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Additional Language (additional + language)
Selected AbstractsThe early identification of dyslexia: Children with English as an additional languageDYSLEXIA, Issue 3 2004Jane M. Hutchinson Abstract It is generally accepted that dyslexia should be identified early for interventions to have maximum effect. However, when children speak English as an additional language (EAL), diagnosis is more complex and there is concern that these children tend to be under-identified. This paper reports a longitudinal study following the development of phonological awareness skills in relation to progress in learning to read with a cohort of British Asian children learning EAL and their monolingual peers. It also sought to determine the usefulness of a measure of phonological skills for the identification of dyslexic-type difficulties in children learning EAL. Analysis revealed that both cohorts achieved similar levels of reading accuracy in school Years 2, 4 and 6, with higher levels of reading comprehension for the monolingual children and faster reading fluency for children learning EAL in each school year. There was a similar pattern of relationships between the reading measures and measures of phonological awareness for both groups of children. However, monolingual children achieved higher levels of rhyme detection and alliteration fluency whilst the children learning EAL achieved faster number naming times. Overall, a phonological assessment battery was useful in identifying reading accuracy related difficulties in both groups of children. However, concerns are raised about the sensitivity of such measures following the introduction of the Literacy Hour. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source] What Underlies Immersion Students' Production: The Case Of Avoir Besoin DeFOREIGN LANGUAGE ANNALS, Issue 3 2004Sharon Lapkin What they say offers insights into the students' beliefs about the target language they are learning and using, and reflects the cognitive processes they use to produce an utterance. In this paper, we analyze dialogues between pairs of eighth grade French immersion students about avoir besoin de. Our analysis provides insights that allow teachers to help students more accurately encode the meaning they wish to express. Teachers and researchers are also given an insiders view of how learners make use of what they already know to support their learning of an additional language. [source] Currents and eddies in the discourse of assessment: a learning-focused interpretation1INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF APPLIED LINGUISTICS, Issue 2 2006Pauline Rea-Dickins évaluation formative de la langue; évaluation sommative de la langue; enseignement; l'anglais en tant que langue supplémentaire (seconde); interaction dans la classe This article explores processes of classroom assessment, in particular ways in which learners using English as an additional language engage in formative assessment within a primary school setting. Transcript evidence of teacher and learner interactions during activities viewed by teachers as formative or summative assessment opportunities are presented as the basis for an analysis of teacher feedback, learner responses to this feedback, as well as learner-initiated talk. The analyses suggest that there are different teacher orientations within assessment and highlight the potential that assessment dialogues might offer for assessment as a resource for language learning, thus situating this work at the interface between assessment and second language acquisition. The article also questions the extent to which learners are aware of the different assessment purposes embedded within instruction. Cet article explore les procédés d'évaluation pratiqués dans les salles de classe des écoles primaires en particulier les méthodes que les apprenants de l'anglais seconde langue utilisent dans le cadre d' une évaluation formative. Les transcriptions des interactions entre l'enseignant et l'apprenant durant les activités considérées par les enseignants comme étant des opportunités d'évaluation à la fois formatives et sommativesforment la base de l'analyse du feedback de l'enseignant, des réponses de l'apprenant à ce feedback ainsi que du discours initié par l'apprenant. Les analyses suggèrent qu'il existe différentes orientations de la part de l'enseignant au sein de l'évaluation et mettent en valeur le potentiel que les dialogues d'évaluation peuvent offrir en tant que ressource dans l'apprentissage d'une langue, situant ainsi ce travail dans l'interface entre l'évaluation et l'acquisition d'une seconde langue. L'auteur de cet article se demande à quel point les apprenants sont conscients des différents objectifs d'évaluation ancrés dans l'enseignement. [source] Using the Barnes Language Assessment with older ethnic minority groupsINTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF GERIATRIC PSYCHIATRY, Issue 4 2009Victoria Ramsey Abstract Objective There are many issues concerning the assessment of older people from ethnic minority groups, the most significant being the language barrier experienced by those whose English is an additional language (EAL). This study aimed to test the hypothesis that EAL participants would score less well than those with English as a first language (EFL) on the sub-tests of the Barnes Language Assessment (BLA), elucidate the reasons for any such differences and discuss the implications. Methods The Barnes Language Assessment (BLA) is an accurate tool providing information about expected patterns of language in different dementia syndromes. This study compares the performance of EAL participants with EFL participants. The BLA was administered to 144 participants, divided into sub-groups with respect to age, gender and educational background, none of whom had a working diagnosis of dementia. Results Results suggest that EAL speakers performed less well compared to EFL speakers when other variables were matched. Significantly better BLA scores, at the one percent level, were found in both EAL and EFL groups with higher educational achievement for eight of the 15 sub-tests. Conclusion Differences were found in performance on the BLA between EAL and EFL participants. The degree of difference between EAL and EFL speakers decreased as educational achievement rose. The consequences of these findings for service delivery and the problems of recruitment of older EAL participants are discussed. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source] A Global, Community Building Language?INTERNATIONAL STUDIES PERSPECTIVES, Issue 2 2008Amitai Etzioni Although long championed, a global language has not come to fruition despite considerable efforts. Many fear that such a language would undermine the particularistic, identity-constituting primary languages of local and national communities. These concerns can be addressed at least in part by utilizing a two-tiered approach in which efforts to protect primary languages are intensified at the same time that a global language is adopted as an additional language and not as a substitutive one. Although the U.N. or some other such global organization could, theoretically, choose a language to serve as the global language, English is already (and increasingly) occupying this position as a result of the colonial period and post-colonial developments. In this respect, English is compared to the development of the railroad system in the United States, which although introduced at considerable human costs by overpowering corporations, later became an integral part of the economy and society. Whether English should be adopted as a second language, or as a third or fourth one, is heavily influenced by the level of difficulty involved,the labor to fluency ratio,in acquiring a new language. [source] The developmental progression of comprehension-related skills in children learning EALJOURNAL OF RESEARCH IN READING, Issue 1 2003Jane M. Hutchinson Many children who speak English as an additional language (EAL) underachieve in areas of English literacy, especially in the primary years. These difficulties are often attributed to low levels of English language fluency as they enter the education system. In an effort to provide a greater understanding of this underachievement, the cognitive-linguistic factors underlying literacy development in monolingual children and children learning EAL were examined in a three-year longitudinal project. The project, conducted in schools in the north of England, followed the developmental progression of forty-three children learning EAL and forty-three monolingual children from school years Two to Four. Children were assessed on measures of reading accuracy, reading and listening comprehension, receptive and expressive vocabulary, and reception of grammar. Analysis revealed similarities between the two groups of children on reading accuracy, but children learning EAL had lower levels of vocabulary and comprehension at each point in time. Data are discussed in terms of the development of underlying language skills and the impact of these skills on both reading and listening comprehension. The implications of the findings for classroom practice are considered. [source] The Social and Private Worlds of Speech: Speech for Inter- and Intramental ActivityMODERN LANGUAGE JOURNAL, Issue 3 2007HEATHER J. SMITH During a study designed to examine the processes of learning English as an additional language as manifest in the interactive behaviour of small groups of bilingual school children playing specially designed board games, several instances of private speech were captured. Private speech is commonly described as speech addressed to the self for intramental purposes. Unlike many studies, this research was not specifically aimed at eliciting private speech. Indeed, the overtly social nature of game playing probably acted to limit the production of speech for intramental purposes. In effect, therefore, interest lies in the fact that private speech was produced within this context. The article presents an examination of the functions of the private speech produced and the consequences of such outward verbalisation within this interactive group activity. As a result, a heuristic model of the relationship between speech for social and private purposes is proposed. [source] Factors influencing the performance of English as an Additional Language nursing students: instructors' perspectivesNURSING INQUIRY, Issue 3 2009Tam Truong Donnelly The increasing number of immigrants in Canada has led to more nursing students for whom English is an additional language (EAL). Limited language skills, cultural differences, and a lack of support can pose special challenges for these students and the instructors who teach them. Using a qualitative research methodology, in-depth interviews with fourteen EAL nursing students and two focus group interviews with nine instructors were conducted. In this paper, the instructors' perspectives are presented. Data acquired from the instructors suggest that the challenges experienced by EAL students and instructors reside in a lack of awareness and support at the institutional and structural levels rather than solely on capacities of individual EAL students or instructors. From this study, identification of supportive activities for nurse educators and education sector decision makers emerged. [source] The parenting of young people: using newsletters to provide information and supportCHILDREN & SOCIETY, Issue 4 2005Julie Shepherd The literature shows that many parents of young people do not have enough information, advice, and support in bringing up their children. This article describes an innovative project, undertaken by the Trust for the Study of Adolescence (TSA), which evaluated the use of newsletters as a form of support for the parents of young people. Following consultation with parents and young people, four newsletters were produced in a ,magazine' style. The newsletters were distributed to over 4000 parents across the UK. An evaluation was undertaken, involving longitudinal interviews with 40 families and over 800 telephone interviews with parents. This showed the newsletters to be an effective form of information and support for the majority of parents. However, the results also highlighted a number of issues to be considered in using newsletters as a parenting intervention, including levels of literacy, English as an additional language, social class, and reaching fathers as well as mothers. [source] | |||||||||||||