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Sample records for chadic speaking pastoralists

  1. Migration of Chadic speaking pastoralists within Africa based on population structure of Chad Basin and phylogeography of mitochondrial L3f haplogroup.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cerný, Viktor; Fernandes, Verónica; Costa, Marta D; Hájek, Martin; Mulligan, Connie J; Pereira, Luísa

    2009-03-23

    Chad Basin, lying within the bidirectional corridor of African Sahel, is one of the most populated places in Sub-Saharan Africa today. The origin of its settlement appears connected with Holocene climatic ameliorations (aquatic resources) that started ~10,000 years before present (YBP). Although both Nilo-Saharan and Niger-Congo language families are encountered here, the most diversified group is the Chadic branch belonging to the Afro-Asiatic language phylum. In this article, we investigate the proposed ancient migration of Chadic pastoralists from Eastern Africa based on linguistic data and test for genetic traces of this migration in extant Chadic speaking populations. We performed whole mitochondrial genome sequencing of 16 L3f haplotypes, focused on clade L3f3 that occurs almost exclusively in Chadic speaking people living in the Chad Basin. These data supported the reconstruction of a L3f phylogenetic tree and calculation of times to the most recent common ancestor for all internal clades. A date ~8,000 YBP was estimated for the L3f3 sub-haplogroup, which is in good agreement with the supposed migration of Chadic speaking pastoralists and their linguistic differentiation from other Afro-Asiatic groups of East Africa. As a whole, the Afro-Asiatic language family presents low population structure, as 92.4% of mtDNA variation is found within populations and only 3.4% of variation can be attributed to diversity among language branches. The Chadic speaking populations form a relatively homogenous cluster, exhibiting lower diversification than the other Afro-Asiatic branches (Berber, Semitic and Cushitic). The results of our study support an East African origin of mitochondrial L3f3 clade that is present almost exclusively within Chadic speaking people living in Chad Basin. Whole genome sequence-based dates show that the ancestral haplogroup L3f must have emerged soon after the Out-of-Africa migration (around 57,100 +/- 9,400 YBP), but the "Chadic" L3f3 clade has

  2. Migration of Chadic speaking pastoralists within Africa based on population structure of Chad Basin and phylogeography of mitochondrial L3f haplogroup

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Mulligan Connie J

    2009-03-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background Chad Basin, lying within the bidirectional corridor of African Sahel, is one of the most populated places in Sub-Saharan Africa today. The origin of its settlement appears connected with Holocene climatic ameliorations (aquatic resources that started ~10,000 years before present (YBP. Although both Nilo-Saharan and Niger-Congo language families are encountered here, the most diversified group is the Chadic branch belonging to the Afro-Asiatic language phylum. In this article, we investigate the proposed ancient migration of Chadic pastoralists from Eastern Africa based on linguistic data and test for genetic traces of this migration in extant Chadic speaking populations. Results We performed whole mitochondrial genome sequencing of 16 L3f haplotypes, focused on clade L3f3 that occurs almost exclusively in Chadic speaking people living in the Chad Basin. These data supported the reconstruction of a L3f phylogenetic tree and calculation of times to the most recent common ancestor for all internal clades. A date ~8,000 YBP was estimated for the L3f3 sub-haplogroup, which is in good agreement with the supposed migration of Chadic speaking pastoralists and their linguistic differentiation from other Afro-Asiatic groups of East Africa. As a whole, the Afro-Asiatic language family presents low population structure, as 92.4% of mtDNA variation is found within populations and only 3.4% of variation can be attributed to diversity among language branches. The Chadic speaking populations form a relatively homogenous cluster, exhibiting lower diversification than the other Afro-Asiatic branches (Berber, Semitic and Cushitic. Conclusion The results of our study support an East African origin of mitochondrial L3f3 clade that is present almost exclusively within Chadic speaking people living in Chad Basin. Whole genome sequence-based dates show that the ancestral haplogroup L3f must have emerged soon after the Out-of-Africa migration (around

  3. Migration of Chadic speaking pastoralists within Africa based on population structure of Chad Basin and phylogeography of mitochondrial L3f haplogroup

    Science.gov (United States)

    Černý, Viktor; Fernandes, Verónica; Costa, Marta D; Hájek, Martin; Mulligan, Connie J; Pereira, Luísa

    2009-01-01

    Background Chad Basin, lying within the bidirectional corridor of African Sahel, is one of the most populated places in Sub-Saharan Africa today. The origin of its settlement appears connected with Holocene climatic ameliorations (aquatic resources) that started ~10,000 years before present (YBP). Although both Nilo-Saharan and Niger-Congo language families are encountered here, the most diversified group is the Chadic branch belonging to the Afro-Asiatic language phylum. In this article, we investigate the proposed ancient migration of Chadic pastoralists from Eastern Africa based on linguistic data and test for genetic traces of this migration in extant Chadic speaking populations. Results We performed whole mitochondrial genome sequencing of 16 L3f haplotypes, focused on clade L3f3 that occurs almost exclusively in Chadic speaking people living in the Chad Basin. These data supported the reconstruction of a L3f phylogenetic tree and calculation of times to the most recent common ancestor for all internal clades. A date ~8,000 YBP was estimated for the L3f3 sub-haplogroup, which is in good agreement with the supposed migration of Chadic speaking pastoralists and their linguistic differentiation from other Afro-Asiatic groups of East Africa. As a whole, the Afro-Asiatic language family presents low population structure, as 92.4% of mtDNA variation is found within populations and only 3.4% of variation can be attributed to diversity among language branches. The Chadic speaking populations form a relatively homogenous cluster, exhibiting lower diversification than the other Afro-Asiatic branches (Berber, Semitic and Cushitic). Conclusion The results of our study support an East African origin of mitochondrial L3f3 clade that is present almost exclusively within Chadic speaking people living in Chad Basin. Whole genome sequence-based dates show that the ancestral haplogroup L3f must have emerged soon after the Out-of-Africa migration (around 57,100 ± 9,400 YBP), but

  4. Migration of Chadic speaking pastoralists within Africa based on population structure of Chad Basin and phylogeography of mitochondrial L3f haplogroup

    Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

    Černý, Viktor; Fernandes, V.; Costa, M. D.; Hájek, Martin; Mulligan, C. J.; Pereira, L.

    2009-01-01

    Roč. 9, č. 63 (2009), s. 1-9 ISSN 1471-2148 R&D Projects: GA ČR GA206/08/1587 Institutional research plan: CEZ:AV0Z80020508 Keywords : migration * Chadic * phylogeography Subject RIV: AC - Archeology, Anthropology, Ethnology Impact factor: 4.294, year: 2009 http://www.biomedcentral.com/1471-2148/9/63

  5. Diet-related buccal dental microwear patterns in Central African Pygmy foragers and Bantu-speaking farmer and pastoralist populations.

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    Alejandro Romero

    Full Text Available Pygmy hunter-gatherers from Central Africa have shared a network of socioeconomic interactions with non-Pygmy Bantu speakers since agropastoral lifestyle spread across sub-Saharan Africa. Ethnographic studies have reported that their diets differ in consumption of both animal proteins and starch grains. Hunted meat and gathered plant foods, especially underground storage organs (USOs, are dietary staples for pygmies. However, scarce information exists about forager-farmer interaction and the agricultural products used by pygmies. Since the effects of dietary preferences on teeth in modern and past pygmies remain unknown, we explored dietary history through quantitative analysis of buccal microwear on cheek teeth in well-documented Baka pygmies. We then determined if microwear patterns differ among other Pygmy groups (Aka, Mbuti, and Babongo and between Bantu-speaking farmer and pastoralist populations from past centuries. The buccal dental microwear patterns of Pygmy hunter-gatherers and non-Pygmy Bantu pastoralists show lower scratch densities, indicative of diets more intensively based on nonabrasive foodstuffs, compared with Bantu farmers, who consume larger amounts of grit from stoneground foods. The Baka pygmies showed microwear patterns similar to those of ancient Aka and Mbuti, suggesting that the mechanical properties of their preferred diets have not significantly changed through time. In contrast, Babongo pygmies showed scratch densities and lengths similar to those of the farmers, consistent with sociocultural contacts and genetic factors. Our findings support that buccal microwear patterns predict dietary habits independent of ecological conditions and reflect the abrasive properties of preferred or fallback foods such as USOs, which may have contributed to the dietary specializations of ancient human populations.

  6. Approaches to education provision for mobile pastoralists.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dyer, C

    2016-11-01

    Experiences of mobile pastoralists often attest to a wide range of contradictions about the presumed advantages of formal education. While effort to 'reach' pastoralists has intensified under the global Education for All movement, there remain considerable difficulties in finding ways to make formal education relate to pastoralist livelihoods and complement endogenous knowledge. This paper examines how these dynamics play out across models of formal and non-formal education service provision, and identifies innovations that offer promising ways forward: Alternative Basic Education, Open and Distance Learning, and Pastoralist Field Schools.

  7. Traditional ecological knowledge underlying herding decisions of pastoralists.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tamou, C; de Boer, I J M; Ripoll-Bosch, R; Oosting, S J

    2018-04-01

    Pastoralists have traditional ecological knowledge (TEK), which is important for their livelihoods and for policies and interventions. Pastoralism is under pressure, however, which may result in a decline of pastoral lifestyle and its related TEK. We, therefore, addressed the following objectives (i) to inventorise and assess how pastoralists characterise and value soils and forages in their environment, (ii) to analyse how soil, forage and livestock (i.e. cattle) characteristics relate to herding decisions and (iii) to determine whether TEK underlying herding decisions differs across generations. Data were collected through focus groups and individual interviews with 72 pastoralists, belonging to three generations and to three agro-ecological zones. Using a three-point scale (high, medium, low), four grasses and three tree forages were assessed in terms of nutritional quality for milk, meat, health and strength. Using their own visual criteria, pastoralists identified five different soils, which they selected for herding at different times of the year. Pastoralists stated that Pokuri was the best soil because of its low moisture content, whereas Karaal was the worst because forage hardly grows on it. They stated that perennials, such as Andropogon gayanus and Loxoderra ledermannii, were of high nutritional quality, whereas annuals such as Andropogon pseudapricus and Hyparrhenia involucrata were of low nutritional quality. Afzelia africana was perceived of high quality for milk production, whereas Khaya senegalensis had the highest quality for meat, health and strength. Pastoralists first used soil, then forage and finally livestock characteristics in their herding decisions. Pastoralists' TEK was not associated with their generations, but with their agro-ecological zones. This study suggests that pastoralists had common and detailed TEK about soils, forages and livestock characteristics, underlying their herding decisions. To conclude, pastoralists use a holistic

  8. Knowledge of mange among Masai pastoralists in Kenya.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Francis Gakuya

    Full Text Available BACKGROUND: Pastoralists in low-income countries usually live in close proximity to their animals and thus represent an important repository of information about livestock disease. Since wild and domestic animals often mix freely whilst grazing, pastoralists are also able to observe first-hand the diseases that are present in wildlife and as such are key informants in disease outbreaks in sylvatic animals. We report here the findings of the first study of the knowledge and role of Masai pastoralists in mange in wildlife and livestock in Masai Mara, Kenya. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: In this paper we describe the knowledge of mange accrued by 56 Masai pastoralists in Kenya and how they respond to it in both wildlife and livestock. In total, 52 (93% pastoralists had a clear idea of the clinical appearance of mange, 13 (23% understood its aetiology and 37 (66% knew that mites were the causal agent. Thirty-nine (69% believed that mange cross-infection between domestic and wild animals occurs, while 48 (85% had observed mange in domestic animals including sheep (77%, goats (57%, dogs (24% and cattle (14%. The pastoralists had also observed wild animals infected with mange, above all lions (19%, gazelles (14%, cheetahs (12% and wildebeests (2%. In 68% of cases Masai pastoralists treat mange infection or apply control measures, most commonly via the topical use of acaricides (29% and/or the reporting of the outbreak to the veterinary authorities (21%. In the period 2007-2011, Kenya Wildlife Service received 24 warnings of 59 wild animals with mange-like lesions from the Masai Mara pastoralist community. The reported species were cheetah, lion, wild dog, Thomson's gazelle and wildebeest. CONCLUSION: Masai pastoralists have good knowledge of mange epidemiology and treatment. Their observations and the treatments they apply are valuable in the control of this disease in both wild and domestic animals.

  9. Crop farmers and pastoralists' socio-economic characteristics ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Crop farmers and pastoralists' socio-economic characteristics influencing ... Journal of Agricultural Research and Development ... family size and farm size) influenced positively and significantly crop farmers and pastoralists land use conflict.

  10. Determinants of vaccination coverage among pastoralists in north ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Determinants of vaccination coverage among pastoralists in north eastern Kenya. ... Attitudes, and Practices (KAPs) on vaccination coverage among settled and ... We used a structured instrument to survey pastoralist mothers with children ...

  11. Socioeconomic Effects of Farmer-Pastoralist Conflict on Agricultural ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    USER

    of Farmer-pastoralist conflicts as it affects their family farming. Setting up of a .... agents are professionally committed. Also there is need to ... indicate the extent of social and economic losses incurred as a result of farmer- pastoralist conflict ...

  12. Nutritional and health challenges of pastoralist populations in Kenya ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    This paper examines nutritional and health challenges facing pastoralists who inhabit fragile rangelands and are one of the most nutritionally vulnerable population groups in Kenya. The review is based on a synthesis of literature on pastoralist food security, nutrition and health status and livelihoods in Kenya's rangelands.

  13. Tuberculosis among transhumant pastoralist and settled communities of south-eastern Mauritania

    OpenAIRE

    L?, Aissata; Tall-Dia, Anta; Bonfoh, Bassirou; Schelling, Esther

    2016-01-01

    Background: Transhumant pastoralists of Mauritania were assumed to have a high prevalence of tuberculosis (TB) because of reduced access to diagnostic testing. No population-based survey on TB has been published for Mauritania.Objective: The goal of this study was to estimate the prevalence of presumptive TB cases among mobile pastoralists and villagers in a remote zone of Mauritania.Design: In the south-eastern province of Hodh Ech Chargui, 250 adult pastoralists and 250 villagers were rando...

  14. Dynamics of Pastoralist Relations at Change: An Exploration into the ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Above all, the marginalization of pastoralists from major political, economic and other considerations, and prejudices attributed to the pastoralist way of life has led to persistent social conflicts. Besides, memories of historical animosities between the Afar and Karrayu ethnic groups served as adhesive glues for the pervasive ...

  15. Radio listening habits of pupils of Nomadic Pastoralists and Migrant ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    The need to integrate Nigeria with other nations in the world that have achieved landmark results in Interactive Radio Instruction (IRI) innovation necessitated this study on radio listening habits of pupils of nomadic pastoralists and migrant fisherfolks in Nigeria. The study was carried out in four pastoralists' states of Borno, ...

  16. Weather, climate, and resource Information should meet the needs of Sahelian pastoralists

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Rasmussen, Laura Vang; Mertz, Ole; Rasmussen, Kjeld

    2014-01-01

    There has been an increasing focus on providing better weather, climate, and resource information for decision making in drylands. This study explores what kind of information pastoralists in the Sahel received in 2013 and how they responded to this information. Moreover, the study assesses whether...... the disseminated information corresponds to the actual needs of pastoralists. The overall objective is thus to identify the outcome of providing weather, climate, and resource information to pastoralists and thereby to explore whether and how various products may guide their mobility and decision-making patterns....... Such information could be used to adjust the purchase of supplementary fodder, to make qualified choices on transhumance destinations, and to make changes in herd composition. As pastoralists primarily acquire this information by calling friends and family in nearby areas, the results point to a strong disconnect...

  17. Trends in health surveillance and joint service delivery for pastoralists in West and Central Africa.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Abakar, M F; Schelling, E; Béchir, M; Ngandolo, B N; Pfister, K; Alfaroukh, I O; Hassane, H M; Zinsstag, J

    2016-11-01

    In most sub-Saharan African countries, pastoralism represents an important economic resource and contributes significantly to national growth; however, challenges remain, particularly in providing social services to pastoralists (especially health and education) and in avoiding conflict with local sedentary communities and local authorities. All of this takes place while pastoralists try to maintain their mobile lifestyle within a rapidly changing ecosystem. Transdisciplinary approaches, such as 'One Health', which covers both human and animal health, have proven effective in delivering services and reaching mobile pastoralists in remote areas. The pastoralist way of life could be described as being linked to both their livestock and their environment, which makes social science an important element when researching the delivery and adaptation of social services to pastoralists. Early or pre-diagnostic detection of emerging and endemic infectious disease remains a vital aspect of health surveillance targeted at preventing further transmission and spread. Community-based syndromic surveillance, coupled with visual mobile phone technology, adapted to the high levels of illiteracy among nomads, could offer an alternative to existing health surveillance systems. Such an approach could contribute to accelerated reporting, which could in turn lead to targeted intervention among mobile pastoralists in sub-Saharan Africa. Although considerable efforts have been made towards integrating mobile pastoralists into social services, obstacles remain to the adoption of a clear, specific and sustainable policy on pastoralism in sub-Saharan Africa.

