Language Awareness Research Articles

Mechanisms for activating social empowerment of deaf people of determination in Kuwait: A study from the perspective of the deaf in the Kuwait club for the deaf

Encouraging the social empowerment of persons with disabilities—also known as “people of determination” is a crucial step toward advancing equality and inclusion in our communities. Consequently, the current study aimed to identify the mechanisms for activating social empowerment for people of determination from the deaf category. Identify the most prominent mechanisms and proposals from the point of view of the deaf. The study used a social survey approach based on a questionnaire on a sample of (30) deaf males in the Kuwaiti Sports Club for the Deaf, and it is the full sample size. The study reached several results, the most important of which are: integrating deaf people with disabilities into jobs integrated into society, raising the level of cultural awareness of sign language, in addition to spreading awareness of how to deal with deaf people. The study presented some recommendations and proposals, including media focus on the deaf group, and working to hold conferences and workshops targeting the community to spread awareness about the deaf group.

Luokanopettajaopiskelijat kielellisiä havaintojaan selittämässä

In light of previous research, it is important to examine class teachers’ perceptions of language so that we can develop pedagogical practices to evoke pupils’ interest and enthusiasm towards the language. In this article, we study what student teachers perceive about language and how they conceptualise their perceptions. We examined 264 student teachers’ interpretations of two sentences with different ambiguities and a nonsense sentence. The data were analysed using both theory- and data-driven qualitative content analysis. The results showed that many students already had a high level of metalinguistic competence: they perceived the ambiguity of the sentences, approached the nonsense sentence with relevant concepts and were able to explicate their linguistic deduction. However, some of the students had challenges, for example in using metalanguage, or they perceived the sentences mainly from a normative perspective. The results can be utilized in developing teaching practices in teacher education and in enhancing the language awareness of student teachers.

Language awareness survey among university students

In this study we examined the linguistic awareness and dialect attitudes of university students studying at the University of Nyíregyháza. It is particularly important that the future teachers have a positive attitude towards the varieties of the Hungarian language and share their knowledge with their learners in an effective way. However, the results of various research studies show that in many cases, mother tongue education in schools does not build on a multi-standard approach to language varieties, and as a consequence, non-standard varieties are perceived more negatively than standard ones. The aim of this research is to find out what the university students in the research study know about the regional variation of language, conscious language use and how they view dialect speech. The study was conducted through an online questionnaire survey involving 70 respondents. As a starting point for the research, it was assumed that the respondents’ dialect attitudes and language awareness would be determined by their experiences at school, and thus negative attitudes towards dialect speech would be observed in their value judgments. It was also assumed that respondents would be less accepting of the occurrence of dialect phenomena in their own language use and in the speech habits of others in their locality. The results showed that the majority of the students surveyed did not have a negative opinion of dialect phenomena, so the first hypothesis was not confirmed. However, the second hypothesis was partially confirmed, as far fewer respondents acknowledged the occurrence of dialect phenomena in their own language use than in the speech of the people in their locality. Overall, the majority of respondents to the survey have a positive attitude towards linguistic diversity and strive to use the language consciously. It is hoped that the students surveyed here will adopt the right approach to teaching about linguistic diversity in their teaching practice, thus positively influencing learners’ attitudes towards dialects and linguistic diversity.

Using a translanguaging multimodal approach to develop teachers’ language awareness in linguistically diverse classrooms in Australia

More research is needed on the role of teacher language awareness in the incorporation of students' language knowledge in linguistically diverse classrooms. This article reports on a design-based research project that involved in-service professional learning for seven teachers from five linguistically diverse Australian schools. Teachers learned about and implemented plurilingual strategies. Data on their subsequent language awareness were drawn from teacher interviews, classroom activities and student work samples. Teachers’ awareness was demonstrated to different degrees across affective, social, cognitive, power and performance domains. A translanguaging multimodal approach assisted in developing the language awareness identified across the domains.

