English Sentences Research Articles

Strategies for Enhancing ESL Writing Proficiency: Insights from a Pre-University Educational Setting

Mastering the art of writing is a crucial life skill that requires time and consistent practice. It is essential for students who are learning English as a second or foreign language, as it is an essential skill that opens up countless opportunities for learners to express themselves effectively through various forms of writing. Whether writing essays, emails, or social media posts, strong writing capabilities can significantly benefit students in today's interconnected world. In addition to being practical, writing also helps enhance critical thinking skills, as learners must carefully and logically organize their ideas and arguments to communicate effectively. Writing also fosters creativity and encourages students to explore innovative ways to express their thoughts and ideas. By practicing writing skills, students can better understand how to connect their ideas coherently, which can help them in other areas of their academic and personal lives. Furthermore, writing can also help improve vocabulary and spelling, as learners are challenged to find the best words to convey their message. It also helps students develop their understanding of English grammar, punctuation, and sentence structure, which can improve their overall communication skills. Ultimately, mastering writing skills empowers students to engage in meaningful conversations, share their knowledge, and become valuable community contributors. This study aims to identify why pre-university students struggle with their writing skills and provide recommendations to improve teaching methods for writing English skills. The objective is to help pre-university students overcome difficulties related to writing skills in English, which will equip them with the skills they need to succeed inside and outside the classroom. Received: 9 March 2024 / Accepted: 26 September 2024 / Published: 05 November 2024

Effects of Task Instructions on Predictive Eye Movements and Word Recognition During Second Language Sentence Comprehension

AbstractThis study tested whether encouraging prediction enhances prediction in second language (L2) speakers. L2 English speakers listened to English sentences like The woman … will read/buy one of the newspapers while viewing the target (a newspaper) and distractor objects (a rose, a bowl, and a mango) on a screen and clicked on the target as quickly as possible. The target was predictable (read) or unpredictable (buy) from the verb meaning. Participants looked at the target longer and were quicker to move the mouse to it when instructed to predict sentence continuation than when they were merely instructed to comprehend sentences. This result held true both when the target was predictable and unpredictable. Furthermore, only when instructed to predict did the participants make more clicking errors when the target was unpredictable than predictable, which suggested that encouraging prediction can interfere with word recognition accuracy in unpredictable contexts due to reduced cognitive resources or failed predictions.

Language Experience Influences Sociolinguistic Development: The Role of Speaker Race and Language Attitudes on Bilingual and Monolingual Adults' Accent Processing.

Speaker race and the listener's language experience (i.e., monolinguals vs. bilinguals) have both been shown to influence accent intelligibility independently. Speaker race specifically is thought to be informed by learned experiences (exemplar model) or individual biases and attitudes (bias-based model). The current study investigates speaker race and the listener's language experience simultaneously as well as listeners' attitudes toward non-native speakers and their ability to identify the accent. Overall, 140 White English monolinguals and 140 English/Norwegian bilinguals transcribed 60 Mandarin-accented English sentences presented in noise in the context of a White or East Asian face. Following sentence transcription, participants were asked to rate the strength of the accent heard and completed a short questionnaire that assessed their accent identification ability and their language usage, proficiency, familiarity, and attitudes. Results show that a listeners' ability to identify an accent and their attitudes toward non-native speakers had a significant impact on accent intelligibility and accentedness ratings. Speaker race by itself did not play a role in accent intelligibility and accentedness ratings; however, we found evidence that speaker race interacted with participants' accent identification scores and attitudes toward non-native speakers, and these interactions differed as a function of language experience. Our results suggest that bilinguals' sociolinguistic processing may be more in line with a bias-based model than monolinguals.

Are Late Talkers Just Late? Neighborhood Density and Word Frequency Properties of Late Talkers' Spoken Vocabularies.

