Context Of Acquisition Research Articles

Who Are Heritage Writers? Language Experiences and Writing Proficiency

AbstractThis article explores the relationship between the writing proficiency of heritage speakers of Mandarin Chinese, Korean, and Spanish and their context of acquisition, educational experiences, and language practices. Biographical data and proficiency ratings obtained with the ACTFL Writing Proficiency Test were collected for 187 adult heritage speakers. These data are analyzed in order to shed light on connections between the writing proficiency of heritage speakers of these three languages and their language experiences, which have implications for placement and pedagogy in the postsecondary setting. The results of the analysis are then deployed in a series of recommendations to support the development of writing proficiency in the classroom. The authors advocate a proficiency‐oriented approach to the teaching of heritage language that leverages the learners’ linguistic resources.

A minimal mechanism of the bilingual advantage

Looking to atypical populations to illuminate the functioning of core cognitive systems has a long history in the behavioral sciences (e.g., Caramazza, 1986; McCloskey, 1992). Pierce, Genesee, Delcenserie, and Morgan (2017) continue that tradition in their keynote article, here by shedding light on how the development of phonological working memory (PWM) may be shaped not only by individual genetic variation but also by various features of the language acquisition context, whether that context is enriched, as in bilingualism; delayed, as with cochlear implantation (CI) or international adoption (IA); or impoverished, as with deaf children of hearing parents or repeat cases of otitis media. Their review of the literature demonstrates that a sensitive (/critical) period for phonological development, encompassing variation in quality, quantity, and timing of early exposure, has crucial consequences for an individual's level of PWM attainment and, by a compelling extension, for aspects of ongoing language development such as vocabulary learning and reading skills.

Learning of safety by a social fish: applications for studying post-traumatic stress in humans

As animal behaviour theory has developed over the past 70 years, much attention has gone towards social behaviour. While our basic knowledge of social systems has grown substantially, it has rarely been applied to human issues. Here, we attempted to bridge the gap between animal behaviour theory and human psychology by conducting social experiments involving fish. As in many species, minnows (family: Cyprinidae) repeatedly exposed to risky situations can develop a behavioural phenotype characterized by neophobic tendencies, pacing and stereotypic behaviours. Here, we tested whether the simple presence of calm (or un-calm) conspecific models could lead to a weakening of the high-risk phenotype in minnows that acquired fear either in isolation or within a group. We first documented that the social context of risk exposure impacted the intensity of the high-risk phenotype, with minnows exposed to risk in isolation showing stronger high-risk traits compared to those that were exposed to risk in groups. However, individuals exposed to risk in isolation were more influenced by calm models, despite their more pronounced phenotype. We argue that group exposure led to social reinforcement of risk, which in turn decreased the information transfer about safety in these individuals. We also demonstrate that a group of calm models, and not un-calm models, was required to weaken the high-risk phenotype. These findings highlight the interplay between social reinforcement of risk and safety in social groups and the impact of groups on information transmission. Moreover, our results parallel anecdotal reports of successes or failures of social therapies for post-traumatic stress (PTS) patients based on the social context of symptom acquisition, suggesting that understanding the transfer of information in social animals could prove fruitful in understanding and modelling PTS recovery.

THE ANALYSIS OF ENGLISH LANGUAGE EDUCATION STUDENTS’ TEACHING SKILLS DURING MICROTEACHING: PRODUCT-PROCESS APPROACH IN TEACHING GRAMMAR

<p>Teaching grammar within the context of Second Language Acquisition (SLA) needs both product and process approaches. Microteaching is one of the techniques to prepare students teachers to improve their skills in this area. One of the microteaching lessons in English Language Education Department, Teachers College Universitas Pelita Harapan, is called Planning, Strategy, Assessment, and Learning (PSAL) Grammar. In this class, students are exposed with the nature, principles, and strategy of teaching and learning grammar. Students are planning lessons related to teaching grammar in various grades as well as developing teaching and learning material and instrument for language assessment. Students then put them into practice in the classroom individually. Discussion on the students ‘performances will be conducted after the microteaching session. This research aims to analyze students’ skills in teaching grammar in microteaching class as well as the discussing the strength and challenges arise. The type of the research is a qualitative case study research. The data collection techniques being used are observation, reflective journal, and Focus Group Discussion (FGD). Moreover, the technique of analyzing the data was Miles and Huberman concept of data reduction, data presentation, and conclusion drawing. The results of this research will be presented in a descriptive-narrative manner by describing and discussing students’ skills in teaching grammar.</p><p> </p>