  18. Conservation presence, not socioeconomics, leads to differences in pastoralist perceived threats to argali

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    Wesley M. Sarmento

    2016-09-01

    Full Text Available Community-based conservation approaches that keep people on landscapes increasingly complement preservationist models of reserves without people. Evaluations of community conservation have shown that economic incentives and socioeconomics primarily drive people’s attitudes and perceptions. Work at Mongolia’s Ikh Nart Nature Reserve demonstrates how to achieve successful conservation by integrating local people into the overall program. Using a short questionnaire, we interviewed pastoralist families across two soums (similar to a U.S. county in Ikh Nart. We examined (1 pastoralists’ perceived threats to argali sheep (Ovis ammon, (2 socioeconomic differences among pastoralists, and (3 differences between pastoralists from different soums. We found that 15 years of conservation activities—education, research, and modest ecotourism—that occurred in the northern soum led to influences on people’s perceptions toward argali conservation. Compared with pastoralists from southern Ikh Nart, pastoralists from the northern part of the reserve more likely knew that argali are protected and understood primary threats to the species. Socioeconomic factors, such as age, sex, and wealth, did not significantly influence responses. The negligible economic incentives in Ikh Nart did not lead to response differences. Our results demonstrate that conservation can influence people across socioeconomic classes without providing large economic incentives.

  19. Exploring local knowledge and perceptions on zoonoses among pastoralists in northern and eastern Tanzania.

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    Peter Ernest Mangesho

    2017-02-01

    Full Text Available Zoonoses account for the most commonly reported emerging and re-emerging infectious diseases in Sub-Saharan Africa. However, there is limited knowledge on how pastoral communities perceive zoonoses in relation to their livelihoods, culture and their wider ecology. This study was carried out to explore local knowledge and perceptions on zoonoses among pastoralists in Tanzania.This study involved pastoralists in Ngorongoro district in northern Tanzania and Kibaha and Bagamoyo districts in eastern Tanzania. Qualitative methods of focus group discussions, participatory epidemiology and interviews were used. A total of 223 people were involved in the study. Among the pastoralists, there was no specific term in their local language that describes zoonosis. Pastoralists from northern Tanzania possessed a higher understanding on the existence of a number of zoonoses than their eastern districts' counterparts. Understanding of zoonoses could be categorized into two broad groups: a local syndromic framework, whereby specific symptoms of a particular illness in humans concurred with symptoms in animals, and the biomedical framework, where a case definition is supported by diagnostic tests. Some pastoralists understand the possibility of some infections that could cross over to humans from animals but harm from these are generally tolerated and are not considered as threats. A number of social and cultural practices aimed at maintaining specific cultural functions including social cohesion and rites of passage involve animal products, which present zoonotic risk.These findings show how zoonoses are locally understood, and how epidemiology and biomedicine are shaping pastoralists perceptions to zoonoses. Evidence is needed to understand better the true burden and impact of zoonoses in these communities. More studies are needed that seek to clarify the common understanding of zoonoses that could be used to guide effective and locally relevant interventions

  20. Exploring local knowledge and perceptions on zoonoses among pastoralists in northern and eastern Tanzania.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mangesho, Peter Ernest; Neselle, Moses Ole; Karimuribo, Esron D; Mlangwa, James E; Queenan, Kevin; Mboera, Leonard E G; Rushton, Jonathan; Kock, Richard; Häsler, Barbara; Kiwara, Angwara; Rweyemamu, Mark

    2017-02-01

    Zoonoses account for the most commonly reported emerging and re-emerging infectious diseases in Sub-Saharan Africa. However, there is limited knowledge on how pastoral communities perceive zoonoses in relation to their livelihoods, culture and their wider ecology. This study was carried out to explore local knowledge and perceptions on zoonoses among pastoralists in Tanzania. This study involved pastoralists in Ngorongoro district in northern Tanzania and Kibaha and Bagamoyo districts in eastern Tanzania. Qualitative methods of focus group discussions, participatory epidemiology and interviews were used. A total of 223 people were involved in the study. Among the pastoralists, there was no specific term in their local language that describes zoonosis. Pastoralists from northern Tanzania possessed a higher understanding on the existence of a number of zoonoses than their eastern districts' counterparts. Understanding of zoonoses could be categorized into two broad groups: a local syndromic framework, whereby specific symptoms of a particular illness in humans concurred with symptoms in animals, and the biomedical framework, where a case definition is supported by diagnostic tests. Some pastoralists understand the possibility of some infections that could cross over to humans from animals but harm from these are generally tolerated and are not considered as threats. A number of social and cultural practices aimed at maintaining specific cultural functions including social cohesion and rites of passage involve animal products, which present zoonotic risk. These findings show how zoonoses are locally understood, and how epidemiology and biomedicine are shaping pastoralists perceptions to zoonoses. Evidence is needed to understand better the true burden and impact of zoonoses in these communities. More studies are needed that seek to clarify the common understanding of zoonoses that could be used to guide effective and locally relevant interventions. Such studies should

  1. Improving how meteorological information is used by pastoralists through adequate communication tools

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Rasmussen, Laura Vang; Mertz, Ole; Rasmussen, Kjeld

    2015-01-01

    In West Africa, the channels for information flow from meteorological services to end-users, such as pastoralists, are relatively limited. As meteorological information is key to improving productivity for pastoralists, it represents a challenge at both local and national level to develop an effi......, and we propose that forecasts should be available as voice messages in local languages rather than text messages....

  2. Tuberculosis among transhumant pastoralist and settled communities of south-eastern Mauritania

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    Aissata Lô

    2016-05-01

    Full Text Available Background: Transhumant pastoralists of Mauritania were assumed to have a high prevalence of tuberculosis (TB because of reduced access to diagnostic testing. No population-based survey on TB has been published for Mauritania. Objective: The goal of this study was to estimate the prevalence of presumptive TB cases among mobile pastoralists and villagers in a remote zone of Mauritania. Design: In the south-eastern province of Hodh Ech Chargui, 250 adult pastoralists and 250 villagers were randomly enrolled using multistage cluster sampling in February 2012. A TB centre nurse examined participants using a standard clinical protocol, and a participant questionnaire was completed. Focus group discussions and interviews were conducted with community members and health personnel, respectively. Results: Fourteen new presumptive TB cases were identified, leading to an overall prevalence of 2.8%, (95% confidence interval (CI 1.5–4.7%. The prevalence was non-significantly higher among villagers than pastoralists (3.6% vs. 2.0%. Assuming illness duration was 3 years and all presumptive cases started treatment, an overall crude incidence of 933 cases/100,000 was derived. Five of six presumptive cases in Djiguenni were confirmed by sputum smear microscopy, but none out of eight presumptive cases were confirmed in Néma, although the same nurse performed all clinical examinations in both departments. This result was attributed to the use of expired reagents in Néma. Communities mentioned distance rather than lack of information as the main constraint to seeking diagnosis, but poor diagnostic centre performance also delayed decision-making. Conclusions: TB prevalences were high among both pastoralists and villagers. None of the 14 presumptive cases sought prior diagnostic testing. TB diagnostic centres in the remote rural study zone were poorly equipped. These centres must remain in operation to reduce TB incidence in vulnerable communities in insecure

  3. Knowledge, attitude and perceived stigma towards tuberculosis among pastoralists; Do they differ from sedentary communities? A comparative cross-sectional study.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Bezawit Temesgen Sima

    Full Text Available Ethiopia is ninth among the world high tuberculosis (TB burden countries, pastoralists being the most affected population. However, there is no published report whether the behavior related to TB are different between pastoralist and the sedentary communities. Therefore, the main aim of this study is to assess the pastoralist community knowledge, attitude and perceived stigma towards tuberculosis and their health care seeking behavior in comparison to the neighboring sedentary communities and this may help to plan TB control interventions specifically for the pastoralist communities.A community-based cross-sectional survey was carried out from September 2014 to January 2015, among 337 individuals from pastoralist and 247 from the sedentary community of Kereyu district. Data were collected using structured questionnaires. Three focus group discussions were used to collect qualitative data, one with men and the other with women in the pastoralist and one with men in the sedentary groups. Data were analyzed using Statistical Software for Social Science, SPSS V 22 and STATA.A Lower proportion of pastoralists mentioned bacilli (bacteria as the cause of PTB compared to the sedentary group (63.9% vs. 81.0%, p<0.01, respectively. However, witchcraft was reported as the causes of TB by a higher proportion of pastoralists than the sedentary group (53.6% vs.23.5%, p<0.01, respectively. Similarly, a lower proportion of pastoralists indicated PTB is preventable compared to the sedentary group (95.8% vs. 99.6%, p<0.01, respectively. Moreover, majority of the pastoralists mentioned that most people would reject a TB patient in their community compared to the sedentary group (39.9% vs. 8.9%, p<0.001, respectively, and the pastoralists expressed that they would be ashamed/embarrassed if they had TB 68% vs.36.4%, p<0.001, respectively.The finding indicates that there is a lower awareness about TB, a negative attitude towards TB patients and a higher perceived

  4. Reducing vulnerability among pastoralists in Northern Kenya

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

    CCAA

    vulnerability among pastoralist communities in Mandera and Turkana in Northern Kenya, led by the Kenyan NGO ... to understand how people have experienced droughts and other ... norms and gender roles may make them more or less vulnerable, ... and see direct impacts on the resources they depend on for their.

  5. Reducing vulnerability among pastoralists in northern Kenya | IDRC ...

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

    2011-04-21

    Apr 21, 2011 ... Research on climate-related vulnerability among pastoralist ... decisions that affect the use of resources that families depend on in times of stress, while ... these skills and approaches are useful to other areas of NEMA's work.

  6. Alignment between values of dryland pastoralists and conservation needs for small mammals.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Addison, Jane; Pavey, Chris R

    2017-04-01

    Policies for conservation outside protected areas, such as those designed to address the decline in Australian mammals, will not result in net improvements unless they address barriers to proenvironmental behavior. We used a mixed-methods approach to explore potential value-action gaps (disconnects between values and subsequent action) for small mammal conservation behaviors among pastoralists in dryland Australia. Using semistructured surveys and open-ended interviews (n = 43), we explored values toward small mammals; uptake of a range of current and intended actions that may provide benefit to small mammals; and potential perceived barriers to their uptake. Pastoralists assigned great conservation value to small mammals; over 80% (n = 36) agreed to strongly agreed that small mammals on their property were important. These values did not translate into stated willingness to engage in voluntary cessation of wild-dog control (r 2 = 0.187, p = 0.142, n = 43). However, assigning great conservation value to small mammals was strongly related to stated voluntary willingness to engage in the proenvironmental behavior most likely to result in benefits to small mammals: cat and fox control (r 2 = 0.558, p = 0.000, n = 43). There was no significant difference between stated voluntarily and incentivized willingness to engage in cat and fox control (p = 0.862, n = 43). The high levels of willingness to engage in voluntary cat and fox control highlight a potential entry point for addressing Australia's mammal declines because the engagement of pastoralists in conservation programs targeting cat and fox control is unlikely to be prevented by attitudinal constraints. Qualitative data suggest there is likely a subpopulation of pastoralists who value small mammals but do not wish to engage in formal conservation programs due to relational barriers with potential implementers. A long-term commitment to engagement with pastoralists by implementers will thus be necessary for

  7. Hor - A Sedentarisation Success for Tibetan Pastoralists in Qinghai?

    Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

    Ptáčková, Jarmila

    2015-01-01

    Roč. 19, č. 2 (2015), s. 221-240 ISSN 0822-7942 Institutional support: RVO:68378009 Keywords : Sedentarisation, resettlement, Tibetan pastoralists, grassland development, vocational training Subject RIV: AC - Archeology, Anthropology, Ethnology

  8. Pastoralists at War: Violence and Security in the Kenya-Sudan-Uganda Border Region

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jonah Leff

    2009-12-01

    Full Text Available The majority of those living in the border region of Kenya, Sudan, and Uganda are pastoralists, whose livelihoods are dictated by the upkeep and size of their herds. Harsh environmental conditions force pastoralists to migrate in search of water and pasturelands during the dry season. With limited access to water and competing rights to land, intertribal conflict arises when pastoralists from one tribe enter the territory of another. The increased availability of small arms in the region from past wars increasingly makes ordinary clashes fatal. Governments in the region have responded with heavy-handed coercive disarmament operations. These have led to distrust and subsequent violent clashes between communities and security providers. This report reviews the scale, consequences of, and responses to the many pastoral conflicts, utilizing methodological tools such as key informant interviews, retrospective analysis, and a thorough review of available literature.

  9. Factors Influencing Transient Poverty Among Agro-Pastoralists in ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Factors Influencing Transient Poverty Among Agro-Pastoralists in semi-arid areas of Kenya. ... The number of livelihood sources, education level of the household head, relief food, extension service and distance to the nearest markets were positively related to per capita daily income. A negative relationship was observed ...

  10. Why communal pastoralists do what they do in the Richtersveld ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    their farming objectives and the motives underlying herd management practices ... food and supply household meat) to reduce the risk of destitution. Goats and ... choices, pastoralists employed a range of risk-mitigating farming strategies

  11. Cattle pastoralists' strategies to cope with water scarcity in climate ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    ... reveal a pastoral dynamics based on the programmed distance to the best resources, ... This could also enhance adaptation to climate change within the context of the ... Water resources, Pastoralist, Animal route, Adaptation Strategy, Benin ...

  12. The Rights of Pastoralist Peoples. A Framework for their Recognition in International Law

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Miguel Ángel Martín López

    2016-06-01

    Full Text Available Pastoralists are one of the most poverty stricken and underdeveloped existing human groups in the world. Until now, having remained practically invisible in the eyes of international law, it is desirable to open a debate concerning the recognition of their rights. The ideal situation would be to create a specific category of rights dedicated expressly to these pastoralist peoples. Therefore, one can surmise that there are two laws that constitute its essential content: the law protecting their way of life and their access rights to the land

  13. Early agriculture and crop transmission among Bronze Age mobile pastoralists of Central Eurasia.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Spengler, Robert; Frachetti, Michael; Doumani, Paula; Rouse, Lynne; Cerasetti, Barbara; Bullion, Elissa; Mar'yashev, Alexei

    2014-05-22

    Archaeological research in Central Eurasia is exposing unprecedented scales of trans-regional interaction and technology transfer between East Asia and southwest Asia deep into the prehistoric past. This article presents a new archaeobotanical analysis from pastoralist campsites in the mountain and desert regions of Central Eurasia that documents the oldest known evidence for domesticated grains and farming among seasonally mobile herders. Carbonized grains from the sites of Tasbas and Begash illustrate the first transmission of southwest Asian and East Asian domesticated grains into the mountains of Inner Asia in the early third millennium BC. By the middle second millennium BC, seasonal camps in the mountains and deserts illustrate that Eurasian herders incorporated the cultivation of millet, wheat, barley and legumes into their subsistence strategy. These findings push back the chronology for domesticated plant use among Central Eurasian pastoralists by approximately 2000 years. Given the geography, chronology and seed morphology of these data, we argue that mobile pastoralists were key agents in the spread of crop repertoires and the transformation of agricultural economies across Asia from the third to the second millennium BC.

  14. Knowledge of Bovine Tuberculosis, Cattle Husbandry and Dairy Practices amongst Pastoralists and Small-Scale Dairy Farmers in Cameroon

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kelly, Robert F.; Hamman, Saidou M.; Morgan, Kenton L.; Nkongho, Egbe F.; Ngwa, Victor Ngu; Tanya, Vincent; Andu, Walters N.; Sander, Melissa; Ndip, Lucy; Handel, Ian G.; Mazeri, Stella; Muwonge, Adrian; Bronsvoort, Barend M. de. C.