Typically developing toddlers extract patterns from their input to add words to their spoken lexicons, yet some evidence suggests that late talkers leverage the statistical regularities of the ambient language differently than do peers. Using the extended statistical learning account, we sought to compare lexical-level statistical features of spoken vocabularies between late talkers and two typically developing comparison groups. MacArthur-Bates Communicative Developmental Inventories American English Words and Sentences (N = 1,636) were extracted from Wordbank, a database of CDIs. Inventories were divided into three groups: (a) a late talker group (n = 202); (b) a typically developing age-matched group (n = 1,238); and (c) a younger, typically developing group (n = 196) matched to the late talkers on expressive language. Neighborhood density and word frequency were calculated for each word produced by each participant and standardized to z scores. Mixed-effects models were used to evaluate group differences. The late talker and younger, language-matched groups' spoken vocabularies consist, on standardized average, of words from denser phonological neighborhoods and words higher in frequency of occurrence in parent-child speech, compared to older, typically developing toddlers. These findings provide support for the extended statistical learning account. Late talkers appear to generally be extracting and using similar patterns from their language input as do younger toddlers with similar levels of expressive vocabulary. This suggests that late talkers may be following a delayed, not deviant, trajectory of expressive language growth.

APPLICATION OF EDUCATIONAL SCAFFOLDING IN TEACHING PROFESSIONALLY-ORIENTED ENGLISH AT A TECHNICAL UNIVERSITY

The article deals with the application of educational scaffolding in teaching professionally-oriented English to non-linguistic students. Such scaffolding techniques as story innovation and storytelling are considered. The article shows that story innovation and storytelling motivate students to memorise vocabulary in their speciality and to construct their own sentences with this vocabulary. It is revealed that 52% of students were able to construct their own sentences in English with reliance on the proposed structures. The application of such scaffolding techniques as story innovation and storytelling contributes to the development of professionally-oriented communicative skills, increasing students’ motivation and autonomy, forming a comfortable educational environment.

Oscillatory features of German–English sentence processing: Evidence from an EEG study

Aims and objectives: In this study, we investigated the neural oscillatory patterns occurring during sentence-level overt bilingual processing tasks on 46 German–English bilinguals with the intention of finding out if there were task-specific oscillations for this language pair. Methodology: Four tasks, including Language 2 (L2) listening, Language 1 (L1) speaking, L2 shadowing (i.e., repeating a segment of an utterance), and backward interpreting (i.e., orally translating L2 sentences to L1), were implemented with the technique of electroencephalography (EEG). Data and analysis: Data included demographic indices, neural oscillation metrics, and oral production scores from participants. Static spectral analysis, time–frequency analysis, principal components analysis, cross-frequency coupling, and inferential statistics were applied to the data. Findings: The sensory task and articulatory tasks differed greatly in the delta–theta band and the beta–gamma band in terms of time–frequency dynamics. Analyses also revealed variations in a frontal/prefrontal theta component and a distinct gamma component across the four tasks. Moreover, we found a right fronto-temporal theta–gamma coupling unique to backward interpreting. Originality: The task-wise comparison experiment paradigm has rarely been implemented in neuroimaging research on language, especially so in EEG research on bilingualism. Significance: The findings provide novel insights for the understanding of language conversion mechanism and may benefit the training of professional interpreters.

AAT4IRS: automated acceptance testing for industrial robotic systems.

Industrial robotic systems (IRS) consist of industrial robots that automate industrial processes. They accurately perform repetitive tasks, replacing or assisting with dangerous jobs like assembly in the automotive and chemical industries. Failures in these systems can be catastrophic, so it is important to ensure their quality and safety before using them. One way to do this is by applying a software testing process to find faults before they become failures. However, software testing in industrial robotic systems has some challenges. These include differences in perspectives on software testing from people with diverse backgrounds, coordinating and collaborating with diverse teams, and performing software testing within the complex integration inherent in industrial environments. In traditional systems, a well-known development process uses simple, structured sentences in English to facilitate communication between project team members and business stakeholders. This process is called behavior-driven development (BDD), and one of its pillars is the use of templates to write user stories, scenarios, and automated acceptance tests. We propose a software testing (ST) approach called automated acceptance testing for industrial robotic systems (AAT4IRS) that uses natural language to write the features and scenarios to be tested. We evaluated our ST approach through a proof-of-concept, performing a pick-and-place process and applying mutation testing to measure its effectiveness. The results show that the test suites implemented using AAT4IRS were highly effective, with 79% of the generated mutants detected, thus instilling confidence in the robustness of our approach.