Fostering interdisciplinary intercultural citizenship with virtual reality in a world language virtual exchange project

Intercultural dialogue is an essential component of intercultural citizenship, i.e., students’ ability to address complex societal issues. With more interconnected problems comes an increased need for students to communicate and collaborate with people from differing backgrounds. This preliminary study combined the framework of Intercultural Citizenship (ICit) and the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (UN SDGs) with Virtual Reality (VR) and Virtual Exchange (VE) to investigate the students’ development of ICit. Fifteen learners of German, consisting of university students of German in the United States and students studying at a German university, met in dyads or triads in VR over six weeks and worked on their independent projects in which they each addressed a societal environmental problem of their choice. Analyses of the data (pre-project and post-project surveys, weekly journal entries, project presentations) revealed that participants developed their intercultural competence and enhanced their critical language awareness. Some students showed a shift of emphasis: While at the beginning they were more concerned with linguistic elements of the German language toward the end of the project they were focused on the topic of their project. Finally, participants appreciated the VR setting for building relationships, communicating, and developing intercultural competence in an authentic setting. This study underscores the potential of advancing ICit and intercultural communicative competence (ICC) through a VR-VE format, emphasizing VR-VE’s potential in fostering relationships-building between students. It also offers students practical experience in navigating and appreciating the complexities of intercultural communication.

BOOK REVIEW: TEACHER DEVELOPMENT FOR IMMERSION AND CONTENT-BASED INSTRUCTION

This review provides a concise overview of the book "Teacher Development for Immersion and Content-Based Instruction” by Laurent Cammarata and T. J. Ó Ceallaigh, published in 2020 by John Benjamins Publishing Company. The review highlights its significant contributions to the understanding of global language immersion programs. The book, which features significant input from respected scholars, focuses on filling the knowledge gaps regarding teacher development in the context of language immersion and content-based training. The book consists of seven chapters that address various subjects, including teacher language awareness, the development of professional identity, and the difficulties encountered by immersion educators. The review acknowledges the book's thorough approach but points out a possible omission in distinguishing between Content-Based Instruction and Content and Language Integrated Learning The review suggests that the book is a great resource for educators, academics, and policymakers. The extensive examination of both theory and practice renders it an invaluable resource for individuals engaged in language instruction and research.

The affordances of plurilingual speaking games for recognizing, using, and developing plurilingual competences of children and pre-service teachers

ABSTRACT Games have long been a common activity integrated by teachers in many language learning classrooms worldwide. The change in focus from the “four skills” of speaking, listening, writing, and reading to “four modes of communication”: “reception,” “interaction,” “production,” and “mediation” in the Common European Framework Companion (2018) means that teachers need to incorporate Mediation language activities, such as translation or interpretation, that fit with this shift. This study explores the perceived affordances of playing plurilingual, speaking games for children and pre-service teachers (PSTs) in a joint university-primary school project in Spain. The project aimed to support the development of plurilingual and intercultural competence of 21 pre-service teachers and 23 children. Using a case study approach, incorporating thematic analysis, teachers’ written reflections are analyzed. Findings highlight that the games afforded the learning of languages using and awareness of languages; making children’s multiple languages “visible”; boosting enjoyment, collaboration, motivation, and risk-taking which facilitated a change in children’s social roles to “teacher.” Affordances for pre-service teachers included developing pedagogical know-how for working in a multilingual classroom and awareness of children’s linguistic repertoires. Considerations for game design and research are presented.

Resistances to critical language awareness: understanding the role of social class and double consciousness

ABSTRACT Drawing from students’ reflections, classroom observations, and individual interviews, this study examines the case of a Spanish for Heritage speakers class comprised of Heritage Speakers (HS) and international Latin American students in a predominantly white institution (PWI). Focusing on the development of Critical Language Awareness (CLA) , this study shows the various forms of resistance toward these pedagogies (e.g. withdrawal, class divisions, turning to meritocratic answers, among others) across students of different social classes (upper-middle class, working-class, international students from Latin America). This study demonstrates how students resisted structural explanations around Spanish language maintenance, instead resorting to either meritocratic understandings or the family as the primary locus of language maintenance. The epistemological concept of ‘double consciousness frames the experiences of working-class HSs who struggled between feelings of empowerment through CLA and negative perceptions of their own linguistic practices. These feelings were mediated by the challenge of affirming their language identities in the context of a PWI that privileges upper-middle-class cultural values. The study argues that while CLA begins a process of critical consciousness, we need to pay attention to the contextual factors and dynamics that lead to different forms of resistance.