    2016-01-01

    Background Control of bovine tuberculosis (bTB) and zoonotic tuberculosis (zTB) has relied upon surveillance and slaughter of infected cattle, milk pasteurisation and public health education. In Cameroon, like many other sub-Saharan African countries, there is limited understanding of current cattle husbandry or milk processing practices or livestock keepers awareness of bTB. This paper describes husbandry and milk processing practices within different Cameroonian cattle keeping communities and bTB awareness in comparison to other infectious diseases. Study design A population based cross-sectional sample of herdsmen and a questionnaire were used to gather data from pastoralists and dairy farmers in the North West Region and Vina Division of Cameroon. Results Pastoralists were predominately male Fulanis who had kept cattle for over a decade. Dairy farmers were non-Fulani and nearly half were female. Pastoralists went on transhumance with their cattle and came into contact with other herds and potential wildlife reservoirs of bTB. Dairy farmers housed their cattle and had little contact with other herds or wildlife. Pastoralists were aware of bTB and other infectious diseases such as foot-and-mouth disease and fasciolosis. These pastoralists were also able to identify clinical signs of these diseases. A similar proportion of dairy farmers were aware of bTB but fewer were aware of foot-and-mouth and fasciolosis. In general, dairy farmers were unable to identify any clinical signs for any of these diseases. Importantly most pastoralists and dairy farmers were unaware that bTB could be transmitted to people by consuming milk. Conclusions Current cattle husbandry practices make the control of bTB in cattle challenging especially in mobile pastoralist herds. Routine test and slaughter control in dairy herds would be tractable but would have profound impact on dairy farmer livelihoods. Prevention of transmission in milk offers the best approach for human risk mitigation

  15. Understanding resilience of pastoralists to climate change and variability in the Southern Afar Region, Ethiopia

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Muluken Mekuyie

    Full Text Available Change in climate and climate extremes are acknowledged as a vital challenge to pastoral production systems. Alternative systems that are accessible to a household in order to make a living could determine the household’s resilience at a given point in time. This study was conducted in the Southern Afar region in Ethiopia to understand the resilience of pastoralists to climate change and variability. A household questionnaire survey and focus group discussions were employed to collect primary data at household level. A total of 250 pastoral households were sampled using stratified random sampling. The data obtained were analysed using descriptive statistics and principal component analysis. The resilience of households to climate shocks and stresses was determined using a two-step modelling approach by clustering households into livelihood groups, gender and districts. The results indicated that agro-pastoral households were more resilient than pastoralists to climate-induced shock. Furthermore, households in the Gewane district were more resilient than those in the Amibara district. Female-headed households were less resilient than male-headed households. Enhancing livestock assets and productivity, social safety nets, access to market, credit, extension services and education, improving irrigation crop farming, and providing farm inputs significantly enhanced the resilience of pastoralists to climate change and variability. Keywords: Asset, Livelihood, Climate shock, Pastoralist, Resilience

  16. Malaria prevalence, prevention and treatment seeking practices among nomadic pastoralists in northern Senegal.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Seck, Mame Cheikh; Thwing, Julie; Fall, Fatou Ba; Gomis, Jules Francois; Deme, Awa; Ndiaye, Yaye Die; Daniels, Rachel; Volkman, Sarah K; Ndiop, Medoune; Ba, Mady; Ndiaye, Daouda

    2017-10-13

    Malaria transmission in Senegal is highly stratified, from low in the dry north to moderately high in the moist south. In northern Senegal, along the Senegal River Valley and in the Ferlo semi-desert region, annual incidence is less than five cases per 1000 inhabitants. Many nomadic pastoralists have permanent dwellings in the Ferlo Desert and Senegal River Valley, but spend dry season in the south with their herds, returning north when the rains start, leading to a concern that this population could contribute to ongoing transmission in the north. A modified snowball sampling survey was conducted at six sites in northern Senegal to determine the malaria prevention and treatment seeking practices and parasite prevalence among nomadic pastoralists in the Senegal River Valley and the Ferlo Desert. Nomadic pastoralists aged 6 months and older were surveyed during September and October 2014, and data regarding demographics, access to care and preventive measures were collected. Parasite infection was detected using rapid diagnostic tests (RDTs), microscopy (thin and thick smears) and polymerase chain reaction (PCR). Molecular barcodes were determined by high resolution melting (HRM). Of 1800 participants, 61% were male. Sixty-four percent had at least one bed net in the household, and 53% reported using a net the night before. Only 29% had received a net from a mass distribution campaign. Of the 8% (142) who reported having had fever in the last month, 55% sought care, 20% of whom received a diagnostic test, one-third of which (n = 5) were reported to be positive. Parasite prevalence was 0.44% by thick smear and 0.50% by PCR. None of the molecular barcodes identified among the nomadic pastoralists had been previously identified in Senegal. While access to and utilization of malaria control interventions among nomadic pastoralists was lower than the general population, parasite prevalence was lower than expected and sheds doubt on the perception that they are a

  17. Traditional strategies used by pastoralists to cope with la nina ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Pastoralists traditionally relied on herd mobility to cope with drought. In the pastoral areas of Kajiado, Kenya this strategy is now threatened by increased individual land ownership as compared to communal access. Drought frequency as related to El-Nino and Southern Oscillation (ENSO) is predicated to increase with ...

  18. Pastoralists in a changing environment: The competition for grazing land in and around the W Biosphere Reserve, Benin Republic.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tamou, Charles; Ripoll-Bosch, Raimon; de Boer, Imke J M; Oosting, Simon J

    2018-04-01

    Pastoralists face increasing competition for land with crop farmers and nature in and around the W Biosphere Reserve (WBR) in Benin. Our aim was to describe and analyse land use changes in order to understand their drivers, and to describe and analyse the viewpoints of relevant stakeholders in order to understand the competition for land. To this end, remote sensing data, regional statistics, and survey data were collected. We found that crop land expansion around the WBR was the direct driver of decrease of the grazing land area. Population growth and rising demand for food crops, and government support to the cotton sector were indirect drivers of grazing land reduction. Furthermore, competing claims on land among users arose from the complex interaction of crop expansion, presence of WBR and the way it is governed, the lack of support to pastoralists, and the increasing shift of pastoralists' lifestyle into one of settled crop farmers. Pastoralism is under threat and its survival depends on the successful implementation of policies to support pastoralists and protect grazing lands.

  19. Emotional Understanding in Quechua Children from an Agro-Pastoralist Village

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tenenbaum, Harriet R.; Visscher, Paloma; Pons, Francisco; Harris, Paul L.

    2004-01-01

    Research on children's understanding of emotion has rarely focused on children from nonindustrialised countries, who may develop an understanding at different ages as compared to children reared in industrialised countries. Quechua children from an agro-pastoralist village were given an adapted version of the Test of Emotion Comprehension (TEC) to…

  20. Women's Access to Land and Natural Resources in Pastoralist and ...

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

    30 juin 2009 ... This project will explore women's access to land and land-based resources in five pastoralist and forest-dwelling communities in Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda, mainly, Hadza, Batwa, Maasai, Ogiek and Karamojong. The project is expected to shed light on how best to secure women's right to land and ...

  1. Understanding roles and functions of cattle breeds for pastoralists in Benin

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Tamou, Charles; Boer, de Imke J.M.; Ripoll-Bosch, Raimon; Oosting, Simon J.

    2018-01-01

    Animal genetic resources (AnGR) are essential for food security and the livelihoods of many pastoralists. However, the AnGR diversity is currently being eroded, as well as the traditional ecological knowledge associated to the use of indigenous breeds and their environment. The objectives of this

  2. Community-based management: under what conditions do Sami pastoralists manage pastures sustainably?

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Vera H Hausner

    Full Text Available Community-based management (CBM has been implemented in socio-ecological systems (SES worldwide. CBM has also been the prevailing policy in Sámi pastoral SES in Norway, but the outcomes tend to vary extensively among resource groups ("siidas". We asked why do some siidas self-organize to manage common pool resources sustainably and others do not? To answer this question we used a mixed methods approach. First, in the statistical analyses we analyzed the relationship between sustainability indicators and structural variables. We found that small winter pastures that are shared by few siidas were managed more sustainably than larger pastures. Seasonal siida stability, i.e., a low turnover of pastoralists working together throughout the year, and equality among herders, also contributed to more sustainable outcomes. Second, interviews were conducted in the five largest pastures to explain the relationships between the structural variables and sustainability. The pastoralists expressed a high level of agreement with respect to sustainable policies, but reported a low level of trust and cooperation among the siidas. The pastoralists requested siida tenures or clear rules and sanctioning mechanisms by an impartial authority rather than flexible organization or more autonomy for the siidas. The lack of nestedness in self-organization for managing pastures on larger scales, combined with the past economic policies, could explain why CBM is less sustainable on the largest winter pastures. We conclude that the scale mis-match between self-organization and the formal governance is a key condition for sustainability.

  3. Pastoralists' knowledge and practices towards clinical bovine dermatophilosis in cattle herds of North-Central Nigeria: the associated factors, burden and economic impact.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Alhaji, Nma Bida; Isola, Tajudeen Opeyemi

    2018-02-01

    Dermatophilosis is a contagious disease of high economic importance. The study assessed knowledge/awareness and clinical burden of and mitigation measures practised against clinical bovine dermatophilosis in pastoral herds of North-Central Nigeria and associated socio-cultural factors that predisposed to its occurrence in herds. A cross-sectional survey was conducted between October 2015 and September 2016. Questionnaires were administered on pastoralists and clinical assessment of cattle with gross pathological lesions indicative of dermatophilosis conducted. Associated economic impact was estimated. All 384 selected pastoralists participated in the survey. The majorities of nomadic (97.4%) and sedentary (68.2%) pastoralists significantly (p Culture of giving out cattle as gift or payment for dowry was more likely (OR 28.56; 95% CI 15.64, 52.12) to influence dermatophilosis occurrence in herds. Overall clinical dermatophilosis burden was 3.6% (95% CI 3.46, 3.80) and the annual economic impact was estimated at 908,463.9 USD. This study has given an idea to the status of pastoralists' levels of awareness about dermatophilosis in Nigeria, which can be harnessed by policy makers to develop its mitigation measures. Significant influence of pastoralists' socio-cultural activities on dermatophilosis occurrence in herds was identified. Surveillance and control programmes towards dermatophilosis that take these factors into consideration will be beneficial to the herders.

  4. Climate change adaptation among Tibetan pastoralists: challenges in enhancing local adaptation through policy support.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fu, Yao; Grumbine, R Edward; Wilkes, Andreas; Wang, Yun; Xu, Jian-Chu; Yang, Yong-Ping

    2012-10-01

    While researchers are aware that a mix of Local Ecological Knowledge (LEK), community-based resource management institutions, and higher-level institutions and policies can facilitate pastoralists' adaptation to climate change, policy makers have been slow to understand these linkages. Two critical issues are to what extent these factors play a role, and how to enhance local adaptation through government support. We investigated these issues through a case study of two pastoral communities on the Tibetan Plateau in China employing an analytical framework to understand local climate adaptation processes. We concluded that LEK and community-based institutions improve adaptation outcomes for Tibetan pastoralists through shaping and mobilizing resource availability to reduce risks. Higher-level institutions and policies contribute by providing resources from outside communities. There are dynamic interrelationships among these factors that can lead to support, conflict, and fragmentation. Government policy could enhance local adaptation through improvement of supportive relationships among these factors. While central government policies allow only limited room for overt integration of local knowledge/institutions, local governments often have some flexibility to buffer conflicts. In addition, government policies to support market-based economic development have greatly benefited adaptation outcomes for pastoralists. Overall, in China, there are still questions over how to create innovative institutions that blend LEK and community-based institutions with government policy making.

  5. Climate change and pastoralists: investing in people to respond to adversity

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Hesse, Ced; Cotula, Lorenzo

    2006-10-15

    While climatic fluctuations have always been a defining feature of dryland areas, and pastoralists have developed resilient livelihood systems to cope with difficult climates, global climate change is raising new challenges for pastoral systems in Africa and elsewhere. Action at local, national and international levels is needed to prevent destitution and help pastoral groups respond to the changing environment.

  6. The use of mobile phones for demographic surveillance of mobile pastoralists and their animals in Chad: proof of principle.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jean-Richard, Vreni; Crump, Lisa; Moto Daugla, Doumagoum; Hattendorf, Jan; Schelling, Esther; Zinsstag, Jakob

    2014-01-01

    Demographic information is foundational for the planning and management of social programmes, in particular health services. The existing INDEPTH network surveillance sites are limited to coverage of sedentary populations. Including mobile populations in this approach would be expensive, time consuming and possibly low in accuracy. Very little is known about the demography of mobile pastoralists and their animals, so innovative approaches are urgently needed. To test and evaluate a mobile demographic surveillance system for mobile pastoralist households, including livestock herds, using mobile phones. Mobile pastoralist camps were monitored (10 for 12 months and 10 for 18 months) using biweekly mobile phone calls with camp leaders and their wives to conduct interviews about the households and livestock. The collected information was validated through personal visits, GPS data and a livestock demographic model. The study showed the feasibility of mobile phone surveillance for mobile pastoralist camps, providing usable, valid information on human and livestock population structures, pregnancy outcomes and herd dynamics, as well as migration patterns. The approach was low-cost and applicable with the existing local resources. Demographic surveillance in mobile populations is feasible using mobile phones. Expansion of the small-scale system into a full mobile demographic surveillance system is warranted and would likely lead to improved planning and provision of human and animal health care.

  7. Pastoralist Community’s Perception of Tuberculosis: A Quantitative Study from Shinille Area of Ethiopia

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Samuel Melaku

    2013-01-01

    Full Text Available Background. In Ethiopia the prevalence of all forms of TB is estimated at 261/100 000 population, leading to an annual mortality rate of 64/100 000 population. The incidence rate of smear-positive TB is 108/100 000 population. Objectives. To assess knowledge, attitudes, and practices regarding TB among pastoralists in Shinille district, Somali region, Ethiopia. Method. A community-based cross-sectional study was conducted among 821 pastoralists aged >18 years and above from February to May, 2011 using self-structured questionnaire. Results. Most (92.8% of the study participants heard about TB, but only 10.1% knew about its causative agent. Weight loss as main symptom, transmittance through respiratory air droplets, and sputum examination for diagnosis were the answers of 34.3%, 29.9%, and 37.9% of pastoralists, respectively. The majority (98.3% of respondents reported that TB could be cured, of which 93.3% believed with modern drugs. About 41.3% of participants mentioned covering the nose and mouth during sneezing and coughing as a preventive measure. The multivariate logistic regression analysis indicated that household income >300 Ethiopian Birr and Somali ethnicity were associated with high TB knowledge. Regarding health seeking behaviour practice only 48.0% of the respondents preferred to visit government hospital and discuss their problems with doctors/health care providers. Conclusion. This study observed familiarity with gaps and low overall knowledge on TB and revealed negative attitudes like discrimination intentions in the studied pastoral community.

  8. Integrating the Indigenous Knowledge of Borana Pastoralists into Rangeland Management Strategies in Southern Ethiopia

    OpenAIRE

    World Bank

    2005-01-01

    Pastoralists' indigenous knowledge (IK) about ecology and social organization led to rangeland-management strategies appropriate to deal with the erratic rainfall in African drylands. Herd mobility was traditionally practiced as the key strategy to make use of the scattered rangeland resources on a large scale.

  9. Traditional Ecological Knowledge among transhumant pastoralists in Mediterranean Spain: learning for adaptation to global change

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Oteros Rozas, E.; Ontillera-Sánchez, R.; Sanosa, P.; Gómez-Baggethun, E.; Reyes-García, V.; González, J.A.

