Different Levels Of Proficiency Research Articles

EVALUASI PEMBELAJARAN BAHASA ARAB KELAS 7 DI MARHALAH SALAFIYAH WUSTHO PONDOK PESANTREN ISLAMIC CENTRE BIN BAZ PUTRI YOGYAKARTA

Arabic is a mandatory language that cannot be separated from Islamic boarding schools, which is like two sides of a coin because it is the language of the Islamic religion. It will be easier for students to understand the Qur'an or the books they are studying if they master Arabic. Good learning of Arabic must be accompanied by evaluation so that it is clear what things support and hinder it. Evaluation includes four types of proficiency and skill tests (maharah), namely listening (istima'), speaking (kalam), reading (Qiro'ah), and writing (Kitabah). The research aims to determine the evaluation of Arabic language learning at the Islamic Center Bin Baz Islamic Boarding School (ICBB) Putri Yogyakarta, especially grade 7 Salafiyah Wustho. This research uses a qualitative-descriptive approach and aims to find out how language is practiced at the Bin Baz Putri Islamic Center Islamic Boarding School. The results of the study showed different levels of proficiency in the four language skills (listening, speaking, reading, and writing), namely Kitabah proficiency, which showed the highest achievement of 90%, Qiro'ah proficiency (85%), Istima' proficiency (85%), and Kalam proficiency (80%).

Increased trial-to-trial similarity and reduced temporal overlap of muscle synergy activation coefficients manifest during learning and with increasing movement proficiency

Muscle synergy analyses are used to enhance our understanding of motor control. Spatially fixed synergy weights coordinate multiple co-active muscles through activation commands, known as activation coefficients. To gain a more comprehensive understanding of motor learning, it is essential to understand how activation coefficients vary during a learning task and at different levels of movement proficiency. Participants walked on a line, a beam, and learned to walk on a tightrope—tasks that represent different levels of proficiency. Muscle synergies were extracted from electromyography signals across all conditions and the number of synergies was determined by the knee-point of the total variance accounted for (tVAF) curve. The results indicated that the tVAF of one synergy decreased with task proficiency, with the tightrope task resulting in the highest tVAF compared to the line and beam tasks. Furthermore, with increasing proficiency and after a learning process, trial-to-trial similarity increased and temporal overlap of synergy activation coefficients decreased. Consequently, we propose that precise adjustment and refinement of synergy activation coefficients play a pivotal role in motor learning.

Can Guided Discovery Instruction Be Detrimental to Children with Different Levels of Aquatic Competence in Infancy?

Repetitive practice can become an exploratory activity where instruction and discovery are linked, allowing instruction and guidance through tasks that help to construct and acquire the knowledge and skills that make up the content. (1) Background: The aim of the study was to show how a teaching method based on guided discovery would affect the teaching of children's aquatic competence in schoolchildren with different levels of competence. (2) Methods: An observational study was conducted with 385 schoolchildren (195 boys and 189 girls) aged 3-5 years belonging to a charter kindergarten, using an Instrument for the Measurement of Aquatic Competence in Children (SMACC) consisting of 17 items grouped into three dimensions: socio-affective, cognitive, and motor. (3) Results: After measuring aquatic competence, all age groups and all variables (motor, cognitive, and socio-affective) showed differences between pre- and post-scores and a high magnitude of effect size. When the teaching intervention was analyzed according to the level of aquatic competence of the age group, improvements were found in all variables in both the low and high-competence groups. (4) Conclusions: This study describes how guided discovery instruction has equal effects at different levels of proficiency. Furthermore, when this type of instruction was used, aquatic competence was explained not only by the motor and socio-affective dimensions but also by the cognitive variable.