Video podcast and illustrated text feedback in a web‐based formative assessment environment

AbstractIt is well known that computer‐based formative assessment and timely feedback enhance effective student learning but there is still a debate about what type of feedback should be given, being the text‐based the most used feedback in practice. Although the use of video content as a learning resource has recently increased in both educational and non‐educational contexts, there is very little research on its effectiveness as assessment feedback and the existing results are contradictory. For that reason, we have combined in this work the use of a web‐based formative assessment system (Siette) where we have integrated a specific type of video podcast (“modular teaching mini‐videos”: MTMs) and equivalent illustrated text. We have carried out two experiments with a twofold purpose, first to compare the effect of video feedback versus correct response feedback alone and secondly to compare the effect of video feedback versus equivalent illustrated text feedback. In the context of our research, a Statistic Course at university level, our results show, as expected, that there is a statistically significant positive effect in favor of video feedback over correct response feedback alone. Surprisingly, in contrast to our expectations, based on our context of acquisition of procedural knowledge, there is a statistically non‐significant effect of video feedback versus equivalent illustrated text feedback. From the students’ satisfaction survey, there is not statistically significant differences in the overall score of the activity based on video podcast feedback or equivalent illustrated text, which is an indication that we have really obtained equivalent feedback materials.

“Cunt”: On the perception and handling of verbal dynamite by L1 and LX users of English

Abstract“Cunt” is currently one of the most offensive words in the English language and is usually censored in the English press and media. The present study looks firstly at differences between 1159 first (L1) and 1165 foreign (LX) users of English in their perceived understanding of the word, its perceived offensiveness and their self-reported frequency of use. Secondly, it considers the relationships between the dependent variables and a number of psychological, sociobiographical and linguistic profile variables. The findings suggest that LX users are less sure about the exact meaning of the word, underestimate its offensiveness and use it less frequently than L1 users. Links between understanding of the word and its perceived offensiveness vary for L1 and LX users. High levels of Extraversion, Neuroticism and Psychoticism were linked to more frequent use of the word, as were lower levels of education, a younger age, being a male and working in a swearing-rich environment for both L1 and LX users. Variation in the group of LX users was linked to age of onset of acquisition of English, context of acquisition, self-reported oral proficiency, frequency of use of English and having lived in an English-speaking environment.

Overcoming Shyness: Promoting Leadership and Communication through English Drama Camp in Japan

The purpose of this paper is to describe how drama-based pedagogies can meet Japanese university EFL students learner-needs within a short time-frame. It first describes the cultural and educational contexts of Second Language Acquisition (SLA) in Japan in general terms, before specifically outlining the aims and methodology of the 2014 and 2015 summer drama camps. The paper then moves into the crux, that of the aims, student profiles, methodology and results of the 2016 summer drama camp, which focused on the theme of homelessness. The paper concludes by arguing the validity for the more widespread adoption of drama-based pedagogies in the Japanese university EFL context.

Use of Psychological Techniques in Classroom Management with Arab context

The said study focuses on the importance of effective use of psychological techniques in classroom management in Arab context. Pragmatic studies have established the effects of change in behavior on learning abilities of the students. This study scrutinizes the enhancement in investigation to confirm cognitive enhancement and stimulus among learners as it is significant so as to keep the discipline and boost the acquisition context in the class. The notion of the cognitive manner has dignity of uniqueness and inevitability in bringing about prime changes in the academic performance as well as behavior of the students. Psychological techniques have an impact on the course of academic performance of a student and determine the path of success in order to gain desired results. For this study several psychological techniques were focused that can effectively be applied in the class controlling. This research also focused on the mapping out of the relationship between learning and discipline. The researcher observed two classrooms at the English Language institute (women’s main campus) having same instructors for two modules. This study describes the lethal effects of bitter behavior with the learners who produce a context where students’ behavior turns aggressive and learning abilities get negatively affected. Though, this is imperative and of integral importance to evaluates the efficacy of cognitive procedures in class controlling and order. Further, the cognitive requirements of the learners should be observed so as to gauge the correct measures taken to enhance the learning process. Involving peer checking at this level to observe and get more reliable and valid result is also a great scenario.

Brain structural connectivity and context-dependent extinction memory.

