) is to inform admissions decisions at English medium universities, it may also be useful as an initial screening measure for international teaching assistants (ITAs). This study provides criterion-related…

  12. The Effect of Self-Assessment on Iranian EFL Learners’ Speaking Skill

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Mahsa Ariafar

    2013-05-01

    Full Text Available Self-assessment is one of the attractive new alternative assessment forms which raises learners’ awareness of their individual progress, and encourages learners to become autonomous learners (Harris, 1997. The present study aimed to investigate the effect of self-assessment on speaking skill of Iranian EFL learners. The participants were 60 pre intermediate Iranian EFL learners. The participants in experimental group received training and practiced self-assessment of their speaking ability during the semester; however, participants in control group experienced no self-assessment. At the end of the semester, the participants in both groups were interviewed as posttest. The results revealed that self-assessment practices helped the participants of the study to improve their speaking ability.  Moreover, participants had generally positive attitudes toward the notion of self-assessment and showed their willingness to continue self-assessment in future; however, they were in favor of teacher assessment too. The findings of the study offer several implications for    teachers and practitioners.

  13. Speaking up about traditional and professionalism-related patient safety threats: a national survey of interns and residents.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Martinez, William; Lehmann, Lisa Soleymani; Thomas, Eric J; Etchegaray, Jason M; Shelburne, Julia T; Hickson, Gerald B; Brady, Donald W; Schleyer, Anneliese M; Best, Jennifer A; May, Natalie B; Bell, Sigall K

    2017-11-01

    Open communication between healthcare professionals about care concerns, also known as 'speaking up', is essential to patient safety. Compare interns' and residents' experiences, attitudes and factors associated with speaking up about traditional versus professionalism-related safety threats. Anonymous, cross-sectional survey. Six US academic medical centres, 2013-2014. 1800 medical and surgical interns and residents (47% responded). Attitudes about, barriers and facilitators for, and self-reported experience with speaking up. Likelihood of speaking up and the potential for patient harm in two vignettes. Safety Attitude Questionnaire (SAQ) teamwork and safety scales; and Speaking Up Climate for Patient Safety (SUC-Safe) and Speaking Up Climate for Professionalism (SUC-Prof) scales. Respondents more commonly observed unprofessional behaviour (75%, 628/837) than traditional safety threats (49%, 410/837); pbarrier to speaking up about unprofessional behaviour compared with traditional safety threats (58%, 482/837 vs 42%, 348/837; psafety vignette, even when they perceived high potential patient harm (20%, 49/251 vs 71%, 179/251; psafety vignette (OR 1.90, 99% CI 1.36 to 2.66 and 1.46, 1.02 to 2.09, respectively), while only a positive perception of SUC-Prof was associated with speaking up in the professionalism vignette (1.76, 1.23 to 2.50). Interns and residents commonly observed unprofessional behaviour yet were less likely to speak up about it compared with traditional safety threats even when they perceived high potential patient harm. Measuring SUC-Safe, and particularly SUC-Prof, may fill an existing gap in safety culture assessment. Published by the BMJ Publishing Group Limited. For permission to use (where not already granted under a licence) please go to http://www.bmj.com/company/products-services/rights-and-licensing/.

  14. The Needs of the Spanish Speaking Mujer [Woman] in Woman-Manpower Training Programs.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nieto-Gomez, Anna

    Although the Spanish Speaking woman is usually considered to be outside the labor market, 36 percent of the 52 percent Spanish Speaking women were in the labor force in March 1972. These women suffer economic-sexist discrimination due to ascription of work according to sex and race by a racial-sexual hierarchy existing within the traditional…

  15. Speaking for Ourselves”: American Muslim Women's Confessional ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    representation through the medium of autobiography post-9/11, focusing on Sumbul Ali- Karamali's The Muslim Next Door, Asma Gull Hasan's Red, White, and Muslim and the edited collections I Speak for Myself and Love, InshAllah. Highlighting the ...

  16. Reflections from teachers and students on speaking anxiety in an EFL classroom

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Akkakoson Songyut

    2016-09-01

    Full Text Available This paper reports on part of the research project in which instructor perspectives on the role of anxiety in an EFL speaking classroom and anxiety-coping strategies students employ when speaking English have been investigated. The existence of students’ speaking anxiety was revealed via a teacher interview. A total of 88 students from the intact classes also responded to an interview form for an analysis of anxiety-coping strategies they utilised when speaking English in class. The qualitative data from both instruments was analysed using the content analysis. The findings of the teacher interview data put forward that students of this study have experienced speaking-in-class anxiety. This anxiety may influence their grades, to some extent. Three factors that may hinder students’ development of oral skills emerge, including their lack of self-confidence, having poor English background and having neither intrinsic nor extrinsic motivation to use English. Using the target language as the medium of communication in class is viewed by the teachers as a must in theory, but flexibility is allowed in practice. Moreover, the results of the student interview data show a wide range of strategies employed to deal with anxiety (ie social, affective, meta-cognitive, compensatory, cognitive and memory-related strategies. Social strategies are the most frequently-used techniques. Suggestions for improvement in the overall oral English (ie vocabulary focus, audiovisual focus, self-practice, social focus, auditory focus, meta-cognitive focus, compensatory focus and affective focus have also been given by the student participants. An increased repertoire of vocabulary is viewed as the most effective tool for such improvement.

  17. The efficacy of focus group discussion in teaching ESP speaking skill for prospective vocational school teacher

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nurmasitah, Sita; Faridi, Abdurrachman; Utomo, Aryo Baskoro; Astuti, Pudji

    2018-03-01

    The aims of the study were to implement the focus group discussion in teaching English for Specific Purposes (ESP) speaking skill for prospective Vocational School teacher and also to find out its effectiveness in improving their English speaking skill in ESP course. Quasi-experimental design was employed in this research. Thirty students of Family Welfare Vocational Education Study Program who were taking ESP course, were divided into two classes; experimental and control class. The research data were collected through interview, observation and the students' speaking assessment. The result showed that the implementation of focus group discussion method in the experimental class effectively increased the students' speaking skill compared to the control class.

  18. Improving communication between physicians and patients who speak a foreign language.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bischoff, Alexander; Perneger, Thomas V; Bovier, Patrick A; Loutan, Louis; Stalder, Hans

    2003-07-01

    Communication between physicians and patients is particularly challenging when patients do not speak the local language (in Switzerland, they are known as allophones). To assess the effectiveness of an intervention to improve communication skills of physicians who deal with allophone patients. 'Before-and-after' intervention study, in which both patients (allophone and francophone) and physicians completed visit-specific questionnaires assessing the quality of communication. Two consecutive samples of patients attending the medical outpatient clinic of a teaching hospital in French-speaking Switzerland. The intervention consisted of training physicians in communicating with allophone patients and working with interpreters. French-speaking patients served as the control group. The outcomes measured were: patient satisfaction with care received and with communication during consultation; and provider (primary care physician) satisfaction with care provided and communication during consultation. At baseline, mean scores of patients' assessments of communication were lower for allophone than for francophone patients. At follow-up, five out of six of the scores of allophone patients showed small increases (P French-speaking patients: explanations given by physician; respectfulness of physician; communication; overall process of the consultation; and information about future care. In contrast, physicians' assessments did not change significantly. Finally, after the intervention, the proportion of consultations with allophone patients in which professional interpreters were present increased significantly from 46% to 67%. The quality of communication as perceived by allophone patients can be improved with specific training aimed at primary care physicians.

  19. Public speaking for the healthcare professional: Part I--Preparing for the program.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Baum, Neil

    2011-01-01

    It is true that most doctors do not enjoy public speaking. Most physicians, although good with one-on-one conversations with patients, are out of their comfort zone when it comes to speaking in front of other physicians, colleagues, and even lay persons. This three-part article will discuss the preparation, the presentation, and what you need to do after the program is over in order to become an effective public speaker.

  20. Suicide Prevention Exposure, Awareness, and Knowledge Survey (SPEAKS) - Student

    Data.gov (United States)

    U.S. Department of Health & Human Services — The SPEAKS- student dataset contains individual level information from a sample of college students on GLS funded campuses. These data include student demographics,...

  1. Attitudes of Arabic- and Non-Arabic Speaking Parents Toward the Importance of Learning Arabic in the United States

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Sara Al Alili

    2017-06-01

    Full Text Available To promote Arabic teaching, researchers examined attitudes and expectations of parents regarding the importance of their children's Arabic study. In four states Researchers surveyed 238 Arabic-speaking and 128 non-Arabic speaking parents of children at urban and suburban schools offering Arabic as part of their mainstream programs. Most parents demonstrated positive attitudes toward language learning. They involved and encouraged their children's Arabic study and involved themselves in it. Arabic-speaking parents believed Arabic important for their children to maintain communication and affinity with family; preserve culture, religion, and traditions; maintain cultural heritage in the United States; and maintain moral and professional values. Non-Arabic speaking parents expressed similar reasons. However, Arabic-speaking parents recognized a wider variety of benefits to learning Arabic. Researchers concluded that parental attitudes toward language learning have great impact on children's learning process, but noted a discrepancy between the attitudes and expectations of Arabic- versus non-Arabic-speaking parents regarding learning Arabic.

  2. Improving Scores on the IELTS Speaking Test

    Science.gov (United States)

    Issitt, Steve

    2008-01-01

    This article presents three strategies for teaching students who are taking the IELTS speaking test. The first strategy is aimed at improving confidence and uses a variety of self-help materials from the field of popular psychology. The second encourages students to think critically and invokes a range of academic perspectives. The third strategy…

  3. Young Spanish-English Speaking Children's Reading Attitudes in Relation to Language Skills

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wood, Carla L.; Gabas, Clariebelle M.

    2017-01-01

    Background: Reading attitudes are recognised as an influencing factor on the language and literacy achievement of school age monolingual English-speaking children. The relationship between reading attitudes and achievement in young Spanish-speaking English Learners (ELs) remains understudied. Purpose: The aim of the current study was to describe…

  4. Effects of Length, Complexity, and Grammatical Correctness on Stuttering in Spanish-Speaking Preschool Children

    Science.gov (United States)

    Watson, Jennifer B.; Byrd, Courtney T.; Carlo, Edna J.

    2011-01-01

    Purpose: To explore the effects of utterance length, syntactic complexity, and grammatical correctness on stuttering in the spontaneous speech of young, monolingual Spanish-speaking children. Method: Spontaneous speech samples of 11 monolingual Spanish-speaking children who stuttered, ages 35 to 70 months, were examined. Mean number of syllables,…

  5. Ombud’s Corner: Do you speak CERNese?

    CERN Multimedia

    Sudeshna Datta-Cockerill

    2015-01-01

    CERNese is the language spoken here: based on English and French, it’s a mixture of accents, pronunciations and body languages that go well together. CERNese is also an attitude: we make an effort to understand others and to ensure that other people understand what we say. Do you speak this language?   Joe works in an office with four colleagues who all share a national language, their direct supervisor also happens to be of the same nationality, and most of the communication in the team therefore also takes place in this language - one that Joe does not speak. Moreover, they often go for coffee together and although they sometimes remember their CERNese and invite him to go with them, they inevitably end up switching to the national language that he does not share. He feels very uncomfortable because he is not included in the conversations. Sometimes he suspects that they are talking about his work. What is worse is that sometimes he realises that they have shared...

  6. Enhancing Hispanic participation in mental health clinical research: development of a Spanish-speaking depression research site.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Aponte-Rivera, Vivianne; Dunlop, Boadie W; Ramirez, Cynthia; Kelley, Mary E; Schneider, Rebecca; Blastos, Beatriz; Larson, Jacqueline; Mercado, Flavia; Mayberg, Helen; Craighead, W Edward

    2014-03-01

    Hispanics, particularly those with limited English proficiency, are underrepresented in psychiatric clinical research studies. We developed a bilingual and bicultural research clinic dedicated to the recruitment and treatment of Spanish-speaking subjects in the Predictors of Remission in Depression to Individual and Combined Treatments (PReDICT) study, a large clinical trial of treatment-naïve subjects with major depressive disorder (MDD). Demographic and clinical data derived from screening evaluations of the first 1,174 subjects presenting for participation were compared between the Spanish-speaking site (N = 275) and the primary English-speaking site (N = 899). Reasons for ineligibility (N = 888) for the PReDICT study were tallied for each site. Compared to English speakers, Spanish speakers had a lower level of education and were more likely to be female, uninsured, and have uncontrolled medical conditions. Clinically, Spanish speakers demonstrated greater depression severity, with higher mean symptom severity scores, and a greater number of previous suicide attempts. Among the subjects who were not randomized into the PReDICT study, Spanish-speaking subjects were more likely to have an uncontrolled medical condition or refuse participation, whereas English-speaking subjects were more likely to have bipolar disorder or a non-MDD depressive disorder. Recruitment of Hispanic subjects with MDD is feasible and may enhance efforts at signal detection, given the higher severity of depression among Spanish-speaking participants presenting for clinical trials. Specific approaches for the recruitment and retention of Spanish-speaking participants are required. © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

  7. [Bioethics and the French speaking world: an answer to globalization].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Byk, Christian

    2009-01-01

    Are we able, today, to take a step closer to bringing together the French speaking world and bioethics by realizing that their association could provide a profound view of the current evolution of our world characterized by what is referred to as globalization? Could we be even more ambitious and register the specificity of the rapport between the French speaking world and bioethics confronted with this global phenomenon of deconstruction/reconstruction of the planetary order by setting as its path a dynamic balance, which is an integral part of the use of the French language and cultural diversity, a central point in a truly pluridisciplinary and pluralist bioethics?

  8. The Implementation of Role Play to Improve EFL Speaking Skill of the Second Semester Students of Akademi Bahasa Asing Balikpapan

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Muhammad Rochman

    2014-08-01

    Full Text Available Speaking is an important skill learned by English student although English covers four skills namely speaking, listening, speaking and writing. Speaking is the main bridge for the students to master English. Unfortunately the fact has shown that the students were quite difficult to improve their speaking skill because they were accustomed to use their native language language in their daily life than using English. The above facts signify that the lecturer should apply the techniques that can motivate students to speak and engage students in encouraging activities. One of the techniques that encourage students to speak is role play. Role play is the choice implemented by the researcher in improving the speaking skill of the first year students at ABA Balikpapan since using role play, the students can express their idea, opinion, and feeling well in their performance without being worried to make mistake. Based on the result of the study, it can be concluded that the result of this research was satisfying. This research claims that it was successful in the effort in improving students’ English speaking skill through Role-Play. Role-Play activity could increase the students’ motivation in joining the teaching and learning activity. Their motivation is reflected in their efforts in preparing the Role-Play.

  9. Working with Spanish-Speaking Latin American Students in Toronto

    Science.gov (United States)

    Duran, Marcela S.

    1978-01-01

    The problems affecting the reception, adjustment, and placement of Spanish-speaking students into the Toronto school system are discussed, and include immigration patterns, Spanish values, and the Latin American school. (Author/HP)

  10. An Instrument to Assess Self-Statements During Public Speaking: Scale Development and Preliminary Psychometric Properties

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hofmann, Stefan G.; DiBartolo, Patricia Marten

    2006-01-01

    Public speaking is the most commonly reported fearful social situation. Although a number of contemporary theories emphasize the importance of cognitive processes in social anxiety, there is no instrument available to assess fearful thoughts experienced during public speaking. The Self-Statements During Public Speaking (SSPS) scale is a 10-item questionnaire consisting of two 5-item subscales, the “Positive Self-Statements” (SSPS-P) and the “Negative Self-Statements” subscale (SSPS-N). Four studies report on the development and the preliminary psychometric properties of this instrument. PMID:16763666

  11. Contextualizing Performances: Comparing Performances during TOEFL iBT™ and Real-Life Academic Speaking Activities

    Science.gov (United States)

    Brooks, Lindsay; Swain, Merrill

    2014-01-01

    In this study we compare test takers' performance on the Speaking section of the TOEFL iBT™and their performances during their real-life academic studies. Thirty international graduate students from mixed language backgrounds in two different disciplines (Sciences and Social Sciences) responded to two independent and four integrated speaking tasks…

  12. Pair Negotiation When Developing English Speaking Tasks

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bohórquez Suárez, Ingrid Liliana; Gómez Sará, Mary Mily; Medina Mosquera, Sindy Lorena

    2011-01-01

    This study analyzes what characterizes the negotiations of seventh graders at a public school in Bogotá when working in pairs to develop speaking tasks in EFL classes. The inquiry is a descriptive case study that follows the qualitative paradigm. As a result of analyzing the data, we obtained four consecutive steps that characterize students'…

  13. Time to question diabetes self-management support for Arabic-speaking migrants: exploring a new model of care.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Alzubaidi, H; Mc Namara, K; Browning, C

    2017-03-01

    The objective of this study was to explore a new model for diabetes self-management support in Arabic-speaking migrants. Two qualitative methods were used: face-to-face semi-structured individual interviews and focus groups. Interviews were audio-taped, transcribed verbatim and coded thematically. Arabic-speaking migrants with Type 2 diabetes were recruited from several primary, secondary and tertiary healthcare settings in metropolitan Melbourne, Australia. These settings were purposefully selected to obtain a diverse group of participants. Data collection continued until saturation was reached. This is the first study that involved members of Arabic-speaking communities in Australia in a formal process of consumer and public involvement to inform research design and recruitment in order to provide evidence for a new model of diabetes self-management for Arabic-speaking migrants. No self-management support was offered to Arabic-speaking migrants beyond the initial diagnosis period. Significant knowledge gaps and skills deficits in all self-management domains were evident. The provision of tailored self-management support was considered crucial. When asked about preferred structure and delivery modalities, a strong preference was reported for face-to-face storytelling interactions over telephone- or internet-based interventions. Gender-specific group education and self-management support sessions delivered by Arabic-speaking diabetes health professionals, lay peers or social workers trained in diabetes self-management were highly regarded. A patient and public involvement approach allows genuine engagement with Arabic-speaking migrants with diabetes. There is urgent need for a new model for self-management support among Arabic-speaking migrants. Findings yielded new recommendations for diabetes health professionals working with these migrant communities to support behaviour change. © 2016 Diabetes UK.