Proficiency-rated learner corpora

Abstract In this position paper, I argue that proficiency-rated learner corpora should gain a more prominent role in data-driven learning (DDL). With specific reference to DDL, proficiency-rated learner corpora can provide typical, atypical and erroneous target language data at different levels of proficiency, which can be meaningfully used in the design of learning activities. This makes them pivotal in expanding the scope of DDL to include mid- and lower-level proficiency learners more extensively. Although the field of learner corpus research has been promoting learner corpus use in DDL for a long time, only a small fraction of DDL studies make use of a learner corpus. As a contribution to overcome this hiatus, I will demonstrate how using a specific proficiency-rated learner corpus (i.e., the CELI corpus; Spina et al., 2022, 2023) can enrich the design of DDL activities, making them more adaptable to a wider range of learner needs.

L2 cognitive construal and morphosyntactic acquisition of pseudo-passive constructions

Abstract Discussion of the theoretical underpinning of pseudo-passive constructions abounds in generative linguistics and comparative typology. However, the cognitive construal of and morphosyntactic acquisition of (un)grammatical English pseudo-passive constructions by Chinese-speaking L2-English users with different proficiency levels have never been investigated. It is worth examining whether proficiency level modulates constructional acceptability and cognitive construal, which would allow us to infer L2-English users’ morphosyntactic acquisition stages of pseudo-passive constructions. To fill this research gap, the study recruited 120 L2-English speakers with different levels of proficiency and 40 native English speakers to complete a grammaticality judgment test with an acceptance judgment scale from −2 to 2 for 40 ungrammatical pseudo-passive sentences and 40 fillers. Proficiency level significantly correlates with a firmer rejection of ungrammatical pseudo-passive sentences and cognitive construal which is more target-like. Significantly asymmetrical acceptance levels between two types of target ungrammatical constructions are also revealed for low (p = 0.002) and medium proficiency (p = 0.000) groups, demonstrating the type effect on grammaticality judgment and morphosyntactic acquisition.

ПАРОНИМИЧЕСКИЕ ОШИБКИ В РЕЧИ ИНОСТРАННЫХ СТУДЕНТОВ: ОПИСАНИЕ, КЛАССИФИКАЦИЯ, ПРИЧИНЫ ПОЯВЛЕНИЯ

The article examines and analyzes the main types of lexical errors in the speech of foreign students, the appearance of which is determined phonetically or graphically. The authors identify the main reasons leading to the occurrence of such errors in the speech of students at different levels of proficiency in the Russian language. The article also proposes a classification of paronymic errors depending on the underlying cause and the psychological mechanism of their occurrence.

LBDNet interlaboratory comparison for the dicentric chromosome assay by digitized image analysis applying weighted robust statistical methods

Purpose This interlaboratory comparison was conducted to evaluate the performance of the Latin-American Biodosimetry Network (LBDNet) in analyzing digitized images for scoring dicentric chromosomes from in vitro irradiated blood samples. The exercise also assessed the use of weighted robust algorithms to compensate the uneven expertise among the participating laboratories. Methods Three sets of coded images obtained through the dicentric chromosome assay from blood samples irradiated at 1.5 Gy (sample A) and 4 Gy (sample B), as well as a non-irradiated whole blood sample (sample C), were shared among LBDNet laboratories. The images were captured using the Metafer4 platform coupled with the AutoCapt module. The laboratories were requested to perform triage scoring, conventional scoring, and dose estimation. The dose estimation was carried out using either their laboratory calibration curve or a common calibration curve. A comparative statistical analysis was conducted using a weighted robust Hampel algorithm and z score to compensate for uneven expertise in dicentric analysis and dose assessment among all laboratories. Results Out of twelve laboratories, one had unsatisfactory estimated doses at 0 Gy, and two had unsatisfactory estimated doses at 1.5 Gy when using their own calibration curve and triage scoring mode. However, all doses were satisfactory at 4 Gy. Six laboratories had estimated doses within 95% uncertainty limits at 0 Gy, seven at 1.5 Gy, and four at 4 Gy. While the mean dose for sample C was significantly biased using robust algorithms, applying weights to compensate for the laboratory’s analysis expertise reduced the bias by half. The bias from delivered doses was only notable for sample C. Using the common calibration curve for dose estimation reduced the standard deviation (s*) estimated by robust methods for all three samples. Conclusions The results underscore the significance of performing interlaboratory comparison exercises that involve digitized and electronically transmitted images, even when analyzing non-irradiated samples. In situations where the participating laboratories possess different levels of proficiency, it may prove essential to employ weighted robust algorithms to achieve precise outcomes.

