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Sample records for vocabulary test-revised ppvt-r

  1. Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test-Revised (PPVT-R).

    Science.gov (United States)

    Vance, H. Robert; Stone, J. E.

    1990-01-01

    The Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test-Revised assesses standard American English receptive vocabulary in individuals, both handicapped and nonhandicapped, ages 2 to 40. This paper describes the test's administration, summation of data, standardization, reliability, and validity. (JDD)

  2. Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test (PPVT-III: Psychometric properties and significance for application

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Nataša Bucik

    2003-12-01

    Full Text Available The purpose of this article is to present the content, conceptual structure and methodological steps of the latest revision of the Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test (PPVT-III, which is a highly functional and valuable vocabulary test that has been in use since 1959 in different language and cultural surroundings. On the case of the PPVT-III we are presenting the procedure of development and standardization of such vocabulary tests as well as its translation and adaptation from one language and cultural milieu to another. We also note the practical use of the PPVT-III for research purposes. In Slovenian language no vocabulary tests were developed or adapted so far; PPVT-III is presented in this context, too.

  3. The New Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test-III: An Illusion of Unbiased Assessment?

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    Stockman, Ida J

    2000-10-01

    This article examines whether changes in the ethnic minority composition of the standardization sample for the latest edition of the Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test (PPVT-III, Dunn & Dunn, 1997) can be used as the sole explanation for children's better test scores when compared to an earlier edition, the Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test-Revised (PPVT-R, Dunn & Dunn, 1981). Results from a comparative analysis of these two test editions suggest that other factors may explain improved performances. Among these factors are the number of words and age levels sampled, the types of words and pictures used, and characteristics of the standardization sample other than its ethnic minority composition. This analysis also raises questions regarding the usefulness of converting scores from one edition to the other and the type of criteria that could be used to evaluate whether the PPVT-III is an unbiased test of vocabulary for children from diverse cultural and linguistic backgrounds.

  4. An Analysis of Differential Response Patterns on the Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test-IIIB in Struggling Adult Readers and Third-Grade Children

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    Pae, Hye K.; Greenberg, Daphne; Williams, Rihana S.

    2012-01-01

    This study examines the Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test-IIIB (PPVT-IIIB) performance of 130 adults identified as struggling readers, in comparison to 175 third-grade children. Response patterns to the items on the PPVT-IIIB by these two groups were investigated, focusing on items, semantic categories, and lexical features, including word length,…

  5. Modeling Floor Effects in Standardized Vocabulary Test Scores in a Sample of Low SES Hispanic Preschool Children under the Multilevel Structural Equation Modeling Framework

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    Leina Zhu

    2017-12-01

    Full Text Available Researchers and practitioners often use standardized vocabulary tests such as the Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test-4 (PPVT-4; Dunn and Dunn, 2007 and its companion, the Expressive Vocabulary Test-2 (EVT-2; Williams, 2007, to assess English vocabulary skills as an indicator of children's school readiness. Despite their psychometric excellence in the norm sample, issues arise when standardized vocabulary tests are used to asses children from culturally, linguistically and ethnically diverse backgrounds (e.g., Spanish-speaking English language learners or delayed in some manner. One of the biggest challenges is establishing the appropriateness of these measures with non-English or non-standard English speaking children as often they score one to two standard deviations below expected levels (e.g., Lonigan et al., 2013. This study re-examines the issues in analyzing the PPVT-4 and EVT-2 scores in a sample of 4-to-5-year-old low SES Hispanic preschool children who were part of a larger randomized clinical trial on the effects of a supplemental English shared-reading vocabulary curriculum (Pollard-Durodola et al., 2016. It was found that data exhibited strong floor effects and the presence of floor effects made it difficult to differentiate the invention group and the control group on their vocabulary growth in the intervention. A simulation study is then presented under the multilevel structural equation modeling (MSEM framework and results revealed that in regular multilevel data analysis, ignoring floor effects in the outcome variables led to biased results in parameter estimates, standard error estimates, and significance tests. Our findings suggest caution in analyzing and interpreting scores of ethnically and culturally diverse children on standardized vocabulary tests (e.g., floor effects. It is recommended appropriate analytical methods that take into account floor effects in outcome variables should be considered.

  6. Hearing experience and receptive vocabulary development in deaf children with cochlear implants.

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    Fagan, Mary K; Pisoni, David B

    2010-01-01

    This study investigated receptive vocabulary delay in deaf children with cochlear implants. Participants were 23 children with profound hearing loss, ages 6-14 years, who received a cochlear implant between ages 1.4 and 6 years. Duration of cochlear implant use ranged from 3.7 to 11.8 years. Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test, Third Edition (PPVT-III) data were analyzed first by examining children's errors for evidence of difficulty in specific lexical content areas, and second by calculating standard scores with reference to hearing age (HA) (i.e., chronological age [CA]--age at implantation) rather than CA. Participants showed evidence of vocabulary understanding across all PPVT-III content categories with no strong evidence of disproportionate numbers of errors in any specific content area despite below-average mean standard scores. However, whereas mean standard scores were below the test mean established for hearing children when based on CA, they were within the average range for hearing children when calculated based on HA. Thus, children's vocabulary knowledge was commensurate with years of cochlear implant experience, providing support for the role of spoken language experience in vocabulary acquisition.

  7. Adapting a receptive vocabulary test for preschool-aged Greek-speaking children.

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    Okalidou, Areti; Syrika, Asimina; Beckman, Mary E; Edwards, Jan R

    2011-01-01

    Receptive vocabulary is an important measure for language evaluations. Therefore, norm-referenced receptive vocabulary tests are widely used in several languages. However, a receptive vocabulary test has not yet been normed for Modern Greek. To adapt an American English vocabulary test, the Receptive One-Word Picture Vocabulary Test-II (ROWPVT-II), for Modern Greek for use with Greek-speaking preschool children. The list of 170 English words on ROWPVT-II was adapted by (1) developing two lists (A and B) of Greek words that would match either the target English word or another concept corresponding to one of the pictured objects in the four-picture array; and (2) determining a developmental order for the chosen Greek words for preschool-aged children. For the first task, adult word frequency measures were used to select the words for the Greek wordlist. For the second task, 427 children, 225 boys and 202 girls, ranging in age from 2;0 years to 5;11 years, were recruited from urban and suburban areas of Greece. A pilot study of the two word lists was performed with the aim of comparing an equal number of list A and list B responses for each age group and deriving a new developmental list order. The relative difficulty of each Greek word item, that is, its accuracy score, was calculated by taking the average proportion of correct responses across ages for that word. Subsequently, the word accuracy scores in the two lists were compared via regression analysis, which yielded a highly significant relationship (R(2) = 0.97; p word item from the two lists was a better fit. Finally, new starting levels (basals) were established for preschool ages. The revised word list can serve as the basis for adapting a receptive vocabulary test for Greek preschool-aged children. Further steps need to be taken when testing larger numbers of 2;0 to 5;11-year-old children on the revised word list for determination of norms. This effort will facilitate early identification and remediation

  8. Predicting vocabulary growth in children with and without specific language impairment: a longitudinal study from 2;6 to 21 years of age.

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    Rice, Mabel L; Hoffman, Lesa

    2015-04-01

    Children with specific language impairment (SLI) often have vocabulary impairments. This study evaluates longitudinal growth in a latent trait of receptive vocabulary in affected and unaffected children ages 2;6 (years;months) to 21 years and evaluates as possible predictors maternal education, child gender, and nonverbal IQ. A sample of 519 participants (240 with SLI; 279 unaffected) received an average of 7 annual assessments for a total of 3,012 latent trait Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test (PPVT) observations. Unconditional and conditional multilevel growth models were estimated to evaluate growth trajectories and predictor relationships over time. Children with SLI had lower levels of receptive vocabulary throughout the age range assessed. They did not close the gap with age peers. Children with higher nonverbal IQs had better PPVT performance, as did children of mothers with higher education. Child gender showed an advantage for young girls that leveled out with age and then became an advantage for boys from ages 10 to 21 years. All children's rate of vocabulary acquisition slowed around 12 years of age. The outcomes of the study have implications for hypothesized causal pathways for individual differences; predictions differ for children under 5 years, 6-10 years, and later ages.

  9. Rapid word-learning in normal-hearing and hearing-impaired children: effects of age, receptive vocabulary, and high-frequency amplification.

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    Pittman, A L; Lewis, D E; Hoover, B M; Stelmachowicz, P G

    2005-12-01

    This study examined rapid word-learning in 5- to 14-year-old children with normal and impaired hearing. The effects of age and receptive vocabulary were examined as well as those of high-frequency amplification. Novel words were low-pass filtered at 4 kHz (typical of current amplification devices) and at 9 kHz. It was hypothesized that (1) the children with normal hearing would learn more words than the children with hearing loss, (2) word-learning would increase with age and receptive vocabulary for both groups, and (3) both groups would benefit from a broader frequency bandwidth. Sixty children with normal hearing and 37 children with moderate sensorineural hearing losses participated in this study. Each child viewed a 4-minute animated slideshow containing 8 nonsense words created using the 24 English consonant phonemes (3 consonants per word). Each word was repeated 3 times. Half of the 8 words were low-pass filtered at 4 kHz and half were filtered at 9 kHz. After viewing the story twice, each child was asked to identify the words from among pictures in the slide show. Before testing, a measure of current receptive vocabulary was obtained using the Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test (PPVT-III). The PPVT-III scores of the hearing-impaired children were consistently poorer than those of the normal-hearing children across the age range tested. A similar pattern of results was observed for word-learning in that the performance of the hearing-impaired children was significantly poorer than that of the normal-hearing children. Further analysis of the PPVT and word-learning scores suggested that although word-learning was reduced in the hearing-impaired children, their performance was consistent with their receptive vocabularies. Additionally, no correlation was found between overall performance and the age of identification, age of amplification, or years of amplification in the children with hearing loss. Results also revealed a small increase in performance for both

  10. Vocabulary of preschool children with typical language development and socioeducational variables.

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    Moretti, Thaís Cristina da Freiria; Kuroishi, Rita Cristina Sadako; Mandrá, Patrícia Pupin

    2017-03-09

    To investigate the correlation between age, socioeconomic status (SES), and performance on emissive and receptive vocabulary tests in children with typical language development. The study sample was composed of 60 preschool children of both genders, aged 3 years to 5 years 11 months, with typical language development divided into three groups: G I (mean age=3 years 6 months), G II (mean age=4 years 4 months) and G III (mean age=5 years 9 months). The ABFW Child Language Test - Vocabulary and the Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test (PPVT) for emissive and receptive language were applied to the preschoolers. The socioeconomic classification questionnaire of the Brazilian Association of Survey Companies (ABEP) was applied to the preschoolers' parents/legal guardians. Data were analyzed according to the criteria of the aforementioned instruments and were arranged in Excel spreadsheet for Windows XP®. A multiple linear regression model was used, adopting a statistical significance level of 5%, to analyze the correlation between age, SES, and performance on the receptive and emissive vocabulary tests. In the ABEP questionnaire, participants were classified mostly into social level C (63.3%), followed by levels B (26.6%) and D (10%). The preschoolers investigated presented emissive and receptive vocabulary adequate for the age groups. No statistically significant difference was found for the variables age and SES regarding emissive and receptive vocabulary. Higher test scores were observed with increased age and SES, for social levels "B" compared with "D" and for "C" with "D". The variables age and socioeconomic status influenced the performance on emissive and receptive vocabulary tests in the study group.

  11. Predictors of WAIS-R vocabulary in late life: Differences by race.

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    Morin, Ruth T; Midlarsky, Elizabeth

    2017-11-01

    Vocabulary scores tend to be significantly related to education in heterogeneous groups of older adults, even after controlling for confounding variables. However, there may be other factors that impinge on cognitive functioning for certain demographic groups, particularly those whose educational opportunities were limited, and who may have experienced considerable stress as a result of their minority status. This study sought to explore possible predictors of vocabulary scores among African American and White older adults. In this study, samples of African American (N = 165) and White (N = 146) community-dwelling older adults reported their level of education, perceived health status, and number of stressful life events, and were administered the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale-Revised (WAIS-R) Vocabulary subtest. Among the White participants, level of education was the only significant predictor of vocabulary score after controlling for perceived health and exposure to stress. Among African American participants, education was also a significant predictor of vocabulary score. However perceived health and number of stressful life events were also significantly predictors of vocabulary score. Findings indicate that for certain cohorts of older adults, especially those who may have experienced stressful life circumstances and health disparities as a result of racial inequality, education may not be the only variable that predicts verbal intelligence. The importance of investigating cognitive functioning within a broader sociocultural context is discussed.

  12. Processing the ITU vocabulary: revisions and adaptations to the Pisa syntactic-semantic parser

    OpenAIRE

    Peters, Carol; Federici, Stefano; Montemagni, Simonetta; Calzolari, Nicoletta

    1993-01-01

    The first version of the Pisa syntactic-semantic parser was described in detail in Deliverable 4, Section 2 and Appendices 2,3, and 4. The scope of this report is to discuss the testing of the parser on the sample set of vocabulary which has been selected from the ITU Corpus (see Deliverable 6.1) and to illustrate the revisions and extensions that are now being implemented. The report therefore concentrates on presenting analysis and extraction activities. We need to specify clearly all the k...

  13. An ODIP effort to map R2R ocean data terms to international vocabularies

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    Ferreira, Renata; Stocks, Karen; Arko, Robert

    2014-05-01

    The heterogeneity of terminology used in describing data creates a barrier to the efficient discovery and re-use of data, particularly across institutional, programmatic, and disciplinary boundaries. Here we explore the outcomes of a student project to crosswalk terms between the Rolling Deck to Repository (R2R) program and other international systems, as part of the Ocean Data Interoperability Platform (ODIP). R2R is a US program developing and implementing an information management system to preserve and provide access to routine underway data collected by U.S academic research vessels. R2R participates in ODIP, an international forum for improving the interoperability and effective sharing of marine data resources through technical workshops and joint prototypes. The vocabulary mapping effort lays a foundation for future ocean data portals through which users search and access international ocean data using familiar terms. R2R describes its data with a suite of controlled vocabularies (http://www.rvdata.us/voc) some of which were developed locally or are specific to the US. The goal of this student project is to crosswalk local/national vocabularies to authoritative international vocabularies, where they exist, or to vocabularies widely used by ODIP partners. Specifically, R2R developed the following crosswalks: R2R science party names to ORCID person identifiers, UNOLS ports to SeaDataNet Ports Gazetteer, R2R Device Models to NVS SeaVoX Device Catalog, and R2R Organizations to the European Directory of Marine Organizations (EDMO). Mappings were done in simple spreadsheets using synonymy relationships only, and will be published as part of the R2R Linked Data resources. The level of success in crosswalking was variable. The majority of ports were successfully mapped. Differences in the character sets (i.e. whether diacritic marks were used) caused automated matching to fail occasionally, but the number of ports was small enough that these could be manually

  14. Vocabulary test Strategies used by the Students to answer Vocabulary Test the Reading Comprehension of TOEFL

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    Suyatman Suyatman

    2017-10-01

    Full Text Available Test of English as a foreign Language or TOEFL is a standardized test of English for non-native speaker. It consists of three parts or three sections of tests. In Reading Comprehension test, it consists of vocabulary test. To get better result of score, it needs strategies. The purposes of this study are to know the strategies used by the students to answer the vocabulary test on reading section of TOEFL, to know the most strategy used by the students, to know the least strategy used by the students and to know the distribution of strategies used by the students to answer the Vocabulary test of Reading Comprehension of the TOEFL. The researcher used descriptive qualitative research. The subject was twelve students. The instrument was questionnaire that consisted of thirty questions. Data analyzes technique was by using mean score. The result of the research showed that; (1 students used all strategies to answer the vocabulary test of reading comprehension of TOEFL. (2 the most strategies used by the students was ‘Looking for contextual clues to the meaning of unknown words.(3 the least strategy used by the students to answer vocabulary test was ‘Developing a new vocabulary study system, and (4 the distribution of the strategy number 1 was 3.88,strategy number 2 was 3.61, number 3 was 2.94, number four was 2.91, strategy number 5 was3.88, strategy number six was 3.47, strategy number seven was 3.69, strategy number eight was 3.02, strategy number nine was 3.00 and the last strategy was 3.13.

  15. The Dimensional Approach to Vocabulary Testing: What Can We ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    1999), i.e. vocabulary size, depth, and receptive-productive knowledge/skills, has influenced test design for measuring L2/FL vocabulary acquisition. This article aims to describe the major vocabulary tests along the vocabulary dimensions and ...

  16. Vocabulary test format and differential relations to age.

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    Bowles, Ryan P; Salthouse, Timothy A

    2008-06-01

    Although vocabulary tests are generally considered interchangeable, regardless of format, different tests can have different relations to age and to other cognitive abilities. In this study, 4 vocabulary test formats were examined: multiple-choice synonyms, multiple-choice antonyms, produce the definition, and picture identification. Results indicated that, although they form a single coherent vocabulary knowledge factor, the formats have different relations to age. In earlier adulthood, picture identification had the strongest growth, and produce the definition had the weakest. In later adulthood, picture identification had the strongest decline, and multiple-choice synonyms had the least. The formats differed in their relation to other cognitive variables, including reasoning, spatial visualization, memory, and speed. After accounting for the differential relations to other cognitive variables, differences in relation to age were eliminated with the exception of differences for the picture identification test. No theory of the aging of vocabulary knowledge fully explains these findings. These results suggest that using a single indicator of vocabulary may yield incomplete and somewhat misleading results about the aging of vocabulary knowledge.

  17. The Effect of Childcare and Early Education Arrangements on Developmental Outcomes of Young Children

    OpenAIRE

    Pierre Lefebvre; Philip Merrigan

    2000-01-01

    This study investigates the relationship between child care arrangements and developmental outcomes of young children using data from Cycle 1 of the Canadian National Longitudinal Survey of Children and Youth. Models of the determinants of Motor and Social Development (MSD) scores for children aged 0-47 months, and of the Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test assessment scores (PPVT-R) for children aged 4-5 years are estimated controlling for a variety of non-parental childcare and early education ...

  18. Asynchronous brain-computer interface for cognitive assessment in people with cerebral palsy

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    Alcaide-Aguirre, R. E.; Warschausky, S. A.; Brown, D.; Aref, A.; Huggins, J. E.

    2017-12-01

    Objective. Typically, clinical measures of cognition require motor or speech responses. Thus, a significant percentage of people with disabilities are not able to complete standardized assessments. This situation could be resolved by employing a more accessible test administration method, such as a brain-computer interface (BCI). A BCI can circumvent motor and speech requirements by translating brain activity to identify a subject’s response. By eliminating the need for motor or speech input, one could use a BCI to assess an individual who previously did not have access to clinical tests. Approach. We developed an asynchronous, event-related potential BCI-facilitated administration procedure for the peabody picture vocabulary test (PPVT-IV). We then tested our system in typically developing individuals (N  =  11), as well as people with cerebral palsy (N  =  19) to compare results to the standardized PPVT-IV format and administration. Main results. Standard scores on the BCI-facilitated PPVT-IV, and the standard PPVT-IV were highly correlated (r  =  0.95, p  <  0.001), with a mean difference of 2.0  ±  6.4 points, which is within the standard error of the PPVT-IV. Significance. Thus, our BCI-facilitated PPVT-IV provided comparable results to the standard PPVT-IV, suggesting that populations for whom standardized cognitive tests are not accessible could benefit from our BCI-facilitated approach.

  19. Saudi normative data for the Wisconsin Card Sorting test, Stroop test, Test of Non-verbal Intelligence-3, Picture Completion and Vocabulary (subtest of the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale-Revised).

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    Al-Ghatani, Ali M; Obonsawin, Marc C; Binshaig, Basmah A; Al-Moutaery, Khalaf R

    2011-01-01

    There are 2 aims for this study: first, to collect normative data for the Wisconsin Card Sorting Test (WCST), Stroop test, Test of Non-verbal Intelligence (TONI-3), Picture Completion (PC) and Vocabulary (VOC) sub-test of the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale-Revised for use in a Saudi Arabian culture, and second, to use the normative data provided to generate the regression equations. To collect the normative data and generate the regression equations, 198 healthy individuals were selected to provide a representative distribution for age, gender, years of education, and socioeconomic class. The WCST, Stroop test, TONI-3, PC, and VOC were administrated to the healthy individuals. This study was carried out at the Department of Clinical Neurosciences, Riyadh Military Hospital, Riyadh, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia from January 2000 to July 2002. Normative data were obtained for all tests, and tables were constructed to interpret scores for different age groups. Regression equations to predict performance on the 3 tests of frontal function from scores on tests of fluid (TONI-3) and premorbid intelligence were generated from the data from the healthy individuals. The data collected in this study provide normative tables for 3 tests of frontal lobe function and for tests of general intellectual ability for use in Saudi Arabia. The data also provide a method to estimate pre-injury ability without the use of verbally based tests.

  20. THE VOCABULARY TEACHING AND VOCABULARY LEARNING: PERCEPTION, STRATEGIES, AND INFLUENCES ON STUDENTS' VOCABULARY MASTERY

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    Dewi Nur Asyiah

    2017-11-01

    Full Text Available Vocabulary plays pivotal role in foreign language learning. However, vocabulary teaching and vocabulary learning in TEFL seems to be neglected. The study was aimed to investigate how vocabulary teaching and learning are perceived by teacher and students, strategies to teach and learn the vocabulary, and also influences of students’ vocabulary learning strategy on their vocabulary mastery. Accordingly, a mix method design was employed to one English teacher and 30 junior high school students to reveal the issues being investigated. The findings showed that both teacher and students have positive response on vocabulary teaching and learning. Concerning strategies, it was found that teacher mostly employed Fully-contextual strategy, meanwhile Determination and Metacognitive strategy were found as the most favored VLS chosen by students. The study also confirmed that there is a significant relationship between students’ vocabulary learning strategy and their vocabulary mastery (r-value Discovery = .023 and r-value Consolidating = .000, p<.05. It is recommended for EFL teachers to give a bigger portion to vocabulary in the EFL teaching and to teach vocabulary using the combination of fully-contextual and de-contextual strategy. It is also suggested to introduce students to various kinds of vocabulary learning strategies.  

  1. The Addenbrooke's Cognitive Examination Revised (ACE-R): a brief cognitive test battery for dementia screening.

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    Mioshi, Eneida; Dawson, Kate; Mitchell, Joanna; Arnold, Robert; Hodges, John R

    2006-11-01

    There is a clear need for brief, but sensitive and specific, cognitive screening instruments as evidenced by the popularity of the Addenbrooke's Cognitive Examination (ACE). We aimed to validate an improved revision (the ACE-R) which incorporates five sub-domain scores (orientation/attention, memory, verbal fluency, language and visuo-spatial). Standard tests for evaluating dementia screening tests were applied. A total of 241 subjects participated in this study (Alzheimer's disease=67, frontotemporal dementia=55, dementia of Lewy Bodies=20; mild cognitive impairment-MCI=36; controls=63). Reliability of the ACE-R was very good (alpha coefficient=0.8). Correlation with the Clinical Dementia Scale was significant (r=-0.321, pcognitive dysfunction. Copyright (c) 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

  2. Test-Retest Reliability of the Parent Behavior Importance Questionnaire-Revised and the Parent Behavior Frequency Questionnaire-Revised

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    Mowder, Barbara A.; Shamah, Renee

    2011-01-01

    This study evaluated the test-retest reliability of two parenting measures: the Parent Behavior Importance Questionnaire-Revised (PBIQ-R) and Parent Behavior Frequency Questionnaire-Revised (PBFQ-R). These self-report parenting behavior assessment measures may be utilized as pre- and post-parent education program measures, with parents as well as…

  3. Pathways from Toddler Information Processing to Adolescent Lexical Proficiency

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    Rose, Susan A.; Feldman, Judith F.; Jankowski, Jeffery J.

    2015-01-01

    This study examined the relation of 3-year core information-processing abilities to lexical growth and development. The core abilities covered four domains--memory, representational competence (cross-modal transfer), processing speed, and attention. Lexical proficiency was assessed at 3 and 13 years with the Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test (PPVT)…

  4. Using an Online Vocabulary Memorization Tool versus Traditional Vocabulary Exercises

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    Arif Bakla

    2017-10-01

    Full Text Available This study was conducted to reveal what Memrise, an online vocabulary study tool, can offer to upper-intermediate EFL learners compared to traditional vocabulary exercises in L2 vocabulary learning. Two groups of upper-intermediate learners (N=80 were randomly assigned to the experimental group and the control group and were given the Vocabulary Knowledge Scale, VKS for short, as the pre-test and post-test. The participants in both groups were exposed to the target vocabulary items in the same reading text. While those in the experimental group created list of target vocabulary items collaboratively in Memrise and then studied the sets individually, the learners in the control group did traditional vocabulary exercises. The results of the post-tests indicated that there was a significant difference between the control group and the experimental group in favor of the experimental group. The researchers discuss possible pedagogical implications of this significant finding for EFL vocabulary instruction.

  5. Incidental Learning: A Brief, Valid Measure of Memory Based on the WAIS-IV Vocabulary and Similarities Subtests.

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    Spencer, Robert J; Reckow, Jaclyn; Drag, Lauren L; Bieliauskas, Linas A

    2016-12-01

    We assessed the validity of a brief incidental learning measure based on the Similarities and Vocabulary subtests of the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale-Fourth Edition (WAIS-IV). Most neuropsychological assessments for memory require intentional learning, but incidental learning occurs without explicit instruction. Incidental memory tests such as the WAIS-III Symbol Digit Coding subtest have existed for many years, but few memory studies have used a semantically processed incidental learning model. We conducted a retrospective analysis of 37 veterans with traumatic brain injury, referred for outpatient neuropsychological testing at a Veterans Affairs hospital. As part of their evaluation, the participants completed the incidental learning tasks. We compared their incidental learning performance to their performance on traditional memory measures. Incidental learning scores correlated strongly with scores on the California Verbal Learning Test-Second Edition (CVLT-II) and Brief Visuospatial Memory Test-Revised (BVMT-R). After we conducted a partial correlation that controlled for the effects of age, incidental learning correlated significantly with the CVLT-II Immediate Free Recall, CVLT-II Short-Delay Recall, CVLT-II Long-Delay Recall, and CVLT-II Yes/No Recognition Hits, and with the BVMT-R Delayed Recall and BVMT-R Recognition Discrimination Index. Our incidental learning procedures derived from subtests of the WAIS-IV Edition are an efficient and valid way of measuring memory. These tasks add minimally to testing time and capitalize on the semantic encoding that is inherent in completing the Similarities and Vocabulary subtests.

  6. Developing a Vocabulary Size Test Measuring Two Aspects of Receptive Vocabulary Knowledge: Visual versus Aural

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    Aizawa, Kazumi; Iso, Tatsuo; Nadasdy, Paul

    2017-01-01

    Testing learners' English proficiency is central to university English classes in Japan. This study developed and implemented a set of parallel online receptive aural and visual vocabulary tests that would predict learners' English proficiency. The tests shared the same target words and choices--the main difference was the presentation of the…

  7. Self-reported reading as a predictor of vocabulary knowledge.

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    Pratheeba, N; Krashen, S

    2013-10-01

    25 engineering students in India, who were highly motivated to improve their English, filled out a questionnaire about their reading habits in English and took a demanding vocabulary test based on words taken from preparation books for the Graduate Records Examination. The correlation between reading habits and vocabulary was substantial (r = .78).

  8. Acquiring, Teaching, and Testing Vocabulary.

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    Mobarg, Mats

    1997-01-01

    Argues that treatment of foreign language vocabulary will vary predictably according to whether the instructional activity is based on a structural or a lexical/collocational view of language. Notes that in a structural approach, vocabulary learning is primarily a frequency- and input-based individual endeavor, while the lexical approach is more…

  9. The Role of Physical Context, Verbal Skills, Non-Parental Care, Social Support, and Type of Parental Discipline in the Development of ToM Capacity in Five-Year-Old Children

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    Galende, Nuria; de Miguel, Manuel Sanchez; Arranz, Enrique

    2011-01-01

    The aim of this study was to analyze the influence of family context on the performance of 5-year-old children (N = 70) in theory of mind (ToM) tasks. The children's performances were assessed during individual sessions held at school. Children's verbal skills were assessed using the Peabody picture vocabulary test (PPVT). Interviews were also…

  10. The Relationship between Vocabulary Learning Strategies and Breadth and Depth of Vocabulary Knowledge

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    Zhang, Xian; Lu, Xiaofei

    2015-01-01

    This study investigated the relationship between vocabulary learning strategies and vocabulary breadth and depth knowledge. One hundred and fifty first-year university students in China took the Vocabulary Levels Test, a meaning recall task, and the Depth of Vocabulary Knowledge Test. The first two tests were used to elicit two types of vocabulary…

  11. Performance of low-educated elders with depression on Addenbrooke's Cognitive Examination-Revised (ace-r) test.

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    Beckert, Michele; Loureiro, Fernanda; Menta, Caroline; Mello, Elisa Fasolin; Nogueira, Eduardo L; von Gunten, Armin; Gomes, Irênio

    2016-01-01

    Along with cognitive disorders, depression has been a concern for mental health services due to its highly debilitating effect on the functioning and quality of life of the elderly. However, there is still little understanding of the cognitive alterations resulting from depression or of the difficult differential diagnosis with mild cognitive impairment (MCI). It is known that performance on cognitive tests is strongly influenced by education but few studies have been conducted involving low-educated populations. To evaluate the performance of elders with low education and no dementia on Addenbrooke's Cognitive Examination-Revised (ACE-R) test and its cognitive domains, and compare patients with Current Major Depressive Episode (CMDE) against those without depressive symptoms. A retrospective, cross-sectional analytical study was conducted based on medical files of patients treated at the Cerebral Aging Clinic of the Hospital São Lucas of the PUCRS. The study included 116 individuals with low education (Examination, and the five cognitive domains. There was also no difference between the groups on separate analyses of results on the clock drawing test, the categorical verbal and phonological fluency test, and the naming test. The results of this study showed that depressive symptoms did not influence scores on the ACE-R tests conducted in elders with low education.

  12. The relationship between phonological short-term memory, receptive vocabulary, and fast mapping in children with specific language impairment.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jackson, Emily; Leitao, Suze; Claessen, Mary

    2016-01-01

    Children with specific language impairment (SLI) often experience word-learning difficulties, which are suggested to originate in the early stage of word learning: fast mapping. Some previous research indicates significantly poorer fast mapping capabilities in children with SLI compared with typically developing (TD) counterparts, with a range of methodological factors impacting on the consistency of this finding. Research has explored key issues that might underlie fast mapping difficulties in children with SLI, with strong theoretical support but little empirical evidence for the role of phonological short-term memory (STM). Additionally, further research is required to explore the influence of receptive vocabulary on fast mapping capabilities. Understanding the factors associated with fast mapping difficulties that are experienced by children with SLI may lead to greater theoretically driven word-learning intervention. To investigate whether children with SLI demonstrate significant difficulties with fast mapping, and to explore the related factors. It was hypothesized that children with SLI would score significantly lower on a fast mapping production task compared with TD children, and that phonological STM and receptive vocabulary would significantly predict fast mapping production scores in both groups of children. Twenty-three children with SLI (mean = 64.39 months, SD = 4.10 months) and 26 TD children (mean = 65.92 months, SD = 2.98) were recruited from specialist language and mainstream schools. All participants took part in a unique, interactive fast-mapping task whereby nine novel objects with non-word labels were presented and production accuracy was assessed. A non-word repetition test and the Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test-Fourth Edition (PPVT-IV) were also administered as measures of phonological STM capacity and receptive vocabulary, respectively. Results of the fast-mapping task indicated that children with SLI had significantly poorer fast

  13. Adaptation of a Vocabulary Test from British Sign Language to American Sign Language

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mann, Wolfgang; Roy, Penny; Morgan, Gary

    2016-01-01

    This study describes the adaptation process of a vocabulary knowledge test for British Sign Language (BSL) into American Sign Language (ASL) and presents results from the first round of pilot testing with 20 deaf native ASL signers. The web-based test assesses the strength of deaf children's vocabulary knowledge by means of different mappings of…

  14. COMPUTER-ASSISTED VOCABULARY LEARNING: THE POWER OF GAMING ON STUDENTS’ ENGLISH VOCABULARY ACHIEVEMENT

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Yune Andryani Pinem

    2017-04-01

    Full Text Available The main objective of this study was to find out whether the power of gaming contributed to vocabulary learning and gave significant upgrading in students‘ vocabulary scores through its comparison to the dull and routine vocabulary learning. The subjects, two groups of Indonesian students, were tested in a pre-test before joining two different methods of vocabulary learning, and finally were tested in a post-test. Data were collected from the students‘ pre-test and post-test scores. From the comparison of these two groups‘ data, the output proved that the vocabulary class using ―Little Shop of Treasure‖ online games was better in boosting students‘ scores.

  15. Performance of low-educated elders with depression on Addenbrooke's Cognitive Examination-Revised (ace-r test

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Michele Beckert

    Full Text Available Along with cognitive disorders, depression has been a concern for mental health services due to its highly debilitating effect on the functioning and quality of life of the elderly. However, there is still little understanding of the cognitive alterations resulting from depression or of the difficult differential diagnosis with mild cognitive impairment (MCI. It is known that performance on cognitive tests is strongly influenced by education but few studies have been conducted involving low-educated populations. Objective : To evaluate the performance of elders with low education and no dementia on Addenbrooke's Cognitive Examination-Revised (ACE-R test and its cognitive domains, and compare patients with Current Major Depressive Episode (CMDE against those without depressive symptoms. Methods : A retrospective, cross-sectional analytical study was conducted based on medical files of patients treated at the Cerebral Aging Clinic of the Hospital São Lucas of the PUCRS. The study included 116 individuals with low education (< 8 years of education aged between 60 and 84 (69.6 ± 6.4 years, with MCDE (N = 41 and controls (N = 75. Results : No significant difference was observed between control and MCDE groups in median scores on the ACE-R, Mini-Mental State Examination, and the five cognitive domains. There was also no difference between the groups on separate analyses of results on the clock drawing test, the categorical verbal and phonological fluency test, and the naming test. Conclusion : The results of this study showed that depressive symptoms did not influence scores on the ACE-R tests conducted in elders with low education.

  16. Ontology Based Vocabulary Matching for Oceanographic Instruments

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chen, Yu; Shepherd, Adam; Chandler, Cyndy; Arko, Robert; Leadbetter, Adam

    2014-05-01

    Data integration act as the preliminary entry point as we enter the era of big data in many scientific domains. However the reusefulness of various dataset has met the hurdle due to different initial of interests of different parties, therefore different vocabularies in describing similar or semantically related concepts. In this scenario it is vital to devise an automatic or semi-supervised algorithm to facilitate the convergence of different vocabularies. The Ocean Data Interoperability Platform (ODIP) seeks to increase data sharing across scientific domains and international boundaries by providing a forum to harmonize diverse regional data systems. ODIP participants from the US include the Rolling Deck to Repository (R2R) program, whose mission is to capture, catalog, and describe the underway/environmental sensor data from US oceanographic research vessels and submit the data to public long-term archives. In an attempt to harmonize these regional data systems, especially vocabularies, R2R recognizes the value of the SeaDataNet vocabularies served by the NERC Vocabulary Server (NVS) hosted at the British Oceanographic Data Centre as a trusted, authoritative source for describing many oceanographic research concepts such as instrumentation. In this work, we make use of the semantic relations in the vocabularies served by NVS to build a Bayesian network and take advantage of the idea of entropy in evaluating the correlation between different concepts and keywords. The performance of the model is evaluated against matching instruments from R2R against the SeaDataNet instrument vocabularies based on calculated confidence scores in the instrument pairings. These pairings with their scores can then be analyzed for assertion growing the interoperability of the R2R vocabulary through its links to the SeaDataNet entities.

  17. Brazilian adaptation of the Addenbrooke's Cognitive Examination-Revised (ACE-R

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Viviane Amaral Carvalho

    Full Text Available Abstract The Addenbrooke's Cognitive Examination-Revised (ACE-R is a highly sensitive and specific tool for the detection of mild dementia. It is particularly useful in differentiating Alzheimer's disease from frontotemporal dementia. While the first version of the test battery has been adapted in many countries, its revised version has not, probably because it was published very recently. Objective: To translate and adapt the ACE-R for use in the Brazilian population. Methods: Two independent translations were made from English into Portuguese, followed by two independent back-translations. Few adaptations in accordance to the Brazilian culture and language were made and a first version of the instrument produced. This former version of the ACE-R was administered to 21 cognitively healthy subjects aged 60 years or more, with different educational levels. Results: The mean age of the studied sample of healthy elderly was 75.4 years (ranging from 60 to 89 years. Small additional modifications were necessary after the evaluation of the first ten subjects in order to improve comprehension of the test. The final Portuguese version of the ACE-R was produced and was found to be well understood by the remaining 11 subjects, taking an average of 15 minutes to be administered. Conclusions: The Brazilian version of the ACE-R proved to be a promising cognitive instrument for testing both in research and clinical settings. With this regard, additional studies are currently being carried out in our unit in order to investigate the diagnostic properties of the ACE-R in our milieu.

  18. Brazilian adaptation of the Addenbrooke's Cognitive Examination-Revised (ACE-R).

    Science.gov (United States)

    Carvalho, Viviane Amaral; Caramelli, Paulo

    2007-01-01

    The Addenbrooke's Cognitive Examination-Revised (ACE-R) is a highly sensitive and specific tool for the detection of mild dementia. It is particularly useful in differentiating Alzheimer's disease from frontotemporal dementia. While the first version of the test battery has been adapted in many countries, its revised version has not, probably because it was published very recently. To translate and adapt the ACE-R for use in the Brazilian population. Two independent translations were made from English into Portuguese, followed by two independent back-translations. Few adaptations in accordance to the Brazilian culture and language were made and a first version of the instrument produced. This former version of the ACE-R was administered to 21 cognitively healthy subjects aged 60 years or more, with different educational levels. The mean age of the studied sample of healthy elderly was 75.4 years (ranging from 60 to 89 years). Small additional modifications were necessary after the evaluation of the first ten subjects in order to improve comprehension of the test. The final Portuguese version of the ACE-R was produced and was found to be well understood by the remaining 11 subjects, taking an average of 15 minutes to be administered. The Brazilian version of the ACE-R proved to be a promising cognitive instrument for testing both in research and clinical settings. With this regard, additional studies are currently being carried out in our unit in order to investigate the diagnostic properties of the ACE-R in our milieu.

  19. Examining continuity of early expressive vocabulary development: the generation R study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Henrichs, Jens; Rescorla, Leslie; Schenk, Jacqueline J; Schmidt, Henk G; Jaddoe, Vincent W V; Hofman, Albert; Raat, Hein; Verhulst, Frank C; Tiemeier, Henning

    2011-06-01

    The authors investigated continuity and discontinuity of vocabulary skills in a population-based cohort in the Netherlands. Mothers of 3,759 children completed the Dutch version of the MacArthur Short Form Vocabulary Checklist (Zink & Lejaegere, 2003) at 18 months and a Dutch translation of the Language Development Survey (Rescorla, 1989) at 30 months. At both ages, expressive vocabulary delay was defined as vocabulary scores vocabulary development at both ages, 6.2% were "late bloomers," 6.0% had late onset expressive vocabulary delay, and 2.6% had persistent expressive vocabulary delay. Word production and comprehension at 18 months explained 11.5% of the variance in 30-month vocabulary scores, with low birth weight, child age, gender and ethnicity, maternal age and education, and parenting stress explaining an additional 6.2%. Multinomial logistic regression was used to identify biological, demographic, and psychological factors associated with each of the vocabulary delay outcome groups relative to the typically developing group. Although multiple perinatal, demographic, and maternal psychosocial factors significantly predicted vocabulary skills at 30 months, positive predictive value and sensitivity were low. Future studies should address to what extent additional factors, such as brain maturation and genetic influences, can improve the prediction and understanding of continuity and discontinuity of language delay.

  20. Age Effects on Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale-Revised Tests.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sattler, Jerome M.

    1982-01-01

    Studied age norms for 11 individual Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale-Revised (WAIS-R) tests. Digit Symbol showed the most decline. Results suggest that fluid intelligence, as measured by the performance scale tests, shows more of a decline with age than crystallized intelligence, as measured by the verbal scale tests. (Author)

  1. Revision and psychometric testing of the Incivility in Nursing Education (INE) survey: introducing the INE-R.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Clark, Cynthia M; Barbosa-Leiker, Celestina; Gill, Larecia Money; Nguyen, Danh

    2015-06-01

    Academic incivility is a serious challenge for nursing education, which needs to be empirically measured and fully addressed. A convenience sample of nursing faculty and students from 20 schools of nursing in the United States participated in a mixed-methods study to test the psychometric properties of the Incivility in Nursing Education-Revised (INE-R) Survey. A factor analysis and other reliability analyses support the use of the INE-R as a valid and reliable measurement of student and faculty perceptions of incivility in nursing education. The INE-R is a psychometrically sound instrument to measure faculty and student perceptions of incivility; to examine differences regarding levels of nursing education, program type, gender, age, and ethnicity; to compare perceptions of incivility between and among adjunct, clinical, teaching, and research faculty; and to conduct pre- and postassessments of the perceived levels of faculty and student incivility in nursing programs to inform evidence-based interventions. Copyright 2015, SLACK Incorporated.

  2. The Impact of Gloss Types on Reading Comprehension, Vocabulary Gain and Vocabulary Retention: A Comparative Study

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Atefeh Elekaei

    2015-09-01

    Full Text Available The significance and impact of vocabulary learning in reading comprehension and L2 language learning are apparent to teachers, researchers and language learners. Moreover, glosses are found as one of the most effective strategies regarding vocabulary retention. Therefore, the present study attempted to investigate the effect of different types of glosses on reading comprehension, vocabulary gain and vocabulary retention. To this end, 140 Iranian EFL learners learning English were selected and were divided into four groups (footnote gloss group, interlinear gloss group, marginal gloss group, and glossary group. They were required to read a text and answer four reading comprehension questions. In addition, one immediate vocabulary post-test and one delayed vocabulary post-test were taken in order to investigate learners' vocabulary gain and vocabulary retention. In order to analyze the data, one one-way ANOVA and one MANOVA were run. The results of one-way ANOVA revealed that participants who received interlinear glosses significantly outperformed the other groups regarding comprehending the text. Moreover, the immediate vocabulary post-test was conducted immediately after reading test and the delayed post-test was administered after four weeks. The results of MANOVA indicated that the group which received interlinear glosses outperformed the other groups in both vocabulary gain and vocabulary retention. The present study has implications for teachers and learners. Teachers can find better methods to teach new reading passages as well as vocabulary items. Also, glosses help learners to have a better comprehension of difficult passages and they facilitate learning. Moreover, learners can enhance their vocabulary knowledge with the help of glosses.

  3. Brazilian adaptation of the Addenbrooke’s Cognitive Examination-Revised (ACE-R)

    Science.gov (United States)

    Carvalho, Viviane Amaral; Caramelli, Paulo

    2007-01-01

    The Addenbrooke’s Cognitive Examination-Revised (ACE-R) is a highly sensitive and specific tool for the detection of mild dementia. It is particularly useful in differentiating Alzheimer’s disease from frontotemporal dementia. While the first version of the test battery has been adapted in many countries, its revised version has not, probably because it was published very recently. Objective To translate and adapt the ACE-R for use in the Brazilian population. Methods Two independent translations were made from English into Portuguese, followed by two independent back-translations. Few adaptations in accordance to the Brazilian culture and language were made and a first version of the instrument produced. This former version of the ACE-R was administered to 21 cognitively healthy subjects aged 60 years or more, with different educational levels. Results The mean age of the studied sample of healthy elderly was 75.4 years (ranging from 60 to 89 years). Small additional modifications were necessary after the evaluation of the first ten subjects in order to improve comprehension of the test. The final Portuguese version of the ACE-R was produced and was found to be well understood by the remaining 11 subjects, taking an average of 15 minutes to be administered. Conclusions The Brazilian version of the ACE-R proved to be a promising cognitive instrument for testing both in research and clinical settings. With this regard, additional studies are currently being carried out in our unit in order to investigate the diagnostic properties of the ACE-R in our milieu. PMID:29213390

  4. Multiple Sources of Test Bias on the WISC-R and Bender-Gestalt Test.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Oakland, Thomas; Feigenbaum, David

    1979-01-01

    Assessed test bias on the Wechsler Intelligence Test for Children-Revised (WISC-R) and Bender-Gestalt. On the Bender, evidence of bias was infrequent and irregular. On the WISC-R, group differences were most discernible for age, sex, family structure, and race. Consistent patterns of bias were not apparent among comparison groups. (Author)

  5. Influence of Native Language Vocabulary and Topic Knowledge on Foreign Language Vocabulary Learning in Health Care Providers

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Marcia Foresee Drumhiller

    2013-05-01

    Full Text Available Adults attending short, language for specific purpose courses may have expertise not utilized in general foreign language courses. The present study investigates two factors that may influence the acquisition of medical Spanish vocabulary in such persons: native English vocabulary size and topic knowledge. Forty-four health care workers attended 12 hr of medical Spanish instruction. Prior to instruction, the Nelson–Denny Vocabulary Test, a Medical Spanish vocabulary test, and an English Medical Terminology Test (an indicator of topic knowledge were administered. The Medical Spanish Vocabulary Test was readministered at posttest. Individually, both English medical terminology knowledge and English vocabulary size were significant predictors of medical Spanish vocabulary acquisition, but English medical terminology knowledge explained most of the variance in medical Spanish vocabulary acquisition. The results are discussed in terms of the impact of expert memory organization on the ability to learn new labels in a second language. A curricular shift toward content-centered vocabulary in language for specific purpose courses may be advantageous for some groups of foreign language learners.

  6. Hydrologic Tests at Characterization Wells R-9i, R-13, R-19, R-22, and R-31, Revision 1

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    S.G.McLin; W.J. Stone

    2004-06-01

    Hydrologic information is essential for environmental efforts at Los Alamos National Laboratory. Testing at new characterization wells being drilled to the regional aquifer (''R wells'') to improve the conceptual hydrogeologic model of the Pajarito Plateau is providing such information. Field tests were conducted on various zones of saturation penetrated by the R wells to collect data needed for determining hydraulic properties. This document provides details of the design and execution of testing as well as an analysis of data for five new wells: R-9i, R-13, R-19, R-22, and R-31. One well (R-13) was evaluated by a pumping test and the rest (R-9i, R-19, R-22, and R-31) were evaluated by injection tests. Characterization well R-9i is located in Los Alamos Canyon approximately 0.3 mi west of the Route 4/Route 502 intersection. It was completed at a depth of 322 ft below ground surface (bgs) in March 2000. This well was constructed with two screens positioned below the regional water table. Both screens were tested. Screen 1 is completed at about 189-200 ft bgs in fractured basalt, and screen 2 is completed at about 270-280 ft bgs in massive basalt. Specific capacity analysis of the screen 1 data suggests that the fractured basalt has a transmissivity (T) of 589 ft{sup 2}/day and corresponds to a hydraulic conductivity (K) of 7.1 ft/day based on a saturated thickness of 83 ft. The injection test data from the massive basalt near screen 2 were analyzed by the Bouwer-Rice slug test methodology and suggest that K is 0.11 ft/day, corresponding to a T of about 2.8 ft{sup 2}/day based on a saturated thickness of 25 ft. Characterization well R-13 is located in Mortandad Canyon just west of the eastern Laboratory boundary. It was completed at a depth of 1029 ft bgs in February 2002. This well was constructed with one 60-ft long screen positioned about 125 ft below the regional water table. This screen is completed at about 958-1019 ft bgs and straddles the

  7. Language development and everyday functioning of children with hearing loss assessed at 3 years of age

    OpenAIRE

    Ching, Teresa Y. C.; Crowe, Kathryn; Martin, Vivienne; Day, Julia; Mahler, Nicole; Youn, Samantha; Street, Laura; Cook, Cassandra; Orsini, Julia

    2010-01-01

    This paper reports language ability and everyday functioning of 133 children with hearing impairment who were evaluated at 3 years of age, as part of the Longitudinal Outcomes of Children with Hearing Impairment (LOCHI) study. The language abilities of children were evaluated using the Preschool Language Scale (PLS-4), Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test (PPVT), Diagnostic Evaluation of Articulation and Phonology (DEAP) and Child Development Inventory (CDI). Everyday functioning of children was e...

  8. [Lexical development. The construction of different vocabulary tests used in clinical practice].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ptok, M; Kühn, D; Miller, S

    2014-04-01

    During first language acquisition (L1), children need to gather knowledge about the speech sounds and grammar of their mother tongue. Furthermore, communication skills require an adequate vocabulary. Individual profiles of vocabulary acquisition can vary considerably. However, actively using around 50 words by the age of 24 months is considered a milestone in first language acquisition. This is usually followed by the so-called vocabulary spurt, a rapid increase in lexical knowledge. This article provides an overview of the theories of lexical development and discusses how the acquisition of vocabulary may be explained. A selective literature search was conducted in PubMed and Scopus. Current textbooks were also considered. In order to acquire new words, a child has to identify what the new string of speech sounds refers to. The child has to construct a valid concept of the word and subsequently store both word and concept into long-term memory. Several theories have been put forward to explain lexicon organization, the acquisition of concepts and the mechanisms underlying the so-called fast mapping phenomenon in particular. All of these attempt to explain the phenomenon of lexicon acquisition in terms of a model scheme. In the context of the fast mapping mechanism, constraints and assumptions, cognitive, intentionalist and emergence-based theories are discussed. Knowledge of the different theories of vocabulary acquisition is mandatory to understand the construction of the tests used to assess vocabulary skills in clinical practice and to apply these appropriately.

  9. The Effect of Computer-Based Self-Access Learning on Weekly Vocabulary Test Scores

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jordan Dreyer

    2014-09-01

    Full Text Available This study sets out to clarify the effectiveness of using an online vocabulary study tool, Quizlet, in an urban high school language arts class. Previous similar studies have mostly dealt with English Language Learners in college settings (Chui, 2013, and were therefore not directed at the issue self-efficacy that is at the heart of the problem of urban high school students in America entering remedial writing programs (Rose, 1989. The study involves 95 students over the course of 14 weeks. Students were tested weekly and were asked to use the Quizlet program in their own free time. The result of this optional involvement was that many students did not participate in the treatment and therefore acted as an elective control group. The resultant data collected shows a strong correlation between the use of an online vocabulary review program and short-term vocabulary retention. The study also showed that students who paced themselves and spread out their study sessions outperformed those students who used the program only for last minute “cram sessions.” The implications of the study are that students who take advantage of tools outside of the classroom are able to out perform their peers. The results are also in line with the call to include technology in the Basic Writing classroom not simply as a tool, but as a “form of discourse” (Jonaitis, 2012. Weekly vocabulary tests, combined with the daily online activity as reported by Quizlet, show that: 1 utilizing the review software improved the scores of most students, 2 those students who used Quizlet to review more than a single time (i.e., several days before the test outperformed those who only used the product once, and 3 students who professed proficiency with the “notebook” system of vocabulary learning appeared not to need the treatment.

  10. PENGEMBANGAN TEKNIK PENILAIAN CATEGORIZING GRID UNTUK MELATIHKAN KECAKAPAN MENGANALIS PADA MATAKULIAH VOCABULARY I

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    Siti Azizah

    2015-12-01

    Full Text Available Analysis skill is advance cognitive skill that the students must have in their learning, including in Vocabulary I. It studies how the assessment forms of categorizing grid technique which can practice students’ skill in analyzing. After researched, tested definite sample, revised based on expert’s suggestion, as well as the implementation, there is a finding that the technique of assessment is valid and good technique. Assessment technique develop to support learning activity in Vocabulary I in “compound nouns” topic using categorizing grid to train students’ skill in analyzing is acceptable. The proofs are: the assessment running well, there are solutions for the obstacles during the assessment activity, students’ activity running well, students give positive response. 

  11. Understanding Test-Takers' Perceptions of Difficulty in EAP Vocabulary Tests: The Role of Experiential Factors

    Science.gov (United States)

    Oruç Ertürk, Nesrin; Mumford, Simon E.

    2017-01-01

    This study, conducted by two researchers who were also multiple-choice question (MCQ) test item writers at a private English-medium university in an English as a foreign language (EFL) context, was designed to shed light on the factors that influence test-takers' perceptions of difficulty in English for academic purposes (EAP) vocabulary, with the…

  12. The Bulimia Test--Revised: Validation with "DSM-IV" Criteria for Bulimia Nervosa.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Thelen, Mark H.; And Others

    1996-01-01

    The Bulimia Test--Revised (BULIT-R) was given to 23 female subjects who met the criteria for bulimia in the "Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders" (DSM-IV) and 124 female controls. The BULIT-R appears to be a valid instruction for identifying individuals who meet DSM-IV criteria for bulimia. (SLD)

  13. Difficulties Using Standardized Tests to Identify the Receptive Expressive Gap in Bilingual Children's Vocabularies.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gibson, Todd A; Oller, D Kimbrough; Jarmulowicz, Linda

    2018-03-01

    Receptive standardized vocabulary scores have been found to be much higher than expressive standardized vocabulary scores in children with Spanish as L1, learning L2 (English) in school (Gibson et al., 2012). Here we present evidence suggesting the receptive-expressive gap may be harder to evaluate than previously thought because widely-used standardized tests may not offer comparable normed scores. Furthermore monolingual Spanish-speaking children tested in Mexico and monolingual English-speaking children in the US showed other, yet different statistically significant discrepancies between receptive and expressive scores. Results suggest comparisons across widely used standardized tests in attempts to assess a receptive-expressive gap are precarious.

  14. Changes in Word Usage Frequency May Hamper Intergenerational Comparisons of Vocabulary Skills: An Ngram Analysis of Wordsum, WAIS, and WISC Test Items

    Science.gov (United States)

    Roivainen, Eka

    2014-01-01

    Research on secular trends in mean intelligence test scores shows smaller gains in vocabulary skills than in nonverbal reasoning. One possible explanation is that vocabulary test items become outdated faster compared to nonverbal tasks. The history of the usage frequency of the words on five popular vocabulary tests, the GSS Wordsum, Wechsler…

  15. Assessing roles of vocabulary knowledge predominating in contextual clues

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Patcharawadee Promduang

    2016-07-01

    Full Text Available The purpose of this study is to investigate the relationship between vocabulary knowledge and the use of contextual clues and whether EFL learners who are well-equipped with reading skills are able to comprehend the text despite a low level of vocabulary knowledge. Therefore, the study focused on which vocabulary dimensions help students guess unfamiliar words. The study was carried out at Hatyai University in Thailand. The population of this study consisted of 34 undergraduates who were studying International Business English and had taken a course in reading techniques. The present study was conducted to conceptually validate the roles of breadth and depth of vocabulary knowledge to improve skills by contextual clue. Vocabulary Depth was specially employed to evaluate two dimensions namely Paradigmatic and Syntagmatic. The Schmitt and Clapham Vocabulary Level Test was used to test vocabulary breadth, while the vocabulary depth was implemented by Read’s Vocabulary Depth Test. Reading parts of the TOEFL were adopted for contextual clue items. There were two statistical analysis tools also implemented in this study: paired-sample t-test and bivariate correlation. First, in an attempt to find which vocabulary dimension predominates in guessing word meaning from the text, a paired-sample t-test was utilized to compare the difference of two vocabulary dimensions in reading part: vocabulary depth and contextual clues, and vocabulary breadth and contextual clues. Second, a bivariate correlation was used to find the degree of relationship between vocabulary knowledge and contextual clues. The consequences of this study identified empirical results that 1 there was a positive relationship between contextual clues and vocabulary depth, the reverse is true in vocabulary breadth. Moreover, vocabulary depth is more significantly crucial than breadth to enhance student’s ability to guess words’ meaning from the context.

  16. The I Don't Know Option in the Vocabulary Size Test

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhang, Xian

    2013-01-01

    The current study evaluates guessing behaviors in a vocabulary size test (VST) and examines whether including an "I don't know" in a VST may have an impact on the results of the test. One-hundred-fifty first-year students at a university in China took part in the study. They were randomly assigned to three groups. Each group took a…

  17. The Music Attentiveness Screening Assessment, Revised (MASA-R): A Study of Technical Adequacy.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Waldon, Eric G; Lesser, Alexander; Weeden, Lydia; Messick, Emily

    2016-01-01

    Evidence suggests that attention is an important consideration when designing procedural support interventions for children undergoing distressing medical procedures. As such, the extent to which children can attend to musical stimuli used during music-based procedural support interventions would seem important. The Music Attentiveness Screening Assessment (MASA) was designed to assess a child's ability to attend to musical stimuli, but further revisions were deemed necessary to improve administration, test-retest reliability, and interobserver agreement for the measure's items. This study investigated the technical adequacy of the Music Attentiveness Screening Assessment, Revised (MASA-R), with a non-clinical sample of children aged 4 to 9 years by examining (a) Construct validity using comparator instruments measuring auditory attention; (b) Test-retest reliability following a two-week delay; and (c) Interobserver agreement when administered by two independent examiners. This non-clinical sample included 69 children who were administered both items from MASA-R and two comparator instruments: the Auditory Attention subtest from the NEPSY-II (NII-AA) for children aged 5 to 9 years (n = 47); and the Auditory Attention subtest from the Woodcock-Johnson Tests of Cognitive Abilities, 3rd ed. (WJIII-AA), for children aged 4 years (n = 22). A significant proportion of score variance was shared by both MASA-R items and the comparator measures: R (2) = .16, F(2, 66) = 6.30, p = .003. MASA-R score estimates with regard to test-retest reliability (Item I, intra-class correlation [ICC] = .88; Item II, ICC = .91) and interobserver agreement (Item I, ICC = .99; Item II, ICC = .98) also fell into acceptable ranges. Estimates of MASA-R score construct validity, test-retest reliability, and interobserver agreement appear improved over its predecessor, MASA. While findings are promising, additional investigation of its use with a clinical sample is needed before it can be

  18. Cueing vocabulary during sleep increases theta activity during later recognition testing.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Schreiner, Thomas; Göldi, Maurice; Rasch, Björn

    2015-11-01

    Neural oscillations in the theta band have repeatedly been implicated in successful memory encoding and retrieval. Several recent studies have shown that memory retrieval can be facilitated by reactivating memories during their consolidation during sleep. However, it is still unknown whether reactivation during sleep also enhances subsequent retrieval-related neural oscillations. We have recently demonstrated that foreign vocabulary cues presented during sleep improve later recall of the associated translations. Here, we examined the effect of cueing foreign vocabulary during sleep on oscillatory activity during subsequent recognition testing after sleep. We show that those words that were replayed during sleep after learning (cued words) elicited stronger centroparietal theta activity during recognition as compared to noncued words. The reactivation-induced increase in theta oscillations during later recognition testing might reflect a strengthening of individual memory traces and the integration of the newly learned words into the mental lexicon by cueing during sleep. © 2015 Society for Psychophysiological Research.