  14. Attention for speaking: domain-general control from the anterior cingulate cortex in spoken word production

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Piai, V.; Roelofs, A.P.A.; Acheson, D.J.; Takashima, A.

    2013-01-01

    ulating evidence suggests that some degree of attentional control is required to regulate and monitor processes underlying speaking. Although progress has been made in delineating the neural substrates of the core language processes involved in speaking, substrates associated with regulatory and

  15. Effective Instruction of Public Speaking

    OpenAIRE

    竹野, 茂; Shigeru, TAKENO

    2012-01-01

    This paper explores the instruction of public speaking in a large-size class. The author has been in charge of the speech classes,SPEECH III and SPEECH IV mainly for the second year students at Miyazaki Municipal University for several years. At the preparation stage of SPEECH III, and IV, he intended that the class size was about 30 students as one group in the lecture style. But, in reality, more than 50 students took the course. Then he had to rethink the way of teaching. To solve the prob...

  16. Louisiana Speaks Regional Plan Vision Special Economic Zones, UTM Zone 15N NAD83, Louisiana Recovery Authority (2007), [louisiana_speaks_vision_special_economic_zones

    Data.gov (United States)

    Louisiana Geographic Information Center — This GIS shapefile data illustrates special economic zones included in the Louisiana Speaks Regional Plan Vision. Special economic zones include existing national,...

  17. Louisiana Speaks Transportation Option C Transit Stations, UTM Zone 15N NAD 83, Louisiana Recovery Authority (2007), [louisiana_speaks_transportation_option_c_transit_stations

    Data.gov (United States)

    Louisiana Geographic Information Center — This GIS shapefile data illustrates potential fixed-transit stations included in the Louisiana Speaks Regional Plan community growth option of compact development...

  18. Helpdesk for Spanish Speaking Telecentre Communities in Peru ...

    International Development Research Centre (IDRC) Digital Library (Canada)

    Helpdesk for Spanish Speaking Telecentre Communities in Peru and Latin America. IDRC's telecentre.org supports various efforts to strengthen the capacity of people working in telecentres across the world through knowledge-sharing, collaboration and networking. Through these efforts, strong telecentre networks in Africa ...

  19. Mobility limitations and fear of falling in non-English speaking older Mexican-Americans.

    Science.gov (United States)

    James, Eric G; Conatser, Phillip; Karabulut, Murat; Leveille, Suzanne G; Hausdorff, Jeffrey M; Cote, Sarah; Tucker, Katherine L; Barton, Bruce; Bean, Jonathan F; Al Snih, Soham; Markides, Kyriakos S

    2017-10-01

    To determine whether older Mexican-Americans who cannot speak and/or understand spoken English have higher rates of mobility limitations or fear of falling than their English-speaking counterparts. We conducted a cross-sectional analysis of 1169 community-dwelling Mexican-Americans aged 72-96 years from the 2000-2001 wave of the Hispanic Established Population for the Epidemiological Study of the Elderly. Mobility limitations were defined as having a Short Physical Performance Battery score ≤9, and fear of falling by participant report of being somewhat, fairly, or very afraid of falling. We determined the rates and odds ratios, for having mobility limitations and fear of falling as a function of English ability in those who were 72-96, English 85.7% had mobility limitations and 61.6% were afraid of falling, compared to 77.6% and 57.5%, respectively, of English speakers. Before adjusting for covariates, participants who did not speak and/or understand spoken English were more likely to have mobility limitations (odds ratio: 1.7; 95% CI: 1.3-2.4) but not fear of falling, compared to English speakers. Among those aged ≥80 years, but not those English were more likely to have mobility limitations (odds ratio: 4.8; 95% CI:2.0-11.5) and fear of falling (odds ratio: 2.0; 95% CI:1.3-3.1). Older Mexican-Americans who do not speak or understand spoken English have a higher rate of mobility limitations and fear of falling than their English-speaking counterparts.

  20. Measuring Early Communication in Spanish Speaking Children: The Communication Complexity Scale in Peru.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Atwood, Erin; Brady, Nancy C; Esplund, Amy

    There is a great need in the United States to develop presymbolic evaluation tools that are widely available and accurate for individuals that come from a bilingual and/or multicultural setting. The Communication Complexity Scale (CCS) is a measure that evaluates expressive presymbolic communication including gestures, vocalizations and eye gaze. Studying the effectiveness of this tool in a Spanish speaking environment was undertaken to determine the applicability of the CCS with Spanish speaking children. Methods & Procedures: In 2011-2012, researchers from the University of Kansas and Centro Ann Sullivan del Perú (CASP) investigated communication in a cohort of 71 young Spanish speaking children with developmental disabilities and a documented history of self-injurious, stereotyped and aggressive behaviors. Communication was assessed first by parental report with translated versions of the Communication and Symbolic Behavior Scales (CSBS), a well-known assessment of early communication, and then eleven months later with the CCS. We hypothesized that the CCS and the CSBS measures would be significantly correlated in this population of Spanish speaking children. The CSBS scores from time 1 with a mean participant age of 41 months were determined to have a strong positive relationship to the CCS scores obtained at time 2 with a mean participant age of 52 months. The CCS is strongly correlated to a widely accepted measure of early communication. These findings support the validity of the Spanish version of the CCS and demonstrate its usefulness for children from another culture and for children in a Spanish speaking environment.

  1. The Impact of Task-Based Instruction Program on Fostering ESL Learners’ Speaking Ability: A Cognitive Approach

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Mohammad Mohammadipour

    2015-04-01

    Full Text Available Adopting a direct approach to contrive sufficient focus on form (accuracy would facilitate interlanguage development without decreasing the naturalness of communication that communicative tasks can generate. This study aimed to determine the effectiveness of a proposed task-based instruction programme within a cognitive approach in fostering overall speaking proficiency of undergraduate students. 72 students from several public universities participated in the study, which employed an experimental design. The students of the experimental group received training through the proposed task-based instruction programme for three months while those in the control group received regular instruction. The preliminary English Test (PET was administered as a pre- and post-test measure of speaking proficiency. Findings of the study showed a significant improvement in the overall speaking proficiency of the students who were exposed to the proposed programme.  The findings suggest the potential of the task-based programme in enhancing undergraduate students' overall speaking proficiency. Keywords: The cognitive approach, speaking skills, task based instruction, TESL, the communicative approach

  2. Heritage Language Acquisition and Maintenance: Home Literacy Practices of Japanese-Speaking Families in Canada

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nomura, Takako; Caidi, Nadia

    2013-01-01

    Introduction: In this study, we examine the case of Japanese-speaking families in Canada and their experiences with teaching a heritage language at home, along with the uses and perceived usefulness of public library resources, collections, and services in the process. Methods: We interviewed fourteen mothers who speak Japanese to their children.…

  3. French Speaking Skills of Grade 8 English Program Students. Research Report 82-08.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wightman, Margaret

    The speaking skills of grade 8 students in a core French program in Ottawa were compared with the skills of grade 6 students enrolled in the core program. A total of 337 grade 8 students were given a French speaking test. Two-hundred and nine students had taken the test in grade 6. In general, the grade 8 students seemed prepared to express basic…

  4. Louisiana Speaks Transportation Option B Transit Corridors, UTM Zone 15N NAD 83, Louisiana Recovery Authority (2007), [louisiana_speaks_transportation_option_b_transit_corridors

    Data.gov (United States)

    Louisiana Geographic Information Center — This GIS shapefile data illustrates the regional, subregional, and local transit corridors included in the Louisiana Speaks Regional Plan community growth option of...

  5. Louisiana Speaks Transportation Option B Roadway Improvements, UTM Zone 15N NAD 83, Louisiana Recovery Authority (2007), [louisiana_speaks_transportation_option_b_roadway_improvements

    Data.gov (United States)

    Louisiana Geographic Information Center — This GIS shapefile data illustrates the regional roadways included in the Louisiana Speaks community growth option of compact and dispersed development (Option B)....

  6. Louisiana Speaks Transportation Option C Roadway Improvements, UTM Zone 15N NAD 83, Louisiana Recovery Authority (2007), [louisiana_speaks_transportation_option_c_roadway_improvements

    Data.gov (United States)

    Louisiana Geographic Information Center — This GIS shapefile data illustrates the regional roadways included in the Louisiana Speaks community growth option of compact development (Option C). This network...

  7. Louisiana Speaks Transportation Option C Transit Corridors, UTM Zone 15N NAD 83, Louisiana Recovery Authority (2007), [louisiana_speaks_transportation_option_c_transit_corridors

    Data.gov (United States)

    Louisiana Geographic Information Center — This GIS shapefile data illustrates the regional, subregional, and local transit corridors included in the Louisiana Speaks Regional Plan community growth option of...

  8. Louisiana Speaks Transportation Option B Transit Stations, UTM Zone 15N NAD 83, Louisiana Recovery Authority (2007), [louisiana_speaks_transportation_option_b_transit_stations

    Data.gov (United States)

    Louisiana Geographic Information Center — This GIS shapefile data illustrates potential fixed-transit stations included in the Louisiana Speaks Regional Plan community growth option of compact and dispersed...

  9. Louisiana Speaks Transportation Option A Roadway Improvements, UTM Zone 15N NAD 83, Louisiana Recovery Authority (2007), [louisiana_speaks_transportation_option_a_roadway_improvements

    Data.gov (United States)

    Louisiana Geographic Information Center — This GIS shapefile data illustrates the regional roadways included in the Louisiana Speaks Regional Plan community growth option of dispersed development (Option A)....

  10. To Speak Like a TED Speaker--A Case Study of TED Motivated English Public Speaking Study in EFL Teaching

    Science.gov (United States)

    Li, Yingxia; Gao, Ying; Zhang, Dongyu

    2016-01-01

    This paper intends to investigate the effectiveness of a new course pattern--TED-motivated English Public Speaking Course in EFL teaching in China. This class framework adopts TED videos as the learning materials to stimulate students to be a better speaker. Meanwhile, it aims to examine to what extent the five aspects of language skills are…

  11. Recruiting Future Engineers Through Effective Guest Speaking In Elementary School Classrooms

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Kevin Young

    2007-11-01

    In this paper, the author describes how engineers can increase the number of future engineers by volunteering as guest speakers in the elementary school classroom. The paper is divided into three main subjects. First, the importance of engineers speaking directly with young students is discussed. Next, several best practice techniques for speaking with young students are described. Finally, information on getting started as a guest speaker is presented, and a list of resources available to guest speakers is provided. The guest engineer speaking to an elementary school audience (ages 6-11) performs a critical role in encouraging young students to pursue a career in engineering. Often, he or she is the first engineer these students meet in person, providing a crucial first impression of the engineering career field and a positive visual image of what an engineer really looks like. A dynamic speaker presenting a well-delivered talk creates a lasting, positive impression on students, influencing their future decisions to pursue careers in engineering. By reaching these students early in life, the guest speaker will help dispel the many prevailing stereotypes about engineers which discourage so many students, especially young women, from considering this career. The guest speaker can ensure young students gain a positive first impression of engineers and the engineering career field by following some best practice techniques in preparing for and delivering their presentation. The author, an electrical engineer, developed these best practice techniques over the past 10 years while presenting over 350 talks on engineering subjects to elementary school students as a volunteer speaker with the U.S. Department of Energy, Idaho National Laboratory’s Speakers Bureau. Every engineer can make a meaningful contribution toward reversing the predicted shortfall of future engineers by volunteering to speak with young students at the elementary school level. Elementary school

  12. Virtual reality simulations as a new tool for practicing presentations and refining public-speaking skills

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Niebuhr, Oliver; Michalsky, Jan

    2018-01-01

    Presentations are typically practiced alone while talking to oneself in a silent room. It is not only questionable whether such a rehearsal setting is a proper preparation for a real public-speaking situation. Giving the same talk repeatedly to oneself also bears the risk that speaking "erodes......" from the communicative act of conveying a message into a mere mechanical exercise that is neither content- nor audience-oriented. Against this background, it is tested from a digital-humanities perspective whether a VR public-speaking simulation, in which a speaker can rehearse his/her talk...... in a virtual conference room and in front of a virtual audience, is a suitable and preferable alternative to practicing a presentation on one's own. Prosodic measures of speaking style are analyzed and compared between two groups of 12 speakers, a control group and a VR test group, each of which performed...

  13. Evaluation and comparison of epidural analgesia in labour related information on French and English-speaking websites.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Espitalier, Fabien; De Lamer, Sabine; Barbaz, Mathilde; Laffon, Marc; Remérand, Francis

    2018-01-31

    The medical information on the Internet is better in English than in other languages. The information about Epidural Analgesia In Labour (EAIL) available on French-speaking websites is of poor quality. The quality of the information about EAIL should be better in English, but there is no comparison available. This study has assessed and compared the quality of the information about EAIL available on French and English-speaking websites. Keywords "epidural", "épidurale" and/or "péridurale" were used in the French, Canadian and American Google ® and Yahoo ® search engines. Two independent assessors assessed the 20 first websites for each engine search. They used an evaluation form created from French, Canadian and American recommendations. This form assessed the structure quality (Structure Score/25) and the medical information quality (Medical Information Score/30) of the websites. The addition of both scores gives the Global Score (/55). Seventy-one websites were assessed, 39 French-speaking and 32 English-speaking websites. Structure, Medical Information and Global Scores (expressed as mean (SD)) were respectively 11 (4), 13 (5), 24 (8) for the French-speaking websites and 11 (4), 12 (4), 23 (7) for the English-speaking websites. There was no statistical significant difference between both languages. Information about EAIL available on French and English-speaking websites is of poor quality and there is no difference in the information quality, whatever the language. A consideration on Internet medical information improvement is needed. A high quality dedicated website should be created and broadcasted. Copyright © 2018 Société française d'anesthésie et de réanimation (Sfar). Published by Elsevier Masson SAS. All rights reserved.

  14. SCHOOLS AND CYBERBULLYING: PROBLEM PERCEPTION, CURRENT ACTIONS AND FUTURE NEEDS

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Heidi Vandebosch

    2014-06-01

    Full Text Available Cyberbullying is a common phenomenon amongst young people. It exhibits many similarities to traditional school bullying, with a potentially serious impact on the mental health and school functioning of victims. For this reason, action by schools is often recommended. The aim of this article is to provide a better picture of what schools are currently doing to address cyberbullying and of what schools will need to continue doing so in the future. An online survey was conducted among staff members of 309 primary and secondary schools in Flanders, which is the Dutch speaking part of Belgium. The questionnaire measured the schools’ experiences with cyberbullying and their perceived responsibility and efficacy in dealing with this issue as well as their concrete preventive, detective, and reactive actions. The results indicate that, although most schools are aware of relatively few cases of cyberbullying, they do consider cyberbullying to be a problem. Many schools consider it their duty to inform students about cyberbullying and to help find solutions to cyberbullying incidents involving students, even if they take place away from the school grounds or outside school hours. Although most schools organize concrete actions with regard to cyberbullying, they often seem uncertain about the appropriateness and effectiveness of their actions. They would welcome evidence-based intervention programmes that would appeal to their students.

  15. Validation of self-reported health literacy questions among diverse English and Spanish-speaking populations.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sarkar, Urmimala; Schillinger, Dean; López, Andrea; Sudore, Rebecca

    2011-03-01

    Limited health literacy (HL) contributes to poor health outcomes and disparities, and direct measurement is often time-intensive. Self-reported HL questions have not been validated among Spanish-speaking and diverse English-speaking populations. To evaluate three self-reported questions: 1 "How confident are you filling out medical forms?"; 2 "How often do you have problems learning about your medical condition because of difficulty understanding written information?"; and 3 "How often do you have someone help you read hospital materials?" Answers were based on a 5-point Likert scale. This was a validation study nested within a trial of diabetes self-management support in the San Francisco Department of Public Health. English and Spanish-speaking adults with type 2 diabetes receiving primary care. Using the Test of Functional Health Literacy in Adults (s-TOFHLA) in English and Spanish as the reference, we classified HL as inadequate, marginal, or adequate. We calculated the C-index and test characteristics of the three questions and summative scale compared to the s-TOFHLA and assessed variations in performance by language, race/ethnicity, age, and education. Of 296 participants, 48% were Spanish-speaking; 9% were White, non-Hispanic; 47% had inadequate HL and 12% had marginal HL. Overall, 57% reported being confident with forms "somewhat" or less. The "confident with forms" question performed best for detecting inadequate (C-index = 0.82, (0.77-0.87)) and inadequate plus marginal HL (C index = 0.81, (0.76-0.86); pSpanish and English speakers with adequate HL and those with inadequate and/or inadequate plus marginal HL. The "confident with forms" question or the summative scale may be useful for estimating HL in clinical research involving Spanish-speaking and English-speaking, chronically-ill, diverse populations.

  16. Implementation of Educational Innovation: The Case of Speaking ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Implementation of Educational Innovation: The Case of Speaking Assessment in the BGCSE English Examination. ... Marang: Journal of Language and Literature ... The findings have indicated that there are two main contending categories of education officers who have a stake in what is taught and assessed in BGCSE ...