Elective course on machine learning in high school: problems of sports programming

The article discusses the prospect of teaching elements of machine learning in high school. An overview of foreign experience in studying the fundamentals of machine learning at school is presented. A system of tasks is proposed for an elective course on machine learning for high school students in Russian secondary schools. An analysis of five typical tasks of competitive programming, which are the author's development, was carried out, and each task has its own rating, similar to those offered on the well-known resources of the informatics Olympiad movement: CodeForces, LeetCode, AtCoder. The elective is intended for schoolchildren who already have basic knowledge of programming in Python 3, and consists of three modules that are aimed at different levels of proficiency in this programming language. The student has the opportunity to increase or decrease the level of completion of the course. The elective course can be implemented in the Stepik system. Training can be carried out either in distance learning or in the form of blended learning. The program code of tasks is checked automatically. Consideration of theory and analysis of tasks are carried out on the interactive computing platform Jupyter Notebook.

Optimized reusable modular 3D-printed models of choledochal cyst to simulate laparoscopic and robotic bilioenteric anastomosis

Laparoscopic and robotic surgery is a challenge to the surgeon's hand–eye coordination ability, which requires constant practice. Traditional mentor training is gradually shifting to simulation training based on various models. Laparoscopic and robotic bilioenteric anastomosis is an important and difficult operation in hepatobiliary surgery. We constructed and optimized the reusable modular 3D-printed models of choledochal cyst. The aim of this study was to verify the ability of this optimized model to distinguish between surgeons with different levels of proficiency and the benefits of repeated practice. A total of 12 surgeons with different levels participated in the study. Operation completion time and OSATS score were recorded. The model was validated by Likert scale. Surgeons were shown the steps and contents before performing laparoscopic or robotic bilioenteric anastomosis using the model. Surgeons with different levels of experience showed different levels when performing laparoscopic bilioenteric anastomosis on this model. Repeated training can significantly shorten the time of laparoscopic bilioenteric anastomosis and improve the operation scores of surgeons with different levels of experience. At the same time, preliminary results have shown that the performance of surgeons on the domestic robotic platform was basically consistent with their laparoscopic skills. This model may distinguish surgeons with different levels of experience and may improve surgical skills through repeated practice. It is worth noting that in order to draw more reliable conclusions, more subjects should be collected and more experiments should be done in the future.

Investigating Kurdish EFL Learners' Perceptions of Cognitive Grammar Learning Strategies

English has become the language of science and technology, trade, instruction, politics, and tourism. A person who knows this language may have the opportunity for many jobs. Thus, it is crucial to motivate students to acquire this language in a suitable manner. This study aimed to investigate the strategies for learning English as a foreign language and learning grammar in particular. The aim was to update and adopt new strategies for learning English as a foreign language. The current study attempted at finding out why some Kurdish students make grammatical mistakes and errors despite the fact that they study English for a reasonable number of years. It investigated the perceptions of Kurdish learners of English as a foreign language in using grammar learning strategies with the variables of: gender, proficiency level, in public and private universities. It was conducted at three universities: Dohuk, Newroz, and Jihan. The population covered about 125 teachers and learners. This study used a mixed method: it utilized questionnaire and interviews as instruments and two different levels of proficiency were chosen: second- and fourth-year learners. The questionnaire included 100 learners of English as a foreign language. The interviews included 25 teachers and learners of English from public and private universities in Duhok city. The data analysis revealed that Kurdish English language learners use a number of strategies in learning and also in using grammatical structures. However, Kurdish English foreign language learners believed that strategies of grammar learning are important in the process of language learning. The findings showed differences in learning strategies between proficiency-levels, but no significant difference in terms of gender. The study ended up that grammar learning strategies have a significant effect in the spoken and written performance of learner.

