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1 – 10 of over 114000Sonnette Smith, Adelia Carstens and Lesley Stainbank
This paper aims to explore the individual and social learning experiences of first-year accounting students studying in English as an additional language. The challenges of these…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to explore the individual and social learning experiences of first-year accounting students studying in English as an additional language. The challenges of these students relating to listening, reading, speaking and writing in English, and the impact of these on their academic outcomes, are examined.
Design/methodology/approach
A qualitative case study design was used. Face-to-face semi-structured interviews were conducted with 14 students, both academically successful and unsuccessful, who had completed the first year. A thematic analysis of the data was conducted and a hybrid approach of deductive and inductive coding was used to interpret the data. This entailed the application of a language skills-based framework of teaching and learning to the first-order process of coding. An iterative and reflective process allowed themes to emerge from the data. These themes, in turn, triggered second-order codes that resonated with aspects of the interactionist approach to second language acquisition (SLA).
Findings
The themes that emerged indicated that students’ ability to interact with their study material, and their exposure to positive verbal interaction opportunities in both formal and informal contexts, may have contributed to their academic success.
Practical implications
It is recommended that an interactionist perspective be considered when designing curriculum resources and accounting language learning activities for first-year accounting students.
Originality/value
It is anticipated that the results will contribute towards building a bridge between accounting education and SLA research and provide a more informed linguistic foundation for incorporating language skills into the accounting curriculum.
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The purpose of this paper is to assess the impact of the recommendation to replace identity-first language with person-first language on people who self-identify as recovering…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to assess the impact of the recommendation to replace identity-first language with person-first language on people who self-identify as recovering addicts as part of a recovery programme. Narcotics Anonymous (NA) will be used to illustrate the contextualised nature of the recovering addict identity.
Design/methodology/approach
To demonstrate the value of the recovering addict identity and social relations in NA, this paper draws on Axel Honneth’s theory of mutual recognition and self-formation.
Findings
Person-first language overlooks the significance of identity-first language to people in 12-step recovery. This oversight is linked to the logic of stigma reduction which excludes all identity-first language by association rather than assessing the impact of such terms on a case-by-case basis. Honneth’s theory is used to show how the recovering addict identity facilitates self-confidence and self-esteem through relations of mutual recognition in NA.
Research limitations/implications
The argument excludes people who identify as recovering addicts, but do not attend 12-step groups. Further research would be needed to understand how the recommendation to use person-first language instead of identity-first language impacts upon other recovery communities and pathways.
Practical implications
The recommendation to replace identity-first language with person-first language might result in 12-step fellowships becoming marginalised within the broader academic and policy and practice arena. Language preferences can become a contentious issue when 12-step groups and their members enter the wider recovery arena where their preferred terminology is viewed as stigmatising and dehumanising.
Originality/value
To the best of the author’s knowledge, this is the first article to propose an alternative theoretical framework to stigma reduction for judging morally appropriate language in the alcohol and drugs field.
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The importance of the mutual interaction between consumers and the company in service encounters is widely recognised, but researchers have usually presumed that both parties are…
Abstract
Purpose
The importance of the mutual interaction between consumers and the company in service encounters is widely recognised, but researchers have usually presumed that both parties are able to interact with each other. That is not always the case. If they do not share a common language, it may have consequences for the service encounter. This paper aims to analyze consumer language preferences across four language groups.
Design/methodology/approach
Quantitative and qualitative studies are conducted among bilingual speakers of four languages (English/French and Finnish/Swedish) in two countries (Canada and Finland). Study 1 is a quantitative analysis of the degree of importance that respondents in the various language groups attach to the use of their first language in a variety of service encounters. Study 2 is a qualitative examination of the factors that determine the preferences expressed in Study 1.
Findings
Use of first language in service encounters is preferred by consumers in all four language groups. However, the reasons for preferring first‐language use differ between countries. Language is shown to have emotional connotations for consumers that go beyond mere communication.
Originality/value
This is the first study of the role of language in service encounters among consumers from different countries.
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Valery J. Frants, Jacob Shapiro and Vladimir G. Voiskunskii
The present quantitative-descriptive study aims to measure the level of English language learning autonomy of the pre-service teachers.
Abstract
Purpose
The present quantitative-descriptive study aims to measure the level of English language learning autonomy of the pre-service teachers.