  19. Introducing a Romanian Frequency List and the Romanian Vocabulary Levels Test

    OpenAIRE

    Szabo, Cz.

    2015-01-01

    Vocabulary is considered essential to language learning, thus English word lists and tests based on frequency information have become the centre of attention for researchers, teachers and learners alike. As a result, it is argued hereby that frequency based word lists and tests should be adapted and regarded as key elements for teaching and learning Romanian as an additional language as well. \\ud Since there are currently no reliable frequency lists and lexical tests in Romanian, this paper a...

  20. Second Language Vocabulary Growth at Advanced Level

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ozturk, Meral

    2016-01-01

    This study investigated the receptive vocabulary growth of advanced EFL learners in an English-medium degree programme. The study used the Vocabulary Size Test in a cross-sectional design to measure the vocabulary size of learners at various stages of study. The effect of word frequency on vocabulary development and the presence of an…

  1. Developments in UK defect assessment procedures R6 revision 4 and BS7910

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Sharples, J.K.; Ainsworth, R.A.; Budden, P.J.

    2003-01-01

    The R6 defect assessment procedures have been developed over many years by the UK nuclear power generation industry. The procedures are updated on a regular basis, taking into account the information resulting from the R6 development programme and other available information worldwide. A major revision, Revision 4, of the R6 procedures was released in 2000. Just prior to that release, in 1999, the British Standards flaw assessment procedure BS7910 was issued and combined and updated the previous published documents PD6493 and PD6539, for components operating at temperatures where creep was negligible and important, respectively. BS79l0 is also under constant development. This paper provides a brief overview of the BS7910 and R6 Revision 4 procedures and describes updates to the respective documents since they were first issued. Some ongoing developments which will lead to future revisions to the documents are also described. (author)

  2. Impact of Training Deep Vocabulary Learning Strategies on Vocabulary Retention of Iranian EFL Learners

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Seyed Javad Es-hagi Sardroud

    2013-05-01

    Full Text Available Considering the overall tendency of foreign language learners to use mechanical strategies of rote rehearsal in vocabulary learning and their resistance towards use of 'deep' vocabulary learning strategies, namely contextual guessing, Keyword Method, metacognitive strategy, and semantic mapping, this study intended (a to explore what impact the instruction of these deep strategies, on vocabulary retention of 32 post-intermediate adult EFL Iranian learners, (b to determine how the variable of gender influences the vocabulary retention of students after receiving training in these strategies. To this end, on the basis of a strategy-based model of instruction–CALLA (Chamot & O'Malley, 1994, the experimental group received training in using 'deep' vocabulary learning strategies while the control group received only the common method of vocabulary teaching. After the treatment, following factorial design, the performance of the participants in the teacher-made vocabulary test as posttest was analyzed statistically.  The results indicated higher vocabulary retention for the experimental group, and it was revealed that female students were more receptive to strategy training. This study provides evidence for confirmation of 'depth of processing' hypothesis and the emerging theory about the impact of gender on effective strategy teaching and use, and it recommends incorporation of teaching these 'deep' strategies of vocabulary learning into EFL classrooms.

  3. The Impact of Vocabulary Knowledge Level on EFL Reading Comprehension

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Shima Kameli

    2013-01-01

    Full Text Available The present study examined the impact of vocabulary knowledge level on reading comprehension performance among EFL language learners. The ultimate intention was to determine the association between levels of vocabulary knowledge and to clarify the relationship among vocabulary knowledge on reading comprehension performance of EFL Iranian students on subtest of VLT and IELTS. Quantitative data were collected from 220 EFL Iranian adult students at the beginning of second semester of 2011 in private English language institute (BAHAR, Shiraz, Iran. The Vocabulary Levels Test (VLT and Reading Comprehension Test (IELTS were performed in one session as research instruments. The findings indicated that there were positive relationships among different levels of vocabulary test and also test scores on vocabulary size/breadth of vocabulary knowledge, and reading comprehension.

  4. Grammar and vocabulary for First and First for schools with answers

    CERN Document Server

    Thomas, Barbara; Matthews, Laura

    2015-01-01

    Grammar and Vocabulary reference and practice for the revised Cambridge English: First (FCE) and Cambridge English: First (FCE) for Schools from 2015 Cambridge Grammar and Vocabulary for First and First for Schools provides complete coverage of the grammar and vocabulary needed for the Cambridge First exams, and develops listening skills at the same time. It includes the full range of First and First for Schools exam tasks from the Reading and Use of English, Writing and Listening papers, and contains helpful grammar explanations. This edition is updated for the new exam to be introduced from 2015. It is informed by the Cambridge Learner Corpus to ensure that the language tackles real learner errors. The accompanying listening material is available online for download.

  5. Test Scatter on the WISC-R in Learning Disabled Children.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tabachnick, Barbara Gerson

    Scatter on the revised Wechsler Intelligence Scale for children (WISC-R) was evaluated for 105 learning disabled (LD) children. Scatter was defined as range of scaled scores on: (1) five regular verbal tests; (2) five regular performance tests; and (3) all 10 regular subtests. Pairwise combinations of 11 subtests were also evaluated for deviations…

  6. Early language processing efficiency predicts later receptive vocabulary outcomes in children born preterm.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Marchman, Virginia A; Adams, Katherine A; Loi, Elizabeth C; Fernald, Anne; Feldman, Heidi M

    2016-01-01

    As rates of prematurity continue to rise, identifying which preterm children are at increased risk for learning disabilities is a public health imperative. Identifying continuities between early and later skills in this vulnerable population can also illuminate fundamental neuropsychological processes that support learning in all children. At 18 months adjusted age, we used socioeconomic status (SES), medical variables, parent-reported vocabulary, scores on the Bayley Scales of Infant and Toddler Development (third edition) language composite, and children's lexical processing speed in the looking-while-listening (LWL) task as predictor variables in a sample of 30 preterm children. Receptive vocabulary as measured by the Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test (fourth edition) at 36 months was the outcome. Receptive vocabulary was correlated with SES, but uncorrelated with degree of prematurity or a composite of medical risk. Importantly, lexical processing speed was the strongest predictor of receptive vocabulary (r = -.81), accounting for 30% unique variance. Individual differences in lexical processing efficiency may be able to serve as a marker for information processing skills that are critical for language learning.

  7. A Spanish validation of the Coma Recovery Scale-Revised (CRS-R).

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tamashiro, Mercedes; Rivas, Maria Elisa; Ron, Melania; Salierno, Fernando; Dalera, Marisol; Olmos, Lisandro

    2014-01-01

    Analysis of inter-rater reliability and concurrent validity. To determine measurement properties of a Spanish version of The Coma Recovery Scale-Revised (CRS-R). A sample of 35 in-patients with severe acquired brain injury. To test concurrent validity of the translated scale, the Glasgow Coma Scale (GSC) and Disability Rating Scale (DRS) were also administered. Two experts in the field were recruited to assess inter-rater agreement. Inter-rater reliability was good for total CRS-R scores (Cronbach α = 0.973, p = 0.001). Sub-scale analysis showed moderate-to-high inter-rater agreement. Total CRS-R scores correlated significantly (p < 0.05) with total GCS (r = 0.74) and DRS (r = 0.54) scores, indicating acceptable concurrent validity. The Spanish version of CRS-R can be administered reliably by trained and experienced examiners. CRS-R appears capable of differentiating patients in Emergence from Minimally Conscious State (EMCS) or in Minimally Conscious State (MCS) from those in a Vegetative State (VS).

  8. TOEFL IBT vocabulary flash review

    CERN Document Server

    Llc, Learning Express

    2014-01-01

    The Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) measures the English proficiency of people whose native language isn't English. This portable guide features 600 essential TOEFL vocabulary flashcards, bound in a convenient book format, with definitions, sample sentences, synonyms, and pronunciation. The cards include the most-tested vocabulary on the exam. The perfect companion to any TOEFL study plan, this book is pocket-sized for portability and great for study anywhere, anytime!

  9. English-French bilingual children’s phonological awareness and vocabulary skills

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    PiYu Chiang

    2007-12-01

    Full Text Available Abstract This study examined the relationship between English-speaking children’s vocabulary skills in English and in French and their phonological awareness skills in both languages. Forty-four kindergarten-aged children attending French immersion programs were administered a receptive vocabulary test, an expressive vocabulary test and a phonological awareness test in English and French. Results showed that French phonological awareness was largely explained by English phonological awareness, consistent with previous findings that phonological awareness skills transfer across languages. However, there was a small unique contribution from French expressive vocabulary size to French phonological awareness. The importance of vocabulary skills to the development of phonological awareness is discussed.

  10. Exposing SAMOS Data and Vocabularies within the Semantic Web

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dockery, Nkemdirim; Elya, Jocelyn; Smith, Shawn

    2014-05-01

    resources that link daily SAMOS data to descriptors such as parameters, time and location information, quality assurance reports, and cruise tracks will also be described. The data is housed on a Thematic Real-time Environmental Distributed Data Services (THREDDS) data server, so these RDF resources will enable enhanced retrieval by any of the linked descriptors. We will showcase our collaboration with the Rolling Deck to Repository (R2R) program to develop SPARQL endpoints that distribute SAMOS content. R2R packages and transmits data on a per cruise basis, so an immediate result of the SAMOS exposure will be the narrowing of the gap between expedition type data (e.g. R2R cruises) and SAMOS observatory type data. The authors will present the development of RDF resources that will collectively expose shipboard data, vocabularies, and quality assurance reports in an overall structure which will serve as the basis for a COAPS SPARQL endpoint, enabling easier programmatic access to SAMOS data.

  11. Assessing Reliability of Two Versions of Vocabulary Levels Tests in Iranian Context

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Aso Bayazidi

    2017-02-01

    Full Text Available This study examined the equivalence and reliability of the two versions of the Vocabulary Levels Test in an Iranian context. This study was motivated by the fact that the Vocabulary Levels test is increasingly being used in Iran for both research and pedagogical purposes without having been checked for validity and reliability in this context. The equivalence and reliability of the two versions of the test were examined through the parallel-form approach to reliability in Classical True Score theory. Seventy-five intermediate learners of English as a foreign language at the Iran Language Institute took the two versions of the test with one week interval between the two administrations in a counterbalanced fashion. To examine the equivalence of the two versions, the means and variances of the scores obtained for the two tests were compared using paired-sample t-test and one-way ANOVA, respectively. The results of the analyses indicated that the difference between the means of the two versions was significant, and the two versions cannot be considered as parallel forms. To assess the reliability of the two versions, the correlation between the scores obtained from them was estimated using Pearson Product Moment correlation. The results of the analyses showed that the two versions are highly correlated and are reliable tests. It is concluded that the two versions should not be treated as equivalent in longitudinal and gain score studies.

  12. Vocabulary Breadth and Field Dependence/Independence Cognitive Styles

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Nassim Golaghaei

    2011-07-01

    Full Text Available This article is primarily bidirectional in that it is concerned with two fields of cognitive styles of field-dependency/independency on one hand and breadth of vocabulary knowledge on the other hand. In other word, this research is primarily intended to investigate the nature of the students' vocabulary knowledge in the field of passive and active knowledge of L2 words as a whole with regard to their preferred cognitive style of field dependency/independency. A group of 60 undergraduate students majoring in the field of English Language Teaching was selected. They were then divided into two groups based on the basis of their preferred cognitive styles of field-dependency / independency. Four types of tests, the 1000 frequency word-level test, the passive version of vocabulary Levels Test, the Productive Version of the Vocabulary Levels Test, and the Group Imbedded Figures Test were administered to the participants. The conclusion drawn after the analysis of the data was that the fieldindependent group outperformed their field-dependent counterparts in dealing with both passive and productive vocabulary levels. Finally, the findings of this research could be interpreted as being supportive of the idea that the field-dependent/independent cognitive style could be considered as an effective factor influencing the learners' vocabulary learning in the field of second language acquisition.

  13. Effects of Hierarchy Vocabulary Exercises on English Vocabulary Acquisition

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lin, Ching-Ying; Hsu, Wei Shu

    2013-01-01

    The purpose of the study was to compare the effectiveness of hierarchy vocabulary exercises and copying vocabulary exercises on EFL students' vocabulary acquisition and reading comprehension. Two specific factors were probed: (a) vocabulary gains and retention from different exercises; (b) reading comprehension performance through different…

  14. Nevada Test Site Radiological Control Manual. Revision 1

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    None, None

    2010-02-09

    This document supersedes DOE/NV/25946--801, “Nevada Test Site Radiological Control Manual,” Revision 0 issued in October 2009. Brief Description of Revision: A minor revision to correct oversights made during revision to incorporate the 10 CFR 835 Update; and for use as a reference document for Tenant Organization Radiological Protection Programs.

  15. A Confirmatory Factor Analysis of the Life Orientation Test-Revised with Competitive Athletes

    Science.gov (United States)

    Appaneal, Renee N.

    2012-01-01

    Current reviews outside of sport indicate that the Life Orientation Test-Revised (LOT-R) items load on two separate factors (optimism and pessimism) and, therefore, should be treated as independent constructs. However, researchers in the sport sciences continue to use the single composite score reflecting a unidimensional definition of optimism.…

  16. Powerful Vocabulary Acquisition through Texts Comparison

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Mohammad Reza Hasannejad

    2015-03-01

    Full Text Available This study aimed to investigate if dual version reading comprehension had a positive effect on Intermediate EFL students’ general vocabulary acquisition, receptive and productive knowledge of vocabulary and students’ synonymous power of words. Two groups were selected - the experimental group and the control group. The study included: (1 four pretests (2 the dual version reading comprehension, and (3 four posttests. It was found that there was no significant difference between the two groups of students on the pretests. However there was a significant difference between the two groups of the students on the posttests. Overall, the dual version reading comprehension vocabulary-learning made the experimental group learners outperformed the control groups in terms of their performance on four types of vocabulary tests. This indicates that students following dual version reading comprehension were more successful in vocabulary acquisition, and developing their receptive knowledge of vocabulary, transferring their receptive knowledge in to the productive knowledge and enhancing the memorization of the synonymous words.

  17. Normative adjustments to the D-KEFS trail making test: corrections for education and vocabulary level.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fine, Eric M; Delis, Dean C; Holdnack, James

    2011-11-01

    The Delis-Kaplan Executive Function System (D-KEFS) Trail Making Test (TMT), a modification of the original TMT, was created to isolate set-shifting (Letter-Number Switching) from other component skills. This was accomplished by including four baseline conditions (Visual Scanning, Number Sequencing, Letter Sequencing, and Motor Speed) and by placing equal numbers of stimuli in the three sequencing conditions. Given that some studies with the original TMT demonstrated a significant effect of education and intellectual functioning on performance, we utilized the D-KEFS national standardization sample to examine the effects of education and vocabulary level-i.e., Vocabulary subtest from the Wechsler Abbreviated Scale of Intelligence (WASI)-on the D-KEFS TMT. The results indicate a significant effect of these variables on each D-KEFS TMT condition. Normative tables for education- and vocabulary-adjusted scaled scores based on the database from the D-KEFS national normative study were generated.

  18. The Revised Neurobehavioral Severity Scale (NSS-R) for Rodents.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yarnell, Angela M; Barry, Erin S; Mountney, Andrea; Shear, Deborah; Tortella, Frank; Grunberg, Neil E

    2016-04-08

    Motor and sensory deficits are common following traumatic brain injury (TBI). Although rodent models provide valuable insight into the biological and functional outcomes of TBI, the success of translational research is critically dependent upon proper selection of sensitive, reliable, and reproducible assessments. Published literature includes various observational scales designed to evaluate post-injury functionality; however, the heterogeneity in TBI location, severity, and symptomology can complicate behavioral assessments. The importance of choosing behavioral outcomes that can be reliably and objectively quantified in an efficient manner is becoming increasingly important. The Revised Neurobehavioral Severity Scale (NSS-R) is a continuous series of specific, sensitive, and standardized observational tests that evaluate balance, motor coordination, and sensorimotor reflexes in rodents. The tasks follow a specific order designed to minimize interference: balance, landing, tail raise, dragging, righting reflex, ear reflex, eye reflex, sound reflex, tail pinch, and hindpaw pinch. The NSS-R has proven to be a reliable method differentiating brain-injured rodents from non-brain-injured rodents across many brain injury models. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

  19. The validity of the Addenbrooke's Cognitive Examination-Revised (ACE-R) in acute stroke.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Morris, Katie; Hacker, Vicki; Lincoln, Nadina Berrice

    2012-01-01

    The purpose was to examine the validity of the Addenbrooke's Cognitive Examination Revised (ACE-R) as a screening measure to detect cognitive impairment after stroke. Stroke patients in hospital were recruited and the ACE-R, which includes the Mini-Mental Status Examination (MMSE), was administered, followed by a battery of neuropsychological tests, which served as the 'gold standard' for classification of cognitive impairment. The diagnostic validity of the ACE-R was determined by ROC analysis. Of the 101 patients who completed the ACE-R, 61 also completed the neuropsychological assessment. Both the MMSE and the ACE-R were found to have inadequate diagnostic validity for the detection of overall cognitive impairment (MMSE AUC = 0.53, p > 0.05; ACE-R AUC = 0.53, p > 0.05). The ACE-R subscales predicted impairment in specific cognitive domains significantly better than chance; Visuospatial (AUC = 0.71, p cognitive functioning. The ACE-R was not a suitable measure to screen for overall cognitive impairment in acute stroke patients, but was able to detect impairment in visuospatial, attention and executive domains.

  20. The Vocabulary Scores of Company Presidents. Technical Report 1984-1.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Smith, Richard M.; Supanich, Gary P.

    In June 1983, 456 presidents from among 5,000 of the largest companies in the United States took a vocabulary test designed by the Johnson O'Connor Research Foundation, with the purpose of reexaming the contention that a large and exact vocabulary is an attribute characterizing executives. This Executive Vocabulary Test consisted of 50…

  1. Trajectories of autonomy development across the adolescent transition in children with spina bifida.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Friedman, Deborah; Holmbeck, Grayson N; DeLucia, Christian; Jandasek, Barbara; Zebracki, Kathy

    2009-02-01

    The current study investigated individual growth in autonomy development across the adolescent transition, comparing the trajectories of children with and without spina bifida. Individual growth curve modeling procedures were utilized to describe the developmental course of autonomy across four waves of data collection, from ages 9 to 15, and to test whether illness status [spina bifida vs. matched comparison group (N = 68 for both groups at Time 1)] would significantly predict individual variability in autonomy development. Potential moderators [child gender, SES, and Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test (PPVT) score] of the association between illness status and autonomy development were also examined. Children with spina bifida demonstrated distinct developmental trajectories, though the nature of the group differences varied by type of autonomy development (emotional vs. behavioral), context (i.e. school vs. family), and reporter. Significant interactions with PPVT score and child gender were found. Overall, children with spina bifida show considerable developmental resiliency, but may lag behind their peers in specific areas of autonomy. Boys with spina bifida, and children with spina bifida who have lower than average levels of verbal intelligence, appear to be at greater risk for exhibiting delays in autonomy development.

  2. EPR first responders revision test

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    2011-01-01

    In this revision test evaluates the acquired knowledge in case of radiological emergency confront. Actions to be taken in relation to people, equipment and the environment. Doses, radioactive sources, pollution

  3. Using Vocabulary Notebooks for Vocabulary Acquisition and Teaching

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dubiner, Deborah

    2017-01-01

    Vocabulary knowledge is recognized as an essential element for second language acquisition and reading comprehension. One known way to encourage and support vocabulary development amongst second language learners is keeping a vocabulary notebook. The primary purpose of the present study was to document two aspects of student teachers' own…

  4. BUILDING VOCABULARY USING POP SONGS

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    author Rahmatika Kayyis

    2015-01-01

    Full Text Available The objective of the study is to find out whether there is a significant difference between the vocabulary mastery of first semester students taughtusing English pop songs and that taught without using English pop songs as a medium. This study involved 64 students of first semesterof STKIP Muhammadiyah Pringsewu Lampung in the academic year of 2012/2013 as the objects of the study. The result of the study shows there is a significant difference in the student’s vocabulary mastery between the experimental group who are taughtusing English pop songs and that taught without using English pop songs as a medium.The mean of post test score of the experimental group is 16.93 while the mean score of the control group is 14.54. The result of t-test shows that t-observed value which is higher than the t-value of the table (2.572>1.99, with a probability value of 0.008 which is lower than the significance level (0.008 < 0.05. In conclusion, the use of English pop songscould improve the students’ vocabulary mastery.Keywords: Vocabulary, English Pop Songs

  5. Preliminary Psychometric Testing of the Postpartum Depression Predictors Inventory-Revised (PDPI-R) in Portuguese Women.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Alves, Stephanie; Fonseca, Ana; Canavarro, Maria Cristina; Pereira, Marco

    2018-04-01

    Introduction Postpartum depression (PPD) is a prevalent condition with a serious impact. The early identification of women at risk for developing PPD allows for primary prevention and the delivery of timely appropriate referrals. This study investigated the validity and reliability of the postnatal version of the Postpartum Depression Predictors Inventory-Revised (PDPI-R), an instrument widely studied internationally, in Portuguese women. Methods The sample consisted of 204 women who participated in an online cross-sectional survey. Participants completed the European Portuguese versions of the PDPI-R, the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS), and the Postnatal Negative Thoughts Questionnaire at 1-2 months postpartum. Additionally, ROC analyses were performed to conduct an exploratory analysis of the instruments' predictive validity. Results The prevalence rates of clinical postpartum depressive symptoms were 27.5 and 14.2% using the cut-off scores of 9 and 12, respectively, on the EPDS. The European Portuguese postnatal version of the PDPI-R demonstrated acceptable reliability and satisfactory construct and convergent validity. When using the EPDS > 9 cut-off score, the exploratory analyses yielded a sensitivity of 76.8% and a specificity of 73.0% with a cut-off score of 5.5 [area under the curve = 0.816]. Discussion These preliminary findings encourage the use of the postnatal version of the PDPI-R as a screening tool to identify Portuguese women at high risk for developing PPD. Subsequent assessments are needed to support the routine application of the PDPI-R both in research and for clinical purposes.

  6. Testing Math or Testing Language? The Construct Validity of the KeyMath-Revised for Children With Intellectual Disability and Language Difficulties.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rhodes, Katherine T; Branum-Martin, Lee; Morris, Robin D; Romski, MaryAnn; Sevcik, Rose A

    2015-11-01

    Although it is often assumed that mathematics ability alone predicts mathematics test performance, linguistic demands may also predict achievement. This study examined the role of language in mathematics assessment performance for children with intellectual disability (ID) at less severe levels, on the KeyMath-Revised Inventory (KM-R) with a sample of 264 children, in grades 2-5. Using confirmatory factor analysis, the hypothesis that the KM-R would demonstrate discriminant validity with measures of language abilities in a two-factor model was compared to two plausible alternative models. Results indicated that KM-R did not have discriminant validity with measures of children's language abilities and was a multidimensional test of both mathematics and language abilities for this population of test users. Implications are considered for test development, interpretation, and intervention.

  7. Vocabulary Knowledge Predicts Lexical Processing: Evidence from a Group of Participants with Diverse Educational Backgrounds

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Nina Mainz

    2017-07-01

    Full Text Available Vocabulary knowledge is central to a speaker's command of their language. In previous research, greater vocabulary knowledge has been associated with advantages in language processing. In this study, we examined the relationship between individual differences in vocabulary and language processing performance more closely by (i using a battery of vocabulary tests instead of just one test, and (ii testing not only university students (Experiment 1 but young adults from a broader range of educational backgrounds (Experiment 2. Five vocabulary tests were developed, including multiple-choice and open antonym and synonym tests and a definition test, and administered together with two established measures of vocabulary. Language processing performance was measured using a lexical decision task. In Experiment 1, vocabulary and word frequency were found to predict word recognition speed while we did not observe an interaction between the effects. In Experiment 2, word recognition performance was predicted by word frequency and the interaction between word frequency and vocabulary, with high-vocabulary individuals showing smaller frequency effects. While overall the individual vocabulary tests were correlated and showed similar relationships with language processing as compared to a composite measure of all tests, they appeared to share less variance in Experiment 2 than in Experiment 1. Implications of our findings concerning the assessment of vocabulary size in individual differences studies and the investigation of individuals from more varied backgrounds are discussed.

  8. Vocabulary Knowledge Predicts Lexical Processing: Evidence from a Group of Participants with Diverse Educational Backgrounds

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mainz, Nina; Shao, Zeshu; Brysbaert, Marc; Meyer, Antje S.

    2017-01-01

    Vocabulary knowledge is central to a speaker's command of their language. In previous research, greater vocabulary knowledge has been associated with advantages in language processing. In this study, we examined the relationship between individual differences in vocabulary and language processing performance more closely by (i) using a battery of vocabulary tests instead of just one test, and (ii) testing not only university students (Experiment 1) but young adults from a broader range of educational backgrounds (Experiment 2). Five vocabulary tests were developed, including multiple-choice and open antonym and synonym tests and a definition test, and administered together with two established measures of vocabulary. Language processing performance was measured using a lexical decision task. In Experiment 1, vocabulary and word frequency were found to predict word recognition speed while we did not observe an interaction between the effects. In Experiment 2, word recognition performance was predicted by word frequency and the interaction between word frequency and vocabulary, with high-vocabulary individuals showing smaller frequency effects. While overall the individual vocabulary tests were correlated and showed similar relationships with language processing as compared to a composite measure of all tests, they appeared to share less variance in Experiment 2 than in Experiment 1. Implications of our findings concerning the assessment of vocabulary size in individual differences studies and the investigation of individuals from more varied backgrounds are discussed. PMID:28751871

  9. The effect of vocabulary notebooks on vocabulary acquisition

    OpenAIRE

    Bozkurt, Neval

    2007-01-01

    Ankara : The Department of Teaching English as a Foreign Language, Bilkent University, 2007. Thesis (Master's) -- Bilkent University, 2007. Includes bibliographical references leaves 82-87 This study investigated the effectiveness of vocabulary notebooks on vocabulary acquisition, and the attitudes of teachers and learners towards keeping vocabulary notebooks. The study was conducted with the participation of 60 pre-intermediate level students, divided into one treatment ...

  10. PROMOTING INCIDENTAL VOCABULARY LEARNING THROUGH VERBAL DRAMATIZATION OF WORDS

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Looi-Chin Ch’ng

    2014-12-01

    Full Text Available Despite the fact that explicit teaching of vocabulary is often practised in English as a Second Language (ESL classrooms, it has been proven to be rather ineffective, largely because words are not taught in context. This has prompted the increasing use of incidental vocabulary learning approach, which emphasises on repeated readings as a source for vocabulary learning. By adopting this approach, this study aims to investigate students’ ability in learning vocabulary incidentally via verbal dramatization of written texts. In this case, readers’ theatre (RT is used as a way to allow learners to engage in active reading so as to promote vocabulary learning. A total of 160 diploma students participated in this case study and they were divided equally into two groups, namely classroom reading (CR and RT groups. A proficiency test was first conducted to determine their vocabulary levels. Based on the test results, a story was selected as the reading material in the two groups. The CR group read the story through a normal reading lesson in class while the RT group was required to verbally dramatize the text through readers’ theatre activity. Then, a post-test based on vocabulary levels was carried out and the results were compared. The findings revealed that incidental learning was more apparent in the RT group and their ability to learn words from the higher levels was noticeable through higher accuracy scores. Although not conclusive, this study has demonstrated the potential of using readers’ theatre as a form of incidental vocabulary learning activity in ESL settings.

  11. The pace of vocabulary growth helps predict later vocabulary skill

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rowe, Meredith L.; Raudenbush, Stephen W.; Goldin-Meadow, Susan

    2011-01-01

    Children vary widely in the rate at which they acquire words—some start slow and speed up, others start fast and continue at a steady pace. Do early developmental variations of this sort help predict vocabulary skill just prior to kindergarten entry? This longitudinal study starts by examining important predictors (SES, parent input, child gesture) of vocabulary growth between 14 and 46 months (n=62), and then uses growth estimates to predict children's vocabulary at 54 months. Velocity and acceleration in vocabulary development at 30 months predicted later vocabulary, particularly for children from low socioeconomic backgrounds. Understanding the pace of early vocabulary growth thus improves our ability to predict school readiness, and may help identify children at risk for starting behind. PMID:22235920

  12. Effective Strategies for Turning Receptive Vocabulary into Productive Vocabulary in EFL Context

    Science.gov (United States)

    Faraj, Avan Kamal Aziz

    2015-01-01

    Vocabulary acquisition has been a main concern of EFL English teachers and learners. There have been tons of research to examine the student's level of receptive vocabulary and productive vocabulary, but no research has conducted on how turning receptive vocabulary into productive vocabulary. This study has reported the impact of the teaching…

  13. Proactive and reactive effects of vigorous exercise on learning and vocabulary comprehension.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Salis, Andrea S

    2013-06-01

    College students (N = 90) were randomly assigned to participate in vigorous, moderate or no physical exercise and vocabulary recall and comprehension learning activities under varying conditions to assess whether or not increased intensities of exercise, performed either before a vocabulary recall and comprehension learning activity (i.e., proactive effect) or after a vocabulary recall and comprehension learning activity (i.e., reactive effect), would improve vocabulary recall and comprehension. The results demonstrated that performing exercise at a vigorous intensity before or after rehearsing for a vocabulary comprehension test improved test results.

  14. Testing Math or Testing Language? The Construct Validity of the KeyMath-Revised for Children with Intellectual Disability and Language Difficulties

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rhodes, Katherine T.; Branum-Martin, Lee; Morris, Robin D.; Romski, MaryAnn; Sevcik, Rose A.

    2015-01-01

    Although it is often assumed that mathematics ability alone predicts mathematics test performance, linguistic demands may also predict achievement. This study examined the role of language in mathematics assessment performance for children with intellectual disability (ID) at less severe levels, on the KeyMath-Revised Inventory (KM-R) with a…

  15. Validation of the Spanish Version of the Addenbrooke's Cognitive Examination-Revised (ACE-R).

    Science.gov (United States)

    Torralva, T; Roca, M; Gleichgerrcht, E; Bonifacio, A; Raimondi, C; Manes, F

    2011-01-01

    The Addenbrooke's Cognitive Examination Revised (ACE-R) is an improved version of the earlier brief screening test which has been validated in English with high sensitivity and specificity to detect cognitive dysfunction. The aim of this study was to validate the Spanish version of the ACE-R in an Argentine population. A group of patients with Alzheimer Disease (AD) and patients with behavioural variant Frontotemporal Dementia (bvFTD) paired by age, sex, and years of education with healthy controls were assessed using the ACE-R. Stage of dementia was measured with the Clinical Dementia Rating Scale (CDR). The English version of the ACE-R was first translated into Spanish and then back-translated into English by two blind independent experts. Internal reliability was very good (Cronbach's alpha=0.89). Concurrent validity, determined by the correlation between total ACE-R and CDR was significant (Pcognitive impairment and has shown to discriminate between bvFTD and AD. Copyright © 2010 Sociedad Española de Neurología. Published by Elsevier Espana. All rights reserved.

  16. Reliability and validity of revised Turkish version of Mini Mental State Examination (rMMSE-T) in community-dwelling educated and uneducated elderly.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Keskinoglu, Pembe; Ucku, Reyhan; Yener, Görsev; Yaka, Erdem; Kurt, Pinar; Tunca, Zeliha

    2009-11-01

    To evaluate the reliability and validity of the revised Turkish version of Mini Mental State Examination (rMMSE-T) in educated and uneducated community-dwelling elderly, to re-organize the present Turkish version of MMSE and to determine cut-off point of the revised test. This cross-sectional and analytical study involved totally 490 elderly subjects selected by cluster sampling method. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) analysis, kappa analysis and Cronbach's alpha coefficients were used for statistical analysis. Areas under ROC curve in educated and uneducated elderly were found as 0.953 and 0.907. Cut-off point of 22/23 of rMMSE-T in educated elderly had the highest sensitivity (90.9), specificity (97.0) and positive likelihood ratio (30.3), whereas cut-off point of 18/19 of the test in uneducated elderly had the highest sensitivity (82.7), specificity (92.3) and positive likelihood ratio (10.7). The Cronbach's alpha values of the rMMSE-T for educated and uneducated elderly were higher than 0.7 (sign of good internal consistency of the test). A significant correlations between intrarater and interrater test-retest in educated elderly subjects were observed (0.966 (p = 0.000); 0.855 (p = 0.000), respectively), and also in uneducated elderly (0.988 (p = 0.000); 0.934 (p = 0.000), respectively). Kappa value of the test in educated and uneducated elderly showed a perfect agreement interraters (1.000) and a substantial agreement in intraraters (1.000, 0.784; 0.826, 0.656, respectively). rMMSE-T had a high reliability and validity. It will be more appropriate to use the revised test and the new cut-off point for the diagnosis and screening of dementia among community-dwelling Turkish elderly population. Copyright 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

  17. Expressive vocabulary of children with normal and deviant phonological development.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Athayde, Marcia de Lima; Mota, Helena Bolli; Mezzomo, Carolina Lisbôa

    2010-01-01

    expressive vocabulary of children with normal and deviant phonological development. to determine whether alterations presented by children with phonological disorders occur only at the phonological level or if there are any impacts on lexical acquisition; to compare the vocabulary performance of children with phonological disorders to reference values presented by the used test. participants of the study were 36 children of both genders, 14 with phonological disorders (Study group) and 22 with typical language development (Control Group). The ABFW - Vocabulary Test (Befi-Lopes, 2000) was used for assessing the expressive vocabulary of children and later to compare the performance of both groups. the performance of children with phonological disorder in the expressive vocabulary test is similar to that of children with normal phonological development. Most of the children of both groups reached the benchmarks proposed by the test for the different semantic fields. The semantic field Places demonstrated to be the most complex for both groups. the alterations presented by children with phonological disorder area limited to the phonological level, having no impact on the lexical aspect of language.

  18. Expressive vocabulary and auditory processing in children with deviant speech acquisition.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Quintas, Victor Gandra; Mezzomo, Carolina Lisbôa; Keske-Soares, Márcia; Dias, Roberta Freitas

    2010-01-01

    expressive vocabulary and auditory processing in children with phonological disorder. to compare the performance of children with phonological disorder in a vocabulary test with the parameters indicated by the same test and to verify a possible relationship between this performance and auditory processing deficits. participants were 12 children diagnosed with phonological disorders, with ages ranging from 5 to 7 years, of both genders. Vocabulary was assessed using the ABFW language test and the simplified auditory processing evaluation (sorting), Alternate Dichotic Dissyllable - Staggered Spondaic Word (SSW), Pitch Pattern Sequence (PPS) and the Binaural Fusion Test (BF). considering performance in the vocabulary test, all children obtained results with no significant statistical. As for the auditory processing assessment, all children presented better results than expected; the only exception was on the sorting process testing, where the mean accuracy score was of 8.25. Regarding the performance in the other auditory processing tests, the mean accuracy averages were 6.50 in the SSW, 10.74 in the PPS and 7.10 in the BF. When correlating the performance obtained in both assessments, considering p>0.05, the results indicated that, despite the normality, the lower the value obtained in the auditory processing assessment, the lower the accuracy presented in the vocabulary test. A trend was observed for the semantic fields of "means of transportation and professions". Considering the classification categories of the vocabulary test, the SP (substitution processes) were the categories that presented the higher significant increase in all semantic fields. there is a correlation between the auditory processing and the lexicon, where vocabulary can be influenced in children with deviant speech acquisition.

  19. Enhancing students’ vocabulary knowledge using the Facebook environment

    OpenAIRE

    Muhammad Kamarul Kabilan; Tuti Zalina Mohamed Ernes Zahar

    2016-01-01

    This study investigates the effectiveness of using Facebook in enhancing vocabulary knowledge among Community College students. Thirty-three (33) Community College students are exposed to the use of Facebook as an environment of learning and enhancing their English vocabulary. They are given a pre-test and a post-test and the findings indicate that students perform significantly better in the post-test compared to the pre-test. It appears that Facebook could be considered as a supplementary l...

  20. The Relationship between Interpersonal Intelligence, Reading Activity and Vocabulary Learning among Iranian EFL Learners

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Mustapha Hajebi

    2018-03-01

    Full Text Available The aim of this paper was to describe the relationship between Interpersonal Intelligence and the learners' vocabulary learning through teaching reading activity so as to see whether this type of intelligence contributes to better vocabulary learning and whether there is any significant relationship between the performance of participants with interpersonal intelligence and their vocabulary learning in reading activity or not. This quantitative study consisted of a vocabulary test, a reading passage, an English proficiency test and a Multiple Intelligences questionnaire followed the study. A pre- test and post -test were conducted to get the differences in the students‟ post- test vocabulary score and their pre- test vocabulary score served as their gain score in vocabulary knowledge through reading. The comparison between the students‟ scores showed that there was no significant difference in the final performance of two groups. Therefore, this study doesn‟t support the idea of relationship between interpersonal intelligence and vocabulary learning through reading, but as a positive point, the present study indicated that reading texts can greatly assist the learners in developing the level of their vocabulary knowledge. This study proved to be useful for Iranian EFL learners and also EFL teachers can adopt the technique in their classes to advance their students' language learning. A comparison of the results after the next course cycle will then allow us to assess the effects of enhancing vocabulary knowledge, which would not be possible without reading texts.

  1. Cross-linguistic and cross-cultural effects on verbal working memory and vocabulary: testing language-minority children with an immigrant background.

    Science.gov (United States)

    de Abreu, Pascale M J Engel; Baldassi, Martine; Puglisi, Marina L; Befi-Lopes, Debora M

    2013-04-01

    In this study, the authors explored the impact of test language and cultural status on vocabulary and working memory performance in multilingual language-minority children. Twenty 7-year-old Portuguese-speaking immigrant children living in Luxembourg completed several assessments of first (L1)- and second-language (L2) vocabulary (comprehension and production), executive-loaded working memory (counting recall and backward digit recall), and verbal short-term memory (digit recall and nonword repetition). Cross-linguistic task performance was compared within individuals. The language-minority children were also compared with multilingual language-majority children from Luxembourg and Portuguese-speaking monolinguals from Brazil without an immigrant background matched on age, sex, socioeconomic status, and nonverbal reasoning. Results showed that (a) verbal working memory measures involving numerical memoranda were relatively independent of test language and cultural status; (b) language status had an impact on the repetition of high- but not on low-wordlike L2 nonwords; (c) large cross-linguistic and cross-cultural effects emerged for productive vocabulary; (d) cross-cultural effects were less pronounced for vocabulary comprehension with no differences between groups if only L1 words relevant to the home context were considered. The study indicates that linguistic and cognitive assessments for language-minority children require careful choice among measures to ensure valid results. Implications for testing culturally and linguistically diverse children are discussed.

  2. Elementary Students' Acquisition of Academic Vocabulary Through Engineering Design

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kugelmass, Rachel

    This study examines how STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) inquiry-based learning through a hands-on engineering design can be beneficial in helping students acquire academic vocabulary. This research took place in a second grade dual- language classroom in a public, suburban elementary school. English language learners, students who speak Spanish at home, and native English speakers were evaluated in this study. Each day, students were presented with a general academic vocabulary focus word during an engineering design challenge. Vocabulary pre-tests and post-tests as well as observation field notes were used to evaluate the student's growth in reading and defining the focus academic vocabulary words. A quiz and KSB (knowledge and skill builder) packet were used to evaluate students' knowledge of science and math content and engineering design. The results of this study indicate that engineering design is an effective means for teaching academic vocabulary to students with varying levels of English proficiency.

  3. Validation of the Snijders-Oomen Nonverbal Intelligence Test-Revised 2 1/2-7 for Australian children with disabilities

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Jenkinson, J; Roberts, S; Dennehy, S; Tellegen, P.J.

    One hundred and fifty-five preschool children (59 with hearing impairment, 37 with developmental delay, and 59 nondisabled children) were tested with the Snijders-Oomen Nonverbal Intelligence Test - Revised (2 1/2 - 7) (SON-R 2 1/2 - 7) and the Wechsler Preschool and Primary Scale of Intelligence -

  4. Facilitating Semantic Interoperability Among Ocean Data Systems: ODIP-R2R Student Outcomes

    Science.gov (United States)

    Stocks, K. I.; Chen, Y.; Shepherd, A.; Chandler, C. L.; Dockery, N.; Elya, J. L.; Smith, S. R.; Ferreira, R.; Fu, L.; Arko, R. A.

    2014-12-01

    With informatics providing an increasingly important set of tools for geoscientists, it is critical to train the next generation of scientists in information and data techniques. The NSF-supported Rolling Deck to Repository (R2R) Program works with the academic fleet community to routinely document, assess, and preserve the underway sensor data from U.S. research vessels. The Ocean Data Interoperability Platform (ODIP) is an EU-US-Australian collaboration fostering interoperability among regional e-infrastructures through workshops and joint prototype development. The need to align terminology between systems is a common challenge across all of the ODIP prototypes. Five R2R students were supported to address aspects of semantic interoperability within ODIP. Developing a vocabulary matching service that links terms from different vocabularies with similar concept. The service implements Google Refine reconciliation service interface such that users can leverage Google Refine application as a friendly user interface while linking different vocabulary terms. Developing Resource Description Framework (RDF) resources that map Shipboard Automated Meteorological Oceanographic System (SAMOS) vocabularies to internationally served vocabularies. Each SAMOS vocabulary term (data parameter and quality control flag) will be described as an RDF resource page. These RDF resources allow for enhanced discoverability and retrieval of SAMOS data by enabling data searches based on parameter. Improving data retrieval and interoperability by exposing data and mapped vocabularies using Semantic Web technologies. We have collaborated with ODIP participating organizations in order to build a generalized data model that will be used to populate a SPARQL endpoint in order to provide expressive querying over our data files. Mapping local and regional vocabularies used by R2R to those used by ODIP partners. This work is described more fully in a companion poster. Making published Linked Data

  5. Smart teens don't have sex (or kiss much either).

    Science.gov (United States)

    Halpern, C T; Joyner, K; Udry, J R; Suchindran, C

    2000-03-01

    To examine the relationship between an intelligence measure and a wide spectrum of partnered sexual activity ranging from holding hands to sexual intercourse among adolescents. Analyses are based on two separate samples of adolescents. The core sample of the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health (Add Health) includes approximately 12,000 adolescents enrolled in the 7th to 12th grades. The Biosocial Factors in Adolescent Development projects followed approximately 100 white males and 200 black and white females over 3- and 2-year periods, respectively. Both studies used the Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test (PPVT) as an intelligence measure, and confidential self-reports of sexual activity. Logistic regression models were used to examine the relationship between PPVT scores and coital status in Add Health data; proportional hazard models were used to examine the timing of initiation of noncoital and coital activities as a function of PPVT scores in the Biosocial Factors sample. Controlling for age, physical maturity, and mother's education, a significant curvilinear relationship between intelligence and coital status was demonstrated; adolescents at the upper and lower ends of the intelligence distribution were less likely to have sex. Higher intelligence was also associated with postponement of the initiation of the full range of partnered sexual activities. An expanded model incorporating a variety of control and mediator variables was tested to identify mechanisms by which the relationship operates. Higher intelligence operates as a protective factor against early sexual activity during adolescence, and lower intelligence, to a point, is a risk factor. More systematic investigation of the implications of individual differences in cognitive abilities for sexual activities and of the processes that underlie those activities is warranted.

  6. Shyness, Vocabulary and Children's Reticence in Saudi Arabian Preschools

    Science.gov (United States)

    Crozier, W. Ray; Badawood, Asma

    2009-01-01

    The aims of the present study are to examine whether preschool children's scores on a standardized test of vocabulary mediate or moderate the relation between shyness and reticence and to test whether any influence of vocabulary would be found for both teacher and parent assessments of shyness. Participants were 108 children (50 males), mean age,…

  7. Digital Games, Songs and Flashcards and their Effects on Vocabulary Knowledge of Iranian Preschoolers

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Mahboubeh Taghizadeh

    2018-01-01

    Full Text Available The study aimed to investigate (a the effect of digital games, songs, and flashcards on vocabulary knowledge of Iranian EFL preschool learners and (b the young learners‟ performance on mid-course tests of vocabulary with different topics. The participants included 350 preschool female learners in Oshnaviyeh, a town in Western Azarbaijan Province and were divided into three tablet, song, and traditional groups. Pre and post-tests of vocabulary and four mid-course tests based, on the learnt vocabularies, were administered during the research. The materials also consisted of a digital game, 16 songs, a structured student book, a workbook, and 60 flashcards. The analysis of the data revealed that there was no significant difference in the vocabulary knowledge of preschool learners who learnt vocabularies via games, songs, and flashcards. The results also showed that there was a significant difference in the three groups‟ mid-course tests with different topics. The findings recommend that using different techniques in the classroom considering learners‟ interest and needs can improve vocabulary knowledge of young learners.

  8. Application-Based Crossword Puzzles: Players’ Perception and Vocabulary Retention

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Dzulfikri Dzulfikri

    2016-09-01

    Full Text Available This study investigates the perceptions of students towards Application-Based Crossword Puzzles and how playing this game can affect the development of vocabulary amongst students. Drawing on Vygostky’s Socio-Cultural Theory which states that the human mind is mediated by cultural artifacts, the nature of this game poses challenges and builds curiosity, allowing players to pay more attention to the words to fill in the boxes which subsequently enhances their retention of vocabulary. This game has very good potential to build positive perceptions and to develop cognition in the linguistic domain of players, i.e. the amount of their vocabulary. In this study, the researcher conducted interviews with eligible or selected student players to find out their perceptions toward this game and administered a vocabulary test to find out how this game had added to the retention in memory of new words acquired by the players from the game. The study findings showed that the participants perceive this game positively and it affects the players’ vocabulary retention positively as indicated by their test results. It is recommended that English teachers consider using Application-Based Crossword Puzzles to help students build their vocabularies especially as part of extracurricular activities.

  9. Lexical Characteristics of Expressive Vocabulary in Toddlers with Autism Spectrum Disorder

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kover, Sara T.; Weismer, Susan Ellis

    2014-01-01

    Purpose: Vocabulary is a domain of particular challenge for many children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Recent research has drawn attention to ways in which lexical characteristics relate to vocabulary acquisition. The current study tested the hypothesis that lexical characteristics account for variability in vocabulary size of young…

  10. Concurrent Validity of the Woodcock-Johnson Tests of Cognitive Ability with the WISC-R: EMR Children.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cummings, Jack A.; Sanville, David

    1983-01-01

    Administered the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children-Revised (WISC-R) and the Woodcock-Johnson Tests of Cognitive Ability (WJTCA) to educable mentally retarded children (N=30). Results showed significant mean differences between WISC-R and WJTCA full-scale standard scores, providing implications for placement of children in classes for the…

  11. Multicomponent view of vocabulary acquisition: An investigation with primary grade children.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kim, Young-Suk Grace

    2017-10-01

    The role of working memory in vocabulary acquisition has been well established in the literature. In this study, we proposed and empirically tested the multicomponent view of vocabulary acquisition, which states that multiple language and cognitive skills are involved to facilitate phonological and semantic representations needed for vocabulary acquisition. Working memory and attention were hypothesized to be directly and indirectly related to vocabulary, whereas inference and morphosyntactic knowledge were hypothesized to be directly related to vocabulary (measured by the Picture Vocabulary Test of the Woodcock-Johnson III battery). Results from 262 kindergartners using path analysis revealed that all the multiple cognitive and language skills were directly related to vocabulary after controlling for age, gender, racial/ethnic backgrounds, socioeconomic status (as measured by free or reduced-price lunch eligibility), and each other. Furthermore, working memory and attention also made indirect contributions via inference and morphosyntactic knowledge. Total effects (beta weights), accounting for direct and indirect effects, were .33 for working memory, .23 for attention, .18 for inference, and .18 for morphosyntactic knowledge. These results indicate that although working memory is important, contributions of other language and cognitive skills should be considered in vocabulary acquisition. Theoretical and practical implications are discussed. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  12. The Role of Receptive Vocabulary Knowledge in Advanced EFL Listening Comprehension

    Science.gov (United States)

    Atas, Ufuk

    2018-01-01

    This paper presents an empirical study that investigates the role of vocabulary knowledge in listening comprehension with 33 advanced Turkish learners of English as a foreign language. The Vocabulary Levels Test (Schmitt, Schmitt & Clapham, 2001) is used to measure the vocabulary knowledge of the participants and a standardized listening test…

  13. German Vocabulary.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Coombs, Virginia M.

    This article discusses in general terms derivational aspects of English vocabulary. Citing examples of Anglo-Saxon origin, the author provides a glimpse into the nature of the interrelatedness of English, German, and French vocabulary. (RL)

  14. Relationship between Vocabulary Size and Reading Comprehension Levels of Malaysian Tertiary Students

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Angelina Wan Lin Tan

    2018-01-01

    Full Text Available This study investigated the relationship between vocabulary size and reading comprehension performance among students in a tertiary institution in a Malaysian context and examined the vocabulary size required for students to achieve reading comprehension at various levels of proficiency. The research questions that guided this study were: 1 What is the vocabulary size of second year diploma students studying Mass Communication?; 2 What is the reading comprehension proficiency of second year diploma students studying Mass Communication?; and 3 What vocabulary size is required for different levels of reading comprehension proficiency? This study used the quantitative approach. The participants were 53 Malaysian second-year students at a private university college in Malaysia who were reading for their Diploma in Mass Communication. The instruments used were the Vocabulary Size Test and the IELTS Reading Test (Academic Module. The findings showed that the average vocabulary size of the students was just over 6000 word families and this vocabulary size was generally insufficient for adequate reading comprehension. Students needed an average vocabulary size of about 8000 word families to achieve adequate reading comprehension and about 10000 word families to achieve proficient reading comprehension. Based on the individual student’s performance, this study did not find a linear relationship between vocabulary size and reading comprehension performance, nor was there a threshold vocabulary size for adequate reading comprehension.

  15. Video Games Promote Saudi Children's English Vocabulary Retention

    Science.gov (United States)

    AlShaiji, Ohoud Abdullatif

    2015-01-01

    The objective of this study was to investigate the impact of Video Games and their role on promoting Saudi Kids' English vocabulary retention. The study attempted to answer whether there was a statistically significant difference (a = 0.05) between the Saudi children's subjects' mean score on the English vocabulary test due to using Video Games…

  16. Psychometric properties of the Hare Psychopathy Checklist-Revised (PCL-R) in a representative sample of Canadian federal offenders.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Storey, Jennifer E; Hart, Stephen D; Cooke, David J; Michie, Christine

    2016-04-01

    The Hare Psychopathy Checklist-Revised (PCL-R; Hare, 2003) is a commonly used psychological test for assessing traits of psychopathic personality disorder. Despite the abundance of research using the PCL-R, the vast majority of research used samples of convenience rather than systematic methods to minimize sampling bias and maximize the generalizability of findings. This potentially complicates the interpretation of test scores and research findings, including the "norms" for offenders from the United States and Canada included in the PCL-R manual. In the current study, we evaluated the psychometric properties of PCL-R scores for all male offenders admitted to a regional reception center of the Correctional Service of Canada during a 1-year period (n = 375). Because offenders were admitted for assessment prior to institutional classification, they comprise a sample that was heterogeneous with respect to correctional risks and needs yet representative of all offenders in that region of the service. We examined the distribution of PCL-R scores, classical test theory indices of its structural reliability, the factor structure of test items, and the external correlates of test scores. The findings were highly consistent with those typically reported in previous studies. We interpret these results as indicating it is unlikely any sampling limitations of past research using the PCL-R resulted in findings that were, overall, strongly biased or unrepresentative. (c) 2016 APA, all rights reserved).

  17. Vocabularies in the VO

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gray, A. J. G.; Gray, N.; Ounis, I.

    2009-09-01

    There are multiple vocabularies and thesauri within astronomy, of which the best known are the 1993 IAU Thesaurus and the keyword list maintained by A&A, ApJ and MNRAS. The IVOA has agreed on a standard for publishing vocabularies, based on the W3C skos standard, to allow greater automated interaction with them, in particular on the Web. This allows links with the Semantic Web and looks forward to richer applications using the technologies of that domain. Vocabulary-aware applications can benefit from improvements in both precision and recall when searching for bibliographic or science data, and lightweight intelligent filtering for services such as VOEvent streams. In this paper we present two applications, the Vocabulary Explorer and its companion the Mapping Editor, which have been developed to support the use of vocabularies in the Virtual Observatory. These combine Semantic Web and Information Retrieval technologies to illustrate the way in which formal vocabularies might be used in a practical application, provide an online service which will allow astronomers to explore and relate existing vocabularies, and provide a service which translates free text user queries into vocabulary terms.

  18. The relationship between Iranian EFL learners’ self-regulatory vocabulary strategy use and their vocabulary size

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    Seyed Mohammad Reza Amirian

    2015-07-01

    Full Text Available Self-regulation is referred to as learners’ self-generated ideas and actions which are systematically directed towards achieving educational goals and require learners’ active participation in the learning process (Zimmerman & Bandura, 1994. The present study investigated the relationship between Iranian EFL students’ self-regulation capacity for vocabulary learning and their vocabulary size. For this purpose, the researchers made use of two main instruments: the self-regulation capacity in vocabulary learning scale developed by Tseng et al. (2006 consisting of five subscales of commitment, metacognitive, emotion, satiation and environment control, and a bilingual vocabulary size test developed and validated by Karami (2012. The results of the data analysis revealed no significant relationship between the two variables measured by these instruments. However, the results of the multiple regressions indicated that the metacognitive control compared to the other subscales made a better contribution to the prediction of learners’ vocabulary size. In addition, based on the analysis of variance (ANOVA, which examined and compared the self-regulatory strategy use of learners in different experience groups, the first year students had a higher mean score in their self-regulation capacity, which can possibly be attributed to the strategies they have learnt in their Study Skills courses. Finally, it was suggested that teachers must try to develop self-regulatory power in the learners because their creative effort and informed decisions in trying to improve their own learning are highly important.

  19. Psychometric properties of the Revised Chen Internet Addiction Scale (CIAS-R) in Chinese adolescents.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mak, Kwok-Kei; Lai, Ching-Man; Ko, Chih-Hung; Chou, Chien; Kim, Dong-Il; Watanabe, Hiroko; Ho, Roger C M

    2014-10-01

    The Revised Chen Internet Addiction Scale (CIAS-R) was developed to assess Internet addiction in Chinese populations, but its psychometric properties in adolescents have not been examined. This study aimed to evaluate the factor structure and psychometric properties of CIAS-R in Hong Kong Chinese adolescents. 860 Grade 7 to 13 students (38 % boys) completed the CIAS-R, the Young's Internet Addiction Test (IAT), and the Health of the Nation Outcome Scales for Children and Adolescents (HoNOSCA) in a survey. The prevalence of Internet addiction as assessed by CIAS-R was 18 %. High internal consistency and inter-item correlations were reported for the CIAS-R. Results from the confirmatory factor analysis suggested a four-factor structure of Compulsive Use and Withdrawal, Tolerance, Interpersonal and Health-related Problems, and Time Management Problems. Moreover, results of hierarchical multiple regression supported the incremental validity of the CIAS-R to predict mental health outcomes beyond the effects of demographic differences and self-reported time spent online. The CIAS is a reliable and valid measure of internet addiction problems in Hong Kong adolescents. Future study is warranted to validate the cutoffs of the CIAS-R for identification of adolescents with Internet use problems who may have mental health needs.

  20. Unique and shared validity of the "Wechsler logical memory test", the "California verbal learning test", and the "verbal learning and memory test" in patients with epilepsy.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Helmstaedter, Christoph; Wietzke, Jennifer; Lutz, Martin T

    2009-12-01

    This study was set-up to evaluate the construct validity of three verbal memory tests in epilepsy patients. Sixty-one consecutively evaluated patients with temporal lobe epilepsy (TLE) or extra-temporal epilepsy (E-TLE) underwent testing with the verbal learning and memory test (VLMT, the German equivalent of the Rey auditory verbal learning test, RAVLT); the California verbal learning test (CVLT); the logical memory and digit span subtests of the Wechsler memory scale, revised (WMS-R); and testing of intelligence, attention, speech and executive functions. Factor analysis of the memory tests resulted in test-specific rather than test over-spanning factors. Parameters of the CVLT and WMS-R, and to a much lesser degree of the VLMT, were highly correlated with attention, language function and vocabulary. Delayed recall measures of logical memory and the VLMT differentiated TLE from E-TLE. Learning and memory scores off all three tests differentiated mesial temporal sclerosis from other pathologies. A lateralization of the epilepsy was possible only for a subsample of 15 patients with mesial TLE. Although the three tests provide overlapping indicators for a temporal lobe epilepsy or a mesial pathology, they can hardly be taken in exchange. The tests have different demands on semantic processing and memory organization, and they appear differentially sensitive to performance in non-memory domains. The tests capability to lateralize appears to be poor. The findings encourage the further discussion of the dependency of memory outcomes on test selection.

  1. Effect of Focused Vocabulary Instruction on 7th Graders' Reading Comprehension

    Science.gov (United States)

    Horn, Mary; Feng, Jianhua

    2012-01-01

    This study reports an investigation on the effects of directed vocabulary and whole class instruction on improving students' vocabulary acquisition and reading comprehension. Fifty-eight seventh grade students participated in the study, and a pre-test/post-test experimental design was employed. The results did not indicate any statistically…

  2. Strategies for teaching and learning vocabulary

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Feng Teng

    2014-11-01

    Full Text Available Abstract This article presents an overview of current research on second language vocabulary learning and proposes eight strategies for teaching and learning vocabulary. First, to facilitate effective vocabulary teaching, choosing high-frequency words is essential. Teachers of vocabulary also need to add explicit, intentional teaching to incidental learning. In addition, vocabulary learning strategies including morphological awareness and lexical inference provides a platform by which learners can improve both receptive and productive vocabulary knowledge. This article also suggests that productive vocabulary knowledge needs more attention than receptive vocabulary knowledge, and that available textbooks seldom address vocabulary sufficiently. In summary, it is very important for all learners and teachers to acknowledge that learning vocabulary is incremental in nature, and we should develop a principled, long-term program for teaching and learning vocabulary.

  3. Naturalistic acquisition in an early language classroom.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dahl, Anne; Vulchanova, Mila D

    2014-01-01

    This study investigated whether it is possible to provide naturalistic second language acquisition (SLA) of vocabulary for young learners in a classroom situation without resorting to a classical immersion approach. Participants were 60 first-grade pupils in two Norwegian elementary schools in their first year. The control group followed regular instruction as prescribed by the school curriculum, while the experimental group received increased naturalistic target language input. This entailed extensive use of English by the teacher during English classes, and also during morning meetings and for simple instructions and classroom management throughout the day. Our hypothesis was that it is possible to facilitate naturalistic acquisition through better quality target language exposure within a normal curriculum. The students' English vocabulary knowledge was measured using the Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test, version 4 (PPVT-IV, Dunn and Dunn, 2007a), at the beginning and the end of the first year of school. Findings are that (1) early-start second-language (L2) programs in school do not in themselves guarantee vocabulary development in the first year, (2) a focus on increased exposure to the L2 can lead to a significant increase in receptive vocabulary comprehension in the course of only 8 months, and (3) even with relatively modest input, learners in such an early-start L2 program can display vocabulary acquisition comparable in some respects to that of younger native children matched on vocabulary size. The overall conclusion is that naturalistic vocabulary acquisition is in fact possible in a classroom setting.