Study of pragmatic analysis of literature on the development of ELT students’ receptive and productive skills: A case of North Cyprus

Language serves as a mirror reflecting our understanding of the world and mirrors the world of literature. Pragmatics extends beyond mere literal interpretation, delving into comprehending subtle implications, varying expressions and lexical ambiguities. This deepens our exploration and appreciation of the world of literature. It is worth investigating whether pragmatic instruction can improve students' language awareness and competence. To this end, a quasi-experimental study involving the students of two English language teaching (ELT) classes was conducted to determine whether pragmatic treatment could enhance students' comprehension skills and to identify how effectively the pragmatic understanding of literature through Shakespeare's language could aid the development of receptive and productive skills in ELT students. Participants took two pre-tests: multiple-choice discourse completion task (MCDCT) and discourse completion task (DCT) based on Othello. After the treatment, the same tests were administered as post-tests. Results showed that the experimental group outperformed the control group in comprehension skills. Cohen's D effect size calculation confirmed the practical usefulness of the treatment and the significant difference between the two groups. The study concludes that pragmatic training using literary texts contributes to developing ELT students' pragmatic competence.

Research on English Language and Literature Teaching Strategies Based on Situational Teaching Method

The teaching of English language and literature not only focuses on developing students’ English language proficiency but also emphasizes their understanding and cognition of the cultural connotations behind the English language. This dual focus aims to cultivate students’ cross-cultural communication skills and practical English skills. The application of the situational teaching method can create corresponding learning scenarios based on English language knowledge, thereby enriching students’ learning experiences and understanding within these scenarios. This method has significant advantages in enhancing the effectiveness of English language and literature teaching. Consequently, this paper first analyzes the significance of applying the situational teaching method in university-level English language and literature instruction. It then proposes several strategies for implementing this method, with the goal of enhancing students’ language awareness, cultural literacy, and comprehensive English skills.

Exploring epistemological decentring in a language other than English classroom through pedagogical translanguaging

AbstractThis paper aims to explore the epistemological decentring in a language other than English classroom through pedagogical translanguaging and examine students’ attitudes toward translanguaging practices. Data were collected from a six‐week classroom observation with 20 French major undergraduates and interviews with the students in a comprehensive university in China. Analysis revealed that the teacher employs three forms of translanguaging pedagogy: form‐focused strategy, dual‐language substantiation, and multi‐semiotic strategy, which promote students’ understanding of epistemological decentring. The interviews indicated the advantages of translanguaging integrated with epistemological decentring including heightened engagement, the development of cross‐language awareness, and enhanced critical language awareness. The study shows how pedagogical translanguaging aligns with a decentring perspective, promoting the use of diverse knowledge systems, and highlighting the importance of creating a decentring space for multilingual education. It also underscores the need to challenge monolingual ideologies, question conventional approaches to multilingualism, and actively embrace a diverse range of meaning‐making systems.

Corpus-based cultivation of critical language awareness: A case study on English film subtitles

Corpus-based cultivation of critical language awareness: A case study on English film subtitles

Arvydas Šliogeris’ Perspective on Place: Shaping the Cosmopolis for a Sustainable Presence

Abstract This article explores the Lithuanian philosophical conception of philotopy by Arvydas Šliogeris, which, emphasizing the significance of place and experience, imposes limits on Nihil. Philotopy, as conceived by Šliogeris, is a novel method of contemporary philosophy, it is a possible answer to present-day challenges, both existential and environmental. The cosmopolis, as a concentration of things close to humans, primarily allows them to realize their finitude, similar to their place and the things closest to them. Consequently, this realization of the infinity of virtuality extends to an awareness of language as Nihilistic equipment. This mode of thinking also proves to be ecologically beneficial, as it de-virtualizes the individual and establishes a cosmopolis, which remains the beacon of hope and the source of the will to return to the surface of things – because only there can one experience a sparing fullness. This work seeks to illustrate that the fundamental relationship with a place is shaped during childhood, often rooted in the home. Tuan’s phenomenological approach justifies the formation of philotopian thinking and its legitimacy. This article argues that the place becomes determinative not only through the relationship where one becomes accustomed to coexisting with the Other, but also in shaping the vocabulary. Research reveals that language, as the fundamental plane of connection with the world, is influenced by place.