Predicting Student Performance in Online Learning: A Multidimensional Time-Series Data Analysis Approach

As an emerging teaching method, online learning is becoming increasingly popular among learners. However, one of the major drawbacks of this learning style is the lack of effective communication and feedback, which can lead to a higher risk of students failing or dropping out. In response to this challenge, this paper proposes a student performance prediction model based on multidimensional time-series data analysis by considering multidimensional data such as students’ learning behaviors, assessment scores, and demographic information, which is able to extract the characteristics of students’ learning behaviors and capture the connection between multiple characteristics to better explore the impact of multiple factors on students’ performance. The model proposed in this paper helps teachers to individualize education for students at different levels of proficiency and identifies at-risk students as early as possible to help teachers intervene in a timely manner. In experiments on the Open University Learning Analytics Dataset (OULAD), the model achieved 74% accuracy and 73% F1 scores in a four-category prediction task and was able to achieve 99.08% accuracy and 99.08% F1 scores in an early risk prediction task. Compared with the benchmark model, both the multi-classification prediction ability and the early prediction ability, the model in this paper has a better performance.

Methodological conditions of teaching Russian as a foreign language and their implementation at Kazan Innovation University named after V.G. Timiryasov

The article analyzes the implementation by teachers of Kazan Innovative University named after V.G. Timiryasov of methodological conditions for teaching foreign students Russian as a foreign language, evaluates the effectiveness of the implementation of these conditions in terms of students achieving different levels of proficiency in the Russian language. The methodological recommendations of leading experts in the field of RCT on the maximum allowable number of students in a group of 8 people are substantiated. The requirement is being considered that classes in a group should be conducted by two teachers at the same time (in the weekly schedule, both teachers work in a 50%/50% ratio. This helps to overcome the effect of «getting used» to the timbre of a foreign student’s voice, the pace of speech and the phonetic features of a native Russian speaker. Each teacher activates all types of speech activity in each lesson: speaking, writing, listening, reading and learning vocabulary and grammar. The use of various non-academic forms of improving language skills in teaching foreign students allows students to actively train speaking and listening skills, expand their horizons by getting acquainted with the surrounding foreign cultural reality outside the framework of academic classes. A fundamentally important methodological point is the «re-equipment» of study groups after foreign students have passed the test for a certain level of Russian language acquisition, depending on the results demonstrated by the students. An important condition for ensuring the effectiveness of RCT training is interaction with the parents of students. Kazan Innovative University named after V.G. Timiryasov, when organizing the teaching of Russian as a foreign language to foreign citizens in a remote format, focuses in this process on ensuring «live» communication with the teacher.

Development of PainFace software to simplify, standardize, and scale up mouse grimace analyses.

Facial grimacing is used to quantify spontaneous pain in mice and other mammals, but scoring relies on humans with different levels of proficiency. Here, we developed a cloud-based software platform called PainFace ( http://painface.net ) that uses machine learning to detect 4 facial action units of the mouse grimace scale (orbitals, nose, ears, whiskers) and score facial grimaces of black-coated C57BL/6 male and female mice on a 0 to 8 scale. Platform accuracy was validated in 2 different laboratories, with 3 conditions that evoke grimacing-laparotomy surgery, bilateral hindpaw injection of carrageenan, and intraplantar injection of formalin. PainFace can generate up to 1 grimace score per second from a standard 30 frames/s video, making it possible to quantify facial grimacing over time, and operates at a speed that scales with computing power. By analyzing the frequency distribution of grimace scores, we found that mice spent 7x more time in a "high grimace" state following laparotomy surgery relative to sham surgery controls. Our study shows that PainFace reproducibly quantifies facial grimaces indicative of nonevoked spontaneous pain and enables laboratories to standardize and scale-up facial grimace analyses.