    2013-01-01

    Mobility is a millenary human strategy to deal with environmental change. An outstanding example of mobility is transhumance, an ancient pastoralist practice consisting of the seasonal migration of livestock between ecological regions following peaks in pasture productivity. The maintenance of

  10. Treatment delay among pulmonary tuberculosis patients in pastoralist communities in Bale Zone, Southeast Ethiopia

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Hussen Awol

    2012-06-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background Tuberculosis (TB is a major public health problem in Africa with Ethiopia being the most affected. Treatment delay is an important indicator of access to TB diagnosis and treatment. However, little is known about factors associated with treatment delay of pulmonary TB among pastoralists. Health facility based cross sectional study was conducted on 129 pulmonary TB patients in pastoralist community. The study was conducted in three health centers and a hospital. Time between onset of TB symptoms and first visit to a professional health care provider (patient delay, and the time between first visits to the professional health care provider to the date of diagnosis (provider's delay were analyzed using SPSS 16.0 statistical software. Findings A total of 129 new smear positive pulmonary TB patients participated in the study. The median total delay was 97 days. The median patient and health provider delays were 63 and 34 days, respectively. Ninety six percent of the patients were delayed for more than the twenty one days cutoff point. Patient delay was positively associated with first visit to traditional healer/private clinic/drug shop, rural residence, being illiterate, living in more than 10 kilometers from health facility; severity of illness at first presentation to health facility. Provider delay was positively associated with rural residence, being illiterate, patient with good functional status, patients in contact with more than two health providers, and place of first visit being traditional healer/private clinic/drug shop. Conclusions This study showed that majority of smear positive patients delayed either for diagnosis or treatment, thus continue to serve as reservoirs of infection. This indicates that there is a need for intervention to decrease patient and provider delays. Effort to reduce delays in pastoralist communities should focus on improving access to services in rural communities, engaging traditional and

  11. Transcending Landscapes: Working Across Scales and Levels in Pastoralist Rangeland Governance.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Robinson, Lance W; Ontiri, Enoch; Alemu, Tsegaye; Moiko, Stephen S

    2017-08-01

    Landscape approaches can be subjected to mistakenly targeting a single "best" level of governance, and paying too little attention to the role that cross-scale and cross-level interactions play in governance. In rangeland settings, resources, patterns of use of those resources, and the institutions for managing the resources exist at multiple levels and scales. While the scholarship on commons offers some guidance on how to conceptualize governance in rangeland landscapes, some elements of commons scholarship-notably the "design principles" for effective governance of commons-do not seem to apply neatly to governance in pastoralist rangeland settings. This paper examines three cases where attempts have been made to foster effective landscape governance in such settings to consider how the materiality of commons influences the nature of cross-scale and cross-level interactions, and how these interactions affect governance. In all three cases, although external actors seemed to work appropriately and effectively at community and landscape levels, landscape governance mechanisms have been facing great challenges arising from relationships beyond the landscape, both vertically to higher levels of decision-making and horizontally to communities normally residing in other landscapes. The cases demonstrate that fostering effective landscape-level governance cannot be accomplished only through action at the landscape level; it is a task that must be pursued at multiple levels and in relation to the connections across scales and levels. The paper suggests elements of a conceptual framework for understanding cross-level and cross-scale elements of landscape governance, and offers suggestions for governance design in pastoralist rangeland settings.

  12. Transcending Landscapes: Working Across Scales and Levels in Pastoralist Rangeland Governance

    Science.gov (United States)

    Robinson, Lance W.; Ontiri, Enoch; Alemu, Tsegaye; Moiko, Stephen S.

    2017-08-01

    Landscape approaches can be subjected to mistakenly targeting a single "best" level of governance, and paying too little attention to the role that cross-scale and cross-level interactions play in governance. In rangeland settings, resources, patterns of use of those resources, and the institutions for managing the resources exist at multiple levels and scales. While the scholarship on commons offers some guidance on how to conceptualize governance in rangeland landscapes, some elements of commons scholarship—notably the "design principles" for effective governance of commons—do not seem to apply neatly to governance in pastoralist rangeland settings. This paper examines three cases where attempts have been made to foster effective landscape governance in such settings to consider how the materiality of commons influences the nature of cross-scale and cross-level interactions, and how these interactions affect governance. In all three cases, although external actors seemed to work appropriately and effectively at community and landscape levels, landscape governance mechanisms have been facing great challenges arising from relationships beyond the landscape, both vertically to higher levels of decision-making and horizontally to communities normally residing in other landscapes. The cases demonstrate that fostering effective landscape-level governance cannot be accomplished only through action at the landscape level; it is a task that must be pursued at multiple levels and in relation to the connections across scales and levels. The paper suggests elements of a conceptual framework for understanding cross-level and cross-scale elements of landscape governance, and offers suggestions for governance design in pastoralist rangeland settings.

  13. Low-intensity violence and the social determinants of adolescent health among three East African pastoralist communities.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pike, Ivy L; Hilton, Charles; Österle, Matthias; Olungah, Owuor

    2018-04-01

    Recently, strong pleas have emerged to place the health of adolescents on the global health agenda. To reposition adolescence front and center, scholars argue that we must work toward a richly contextualized approach that considers the role that social environments play in shaping the final stages of growth and development. We aim to contribute to this deeper understanding of the social determinants of global adolescent health by offering a case study of three nomadic pastoralist communities from northern Kenya. In addition to noteworthy political and economic marginalization, East African pastoralist communities also contend with chronic, low intensity intercommunity conflict. Data collected over five extensive visits from 2008 to 2011, include the 10-19 year olds from 215 randomly sampled Pokot, Samburu, and Turkana households. Using a case/control design, we sampled two sites per ethnic community: one directly affected and one less affected by intercommunity violence. Our nutritional findings indicate that teens ages 15-19 years old had significantly higher anthropometric values compared to younger teens. Living in a wealthier household is associated with greater height, body mass indices, and summed skinfolds for boys but not for girls. Anthropometric measures were influenced by household and community variation in the mixed-effects, multi-level regression models. The Self-Report Questionnaire (SRQ-20) was used to assess psychosocial health, with higher scores associated with living in a community directly affected by violence and having lost a loved one due to violence. Our findings highlight the unique nature of adolescent health challenges but also the central role even subtle differences across communities and households play in shaping young people's experiences. With few studies to document the lived experience of pastoralist youth as they move toward adulthood, examining how such challenging socioeconomic environment shapes health seems long overdue

  14. Strengthening Local Safety Nets as a Key to Enhancing the Food Security of Pastoralists in East Africa: A Case Study of the Rendille of Northern Kenya

    OpenAIRE

    SUN, Xiaogang

    2017-01-01

    The increase in climate-change-related natural disasters presents a major threat to the food security of pastoralists in East Africa. This paper explores ways of reducing the dependence on food aid and enhancing the food security of pastoralists through a case study of the Rendille in Northern Kenya. Current Rendille food systems have resulted from adapted livestock herding strategies and loss of nomadic lifestyles, as well as dependence on food aid. Although food aid is included in the livel...

  15. Health status and geographic mobility among semi-nomadic pastoralists in Mongolia.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mocellin, Jérome; Foggin, Peter

    2008-06-01

    This paper sets out to examine the impact on health of a key aspect of the semi-nomadic lifestyle, namely geographic mobility. The relevant literature suggests that seasonal migrations of pastoralists tend to increase the risk of a poor health. Highlighted in this paper is an inverse association between spatial mobility and health status among the herders of rural Mongolia. Two types of mobility are involved in this process. For households, seasonal migration has a significant influence on health. At the level of individuals, however, there is another kind of mobility: that of travelling to meet personal needs. At both of these levels, statistically significant impacts on health were observed.

  16. 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.

  17. Re-infection with Fasciola gigantica 6-month post-treatment with triclabendazole in cattle from mobile pastoralist husbandry systems at Lake Chad.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Greter, Helena; Batil, Annour A; Alfaroukh, Idriss O; Grimm, Felix; Ngandolo, Bongo N; Keiser, Jennifer; Utzinger, Jürg; Zinsstag, Jakob; Hattendorf, Jan

    2016-10-30

    At Lake Chad in central Africa, livestock fascioliasis caused by Fasciola gigantica represents a major veterinary health problem, particularly in cattle reared in mobile pastoralist husbandry systems. We assessed re-infection after a single dose of triclabendazole with fascioliasis in cattle in a mobile pastoralist setting towards the end of the dry season. Within the cattle herds of 14 groups of mobile pastoralists, 375 cattle were randomly selected. A faecal sample was obtained from each animal to determine the prevalence of F. gigantica. Animals were administered a single oral dose of triclabendazole (12mg/kg). A second faecal sample was obtained 6-month post-treatment after cattle had returned from the annual migration cycle. Faecal samples were fixed in sodium acetate-acetic acid-formalin (SAF), and examined for F. gigantica using the sedimentation technique. From the 375 cattle enrolled at baseline, 198 animals (53%) in 12 groups of mobile pastoralists were re-sampled at the 6-month follow-up. Baseline prevalence did not differ noteworthy between animals lost to follow-up and those re-examined. At baseline, bovine fascioliasis prevalence in cattle with follow-up data was 41.9% (95% confidence interval (CI) 35.2-48.9%). At the 6-month post-treatment follow-up, the prevalence was 46.0% (95% CI 39.2-52.9%), ranging between 0% and 75% at the herd level. The mean faecal egg counts at the unit of the herd were higher at follow-up compared to baseline. The observed persistent high prevalence of F. gigantica infection in cattle shows that a single pre-rainy season treatment does not prevent rapid re-infection despite the partial migration away from the high-risk areas at Lake Chad into drier areas. A locally adapted strategic control package for fascioliasis in cattle in the Lake Chad area ought to integrate targeted triclabendazole treatment and seasonal transhumance practices. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  18. Modern wildlife conservation initiatives and the pastoralist/hunter nomads of northwestern Tibet

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Joseph L. Fox

    2004-04-01

    Full Text Available In 1993 the Tibet Autonomous Region (TAR of China established the 300 000 km2 Chang Tang Nature Preserve on the northwestern Tibetan plateau, an action precipitated by rapidly diminishing populations of chiru (Tibetan antelope and wild yak. Some 30 000 nomadic pastoralists use areas within this reserve for livestock grazing, with many having traditionally depended in part on hunting for supplementary subsistence and trade. Following a 1997 request from TAR leaders for international assistance in addressing the conservation issues associated with the creation of this reserve, the TAR Forestry Bureau and the Network for University Co-operation Tibet — Norway began a 3-year research collaboration program in 2000 to outline human-wildlife interactions and conservation priorities in the western part of the reserve. To date, four excursions (2-6 weeks each have been made to the western Chang Tang region, and investigations of interactions between pastoralists and wildlife conservation objectives have been initiated in an area of about 5000 km2, including the 2300 km2 Aru basin located at 5000 m elevation at the northern edge of pastoralist inhabitation. The Aru site is unique in that nomads have only recently returned to this previously off-limits basin. But, as in surrounding areas, the people's lives are undergoing changes recently influenced by the introduction of permanent winter houses, changing international trade in shahtoosh and cashmere wool, and a move towards stricter hunting regulations. The northwestern Chang Tang, with the Aru basin as a prime site, represents one of the last strongholds of the endangered chiru and wild yak, as well as home to Tibetan gazelle, kiang, Tibetan argali, blue sheep, wolf, snow leopard and brown bear. In autumn 2000, for example, with approximately 12 000 of the wild ungulates (mostly the migratory chiru within the Aru basin along with some 8000 domestic livestock, issues of land use overlap and possible

  19. 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.

  20. From subsistence to market economy: Responses of Tibetan pastoralists to new economic realities

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Angela Manderscheid

    2004-04-01

    Full Text Available In many regions around the world the pastoral economy shifted from subsistence-oriented to a market-oriented production. Pastoral goods acquired monetary value and became a market commodity that entailed changes in the production system and in the attitude towards livestock. On the Tibetan plateau this shift did not follow a linear way. Until the 1950s, most consumption requirements could be satisfied with animal products. Economic exchange relations were essential to provide grain requirements, at least for those households who relied exclusively on animal husbandry. During the Mao era, animal husbandry was carried out in line with state targets and the produce was delivered according to central planning. In the late 1970s the transition towards a market-oriented production began. This paper discusses the recent reactions of pastoralists to the new realities in one specific area on the eastern Tibetan plateau. This shift from pastoral products to market commodities, the commercial network established as well as the market places for pastoral produce, are examined in this paper. These facts show that the pastoralists in question successfully market their produce. The research area, Dzoge county, is located on the eastern border area of the Tibetan plateau, where different ethnic groups live in proximity to each other. Grassland predominates the landscape, used by nomads as pastures for livestock breeding (yak, sheep and horses. Mobile animal husbandry and the marketing of the livestock products are decisive to guarantee the livelihood of the majority of the population.

  1. 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...

  2. Identifying Hot Spots of Critical Forage Supply in Dryland Nomadic Pastoralist Areas: A Case Study for the Afar Region, Ethiopia

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Sonneveld, B.G.J.S.; Keyzer, M.A.; van Wesenbeeck, C.F.A.; Georgis, Kidane; Beyene, Fekadu; Urbano, Ferdinando; Meroni, Michele; Leo, Olivier; Yimer, Merkebu; Abdullatif, Mohammed

    2017-01-01

    This study develops a methodology to identify hot spots of critical forage supply in nomadic pastoralist areas, using the Afar Region, Ethiopia, as a special case. It addresses two main problems. First, it makes a spatially explicit assessment of fodder supply and demand extracted from a data poor

  3. 'WE CAN'T GET WORMS FROM COW DUNG': REPORTED KNOWLEDGE OF PARASITISM AMONG PASTORALIST YOUTH ATTENDING SECONDARY SCHOOL IN THE NGORONGORO CONSERVATION AREA, TANZANIA.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Henderson, Rita Isabel; Hatfield, Jennifer; Kutz, Susan; Olemshumba, Saningo; Van Der Meer, Frank; Manyama, Mange; Bastien, Sheri

    2016-11-01

    Records at the Endulen Hospital in the Ngorongoro Conservation Area (NCA), Tanzania, reveal that soil-transmitted helminth infections and protozoa are consistently in the top ten diagnoses for Maasai pastoralists, indicating a significant public health concern. Nevertheless, Maasai pastoralist adaptations to life in close proximity to livestock and to unreliable access to water raise important questions about experiences of, and resiliency to, parasitic infections. Though these infections are particularly prevalent among youth in low- and middle-income countries (LMIC), a focus on resiliency highlights local capacity to recover from and prevent illness. For instance, how is human parasitism perceived and experienced among communities displaying behaviours that studies have associated with transmission of diarrhoeal diseases, such as open defecation? Among these communities, how is parasitism seen to impact the health and development of children? And, what resources are available to endure or mitigate this heavy disease burden among affected communities? This study draws on formative research carried out in May 2014 in anticipation of an innovative school-based and youth-driven water, sanitation and hygiene education intervention rolled out in two boarding schools in the NCA in subsequent months. The initiative is grounded in a One Health approach to health promotion, drawing on partnerships in medicine, public health and veterinary medicine to appreciate the unique interactions between humans, animals and the environment that shape well-being among pastoralist communities. Qualitative data generated through group discussions with secondary school youth (n=60), Maasai teachers (n=6) and a women's group (n=8) in the NCA convey existing knowledge of the prevalence, prevention and treatment of human parasitism. An underlying principle of the larger initiative is to engage youth as creative agents of change in developing and sustaining locally relevant health promotion

  4. Lo spazio della ricerca nell'area kushi (Nigeria: lingua, comunità e documentazione

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Gian Claudio Batic

    2017-12-01

    Full Text Available There are two questions that fieldwork researchers committed to the documentation and description of a minority language ask themselves before venturing into the depth of their projects: 'Whom am I dealing with?', immediately followed by 'Where am I?'. As trivial as they might appear, these two questions require a minimum of research to produce an answer able to define - without necessarily framing it - the target community and the role a researcher can play in it. This paper focuses on the case study of the Kushi, a Chadic speaking group of north-eastern Nigeria. 'People' and 'space' are analysed from a sociology-of-language perspective as well as in terms of a more general dynamics of migrations and composite societal formations.

  5. Knowledge, attitudes and practices of traditional birth attendants in pastoralist communities of Laikipia and Samburu counties, Kenya: a cross-sectional survey.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Reeve, Matthew; Onyo, Pamela; Nyagero, Josephat; Morgan, Alison; Nduba, John; Kermode, Michelle

    2016-01-01

    Current efforts to reduce maternal and newborn mortality focus on promoting institutional deliveries with skilled birth attendants (SBAs), and discouraging deliveries at home attended by traditional birth attendants (TBAs). In rural Kenya, semi-nomadic pastoralist communities are underserved by the formal health system, experience high maternal and neonatal mortality, and rely primarily on TBAs for delivery care, despite Government proscription of TBA-assisted births. This study examined the knowledge, attitude and practices of TBAs serving these communities to assess the potential for collaboration between TBAs and SBAs. A cross-sectional, interviewer-administered survey was conducted among 171 TBAs from Maasai and Samburu pastoralist communities in Laikipia and Samburu counties, Kenya, as part of a larger mixed-methods study in partnership with a local service provider. BAs were relatively elderly (mean age 59.6 years), and attended an average of 5-6 deliveries per year. A minority (22.2%) had received formal training. They provided antenatal, intra-partum and post-partum care. Most TBA care was non-interventionist, but not necessarily consistent with best practice. Most had encountered birth complications, but knowledge regarding management of complications was sub-optimal. Most had previously referred at least one woman to a health facility (80.1%), were key participants in decision making to refer women (96.5%), and had been present at an institutional delivery (54.4%). TBAs continue to be key providers of maternal and neonatal healthcare in regions where the formal health system has poor coverage or acceptability. Strengthening existing TBA/SBA collaborations could improve both community links to the formal health system, and the quality of care provided to pastoralist women, while remaining consistent with current Government policy.