  17. Oral healthcare challenges for older Punjabi-speaking immigrants.

    Science.gov (United States)

    MacEntee, Michael I; Wong, Sabrina T; Smith, André; Beattie, B Lynn; Brondani, Mario; Bryant, S Ross; Graf, Peter; Soheilipour, Shimae

    2014-06-01

    This study explored how older Punjabi-speaking South-Asian immigrants (four focus groups; 33 participants) in Surrey, British Columbia, perceive oral health and related problems. Content analysis revealed two umbrella themes: (a) interpretations of mouth conditions and (b) challenges to oral health. The umbrella themes had four sub-themes: damage caused by heat (wai), disturbances caused by caries, coping with dentures, and quality of life. Three challenges were considered: home remedies, Western dentistry, and difficulties accessing dentists. Participants explained oral diseases in terms of a systemic infection (resha), and preferred to decrease imbalances of wai in the mouth with home remedies from India. We conclude that older Punjabi-speaking immigrants interpret oral health and disease in the context of both Western and Ayurvedic traditions, and that they manage dental problems with a mix of traditional remedies supplemented, if possible, by elective oral health care in India, and by emergency dental care in Canada.

  18. Population genetic structure of Helicobacter pylori strains from Portuguese-speaking countries.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Oleastro, Mónica; Rocha, Raquel; Vale, Filipa F

    2017-08-01

    The human gastric colonizer Helicobacter pylori is useful to track human migrations given the agreement between the bacterium phylogeographic distribution and human migrations. As Portugal was an African and Brazilian colonizer for over 400 years, we hypothesized that Portuguese isolates were likely genetically closer with those from countries colonized by Portuguese in the past. We aimed to characterize the population structure of several Portuguese-speaking countries, including Portugal, Brazil, Angola, and Cape Verde. We included strains isolated in Portugal from Portuguese and from former Portuguese colonies. These strains were typed by multilocus sequence typing (MLST) for seven housekeeping genes. We also retrieved from Multi Locus Sequence Typing Web site additional housekeeping gene sequences, namely from Angola and Brazil. We provided evidence that strains from Portuguese belong to hpEurope and that the introgression of hpEurope in non-European countries that speak Portuguese is low, except for Brazil and Cape Verde, where hpEurope accounted for one quarter and one half of the population, respectively. We found genetic similarity for all strains from Portuguese-speaking countries that belong to hpEurope population. Moreover, these strains showed a predominance of ancestral Europe 2 (AE2) over ancestral Europe 1 (AE1), followed by ancestral Africa 1. H. pylori is a useful marker even for relative recent human migration events and may become rapidly differentiated from founder populations. H. pylori from Portuguese-speaking countries assigned to hpEurope appears to be a hybrid population resulting from the admixture of AE1, AE2 and ancestral hpAfrica1. © 2017 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

  19. Improving Listening And Speaking Skills By Using Animation Videos And Discussion Method

    OpenAIRE

    Amalia, Rizka

    2014-01-01

    Listening and speaking are the important skills that have to be mastered by the students. By having these skills, the students can communicate with others easily. There are many strategies that can be used to teach listening and speaking skills. One of the strategies is by using animation videos. Many students of all ages still like watching animation videos for they are interesting. Animation videos can help the students more understand because they present visual context aids that assist th...

  20. A-B-O and Rh affinities between highland and lowland Quechua-speaking Peruvian populations.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Frisancho, A R; Klayman, J E

    1975-09-01

    According to the accounts of the Spanish chronicles and various historical analyses the Quechua-speaking population inhabiting the Province of Lamas in the Eastern Tropical Lowlands of Peru are descendants of the Chanca Tribes that migrated from the highlands about 500 years ago. The results of the present study indicate that in terms of the A-B-O and Rh systems the lowland Quechua-speaking population from the Province of Lamas and the highland Quechua population from the Province of Junin are more similar to each other than to other tropical tribes. Therefore, it is quite possible that the present lowland Quechua-speaking population from the Province of Lamas may be descendants of Andean populations.

  1. The Attitudes and Perceptions of Non-Native English Speaking ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    native English speaking adults toward explicit grammar instruction (EGI). The factors influencing those attitudes and perceptions are also explored. The data collected in this study indicate that adult English as a second language (ESL) students ...

  2. Louisiana Speaks Regional Plan Vision New Growth Areas, UTM Zone 15N NAD83, Louisiana Recovery Authority (2007), [louisiana_speaks_vision_new_growth_areas

    Data.gov (United States)

    Louisiana Geographic Information Center — This GIS shapefile data illustrates new growth areas included in the Louisiana Speaks Regional Plan Vision. New growth areas include a mix of industrial, single...

  3. Louisiana Speaks Regional Plan Vision New or Improved Roadways, UTM Zone 15N NAD 83, Louisiana Recovery Authority (2007), [louisiana_speaks_vision_roadway_improvements

    Data.gov (United States)

    Louisiana Geographic Information Center — This GIS shapefile data illustrates new or improved roadways included in the Louisiana Speaks Regional Plan Vision. This network accommodates a land use pattern that...

  4. Variation Theory and the Reception of Chinese Literature in the English-speaking World

    OpenAIRE

    Cao, Shunqing

    2015-01-01

    In his article "Variation Theory and Reception of Chinese Literature in the English-Speaking World" Shunqing Cao introduces "variation theory" he developed and suggests that the framework can be applied in studying the dissemination and reception of Chinese literature in the English-speaking world. Cao argues that cultural and literary differences produce variations in literary exchanges among different cultures and variation theory concentrates on these variations. With unique perspectives o...

  5. MAIN ASPECTS IN LANGUAGE TRAINING OF NON-ENGLISH SPEAKING AIRMEN

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Nataliya Pazyura

    2016-12-01

    Full Text Available In the globalized world and rapid development of technical progress aviation industry has been gaining more importance for humanity and requires a deeper understanding of the English language, its basic characteristics and mechanisms of functioning. Purpose: The aim of the article is to study the influence of the proficiency of English on flight safety, to consider the main communication problems of non-English speaking aviation personnel, highlight possible directions for training English-speaking personnel. In the article the author tries to show the disadvantage at which non-English speaking airline staff work in case of emergency. The article highlights the issue about high level aviation English proficiency necessary to avoid communication problem. Methods: For the research scientific general methods have been used which are main ways of studying scientific sources, and comparative method for synchronic comparison of events in the different regions. Results: The author concludes that at the same time it is necessary for aviation personnel to master plain language for understanding context of communication, to minimize uncertainty and improve understanding between the controller and pilot. Discussion: It stresses the idea that the language proficiency level that exceeds the minimum standards according to ICAO, contributes significantly to the reduction of communication problems and in such a way ensures safety.

  6. Attitudes toward Suicide among English-Speaking Urban Canadians.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Domino, George; Leenars, Antoon A.

    1995-01-01

    A sample of 196 English-speaking Canadian adults residing in 6 major cities of Canada were administered the Suicide Opinion Questionnaire. Results are discussed along 10 major dimensions: stigma of suicide, normality, the right to die, acceptability, cry for help, mental illness, religion, antecedents, impulsivity, and incidence. (JPS)

  7. Transcription and the IELTS Speaking Test: Facilitating Development

    Science.gov (United States)

    Stones, Thomas P.

    2013-01-01

    This article describes a transcription task cycle that was designed to facilitate the development of skills for the IELTS (International English Language Testing System) speaking test at a language school in Japan. The cycle involved practice test, transcription, student correction, teacher correction, and retrial of the original test and…

  8. Culturally Relevant Pedagogy and the Public Speaking Classroom

    Science.gov (United States)

    Colvin, Janet Weston; Tobler, Nancy

    2012-01-01

    From the earliest roots of rhetoric, practitioners emphasized the need for analyzing one's audience before developing a speech. Textbooks for most basic public speaking courses spend at least one chapter discussing audience analysis. Authors discuss adapting messages to various demographic, cultural, and individual differences. As a result,…

  9. A Global Integration: Internationalizing a Public Speaking Course

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lyons, Florence A.

    2017-01-01

    Institutions of higher education around the world have responded to the challenge of globalization by internationalizing their curricula. Incorporating elements of cross-cultural examination to a freshman Fundamentals of Public Speaking class proved to be an important first step toward globalization for this speech professor. In the class,…

  10. Multilingualism and Web Advertising: Addressing French-Speaking Consumers

    Science.gov (United States)

    Martin, Elizabeth

    2011-01-01

    Drawing inferences from both quantitative and qualitative data, this study examines the extent to which American companies tailor their Web advertising for global audiences with a particular focus on French-speaking consumers in North America, Europe, Africa, the Caribbean and French Polynesia. Explored from a sociolinguistic and social semiotic…

  11. Normative data for Farsi-speaking Iranians in the United States on measures of executive functioning.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Avila, Justina F; Verney, Steven P; Kauzor, Kaitlyn; Flowers, Amina; Mehradfar, Maryam; Razani, Jill

    2018-01-09

    As the Farsi-speaking Iranian population continues to grow in the United States, examination of their cognitive performance is an imperative first step to providing this group with culturally competent services. Thirty-six healthy primarily Farsi-speaking Iranian adults completed Farsi-translated and adapted versions of three frequently used measures of executive/subcortical functioning: Wisconsin Card Sorting Test (WCST), Trail Making Test (TMT), and Color Trails Test (CTT). Participants' performance on each measure was compared to published normative data resulting in 0-85% of cognitively and medically healthy individuals being classified as impaired depending on the executive/subcortical test score examined, with the highest impairment rates for specific WCST outcome scores. These findings raise questions for the use of published norms with Farsi-speaking Iranians residing in the US. The present study provided normative data from this group of Farsi-speaking Iranians on the Farsi-translated and adapted versions of the WCST, TMT, and CTT.

  12. French-speaking Children's Freely Produced Labels for Facial Expressions

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Reem eMaassarani

    2014-06-01

    Full Text Available In this study, we investigated the labeling of facial expressions in French-speaking children. The participants were 137 French-speaking children, between the ages of 5 and 11 years, recruited from three elementary schools in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. The facial expressions included expressions of happiness, sadness, fear, surprise, anger, and disgust. Participants were shown one facial expression at a time, and asked to say what the stimulus person was feeling. Participants’ responses were coded by two raters who made judgments concerning the specific emotion category in which the responses belonged. Five- and 6-year-olds were quite accurate in labeling facial expressions of happiness, anger, and sadness but far less accurate for facial expressions of fear, surprise, and disgust. An improvement in accuracy as a function of age was found for fear and surprise only. Labeling facial expressions of disgust proved to be very difficult for the children, even for the 11-year-olds. In order to examine the fit between the model proposed by Widen and Russell (2003 and our data, we looked at the number of participants who had the predicted response patterns. Overall, 88.52% of the participants did. Most of the participants used between 3 and 5 labels, with correspondence percentages varying between 80.00% and 100.00%. Our results suggest that the model proposed by Widen and Russell is not limited to English-speaking children, but also accounts for the sequence of emotion labeling in French-Canadian children.

  13. Emotion episodes of Afrikaans-speaking employees in the workplace

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Cara S. Jonker

    2013-07-01

    Research purpose: The objective of this study was to determine the positive and negative emotion episodes and frequencies of working Afrikaans-speaking adults. Motivation for the study: To date, no study has been conducted to determine emotion episodes amongst White Afrikaans-speaking working adults in South Africa. Gooty, Connelly, Griffith and Gupta also argue for research on emotions in the natural settings in which they occur – the workplace. Research design, approach and method: A survey design with an availability sample was used. The participants (N = 179 consisted of White Afrikaans-speaking working adults. The Episode Grid was administered to capture the emotion episodes. Main findings: The main emotion episodes reported on with positive content included goal achievement, receiving recognition and personal incidents. Emotion episodes with negative content included categories such as behaviour of work colleagues, acts of boss/superior/management and task requirements. Practical and/or managerial implications: The findings are useful for managers who want to enhance the emotional quality of the work-life of employees. Changes could be made, for example, to practices of giving recognition within work environments and the clarification of task requirements. The knowledge on emotion episodes could be very useful in planning interventions. Contribution and/or value-adding: The findings and results of this study provided insight into emotion episodes as events in the workplace can cause positive and negative workplace experiences. This information should be taken into consideration with regard to wellness and emotion measurement efforts.

  14. Maryland environmental public health tracking outreach with Spanish-speaking persons living in Baltimore city or county.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Braggio, John T; Mitchell, Clifford S; Fierro-Luperini, Sonia

    2015-01-01

    The 2000 Pew reports became the impetus for the National Environmental Public Health Tracking (EPHT) Program, but there was no mention that Spanish-speaking persons are at increased risk of exposure to environmental hazards. To undertake successful EPHT outreach on Spanish-speaking persons (Hispanics), it is necessary to better understand their environmental health profile and barriers to health care access. Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS) survey questions were administered orally in Spanish to Spanish-speaking study participants. Volunteers were tested at a non-for-profit social service and referral agency in Baltimore. To control for acculturation, only Spanish-speaking persons who had lived in the United States for less than 10 years were selected. Responses to 40 BRFSS survey questions asked during the assessment and completion of 3 intervention activities. This study provides new information about Spanish-speaking persons, most of whom (85.3%) would not have been included in the landline administration of the BRFSS survey. Although 29.9% of the participants reported indoor pesticide use and another 9.2% reported outdoor pesticide use, lifetime (3.5%) and current (1.2%) asthma prevalence was significantly lower than asthma prevalence reported by Maryland Hispanics and all Maryland residents. There were significantly lower cholesterol screening (21.5%) and a significantly higher prevalence of diabetes (12.5%) in Spanish-speaking participants than in Maryland Hispanics and all Maryland residents. Among study participants, only 7.8% had health insurance and 39.9% reported that they could not see a doctor. Of the 3 outreach efforts completed, the most promising one involved asking Spanish-English-speaking health care professionals to distribute Spanish comic books about pesticides exposures and health outcomes in community settings where Spanish-only speakers and children were found. The effectiveness of passive and community-based EPHT

  15. Promoting Psychiatry as a Career Option for Ghanaian Medical Students through a Public-Speaking Competition

    Science.gov (United States)

    Agyapong, Vincent Israel Opoku; McLoughlin, Declan

    2012-01-01

    Objectives: Authors assessed the impact of a public-speaking competition on the level of interest in psychiatry of Ghanaian medical students. Method: An inter-medical school public-speaking competition was organized to promote psychiatry as a fulfilling career option for Ghanaian medical students. Feedback questionnaires were completed by the…

  16. Butterflies in Formation: Predicting How Speech Order in College Public Speaking Affects Student Communication Apprehension

    Science.gov (United States)

    Osmond, Erica R.

    2013-01-01

    This study addressed pedagogical practices in the public speaking classroom in an attempt to help control communication apprehension (CA) levels and improve retention rates among college students in the basic public speaking course. Guided by the theoretical frameworks of Berger and Calabrese's uncertainty reduction theory and Weiner's attribution…

  17. Counseling Spanish-speaking patients: Atlanta pharmacists' cultural sensitivity, use of language-assistance services, and attitudes.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Muzyk, Andrew J; Muzyk, Tara L; Barnett, Candace W

    2004-01-01

    To document the types of language-assistance services available in pharmacies and the perceptions of pharmacists regarding the effectiveness of these services, and to measure the attitudes toward counseling Spanish-speaking patients and cultural sensitivity of pharmacists. Cross-sectional assessment. Metropolitan Atlanta, Ga. Registered Georgia pharmacists residing in metropolitan Atlanta. Mailed survey, with repeat mailing 2 weeks later. 38 survey items measuring demographic and practice-site characteristics, types of language-assistance services available with an assessment of the effectiveness of each measured on a nominal scale, and attitudinal items concerning counseling of Spanish-speaking patients and pharmacists' cultural sensitivity using a 5-point Likert-type response scale. Of 1,975 questionnaires mailed, 608 were returned, a 30.8% response rate. Nearly two thirds of the pharmacists had recently counseled a Spanish-speaking patient, but only one fourth of those respondents considered their interactions effective. Nearly all pharmacists, 88.0%, worked in pharmacies with language-assistance services. Of seven types of these services, a mean of 2.19 were available in pharmacies, and the majority of pharmacists (84.4% or more) identifying a service considered it to be effective. The pharmacists were neutral about counseling Spanish-speaking patients (mean = 2.94) and indifferent toward other cultures (mean = 3.28); however, they agreed they had a responsibility to counsel Spanish-speaking patients, and they believed that use of language-assistance services would constitute a reasonable effort to counsel these patients. Pharmacists have an opportunity to address barriers to communication with the Spanish-speaking population through use of language-assistance services and educational measures within the profession.

  18. Native-English Speaking Instructors Teaching Writing in China

    Science.gov (United States)

    Liu, Qing; Zhou, Xiaodi; Fu, Danling

    2015-01-01

    This article presents two separate but related studies on native-English speaking (NES) instructors' teaching writing practice in Chinese universities. One study is a case study that explores the teaching practice of three NES instructors' writing instruction in a southern Chinese university as well as students' responses to their practice.…

  19. Does a Speaking Task Affect Second Language Comprehensibility?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Crowther, Dustin; Trofimovich, Pavel; Isaacs, Talia; Saito, Kazuya

    2015-01-01

    The current study investigated task effects on listener perception of second language (L2) comprehensibility (ease of understanding). Sixty university-level adult speakers of English from 4 first language (L1) backgrounds (Chinese, Romance, Hindi, Farsi), with 15 speakers per group, were recorded performing 2 tasks (IELTS long-turn speaking task…

  20. Using Word Clouds to Teach about Speaking Style

    Science.gov (United States)

    Perry, Lisa

    2012-01-01

    Good public speaking style requires, among other skills, "effective management of the resources of language." Good speakers choose language carefully to create credibility, emotional impact, and logical appeal. If a speaker's language is wishy-washy, dull, vague, or long-winded, the speaker appears less trustworthy. Audience distrust of a speaker…

  1. Beskidt formalisme

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Redvall, Eva Novrup

    2015-01-01

    Norske Joachim Triers unikke stemme præger hans første amerikanske film, den livskloge ’Louder Than Bombs’, der viser livet under overfladen og ikke kun taler til følelserne......Norske Joachim Triers unikke stemme præger hans første amerikanske film, den livskloge ’Louder Than Bombs’, der viser livet under overfladen og ikke kun taler til følelserne...