Peculiarities of Adverb Placement in English Sentences (exemplified by the adverb "fairly")

The article deals with the problem of adverb placement in English sentences. The paper aims at studying the main tendencies and patterns which influence the choice of the syntactic position of adverbs in English. Special attention is paid to the correlation between the semantic and syntactic features of adverbs. The article also describes possible syntactic positions of adverbs belonging to different semantic classes and the factors which determine the change of the place of the adverb in the sentence. The paper also considers the peculiarities of functioning of adverbs in the sentence based on the analysis of the adverb "fairly". The material for study includes contexts of use of the adverb "fairly" taken from the British National Corpus (BNC). The research uses the following methods: descriptive and statistical methods, methods of contextual analysis and syntactic analysis. The relevance of the subject of the research is due to the fact that in modern English adverbs are characterized by a high level of variability in syntactic placement, and even adverbs belonging to the same semantic class may have different syntactic properties. The analysis showed that "fairly" can be used as an intensifying adverb, an emphasizer, an adverb of manner, an evaluation adverb; in a number of cases it can also acquire additional modal meanings or serve as a speech act-related adverb. Each meaning of the adverb is characterised by its specific variants of syntactic positioning: before the word it modifies, in medial position, in end position and as a parenthetic word detached from the rest of the sentence. The results of the research show the necessity to study the syntactic properties of adverbs in more detail and to clarify their existing dictionary definitions.

Problems of Translating English Compound-Complex Sentences into Arabic

The study focuses on problems encountered by translation students when translating English compound-complex sentences into Arabic. It explores their structure, their components, and the appropriate way of translating them with the preservation of the same structure and meaning into the TL. The study hypothesizes: 1) compound-complex sentences can be found in English and Arabic. 2) Such structures are problematic for students when translating them into Arabic. 3) Vinay& Darbelnet’s translational model is applicable in translating compound - complex sentences. The study presents a comprehensive theoretical explanation on compound-complex sentences in both English and Arabic. Then, (3) English compound-complex sentences have been selected from different English grammar books and handed over to (20) undergraduate 4th stage students at the Department of Translation_ College of Arts_ University of Mosul, to handle the task of translating these sentences into Arabic. Their translations were analyzed syntactically and semantically by adopting Vinay& Darbelnet’s translational model(1958/1995) as well as Catford’s classification of translation-shifts (1965); in order to detect the difficulties and problems encountered in translating the sentences; thus, it’s a qualitative study. The study concludes that:1) compound-complex sentences are found in English and Arabic, 2) such sentences are problematic for students when translating them into Arabic either by the difficulty of identifying their parts, making unnecessary shifts, or adopting inappropriate strategy during the translational process that affect their translation accuracy, syntactically and semantically. 3) Vinay& Darbelent’s translational model is applicable to translating compound-complex sentences by adopting literal translation procedure within direct translation strategy. Based on that, the study is classified as a descriptive one.