  4. The Impact of Royalty Contract Revision in a Multistage Strategic R&D Alliance

    OpenAIRE

    Wenqiang Xiao; Yi Xu

    2012-01-01

    This paper investigates the impact of royalty revision on incentives and profits in a two-stage (research and development (R&D) stage and marketing stage) alliance with a marketer and an innovator. The marketer offers royalty contracts to the innovator. We find that the potential for royalty revision leads to more severe distortions in the optimal initial royalty contracts offered by the marketer. We show that if the innovator plays a significant role in the marketing stage, the marketer shou...

  5. AN OBSERVATION TO THE VOCABULARY OF UZBEK / ÖZBEK TÜRKÇESİ SÖZ VARLIĞINA BİR BAKIS

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Dr. Feridun TEKİN

    2008-12-01

    Full Text Available From second half of 19.th Century -to beginning of20.th Century is an important time scale that Uzbekvocabulary developed importantly. Up to this periodUzbek vocabulary has generally import words from Arabicand Persian languages. Since Kingdom of Russiaoccupied Turkestan after the second part of 19.thcentury, Russian and indirectly western words vocabulary which has carried by Russian Culture cameinto Uzbek. Also those vocabularies has carried out somemorphological and fonetical characteristics withthemselves.In this study Russian words and western orientedwords both came through with Russian language intothe vocabulary of Uzbek. This subject will be evaluatedfrom various perspectives.

  6. Using Hypnosis to Enhance Learning Second Language Vocabulary.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Çetin, Yakup; Çimen, O Arda; Yetkiner, Zeynep Ebrar

    2016-04-01

    In this article, we measure the effects of hypnosis and suggestions for learning second language vocabulary. Participants (N = 70) were randomly assigned to a hypnosis or a control group. They were pre-tested, and then presented 21 Spanish words, post-tested immediately and 1 week later. The data were analyzed using repeated measures analysis of variance with group (experimental versus control) as the between-subjects factor, and time as the within-subjects factor. The experimental group performed significantly better in both tests. Our results indicate that hypnosis is beneficial for second language vocabulary learning and retrieval.

  7. Impacts of Vocabulary Acquisition Techniques Instruction on Students' Learning

    Science.gov (United States)

    Orawiwatnakul, Wiwat

    2011-01-01

    The objectives of this study were to determine how the selected vocabulary acquisition techniques affected the vocabulary ability of 35 students who took EN 111 and investigate their attitudes towards the techniques instruction. The research study was one-group pretest and post-test design. The instruments employed were in-class exercises…

  8. Breadth and Depth of Vocabulary Knowledge and Their Effects on L2 Vocabulary Profiles

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bardakçi, Mehmet

    2016-01-01

    Breadth and depth of vocabulary knowledge have been studied from many different perspectives, but the related literature lacks serious studies dealing with their effects on vocabulary profiles of EFL learners. In this paper, with an aim to fill this gap, the relative effects of breadth and depth of vocabulary knowledge on L2 vocabulary profiles…

  9. EST Vocabulary Instruction

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    Célia D.S. Bell

    2012-05-01

    Full Text Available This study aims at contributing to the investigation on the instruction of EST (English for Science and Technology vocabulary, in terms of receptive use of the language. It evaluates the effectiveness of two teaching approaches to the acquisition of vocabulary. The first approach consisted of teaching vocabulary through the use of dictionaries, where the words were merely translated into the learners’ L1 or defined in the target language thus promoting superficial level of word processing. The second approach employed activities promoting deep level of word processing. Data were analysed quantitatively. Results indicated that the two approaches seem to have some equipotentiality, as far as EST vocabulary is concerned.

  10. Divergent Synthesis of Revised Apratoxin E, 30-epi-Apratoxin E, and 30S/30R-Oxoapratoxin E.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mao, Zhuo-Ya; Si, Chang-Mei; Liu, Yi-Wen; Dong, Han-Qing; Wei, Bang-Guo; Lin, Guo-Qiang

    2017-10-20

    In this report, originally proposed apratoxin E (30S-7), revised apratoxin E (30R-7), and (30S)/(30R)-oxoapratoxin E (30S)-38/(30R)-38 were efficiently prepared by two synthetic methods. The chiral lactone 10, recycled from the degradation of saponin glycosides, was utilized to prepare the key nonpeptide fragment 9. Our alternative convergent assembly strategy was applied to the divergent synthesis of revised apratoxin E and its three analogues. Moreover, ring-closing metathesis (RCM) was for the first time found to be an efficient strategy for the macrocyclization of apratoxins.

  11. The Acquisition of Vocabulary Through Three Memory Strategies

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    Libia Maritza Pérez

    2017-02-01

    Full Text Available The present study reports on an action research study that explores the implications of applying three vocabulary strategies: word cards, association with pictures, and association with a topic through fables in the acquisition of new vocabulary in a group of EFL low-level proficiency teenagers in a public school in Espinal, Tolima, Colombia. The participants had never used vocabulary strategies before and struggled to memorize and recall words.  Two types of questionnaires, a researcher’s journal, and vocabulary tests were the instruments used to gather data.  The results showed that these strategies were effective to expand the range of words progressively and improve the ability to recall them. The study also found that these strategies involve cognitive and affective factors that can affect students’ perception about the strategies and their use. The implementation of the strategies highlighted the need to train teachers and learners in strategies intended to teach and learn vocabulary and to include them in the English language program in any school.

  12. The Effects of Multimedia Annotations on Iranian EFL Learners’ L2 Vocabulary Learning

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    Saeideh Ahangari

    2010-05-01

    Full Text Available In our modern technological world, Computer-Assisted Language learning (CALL is a new realm towards learning a language in general, and learning L2 vocabulary in particular. It is assumed that the use of multimedia annotations promotes language learners’ vocabulary acquisition. Therefore, this study set out to investigate the effects of different multimedia annotations (still picture annotations, dynamic picture annotations, and written annotations on L2 vocabulary learning. To fulfill this objective, the researchers selected sixty four EFL learners as the participants of this study. The participants were randomly assigned to one of the four groups: a control group that received no annotations and three experimental groups that received:  still picture annotations, dynamic picture annotations, and written annotations. Each participant was required to take a pre-test. A vocabulary post- test was also designed and administered to the participants in order to assess the efficacy of each annotation. First for each group a paired t-test was conducted between their pre and post test scores in order to observe their improvement; then through an ANCOVA test the performance of four groups was compared. The results showed that using multimedia annotations resulted in a significant difference in the participants’ vocabulary learning. Based on the results of the present study, multimedia annotations are suggested as a vocabulary teaching strategy.

  13. Vocabulary Control for Information Retrieval.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lancaster, F. W.

    This book deals with properties of vocabularies for indexing and searching document collections; the construction, organization, display, and maintenance of these vocabularies; and the vocabulary as a factor affecting the performance of retrieval systems. Most of the text is concerned with vocabularies for post-coordinate retrieval systems, with…

  14. The cultural adaptation and validation of the "Burn Specific Health Scale-Revised" (BSHS-R): version for Brazilian burn victims.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ferreira, Eneas; Dantas, Rosana Aparecida Spadoti; Rossi, Lidia Aparecida; Ciol, Marcia Aparecida

    2008-11-01

    The Burns Specific Health Scale-Revised (BSHS-R) is of easy application, can be self-administered, and it is considered a good scale to evaluate various important life aspects of burn victims. To translate and culturally adapt the BSHS-R into the Brazilian-Portuguese language and to evaluate the internal consistency and convergent validity of the translated BSHS-R. The cultural adaptation of the BSHS-R included translation and back-translation, discussions with professionals and patients to ensure conceptual equivalence, semantic evaluation, and pre-test of the instrument. The Final Brazilian-Portuguese Version (FBPV) of the BSHS-R was tested on a group of 115 burn patients for internal consistency and validity of construct (using the Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale (RSES) and the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI)). All values of Cronbach's alpha were greater than .8, demonstrating that the internal consistency of the FBPV was very high. Self-esteem was highly correlated with affect and body image (r=.59, preliability criteria required from an instrument of health status assessment for burn patients.

  15. Assessment of the Vocabulary Learning and Strategies Used by Teacher Education Students

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    Esperanza F. Carranza

    2015-05-01

    Full Text Available One way to assess a person’s communicative competence is through his ability to express his thoughts and ideas in appropriate words and meaningful sentences. Vocabulary learning then is critical to learning a language – be it the first, second or even foreign. However, test results, daily communication and English proficiency exams show that students have difficulty in learning vocabulary. This descriptive-evaluative study assessed the vocabulary learning and the strategies used along context clues, word analysis and dictionary skills of the 100 randomly selected second-year education students of the Sorsogon State College. The study utilized survey-questionnaire, teacher- made test and unstructured interview in gathering data. The study revealed that most of the Bachelor of Elementary Education (BEED and Bachelor of Secondary Education (BSED students oftentimes used strategies in learning vocabulary such as reading books and other materials, looking for clues in sentences and use the dictionary to unlock the unfamiliar words. The students attained nearly competent vocabulary performance along context clues, word analysis and dictionary skills. The context clues and word analysis skills are significantly related to the use of learning strategies when tested at 0.05 level. The developed vocabulary module to enhance the skills of the students can be validated and utilized for instruction.

  16. The Addenbrooke's Cognitive Examination Revised as a potential screening test for elderly drivers.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ferreira, Inês S; Simões, Mário R; Marôco, João

    2012-11-01

    Considerable research has shown that neuropsychological tests are predictive of real-world driving ability. The Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE) is a brief cognitive test that has been commonly used in the assessment of older drivers. However, this test has inherent problems that limit its validity to evaluate cognitive abilities related to driving and to screen for driving impairments in non-demented people. Therefore, it is useful to test new screening instruments that may predict potential unsafe drivers who require an in-depth neuropsychological assessment in a specialised centre. To date, the utility of the Addenbrooke's Cognitive Examination Revised (ACE-R) as an indicator of driving ability has not been established. In the current study, fifty older drivers (mean age=73.1 years) who were referred for a psychological assessment, the protocol of which included the ACE-R, underwent an on-road driving test. Using linear discriminant analyses, the results highlighted the higher classification accuracy of the ACE-R compared to the MMSE score, particularly for detecting unsafe drivers. Measures of visuospatial and executive functions, which are not incorporated in the MMSE score, had an incremental value in the prediction of driving ability. This emerging brief cognitive test may warrant additional study for use in the fitness to drive assessment of older adults. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  17. Students' Perceptions of Vocabulary Knowledge and Learning in a Middle School Science Classroom

    Science.gov (United States)

    Brown, Patrick L.; Concannon, James P.

    2016-01-01

    This study investigated eighth-grade science students' (13-14-year-olds) perceptions of their vocabulary knowledge, learning, and content achievement. Data sources included pre- and posttest of students' perceptions of vocabulary knowledge, students' perceptions of vocabulary and reading strategies surveys, and a content achievement test.…

  18. What Can Errors Tell Us about Differences between Monolingual and Bilingual Vocabulary Learning?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kaushanskaya, Margarita

    2018-01-01

    Error patterns in vocabulary learning data were used as a window into the mechanisms that underlie vocabulary learning performance in bilinguals vs. monolinguals. English--Spanish bilinguals (n = 18) and English-speaking monolinguals (n = 18) were taught novel vocabulary items in association with English translations. At testing, participants…

  19. THE COMPARISON OF USING SNAKE LADDERS AND SCRABBLE MEDIA TOWARDS VOCABULARY MASTERY OF STUDENTS

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    Eka Pra Setiawati

    2017-02-01

    Full Text Available Vocabulary is an essential component in learning English. It influences four English skills; they are listening, speaking, reading, and writing, for getting a good result in English. In teaching learning process, the teacher often implements the less interesting method, technique, or even media of vocabulary mastery in teaching and learning process which make the students to be bored, inactive, an uniterested in memorizing English vocabulary. Some media can be interested as the solutions in vocabulary mastery, they are Snake Ladders media and Scrabble media. The investigation was undergone by quantitative research. The researcher applied experimental research. This research underwent pre-test post-test control group design. To analyze data, t-test formula is used to measure the result of collected data. From the t-test measurement, it showed that t-test is 3.15 and t-table is 2.66. It means that t-hit > t-table. Based on the collected data, there is different result of using Snake Ladders from Scrabble media toward students’ vocabulary mastery. It was found that the students who are taught by using Snake Ladders resulted significant outcome than those are instructed by Scrabble media. It means that Snake Ladders is effective to improve the students’ vocabulary mastery.

  20. Applying Integrated Computer Assisted Media (ICAM in Teaching Vocabulary

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    Opick Dwi Indah

    2015-02-01

    Full Text Available The objective of this research was to find out whether the use of integrated computer assisted media (ICAM is effective to improve the vocabulary achievement of the second semester students of Cokroaminoto Palopo University. The population of this research was the second semester students of English department of Cokroaminoto Palopo University in academic year 2013/2014. The samples of this research were 60 students and they were placed into two groups: experimental and control group where each group consisted of 30 students. This research used cluster random sampling technique. The research data was collected by applying vocabulary test and it was analyzed by using descriptive and inferential statistics. The result of this research was integrated computer assisted media (ICAM can improve vocabulary achievement of the students of English department of Cokroaminoto Palopo University. It can be concluded that the use of ICAM in the teaching vocabulary is effective to be implemented in improving the students’ vocabulary achievement.

  1. Examining the Impact of Vocabulary Strategy Training on Adult EFL Students

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    Nafiye AKTEKİN

    2013-06-01

    Full Text Available Abstract - This study aimed to examine the effectiveness of strategy instruction in vocabulary learning. To reach the goal of the study, 70 elementary level EFL learners at the Preparatory School of Mersin University were assigned as study and control groups. At the first stage of the study, through a Vocabulary Strategy Frequency Survey (Cohen, Oxford & Chi, 2002 and Taxonomy (Schmitt, 1997, conscious and/or unconscious use of vocabulary learning strategies in both groups was investigated. The study group received instruction on vocabulary learning strategies which was embedded to the course-book through a 10-week period. For the next stage, it was aimed to raise the teachers’ awareness of vocabulary strategy learning; therefore, discussion and feedback sessions were planned. For the follow-up stage of the study, 10 of the participant students who were then second grade medical students were interviewed in order to investigate the effects of strategy training after 2 academic years. Interviewees were asked about their opinions on strategy use during this period. The findings indicated that vocabulary strategy training can help students to learn and store more vocabulary. Keywords: language learning strategies, vocabulary learning strategies, strategy training, adult EFL learners Özet–Kelime Strateji Eğitiminin İngilizce Öğrenen Yetişkin Öğrenciler Üzerindeki Etkisinin Araştırılması. Bu çalışma kelime öğreniminde strateji kullanımının etkisini ölçmek için yapılmıştır. Bu amaçla, Mersin Üniversitesi Yabancı Diller Yüksekokulundan 70 başlangıç düzey yabancı dil öğrencisi çalışma ve kontrol grubu olarak seçilmişlerdir. İlk olarak, kelime stratejisi sıklık anketi (Cohen, Oxford & Chi, 2002 ve taksonomisi (Schmitt, 1997 ile her iki grubun bilinçli ve/veya bilinçdışı kullandıkları stratejiler araştırılmıştır. Çalışma grubu ders kitaplarına uygun olarak düzenlenmiş etkinliklerle

  2. Psychometric properties of revised Thought-Action Fusion questionnaire (TAF-R) in an Iranian population.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pourfaraj, Majid; Mohammadi, Nourallah; Taghavi, Mohammadreza

    2008-12-01

    The purpose of this study is to examine the psychometric properties of Thought-Action Fusion revised scale (TAF-R; Amir, N., freshman, M., Ramsey, B., Neary, E., & Brigidi, B. (2001). Thought-action fusion in individuals with OCD symptoms. Behaviour Research and Therapy, 39, 765-776) in a sample of 565 (321 female) students of Shiraz university. The results of factor analysis with using varimax rotation yielded eight factors that explained 80% variances of total scale. These factors are labeled: moral TAF, responsibility for positive thoughts, likelihood negative events, likelihood positive events, responsibility for negative thoughts, responsibility for harm avoidance, likelihood harm avoidance and likelihood self, respectively. The reliability coefficients of total scale are calculated by two methods: internal consistency and test-retest, which were 0.81 and 0.61, respectively. Concurrent validity showed that TAF-R scores positively and significantly correlate with responsibility, guilt and obsessive-compulsive symptoms. Confirming the expectations, there were people with high obsessive-compulsive symptoms having higher TAF-R scores than those with low symptoms. Moreover, subscales-total correlations showed that the correlations between subscales were low, but subscales correlating with total score of TAF-R were moderated.

  3. Development and Validation of the Drinking Motive Questionnaire Revised Short Form (DMQ-R SF)

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kuntsche, Emmanuel; Kuntsche, Sandra

    2009-01-01

    A short form of the Drinking Motive Questionnaire Revised (DMQ-R; Cooper, 1994) was developed, using different item selection strategies based on a national representative sample of 5,617 12- to 18-year-old students in Switzerland. To confirm the concurrent validity of the short-form questionnaire, or DMQ-R SF, data from a second national sample…

  4. Predicting Receptive-Expressive Vocabulary Discrepancies in Preschool Children With Autism Spectrum Disorder.

    Science.gov (United States)

    McDaniel, Jena; Yoder, Paul; Woynaroski, Tiffany; Watson, Linda R

    2018-05-15

    Correlates of receptive-expressive vocabulary size discrepancies may provide insights into why language development in children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) deviates from typical language development and ultimately improve intervention outcomes. We indexed receptive-expressive vocabulary size discrepancies of 65 initially preverbal children with ASD (20-48 months) to a comparison sample from the MacArthur-Bates Communicative Development Inventories Wordbank (Frank, Braginsky, Yurovsky, & Marchman, 2017) to quantify typicality. We then tested whether attention toward a speaker and oral motor performance predict typicality of the discrepancy 8 months later. Attention toward a speaker correlated positively with receptive-expressive vocabulary size discrepancy typicality. Imitative and nonimitative oral motor performance were not significant predictors of vocabulary size discrepancy typicality. Secondary analyses indicated that midpoint receptive vocabulary size mediated the association between initial attention toward a speaker and end point receptive-expressive vocabulary size discrepancy typicality. Findings support the hypothesis that variation in attention toward a speaker might partially explain receptive-expressive vocabulary size discrepancy magnitude in children with ASD. Results are consistent with an input-processing deficit explanation of language impairment in this clinical population. Future studies should test whether attention toward a speaker is malleable and causally related to receptive-expressive discrepancies in children with ASD.

  5. Vocabulary Acquisition in L2: Does CALL Really Help?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Averianova, Irina

    2015-01-01

    Language competence in various communicative activities in L2 largely depends on the learners' size of vocabulary. The target vocabulary of adult L2 learners should be between 2,000 high frequency words (a critical threshold) and 10,000 word families (for comprehension of university texts). For a TOEIC test, the threshold is estimated to be…

  6. Vocabulary and Receptive Knowledge of English Collocations among Swedish Upper Secondary School Students

    OpenAIRE

    Bergström, Kerstin

    2008-01-01

    The aim of this study is to examine the vocabulary and receptive collocation knowledge in English among Swedish upper secondary school students. The primary material consists of two vocabulary tests, one collocation test, and a background questionnaire. The first research question concerns whether the students who receive a major part of their education in English have a higher level of vocabulary and receptive collocation knowledge in English than those who are taught primarily in Swedish. T...

  7. Improving Student Vocabulary Mastery Using Word Mapping Strategy

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    Satuna Indah Wardani

    2015-05-01

    Full Text Available Abstract: The purpose of this study was to find out whether the word mapping strategywas able to improve the students’ vocabulary mastery. The process of masteringis mainly affected by the worst thought of the vocational students who said that English as the most difficult subject to learn and was often tracked into boringcondition since theywere not involved in the process of learning. Thisstudy was conducted by using classroom action research in two cycles and each cycleconsisted of four meetings. The subject of the research was the third grade of Accounting Department at State Vocational School 1 Pamekasan whichconsisted of 34 students. The research was carried out for one month.Theinstruments used to obtained primary data and the secondary data were vocabulary test, the students’ observation sheets, and questionnaire of the respondent.The result of test in preliminary until the test in cycle two showed that there was the improvement of the number of students who passed the test. Hopefully, this outcome will certainly be useful for both teachers and students in which its harmony will give the progress for learning English,especially vocabulary mastery. 

  8. Incidental L2 Vocabulary Acquisition "from" and "while" Reading: An Eye-Tracking Study

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pellicer-Sánchez, Ana

    2016-01-01

    Previous studies have shown that reading is an important source of incidental second language (L2) vocabulary acquisition. However, we still do not have a clear picture of what happens when readers encounter unknown words. Combining offline (vocabulary tests) and online (eye-tracking) measures, the incidental acquisition of vocabulary knowledge…

  9. The Effect of Mnemonic Vocabulary Instruction on Reading Comprehension of Students

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    Parima Fasih

    2018-05-01

    Full Text Available The present article was an investigation of mnemonic vocabulary teaching to improve reading comprehension in the EFL classrooms. A major problem with the most of the past researches was that they paid no or little attention to the effects of using mnemonic strategies to improve reading comprehension. The purpose of this paper was to investigate how key word mnemonic vocabulary teaching can improve reading comprehension of the students. To this end, 360 third grade senior high school students from 6 senior high schools of Zanjan were selected through multistage cluster random sampling method and based on Cambridge placement test (2010, 345 students proved to be upper intermediate. A quasi-experimental design was used to determine the effects of a mnemonic vocabulary intervention on reading comprehension. In this article there were one control group (A, n=115, and two experimental groups (B, n=115; C, n=115 all of which were male and there were selected randomly by the researchers. During one month in four weeks, every week in two thirty-minute session, group B received direct vocabulary instruction and group C received key word mnemonic instruction. The quantitative component of this article was comprised of the Unit Cloze test. In order to test the effects of Mnemonic Vocabulary Teaching on reading comprehension, the covariance analysis was employed and the results demonstrated that by eliminating the covariance factor of the pre-test, mnemonic vocabulary instruction improved the reading comprehension of the students. The use of keyword mnemonics as a means to differentiate instruction is an educational implication that can assist teachers seeking better student achievement outcomes.

  10. Lexical characteristics of expressive vocabulary in toddlers with autism spectrum disorder.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kover, Sara T; Ellis Weismer, Susan

    2014-08-01

    Vocabulary is a domain of particular challenge for many children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Recent research has drawn attention to ways in which lexical characteristics relate to vocabulary acquisition. The current study tested the hypothesis that lexical characteristics account for variability in vocabulary size of young children with ASD, applying the extended statistical learning theory of vocabulary delay in late talkers (Stokes, Kern, & Dos Santos, 2012) to toddlers with ASD. Parents reported the words produced by toddlers with ASD (n = 57; age 21-37 months) or toddlers without ASD (n = 41; age 22-26 months) on the MacArthur-Bates Communicative Development Inventories. The average phonological neighborhood density, word frequency, and word length of each toddler's lexicon were calculated. These lexical characteristics served as predictors of vocabulary size. Findings differed for toddlers with and without ASD and according to subsamples. Word length was the most consistent predictor of vocabulary size for toddlers with ASD. Distinct relationships between lexical characteristics and vocabulary size were observed for toddlers with and without ASD. Experimental studies on distributional cues to vocabulary acquisition are needed to inform what is known about mechanisms of learning in neurodevelopmental disorders.

  11. THE INFLUENCE OF MIND-MAPPING STRATEGY ON STUDENTS‘ VOCABULARY MASTERY

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    Rahmatika Dewi

    2017-12-01

    Full Text Available This paper is a quasi-experimental research. It was aimed to investigate the significant difference on vocabulary achievement between two groups who were taught by using Mind Mapping strategy and those who were taught by using Making Notes strategy. The subjects of this study were the students in class 5B and 5D of An-Nissa Islamic Billingual Elementary School of Semarang. 5B was the experimental group and 5D was the control group. In this research, I gave them a pre-test, treatments, and a post-test. I used the same instrument in the pre-test for both groups. They were asked to answer some questions of vocabulary test. The treatments were given in three meetings. The treatment used in the experimental group was Mind Mapping strategy, while the treatment in the control group was Making Notes strategy. The post-test in both groups were conducted after the treatments by using the same instrument as the pre-test but the position of question numbers were reshuffled. The result of the test was analyzed by using t-test formula to know the difference of the students‘ achievement in vocabulary between two groups. The analysis of the test result showed that the experimental group got better score than the control group. That calculation revealed that the hypothesis 1 (Ha was accepted and the hypothesis 2 (Ho was rejected. Based on the proven hypotheses, I concluded that Mind Mapping strategy is more effective to be implemented in teaching vocabulary than Making Notes strategy.

  12. Enhancing students’ vocabulary knowledge using the Facebook environment

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    Muhammad Kamarul Kabilan

    2016-01-01

    Full Text Available This study investigates the effectiveness of using Facebook in enhancing vocabulary knowledge among Community College students. Thirty-three (33 Community College students are exposed to the use of Facebook as an environment of learning and enhancing their English vocabulary. They are given a pre-test and a post-test and the findings indicate that students perform significantly better in the post-test compared to the pre-test. It appears that Facebook could be considered as a supplementary learning environment or learning platform or a learning tool; with meaningful and engaging activities that require students to collaborate, network and functions as a community of practice, particularly for introverted students with low proficiency levels and have low self-esteem.

  13. Food and Feed Commodity Vocabulary

    Science.gov (United States)

    Food and Feed Vocabulary was developed to consolidate all the major OPP Commodity Vocabularies into one standardized vocabulary. The EPA-preferred term is the only term that can be used in setting tolerances.

  14. Test Scatter on the WISC-R.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tabachnick, Barbara Gerson

    1979-01-01

    The study was designed to investigate scatter produced by 105 learning disabled (LD) children (6 to 16 years old) and to compare Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children-Revised (WISC-R) scatter with that produced by A. Kaufman's (1976) normal population. Range of scaled scores (i.e., scatter) was significantly greater for the LD group. (SBH)

  15. Linking open vocabularies

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    Greifender, Elke; Seadle, Michael

    2013-01-01

    Linked Data (LD), Linked Open Data (LOD) and generating a web of data, present the new knowledge sharing frontier. In a philosophical context, LD is an evolving environment that reflects humankinds' desire to understand the world by drawing on the latest technologies and capabilities of the time. LD, while seemingly a new phenomenon did not emerge overnight; rather it represents the natural progression by which knowledge structures are developed, used, and shared. Linked Open Vocabularies is a significant trajectory of LD. Linked Open Vocabularies targets vocabularies that have traditionally b

  16. Vocabulary Learning Strategies Used by Medical Students: Croatian Perspective

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    Jasmina Rogulj

    2018-02-01

    Full Text Available In order to be able to fully develop their academic and professional competencies, medical doctors (MDs need to be highly proficient in English, which, among other things, implies the acquisition of vocabulary as an essential part of language knowledge. The current study aims at exploring vocabulary learning strategies (VLS employed by freshman and sophomore medical students at the University of Split School of Medicine, Croatia. In particular, it focuses on (a most and least frequently used VLS; (b relationship between VLS subscales and different types of vocabulary knowledge; (c differences in the mean strategy use between male and female students, and among low-, middle- and high-scoring students. The instruments used in the research were adapted version of the VLS Questionnaire (Pavičić Takač, 2008, p.152 and a vocabulary test designed by the author. The results indicate that medical students use a core inventory of VLS, whereby showing preference for the category of self-initiated vocabulary learning (SI-IVL strategies and some individual formal vocabulary learning (FVL and spontaneous vocabulary learning (SVL strategies. Although students were not in favour of FVL at the level of the category as a whole, the results showed that the more frequently they employed FVL strategies, the better they scored on vocabulary tasks measuring controlled-productive type of vocabulary knowledge. Correlations revealed that female students used SI-IVL and FVL strategies significantly more often than their male counterparts. Results also suggest that there are no statistically significant differences in the mean VLS use among low-, middle- and high-scoring students. In conclusion, the results of this study provide a preliminary insight into the VLS used by medical students and their effect on students' vocabulary learning outcomes as well as into differences by gender and vocabulary proficiency. Since findings have proved rather inconclusive, these

  17. The Effect of Interactivity with a Music Video Game on Second Language Vocabulary Recall

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    Jonathan DeHaan

    2010-06-01

    Full Text Available Video games are potential sources of second language input; however, the medium’s fundamental characteristic, interactivity, has not been thoroughly examined in terms of its effect on learning outcomes. This experimental study investigated to what degree, if at all, video game interactivity would help or hinder the noticing and recall of second language vocabulary. Eighty randomly-selected Japanese university undergraduates were paired based on similar English language and game proficiencies. One subject played an English-language music video game for 20 minutes while the paired subject watched the game simultaneously on another monitor. Following gameplay, a vocabulary recall test, a cognitive load measure, an experience questionnaire, and a two-week delayed vocabulary recall test were administered. Results were analyzed using paired samples t-tests and various analyses of variance. Both the players and the watchers of the video game recalled vocabulary from the game, but the players recalled significantly less vocabulary than the watchers. This seems to be a result of the extraneous cognitive load induced by the interactivity of the game; the players perceived the game and its language to be significantly more difficult than the watchers did. Players also reported difficulty simultaneously attending to gameplay and vocabulary. Both players and watchers forgot significant amounts of vocabulary over the course of the study. We relate these findings to theories and studies of vocabulary acquisition and video game-based language learning, and then suggest implications for language teaching and learning with interactive multimedia.

  18. Construct and content validity of the Turkish Birth Satisfaction Scale - Revised (T-BSS-R).

    Science.gov (United States)

    Göncü Serhatlıoğlu, Seda; Karahan, Nazan; Hollins Martin, Caroline J; Martin, Colin R

    2018-03-19

    The Birth Satisfaction Scale - Revised (BSS-R) is a valid and reliable scale designed to assess women's experiences of labour and childbirth. To assess factor structure, validity, and reliability of the Turkish Birth Satisfaction Scale - Revised (T-BSS-R) using data collected from a Turkish population. Istanbul Ministry of Health Zeynep Kamil Women's and Children's Training and Research Hospital. A convenience sample of healthy child-bearing women (n = 120) who had experienced a spontaneous vertex delivery at full term. A survey was conducted post backtranslating the T-BSS-R, with survey data analysed using confirmatory factor analysis. Factor modelling found three subscales embedded in the T-BSS-R, which indicated a good model fit, χ 2 = 44.67, CFI = .94; RMSEA = .057; SRMR = .075. A Chi-square value of 1.33 also indicated a good fit. Means for the T-BSS-R subdimensions (1) Stress Experienced (T-BSS-SE-R) = 6.86 ± 3.10, (2) Women's Attributes (T-BSS-WA-R) = 2.84 ± 1.89, (3) Quality of Care (T-BSS-QC-R) = 10.69 ± 3.19 and total scale = 20.39 ± 5.98. The Cronbach alpha coefficient for total scale = 0.71 and for subdimensions T-BSS-SE-R = 0.55, T-BSS-WA-R = 0.44 and T-BSS-QC-R = -0.74. Data analysis determined that the T-BSS-R is a valid and reliable instrument to measure birth satisfaction in a population of Turkish women. The T-BSS-R is available for use from c.hollinsmartin@napier.ac.uk .

  19. Item response theory analysis of the life orientation test-revised: age and gender differential item functioning analyses.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Steca, Patrizia; Monzani, Dario; Greco, Andrea; Chiesi, Francesca; Primi, Caterina

    2015-06-01

    This study is aimed at testing the measurement properties of the Life Orientation Test-Revised (LOT-R) for the assessment of dispositional optimism by employing item response theory (IRT) analyses. The LOT-R was administered to a large sample of 2,862 Italian adults. First, confirmatory factor analyses demonstrated the theoretical conceptualization of the construct measured by the LOT-R as a single bipolar dimension. Subsequently, IRT analyses for polytomous, ordered response category data were applied to investigate the items' properties. The equivalence of the items across gender and age was assessed by analyzing differential item functioning. Discrimination and severity parameters indicated that all items were able to distinguish people with different levels of optimism and adequately covered the spectrum of the latent trait. Additionally, the LOT-R appears to be gender invariant and, with minor exceptions, age invariant. Results provided evidence that the LOT-R is a reliable and valid measure of dispositional optimism. © The Author(s) 2014.

  20. Working Memory and Distributed Vocabulary Learning.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Atkins, Paul W. B.; Baddeley, Alan D.

    1998-01-01

    Tested the hypothesis that individual differences in immediate-verbal-memory span predict success in second-language vocabulary acquisition. In the two-session study, adult subjects learned 56 English-Finnish translations. Tested one week later, subjects were less likely to remember those words they had difficulty learning, even though they had…

  1. The effect of the integration of talking toys on preschoolers’ vocabulary learning in English

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Burcu Güngör

    2018-05-01

    Full Text Available Appropriate conditions and suitable materials can inspire young children to learn a new language effortlessly. The present study attempted to investigate the effects of English talking toys as teaching materials on vocabulary learning of very young learners (VYL based on their gender. The study was conducted at one of the public preschools in Yenimahalle/Ankara with 48 five-year old children from two classes. The first group of students was the experimental group and they were instructed using English talking toys as a teaching material. On the other hand, the other class was the control group and was instructed using flashcards. The target vocabulary for this study, which was incorporated into a Vocabulary Checklist Test, was developed after a close scrutiny of the relevant literature (i.e. vocabulary learning in young learners and examination of the theme-related curriculum employed in the chosen preschool. To assess preschoolers' learning of target words in English, a new Vocabulary Checklist Test was developed by the researcher. The results of a series of t-tests showed that the class instructed with English talking toys performed better on both receptive and expressive/productive vocabulary. The results also indicated that there was not any significant difference between males and females in terms of the effect of English talking toys on preschool children's vocabulary learning. The findings suggest that English talking toys are not only used for entertainment and recreational purposes, they can also be used as teaching material particularly when it comes to teaching basic English vocabulary. The current study contributed to areas such as early childhood education, foreign/second language learning, foreign language testing and evaluation.

  2. The Changing Role of Sound-Symbolism for Small Versus Large Vocabularies.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Brand, James; Monaghan, Padraic; Walker, Peter

    2017-12-12

    Natural language contains many examples of sound-symbolism, where the form of the word carries information about its meaning. Such systematicity is more prevalent in the words children acquire first, but arbitrariness dominates during later vocabulary development. Furthermore, systematicity appears to promote learning category distinctions, which may become more important as the vocabulary grows. In this study, we tested the relative costs and benefits of sound-symbolism for word learning as vocabulary size varies. Participants learned form-meaning mappings for words which were either congruent or incongruent with regard to sound-symbolic relations. For the smaller vocabulary, sound-symbolism facilitated learning individual words, whereas for larger vocabularies sound-symbolism supported learning category distinctions. The changing properties of form-meaning mappings according to vocabulary size may reflect the different ways in which language is learned at different stages of development. Copyright © 2017 The Authors. Cognitive Science published by Wiley Periodicals, Inc. on behalf of Cognitive Science Society.

  3. The Effectiveness of Using Contextual Clues, Dictionary Strategy and Computer Assisted Language Learning (Call In Learning Vocabulary

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    Zuraina Ali

    2013-07-01

    Full Text Available This study investigates the effectiveness of three vocabulary learning methods that are Contextual Clues, Dictionary Strategy, and Computer Assisted Language Learning (CALL in learning vocabulary among ESL learners. First, it aims at finding which of the vocabulary learning methods namely Dictionary Strategy, Contextual Clues, and CALL that may result in the highest number of words learnt in the immediate and delayed recall tests. Second, it compares the results of the Pre-test and the Delayed Recall Post-test to determine the differences of learning vocabulary using the methods. A quasi-experiment that tested the effectiveness of learning vocabulary using Dictionary Strategy, Contextual clues, and CALL involved 123 first year university students. Qualitative procedures included the collection of data from interviews which were conducted to triangulate the data obtain from the quantitative inquiries. Findings from the study using ANOVA revealed that there were significant differences when students were exposed to Dictionary Strategy, Contextual Clues and CALL in the immediate recall tests but not in the Delayed Recall Post-test. Also, there were significant differences when t test was used to compare the scores between the Pre-test and the Delayed Recall Post-test in using the three methods of vocabulary learning. Although many researchers have advocated the relative effectiveness of Dictionary Strategy, Contextual Clues, and CALL in learning vocabulary, the study however, is still paramount since there is no study has ever empirically investigated the relative efficacy of these three methods in a single study.

  4. The Correlation Between Students’ Vocabulary Mastery and Their Interest in English Toward Reading Comprehension in Descriptive Text

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    Eva Faliyanti

    2015-10-01

    Linearity Test,  the researcher gets the result of based on the calculation, it is found that: 1 of r = 0,45 (X1 and Y. 2 0,61 (X2 and Y. 3 0,98 (X1, X2 and Y. The hypothesis can be accepted because tratio = 4,3 and tdaf = 2,04. It means that tratio>tdaf and Ha is accepted because there is positif and significant correlation between students’ vocabulary mastery and their interest in English toward reading comprehension in descriptive text. Key words: Students’ Vocabulary Mastery and Their Interest in English Toward Reading Comprehension Indescriptive Text.

  5. Improving Vocabulary of English Language Learners through Direct Vocabulary Instruction

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hunt, Meghan; Feng, Jay

    2016-01-01

    This is a report of a professional development project. The purpose of the project was to provide professional development to teachers in vocabulary instructional strategies and to examine vocabulary acquisition of English language learners. The participants were 8 second grade ELL students and 6 second grade teachers. The eight second grade…

  6. Relationships between the Kaufman Brief Intelligence Test and the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale-Third Edition.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Walters, Steven O; Weaver, Kenneth A

    2003-06-01

    The Kaufman Brief Intelligence Test detects learning problems of young students and is a screen for whether a more comprehensive test of intelligence is needed. A study to assess whether this test was valid as an adult intelligence test was conducted with 20 undergraduate psychology majors. The correlations between the Kaufman Brief Intelligence Test's Composite, Vocabulary, and Matrices test scores and their corresponding Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale-Third Edition test scores, the Full Scale (r=.88), Verbal (r=.77), and Performance scores (r=.87), indicated very strong relationships. In addition, no significant differences were obtained between the Composite, Vocabulary, and Matrices means of the Kaufman Brief Intelligence Test and the Full Scale, Verbal, and Performance means of the WAIS-III. The Kaufman Brief Intelligence Test appears to be a valid test of intelligence for adults.

  7. Psychometric properties of the Korean version of the incivility in nursing education-revised (INE-R) survey.

    Science.gov (United States)

    De Gagne, Jennie C; Kang, Hee Sun; Hyun, Myung Sun

    2016-12-01

    In this study, we developed and tested the psychometric properties of a translated and culturally adapted Korean version of the Incivility in Nursing Education-Revised (INE-R) survey. Using a cross-sectional design, the INE-R was administered to a convenience sample of 284 students enrolled in three Korean nursing colleges. Descriptive statistics were calculated for 24 student and 24 faculty incivility behavior items. Underlying factor structure was examined using exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses, and model fit was assessed using chi-square goodness-of-fit and other fit indices. For student incivility items, a four-factor model provided the best fit for the data, while a two-factor model provided the best fit for faculty incivility items. Overall reliability of the INE-R for student and faculty incivility behavior was estimated as α = 0.94 and 0.96, respectively. The Korean version of the INE-R is a reliable measure for assessing perceptions of student and faculty incivility among Korean nursing students. © 2016 John Wiley & Sons Australia, Ltd.

  8. Memory-for-Designs, Bender-Gestalt, Trail Making Test, and WISC-R Performance of Retarded and Adequate Readers

    Science.gov (United States)

    McManis, Donald L.; And Others

    1978-01-01

    Twelve reading-disabled and 12 nondisabled boys, of average intellectual ability, in Grades 3 to 6 were compared on the Memory-For-Designs, Bender-Gestalt, Trail Making Test, and the 11 subtests of the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children--Revised (WISC-R). (Author)

  9. A Translation and Validation Study of the Life Orientation Test Revised in the Greek Speaking Population of Nurses among Three Hospitals in Athens and Ioannina

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lyrakos, George N.; Damigos, Dimitrios; Mavreas, Venetsanos; Georgia, Kostopanagiotou; Dimoliatis, Ioannis D. K.

    2010-01-01

    The life orientation test-revised (LOT-R) (Scheier et al. in "Journal of Personality and Social Psychology" 67:1063-1078, 1994) is a brief measure for assessing dispositional optimism. The aim of this study was to develop a Greek language version of the LOT-R and to assess the instrument's psychometric properties. The LOT-R was…

  10. The Effects of Pre-Learning Vocabulary on Reading Comprehension and Writing

    Science.gov (United States)

    Webb, Stuart A.

    2009-01-01

    This study investigates the effects of pre-learning vocabulary on reading comprehension and writing. Japanese students studying English as a foreign language (EFL) learned word pairs receptively and productively; four tests were used to measure reading comprehension, writing, and receptive and productive vocabulary knowledge. The findings suggest…

  11. WISC-R Examiner Errors: Cause for Concern.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Slate, John R.; Chick, David

    1989-01-01

    Clinical psychology graduate students (N=14) administered Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children-Revised. Found numerous scoring and mechanical errors that influenced full-scale intelligence quotient scores on two-thirds of protocols. Particularly prone to error were Verbal subtests of Vocabulary, Comprehension, and Similarities. Noted specific…

  12. Using Knowledge Management to Revise Software-Testing Processes

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nogeste, Kersti; Walker, Derek H. T.

    2006-01-01

    Purpose: This paper aims to use a knowledge management (KM) approach to effectively revise a utility retailer's software testing process. This paper presents a case study of how the utility organisation's customer services IT production support group improved their test planning skills through applying the American Productivity and Quality Center…

  13. Vocabulary Theatre: A Peer-Teaching Approach for Academic Vocabulary Acquisition

    Science.gov (United States)

    Robb, Elizabeth; Sinatra, Richard; Eschenauer, Robert

    2014-01-01

    This mixed methods counterbalanced study compared the gain score means of two different approaches to vocabulary acquisition--Vocabulary Theater (VT) and Teacher Directed Instruction (TDI) for 8th grade students from three schools in New York. The purpose of the study was to explore the effects of a peer teaching approach on students' vocabulary…

  14. Longitudinal analysis of receptive vocabulary growth in young Spanish English-speaking children from migrant families.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jackson, Carla Wood; Schatschneider, Christopher; Leacox, Lindsey

    2014-01-01

    The authors of this study described developmental trajectories and predicted kindergarten performance of Spanish and English receptive vocabulary acquisition of young Latino/a English language learners (ELLs) from socioeconomically disadvantaged migrant families. In addition, the authors examined the extent to which gender and individual initial performance in Spanish predict receptive vocabulary performance and growth rate. The authors used hierarchical linear modeling of 64 children's receptive vocabulary performance to generate growth trajectories, predict performance at school entry, and examine potential predictors of rate of growth. The timing of testing varied across children. The ELLs (prekindergarten to 2nd grade) participated in 2-5 testing sessions, each 6-12 months apart. The ELLs' average predicted standard score on an English receptive vocabulary at kindergarten was nearly 2 SDs below the mean for monolingual peers. Significant growth in the ELLs' receptive vocabulary was observed between preschool and 2nd grade, indicating that the ELLs were slowly closing the receptive vocabulary gap, although their average score remained below the standard score mean for age-matched monolingual peers. The ELLs demonstrated a significant decrease in Spanish receptive vocabulary standard scores over time. Initial Spanish receptive vocabulary was a significant predictor of growth in English receptive vocabulary. High initial Spanish receptive vocabulary was associated with greater growth in English receptive vocabulary and decelerated growth in Spanish receptive vocabulary. Gender was not a significant predictor of growth in either English or Spanish receptive vocabulary. ELLs from low socioeconomic backgrounds may be expected to perform lower in English compared with their monolingual English peers in kindergarten. Performance in Spanish at school entry may be useful in identifying children who require more intensive instructional support for English vocabulary

  15. Vocabulary Mastery by Using Storytelling

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Sektalonir Oscarini Bhakti

    2018-04-01

    Full Text Available Abstract:  This research investigated 80 students of Diploma III Architecture of Samarinda State Polytechnic to see their vocabularies mastery trough storytelling. Telling the stories is one of the best way to find out the students' English Mastery. Some obstacles are also found in learning English trough performing storytelling in the class such as the suitable material and text for the students, the lack of ability of the students and the teacher in conducting story as well as the readiness and the nervousness of the storytellers. As an English lecturer, the researcher also finds that how to improve vocabularies is one of the students' problems in learning English.  It is proved when the students are asked to tell a story in front of the class. In this research, the students needed telling stories before they had the English vocabulary test.  From the test, it could be concluded that the highest score was 92 got by one (1 student while the lowest score was 46 got by one (1 student.  Meanwhile, the average score was 78 that classified fair (B.  There were two (2 students who got below 50 that classified Fail. The results show that even the students' English mastery were satisfied but the students still need to practice how to tell the story in a good way so that they will master in all aspects. Keywords: Samarinda State Polytechnic, Students' Mastery, Storytelling

  16. Incidental second language vocabulary learning from reading novels: a comparison of three mobile modes

    OpenAIRE

    Fisher, Tony; Sharples, Mike; Pemberton, Richard; Ogata, Hiroaki; Uosaki, Noriko; Edmonds, Phil; Hull, Anthony; Tschorn, Patrick

    2012-01-01

    This paper reports on a study in which incidental English vocabulary learning from three mobile modes (book, e-book and e-book with user modelling and adaptive vocabulary learning support) was investigated. The study employed a crossover design to test for vocabulary gain from reading three simplified English novels among a group of Japanese high school students, learning English as a second language. Small vocabulary gains were noted; however there was no significant difference between the m...

  17. Vocabulary Learning as the Predictor of Third-Grader EFL Learners’ Achievement: A Case for Translation

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ali Jahangard

    2010-09-01

    Full Text Available The purpose of the study was to formulate a model to predict the performance of Iranian high school third-graders on the End of the Course Achievement (ECA tests through their performance on the vocabulary tests, which were administered throughout the course. To meet this end, thirty two learners – aging seventeen to nineteen, all male – participated in the study which took nine months to complete. Their linguistic abilities were approximately at Intermediate-Mid level according to the ACTFL proficiency guidelines (1998. The sampling procedure was the intact group method. 333 lexical items were taught to the learners in the decontextualized paired-associate
    translation method. The classes were held two hours a week in a nine-month course of time. Six sets of vocabulary tests were administered and every learner’s average was calculated. The learners’ scores on the ECA tests and their average scores on the vocabulary tests were analyzed through the regression analysis procedure to derive a model that could reliably predict the learners’ ECA scores through their average performance on the vocabulary scores. The analysis yielded the following
    formula: (AVERAGE VOCABULARY × 0.713 + 2.871± [3.1].

  18. Reliability generalization of the Multigroup Ethnic Identity Measure-Revised (MEIM-R).

    Science.gov (United States)

    Herrington, Hayley M; Smith, Timothy B; Feinauer, Erika; Griner, Derek

    2016-10-01

    [Correction Notice: An Erratum for this article was reported in Vol 63(5) of Journal of Counseling Psychology (see record 2016-33161-001). The name of author Erika Feinauer was misspelled as Erika Feinhauer. All versions of this article have been corrected.] Individuals' strength of ethnic identity has been linked with multiple positive indicators, including academic achievement and overall psychological well-being. The measure researchers use most often to assess ethnic identity, the Multigroup Ethnic Identity Measure (MEIM), underwent substantial revision in 2007. To inform scholars investigating ethnic identity, we performed a reliability generalization analysis on data from the revised version (MEIM-R) and compared it with data from the original MEIM. Random-effects weighted models evaluated internal consistency coefficients (Cronbach's alpha). Reliability coefficients for the MEIM-R averaged α = .88 across 37 samples, a statistically significant increase over the average of α = .84 for the MEIM across 75 studies. Reliability coefficients for the MEIM-R did not differ across study and participant characteristics such as sample gender and ethnic composition. However, consistently lower reliability coefficients averaging α = .81 were found among participants with low levels of education, suggesting that greater attention to data reliability is warranted when evaluating the ethnic identity of individuals such as middle-school students. Future research will be needed to ascertain whether data with other measures of aspects of personal identity (e.g., racial identity, gender identity) also differ as a function of participant level of education and associated cognitive or maturation processes. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2016 APA, all rights reserved).

  19. Enriching Students’ Vocabulary Mastery Using Graphic Organizers

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Syaifudin Latif Darmawan

    2017-04-01

    Full Text Available This action research is carried out to (1 identify whether graphic organizers enrich student’s vocabulary mastery; and (2 to describe the classroom situation when graphic organizers are employed in instructional process of vocabulary. The research is conducted in two cycles from March to May 2016/2017 in the eight years of SMP Muhammadiyah Sekampung, East lampung. The procedure of the research consists of identifying the problem, planning the action, implementing the action, observing the action, and reflecting the result of the research. Qualitative data are collected through interview, observation, questionnaire, and research diary. Quantitative data are collected through test. To analyze qualitative data, the researcher used constant comparative method. It consists of four steps: (1 comparing incidents applicable to each category; (2 Integrating categories and their properties; (3 delimiting the theory; (4 Writing the theory. Meanwhile, to analyze quantitative data, the researcher employed descriptive statistic.    The result of the research shows that using graphic organizers can enrich students’ vocabulary mastery and classroom situation. The improvement on students’ vocabulary included; a the students are able to speak English; b the students are able to understand the meaning of the text as they have a lot of vocabularies. The improvement of the classroom situation; (a students come on time in the class (b students are more motivated to join the class (c Students pay more attention in the instructional process (d students’ participation in responding the questions are high.

  20. The Effect of Computer Game-Based Learning on FL Vocabulary Transferability

    Science.gov (United States)

    Franciosi, Stephan J.

    2017-01-01

    In theory, computer game-based learning can support several vocabulary learning affordances that have been identified in the foreign language learning research. In the observable evidence, learning with computer games has been shown to improve performance on vocabulary recall tests. However, while simple recall can be a sign of learning,…

  1. Understanding Teachers' Pedagogical Knowledge In ESL Vocabulary Teaching

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Maizatulliza Muhamad

    2018-02-01

    Full Text Available In communicative language teaching classrooms, one of the main emphases is on students’ ability to use the target language for real life purposes. To achieve this goal, teachers may have to ensure that students have adequate vocabulary to express their feelings and ideas. Previous research on vocabulary teaching and learning tends to be quantitative in nature focusing on testing the effectiveness of some techniques. This research study however, is an attempt to understand teachers’ pedagogical systems that influence their practice in actual classroom interactions during vocabulary teaching and learning. In-depth interviews and classroom observations with two experienced Malaysian ESL teachers were conducted. The interviews highlighted the teachers’ beliefs as well as challenges they faced with regards to vocabulary teaching and learning. The classroom observations revealed that their practice was very much a reflection of their own beliefs, based on their own experience as students as well as teachers. The results of this study showcased the fact that teachers operate within the spectrum of their pedagogical knowledge.

  2. Auditory Perception, Suprasegmental Speech Processing, and Vocabulary Development in Chinese Preschoolers.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wang, Hsiao-Lan S; Chen, I-Chen; Chiang, Chun-Han; Lai, Ying-Hui; Tsao, Yu

    2016-10-01

    The current study examined the associations between basic auditory perception, speech prosodic processing, and vocabulary development in Chinese kindergartners, specifically, whether early basic auditory perception may be related to linguistic prosodic processing in Chinese Mandarin vocabulary acquisition. A series of language, auditory, and linguistic prosodic tests were given to 100 preschool children who had not yet learned how to read Chinese characters. The results suggested that lexical tone sensitivity and intonation production were significantly correlated with children's general vocabulary abilities. In particular, tone awareness was associated with comprehensive language development, whereas intonation production was associated with both comprehensive and expressive language development. Regression analyses revealed that tone sensitivity accounted for 36% of the unique variance in vocabulary development, whereas intonation production accounted for 6% of the variance in vocabulary development. Moreover, auditory frequency discrimination was significantly correlated with lexical tone sensitivity, syllable duration discrimination, and intonation production in Mandarin Chinese. Also it provided significant contributions to tone sensitivity and intonation production. Auditory frequency discrimination may indirectly affect early vocabulary development through Chinese speech prosody. © The Author(s) 2016.

  3. Empirical versus Random Item Selection in the Design of Intelligence Test Short Forms--The WISC-R Example.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Goh, David S.

    1979-01-01

    The advantages of using psychometric thoery to design short forms of intelligence tests are demonstrated by comparing such usage to a systematic random procedure that has previously been used. The Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children Revised (WISC-R) Short Form is presented as an example. (JKS)

  4. Early Vocabulary in Relation to Gender, Bilingualism, Type, and Duration of Childcare.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Stolarova, M; Brielmann, A A; Wolf, C; Rinker, T; Burke, T; Baayen, H

    2016-01-01

    This study investigates the predictive value of child-related and environmental characteristics for early lexical development. The German productive vocabulary of 51 2-year-olds (27 girls), assessed via parental report, was analyzed taking children's gender, the type of early care they experienced, and their mono- versus bilingual language composition into consideration. The children were from an educationally homogeneous group of families and state-regulated daycare facilities with high structural quality. All investigated subgroups exhibited German vocabulary size within the expected normative range. Gender differences in vocabulary composition, but not in size, were observed. There were no general differences in vocabulary size or composition between the 2 care groups. An interaction between the predictors gender and care arrangement showed that girls without regular daycare experience before the age of 2 years had a somewhat larger vocabulary than all other investigated subgroups of children. The vocabulary size of the 2-year-old children in daycare correlated positively with the duration of their daycare experience prior to testing. The small subgroup of bilingual children investigated exhibited slightly lower but still normative German expressive vocabulary size and a different vocabulary composition compared to the monolingual children. This study expands current knowledge about relevant predictors of early vocabulary. It shows that in the absence of educational disadvantages the duration of early daycare experience of high structural quality is positively associated with vocabulary size but also points to the fact that environmental characteristics, such as type of care, might affect boys' and girls' early vocabulary in different ways.

  5. Common Variance Among Three Measures of Nonverbal Cognitive Ability: WISC-R Performance Scale, WJPB-TCA Reasoning Cluster, and Halstead Category Test.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Telzrow, Cathy F.; Harr, Gale A.

    1987-01-01

    Examined the relationships among two psychometric measures of nonverbal cognitive ability - The Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children-Revised (WISC-R) and the Woodcock-Johnson Psychoeducational Battery-Tests of Cognitive Ability (WJPB-TCA) and a neuropsychological test of abstract reasoning and concept formation (Halstead Category Test) in 25…

  6. Fast Flux Test Facility project plan. Revision 2

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Hulvey, R.K.

    1995-11-01

    The Fast Flux Test Facility (FFTF) Transition Project Plan, Revision 2, provides changes to the major elements and project baseline for the deactivation activities necessary to transition the FFTF to a radiologically and industrially safe shutdown condition.

  7. Fast Flux Test Facility project plan. Revision 2

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Hulvey, R.K.

    1995-11-01

    The Fast Flux Test Facility (FFTF) Transition Project Plan, Revision 2, provides changes to the major elements and project baseline for the deactivation activities necessary to transition the FFTF to a radiologically and industrially safe shutdown condition

  8. Analysis of words to development of augmentative and alternative communication boards for disabled student

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Andréa Carla Paura

    2011-12-01

    Full Text Available Purpose: The aim of this study was to analyze the contribution of the words used in language assessment instruments and/or the vocabulary used in Brazil for the development of alternative communication boards. Methods: word lists from the selected assessment instruments were analyzed through a protocol designed for this purpose. The frequency of occurrence of each word was verified considering four word lists from the instruments and the frequency of occurrence of these words according to the classification proposed by Comunication Pictu Symbols system - PCS. Results: Results showed that the frequency words occurred only once was of 67.88% and the frequency of occurrence of concrete and abstract nouns in the instruments was 60.04%. The instrument that presented words with more than one occurrence was the Vocabulary Test-PPVT Peabody Picture. Conclusions: The use of tool that are already used and standardized may contribute to the process of evaluation, selection and deployment of augmentative and alternative communication resources for children and youth with disabilities.

  9. THE EFFECT OF USING FLASH CARD AND PICTURE STORY IN VOCABULARY MASTERY TO THE SEVENTH GRADER OF SMP PGRI 1 MARGATIGA

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Khoirul Hidayat -

    2017-05-01

    Full Text Available Based on the content standard, junior high school students are hoped to master vocabulary about 1000 words, so they can understand the conversation. But it fact, most of the students in junior high school do not master vocabulary well. So, the teacher should be able to choose a good media to help students to increase their vocabulary. In this case, flash card with picture story is two of media that can be used to transfer vocabulary material for the students.   The objective of this research is to find the significant differences of using flash card with picture story in vocabulary, and to find which medium is more effective to use as media in vocabulary. This research was true experiment design. Pre test and post test were use to collect the data. There are two problems of the study, (1 are there any significant differences between flash card with picture story in vocabulary mastery for the seventh grade students in SMP PGRI 2 Margatiga academic years 2013/2014?, (2 which one is more effective media in vocabulary learning process, is it flash card or picture story at seventh grade of SMP PGRI 2 Margatiga, academic years 2013/2014?. As a source of data, the researcher utilized flash card with picture story to teach vocabulary for the students. The media help students to learn vocabulary easier and more interesting to understand the subject, so their vocabulary would increase.   The result of the research, it was found that the mean score of picture story in pre test is 53,86, in treatment is 81, and in post test 85,33. Meanwhile the mean score of the flash card media in pre test 59,33, in treatment is 73,5, and in post test is 80,66. It means that the student’s vocabulary has increased, and there is significant difference of using picture story and flash card in vocabulary instruction, and picture story was more effective to use in vocabulary instruction.

  10. The Impact Of Using Computer Software On Vocabulary Learning Of Iranian EFL University Students

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Samira Pahlavanpoorfard

    2014-07-01

    Full Text Available Today, using computer is common in all fields. Education is not an exception. In fact, this approach of technology has been using increasingly in language classrooms. We have witnessed there are more and more language teachers are using computers in their classrooms. This research study investigates the impact of using computer   on vocabulary learning of Iranian EFL university students. To this end, a sample of 40 university students in Islamic Azad University, Larestan branch were randomly assigned into the experimental and control groups. Prior the treatment and to catch the initial deferences between the participants, all the students sat for a pre-test that was an Oxford Placement Test. Then the students were received the treatment for 10 weeks. The students in the experimental group were taught by computer software for vocabulary learning while the students in the control group were taught through traditional method for vocabulary learning. After the treatment, all the students sat for a post-test. The statistical analysis through running Independent-Sample T-tests revealed thatthe students in the experimental group who used the computer software for vocabulary learning performed better than the students in the control group were taught through traditional method for vocabulary learning.