Extinction of conditioned fear represents an important mechanism in the treatment of anxiety disorders. Return of fear after successful extinction or exposure therapy in patients with anxiety disorders might be linked to poor temporal or contextual generalization of extinction due to individual differences in brain structural connectivity. The goal of this magnetic resonance imaging study was therefore to investigate the association of context-dependent extinction recall with brain structural connectivity. Diffusion-tensor imaging was used to determine the fractional anisotropy as a measure of white matter structural integrity of fiber tracts connecting central brain regions of the fear and extinction circuit (uncinate fasciculus, cingulum). Forty-five healthy men participated in a two-day fear conditioning experiment with fear acquisition in context A and extinction learning in context B on the first day. Extinction recall in the extinction context as well as renewal in the acquisition context and a novel context C took place one day later. Renewal of conditioned fear (skin conductance responses) in the acquisition context was associated with higher structural integrity of the hippocampal part of the cingulum. Enhanced structural integrity of the cingulum might be related to stronger hippocampal modulation of the dorsal anterior cingulate cortex, a region important for modulating conditioned fear output by excitatory projections to the amygdala. This finding underpins the crucial role of individual differences in the structural integrity of relevant fiber tracts for context-dependent extinction recall and return of fear after exposure therapy in anxiety disorders.

Design and Implementation of a Multi-Modal Biometric System for Company Access Control

This paper is about the design, implementation, and deployment of a multi-modal biometric system to grant access to a company structure and to internal zones in the company itself. Face and iris have been chosen as biometric traits. Face is feasible for non-intrusive checking with a minimum cooperation from the subject, while iris supports very accurate recognition procedure at a higher grade of invasivity. The recognition of the face trait is based on the Local Binary Patterns histograms, and the Daughman’s method is implemented for the analysis of the iris data. The recognition process may require either the acquisition of the user’s face only or the serial acquisition of both the user’s face and iris, depending on the confidence level of the decision with respect to the set of security levels and requirements, stated in a formal way in the Service Level Agreement at a negotiation phase. The quality of the decision depends on the setting of proper different thresholds in the decision modules for the two biometric traits. Any time the quality of the decision is not good enough, the system activates proper rules, which ask for new acquisitions (and decisions), possibly with different threshold values, resulting in a system not with a fixed and predefined behaviour, but one which complies with the actual acquisition context. Rules are formalized as deduction rules and grouped together to represent “response behaviors” according to the previous analysis. Therefore, there are different possible working flows, since the actual response of the recognition process depends on the output of the decision making modules that compose the system. Finally, the deployment phase is described, together with the results from the testing, based on the AT&T Face Database and the UBIRIS database.

The Interface of Explicit and Implicit Knowledge in a Second Language: Insights From Individual Differences in Cognitive Aptitudes

AbstractRecent research has called for the use of fine‐grained measures that distinguish implicit knowledge from automatized explicit knowledge. In the current study, such measures were used to determine how the two systems interact in a naturalistic second language (L2) acquisition context. One hundred advanced L2 speakers of Japanese living in Japan were assessed using tests of automatized explicit knowledge and implicit knowledge, along with tests of phonological short‐term memory and aptitude tests for explicit and implicit learning. Structural equation modeling demonstrated that aptitude for explicit learning significantly predicted acquisition of automatized explicit knowledge, and automatized explicit knowledge significantly predicted acquisition of implicit knowledge. The effects of implicit learning aptitude and phonological short‐term memory on acquisition of automatized explicit knowledge and implicit knowledge were limited. These findings provide the first empirical evidence that automatized explicit knowledge, which develops through explicit learning mechanisms, may impact the acquisition of implicit knowledge.Open PracticesThis article has been awarded an Open Materials badge. All original materials are publicly accessible in the IRIS digital repository at http://www.iris-database.org. Learn more about the Open Practices badges from the Center for Open Science: https://osf.io/tvyxz/wiki.