Реалізація принципу конфігуративності варіативної іншомовної підготовки здобувачів вищої освіти

Background. The article is devoted to the rationale for introducing the principle of configurability into the methodology of teaching foreign languages at the third level of higher education in higher education institutions. In order to get acquainted with the basics of contextual learning, five main principles of the competence-based model of foreign language training are considered. Each principle is revealed in relation to the organisation of students' learning of the content of the discipline "Foreign Language". Purpose of the article is to justify the introduction of the principle of configurability in the methodology of teaching foreign languages in higher education institutions. Results. The features of the educational process in higher education are described. It is noted that the professionally oriented nature, multilevel nature as the presence of higher education levels, such as bachelor's, master's and postgraduate, multi-level education, when in one group there are students with a significantly different level of proficiency in another foreign language, set the trend towards the introduction of variable training. Variable foreign language training is implemented through the development of basic and additional educational options. Basic options are focused on fulfilling the requirements of state educational standards at the minimum necessary level and are implemented in a larger volume in contact classroom work. Additional options are aimed at achieving the highest possible level, which is determined by the needs and motivation of a particular applicant for the third level of higher education. Taking into account their individual characteristics and cognitive needs is possible in the presence of many different options. Conclusions. The introduction of the principle of configurability (the presence of changing borders) into the methodology of teaching foreign languages is intended to ensure the design of a large number of different educational options. The didactic principle of configurability is considered as the construction of an educational process or its segment by transforming structural components, choosing the content of components from a number of options. The availability of different approaches, methods, teaching aids and forms of control allows to create a number of structural components. The choice of component content is based on criteria such as the learner's level of foreign language proficiency, cognitive learning style, cognitive needs and interests. When configuring a holistic course, the determining criteria are optimisation and intensification of foreign language training. The article presents an example of the application of the principle of configurability in the formation of educational options for students majoring in Foreign Philology. It is shown that the application of this principle contributes to the individualisation of their foreign language training.

Lateral Trajectory Tracking of Self-Driving Vehicles Based on Sliding Mode and Fractional-Order Proportional-Integral-Derivative Control

The tracking accuracy and vehicle stability of self-driving trajectory tracking are particularly important. Due to the influence of high-frequency oscillation near the sliding mode surface and the modeling error of the single-point preview model itself when using sliding mode control (SMC) for the trajectory tracking lateral control of self-driving vehicles, the desired tracking effect of self-driving vehicles cannot be achieved. To address this problem, a combination of sliding mode control and fractional-order proportional-integral-derivative control (FOPID) is proposed for the application of a trajectory tracking lateral controller. In addition, in order to compare with the trajectory tracking controller built using the single-point preview model, 12 real drivers with different levels of proficiency were selected for operational data collection and comparison. The simulation results and hardware-in-the-loop results show that the designed SMC + FOPID controller has high tracking accuracy based on vehicle stability. The trajectory accuracy based on SMC + FOPID outperforms the real driver data, SMC controller, PID controller, and model prediction controller.

Speed Limits: There’s no such thing as a fast learner

Students master concepts through opportunities to practice them. They start at different levels of proficiency but, when provided with high-quality practice opportunities, learn at about the same speed. Yes, they will end in different places—but that’s because they have different starting lines, not because they are quicker or slower to learn.

Measuring Mathematical Competence of Grade 3 Students in New General Curriculum: A Case of Vietnam

The general education curriculum promulgated by the Vietnamese Ministry of Education and Training in 2018 has identified 10 common competencies that need to be formed and developed for students in the coming period, including computing capacity. The Math general education curriculum issued in 2018 helps students form and develop mathematical competence (the most concentrated expression of computing capacity) including the following core elements: mathematical thinking and reasoning; mathematical modeling; mathematical problem solving; mathematical communication; use mathematical learning tools and media. The aim of this study was to design an assessment framework for mathematical competence. From the Grade 3 Math curriculum, the research team has proposed a math competency standard with 90 items. From these 90 items, design 6 illustrative test questions. Each test consists of 30 questions, between which there are 15 fixed questions designed to measure students’ mathematical competence. A sample of 383 students in grade 3 were recruited for the study with the participation of 3 researchers and 5 elementary school teachers. A mathematical competence framework and six tests with anchor items were designed to measure students’ mathematical competence. The results of analysis using an approach to item response theory showed that the items had good fits with the model and they could be used to describe mathematical competence learning progression with different levels of proficiency. The tests were reliable and valid, and the anchor items were good for connecting students’ mathematical competence.