  11. MULTIPLE INTELLIGENCES AS PREDICTORS OF READING COMPREHENSION AND VOCABULARY KNOWLEDGE

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Abbas Ali Zarei

    2014-07-01

    Full Text Available Abstract: The present study was conducted to investigate types of Multiple Intelligences as predictors of reading comprehension and vocabulary knowledge. To meet this objective, a 60-item TOEFL test and a 90-item multiple intelligences questionnaire were distributed among 240 male and female Iranians studying English at Qazali and Parsian Universities in Qazvin. Data were analyzed using a multiple regression procedure. The result of the data analysis indicated that musical, interpersonal, kinesthetic, and logical intelligences were predicators of reading comprehension. Moreover, musical, verbal, visual, kinesthetic and natural intelligences made significant contributions to predicting vocabulary knowledge.   Key words: Multiple intelligences, reading comprehension, vocabulary knowledge.

  12. Rhinusa Stephens: a taxonomic revision of the species belonging to the R. tetra and R. bipustulata groups (Coleoptera Curculionidae

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Roberto Caldara

    2014-10-01

    Full Text Available The species of Rhinusa Stephens, 1829 (Curculionidae, Curculioninae, Mecinini belonging to the R. tetra and R. bipustulata groups are revised. Four of them from Middle East are new to science. The R. bipustulata group includes five species: R. bipustulata (Rossi, 1792; R. pelletieri sp. nov.; R. scrophulariae Caldara, 2009; R. algirica (Brisout de Barneville, 1862; R. emmrichi (Bajtenov, 1979, whereas the R. tetra group includes nine species: R. tetra (Fabricius, 1792; R. verbasci (Rosenschoeld, 1838; R. ensifer sp. nov.; R. moroderi (Reitter, 1906; R. weilli sp. nov.; R. comosa (Rosenschoeld, 1838; R. acifer sp. nov.; R asellus (Gravenhorst, 1807; R. tenuirostris (Stierlin, 1888. The following new synonym is proposed: Rhinusa bipustulata (Rossi, 1792 (= Gymnetron municipale Voss, 1960 syn. nov.. The neotype of Rhynchaenus asellus Gravenhorst, 1807 was designated. Moreover, the following lectotypes are designated: Cionus spilotus Germar, 1821; Gymnetron bipustulatum var. germari Faust, 1889; Gymnetron bodenheimeri Wagner, 1926; Gymnetron cylindrirostre Gyllenhal, 1838; Gymnetron nasutum Rosenschoeld, 1838; Gymnetron plagiatum Gyllenhal, 1838; Gymnetron polonicum Rosenschoeld, 1838; Gymnetron tenuirostre Stierlin, 1888. A key to the species, diagnoses of species groups, descriptions or redescriptions, notes on type specimens, synonymies, comparative notes, distribution, bionomics when available, photographs of habitus and drawings of rostra, terminalia and other useful characters for taxonomy are provided.

  13. The effects of audibility and novel word learning ability on vocabulary level in children with cochlear implants.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Davidson, Lisa S; Geers, Ann E; Nicholas, Johanna G

    2014-07-01

    A novel word learning (NWL) paradigm was used to explore underlying phonological and cognitive mechanisms responsible for delayed vocabulary level in children with cochlear implants (CIs). One hundred and one children using CIs, 6-12 years old, were tested along with 47 children with normal hearing (NH). Tests of NWL, receptive vocabulary, and speech perception at 2 loudness levels were administered to children with CIs. Those with NH completed the NWL task and a receptive vocabulary test. CI participants with good audibility (GA) versus poor audibility (PA) were compared on all measures. Analysis of variance was used to compare performance across the children with NH and the two groups of children with CIs. Multiple regression analysis was employed to identify independent predictors of vocabulary outcomes. Children with CIs in the GA group scored higher in receptive vocabulary and NWL than children in the PA group, although they did not reach NH levels. CI-aided pure tone threshold and performance on the NWL task predicted independent variance in vocabulary after accounting for other known predictors. Acquiring spoken vocabulary is facilitated by GA with a CI and phonological learning and memory skills. Children with CIs did not learn novel words at the same rate or achieve the same receptive vocabulary levels as their NH peers. Maximizing audibility for the perception of speech and direct instruction of new vocabulary may be necessary for children with CIs to reach levels seen in peers with NH.

  14. Computer Multimedia Assisted English Vocabulary Teaching Courseware

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Nan Yue

    2017-12-01

    Full Text Available English vocabulary is often regarded as the most boring link in English learning. However, English vocabulary is the basis of all aspects of English learning. Therefore, enriching the process of English vocabulary learning and stimulating the interest of English vocabulary learning are the keys to the reform of English vocabulary teaching. The computer multimedia is developing and popularizing rapidly with the rapid development of informationization and networking, which plays its role in more and more fields. The application of multimedia technology in the field of teaching is no longer strange. This paper mainly studied the design of computer multimedia assisted English vocabulary teaching courseware. First of all, this paper gave an overview of computer multimedia technology from the aspects of concept, characteristics, development and application situation, which cited and analyzed the cognitive learning theory and memory law. Under the guidance of scientific laws and in combination with the requirement analysis and pattern construction of English vocabulary teaching, this paper realized the module design, style design and database design of English vocabulary courseware. Finally, the content of English vocabulary teaching courseware was demonstrated, and its application effect was verified through the combination of subjective evaluation and objective evaluation. This article has an important guiding significance for stimulating students’ interest in English vocabulary learning and enhancing the quality of vocabulary teaching.

  15. Investigating the Role of Pop Songs on Vocabulary Recall, Attitude and Retention of Iranian EFL Learners: The Case of Gender

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Pouya Shakerian

    2016-04-01

    Full Text Available Pop songs are, in fact, an ideal source for incidental vocabulary learning because teenagers often spend large amounts of their free time listening to music and in particular to pop songs. Employing an experimental approach, this study attempted to investigate the role of pop songs on vocabulary recall, attitude and retention of Iranian advanced adult EFL learners based on their gender. In so doing a language placement test (Quick Oxford Placement Test was administered to 100 male and female language learners studying English at different language institutes in Esfahan, Iran. Ultimately, 60 advanced learners (30 males - 30 females were selected by leaving out the students of other levels of proficiency and randomly divided into two relatively homogenous groups as musical and non-musical groups. While the students of musical group (=30 were taught the new vocabulary in the syllabus through 60 different pop songs chosen by themselves through a questionnaire, the students of the non-musical group (n=30 were taught new vocabulary without using the songs. The participants were examined based on an English vocabulary test developed by the researchers, which probed into the learners’ vocabulary recall. A questionnaire was also used to investigate the attitude of the learners towards the instruction. A month later the vocabulary test was re-administered as a delayed retention test and obtained data were statistically analyzed. The results of t-tests demonstrated that the musical group outscored the non-musical group on vocabulary recall and retention. The results also showed the male learners perform better than the females. Keywords: incidental vocabulary, pop songs, vocabulary recall, attitude, retention

  16. An In-Depth Investigation into the Relationship between Vocabulary Knowledge and Academic Listening Comprehension

    Science.gov (United States)

    Teng, Feng

    2016-01-01

    The present study was conducted in the context of learning English as a Foreign Language (EFL) with the purpose of assessing the roles of breadth and depth of vocabulary knowledge in academic listening comprehension. The Vocabulary Size Test (VST, Nation & Beglar, 2007) and the Word Associates Test (WAT, Read, 2004) were administered to…

  17. Using Songs to Enhance L2 Vocabulary Acquisition in Preschool Children

    Science.gov (United States)

    Coyle, Yvette; Gómez Gracia, Remei

    2014-01-01

    This article looks at the effects of a teaching sequence of song-based activities on the L2 vocabulary acquisition of a group of five-year-old Spanish child EFL learners. Twenty-five preschool children received three 30-minute lessons organized around the presentation and practice of a well-known children's song. Vocabulary picture tests were…

  18. Exploring Expressive Vocabulary Variability in Two-Year-Olds: The Role of Working Memory.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Newbury, Jayne; Klee, Thomas; Stokes, Stephanie F; Moran, Catherine

    2015-12-01

    This study explored whether measures of working memory ability contribute to the wide variation in 2-year-olds' expressive vocabulary skills. Seventy-nine children (aged 24-30 months) were assessed by using standardized tests of vocabulary and visual cognition, a processing speed measure, and behavioral measures of verbal working memory and phonological short-term memory. Strong correlations were observed between phonological short-term memory, verbal working memory, and expressive vocabulary. Speed of spoken word recognition showed a moderate significant correlation with expressive vocabulary. In a multivariate regression model for expressive vocabulary, the most powerful predictor was a measure of phonological short-term memory (accounting for 66% unique variance), followed by verbal working memory (6%), sex (2%), and age (1%). Processing speed did not add significant unique variance. These findings confirm previous research positing a strong role for phonological short-term memory in early expressive vocabulary acquisition. They also extend previous research in two ways. First, a unique association between verbal working memory and expressive vocabulary in 2-year-olds was observed. Second, processing speed was not a unique predictor of variance in expressive vocabulary when included alongside measures of working memory.

  19. [Analyzing the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children-Revised (WISC-R) in Children With Attention Deficit and Hyperactivity Disorder: Predictive Value of Subtests, Kaufman, and Bannatyne Categories].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tural Hesapçıoğlu, Selma; Çelik, Cihat; Özmen, Sevim; Yiğit, İbrahim

    2016-01-01

    The aim of this study is to evaluate the predictive value of intelligence quotients scores (IQs), subtests of Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children-Revised (WISC-R) and Kaufman's and Bannatyne's categories scores which are the sums of subtests of WISC-R in attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). Another aim is to examine the difference of some neurocognitive skills between the children with ADHD and their unaffected peers by WISC-R subtests. WISC-R's subtest and IQ scores, and scores of Kaufman's and Bannatyne's categories of the children who were diagnosed with only ADHD were compared with the same scores of the children who were in healthy control group (N= 111) and were in ADHD with co morbidity group (N= 82). It was found that the subtest scores (vocabulary, comprehension, digit span, picture completion and block design) of the children with only ADHD and ADHD with comorbidity were significantly lower than healthy group. It was observed that subtests of comprehension (Wald= 5.47, df= 1, p=0.05), digit span (Wald= 16.79, df= 1, p=0.001) and picture completion (Wald= 5.25, df= 1, p=0.05) predicted significantly ADHD. In addition, the categories of freedom from distractibility (Wald= 8.22, df= 1, p=0.01) and spatial abilities (Wald= 12.22, df= 1, p<0.0001) were predictive for ADHD in this study. Problem solving abilities in social processes, auditory short-term memories, visual-spatial abilities and visual configuration abilities of the children with ADHD was observed to be lower than their healthy peers. It was thought that in WISC-R's profile analysis, the categories of freedom from distractibility and spatial abilities can be distinctive in ADHD diagnose.

  20. Psychometric Evaluation of the Diabetes Symptom Checklist-Revised (DSC-R)-A Measure of Symptom Distress

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Arbuckle, R.A.; Humphrey, L.; Vardeva, K.; Arondekar, B.; Scott, J.A.; Snoek, F.J.

    2009-01-01

    Objective: To assess the psychometric validity, reliability, responsiveness, and minimal important differences of the Diabetes Symptoms Checklist-Revised (DSC-R), a widely used patient-reported outcome measure of diabetes symptom distress. Research Design and Methods: Psychometric validity of the

  1. Profiling vocabulary acquisition in Irish.

    Science.gov (United States)

    O'Toole, Ciara; Fletcher, Paul

    2012-01-01

    Investigations into early vocabulary development, including the timing of the acquisition of nouns, verbs and closed-class words, have produced conflicting results, both within and across languages. Studying vocabulary development in Irish can contribute to this area, as it has potentially informative features such as a VSO word order, and semantically rich prepositions. This study used a parent report adapted for Irish, to measure vocabulary development longitudinally for children aged between 1,04 and 3,04. The findings indicated that the children learned closed-class words at relatively smaller vocabulary sizes compared to children acquiring other languages, and had a strong preference for nouns.

  2. Flight Test Guide (Part 61 Revised): Instrument Pilot: Helicopter.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Federal Aviation Administration (DOT), Washington, DC. Flight Standards Service.

    The guide provides an outline of the skills required to pass the flight test for an Instrument Pilot Helicopter Rating under Part 61 (revised) of Federal Aviation Regulations. General procedures for flight tests are described and the following pilot operations outlined: maneuvering by reference to instruments, IFR navigation, instrument…

  3. Is Storytelling Effective in Improving the English Vocabulary Learning among Iranian Children in Kindergartens?

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Maasumeh Abasi

    2014-07-01

    Full Text Available The aim of this study is to investigate the effectiveness of storytelling in improving English vocabulary learning among children in kindergarten. Twenty Iranian children (9 boys and 11 girls in a private kindergarten in Kerman, Iran, were the participants of the study. All of the children were five years old and were taught English with the same teacher in a class in a kindergarten. The design of the study was one group pre-test post-test quasi experimental design. Both pre and post-tests included 20 vocabulary picture items taken from a story book teaching in the kindergarten. The statistical analysis revealed that storytelling was effective in increasing vocabulary learning among kindergarten children.

  4. Trilingual vocabulary of nuclear waste management

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Jacob, H.

    1996-01-01

    This reference document is produced in cooperation with partners in the Union Latine, an international organization dedicated to promoting the Romance languages. In 1992 acting on a request submitted by the Montreal Environment Section of the Translation Bureau, the Terminology and Standardization Directorate published an in-house glossary containing 2500 entries on nuclear waste management. The glossary was produced by scanning bilingual terms in the reports submitted to Atomic Energy of Canada Limited by the Siting Process Task Force on Low-Level Radioactive Waste Disposal. Because the scale of the nuclear waste management problem has grown considerably since then, the glossary needed to be expanded and revised. The Vocabulary contains some 1000 concepts for a total of approximately 3000 terms in each of the three languages, english, french and spanish. Special attention has been given to defining basic physical concepts, waste classifications and disposal methods

  5. Trilingual vocabulary of nuclear waste management

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Jacob, H

    1997-12-31

    This reference document is produced in cooperation with partners in the Union Latine, an international organization dedicated to promoting the Romance languages. In 1992 acting on a request submitted by the Montreal Environment Section of the Translation Bureau, the Terminology and Standardization Directorate published an in-house glossary containing 2500 entries on nuclear waste management. The glossary was produced by scanning bilingual terms in the reports submitted to Atomic Energy of Canada Limited by the Siting Process Task Force on Low-Level Radioactive Waste Disposal. Because the scale of the nuclear waste management problem has grown considerably since then, the glossary needed to be expanded and revised. The Vocabulary contains some 1000 concepts for a total of approximately 3000 terms in each of the three languages, english, french and spanish. Special attention has been given to defining basic physical concepts, waste classifications and disposal methods.

  6. The Effect of Using Bizarre Images as Mnemonics to Enhance Vocabulary Learning

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Hassan Saleh Mahdi

    2018-03-01

    Full Text Available Mnemonic is a technique that helps someone remember better. The combination of images with mnemonics can make it more powerful and effective to help language learners remember better and for a longer time. Acquiring L2 vocabulary can be enhanced by using images. In the previous studies, mnemonics were used traditionally, that is, learners were asked to create a mental image to remember a word or any new item. Several studies were conducted to explore the use of mental images as mnemonics for vocabulary learning. However, no study has examined the integration of images as a mnemonic tool for vocabulary acquisition. Therefore, this study aimed at investigating the effect of images as mnemonics on vocabulary acquisition. The study examined the effect of images as a mnemonic tool for vocabulary acquisition in three conditions (i.e. normal images, bizarre images and traditional way of learning vocabulary. Sixty Arab learners of English as a foreign language enrolled in the English Department at Hodeidah University participated in this study and were randomly assigned into three groups. This study used an experimental method in which pre-, post- and delayed post-tests were administered to these groups. The results indicated that mnemonics with the help of images are useful tools to help learners remember many words. Keywords: Bizarre images, Multimedia, Mnemonics, Vocabulary learning, Vocabulary retention.

  7. Conceptual Scoring and Classification Accuracy of Vocabulary Testing in Bilingual Children

    Science.gov (United States)

    Anaya, Jissel B.; Peña, Elizabeth D.; Bedore, Lisa M.

    2018-01-01

    Purpose: This study examined the effects of single-language and conceptual scoring on the vocabulary performance of bilingual children with and without specific language impairment. We assessed classification accuracy across 3 scoring methods. Method: Participants included Spanish-English bilingual children (N = 247) aged 5;1 (years;months) to…

  8. Using Incidental Vocabulary Acquisition to Enrich the Students Vocabulary Mastery

    OpenAIRE

    Asmayanti, St

    2015-01-01

    The research aimed to find out the improvement the students'vocabulary in terms of improving their understanding about of nouns and adjectives. To explain the increase, the researcher used a classroom action research (CAR) which was conducted in two cycles in which each cycle consisted of four meetings.The subject was the students at the eight grade of SMP Askari Pallangga Gowa. The number of samples consisted of 37 students. The research findings indicated that using Incidental Vocabulary Ac...

  9. Individual Differences in Very Young Chinese Children's English Vocabulary Breadth and Semantic Depth: Internal and External Factors

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sun, He; Steinkrauss, Rasmus; Wieling, Martijn; de Bot, Kees

    2018-01-01

    This study examines the English vocabulary development of 43 very young child English as a foreign language (FL) learners (age 3.2-6.2) in China. They were tested twice for vocabulary breadth (reception and production) and semantic depth (paradigmatic and syntagmatic vocabulary knowledge). The development of the English vocabulary knowledge…

  10. Cross-Linguistic and Cross-Cultural Effects on Verbal Working Memory and Vocabulary: Testing Language-Minority Children with an Immigrant Background

    Science.gov (United States)

    Engel de Abreu, Pascale M. J.; Baldassi, Martine; Puglisi, Marina L.; Befi-Lopes, Debora M.

    2013-01-01

    Purpose: In this study, the authors explored the impact of test language and cultural status on vocabulary and working memory performance in multilingual language-minority children. Method: Twenty 7-year-old Portuguese-speaking immigrant children living in Luxembourg completed several assessments of first (L1)- and second-language (L2) vocabulary…

  11. The Effect of Glosses on Incidental Vocabulary Learning of Iranian EFL learners

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Abbas Moradan

    2016-11-01

    Full Text Available Reading passages contain many new words. Looking up every word in the dictionary and finding the exact meaning can be a difficult job for learners and may hinder the process of reading. Providing glosses can help learners deal with this issue. The objective of the present study is to make enquiries about the effect of glosses on incidental vocabulary learning. To this end, 45 Iranian EFL learners were selected from 70 according to their performance on KET test. Then they were divided into three groups of 15 randomly. Ten reading texts were selected and unfamiliar vocabularies were glossed in three ways: pictorial, textual and pictorial-textual glosses. Participants were required to read the texts under one of the three conditions. After the completion of ten sessions of treatment, participants were given a vocabulary post-test to measure vocabulary learning. The outcome of the study indicated that the group that received the combination of pictorial and textual glosses outperformed the other two groups. The findings can be of great importance for language teachers and material developers.

  12. Modeling the Nature of Grammar and Vocabulary Trajectories From Prekindergarten to Third Grade.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jiang, Hui; Logan, Jessica A; Jia, Rongfang

    2018-04-17

    This study investigated the longitudinal development of 2 important contributors to reading comprehension, grammar, and vocabulary skills. The primary interest was to examine the trajectories of the 2 skill areas from preschool to 3rd grade. The study involved a longitudinal sample of 420 children from 4 sites. Language skills, including grammar and vocabulary, were assessed annually with multiple measures. Multivariate latent growth curve modeling was used to examine the developmental trajectories of grammar and vocabulary, to test the correlation between the 2 domains, and to investigate the effects of demographic predictors on language growth. Results showed that both grammar and vocabulary exhibited decelerating growth from preschool to Grade 2. In Grade 3, grammar growth further flattened, whereas vocabulary continued to grow stably. Growth of vocabulary and grammar were positively correlated. Demographic characteristics, such as child gender and family socioeconomic status, were found to predict the intercept but not the slope of the growth trajectories. Children's growth in grammar skills is differentiated in a number of important ways from their growth in vocabulary skills. Results of this study suggest the need to differentiate these dimensions of language when seeking to closely examine growth from preschool to primary grades.

  13. An Experimental Study on the Effects of Different Reading Tasks on L2 Vocabulary Acquisition

    Science.gov (United States)

    Xu, Jianping

    2009-01-01

    This empirical study was undertaken to test the Involvement Load Hypothesis (Laufer and Hulstijn, 2001) by examining the impact of three tasks on vocabulary acquisition. It was designed to test and develop the involvement load hypothesis by examining the impact of different reading tasks on the L2 vocabulary acquisition. The results show that…

  14. Checking the effectiveness of Quizlet® as a tool for vocabulary learning

    OpenAIRE

    Barr, Blair

    2016-01-01

    Inspired by the need to aid low-proficiency English users to increase their knowledgeof vocabulary, this preliminary study measures the success of digital-flashcard usersby comparing their vocabulary test scores to those of non-users in the same class.Thirty-two, low-level, first year students in Tamagawa University’s English as aLingua Franca program were asked to use Quizlet® to prepare for tests that wouldrecycle fill-in-the-blank contents from the flashcards available on this Web 2.0appli...

  15. Vocabulary Skills in Adulthood: Longitudinal Relations with Cognitive and Personality Measures Across the Life-Span

    Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

    Smolík, Filip; Blatný, Marek; Jelínek, Martin; Millová, Katarína; Sobotková, Veronika

    2016-01-01

    Roč. 60, č. 2 (2016), s. 97-105 ISSN 0009-062X R&D Projects: GA ČR GAP407/10/2410 Institutional support: RVO:68081740 Keywords : vocabulary * personality * life-span development * verbal IQ Subject RIV: AN - Psychology Impact factor: 0.242, year: 2016

  16. Engineering and Humanities Students' Strategies for Vocabulary Acquisition: An Iranian Experience

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Hassan Soodmand Afshar

    2014-05-01

    Full Text Available The present study set out to investigate the differences between EAP (English for Academic Purposes students of Humanities and Engineering in terms of vocabulary strategy choice and use. One hundred and five undergraduate Iranian students (39 students from Engineering Faculty and 66 from Humanities Faculty studying at Bu-Ali Sina University Hamedan, during the academic year of 2011–2012 participated in this study. For data collection purposes, a pilot-tested factor-analyzed five-point Likert-scale vocabulary learning strategies questionnaire (VLSQ containing 45 statements was adopted. The results of independent samples t-test indicated that, overall, the two groups were not significantly different in the choice and use of vocabulary learning strategies. However, running Chi square analyses, significant differences were found in individual strategy use in 6 out of 45 strategies. That is, while Humanities students used more superficial and straightforward strategies like repetition strategy and seeking help from others, the Engineering students preferred much deeper, thought-provoking and sophisticated strategies like using a monolingual dictionary and learning vocabulary through collocations and coordinates. Further, the most and the least frequently used vocabulary learning strategies by the two groups were specified, out of which only two strategies in each category were commonly shared by both groups. The possible reasons why the results have turned out to be so as well as the implications of the study are discussed in details in the paper.

  17. Exploring Expressive Vocabulary Variability in Two-Year-Olds: The Role of Working Memory

    Science.gov (United States)

    Newbury, Jayne; Klee, Thomas; Stokes, Stephanie F.; Moran, Catherine

    2015-01-01

    Purpose: This study explored whether measures of working memory ability contribute to the wide variation in 2-year-olds' expressive vocabulary skills. Method: Seventy-nine children (aged 24-30 months) were assessed by using standardized tests of vocabulary and visual cognition, a processing speed measure, and behavioral measures of verbal working…

  18. Individual differences in very young Chinese children’s English vocabulary breadth and semantic depth : Internal and external factors

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Sun, He; Steinkrauss, Rasmus; Wieling, Martijn; de Bot, Cornelis

    2018-01-01

    This study examines the English vocabulary development of 43 very young child EFL learners (age 3;2-6;2) in China. They were tested twice for vocabulary breadth (reception and production) and semantic depth (paradigmatic and syntagmatic vocabulary knowledge). The development of the English

  19. Pictures Improve Memory of SAT Vocabulary Words.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Price, Melva; Finkelstein, Arleen

    1994-01-01

    Suggests that students can improve their memory of Scholastic Aptitude Test vocabulary words by associating the words with corresponding pictures taken from magazines. Finds that long-term recall of words associated with pictures was higher than recall of words not associated with pictures. (RS)

  20. Normative data for the Words-in-Noise Test for 6- to 12-year-old children.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wilson, Richard H; Farmer, Nicole M; Gandhi, Avni; Shelburne, Emily; Weaver, Jamie

    2010-10-01

    To establish normative data for children on the Words-in-Noise Test (WIN; R. H. Wilson, 2003; R. H. Wilson & R. McArdle, 2007). Forty-two children in each of 7 age groups, ranging in age from 6 to 12 years (n=294), and 24 young adults (age range: 18-27 years) with normal hearing for pure tones participated. All listeners were screened at 15 dB HL (American National Standards Institute, 2004) with the octave interval between 500 and 4000 Hz. Randomizations of WIN Lists 1, 2, and 1 or WIN Lists 2, 1, and 2 were presented with the noise fixed at 70 dB SPL, followed by presentation at 90 dB SPL of the 70 Northwestern University Auditory Test No. 6 (T. W. Tillman & R. Carhart, 1966) words used in the WIN. Finally, the Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test-Revised (L. M. Dunn & L. M. Dunn, 1981) was administered. Testing was conducted in a quiet room. There were 3 main findings: (a) The biggest change in recognition performance occurred between the ages of 6 and 7 years; (b) from 9 to 12 years, recognition performance was stable; and (c) performance by young adults (18-27 years) was slightly better (1-2 dB) than performance by the older children. The WIN can be used with children as young as 6 years of age; however, age-specific ranges of normal recognition performance must be used.

  1. Investigating Arabic Academic Vocabulary Knowledge Among Middle School Pupils: Receptive Versus Productive Knowledge.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Makhoul, Baha

    2017-08-01

    The current study attempted to investigate the development of Arabic academic vocabulary knowledge among middle-school Arabic native speakers, taking into account the socioeconomic status of the Arab population in Israel. For this purpose, Arabic academic word list was developed, mapping the required academic words that are needed for adequate coping with informational texts as appearing in the different content areas text-books. Six-hundred Arabic speaking middle school pupils from the different areas in Israel, representing the different Arab subgroups: general Arab community, Druze and Bedouins, have participated in the current study. Two academic vocabulary tests, including receptive and productive academic vocabulary evaluation tests, were administrated to the students across the different age groups (7th, 8th and 9th). The results pointed to no significant difference between 7th and 9th grade in academic vocabulary knowledge. In contrast, significant difference was encountered between the different Arab sub-groups where the lowest scores were noted among the Bedouin sub-group, characterized by the lowest SES. When comparing receptive and productive academic vocabulary knowledge between 7th and 9th grade, the results pointed to improvement in receptive academic knowledge towards the end of middle school but not on the productive knowledge level. In addition, within participants' comparison indicated a gap between the pupils' receptive and productive vocabulary. The results are discussed in relation to the existing scientific literature and to its implication of both research and practice in the domain of Arabic literacy development.

  2. Swimming in New Vocabulary

    Science.gov (United States)

    Donohue, Kerri; Buck, Gayle

    2017-01-01

    This article describes an informal program in one school where grade K-1 students learn a variety of new science vocabulary words relating to animal characteristics. The students are introduced to a new group of animals and their characteristics through storytelling, games, discussion, and crafts (see Table 1, p. 34). The new vocabulary words are…

  3. Measuring Individual Differences in Emotion Regulation: The Emotion Regulation Profile-Revised (ERP-R

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Delphine Nelis

    2011-02-01

    Full Text Available The main purpose of this study was to validate a new instrument aimed to assess emotion regulation: the Emotion Regulation Profile-Revised (ERP-R. Exploratory factor analyses yielded two theoretically meaningful factors: down-regulation of negative emotions and up-regulation of positive emotions. Internal reliability scores of the two factors were good. Findings showed evidence of convergent/discriminant validity, with ERP-R scores being independent of non verbal reasoning and verbal skills while positively related to emotional intelligence and to relevant personality dimensions. There was also preliminary evidence of criterion validity. ERP-R scores also demonstrated incremental validity to predict a number of criteria over and above emotional intelligence and emotional stability. Overall, the results show a clear 2 factors solution for the ERP-R and high correlations with convergent and divergent scales as well as good criterion and incremental validities.

  4. EDMODO AS A MEDIA TO TEACH VOCABULARY

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Sutrisno Sadji Evenddy

    2016-03-01

    Full Text Available This article aims at intoducing how to use Edmodo to teach vocabulary. Vocabulary is a component of English language. When we are speaking and writing, we need to master vocabulary related to certain topic. Therefore vocabulary is important thing in learning language. But, mastering English vocabularies is not easy. Teacher needs a media to make an interesting teaching-learning process. One of the most accepted trends in the field of teaching vocabulary in a foreign language teaching is Computer-Assisted Language Learning (CALL. CALL has several applications that can be used by the teachers in teaching vocabulary. Computer and mobile telephone internet allow immediate connection to a server. In the internet browser the teachers and students can browse Edmodo. One of media is Edmodo. Edmodo is one of social media which can be operated by students, teachers or lecturers, and parents. It is able to be used to post various assignments and students’ learning achievement, actual discussion topics, video, appointments, and to facilitate students’ polls which are related to teaching learning process.

  5. Deciding to adopt revised and new psychological and neuropsychological tests: an inter-organizational position paper.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bush, Shane S; Sweet, Jerry J; Bianchini, Kevin J; Johnson-Greene, Doug; Dean, Pamela M; Schoenberg, Mike R

    2018-04-01

    Neuropsychological tests undergo periodic revision intended to improve psychometric properties, normative data, relevance of stimuli, and ease of administration. In addition, new tests are developed to evaluate psychological and neuropsychological constructs, often purporting to improve evaluation effectiveness. However, there is limited professional guidance to neuropsychologists concerning the decision to adopt a revised version of a test and/or replace an older test with a new test purporting to measure the same or overlapping constructs. This paper describes ethical and professional issues related to the selection and use of older versus newer psychological and neuropsychological tests, with the goal of promoting appropriate test selection and evidence-based decision making. Ethical and professional issues were reviewed and considered. The availability of a newer version of a test does not necessarily render obsolete prior versions of the test for purposes that are empirically supported, nor should continued empirically supported use of a prior version of a test be considered unethical practice. Until a revised or new test has published evidence of improved ability to help clinicians to make diagnostic determinations, facilitate treatment, and/or assess change over time, the choice to delay adoption of revised or new tests may be viewed as reasonable and appropriate. Recommendations are offered to facilitate decisions about the adoption of revised and new tests. Ultimately, it is the responsibility of individual neuropsychologists to determine which tests best meet their patients' needs, and to be able to support their decisions with empirical evidence and sound clinical judgment.

  6. Teaching Vocabulary to Preschool Children with Hearing Loss

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lund, Emily; Douglas, W. Michael

    2016-01-01

    Despite poor vocabulary outcomes for children with hearing loss, few studies have evaluated the effectiveness of specific vocabulary teaching methods on vocabulary learning for this group. The authors compared three vocabulary instruction conditions with preschool children with hearing loss: (a) explicit, direct instruction; (b) follow-in…

  7. The Effectiveness of Synectics Instructional Model on Foreign Language Vocabulary Teaching

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Bahadır

    2017-06-01

    Full Text Available This study, which is an experimental research with pre-test and post-test control groups, aims to determine the effectiveness of the Synectics Instructional Model on foreign language vocabulary teaching. The research was conducted with two experimental and two control groups and 82 students taking part in these groups. The experimental application of the research was carried out during the fall semester of 2016-2017, with a total of 16 class hours in English reading course in English preparatory class. Research data was gathered from an English vocabulary achievement test which was designed by the researchers. In the process of analyzing the research data, dependent and independent t-tests, Cohen’s d effect size test and thematic analysis were used. The major findings reveal that Synectics based vocabulary teaching has a strong effect on the level of learning and the persistence of the learning. On the other hand, there is a considerable difference between the numbers of the words that students learn indirectly in the process in favor of the experimental group students. Finally, the analysis also reveals that the experimental and control group students have variability in terms of the thematic diversity and semantic equivalence of the words learned indirectly in the process.

  8. Modality of Input and Vocabulary Acquisition

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Tetyana Sydorenko

    2010-06-01

    Full Text Available This study examines the effect of input modality (video, audio, and captions, i.e., on-screen text in the same language as audio on (a the learning of written and aural word forms, (b overall vocabulary gains, (c attention to input, and (d vocabulary learning strategies of beginning L2 learners. Twenty-six second-semester learners of Russian participated in this study. Group one (N = 8 saw video with audio and captions (VAC; group two (N = 9 saw video with audio (VA; group three (N = 9 saw video with captions (VC. All participants completed written and aural vocabulary tests and a final questionnaire.The results indicate that groups with captions (VAC and VC scored higher on written than on aural recognition of word forms, while the reverse applied to the VA group. The VAC group learned more word meanings than the VA group. Results from the questionnaire suggest that learners paid most attention to captions, followed by video and audio, and acquired most words by associating them with visual images. Pedagogical implications of this study are that captioned video tends to aid recognition of written word forms and the learning of word meaning, while non-captioned video tends to improve listening comprehension as it facilitates recognition of aural word forms.

  9. The relationship between prelinguistic vocalization and later expressive vocabulary in young children with developmental delay.

    Science.gov (United States)

    McCathren, R B; Yoder, P J; Warren, S F

    1999-08-01

    This study tested the relationship between prelinguistic vocalization and expressive vocabulary 1 year later in young children with mild to moderate developmental delays. Three vocalization variables were tested: rate of all vocalization, rate of vocalizations with consonants, and rate of vocalizations used interactively. The 58 toddlers in the study were 17-34 months old, not sensory impaired, and had Bayley Mental Development Indices (Bayley, 1969; Bayley, 1993) from 35-85. In addition, the children had fewer than 3 words in their expressive vocabularies and during classroom observation each showed at least one instance of intentional prelinguistic communication before testing. Selected sections of the Communication and Symbolic Behavior Scales procedures (CSBS; Wetherby & Prizant, 1993) were administered at the beginning and at the end of the study. The vocal measures were obtained in the initial CSBS session. One measure of expressive vocabulary was obtained in the CSBS session at the end of the study. In addition, expressive vocabulary was measured in a nonstructured play session at the end of the study. We predicted that rate of vocalization, rate of vocalizations with consonants, and rate of vocalizations used interactively would all be positively related to later expressive vocabulary. The results confirmed the predictions.

  10. INCIDENTAL VOCABULARY LEARNING THROUGH READING

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    Holly Warzecha, M.A. TESOL

    2017-04-01

    Full Text Available The purpose of the following paper is to take a closer look at the benefits of incidental learning through reading, with a specific focus on vocabulary acquisition. The teaching of vocabulary has traditionally been an explicit process where the target vocabulary is taken out of context and taught separately. However, this kind of explicit teaching and learning may only take into account a form-meaning connection. Therefore, this paper explores research on incidental learning and specifically looks at what it takes to acquire new vocabulary incidentally through reading while considering the coverage rates of texts, how many words must be known already from the text, how many repetitions it takes to learn a word, types of texts that promote learning, and the effects of pairing students‘ reading with learner tasks. After reviewing many studies, it can be concluded that more reading is better. More specifically, extensive reading of chosen novels at an appropriate level and interest to the students showed important gains in vocabulary. In addition, readings that were supplemented with additional activities that focused on both form and meaning showed an even higher increase in word retention.

  11. A Comparative Study of Paper-based and Computer-based Contextualization in Vocabulary Learning of EFL Students

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Mousa Ahmadian

    2015-04-01

    Full Text Available Vocabulary acquisition is one of the largest and most important tasks in language classes. New technologies, such as computers, have helped a lot in this way. The importance of the issue led the researchers to do the present study which concerns the comparison of contextualized vocabulary learning on paper and through Computer Assisted Language Learning (CALL. To this end, 52 Pre-university EFL learners were randomly assigned in two groups: a paper-based group (PB and a computer-based (CB group each with 26 learners. The PB group received PB contextualization of vocabulary items, while the CB group received CB contextualization of the vocabulary items thorough PowerPoint (PP software. One pretest, posttest, along with an immediate and a delayed posttest were given to the learners. Paired samples t-test of pretest and posttest and independent samples t-test of the delayed and immediate posttest were executed by SPSS software. The results revealed that computer-based contextualization had more effects on vocabulary learning of Iranian EFL learners than paper-based contextualization of the words. Keywords: Computer-based contextualization, Paper-based contextualization, Vocabulary learning, CALL

  12. The Ritvo Autism Asperger Diagnostic Scale-Revised (RAADS-R): a scale to assist the diagnosis of Autism Spectrum Disorder in adults: an international validation study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ritvo, Riva Ariella; Ritvo, Edward R; Guthrie, Donald; Ritvo, Max J; Hufnagel, Demetra H; McMahon, William; Tonge, Bruce; Mataix-Cols, David; Jassi, Amita; Attwood, Tony; Eloff, Johann

    2011-08-01

    The Ritvo Autism Asperger Diagnostic Scale-Revised (RAADS-R) is a valid and reliable instrument to assist the diagnosis of adults with Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD). The 80-question scale was administered to 779 subjects (201 ASD and 578 comparisons). All ASD subjects met inclusion criteria: DSM-IV-TR, ADI/ADOS diagnoses and standardized IQ testing. Mean scores for each of the questions and total mean ASD vs. the comparison groups' scores were significantly different (p < .0001). Concurrent validity with Constantino Social Responsiveness Scale-Adult = 95.59%. Sensitivity = 97%, specificity = 100%, test-retest reliability r = .987. Cronbach alpha coefficients for the subscales and 4 derived factors were good. We conclude that the RAADS-R is a useful adjunct diagnostic tool for adults with ASD.

  13. Validation of the revised Addenbrooke's Cognitive Examination (ACE-R) for detecting mild cognitive impairment and dementia in a Japanese population.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yoshida, Hidenori; Terada, Seishi; Honda, Hajime; Kishimoto, Yuki; Takeda, Naoya; Oshima, Etsuko; Hirayama, Keisuke; Yokota, Osamu; Uchitomi, Yosuke

    2012-01-01

    Early detection of dementia will be important for implementation of disease-modifying treatments in the near future. We aimed to investigate the diagnostic validity and reliability of the Japanese version of the revised Addenbrooke's Cognitive Examination (ACE-R J) for identifying mild cognitive impairment (MCI) and dementia. We translated and adapted the original ACE-R for use with a Japanese population. Standard tests for evaluating cognitive decline and dementing disorders were applied. A total of 242 subjects (controls = 73, MCI = 39, dementia = 130) participated in this study. The optimal cut-off scores of ACE-R J for detecting MCI and dementia were 88/89 (sensitivity 0.87, specificity 0.92) and 82/83 (sensitivity 0.99, specificity 0.99) respectively. ACE-R J was superior to the Mini-Mental State Examination in the detection of MCI (area under the curve (AUC): 0.952 vs. 0.868), while the accuracy of the two instruments did not differ significantly in identifying dementia (AUC: 0.999 vs. 0.993). The inter-rater reliability (ICC = 0.999), test-retest reliability (ICC = 0.883), and internal consistency (Cronbach's α = 0.903) of ACE-R J were excellent. ACE-R J proved to be an accurate cognitive instrument for detecting MCI and mild dementia. Further neuropsychological evaluation is required for the differential diagnosis of dementia subtypes.

  14. Early vocabulary development in children with bilateral cochlear implants.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Välimaa, Taina; Kunnari, Sari; Laukkanen-Nevala, Päivi; Lonka, Eila

    2018-01-01

    Children with unilateral cochlear implants (CIs) may have delayed vocabulary development for an extended period after implantation. Bilateral cochlear implantation is reported to be associated with improved sound localization and enhanced speech perception in noise. This study proposed that bilateral implantation might also promote early vocabulary development. Knowledge regarding vocabulary growth and composition in children with bilateral CIs and factors associated with it may lead to improvements in the content of early speech and language intervention and family counselling. To analyse the growth of early vocabulary and its composition during the first year after CI activation and to investigate factors associated with vocabulary growth. The participants were 20 children with bilateral CIs (12 boys; eight girls; mean age at CI activation = 12.9 months). Vocabulary size was assessed with the Finnish version of the MacArthur Communicative Development Inventories (CDI) Infant Form and compared with normative data. Vocabulary composition was analysed in relation to vocabulary size. Growth curve modelling was implemented using a linear mixed model to analyse the effects of the following variables on early vocabulary growth: time, gender, maternal education, residual hearing with hearing aids, age at first hearing aid fitting and age at CI activation. Despite clear vocabulary growth over time, children with bilateral CIs lagged behind their age norms in receptive vocabulary during the first 12 months after CI activation. In expressive vocabulary, 35% of the children were able to catch up with their age norms, but 55% of the children lagged behind them. In receptive and expressive vocabularies of 1-20 words, analysis of different semantic categories indicated that social terms constituted the highest proportion. Nouns constituted the highest proportion in vocabularies of 101-400 words. The proportion of verbs remained below 20% and the proportion of function words and

  15. Sibship size, sibling cognitive sensitivity, and children's receptive vocabulary.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Prime, Heather; Pauker, Sharon; Plamondon, André; Perlman, Michal; Jenkins, Jennifer

    2014-02-01

    The aim of the current study was to examine the relationship between sibship size and children's vocabulary as a function of quality of sibling interactions. It was hypothesized that coming from a larger sibship (ie, 3+ children) would be related to lower receptive vocabulary in children. However, we expected this association to be moderated by the level of cognitive sensitivity shown by children's next-in-age older siblings. Data on 385 children (mean age = 3.15 years) and their next-in-age older siblings (mean age = 5.57 years) were collected and included demographic questionnaires, direct testing of children's receptive vocabulary, and videos of mother-child and sibling interactions. Sibling dyads were taped engaging in a cooperative building task and tapes were coded for the amount of cognitive sensitivity the older sibling exhibited toward the younger sibling. Hierarchical regression analyses were conducted and showed an interaction between sibship size and sibling cognitive sensitivity in the prediction of children's receptive vocabulary; children exposed to large sibships whose next-in-age older sibling exhibited higher levels of cognitive sensitivity were less likely to show low vocabulary skills when compared with those children exposed to large sibships whose siblings showed lower levels of cognitive sensitivity. Children who show sensitivity to the cognitive needs of their younger siblings provide a rich environment for language development. The negative impact of large sibships on language development is moderated by the presence of an older sibling who shows high cognitive sensitivity.

  16. R2R Eventlogger: Community-wide Recording of Oceanographic Cruise Science Events

    Science.gov (United States)

    Maffei, A. R.; Chandler, C. L.; Stolp, L.; Lerner, S.; Avery, J.; Thiel, T.

    2012-12-01

    Methods used by researchers to track science events during a science research cruise - and to note when and where these occur - varies widely. Handwritten notebooks, printed forms, watch-keeper logbooks, data-logging software, and customized software have all been employed. The quality of scientific results is affected by the consistency and care with which such events are recorded and integration of multi-cruise results is hampered because recording methods vary widely from cruise to cruise. The Rolling Deck to Repository (R2R) program has developed an Eventlogger system that will eventually be deployed on most vessels in the academic research fleet. It is based on the open software package called ELOG (http://midas.psi.ch/elog/) originally authored by Stefan Ritt and enhanced by our team. Lessons have been learned in its development and use on several research cruises. We have worked hard to find approaches that encourage cruise participants to use tools like the eventlogger. We examine these lessons and several eventlogger datasets from past cruises. We further describe how the R2R Science Eventlogger works in concert with the other R2R program elements to help coordinate research vessels into a coordinated mobile observing fleet. Making use of data collected on different research cruises is enabled by adopting common ways of describing science events, the science instruments employed, the data collected, etc. The use of controlled vocabularies and the practice of mapping these local vocabularies to accepted oceanographic community vocabularies helps to bind shipboard research events from different cruises into a more cohesive set of fleet-wide events that can be queried and examined in a cross-cruise manner. Examples of the use of the eventlogger during multi-cruise oceanographic research programs along with examples of resultant eventlogger data will be presented. Additionally we will highlight the importance of vocabulary use strategies to the success of the

  17. Academic Vocabulary Learning in First Through Third Grade in Low-Income Schools: Effects of Automated Supplemental Instruction.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Goldstein, Howard; Ziolkowski, Robyn A; Bojczyk, Kathryn E; Marty, Ana; Schneider, Naomi; Harpring, Jayme; Haring, Christa D

    2017-11-09

    This study investigated cumulative effects of language learning, specifically whether prior vocabulary knowledge or special education status moderated the effects of academic vocabulary instruction in high-poverty schools. Effects of a supplemental intervention targeting academic vocabulary in first through third grades were evaluated with 241 students (6-9 years old) from low-income families, 48% of whom were retained for the 3-year study duration. Students were randomly assigned to vocabulary instruction or comparison groups. Curriculum-based measures of word recognition, receptive identification, expressive labeling, and decontextualized definitions showed large effects for multiple levels of word learning. Hierarchical linear modeling revealed that students with higher initial Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test-Fourth Edition scores (Dunn & Dunn, 2007) demonstrated greater word learning, whereas students with special needs demonstrated less growth in vocabulary. This model of vocabulary instruction can be applied efficiently in high-poverty schools through an automated, easily implemented adjunct to reading instruction in the early grades and holds promise for reducing gaps in vocabulary development.

  18. Visuospatial and Verbal Short-Term Memory Correlates of Vocabulary Ability in Preschool Children.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Stokes, Stephanie F; Klee, Thomas; Kornisch, Myriam; Furlong, Lisa

    2017-08-16

    Recent studies indicate that school-age children's patterns of performance on measures of verbal and visuospatial short-term memory (STM) and working memory (WM) differ across types of neurodevelopmental disorders. Because these disorders are often characterized by early language delay, administering STM and WM tests to toddlers could improve prediction of neurodevelopmental outcomes. Toddler-appropriate verbal, but not visuospatial, STM and WM tasks are available. A toddler-appropriate visuospatial STM test is introduced. Tests of verbal STM, visuospatial STM, expressive vocabulary, and receptive vocabulary were administered to 92 English-speaking children aged 2-5 years. Mean test scores did not differ for boys and girls. Visuospatial and verbal STM scores were not significantly correlated when age was partialed out. Age, visuospatial STM scores, and verbal STM scores accounted for unique variance in expressive (51%, 3%, and 4%, respectively) and receptive vocabulary scores (53%, 5%, and 2%, respectively) in multiple regression analyses. Replication studies, a fuller test battery comprising visuospatial and verbal STM and WM tests, and a general intelligence test are required before exploring the usefulness of these STM tests for predicting longitudinal outcomes. The lack of an association between the STM tests suggests that the instruments have face validity and test independent STM skills.

  19. Quizlet in the EFL Classroom: Enhancing Academic Vocabulary Acquisition of Japanese University Students

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dizon, Gilbert

    2016-01-01

    This study examined the efficacy of using Quizlet, a popular online study tool, to develop L2 English vocabulary. A total of 9 Japanese university EFL students participated in the study. The learners studied Coxhead's (2001) academic vocabulary list (AWL) via Quizlet over the course of 10 weeks. Results of the pre- and post-tests revealed that the…

  20. Second Language Learners' Vocabulary Expansion Is Associated with Improved Second Language Vowel Intelligibility

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bundgaard-Nielsen, Rikke L.; Best, Catherine T.; Kroos, Christian; Tyler, Michael D.

    2012-01-01

    This paper tests the predictions of the vocabulary-tuning model of second language (L2) rephonologization in the domain of L2 segmental production. This model proposes a facilitating effect of adults' L2 vocabulary expansion on L2 perception and production and suggests that early improvements in L2 segmental production may be positively associated…

  1. A Comparative Study of the Effects of Different Glossing Conditions on EFL Learners’ Vocabulary Recall

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Tayebeh Danesh

    2016-09-01

    Full Text Available This quasi-experimental study examined the effects of different glossing conditions on English as a foreign language (EFL learners’ vocabulary recall. To this end, five glossing conditions were adopted (i.e., inference-gloss-gloss, gloss-retrieval-gloss, inference-gloss-retrieval-gloss, gloss-retrieval-gloss-retrieval, and full glossing. The participants were 140 MA students of Teaching English as a Foreign Language (TEFL. They were randomly assigned to one glossing condition to read an English reading passage. Five target words were glossed in different glossing conditions within a reading passage. To ensure the participants’ attention focused on the reading material, the participants were told that a multiple-choice reading comprehension test would be administrated. Afterward, two vocabulary tests (i.e., form recall and meaning recall were conducted. The results of one-way MANOVAs and the post hoc Scheffé tests revealed that the full glossing condition group did significantly better than other glossing groups in vocabulary form recall, whereas the gloss-retrieval-gloss-retrieval condition group outperformed other four groups in vocabulary meaning recall.

  2. Learners' independent records of vocabulary

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Shaw, Philip; Leeke, Philip

    1999-01-01

    Handbooks recommend a variety of quite complicated procedures for learning and remembering vocabulary, but most learners only engage in very simple procedures. The aim of this project was to establish a basis for identifying optimal vocabulary recording procedures by finding out what learners...

  3. Motivation, strategy, and English as a foreign language vocabulary learning: A structural equation modelling study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhang, Yining; Lin, Chin-Hsi; Zhang, Dongbo; Choi, Yunjeong

    2017-03-01

    In spite of considerable advancements in our understanding of the different factors involved in achieving vocabulary-learning success, the overall pattern and interrelationships of critical factors involved in L2 vocabulary learning - particularly, the mechanisms through which learners regulate their motivation and learning strategies - remain unclear. This study examined L2 vocabulary learning, focusing on the joint influence of different motivational factors and learning strategies on the vocabulary breadth of adolescent learners of English as a foreign language (EFL) in China. The participants were 107 tenth graders (68 females, 39 males) in China. The data were collected via two questionnaires, one assessing students' motivation towards English-vocabulary learning and the other their English vocabulary-learning strategies, along with a test measuring vocabulary breadth. Structural equation modelling (SEM) indicated that learning strategy partially mediated the relationship between motivation (i.e., a composite score of intrinsic and extrinsic motivation) and vocabulary learning. Separate SEM analyses for intrinsic (IM) and extrinsic motivation (EM) revealed that there were significant and positive direct and indirect effects of IM on vocabulary knowledge; and while EM's direct effect over and above that of learning strategies did not achieve significance, its indirect effect was significant and positive. The findings suggest that vocabulary-learning strategies mediate the relationship between motivation and vocabulary knowledge. In addition, IM may have a greater influence on vocabulary learning in foreign-language contexts. © 2016 The British Psychological Society.

  4. Associative vocabulary learning: development and testing of two paradigms for the (re-) acquisition of action- and object-related words.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Freundlieb, Nils; Ridder, Volker; Dobel, Christian; Enriquez-Geppert, Stefanie; Baumgaertner, Annette; Zwitserlood, Pienie; Gerloff, Christian; Hummel, Friedhelm C; Liuzzi, Gianpiero

    2012-01-01

    Despite a growing number of studies, the neurophysiology of adult vocabulary acquisition is still poorly understood. One reason is that paradigms that can easily be combined with neuroscientfic methods are rare. Here, we tested the efficiency of two paradigms for vocabulary (re-) acquisition, and compared the learning of novel words for actions and objects. Cortical networks involved in adult native-language word processing are widespread, with differences postulated between words for objects and actions. Words and what they stand for are supposed to be grounded in perceptual and sensorimotor brain circuits depending on their meaning. If there are specific brain representations for different word categories, we hypothesized behavioural differences in the learning of action-related and object-related words. Paradigm A, with the learning of novel words for body-related actions spread out over a number of days, revealed fast learning of these new action words, and stable retention up to 4 weeks after training. The single-session Paradigm B employed objects and actions. Performance during acquisition did not differ between action-related and object-related words (time*word category: p = 0.01), but the translation rate was clearly better for object-related (79%) than for action-related words (53%, p = 0.002). Both paradigms yielded robust associative learning of novel action-related words, as previously demonstrated for object-related words. Translation success differed for action- and object-related words, which may indicate different neural mechanisms. The paradigms tested here are well suited to investigate such differences with neuroscientific means. Given the stable retention and minimal requirements for conscious effort, these learning paradigms are promising for vocabulary re-learning in brain-lesioned people. In combination with neuroimaging, neuro-stimulation or pharmacological intervention, they may well advance the understanding of language learning

  5. Semantic Web-based Vocabulary Broker for Open Science

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ritschel, B.; Neher, G.; Iyemori, T.; Murayama, Y.; Kondo, Y.; Koyama, Y.; King, T. A.; Galkin, I. A.; Fung, S. F.; Wharton, S.; Cecconi, B.

    2016-12-01

    Keyword vocabularies are used to tag and to identify data of science data repositories. Such vocabularies consist of controlled terms and the appropriate concepts, such as GCMD1 keywords or the ESPAS2 keyword ontology. The Semantic Web-based mash-up of domain-specific, cross- or even trans-domain vocabularies provides unique capabilities in the network of appropriate data resources. Based on a collaboration between GFZ3, the FHP4, the WDC for Geomagnetism5 and the NICT6 we developed the concept of a vocabulary broker for inter- and trans-disciplinary data detection and integration. Our prototype of the Semantic Web-based vocabulary broker uses OSF7 for the mash-up of geo and space research vocabularies, such as GCMD keywords, ESPAS keyword ontology and SPASE8 keyword vocabulary. The vocabulary broker starts the search with "free" keywords or terms of a specific vocabulary scheme. The vocabulary broker almost automatically connects the different science data repositories which are tagged by terms of the aforementioned vocabularies. Therefore the mash-up of the SKOS9 based vocabularies with appropriate metadata from different domains can be realized by addressing LOD10 resources or virtual SPARQL11 endpoints which maps relational structures into the RDF format12. In order to demonstrate such a mash-up approach in real life, we installed and use a D2RQ13 server for the integration of IUGONET14 data which are managed by a relational database. The OSF based vocabulary broker and the D2RQ platform are installed at virtual LINUX machines at the Kyoto University. The vocabulary broker meets the standard of a main component of the WDS15 knowledge network. The Web address of the vocabulary broker is http://wdcosf.kugi.kyoto-u.ac.jp 1 Global Change Master Directory2 Near earth space data infrastructure for e-science3 German Research Centre for Geosciences4 University of Applied Sciences Potsdam5 World Data Center for Geomagnetism Kyoto6 National Institute of Information and

  6. Controlled Vocabulary Service Application for Environmental Data Store

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ji, P.; Piasecki, M.; Lovell, R.

    2013-12-01

    In this paper we present a controlled vocabulary service application for Environmental Data Store (EDS). The purpose for such application is to help researchers and investigators to archive, manage, share, search, and retrieve data efficiently in EDS. The Simple Knowledge Organization System (SKOS) is used in the application for the representation of the controlled vocabularies coming from EDS. The controlled vocabularies of EDS are created by collecting, comparing, choosing and merging controlled vocabularies, taxonomies and ontologies widely used and recognized in geoscience/environmental informatics community, such as Environment ontology (EnvO), Semantic Web for Earth and Environmental Terminology (SWEET) ontology, CUAHSI Hydrologic Ontology and ODM Controlled Vocabulary, National Environmental Methods Index (NEMI), National Water Information System (NWIS) codes, EPSG Geodetic Parameter Data Set, WQX domain value etc. TemaTres, an open-source, web -based thesaurus management package is employed and extended to create and manage controlled vocabularies of EDS in the application. TemaTresView and VisualVocabulary that work well with TemaTres, are also integrated in the application to provide tree view and graphical view of the structure of vocabularies. The Open Source Edition of Virtuoso Universal Server is set up to provide a Web interface to make SPARQL queries against controlled vocabularies hosted on the Environmental Data Store. The replicas of some of the key vocabularies commonly used in the community, are also maintained as part of the application, such as General Multilingual Environmental Thesaurus (GEMET), NetCDF Climate and Forecast (CF) Standard Names, etc.. The application has now been deployed as an elementary and experimental prototype that provides management, search and download controlled vocabularies of EDS under SKOS framework.

  7. The Impact of Vocabulary Enhancement Activities on Vocabulary Acquisition and Retention among Male and Female EFL Learners in Iran

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sharafi-Nejad, Maryam; Raftari, Shohreh; Bijami, Maryam; Khavari, Zahra; Ismail, Shaik Abdul Malik Mohamed; Eng, Lin Siew

    2014-01-01

    In general, incidental vocabulary acquisition is represented as the "picking up" of new vocabularies when students are engaged in a variety of reading, listening, speaking, or writing activities. Research has shown when learners read extensively incidental vocabulary acquisition happens. Many EFL students cannot be involved in reading…

  8. DSpace and customized controlled vocabularies

    Science.gov (United States)

    Skourlas, C.; Tsolakidis, A.; Kakoulidis, P.; Giannakopoulos, G.

    2015-02-01

    The open source platform of DSpace could be defined as a repository application used to provide access to digital resources. DSpace is installed and used by more than 1000 organizations worldwide. A predefined taxonomy of keyword, called the Controlled Vocabulary, can be used for describing and accessing the information items stored in the repository. In this paper, we describe how the users can create, and customize their own vocabularies. Various heterogeneous items, such as research papers, videos, articles and educational material of the repository, can be indexed in order to provide advanced search functionality using new controlled vocabularies.

  9. Longitudinal vocabulary development in Australian urban Aboriginal children: Protective and risk factors.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Short, K; Eadie, P; Descallar, J; Comino, E; Kemp, L

    2017-11-01

    Vocabulary is a key component of language that can impact on children's future literacy and communication. The gap between Australian Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal children's reading and academic outcomes is well reported and similar to Indigenous/non-Indigenous gaps in other nations. Determining factors that influence vocabulary acquisition over time and may be responsive to treatment is important for improving Aboriginal children's communication and academic outcomes. To determine what factors influence Australian urban Aboriginal children's receptive vocabulary acquisition and whether any of these are risks or protective for vocabulary development. One hundred thirteen Aboriginal children in South Western Sydney from the longitudinal birth cohort Gudaga study were assessed on The Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test multiple times: 3 years, just prior to school entry, at the end of the first and second years of formal schooling. Multilevel models were used to determine the effects of 13 fixed and manipulable maternal, child, and family variables drawn from previous research. Higher maternal education was found to be protective at 3 years and over time. The number of children in urban Australian Aboriginal households made an impact on vocabulary development and this varied over time. From 3 to 6 years, those with early poor non-verbal cognitive skills had vocabulary skills that remained below those with stronger non-verbal skills at 3 years. Girls exhibit an earlier advantage in vocabulary acquisition, but this difference is not sustained after 4 years of age. The risk and protective factors for vocabulary development in Australian Aboriginal children are similar to those identified in other studies with some variation related to the number of children in the home. In this limited set of predictors, maternal education, gender, non-verbal cognitive skills, and the number of children in households were all shown to impact on the acquisition of vocabulary to 3

  10. Vocabulary Growth in Armenian-English Bilingual Kindergarteners

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hovsepian, Alice

    2018-01-01

    Four-year-old (n = 20) and five-year-old (n = 22) bilingual children were tested twice in six months on Armenian (minority language) and English (majority language) picture identification and picture naming tasks to examine receptive and expressive vocabulary growth in both languages. Parental education, Armenian/English language exposure, and…

  11. Investigating an Intervention Program Linking Writing and Vocabulary Development for Homeless Children

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Richard Sinatra

    2010-03-01

    Full Text Available The presented study investigated the effects of a four-week academic and activity – enriched summer program on vocabulary development and writing achievement of homeless children residing in traditional shelter facilities. When compared to controls the experimental students did not reveal gains in vocabulary and spelling as measured by two norm referenced tests. They did however demonstrate highly significant gains in writing ability based on the New York State standards criteria, reflecting five qualities of writing. On two project-developed instruments designed to measure improvement in book vocabulary and tennis skills, they showed significant increases based on analyses of their pre- and posttest scores. The program closed achievement gaps, fulfilled standards criteria, and may be the first of its kind in the homeless literature whereby students’ writing development was compared to matched controls as vocabulary development occurred based on literary readings.