Teacher language awareness for CLIL in multilingual settings: insights from across UK and Dutch primary classrooms

Schools are increasingly using content and language integrated learning (CLIL) approaches to education, whereby the teaching of subject content and an additional language occurs in an integrated manner. While language and learning are inextricably linked and the rewards of CLIL many, integrated teaching requires a specialised professional awareness of how an additional language operates and is acquired within content classrooms. However, research focused on teacher language awareness (TLA) for CLIL is still sparse. Moreover, it has focused solely on CLIL teachers’ awareness of the target language, thereby disregarding the teacher plurilingual awareness (TPLA) required for effective CLIL, which is inherently multilingual and increasingly implemented in linguistically diverse settings. This study brings together the expertise of Dutch primary school teachers using CLIL to teach English as a Foreign Language (EFL) learners, with the expertise in teaching in multilingual settings of UK teachers supporting English as an Additional Language (EAL) learners. Using a CLIL Teaching Wall activity within interviews, it was possible to gain rich insight into the characteristics of the TLA and TPLA underpinning teachers’ ability to recognise and teach to the language demands of multilingual dual-focused classrooms.

Exploring the concept of <i>language awareness</i> in the Curriculum in English in Norway: discussing the potential of picture books for enhancing young learners’ language awareness

This exploratory article provides an introduction to language awareness and discusses the potential of picture books as a textual resource to enhance young learners’ understanding of how language works. The construct of language awareness is investigated and discussed according to its three main components: the cognitive, affective and social dimensions. It is argued that language awareness represents a holistic approach to language teaching and needs to be naturally integrated into teachers’ pedagogical practices. Furthermore, the article looks at how the last revision of the English subject curriculum in Norway, introduced in 2020, involves language awareness and how this concept is communicated. The curriculum seems to reflect a language learning theory that correlates strongly with the theoretical basis for a language awareness approach. It is noted that the teacher’s knowledge of language and engagement with language are crucial factors for facilitating discovery-oriented learning activities, which are considered critical to scaffolding learners’ engagement with language. Picture books are considered a valuable resource in this respect; the qualities that make this literary genre such a useful resource are outlined and reflected on. The article ends by presenting some selected picture books and exploring their potential for using them in the English classroom to promote learners’ engagement with language and hence, contribute to cultivating their language awareness.

THE ROLE OF CONTRASTIVE ANALYSIS IN TEACHING TURKISH AS A FOREIGN LANGUAGE IN THE CONTEXT OF POST-METHOD PEDAGOGY

Language learning is becoming increasingly important in the current field of Intercultural communication. As a result, educators and experts face challenges in deciding which teaching methods to use when teaching a second foreign language. To address this issue, it is crucial to conduct new researches from theory to practice or from practice to theory, based on the fundamental principles of the post-method pedagogy, the learning environment, learners’ needs, and teacher’s professional competencies. Contrastive analysis is a method that provides instruction based on the nature of the language while also addressing the needs of students in solving problems encountered by Kazakh learners when studying Turkish as a foreign language. At this stage, the aim of this study is to determine the significance of contrastive analysis within the post-method framework. The research is based on a qualitative research design. Additionally, a semi-structured interview form was used to achieve the study’s objective. The interviews involved 15 students learning Turkish as a foreign language at the Faculty of Philology, Abai KazNPU. Data analysis was conducted using content analysis based on the “code-category-theme” approach with the MaxQDA 24.4.0 program. The findings revealed that the method supports post-method strategies such as minimizing perceptual mismatches, enhancing language awareness, activating intuitive heuristics, integrating language skills, supporting learner autonomy, and raising cultural awareness, thereby making the learning process effective, simple, and suited to learners’ needs. These results are expected to be valuable for both theorists and practitioners in foreign language education during curriculum development.

Fostering Language Awareness in a Plurilingual Learning Environment

Developing young learners’ language awareness is becoming an important educational goal in a rapidly globalised world characterised by linguistic and cultural diversity. Drawing upon previous research in the field, the article highlights the importance of promoting language diversity and nurturing language awareness from an early age. We present a qualitative study’s findings to analyse the potential of using pluralistic approaches to language teaching for developing young learners’ language awareness. The study was based on a case study format involving pupils aged five and six years. By exposing the participants to a set of plurilingual activities following the DivCon model, we were able to observe and identify their language awareness development. In addition, the pupils’ responses to language awareness activities and their perceptions of different languages were analysed through a survey in the form of interviews. The results of the study indicate positive outcomes, demonstrating an enhanced level of language awareness among the pupils, as well as an increased appreciation for language diversity.