  6. 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.

  7. AHP 42: GUARDIANS OF NATURE: TIBETAN PASTORALISTS AND THE NATURAL WORLD

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    ཀླུ་ཚང་ཚེ་རིང་འབུམ། Tsering Bum (Tshe ring 'bum

    2016-06-01

    Full Text Available Guardians of Nature is a clearly written and very insightful view of the political economic, environmental, and social-cultural transformations reshaping lives and livelihoods on the Tibetan Plateau. Written as a first-hand narrative account of his work over several years with Yulshul villagers, Tsering Bum’s perceptive book discusses key issues of contemporary Tibetan pastoralism: mining, the importance of the caterpillar fungus economy, resettlement, co-ops, education policy, human-wildlife conflict, and sacred mountains. It also explores quite new phenomena, such as Tibetan pastoralists hiring Han Chinese as herding laborers while living off of caterpillar fungus income, and the rise of feral dogs as a result of the sharp drop in Tibetan mastiff prices. Tsering Bum’s analysis is informed by critiques of nature-culture binaries and illustrates the many effects of perverse policy incentives. Strongly recommended for anyone interested in understanding Tibetan pastoral areas today.

  8. Demographic and health surveillance of mobile pastoralists in Chad: integration of biometric fingerprint identification into a geographical information system.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Weibel, Daniel; Schelling, Esther; Bonfoh, Bassirou; Utzinger, Jürg; Hattendorf, Jan; Abdoulaye, Mahamat; Madjiade, Toguina; Zinsstag, Jakob

    2008-11-01

    There is a pressing need for baseline demographic and health-related data to plan, implement and evaluate health interventions in developing countries, and to monitor progress towards international development goals. However, mobile pastoralists, i.e. people who depend on a livestock production system and follow their herds as they move, remain marginalized from rural development plans and interventions. The fact that mobile people are hard to reach and stay in contact with is a plausible reason why they are underrepresented in national censuses and/or alternative sequential sample survey systems. We present a proof-of-concept of monitoring highly mobile, pastoral people by recording demographic and health-related data from 933 women and 2020 children and establishing a biometric identification system (BIS) based on the registration and identification of digital fingerprints. Although only 22 women, representing 2.4% of the total registered women, were encountered twice in the four survey rounds, the approach implemented is shown to be feasible. The BIS described here is linked to a geographical information system to facilitate the creation of the first health and demographic surveillance system in a mobile, pastoralist setting. Our ultimate goal is to implement and monitor interventions with the "one health" concept, thus integrating and improving human, animal and ecosystem health.

  9. Demographic and health surveillance of mobile pastoralists in Chad: integration of biometric fingerprint identification into a geographical information system

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Daniel Weibel

    2008-11-01

    Full Text Available There is a pressing need for baseline demographic and health-related data to plan, implement and evaluate health interventions in developing countries, and to monitor progress towards international development goals. However, mobile pastoralists, i.e. people who depend on a livestock production system and follow their herds as they move, remain marginalized from rural development plans and interventions. The fact that mobile people are hard to reach and stay in contact with is a plausible reason why they are underrepresented in national censuses and/or alternative sequential sample survey systems. We present a proof-of-concept of monitoring highly mobile, pastoral people by recording demographic and health-related data from 933 women and 2020 children and establishing a biometric identification system (BIS based on the registration and identification of digital fingerprints. Although only 22 women, representing 2.4% of the total registered women, were encountered twice in the four survey rounds, the approach implemented is shown to be feasible. The BIS described here is linked to a geographical information system to facilitate the creation of the first health and demographic surveillance system in a mobile, pastoralist setting. Our ultimate goal is to implement and monitor interventions with the “one health” concept, thus integrating and improving human, animal and ecosystem health.

  10. Androgen Receptor Gene Polymorphism, Aggression, and Reproduction in Tanzanian Foragers and Pastoralists

    Science.gov (United States)

    Butovskaya, Marina L.; Lazebny, Oleg E.; Vasilyev, Vasiliy A.; Dronova, Daria A.; Karelin, Dmitri V.; Mabulla, Audax Z. P.; Shibalev, Dmitri V.; Shackelford, Todd K.; Fink, Bernhard; Ryskov, Alexey P.

    2015-01-01

    The androgen receptor (AR) gene polymorphism in humans is linked to aggression and may also be linked to reproduction. Here we report associations between AR gene polymorphism and aggression and reproduction in two small-scale societies in northern Tanzania (Africa)—the Hadza (monogamous foragers) and the Datoga (polygynous pastoralists). We secured self-reports of aggression and assessed genetic polymorphism of the number of CAG repeats for the AR gene for 210 Hadza men and 229 Datoga men (aged 17–70 years). We conducted structural equation modeling to identify links between AR gene polymorphism, aggression, and number of children born, and included age and ethnicity as covariates. Fewer AR CAG repeats predicted greater aggression, and Datoga men reported more aggression than did Hadza men. In addition, aggression mediated the identified negative relationship between CAG repeats and number of children born. PMID:26291982

  11. 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

  12. 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 ...

  13. Important knowledge gaps among pastoralists on causes and treatment of udder health problems in livestock in southern Ethiopia: results of qualitative investigation.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Amenu, Kebede; Szonyi, Barbara; Grace, Delia; Wieland, Barbara

    2017-10-23

    Ethiopia has high prevalences of udder health problems including clinical and subclinical mastitis across production systems in different livestock species. Previous studies on udder health problems have largely focused on identification of mastitis causing microbial pathogens and associated risk factors. However, relatively little is known about the knowledge and beliefs of livestock keepers regarding udder health problems. An understanding of the beliefs on the other hand would facilitate effective communication between livestock keepers and animal health professionals. Therefore, this study aimed at exploring the knowledge and belief surrounding the causes, clinical signs and treatments for udder health problems in (agro-) pastoral communities in southern Ethiopia using qualitative investigation. The result showed that udder health problem, locally known as 'dhukkuba muchaa', which translates to 'disease of teats', was classified into three main types: (1) tick infestation (dirandisa), (2) swelling of udder often with pus discharge (nyaqarsa) and (3) acute mastitis caused by evil eye (buda) with 'bloody milk'. Tick infestation was perceived to directly cause mechanical damage to udder tissue or to resulting in swelling leading to nyaqarsa. Our analysis also revealed the strong misperception that acute and severe swelling of udder was caused by evil eye. According to the pastoralists, cows with large udders in the late pregnancy are prone to evil eye infliction upon giving birth. The pastoralists often treat udder health problems by combining both modern and traditional methods. Removal of ticks by hand and acarcide application were the preferred methods for limiting tick infestation while swelling and evil eye cases were treated with antibiotics (e.g. oxytetracycline). The study also revealed that specific herbs, only known by the herbalists, were used for traditional treatment of udder health. Although this information could not be divulged at the time, it

  14. 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.  ...

  15. 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.

  16. 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…

  17. Quality Education for the Pastoralist in Public Primary Schools in Kajiado County, Kenya: Case Study of Dupoto-E-Maa Education Project in Kajiado Central District

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ouda, James Bill; Opiyo, Rose Atieno; Wambiya, Pascal

    2015-01-01

    Conditions of learning are critical in determining quality of education. There have been real concerns raised by stakeholders regarding the quality of education for pastoralists in public primary schools in Kajiado Central District in Kenya. Interventions have been put in place to address the issue of quality education. One such intervention is…

  18. 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

  19. 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…

  20. 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…

  1. 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…

  2. ‘Everybody knows’, but the rest of the world: the case of a caterpillar-borne reproductive loss syndrome in dromedary camels observed by Sahrawi pastoralists of Western Sahara

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Volpato, G.; Nardo, Di A.; Rossi, D.; Lamin Saleh, S.; Broglia, A.

    2013-01-01

    Background The traditional knowledge of local communities throughout the world is a valuable source of novel ideas and information to science. In this study, the ethnoveterinary knowledge of Sahrawi pastoralists of Western Sahara has been used in order to put forward a scientific hypothesis

  3. Pastoralists' Perception and Ecological Knowledge on Savanna Ecosystem Dynamics in Semi-arid Botswana

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Olaotswe Kgosikoma

    2012-12-01

    Full Text Available We investigated vegetation dynamics in relation to livestock grazing as perceived by pastoral farmers in different regions of Botswana. A structured questionnaire was used to collect farmers' understanding of vegetation changes and causes within three different grazing lands. The pastoral farmers' description of dominant vegetation differed significantly both at the local and district level, which suggests that rangelands consist of patches dominated by different grasses and woody vegetation. Most pastoralists indicated that grass composition has undergone changes, and unpalatable grasses such as Aristida congesta and Megaloprotachne albescens are increasing. The different factors perceived by pastoral farmers to cause changes in vegetation composition included rainfall, overgrazing, and fire. Bush encroachment is considered to be more common in communal grazing land than in ranches. According to pastoral farmers, the ranching system is less degrading to the environment and more sustainable for livestock production than is communal grazing.

  4. 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...

  5. Testosterone and paternal care in East African foragers and pastoralists

    Science.gov (United States)

    Muller, Martin N.; Marlowe, Frank W.; Bugumba, Revocatus; Ellison, Peter T.

    2008-01-01

    The ‘challenge hypothesis’ posits that testosterone facilitates reproductive effort (investment in male–male competition and mate-seeking) at the expense of parenting effort (investment in offspring and mates). Multiple studies, primarily in North America, have shown that men in committed relationships, fathers, or both maintain lower levels of testosterone than unpaired men. Data from non-western populations, however, show inconsistent results. We hypothesized that much of this cross-cultural variation can be attributed to differential investment in mating versus parenting effort, even among married fathers. Here, we directly test this idea by comparing two neighbouring Tanzanian groups that exhibit divergent styles of paternal involvement: Hadza foragers and Datoga pastoralists. We predicted that high levels of paternal care by Hadza fathers would be associated with decreased testosterone in comparison with non-fathers, and that no such difference between fathers and non-fathers would be evident in Datoga men, who provide minimal direct paternal care. Twenty-seven Hadza men and 80 Datoga men between the ages of 17 and 60 provided morning and afternoon saliva samples from which testosterone was assayed. Measurements in both populations confirmed these predictions, adding further support to the hypothesis that paternal care is associated with decreased testosterone production in men. PMID:18826936

  6. Community and provider perceptions of traditional and skilled birth attendants providing maternal health care for pastoralist communities in Kenya: a qualitative study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Byrne, Abbey; Caulfield, Tanya; Onyo, Pamela; Nyagero, Josephat; Morgan, Alison; Nduba, John; Kermode, Michelle

    2016-03-01

    Kenya has a high burden of maternal and newborn mortality. Consequently, the Government of Kenya introduced health system reforms to promote the availability of skilled birth attendants (SBAs) and proscribed deliveries by traditional birth attendants (TBAs). Despite these changes, only 10% of women from pastoralist communities are delivered by an SBA in a health facility, and the majority are delivered by TBAs at home. The aim of this study is to better understand the practices and perceptions of TBAs and SBAs serving the remotely located, semi-nomadic, pastoralist communities of Laikipia and Samburu counties in Kenya, to inform the development of an SBA/TBA collaborative care model. This descriptive qualitative study was undertaken in 2013-14. We conducted four focus group discussions (FGDs) with TBAs, three with community health workers, ten with community women, and three with community men. In-depth interviews were conducted with seven SBAs and eight key informants. Topic areas covered were: practices and perceptions of SBAs and TBAs; rewards and challenges; managing obstetric complications; and options for SBA/TBA collaboration. All data were translated, transcribed and thematically analysed. TBAs are valued and accessible members of their communities who adhere to traditional practices and provide practical and emotional support to women during pregnancy, delivery and post-partum. Some TBA practices are potentially harmful to women e.g., restricting food intake during pregnancy, and participants recognised that TBAs are unable to manage obstetric complications. SBAs are acknowledged as having valuable technical skills and resources that contribute to safe and clean deliveries, especially in the event of complications, but there is also a perception that SBAs mistreat women. Both TBAs and SBAs identified a range of challenges related to their work, and instances of mutual respect and informal collaborations between SBAs and TBAs were described. These findings

  7. Livestock mortality in pastoralist herds in Ethiopia and implications for drought response.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Catley, Andy; Admassu, Berhanu; Bekele, Gezu; Abebe, Dawit

    2014-07-01

    Participatory epidemiology methods were employed retrospectively in three pastoralist regions of Ethiopia to estimate the specific causes of excess livestock mortality during drought. The results showed that starvation/dehydration accounted for between 61.5 and 100 per cent of excess livestock mortality during drought, whereas disease-related mortality accounted for between 0 and 28.1 per cent of excess mortality. Field observations indicate that, in livestock, disease risks and mortality increase in the immediate post-drought period, during rain. The design of livelihoods-based drought response programmes should include protection of core livestock assets, and it should take account of the specific causes of excess livestock mortality during drought and immediately afterwards. This study shows that, when comparing livestock feed supplementation and veterinary support, relatively more aid should be directed at the former if the objective is to protect core livestock during drought. Veterinary support should consider disease-related mortality in the immediate post-drought period, and tailor inputs accordingly. © 2014 The Author(s). Disasters © Overseas Development Institute, 2014.

  8. 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…

  9. 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

  10. 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…

  11. [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.

  12. Treatment of human and livestock helminth infections in a mobile pastoralist setting at Lake Chad: Attitudes to health and analysis of active pharmaceutical ingredients of locally available anthelminthic drugs.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Greter, Helena; Cowan, Noemi; Ngandolo, Bongo N; Kessely, Hamit; Alfaroukh, Idriss O; Utzinger, Jürg; Keiser, Jennifer; Zinsstag, Jakob

    2017-11-01

    Mobile pastoralists face challenges in accessing quality health care and medication for managing human and animal diseases. We determined livestock disease priorities, health seeking behaviour of people bearing helminthiases and - placing particular emphasis on trematode infections - treatment strategies and outcome satisfaction among mobile pastoralists of four ethnic groups in the Lake Chad area using focus group discussions. People suffering from schistosomiasis were interviewed about symptoms, health seeking behaviour and their satisfaction with respect to the provided treatment. Anthelminthic drugs for human and veterinary use obtained from various health care structures were analysed for active pharmaceutical ingredients (API) and quantity, using high pressure liquid chromatography-UV and liquid chromatography combined with tandem mass spectrometry. Most people suffering from schistosomiasis sought treatment at health care centres. Yet, they also consulted informal providers without medical training. Regarding animal health, self-mediated therapy was common to manage suspected livestock fascioliasis. Self-reported treatment satisfaction for human schistosomiasis and trematodiasis treatment outcome in livestock were low. Mobile pastoralists perceived the purchased drugs to be of low quality. Among 33 products locally sold as anthelminthic drugs for human or veterinary use, 27 contained albendazole or mebendazole, varying between 91% and 159% of the labelled amount. Six products were sold loosely with incomplete information and their API could not be identified. No counterfeit anthelminthic drugs were detected. None of the samples contained praziquantel or triclabendazole, the drugs of choice against schistosomiasis and fascioliasis, respectively. The perceived unsatisfactory treatment outcomes in humans and animals infected with trematodes are most likely due to empiric diagnosis and the resulting use of inadequate therapy for human schistosomiasis and the

  13. 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…

  14. 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

  15. 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…

  16. 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.

  17. 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.

  18. 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…

  19. 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…

  20. 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…

  1. 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....

  2. Adopting Cultivation to Remain Pastoralists: The Diversification of Maasai Livelihoods in Northern Tanzania.

    Science.gov (United States)

    McCabe, J Terrence; Leslie, Paul W; Deluca, Laura

    2010-06-01

    Over the past four decades, Maasai pastoralists in Tanzania have adopted agriculture, integrating it with their traditional pastoralism. This livelihood diversification has complex origins and profound implications for Maasai social organization, culture, and demography, and ultimately for their health and well being and for the local and regional environment. In this paper, we examine the process by which this engagement with, and increasing dependence upon, agriculture came about in Ngorongoro District, northern Tanzania. The process there was more complex and influenced by a wider variety of factors than has been reported by previous descriptions of Maasai livelihood diversification. It generally involved two stages: planting a garden first, and later expanding the garden to a farm. We found that some households adopted cultivation out of necessity, but far more did so by choice. Among the latter, some adopted cultivation to reduce risk, while for others it was a reflection of changing cultural and social norms. Motivations for adopting cultivation differed among people of different wealth categories. Diversification was part of wider cultural changes, and was also influenced by power differentials among Maasai age sets and by government policies.