  12. A Dual Coding View of Vocabulary Learning

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sadoski, Mark

    2005-01-01

    A theoretical perspective on acquiring sight vocabulary and developing meaningful vocabulary is presented. Dual Coding Theory assumes that cognition occurs in two independent but connected codes: a verbal code for language and a nonverbal code for mental imagery. The mixed research literature on using pictures in teaching sight vocabulary is…

  13. The Effect of Vocabulary Self-Selection Strategy and Input Enhancement Strategy on the Vocabulary Knowledge of Iranian EFL Learners

    Science.gov (United States)

    Masoudi, Golfam

    2017-01-01

    The present study was designed to investigate empirically the effect of Vocabulary Self-Selection strategy and Input Enhancement strategy on the vocabulary knowledge of Iranian EFL Learners. After taking a diagnostic pretest, both experimental groups enrolled in two classes. Learners who practiced Vocabulary Self-Selection were allowed to…

  14. Water Quality Vocabulary Development and Deployment

    Science.gov (United States)

    Simons, B. A.; Yu, J.; Cox, S. J.

    2013-12-01

    Semantic descriptions of observed properties and associated units of measure are fundamental to understanding of environmental observations, including groundwater, surface water and marine water quality. Semantic descriptions can be captured in machine-readable ontologies and vocabularies, thus providing support for the annotation of observation values from the disparate data sources with appropriate and accurate metadata, which is critical for achieving semantic interoperability. However, current stand-alone water quality vocabularies provide limited support for cross-system comparisons or data fusion. To enhance semantic interoperability, the alignment of water-quality properties with definitions of chemical entities and units of measure in existing widely-used vocabularies is required. Modern ontologies and vocabularies are expressed, organized and deployed using Semantic Web technologies. We developed an ontology for observed properties (i.e. a model for expressing appropriate controlled vocabularies) which extends the NASA/TopQuadrant QUDT ontology for Unit and QuantityKind with two additional classes and two properties (see accompanying paper by Cox, Simons and Yu). We use our ontology to populate the Water Quality vocabulary with a set of individuals of each of the four key classes (and their subclasses), and add appropriate relationships between these individuals. This ontology is aligned with other relevant stand-alone Water Quality vocabularies and domain ontologies. Developing the Water Quality vocabulary involved two main steps. First, the Water Quality vocabulary was populated with individuals of the ObservedProperty class, which was determined from a census of existing datasets and services. Each ObservedProperty individual relates to other individuals of Unit and QuantityKind (taken from QUDT where possible), and to IdentifiedObject individuals. As a large fraction of observed water quality data are classified by the chemical substance involved, the

  15. Social validation of vocabulary selection: ensuring stakeholder relevance.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bornman, Juan; Bryen, Diane Nelson

    2013-06-01

    The vocabulary needs of individuals who are unable to spell their messages continue to be of concern in the field of augmentative and alternative communication (AAC). Social validation of vocabulary selection has been suggested as one way to improve the effectiveness and relevance of service delivery in AAC. Despite increased emphasis on stakeholder accountability, social validation is not frequently used in AAC research. This paper describes an investigation of the social validity of a vocabulary set identified in earlier research. A previous study used stakeholder focus groups to identify vocabulary that could be used by South African adults who use AAC to disclose their experiences as victims of crime or abuse. Another study used this vocabulary to create communication boards for use by adults with complex communication needs. In this current project, 12 South African adults with complex communication needs who use AAC systems used a 5-point Likert scale to score the importance of each of the previously identified 57 vocabulary items. This two-step process of first using stakeholder focus groups to identify vocabulary, and then having literate persons who use AAC provide information on social validity of the vocabulary on behalf of their peers who are illiterate, appears to hold promise as a culturally relevant vocabulary selection approach for sensitive topics such as crime and abuse.

  16. [Clinical characteristics and speech therapy of lingua-apical articulation disorder].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhang, Feng-hua; Jin, Xing-ming; Zhang, Yi-wen; Wu, Hong; Jiang, Fan; Shen, Xiao-ming

    2006-03-01

    To explore the clinical characteristics and speech therapy of 62 children with lingua-apical articulation disorder. Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test (PPVT), Gesell development scales (Gesell), Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Preschool Children (WPPSI) and speech test were performed for 62 children at the ages of 3 to 8 years with lingua-apical articulation disorder. PPVT was used to measure receptive vocabulary skills. GESELL and WPPSI were utilized to represent cognitive and non-verbal ability. The speech test was adopted to assess the speech development. The children received speech therapy and auxiliary oral-motor functional training once or twice a week. Firstly the target sound was identified according to the speech development milestone, then the method of speech localization was used to clarify the correct articulation placement and manner. It was needed to change food character and administer oral-motor functional training for children with oral motor dysfunction. The 62 cases with the apical articulation disorder were classified into four groups. The combined pattern of the articulation disorder was the most common (40 cases, 64.5%), the next was apico-dental disorder (15 cases, 24.2%). The third was palatal disorder (4 cases, 6.5%) and the last one was the linguo-alveolar disorder (3 cases, 4.8%). The substitution errors of velar were the most common (95.2%), the next was omission errors (30.6%) and the last was absence of aspiration (12.9%). Oral motor dysfunction was found in some children with problems such as disordered joint movement of tongue and head, unstable jaw, weak tongue strength and poor coordination of tongue movement. Some children had feeding problems such as preference of eating soft food, keeping food in mouths, eating slowly, and poor chewing. After 5 to 18 times of therapy, the effective rate of speech therapy reached 82.3%. The lingua-apical articulation disorders can be classified into four groups. The combined pattern of the

  17. Demographically corrected norms for African Americans and Caucasians on the Hopkins Verbal Learning Test-Revised, Brief Visuospatial Memory Test-Revised, Stroop Color and Word Test, and Wisconsin Card Sorting Test 64-Card Version.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Norman, Marc A; Moore, David J; Taylor, Michael; Franklin, Donald; Cysique, Lucette; Ake, Chris; Lazarretto, Deborah; Vaida, Florin; Heaton, Robert K

    2011-08-01

    Memory and executive functioning are two important components of clinical neuropsychological (NP) practice and research. Multiple demographic factors are known to affect performance differentially on most NP tests, but adequate normative corrections, inclusive of race/ethnicity, are not available for many widely used instruments. This study compared demographic contributions for widely used tests of verbal and visual learning and memory (Brief Visual Memory Test-Revised, Hopkins Verbal Memory Test-Revised) and executive functioning (Stroop Color and Word Test, Wisconsin Card Sorting Test-64) in groups of healthy Caucasians (n = 143) and African Americans (n = 103). Demographic factors of age, education, gender, and race/ethnicity were found to be significant factors on some indices of all four tests. The magnitude of demographic contributions (especially age) was greater for African Americans than for Caucasians on most measures. New, demographically corrected T-score formulas were calculated for each race/ethnicity. The rates of NP impairment using previously published normative standards significantly overestimated NP impairment in African Americans. Utilizing the new demographic corrections developed and presented herein, NP impairment rates were comparable between the two race/ethnicities and were unrelated to the other demographic characteristics (age, education, gender) in either race/ethnicity group. Findings support the need to consider extended demographic contributions to neuropsychological test performance in clinical and research settings.

  18. How is their word knowledge growing? Exploring Grade 3 vocabulary in South African township schools

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Elizabeth J. Pretorius

    2017-11-01

    Full Text Available In this article, we report on a study that examined the active and receptive English vocabulary of two different groups of Grade 3 learners in South African township schools. The groups consisted of English Home Language (HL learners in the Western Cape and Xhosa HL and English First Additional Language (FAL learners in the Eastern Cape. The purpose was to document their different vocabulary trajectories during Grade 3. The Woodcock-Muñoz Language Survey was used to measure the active vocabulary levels of 118 learners at the beginning and the end of the school year. Another 284 learners from the same eight Grade 3 classes participated in a receptive vocabulary test at the end of the year. This test assessed their knowledge of the 60 most frequent words that occur in South Africa Grade 4 English textbooks. Results showed that although the HL learners knew almost double the number of words their English FAL peers did, both groups of learners increased their active word knowledge through the year by about 9%. Regarding their receptive vocabulary, the English FAL learners on average only knew 27% of the most frequent words at the end of their Grade 3. No significant gender differences were found. Learners in both language groups who were above their grade age had significantly lower scores than their younger peers. This confirms findings that children who start school with weak language skills tend to stay weak. Finally, initial active vocabulary knowledge was found to be a strong predictor of vocabulary development during the school year.

  19. Components for Maintaining and Publishing Earth Science Vocabularies

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cox, S. J. D.; Yu, J.

    2014-12-01

    Shared vocabularies are an important aid to geoscience data interoperability. Many organizations maintain useful vocabularies, with Geologic Surveys having a particularly long history of vocabulary and lexicon development. However, the mode of publication is heterogeneous, ranging from PDFs and HTML web pages, spreadsheets and CSV, through various user-interfaces and APIs. Update and maintenance ranges from tightly-governed and externally opaque, through various community processes, all the way to crowd-sourcing ('folksonomies'). A general expectation, however, is for greater harmonization and vocabulary re-use. In order to be successful this requires (a) standardized content formalization and APIs (b) transparent content maintenance and versioning. We have been trialling a combination of software dealing with registration, search and linking. SKOS is designed for formalizing multi-lingual, hierarchical vocabularies, and has been widely adopted in earth and environmental sciences. SKOS is an RDF vocabulary, for which SPARQL is the standard low-level API. However, for interoperability between SKOS vocabulary sources, a SKOS-based API (i.e. based on the SKOS predicates prefLabel, broader, narrower, etc) is required. We have developed SISSvoc for this purpose, and used it to deploy a number of vocabularies on behalf of the IUGS, ICS, NERC, OGC, the Australian Government, and CSIRO projects. SISSvoc Search provides simple search UI on top of one or more SISSvoc sources. Content maintenance is composed of many elements, including content-formalization, definition-update, and mappings to related vocabularies. Typically there is a degree of expert judgement required. In order to provide confidence in users, two requirements are paramount: (i) once published, a URI that denotes a vocabulary item must remain dereferenceable; (ii) the history and status of the content denoted by a URI must be available. These requirements match the standard 'registration' paradigm which is

  20. Diet quality in elderly nursing home residents evaluated by Diet Quality Index Revised (DQI-R).

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rumbak, Ivana; Satalić, Zvonimir; Keser, Irena; Krbavcić, Ines Panjkota; Giljević, Zlatko; Zadro, Zvonko; Barić, Irena Colić

    2010-06-01

    The objective of this research was to evaluate diet quality in elderly nursing home residents and to point out the critical dietary components. The participants (277 females and 62 males) were recruited from all elderly nursing homes in Zagreb and each of elderly nursing homes was equally represented in this study. The age of subjects was ranging from 61 to 93 years; most of the females (53.4%) and males (53.2%) were between 70 and 80 years old. The dietary data from the multi pass 24-hour recall were used to compute the Diet Quality Index Revised (DQI-R). DQI-R is an instrument that provides a summary assessment of a diet's overall healthfulness and is based on ten different aspects, including recommendations for both nutrient and food types. Pearson correlation analysis was used to compare the total DQI-R score with dietetic parameters and t-test was calculated between mean values of all the components of DQI-R as well as for total DQI-R score for men and women. The mean DQI-R score for the 339 sample was 62.1 +/- 11.7. The biggest number of participants satisfied recommendations about dietary cholesterol intake (88.5% of participants) and dietary moderation score (71.1% of participants) but nobody satisfied recommendation about dietary diversity score. Only 3.2% of subjects had an adequate calcium intake (6.5% of male participants and only 2.5% of female participants). Recommended servings of fruit intake were satisfied by 19.8% of population, 30.4% satisfied vegetables recommendations and 38.6% recommendations for grains. According to DQI-R, beside positive dietary habits regarding dietary moderation and dietary cholesterol intake the population of elderly nursing home residents in the capital of Croatia needs improvement in other dietary habits in order to enhance successful aging.

  1. Vocabulary Pruning for Improved Context Recognition

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Madsen, Rasmus Elsborg; Sigurdsson, Sigurdur; Hansen, Lars Kai

    2004-01-01

    Language independent `bag-of-words' representations are surprisingly effective for text classification. The representation is high dimensional though, containing many non-consistent words for text categorization. These non-consistent words result in reduced generalization performance of subsequent...... of term relevancy, when pruning the vocabularies. With reduced vocabularies documents are classified using a latent semantic indexing representation and a probabilistic neural network classifier. Reducing the bag-of-words vocabularies with 90%-98%, we find consistent classification improvement using two...

  2. Development of the Italian version of the revised Scoliosis Research Society-22 Patient Questionnaire, SRS-22r-I: cross-cultural adaptation, factor analysis, reliability, and validity.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Monticone, Marco; Baiardi, Paola; Calabrò, David; Calabrò, Fabio; Foti, Calogero

    2010-11-15

    Evaluation of the psychometric properties of a translated and culturally adapted questionnaire. Translating, culturally adapting, and validating the Italian version of the revised Scoliosis Research Society-22 Patient Questionnaire (SRS-22r-I) in order to allow its use with Italian-speaking patients with adolescent idiopathic scoliosis (AIS). Increasing attention is being given to health-related quality of life measures as a means of adding information about the evaluation of AIS. A translated form of the revised SRS-22 has never been validated in Italian patients with AIS. The development of the SRS-22 questionnaire involved its translation and back-translation, a final review by an Expert Committee, and testing of the prefinal version to establish its correspondence to the original English version. Psychometric testing included factor analysis, reliability by internal consistency (Cronbach alpha) and test-retest repeatability (Intraclass Coefficient Correlation), and concurrent validity (Pearson correlation) by comparing the SRS-22r-I domains with the Short-Form Health Survey (SF-36) subscales. It took 4 months to develop a shared version of the SRS-22r-I, which proved to be satisfactorily acceptable when administered to 223 subjects with AIS. Factor analysis indicated a 4-factor solution (54% of the explained variance), and the questionnaire had an acceptable level of internal consistency (α = 0.77) and a high level of test-retest reliability (intraclass correlation coefficient = 0.957). In terms of concurrent validity, the correlations with the related Short-Form-36 subscales were moderate to good in the case of the Pain and Mental Health domains, and moderate in the case of the Function and Self-Image domains. The Italian translation of the SRS-22r has a good factorial structure and psychometric properties, and replicates the results of existing English versions of the questionnaire. Its use for research purposes can therefore be recommended.

  3. Structural, Item, and Test Generalizability of the Psychopathy Checklist-Revised to Offenders with Intellectual Disabilities

    Science.gov (United States)

    Morrissey, Catrin; Cooke, David; Michie, Christine; Hollin, Clive; Hogue, Todd; Lindsay, William R.; Taylor, John L.

    2010-01-01

    The Psychopathy Checklist-Revised (PCL-R) is the most widely used measure of psychopathy in forensic clinical practice, but the generalizability of the measure to offenders with intellectual disabilities (ID) has not been clearly established. This study examined the structural equivalence and scalar equivalence of the PCL-R in a sample of 185 male…

  4. Delta's Key to the TOEFL iBT[R]: Advanced Skill Practice. Revised Edition

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gallagher, Nancy

    2012-01-01

    Delta's Key to the TOEFL iBT: Advanced Skill Practice is a revised and updated edition of Delta's Key to the Next Generation TOEFL Test. Since the introduction of the TOEFL iBT in 2005, there have been significant changes to some of the test questions, particularly the integrated writing and integrated speaking tasks. The new 2011 edition of…

  5. Effects of Individualized Word Retrieval in Kindergarten Vocabulary Intervention

    Science.gov (United States)

    Damhuis, Carmen M. P.; Segers, Eliane; Scheltinga, Femke; Verhoeven, Ludo

    2016-01-01

    We examined the effects of adaptive word retrieval intervention on a classroom vocabulary program on children's vocabulary acquisition in kindergarten. In the experimental condition, word retrieval was provided in a classroom vocabulary program, combining implicit and explicit vocabulary instructions. Children performed extra word retrieval…

  6. The Contribution of Vocabulary Knowledge and Spelling to the Reading Comprehension of Adolescents Who Are and Are Not English Language Learners.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Reed, Deborah K; Petscher, Yaacov; Foorman, Barbara R

    2016-04-01

    This study examined the contributions of vocabulary and spelling to the reading comprehension of students in grades 6-10 who were and were not classified as English language learners. Results indicate that vocabulary accounted for greater between-grade differences and unique variance (Δ R 2 = .11 to .31) in comprehension as compared to spelling (Δ R 2 = .01 to .09). However, the contribution of spelling to comprehension was higher in the upper grade levels included in this cross-sectional analysis and functioned as a mediator of the impact of vocabulary knowledge at all levels. The direct effect of vocabulary was strong but lower in magnitude at each successive grade level from .58 in grade 6 to .41 in grade 10 while the indirect effect through spelling increased in magnitude at each successive grade level from .09 in grade 6 to .16 in grade 10. There were no significant differences between the language groups in the magnitude of the indirect impact, suggesting both groups of students relied more on both sources of lexical information in higher grades as compared to students in lower grades.

  7. Near or far: The effect of spatial distance and vocabulary knowledge on word learning.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Axelsson, Emma L; Perry, Lynn K; Scott, Emilly J; Horst, Jessica S

    2016-01-01

    The current study investigated the role of spatial distance in word learning. Two-year-old children saw three novel objects named while the objects were either in close proximity to each other or spatially separated. Children were then tested on their retention for the name-object associations. Keeping the objects spatially separated from each other during naming was associated with increased retention for children with larger vocabularies. Children with a lower vocabulary size demonstrated better retention if they saw objects in close proximity to each other during naming. This demonstrates that keeping a clear view of objects during naming improves word learning for children who have already learned many words, but keeping objects within close proximal range is better for children at earlier stages of vocabulary acquisition. The effect of distance is therefore not equal across varying vocabulary sizes. The influences of visual crowding, cognitive load, and vocabulary size on word learning are discussed. Copyright © 2015 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  8. The Relationship of Vocabulary Learning Strategies and Self-Efficacy with Medical English and Terminology.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wang, Ya-Huei; Kao, Pan-Fu; Liao, Hung-Chang

    2016-02-01

    This study examined the relationship between the use of vocabulary learning strategies and self-efficacy in medical English learning, and whether after an initial six-week course to master the basics of medical terminology, those with higher use of vocabulary learning strategies and those with a higher degree of self-efficacy would have significant score improvements in the medical English proficiency. Second-year medical students (N = 115; M age = 19.6, SD = 0.5; 82 men, 33 women) participated in the study. A one-group pretest-posttest design was used. Measures included medical English tests, the English Vocabulary Learning Strategies Survey (EVLSS), and the English Learning Self-Efficacy Scale (ELSES). Results showed that there was no significant correlation between vocabulary learning strategies and English learning self-efficacy. In addition, as a whole, vocabulary learning strategies and self-efficacy significantly predicted students' score improvements in medical English proficiency. © The Author(s) 2016.

  9. Metaphorical Awareness: A New Horizon in Vocabulary Retention by Asian EFL Learners

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Natasha Pourdana

    2014-07-01

    Full Text Available The present study investigates the impact of English metaphorical awareness on the vocabulary retention by 60 intermediate EFL learners in Iran. Participants in this study were all English as a Foreign language (EFL learners placed in the intermediate level of both genders ranging from 16 to 20 years of age at Qeshm language institute, Kerman, Iran. An Oxford Placement Test (OPT was administered to homogenize the participants and divided them into two intact experimental and control groups. The experimental group was exposed to and performed on 20 minutes English metaphorical awareness tasks of Pictorial Idioms, Poems, and Matching in sixteen 90-minute sessions. The controllgroup received the vocabulary exercises in New Cutting Edge (3rd Edition (Cunningham, Moor & Eales 2007 in turn The experimental group outperformed the controlgroup in this study.  In an independent sample t-Test, and a high effect size (Cohn’s d=2.84 supported the positive impact of metaphorical awareness on EFL learners' vocabulary retention.

  10. Mobile English Vocabulary Learning Based on Concept-Mapping Strategy

    Science.gov (United States)

    Liu, Pei-Lin

    2016-01-01

    Numerous researchers in education recognize that vocabulary is essential in foreign language learning. However, students often encounter vocabulary that is difficult to remember. Providing effective vocabulary learning strategies is therefore more valuable than teaching students a large amount of vocabulary. The purpose of this study was to…

  11. Learning vocabulary through a serious game in Primary Education

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Heitink, Maaike Christine; Fisser, Petra; Voogt, Joke; McBride, Ron; Searson, Michael

    2013-01-01

    This study explored the effect of a serious game on the vocabulary of students in primary education. 206 students and 10 teachers used the game during vocabulary lessons in three conditions: (a)online game and vocabulary instruction, (b)online game only, and (c)paper game and vocabulary instruction.

  12. The Family Socialization Interview—Revised (FSI-R): a Comprehensive Assessment of Parental Disciplinary Behaviors

    OpenAIRE

    O’Dor, Sarah L.; Grasso, Damion J.; Forbes, Danielle; Bates, John E.; McCarthy, Kimberly J.; Wakschlag, Lauren S.; Briggs-Gowan, Margaret J.

    2017-01-01

    Elucidating the complex mechanisms by which harsh parenting increases risk of child psychopathology is key to targeted prevention. This requires nuanced methods that capture the varied perceptions and experiences of diverse families. The Family Socialization Interview—Revised (FSI-R), adapted from an interview developed by Dodge et al. (Child Development, 65,649–665,1994), is a comprehensive, semi-structured interview for characterizing methods of parental discipline used with young children....

  13. Task complexity, student perceptions of vocabulary learning in EFL, and task performance.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wu, Xiaoli; Lowyck, Joost; Sercu, Lies; Elen, Jan

    2013-03-01

    The study deepened our understanding of how students' self-efficacy beliefs contribute to the context of teaching English as a foreign language in the framework of cognitive mediational paradigm at a fine-tuned task-specific level. The aim was to examine the relationship among task complexity, self-efficacy beliefs, domain-related prior knowledge, learning strategy use, and task performance as they were applied to English vocabulary learning from reading tasks. Participants were 120 second-year university students (mean age 21) from a Chinese university. This experiment had two conditions (simple/complex). A vocabulary level test was first conducted to measure participants' prior knowledge of English vocabulary. Participants were then randomly assigned to one of the learning tasks. Participants were administered task booklets together with the self-efficacy scales, measures of learning strategy use, and post-tests. Data obtained were submitted to multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA) and path analysis. Results from the MANOVA model showed a significant effect of vocabulary level on self-efficacy beliefs, learning strategy use, and task performance. Task complexity showed no significant effect; however, an interaction effect between vocabulary level and task complexity emerged. Results from the path analysis showed self-efficacy beliefs had an indirect effect on performance. Our results highlighted the mediating role of self-efficacy beliefs and learning strategy use. Our findings indicate that students' prior knowledge plays a crucial role on both self-efficacy beliefs and task performance, and the predictive power of self-efficacy on task performance may lie in its association with learning strategy use. © 2011 The British Psychological Society.

  14. Recommendations for Recognizing Video Events by Concept Vocabularies

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Habibian, A.; Snoek, C.G.M.

    2014-01-01

    Representing videos using vocabularies composed of concept detectors appears promising for generic event recognition. While many have recently shown the benefits of concept vocabularies for recognition, studying the characteristics of a universal concept vocabulary suited for representing events is

  15. Development and revision of the Wittmann-Price Emancipated Decision-Making Scale.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wittmann-Price, Ruth A; Price, Samuel W

    2014-01-01

    The original Emancipated Decision-Making (EDM) scale was revised to test 3 subconcepts (flexible environment, personal knowledge, and awareness of social norms) of an emancipated decision-making process. The original EDM scale was significantly related to the Satisfaction with Decision (SWD) scale in two separate studies (r = 0.79, r = 0.59). Two of the original 5 subconcepts showed a lack of contribution. The third study (N = 50) had good total scale reliability (r = 0.89). The revised EDM (EDM-r) scale was then leveled to the SWD scores and quantified into 2 categories and the subscales for the 3 subconcepts were reanalyzed for reliability and scale-if-item contribution. The final EDM-r is a generically worded, 20-item, 3-subscale instrument with good total and individual subscale reliability.

  16. The Use of Song Worksheet to Enhance EFL Elementary School Students’ Vocabulary Mastery

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ahmad Fadhli

    2017-01-01

    Full Text Available This study aimed to enhance students’ vocabulary mastery through the use of song worksheet. Twenty -two fourth graders of an elementary school in Indonesia were selected as participants. Action research was adopted in this study consisting of three cycles. To find out students’ achievement, vocabulary test was given. To investigate students’ responses, observation and interview were implemented.Findings showed that song worksheet could enhance students’ vocabulary mastery. They also gave positive responses to the use of song worksheet. However, students complained that the songs were too fast. This study supports the use of songs in the EFL context which could make teaching - learning processes more fun

  17. IV. NIH Toolbox Cognition Battery (CB): measuring language (vocabulary comprehension and reading decoding).

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gershon, Richard C; Slotkin, Jerry; Manly, Jennifer J; Blitz, David L; Beaumont, Jennifer L; Schnipke, Deborah; Wallner-Allen, Kathleen; Golinkoff, Roberta Michnick; Gleason, Jean Berko; Hirsh-Pasek, Kathy; Adams, Marilyn Jager; Weintraub, Sandra

    2013-08-01

    Mastery of language skills is an important predictor of daily functioning and health. Vocabulary comprehension and reading decoding are relatively quick and easy to measure and correlate highly with overall cognitive functioning, as well as with success in school and work. New measures of vocabulary comprehension and reading decoding (in both English and Spanish) were developed for the NIH Toolbox Cognition Battery (CB). In the Toolbox Picture Vocabulary Test (TPVT), participants hear a spoken word while viewing four pictures, and then must choose the picture that best represents the word. This approach tests receptive vocabulary knowledge without the need to read or write, removing the literacy load for children who are developing literacy and for adults who struggle with reading and writing. In the Toolbox Oral Reading Recognition Test (TORRT), participants see a letter or word onscreen and must pronounce or identify it. The examiner determines whether it was pronounced correctly by comparing the response to the pronunciation guide on a separate computer screen. In this chapter, we discuss the importance of language during childhood and the relation of language and brain function. We also review the development of the TPVT and TORRT, including information about the item calibration process and results from a validation study. Finally, the strengths and weaknesses of the measures are discussed. © 2013 The Society for Research in Child Development, Inc.

  18. Improving Elementary School Students’ English Vocabulary Through Local Cultural Content Materials

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Frans Manurung

    2015-06-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Elementary students of a certain public school in Indonesia had difficulties in learning English. One of the crucial problems was learning English vocabulary. In an attempt to help the students learn and improve English vocabulary, the researchers decided to use CAR to teach English vocabulary with local cultural content materials. The aim of this study was to investigate how the teaching of English vocabulary with local cultural content materials contributed to the improvement of the students’ English vocabulary mastery. The topics covered in the materials were selected based on schemata theory. Vocabulary learning process was done through several activities provided in the materials: classroom and outside vocabulary learning. The results showed that the teaching of local cultural content materials have contributed to the improvement of the Elementary students’ vocabulary mastery. The schematic knowledge found in the familiar topics has aroused the students’ interest and motivation in learning English vocabulary. Students who were more familiar with the topics could respond to the vocabulary learning better than those who were not familiar with. The vocabulary mastery was more successful only if the students participated in both classroom and outside vocabulary learning process. Keywords: Vocabulary Mastery, Vocabulary Improvement, Local Cultural Content Materials, Vocabulary Learning, Schemata

  19. The Staff Observation Aggression Scale - Revised (SOAS-R) - adjustment and validation for emergency primary health care.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Morken, Tone; Baste, Valborg; Johnsen, Grethe E; Rypdal, Knut; Palmstierna, Tom; Johansen, Ingrid Hjulstad

    2018-05-08

    Many emergency primary health care workers experience aggressive behaviour from patients or visitors. Simple incident-reporting procedures exist for inpatient, psychiatric care, but a similar and simple incident-report for other health care settings is lacking. The aim was to adjust a pre-existing form for reporting aggressive incidents in a psychiatric inpatient setting to the emergency primary health care settings. We also wanted to assess the validity of the severity scores in emergency primary health care. The Staff Observation Scale - Revised (SOAS-R) was adjusted to create a pilot version of the Staff Observation Scale - Revised Emergency (SOAS-RE). A Visual Analogue Scale (VAS) was added to the form to judge the severity of the incident. Data for validation of the pilot version of SOAS-RE were collected from ten casualty clinics in Norway during 12 months. Variance analysis was used to test gender and age differences. Linear regression analysis was performed to evaluate the relative impact that each of the five SOAS-RE columns had on the VAS score. The association between SOAS-RE severity score and VAS severity score was calculated by the Pearson correlation coefficient. The SOAS-R was adjusted to emergency primary health care, refined and called The Staff Observation Aggression Scale - Revised Emergency (SOAS-RE). A total of 350 SOAS-RE forms were collected from the casualty clinics, but due to missing data, 291 forms were included in the analysis. SOAS-RE scores ranged from 1 to 22. The mean total severity score of SOAS-RE was 10.0 (standard deviation (SD) =4.1) and the mean VAS score was 45.4 (SD = 26.7). We found a significant correlation of 0.45 between the SOAS-RE total severity scores and the VAS severity ratings. The linear regression analysis showed that individually each of the categories, which described the incident, had a low impact on the VAS score. The SOAS-RE seems to be a useful instrument for research, incident-recording and management

  20. A Research on Vocabulary Teaching Strategies and Students’ Mastery

    OpenAIRE

    Tian Yuan; Liu Bingbing

    2013-01-01

    By means of questionnaire and quantitative research, this article aims at investigating the effects on students’ mastery of vocabulary by studying teachers’ adoption of seven kinds of common vocabulary teaching strategies and the usage of analyzing strategies in intensive English in order to improve vocabulary teaching strategies and to help enlarge students’ vocabulary.

  1. Motivating Students to Learn Biology Vocabulary with Wikipedia

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Boriana Marintcheva

    2012-02-01

    Full Text Available Timely learning of specialized science vocabulary is critical for building a solid knowledge base in any scientific discipline. To motivate students to dedicate time and effort mastering biology vocabulary, I have designed a vocabulary exercise utilizing the popular web encyclopedia Wikipedia. The exercise creates an opportunity for students to connect the challenge of vocabulary learning to a prior positive experience of self-guided learning using a content source they are familiar and comfortable with.

  2. The Effect of Using Online Collaborative Tasks on Incidental Vocabulary Learning of Impulsive vs. Reflective Iranian EFL Learners

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Khalil Motallebzadeh

    2017-09-01

    Full Text Available Incidental vocabulary learning is one of the most significant sources of learning vocabulary for language learners Laufer  & Hulstjin, 2001. This study endeavored to investigate the effect of using online collaborative tasks on incidental vocabulary learning of impulsive vs. reflective Iranian EFL learners. To this end, Nelson vocabulary proficiency test was administered to 100 Iranian EFL learners as the homogeneity test and the pretest. Using random sampling procedure, 75 learners were selected as the main participants for this study. Kember, McKay, Sinclair and Wong (2008 reflective thinking questionnaire was administered to these learners, based on which they were distinguished based on their cognitive thinking styles, i.e., impulsivity and reflectivity. The participants were homogenously distributed into 3 main groups (impulsive experimental group, reflective experimental group, and the control group. All participants went through 4 weeks of treatment. Experimental groups were conducted using Telegram software and the control group was conducted in a classroom. The results of t-test after 4 weeks of treatment revealed that reflective learners benefited from online collaborative groups with regard to incidental vocabulary learning. The findings of the study are discussed in light of previous research.

  3. Bilingual Dialogic Book-Reading Intervention for Preschoolers with Slow Expressive Vocabulary Development

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tsybina, Irina; Eriks-Brophy, Alice

    2010-01-01

    This study examined the feasibility of using a dialogic book-reading intervention for 22-r41-month-old bilingual preschool children with expressive vocabulary delays. The intervention was provided in English and Spanish concurrently to an experimental group of six children, while six other children were in a delayed treatment control group. Thirty…

  4. Assessing cognitive functioning in females with Rett syndrome by eye-tracking methodology.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ahonniska-Assa, Jaana; Polack, Orli; Saraf, Einat; Wine, Judy; Silberg, Tamar; Nissenkorn, Andreea; Ben-Zeev, Bruria

    2018-01-01

    While many individuals with severe developmental impairments learn to communicate with augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) devices, a significant number of individuals show major difficulties in the effective use of AAC. Recent technological innovations, i.e., eye-tracking technology (ETT), aim to improve the transparency of communication and may also enable a more valid cognitive assessment. To investigate whether ETT in forced-choice tasks can enable children with very severe motor and speech impairments to respond consistently, allowing a more reliable evaluation of their language comprehension. Participants were 17 girls with Rett syndrome (M = 6:06 years). Their ability to respond by eye gaze was first practiced with computer games using ETT. Afterwards, their receptive vocabulary was assessed using the Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test-4 (PPVT-4). Target words were orally presented and participants responded by focusing their eyes on the preferred picture. Remarkable differences between the participants in receptive vocabulary were demonstrated using ETT. The verbal comprehension abilities of 32% of the participants ranged from low-average to mild cognitive impairment, and the other 68% of the participants showed moderate to severe impairment. Young age at the time of assessment was positively correlated with higher receptive vocabulary. The use of ETT seems to make the communicational signals of children with severe motor and communication impairments more easily understood. Early practice of ETT may improve the quality of communication and enable more reliable conclusions in learning and assessment sessions. Copyright © 2017 European Paediatric Neurology Society. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  5. Vocabulary skills are well developed in university students with dyslexia: Evidence from multiple case studies.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cavalli, Eddy; Casalis, Séverine; El Ahmadi, Abdessadek; Zira, Mélody; Poracchia-George, Florence; Colé, Pascale

    2016-01-01

    Most studies in adults with developmental dyslexia have focused on identifying the deficits responsible for their persistent reading difficulties, but little is known on how these readers manage the intensive exposure to written language required to obtain a university degree. The main objective of this study was to identify certain skills, and specifically vocabulary skills, that French university students with dyslexia have developed and that may contribute to their literacy skills. We tested 20 university students with dyslexia and 20 normal readers (matched on chronological age, gender, nonverbal IQ, and level of education) in reading, phonological, vocabulary breadth (number of known words), and vocabulary depth (accuracy and precision) tasks. In comparing vocabulary measures, we used both Rasch model and single case study methodologies. Results on reading and phonological tasks confirmed the persistence of deficits in written word recognition and phonological skills. However, using the Rasch model we found that the two groups performed at the same level in the vocabulary breadth task, whereas dyslexics systematically outperformed their chronological age controls in the vocabulary depth task. These results are supplemented by multiple case studies. The vocabulary skills of French university students with dyslexia are well developed. Possible interpretations of these results are discussed. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  6. Vocabulary of Emotions Test (VET: A Cross-cultural Validation in Portuguese and Croatian Contexts

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ana Costa

    2011-12-01

    Full Text Available This article discusses the adaptation and cross-cultural validation of the Vocabulary of Emotions Test (VET in the Portuguese and Croatian contexts, an Emotional Intelligence ability measure with 35 items, which assesses individual's ability to understand emotion. Based on Mayer and Salovey's (1997 theoretical framework of emotional intelligence, VET was originally developed in Croatian academic settings by Takšić, Harambašić and Velemir (2003. This study involved 1119 secondary school students, 682 Portuguese and 437 Croatian, attending different grades and courses. Overall, in both Croatian (original version and Portuguese (adapted version contexts, VET evidenced good psychometric properties particularly concerning sensibility, difficulty item analysis and reliability, although slightly better indicators were found in the Croatian original version. Moreover, cultural and gender differences were found, benefiting Portuguese students and girls.

  7. Online Independent Vocabulary Learning Experience of Hong Kong University Students

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Eunice Tang

    2016-03-01

    Full Text Available In response to the limited vocabulary size of its undergraduates, an independent vocabulary learning platform, VLearn was designed and launched in a university in Hong Kong. As an elearning environment that supports self-directed vocabulary learning of Chinese learners, the primary aim of VLearn is to equip users with appropriate knowledge and skills for vocabulary expansion. This paper introduces the contents of VLearn, and the theoretical underpinnings of its design. It also reports on the vocabulary learning experience of its users during an eight week evaluation study. Suggestions are made on how independent vocabulary building at higher education, as well as comprehensive vocabulary instruction at early years could be supported by means of technology.

  8. Tagging vs. Controlled Vocabulary

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Bogers, Toine; Petras, Vivien

    2015-01-01

    The popularity of social tagging has sparked a great deal of debate on whether tags could replace or improve upon professional metadata as descriptors of books and other information objects. In this paper we present a large-scale empirical comparison of the contributions of individual information...... that tags and controlled vocabulary terms do not actually outperform each other consistently, but seem to provide complementary contributions: some information needs are best addressed using controlled vocabulary terms whereas other are best addressed using tags....

  9. Vocabulary Growth in College-Level Students’ Narrative Writing

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Hicham ZYAD

    2017-09-01

    Full Text Available The nature and size of vocabulary significantly determine quality in a given piece of writing. It therefore follows that an extensive vocabulary repertoire is a key factor to success in academic life. Most certainly, this explains the vast amount of scholarly attention that has been invested in this line of research. In this regard, a wide array of studies have provided evidence suggesting that human assessors of writing quality are substantially influenced by the range and sophistication of the vocabulary used by L2 learners. The studies that offered such evidence used different measurement tools to evaluate the nature and/or size of L2 learners’ vocabulary. However, very few studies have attempted to chart vocabulary knowledge across different college-level proficiency levels in narrative writing productions in the Moroccan context. To contribute to this debate, the present study aims to investigate university L2 learners’ vocabulary knowledge across three proficiency levels from two post-secondary institutions. More specifically, this cross-sectional study operationalized vocabulary knowledge in terms of diversity and sophistication in order to chart growth in the lexical repertoire of 90 participants. Data analysis showed that the participants displayed different levels of vocabulary knowledge. In terms of lexical diversity, second-year students’ vocabulary was as diverse as third-year students but it was not as sophisticated. Nonetheless, sophistication did not differentiate first- and second-year students but it did differentiate between second- and third-year students. Additionally, diversity and sophistication were both good markers of difference between first- and second-year students. The implications of the findings will be discussed.

  10. EXPANDING ACADEMIC VOCABULARY WITH AN INTERACTIVE ON-LINE DATABASE

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Marlise Horst

    2005-05-01

    Full Text Available University students used a set of existing and purpose-built on-line tools for vocabulary learning in an experimental ESL course. The resources included concordance, dictionary, cloze-builder, hypertext, and a database with interactive self-quizzing feature (all freely available at www.lextutor.ca. The vocabulary targeted for learning consisted of (a Coxhead's (2000 Academic Word List, a list of items that occur frequently in university textbooks, and (b unfamiliar words students had met in academic texts and selected for entry into the class database. The suite of tools were designed to foster retention by engaging learners in deep processing, an aspect that is often described as missing in computer exercises for vocabulary learning. Database entries were examined to determine whether context sentences supported word meanings adequately and whether entered words reflected the unavailability of cognates in the various first languages of the participants. Pre- and post-treatment performance on tests of knowledge of words targeted for learning in the course were compared to establish learning gains. Regression analyses investigated connections between use of specific computer tools and gains.

  11. The Receptive-Expressive Gap in the Vocabulary of Young Second-Language Learners: Robustness and Possible Mechanisms

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gibson, Todd A.; Oller, D. Kimbrough; Jarmulowicz, Linda; Ethington, Corinna A.

    2012-01-01

    Adults and children learning a second language show difficulty accessing expressive vocabulary that appears accessible receptively in their first language (L1). We call this discrepancy the receptive-expressive gap. Kindergarten Spanish (L1)-English (L2) sequential bilinguals were given standardized tests of receptive and expressive vocabulary in…

  12. The Relationship between Three Measures of L2 Vocabulary Knowledge and L2 Listening and Reading

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cheng, Junyu; Matthews, Joshua

    2018-01-01

    This study explores the constructs that underpin three different measures of vocabulary knowledge and investigates the degree to which these three measures correlate with, and are able to predict, measures of second language (L2) listening and reading. Word frequency structured vocabulary tests tapping "receptive/orthographic (RecOrth)…

  13. BUSINESS ENGLISH WORD GAMES – A WELCOMED VOCABULARY TEACHING TECHNIQUE

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ioana Claudia Horea

    2015-03-01

    Full Text Available Introducing vocabulary has never been very problematic nor a doubt generating aspect in teaching a language, at least not in respect of what has to be done actually along this part of the lesson or how this stage should be approached. It cannot be said that it has ever been too much of a challenge, but rather a simple and straightforward phase in the economy of the English class. Business English vocabulary teaching methods have to make allowance for the specificity of the field, though. Thus, much consideration has to be given to the way Business English lexical units are introduced so that the technique used could produce the desired results into the students: acquisition of specific terminology, assimilation of meanings and development of skills that shall ensure accurate usage of the terms in the future. After an experimental semester, most adequate class approaches to serve the purposes abovementioned proved to be – rather non-academic, it may be argued – the word games. The current study presents the detailed steps of two distinct teaching methods used and the comparative results obtained with the two groups of students submitted to the experiment. Along the Business English courses in one semester, there were four vocabulary introduction lessons. The nonconformist technique of word games was implemented to one of the two groups of students while the other was taught the regular style. The comparative study focused on several aspects, from the observation of the class reactions and participation along the process of teaching, i.e. response to the didactic process during each class, to the checking of the effects of both types of implementation, namely assessing assimilation of the previously taught material in terms of knowledge of vocabulary and correct interpretation, by random tests and by final test results. If teaching methodologies regularly claim that the general to particular approach is the most effective, here a vice

  14. Concurrent validity of the Snijders-Oomen Nonverbal Intelligence Test 2 1/2-7-Revised with the Wechsler Preschool and Primary Scale of Intelligence - Revised

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Moore, C; O'Keefe, SL; Lawhon, D; Tellegen, P

    This study examined the concurrent validity of the Snijders-Oomen Nonverbal Intelligence Test-Revised compared to the Wechsler Preschool and Primary Scale of Intelligence-Revised Subjects were 25 4-yr.-olds of lower, lower-middle, and middle socioeconomic status from both urban and rural areas of

  15. Facilitating vocabulary acquisition of young English language learners.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lugo-Neris, Mirza J; Jackson, Carla Wood; Goldstein, Howard

    2010-07-01

    This study examined whether English-only vocabulary instruction or English vocabulary instruction enhanced with Spanish bridging produced greater word learning in young Spanish-speaking children learning English during a storybook reading intervention while considering individual language characteristics. Twenty-two Spanish-speaking children learning English (ages 4-6) who participated in a summer education program for migrant families were randomly assigned to receive 2 weeks of each instruction: (a) word expansions in English or (b) English readings with word expansions in Spanish. Researcher-created measures of target vocabulary were administered, as were English and Spanish standardized measures of language proficiency and vocabulary. Results revealed significant improvement in naming, receptive knowledge, and expressive definitions for those children who received Spanish bridging. Spanish expansions produced the greatest gains in the children's use of expressive definitions. Initial language proficiency in both languages was found to affect participants' gains from intervention, as those with limited skills in both languages showed significantly less vocabulary growth than those with strong skills in Spanish. Additional benefits to using Spanish expansions in vocabulary instruction were observed. Future research should explore additional ways of enhancing the vocabulary growth of children with limited skills in both languages in order to support and strengthen the child's first language and promote second language acquisition.

  16. Does the introduction of newborn hearing screening improve vocabulary development in hearing-impaired children? A population-based study in Japan.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ohmori, Shuhei; Sugaya, Akiko; Toida, Naomi; Suzuki, Etsuji; Izutsu, Masato; Tsutsui, Tomoko; Kataoka, Yuko; Maeda, Yukihide; Fukushima, Kunihiro; Nishizaki, Kazunori

    2015-02-01

    Permanent hearing impairment has a life-long impact on children and its early identification is important for language development. A newborn hearing screening (NHS) program has started in Okayama Prefecture, Japan, in 1999 to detect hearing impairment immediately after birth. We aim to examine the effect of this screening program on vocabulary development in pre-school children in a before and after comparative study design. A total of 107 5-year-old children who graduated from Okayama Kanariya Gakuen (an auditory center for hearing-impaired children) between 1998 and 2011 were enrolled in this study. The pre-NHS group (n=40) was defined as those who graduated between 1998 and 2003, while the post-NHS group (n=67) was defined as those who graduated between 2004 and 2011. The primary outcome was receptive vocabulary, which was assessed by the Picture Vocabulary Test [score vocabulary, or the number of productive words, which was assessed by an original checklist [vocabulary development and compared both groups. The adjusted Picture Vocabulary Test score and number of productive words were significantly higher (pvocabulary and 4.17 (95% confidence interval: 1.69-10.29) for productive vocabulary. The introduction of NHS in Okayama Prefecture significantly improved both receptive and productive vocabulary development in hearing-impaired children. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

  17. Test Report #33: Compressor Calorimeter Test of R-410A Alternative: R-32/R-134a Mixture Using a Scroll Compressor

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Shrestha, Som [Oak Ridge National Lab. (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States); Sharma, Vishaldeep [Oak Ridge National Lab. (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States); Abdelaziz, Omar [Oak Ridge National Lab. (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States)

    2014-02-18

    This report investigates the tested performance of lower - GWP candidate refrigerant, 94.07 wt% R - 32 + 5.93 wt % R - 134 a mixture (hereafter referred to as R - 32/134a), as an alternative to baseline refrigerant R - 410 A using a 36,000 Btu/hr compressor calorimeter located at the Heat Exchanger Advanced Testing Facility at Oak Ridge National Laboratory . These tests were conducted during May and August 2013. R - 410A is a near - azeotropic blend of R - 32 and R - 125 with 0.5/0.5 mass fraction and has a GWP 100 of 2100. R - 32 and R - 134a are pure refrigerants and have GWP 100 of 716 and 1370 1, respectively. Based on the GWP 100 values of pure refrigerants and their mass fraction in the blend, GWP 100 of R - 32/134a, which is under development by National Refrigerant, is 755. This report compares various performance parameters, such as cooling capacity, compressor power, refrigerant mass flow rate, EER, isentropic efficiency and discharge temperature of the alternative refrigerant to that of R - 410 A.

  18. Comparing Multidimensional and Continuum Models of Vocabulary Acquisition: An Empirical Examination of the Vocabulary Knowledge Scale

    Science.gov (United States)

    Stewart, Jeffrey; Batty, Aaron Olaf; Bovee, Nicholas

    2012-01-01

    Second language vocabulary acquisition has been modeled both as multidimensional in nature and as a continuum wherein the learner's knowledge of a word develops along a cline from recognition through production. In order to empirically examine and compare these models, the authors assess the degree to which the Vocabulary Knowledge Scale (VKS;…

  19. The Spanish version of the Addenbrooke's Cognitive Examination - Revised (ACE-R) in subcortical ischemic vascular dementia.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Raimondi, Catalina; Gleichgerrcht, Ezequiel; Richly, Pablo; Torralva, Teresa; Roca, María; Camino, Julieta; Manes, Facundo

    2012-11-15

    Vascular dementia (VaD) is one of the most prevalent causes of dementia, and it is frequently misdiagnosed and undertreated in clinical practice. Because neuropsychological outcome depends, among other factors, on the size and location of the vascular brain injury, characterizing the cognitive profile of VaD has been especially challenging. Yet, there has been sufficient evidence to show a marked impairment of attention and executive functions, in particular in relation to Alzheimer disease. Being able to detect these deficits at bedside is crucial for everyday clinical practice, and yet, brief cognitive screening toots such as the Mini-Mental Sate Examination (MMSE) may overlook at cognitive deficits typical of patients with VaD. The Addenbrooke's Cognitive Examination Revised (ACE-R) is also a brief cognitive screening tool designed to incorporate the items of the MMSE and further extend the test to assess orientation, attention, verbal fluency, memory, language, and visuospatial abilities. In this study, we investigated the ability of the Spanish version of the ACE-R to detect the cognitive impairment showed in patients with subcortical ischemic vascular dementia, and we compared its usefulness to that of the MMSE in this population. Scores on these tests were compared to those of patients with Alzheimer disease and matched healthy controls. The 88-point cut-off proposed for the ACE-R was associated with a sensitivity of 100% and a specificity of 100% for the detection of cognitive impairment, demonstrating a stronger capacity than the MMSE (sensitivity of 42% with its 23-point cut-off score). We also found that the verbal fluency subtest of the ACE-R may be potentially useful in discriminating patients with subcortical ischemic vascular dementia from patients with AD. We discuss the utility of these findings in the context of everyday clinical practice and we propose that future studies should evaluate the potential usefulness of combining the ACE-R with a

  20. A Comparison between Verbal Working Memory and Vocabulary in Bilingual and Monolingual South African School Beginners: Implications for Bilingual Language Assessment

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cockcroft, Kate

    2016-01-01

    This study compared bilingual and monolingual school beginners on measures of simple and complex verbal working memory and receptive and expressive vocabulary. The aim was to determine whether the tests of working memory are fairer measures of language ability than the vocabulary tests for bilingual children when tested in their second language.…

  1. Storytelling: Enhancing Vocabularies For Cerebral Palsy Students

    OpenAIRE

    Aprilina, Raita Gina

    2015-01-01

    This paper reported on a study concerned with teaching vocabulary using storytelling technique in one of SLBs in Bandung. This study aimed to find out the cerebral palsy students' ability in English vocabulary before and after the treatment, and to find out whether storytelling significantly improved English vocabulary of students with cerebral palsy. This study used an experimental method with single subject research with A-B-A design which involved two participants. This study revealed that...

  2. Reading is FUNdamental: The effect of a reading programme on vocabulary development in a high poverty township school

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Scheepers, Ruth

    2008-12-01

    Full Text Available This paper discusses the development of the vocabulary of grade 7 learners in a reading project currently underway at a school in Atteridgeville, a township on the outskirts of Pretoria. A library has been established at the school and teachers throughout the school attend workshops designed to heighten their awareness of the value of reading and the importance of vocabulary, and to provide them with strategies to facilitate the development of reading. This paper focuses on the vocabulary development of grade 7 learners – they are in the senior phase of primary school and will soon be entering high school where they will be faced with more academic vocabulary in context-reduced textbooks. Learners’ vocabulary was tested early in the year and then again towards the end to assess whether increased access to books and reading had had an effect on vocabulary growth. Results revealed that learners at the project school showed a lack of vocabulary, even at the end of the study period, not only in terms of academic words but also high frequency words. Extensive reading alone is clearly not enough – learners need explicit vocabulary instruction: in order to read successfully at high school level, learners need a working knowledge of academic vocabulary, and this knowledge is developed by reading – but learners cannot read successfully without an adequate basic high-frequency vocabulary.

  3. Similarity of WISC-R and WAIS-R Scores at Age 16.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sandoval, Jonathan; And Others

    1988-01-01

    Examined similarity of scores of 30 learning disabled students (aged 16 and 17) on the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children-Revised (WISC-R) and the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale-Revised (WAIS-R). Results documented similarity between WISC-R and WAIS-R for 16 year-olds who were learning disabled and had average intellectual ability.…

  4. Facilitating linguistically diverse parents to enhance toddler's vocabulary development

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Teepe, R.C.; Molenaar, I.; Verhoeven, L.T.W.; Oostdam, R.J.

    2017-01-01

    Aims: The aim is to investigate effects of a Dutch FLP on linguistically diverse children's vocabulary, specifically curriculumbased and general vocabulary. Moreover, we investigate additional effects including technology-enhanced activities in a FLP. Theoretical background Vocabulary knowledge in

  5. Evaluation of Revised International Staging System (R-ISS) for transplant-eligible multiple myeloma patients.

    Science.gov (United States)

    González-Calle, Verónica; Slack, Abigail; Keane, Niamh; Luft, Susan; Pearce, Kathryn E; Ketterling, Rhett P; Jain, Tania; Chirackal, Sintosebastian; Reeder, Craig; Mikhael, Joseph; Noel, Pierre; Mayo, Angela; Adams, Roberta H; Ahmann, Gregory; Braggio, Esteban; Stewart, A Keith; Bergsagel, P Leif; Van Wier, Scott A; Fonseca, Rafael

    2018-04-06

    The International Myeloma Working Group has proposed the Revised International Staging System (R-ISS) for risk stratification of multiple myeloma (MM) patients. There are a limited number of studies that have validated this risk model in the autologous stem cell transplant (ASCT) setting. In this retrospective study, we evaluated the applicability and value for predicting survival of the R-ISS model in 134 MM patients treated with new agents and ASCT at the Mayo Clinic in Arizona and the University Hospital of Salamanca in Spain. The patients were reclassified at diagnosis according to the R-ISS: 44 patients (33%) had stage I, 75 (56%) had stage II, and 15 (11%) had stage III. After a median follow-up of 60 months, R-ISS assessed at diagnosis was an independent predictor for overall survival (OS) after ASCT, with median OS not reached, 111 and 37 months for R-ISS I, II and III, respectively (P R-ISS II and having high-risk chromosomal abnormalities (CA) had a significant shorter median OS than those with R-ISS II without CA: 70 vs. 111 months, respectively. Therefore, this study lends further support for the R-ISS as a reliable prognostic tool for estimating survival in transplant myeloma patients and suggests the importance of high-risk CA in the R-ISS II group.

  6. Applying computerized adaptive testing to the Negative Acts Questionnaire-Revised: Rasch analysis of workplace bullying.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ma, Shu-Ching; Chien, Tsair-Wei; Wang, Hsiu-Hung; Li, Yu-Chi; Yui, Mei-Shu

    2014-02-17

    Workplace bullying is a prevalent problem in contemporary work places that has adverse effects on both the victims of bullying and organizations. With the rapid development of computer technology in recent years, there is an urgent need to prove whether item response theory-based computerized adaptive testing (CAT) can be applied to measure exposure to workplace bullying. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the relative efficiency and measurement precision of a CAT-based test for hospital nurses compared to traditional nonadaptive testing (NAT). Under the preliminary conditions of a single domain derived from the scale, a CAT module bullying scale model with polytomously scored items is provided as an example for evaluation purposes. A total of 300 nurses were recruited and responded to the 22-item Negative Acts Questionnaire-Revised (NAQ-R). All NAT (or CAT-selected) items were calibrated with the Rasch rating scale model and all respondents were randomly selected for a comparison of the advantages of CAT and NAT in efficiency and precision by paired t tests and the area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUROC). The NAQ-R is a unidimensional construct that can be applied to measure exposure to workplace bullying through CAT-based administration. Nursing measures derived from both tests (CAT and NAT) were highly correlated (r=.97) and their measurement precisions were not statistically different (P=.49) as expected. CAT required fewer items than NAT (an efficiency gain of 32%), suggesting a reduced burden for respondents. There were significant differences in work tenure between the 2 groups (bullied and nonbullied) at a cutoff point of 6 years at 1 worksite. An AUROC of 0.75 (95% CI 0.68-0.79) with logits greater than -4.2 (or >30 in summation) was defined as being highly likely bullied in a workplace. With CAT-based administration of the NAQ-R for nurses, their burden was substantially reduced without compromising measurement precision.

  7. Learning vocabulary through a serious game in Primary Education

    OpenAIRE

    Heitink, Maaike Christine; Fisser, Petra; Voogt, Joke; McBride, Ron; Searson, Michael

    2013-01-01

    This study explored the effect of a serious game on the vocabulary of students in primary education. 206 students and 10 teachers used the game during vocabulary lessons in three conditions: (a)online game and vocabulary instruction, (b)online game only, and (c)paper game and vocabulary instruction. Both immediate learning and retention effects were examined. Additionally a student questionnaire and teacher interview regarding their experiences has been employed. Results show a significant le...

  8. Designing an Educational Application of Parental-Mediated Intervention and Its Effectiveness to Promote Reading Skills Among Slow-Paced Students with Down Syndrome

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Kosar Bereyhi

    2017-02-01

    Full Text Available Objectives This study aimed to design an educational application of parental-mediated intervention and its effectiveness to promote reading skills in students with Down syndrome. Methods This applied semi-experimental study is a pre-test- and post-test project, follow-up with the test and control groups which was conducted on twenty slow-paced students with Down syndrome in the range of 5 to 12 years old. Patients were randomly selected and classify into two groups; test and control. Wechsler IQ test, TOLD test and peabody picture vocabulary test (PPVT were performed for students in the pre-test however; TOLD test was conducted as the post-test and a half month at 15-day after follow-up stage. Results results showed α > 0.001 for reading skills between test and control groups; however the difference is remained sustainable in follow-up stage. Conclusions Education with new educational technologies that focused on software may be helpful for children with Down syndrome and should be seriously considered. Family- centered parental-mediated intervention in order to promote reading skills application can be used for teaching children, families and educators.

  9. CompareTests-R package

    Science.gov (United States)

    CompareTests is an R package to estimate agreement and diagnostic accuracy statistics for two diagnostic tests when one is conducted on only a subsample of specimens. A standard test is observed on all specimens.

  10. Using Song to Improve Students’ Vocabulary Mastery

    OpenAIRE

    Muflihah, Tatik

    2017-01-01

    Vocabulary mastery is one of the requirements for students to be able to communicate both in spoken and written. There are many ways to improve students’ vocabulary mastery used by the language teacher. This paper aims to examine the use of English song to motivate students in learning English. In addition, this concerns on the use of English song to improve students’ vocabulary mastery. The respondents were fifteen elementary students of community groups of orphans An-nur Surabaya. The data ...