Indonesian Efl Teachers’ Practice Of Interactional Feedback

<p>Interactional feedback is defined as feedback that is generated by teachers in response to both erroneous and communicatively inappropriate utterances that students produce during conversational interaction (Nassaji, 2015). Interactional feedback has been investigated in second language acquisition contexts, but little has been done concerning interactional feedback in foreign language settings, particularly in Indonesian context. In this descriptive study, conducted at junior high school level, it was aimed to identify the actual practice of instructors of English as a foreign language on interactional feedback in their classrooms. A classroom observation protocol was used to collect the data. The results show that teachers in general have applied different types of interactional feedback. However, not all interactional feedback results in students’ uptakes.</p>

Stress before extinction learning enhances and generalizes extinction memory in a predictive learning task

In extinction learning, the individual learns that a previously acquired association (e.g. between a threat and its predictor) is no longer valid. This learning is the principle underlying many cognitive-behavioral psychotherapeutic treatments, e.g. ‘exposure therapy’. However, extinction is often highly-context dependent, leading to renewal (relapse of extinguished conditioned response following context change). We have previously shown that post-extinction stress leads to a more context-dependent extinction memory in a predictive learning task. Yet as stress prior to learning can impair the integration of contextual cues, here we aim to create a more generalized extinction memory by inducing stress prior to extinction. Forty-nine men and women learned the associations between stimuli and outcomes in a predictive learning task (day 1), extinguished them shortly after an exposure to a stress/control condition (day 2), and were tested for renewal (day 3). No group differences were seen in acquisition and extinction learning, and a renewal effect was present in both groups. However, the groups differed in the strength and context-dependency of the extinction memory. Compared to the control group, the stress group showed an overall reduced recovery of responding to the extinguished stimuli, in particular in the acquisition context. These results, together with our previous findings, demonstrate that the effects of stress exposure on extinction memory depend on its timing. While post-extinction stress makes the memory more context-bound, pre-extinction stress strengthens its consolidation for the acquisition context as well, making it potentially more resistant to relapse. These results have implications for the use of glucocorticoids as extinction-enhancers in exposure therapy.

Inactivation of the Prelimbic Cortex Attenuates Context-Dependent Operant Responding.

Operant responding in rats provides an analog to voluntary behavior in humans and is used to study maladaptive behaviors, such as overeating, drug taking, or relapse. In renewal paradigms, extinguished behavior recovers when tested outside the context where extinction was learned. Inactivation of the prelimbic (PL) region of the medial prefrontal cortex by baclofen/muscimol (B/M) during testing attenuates renewal when tested in the original acquisition context after extinction in another context (ABA renewal). Two experiments tested the hypothesis that the PL is important in context-dependent responding learned during conditioning. In the first, rats learned to lever-press for a sucrose-pellet reward. Following acquisition, animals were infused with either B/M or vehicle in the PL and tested in the acquisition context (A) and in a different context (B). All rats showed a decrement in responding when switched from Context A to Context B, but PL inactivation decreased responding only in Context A. Experiment 2a examined the effects of PL inactivation on ABC renewal in the same rats. Here, following reacquisition of the response, responding was extinguished in a new context (C). Following infusions of B/M or vehicle in the PL, responding was tested in Context C and another new context (D). The rats exhibited ACD renewal regardless of PL inactivation. Experiment 2b demonstrated that PL inactivation attenuated the ABA renewal effect in the same animals, replicating earlier results and demonstrating that cannulae were still functional. The results suggest that, rather than attenuating renewal generally, PL inactivation specifically affects ABA renewal by reducing responding in the conditioning context.SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENT Extinguished operant behavior can recover ("renew") when tested outside the extinction context. This suggests that behaviors, such as overeating or drug taking, might be especially prone to relapse following treatment. In rats, inactivation of the prelimbic cortex (PL) attenuates renewal. However, we report that PL inactivation after training attenuates responding in the context in which responding was acquired, but not in another one. A similar inactivation has no impact on renewal when testing occurs in a new, rather than the original, context following extinction. The PL thus has a more specific role in controlling contextually dependent operant behavior than has been previously reported.

Ceramics and Coastal Communities in Medieval (Twelfth–Fourteenth Century) Europe: Negotiating Identity in England's Channel Ports

Using the example of pottery imported into the Channel ports of southern England, an approach to examining the role of pottery in the emergence and mediation of coastal communities is proposed here. Building on recent scholarship, it is argued that it is no longer tenable to see pottery as a carrier of identity, or as part of a ‘cultural package’, with meaning emerging with identity as people interact with pottery within and without port environments. The study proposes that imported pottery found meaning in different ways, depending on the context of acquisition and use. Hence it mediated different forms of community and identity. The article ends with a consideration of the wider implications of this approach for ongoing studies of material culture, trade, and urban identities in medieval Europe.

A reminder of extinction reduces relapse in an animal model of voluntary behavior.