  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 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...

  8. 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...

  9. 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...

  10. 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

  11. Shifting livelihood strategies in northern Nigeria - extensified production and livelihood diversification amongst Fulani pastoralists.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Majekodunmi, Ayodele O; Dongkum, Charles; Langs, Tok; Shaw, Alexandra P M; Welburn, Susan C

    2017-01-01

    This paper presents an in-depth investigation of the livelihood strategies of Fulani pastoralists in north central Nigeria. Results show a diversified crop-livestock system aimed at spreading risk and reducing cattle offtake, adapted to natural resource competition and insecurity by extensification, with further diversification into off-farm activities to spread risk, increase livelihood security and capture opportunities. However, significant costs were associated with extensification, and integration of crop and livestock enterprises was limited. Mean total income per capita in the study area was $554 or $1.52/person/day with 42% of households earning less than 1.25/person/day. Income levels were positively correlated with income diversity and price received per animal sold, rather than herd size. The outcomes of this livelihood strategy were favourable across the whole community, but when individual households are considered, there was evidence of moderate economic inequality in total income, cash income and herd size (Gini coefficient 0.32, 0.35 and 0.43 respectively). The poorest households were quite vulnerable, with low assets, income and income diversity. Implications for sustainability are discussed given the likelihood that the negative trends of reduced access to natural resources and insecurity will continue.

  12. 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.

  13. 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.

  14. 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

  15. 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

  16. 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…

  17. The socio-economic impact of important camel diseases as perceived by a pastoralist community in Kenya.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mochabo, M O K; Kitala, P M; Gathura, P B; Ogara, W O; Eregae, E M; Kaitho, T D; Catley, A

    2006-12-01

    This paper presents the results of a study conducted in a pastoral community in Kenya using participatory appraisal approaches. The objective of the study was to assess the socio-economic impact of camel trypanosomosis (surra) according to the perceptions of the pastoralists. Four livestock grazing units were conveniently selected and in each of them, three groups of key informants comprising five to eight persons were selected for the participatory exercises. Five camel diseases were listed in order of importance according to their severity and frequency of occurrence including trypanosomosis, mange, non-specific diarrhoea, tick infestations and haemorrhagic septicaemia. The losses listed as incurred due to the five diseases were: losses in milk, meat, blood, fats and hides, dowry payments, and depreciation in sale of animals, losses due to infertility and abortions, and losses due to the cost of treatment. There was good agreement (P impact. There is a need for veterinary and policy decision-makers to focus more attention on the control of surra in this arid and semi-arid area of Kenya.

  18. 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...

  19. 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.

  20. 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.…

  1. 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...

  2. 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'…

  3. 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.

  4. 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…

  5. 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.

  6. 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...

  7. 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

  8. 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…

  9. 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.

  10. "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

  11. 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…

  12. 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...

  13. 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.

  14. 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.

  15. 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...

  16. Botanical ethnoveterinary therapies used by agro-pastoralists of Fafan zone, Eastern Ethiopia.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Feyera, Teka; Mekonnen, Endalkachew; Wakayo, Befekadu Urga; Assefa, Solomon

    2017-08-09

    In Ethiopia, plant based remedies are still the most important and sometimes the only source of therapeutics in the management of livestock diseases. However, documentation of this indigenous knowledge of therapeutic system still remains at a minimum level. The aim of this study was, thus, to document the traditional knowledge of botanical ethnoveterinary therapies in the agro-pastoral communities of Fafan Zone, Eastern Ethiopia. The study employed a cross-sectional participatory survey. Purposive sampling technique was applied to select key respondents with desired knowledge in traditional animal health care system. Data were gathered from a total of 24 (22 males and 2 females) ethnoveterinary practitioners and herbalists using an in-depth-interview complemented with group discussion and field observation. The current ethnobotanical survey indicated that botanical ethnoveterinary therapies are the mainstay of livestock health care system in the studied communities. A total of 49 medicinal plants belonging to 21 families, which are used by traditional healers and livestock raisers for the treatment of 29 types of livestock ailments/health problems, were identified in the study area. The major plant parts used were leaves (43%) followed by roots (35%). In most cases, traditional plant remedies were prepared by pounding the remedial plant part and mixing it with water at room temperature. The various types of identified medicinal plants and their application in ethnoveternary practice of Fafan zone agro pastoralists indicate the depth of indigenous knowledge in ethnobotanical therapy. The identified medicinal plants could be potentially useful for future phytochemical and pharmacological studies.

  17. 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…

  18. 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.

  19. 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.

  20. "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.

  1. 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…

  2. Weaning practices among pastoralists: New evidence of infant feeding patterns from Bronze Age Eurasia.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ventresca Miller, Alicia; Hanks, Bryan K; Judd, Margaret; Epimakhov, Andrey; Razhev, Dmitry

    2017-03-01

    This paper investigates infant feeding practices through stable carbon (δ 13 C) and nitrogen (δ 15 N) isotopic analyses of human bone collagen from Kamennyi Ambar 5, a Middle Bronze Age cemetery located in central Eurasia. The results presented are unique for the time period and region, as few cemeteries have been excavated to reveal a demographic cross-section of the population. Studies of weaning among pastoral societies are infrequent and this research adds to our knowledge of the timing, potential supplementary foods, and cessation of breastfeeding practices. Samples were collected from 41 subadults (Eurasia that were dependent on milk products as a supplementary food. Our discussion centers on supporting this hypothesis with modern information on central and east Eurasian herding societies including the age at which complementary foods are introduced, the types of complementary foods, and the timing of the cessation of breastfeeding. Integral to this work is the nature of pastoral economies and their dependence on animal products, the impact of complementary foods on nutrition and health, and how milk processing may have affected nutrition content and digestibility of foods. This research on Eurasian pastoralists provides insights into the complexities of weaning among prehistoric pastoral societies as well as the potential for different complementary foods to be incorporated into infant diets in the past. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

  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. 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.

  7. 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.

  8. 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.

  9. 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

  10. Migration and interaction in a contact zone: mtDNA variation among Bantu-speakers in Southern Africa.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Chiara Barbieri

    Full Text Available Bantu speech communities expanded over large parts of sub-Saharan Africa within the last 4000-5000 years, reaching different parts of southern Africa 1200-2000 years ago. The Bantu languages subdivide in several major branches, with languages belonging to the Eastern and Western Bantu branches spreading over large parts of Central, Eastern, and Southern Africa. There is still debate whether this linguistic divide is correlated with a genetic distinction between Eastern and Western Bantu speakers. During their expansion, Bantu speakers would have come into contact with diverse local populations, such as the Khoisan hunter-gatherers and pastoralists of southern Africa, with whom they may have intermarried. In this study, we analyze complete mtDNA genome sequences from over 900 Bantu-speaking individuals from Angola, Zambia, Namibia, and Botswana to investigate the demographic processes at play during the last stages of the Bantu expansion. Our results show that most of these Bantu-speaking populations are genetically very homogenous, with no genetic division between speakers of Eastern and Western Bantu languages. Most of the mtDNA diversity in our dataset is due to different degrees of admixture with autochthonous populations. Only the pastoralist Himba and Herero stand out due to high frequencies of particular L3f and L3d lineages; the latter are also found in the neighboring Damara, who speak a Khoisan language and were foragers and small-stock herders. In contrast, the close cultural and linguistic relatives of the Herero and Himba, the Kuvale, are genetically similar to other Bantu-speakers. Nevertheless, as demonstrated by resampling tests, the genetic divergence of Herero, Himba, and Kuvale is compatible with a common shared ancestry with high levels of drift, while the similarity of the Herero, Himba, and Damara probably reflects admixture, as also suggested by linguistic analyses.

  11. 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…

  12. 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.

  13. 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.

  14. 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.

  15. 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.

  16. 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.

  17. 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.

  18. "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

  19. 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)

  20. 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…

  1. 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

  2. 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…

  3. 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…

  4. 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.

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

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    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.

  6. THE DIRECTIVE SPEECH ACTS USED IN ENGLISH SPEAKING CLASS

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    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.

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

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    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.

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

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    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.

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

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    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.

  10. 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.

  11. 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…

  12. 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.

  13. 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…

  14. 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.

  15. 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.

  16. 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.

  17. 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.

  18. 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,…

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

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    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.

  20. 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.

  1. 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

  2. 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.

  3. “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

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

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    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.

  6. 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.

  7. Analysis of pastoralists' perception on challenges and opportunities for sheep and goat production in Northern Kenya.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Abdilatif, Mohamed Haji; Onono, Joshua Orungo; Mutua, Florence Kanini

    2018-05-16

    Small ruminants' production contributes to livelihood of pastoral communities, but this faces myriad constraints. This study aimed at identifying challenges facing producers of small ruminants, prioritizing diseases and their control measures and documenting opportunities for improvement. Sixteen focus group discussions with livestock owners and 13 key informant interviews were done in selected areas in Mandera County, Northern Kenya, and both quantitative and qualitative data collected using a questionnaire guide. Occurrences of diseases (27.4%) and drought (25%) were consistently ranked high in all groups. Other production challenges included increased predation of livestock, inadequate delivery of veterinary services, and increased livestock mortalities. Peste des Petit ruminants was ranked high with a median rank of 21.5%, while contagious caprine pleuropneumonia and sheep and goat pox were ranked second and third, respectively. Other diseases included tick-borne diseases, helminthosis, and pneumonia. Vaccination was ranked as the most effective control strategy for infectious diseases. Other control measures included recitation of Quran and cauterization. However, several opportunities exist for support of small ruminants' production: increased budgetary allocation for disease control by government, initiation of projects that enhance livestock production in the region by government and its development partners. These findings are useful for policy makers for disease control and organizations that are working on projects that focuses on enhancement of pastoralists' resilience, while future research could also identify appropriate technologies that reduces these impacts.

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

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    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.

  9. 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.

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

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    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.

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

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    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.

  12. 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

  13. 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 ...

  14. 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 ...

  15. 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

  16. 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

  17. 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

  18. 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…

  19. 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,…

  20. 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.

  1. 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.

  2. 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.

  3. 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…

  4. 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...

  5. 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.

  6. 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…

  7. 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.

  8. 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.

  9. 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…

  10. 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.

  11. 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...

  12. 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

  13. 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…

  14. 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…

  15. 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 “ ...

  16. 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.

  17. Human leptospirosis in Tanzania: sequencing and phylogenetic analysis confirm that pathogenic Leptospira species circulate among agro-pastoralists living in Katavi-Rukwa ecosystem.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Muller, Shabani K; Assenga, Justine A; Matemba, Lucas E; Misinzo, Gerald; Kazwala, Rudovick R

    2016-06-10

    Leptospirosis is a neglected zoonotic disease of worldwide public health importance. The disease affects humans, domestic animals and wildlife. However, leptospirosis is challenging in its diagnosis in humans. Culture technique, which is time consuming, is not recommended for clinical diagnosis. For these reasons, serological and molecular techniques remain the test of choice. The major objective of this study was to explore the genetic characteristic of Leptospira species which are prevalent among agro-pastoralists living in Katavi-Rukwa Ecosystem, Tanzania. A cross-sectional epidemiological study was carried out in the Katavi-Region South-west, Tanzania between August, 2013 and November, 2014. A total of 267 participants were randomly recruited for the study. Microscopic agglutination test (MAT) was used to detect antibody against six Leptospira antigens including local serogroups Icterohaemorrhagiae, Ballum, Grippotyphosa, Sejroe and reference serogroups Hebdomadis, and Australis. Samples with MAT titers ≥ 1:160 were scored as positive, samples with MAT titers ranging from 1:20 to 1:80 were scored as exposed to Leptospira, and absence of agglutination titers was scored as negative. All MAT positive samples, including the low titre samples were subjected to PCR using the respective 16S rRNA primers for the pathogenic and non-pathogenic species. Out of 267 samples tested, 80 (29.9 %) were positive with MAT. The major circulating leptospiral serogroups were Sejroe (15.7 %,), Icterohaemorrhagiae (8.9 %), Grippotyphosa (4.8 %), Hebdomadis (3.37 %), Australis (1.49 %) and Ballum (1.19 %). By using PCR, 33 (15.7 %) out of 210 samples were pathogenic Leptospira while no saprophytic Leptospira spp. was detected. Partial 16S rRNA gene sequences of Leptospira species which were obtained from this study were submitted to GenBank and acquired accession numbers KP313246 and KP313247. Phylogenetic analysis of the nucleotide sequences revealed that species

  18. 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…

  19. 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...

  20. 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...

  1. 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.

  2. 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…

  3. 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…

  4. 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.

  5. 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.

  6. 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…

  7. 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…

  8. 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

  9. 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…

  10. 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.

  11. 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…

  12. 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.

  13. 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.

  14. 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.

  15. 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.

  16. 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.

  17. STUDENTS’ SELF ESTEEM IN SPEAKING ABILITY

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    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

  18. 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…

  19. 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.

  20. 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

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    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

  1. 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.

  2. 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

  3. 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

  4. 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

  5. Application of individual behavioral models to predict willingness to use modern contraceptives among pastoralist women in Afar region, Northern Ethiopia.

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    Znabu Hadush Kahsay

    Full Text Available Use of modern contraceptive methods reduces the risk of unwanted pregnancy, and is influenced by individual-level factors. Willingness to use modern contraceptive methods maybe a useful metric when considering health outcomes as it could predict health behaviors. Therefore, the current study aimed to assess the willingness of women to use modern contraceptives in Afar pastoralist communities.A community-based cross-sectional study was conducted from May 1 to 30, 2016. Three hundred forty-five women of childbearing age (15-49 years were systematically sampled with proportionate allocation from seven randomly selected kebeles (neighborhoods in Aballa District of Afar Region, Ethiopia. All women meeting the inclusion criteria in each selected household were interviewed at home using a semi-structured questionnaire. Construct validity was assured using factor analysis. A combination of individual behavioral models were applied in order to measure willingness to use modern contraceptive methods. Multiple logistic regressions were utilized to identify factors associated with willingness to use contraceptive at P-value of less than 0.05.Three hundred twenty-two women participated in the study, for a response rate of 93.3%. The mean age of respondents was 27 (±6 years. About one-third (N = 106, 32.9% of the participants reported that they were willing to use modern contraceptives. Orthodox Christians (AOR = 4.22, 95% CI 1.94-8.92, women aged 19 or older at first marriage (AOR = 2.89, 95% CI 1.16-7.23, and women who had never experienced a stillbirth (AOR = 3.85, 95%CI 1.37-10.78 were more likely to report being willing to use modern contraceptives. Additionally, perceived severity of an unwanted pregnancy (AOR = 1.71, 95% CI 1.57-1.93 and perceived self-efficacy to use contraceptives (AOR = 1.26, 95% CI 1.17-1.65 were positively associated with the willingness. Women who had never had an abortion were less likely to express willingness to use modern

  6. Application of individual behavioral models to predict willingness to use modern contraceptives among pastoralist women in Afar region, Northern Ethiopia.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kahsay, Znabu Hadush; Tegegne, Dessie; Mohammed, Ebrahim; Kiros, Getachew

    2018-01-01

    Use of modern contraceptive methods reduces the risk of unwanted pregnancy, and is influenced by individual-level factors. Willingness to use modern contraceptive methods maybe a useful metric when considering health outcomes as it could predict health behaviors. Therefore, the current study aimed to assess the willingness of women to use modern contraceptives in Afar pastoralist communities. A community-based cross-sectional study was conducted from May 1 to 30, 2016. Three hundred forty-five women of childbearing age (15-49 years) were systematically sampled with proportionate allocation from seven randomly selected kebeles (neighborhoods) in Aballa District of Afar Region, Ethiopia. All women meeting the inclusion criteria in each selected household were interviewed at home using a semi-structured questionnaire. Construct validity was assured using factor analysis. A combination of individual behavioral models were applied in order to measure willingness to use modern contraceptive methods. Multiple logistic regressions were utilized to identify factors associated with willingness to use contraceptive at P-value of less than 0.05. Three hundred twenty-two women participated in the study, for a response rate of 93.3%. The mean age of respondents was 27 (±6) years. About one-third (N = 106, 32.9%) of the participants reported that they were willing to use modern contraceptives. Orthodox Christians (AOR = 4.22, 95% CI 1.94-8.92), women aged 19 or older at first marriage (AOR = 2.89, 95% CI 1.16-7.23), and women who had never experienced a stillbirth (AOR = 3.85, 95%CI 1.37-10.78) were more likely to report being willing to use modern contraceptives. Additionally, perceived severity of an unwanted pregnancy (AOR = 1.71, 95% CI 1.57-1.93) and perceived self-efficacy to use contraceptives (AOR = 1.26, 95% CI 1.17-1.65) were positively associated with the willingness. Women who had never had an abortion were less likely to express willingness to use modern

  7. Pastoralist-predator interaction at the roof of the world: Conflict dynamics and implications for conservation

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    Jaffar Ud. Din

    2017-06-01

    Full Text Available Pastoralism and predation are two major concomitantly known facts and matters of concern for conservation biologists worldwide. Pastoralist-predator conflict constitutes a major social-ecological concern in the Pamir mountain range encompassing Afghanistan, Pakistan, and Tajikistan, and affects community attitudes and tolerance toward carnivores. Very few studies have been conducted to understand the dynamics of livestock predation by large carnivores like snow leopards (Panthera uncia and wolves (Canis lupus, owing to the region's remoteness and inaccessibility. This study attempts to assess the intensity of livestock predation (and resulting perceptions by snow leopards and wolves across the Afghani, Pakistani, and Tajik Pamir range during the period January 2008-June 2012. The study found that livestock mortality due to disease is the most serious threat to livestock (an average 3.5 animal heads per household per year and ultimately to the rural economy (an average of US$352 per household per year as compared to predation (1.78 animal heads per household per year, US$191 in the three study sites. Overall, 1419 (315 per year heads of livestock were reportedly killed by snow leopards (47% and wolves (53% in the study sites. People with comparatively smaller landholdings and limited earning options, other than livestock rearing, expressed negative attitudes toward both wolves and snow leopards and vice versa. Education was found to be an effective solution to dilute people's hatred for predators. Low public tolerance of the wolf and snow leopard in general explained the magnitude of the threat facing predators in the Pamirs. This will likely continue unless tangible and informed conservation measures like disease control and predation compensation programs are taken among others.