The effects of chunk reading strategy training on the word chunking skills of L1-Japanese English learners

The Chunk-and-Pass model posits that language acquisition involves learning to effectively chunk linguistic input, thereby recoding it into larger linguistic sequences, such as from words to phrases, to form more abstract representations. This quasi-experimental study investigates the impact of Chunk Reading Strategy Training (CRST) on enhancing the word chunking skills of low-proficiency Japanese English learners. In the CRST intervention, English sentences were segmented into smaller units—each grammatically and semantically meaningful—and presented on a computer screen one chunk at a time. Using a pre-posttest design, 29 Japanese secondary school students underwent the CRST intervention (treatment group), while 21 students received block-format reading training (control group) in 10 sessions of 15–20 min each. Results from a self-paced reading task showed that the treatment group significantly improved their word chunking skills in the posttest, whereas the control group did not. These findings suggest that CRST has the potential to enhance word chunking skills among Japanese English learners and shed light on the pedagogical implications of the Chunk-and-Pass model.

Neural Evidence for Syntactic Unification in Second Language Sentence Comprehension: A Time‐Frequency Analysis

AbstractThis study investigates whether syntactic unification occurs during online L2 sentence comprehension using time‐frequency analysis. We measured the oscillatory power changes in native English speakers and L1‐Cantonese L2‐English speakers while they were reading well‐formed English sentences, syntactically intact nonsense sentences, and random word lists. Additionally, we conducted traditional ERP analyses to test L2 speakers’ sensitivity to NP‐internal number (dis)agreement. The results show that low‐beta power significantly increased in the L2 group when reading not only well‐formed sentences but also nonsense sentences, replicating the pattern found in the L1 group. This suggests that syntactic unification occurs in L2 comprehension as reliably as in L1 comprehension. However, L2 speakers did not show increased positivity for NP‐internal number disagreement, indicating that they have not developed native‐like sensitivity to this syntactic error. The implications of these time‐frequency and ERP data for L2 sentence processing and syntactic development are discussed.

Cross-Lingual Short-Text Semantic Similarity for Kannada–English Language Pair

Analyzing the semantic similarity of cross-lingual texts is a crucial part of natural language processing (NLP). The computation of semantic similarity is essential for a variety of tasks such as evaluating machine translation systems, quality checking human translation, information retrieval, plagiarism checks, etc. In this paper, we propose a method for measuring the semantic similarity of Kannada–English sentence pairs that uses embedding space alignment, lexical decomposition, word order, and a convolutional neural network. The proposed method achieves a maximum correlation of 83% with human annotations. Experiments on semantic matching and retrieval tasks resulted in promising results in terms of precision and recall.

English-to-Hindi translation divergence study of English phrasal verbs

English phrasal verbs pose complex semantic interpretations and cause significant problems in their translation into the target language. The paper selects some frequent and highly polysemous English phrasal verbs listed with 10 or more senses in the English WordNet, collects sample English sentences from the British National Corpus and examines their Hindi translation equivalents in terms of the morpho-syntactic structure of Hindi verbs and the representation of semantic information. This study attempts to present the semantic equivalence in rendering the identical semantics in the verbal system of both languages under consideration. The study found that the most frequent and common way of realising the concepts represented by English phrasal verbs in Hindi is by incorporating the compound verb constructions in the Hindi language. Besides that, we observe multiple mapping patterns of English phrasal verbs in Hindi, including the simple Hindi verb (v), compound verb (v1-v2), and conjunct verb (noun/adjective/adverb-verb) constructions.

Increasing Interest in English Teaching through “Picture Cards” in Class X IPS MA Al-Djufri Pamekasan

This study aims to increase students’ interest in learning English by using picture card media through Classroom Action Research (PTK) method. The subjects of the study were students of class X IPS MA Al-Djufri Pamekasan who experienced low interest in learning English. This research was conducted in two cycles, where each cycle consisted of planning, implementation, observation, and reflection stages. Data collected through observation and questionnaires were analyzed to determine the development of students’ interest in learning. The results showed that the use of picture cards could significantly increase students’ interest in learning. In cycle I, the level of students’ interest in learning was recorded at 60%, which indicated a lack of active involvement and motivation in learning English. After the implementation of picture cards in cycle II, students’ interest in learning increased to 83%. This increase can be seen from the increased participation of students in teaching and learning activities, enthusiasm in discussions, and better ability to understand the material. The application of picture cards proved to be effective in attracting students’ attention and facilitating the understanding of English materials, especially vocabulary and sentence structure. This study is in line with visual learning theory which states that the use of visual media can improve students’ memory and engagement. Thus, the use of picture cards as learning media is recommended for English teachers to improve students’ interest and learning outcomes. Further research is expected to explore the use of other media in foreign language learning.