One experiment with rats explored whether an extinction-cue prevents the recovery of extinguished lever-pressing responses. Initially, rats were trained to perform one instrumental response (R1) for food in Context A, and a different instrumental response (R2) in Context B. Then, responses were extinguished each in the alternate context (R1 in Context B; R2 in Context A). For one group, extinction of both responses was conducted in the presence of an extinction-cue, whereas in a second group, the extinction-cue only accompanied extinction of R1. During a final test, we observed that returning the rats to the initial acquisition context renewed performance and that response recovery was attenuated in the presence of the cue that accompanied extinction of the response. The impact of the extinction-cue, however, was not transferred to the response that has been extinguished without the cue. Our results are consistent with the idea that extinction established an inhibitory cue-response association.

Roles of context in acquisition of human instrumental learning: Implications for the understanding of the mechanisms underlying context-switch effects.

Four experiments in human instrumental learning explored the associations involving the context that develop after three trials of training on simple discriminations. Experiments 1 and 4 found a deleterious effect of switching the learning context that cannot be explained by the context-outcome binary associations commonly used to explain context-switch effects after short training in human predictive learning and in animal Pavlovian conditioning. Evidence for context-outcome (Experiment 2), context-discriminative stimulus (Experiment 3), and context-instrumental response (Experiment 4) binary associations was found within the same training paradigm, suggesting that contexts became associated with all the elements of the situation, regardless of whether those associations played a role in a specific context-switch effect detected on performance.

Impact of Classified Board on M&A Target Shareholder Value

It is not certain whether classified board is beneficial or deleterious to shareholders. We examine the implication of classified board on target shareholder value in the mergers and acquisitions context. We also investigate the impact of classified board on firm’s innovative activities. We find the existence of a classified board in the M&A target firm is positively related to the target shareholder value, such as the M&A announcement CAR and the target premium, but only for R&D-intensive firms. We also find that classified board increases the quality of innovation for R&D intensive firms. Our findings are consistent with the view that classified board may provide long-term perspectives that promote productive but risky R&D investment, which acquiring firms are willing to pay higher premiums for. We also find that the potential managerial entrenchment effect of classified board is less pronounced than that of CEO-chairman duality, strengthening the proponent view of classified board. We contribute to the corporate governance literature on the relationship between classified board and firm performance. We provide evidence that classified board may enhance target shareholder value in M&A context via better R&D investment, which is distinct from enhancement by virtue of stronger bargaining power as posited in the extant literature. We also contribute to the innovation literature by showing that protection from the market for corporate control by classified board may promote firm’s innovative activities. Our findings suggest that classified board, an anti-takeover provision that many practitioners and policy makers suspect to be a managerial entrenchment mechanism that diminishes shareholder value, may not be universally harmful to shareholders. Rather, it may provide appropriate level of protection so that the management can invest in risky but value-enhancing innovative activities.

Second and heritage language acquisition of Korean case drop

The primary objective of this paper is to investigate how early and late bilinguals attain implicit knowledge of Korean case drop that necessitates integration of multiple levels of information. An oral picture description task and a written forced-choice elicitation task were developed to investigate how different populations employ the relevant factors in Korean case drop and if certain types of cues are more accessible than others. The results reveal qualitative differences in the underlying linguistic knowledge of early vs. late bilinguals with early bilinguals achieving a higher level of mastery than late bilinguals in both oral and written tasks. The results underline the importance of age, context, and mode of acquisition and suggest that bilingual difficulty in the present phenomenon mainly arises from learners heavily relying on cues that are readily available to them in their respective context of acquisition and failing to effectively coordinate multiple constraints.

ELLA English (Through) Language Learning Activities

“ELLA” stands for “English (Through) Language Learning Activities”. It proposes a different way to teaching English as a second foreign language (FL2) in technology classes at University level, in Algeria. The programs of English, as a unit of study, in most of Algerian engineering schools and University institutes of science and technologies, are heterogeneous. They are, in most cases, let to teachers to design a curriculum according to the needs of the study matter. These programs often contain some grammar reviews and text translation to meet terminology needs. Therefore, Algerian students have, in this case, very few opportunities to practise English language outside the academic context. Our article aims at proposing an appropriate strategy and context for language acquisition based on efficient and working learning theories. The main goal is to give students opportunities to practise English better, thanks to both the instructional approaches, dedicated to Language learning and the Information and Communication Technologies tools.