  2. Using Video-Taped Examples of Stand-Up Comedy Routines To Teach Principles of Public Speaking.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Siddens, Paul J., III

    This paper investigates the use of stand-up comedy routines to demonstrate principles of public speaking to college students in communication classes. The paper examines particular elements of the public speaking process, which include the structural elements of speeches: (1) introductions; (2) the body of the speech, including organization,…

  3. Engaging Multimedia into Speaking Class Practices: Toward students’ Achievement and Motivation

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ratnawati Ratnawati

    2017-10-01

    Full Text Available The present study reports several impacts of implementing multimedia toward teaching and learning process in speaking class at second grade students of Galuh University, Ciamis. Further, the study came from insights on students’ boredom during speaking class which affected their achievement and motivation.  Mixed method research design (Creswell, 2013 then employed to answer several proposed hypotheses. For proving the result of its application, observation, questionnaire, pre and post-test were administered to collect the data while both quantitative and qualitative approaches were applied to analyze the collected data from classroom practices. The research findings indicates that  multimedia in speaking class got positive responds from students in term of motivation and accomplishment. The great look portrayed from the class that students were enthusiastic, got involved and interested in multimedia provided by teacher during learning process. Moreover, pre and post-tests that are performace-based tests were greatly used to test the effectiveness of multimedia effects during the class. In this side, the researcher employed experiment of two equivalent groups: control and experimental group. It then reported that t-test related is 2.04  out of 1.70 for  t- distribution which points out that there is significant difference between the results of both tests. It means that the result of this research agreed that multimedia has good effects for teaching speaking in the scope of students’ interests, feedback and their cognitive aspects. In line with above statements, the further studies is also necessary  dealing with other multimedia for obtaining more positive effects toward learning process and those result enables to increase quality of education.

  4. DEVELOPING ESL/EFL LEARNERS’ PUBLIC SPEAKING SKILLS THROUGH PECHA KUCHA PRESENTATIONS

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Romualdo A. Mabuan

    2017-12-01

    Full Text Available In the 21st century workplace, there has been an increasing demand for graduates to possess communicative competence particularly in speaking. Anchored on the 21st Century Learning Framework (Partnership for 21st Century Skills or P21, 2006 and the TPACK Framework (Koehler & Mishra, 2009, this study reports findings on the pedagogical viability of utilizing Pecha Kucha 20x20 Presentations in developing students’ competence and confidence while presenting in the language classroom. Research participants include 43 English as Second Language (ESL learners taking Speech Communication classes in a private university in Manila, the Philippines during the second semester of the academic year 2016-2017. Research data from students’ reflections, interviews, survey, and focus group discussion (FGD suggest that despite some format and technological limitations, delivering Pecha Kucha presentations may help students develop their English speaking and oral presentation skills, build their confidence in speaking before an audience, and practice their English macro skills such as listening and reading. In the light of these findings, pedagogical implications are provided for ESL (English as a second language and EFL (English as a foreign language teachers, communication educators, and researchers.

  5. Benefits of music training in mandarin-speaking pediatric cochlear implant users.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fu, Qian-Jie; Galvin, John J; Wang, Xiaosong; Wu, Jiunn-Liang

    2015-02-01

    The aims of this study were to assess young (5- to 10-year-old) Mandarin-speaking cochlear implant (CI) users' musical pitch perception and to assess the benefits of computer-based home training on performance. Melodic contour identification (MCI) was used to assess musical pitch perception in 14 Mandarin-speaking pediatric CI users; the instrument timbre and the contour length were varied as experimental parameters. Six subjects received subsequent MCI training on their home computer in which auditory and visual feedback were provided. MCI performance was generally poor (grand mean=33.3% correct) and highly variable, with scores ranging from 9.3% to 98.1% correct; there was no significant effect of instrument timbre or contour length on performance (p>.05). After 4 weeks of training, performance sharply improved. Follow-up measures that were conducted 8 weeks after training was stopped showed no significant decline in MCI performance. For the 6 trained subjects, there was a significant effect of contour length for the training and follow-up measures. These preliminary data suggest that although baseline MCI performance initially may be poor, training may greatly improve Mandarin-speaking pediatric CI users' melodic pitch perception.

  6. Action and object processing in brain-injured speakers of Chinese.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Arévalo, Analia L; Lu, Ching-Ching; Huang, Lydia B-Y; Bates, Elizabeth A; Dronkers, Nina F

    2011-11-01

    To see whether action and object processing across different tasks and modalities differs in brain-injured speakers of Chinese with varying fluency and lesion locations within the left hemisphere. Words and pictures representing actions and objects were presented to a group of 33 participants whose native and/or dominant language was Mandarin Chinese: 23 patients with left-hemisphere lesions due to stroke and 10 language-, age- and education-matched healthy control participants. A set of 120 stimulus items was presented to each participant in three different forms: as black and white line drawings (for picture-naming), as written words (for reading) and as aurally presented words (for word repetition). Patients were divided into groups for two separate analyses: Analysis 1 divided and compared patients based on fluency (Fluent vs. Nonfluent) and Analysis 2 compared patients based on lesion location (Anterior vs. Posterior). Both analyses yielded similar results: Fluent, Nonfluent, Anterior, and Posterior patients all produced significantly more errors when processing action (M = 0.73, SD = 0.45) relative to object (M = 0.79, SD = 0.41) stimuli, and this effect was strongest in the picture-naming task. As in our previous study with English-speaking participants using the same experimental design (Arévalo et al., 2007, Arévalo, Moineau, Saygin, Ludy, & Bates, 2005), we did not find evidence for a double-dissociation in action and object processing between groups with different lesion and fluency profiles. These combined data bring us closer to a more informed view of action/object processing in the brain in both healthy and brain-injured individuals.

  7. Development of natural gas in the French-speaking part of Switzerland

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Defago, E.

    1992-01-01

    Natural gas has known a rapid development in the French-speaking part of Switzerland and this trend is still continuing. Natural gas represents 13% of the overall energy consumption, which lies significantly above the Swiss average and, in the year 2000, it should reach about 20%. In order to meet the expected growth of consumption, Gaznat has already contracted, under long term agreements, large quantities of natural gas from diversified sources. Underground storage capacities in nearby France have been considerably increased and new gas-pipelines are being built. These pipelines will enable to double the supply capacity of the French-speaking part of Switzerland within the next three years. (orig.) [de

  8. A Racing Heart, Rattling Knees, and Ruminative Thoughts: Defining, Explaining, and Treating Public Speaking Anxiety

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bodie, Graham D.

    2010-01-01

    Considered by many to be the foundation upon which our discipline was built, the study of public speaking has evolved from its humble beginnings into a vast literature of experimental and expositional studies. The focus of research on public speaking has primarily been to discover the antecedents, causes, and consequences of anxiety associated…

  9. A Measure of EFL Public Speaking Class Anxiety: Scale Development and Preliminary Validation and Reliability

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yaikhong, Kriangkrai; Usaha, Siriluck

    2012-01-01

    The present study contributes to developing a Public Speaking Class Anxiety Scale (PSCAS) to measure anxiety in the EFL public speaking class in the Thai context. Items were adopted from previous scales: Foreign Language Classroom Anxiety Scale (FLCAS) by Horwitz et al. (1986); Personal Report of Communication Apprehension (PRCA-24) and Personal…

  10. So They Want Us to Learn French: Promoting and Opposing Bilingualism in English-Speaking Canada

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hayday, Matthew

    2015-01-01

    Since the 1960s, bilingualism has become a defining aspect of Canadian identity. And yet, fifty years after the Royal Commission on Bilingualism and Biculturalism was formed and with over forty years of federal government funding and supports for second-language education, relatively few English Canadians speak or choose to speak French. What…

  11. The Leuven Adolescent Perceived Parenting Scale (LAPPS) : Reliability and validity with French-speaking adolescents in Belgium

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Delhaye, M.; Beyers, W.; Klimstra, T.A.; Linkowski, P.; Goossens, L.

    2012-01-01

    The present study examined the reliability and validity of the Leuven Adolescent Perceived Parenting Scale (LAPPS), an instrument initially developed for use with Dutch-speaking adolescents in Belgium, in French-speaking adolescents living in that same country. The instrument was administered to a

  12. Establishing a culturally specific nursing home for Finnish-speaking older persons in Sweden: A case study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hadziabdic, Emina; Hjelm, Katarina

    2018-04-01

    The study aims to describe the establishment of a culturally specific nursing home for Finnish-speaking older persons in Sweden. A descriptive qualitative study. A descriptive case study based on a review of 14 public documents and individual interviews with two experts in the area, analysed with qualitative content analysis. This study found that shared language, preservation of customs and habits and collaboration between the representatives of the municipality, Finnish-speaking migrant associations and staff at the nursing home influenced the development of the culturally specific nursing home for older Finnish-speaking people intended to avoid loneliness, isolation and misunderstandings among older Finnish-speaking. Collaboration between healthcare service for older persons and minority people resulted in an optimal culturally specific nursing home, simultaneously encountering the majority culture. Nursing and healthcare services need to be aware of positive effects of collaboration with stakeholders to achieve optimal culturally specific nursing homes.

  13. Nonadjacent Dependency Learning in Cantonese-Speaking Children With and Without a History of Specific Language Impairment.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Iao, Lai-Sang; Ng, Lai Yan; Wong, Anita Mei Yin; Lee, Oi Ting

    2017-03-01

    This study investigated nonadjacent dependency learning in Cantonese-speaking children with and without a history of specific language impairment (SLI) in an artificial linguistic context. Sixteen Cantonese-speaking children with a history of SLI and 16 Cantonese-speaking children with typical language development (TLD) were tested with a nonadjacent dependency learning task using artificial languages that mimic Cantonese. Children with TLD performed above chance and were able to discriminate between trained and untrained nonadjacent dependencies. However, children with a history of SLI performed at chance and were not able to differentiate trained versus untrained nonadjacent dependencies. These findings, together with previous findings from English-speaking adults and adolescents with language impairments, suggest that individuals with atypical language development, regardless of age, diagnostic status, language, and culture, show difficulties in learning nonadjacent dependencies. This study provides evidence for early impairments to statistical learning in individuals with atypical language development.

  14. Validation of a home food inventory among low-income Spanish- and Somali-speaking families.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hearst, Mary O; Fulkerson, Jayne A; Parke, Michelle; Martin, Lauren

    2013-07-01

    To refine and validate an existing home food inventory (HFI) for low-income Somali- and Spanish-speaking families. Formative assessment was conducted using two focus groups, followed by revisions of the HFI, translation of written materials and instrument validation in participants’ homes. Twin Cities Metropolitan Area, Minnesota, USA. Thirty low-income families with children of pre-school age (fifteen Spanish-speaking; fifteen Somali-speaking) completed the HFI simultaneously with, but independently of, a trained staff member. Analysis consisted of calculation of both item-specific and average food group kappa coefficients, specificity, sensitivity and Spearman’s correlation between participants’ and staff scores as a means of assessing criterion validity of individual items, food categories and the obesogenic score. The formative assessment revealed the need for few changes/additions for food items typically found in Spanish-speaking households. Somali-speaking participants requested few additions, but many deletions, including frozen processed food items, non-perishable produce and many sweets as they were not typical food items kept in the home. Generally, all validity indices were within an acceptable range, with the exception of values associated with items such as ‘whole wheat bread’ (k = 0.16). The obesogenic score (presence of high-fat, high-energy foods) had high criterion validity with k = 0.57, sensitivity = 91.8%, specificity = 70.6% and Spearman correlation = 0.78. The revised HFI is a valid assessment tool for use among Spanish and Somali households. This instrument refinement and validation process can be replicated with other population groups.

  15. Suicide Prevention Exposure, Awareness, and Knowledge Survey (SPEAKS) - Faculty/Staff

    Data.gov (United States)

    U.S. Department of Health & Human Services — The SPEAKS- faculty/staff dataset contains individual level information from a sample of faculty and staff on GLS funded campuses. These data include faculty...

  16. Speaking to Nations

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Jensen, Lars

    The ebbs and flows, which typically influences not just rhetoric around, but also how we think through nationalism, suggest nationalism is somehow at the core the same ‘thing’. But is it really? What connects the rise of nationalism in Australia in the 1880s, to the nationalism of the First...... surrounding refugees and migrancy in Australia and Europe (since this is what we are invited to do by the organisers), and how the deconstruction of such discourses might lead to more constructive ways of speaking through nation, might offer a way. I think Stan Grant’s book, Talking to My Country, through its...... combination of incisive criticism and insistence on constructive nation-(re)building offers an interesting launching pad. I am hoping to use Grant’s nation-rebuilding project to suggest ways that could open up similar spaces in equally exclusivist, the-nation-is-white-places in Europe. I am aware Grant has...

  17. A Model of Anxious Arousal for Public Speaking

    Science.gov (United States)

    Finn, Amber N.; Sawyer, Chris R.; Behnke, Ralph R.

    2009-01-01

    With the goal of identifying the characteristics or traits students bring to the classroom that predispose them to panic when faced with the threat of presenting in front of an audience, this study introduced a subtype of public-speaking state anxiety--anxious arousal. Specifically, this study examined the extent to which trait anxiety and…

  18. Using Public Speaking Tasks in English Language Teaching

    Science.gov (United States)

    Iberri-Shea, Gina

    2009-01-01

    The purpose of this article is to provide suggestions for using public speaking tasks in English language teaching (ELT) and to highlight some of their many advantages. For the purpose of this article, the author will focus on two types of these tasks: student presentations and debates. Student presentations may consist of either individual or…

  19. A Brief, Self-Directed Written Cognitive Exercise to Reduce Public Speaking Anxiety in College Courses

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dibartolo, Patricia Marten; Molina, Kristine

    2010-01-01

    Fear of public speaking is the most common social fear experienced by the general population and can have far-reaching academic effects, including lower course grades and even an increased likelihood to drop out of college. The typical curricular approach to remediating public speaking fears in college students is to provide training in basic…

  20. Anxiety about speaking a foreign language as a mediator of the relation between motivation and willingness to communicate.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wu, Chia-Pei; Lin, Huey-Ju

    2014-12-01

    The purpose of this study was to examine whether anxiety about speaking a foreign language mediated the relation between motivation and a willingness to communicate among 107 Taiwanese students sampled from two public universities and one private university. A regression analysis indicated that motivation was negatively related to university students' anxiety about speaking a foreign language and positively related to willingness to communicate. Furthermore, anxiety about speaking a foreign language was negatively related to university students' willingness to communicate, and also partially mediated the relationship between motivation and willingness to communicate. The findings suggest that high motivation and low anxiety about speaking a foreign language are needed for Taiwanese students to demonstrate a stronger willingness to communicate.

  1. Psychological Problems and Challenge In EFL Speaking Classroom

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Win Listyaningrum Arifin

    2017-07-01

    Full Text Available Psychological aspect regarding to learning attitudes plays in determining learning achievement. Psychological problems also involve not only to the students but also teacher. Less-confidence, speech anxiety, and low self-esteem are almost common problem in classroom, and occur on both teachers and students. Students who have low of self-confidence are often hardly able to control themselves for public speaking in the classroom, like, Governing his/ her behavior on that his/her peers think, lose belief on self, thinking that his/her friends dis-appraising, afraid of getting mistakes, etc. However, teachers which are low self-esteem and confidence also lose their performance and ability to manage their classroom optimally. Low self-esteem may caused by teacher’s poor understanding on subject matter. Both of psychological problems impact on dis-effectiveness of classroom activities. This paper takes accounts of some psychological problems of students and teachers in English speaking classroom, and some guidelines to overcome. At the last discus, this paper also provides some keys of how to make good classroom atmosphere.

  2. Nursing as a career choice: perceptions of school students speaking Arabic, Serbo-Croatian, Spanish, Turkish or Vietnamese at home.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tang, K C; Duffield, C; Chen, X C; Choucair, S; Creegan, R; Mak, C; Lesley, G

    1999-01-01

    Australia is a multicultural society and nowhere is this more evident than in Sydney where 25% of the population speaks a language other than English. In one of the largest area health services in New South Wales, the five most frequently spoken languages at home are Arabic, Serbo-Croatian, Spanish, Turkish or Vietnamese, with these language groups comprising 12% of Sydney's population. Yet nurses speaking one of these five languages comprise less than 1% of the nursing workforce. A cost-effective method of addressing the shortage of nurses speaking languages other than English is to recruit students who already speak another language into the profession. This study examined high school students' perceptions of nursing in order to determine appropriate methods of recruiting students speaking one of these languages. Implications for the design of recruitment campaigns are also discussed.

  3. A museum for German-speaking citizens in the Czech lands

    Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

    Hnídková, Vendula

    -, č. 42 (2011), s. 10 ISSN 1573-3815 Institutional research plan: CEZ:AV0Z80330511 Keywords : Czech contemporary architecture * Projektil * Museum for German -speaking citizens Subject RIV: AL - Art, Architecture, Cultural Heritage

  4. Health services utilisation disparities between English speaking and non-English speaking background Australian infants

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Chen Jack

    2010-04-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background To examine the differences in health services utilisation and the associated risk factors between infants from non-English speaking background (NESB and English speaking background (ESB within Australia. Methods We analysed data from a national representative longitudinal study, the Longitudinal Study of Australian Children (LSAC which started in 2004. We used survey logistic regression coupled with survey multiple linear regression to examine the factors associated with health services utilisation. Results Similar health status was observed between the two groups. In comparison to ESB infants, NESB infants were significantly less likely to use the following health services: maternal and child health centres or help lines (odds ratio [OR] 0.56; 95% confidence intervals [CI], 0.40-0.79; maternal and child health nurse visits (OR 0.68; 95% CI, 0.49-0.95; general practitioners (GPs (OR 0.58; 95% CI, 0.40-0.83; and hospital outpatient clinics (OR 0.54; 95% CI, 0.31-0.93. Multivariate analysis results showed that the disparities could not be fully explained by the socioeconomic status and language barriers. The association between English proficiency and the service utilised was absent once the NESB was taken into account. Maternal characteristics, family size and income, private health insurance and region of residence were the key factors associated with health services utilisation. Conclusions NESB infants accessed significantly less of the four most frequently used health services compared with ESB infants. Maternal characteristics and family socioeconomic status were linked to health services utilisation. The gaps in health services utilisation between NESB and ESB infants with regard to the use of maternal and child health centres or phone help, maternal and child health nurse visits, GPs and paediatricians require appropriate policy attentions and interventions.