Improving Third Year English Students’ Translation of Text Genres by Using The Method of Comparing the Position of Words in Phrases or Sentences in the Text Genres

This article presents an action research study undertaken at the Faculty of Education, Souphanouvong University during the 2020-2021 academic year. The aim was to determine whether teaching a method of comparing the position of words in the source language (English) and the target language (Lao) could improve third-year English students’ translation of text genres, and whether they were able to learn new vocabulary using this procedure. The sample comprised the 19 students from class 3ENT who studied English as their major. Research instruments included a pre-test, post-test, and questionnaire. Both pre-test and post-test consisted of English to Lao and Lao to English translation, and the questionnaire included 12 closed and open-ended questions. For the experimental method of teaching-learning translation, specific instruction for comparing the position of words between English and Lao was provided for three hours, followed by further practice in translating text genres for two hours per week over 16 weeks. This was implemented in-class and online. Finally, the pre-test and post-test scores of the 19 students were compared to see the difference in students’ translation ability. SPSS version 20 was used to calculate all the data. The results of this study showed the mean of the pre-test was 13.5263 with SD = 5.30585, and the mean of the post-test was 28.5263 with SD = 5.95696, while the t-test = -8.652 and p = 0.000. Before learning this technique for translation, 37% of students did not know how to translate English phrases or sentences into the Lao language by themselves, 47% of them knew a few ways, and 16% of students knew and understood how to use many techniques by themselves. After the experimental method was taught, 63% of students felt they knew how to translate English to Lao by themselves. In addition, 84% of students indicated they could learn new vocabulary from text genres, while 16% said they could learn a little new vocabulary from them.

Unlocking meaning: Truth-conditional semantic and syntactic analysis in the Bible

This research focused on complex conditional sentences in the Christian bible, employing truth-conditional semantics and syntactic analysis to uncover their theological messages. A qualitative study analyzed 20 verses, categorized into four types of conditional sentences according to Ferdinand de Saussure's syntagmatic and paradigmatic relations. It involved word analysis, structural classification, context correlation, synonymous exploration, and historical and theological consideration. The findings revealed several key insights. First, conditional sentences in the Christian bible predominantly featured compound-complex structures with an active voice, highlighting subjects and actions in religious verses. Second, they adhered to declarative formats, aligning with truth-telling principles in religious contexts. Third, complex structures and subordinate clauses conveyed conditional details, reasons, and situations, elaborating on the interplay between syntax and semantics. This research enriched our understanding of the relationship among verb forms, modal verbs, and diverse meanings within English conditional sentence types in the Christian bible. Fourth, this research had a significant social impact on human development from a theological perspective by enhancing spiritual growth, critical thinking, and ethical understanding. It promoted personal transformation and reflective faith, providing religious leaders with tools to interpret scripture more accurately. Additionally, the research clarified how biblical language communicated moral imperatives, supported ethical frameworks, and facilitated interfaith dialogue. Preserving theological heritage contributed to the holistic development of individuals and communities. Ultimately, this study aimed to ensure the Bible's relevance in shaping social behavior aligned with Christian teachings.

Can Interactive PowerPoint Media Revolutionize Simple Sentence Learning in Elementary Schools?