Het didactiseren van bewuste taalvaardigheid

Various contextualized and cross-linguistic approaches of grammar teaching have yielded significant transfer effects on both metalinguistic knowledge and proficiency in reading, writing, listening, and speaking in the first and second languages. Nevertheless, a similar approach is absent in language teaching in the Netherlands, perpetuating the discrepancy between the intended, implemented, and attained objectives. This study endeavors to remedy this discrepancy by examining the effective characteristics of teaching materials promoting language awareness. To this end, a contextualized, cross-linguistic lesson series on the concept of ‘syntactical function’ was designed, targeting upper secondary students (aged 15-16) drawing from four design principles and an analysis of the Dutch, the English and the German language. Subsequently, the lesson series underwent expert consultation, focus group interviews and various impact measurements, yielding a significant positive influence on students’ motivation and language awareness in all three languages. This underlines the potential value of teaching materials promoting language awareness.

Examining the cognitive and perceptual perspectives of music-to-language transfer: A study of Cantonese–English bilingual children

Motivated by theories of music-to-language transfer, we investigated whether and how musicianship benefits phonological and lexical prosodic awareness in first language (L1) Cantonese and second language (L2) English. We assessed 86 Cantonese–English bilingual children on rhythmic sensitivity, pitch sensitivity, nonverbal intelligence, inhibitory control, working memory, Cantonese phonological awareness, Cantonese tone awareness, English phonological awareness, and English stress awareness. Based on their prior music learning experience, we classified the children as musicians and non-musicians. The musicians performed better than the non-musicians on Cantonese phonological awareness, Cantonese tone awareness, and English phonological awareness. In addition, the musicians had superior pitch sensitivity, nonverbal intelligence, inhibitory control, and working memory than the non-musicians. For Cantonese and English phonological awareness, neither cognitive abilities nor pitch and rhythmic sensitivities turned out to be a unique predictor. However, working memory uniquely predicted Cantonese tone awareness, with age, rhythmic sensitivity, and pitch sensitivity controlled. From a theoretical perspective, our findings on Cantonese tone awareness favors the cognitive perspective of music-to-language transfer, in which working memory enhancement could explain the musicians’ superior performance in Cantonese tone awareness. However, our findings on phonological awareness do not favor the cognitive perspective, nor do they favor the perceptual perspective, in which enhanced rhythmic and pitch sensitivities could explain musicians’ advantage.

Wittgenstein’s Philosophical Investigations and Bildungsroman literature: a guidebook for journeying home, seeing places anew, and encountering Land-based education

Abstract Guarding against reliance on his own biography and romantic tendencies in Bildungsroman literature, I draw parallels to Ludwig Wittgenstein’s use of the journey trope and place-based inquiry in the Philosophical Investigations, as an exploration of concept development and confusion that exhorts and guides readers in traversing the borderlands of their own cultural–linguistic practices. l recall Wittgenstein’s journey in search of himself: his retreat from Cambridge to a remote hut in Norway, leading him on a philosophical search for meaning. This self-transformative (Bildung) process of writing the Philosophical Investigations offers new ways for thinking the concept of ‘place’: not the bounding limit of things/beings; rather, working through the linguistic turn in philosophy, as potentially meaningful ‘sites’ in conceptually familiar/unfamiliar landscapes of native languages. The Investigations also carries ancient Heraclitian and Homeric tropes of homecoming and authenticity: ‘searching ourselves’ and ‘becoming who we are’, as found in Wittgenstein’s call to ‘know our way about’—rediscovering the grammatical order operating out of view but pervading the world as we see and know it, as well as setting its limits. Awareness of different languages of place is crucial to appreciating Indigenous discourses of Land-based education—a topic central to discussions of incorporating Indigenous knowledge while decolonizing education. Rethinking Bildungsroman literature in postcolonial terms—through the lens of reconciliation, renaissance, and resurgence —I call for careful listening to Indigenous peoples’ storied landscapes instead of fact-checking them: recognizing their sovereign right to self-govern their own education and resources. The goal is not to assess the truths of Land-based education, as in some epistemological inquiries, nor to make them accessible as pedagogical resources or instruments for non-Indigenous educators. The aim rather is to promote respect for its deep, nearly inaccessible context within Indigenous grammars and ways of life.