  11. Predicting Contextual Informativeness for Vocabulary Learning

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kapelner, Adam; Soterwood, Jeanine; Nessaiver, Shalev; Adlof, Suzanne

    2018-01-01

    Vocabulary knowledge is essential to educational progress. High quality vocabulary instruction requires supportive contextual examples to teach word meaning and proper usage. Identifying such contexts by hand for a large number of words can be difficult. In this work, we take a statistical learning approach to engineer a system that predicts…

  12. Assessment of the factorial validity and reliability of the ALSFRS-R: a revision of its measurement model.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bakker, Leonhard A; Schröder, Carin D; van Es, Michael A; Westers, Paul; Visser-Meily, Johanna M A; van den Berg, Leonard H

    2017-07-01

    The amyotrophic lateral sclerosis functional rating scale-revised (ALSFRS-R) is a widely used primary outcome measure in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) clinical practice and clinical trials. ALSFRS-R items cannot, however, validly be summed to obtain a total score, but constitute domain scores reflecting a profile of disease severity. Currently, there are different measurement models for estimating domain scores. The objective of the present study is, therefore, to derive the measurement model that best fits the data for a valid and uniform estimation of ALSFRS-R domain scores. Data from 1556 patients with ALS were obtained from a population-based register in The Netherlands. A random split of the sample provided a calibration and validation set. Measurement models of the ALSFRS-R were investigated using both exploratory factor analyses and confirmatory factor analyses. The measurement model with a four-factor structure (i.e., bulbar, fine motor, gross motor, and respiratory function), with correlated factors and cross-loading items on dressing and hygiene and turning in bed and adjusting bed clothes on both motor function scales, provided the best fit to the data in both sets. Correlation between factors ranged from weak to modest, confirming that the ALSFRS-R constitutes a profile of four clinically relevant domain scores rather than a total score that expresses disease severity. The internal consistency of the four domain scores was satisfactory. Our revision of the measurement model may allow for a more adequate estimation of disease severity and disease progression in epidemiological studies and clinical trials.

  13. Vocabulary is an appropriate measure of premorbid intelligence in a sample with heterogeneous educational level in Brazil.

    Science.gov (United States)

    de Oliveira, Maira Okada; Nitrini, Ricardo; Yassuda, Mônica Sanches; Brucki, Sonia Maria Dozzi

    2014-01-01

    Crystallized intelligence refers to one's knowledge base and can be measured by vocabulary tests. Fluid intelligence is related to nonverbal aspects of intelligence, depends very little on previously acquired knowledge, and can be measured by tests such as Block Design (BD) and Raven Colored Matrices (RCM). Premorbid intelligence quotient (IQ) refers to one's intellectual ability level previous to the onset of disorders like mild cognitive impairment (MCI) and Alzheimer's disease (AD) and it is important to estimate disease severity. The objective was to compare performance in tests that measure crystallized and fluid intelligence in healthy subjects and patients with amnestic MCI (aMCI) and AD. One hundred forty-four participants (aMCI (n = 38), AD (n = 45), and healthy controls (n = 61)) were submitted to neuropsychological tests (WAIS-III vocabulary, BD, and RCM). There were significant among groups, except for vocabulary, indicating a relative stability of crystallized intelligence in the continuum from normal to pathological cognitive decline. Vocabulary seems to be stable during the progression of the disease and useful as a measure of premorbid intelligence, that is, to estimate previous function in relation to the level of education and, as a collateral measure of cognition in people with low education.

  14. Vocabulary Is an Appropriate Measure of Premorbid Intelligence in a Sample with Heterogeneous Educational Level in Brazil

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Maira Okada de Oliveira

    2014-01-01

    Full Text Available Crystallized intelligence refers to one’s knowledge base and can be measured by vocabulary tests. Fluid intelligence is related to nonverbal aspects of intelligence, depends very little on previously acquired knowledge, and can be measured by tests such as Block Design (BD and Raven Colored Matrices (RCM. Premorbid intelligence quotient (IQ refers to one’s intellectual ability level previous to the onset of disorders like mild cognitive impairment (MCI and Alzheimer’s disease (AD and it is important to estimate disease severity. The objective was to compare performance in tests that measure crystallized and fluid intelligence in healthy subjects and patients with amnestic MCI (aMCI and AD. One hundred forty-four participants (aMCI (n=38, AD (n=45, and healthy controls (n=61 were submitted to neuropsychological tests (WAIS-III vocabulary, BD, and RCM. There were significant among groups, except for vocabulary, indicating a relative stability of crystallized intelligence in the continuum from normal to pathological cognitive decline. Vocabulary seems to be stable during the progression of the disease and useful as a measure of premorbid intelligence, that is, to estimate previous function in relation to the level of education and, as a collateral measure of cognition in people with low education.

  15. Comparison of IMP-SPECT findings to subtest scores of Wechsler intelligence adult Scale-Revised in temporal lobe epilepsy patients

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Kan, Rumiko; Uejima, Masahiko; Kaneko, Yuko; Miyamoto, Yuriko; Watabe, Manabu; Takahashi, Ruriko; Niwa, Shin-ichi; Shishido, Fumio [Fukushima Medical Coll. (Japan)

    1998-02-01

    In this study, 40 temporal lobe epilepsy patients were assessed, using the Laterality Index (LI) of ROI values in IMP-SPECT findings, Wechsler adult intelligence Scale-Revised (WAIS-R) and subtest scores. LIs of the frontal, temporal and occipital lobes were calculated as follows: the ROI values on the right side were subtracted from those on the left, and the results was divided by the sum of the ROI values on the right and left sides. The individual subtest scores on WAIS-R were standardized by all evaluation scores in order to exclude the influence of differences in intelligence level as much as possible. The results were as follows: there was a positive correlation (r=0.74, p<0.001) between LI values and the performance in Arithmetic in the left temporal lobe hypoperfusion group. And there was a positive correlation (r=0.50, p<0.02) between LI values and the performance in Vocabulary in the left temporal lobe hypoperfusion group. In the right occipital lobe hypoperfusion group, there was a negative correlation (r=-O.44, p

  16. Comparison of IMP-SPECT findings to subtest scores of Wechsler intelligence adult Scale-Revised in temporal lobe epilepsy patients

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kan, Rumiko; Uejima, Masahiko; Kaneko, Yuko; Miyamoto, Yuriko; Watabe, Manabu; Takahashi, Ruriko; Niwa, Shin-ichi; Shishido, Fumio

    1998-01-01

    In this study, 40 temporal lobe epilepsy patients were assessed, using the Laterality Index (LI) of ROI values in IMP-SPECT findings, Wechsler adult intelligence Scale-Revised (WAIS-R) and subtest scores. LIs of the frontal, temporal and occipital lobes were calculated as follows: the ROI values on the right side were subtracted from those on the left, and the results was divided by the sum of the ROI values on the right and left sides. The individual subtest scores on WAIS-R were standardized by all evaluation scores in order to exclude the influence of differences in intelligence level as much as possible. The results were as follows: there was a positive correlation (r=0.74, p<0.001) between LI values and the performance in Arithmetic in the left temporal lobe hypoperfusion group. And there was a positive correlation (r=0.50, p<0.02) between LI values and the performance in Vocabulary in the left temporal lobe hypoperfusion group. In the right occipital lobe hypoperfusion group, there was a negative correlation (r=-O.44, p< O.05) between LI values and the performance in Coding. It is suggested that decreased blood flow areas detected by SPECT might influence brain function. (author)

  17. The Impact of Teacher Study Groups in Vocabulary on Teaching Practice, Teacher Knowledge, and Student Vocabulary Knowledge: A Large-Scale Replication Study

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jayanthi, Madhavi; Dimino, Joseph; Gersten, Russell; Taylor, Mary Jo; Haymond, Kelly; Smolkowski, Keith; Newman-Gonchar, Rebecca

    2018-01-01

    The purpose of this replication study was to examine the impact of the Teacher Study Group (TSG) professional development in vocabulary on first-grade teachers' knowledge of vocabulary instruction and observed teaching practice, and on students' vocabulary knowledge. Sixty-two schools from 16 districts in four states were randomly assigned to…

  18. Intentional Vocabulary Learning Using Digital Flashcards

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hung, Hsiu-Ting

    2015-01-01

    As an attempt to follow through on the claims made by proponents of intentional vocabulary learning, the present study set out to examine whether and how digital flashcards can be incorporated into a university course to promote the vocabulary learning of English language learners. The overall research findings underscore the value of learning…

  19. Vocabulary knowledge, phonological representations and phonological sensitivity in Spanish-speaking low-and middle-SES preschoolers

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Beatriz Diuk

    2013-08-01

    Full Text Available The aim of this study was to examine the relationships among vocabulary knowledge, phonological representations and phonological sensitivity in 80 Spanish-speaking preschool children from middle- and low-SES families. Significant social class differences were obtained on all tasks except syllable matching. Regression analyses were carried out to test the predictive power of vocabulary knowledge and accuracy of phonological representations on the phonological sensitivity measures. Receptive vocabulary predicted rhyme identification. Syllable matching was predicted by a task tapping accuracy of phonological representations. The fact that rhyme identification was predicted by vocabulary knowledge but syllable matching was predicted by a measure tapping accuracy of phonological representations in both groups suggests that early lexical development sets the stage for the development of the lower levels of phonological sensitivity but identification of smaller units requires more accurate and segmented phonological representations.

  20. Self-awareness moderates the relation between maternal mental state language about desires and children's mental state vocabulary.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Taumoepeau, Mele; Ruffman, Ted

    2016-04-01

    In this intervention study, we tested the differential effect of talking about children's desires versus talking about others' thoughts and knowledge on children's acquisition of mental state vocabulary for children who did and did not have mirror self-recognition. In a sample of 96 mother-toddler dyads, each mother was randomly assigned a specially constructed, interactive lift-the-flap book to read to her child three times a week for 4 weeks. In the child desire condition the story elicited comments regarding the child's desires, and in the cognitive condition the story elicited the mother's comments about her own thoughts and knowledge while reading the story. Children's mirror self-recognition and mental state vocabulary were assessed at pre- and post-test. Children in the condition that focused on the child's desires showed a significantly greater increase in their mental state vocabulary; however, this effect was moderated by their levels of self-awareness, with children benefitting more from the intervention if they also showed self-recognition at pre-test. We argue that the combination of specific types of maternal talk and children's prior insights facilitates gains in children's mental state vocabulary. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  1. Cross-Language Associations in the Development of Preschoolers' Receptive and Expressive Vocabulary.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Maier, Michelle F; Bohlmann, Natalie L; Palacios, Natalia A

    The increasing population of dual language learners (DLLs) entering preschool classrooms highlights a continued need for research on the development of dual language acquisition, and specifically vocabulary skills, in this age group. This study describes young DLL children's ( N = 177) vocabulary development in both English and Spanish simultaneously, and how vocabulary skills in each language relate to one another, during a contextual shift that places greater emphasis on the acquisition of academic English language skills. Findings demonstrated that DLL preschoolers made gains in vocabulary in both languages with more change evidenced in receptive, in comparison to expressive, vocabulary as well as in English in comparison to Spanish. When examining whether children's vocabulary scores in one language at the beginning of preschool interact with their vocabulary scores in the other language to predict vocabulary growth, no significant associations were found for receptive vocabulary. In contrast, the interaction between initial English and Spanish expressive vocabulary scores was negatively related to growth in English expressive vocabulary. This cross-language association suggests that children who have low expressive vocabulary skills in both languages tend to grow faster in their English expressive vocabulary. The study extends previous work on dual language development by examining growth in expressive and receptive vocabulary in both English and Spanish. It also provides suggestions for future work to inform a more comprehensive understanding of DLL children's development in both languages.

  2. Classroom-based narrative and vocabulary instruction: results of an early-stage, nonrandomized comparison study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gillam, Sandra Laing; Olszewski, Abbie; Fargo, Jamison; Gillam, Ronald B

    2014-07-01

    This nonrandomized feasibility study was designed to provide a preliminary assessment of the impact of a narrative and vocabulary instruction program provided by a speech-language pathologist (SLP) in a regular classroom setting. Forty-three children attending 2 first-grade classrooms participated in the study. Children in each classroom were divided into high- and low-risk subgroups on the basis of their performance on a narrative test. Narrative and vocabulary instruction was provided by an SLP in 1 classroom for three 30-min periods per week for 6 weeks. The children in the experimental classroom made clinically significant improvements on narrative and vocabulary measures; children in the comparison classroom did not. Within the experimental classroom, children in the high-risk subgroup demonstrated greater gains in narration and fewer gains in vocabulary than children in the low-risk subgroup. There were no subgroup differences in the comparison classroom. These preliminary results provide early evidence of the feasibility of implementing a narrative instruction program in a classroom setting. Children at a high risk for language difficulties appeared to profit more from the narrative instruction than from the embedded vocabulary instruction. More extensive research on this instructional program is warranted.

  3. Home Language Will Not Take Care of Itself: Vocabulary Knowledge in Trilingual Children in the United Kingdom.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mieszkowska, Karolina; Łuniewska, Magdalena; Kołak, Joanna; Kacprzak, Agnieszka; Wodniecka, Zofia; Haman, Ewa

    2017-01-01

    Language input is crucial for language acquisition and especially for children's vocabulary size. Bilingual children receive reduced input in each of their languages, compared to monolinguals, and are reported to have smaller vocabularies, at least in one of their languages. Vocabulary acquisition in trilingual children has been largely understudied; only a few case studies have been published so far. Moreover, trilingual language acquisition in children has been rarely contrasted with language outcomes of bilingual and monolingual peers. We present a comparison of trilingual, bilingual, and monolingual children (total of 56 participants, aged 4;5-6;7, matched one-to-one for age, gender, and non-verbal IQ) in regard to their receptive and expressive vocabulary (measured by standardized tests), and relative frequency of input in each language (measured by parental report). The monolingual children were speakers of Polish or English, while the bilinguals and trilinguals were migrant children living in the United Kingdom, speaking English as a majority language and Polish as a home language. The trilinguals had another (third) language at home. For the majority language, English, no differences were found across the three groups, either in the receptive or productive vocabulary. The groups differed, however, in their performance in Polish, the home language. The trilinguals had lower receptive vocabulary than the monolinguals, and lower productive vocabulary compared to the monolinguals. The trilinguals showed similar lexical knowledge to the bilinguals. The bilinguals demonstrated lower scores than the monolinguals, but only in productive vocabulary. The data on reported language input show that input in English in bilingual and trilingual groups is similar, but the bilinguals outscore the trilinguals in relative frequency of Polish input. Overall, the results suggest that in the majority language, multilingual children may develop lexical skills similar to those of

  4. Home Language Will Not Take Care of Itself: Vocabulary Knowledge in Trilingual Children in the United Kingdom

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Karolina Mieszkowska

    2017-08-01

    Full Text Available Language input is crucial for language acquisition and especially for children’s vocabulary size. Bilingual children receive reduced input in each of their languages, compared to monolinguals, and are reported to have smaller vocabularies, at least in one of their languages. Vocabulary acquisition in trilingual children has been largely understudied; only a few case studies have been published so far. Moreover, trilingual language acquisition in children has been rarely contrasted with language outcomes of bilingual and monolingual peers. We present a comparison of trilingual, bilingual, and monolingual children (total of 56 participants, aged 4;5–6;7, matched one-to-one for age, gender, and non-verbal IQ in regard to their receptive and expressive vocabulary (measured by standardized tests, and relative frequency of input in each language (measured by parental report. The monolingual children were speakers of Polish or English, while the bilinguals and trilinguals were migrant children living in the United Kingdom, speaking English as a majority language and Polish as a home language. The trilinguals had another (third language at home. For the majority language, English, no differences were found across the three groups, either in the receptive or productive vocabulary. The groups differed, however, in their performance in Polish, the home language. The trilinguals had lower receptive vocabulary than the monolinguals, and lower productive vocabulary compared to the monolinguals. The trilinguals showed similar lexical knowledge to the bilinguals. The bilinguals demonstrated lower scores than the monolinguals, but only in productive vocabulary. The data on reported language input show that input in English in bilingual and trilingual groups is similar, but the bilinguals outscore the trilinguals in relative frequency of Polish input. Overall, the results suggest that in the majority language, multilingual children may develop lexical skills

  5. Implementing Controlled Composition to Improve Vocabulary Mastery of EFL Students

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    Juriah Juriah

    2015-06-01

    Full Text Available The purposes of this study was to know how (1 Controlled composition teaching techniques implemented by the English teacher at SDN 027 Samarinda to improve vocabulary mastery, and (2 Controlled composition teaching techniques improves vocabulary mastery of the sixth grade students of SDN 027 Samarinda. This research used a Classroom Action Research (CAR as the research design. The subject of the research is the sixth grade students in the 2013/2014 academic year that consists of 43 students. The instruments employed in this study were observation checklist, field note, and vocabulary test. The result of the research showed that in cycle 1 the students’ achievement did not fulfill the minimal criteria of success. However the result of the cycle 1 was better than the preliminary study. The criteria of success did not fulfill in cycle one, some enhancement of the implementation of Controlled Composition were made in cycle two in the form of: Instruct the students bring dictionary, give more examples English sentences, guide the students find the mining of words in the dictionary and write a paragraph, more motivate the students and preparing a media/ picture .Meanwhile the students ’achievement in cycle two showed that fulfilled the criteria of success. Based on the findings and discussion, the conclusions : Firstly, Controlled composition was implemented well by the teacher of SDN 027 Samarinda. Controlled composition was implemented and gave impacts in: (a increasing the students’ vocabulary mastery significantly, (b making the students able to spell the vocabularies, (c making the students understand the meaning English words, and (d making the students able to pronounce English words quite good. Secondly, Controlled composition improved the students’ vocabulary mastery; it was only 20.9% of the students who achieved the English passing grade in the preliminary study, but then 81.39% of the students achieved the English passing grade in

  6. Dependence and physical exercise: Spanish validation of the Exercise Dependence Scale-Revised (EDS-R).

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sicilia, Alvaro; González-Cutre, David

    2011-05-01

    The purpose of this study was to validate the Spanish version of the Exercise Dependence Scale-Revised (EDS-R). To achieve this goal, a sample of 531 sport center users was used and the psychometric properties of the EDS-R were examined through different analyses. The results supported both the first-order seven-factor model and the higher-order model (seven first-order factors and one second-order factor). The structure of both models was invariant across age. Correlations among the subscales indicated a related factor model, supporting construct validity of the scale. Alpha values over .70 (except for Reduction in Other Activities) and suitable levels of temporal stability were obtained. Users practicing more than three days per week had higher scores in all subscales than the group practicing with a frequency of three days or fewer. The findings of this study provided reliability and validity for the EDS-R in a Spanish context.

  7. Incidental Vocabulary Learning in Second Language Acquisition: A Literature Review

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Falcon Dario Restrepo Ramos

    2015-01-01

    Full Text Available This literature review aims to analyze previous studies that address the incidental learning of vocabulary in second language acquisition. The articles included in this literature review look into the understanding of vocabulary learning through incidental means, the relationship of reading and incidental vocabulary learning, and the strategies and tasks that promote the incidental learning of vocabulary. The findings show that L2 learners develop much of their vocabulary by incidental means through exposure to words in informative contexts. Moreover, this exposure is promoted by reading, and enhanced through multimodal glosses. Further research may focus on listening for higher lexical retention rates, the circumstances that allow incidental learning of multi-word phrases and collocations, and the use of technology-based methods for incidental vocabulary acquisition.

  8. Validation of the language component of the Addenbrooke's Cognitive Examination--Revised (ACE-R) as a screening tool for aphasia in stroke patients.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gaber, Tarek A-Z K; Parsons, Faye; Gautam, Vidushi

    2011-09-01

    Several tests are available for aphasia screening following stroke. However, some of them have shortcomings such as need of specialist knowledge, low sensitivity and/or specificity and lengthy administration time. Our study aims to evaluate the language component of the Addenbrooke's Cognitive Examination--Revised (ACE-R) as a screening tool for aphasia in stroke patients. The language component of ACE-R was administered to consecutive patients admitted to a post-acute stroke unit. Patients who were medically unstable or had a significant history of sensory impairment or mental health issues were excluded. The test was administered by two junior doctors with basic training in ACE-R administration. Patients recruited were also assessed by an experienced speech and language therapist (SLT). The results of the two assessments were documented by a different member of the team and the SLT results were used as the benchmark to calculate the ACE-R language component sensitivity and specificity.   Fifty-nine participants were recruited and 27 of them were women. The mean age was 72 (SD 11.9). Thirty-four participants had left and 11 right hemisphere stroke. Fourteen had bilateral affection. Six participants were left handed. A cut-off value of 22/26 of ACE-R language component showed 100% specificity and 83.1% sensitivity, while a cut-off value of 16/26 had 88.2% specificity and 100% sensitivity. Our results suggest that the language component of ACE-R has a satisfactory sensitivity and specificity compared with other screening tests used in strokes. It is easy to administer and free to use. © 2010 The Authors. Australasian Journal on Ageing © 2010 ACOTA.

  9. The comparative impact of lexical translation and lexical inferencing on EFL learners’ vocabulary retention

    OpenAIRE

    Nasim Shangarfam; Neda Ghorbani; Ehsan Safarpoor; Mahshid Maha

    2013-01-01

    The present study is an attempt to investigate the comparative effects of lexical translation and lexical inferencing techniques on Female intermediate EFL learners’ vocabulary retention. For this purpose, 90 female learners attending the Jahad Daneshgahi Center in Qom took a piloted sample KET test, 60 of whom were selected as homogenous learners. They were randomly divided into two experimental groups-one learning new vocabulary items through lexical translation technique and the other with...

  10. Implicit and Explicit Cognitive Processes in Incidental Vocabulary Acquisition

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ender, Andrea

    2016-01-01

    Studies on vocabulary acquisition in second language learning have revealed that a large amount of vocabulary is learned without an overt intention, in other words, incidentally. This article investigates the relevance of different lexical processing strategies for vocabulary acquisition when reading a text for comprehension among 24 advanced…

  11. Crossword Puzzles as a Learning Tool for Vocabulary Development

    Science.gov (United States)

    Orawiwatnakul, Wiwat

    2013-01-01

    Introduction: Since vocabulary is a key basis on which reading achievement depends, various vocabulary acquisition techniques have become pivotal. Among the many teaching approaches, traditional or otherwise, the use of crossword puzzles seems to offer potential and a solution for the problem of learning vocabulary. Method: This study was…

  12. Cross-Language Associations in the Development of Preschoolers’ Receptive and Expressive Vocabulary

    Science.gov (United States)

    Maier, Michelle F.; Bohlmann, Natalie L.; Palacios, Natalia A.

    2016-01-01

    The increasing population of dual language learners (DLLs) entering preschool classrooms highlights a continued need for research on the development of dual language acquisition, and specifically vocabulary skills, in this age group. This study describes young DLL children's (N = 177) vocabulary development in both English and Spanish simultaneously, and how vocabulary skills in each language relate to one another, during a contextual shift that places greater emphasis on the acquisition of academic English language skills. Findings demonstrated that DLL preschoolers made gains in vocabulary in both languages with more change evidenced in receptive, in comparison to expressive, vocabulary as well as in English in comparison to Spanish. When examining whether children's vocabulary scores in one language at the beginning of preschool interact with their vocabulary scores in the other language to predict vocabulary growth, no significant associations were found for receptive vocabulary. In contrast, the interaction between initial English and Spanish expressive vocabulary scores was negatively related to growth in English expressive vocabulary. This cross-language association suggests that children who have low expressive vocabulary skills in both languages tend to grow faster in their English expressive vocabulary. The study extends previous work on dual language development by examining growth in expressive and receptive vocabulary in both English and Spanish. It also provides suggestions for future work to inform a more comprehensive understanding of DLL children's development in both languages. PMID:26807002

  13. The Exploring Nature of Vocabulary Acquisition and Common Main Gaps in the Current Studies of Vocabulary Acquisition

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fazeli, Seyed Hossein

    2012-01-01

    Vocabulary can be a key factor for success, central to a language, and paramount to a language learner. In such situation, the lexicon may be the most important component for learners (Grass and Selinker, 1994), and mastering of vocabulary is an essential component of second/foreign language teaching and learning that has been repeatedly…

  14. KEEFEKTIFAN METODE SCHOOLYARD INQUIRY TERHADAP PENINGKATAN PEMAHAMAN SCIENCE VOCABULARY

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    S.D. Pamelasari

    2014-10-01

    Full Text Available Tantangan yang harus dihadapi dalam mengajar Bahasa Inggris di pada mahasiswa selain jurusan Bahasa Inggris adalah tingkat pemahaman kosakata yang rendah. Hal tersebut berpengaruh pada pemahaman materi mereka, berdasarkan permasalahan tersebut metode schoolyard inquiry digagas untuk membantu meningkatkan pemahaman mereka dalam memahami science vocabulary sebagai metode alternative untuk membantu mereka belajar. Schoolyard inquiry adalah metode belajar kosakata secara mandiri di luar kelas. Hasil analisis menunjukkan bahwa pemahaman science vocabulary mahasiswa Pendidikan IPA FMIPA Unnes mengingkat secara signifikan dan mencapai tingkat tinggi pada level pemahamannya. Melalui metode ini mahasiswa juga dapat mengintegrasikan pembelajaran Bahasa Inggris dengan metode saintifik. Mahasiswa juga memberikan respon positif terhadap metode schoolyard inquiry  ini. The challenge that should be faced of teaching English for non English department students is the low level of students’ vocabulary mastery. It affects their comprehension of material, therefore to help students to master the science vocabulary schoolyard inquiry method was proposed to be used as alternative method to improve students’ vocabulary mastery. Schoolyard inquiry is a method of independent learning that is conducted outside the class. The result showed that the students’ science vocabulary mastery improved significantly most of students reached high level of science vocabulary mastery. Through Schoolyard Inquiry method Students were be able to learn English by applying the scientific skill. The students also gave positive responses of learning vocabulary by using alternatif method of schoolyard inquiry.

  15. The Use of Hypermedia in Implicit Vocabulary Learning

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Patrícia Nora de Souza

    2011-07-01

    Full Text Available The present work is aimed at investigating the role of hypermedia in implicit vocabulary acquisition in foreign language. On theoretical grounds, the work presents a reflection which contextualizes the discussion on implicit approaches to vocabulary teaching. Besides, a review and a discussion of the literature is carried out, with regard to the advantages of hypermedia in English Language Teaching. Following that, the selection of hypermedia material for implicit vocabulary teaching is presented. This material was used in the data collecting which comprised 75 students. The material was evaluated by the students through a questionnaire. The results show that the use of hypermedia can significantly contribute to implicit vocabulary acquisition.

  16. Exploring vocabulary language in action

    CERN Document Server

    Gardner, Dee

    2013-01-01

    Routledge Introductions to Applied Linguistics is a series of introductory level textbooks covering the core topics in Applied Linguistics, primarily designed for those beginning postgraduate studies, or taking an introductory MA course as well as advanced undergraduates. Titles in the series are also ideal for language professionals returning to academic study. The books take an innovative 'practice to theory' approach, with a 'back-to-front' structure. This leads the reader from real-world problems and issues, through a discussion of intervention and how to engage with these concerns, before finally relating these practical issues to theoretical foundations. Additional features include tasks with commentaries, a glossary of key terms, and an annotated further reading section. Vocabulary is the foundation of language and language learning and as such, knowledge of how to facilitate learners’ vocabulary growth is an indispensable teaching skill and curricular component. Exploring Vocabulary is designed t...

  17. LEARNING VOCABULARY THROUGH COLOURFUL PUZZLE GAME

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Risca Dwiaryanti

    2014-05-01

    Full Text Available Vocabulary plays an important role because it links to the four skills of listening, speaking, reading, and writing. Those aspects should be integrated in teaching and learning process of English. However, the students must be able to know the meaning of each word or vocabulary of English in order to master the four skills. It is as a mean to create a sentence in daily communication to show someone’s feeling, opinion, idea, desire, etc. So that, both speakers understand what the other speaker mean. However, English as a second language in Indonesia seems very hard for the students to master vocabulary of English. It makes them not easy to be understood directly and speak fluently. The students, sometimes, get difficulties in understanding, memorizing the meaning of the vocabulary, and getting confused in using the new words. There must be an effective strategy to attract students’ interest, break the boredom, and make the class more lively. Based on the writer experience, Colourful Puzzle Game is able to make the students learn vocabulary quickly. It needs teacher’s creativity to create the materials of this game based on the class condition. The teacher just need a game board made from colourful papers, write any command and prohibition words on it. A dice is a tool to decide where the player should stop based on the number. Some pins as counter as sign of each player.

  18. Studies of Danish L2 learners’ vocabulary knowledge and the lexical richness of their written production in English

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Henriksen, Birgit; Danelund, Lise

    2015-01-01

    A number of lexical studies report a strong correlation between L2 learners’ vocabulary size and depth and their writing skills. Three Danish empirical studies explore this relationship further by looking at the vocabulary knowledge of young upper-secondary school learners of English...... analysis of written essays from learners across two educational levels. All studies show a surprisingly low level of receptive and productive vocabulary knowledge for the pupils tested. Moreover, the lexical analyses of the texts reveal that the learners do not exploit the vocabulary resources they have...... in their written production. Even the high-level learners, who have more L2 vocabulary, are using a “playing-it-safe strategy”, relying on familiar high-frequent lexical items in their writing. The results are discussed in light of the meaning-based teaching approaches used in Danish EFL classrooms and the lack...

  19. Do infant vocabulary skills predict school-age language and literacy outcomes?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Duff, Fiona J; Reen, Gurpreet; Plunkett, Kim; Nation, Kate

    2015-01-01

    Background Strong associations between infant vocabulary and school-age language and literacy skills would have important practical and theoretical implications: Preschool assessment of vocabulary skills could be used to identify children at risk of reading and language difficulties, and vocabulary could be viewed as a cognitive foundation for reading. However, evidence to date suggests predictive ability from infant vocabulary to later language and literacy is low. This study provides an investigation into, and interpretation of, the magnitude of such infant to school-age relationships. Methods Three hundred British infants whose vocabularies were assessed by parent report in the 2nd year of life (between 16 and 24 months) were followed up on average 5 years later (ages ranged from 4 to 9 years), when their vocabulary, phonological and reading skills were measured. Results Structural equation modelling of age-regressed scores was used to assess the strength of longitudinal relationships. Infant vocabulary (a latent factor of receptive and expressive vocabulary) was a statistically significant predictor of later vocabulary, phonological awareness, reading accuracy and reading comprehension (accounting for between 4% and 18% of variance). Family risk for language or literacy difficulties explained additional variance in reading (approximately 10%) but not language outcomes. Conclusions Significant longitudinal relationships between preliteracy vocabulary knowledge and subsequent reading support the theory that vocabulary is a cognitive foundation of both reading accuracy and reading comprehension. Importantly however, the stability of vocabulary skills from infancy to later childhood is too low to be sufficiently predictive of language outcomes at an individual level – a finding that fits well with the observation that the majority of ‘late talkers’ resolve their early language difficulties. For reading outcomes, prediction of future difficulties is likely to

  20. Academic vocabulary in learner writing from extraction to analysis

    CERN Document Server

    Paquot, Magali

    2010-01-01

    Academic vocabulary is in fashion, as witnessed by the increasing number of books published on the topic. In the first part of this book, Magali Paquot scrutinizes the concept of academic vocabulary and proposes a corpus-driven procedure based on the criteria of keyness, range and evenness of distribution to select academic words that could be part of a common-core academic vocabulary syllabus. In the second part, the author offers a thorough analysis of academic vocabulary in the International Corpus of Learner English (ICLE) and describes the factors that account for learners difficulties in

  1. Core vocabulary of young children with Down syndrome.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Deckers, Stijn R J M; Van Zaalen, Yvonne; Van Balkom, Hans; Verhoeven, Ludo

    2017-06-01

    The aim of this study was to develop a core vocabulary list for young children with intellectual disabilities between 2 and 7 years of age because data from this population are lacking in core vocabulary literature. Children with Down syndrome are considered one of the most valid reference groups for researching developmental patterns in children with intellectual disabilities; therefore, spontaneous language samples of 30 Dutch children with Down syndrome were collected during three different activities with multiple communication partners (free play with parents, lunch- or snack-time at home or at school, and speech therapy sessions). Of these children, 19 used multimodal communication, primarily manual signs and speech. Functional word use in both modalities was transcribed. The 50 most frequently used core words accounted for 67.2% of total word use; 16 words comprised core vocabulary, based on commonality. These data are consistent with similar studies related to the core vocabularies of preschoolers and toddlers with typical development, although the number of nouns present on the core vocabulary list was higher for the children in the present study. This finding can be explained by manual sign use of the children with Down syndrome and is reflective of their expressive vocabulary ages.

  2. The Integration of Vocabulary and Effective Sentence Mastery towards Students’ Argumentative Writing Skills

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    Tien Rafida

    2017-06-01

    Full Text Available The aims of this result to reveal the integrated of vocabulary and effective sentence mastery against the argumentation writing skill students’ PBI-SU FITK UIN the hypothesis proposed in this results are : (1 vocabulary mastery contribute to the argument to the arguments writing skill of students; (2 effective sentence mastery contribute to the argument writing skill of student; (3 vocabulary mastery and effective sentence mastery together contribute to the argument writing skill of students. This result uses a quantitative approach. The population in this study is PBI UIN-SU as many as 6 classes. As for the samples in this result are students of class II. By using cluster random sampling, obtained a sample of 140 students. The instrument used is a test. These results indicate that: (1 vocabulary mastery contributed positively and significantly to the argument essay writing skills of students. The amount of contribution is 18.4%; (2 Effective sentence mastery contribute positively and significantly to the argument essay writing skills of students. The amount of contribution is 11.7%; (3 mastery of vocabulary and mastery of effective sentences together contributed positively and significantly to the argument essay writing skills of students. The major contribution is 26.5%; (4 mastering vocabulary to effectively contribute by 16.39% against the argument essay writing skills of students; (5 Mastery effective sentence effectively contribute 13.11% against the argument essay writing skills of students. Based on the results of this study, it was concluded that the vocabulary and mastery of effective sentences are the two factors that influence the argument essay writing skills of students in addition to other factors. Therefore, the researchers suggest to all parties concerned to pay more attention to these two factors so that students' skills in essay writing can be further improved.

  3. The effect of retrieval practice in primary school vocabulary learning

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Goossens, Nicole; Camp, Gino; Verkoeijen, Peter; Tabbers, Huib

    2018-01-01

    The testing effect refers to the finding that retrieval practice leads to better long-term retention than additional study of course material. In the present study, we examined whether this finding generalizes to primary school vocabulary learning. We also manipulated the word learning context.

  4. The Use of Hypermedia in Implicit Vocabulary Learning

    OpenAIRE

    Patrícia Nora de Souza

    2011-01-01

    The present work is aimed at investigating the role of hypermedia in implicit vocabulary acquisition in foreign language. On theoretical grounds, the work presents a reflection which contextualizes the discussion on implicit approaches to vocabulary teaching. Besides, a review and a discussion of the literature is carried out, with regard to the advantages of hypermedia in English Language Teaching. Following that, the selection of hypermedia material for implicit vocabulary teaching is prese...

  5. The Effect of Mnemonic and Mapping Techniques on L2 Vocabulary Learning

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Abbas Ali Zarei

    2016-01-01

    Full Text Available The present study investigated the effects of selected presentation techniques including the keyword method, the peg word method, the loci method, argument mapping, concept mapping and mind mapping on L2 vocabulary comprehension and production. To this end, a sample of 151 Iranian female students from a public pre-university school in Islam Shahr was selected. They were assigned to six groups. Each group was randomly assigned to one of the afore-mentioned treatment conditions. After the experimental period, two post-tests in multiple choice and fill-in-the-blanks formats were administered to assess the participants’ vocabulary comprehension and production. Two independent One-Way ANOVA procedures were used to analyze the obtained data. The results showed that the differences among the effects of the above-mentioned techniques were statistically significant in both vocabulary comprehension and production. These findings can have implications for learners, teachers, and materials’ developers.

  6. Psychometric properties of the Brazilian Portuguese version of the Obsessive-Compulsive Inventory - Revised (OCI-R Propriedades psicométricas da versão em português do Brasil da Obsessive-Compulsive Inventory - Revised (OCI-R

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Fernanda P. Souza

    2011-06-01

    Full Text Available OBJECTIVE: The present study was designed to evaluate the psychometric properties of the Brazilian Portuguese version of the Obsessive-Compulsive Inventory - Revised. METHOD: The Obsessive-Compulsive Inventory - Revised was administered to a total of 260 participants: a clinical sample of 130 patients with anxiety disorders (64 with a diagnosis of obsessive-compulsive disorder patients, 33 diagnosed with social phobia, and 33 with panic disorder and a sample of 130 non-clinical subjects. RESULTS: The findings indicate that the Obsessive-Compulsive Inventory - Revised is a valid measure for identifying and assessing the severity of the six symptom subtypes in obsessive-compulsive disorder. The original factor structure of the instrument was replicated in an exploratory factor analysis. Test-retest reliability was examined using data from 64 obsessive-compulsive disorder patients who completed the inventory on two different occasions. In each sample, the overall and subscale scores showed moderate to good internal consistency, good convergent and divergent validity, and sensitivity to changes resulting from cognitive-behavioral group therapy. CONCLUSION: Our findings indicate that the Brazilian Portuguese version of the Obsessive-Compulsive Inventory - Revised retains the psychometric properties of its original version and the Spanish, German and Icelandic versions.OBJETIVO: O presente estudo foi delineado para avaliar as propriedades psicométricas da versão em português do Brasil do Obsessive-Compulsive Inventory - Revised. MÉTODO: O Obsessive-Compulsive Inventory - Revised foi aplicado em um total de 260 indivíduos: em uma amostra clínica de 130 pacientes (64 pacientes com transtorno obsessivo-compulsivo, 33 pacientes com fobia social e 33 pacientes com transtorno do pânico mais uma amostra não clínica de 130 sujeitos. RESULTADOS: Os resultados indicam que o Obsessive-Compulsive Inventory - Revised é uma medida válida para identificar

  7. Psychometric properties of the Brazilian Portuguese version of the Obsessive-Compulsive Inventory: Revised (OCI-R Propriedades psicométricas da versão em português do Brasil da Obsessive-Compulsive Inventory: Revised (OCI-R

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Fernanda P. Souza

    2011-01-01

    Full Text Available OBJECTIVE: The present study was designed to evaluate the psychometric properties of the Brazilian Portuguese version of the Obsessive-Compulsive Inventory - Revised. METHOD: The Obsessive-Compulsive Inventory - Revised was administered toa total of 260 participants: a clinical sample of 130 patients with anxiety disorders (64 with a diagnosis of obsessive-compulsive disorder patients, 33 diagnosed with social phobia, and 33 with panic disorder and a sample of 130 non-clinical subjects. RESULTS: The findings indicate that the Obsessive-Compulsive Inventory - Revised is a valid measure for identifying and assessing the severity of the six symptom subtypes in obsessive-compulsive disorder.The original factor structure of the instrument was replicated in an exploratory factor analysis. Test-retest reliability was examined using data from 64 obsessive-compulsive disorder patients who completed the inventory on two different occasions. In each sample, the overall and subscale scores showed moderate to good internal consistency, good convergent and divergent validity, and sensitivity to changes resulting from cognitive-behavioral group therapy changes. CONCLUSION: Our findings indicate that the Brazilian Portuguese version of the Obsessive-Compulsive Inventory - Revised retains the psychometric properties of its original version and the Spanish, German and Iceland versions.OBJETIVO: O presente estudo foi delineado para avaliar as propriedades psicométricas da versão em português do Brasil do Obsessive-Compulsive Inventory - Revised. MÉTODO: O Obsessive-Compulsive Inventory - Revised foi aplicado em um total de 260 indivíduos: em uma amostra clínica de 130 pacientes (64 pacientes com transtorno obsessivo-compulsivo, 33 pacientes com fobia social e 33 pacientes com transtorno do pânico mais uma amostra não clínica de 130 sujeitos. RESULTADOS: Os resultados indicam que o Obsessive-Compulsive Inventory - Revised é uma medida válida para

  8. A Psychometric Analysis of the Reading the Mind in the Eyes Test: Towards a Brief Form for Research and Applied Settings

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    Sally eOlderbak

    2015-10-01

    Full Text Available The Reading the Mind in the Eyes Test is a popular measure of individual differences in Theory of Mind that is often applied in the assessment of particular clinical populations (primarily, individuals on the autism spectrum. However, little is known about the test’s psychometric properties, including factor structure, internal consistency, and convergent validity evidence. We present a psychometric analysis of the test followed by an evaluation of other empirically proposed and statistically identified structures. We identified, and cross-validated in a second sample, an adequate short-form solution that is homogeneous with adequate internal consistency, and is moderately related to Cognitive Empathy, Emotion Perception, and strongly related to Vocabulary. We recommend the use of this short-form solution in normal adults as a more precise measure over the original version. Future revisions of the test should seek to reduce the test’s reliance on one’s vocabulary and evaluate the short-form structure in clinical populations.

  9. Underground Test Area Quality Assurance Project Plan Nevada National Security Site, Nevada, Revision 0

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Irene Farnham

    2011-05-01

    This Quality Assurance Project Plan (QAPP) provides the overall quality assurance (QA) program requirements and general quality practices to be applied to the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), National Nuclear Security Administration Nevada Site Office (NNSA/NSO) Underground Test Area (UGTA) Sub-Project (hereafter the Sub-Project) activities. The requirements in this QAPP are consistent with DOE Order 414.1C, Quality Assurance (DOE, 2005); U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Guidance for Quality Assurance Project Plans for Modeling (EPA, 2002); and EPA Guidance on the Development, Evaluation, and Application of Environmental Models (EPA, 2009). The QAPP Revision 0 supersedes DOE--341, Underground Test Area Quality Assurance Project Plan, Nevada Test Site, Nevada, Revision 4.

  10. Development of Short-Form Versions of the Screener and Opioid Assessment for Patients with Pain-Revised (SOAPP-R): A Proof-of-Principle Study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Finkelman, Matthew D; Smits, Niels; Kulich, Ronald J; Zacharoff, Kevin L; Magnuson, Britta E; Chang, Hong; Dong, Jinghui; Butler, Stephen F

    2017-07-01

    The Screener and Opioid Assessment for Patients with Pain-Revised (SOAPP-R) is a 24-item questionnaire designed to assess risk of aberrant medication-related behaviors in chronic pain patients. The introduction of short forms of the SOAPP-R may save time and increase utilization by practitioners. To develop and evaluate candidate SOAPP-R short forms. Retrospective study. Pain centers. Four hundred and twenty-eight patients with chronic noncancer pain. Subjects had previously been administered the full-length version of the SOAPP-R and been categorized as positive or negative for aberrant medication-related behaviors via the Aberrant Drug Behavior Index (ADBI). Short forms of the SOAPP-R were developed using lasso logistic regression. Sensitivity, specificity, and area under the curve (AUC) of all forms were calculated with respect to the ADBI using the complete data set, training-test analysis, and 10-fold cross-validation. The coefficient alpha of each form was also calculated. An external set of 12 pain practitioners reviewed the forms for content. In the complete data set analysis, a form of 12 items exhibited sensitivity, specificity, and AUC greater than or equal to those of the full-length SOAPP-R (which were 0.74, 0.67, and 0.76, respectively). The short form had a coefficient alpha of 0.76. In the training-test analysis and 10-fold cross-validation, it exhibited an AUC value within 0.01 of that of the full-length SOAPP-R. The majority of external practitioners reported a preference for this short form. The 12-item version of the SOAPP-R has potential as a short risk screener and should be tested prospectively. © 2016 American Academy of Pain Medicine. All rights reserved. For permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com

  11. STRATEGIES IN IMPROVING READING COMPREHENSION THROUGH VOCABULARY ACQUISITION

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Khairil Razali

    2013-11-01

    Full Text Available Vocabulary acquisition concerns on how people expand the numbers of words they understand when learning a new language. Knowing words in a second or foreign language is vitally important because the reader will be able to understand the written text well and the speaker will be able to communicate basic ideas through vocabulary even if the person does not understand how to create a grammatically correct sentence. As Madsen argued, “mastering vocabulary is the primary thing that every student should acquire in learning English” (Harold, 1983. Therefore, acquiring a sufficiently large vocabulary is one of the important tasks faced by L2 learners in order to comprehend the written texts in reading as one of the four basic features of language learning.

  12. The concurrent use of three implicit measures (eye movements, pupillometry, and event-related potentials) to assess receptive vocabulary knowledge in normal adults.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ledoux, Kerry; Coderre, Emily; Bosley, Laura; Buz, Esteban; Gangopadhyay, Ishanti; Gordon, Barry

    2016-03-01

    Recent years have seen the advent and proliferation of the use of implicit techniques to study learning and cognition. One such application is the use of event-related potentials (ERPs) to assess receptive vocabulary knowledge. Other implicit assessment techniques that may be well-suited to other testing situations or to use with varied participant groups have not been used as widely to study receptive vocabulary knowledge. We sought to develop additional implicit techniques to study receptive vocabulary knowledge that could augment the knowledge gained from the use of the ERP technique. Specifically, we used a simple forced-choice paradigm to assess receptive vocabulary knowledge in normal adult participants using eye movement monitoring (EM) and pupillometry. In the same group of participants, we also used an N400 semantic incongruity ERP paradigm to assess their knowledge of two groups of words: those expected to be known to the participants (high-frequency, familiar words) and those expected to be unknown (low-frequency, unfamiliar words). All three measures showed reliable differences between the known and unknown words. EM and pupillometry thus may provide insight into receptive vocabulary knowledge similar to that from ERPs. The development of additional implicit assessment techniques may increase the feasibility of receptive vocabulary testing across a wider range of participant groups and testing situations, and may make the conduct of such testing more accessible to a wider range of researchers, clinicians, and educators.

  13. Tank monitor and control system (TMACS) revision 11 acceptance test procedure

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    HOLM, M.J.

    1999-01-01

    The purpose of this document is to describe tests performed to validate Revision 11 of the Tank Monitor and Control System (TMACS) and verify that the software functions as intended by design. This document is intended to test the software portion of TMACS. The tests will be performed on the development system. The software to be tested is the TMACS knowledge bases (KB) and the I/O driver/services. The development system will not be talking to field equipment; instead, the field equipment is simulated using emulators or multiplexers in the lab

  14. Comparing the efficacy of digital flashcards versus paper flashcards to improve receptive and productive L2 vocabulary

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Gilbert Dizon

    2017-06-01

    Full Text Available Several researchers have compared the efficacy of digital flashcards (DFs versus paper flashcards (PFs to improve L2 vocabulary and have concluded that using DFs is more effective (Azabdaftari & Mozaheb, 2012; Başoğlu & Akdemir, 2010; Kiliçkaya & Krajka, 2010. However, these studies did not utilize vocabulary learning strategies (VLSs as a way to support the vocabulary development of those using PFs. This is significant because DFs often offer a range of features to promote vocabulary development, whereas PFs are much more basic; thus, learners who study via paper materials are at a disadvantage compared with those who use DFs. Given the success that VLSs have had in fostering L2 vocabulary enhancement (e.g., Mizumoto & Takeuchi, 2009, their incorporation could have influenced the previous studies. Therefore, one of the primary aims of this study was to find if there were significant differences in receptive and productive L2 vocabulary improvements between students who used PFs in conjunction with 3 VLSs – dropping, association, and oral rehearsal – and those who used the DF tools Quizlet and Cram. Additionally, the researchers examined the learners’ opinions to see if there was a preference for either study method. A total of 52 EFL students at two Japanese universities participated in the 12-week study. Pre- and post-tests were administered to measure the vocabulary gains in the PF group (n = 26 and the DF group (n = 26. Results from a paired t-test revealed that both groups made significant improvements in receptive and productive vocabulary. However, the difference between the gains was not significant, which contrasts with past comparison studies of DFs and PFs and highlights the importance of VLSs. A 10-item survey with closed and Likert-scale questions was also administered to determine the participants’ opinions towards the study methods. Higher levels of agreement were found in the experimental group, indicating that the

  15. 78 FR 71676 - NUREG-1482, Revision 2, “Guidelines for Inservice Testing at Nuclear Power Plants, Final Report”

    Science.gov (United States)

    2013-11-29

    ... Testing at Nuclear Power Plants, Final Report'' AGENCY: Nuclear Regulatory Commission. ACTION: Notice of... entitled: NUREG-1482, Revision 2, ``Guidelines for Inservice Testing at Nuclear Power Plants,'' and... Restraints (Snubbers) at Nuclear Power Plants.'' In the previous Revisions 0 and 1 of NUREG-1482, the NRC...

  16. The efficacy of a vocabulary intervention for dual-language learners with language impairment.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Restrepo, Maria Adelaida; Morgan, Gareth P; Thompson, Marilyn S

    2013-04-01

    In this study, the authors evaluated the efficacy of a Spanish-English versus English-only vocabulary intervention for dual-language learners (DLLs) with language impairment compared to mathematics intervention groups and typically developing controls with no intervention. Further, in this study the authors also examined whether the language of instruction affected English, Spanish, and conceptual vocabulary differentially. The authors randomly assigned 202 preschool DLLs with language impairment to 1 of 4 conditions: bilingual vocabulary, English-only vocabulary, bilingual mathematics, or English-only mathematics. Fifty-four DLLs with typical development received no intervention. The vocabulary intervention consisted of a 12-week small-group dialogic reading and hands-on vocabulary instruction of 45 words. Postintervention group differences and linear growth rates were examined in conceptual, English, and Spanish receptive and expressive vocabulary for the 45 treatment words. Results indicate that the bilingual vocabulary intervention facilitated receptive and expressive Spanish and conceptual vocabulary gains in DLLs with language impairment compared with the English vocabulary intervention, mathematics intervention, and no-intervention groups. The English-only vocabulary intervention differed significantly from the mathematics condition and no-intervention groups on all measures but did not differ from the bilingual vocabulary intervention. Vocabulary growth rates postintervention slowed considerably. Results support the idea that bilingual interventions support native- and second-language vocabulary development. English-only intervention supports only English. Use of repeated dialogic reading and hands-on activities facilitates vocabulary acquisition.

  17. Do infant vocabulary skills predict school-age language and literacy outcomes?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Duff, Fiona J; Reen, Gurpreet; Plunkett, Kim; Nation, Kate

    2015-08-01

    Strong associations between infant vocabulary and school-age language and literacy skills would have important practical and theoretical implications: Preschool assessment of vocabulary skills could be used to identify children at risk of reading and language difficulties, and vocabulary could be viewed as a cognitive foundation for reading. However, evidence to date suggests predictive ability from infant vocabulary to later language and literacy is low. This study provides an investigation into, and interpretation of, the magnitude of such infant to school-age relationships. Three hundred British infants whose vocabularies were assessed by parent report in the 2nd year of life (between 16 and 24 months) were followed up on average 5 years later (ages ranged from 4 to 9 years), when their vocabulary, phonological and reading skills were measured. Structural equation modelling of age-regressed scores was used to assess the strength of longitudinal relationships. Infant vocabulary (a latent factor of receptive and expressive vocabulary) was a statistically significant predictor of later vocabulary, phonological awareness, reading accuracy and reading comprehension (accounting for between 4% and 18% of variance). Family risk for language or literacy difficulties explained additional variance in reading (approximately 10%) but not language outcomes. Significant longitudinal relationships between preliteracy vocabulary knowledge and subsequent reading support the theory that vocabulary is a cognitive foundation of both reading accuracy and reading comprehension. Importantly however, the stability of vocabulary skills from infancy to later childhood is too low to be sufficiently predictive of language outcomes at an individual level - a finding that fits well with the observation that the majority of 'late talkers' resolve their early language difficulties. For reading outcomes, prediction of future difficulties is likely to be improved when considering family

  18. Linguistic adaptation and validation into Spanish of the Diagnostic Interview for Borderline Personality Disorders-Revised (DIB-R).

    Science.gov (United States)

    Szerman, Néstor; Peris, M Dolores; Ruiz, Ana; Ruiz, Manuel; Gunderson, John G; Rejas, Javier

    2005-08-01

    This paper describes the linguistic adaptation and psychometric validation into Spanish of the Diagnostic Interview for Borderlines-Revised (DIB-R) scale for diagnosing borderline personality disorder (BPD). A conceptual equivalence approach was undertaken, including forward and backward translations of the scale and patient debriefing in a pilot phase. BPD and control patients were included in the validation study, and all of them were administered the scale by well trained interviewers, blinded to the clinical diagnosis. Reference diagnosis for BPD was done according to DSM-IV criteria. The interview was independently administered in a subset of patients by different interviewer to test inter-rater reliability . Reliability and validity of the instrument were tested by calculating the Cronbach alpha and Guttman split-half coefficients and by receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis, kappa agreement coefficient determination and assessment of sensitivity and specificity of the scale. A cohort of 111 subjects, 84 BPD patients (33.6 +/- 9.3 years) and 27 control subjects (34.9 +/- 9.3 years), were included in the study. A cut-off point > or = 7 showed a kappa agreement coefficient of 0.853 (95% confidence intervals: 0.739-0.967, p < 0.00001). The figures for sensitivity and specificity values were 0.964 (0.899-0.993) and 0.889 (0.708-0.977) respectively. Inter-rater reliability showed a kappa coefficient of 0.783 (p < 0.0001). The Spanish version of the DIB-R showed adequate psychometric properties for diagnosing BPD in Spain.

  19. Nevada Test Site Radiological Control Manual, Revision 1

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    2010-01-01

    This document supersedes DOE/NV/25946--801, 'Nevada Test Site Radiological Control Manual,' Revision 0 issued in October 2009. Brief Description of Revision: A minor revision to correct oversights made during revision to incorporate the 10 CFR 835 Update; and for use as a reference document for Tenant Organization Radiological Protection Programs. This manual contains the radiological control requirements to be used for all radiological activities conducted by programs under the purview of the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) and the U.S. Department of Energy, National Nuclear Security Administration Nevada Site Office (NNSA/NSO). Compliance with these requirements will ensure compliance with Title 10 Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) Part 835, 'Occupational Radiation Protection.' Programs covered by this manual are located at the Nevada Test Site (NTS); Nellis Air Force Base and North Las Vegas, Nevada; Santa Barbara and Livermore, California; and Andrews Air Force Base, Maryland. In addition, fieldwork by NNSA/NSO at other locations is covered by this manual. The NTS is located in Nye County, Nevada. The NTS is located approximately 105 kilometers (65 miles) northwest of Las Vegas. It is a remote facility that covers approximately 3,500 square kilometers (1,375 square miles) of land. The dimensions of the NTS vary from 46 to 56 kilometers (28 to 35 miles) in width (eastern to western border) and from 64 to 88 kilometers (40 to 55 miles) in length (northern to southern border). The NTS is surrounded to the west, north, and east by additional thousands of acres of land withdrawn from the public domain for use as a protected wildlife range and as a military gunnery range. These public exclusion areas comprise the Nellis Air Force Range complex, previously designated as the Nellis Air Force Base Bombing and Gunnery Range, and the Tonopah Test Range. These two areas provide a buffer zone between the test areas and public lands administered by the Federal Bureau of Land

  20. Validation of the 24-item recovery assessment scale-revised (RAS-R) in the Norwegian language and context: a multi-centre study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Biringer, Eva; Tjoflåt, Marit

    2018-01-25

    The Recovery Assessment Scale-revised (RAS-R) is a self-report instrument measuring mental health recovery. The purpose of the present study was to translate and adapt the RAS-R into the Norwegian language and to investigate its psychometric properties in terms of factor structure, convergent and discriminant validity and reliability in the Norwegian context. The present study is a cross-sectional multi-centre study. After a pilot test, the Norwegian version of the RAS-R was distributed to 231 service users in mental health specialist and community services. The factor structure of the instrument was investigated by a confirmatory factor analysis (CFA), and internal consistency was assessed by Cronbach's alpha. The RAS-R was found to be acceptable and feasible for service users. The original five-factor structure was confirmed. All model fit indices, including the standardised root mean square residual (SRMR), which is independent of the χ 2 -test, met the criteria for an acceptable model fit. Internal consistencies within sub-scales as measured by Cronbach's alpha ranged from 0.65 to 0.85. Cronbach's alpha for the total scale was 0.90. As expected, some redundancy between factors existed (in particular among the factors Personal confidence and hope, Goal and success orientation and Not dominated by symptoms). The Norwegian RAS-R showed acceptable psychometric properties in terms of convergent validity and reliability, and fit indices from the CFA confirmed the original factor structure. We recommend the Norwegian RAS-R as a tool in service users' and health professionals' collaborative work towards the service users' recovery goals and as an outcome measure in larger evaluations.

  1. Contributions of executive function and spatial skills to preschool mathematics achievement.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Verdine, Brian N; Irwin, Casey M; Golinkoff, Roberta Michnick; Hirsh-Pasek, Kathryn

    2014-10-01

    Early mathematics achievement is highly predictive of later mathematics performance. Here we investigated the influence of executive function (EF) and spatial skills, two generalizable skills often overlooked in mathematics curricula, on mathematics performance in preschoolers. Children (N=44) of varying socioeconomic status (SES) levels were assessed at 3 years of age on a new assessment of spatial skill (Test of Spatial Assembly, TOSA) and a vocabulary measure (Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test, PPVT). The same children were tested at 4 years of age on the Beery Test of Visual-Motor Integration (VMI) as well as on measures of EF and mathematics. The TOSA was created specifically as an assessment for 3-year-olds, allowing the investigation of links among spatial, EF, and mathematical skills earlier than previously possible. Results of a hierarchical regression indicate that EF and spatial skills predict 70% of the variance in mathematics performance without an explicit math test, EF is an important predictor of math performance as prior research suggested, and spatial skills uniquely predict 27% of the variance in mathematics skills. Additional research is needed to understand whether EF is truly malleable and whether EF and spatial skills may be leveraged to support early mathematics skills, especially for lower SES children who are already falling behind in these skill areas by 3 and 4 years of age. These findings indicate that both skills are part of an important foundation for mathematics performance and may represent pathways for improving school readiness for mathematics. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  2. Vocabulary Intervention for Adolescents with Language Disorder: A Systematic Review

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lowe, Hilary; Henry, Lucy; Müller, Lisa-Maria; Joffe, Victoria L.

    2018-01-01

    Background: Language disorder and associated vocabulary difficulties can persist into adolescence, and can impact on long-term life outcomes. Previous reviews have shown that a variety of intervention techniques can successfully enhance students' vocabulary skills; however, none has investigated vocabulary intervention specifically for adolescents…

  3. Development and validation of the Australian version of the Birth Satisfaction Scale-Revised (BSS-R).

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jefford, Elaine; Hollins Martin, Caroline J; Martin, Colin R

    2018-02-01

    The 10-item Birth Satisfaction Scale-Revised (BSS-R) has recently been endorsed by international expert consensus for global use as the birth satisfaction outcome measure of choice. English-language versions of the tool include validated UK and US versions; however, the instrument has not, to date, been contextualised and validated in an Australian English-language version. The current investigation sought to develop and validate an English-language version of the tool for use within the Australian context. A two-stage study. Following review and modification by expert panel, the Australian BSS-R (A-BSS-R) was (Stage 1) evaluated for factor structure, internal consistency, known-groups discriminant validity and divergent validity. Stage 2 directly compared the A-BSS-R data set with the original UK data set to determine the invariance characteristics of the new instrument. Participants were a purposive sample of Australian postnatal women (n = 198). The A-BSS-R offered a good fit to data consistent with the BSS-R tridimensional measurement model and was found to be conceptually and measurement equivalent to the UK version. The A-BSS-R demonstrated excellent known-groups discriminant validity, generally good divergent validity and overall good internal consistency. The A-BSS-R represents a robust and valid measure of the birth satisfaction concept suitable for use within Australia and appropriate for application to International comparative studies.