Improving student outcomes in constructing simple English sentences is essential, particularly in elementary education, where foundational language skills are developed. In Indonesian elementary school, low performance in this area was linked to the lack of interactive learning media. This study aimed to address this gap by developing, assessing the feasibility of, and evaluating the effectiveness of interactive PowerPoint-based learning media for fourth-grade students. Using the ADDIE development model—comprising Analysis, Design, Development, Implementation, and Evaluation—the study involved 26 students from SDN 02 Kendengsidialit Jepara, with data collected through observations, interviews, questionnaires, and documentation. The findings revealed a significant improvement in student performance, with the maximum score increasing from 71 in the pretest to 88.89 in the post-test. This improvement was confirmed by a paired t-test validating the media's effectiveness in enhancing learning outcomes. The analysis of pretest and post-test data further indicated moderate overall improvement underscoring the positive impact of the interactive PowerPoint-based learning approach. The study demonstrated that the interactive PowerPoint media is practical and feasible for improving students' mastery of simple English sentences. It is a valuable tool for enhancing language instruction in primary education.

DNA N-gram analysis framework (DNAnamer): A generalized N-gram frequency analysis framework for the supervised classification of DNA sequences

In 1948, Claude Shannon published a mathematical system describing the probabilistic relationships between the letters of a natural language and their subsequent order or syntax structure. By counting unique, reoccurring sequences of letters called N-grams, this language model was used to generate recognizable English sentences from N-gram frequency probability tables. More recently, N-gram analysis methodologies have been successfully applied to address many complex problems in a variety of domains, from language processing to genomics. One such example is the common use of N-gram frequency patterns and supervised classification models to determine authorship and plagiarism. In this paradigm, DNA is a language model where nucleotides are analogous to the letters of a word and nucleotide N-grams are analogous to the words of a sentence. Because DNA contains highly conserved and identifiable nucleotide sequence frequency patterns, this approach can be applied to a variety of classification and data reduction problems, such as identifying species based on unknown DNA segments. Other useful applications of this methodology include the identification of functional gene elements, microorganisms, sequence contamination, and sequencing artifacts. To this end, I present DNAnamer, a generalized and extensible methodological framework and analysis toolkit for the supervised classification of DNA sequences based on their N-gram frequency patterns.

Positive Transfer of Third Language Acquisition in English and French Sentence Patterns

Language takes sentences as the basic unit and sentence structures in different languages have their own characteristics. At present, with the in-depth development of economic globalization and the rapid enhancement of the demand for cross language communication, there are more and more trilingual users. Therefore, third language acquisition, as an emerging field of international and domestic research in recent years, has attracted extensive attention. As is known to all, the two languages, English and French, are closely related but different. Hence, in the process of learning French as a second foreign language, the positive and negative transfer of English to French is inevitable. Under the framework of third language acquisition and based on language transfer theory, this paper analyzes the positive transfer of sentence structure in the process of third language acquisition through the comparative analysis of four special sentence patterns in English and French, which is helpful for English majors to learn French as a second foreign language more concisely and efficiently.

Developing Intonation Through Gestures in Early English Language Teaching

Existing research has proved the strong link between gestures and speech both in the first language (L1) and the second language (L2) acquisition. Despite the significant benefits of incorporating gestures into language instruction, there remains a gap in research concerning their impact on very young learners, especially in non-Western settings like Vietnam. The current study investigates the effects of using gestures to teach English intonation to very young learners. The study adopted a quasi-experimental design, and it recruited 49 participants aged 4 to 6 years at a language center. The two intact classes were randomly assigned as the control and experimental groups. The learners in the experimental group were taught intonation patterns of some English sentence types, such as YES/NO questions, WH questions, and statements through gestures, while traditional instructions without any gestures were applied in the control group. Two primary tools were utilized for data collection: intonation tests and observations. The findings demonstrated that learners who received gesture-based teaching significantly showed improvements in their intonation. Additionally, these learners showed more engagement and active participation in class. These results highlight the benefits of using gestures in teaching English intonation, especially in early English language teaching in Vietnam.