Design/methodology/approach
A short list questionnaire developed by Dixon (2011) was administered to 61 pre-service English teachers enrolled in Western Mindanao State University in order to measure their English language learning autonomy. Differences on the levels of English language learning autonomy across participants’ gender, number of languages spoken and first language were also explored.
Findings
Results revealed that participants are highly autonomous in English language learning. Gender, number of languages spoken and first language were found to have no significant influence on English language learning autonomy.
Research limitations/implications
Results on the level of English language learning autonomy indicate that pre-service teachers are highly autonomous and, therefore, ready for lifelong learning. This implies pedagogical and instructional advantages, as they can learn and explore the language independently.
Practical implications
Since gender, number of languages spoken and first language do not significantly influence the level of English language learning autonomy, it is suggested that English teachers do not need to develop differentiated instructions and activities anymore, which will cater the three profile variables in fostering autonomous learning, as participants already exhibit a level of autonomy in English language learning.
Social implications
This would allow teachers and students to be aware of the importance of autonomy in language learning. Thus, it will prepare them to be independent and lifelong learners, as they engage themselves in the professional world.
Originality/value
As one of the Asia’s developing countries, the Philippines have captured a small number of studies and contributions to autonomous learning in the field of research (Madrunio, Tarrayo, Tupas and Valdez, 2016 as cited in Iñigo, 2018). Specifically, there is no research study conducted that measures “language learning autonomy” in the Philippine’s higher education much to the knowledge of the researcher. Thus, this study will be the first one to determine the level of autonomy of pre-service teachers in English language learning in the Philippine context. Furthermore, the present study also intended to determine significant differences on the level of language learning autonomy of pre-service teachers across genders, number of languages spoken and their first language.
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Language is a social and engaging process (Bloom & Lahey, 1978), which is not fully formed until a child is six or seven (Roseberry-McKibben, 2007). Language is developed through…
Abstract
Language is a social and engaging process (Bloom & Lahey, 1978), which is not fully formed until a child is six or seven (Roseberry-McKibben, 2007). Language is developed through social experiences, modeling, observing, and experimenting. Yet our educational system operates on the premise that typically developing children enter kindergarten, at age five with a firm foundation in speaking and listening, and equivalent exposures to pre-literacy skills (Roseberry-McKibben, 2007). For many children who speak a first language other than English, this is not the case. Typically, their first language is not supported in school, and the expectation is that they will learn to speak, communicate, and use English in order to understand grade level core content. Thus, they begin their education at a disadvantage. For many children this expectation creates an initial learning knowledge gap that appears to widen annually. This chapter will examine the literature related to language development and second language learning and the laws and mandates that drive our classroom practice.
Shartriya Collier, Betty Burston and Aarika Rhodes
A review of current initiatives to increase science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) achievement among American youth and young adults reveals the presence of…
Abstract
Purpose
A review of current initiatives to increase science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) achievement among American youth and young adults reveals the presence of “IQism”. That is, whether such interventions are directed toward low-income minorities and/or the disproportionate number of higher-income youth who have selected liberal arts majors over an STEM major, the country has reserved STEM as a field for “the best and the brightest”. Utilizing the Theory of Multiple Intelligences, this article argues that STEM content is accessible to all students including those whose first language is informal rather than formal English. Based upon these premises, this conceptual paper aims to introduce the framework of Teaching STEM as a Second Language as a strategy for elevating STEM achievement among students who would otherwise be excluded from the STEM movement.
Design/methodology/approach
This paper utilizes a review of both classic and current literature on second language acquisition to identify strategies that can be adopted by STEM instructors to increase STEM achievement among youth and young adults who are viewed as “average” and/or “below-average” academic performers.
Findings
Using quotes that confirm the thesis that STEM subject matter has been historically viewed as the domain of those whose cognitive skills place them among the “best and the brightest”, the second language acquisition (SLA) strategy of “scaffolding” is introduced as a pedagogy for producing “comprehensible output” when STEM content is taught to students whose first language is informal English. Constructivism, a concept currently used to guide the teaching of STEM contents is introduced as a framework that merges best practices in STEM and SLA. Using Cummins’ (1991) Common Underlying Proficiency Model, other strategies are also proposed for exporting SLA pedagogies and approaches to elevate equity in the quest to improve STEM achievement levels among youth and adults in the USA.
Originality/value
SLA theories and concepts have not been applied as a potential tool for teaching STEM. This is a unique and powerful lens that can be used to more effectively support the needs of underrepresented populations.