  5. Investigating the impact of SMS speak on the written work of English first language and English second language high school learners

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Winzker, Kristy

    2009-12-01

    Full Text Available This study examined the impact of SMS speak on the written work of English first language (L1 and English second language (L2 grade 8s and 11s. The aim was to establish whether these learners make use of features of SMS speak in their English written work. The participants, 88 learners from an English-Afrikaans dual medium school, completed questionnaires from which the frequency and volume of their SMS use were determined, as well as the features of SMS speak they reportedly use while SMSing. In addition, samples of their English essays were examined for the following features of SMS speak: (deliberate spelling errors; lack of punctuation; over-punctuation; omission of function words; and use of abbreviation, acronyms, emoticons and rebus writing. The questionnaires indicated that these learners are avid users of the SMS. All participants reported using features of SMS speak in their SMSes, and more than 40% reported using SMS speak in their written school work. Despite this, features of SMS speak infrequently occurred in the written work of the learners, which could indicate that the learners are able to assess when it is and is not appropriate to use a certain variety of language. That said, a number of SMS speak features were indeed present in the samples, which indicates that SMS speak had some impact on the written work of these learners. Not all of the nonstandard features of their written English could, however, necessarily be attributed to the influence of SMS speak; specifically some of the spelling and punctuation errors could have occurred in the written English of high school learners from before the advent of cell phones.

  6. Exploratory Study Investigating the Opinions of Russian-Speaking Parents on Maintaining their Children's Use of the Russian Language

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Sue Kraftsoff

    2009-01-01

    Full Text Available This study explored why and how Russian speaking parents in an Irish context maintained the Russian language in their school-age children. Using a self-administered unstandardised questionnaire, the opinions of 16 Russian-speaking parents, reporting on 24 children, were surveyed. Of this sample, five parents were then interviewed using focus group methodology. The main findings revealed that Russian-speaking parents living in Ireland strongly supported Russian language maintenance in their families and wanted their children to be as fluent as possible in the Russian language. The reasons for the support of Russian language were: cultural preservation, general knowledge of languages in addition to English, and communication with the homeland. Methods employed to maintain the Russian language included conversing with children through Russian, reading and watching Russian TV/DVD. Although most parents spoke only Russian to their children, just three children were considered by their parents to have sufficient language skills to interact through Russian in Russian speaking countries. Interestingly, 15 children were thought to have adequate skills in Russian to speak with those outside their immediate family when in Ireland. Congruent with other studies of bilingualism, development of English, or the secondary, majority language, was also important to parents, as they lived in a dominant English-speaking society.

  7. Designing the online oral language learning environment SpeakApps

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Nic Giolla Mhichíl, Mairéad; Appel, Christine; Ó Ciardubháin, Colm; Jager, Sake; Prizel-Kania, Adriana

    2015-01-01

    Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to report on SpeakApps, a major collaborative computer-assisted language learning project, developed based on an open source techno-pedagogical solution to facilitate online oral language production and interaction. Design/methodology/approach – A mixed method

  8. The Evolution of beliefs and opinions on matters related to marriage and sexual behaviour among French-speaking Catholic Quebecers and English-speaking Protestant Ontarians

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Miller, Caia

    2006-01-01

    Full Text Available EnglishThe authors argue that the important changes in behaviour related to family andsexual life that were seen in Quebec during the second half of the 20th centuryare a consequence of a major transformation of the foundation of the normativesystem shared by the members of Quebec's main socio-religious group, French speakingCatholics. Using data from Gallup polls, the authors compare theevolution of the opinions of French-speaking Quebec Catholics and English speakingOntario Protestants on matters related to sexual and family behaviourfrom the 1950s to the beginning of the 2000s. The general result is that theevolution of the differences between the two groups is compatible with thehypothesis.FrenchLes auteurs proposent d’expliquer les importants changements qui se sontproduits, dans le Québec de la deuxième moitié du 20e siècle, dans lescomportements liés à la famille et à la vie sexuelle par la transformation dusystème normatif des membres de son principal groupe socio-religieux, lesfrancophones catholiques. À partir des données de sondages Gallup, ilscomparent l'évolution des opinions des francophones catholiques du Québec etdes anglophones protestants de l’Ontario sur des questions liées à la famille etau comportement sexuel et de famille des années 1950 à 2000. L’évolution desdifférences entre les deux groupes est compatible avec l’hypothèse.

  9. The images of scientists and science among Hebrew- and Arabic-speaking pre-service teachers in Israel

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rubin, Edna; Cohen, Ariel

    2003-07-01

    This study investigated the image of scientists held by Israeli pre-service teachers, the majority of whom were female. The population consisted of students belonging to two cultures, Hebrew-speaking and Arabic-speaking. The DAST ('Draw-a-Scientist-Test') tool and other tools, some of which were developed specifically for this research, tested the image of the scientist as perceived by the participants. It was found that the image of the scientist is perceived as predominantly male, a physicist or a chemist, working in a laboratory typical of the eighteenth, nineteenth or the early-twentieth century. Students did not differentiate between scientists and inventors. Different images were held in the two cultures. Most of the Arabic-speaking students put Classical Islamic scientists near the top of their lists and thought of the scientist as an Arab male, while the Hebrew-speaking students' was as a typical Western male. Recommendations, resulting from the findings, for developing a new learning unit for the purpose of altering stereotypes are suggested.

  10. EFEKTIFITAS PEMBELAJARAN KETERAMPILAN SPEAKING DENGAN PENDEKATAN GENRE DI UNIVERSITAS MUHAMMADIYAH SURAKARTA

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Sri Slamet

    2015-07-01

    Full Text Available The purposes of this research are to describe language teaching using genre approach, to describe the problems faced by students and lecturers at Language Center UMS, and to de- scribe the strengths and weaknesses of this approach in which the approach  is compared with a previous  method. This research is a descriptive qualitative research. It uses informant and docu- ment sources. The informants are the students of semester 2 and  the lecturers of Speaking Acqui- sition 2 at UMS. The techniques used in data collecting are by giving questionnaire, doing an in- terview, observing, and giving a test. The result of the research shows that (1 teaching English using genre approach has not been effective yet. The ineffectiveness of this approach is caused by (a the lecturers, who still do not understand the concept of genre and how to teach it to the stu- dents, (b the topic of dialogue is not interesting to the students, (c the exercises of the book are not various, and (d the students are not well-motivated by the lecturers. (2 Genre approach in teaching English is one of the methods to develop student and lecturer’s activity on speaking abil- ity. (3 The weakness of this approach is that the students are still lack of mastery on vocabulary, grammar and pronunciation. Based on the finding, it is suggested for the policy maker at LC to hold a workshop on teaching Speaking based on genre approach. The materials on workshop should be focused on teaching speaking for a big class, the method on giving the task or assign- ment, and the ways to evaluate it. It is also suggested that the curriculum should cover Reading Subject which can be used to emphasize on students vocabulary, grammar, and pronunciation.

  11. Public speaking stress-induced neuroendocrine responses and circulating immune cell redistribution in irritable bowel syndrome.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Elsenbruch, Sigrid; Lucas, Ayscha; Holtmann, Gerald; Haag, Sebastian; Gerken, Guido; Riemenschneider, Natalie; Langhorst, Jost; Kavelaars, Annemieke; Heijnen, Cobi J; Schedlowski, Manfred

    2006-10-01

    Augmented neuroendocrine stress responses and altered immune functions may play a role in the manifestation of functional gastrointestinal (GI) disorders. We tested the hypothesis that IBS patients would demonstrate enhanced psychological and endocrine responses, as well as altered stress-induced redistribution of circulating leukocytes and lymphocytes, in response to an acute psychosocial stressor when compared with healthy controls. Responses to public speaking stress were analyzed in N = 17 IBS patients without concurrent psychiatric conditions and N = 12 healthy controls. At baseline, immediately following public speaking, and after a recovery period, state anxiety, acute GI symptoms, cardiovascular responses, serum cortisol and plasma adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH) were measured, and numbers of circulating leukocytes and lymphocyte subpopulations were analyzed by flow cytometry. Public speaking led to significant cardiovascular activation, a significant increase in ACTH, and a redistribution of circulating leukocytes and lymphocyte subpopulations, including significant increases in natural killer cells and cytotoxic/suppressor T cells. IBS patients demonstrated significantly greater state anxiety both at baseline and following public speaking. However, cardiovascular and endocrine responses, as well as the redistribution of circulating leukocytes and lymphocyte subpopulations after public speaking stress, did not differ for IBS patients compared with controls. In IBS patients without psychiatric comorbidity, the endocrine response as well as the circulation pattern of leukocyte subpopulations to acute psychosocial stress do not differ from healthy controls in spite of enhanced emotional responses. Future studies should discern the role of psychopathology in psychological and biological stress responses in IBS.

  12. Trust Development With the Spanish-Speaking Mexican American Patient: A Grounded Theory Study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jones, Sharon M

    2018-06-01

    Interpersonal trust between patient and nurse is important in patient-centered care. Trust development may be more difficult if the patient and nurse do not speak the same language. In this grounded theory study, Spanish-speaking Mexican American adults ( n = 20) hospitalized on a medical-surgical or obstetric unit in the Midwestern United States were interviewed. Through data analysis, a model of how trust develops between nurse and patient revealed eight categories and the core category Caring for Me Well Even When Not Understanding Me. The beginning phase had four categories: Asking for Help, Bothering, Communicating, and Understanding. The middle phase had two categories: Platicando (chatting) and Being Available. The end point category was Having Trust, and outcomes were Feeling Comfortable and Feeling Supported. The language barrier was a hindrance to trust development but the nurse's way of being (personality) was more important. Therefore, the patient did develop trust with nurses who did not speak Spanish.

  13. Talk like TED the 9 public-speaking secrets of the world's top minds

    CERN Document Server

    Gallo, Carmine

    2014-01-01

    Ideas are the currency of the twenty-first century. In order to succeed, you need to be able to sell your ideas persuasively. This ability is the single greatest skill that will help you accomplish your dreams. TED Talks have redefined the elements of a successful presentation and become the gold standard for public speaking. TED--which stands for technology, entertainment, and design--brings together the world's leading thinkers. These are the presentations that set the world on fire, and the techniques that top TED speakers use will make any presentation more dynamic, fire up any team, and give anyone the confidence to overcome their fear of public speaking. Public speaking coach and bestselling author Carmine Gallo has broken down hundreds of TED talks and interviewed the most popular TED presenters, as well as the top researchers in the fields of psychology, communications, and neuroscience to reveal the nine secrets of all successful TED presentations. Gallo's step-by-step method makes it possible for ...

  14. SPEAK YOUR MIND: SIMPLIFIED DEBATES AS A LEARNING TOOL AT THE UNIVERSITY LEVEL

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    LUSTIGOVÁ, Lenka

    2011-03-01

    Full Text Available This study focuses on the development of speaking skills in intermediate and lower level university classes through the simplified format of debates. The aim of this paper is to describe teaching observations with special attention given to the preparatory stages, strengths and challenges of simplified debate faced by both the teacher and the students. Observations were made while teaching speaking through simple debate to 19 - 20 year-old-students of general English at the Czech University of Life Sciences Prague in intermediate and lower level classes. By describing the methods and procedures used to engage in debates, this paper aims to enrich pedagogical methods for effectively teaching speaking skills and thus serve ESL teachers at large. By contextualizing debate within a milieu larger than the ESL classroom, this study also accesses possibilities for further application of simplified debate to heighten training for other subjects, while drawing upon the democratic context supported by debate.

  15. Language-Specific Effects on Story and Procedural Narrative tasks between Korean-speaking and English-speaking Individuals with Aphasia

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jee Eun Sung

    2015-04-01

    Results suggested that Korean-speaking individuals with aphasia produced more numbers of different verbs, number of verbs per utterance and higher VNRs than English speakers. Both groups generated more words in story. The significant two-way interactions between the language group and task type suggested that there are task-specific effects on linguistic measures across the groups. The study implied that the linguistic characteristics differentially affected language symptoms of aphasia across the different languages and task types.

  16. CO-OP JIGSAW TEAM PROJECTS: A COOPERATIVE TEACHING METHOD TO IMPROVE STUDENTS‘ SPEAKING SKILL (An Experimental Study in a Senior High School

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Diaz Innova Citra Arum

    2017-12-01

    Full Text Available An effective speaking activity involves active students to participate and create a life communication. The ideal condition of English speaking class involves the students‘ effectiveness in participating teaching and learning process. Nevertheless, some problems are emerged and one of them is that they often get nervous to speak in front of many people when they are asked to present their work to their friends. This paper reveals an experiment study in teaching speaking in a senior high school in Lamongan, East Java. It discusses about the effectiveness of cooperative teaching method known as coop jigsaw team projects in teaching speaking. All tenth grade students were used as the population and eighty students were taken as sample being divided into experimental group taught using coop jigsaw team projects and control group taught using direct instruction. Cluster random sampling was applied as the technique to determine sample. To obtain the data of students‘ speaking score, a speaking test was conducted. The score was the average score resulted by two independent examiners. The data were analysed through descriptive and inferential analysis using two-sample t-test. The research hypothesised that coop jigsaw will result a better English speaking score rather than direct instruction method. The research finding using 95% significance level shows that coop jigsaw team projects was more effective in teaching speaking compared to direct instruction for the tenth grade students because the activities in coop jigsaw team project pushed the students to be more active and cooperative in learning speaking.

  17. The acquisition of L2 speaking : A dynamic perspective

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Lowie, Wander; Verspoor, Marjolijn; van Dijk, Marijn; Alonso Alonso, Rosa

    2018-01-01

    The complex dynamic systems theory approach to second language development has great explanatory power in accounting for the development of speaking as an emergent process. CDST approaches focus on the process of development, rather than on the products of learning, and often include the learner’s

  18. Motivation to Speak English: A Self-Determination Theory Perspective

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dincer, Ali; Yesilyurt, Savas

    2017-01-01

    Based on a modern motivation theory of learning, self-determination theory (SDT), this study aimed to investigate the relationships between English as a foreign language (EFL) learners' motivation to speak, autonomous regulation, autonomy support from teachers, and classroom engagement, with both quantitative and qualitative approaches. The…

  19. The Effect of Dramatized Instruction on Speaking Ability of Imam Ali University EFL Learners

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Sadegh Khosronejad

    2013-09-01

    Full Text Available Teaching language as a second or foreign language, undoubtedly, is so demanding and seeking to find methods for facilitating this prominent practice whets the appetite of any practitioner who works in this field. Research shows that using drama in the classroom as a means of teaching helps students learn socially, academically, and developmentally. This study was an attempt to determine the effect of dramatized instruction on the speaking ability of EFL learners of Imam Ali University. Sixty EFL male students at the intermediate level participated in the study. Their age range was 19-22. Two instruments were utilized in this study; pretest, and posttest.  The data were analyzed through t-test. The data analysis indicated that the mean scores of the experimental group students (M = 72.80 were significantly different (3.29>2; df = 58 from the control group students (M = 65.39. In other words, the experimental group outperformed the control group in the posttest significantly. Moreover, the findings indicated that dramatized instruction does have a great effect on the speaking skills. This study supported the idea of effectiveness of dramatized instruction on developing speaking skill and the teachers can help the learners at lower levels promote their speaking skill through dramatized instruction in EFL classes.

  20. Tips to Students for Speaking English Effectively in Multicultures

    Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)

    刘萍

    2002-01-01

    There exists great confusion among students about the choice of words in speaking English.They feel it difficult to express themselves very effectively and clearly.In a highly competitive society with strong tendency to merge in multicultures,one my fail to attain his goal in life if he/she turns a blind eye to the importance of effectively speaking international language-English because English is an indispensble communicating means in colorful world.This article offers criteria that can be used by English speaders to measure whether their words contribute to an effective oral style.Language is symbolic,so the words contribute to an effective oral style.Language is symbolic,so the words we use in our speeches represent ideas,objects and feelings,The resders,not only the students,can be informed of the fact that ideas are clarified through vivid,emphatic and appropriate expressions in addition to precise,specific,concrete,simple language.

  1. Climate Literacy: Springboard to Action

    Science.gov (United States)

    Long, B.; Bader, D.

    2011-12-01

    successful and effective at the goal of helping visitors understand the very real threat of sea level rise and inspiring them to take action." (REA, May 2011). REA also found that 31% of the Spanish-speaking visitors thought the Spanish captioning was important. Census data indicates that the local Hispanic population has grown 27.8% over the past decade, so translation will continue to be an important way to reach a diverse spectrum of peoples. The Six Americas survey of the Aquarium did not sample enough Spanish speaking visitors to produce meaningful results, and the Aquarium is working to resolve that issue. The Aquarium is developing another program for the SOS, marine ecosystems, connecting climate literacy messages to the live animal collection. REA will complete its evaluation of both programs in 2012, and the Aquarium will again conduct the Six Americas survey. Conveying climate literacy in an impactful way requires innovation and constant updates. The Aquarium uses informal education methodology combined with scientific discipline to bring actionable solutions to over 1.4 million visitors each year.