  8. Comigrants and friends: informal networks and the transmission of traditional ecological knowledge among seminomadic pastoralists of Gujarat, India

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    Matthieu Salpeteur

    2016-06-01

    Full Text Available Previous research has shown that social organization may affect the distribution of traditional ecological knowledge (TEK within local communities of natural resource users in multiple ways. However, in this line of research the potential role of informal relationships has mostly been overlooked. In this article, we contribute toward filling this research gap by studying how two types of informal relationships, namely migration partnership and friendship, affect the distribution of TEK within a community of seminomadic pastoralists from the Kutch area, Gujarat, India. Using social network analysis, we map three networks, migration, men friendship, and women friendship, and compare with similarity-based quantitative approaches the clusters extracted from these networks in relation to four domains of TEK: knowledge about soils, about ethnoveterinary practices, about sheep breeds, and in ethnobotany. Our results show that (1 migration clusters are associated to significant variations in three TEK domains, while (2 friendship clusters are associated to minor variations. We relate these results to the importance of common practical experiences involved by joint migration. Moreover, kin relations are shown to strongly underlie friendship and migration relations, and as such appear as a potential driver of the dynamics of the local TEK system. We conclude by advocating for a better inclusion of such informal relationships in future research on local TEK dynamics, following recent developments in studies on natural resource governance.

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

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    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.

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

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    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.

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

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    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.

  12. 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.

  13. 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.

  14. 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

  15. 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.

  16. 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.

  17. 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.

  18. 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.

  19. 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.

  20. 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.

  1. 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…

  2. 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…

  3. 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.

  4. 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 ...

  5. 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...

  6. 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…

  7. 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.

  8. 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.

  9. 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%.

  10. 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…

  11. 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 ...

  12. 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,"…

  13. 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.

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

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    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.

  15. 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.

  16. 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…

  17. 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

  18. 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.

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

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    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. Observing Pair-Work Task in an English Speaking Class

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    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.

  1. Brucellosis and bovine tuberculosis prevalence in livestock from pastoralist communities adjacent to Awash National Park, Ethiopia.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tschopp, Rea; Bekele, Shiferaw; Moti, Tesfaye; Young, Douglas; Aseffa, Abraham

    2015-06-15

    This cross-sectional study investigated the prevalence of brucellosis and bovine tuberculosis (BTB) in local cattle and goat breeds of Oromo and Afar pastoralist communities living in two distinct parts around the Awash National Park. A questionnaire survey was carried out to assess information on husbandry, milk consumption habits, and on knowledge-attitude-practice regarding both diseases. Among a total of 771 animals from all sites tested by comparative intradermal tuberculin test (CIDT) none were BTB reactors with the >4mm cut-off. Using the >2mm cut-off, individual apparent prevalence was 0.9% (95%CI: 0.23-3.56%) in cattle and 0.7% (95%CI: 0.12-3.45%) in goats. Herd prevalence in Oromia and Afar sites was 0% and 66.7% respectively in goats and 16.7% and 50% in cattle. Among the 327 animals tested by enzyme linked immunoassay for brucellosis, 4.8% (95%CI: 1.2-17.1%) of cattle and 22.8% (95%CI: 5.98-29.5%) of goats were reactors. Highest individual prevalence of both diseases was found in Afar settlements with brucellosis being as high as 50%. Respondent ethnicity was the only risk factor for brucellosis positivity in goats in the univariable risk factor analysis. Knowledge about the diseases was poor. Raw goat milk was regularly consumed by women and children, putting them at risk for brucellosis. This study highlighted an increased prevalence gradient of BTB and brucellosis from West to East along the study sites with high brucellosis individual prevalence and abortion rates among Afar settlements in particular. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  2. 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…

  3. 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.

  4. 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 ...

  5. 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…

  6. 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.

  7. 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.

  8. 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...

  9. Word Order Acquisition in Persian Speaking Children

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    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.

  10. 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

  11. 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

  12. 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.

  13. 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…

  14. 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.

  15. 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).…

  16. 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,…

  17. Rituals as Dance and Dance as Rituals. The Drama of Kok Nji and Other Festivals in the Religious Experience of the Ngas, Mupun and Mwaghavul in Nigeria

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Umar Habila Dadem Danfulani

    1996-01-01

    Full Text Available Chadic-speakers perform annual festivals of the ancestors, kok nji; cropping kop; harvesting, dyip and hunting kwat, which are usually accompanied by dancing, singing and other numerous rites and rituals. These ritual dramas symbolically and overtly express the religious experience, feelings and emotions that are deeply buried in the religious consciousness of the people. This article intends to provide a vivid description of some of these festivals, particularly those of the Ngas, Mupun and Mwaghavul.

  18. 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.

  19. 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…

  20. 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…

  1. 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...

  2. 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.

  3. 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,…

  4. 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…

  5. On the edge of Bantu expansions: mtDNA, Y chromosome and lactase persistence genetic variation in southwestern Angola

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Beleza Sandra

    2009-04-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background Current information about the expansion of Bantu-speaking peoples is hampered by the scarcity of genetic data from well identified populations from southern Africa. Here, we fill an important gap in the analysis of the western edge of the Bantu migrations by studying for the first time the patterns of Y-chromosome, mtDNA and lactase persistence genetic variation in four representative groups living around the Namib Desert in southwestern Angola (Ovimbundu, Ganguela, Nyaneka-Nkumbi and Kuvale. We assessed the differentiation between these populations and their levels of admixture with Khoe-San groups, and examined their relationship with other sub-Saharan populations. We further combined our dataset with previously published data on Y-chromosome and mtDNA variation to explore a general isolation with migration model and infer the demographic parameters underlying current genetic diversity in Bantu populations. Results Correspondence analysis, lineage sharing patterns and admixture estimates indicate that the gene pool from southwestern Angola is predominantly derived from West-Central Africa. The pastoralist Herero-speaking Kuvale people were additionally characterized by relatively high frequencies of Y-chromosome (12% and mtDNA (22% Khoe-San lineages, as well as by the presence of the -14010C lactase persistence mutation (6%, which likely originated in non-Bantu pastoralists from East Africa. Inferred demographic parameters show that both male and female populations underwent significant size growth after the split between the western and eastern branches of Bantu expansions occurring 4000 years ago. However, males had lower population sizes and migration rates than females throughout the Bantu dispersals. Conclusion Genetic variation in southwestern Angola essentially results from the encounter of an offshoot of West-Central Africa with autochthonous Khoisan-speaking peoples from the south. Interactions between the Bantus

  6. 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.

  7. 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…

  8. 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

  9. Ethno-botanical remedies used by pastoralists for the treatment of livestock diseases in Cholistan desert, Pakistan.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Raza, Muhammad Asif; Younas, Muhammad; Buerkert, Andreas; Schlecht, Eva

    2014-01-01

    Account of the traditional plant based viz. ethno-botanical remedies used by the pastoralists of Cholistan desert, Pakistan, for the control and treatment of livestock diseases and ailments. The study was conducted across five locations in Cholistan desert, Pakistan, using a structured questionnaire to collect data from 100 livestock farmers (LF) and 20 livestock healers (LH). From correlation analyses 3 least correlated variables were identified among 5, which were representative of LFs. Cluster analysis was performed on the basis of these 3 variables and LFs were grouped into 3 logically different clusters. Kruskal-Wallis test and crosstab analyses were used to detect significant differences between clusters and effects of various variables on their use of ethno-botanical remedies. Most of the male only interviewees (LF 78%; LH 70%) were married and illiterate (LF 66%; LH 70%). LH had larger herds (average 109 animals) than LF (average 85 animals) and were more experienced in livestock husbandry and management. LF spent about 162.5 Euros annually on the treatment of their livestock, but there was great variability in expenditures. Average animal treatment experience of LH was 29 years; all were experts in treatment of all types of diseases (100%) and animal species (70%). Eighty-six traditional remedies based on 64 plants belonging to 43 families were used. Capparaceae was the botanical family with the largest number of used species (4), followed by Chenopodiaceae, Poaceae, Solanaceae and Zygophyllaceae (3). Aerial parts (43%), leaves (26%), fruits (9%), seeds and seed oils (9%) were frequently used parts, while flowers, roots, bulbs and pods were less frequently used (medicinal plants against the most prevalent livestock diseases should be evaluated, in order to recommend effective preparations and treatments to this poor population group. © 2013 Published by Elsevier Ireland Ltd.

  10. 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...

  11. Marketing's contribution of the sustainability of pastoralism: evidence from Ethiopia

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Tessema, W.K.

    2012-01-01

    Pastoralists are people who, for their livelihood, depend on livestock raising using the natural pasture. Sustainability of pastoralist production is important for their livelihood as well as to the supply of animal-based protein. However, concerns with the pastoralist production system have

  12. 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…

  13. 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...

  14. 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.

  15. 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.

  16. 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.

  17. 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…

  18. Associations of physical strength with facial shape in an African pastoralist society, the Maasai of Northern Tanzania.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Butovskaya, Marina L; Windhager, Sonja; Karelin, Dimitri; Mezentseva, Anna; Schaefer, Katrin; Fink, Bernhard

    2018-01-01

    Previous research has documented associations of physical strength and facial morphology predominantly in men of Western societies. Faces of strong men tend to be more robust, are rounder and have a prominent jawline compared with faces of weak men. Here, we investigate whether the morphometric patterns of strength-face relationships reported for members of industrialized societies can also be found in members of an African pastoralist society, the Maasai of Northern Tanzania. Handgrip strength (HGS) measures and facial photographs were collected from a sample of 185 men and 120 women of the Maasai in the Ngorongoro Conservation Area. In young-adults (20-29 years; n = 95) and mid-adults (30-50 years; n = 114), we digitized 71 somatometric landmarks and semilandmarks to capture variation in facial morphology and performed shape regressions of landmark coordinates upon HGS. Results were visualized in the form of thin-plate plate spline deformation grids and geometric morphometric morphs. Individuals with higher HGS tended to have wider faces with a lower and broader forehead, a wider distance between the medial canthi of the eyes, a wider nose, fuller lips, and a larger, squarer lower facial outline compared with weaker individuals of the same age-sex group. In mid-adult men, these associations were weaker than in the other age-sex groups. We conclude that the patterns of HGS relationships with face shape in the Maasai are similar to those reported from related investigations in samples of industrialized societies. We discuss differences between the present and related studies with regard to knowledge about the causes for age- and sex-related facial shape variation and physical strength associations.

  19. Associations of physical strength with facial shape in an African pastoralist society, the Maasai of Northern Tanzania.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Marina L Butovskaya

    Full Text Available Previous research has documented associations of physical strength and facial morphology predominantly in men of Western societies. Faces of strong men tend to be more robust, are rounder and have a prominent jawline compared with faces of weak men. Here, we investigate whether the morphometric patterns of strength-face relationships reported for members of industrialized societies can also be found in members of an African pastoralist society, the Maasai of Northern Tanzania.Handgrip strength (HGS measures and facial photographs were collected from a sample of 185 men and 120 women of the Maasai in the Ngorongoro Conservation Area. In young-adults (20-29 years; n = 95 and mid-adults (30-50 years; n = 114, we digitized 71 somatometric landmarks and semilandmarks to capture variation in facial morphology and performed shape regressions of landmark coordinates upon HGS. Results were visualized in the form of thin-plate plate spline deformation grids and geometric morphometric morphs.Individuals with higher HGS tended to have wider faces with a lower and broader forehead, a wider distance between the medial canthi of the eyes, a wider nose, fuller lips, and a larger, squarer lower facial outline compared with weaker individuals of the same age-sex group. In mid-adult men, these associations were weaker than in the other age-sex groups.We conclude that the patterns of HGS relationships with face shape in the Maasai are similar to those reported from related investigations in samples of industrialized societies. We discuss differences between the present and related studies with regard to knowledge about the causes for age- and sex-related facial shape variation and physical strength associations.

  20. 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 ...

  1. 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…

  2. 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

  3. 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…

  4. 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.

  5. 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

  6. 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

  7. 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.

  8. 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.

  9. 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 ...

  10. 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.

  11. 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…

  12. 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.

  13. 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…

  14. 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…

  15. 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…

  16. 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,…

  17. 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.

  18. 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…

  19. 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.

  20. 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.…

  1. 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…

  2. Reliability of the Anthropometric Indicators of Acute Malnutrition in Pastoralist Populations: Secondary Analysis of a Recent Survey in Bahr-El-Ghazal, Chad

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Guesdon, Benjamin; Camara, Facely; Ait Aissa, Myriam

    2014-01-01

    Full text: A cross-sectional survey conducted by ACF among the Gorane pastoralist population of the north Bahr-El-Ghazal region, Chad, in April 2013, confirmed the existence of a massive difference in the diagnosis of acute malnutrition according to Mid Upper Arm Circumference (MUAC) and Weight-for-Height Z-score (WHZ), with WHZ returning much larger estimates of acute malnutrition than MUAC. While both indicators are recommended proxies to identify 6 to 59 months old children suffering from non-oedematous acute malnutrition, a previously formulated hypothesis is that WHZ overestimates the diagnosis of acute malnutrition among pastoralist children because of their assumed slender morphology. An alternative hypothesis is that MUAC underestimates acute malnutrition in the older, male, and non-stunted children. We aimed at testing these hypotheses, as well as evaluating if MUAC could be considered as a suitable stand-alone criterion in this context. Besides anthropometric measurements (including sitting height), statements of the caretaker regarding child’s morbidity, loss of weight and lack of food intake has been collected. We first assessed the association between risk factors such as age, sex, stunting and proportion of legs in total body size, and MUAC- or WHZ-based diagnoses. We then described the cases of moderate or severe acute malnutrition diagnosed by WHZ but not by MUAC in terms of slender morphology (high height-for-age and/or long legs compared to the trunk) and vulnerability (anthropometric deficits and caretaker’s anamnesis). Finally, we defined alternative indicators of acute malnutrition by combining subjective statements of the caretaker and anthropometric deficits (underweight without stunting). We assessed if MUAC diagnosis was, more than WHZ, associated with these indicators, first through sensitivity and specificity calculations, then through logistic regression. Analyses were further stratified by legs proportion. Having a high proportion

  3. 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.

  4. 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.

  5. 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.