  4. Hypermedia and Vocabulary Acquisition for Second Language

    Science.gov (United States)

    Meli, Rocio

    2009-01-01

    The purpose of this study was to examine the impact of multimedia as a delivery tool for enhancing vocabulary in second-language classrooms. The mixed method design focused on specific techniques to help students acquire Spanish vocabulary and communication skills. The theoretical framework for this study consisted of second language theories…

  5. Efficacy of Using Vocabulary Flashcards in Braille

    Science.gov (United States)

    Savaiano, Mackenzie E.; Lloyd, Blair P.; Hatton, Deborah D.

    2017-01-01

    This article reports on a study that examined whether vocabulary flashcards facilitate spelling acquisition. The study was designed to evaluate whether students who are blind can learn to spell words accurately and incidentally when academic vocabulary instruction is used. Auditory information was provided prior to the introduction of a flashcard,…

  6. The Relationship between Learner Autonomy and Vocabulary Learning Strategies in Iranian EFL Learners with Different Language Proficiency Level

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ebrahim Azimi Mohammad Abadi

    2013-05-01

    Full Text Available Vocabulary learning is incredibly noteworthy to English language acquisition. It is unfeasible for a learner to communicate without the required vocabulary. In high education levels, learners are habitually forced to become autonomous and make conscious effort to learn vocabulary outside of the classroom. Consequently, the autonomy of the learners plays an important role in developing and enhancing their vocabulary. Learner autonomy is a huge assistance for learners in vocabulary learning since it provides the learners with numerous diverse privileges such as independency from teacher. The researcher investigated whether there is any statistically significant relationship between learner autonomy and vocabulary learning strategies use in Iranian EFL learners with different language proficiency levels. To meet the above purpose, a total number of 190 male and female EFL learners participated in this study. The methodology underlying this study was quantitative (thorough the administration of two questionnaires and two language proficiency test – TOEFL for advanced group, and Nelson for intermediate level. The quantitative data was analyzed using a set of correlational analysis revealing a significant positive correlation between learner autonomy and vocabulary learning strategies use in high proficient group, and a significant positive relationship between these two constructs in low proficient group, however not as strong as in the advanced group.

  7. Vocabulary and Health Care Information Technology: State of the Art.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cimino, James J.

    1995-01-01

    Reviews the controlled medical vocabularies available today and some of the reasons why they have failed to meet the needs of application developers. Topics include standard vocabularies, including International Classification of Diseases and Medical Subject Headings; uses of vocabularies in medical computing; current research; and remaining…

  8. Language development in Japanese children who receive cochlear implant and/or hearing aid.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Iwasaki, Satoshi; Nishio, Shinya; Moteki, Hideaki; Takumi, Yutaka; Fukushima, Kunihiro; Kasai, Norio; Usami, Shin-Ichi

    2012-03-01

    This study aimed to investigate a wide variety of factors that influence auditory, speech, and language development following pediatric cochlear implantation (CI). Prospective collection of language tested data in profound hearing-impaired children. Pediatric CI can potentially be effective to development of practical communication skills and early implantation is more effective. We proposed a set of language tests (assessment package of the language development for Japanese hearing-impaired children; ALADJIN) consisting of communication skills testing (test for question-answer interaction development; TQAID), comprehensive (Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test-Revised; PVT-R and Standardized Comprehension Test for Abstract Words; SCTAW) and productive vocabulary (Word Fluency Test; WFT), and comprehensive and productive syntax (Syntactic processing Test for Aphasia; STA). Of 638 hearing-impaired children recruited for this study, 282 (44.2%) with >70 dB hearing impairment had undergone CI. After excluding children with low birth weight (11 points on the Pervasive Developmental Disorder ASJ Rating Scale for the test of autistic tendency, and those better than those in HA-only users. The scores for PVT-R (pbetter than those in HA-only users. STA and TQAID scores in CI-HA users were significantly (pbetter than those in unilateral CI-only users. The high correlation (r=0.52) has been found between the age of CI and maximum speech discrimination score. The scores of speech and language tests in the implanted children before 24 months of age have been better than those in the implanted children after 24 months of age. We could indicate that CI was effective for language development in Japanese hearing-impaired children and early CI was more effective for productive vocabulary and syntax. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

  9. The Effect of Semantic Mapping as a Vocabulary Instruction Technique on EFL Learners with Different Perceptual Learning Styles

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Esmaeel Abdollahzadeh

    2009-05-01

    Full Text Available Traditional and modern vocabulary instruction techniques have been introduced in the past few decades to improve the learners’ performance in reading comprehension. Semantic mapping, which entails drawing learners’ attention to the interrelationships among lexical items through graphic organizers, is claimed to enhance vocabulary learning significantly. However, whether this technique suits all types of learners has not been adequately investigated. This study examines the effectiveness of employing semantic mapping versus traditional approaches in vocabulary instruction to EFL learners with different perceptual modalities. A modified version of Reid’s (1987 perceptual learning style questionnaire was used to determine the learners’ modality types. The results indicate that semantic mapping in comparison to the traditional approaches significantly enhances vocabulary learning of EFL learners. However, although visual learners slightly outperformed other types of learners on the post-test, no significant differences were observed among intermediate learners with different perceptual modalities employing semantic mapping for vocabulary practice.

  10. Tuning in to Vocabulary Frequency in Coursebooks

    Science.gov (United States)

    O'Loughlin, Richard

    2012-01-01

    For second language learners vocabulary growth is of major importance, and for many learners commercially published coursebooks will be the source of this vocabulary learning. In this preliminary study, input from three levels of the coursebook series "New English File" (Oxenden and Latham-Koenig, 2006; Oxenden, Latham-Koenig, and Seligson, 2004,…

  11. What Is the Role and Importance of the Revised AERA, APA, NCME "Standards for Educational and Psychological Testing"?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Plake, Barbara S.; Wise, Lauress L.

    2014-01-01

    With the 2014 publication of the 5th revision of the "Standards for Educational and Psychological Testing," the cochairs of the Joint Committee for the revision process were asked to consider the role and importance of the "Standards" for the educational testing community, and in particular for members of the National Council…

  12. Translation and validation of Autism Diagnostic Interview-Revised (ADI-R for autism diagnosis in Brazil

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Michele M. Becker

    2012-03-01

    Full Text Available OBJECTIVE: To translate into Brazilian Portuguese the Autism Diagnostic Interview-Revised (ADI-R, an extremely useful diagnostic tool in autism. METHODS: A case-control study was done to validate the ADI-R. After being translated, the interview was applied in a sample of 20 patients with autism and 20 patients with intellectual disability without autism, in order to obtain the initial psychometric properties. RESULTS: The internal consistency was high, with a of Crombach of 0.967. The validity of criterion had sensitivity and specificity of 100%, having as a gold standard the DSM-IV diagnostic criteria. The interview had high discriminant validity, with higher scores in the group of patients with autism, as well as high interobserver consistency, with median kappa of 0.824. CONCLUSION: The final version of ADI-R had satisfactory psychometric characteristics, indicating good preliminary validation properties. The instrument needs to be applied in bigger samples in other areas of the country.

  13. Self-Assessment of Vocabulary and Relevant Language Skills for Evaluation Purposes

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Violeta Janulevičienė

    2011-04-01

    Full Text Available Learner self-assessment of linguistic performance has been lately used due to its potential to activate the process of learning. Self-assessment raises learner awareness of language use and leads to developing learner responsibility and autonomy. However, usefulness of self-assessment for evaluation purposes has been scarcely researched. This paper examines some aspects of learners’ self-assessment for evaluation purposes at tertiary level. Research focuses on self-assessment of English for Specific Purposes (ESP vocabulary and some language skills relevant for vocabulary retention. Data on learner self-assessment are compared to actual results in tests. The analysis provided points to importance of self-evaluation in language acquisition and suggests practical implications of self-assessment for evaluation.

  14. Rolling Deck to Repository (R2R): Big Data and Standard Services for the Fleet Community

    Science.gov (United States)

    Arko, R. A.; Carbotte, S. M.; Chandler, C. L.; Smith, S. R.; Stocks, K. I.

    2014-12-01

    The Rolling Deck to Repository (R2R; http://rvdata.us/) program curates underway environmental sensor data from the U.S. academic oceanographic research fleet, ensuring data sets are routinely and consistently documented, preserved in long-term archives, and disseminated to the science community. Currently 25 in-service vessels contribute 7 terabytes of data to R2R each year, acquired from a full suite of geophysical, oceanographic, meteorological, and navigational sensors on over 400 cruises worldwide. To accommodate this large volume and variety of data, R2R has developed highly efficient stewardship procedures. These include scripted "break out" of cruise data packages from each vessel based on standard filename and directory patterns; automated harvest of cruise metadata from the UNOLS Office via Web Services and from OpenXML-based forms submitted by vessel operators; scripted quality assessment routines that calculate statistical summaries and standard ratings for selected data types; adoption of community-standard controlled vocabularies for vessel codes, instrument types, etc, provided by the NERC Vocabulary Server, in lieu of maintaining custom local term lists; and a standard package structure based on the IETF BagIt format for delivering data to long-term archives. Documentation and standard post-field products, including quality-controlled shiptrack navigation data for every cruise, are published in multiple services and formats to satisfy a diverse range of clients. These include Catalog Service for Web (CSW), GeoRSS, and OAI-PMH discovery services via a GeoNetwork portal; OGC Web Map and Feature Services for GIS clients; a citable Digital Object Identifier (DOI) for each dataset; ISO 19115-2 standard geospatial metadata records suitable for submission to long-term archives as well as the POGO global catalog; and Linked Open Data resources with a SPARQL query endpoint for Semantic Web clients. R2R participates in initiatives such as the Ocean Data

  15. The Use of Vocabulary Learning Strategies in Teaching Turkish as a Second Language

    Science.gov (United States)

    Baskin, Sami; Iscan, Adem; Karagoz, Beytullah; Birol, Gülnur

    2017-01-01

    Vocabulary learning is the basis of the language learning process in teaching Turkish as a second language. Vocabulary learning strategies need to be used in order for vocabulary learning to take place effectively. The use of vocabulary learning strategies facilitates vocabulary learning and increases student achievement. Each student uses a…

  16. Coherent image layout using an adaptive visual vocabulary

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dillard, Scott E.; Henry, Michael J.; Bohn, Shawn; Gosink, Luke J.

    2013-03-01

    When querying a huge image database containing millions of images, the result of the query may still contain many thousands of images that need to be presented to the user. We consider the problem of arranging such a large set of images into a visually coherent layout, one that places similar images next to each other. Image similarity is determined using a bag-of-features model, and the layout is constructed from a hierarchical clustering of the image set by mapping an in-order traversal of the hierarchy tree into a space-filling curve. This layout method provides strong locality guarantees so we are able to quantitatively evaluate performance using standard image retrieval benchmarks. Performance of the bag-of-features method is best when the vocabulary is learned on the image set being clustered. Because learning a large, discriminative vocabulary is a computationally demanding task, we present a novel method for efficiently adapting a generic visual vocabulary to a particular dataset. We evaluate our clustering and vocabulary adaptation methods on a variety of image datasets and show that adapting a generic vocabulary to a particular set of images improves performance on both hierarchical clustering and image retrieval tasks.

  17. Orexin-A/Hypocretin-1 Mediates Cocaine-Seeking Behavior in the Posterior Paraventricular Nucleus of the Thalamus via Orexin/Hypocretin Receptor-2.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Matzeu, Alessandra; Kerr, Tony M; Weiss, Friedbert; Martin-Fardon, Rémi

    2016-11-01

    Orexin/hypocretin (Orx/Hcrt) projections from the lateral hypothalamus to the paraventricular nucleus of the thalamus (PVT) are implicated in drug addiction. Specifically, the posterior section of the PVT (pPVT) innervates brain structures that modulate motivated behavior. This study investigated the role of pPVT-Orx/Hcrt transmission in cocaine-seeking behavior. Because the effects of Orx/Hcrt are mediated by two Orx/Hcrt receptors (Hcrt-r1 and Hcrt-r2), we examined the extent to which Hcrt-r1 and Hcrt-r2 are involved in Orx/Hcrt-induced cocaine seeking. Male Wistar rats were made cocaine dependent by self-administering cocaine 6 hours/day (long access) for 21 days. After self-administration training, the rats underwent daily extinction training, during which cocaine was withheld. After extinction, the rats were injected into the pPVT with Orx-A/Hcrt-1 (0-2 µg) alone or, using a single dose of 0.5 µg, in combination with an Hcrt-r1 antagonist (SB334867; 0-15 µg) or an Hcrt-r2 antagonist (TCSOX229; 0-15 µg). Orx-A/Hcrt-1 alone reinstated (primed) cocaine seeking. Unexpectedly, coadministration of Orx-A/Hcrt-1 with SB334867 did not have any effects on Orx-A/Hcrt-1-induced reinstatement, whereas when coadministered with Orx-A/Hcrt-1, TCSOX229 prevented cocaine-seeking behavior. These results indicate that Hcrt-r2 in the pPVT mediates the reinstating effect of Orx-A/Hcrt-1 in animals with a history of cocaine dependence and further identify Hcrt-r2 as a possible molecular target that can guide future therapeutic approaches for the prevention of drug-seeking behavior. Copyright © 2016 by The American Society for Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics.

  18. The Effects of Vocabulary Knowledge and Dictionary Use on EFL Reading Performance

    Science.gov (United States)

    Shen, Zhifa

    2013-01-01

    The present study mainly investigated the effects of vocabulary knowledge and dictionary use on EFL reading performance. The results show that scores on vocabulary size, specific vocabulary knowledge, and reading comprehension are highly and positively correlated. Scores on specific vocabulary knowledge are more closely correlated with reading…

  19. Teaching Vocabulary through Games--A Sanguine Step

    Science.gov (United States)

    Anil, Beena

    2011-01-01

    Vocabulary is predominant in improving one's communicative skill. Language is more powerful when it is being used perfectly. Teachers should consider the background of learners and aid them to learn and develop their vocabulary in many interesting ways especially through games. This paper deals with a productive and a logical study, done on a set…

  20. Vocabulary Growth of the Advanced EFL Learner

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ozturk, Meral

    2015-01-01

    This article reports the results of two studies on the vocabulary growth of advanced learners of English as a foreign language in an English-medium degree programme. Growth in learners' written receptive and productive vocabularies was investigated in one cross-sectional and one longitudinal study over three years. The effect of word frequency on…

  1. Computerized adaptive and multistage testing with R using packages catR and mstR

    CERN Document Server

    Magis, David; von Davier, Alina A

    2017-01-01

    The goal of this guide and manual is to provide a practical and brief overview of the theory on computerized adaptive testing (CAT) and multistage testing (MST) and to illustrate the methodologies and applications using R open source language and several data examples.  Implementation relies on the R packages catR and mstR that have been already or are being developed by the first author (with the team) and that include some of the newest research algorithms on the topic. The book covers many topics along with the R-code: the basics of R, theoretical overview of CAT and MST, CAT designs, CAT assembly methodologies, CAT simulations, catR package, CAT applications, MST designs, IRT-based MST methodologies, tree-based MST methodologies, mstR package, and MST applications.  CAT has been used in many large-scale assessments over recent decades, and MST has become very popular in recent years.  R open source language also has become one of the most useful tools for applications in almost all fields, including b...

  2. A System for English Vocabulary Acquisition Based on Code-Switching

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mazur, Michal; Karolczak, Krzysztof; Rzepka, Rafal; Araki, Kenji

    2016-01-01

    Vocabulary plays an important part in second language learning and there are many existing techniques to facilitate word acquisition. One of these methods is code-switching, or mixing the vocabulary of two languages in one sentence. In this paper the authors propose an experimental system for computer-assisted English vocabulary learning in…

  3. Effect of Instructional vs. Authentic Video Materials on Introvert and Extrovert Iranian EFL Learners' Vocabulary Learning

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Parya Isazadeh

    2016-10-01

    Full Text Available The study delved into the effect of instructional video materials vs. authentic video materials on vocabulary learning of extrovert and introvert Iranian EFL learners. To this end, Nelson proficiency test was administered to one hundred eighty (n=180 language learners. Considering 1 standard deviation above and below the mean score, one hundred twenty three (n=123 language learners were selected for the study. These participants were distributed into 4 experimental groups (with 25 learners and a control group (with 23 learners. Researcher-made vocabulary pretest and posttest which were designed using the vocabularies from the movies were also administered to the participants. The findings of the study after three weeks of treatment revealed that both authentic video materials and instructional video materials can have positive effect on vocabulary learning of Iranian EFL leaners. This effect, however, is not different among extrovert learners. It was also revealed that introvert EFL learners benefit more from authentic video materials. The findings of the study could be used by material developers or language teachers who may wish to use video materials in their classes. Keywords: Authentic video materials, Instructional video materials, Vocabulary learning, Introversion, Extroversion

  4. The effects of captioning texts and caption ordering on L2 listening comprehension and vocabulary learning

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Fatemeh Alikhani

    2013-07-01

    Full Text Available This study investigated the effects of captioned texts on second/foreign (L2 listening comprehension and vocabulary gains using a computer multimedia program. Additionally, it explored the caption ordering effect (i.e. captions displayed during the first or second listening, and the interaction of captioning order with the L2 proficiency level of language learners in listening comprehension and vocabulary performance. To these ends, a computer software program was designed and 200 EFL learners (100 high-intermediate and 100 low-intermediate level students were asked to participate in the experiment. They were randomly assigned into four groups: captioned (listening to texts twice with captions, noncaptioned (listening to texts twice without captions, first captioned (listening to texts first with captions and then without captions, and second captioned (listening to texts first without captions and then with captions groups. They listened to four audio texts (i.e. short stories twice and took the listening and vocabulary tests, administered through the software. Results from t-tests and two-way ANOVAs showed that the captioned stories were more effective than the non-captioned ones. Moreover, the caption ordering had no significant effect on the participants' L2 listening comprehension and vocabulary performance. Finally, L2 proficiency level differences did not affect performance derived from caption ordering.

  5. Rolling Deck to Repository (R2R): Linking and Integrating Data for Oceanographic Research

    Science.gov (United States)

    Arko, R. A.; Chandler, C. L.; Clark, P. D.; Shepherd, A.; Moore, C.

    2012-12-01

    The Rolling Deck to Repository (R2R) program is developing infrastructure to ensure the underway sensor data from NSF-supported oceanographic research vessels are routinely and consistently documented, preserved in long-term archives, and disseminated to the science community. We have published the entire R2R Catalog as a Linked Data collection, making it easily accessible to encourage linking and integration with data at other repositories. We are developing the R2R Linked Data collection with specific goals in mind: 1.) We facilitate data access and reuse by providing the richest possible collection of resources to describe vessels, cruises, instruments, and datasets from the U.S. academic fleet, including data quality assessment results and clean trackline navigation. We are leveraging or adopting existing community-standard concepts and vocabularies, particularly concepts from the Biological and Chemical Oceanography Data Management Office (BCO-DMO) ontology and terms from the pan-European SeaDataNet vocabularies, and continually re-publish resources as new concepts and terms are mapped. 2.) We facilitate data citation through the entire data lifecycle from field acquisition to shoreside archiving to (ultimately) global syntheses and journal articles. We are implementing globally unique and persistent identifiers at the collection, dataset, and granule levels, and encoding these citable identifiers directly into the Linked Data resources. 3.) We facilitate linking and integration with other repositories that publish Linked Data collections for the U.S. academic fleet, such as BCO-DMO and the Index to Marine and Lacustrine Geological Samples (IMLGS). We are initially mapping datasets at the resource level, and plan to eventually implement rule-based mapping at the concept level. We work collaboratively with partner repositories to develop best practices for URI patterns and consensus on shared vocabularies. The R2R Linked Data collection is implemented as a

  6. Poorer survival after a primary implant during revision total knee arthroplasty

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Meijer, Marrigje F.; Reininga, Inge H. F.; Boerboom, Alexander L.; Stevens, Martin; Bulstra, Sjoerd K.

    Revision total knee arthroplasty (rTKA) is a complex procedure. Depending on the degree of ligament and bone damage, either primary or revision implants are used. The purpose of this study was to compare survival rates of primary implants with revision implants when used during rTKA. A retrospective

  7. The Family Socialization Interview-Revised (FSI-R): a Comprehensive Assessment of Parental Disciplinary Behaviors.

    Science.gov (United States)

    O'Dor, Sarah L; Grasso, Damion J; Forbes, Danielle; Bates, John E; McCarthy, Kimberly J; Wakschlag, Lauren S; Briggs-Gowan, Margaret J

    2017-04-01

    Elucidating the complex mechanisms by which harsh parenting increases risk of child psychopathology is key to targeted prevention. This requires nuanced methods that capture the varied perceptions and experiences of diverse families. The Family Socialization Interview-Revised (FSI-R), adapted from an interview developed by Dodge et al. (Child Development, 65, 649-665, 1994), is a comprehensive, semi-structured interview for characterizing methods of parental discipline used with young children. The FSI-R coding system systematically rates parenting style, usual discipline techniques, and most intense physical and psychological discipline based on rater judgment across two eras: (1) birth to the previous year, and (2) the previous year to present. The current study examined the psychometric properties of the FSI-R in a diverse, high-risk community sample of 386 mothers and their children, ages 3 to 6 years. Interrater reliability was good to excellent for codes capturing physically and psychologically harsh parenting, and restrictive/punitive parenting styles. Findings supported the FSI-R's convergent and incremental validity. Importantly, the FSI-R demonstrated incremental utility, explaining unique variance in children's externalizing and internalizing symptoms beyond that explained by traditional surveys and observed parenting. The FSI-R appeared particularly promising for capturing risk associated with young children's depressive symptoms, as these were generally not significantly associated with other measures of harsh parenting. Overall, findings support the added value of the FSI-R within a multi-method assessment of disciplinary practices across early child development. Future implications for prevention are discussed.

  8. Improving Elementary School Students’ English Vocabulary Through Local Cultural Content Materials

    OpenAIRE

    Frans Manurung; Ignatius Harjanto

    2015-01-01

    Abstract Elementary students of a certain public school in Indonesia had difficulties in learning English. One of the crucial problems was learning English vocabulary. In an attempt to help the students learn and improve English vocabulary, the researchers decided to use CAR to teach English vocabulary with local cultural content materials. The aim of this study was to investigate how the teaching of English vocabulary with local cultural content materials contributed to the improvement ...

  9. The receptive-expressive gap in the vocabulary of young second-language learners: Robustness and possible mechanisms

    OpenAIRE

    Gibson, Todd A.; Oller, D. Kimbrough; Jarmulowicz, Linda; Ethington, Corinna A.

    2012-01-01

    Adults and children learning a second language show difficulty accessing expressive vocabulary that appears accessible receptively in their first language (L1). We call this discrepancy the receptive-expressive gap. Kindergarten Spanish (L1) - English (L2) sequential bilinguals were given standardized tests of receptive and expressive vocabulary in both Spanish and English. We found a small receptive-expressive gap in English but a large receptive-expressive gap in Spanish. We categorized chi...

  10. Communication outcomes for groups of children using cochlear implants enrolled in auditory-verbal, aural-oral, and bilingual-bicultural early intervention programs.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dettman, Shani; Wall, Elizabeth; Constantinescu, Gabriella; Dowell, Richard

    2013-04-01

    The relative impact of early intervention approach on speech perception and language skills was examined in these 3 well-matched groups of children using cochlear implants. Eight children from an auditory verbal intervention program were identified. From a pediatric database, researchers blind to the outcome data, identified 23 children from auditory oral programs and 8 children from bilingual-bicultural programs with the same inclusion criteria and equivalent demographic factors. All child participants were male, had congenital profound hearing loss (pure tone average >80 dBHL), no additional disabilities, were within the normal IQ range, were monolingual English speakers, had no unusual findings on computed tomography/magnetic resonance imaging, and received hearing aids and cochlear implants at a similar age and before 4 years of age. Open-set speech perception (consonant-nucleus-consonant [CNC] words and Bamford-Kowal-Bench [BKB] sentences) and the Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test (PPVT) were administered. The mean age at cochlear implant was 1.7 years (range, 0.8-3.9; SD, 0.7), mean test age was 5.4 years (range, 2.5-10.1; SD, 1.7), and mean device experience was 3.7 years (range, 0.7-7.9; SD, 1.8). Results indicate mean CNC scores of 60%, 43%, and 24% and BKB scores of 77%, 77%, and 56% for the auditory-verbal (AV), aural-oral (AO), and bilingual-bicultural (BB) groups, respectively. The mean PPVT delay was 13, 19, and 26 months for AV, AO, and BB groups, respectively. Despite equivalent child demographic characteristics at the outset of this study, by 3 years postimplant, there were significant differences in AV, AO, and BB groups. Results support consistent emphasis on oral/aural input to achieve optimum spoken communication outcomes for children using cochlear implants.

  11. THE IMPACT OF SOCIAL MEDIA ON VOCABULARY LEARNING

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Sim Monica-Ariana

    2014-12-01

    and it clearly demonstrated a more significant improvement in vocabulary knowledge of the group exposed to the Facebook group. It is a rather innovative study as there are not many similar studies using the value Facebook can add to learning performed in Romania. The results of the study did not support the assumption that the experimental group would outperform the control group, as the differences between the two groups were not that significant. However, there was an improvement in both of the groups from pre-test to post-test scores.

  12. A study of students' beliefs about vocabulary knowledge and acquisition

    Science.gov (United States)

    Francis, Michelle Andersen

    Using the vocabulary of a discipline is important for students, especially in the sciences (Gee, 2003). Therefore, the extant literature has emphasized the need for more research on vocabulary knowledge and acquisition (Simpson, et al., 2004). This study investigated whether or not community college students' beliefs about vocabulary knowledge and acquisition changed as a result of a one-semester enrollment in a vocabulary-rich biology course. The rationale for the study, a review of the existing research underlying the study, the methodology of the study, and the results and conclusions of the study will be discussed.

  13. VOCABULARY PROBLEMS OF THE LIGHTLY MENTALLY RETARDED SCHOOL AGED CHILDREN

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Vesna KOSTIC

    2000-06-01

    Full Text Available The main research objectives are the problems in the vocabulary of school aged, lightly mentally retarded children. Results of the research indicate which are the most important factors that have impact of the vocabulary and language competence of these persons. The research variables are: sex, IQ, chronological age and school age. Comics-like stories were used as an examination instrument in this research. Their interpretation is helpful in determining the vocabulary level of every single examine. At the end of the research some suggestions are presented, whose goal is to enrich children's vocabulary.

  14. Predicting expressive vocabulary acquisition in children with intellectual disabilities: a 2-year longitudinal study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Vandereet, Joke; Maes, Bea; Lembrechts, Dirk; Zink, Inge

    2010-12-01

    This study's objectives were to describe expressive vocabulary acquisition in children with intellectual disabilities (ID) and to examine specific pre- and early linguistic behaviors used to request and comment, chronological age, cognitive skills, and vocabulary comprehension as predictors of expressive vocabulary. This study included 36 children with ID, age 3;00 (years;months) to 6;05, with an average initial expressive vocabulary of 67 words. Expressive vocabulary acquisition was longitudinally followed over a 2-year period based on 4-monthly administrations of the Dutch version of the MacArthur Communicative Development Inventory/Words and Gestures (I. Zink & M. Lejaegere, 2002). Specific pre- and early linguistic behaviors used to request and comment as well as cognitive skills and vocabulary comprehension were measured at baseline. Individual growth modeling indicated that vocabulary comprehension was the only unique predictor of initial expressive vocabulary. Subsequent vocabulary growth was uniquely predicted by proportion of bimodal gesture + vocalization comments, chronological age, and cognitive skills. The results of this study underscore the great heterogeneity in expressive vocabulary skills in children with ID. The importance of prelinguistic communication, chronological age, cognitive skills, and vocabulary comprehension for explaining differences in expressive vocabulary skills is discussed.

  15. The Effect of TPR and Audio - Lingual Method in Teaching Vocabulary Viewed from Students’ IQ

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Anita Dewi Ekawati

    2017-01-01

    Full Text Available This research aimed to investigate the effect of Total Physical Response (TPR on elementary school students’ English vocabulary mastery with regards to their Intelligence Quotient (IQ. Whether or not there is an interaction between the teaching method and IQ in teaching vocabulary was also investigated in this study . The research was carried out at an elementary school in Central Java , Indonesia . The population was the fifth year students of two classes. Both the experimental and control groups consisted of 40 students. The data were analyzed using multifactor analysis of variance 2 x 2 (ANOVA. Then, it was analyzed using Tukey test. The study reveals that TPR was an effective method for teaching vocabulary in elementary school, and the effectiveness of the method was influenced by the level of students’ IQ. The results of the study may become a reference for EFL teachers to apply an effective method to teach English vocabulary to elementary school students. Moreover, EFL teachers need to take into account students’ IQ in implementing the teaching method

  16. Gross Motor Function Classification System Expanded & Revised (GMFCS E & R: reliability between therapists and parents in Brazil

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Daniela B. R. Silva

    2013-10-01

    Full Text Available BACKGROUND: Several studies have demonstrated the importance of using the Gross Motor Function Classification System (GMFCS to classify gross motor function in children with cerebral palsy, but the reliability of the expanded and revised version has not been examined in Brazil (GMFCS E & R. OBJECTIVE:: To determine the intra- and inter-rater reliability of the Portuguese-Brazil version of the GMFCS E & R applied by therapists and compare to classification provided by parents of children with cerebral palsy. METHOD: Data were obtained from 90 children with cerebral palsy, aged 4 to 18 years old, attending the neurology or rehabilitation service of a Brazilian hospital. Therapists classified the children's motor function using the GMFCS E & R and parents used the Brazilian Portuguese version of the GMFCS Family Report Questionnaire. Intra- and inter-rater reliability was obtained through percentage agreement and Cohen's unweighted Kappa statistics (k. The Chi-square test was used to identify significant differences in the classification of parents and therapists. RESULTS: Almost perfect agreement was reached between the therapists [K=0.90 (95% confidence interval 0.83-0.97] and intra-raters (therapists with K=1.00 [95% confidence interval (1.00-1.00], p<0.001. Agreement between therapists and parents was substantial (k=0.716, confidence interval 0.596-0.836, though parents classify gross motor impairment more severely than therapists (p=0.04. CONCLUSIONS: The Portuguese version of the GMFCS E & R is reliable for use by parents and therapists. Parents tend to classify their children's limitations more severely, because they know their performance in different environments.

  17. Developmental differences in masked form priming are not driven by vocabulary growth.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bhide, Adeetee; Schlaggar, Bradley L; Barnes, Kelly Anne

    2014-01-01

    As children develop into skilled readers, they are able to more quickly and accurately distinguish between words with similar visual forms (i.e., they develop precise lexical representations). The masked form priming lexical decision task is used to test the precision of lexical representations. In this paradigm, a prime (which differs by one letter from the target) is briefly flashed before the target is presented. Participants make a lexical decision to the target. Primes can facilitate reaction time by partially activating the lexical entry for the target. If a prime is unable to facilitate reaction time, it is assumed that participants have a precise orthographic representation of the target and thus the prime is not a close enough match to activate its lexical entry. Previous developmental work has shown that children and adults' lexical decision times are facilitated by form primes preceding words from small neighborhoods (i.e., very few words can be formed by changing one letter in the original word; low N words), but only children are facilitated by form primes preceding words from large neighborhoods (high N words). It has been hypothesized that written vocabulary growth drives the increase in the precision of the orthographic representations; children may not know all of the neighbors of the high N words, making the words effectively low N for them. We tested this hypothesis by (1) equating the effective orthographic neighborhood size of the targets for children and adults and (2) testing whether age or vocabulary size was a better predictor of the extent of form priming. We found priming differences even when controlling for effective neighborhood size. Furthermore, age was a better predictor of form priming effects than was vocabulary size. Our findings provide no support for the hypothesis that growth in written vocabulary size gives rise to more precise lexical representations. We propose that the development of spelling ability may be a more

  18. Developmental differences in masked form priming are not driven by vocabulary growth.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Adeetee eBhide

    2014-07-01

    Full Text Available As children develop into skilled readers, they are able to more quickly and accurately distinguish between words with similar visual forms (i.e. they develop precise lexical representations. The masked form priming lexical decision task is used to test the precision of lexical representations. In this paradigm, a prime (which differs by one letter from the target is briefly flashed before the target is presented. Participants make a lexical decision to the target. Primes can facilitate reaction time by partially activating the lexical entry for the target. If a prime is unable to facilitate reaction time, it is assumed that participants have a precise orthographic representation of the target and thus the prime is not a close enough match to activate its lexical entry. Previous developmental work has shown that children and adults' lexical decision times are facilitated by form primes preceding words from small neighborhoods (i.e. very few words can be formed by changing one letter in the original word; low N words, but only children are facilitated by form primes preceding words from large neighborhoods (high N words. It has been hypothesized that written vocabulary growth drives the increase in the precision of the orthographic representations; children may not know all of the neighbors of the high N words, making the words effectively low N for them. We tested this hypothesis by 1 equating the effective orthographic neighborhood size of the targets for children and adults and 2 testing whether age or vocabulary size was a better predictor of the extent of form priming. We found priming differences even when controlling for effective neighborhood size. Furthermore, age was a better predictor of form priming effects than vocabulary size. Our findings provide no support for the hypothesis that growth in written vocabulary size gives rise to more precise lexical representations. We propose that the development of spelling ability may be a more

  19. Semantic representation of CDC-PHIN vocabulary using Simple Knowledge Organization System.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhu, Min; Mirhaji, Parsa

    2008-11-06

    PHIN Vocabulary Access and Distribution System (VADS) promotes the use of standards based vocabulary within CDC information systems. However, the current PHIN vocabulary representation hinders its wide adoption. Simple Knowledge Organization System (SKOS) is a W3C draft specification to support the formal representation of Knowledge Organization Systems (KOS) within the framework of the Semantic Web. We present a method of adopting SKOS to represent PHIN vocabulary in order to enable automated information sharing and integration.

  20. Consolidation of vocabulary during sleep: The rich get richer?

    Science.gov (United States)

    James, Emma; Gaskell, M Gareth; Weighall, Anna; Henderson, Lisa

    2017-06-01

    Sleep plays a role in strengthening new words and integrating them with existing vocabulary knowledge, consistent with neural models of learning in which sleep supports hippocampal transfer to neocortical memory. Such models are based on adult research, yet neural maturation may mean that the mechanisms supporting word learning vary across development. Here, we propose a model in which children may capitalise on larger amounts of slow-wave sleep to support a greater demand on learning and neural reorganisation, whereas adults may benefit from a richer knowledge base to support consolidation. Such an argument is reinforced by the well-reported "Matthew effect", whereby rich vocabulary knowledge is associated with better acquisition of new vocabulary. We present a meta-analysis that supports this association between children's existing vocabulary knowledge and their integration of new words overnight. Whilst multiple mechanisms likely contribute to vocabulary consolidation and neural reorganisation across the lifespan, we propose that contributions of existing knowledge should be rigorously examined in developmental studies. Such research has potential to greatly enhance neural models of learning. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  1. The Effects of Differing Densities of Glossing on Vocabulary Uptake and Reading Comprehension

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Elvenna Majuddin

    2014-12-01

    Full Text Available This study investigated the effects of differing densities of glossing on the uptake of target words and the comprehension of idea units from a reading text. The focus was whether different densities of glossing would create trade-off effects. Thirty-three Malaysian ESL learners were assigned to three different conditions: high-density glossing, low-density glossing, and no-glossing. Three weeks after a vocabulary pretest the participants read a text under one of the conditions, and took a reading comprehension test and a vocabulary posttest. The results revealed that there were no trade-off effects between reading comprehension and uptake of the target words. However, the glossed words did appear to detract from the uptake of un-glossed vocabulary. The results also hinted at a trade-off effect between attention given to idea units containing glossed target words, and those that did not contain glosses. The findings suggested that teachers should be aware of potential side-effects of glossing.

  2. Multimedia Glosses and Their Effect on L2 Text Comprehension and Vocabulary Learning

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Iñigo Yanguas

    2009-06-01

    Full Text Available The present study investigates the effects that different types of multimedia glosses, namely textual, pictorial, and textual + pictorial, have on text comprehension and vocabulary learning when the goal is exclusively comprehension of a computerized text. This study is based on the theoretical framework of attention, which maintains that attention is critical in the acquisition process of an L2 (Robinson, 1995; Schmidt, 1995, 2001; Tomlin and Villa, 1994. Ninety-four participants read a text under one of four gloss conditions while asked to think aloud. This study investigated whether any of the conditions promoted noticing and whether this noticing led to better comprehension of the text and learning of the target vocabulary words. Reading comprehension, recognition, and production measures were utilized in a pre-post test design. Results of quantitative and qualitative analyses of the data gathered showed first that all multimedia gloss groups noticed and recognized significantly more of the target words than the control group. Second, no significant differences were found among any of the groups in production of the target vocabulary items. Finally, regarding comprehension, results showed that the combination gloss group significantly outperformed all other groups. These results confirm that the multimedia glosses under investigation have a different effect on comprehension and vocabulary learning respectively.

  3. A Study of the Use of the "e-rater"® Scoring Engine for the Analytical Writing Measure of the "GRE"® revised General Test. Research Report. ETS RR-14-24

    Science.gov (United States)

    Breyer, F. Jay; Attali, Yigal; Williamson, David M.; Ridolfi-McCulla, Laura; Ramineni, Chaitanya; Duchnowski, Matthew; Harris, April

    2014-01-01

    In this research, we investigated the feasibility of implementing the "e-rater"® scoring engine as a check score in place of all-human scoring for the "Graduate Record Examinations"® ("GRE"®) revised General Test (rGRE) Analytical Writing measure. This report provides the scientific basis for the use of e-rater as a…

  4. Using E-Books to Acquire Foundational Academic Vocabulary

    Science.gov (United States)

    Love, Matthew L.; Spies, Tracy G.; Morgan, Joseph J.

    2017-01-01

    Secondary students identified as English language learners or with learning disabilities present diverse vocabulary and academic challenges related to their exceptional language needs. Limited academic vocabulary may hinder students in accessing academic content and serve as a barrier to achievement. The literature has documented the use of…

  5. The Key to Enhancing Students' Mathematical Vocabulary Knowledge

    Science.gov (United States)

    Riccomini, Paul J.; Sanders, Sharon; Jones, Julie

    2008-01-01

    The importance of learning mathematical vocabulary is vital for the development of proficiency in mathematics. In an effort to improve students' mathematical performance, educators must use research-validated instructional methods to teach important mathematical vocabulary. Mnemonic instruction is a set of evidenced-based strategies used to…

  6. The Correlation Between Students’Vocabulary Mastery and Their Interest in English Toward Reading Comprehension in descriptive Text at the Second Semester of Muhammadiyah University of Metro Academic Year 2014/2015

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Eva Faliyanti

    2015-04-01

    researcher used Product Moment Formula. After analyzing the data by using the correlation product moment and Regression Linearity Test,  the researcher gets the result of based on the calculation, it is found that: 1 of r = 0,45 (X1 and Y. 2 0,61 (X2 and Y. 3 0,98 (X1, X2 and Y. The hypothesis can be accepted because tratio = 4,3 and tdaf = 2,04. It means that tratio>tdaf and Ha is accepted because there is positif and significant correlation between students’ vocabulary mastery and their interest in English toward reading comprehension in descriptive text.

  7. SCAFFOLDINGAND REINFORCEMENT: USING DIGITAL LOGBOOKS IN LEARNING VOCABULARY

    OpenAIRE

    Khalifa, Salma Hasan Almabrouk; Shabdin, Ahmad Affendi

    2016-01-01

    Reinforcement and scaffolding are tested approaches to enhance learning achievements. Keeping a record of the learning process as well as the new learned words functions as scaffolding to help learners build a comprehensive vocabulary. Similarly, repetitive learning of new words reinforces permanent learning for long-term memory. Paper-based logbooks may prove to be good records of the learning process, but if learners use digital logbooks, the results may be even better. Digital logbooks wit...

  8. Comparative Difficulties with Non-Scientific General Vocabulary and Scientific/Medical Terminology in English as a Second Language (ESL) Medical Students.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Heming, Thomas A; Nandagopal, Shobha

    2012-11-01

    Medical education requires student comprehension of both technical (scientific/medical) and non-technical (general) vocabulary. Our experience with "English as a second language" (ESL) Arab students suggested they often have problems comprehending scientific statements because of weaknesses in their understanding of non-scientific vocabulary. This study aimed to determine whether ESL students have difficulties with general vocabulary that could hinder their understanding of scientific/medical texts. A survey containing English text was given to ESL students in the premedical years of an English-medium medical school in an Arabic country. The survey consisted of sample questions from the Medical College Admission Test (USA). Students were instructed to identify all unknown words in the text. ESL students commenced premedical studies with substantial deficiencies in English vocabulary. Students from English-medium secondary schools had a selective deficiency in scientific/medical terminology which disappeared with time. Students from Arabic-medium secondary schools had equal difficulty with general and scientific/medical vocabulary. Deficiencies in both areas diminished with time but remained even after three years of English-medium higher education. Typically, when teaching technical subjects to ESL students, attention is focused on subject-unique vocabulary and associated modifiers. This study highlights that ESL students also face difficulties with the general vocabulary used to construct statements employing technical words. Such students would benefit from increases in general vocabulary knowledge.

  9. The Comparison between Contextual Guessing Strategies vs. Memorizing a List of Isolated Words in Vocabulary Learning Regarding Long Term Memory

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Leyla Vakili S AMIYAN

    2014-03-01

    Full Text Available Guessing the meaning of unknown vocabularies within a text is a way of learning new words which is named textual vocabulary acquisition. The main purpose of this study is to investigate the effectiveness of a textual guessing strategy on vocabulary learning at the intermediate le vel. Textual guessing strategy is to guess the meaning of vocabularies with the help of surrounding words or sentences in the co - text without any translation. This paper reports the findings of two quantitative studies conducted on English language learner s with the Intermediate 2 level of proficiency in Kavosh foreign language institute, Mashhad, Iran. Twenty male and female attendants were selected and assigned to ’context’ and ‘non - context’ groups. The context group received an instruction to infer the m eaning of new words while the non - context participants were treated as learning new vocabularies individually (autonomously. The result of the independent sample t - test at the post - test stage revealed that the probability value of t - test with an equality of variances assumption is lower than 0.05 (0.04700. So this result represented that there is a meaningful difference between the experimental group and the control group considering their amount of learning. The results indicated that textual guessing s trategy had more effect on their long term memory. It was also revealed that the words learned through context are used more frequently than those learned in isolation in the speaking repertoire of the participants.

  10. Improving listening comprehension skills relying on metacognitive strategies - focus on vocabulary and specific l2 instruction

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jerotijević-Tišma Danica

    2016-01-01

    Full Text Available The present paper aims at investigating the application of an instructional method specifically focused on the expansion of metacognitive awareness and its effect on Serbian EFL students’ listening comprehension. The current study is a follow-up research of a similar study by Vandergrift and Tafaghodtari (2010. However, we sought to expand the previous research by investigating the relationship between the students’ current level of L2 (target language vocabulary and listening test scores. Our study likewise differed in the sample of participants, the target language, teaching and testing material used, and the duration of the very experiment. To answer the proposed research questions we conducted an experiment with 57 Serbian secondary school EFL (English as a Foreign Language learners divided into experimental (n=27 and control group (n=30. The results of the pre- and post-tests of the two groups showed the beneficial effects of developing metacognitive strategies and the strong positive correlation between the level of vocabulary and listening comprehension. The paper underlines important pedagogical implications especially regarding the enhancement of metacognitive awareness and vocabulary proficiency of students in order to improve performance on listening comprehension tasks.

  11. Incidental Vocabulary Acquisition as Student Performance Determinant in Undergraduate Research Modules

    Science.gov (United States)

    West, Joyce

    2017-01-01

    Vocabulary knowledge plays an important role in determining a person's language proficiency level. This study investigates the role vocabulary plays in determining students' performance within research modules at private higher education institutions (HEIs). The discipline-specific vocabulary in this study includes target words, sampled from an…

  12. Does Using Language Games Affect Vocabulary Learning in EFL Classes?

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Beyza Silsüpür

    2017-01-01

    Full Text Available The present study attempted to investigate the role of using word games in L2 vocabulary acquisition. 12 female participants from Uludag University were selected for control and experimental groups. Additionally, 35 participants from different universities in Turkey were invited to attend the study. First, an online questionnaire about the effect of games on vocabulary learning was administered to 35 participants. And results were analysed.  Secondly, 12 female participants were divided into two groups as control group and experimental group. Both groups were taught certain words, however, a word game known as “Bingo” were utilized for the experimental group. Finally, a vocabulary quiz was administered to both groups to determine the differences between them. The scores obtained from vocabulary quiz showed that the experimental group outperformed the control group in vocabulary quiz. Even so, there was not a significant difference between the results of the quiz. Similarly, the findings of the questionnaire indicated that the participants preferred learning through vocabulary games rather than traditional way. Also, the findings revealed that games reduce negative feelings during the learning process. It was suggested that teachers should reconsider the role of games and appreciate their educational value.

  13. Core vocabulary of young children with Down syndrome

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Deckers, S.R.J.M.; Zaalen, Y. van; Balkom, L.J.M. van; Verhoeven, L.T.W.

    2017-01-01

    The aim of this study was to develop a core vocabulary list for young children with intellectual disabilities between 2 and 7 years of age because data from this population are lacking in core vocabulary literature. Children with Down syndrome are considered one of the most valid reference groups

  14. Measuring Teachers' Knowledge of Vocabulary Development and Instruction

    Science.gov (United States)

    Duguay, Annie; Kenyon, Dorry; Haynes, Erin; August, Diane; Yanosky, Tiffany

    2016-01-01

    This article describes the development of an instrument to measure teachers' knowledge of vocabulary development and instruction, the Teacher Knowledge of Vocabulary Survey (TKVS). This type of knowledge has become increasingly important as all classroom teachers are expected to help students meet language and literacy standards that include…

  15. Effect of Content Schema, Vocabulary Knowledge, and Reading Comprehension on Translation Performance

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Reza Kafipour

    2017-09-01

    Full Text Available Schemata refer to all kinds of knowledge which are gained throughout the lifetime. Few studies tried to integrate schema theory and the next two crucial factors in translation and learning which are vocabulary knowledge and reading comprehension. Thus, the present research aimed at delineating the potential effect of these three factors on translation performance of Iranian undergraduate students majoring in translator training. To this end, 172 Iranian undergraduate students majoring in translator training were selected based on two-step cluster sampling. To collect data, the participants answered a set of 6 open-ended questions to measure the students’ content schema along with a vocabulary size test, reading comprehension test, and translation task. To analyze data, Pearson correlation coefficient as well as stepwise multiple regressions was conducted through Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS version 17. Data analysis indicated that the independent variables significantly correlated with translation performance. In addition, multiple regressions analysis specified reading comprehension as the main contributing variable and content schema as the second in students’ translation performance. It also showed that vocabulary knowledge could not be a predicting factor in translation performance of the learners; the reason may refer to the inseparable component of their translation task that is dictionary. The results highlighted the role of content schema in translation performance of the learners.

  16. Psychometric Examination, Adaptation, and Evaluation of the Hebrew Translation of the MMPI-2-RF VRIN-r and TRIN-r Validity Scales.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Shkalim, Eleanor; Ben-Porath, Yossef S; Handel, Richard W; Almagor, Moshe; Tellegen, Auke

    2016-01-01

    In this study we examined the utility of the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory-2-Restructured Form (MMPI-2-RF; Ben-Porath & Tellegen, 2008/2011; Tellegen & Ben-Porath, 2008/2011) Variable Response Inconsistency-Revised (VRIN-r) and True Response Inconsistency-Revised (TRIN-r) scales, including alternative versions of the scales, in the Hebrew translation of the test. First, we examined the applicability of the U.S. VRIN-r and TRIN-r scales in an Israeli Hebrew-speaking mixed clinical sample, and replaced original item pairs that did not meet the development criteria with substitution item pairs that did. Then, using the Israeli normative sample and a pure clinical sample, we compared the psychometric functioning of the adapted Hebrew-language VRIN-r and TRIN-r scales with that of the original versions of these scales under various conditions of simulated non-content-based (random and fixed) responding. Overall, results showed that the adapted versions of the scales did not improve on the original ones. We therefore recommend using the U.S. VRIN-r and TRIN-r versions, which could also facilitate cross-cultural comparisons.

  17. Nevada Test Site waste acceptance criteria [Revision 1

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    None

    1997-08-01

    Revision one updates the requirements, terms, and conditions under which the Nevada Test Site (NTS) will accept low-level radioactive and mixed waste for disposal; and transuranic and transuranic mixed waste for interim storage at the NTS. Review each section of this document. This document is not intended to include all of the requirements; rather, it is meant as a guide toward meeting the regulations. All references in this document should be observed to avoid omission of requirements on which acceptance or rejection of waste will be based. The Department of Energy/Nevada Operations Office (DOE/NV) and support contractors are available to assist you in understanding or interpreting this document.

  18. Nevada Test Site waste acceptance criteria [Revision 1

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    None

    1997-01-01

    Revision one updates the requirements, terms, and conditions under which the Nevada Test Site (NTS) will accept low-level radioactive and mixed waste for disposal; and transuranic and transuranic mixed waste for interim storage at the NTS. Review each section of this document. This document is not intended to include all of the requirements; rather, it is meant as a guide toward meeting the regulations. All references in this document should be observed to avoid omission of requirements on which acceptance or rejection of waste will be based. The Department of Energy/Nevada Operations Office (DOE/NV) and support contractors are available to assist you in understanding or interpreting this document

  19. Exploring Vocabulary Learning Strategies Used by UPM TESL Undergraduates

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Nur Hanisah Safian

    2014-10-01

    Full Text Available Vocabulary learning is one of the most challenging factors that learners will face during the process of second language learning. The main pursuit of the present study was to investigate the vocabulary language strategies among Malaysian ESL students majoring in Teaching English as a Second Language (TESL at University Putra Malaysia.  There are five different categories of vocabulary leaning strategies determination, social, memory, cognitive and metacognitive strategies. Quantitative research design has been used in this study by providing a set of questionnaire of 58 items that was given out to 50 participants at the Faculty of Educational Studies in UPM. The findings of this research hope to help all educators to acknowledge the type of vocabulary strategies used by students in acquiring second language (L2.

  20. Intelligent Testing: Integrating Psychological Theory and Clinical Practice

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kaufman, James C., Ed.

    2009-01-01

    The field of intelligence testing has been revolutionized by Alan S. Kaufman. He developed the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children-Revised (WISC-R) with David Wechsler, and his best-selling book, Intelligent Testing with the WISC-R, introduced the phrase "intelligent testing." Kaufman, with his wife, Nadeen, then created his own…

  1. The Effect of Computer-Based Self-Access Learning on Weekly Vocabulary Test Scores

    OpenAIRE

    Jordan Dreyer

    2014-01-01

    This study sets out to clarify the effectiveness of using an online vocabulary study tool, Quizlet, in an urban high school language arts class. Previous similar studies have mostly dealt with English Language Learners in college settings (Chui, 2013), and were therefore not directed at the issue self-efficacy that is at the heart of the problem of urban high school students in America entering remedial writing programs (Rose, 1989). The study involves 95 students over the course of 14 weeks....

  2. Playing with fire: effects of negative mood induction and working memory on vocabulary acquisition.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Miller, Zachary F; Fox, Jessica K; Moser, Jason S; Godfroid, Aline

    2017-08-03

    We investigated the impact of emotions on learning vocabulary in an unfamiliar language to better understand affective influences in foreign language acquisition. Seventy native English speakers learned new vocabulary in either a negative or a neutral emotional state. Participants also completed two sets of working memory tasks to examine the potential mediating role of working memory. Results revealed that participants exposed to negative stimuli exhibited difficulty in retrieving and correctly pairing English words with Indonesian words, as reflected in a lower performance on the prompted recall tests and the free recall measure. Emotional induction did not change working memory scores from pre to post manipulation. This suggests working memory could not explain the reduced vocabulary learning in the negative group. We argue that negative mood can adversely affect language learning by suppressing aspects of native-language processing and impeding form-meaning mapping with second language words.

  3. The Family Socialization Interview—Revised (FSI-R): a Comprehensive Assessment of Parental Disciplinary Behaviors

    Science.gov (United States)

    O’Dor, Sarah L.; Grasso, Damion J.; Forbes, Danielle; Bates, John E.; McCarthy, Kimberly J.; Wakschlag, Lauren S.

    2017-01-01

    Elucidating the complex mechanisms by which harsh parenting increases risk of child psychopathology is key to targeted prevention. This requires nuanced methods that capture the varied perceptions and experiences of diverse families. The Family Socialization Interview—Revised (FSI-R), adapted from an interview developed by Dodge et al. (Child Development, 65,649–665,1994), is a comprehensive, semi-structured interview for characterizing methods of parental discipline used with young children. The FSI-R coding system systematically rates parenting style, usual discipline techniques, and most intense physical and psychological discipline based on rater judgment across two eras: (1) birth to the previous year, and (2) the previous year to present. The current study examined the psychometric properties of the FSI-R in a diverse, high-risk community sample of 386 mothers and their children, ages 3 to 6 years. Interrater reliability was good to excellent for codes capturing physically and psychologically harsh parenting, and restrictive/punitive parenting styles. Findings supported the FSI-R’s convergent and incremental validity. Importantly, the FSI-R demonstrated incremental utility, explaining unique variance in children’s externalizing and internalizing symptoms beyond that explained by traditional surveys and observed parenting. The FSI-R appeared particularly promising for capturing risk associated with young children’s depressive symptoms, as these were generally not significantly associated with other measures of harsh parenting. Overall, findings support the added value of the FSI-R within a multi-method assessment of disciplinary practices across early child development. Future implications for prevention are discussed. PMID:27718104

  4. A Review of Effect of Different Tasks on Incidental Vocabulary Acquisition

    Science.gov (United States)

    Liu, Chen L.

    2015-01-01

    Studies of incidental vocabulary acquisition in second language learning have got more and more attention both at home and abroad. By first introducing the definition and theoretical foundations of incidental vocabulary acquisition, this paper reviews empirical studies of effect of different tasks on incidental vocabulary acquisition and points…

  5. Shyness and Chinese and English Vocabulary Skills in Hong Kong Kindergartners

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tong, Xiuli; Ting, Ka-Tsun; McBride-Chang, Catherine

    2011-01-01

    Research Findings: This study examined relations between parent-rated shyness and children's vocabulary skills in 54 Hong Kong Chinese kindergartners who learned English as a foreign language at school. Receptive vocabulary and expressive vocabulary were assessed both in Chinese and in English. Parent-rated shyness was uniquely associated with…

  6. Development and transfer of vocabulary knowledge in Spanish-speaking language minority preschool children.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Goodrich, J Marc; Lonigan, Christopher J; Kleuver, Cherie G; Farver, Joann M

    2016-09-01

    In this study we evaluated the predictive validity of conceptual scoring. Two independent samples of Spanish-speaking language minority preschoolers (Sample 1: N = 96, mean age = 54·51 months, 54·3% male; Sample 2: N = 116, mean age = 60·70 months, 56·0% male) completed measures of receptive, expressive, and definitional vocabulary in their first (L1) and second (L2) languages at two time points approximately 9-12 months apart. We examined whether unique L1 and L2 vocabulary at time 1 predicted later L2 and L1 vocabulary, respectively. Results indicated that unique L1 vocabulary did not predict later L2 vocabulary after controlling for initial L2 vocabulary. An identical pattern of results emerged for L1 vocabulary outcomes. We also examined whether children acquired translational equivalents for words known in one language but not the other. Results indicated that children acquired translational equivalents, providing partial support for the transfer of vocabulary knowledge across languages.

  7. A cross-language study of decontextualized vocabulary comprehension in toddlerhood and kindergarten readiness.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Friend, Margaret; Smolak, Erin; Liu, Yushuang; Poulin-Dubois, Diane; Zesiger, Pascal

    2018-04-05

    Recent studies demonstrate that emerging literacy depends on earlier language achievement. Importantly, most extant work focuses on parent-reported production prior to 30 months of age. Of interest is whether and how directly assessed vocabulary comprehension in the 2nd year of life supports vocabulary and kindergarten readiness in the 4th year. We first contrasted orthogonal indices of parent-reported production and directly assessed vocabulary comprehension and found that comprehension was a stronger predictor of child outcomes. We then assessed prediction from vocabulary comprehension controlling for maternal education, preschool attendance, and child sex. In 3 studies early, decontextualized vocabulary comprehension emerged as a significant predictor of 4th year language and kindergarten readiness accounting for unique variance above demographic control variables. Further we found that the effect of early vocabulary on 4th year kindergarten readiness was not mediated by 4th year vocabulary. This pattern of results emerged in English monolingual children (N = 48) and replicated in French monolingual (N = 58) and French-English bilingual children (N = 34). Our findings suggest that early, decontextualized vocabulary may provide a platform for the establishment of a conceptual system that supports both later vocabulary and kindergarten readiness, including the acquisition of a wide range of concepts including print and number. Differences between parent-reported and directly assessed vocabulary and the mechanisms by which decontextualized vocabulary may contribute to conceptual development are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2018 APA, all rights reserved).

  8. Vocabulary by Gamification

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kingsley, Tara L.; Grabner-Hagen, Melissa M.