  2. Neural underpinnings of background acoustic noise in normal aging and mild cognitive impairment.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sinanaj, Indrit; Montandon, Marie-Louise; Rodriguez, Cristelle; Herrmann, François; Santini, Francesco; Haller, Sven; Giannakopoulos, Panteleimon

    2015-12-03

    Previous contributions in younger cohorts have revealed that reallocation of cerebral resources, a crucial mechanism for working memory (WM), may be disrupted by parallel demands of background acoustic noise suppression. To date, no study has explored the impact of such disruption on brain activation in elderly individuals with or without subtle cognitive deficits. We performed a functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (fMRI) study in 23 cases (mean age=75.7 y.o., 16 men) with mild cognitive impairment (MCI) and 16 elderly healthy controls (HC, mean age=70.1 y.o., three men) using a 2-back WM task, under two distinct MRI background acoustic noise conditions (louder vs. lower noise echo-planar imaging). General linear models were used to assess brain activation as a function of group and noise. In both groups, lower background noise is associated with increased activation of the working memory network (WMN). A decrease of the normally observed deactivation of the default mode network (DMN) is found under louder noise in both groups. Unlike HC, MCI cases also show decreased deactivation of the DMN under both louder and lower background noise. Under louder noise, this decrease is observed in anterior parts of the DMN in HC, and in the posterior cingulate cortex in MCI cases. Our results suggest that background acoustic noise has a differential impact on WMN activation in normal aging as a function of the cognitive status. Only louder noise has a disruptive effect on the usually observed DMN deactivation during WM task performance in HC. In contrast, MCI cases show altered DMN reactivity even in the presence of lower noise. Copyright © 2015 IBRO. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  3. Using Smartphone-Integrated Model of Teaching to Overcome Students’ Speaking Anxiety in Learning English as a Foreign Language

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Karmila Machmud

    2017-09-01

    Full Text Available The goal of this research is to investigate the effect of a model of teaching that integrating the use of Smartphone towards the learning achievement of both high and low anxiety students. We found it hard to ask students to speak English during the teaching and learning process. This is caused by their anxiety and also the limitation of time allotment provided to teach speaking skill in schools. The use of Smartphone in teaching speaking is suggested to minimize students’ anxiety from a peer pressure, as well as to overcome the limitation of the time allotment in teaching speaking. Using quasi experimental method, the data of this research was collected from 63 middle school students using questionnaire of foreign language anxiety classroom scale. This questionnaire is used to classify the students into the group of high anxiety and low anxiety students. Oral test for speaking ability is used to measure the students’ learning achievement. Factorial design 2 x2 using ANOVA is utilized to analyze the data of this research. The result has shown that both high and low anxiety groups of students achieve higher score when they are taught by using Smartphone compare to their score when they are taught by using conventional model of teaching. This means that the use of Smartphone integrated model of teaching can overcome the students’ anxiety in speaking English.

  4. Noninitiation and Noncompletion of HPV Vaccine Among English- and Spanish-Speaking Parents of Adolescent Girls: A Qualitative Study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Albright, Karen; Barnard, Juliana; O'Leary, Sean T; Lockhart, Steven; Jimenez-Zambrano, Andrea; Stokley, Shannon; Dempsey, Amanda; Kempe, Allison

    The Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices recommends routine human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccination for female adolescents aged 11 to 12 years, yet vaccination rates remain low. We conducted a qualitative study to understand English- and Spanish-speaking parents' reasons for noninitiation or noncompletion of the HPV vaccine series for their daughters. Parents of female adolescents aged 12 to 15 years who had not initiated or not completed the HPV vaccine series were identified through administrative data in 2 large urban safety net health care systems in Colorado. Focus groups and in-depth interviews were conducted with English-speaking parents and in-depth interviews were conducted with Spanish-speaking parents. All data were recorded, transcribed, and analyzed for thematic content by experienced analysts using established qualitative content analysis techniques. Forty-one parents participated in the study. Thirty parents participated in individual interviews and 11 parents participated in 1 of 2 focus groups. The most common reasons for noninitiation and noncompletion among English-speaking parents included a low perceived risk of HPV infection, vaccine safety concerns, and distrust of government and/or medicine. In contrast, Spanish-speaking parents most often reported that providers had either not encouraged initiation of the HPV vaccine series or had not explained the necessity of completing the series. Some noninitiating parents, particularly Spanish-speaking ones, also cited concerns that vaccination would encourage sexual activity. The reasons for noninitiation and noncompletion of the HPV vaccine series differed substantially between English- and Spanish-speaking parents. To maximize uptake of HPV vaccine, varying approaches might be needed to effectively target specific populations. Copyright © 2017 Academic Pediatric Association. All rights reserved.

  5. Improving the EFL Learners' Speaking Ability through Interactive Storytelling

    Science.gov (United States)

    Marzuki; Prayogo, Johannes Ananto; Wahyudi, Arwijati

    2016-01-01

    This present research was aimed to improve the EFL learners' speaking ability and their classroom activities through the implementation of Interactive Storytelling Strategy. Therefore, this study was directed to explore the beneficial of Interactive Storytelling that closely related to the EFL learners' everyday activities at their home and…

  6. Using Interactive Video Instruction To Enhance Public Speaking Instruction.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cronin, Michael W.; Kennan, William R.

    Noting that interactive video instruction (IVI) should not and cannot replace classroom instruction, this paper offers an introduction to interactive video instruction as an innovative technology that can be used to expand pedagogical opportunities in public speaking instruction. The paper: (1) defines the distinctive features of IVI; (2) assesses…

  7. Communication barriers among Spanish-speaking women with pelvic floor disorders: lost in translation?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Khan, Aqsa A; Sevilla, Claudia; Wieslander, Cecilia K; Moran, Meghan B; Rashid, Rezoana; Mittal, Brita; Maliski, Sally L; Rogers, Rebecca G; Anger, Jennifer T

    2013-01-01

    The purpose of our study was to evaluate barriers in communication and disease understanding among office staff and interpreters when communicating with Spanish-speaking women with pelvic floor disorders. We conducted a qualitative study to evaluate barriers to communication with Spanish-speaking women with pelvic floor disorders among office staff and interpreters. Sixteen office staff and interpreters were interviewed; interview questions focused on experiences with Spanish-speaking patients with pelvic floor disorders in the clinic setting. Interview transcripts were analyzed qualitatively using grounded theory methodology. Analysis of the interview transcripts revealed several barriers in communication as identified by office staff and interpreters. Three major classes were predominant: patient, interpreter, and system-related barriers. Patient-related barriers included a lack of understanding of anatomy and medical terminology and inhibited discussions due to embarrassment. Provider-related barriers included poor interpreter knowledge of pelvic floor vocabulary and the use of office staff without interpreting credentials. System-related barriers included poor access to information. From these preliminary themes, an emergent concept was revealed: it is highly likely that Spanish-speaking women with pelvic floor disorders have poor understanding of their condition owing to multiple obstacles in communication. There are many levels of barriers to communications with Latin women treated for pelvic floor disorders, arising from the patient, interpreter, and the system itself. These barriers contribute to a low level of understanding of their diagnosis, treatment options, and administered therapies.

  8. Comprehension of idiomatic expressions by Russian speaking typically developing children

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Eliseeva N.N.

    2017-12-01

    Full Text Available Background. The ability to understand idiomatic expressions begins to develop at an early age. However, such skill is not achieved within the same age and at the same pace in children speaking di erent languages. Objective. This study assesses comprehension of idiomatic expressions by Russian-speaking monolingual children aged 4 to 12 and monitoring the age dynamics of gurative language understanding. Design. 80 children were split in 4 age groups balanced for gender and level of formal education. e participants were asked to identify the correct non-literal meaning of 10 idioms. For each idiomatic expression, children heard three potential interpretations (one correct, and two incorrect ones of which one was literal while the other was overtly wrong. Results. Age-related di erences were analysed by performing a series of univariate ANOVAs. ese analyses showed that already at preschool age children begin to understand some kinds of idiomatic expressions and that such ability slowly develops throughout childhood. Interestingly, until the age of 6 children predominantly interpreted idioms literally. By the age of 7 their ability to correctly understand the non-literal meanings of idiomatic expressions enhanced signi cantly until it reached a plateau around the age of 12. Conclusion. The results of the study are in line with those found for children speaking other languages. The findings are interpreted in light of recent theories of language and cognitive development. Potential limitations of the study are also discussed.

  9. Non-adjacent dependency learning in Cantonese-speaking\\ud children with and without a history of specific language\\ud impairment

    OpenAIRE

    Iao, L-S; Ng, LY; Wong, AMY; Lee, OT

    2017-01-01

    Purpose: This study investigated non-adjacent dependency learning in Cantonese-speaking children with and without a history of Specific Language Impairment (SLI) in an artificial linguistic context.\\ud \\ud Method: Sixteen Cantonese-speaking children with SLI history and 16 Cantonese-speaking children with typical language development (TLD) were tested with a non-adjacent dependency learning task using artificial languages that mimic Cantonese.\\ud \\ud Results: Children with TLD performed above...

  10. The South African English Smartphone Digits-in-Noise Hearing Test: Effect of Age, Hearing Loss, and Speaking Competence.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Potgieter, Jenni-Marí; Swanepoel, De Wet; Myburgh, Hermanus Carel; Smits, Cas

    2017-11-20

    This study determined the effect of hearing loss and English-speaking competency on the South African English digits-in-noise hearing test to evaluate its suitability for use across native (N) and non-native (NN) speakers. A prospective cross-sectional cohort study of N and NN English adults with and without sensorineural hearing loss compared pure-tone air conduction thresholds to the speech reception threshold (SRT) recorded with the smartphone digits-in-noise hearing test. A rating scale was used for NN English listeners' self-reported competence in speaking English. This study consisted of 454 adult listeners (164 male, 290 female; range 16 to 90 years), of whom 337 listeners had a best ear four-frequency pure-tone average (4FPTA; 0.5, 1, 2, and 4 kHz) of ≤25 dB HL. A linear regression model identified three predictors of the digits-in-noise SRT, namely, 4FPTA, age, and self-reported English-speaking competence. The NN group with poor self-reported English-speaking competence (≤5/10) performed significantly (p English-speaking competence for the N and NN groups (≥6/10) and NN group alone (≤5/10). Logistic regression models, which include age in the analysis, showed a further improvement in sensitivity and specificity for both groups (area under the receiver operating characteristic curve, 0.962 and 0.903, respectively). Self-reported English-speaking competence had a significant influence on the SRT obtained with the smartphone digits-in-noise test. A logistic regression approach considering SRT, self-reported English-speaking competence, and age as predictors of best ear 4FPTA >25 dB HL showed that the test can be used as an accurate hearing screening tool for N and NN English speakers. The smartphone digits-in-noise test, therefore, allows testing in a multilingual population familiar with English digits using dynamic cutoff values that can be chosen according to self-reported English-speaking competence and age.

  11. The Effectiveness of Immersive Multimedia Learning with Peer Support on English Speaking and Reading Aloud

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Asnawi Muslem

    2017-01-01

    Full Text Available This study investigated the impacts of the immersive multimedia learning strategy with peer support on production skills in reading and speaking. Moreover, the effects of it on performance were investigated by student achievement. The quasiexperimental design with post-test was employed for the study. 80 first-year university students enrolled in English as a foreign language course were selected for this study. Data were analysed using one-way ANOVA. The findings showed that the immersive multimedia learning with peer support group reported significantly better performance in all measures of oral production for reading and speaking. Analyses obtained by achievement showed that the high achievement students in the immersive multimedia learning with peer support group reported significantly better performance in all measures of oral production only for speaking while the low achievement students in the immersive multimedia learning with peer supported group reported significantly better performance in all measures of oral production for reading and speaking. These findings showed that the immersive multimedia technique with peer support reduced the use of codeswitching strategies among the students and enabled them to develop oral production skills in English approaching the patterns of native speakers especially among low achievement students.

  12. The System of Creative Tasks for Activization of French and English Speaking of Future Teachers (Experience of Universities of Odessa Region

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Kniazian Marianna

    2016-08-01

    Full Text Available In today's multi-ethnic world, one of the most important problems is the development of future teachers’ communicative competence, cultural pluralism, plurilingualism and tolerance. It is important to enrich individual person’s experience of language in its cultural contexts. This issue is related to such an important task as the activization of students’ speaking in foreign language classes. There is interesting experience of teaching speaking in French and English at universities in Odessa region. We offer the students the following system of creative tasks: representative (involve retelling the course of events, description of the characters; analytical (direct students to analyze the actions and behaviour of heroes of short stories, to compare the characters; hypothetical (guide students how to express their viewpoints on the factors that have influenced the nature of the character, his or her deeds. In addition to creative tasks the linguistic exercises are offered to the future teachers. These tasks have been developed in the process of studying the stories of Guy de Maupassant («La Parure», «Deux amis», «Le Papa de Simon», «Sur l’eau», « Clair de lune », O. Henry (« The Last Leaf», « The Gift of the Magi », John Galsworthy ( « Acme », « The First and the Last ».

  13. Targeting the probability versus cost of feared outcomes in public speaking anxiety.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nelson, Elizabeth A; Deacon, Brett J; Lickel, James J; Sy, Jennifer T

    2010-04-01

    Cognitive-behavioral theory suggests that social phobia is maintained, in part, by overestimates of the probability and cost of negative social events. Indeed, empirically supported cognitive-behavioral treatments directly target these cognitive biases through the use of in vivo exposure or behavioral experiments. While cognitive-behavioral theories and treatment protocols emphasize the importance of targeting probability and cost biases in the reduction of social anxiety, few studies have examined specific techniques for reducing probability and cost bias, and thus the relative efficacy of exposure to the probability versus cost of negative social events is unknown. In the present study, 37 undergraduates with high public speaking anxiety were randomly assigned to a single-session intervention designed to reduce either the perceived probability or the perceived cost of negative outcomes associated with public speaking. Compared to participants in the probability treatment condition, those in the cost treatment condition demonstrated significantly greater improvement on measures of public speaking anxiety and cost estimates for negative social events. The superior efficacy of the cost treatment condition was mediated by greater treatment-related changes in social cost estimates. The clinical implications of these findings are discussed. Published by Elsevier Ltd.

  14. I Help, Therefore, I Learn: Service Learning on Web 2.0 in an EFL Speaking Class

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sun, Yu-Chih; Yang, Fang-Ying

    2015-01-01

    The present study integrates service learning into English as a Foreign Language (EFL) speaking class using Web 2.0 tools--YouTube and Facebook--as platforms. Fourteen undergraduate students participated in the study. The purpose of the service-learning project was to link service learning with oral communication training in an EFL speaking class…

  15. Mapping Speech Spectra from Throat Microphone to Close-Speaking Microphone: A Neural Network Approach

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    B. Yegnanarayana

    2007-01-01

    Full Text Available Speech recorded from a throat microphone is robust to the surrounding noise, but sounds unnatural unlike the speech recorded from a close-speaking microphone. This paper addresses the issue of improving the perceptual quality of the throat microphone speech by mapping the speech spectra from the throat microphone to the close-speaking microphone. A neural network model is used to capture the speaker-dependent functional relationship between the feature vectors (cepstral coefficients of the two speech signals. A method is proposed to ensure the stability of the all-pole synthesis filter. Objective evaluations indicate the effectiveness of the proposed mapping scheme. The advantage of this method is that the model gives a smooth estimate of the spectra of the close-speaking microphone speech. No distortions are perceived in the reconstructed speech. This mapping technique is also used for bandwidth extension of telephone speech.

  16. Speaking Self-Assessment: Mismatches between Learners' and Teachers' Criteria

    Science.gov (United States)

    Babaii, Esmat; Taghaddomi, Shahin; Pashmforoosh, Roya

    2016-01-01

    Perceptual (mis)matches between teachers and learners are said to affect learning success or failure. Self-assessment, as a formative assessment tool, may, inter alia, be considered a means to minimize such mismatches. Therefore, the present study investigated the extent to which learners' assessment of their own speaking performance, before and…

  17. Riddle Appreciation and Reading Comprehension in Cantonese-Speaking Children

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tang, Ivy N. Y.; To, Carol K. S.; Weekes, Brendan S.

    2013-01-01

    Purpose: Inference-making skills are necessary for reading comprehension. Training in riddle appreciation is an effective way to improve reading comprehension among English-speaking children. However, it is not clear whether these methods generalize to other writing systems. The goal of the present study was to investigate the relationship between…

  18. Student Public Speaking: Creating the Confidence, Breaking through Barriers.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Schornack, Gary R.; Beck, Charles E.