  6. Family planning use and associated factors among pastoralist community of afar region, eastern Ethiopia.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Alemayehu, Mussie; Lemma, Hailemariam; Abrha, Kidan; Adama, Yohannes; Fisseha, Girmatsion; Yebyo, Henock; Gebeye, Ejigu; Negash, Kassahun; Yousuf, Jemal; Fantu, Tigist; Gebregzabher, Tesfay; Medhanyie, Araya Abrha

    2016-07-18

    Ethiopia is the second most populous country in Africa with a total fertility rate (TFR) of 4.8 children per a woman and contraceptive prevalence rate (CPR) of 29 %. The overall prevalence of modern family planning in a pastoralist community, like Afar region, is low (9.1 %). This study aimed to assess family planning utilization and associated factors among married women of Afar region, Eastern Ethiopia. A community-based cross-sectional study was conducted from January 10-28, 2013 among 602 women. Multistage sampling technique was used to select the study participants. Descriptive and multiple variable logistic regression analyses were done to isolate independent predictors on utilization of family planning using SPSS 20. The overall prevalence of family planning utilization in Afar region was 8.5 % (6.2-10.7). Majority of the women (92.2 %) had used injectable. The most common reasons mentioned in the non-use of family planning methods were religion-related (85.3 %), desire to have more children (75.3 %), and husband's objection (70.1 %). Women who had a positive attitude towards family planning utilization (AOR = 4.7, 95 % CI: 2.1, 10.3), owning radio (AOR = 1.8, 95 % CI: 1.02, 4.18), and literate (AOR = 4.4, 95 % CI: 1.80, 11.08) were more likely to use family planning methods as compared to their counterparts. The increase of monthly income was also associated with the likelihood of family planning methods utilization. The odds of using family planning methods were higher among those with monthly income of $27-$55.5 (AOR = 2. 0, 95 % CI: 1.9, 4.7) and > $55 (AOR = 4. 6, 95 % CI: 1.23-17.19) as compared to women with the lowest category of monthly income ($27 and less). The low coverage of family planning in the region could be due to the influence of husband, religious and clan leader. Attitude of women towards family planning methods, possession of radio, monthly income, and educational status could influence family

  7. 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/.

  8. 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…

  9. Challenges of establishing the correct diagnosis of outbreaks of acute febrile illnesses in Africa: the case of a likely Brucella outbreak among nomadic pastoralists, northeast Kenya, March-July 2005.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ari, Mary D; Guracha, Argata; Fadeel, Moustafa Abdel; Njuguna, Charles; Njenga, M Kariuki; Kalani, Rosalia; Abdi, Hassan; Warfu, Osman; Omballa, Victor; Tetteh, Christopher; Breiman, Robert F; Pimentel, Guillermo; Feikin, Daniel R

    2011-11-01

    An outbreak of acute febrile illness was reported among Somali pastoralists in remote, arid Northeast Kenya, where drinking raw milk is common. Blood specimens from 12 patients, collected mostly in the late convalescent phase, were tested for viral, bacterial, and parasitic pathogens. All were negative for viral and typhoid serology. Nine patients had Brucella antibodies present by at least one of the tests, four of whom had evidence suggestive of acute infection by the reference serologic microscopic agglutination test. Three patients were positive for leptospiral antibody by immunoglobulin M enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay, and two were positive for malaria. Although sensitive and specific point-of-care testing methods will improve diagnosis of acute febrile illness in developing countries, challenges of interpretation still remain when the outbreaks are remote, specimens collected too late, and positive results for multiple diseases are obtained. Better diagnostics and tools that can decipher overlapping signs and symptoms in such settings are needed.

  10. 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 ...

  11. 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.

  12. 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.

  13. 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.

  14. 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.

  15. 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,...

  16. 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.

  17. 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…

  18. 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…

  19. 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,…

  20. 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...

  1. 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.

  2. [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?

  3. 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.

  4. 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)

  5. 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

  6. 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…

  7. 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'…

  8. 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.

  9. 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

  10. 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...

  11. 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,...

  12. 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...

  13. 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.

  14. 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 ...

  15. The Role of Health Extension Workers in Linking Pregnant Women With Health Facilities for Delivery in Rural and Pastoralist Areas of Ethiopia.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jackson, Ruth; Hailemariam, Assefa

    2016-09-01

    Women's preference to give birth at home is deeply embedded in Ethiopian culture. Many women only go to health facilities if they have complications during birth. Health Extension Workers (HEWs) have been deployed to improve the utilization of maternal health services by bridging the gap between communities and health facilities. This study examined the barriers and facilitators for HEWs as they refer women to mid-level health facilities for birth. A qualitative study was conducted in three regions: Afar Region, Southern Nations Nationalities and People's Region and Tigray Region between March to December 2014. Interviews and focus group discussions were conducted with 45 HEWs, 14 women extension workers (employed by Afar Pastoralist Development Association, Afar Region) and 11 other health workers from health centers, hospitals or health offices. Data analysis was done based on collating the data and identifying key themes. Barriers to health facilities included distance, lack of transportation, sociocultural factors and disrespectful care. Facilitators for facility-based deliveries included liaising with Health Development Army (HDA) leaders to refer women before their expected due date or if labour starts at home; the introduction of ambulance services; and, provision of health services that are culturally more acceptable for women. HEWs can effectively refer more women to give birth in health facilities when the HDA is well established, when health staff provide respectful care, and when ambulance is available at any time.

  16. 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.

  17. 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.

  18. 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

  19. 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.…

  20. 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…

  1. 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...

  2. 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)....

  3. 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...

  4. 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...

  5. 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...

  6. 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)....

  7. 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…

  8. 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

  9. 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...

  10. 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

  11. 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.

  12. 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.

  13. 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 ...

  14. 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.

  15. 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.

  16. 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...

  17. 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.

  18. 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 ...

  19. 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...

  20. 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...

  1. 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...

  2. 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.

  3. 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)

  4. 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…

  5. 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,…

  6. 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,…

  7. 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…

  8. 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.

  9. 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.

  10. 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.

  11. 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

  12. 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.

  13. 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…

  14. 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…

  15. Effects of excluding goat herbivory on Acacia tortilis woodland around pastoralist settlements in northwest Kenya

    Science.gov (United States)

    Oba, Gufu

    1998-08-01

    studies that ultimately can be used for managing degraded woodlands near pastoralist settlements.

  16. 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.

  17. 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.…

  18. 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…

  19. 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…

  20. 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,…

  1. 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.

  2. 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.

  3. 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.

  4. 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

  5. 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…

  6. 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…

  7. 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…

  8. 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

  9. 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.

  10. 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.

  11. 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.

  12. 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...

  13. 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...

  14. 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…

  15. 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…

  16. 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…

  17. 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.

  18. Carbon sequestration in Himalaya's alpine meadows: Mitigating cropping encroachment on pastures in Northern Pakistan

    OpenAIRE

    Rueff, Henri; Syed Rehman, Aziz; Rahim, Inam; Maselli, Daniel; Nafees, Mohammad; Wiesmann, Urs

    2011-01-01

    Rangelands store about 30% of the world’s carbon and support over 120 million pastoralists globally. Adjusting the management of remote alpine pastures bears a substantial climate change mitigation potential that can provide livelihood support for marginalized pastoralists through carbon payment. Landless pastoralists in Northern Pakistan seek higher income by cropping potatoes and peas over alpine pastures. However, tilling steep slopes without terracing exposes soil to erosion. Moreover, yi...

  19. 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.

  20. 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.

  1. 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

  2. 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.

  3. 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.

  4. 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.

  5. 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

  6. 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.

  7. 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.

  8. 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.

  9. 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.

  10. 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.

  11. 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 ...

  12. 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.

  13. 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.

  14. 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.

  15. 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

  16. 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…

  17. 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.

  18. 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.

  19. 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.

  20. Local knowledge production, transmission, and the importance of village leaders in a network of Tibetan pastoralists coping with environmental change

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Kelly A. Hopping

    2016-03-01

    Full Text Available Changing climate, social institutions, and natural resource management policies are reshaping the dynamics of social-ecological systems globally, with subsistence-based communities likely to be among the most vulnerable to the impacts of global change. These communities' local ecological knowledge is increasingly recognized as a source of adaptive capacity for them as well as a crucial source of information to be incorporated into scientific understanding and policy making. We interviewed Tibetan pastoralists about their observations of environmental changes, their interpretations of the causes of these changes, and the ways in which they acquire and transmit this knowledge. We found that community members tended to agree that changing climate is driving undesirable trends in grassland and livestock health, and some also viewed changing management practices as compounding the impacts of climate change. However, those nominated by their peers as experts on traditional, pastoral knowledge observed fewer changes than did a more heterogeneous group of people who reported more ways in which the environment is changing. Herders mostly discussed these changes among themselves and particularly with village leaders, yet people who discussed environmental changes together did not necessarily hold the same knowledge of them. These results indicate that members of the community are transferring knowledge of environmental change primarily as a means for seeking adaptive solutions to it, rather than for learning from others, and that local leaders can serve as critical brokers of knowledge transfer within and beyond their communities. This highlights not only the interconnectedness of knowledge, practice, and power, but also points toward the important role that local governance can have in helping communities cope with the impacts of global change.

  1. 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.

  2. ‘Everybody knows’, but the rest of the world: the case of a caterpillar-borne reproductive loss syndrome in dromedary camels observed by Sahrawi pastoralists of Western Sahara

    Science.gov (United States)

    2013-01-01

    Background The traditional knowledge of local communities throughout the world is a valuable source of novel ideas and information to science. In this study, the ethnoveterinary knowledge of Sahrawi pastoralists of Western Sahara has been used in order to put forward a scientific hypothesis regarding the competitive interactions between camels and caterpillars in the Sahara ecosystem. Methods Between 2005 and 2009, 44 semi-structured interviews were conducted with Sahrawi pastoralists in the territories administered by the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic, Western Sahara, using a snow-ball sampling design. Results Sahrawi pastoralists reported the existence of a caterpillar-borne reproductive loss syndrome, known locally as duda, affecting their camels. On the basis of Sahrawi knowledge about duda and of a thorough literature review, we built the hypothesis that: 1) caterpillars of the family Lasiocampidae (genera Lasiocampa, Psilogaster, or Streblote) have sudden and rare outbreaks on Acacia treetops in the Western Sahara ecosystem after heavy rainfall; 2) during these outbreaks, camels ingest the caterpillars while browsing; 3) as a consequence of this ingestion, pregnant camels have sudden abortions or give birth to weaklings. This hypothesis was supported by inductive reasoning built on circumstantiated evidence and analogical reasoning with similar syndromes reported in mares in the United States and Australia. Conclusions The possible existence of a caterpillar-borne reproductive loss syndrome among camels has been reported for the first time, suggesting that such syndromes might be more widespread than what is currently known. Further research is warranted to validate the reported hypothesis. Finally, the importance of studying folk livestock diseases is reinforced in light of its usefulness in revealing as yet unknown biological phenomena that would deserve further investigation. Resumen ‘Todos lo saben’, menos el resto del mundo: el caso de un s

  3. ‘Everybody knows’, but the rest of the world: the case of a caterpillar-borne reproductive loss syndrome in dromedary camels observed by Sahrawi pastoralists of Western Sahara

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Volpato Gabriele

    2013-01-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background The traditional knowledge of local communities throughout the world is a valuable source of novel ideas and information to science. In this study, the ethnoveterinary knowledge of Sahrawi pastoralists of Western Sahara has been used in order to put forward a scientific hypothesis regarding the competitive interactions between camels and caterpillars in the Sahara ecosystem. Methods Between 2005 and 2009, 44 semi-structured interviews were conducted with Sahrawi pastoralists in the territories administered by the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic, Western Sahara, using a snow-ball sampling design. Results Sahrawi pastoralists reported the existence of a caterpillar-borne reproductive loss syndrome, known locally as duda, affecting their camels. On the basis of Sahrawi knowledge about duda and of a thorough literature review, we built the hypothesis that: 1 caterpillars of the family Lasiocampidae (genera Lasiocampa, Psilogaster, or Streblote have sudden and rare outbreaks on Acacia treetops in the Western Sahara ecosystem after heavy rainfall; 2 during these outbreaks, camels ingest the caterpillars while browsing; 3 as a consequence of this ingestion, pregnant camels have sudden abortions or give birth to weaklings. This hypothesis was supported by inductive reasoning built on circumstantiated evidence and analogical reasoning with similar syndromes reported in mares in the United States and Australia. Conclusions The possible existence of a caterpillar-borne reproductive loss syndrome among camels has been reported for the first time, suggesting that such syndromes might be more widespread than what is currently known. Further research is warranted to validate the reported hypothesis. Finally, the importance of studying folk livestock diseases is reinforced in light of its usefulness in revealing as yet unknown biological phenomena that would deserve further investigation. Resumen ‘Todos lo saben’, menos el resto del

  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

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    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

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    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. 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.

  13. 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…

  14. 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.

  15. 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…

  16. 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…

  17. 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…

  18. 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

  19. 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

  20. 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...

  1. 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...

  2. 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…

  3. 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.

  4. 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…

  5. Fine-Scale Human Population Structure in Southern Africa Reflects Ecogeographic Boundaries.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Uren, Caitlin; Kim, Minju; Martin, Alicia R; Bobo, Dean; Gignoux, Christopher R; van Helden, Paul D; Möller, Marlo; Hoal, Eileen G; Henn, Brenna M

    2016-09-01

    Recent genetic studies have established that the KhoeSan populations of southern Africa are distinct from all other African populations and have remained largely isolated during human prehistory until ∼2000 years ago. Dozens of different KhoeSan groups exist, belonging to three different language families, but very little is known about their population history. We examine new genome-wide polymorphism data and whole mitochondrial genomes for >100 South Africans from the ≠Khomani San and Nama populations of the Northern Cape, analyzed in conjunction with 19 additional southern African populations. Our analyses reveal fine-scale population structure in and around the Kalahari Desert. Surprisingly, this structure does not always correspond to linguistic or subsistence categories as previously suggested, but rather reflects the role of geographic barriers and the ecology of the greater Kalahari Basin. Regardless of subsistence strategy, the indigenous Khoe-speaking Nama pastoralists and the N|u-speaking ≠Khomani (formerly hunter-gatherers) share ancestry with other Khoe-speaking forager populations that form a rim around the Kalahari Desert. We reconstruct earlier migration patterns and estimate that the southern Kalahari populations were among the last to experience gene flow from Bantu speakers, ∼14 generations ago. We conclude that local adoption of pastoralism, at least by the Nama, appears to have been primarily a cultural process with limited genetic impact from eastern Africa. Copyright © 2016 by the Genetics Society of America.

  6. 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.

  7. 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.

  8. 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.

  9. 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...

  10. New insights into the history of the C-14010 lactase persistence variant in Eastern and Southern Africa.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Macholdt, Enrico; Slatkin, Montgomery; Pakendorf, Brigitte; Stoneking, Mark

    2015-04-01

    Lactase persistence (LP), the ability to digest lactose into adulthood, is strongly associated with the cultural traits of pastoralism and milk-drinking among human populations, and several different genetic variants are known that confer LP. Recent studies of LP variants in Southern African populations, with a focus on Khoisan-speaking groups, found high frequencies of an LP variant (the C-14010 allele) that also occurs in Eastern Africa, and concluded that the C-14010 allele was brought to Southern Africa via a migration of pastoralists from Eastern Africa. However, this conclusion was based on indirect evidence; to date no study has jointly analyzed data on the C-14010 allele from both Southern African Khoisan-speaking groups and Eastern Africa. Here, we combine and analyze published data on the C-14010 allele in Southern and Eastern African populations, consisting of haplotypes with the C-14010 allele and four closely-linked short tandem repeat loci. Our results provide direct evidence for the previously-hypothesized Eastern African origin of the C-14010 allele in Southern African Khoisan-speaking groups. In addition, we find evidence for a separate introduction of the C-14010 allele into the Bantu-speaking Xhosa. The estimated selection intensity on the C-14010 allele in Eastern Africa is lower than that in Southern Africa, which suggests that in Eastern Africa the dietary changes conferring the fitness advantage associated with LP occurred some time after the origin of the C-14010 allele. Conversely, in Southern Africa the fitness advantage was present when the allele was introduced, as would be expected if pastoralism was introduced concomitantly. © 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

  11. 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.

  12. 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

  13. 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.

  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. 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

  16. 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…

  17. 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…

  18. 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.

  19. 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…

  20. 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