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Catherine Franc and Annie Morton
We have been applying inquiry-based learning (IBL) methodologies to language teaching in the department of French studies at the University of Manchester (UK) since 2006. We were…
Abstract
We have been applying inquiry-based learning (IBL) methodologies to language teaching in the department of French studies at the University of Manchester (UK) since 2006. We were aware that IBL was successfully employed within scientific subjects such as medicine and dentistry, but little research had been carried out within higher education in the adoption of such methodologies in advanced level language learning. Our projects in grammar, phonetics, interpreting and in producing resources for students on their period of residence abroad have not been without their challenges and we have experienced some reticence from students and educators alike. This chapter will set out a rationale for the adoption of IBL methodologies in language provision, detail the projects undertaken and analyse their results in terms of both measurable ‘product’ and perceived ‘process’-based outcomes. Finally, we will examine the dovetailing of competencies enhanced by IBL with those promoted more generally through language learning, a combination which we believe rends our students highly employable in the global jobs market.
To gain a better understanding of the impact of students’ home languages and cultural experiences on reading and writing instruction, the instructional methods and materials that…
Abstract
To gain a better understanding of the impact of students’ home languages and cultural experiences on reading and writing instruction, the instructional methods and materials that best supported these students’ emerging bilingualism, and the contributions of their families in their utilization of their home languages and cultural experiences in a school setting. Mixed methods provided data on the literacy development in both home and school languages of three first-grade Latino students who were non-native English speakers enrolled in a school literacy intervention program for 12 to 20 weeks. The students’ confidence and motivation within their reading and writing instruction improved greatly with the encouragement of the use of their home languages and cultural experiences. All three students showed gains in speaking, reading, and writing in both their home and school languages. They made solid and useful connections between the languages and the texts, and drew upon their cultural experiences, which strengthened their reading and writing strategies in both languages. Involving the children’s families in lessons and in activities at school, and supporting their use of reading and writing at home, helped build relationships among the participants, families, and school faculty. This contributed to the beginnings of new understandings on the part of the school’s teachers and administration. Students need to have the space to use their home languages and cultural experiences in school, and I describe how educators in varied educational settings can replicate the same kinds of methods, materials, and support I offered to these students. I also describe suggested ways that teachers and administrators could include the knowledge of emergent bilingual families within the life of the school to further expand all students’ learning and promote social justice in the classroom setting.
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The definition of modeling languages is a key‐prerequisite for model‐driven engineering. In this respect, Domain‐Specific Modeling Languages (DSMLs) defined from scratch in terms…
Abstract
Purpose
The definition of modeling languages is a key‐prerequisite for model‐driven engineering. In this respect, Domain‐Specific Modeling Languages (DSMLs) defined from scratch in terms of metamodels and the extension of Unified Modeling Language (UML) by profiles are the proposed options. For interoperability reasons, however, the need arises to bridge modeling languages originally defined as DSMLs to UML. Therefore, the paper aims to propose a semi‐automatic approach for bridging DSMLs and UML by employing model‐driven techniques.
Design/methodology/approach
The paper discusses problems of the ad hoc integration of DSMLs and UML and from this discussion a systematic and semi‐automatic integration approach consisting of two phases is derived. In the first phase, the correspondences between the modeling concepts of the DSML and UML are defined manually. In the second phase, these correspondences are used for automatically producing UML profiles to represent the domain‐specific modeling concepts in UML and model transformations for transforming DSML models to UML models and vice versa. The paper presents the ideas within a case study for bridging ComputerAssociate's DSML of the AllFusion Gen CASE tool with IBM's Rational Software Modeler for UML.
Findings
The ad hoc definition of UML profiles and model transformations for achieving interoperability is typically a tedious and error‐prone task. By employing a semi‐automatic approach one gains several advantages. First, the integrator only has to deal with the correspondences between the DSML and UML on a conceptual level. Second, all repetitive integration tasks are automated by using model transformations. Third, well‐defined guidelines support the systematic and comprehensible integration.
Research limitations/implications
The paper focuses on the integrating direction DSMLs to UML, but not on how to derive a DSML defined in terms of a metamodel from a UML profile.
Originality/value
Although, DSMLs defined as metamodels and UML profiles are frequently applied in practice, only few attempts have been made to provide interoperability between these two worlds. The contribution of this paper is to integrate the so far competing worlds of DSMLs and UML by proposing a semi‐automatic approach, which allows exchanging models between these two worlds without loss of information.
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