    As employers increase the use of teams and telecommuting in the workplace, the need for improved communication also accelerates both in written and oral modes. For oral communication or public speaking, a review of recent literature indicates this renewed emphasis, with numerous articles highlighting the need coming from disciplines ranging from…

  19. The Effect of Kagan's Cooperative Structures on Speaking Skill of Iranian EFL Learners

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Hassan Soleimani

    2018-03-01

    Full Text Available Speaking is an important skill in language learning and EFL learners sometimes face difficulties when they want to speak. This study attempted to measure the effect of Kagan’s cooperative structures on speaking skill of Iranian EFL learners. The participants were selected from EFL learners studying at Ideal Language Institute. The Cambridge English Language Assessment was administered in order to select homogenous participants. Forty eight adult female EFL learners were selected as intermediate learners based on their results of the language proficiency test. They were divided into two groups, 24 as the control group and 24 as the experimental group. A pre-test was administered to both groups at the beginning of the experiment then, the students participated in 90 minute classes two times a week for eight sessions. At the end of the experiment, a post-test was assigned to both groups to determine whether the Kagan’s cooperative structures had positively affected the students’ speaking skills. The normality of data was tested through Skewness, Kurtosis, and K-S. To make sure the participants were homogenous, the parametric statistical technique of independent -samples t-test was calculated between the pre-tests of both groups and they were homogenous. Independent-samples t-test between the posttests of the experimental group and the control group was calculated and it showed that the participants of the experimental group outperformed the subjects of the control group. Moreover, paired-samples ttest between the pre-test and post-test of the experimental group was calculated and it was shown that the experimental participants progressed from the pre-test to the post-test. The study revealed that: (1 Kagan’s cooperative structures had a positive effect on the students’ speaking skills, (2 the experimental group obtained higher scores in the post-test than in the pre-test, making the difference between the pre-test and post-test scores

  20. Contribution of auditory working memory to speech understanding in mandarin-speaking cochlear implant users.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tao, Duoduo; Deng, Rui; Jiang, Ye; Galvin, John J; Fu, Qian-Jie; Chen, Bing

    2014-01-01

    To investigate how auditory working memory relates to speech perception performance by Mandarin-speaking cochlear implant (CI) users. Auditory working memory and speech perception was measured in Mandarin-speaking CI and normal-hearing (NH) participants. Working memory capacity was measured using forward digit span and backward digit span; working memory efficiency was measured using articulation rate. Speech perception was assessed with: (a) word-in-sentence recognition in quiet, (b) word-in-sentence recognition in speech-shaped steady noise at +5 dB signal-to-noise ratio, (c) Chinese disyllable recognition in quiet, (d) Chinese lexical tone recognition in quiet. Self-reported school rank was also collected regarding performance in schoolwork. There was large inter-subject variability in auditory working memory and speech performance for CI participants. Working memory and speech performance were significantly poorer for CI than for NH participants. All three working memory measures were strongly correlated with each other for both CI and NH participants. Partial correlation analyses were performed on the CI data while controlling for demographic variables. Working memory efficiency was significantly correlated only with sentence recognition in quiet when working memory capacity was partialled out. Working memory capacity was correlated with disyllable recognition and school rank when efficiency was partialled out. There was no correlation between working memory and lexical tone recognition in the present CI participants. Mandarin-speaking CI users experience significant deficits in auditory working memory and speech performance compared with NH listeners. The present data suggest that auditory working memory may contribute to CI users' difficulties in speech understanding. The present pattern of results with Mandarin-speaking CI users is consistent with previous auditory working memory studies with English-speaking CI users, suggesting that the lexical importance

  1. Increasing of Students Motivation and English Speaking Skill Using Word Guessing Game at Social Class Grade XI in Senior High School of 2 Bandar Lampung, in the Academic Year of 2010/2011

    OpenAIRE

    Suranto,

    2011-01-01

    The objective of the research was to describe how to make lesson plan, implementation, evaluation system, reflect the word guessing game for increasing motivation and students speaking skill.The study used the model of Classroom Action Research. It was conducted in three cycles. The first cycle was a big group discussion (classical), second cycle was a small group discussion, third cycle was a pair. To obtain the research data, it was used some instruments, A13KG 1, the observation of student...

  2. Genetic structure of the Mon-Khmer speaking groups and their affinity to the neighbouring Tai populations in Northern Thailand

    OpenAIRE

    Kutanan, Wibhu; Kampuansai, Jatupol; Fuselli, Silvia; Nakbunlung, Supaporn; Seielstad, Mark; Bertorelle, Giorgio; Kangwanpong, Daoroong

    2011-01-01

    Abstract Background The Mon-Khmer speaking peoples inhabited northern Thailand before the arrival of the Tai speaking people from southern China in the thirteenth century A.D. Historical and anthropological evidence suggests a close relationship between the Mon-Khmer groups and the present day majority northern Thai groups. In this study, mitochondrial and Y-chromosomal DNA polymorphisms in more than 800 volunteers from eight Mon-Khmer and ten Tai speaking populations were investigated to est...

  3. Competition as rational action: why young children cannot appreciate competitive games.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Priewasser, Beate; Roessler, Johannes; Perner, Josef

    2013-10-01

    Understanding rational actions requires perspective taking both with respect to means and with respect to objectives. This study addresses the question of whether the two kinds of perspective taking develop simultaneously or in sequence. It is argued that evidence from competitive behavior is best suited for settling this issue. A total of 71 kindergarten children between 3 and 5 years of age participated in a competitive game of dice and were tested on two traditional false belief stories as well as on several control tasks (verbal intelligence, inhibitory control, and working memory). The frequency of competitive poaching moves in the game correlated with correct predictions of mistaken actions in the false belief task. Hierarchical linear regression after controlling for age and control variables showed that false belief understanding significantly predicted the amount of poaching moves. The results speak for an interrelated development of the capacity for "instrumental" and "telic" perspective taking. They are discussed in the light of teleology as opposed to theory use and simulation. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  4. Louisiana Speaks Regional Plan Vision New Town Center Growth Areas, UTM Zone 15N NAD83, Louisiana Recovery Authority (2007), [louisiana_speaks_vision_new_town_growth_areas

    Data.gov (United States)

    Louisiana Geographic Information Center — This GIS shapefile data illustrates town center new growth areas included in the Louisiana Speaks Regional Plan Vision. Town center new growth areas include local...

  5. EFL Students' and Teachers' Attitudes toward Foreign Language Speaking Anxiety: A Look at NESTs and Non-NESTs

    Science.gov (United States)

    Han, Turgay; Tanriöver, Ahmet Serkan; Sahan, Özgür

    2016-01-01

    Native English Speaking Teachers (NESTs) have been employed in various English language teaching (ELT) positions and departments at private and state universities in Turkey, particularly over the last three decades. However, undergraduate EFL students' attitudes toward NESTs and Non-Native English Speaking Teachers (Non-NESTs) remain seriously…

  6. The struggle for Via Bologna street market: crisis, racial denial and speaking back to power in Naples Italy.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dawes, Antonia

    2018-01-10

    This paper is based on ethnographic research conducted with migrant and Italian street vendors in Naples, southern Italy, in 2012. It tells the story of Via Bologna market which was nearly closed down by the City Hall at the time. Naples is a city where issues of poverty and unemployment pre-date and have been exacerbated by manifold narratives of crisis now unfolding across Europe regarding the economy, political legitimacy, security and migration. Street markets have always been an important and visible economic survival strategy for both Neapolitans and migrants there. This article shows how the Via Bologna street vendors appropriated and adapted discourses about crisis to form their own cosmopolitan social movement that halted the closure of the market. It argues that, in the age of globalized migration, the multilingual nature of such collective action is central to understanding social struggles that must be organized between marginalized groups of people divided by race, religion, politics and legal status. This, frequently ambiguous, transcultural solidarity speaks back against a mainstream post-racial discourse - often articulated by the Neapolitan street vendors at the market - that would reduce the complexity of such collective action to questions of poverty and class struggle. © London School of Economics and Political Science 2018.

  7. The Comparison of Politeness Strategies in Chinese Culture and in Eng-lish Speaking Context

    Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)

    李庆龄

    2015-01-01

    In contemporary society, as the development of globalization a growing tendency of how to communication effective⁃ly between different culture and languages has becoming a matter of fact. Even though a great number of communication strate⁃gies used to reduce the culture shock, obstacles in cultural exchanges still remains due to the culture differences. Politeness theory, as an important communication strategy, is still the most important and influential theory for cross-cultural communication. While there still has a few controversial arguments being conducted. It results in the issue of this article:Is there different compar⁃ing Chinese culture with English Speaking Culture in Terms of Politeness Strategies? In this paper, I will present a general review of classic politeness theories including Brown&Levinson, Leech’s research in English speaking culture and Gu and Xu’s findings in Chinese culture. Among their theories some specific politeness strategies such as face-saving strategy, politeness principle and its maxims will be used to give an image of the difference between Chinese culture and English speaking culture in terms of po⁃liteness strategies. In the definition of‘politeness’, two characteristics are worth mentioning:universality as well as culture-specif⁃ic. Therefore the article concludes by the arguing that, in spite of a few similarities, there are differences between in Chinese cul⁃ture and in English speaking context in politeness.

  8. Unleashing the Future: Educators "Speak Up" about the Use of Emerging Technologies for Learning. Speak Up 2009 National Findings: Teachers, Aspiring Teachers & Administrators

    Science.gov (United States)

    Project Tomorrow, 2010

    2010-01-01

    Technology has enabled students to have greater access to vast array of resources, classes and experts; empowering students to become "Free Agent Learners" who are creating meaningful personalized learning experiences 24/7 outside of the traditional classroom and school structure. In the report "Creating our Future: Students Speak Up about their…

  9. "On Air": Participation in an Online Radio Show to Foster Speaking Confidence. A Cooperative Learning-Based Strategies Study ("Al aire": participación en un programa de radio en línea para fomentar la confianza al hablar. Un estudio basado en estrategias de aprendizaje cooperativo)

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lemos Tello, Nubia Consuelo

    2012-01-01

    The daily observation of class sessions has enabled me to recognize that students possess a feeling of self-distrust in oral activities. For this reason, I designed a study carried out with a group of twelve eighth graders. This article illustrates an action research project conducted to enhance students' confidence when speaking on an online…

  10. STUDY ABOUT THE INCIDENCE OF HEARING-SPEAKING DISORDERS IN A POPULATION WITH MENTAL DEFICIENCY

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ioana Mihaela Tomulescu

    2003-01-01

    Full Text Available This study is about the incidence of hearing-speaking disorders in a population with mental deficiency. We studied 596 children interned in Neurology and Psychiatry Clinical Hospital of Oradea during the 1999 - 2001 period. In 596 children, 393 presented different types of mental deficiency. The most frequent disorders observed are hearing loss or deafness, deaf-mutism, mutism and speaking retardation. Also, we related an increased frequency in rural area and in group of children with severe mental deficiency.

  11. Public speaking avoidance as a treatment moderator for social anxiety disorder.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mesri, Bita; Niles, Andrea N; Pittig, Andre; LeBeau, Richard T; Haik, Ethan; Craske, Michelle G

    2017-06-01

    Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) and acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT) have both garnered empirical support for the effective treatment of social anxiety disorder. However, not every patient benefits equally from either treatment. Identifying moderators of treatment outcome can help to better understand which treatment is best suited for a particular patient. Forty-nine individuals who met criteria for social anxiety disorder were assessed as part of a randomized controlled trial comparing 12 weeks of CBT and ACT. Pre-treatment avoidance of social situations (measured via a public speaking task and clinician rating) was investigated as a moderator of post-treatment, 6-month follow-up, and 12-month follow-up social anxiety symptoms, stress reactivity, and quality of life. Public speaking avoidance was found to be a robust moderator of outcome measures, with more avoidant individuals generally benefitting more from CBT than ACT by 12-month follow-up. In contrast, clinician-rated social avoidance was not found to be a significant moderator of any outcome measure. Results were found only at 12-month follow-up. More comprehensive measures of avoidance would be useful for the field moving forward. Findings inform personalized medicine, suggesting that social avoidance measured behaviorally via a public speaking task may be a more robust factor in treatment prescription compared to clinician-rated social avoidance. Published by Elsevier Ltd.

  12. Validation of Addenbrooke's cognitive examination (ACE) in a Persian-speaking population.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pouretemad, Hamid Reza; Khatibi, Ali; Ganjavi, Anahita; Shams, Jamal; Zarei, Mojtaba

    2009-01-01

    Use of reliable screening and diagnostic tests for assessment of cognitive abilities in neurological patients is rapidly increasing in clinical practice. This is due to the increase in the prevalence of dementias and the raised awareness of cognitive impairment in neurological disorders. Two well-known bedside screening tests for dementias among the English-speaking population are the Mini Mental State Examination (MMSE) and Addenbrooke's Cognitive Examination (ACE). However, such tests have not been developed for the Persian-speaking population, which is estimated at 120 million worldwide. In this study we developed the Persian ACE and MMSE, adopted from the English version. We also assessed the sensitivity and specificity of these tests in the identification of Alzheimer's disease (AD) and mild cognitive impairment (MCI). We found that the Persian ACE at a cutoff point of 84, has a sensitivity of 93% and a specificity of 91% in discriminating MCI from a normal population; at 78, the test has a sensitivity of 73% and a specificity of 93% in differentiating MCI from AD, and at a similar cutoff point has a sensitivity of 100% and specificity of 96% in discriminating AD from a normal population. We conclude that the Persian ACE is a valuable tool in clinical practice in the Persian-speaking population. 2009 S. Karger AG, Basel.

  13. 5 CFR 5501.107 - Teaching, speaking and writing by special Government employees in the Public Health Service.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-01-01

    ... 5 Administrative Personnel 3 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false Teaching, speaking and writing by special... DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES § 5501.107 Teaching, speaking and writing by special Government... employees in the Public Health Service who otherwise are prohibited from accepting compensation for teaching...

  14. A systematic review of the experiences of undergraduate nursing students choosing to study at an English speaking university outside their homeland.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Terwijn, Ruth; Pearce, Susanne; Rogers-Clark, Catherine

    were further aggregated into a set of statements representing synthesised findings as a coherent whole. A total of 19 studies were identified as of high quality and meeting the inclusion criteria. From these studies, 254 findings were extracted which were grouped into 13 categories and further aggregated into four synthesised findings. The four major areas identified in this review in relation to the experiences of undergraduate nursing students studying outside their homeland at an English-speaking university include the need for support and encouragement, valuing and respecting difference, and the desire to succeed despite challenges and inclusion. Recognising the unique needs of international nursing students, in the clinical, academic and social context, is critical to improve the experiences of this student cohort. Educational and support strategies and programs are needed to respond to these needs. The implications for research are substantial. Given the outcomes of this review, action and evaluative research is needed to explore, implement and evaluate support strategies for students from non-English speaking backgrounds studying nursing. Research in the areas of curriculum development, supporting students' clinical experiences, and university social and academic support programs is recommended.

  15. Turkish Senior Nursing Students' Communication Experience With English-Speaking Patients.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Guvenc, Gulten; Unver, Vesile; Basak, Tulay; Yuksel, Cigdem; Ayhan, Hatice; Kok, Gulsah; Konukbay, Dilek; Kose, Gulsah; Aslan, Ozlem; Tastan, Sevinc; Iyigun, Emine

    2016-02-01

    Simulation has been widely accepted as a valuable learning method in nursing education programs so that nursing students can learn and develop communication skills. The aim of this study was to evaluate nursing students' communication experience with an English-speaking standardized patient in the context of the Rational Administration of Medicines course. Involving both quantitative and qualitative research designs, this descriptive study was conducted with 104 nursing students in Ankara, Turkey, from September 2012 to July 2013. The majority (98.1%) of the participants stated the necessity of improving their English to communicate with English-speaking patients. Three overarching categories, including seven themes, emerged from the description of nursing students' experience: recognition of emotions, experiences during the simulation, and gains. Standardized patient practice emphasized the significance of cultural differences, of knowing and using a foreign language, of communication, and of patient safety. Copyright 2016, SLACK Incorporated.

  16. A Theory of Flagship Species Action

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Paul Jepson

    2015-01-01

    Full Text Available The flagship species approach is an enduring strategy in conservation. Academic discussion on flagship species has focussed on two dimensions: on what basis should they be selected and how have they been put to use. Here we consider a third dimension, namely the manner in which flagship species act and have the capacity to galvanise and influence conservation outcomes. Drawing on concepts from the social sciences, viz. affordance, framing, and actor-networks; we discuss examples of flagship species to propose a theory of flagship species action. In brief, our theory posits that a flagship species is one with traits that afford the assembly of relatively coherent networks of associations with ideational elements located in pre-existing cultural framings. These associations give rise to opportunities to align with deep cultural frames, contemporary cultural phenomena and political economy such that when a conservation action is introduced, forms of agency cause the species and human publics to change. The species becomes re-framed (or reinvigorated as a cultural asset speaking for a wider nature, publics and political agendas. Further our theory posits that species with traits that enrol in idea networks incorporating human fears, will have limited flagship capacity. This is because the ability of the representations produced to align with frames incorporating collective aspirations is constrained. In terms of applied conservation practice, our theory suggests that: a key criteria for selecting potential flagship species is presence in existing cultural frames, that effective deployment of flagship species requires an understanding of the species′ cultural associations, and a species ability to galvanise action may be limited to certain times and places. Furthermore, once deployed conservation interests will never have full control over the flagship species: it may act in uncertain and unexpected ways.

  17. Shaping Core Health Messages: Rural, Low-Income Mothers Speak Through Participatory Action Research.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mammen, Sheila; Sano, Yoshie; Braun, Bonnie; Maring, Elisabeth Fost

    2018-04-23

    Rural, low-income families are disproportionately impacted by health problems owing to structural barriers (e.g., transportation, health insurance coverage) and personal barriers (e.g., health literacy). This paper presents a Participatory Action Research (PAR) model of co-created Core Health Messages (CHMs) in the areas of dental health, food security, health insurance, and physical activity. The research project engaged a multi-disciplinary team of experts to design initial health messages; rural, low-income mothers to respond to, and co-create, health messages; and stakeholders who work with families to share their insights. Findings reveal the perceptions of mothers and community stakeholders regarding messages and channels of message dissemination. By using PAR, a learner engagement approach, the researchers intend to increase the likelihood that the CHMs are culturally appropriate and relevant to specific populations. The CHM-PAR model visually illustrates an interactive, iterative process of health message generation and testing. The paper concludes with implications for future research and outreach in a technological landscape where dissemination channels are dynamic. This paper provides a model for researchers and health educators to co-create messages in a desired format (e.g., length, voice, level of empathy, tone) preferred by their audiences and to examine dissemination methods that will best reach those audiences.

  18. Enhanced Attention to Speaking Faces Versus Other Event Types Emerges Gradually Across Infancy

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bahrick, Lorraine E.; Todd, James Torrence; Castellanos, Irina; Sorondo, Barbara M.