    2018-01-01

    Gamification uses game elements such as quests, challenges, levels, and rewards to motivate and engage students in the classroom. Given the engagement that students feel during gameplay, it is sensible to include elements of game design to motivate students and create a space for comprehensive vocabulary instruction. Designing a gamified…

  9. Exercising during learning improves vocabulary acquisition: behavioral and ERP evidence.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Schmidt-Kassow, Maren; Kulka, Anna; Gunter, Thomas C; Rothermich, Kathrin; Kotz, Sonja A

    2010-09-20

    Numerous studies have provided evidence that physical activity promotes cortical plasticity in the adult brain and in turn facilitates learning. However, until now, the effect of simultaneous physical activity (e.g. bicycling) on learning performance has not been investigated systematically. The current study aims at clarifying whether simultaneous motor activity influences verbal learning compared to learning in a physically passive situation. Therefore the learning behavior of 12 healthy subjects (4 male, 19-33 years) was monitored over a period of 3 weeks. During that time, behavioral and electrophysiological responses to memorized materials were measured. We found a larger N400 effect and better performance in vocabulary tests when subjects were physically active during the encoding phase. Thus, our data indicate that simultaneous physical activity during vocabulary learning facilitates memorization of new items. Copyright 2010 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

  10. The Effects of Content-Enriched Shared Book Reading versus Vocabulary-Only Discussions on the Vocabulary Outcomes of Preschool Dual Language Learners

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pollard-Durodola, Sharolyn D.; Gonzalez, Jorge E.; Saenz, Laura; Resendez, Nora; Kwok, Oiman; Zhu, Leina; Davis, Heather

    2018-01-01

    Research Findings: This study compared the effects of content-based shared book-reading instruction versus an explicit vocabulary-only condition on the vocabulary development of preschool dual language learners (DLLs). Using shared book reading as the mode of instruction, we randomly assigned 48 bilingual preschool teachers and 281…

  11. The Psychometric Properties of English and Spanish Versions of the Life Orientation Test-Revised in Hispanic Americans.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pan, Tonya M; Mills, Sarah D; Fox, Rina S; Baik, Sharon H; Harry, Kadie M; Roesch, Scott C; Sadler, Georgia Robins; Malcarne, Vanessa L

    2017-12-01

    The Life Orientation Test-Revised (LOT-R) is a widely used measure of optimism and pessimism, with three positively worded and three negatively worded content items. This study examined the structural validity and invariance, internal consistency reliability, and convergent and divergent validity of the English and Spanish versions of the LOT-R among Hispanic Americans. A community sample of Hispanic Americans ( N = 422) completed self-report measures, including the LOT-R, Patient Health Questionnaire-9, and Generalized Anxiety Disorder-7, in their preferred language of English or Spanish. Based on the literature, four structural models were tested: one-factor , oblique two-factor , orthogonal two-factor method effects with positive specific factor , and orthogonal two-factor method effects with negative specific factor . Baseline support for both of the English and Spanish versions was not achieved for any model; in all models, the negatively worded items in Spanish had non-significant factor loadings. Therefore, the positively worded three-item optimism subscale of the LOT-R was examined separately and fit the data, with factor loadings equivalent across language-preference groups. Coefficient alphas for the optimism subscale were consistent across both language-preference groups (αs = .61 [English] and .66 [Spanish]). In contrast, the six-item total score and three-item pessimism subscale demonstrated extremely low or inconsistent alphas. Convergent and divergent validity were established for the optimism subscale in both languages. In sum, the optimism subscale of the LOT-R demonstrated minimally acceptable to good psychometric properties across English and Spanish language-preference groups. However, neither the total score nor the pessimism subscale showed adequate psychometric properties for Spanish-speaking Hispanic Americans, likely due to translation and cultural adaptation issues, and thus are not supported for use with this population.

  12. Vocabulary Acquisition through Direct and Indirect Learning Strategies

    Science.gov (United States)

    Naeimi, Maki; Foo, Thomas Chow Voon

    2015-01-01

    Vocabulary learning has long been considered as one of the essential components for developing language learning. However, language learners are required to not just concern about memorizing definitions but also integrating vocabulary meaning into their present knowledge. Many strategies such as direct or indirect ones may be integrated to enhance…

  13. Japanese Vocabulary Acquisition by Learners in Three Contexts

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dewey, Dan P.

    2008-01-01

    This study is an investigation of the development of vocabulary knowledge during study abroad (SA), intensive domestic immersion (IM) and academic-year formal classroom (AY) learning. Its focus was the growth of vocabulary knowledge in Japanese--a language where little SA research has been conducted to date. Unlike most studies addressing…

  14. The Effect of Vocabulary on Introductory Microbiology Instruction

    Science.gov (United States)

    Richter, Emily

    2011-01-01

    This study examines the effect of the translation of traditional scientific vocabulary into plain English, a process referred to as Anglicization, on student learning in the context of introductory microbiology instruction. Data from Anglicized and Classical-vocabulary lab sections were collected. Data included exam scores as well as pre and…

  15. Teaching Academic Vocabulary to Adolescents with Learning Disabilities

    Science.gov (United States)

    Beach, Kristen D.; Sanchez, Victoria; Flynn, Lindsay J.; O'Connor, Rollanda E.

    2015-01-01

    This article describes the efforts of a U.S. History teacher to directly teach word meanings using the "robust vocabulary instruction" (RVI) approach, because research supports this method as a way to improve vocabulary knowledge for a range of students, including adolescents reading below grade level (i.e., struggling readers) and…

  16. Narrow Viewing: The Vocabulary in Related Television Programs

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rodgers, Michael P. H.; Webb, Stuart

    2011-01-01

    In this study, the scripts of 288 television episodes were analyzed to determine the extent to which vocabulary reoccurs in related and unrelated television programs, and the potential for incidental vocabulary learning through watching one season (approximately 24 episodes) of television programs. The scripts consisted of 1,330,268 running words…

  17. Vocabulary and syntactic knowledge factors in 5th grade students’ reading comprehension

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Kouider Mokhtari

    2013-03-01

    Full Text Available In this study, we examined 5th grade students’ levels of vocabulary knowledge and syntactic awareness relative to their reading comprehension performance. The aim was to explore the contributions of vocabulary and syntactic awareness as potential sources of reading comprehension difficulty for these readers. Overall, we found that both vocabulary knowledge and syntactic awareness contributed in significant yet unique ways to students’ reading comprehension performance. Students who showed weaknesses in vocabulary and syntax also performed poorly on measures of reading comprehension. Additionally, we found that syntactic awareness explained a small amount of additional variance in reading comprehension beyond what was explained by vocabulary. The implications of these findings are discussed in light of research and practice addressing the relationships among syntax, vocabulary, and reading comprehension for more and less skilled readers.

  18. Improving Vocabulary Skills through Assistive Technology: Rick's Story

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lindsey-Glenn, Pam F.; Gentry, James E.

    2008-01-01

    This case study examines the use of two assistive technologies, the Franklin Language Master 6000b and Microsoft PowerPoint 2003, as visual support systems to aid in the vocabulary acquisition skills of a student with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). The intervention used children's literature and best practices in teaching vocabulary skills in…

  19. Teaching vocabulary using collocations versus using definitions in EFL classes

    OpenAIRE

    Altınok, Şerife İper

    2000-01-01

    Ankara : Institute of Economics and Social Sciences of Bilkent Univ., 2000. Thesis (Master's) -- Bilkent University, 2000. Includes bibliographical references leaves 40-43 Teaching words in collocations is a comparatively new technique and it is accepted as an effective one in vocabulary teaching. The purpose of this study was to find out whether teaching vocabulary would result in better learning and remembering vocabulary items. This study investigated the differences betw...

  20. The French Version of the Screen for Child Anxiety Related Emotional Disorders-Revised (Scared-R: Factor Structure, Convergent and Divergent Validity in a Sample of Teenagers

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Martine Bouvard

    2013-06-01

    Full Text Available The principal objective of this study is to provide data on the French version of the SCARED-R. This article investigates the factor structure of the French version of the Screen for Child Anxiety Related Emotional Disorders-Revised (SCARED-R and its convergent and divergent validity. 704 normal adolescents aged 10 to 19 years completed the questionnaires in their classrooms. A sub-sample of 595 adolescents also completed an anxiety questionnaire (the French version of the Fear Survey Schedule for Children-Revised, FSSC-R and a depression questionnaire (the French version of the Center for Epidemiological Studies Depression Scale, CES-D. Confirmatory factor analysis of the SCARED-R suggested reasonable fit for the 9-factor model. The comparison of the convergent and divergent validity revealed that the SCARED-R total score and five SCARED-R subscales (SAD, Social Phobia and the three Specific Phobias correlated more strongly with anxiety than depression. The other SCARED-R subscales (GAD, Panic Disorder, OCD and PTSD are positively related to levels of anxiety and depression. Altogether, the French version of the SCARED-R showed reasonable psychometric properties.

  1. First-year university students’ receptive and productive use of academic vocabulary

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Déogratias Nizonkiza

    2016-05-01

    Full Text Available The present study explores academic vocabulary knowledge, operationalised through the Academic Word List, among first-year higher education students. Both receptive and productive knowledge and the proportion between the two are examined. Results show that while receptive knowledge is readily acquired by first-year students, productive knowledge lags behind and remains problematic. This entails that receptive knowledge is much larger than productive knowledge, which confirms earlier indications that receptive vocabulary knowledge is larger than productive knowledge for both academic vocabulary (Zhou 2010 and general vocabulary (cf. Laufer 1998, Webb 2008, among others. Furthermore, results reveal that the ratio between receptive and productive knowledge is slightly above 50%, which lends empirical support to previous findings that the ratio between the two aspects of vocabulary knowledge can be anywhere between 50% and 80% (Milton 2009. This finding is extended here to academic vocabulary; complementing Zhou’s (2010 study that investigated the relationship between the two aspects of vocabulary knowledge without examining the ratio between them. On the basis of these results, approaches that could potentially contribute to fostering productive knowledge growth are discussed. Avenues worth exploring to gain further insight into the relationship between receptive and productive knowledge are also suggested.

  2. A Study on the Effects of Meditation on Anxiety and Foreign Language Vocabulary Learning

    Science.gov (United States)

    Önem, E. E.

    2015-01-01

    This study aimed to find whether meditation can be effective in terms of anxiety and vocabulary learning in a foreign language learning context. To test this, an experimental pre-test and post-test study was designed. 61 students (14 male-47 female) from the English Language Teaching Department of a state university in Turkey were assigned into…

  3. Modelling vocabulary development among multilingual children prior to and following the transition to school entry

    Science.gov (United States)

    MacLeod, Andrea A. N.; Castellanos-Ryan, Natalie; Parent, Sophie; Jacques, Sophie; Séguin, Jean R.

    2017-01-01

    Differences between monolingual and multilingual vocabulary development have been observed but few studies provide a longitudinal perspective on vocabulary development before and following school entry. This study compares vocabulary growth profiles of 106 multilingual children to 211 monolingual peers before and after school entry to examine whether: (1) school entry coincides with different rates of vocabulary growth compared to prior to school entry, (2) compared to monolingual peers, multilingual children show different vocabulary sizes or rates of vocabulary growth, (3) the age of onset of second-language acquisition for multilingual children is associated with vocabulary size or rate of vocabulary growth, and (4) the sociolinguistic context of the languages spoken by multilingual children is associated with vocabulary size or rate of vocabulary growth. Results showed increases in vocabulary size across time for all children, with a steeper increase prior to school entry. A significant difference between monolingual and multilingual children who speak a minority language was observed with regards to vocabulary size at school entry and vocabulary growth prior to school entry, but growth rate differences were no longer present following school entry. Taken together, results suggest that which languages children speak may matter more than being multilingual per se. PMID:29354017

  4. Modelling vocabulary development among multilingual children prior to and following the transition to school entry.

    Science.gov (United States)

    MacLeod, Andrea A N; Castellanos-Ryan, Natalie; Parent, Sophie; Jacques, Sophie; Séguin, Jean R

    2018-01-01

    Differences between monolingual and multilingual vocabulary development have been observed but few studies provide a longitudinal perspective on vocabulary development before and following school entry. This study compares vocabulary growth profiles of 106 multilingual children to 211 monolingual peers before and after school entry to examine whether: (1) school entry coincides with different rates of vocabulary growth compared to prior to school entry, (2) compared to monolingual peers, multilingual children show different vocabulary sizes or rates of vocabulary growth, (3) the age of onset of second-language acquisition for multilingual children is associated with vocabulary size or rate of vocabulary growth, and (4) the sociolinguistic context of the languages spoken by multilingual children is associated with vocabulary size or rate of vocabulary growth. Results showed increases in vocabulary size across time for all children, with a steeper increase prior to school entry. A significant difference between monolingual and multilingual children who speak a minority language was observed with regards to vocabulary size at school entry and vocabulary growth prior to school entry, but growth rate differences were no longer present following school entry. Taken together, results suggest that which languages children speak may matter more than being multilingual per se.

  5. Studies on English Vocabulary Learning Strategies of Three-year Business English Majors

    Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)

    Liu Fang-rong

    2008-01-01

    Vocabulary learning strategies have been studied by a lot of scholars and teachers to a different extent on language learner of different levels. Little research has been done on three-year .Business English majors. This study is intended to examine the vocabulary learning strategies applied by those students to their vocabulary learning during the course of English learning. This study is carried out in the form of doing a questionnaire among 117 three-year Business English majors. The collected data is analyzed in the computer by using the SPSS software. The result is that most of the students give up the concept and strategy of repetition and accept the concept of context and practicing. In addition, most of the students know how to make use of cognitive strategies to learn vocabulary. However, those students seldom employ metacognitive strategies and social/affective strategies to facilitate their vocabulary learning. In fight of these, some recommendations have given to those students to help them learn more vocabulary by appropriately using the vocabulary learning strategies.

  6. Assessing the Depth and Breadth of Vocabulary Knowledge with Listening Comprehension

    Science.gov (United States)

    Teng, Feng

    2014-01-01

    This study was inspired by Qian (1999) and Staehr (2009) and researched 88 Chinese learners who had already passed the College English Test 4 (CET). These learners volunteered to participate in the study regarding the depth and breadth of vocabulary knowledge and its relationship with listening comprehension, which was assessed by analyzing the…

  7. Vocabulary acquisition in deaf and hard-of-hearing children: Research and interventions

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Hermans, D.; Wauters, L.N.; Willemsen, M.; Knoors, H.E.T.; Marschark, M.; Spencer, P.E.

    2016-01-01

    Vocabulary knowledge is fundamental to communication, language learning, and acquiring knowledge of the world. Deaf and hard-of-hearing (DHH) children face considerable challenges in acquiring age-appropriate vocabulary knowledge. The enhancement of children's vocabulary knowledge is therefore one

  8. Number-concept acquisition and general vocabulary development.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Negen, James; Sarnecka, Barbara W

    2012-11-01

    How is number-concept acquisition related to overall language development? Experiments 1 and 2 measured number-word knowledge and general vocabulary in a total of 59 children, ages 30-60 months. A strong correlation was found between number-word knowledge and vocabulary, independent of the child's age, contrary to previous results (D. Ansari et al., 2003). This result calls into question arguments that (a) the number-concept creation process is scaffolded mainly by visuo-spatial development and (b) that language only becomes integrated after the concepts are created (D. Ansari et al., 2003). Instead, this may suggest that having a larger nominal vocabulary helps children learn number words. Experiment 3 shows that the differences with previous results are likely due to changes in how the data were analyzed. © 2012 The Authors. Child Development © 2012 Society for Research in Child Development, Inc.

  9. Analysis of the effect of specific vocabulary instruction on high school chemistry students' knowledge and understanding

    Science.gov (United States)

    Labrosse, Peggy

    . The vocabulary knowledge was examined by means of multiple-choice pre- and post-tests which were administered to all student participants. The choices included a scientific synonym, an everyday synonym, and a synonym based on a common misconception related to the term. Student understanding of the chemistry content was examined using chemistry content understanding pre- and post-tests comprised of four probes based on the National Science Education Standards (National Research Council, 1996) and linked to common student misconceptions which were administered to all student participants. Vocabulary knowledge effect scores were compared between the TG and CG using a t-test. Only a slight gain in vocabulary knowledge mean effect scores was found in the TG compared to the CG; however, it was not statistically significant. Chemistry content understanding effect scores were compared between the TG and CG using Chi-square analysis. The results of the chemistry content understanding effect scores in the TG compared to the CG showed that the student participants in the CG did significantly better. Chemistry content understanding effect scores and vocabulary knowledge effect scores were compared using a t-test. Chapter V provides explanations for the results which do not corroborate those found by other researchers. The researcher contends that the use of the Frayer model for specific terms in content across the curriculum is worth further study.

  10. THE EFFECTIVENESS OF USING SCRABBLE AND BINGO GAME TECHNIQUE TOWARD STUDENTS’ VOCABULARY MASTERY AT THE TENTH GRADE OF SMA N 2 METRO ACADEMIC YEAR 2013/2014

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ahmad Rosidi -

    2017-02-01

    Full Text Available Abstract: Vocabulary mastery is the activity to enrich the vocabulary, they master the vocabulary in order to be able to master four language skills. The problem formulation of this research are; (1  Is there any difference influence of using Scrabble and Bingo Game Technique toward Students’ Vocabulary Mastery at The Tenth Grade of SMA N 2 Metro Academic Year 2013/3014? (2 Which one is more effective between Scrabble and Bingo Game Technique toward Students’ Vocabulary Mastery at The Tenth Grade of SMA N 2 Metro Academic Year 2013/3014 ?, The object of this research are; (1 To know whether there is any difference Influence of using Scrabble and Bingo Game Technique toward Students’ Vocabulary Mastery at The Tenth Grade of SMA N 2 Metro Academic Year 2013/3014, (2 To know which one is more effective between Scrabble and Bingo Game Technique toward Students’ Vocabulary Mastery at The Tenth Grade of SMA N 2 Metro Academic Year 2013/3014. This research is Quantitative research. Research design that will be used in this research is true experimental design (pretest posttest control group design.. The population of this research is the students’ of SMA N 2 Metro Academic Year 2013/2014 that consist of 660 students. The sample is 60 students. As the sample, 30 as experimental class and 30 as  control class. In taking sample, the researcher used the cluster stratified random sampling. The data collecting tehniques the researcher used try-out, pre-test, treatment and post-test. The data analyzing tehniques, the researcher used normality test, homogenity test and hypothesis test. The differences of both the tehnique are Scrabble Game can make the students feel enjoy, creative and have a challenge and Bingo Game gives the students opportunity to identify the word interestingly. Based on the data analysis, the researcher uses t-test formula. The researcher got the result of tobserved = 3,69 and ttable is 2.00. it means that tobserved > ttable

  11. Learning Vocabulary through Paper and Online-Based Glossary

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ratih Novita Sari

    2017-08-01

    Full Text Available This study examined the effect of teaching glossary and personality traits on vocabulary learning. Two groups of students who had different personality (extroverted and introverted were exposed to two types of glosses: paper and online-based glossary. The two groups underwent two-month treatment. Prior to and after the treatment, each group was given pre and posttest. In calculating the data, two-way ANOVA was used. The results of the study showed that extroverted students learned vocabulary better through paper-based glossary, while introverted students learned vocabulary better through online-based. Further research needs to be conducted to determine whether age influences the use of teaching glossary or not

  12. Safety assessment for the 118-B-1 Burial Ground excavation treatability tests. Revision 2

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Zimmer, J.J.; Frain, J.M.

    1994-12-01

    This revision of the Safety Assessment provides an auditable safety analysis of the hazards for the proposed treatability test activities per DOE-EM-STD-5502-94, DOE Limited Standard, Hazard Baseline Documentation (DOE 1994). The proposed activities are classified as radiological activities and as such, no longer require Operational Safety Limits (OSLs). The OSLS, Prudent Actions, and Institutional and Organization Controls have been removed from this revision and replaced with ''Administrative Actions Important to Safety,'' as determined by the hazards analysis. Those Administrative Actions Important to Safety are summarized in Section 1.1, ''Assessment Summary.''

  13. Is Incidental Vocabulary Acquisition Feasible to EFL Learning?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Luo, Jian-ping

    2013-01-01

    For learning English as a foreign language, the efficiency of the approach of incidental vocabulary acquisition depends on the word frequency and text coverage. However, the statistics of English corpus reveals that English is a language that has a large vocabulary size but a low word frequency as well as text coverage, which is obviously not in…

  14. Early Home Language Use and Later Vocabulary Development

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mancilla-Martinez, Jeannette; Lesaux, Nonie K.

    2011-01-01

    This longitudinal study examined the association between early patterns of home language use (age 4.5 years) and vocabulary growth (ages 4.5 to 12 years) in English and Spanish for 180 Spanish-speaking language minority learners followed from ages 4.5 to 12 years. Standardized measures of vocabulary were administered to children from ages 4.5 to…

  15. Techniques to improve the vocabulary of the students at the college level

    OpenAIRE

    Sripada Pushpa Nagini; Cherukuri Mani Ramana

    2016-01-01

    The paper suggests effective techniques to improve the vocabulary of the students in English as a Second Language context based on an experimental study. The study was conducted in India (South Asia), in an Engineering college for freshmen in the age group of eighteen to nineteen years. The paper makes a comparison of two vocabulary teaching strategies and the results show that explicit vocabulary teaching is more effective than implicit vocabulary teaching. The experimental group also showed...

  16. The effect of extensive reading and paired-associate learning on long-term vocabulary retention: an event-related potential study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chun, Eunjin; Choi, Sungmook; Kim, Junsoo

    2012-07-19

    We investigated the relative efficacy of extensive reading (ER) and paired-associate learning (PAL) in the ability of second language (L2) learners to retain new vocabulary words. To that end, we combined behavioral measures (i.e., vocabulary tests) and an event-related potential (ERP) investigation with a focus on the N400 ERP component to track short- and long-term vocabulary retention as a consequence of the two different approaches. Behavioral results indicated that both ER and PAL led to substantial short-term retention of the target words. In contrast, on a long-term basis, ER was more effective than PAL to a considerable degree as indicated by a large-size effect (d=1.35). Evidence from the N400 effects (d=1.70) observed in the parietal electrode group (P3, Pz, P4) provided further support for the superior effects of ER over PAL on long-term vocabulary retention. The converging evidence challenges the assumptions of some L2 researchers and makes a significant contribution to the literature of vocabulary acquisition, because it provides the first ERP evidence that ER is more conducive to long-term vocabulary retention than PAL. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

  17. A Vocabulary Learning Tool for L2 Undergraduates Reading Science and Technology Textbooks

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hsu, Chihcheng; Yang, Fang-Chuan Ou

    2013-05-01

    Students of English as a second language who major in science and technology use English-language textbooks to ensure that they can read English materials upon graduation. Research indicates that teachers spend little time helping these students on the linguistic complexity of such textbooks. Vocabulary, grammar, and article structure are elements of this complexity, but to many students, these elements can be akin to locked doors. This study presents MyVLS-Reader, which focuses on unlocking the first of these doors-vocabulary-while assisting in reading. With explicit vocabulary learning, students learn and memorize individual vocabulary, but the context is lost if the depth of learning discards context. In implicit vocabulary learning, students acquire vocabulary through repeated exposure to contexts, but repeated encounters with new words are required. Few e-learning systems combine both vocabulary-learning approaches. MyVLS-Reader achieves such synergy by (1) using a keyword setting to provide context-matched vocabulary explanation while reading and (2) embedding multiple learning choices, such as keyword setting, the review and memorization of explicit vocabulary, and the option to ask instructors. This study includes two rounds of evaluations: (1) an evaluation of the learning achievements of control and treatment groups and (2) a quantitative and qualitative investigation of perceptions regarding the use of MyVLS-Reader. The evaluation results indicate that the treatment group developed a better vocabulary than the control group in significantly less time. The use of MyVLS-Reader also slightly improved higher-order thinking skills. This result suggests that MyVLS-Reader can effective assist students in building their vocabulary while reading.

  18. Why and How EFL Students Learn Vocabulary in Parliamentary Debate Class

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Eunice M. Aclan

    2015-02-01

    Full Text Available Vocabulary, the backbone of any language including English, is foundational for listening, speaking, reading and writing. These four macro-skills are necessary not only in gaining knowledge as English is the language to access major information sources particularly the World Wide Web but also in the demanding globalized workplace. Vocabulary is seen to be learned better when it is contextualized thus language teachers should design communicative activities such as debate. However, debate, being more known as a competitive rather than a classroom activity worldwide, has not been explored yet for its potential to develop vocabulary among EFL/ESL students although it has been identified for its power in developing communication skills in general as well as critical thinking and other soft skills. Thus, this qualitative study was conducted to explore why and how EFL students learn vocabulary in classroom debate. The data were gathered through end-of-course evaluation and focus group interview with seven participants from the Middle East, African and ASEAN countries. The findings show that students learned vocabulary due to debate’s interactive nature requiring contextualized and meaningful language use from preparation to actual debate. EFL students described how they learned vocabulary through debate which has implications for SLA and language teaching.   Keywords: Noticing hypothesis, Comprehensible input, Incomprehensible input, Vocabulary building strategies

  19. On Vocabulary Teaching from the Perspective of Cross-Cultural Communication

    Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)

    潘航

    2013-01-01

    Language is the carrier of culture, and culture determines language application. Vocabulary is the essential element of a language, thus the cultivation of cross-culture communication ability should start from vocabulary.

  20. Information and documentation - Thesauri and interoperability with other vocabularies

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Lykke, Marianne; Dalbin, Sylvie; Smedt, Johan De

    ISO 25964-2:2013 is applicable to thesauri and other types of vocabulary that are commonly used for information retrieval. It describes, compares and contrasts the elements and features of these vocabularies that are implicated when interoperability is needed. It gives recommendations for the est...

  1. Output-Based Instruction, Learning Styles and Vocabulary Learning in the EFL Context of Iran

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Behnaz Rastegar

    2017-04-01

    Full Text Available Language learners' productive role in teaching and learning processes has recently been the focus of attention. Therefore, this study aimed at investigating the effect of oral vs. written output-based instruction on English as a foreign language (EFL learners' vocabulary learning with a focus on reflective vs. impulsive learning styles. To this end, 131 learners were chosen among 182 learners by taking Nelson vocabulary proficiency test. Next, the participants received a valid Persian version of reflective thinking (Kember et al., 2000 and Barratt, Patton and Stanford (1975 BIS (Barratt’s Impulsiveness Scale 11 impulsiveness questionnaires, based on which both experimental groups were divided into impulsive and reflective subgroups, but the control group consisted of both impulsive and reflective learners. After 15 sessions of intervention and based on the results through one-way ANOVA and independent t-test it was concluded that both oral output and written output had significant effect on vocabulary learning of reflective and impulsive EFL Learners. It was also observed that the effect of both oral output and written output on impulsive (oral group’s mean=21.04; written groups’ mean= 21.75 learners and reflective learners (oral groups’ mean=22.38; written group’s mean: 22.23 is not significantly different. Pedagogical implications are discussed.

  2. Effects of multimedia vocabulary instruction on adolescents with learning disabilities.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kennedy, Michael J; Deshler, Donald D; Lloyd, John Wills

    2015-01-01

    The purpose of this experimental study is to investigate the effects of using content acquisition podcasts (CAPs), an example of instructional technology, to provide vocabulary instruction to adolescents with and without learning disabilities (LD). A total of 279 urban high school students, including 30 with LD in an area related to reading, were randomly assigned to one of four experimental conditions with instruction occurring at individual computer terminals over a 3-week period. Each of the four conditions contained different configurations of multimedia-based instruction and evidence-based vocabulary instruction. Dependent measures of vocabulary knowledge indicated that students with LD who received vocabulary instruction using CAPs through an explicit instructional methodology and the keyword mnemonic strategy significantly outperformed other students with LD who were taught using the same content, but with multimedia instruction that did not adhere to a specific theoretical design framework. Results for general education students mirrored those for students with LD. Students also completed a satisfaction measure following instruction with multimedia and expressed overall agreement that CAPs are useful for learning vocabulary terms. © Hammill Institute on Disabilities 2013.

  3. Vocabulary Facilitates Speech Perception in Children With Hearing Aids.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Klein, Kelsey E; Walker, Elizabeth A; Kirby, Benjamin; McCreery, Ryan W

    2017-08-16

    We examined the effects of vocabulary, lexical characteristics (age of acquisition and phonotactic probability), and auditory access (aided audibility and daily hearing aid [HA] use) on speech perception skills in children with HAs. Participants included 24 children with HAs and 25 children with normal hearing (NH), ages 5-12 years. Groups were matched on age, expressive and receptive vocabulary, articulation, and nonverbal working memory. Participants repeated monosyllabic words and nonwords in noise. Stimuli varied on age of acquisition, lexical frequency, and phonotactic probability. Performance in each condition was measured by the signal-to-noise ratio at which the child could accurately repeat 50% of the stimuli. Children from both groups with larger vocabularies showed better performance than children with smaller vocabularies on nonwords and late-acquired words but not early-acquired words. Overall, children with HAs showed poorer performance than children with NH. Auditory access was not associated with speech perception for the children with HAs. Children with HAs show deficits in sensitivity to phonological structure but appear to take advantage of vocabulary skills to support speech perception in the same way as children with NH. Further investigation is needed to understand the causes of the gap that exists between the overall speech perception abilities of children with HAs and children with NH.

  4. A Vocabulary Analysis of the Restaurant Menus

    OpenAIRE

    MIHUT Silvia

    2010-01-01

    The present paper explores the genre of restaurant menus by analyzing existing online lists of breakfast, lunch and dinner options. It shows that a menu is a reflection of the restaurant itself and its vocabulary, whether formal, casual or playful, matches the restaurant concept, location or theme. In addition to providing the food and drink items, menus can also be used to offer other information to the customers. The restaurant menu vocabulary describes the owner/chef's philosophy about foo...

  5. Core vocabulary in the narratives of bilingual children with and without language impairment.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Shivabasappa, Prarthana; Peña, Elizabeth D; Bedore, Lisa M

    2017-09-22

    Children with primary language impairment (PLI) demonstrate deficits in morphosyntax and vocabulary. We studied how these deficits may manifest in the core vocabulary use of bilingual children with PLI. Thirty bilingual children with and without PLI who were matched pairwise (experimental group) narrated two Spanish and two English stories in kindergarten and first grade. Core vocabulary was derived from the 30 most frequently used words in the stories of 65 and 37 typically developing (TD) first graders (normative group) for Spanish and English, respectively. The number of words each child in the experimental group produced out of the 30 identified core vocabulary words and frequency of each of the core words produced each year were analysed. Children with PLI produced fewer core vocabulary words compared to their TD peers after controlling for total words produced. This difference was more pronounced in first grade. They produced core vocabulary words less frequently in kindergarten than their TD peers. Both groups produced core vocabulary words more frequently in English than Spanish. Bilingual children with PLI demonstrate a less productive core vocabulary use compared to their TD peers in both their languages illustrating the nature of their grammatical and lexical-semantic deficits.

  6. Linking vocabulary to imagery: Improving science knowledge through multimedia design

    Science.gov (United States)

    Adler, Tracy R.

    This qualitative study looked at the vocabulary development of four urban sixth-grade students as they used laser disk and computer technologies to view images and then connect those images to textual definitions through multimedia design. Focusing on three science content areas (the water cycle, the rock cycle, and the web of life), students worked in pairs to create their own multimedia stacks that focused on the prescribed vocabulary. Using a combination of text, images, and audio, students demonstrated their understanding of content vocabulary words and how these words are interconnects within a science topic. Further, the study examined the impact that linking images to vocabulary and textual definitions has on helping students memorize definitions of the science content words. It was found that the use of imagery had a positive affect on the students' ability to identify textual definitions and vocabulary words, though it did not have a great impact on their later recall of word/definition connections. In addition, by designing their own multimedia artifacts, students were able to connect the vocabulary and images within a specific content area and explain their function within a broader science concept. The results of this study were inconclusive as to the impact this activity had on the students' ability to transfer their knowledge to correctly answering questions similar to the ones they see on their state proficiency exam.

  7. Using Songs To Support Vocabulary Learning For Grade Four Pupils

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    Rashid Al-Azri

    2015-06-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Over the recent years the teaching of foreign language vocabulary has been the subject of much discussion and arguments and a number of research and methodology books on such topic have emerged as it is the case for example with Nation 2001 and Schmitt 2000. For a long time grammar seemed to have attracted more attention but this renewed interest in vocabulary reflects the belief that it is becoming a major component in knowing a language and as some recent scholars would admit even more important than grammar already. In addition to the various strategies used to promote vocabulary learning in the classroom environment songs are widely being used nowadays as a powerful tool in teaching new vocabulary to early grades pupils. Throughout our teaching of young learners we have noticed that they are amazingly captured by songs and they always enjoy listening to them. This might be one of the main reasons why songs have now become one of the cornerstones in the demanding and challenging process of teaching children. The purpose of this research paper is to find out as to what extent and how the use of songs may support new vocabulary learning for grade four pupils in Oman and how much it actually helps these young learners in developing their vocabulary learning habits.

  8. Teaching Vocabulary in Colour.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gnoinska, Anna

    1998-01-01

    Describes one teacher's use of color to make classroom instruction more interesting. Techniques included using colored paper for handouts, conducting an experiment to see whether the use of colors could enhance students' memory power, and using colored flashcards to teach vocabulary. (Author/VWL)

  9. Expressive Vocabulary in Young Children with Down Syndrome: From Research to Treatment.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kumin, Libby; Councill, Cheryl; Goodman, Mina

    1999-01-01

    Expressive vocabulary was studied in 130 children (ages 1 to 5 years) with Down syndrome. Although there was continuous growth in expressive referential vocabulary from birth through 5 years, age 5 was found to be an important developmental marker for multiword combinations and grammatical vocabulary. (Author/CR)

  10. HANARO fuel irradiation test (II): revision

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Sohn, D. S.; Kim, H.; Chae, H. T.; Lee, C. S.; Kim, B. G.; Lee, C. B

    2001-04-01

    In order to fulfill the requirement to prove HANARO fuel integrity when irradiated at a power greater than 112.8 kW/m, which was imposed during HANARO licensing, and to verify the irradiation performance of HANARO fuel, the in-pile irradiation test of HANARO fuel has been performed. Two types of test fuel, the un-instrumented Type A fuel for higher burnup irradiation in shorter period than the driver fuel and the instrumented Type B fuel for higher linear heat rate and precise measurement of irradiation conditions, have been designed and fabricated. The test fuel assemblies were irradiated in HANARO. The two Type A fuel assemblies were intended to be irradiated to medium and high burnup and have been discharged after 69.9 at% and 85.5 at% peak burnup, respectively. Type B fuel assembly was intended to be irradiated at high power with different instrumentations and achieved a maximum power higher than 120 kW/m without losing its integrity and without showing any irregular behavior. The Type A fuel assemblies were cooled for about 6 months and transported to the IMEF(Irradiated Material Examination Facility) for consequent evaluation. Detailed non-destructive and destructive PIE (Post-Irradiation Examination), such as the measurement of burnup distribution, fuel swelling, clad corrosion, dimensional changes, fuel rod bending strength, micro-structure, etc., has been performed. The measured results have been analysed/compared with the predicted performance values and the design criteria. It has been verified that HANARO fuel maintains proper in-pile performance and integrity even at the high power of 120 kw/m up to the high burnup of 85 at%. This report is the revision of KAERI/TR-1816/2001 on the irradiation test for HANARO fuel.

  11. Confiabilidade do Teste WPPSI-R na avaliação do desenvolvimento cognitivo de pré-escolares

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    Maria Dalva Barbosa Baker Méio

    Full Text Available O Teste psicométrico WPPSI-R (Wechsler Preschool and Primary Scale of Intelligence - Revised foi o instrumento de avaliação em uma pesquisa para estudar o desenvolvimento cognitivo, na idade pré-escolar, de uma população de crianças do Instituto Fernandes Figueira (IFF nascidas prematuras e de muito baixo peso (MBP, aplicado por quatro psicólogas previamente treinadas. O objetivo deste estudo foi avaliar a confiabilidade inter-observador na aplicação do teste. Utilizaram-se dois desenhos: de blocos incompletos equilibrados, para avaliar a concordância na aplicação do teste, e cruzado, para avaliar a concordância na pontuação dos itens. Foram estudadas 12 crianças pré-escolares nascidas no IFF (Peso ao nascer < 1.500g. Os coeficientes de correlação intraclasse (CCI encontrados foram: 0,82 (Escore Total, 0,89 (Escore Verbal e 0,91 (Escore Executivo, no desenho de blocos incompletos equilibrados, e 0,99, 0,98 e 0,99, respectivamente, no desenho cruzado, indicando uma boa confiabilidade. Estes achados mostram que a aplicação do Teste WPPSI-R no estudo do desenvolvimento cognitivo de prematuros de MBP do IFF foi adequada.

  12. Confiabilidade do Teste WPPSI-R na avaliação do desenvolvimento cognitivo de pré-escolares

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Méio Maria Dalva Barbosa Baker

    2001-01-01

    Full Text Available O Teste psicométrico WPPSI-R (Wechsler Preschool and Primary Scale of Intelligence - Revised foi o instrumento de avaliação em uma pesquisa para estudar o desenvolvimento cognitivo, na idade pré-escolar, de uma população de crianças do Instituto Fernandes Figueira (IFF nascidas prematuras e de muito baixo peso (MBP, aplicado por quatro psicólogas previamente treinadas. O objetivo deste estudo foi avaliar a confiabilidade inter-observador na aplicação do teste. Utilizaram-se dois desenhos: de blocos incompletos equilibrados, para avaliar a concordância na aplicação do teste, e cruzado, para avaliar a concordância na pontuação dos itens. Foram estudadas 12 crianças pré-escolares nascidas no IFF (Peso ao nascer < 1.500g. Os coeficientes de correlação intraclasse (CCI encontrados foram: 0,82 (Escore Total, 0,89 (Escore Verbal e 0,91 (Escore Executivo, no desenho de blocos incompletos equilibrados, e 0,99, 0,98 e 0,99, respectivamente, no desenho cruzado, indicando uma boa confiabilidade. Estes achados mostram que a aplicação do Teste WPPSI-R no estudo do desenvolvimento cognitivo de prematuros de MBP do IFF foi adequada.

  13. The Effect of Video Games on Iranian EFL Learners' Vocabulary Learning

    Science.gov (United States)

    Vahdat, Sedigheh; Rasti Behbahani, Amin

    2013-01-01

    This study explored the effect of video games as a new tool for Iranian EFL (English as a foreign language) vocabulary learning. To conduct the study, 40 intermediate EFL learners, both male and female, were chosen through a TOEFL proficiency test. The participants were divided into two groups (10 males and 10 females in each): a control group and…

  14. Comparison of the Reading Subtests of the Wechsler Individual Achievement Test-Third Edition and the Peabody Individual Achievement Test-Revised/Normative Update

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ott, Lauren M.

    2010-01-01

    This study compared the reading subtests of the Wechsler Individual Achievement Test-Third Edition and the Peabody Individual Achievement Test-Revised/Normative Update. Scores were compared on these two tests in a group of 28 students ages 7 through 12 who were referred or reevaluated for suspected learning problems. The data were collected…

  15. Learning Vocabulary in a Foreign Language: A Computer Software Based Model Attempt

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yelbay Yilmaz, Yasemin

    2015-01-01

    This study aimed at devising a vocabulary learning software that would help learners learn and retain vocabulary items effectively. Foundation linguistics and learning theories have been adapted to the foreign language vocabulary learning context using a computer software named Parole that was designed exclusively for this study. Experimental…

  16. Vocabulary Constraint on Texts

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    C. Sutarsyah

    2008-01-01

    Full Text Available This case study was carried out in the English Education Department of State University of Malang. The aim of the study was to identify and describe the vocabulary in the reading text and to seek if the text is useful for reading skill development. A descriptive qualitative design was applied to obtain the data. For this purpose, some available computer programs were used to find the description of vocabulary in the texts. It was found that the 20 texts containing 7,945 words are dominated by low frequency words which account for 16.97% of the words in the texts. The high frequency words occurring in the texts were dominated by function words. In the case of word levels, it was found that the texts have very limited number of words from GSL (General Service List of English Words (West, 1953. The proportion of the first 1,000 words of GSL only accounts for 44.6%. The data also show that the texts contain too large proportion of words which are not in the three levels (the first 2,000 and UWL. These words account for 26.44% of the running words in the texts.  It is believed that the constraints are due to the selection of the texts which are made of a series of short-unrelated texts. This kind of text is subject to the accumulation of low frequency words especially those of content words and limited of words from GSL. It could also defeat the development of students' reading skills and vocabulary enrichment.

  17. Developing a Specialized Vocabulary Word List in a Composition Culinary Course through Lecture Notes

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    M.Nordin N. R.

    2013-01-01

    Full Text Available Learning to write in a composition culinary course is very challenging for L2 learners. The main barrier in writing proficiency within this discipline is the lack of vocabulary, specifically the lack of exposure towards specialized vocabulary. This study aims to provide a corpus of specialized vocabulary within a food writing course. By providing students with a word list of specialized vocabulary in the course, students may benefit by familiarizing with the language discourse which will aid in better comprehension of the course, and subsequently facilitate in their writing development. A compilation of all PowerPoint slides from one writing course was assembled and analyzed using the range and frequency program to identify the specialized vocabularies in a food writing course. The corpus was categorized using a four step rating scale, which identified 113 specialized vocabularies in food writing. The learning of specialized vocabulary specialized vocabulary is an important issue at the tertiary level in Malaysia, with educators’ realization of the importance of discourse proficiency in ESP programs, thus many more research is yielded on the many new issues on the teaching and learning of specialized vocabulary particularly within the academic and professional context.

  18. Statistical hypothesis testing with SAS and R

    CERN Document Server

    Taeger, Dirk

    2014-01-01

    A comprehensive guide to statistical hypothesis testing with examples in SAS and R When analyzing datasets the following questions often arise:Is there a short hand procedure for a statistical test available in SAS or R?If so, how do I use it?If not, how do I program the test myself? This book answers these questions and provides an overview of the most commonstatistical test problems in a comprehensive way, making it easy to find and performan appropriate statistical test. A general summary of statistical test theory is presented, along with a basicdescription for each test, including the

  19. Enhancing Vocabulary Acquisition through Reading: A Hierarchy of Text-Related Exercise Types.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wesche, M.; Paribakht, T. Sima

    This paper describes a classification scheme developed to examine the effects of extensive reading on primary and second language vocabulary acquisition and reports on an experiment undertaken to test the model scheme. The classification scheme represents a hypothesized hierarchy of the degree and type of mental processing required by various…

  20. The Impact of Correction for Guessing Formula on MC and Yes/No Vocabulary Tests' Scores

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    abdollah baradaran

    2009-10-01

    Full Text Available A standard correction for random guessing (cfg formula on multiple-choice and Yes/Noexaminations was examined retrospectively in the scores of the intermediate female EFL learners in an English language school. The correctionwas a weighting formula for points awarded for correct answers,incorrect answers, and unanswered questions so that the expectedvalue of the increase in test score due to guessing was zero. The researcher compared uncorrected and corrected scores on examinationsusing multiple-choice and Yes/No formats. These short-answer formats eliminatedor at least greatly reduced the potential for guessing the correctanswer. The expectation for students to improve their grade by guessingon multiple-choice and Yes/No format examinations is well known. The researcher examined a method for correcting for random guessing (cfg " no knowledge" on multiple- choice and Yes/No vocabulary examinations by comparing application and non-application of correction for guessing (cfg formula on scores on these examinations. It was done to determine whether the test takers really knew the correct answer, or they had resorted to a kind of guessing. This study represented a unique opportunity to compare scores from multiple-choice and Yes/No examinations in a settingin which students were given the same number of questions ineach of the two format types testing their knowledge over thesame subject matter. The results of this study indicated that the significant differences were highlighted between the subjects' scores when cfg formula was applied and when it was not.

  1. Check your English vocabulary for IELTS all you need to pass your exams

    CERN Document Server

    Wyatt, Rawdon

    2009-01-01

    This workbook is an helpful self-study aid for anyone preparing for the IELTS (International English Language Testing System) exam. It includes a range of activities to help students build and improve their English vocabulary, and is suitable for both self-study and the classroom.

  2. Total and Conceptual Vocabulary in Spanish–English Bilinguals From 22 to 30 Months: Implications for Assessment

    Science.gov (United States)

    Core, Cynthia; Hoff, Erika; Rumiche, Rosario; Señor, Melissa

    2015-01-01

    Purpose Vocabulary assessment holds promise as a way to identify young bilingual children at risk for language delay. This study compares 2 measures of vocabulary in a group of young Spanish–English bilingual children to a single-language measure used with monolingual children. Method Total vocabulary and conceptual vocabulary were used to measure mean vocabulary size and growth in 47 Spanish–English bilingually developing children from 22 to 30 months of age based on results from the MacArthur–Bates Communicative Development Inventory (CDI; Fenson et al., 1993) and the Inventario del Desarrollo de Habilidades Comunicativas (Jackson-Maldonado et al., 2003). Bilingual children’s scores of total vocabulary and conceptual vocabulary were compared with CDI scores for a control group of 56 monolingual children. Results The total vocabulary measure resulted in mean vocabulary scores and average rate of growth similar to monolingual growth, whereas conceptual vocabulary scores were significantly smaller and grew at a slower rate than total vocabulary scores. Total vocabulary identified the same proportion of bilingual children below the 25th percentile on monolingual norms as the CDI did for monolingual children. Conclusion These results support the use of total vocabulary as a means of assessing early language development in young bilingual Spanish–English speaking children. PMID:24023382

  3. Memorization versus Semantic Mapping in L2 Vocabulary Acquisition

    Science.gov (United States)

    Khoii, Roya; Sharififar, Samira

    2013-01-01

    This study investigated the effects of two cognitive strategies, rote memorization and semantic mapping, on L2 vocabulary acquisition. Thirty-eight intermediate female EFL learners divided into two experimental groups participated in this study. Each experimental group used one of the strategies for vocabulary acquisition. After the four-month…

  4. Studies and Suggestions on English Vocabulary Teaching and Learning

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zheng, Shigao

    2012-01-01

    To improve vocabulary learning and teaching in ELT settings, two questionnaires are designed and directed to more than 100 students and teachers in one of China's key universities. The findings suggest that an enhanced awareness of cultural difference, metaphorical competence, and learners' autonomy in vocabulary acquisition will effectively…

  5. THE EFFECTIVENESS OF USING CLUSTER CONNECTION TOWARDS STUDENTS’ VOCABULARY MASTERY AT THE EIGHTH GRADE OF MTs DARUL IHSAN DURI

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    Setiawati

    2017-12-01

    Full Text Available This study aimed to know The Effectiveness of Using Cluster Connection Towards The Students’ VocabularyMastery at The Eighth Graders at MTs Darul Ihsan Duri. Related to the object of the research, the researcher used experimental method. The design of the research was control and experiment group; pretest – posttest design. The research was conducted at MTs. Daru lIhsan Duri in the academic year 2015/2016. The population of this research was the eighth grade students of MTs Darul Ihsan Duri. The total population was 62 students. The sample of the research was class VIII.A as control class and class VIII.B as experimental class. Class VIII.A consisted of 31 students. Class VIII.B consisted of 31 students. In analyzing the research data, the researcher used Independent sampleT-Test. T-Test was used to know whether cluster connection technique is effective toward the students’ vocabulary mastery. The result of the research showed that using cluster connection technique was effective toward the students’ vocabulary mastery. Based on statistical calculation in data analysis, the researcher gave interpretation of posttest score in experiment class and the control class. From the calculation, t-test value was 2.627 and t-table was 2.00. Because t-test value (2.627 was higher than t-table (2.00, it could be concluded that alternative hypothesis (Ha was accepted and the null hypothesis (Ho was rejected. It means that teaching vocabulary by using cluster connection is effective

  6. The Addenbrooke's Cognitive Examination Revised (ACE-R) and its sub-scores: normative values in an Italian population sample.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Siciliano, Mattia; Raimo, Simona; Tufano, Dario; Basile, Giuseppe; Grossi, Dario; Santangelo, Franco; Trojano, Luigi; Santangelo, Gabriella

    2016-03-01

    The Addenbrooke's Cognitive Examination Revised (ACE-R) is a rapid screening battery, including five sub-scales to explore different cognitive domains: attention/orientation, memory, fluency, language and visuospatial. ACE-R is considered useful in discriminating cognitively normal subjects from patients with mild dementia. The aim of present study was to provide normative values for ACE-R total score and sub-scale scores in a large sample of Italian healthy subjects. Five hundred twenty-six Italian healthy subjects (282 women and 246 men) of different ages (age range 20-93 years) and educational level (from primary school to university) underwent ACE-R and Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA). Multiple linear regression analysis revealed that age and education significantly influenced performance on ACE-R total score and sub-scale scores. A significant effect of gender was found only in sub-scale attention/orientation. From the derived linear equation, a correction grid for raw scores was built. Inferential cut-offs score were estimated using a non-parametric technique and equivalent scores (ES) were computed. Correlation analysis showed a good significant correlation between ACE-R adjusted scores with MoCA adjusted scores (r = 0.612, p < 0.001). The present study provided normative data for the ACE-R in an Italian population useful for both clinical and research purposes.

  7. Contextual Clues Vocabulary Strategies Choice among Business Management Students

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ahmad, Siti Nurshafezan; Muhammad, Ahmad Mazli; Kasim, Aini Mohd

    2018-01-01

    New trends in vocabulary learning focus on strategic vocabulary learning to create more active and independent language learners. Utilising suitable contextual clues strategies is seen as vital in enabling and equipping language learners with the skill to guess word meaning accurately, moving away from dependency on a dictionary to improve their…

  8. Lexical Coverage of TED Talks: Implications for Vocabulary Instruction

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nurmukhamedov, Ulugbek

    2017-01-01

    Teachers of English are often in search of authentic audio and video materials that promote learners' listening comprehension and vocabulary development. TED Talks, a set of freely available web presentations, could be a useful resource to promote vocabulary instruction. The present replication study examines the lexical coverage of TED Talks by…

  9. Does the Freedom of Reader Choice Affect Second Language Incidental Vocabulary Acquisition?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Reynolds, Barry Lee; Bai, Yi Ling

    2013-01-01

    In this study, the effect of freedom of reader choice on the incidental acquisition of vocabulary was investigated in English as a Foreign Language (EFL) reading classes. Despite advocating free extensive reading as a means of obtaining a native-like L2 vocabulary,existing studies investigating the incidental acquisition of vocabulary have not…

  10. Task-based incidental vocabulary learning in L2 Arabic: The role of proficiency and task performance

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    Ayman A. Mohamed

    2016-03-01

    Full Text Available This study tests the claim that word learning in a second language are contingent upon a task’s involvement load (i.e. the amount of need, search, and evaluation it imposes, as proposed by Laufer and Hulstijn (2001. Fifty-three English-speaking learners of Arabic were assigned to one of three vocabulary learning tasks that varied in the degree of involvement: reading comprehension with glosses (low, fill-in-the-gap task (medium, and sentence writing (high. Ten words, selected based on a pretest, were targeted in the tasks. Results showed a main effect of task, with the sentence writing task yielding the highest rates of vocabulary learning, followed by the gap-fill task, and finally the reading comprehension task. A significant correlation was found between accuracy of performance across participants and their subsequent vocabulary acquisition in the immediate posttest. Within groups, only the performance of the writing group correlated significantly with their posttest scores. Results of the present study validate the hypothesis and point to multiple factors at play in incidental vocabulary acquisition. The study provides further arguments to refine the hypothesis and implement pedagogical practices that accommodate incidental learning in foreign language settings.

  11. Spelling Ability in College Students Predicted by Decoding, Print Exposure, and Vocabulary

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ocal, Turkan; Ehri, Linnea

    2017-01-01

    This study examines students' exposure to print, vocabulary and decoding as predictors of spelling skills. Participants were 42 college students (Mean age 22.5, SD = 7.87; 31 females and 11 males). Hierarchical regression analyses showed that most of the variance in spelling was explained by vocabulary knowledge. When vocabulary was entered first…

  12. Psychometric Testing of the Persian Version of the Perceived Perioperative Competence Scale-Revised.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ajorpaz, Neda Mirbagher; Tafreshi, Mansoureh Zagheri; Mohtashami, Jamileh; Zayeri, Farid; Rahemi, Zahra

    2017-12-01

    The clinical competence of nursing students in operating room (OR) is an important issue in nursing education. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the psychometric properties of the Persian Perceived Perioperative Competence Scale-Revised (PPCS-R) instrument. This cross-sectional study was conducted across 12 universities in Iran. The psychometric properties and factor structure of the PPCS-R for OR students was examined. Based on the results of factor analysis, seven items were removed from the original version of the scale. The fitness indices of the Persian scale include comparative fit index (CFI) = .90, goodness-of-fit-index (GFI) = .86, adjusted goodness-of-fit index (AGFI) = .90, normed fit index (NFI) = .84, and root mean square error of approximation (RMSEA) = .04. High validity and reliability indicated the scale's value for measuring perceived perioperative competence of Iranian OR students.

  13. PROFILING THE VOCABULARY OF NEWS TEXTS AS CAPACITY BUILDING FOR LANGUAGE TEACHERS

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    Gusti Astika

    2015-01-01

    Full Text Available Abstract: The importance of vocabulary in reading has been discussed extensively in the literature. Researchers claim that vocabulary is essential and has a central role in comprehension.   Development in ICT and easy access to information from the internet necessitate language teachers to have relevant knowledge and skills to utilize pedagogical tools to use authentic online materials for learning purposes.  One of such a tool is the Vocabulary Profiler that can be used to categorize lexical words in a text into different frequency levels: high, low, and academic word list. This paper discusses how to use the Vocabulary Profiler to classify words in a text into the different categories.  The utilization of this tool can significantly alleviate the workload of teachers in selecting vocabulary in  reading text which is conventionally based on teachers’ intuition and perception. The sample text in this paper was selected from VOA website which may not be found in the textbooks currently used at schools. The paper ends with some implication for teaching about vocabulary selection.

  14. Exploring Vocabulary Learning Strategies Used by UPM TESL Undergraduates

    Science.gov (United States)

    Safian, Nur Hanisah; Malakar, Sharmila; Kalajahi, Seyed Ali Rezvani

    2014-01-01

    Vocabulary learning is one of the most challenging factors that learners will face during the process of second language learning. The main pursuit of the present study was to investigate the vocabulary language strategies among Malaysian ESL students majoring in Teaching English as a Second Language (TESL) at University Putra Malaysia. There are…

  15. Service Learning: Flooding Students with Vocabulary through Read Alouds

    Science.gov (United States)

    Holmes, Kerry; Thompson, Judith

    2014-01-01

    In the spirit of the Steven Stahl 600 Book Kid Challenge, 90 preservice teachers engaged children in 36 read-aloud sessions for a vocabulary improvement service learning project. This article describes how the preservice teachers used narrative and informational books as a vehicle for rare-word vocabulary exposure for children ages 8-12.

  16. The Portuguese version of Addenbrooke's Cognitive Examination-Revised (ACE-R) in the diagnosis of subcortical vascular dementia and Alzheimer's disease.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gonçalves, Cátia; Pinho, Maria Salomé; Cruz, Vitor; Pais, Joana; Gens, Helena; Oliveira, Fátima; Santana, Isabel; Rente, José; Santos, José Manuel

    2015-01-01

    The aim of this study was to investigate the accuracy of the Portuguese version of Addenbrooke's Cognitive Examination-Revised (ACE-R) in detecting and differentiating early stage subcortical vascular dementia (SVD) from early stage Alzheimer's disease (AD). Ninety-two subjects (18 SVD patients, 36 AD patients, and 38 healthy controls) were assessed using the ACE-R. Between-group's differences were evaluated using the Quade's rank analysis of covariance. The diagnostic accuracy and discriminatory ability of the ACE-R were examined via receiver operating characteristic (ROC) analysis. The ACE-R was able to successfully discriminate between patients and healthy subjects. The mean ACE-R total scores differed between SVD and AD patients; there were also significant differences in attention and orientation and in memory measures between the groups. An optimal cut-off of 72/73 was found for the detection of AD (sensitivity: 97%; specificity: 92%) and SVD (sensitivity: 100%; specificity: 92%).

  17. Vocabulary Acquisition and Task Effectiveness in Involvement Load Hypothesis: A case in Iran

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    Hassan Soleimani

    2015-09-01

    Full Text Available Involvement load hypothesis as a cognitive construct states that tasks with higher involvements yield better results in vocabulary retention. This comparison group designed study examined the immediate and delayed effects of tasks with different involvements in involvement load hypothesis (Laufer & Hulstijn, 2001. Applying a version of Nelson Proficiency Test as a homogenizing exclusion criterion, 33 low proficiency Iranian EFL learners were randomly assigned to three experimental groups: blank-filling, sentence making, and reading comprehension. The results of ANOVA and Kruskal-Wallis tests supported task-induced involvement in immediate posttest since the sentence making task (M=5.72 yielded better results in comparison with the other two blank-filling (M=5.45 and reading comprehension (M=3.18 tasks. Nevertheless, sentence making and blank-filling tasks of which the involvements were somehow similar did not yield significant superiority to each other. It is inferred that tasks with nearer involvements yield somehow similar results in vocabulary acquisition.

  18. Some Techniques for Teaching Vocabulary. ERIC Focus Reports on the Teaching of Foreign Languages, Number 27.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Michel, Joseph; Patin, Paul

    Discussion of techniques for teaching vocabulary in language programs centers on five major areas: (1) "knowing" the word, (2) selection of vocabulary, (3) grading vocabulary for presentation, (4) teaching methods, and (5) vocabulary expansion in advanced levels. Theory of vocabulary instruction is largely supported by writings of Nelson Brooks,…

  19. Rolling Deck to Repository (R2R): Collaborative Development of Linked Data for Oceanographic Research

    Science.gov (United States)

    Arko, Robert; Chandler, Cynthia; Stocks, Karen; Smith, Shawn; Clark, Paul; Shepherd, Adam; Moore, Carla; Beaulieu, Stace

    2013-04-01

    The Rolling Deck to Repository (R2R) program is developing infrastructure to ensure the underway sensor data from U.S. academic oceanographic research vessels are routinely and consistently documented, preserved in long-term archives, and disseminated to the science community. The entire R2R Catalog is published online as a Linked Data collection, making it easily accessible to encourage discovery and integration with data at other repositories. We are developing the R2R Linked Data collection with specific goals in mind: 1.) We facilitate data access and reuse by publishing the richest possible collection of resources to describe vessels, cruises, instruments, and datasets from the U.S. academic fleet, including data quality assessment results and clean trackline navigation; 2.) We facilitate data citation through the entire lifecycle from field acquisition to shoreside archiving to journal articles and global syntheses, by publishing Digital Object Identifiers (DOIs) for datasets and encoding them directly into our Linked Data resources; and 3.) We facilitate federation with other repositories such as the Biological and Chemical Oceanography Data Management Office (BCO-DMO), InterRidge Vents Database, and Index to Marine and Lacustrine Geological Samples (IMLGS), by reciprocal linking between RDF resources and supporting the RDF Query Language. R2R participates in the Ocean Data Interoperability Platform (ODIP), a joint European-U.S.-Australian partnership to facilitate the sharing of data and documentation across international borders. We publish our controlled vocabularies as a Simple Knowledge Organization System (SKOS) concept collection, and are working toward alignment with SeaDataNet and other community-standard terms using the NERC Vocabulary Server (NVS). http://rvdata.us/

  20. The vocabulary profile of Slovak children with primary language impairment compared to typically developing Slovak children measured by LITMUS-CLT.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kapalková, Svetlana; Slančová, Daniela

    2017-01-01

    This study compared a sample of children with primary language impairment (PLI) and typically developing age-matched children using the crosslinguistic lexical tasks (CLT-SK). We also compared the PLI children with typically developing language-matched younger children who were matched on the basis of receptive vocabulary. Overall, statistical testing showed that the vocabulary of the PLI children was significantly different from the vocabulary of the age-matched children, but not statistically different from the younger children who were matched on the basis of their receptive vocabulary size. Qualitative analysis of the correct answers revealed that the PLI children showed higher rigidity compared to the younger language-matched children who are able to use more synonyms or derivations across word class in naming tasks. Similarly, an examination of the children's naming errors indicated that the language-matched children exhibited more semantic errors, whereas PLI children showed more associative errors.