Neural network-based measure of Consonant Lenition in L2 speech

This study investigates the gradient phonetic variations in the lenition of Spanish voiced and voiceless stops among second language (L2) learners with different levels of proficiency (beginning, intermediate, and advanced). The degree of lenition is measured using posterior probabilities of the continuant and sonorant phonological features, estimated by the deep learning model Phonet. The findings reveal that the degree of lenition, as indicated by the sonorant posterior probability, increases with proficiency. However, no significant effects of proficiency were observed for the continuant posterior probability. Similar to native speakers of Spanish, L2 learners exhibit effects of stress, voicing, and place of articulation on lenition. These results suggest that all learners exhibit lenition of stops as a fricative, but more advanced learners also exhibit lenition as a sonorant. Additionally, lenition in L2 is found to be gradient and influenced by linguistic factors. Moreover, the posterior probabilities of the continuant and sonorant phonological features, estimated by the Phonet model, serve as reliable measures of lenition. Overall, this study reveals the role of proficiency and linguistic factors in shaping the degree of lenition and highlights the effectiveness of the posterior probabilities obtained from the Phonet model in quantifying lenition.

AiShifu: AI Karate Pose Trainer Using Human Pose Estimation

One application of the artificial intelligence (AI) technology is self-guided physical activities where a computing device acts as a trainer. One key challenge for these applications is how to measure the performance of such an AI trainer, especially when the AI trainer is run on a generic PC or a mobile device. In the spirit of the Turing test, an AI trainer should mimic the behavior of a human trainer. A good human trainer generally considers the training history and the level of the trainee when providing feedback, which requires more than body position analysis. In this work, we built a Martial Art trainer application called AIShifu that helps users practice martial art poses using Human Pose Estimation (HPE). We chose an open-source neural network called HRNET trained with MS-COCO dataset as the core of the HPE. The joint coordinates and angles were used to identify the pose being practiced by the trainee, whether the active side is left or right, and how close is the key joint angle to that from a “golden” image. We collected data from both a black belt martial artist and a novice trainee and on three Karate poses. Based on the data, it is clear that the blackbelt performed the poses more consistently. A much larger sample size was required to test how well an AI trainer can discern the difference between trainees with different levels of proficiency. This understanding forms the foundation to customize AI trainer softwares for different users.

Three Dimensional Printing as a Tool For Anatomical Training in Lung Surgery

ObjectivePulmonary anatomy is challenging, due to the high variability and its three-dimensional (3D) shape. While demands in thoracic oncologic surgery are increasing, the transition from open to thoracoscopic surgery is hampering anatomical understanding. This study analyzed the value of a 3D printed lung model in understanding and teaching anatomy.MethodsA 3D pulmonary model was created and tested among different levels of proficiency: 10 experienced surgeons, 10 fellow surgeons and 10 junior residents. They were tested in interpretation of anatomy based on thoracic CT-scans, either using the 3D model or a 2D anatomical atlas. Accuracy of the given answers, time to complete the task and the self-reported level of certainty were scored in each group.ResultsIn the experienced surgeons group there was no difference in between the 2D-model or 3D-model with a high rate of correct answers in both groups, and no differences in time or certainty. Fellow surgeons highly benefitted from the 3D-model with an improved accuracy from 26.6% to 70.0% (p = 0.001). Time to complete the task was shorter (207 versus 122 s, p < 0.0001) and participants were more secure (median of 4 versus 3, p = 0.007). For junior residents time to complete the task was shorter, the level of certainty was higher, but there was no improvement in accuracy.Conclusions3D printing may benefit in understanding anatomical relations in the complex anatomy of the bronchiopulmonary tree, especially for surgeons in training and could benefit in teaching anatomy.