    2017-01-01

    The development of attention to dynamic faces vs. objects providing synchronous audiovisual vs. silent visual stimulation was assessed in a large sample of infants. Maintaining attention to the faces and voices of people speaking is critical for perceptual, cognitive, social, and language development. However, no studies have systematically assessed when, if, or how attention to speaking faces emerges and changes across infancy. Two measures of attention maintenance, habituation time (HT) and look-away rate (LAR), were derived from cross-sectional data of 2- to 8-month-old infants (N = 801). Results indicated that attention to audiovisual faces and voices was maintained across age, whereas attention to each of the other event types (audiovisual objects, silent dynamic faces, silent dynamic objects) declined across age. This reveals a gradually emerging advantage in attention maintenance (longer habituation times, lower look-away rates) for audiovisual speaking faces compared with the other three event types. At 2 months, infants showed no attentional advantage for faces (with greater attention to audiovisual than to visual events), at 3 months, they attended more to dynamic faces than objects (in the presence or absence of voices), and by 4 to 5 and 6 to 8 months significantly greater attention emerged to temporally coordinated faces and voices of people speaking compared with all other event types. Our results indicate that selective attention to coordinated faces and voices over other event types emerges gradually across infancy, likely as a function of experience with multimodal, redundant stimulation from person and object events. PMID:27786526

  19. Development of early numerical abilities of Spanish-speaking Mexican preschoolers: A new assessment tool.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Beltrán-Navarro, Beatriz; Abreu-Mendoza, Roberto A; Matute, Esmeralda; Rosselli, Monica

    2018-01-01

    This article presents a tool for assessing the early numerical abilities of Spanish-speaking Mexican preschoolers. The Numerical Abilities Test, from the Evaluación Neuropsicológica Infantil-Preescolar (ENI-P), evaluates four core abilities of number development: magnitude comparison, counting, subitizing, and basic calculation. We evaluated 307 Spanish-speaking Mexican children aged 2 years 6 months to 4 years 11 months. Appropriate internal consistency and test-retest reliability were demonstrated. We also investigated the effect of age, children's school attendance, maternal education, and sex on children's numerical scores. The results showed that the four subtests captured development across ages. Critically, maternal education had an impact on children's performance in three out of the four subtests, but there was no effect associated with children's school attendance or sex. These results suggest that the Numerical Abilities Test is a reliable instrument for Spanish-speaking preschoolers. We discuss the implications of our outcomes for numerical development.

  20. 500 Women Scientists: Science Advocacy Through Community Action

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bohon, W.; Bartel, B. A.; Pendergrass, A. G.; Ramirez, K. S.; Vijayaraghavan, R.; Weintraub, S. R.; Zelikova, T. J.

    2017-12-01

    500 Women Scientists is a grassroots organization formed in late 2016 to empower women to grow to their full potential in science, increase scientific literacy through public engagement, and advocate for science and equality. Our organization is global but we focus on building community relationships through local action. Our "pods," or local chapters, focus on issues that resonate in their communities, rooted in our mission and values. Pod members meet regularly, develop a support network, make strategic plans, and take action. In less than a year, 500 Women Scientists has already formed important partnerships and begun to work on local, regional and national projects. Nationally, we partnered with The Cairn Project to raise money to support girls in science. In an effort led by the DC pod, our members sent postcards sharing stories of how the EPA protects their communities in the #OurEPA postcard campaign. Pods have also participated in marches, including the Women's March, the March for Science and the People's Climate March. The "Summer of Op-Ed" campaign catalyzed pods and individuals to write to their local newspapers to speak up for funding science, climate change action, and general science advocacy. We have organized "strike-teams" that are working on local issues like education, the environment, climate change, and equal access to science. Additionally, pod members serve as mentors, participate in local events, hold workshops and partner with local organizations. As women scientists, we are in the position to take action to increase diversity in science and to draw attention to unacknowledged structural biases that negatively impact historically under-represented groups. 500 Women Scientists enables women in science to embrace this advocacy role, both within our scientific system and within our local communities.

  1. Can You Understand Me? Speaking Robots and Accented Speech

    Science.gov (United States)

    Moussalli, Souheila; Cardoso, Walcir

    2017-01-01

    The results of our previous research on the pedagogical use of Speaking Robots (SRs) revealed positive effects on motivating students to practice their oral skills in a stress-free environment. However, our findings indicated that the SR was sometimes unable to understand students' foreign accented speech. In this paper, we report the results of a…

  2. Early Lexical Development in Spanish-Speaking Infants and Toddlers.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jackson-Maldonado, Donna; And Others

    1993-01-01

    The development of a new parent report instrument, Inventario del Desarollo de Habilidades Communicativas, is reported and 5 studies carried out with the instrument for 328 children aged 8 months to 2 years/7 months are presented. Among the findings are similar trajectories of development for Spanish- and English-speaking children and for children…

  3. Errors on Ghanaian Students' Written English: Is Speaking School ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    2016-10-02

    Oct 2, 2016 ... a problem language variety as far as their academic careers are concerned. ... non-Speaking group comprised 10 female students and 5 males. ... there was not a single kind of error that was exclusively committed by ... 1 while the same thing is done with errors found in the scripts of ..... New York: Linguistic.

  4. Using Comic Art to Improve Speaking, Reading and Writing

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bowkett, Steve

    2011-01-01

    "Using Comic Art to Improve Speaking, Reading and Writing" uses children's interest in pictures, comics and graphic novels as a way of developing their creative writing abilities, reading skills and oracy. The book's underpinning strategy is the use of comic art images as a visual analogue to help children generate, organise and refine their ideas…

  5. Speaking Up: Veterinary Ethical Responsibilities and Animal Welfare Issues in Everyday Practice

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hernandez, Elein; Fawcett, Anne; Brouwer, Emily; Rau, Jeff

    2018-01-01

    Simple Summary Veterinarians have an ethical obligation to provide good care for the animals that they see in practice. However, at times, there may be conflicts between the interests of animal caregivers or owners, the interests of veterinarians and the interests of animals. We provide an overview of why and how veterinary ethics is taught to veterinary students, as well as providing a context for thinking about veterinary ethical challenges and animal welfare issues. We argue that veterinarians are ethically obliged to speak up and ask questions when problems arise or are seen and provide a series of clinical case examples in which there is scope for veterinarians to improve animal welfare by ‘speaking up’. Abstract Although expectations for appropriate animal care are present in most developed countries, significant animal welfare challenges continue to be seen on a regular basis in all areas of veterinary practice. Veterinary ethics is a relatively new area of educational focus but is thought to be critically important in helping veterinarians formulate their approach to clinical case management and in determining the overall acceptability of practices towards animals. An overview is provided of how veterinary ethics are taught and how common ethical frameworks and approaches are employed—along with legislation, guidelines and codes of professional conduct—to address animal welfare issues. Insufficiently mature ethical reasoning or a lack of veterinary ethical sensitivity can lead to an inability or difficulty in speaking up about concerns with clients and ultimately, failure in their duty of care to animals, leading to poor animal welfare outcomes. A number of examples are provided to illustrate this point. Ensuring that robust ethical frameworks are employed will ultimately help veterinarians to “speak up” to address animal welfare concerns and prevent future harms. PMID:29361786

  6. The utilization of oncology web-based resources in Spanish-speaking Internet users.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Simone, Charles B; Hampshire, Margaret K; Vachani, Carolyn; Metz, James M

    2012-12-01

    There currently are few web-based resources written in Spanish providing oncology-specific information. This study examines utilization of Spanish-language oncology web-based resources and evaluates oncology-related Internet browsing practices of Spanish-speaking patients. OncoLink (http://www.oncolink.org) is the oldest and among the largest Internet-based cancer information resources. In September 2005, OncoLink pioneered OncoLink en español (OEE) (http://es.oncolink.org), a Spanish translation of OncoLink. Internet utilization data on these sites for 2006 to 2007 were compared. Visits to OncoLink rose from 4,440,843 in 2006 to 5,125,952 in 2007. OEE had 204,578 unique visitors and 240,442 visits in 2006, and 351,228 visitors and 412,153 visits in 2007. Although there was no time predilection for viewing OncoLink, less relative browsing on OEE was conducted during weekends and early morning hours. Although OncoLink readers searched for information on the most common cancers in the United States, OEE readers most often search for gastric, vaginal, osteosarcoma, leukemia, penile, cervical, and testicular malignancies. Average visit duration on OEE was shorter, and fewer readers surveyed OEE more than 15 minutes (4.5% vs. 14.9%, P users of web-based oncology resources are increasingly using the Internet to supplement their cancer knowledge. Limited available resources written in Spanish contribute to disparities in information access and disease outcomes. Spanish-speaking oncology readers differ from English-speaking readers in day and time of Internet browsing, visit duration, Internet search patterns, and types of cancers searched. By acknowledging these differences, content of web-based oncology resources can be developed to best target the needs of Spanish-speaking viewers.

  7. Morphological Awareness in Vocabulary Acquisition among Chinese-Speaking Children: Testing Partial Mediation via Lexical Inference Ability

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhang, Haomin

    2015-01-01

    The goal of this study was to investigate the effect of Chinese-specific morphological awareness on vocabulary acquisition among young Chinese-speaking students. The participants were 288 Chinese-speaking second graders from three different cities in China. Multiple regression analysis and mediation analysis were used to uncover the mediated and…

  8. An Investigation of the Amount of Emphasis Placed on Content and Delivery by Instructors of Public Speaking.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Siddens, Paul J., III

    A study examined how much emphasis instructors of public speaking place on content and delivery when teaching and delivering oral and written critiques. The study sought to determine whether when teaching a hybrid introduction to communication course, or public speaking course, instructors are challenged with teaching their students about issues…

  9. ESL-speaking immigrant women's disillusions: voices of health care in Canada: an ethnodrama.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nimmon, Laura E

    2007-04-01

    This article describes a research project that investigated whether language barriers play a part in immigrant women's health decreasing when they move to Canada. The findings are then represented in the form of an ethnodrama entitled "ESL-Speaking Immigrant Women's Disillusions: Voices of Health Care in Canada." I suggest that the play is catalytic because it encourages target audiences to empathize with the silenced voices of ESL-speaking immigrant women who live in Canada. I then conclude with a reflection about the potential that the genre of ethnodrama has for social change through its reflexive and critical nature.

  10. [The Polish adaptation of the public speaking anxiety questionnaire].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chodkiewicz, Jan; Miniszewska, Joanna

    2015-01-01

    The aim of the study was the Polish adaptation of the shortened Public Speaking Anxiety Questionnaire GFER by Spitznagel and co-workers. GFER is a self-assessment method which consists of 16 statements and is designed to assess emotions, physiological reactions, and thoughts that appear in a situation of public speaking. GFER was used to examine 320 students from Lodz's universities. The State/Trait Anxiety Inventory - STAI by Spielberger, The Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale by Zigmunt and Snaith and TCI by Cloninger were also used. The Polish version of GFER is a reliable and valid tool. The factor structure is similar to the original structure. As a result of the conducted analyses, there was obtained the 9-item version of the tool, which has a 2-factor structure - factor I: emotional and physiological reactions, factor II: worrying. The results obtained with GFER present a statistically significant correlation with other measures of anxiety and with the dimension of temperament: harm avoidance. The obtained results indicate that GFER may be used in both scientific research and therapeutic practice.

  11. Ethnic differences in ecological concerns: Spanish-speaking Hispanics are more concerned than others

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Burger, Joanna; Greenberg, Michael

    2006-01-01

    We postulated that environmental concern encompasses a wide range of different issues, often lumping pollution with habitat loss (or land use) and ecological resources (fish and wildlife). In this paper, we compare perceptions about a range of environmental and ecological resource issues, and explore ethnic/racial differences. We surveyed 1513 residents of New Jersey about 'environmental concerns', using both general environmental questions (two questions: How serious are environmental problems in New Jersey? Are you concerned about the loss of open space?) and ecological resource questions (12 questions: e.g., how important is planting trees in your neighborhood, how concerned are you about loss of breeding and feeding habitat for fish and birds?) in New Jersey. Not all concerns were rated equally. For the ecological questions, there were no ethnic differences in concerns over preserving areas around water supplies, loss of places to hunt and fish, and loss of places for quiet walks and cycling, but there were for the other 9 ecological concerns. For eight of these nine concerns, Spanish-speaking Hispanics were more concerned than others (including English-speaking Hispanics). We divided the ecological resources into three categories: ecological services (clean water and safety), ecological resources (fish and wildlife), and recreational services. The strongest correlates of people's association with enlarging and enhancing recreational services were Spanish-speaking Hispanics, who are supportive of regulations and believe local government is not doing enough for environmental problems. People concerned about the loss of ecological resources and open space believe the federal government and the state are not doing enough for the environment, were non-Hispanic White, want continued environmental regulations, were longer-term residents, were high school graduates, and were older (45-54 years). People interested in ecological services were college-educated, non

  12. Speak Up: Help Prevent Errors in Your Care: Ambulatory Care

    Science.gov (United States)

    ... Your Care Ambulatory Care To prevent health care errors, patients are urged to... SpeakUP TM Everyone has a ... he or she has confused you with another patient. P ay attention to the ... for their identification (ID) badges. • Notice whether your caregivers have washed ...

  13. Using Habit Reversal to Decrease Filled Pauses in Public Speaking

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mancuso, Carolyn; Miltenberger, Raymond G.

    2016-01-01

    This study evaluated the effectiveness of simplified habit reversal in reducing filled pauses that occur during public speaking. Filled pauses consist of "uh," "um," or "er"; clicking sounds; and misuse of the word "like." After baseline, participants received habit reversal training that consisted of…

  14. Early Reading Development in Chinese-Speaking Children with Hearing Loss

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chan, Yi-Chih; Yang, You-Jhen

    2018-01-01

    This study aims to explore early reading comprehension in Chinese-speaking children with hearing loss (HL) by examining character recognition and linguistic comprehension. Twenty-five children with HL received three measures relevant to character reading: phonological awareness (PA), morphological awareness (MA), and character recognition; two…

  15. Culture Qualitatively but Not Quantitatively Influences Performance in the Boston Naming Test in a Chinese-Speaking Population

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ting-Bin Chen

    2014-04-01

    Full Text Available Background/Aims: The Boston Naming Test (BNT is the most frequently administered confrontational naming test, but the cultural background of the patients may influence their performance in the BNT. The aim of this study was to identify differences in performance in the BNT between a Chinese population in Taiwan, Chinese populations in other areas and a Caucasian population. Methods: A total of 264 native, Chinese-speaking, cognitively normal elders aged >60 years were enrolled in our study and conducted the 30-item Chinese version of the BNT. Another 10 BNT studies were categorized, analyzed and compared with the present study. Results: Higher education was associated with higher scores, whereas age and gender had no effect on performance in the BNT. The score of the Chinese-speaking population was equivalent to the English-speaking population. A disparity in difficulties with items was not only apparent between the Taiwanese and Caucasian populations, but also between the Chinese-speaking populations in the different geographic areas. Conclusion: For the most part, the impact of culture on performance in the BNT may not be quantitative but qualitative. Attention should be paid to a potential effect of culture on difficulties with items when administering the BNT to non-English-speaking populations. Understanding differences in performance in the BNT in distinct cultural settings improves the clinical application of the BNT.

  16. Alternative practices in curriculum design. Participation as a key factor and speaking out as right

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Susana Barco

    2012-06-01

    Full Text Available During the 1990s, in the context of neo-liberal policies, curricular changes ocurred in Latin América which gave a leading role to technicians and experts in education, in the process of writing the curricular documents. Beyond the critiques these policies can receive, it is necessary to find alternative ways of elaborating curricular documents, based on democratic idea of teacher's real participation.In an action-research within the scope of a university and two experiences referred to in this work, different participative styles emerged, according to their particular circumstances. This work referred to these processes and its theoretical foundations, reporting alternative ways of curricular design based on teacher's participation and its different forms. The aim is to enhance how teachers as a social subject can 'stand up for themselves'and 'speak out' in the specific practice of writing curricular documents. Taking into account that teaching practices rewrite curricular documents, different dynamics in curricular change are possible, allowing adjusting and adapting realities in each institution, and propelling collaborative work.

  17. Examining the Relationship between Emergent Literacy Skills and Invented Spelling in Prekindergarten Spanish-Speaking Dual Language Learners

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pendergast, Meghan; Bingham, Gary; Patton-Terry, Nicole

    2015-01-01

    The purpose of the present study was to examine associations among English and Spanish emergent literacy skills of prekindergarten (pre-K) Spanish-speaking dual language learners in relation to their English invented spelling. Study participants included 141 Spanish-speaking 4-year-old children enrolled in state-funded pre-K programs in a large…

  18. Observing Pair-Work Task in an English Speaking Class

    Science.gov (United States)

    Achmad, Diana; Yusuf, Yunisrina Qismullah

    2014-01-01

    This paper reports on students' pair-work interactions to develop their speaking skills in an ELT classroom which consisted of international learners. A number of 16 learners of intermediate proficiency with IELTS score band 5.5 were observed. The teacher had paired those he considered among them to be the more competent ones (hereafter, stronger)…

  19. How Many People Speak Esperanto? Esperanto on the Web

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Amri Wandel

    2015-04-01

    Full Text Available We suggest an updated estimate of the number of Esperanto speakers worldwide, based on the number of people in Facebook who indicate that they speak the language. A simple calculation accompanied by reasonable refinements leads to a number of approximately two million Esperanto users within the internet community alone, probably significantly more worldwide.

  20. PILOTING A VOCATIONAL E-COURSE AT A UK COLLEGE: Developing strategies to support non-native English speaking learners to complete the essay-type questions of their assignments

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Stavroula BIBILA

    2010-04-01

    Full Text Available This paper presents a study of practice that was conducted during the piloting of a vocational (health care e-course at the Distance Learning department of a College of Further and Higher Education in England. The purpose of the study was to establish a course of action aiming to support non-native English speaking learners to successfully complete the essay-type questions of the e-course assignments. The exploratory nature of the study means that in effect the study comprises of two distinct, yet interrelated parts, with the first one looking into how two (2 non-native English speaking learners (participants used different e-course resources to help them compose their answers. Based on the findings, the second part examines the role of writing frameworks (in the form of email communication between the tutor and the participants in helping the latter to compose answers that met the assessment criteria in terms of a content (subject accuracy, b length and c originality. Discussion of the findings includes implications for providing additional English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL support to distance learners, suggestions for further improvements to the e-course and recommendations for further research.