Language Use Research Articles

Code-Switching: The Use of “Gay Lingo” Among Educators in the Classroom

This study investigates "gay lingo" as a form of code-switching among educators in junior high school classrooms in the Philippines. Using a qualitative phenomenological approach, it explores the experiences of six educators at the Tangan Integrated School in Barangay Datalbukay, Glan, Sarangani Province, Philippines. Through interviews, the study examined how educators use this linguistic strategy to enhance student engagement, facilitate communication, and promote a positive learning environment. Findings showed that "gay lingo" fosters collaboration, leadership, and conflict resolution among students, resonating with their social dynamics and cultural contexts. Educators reported that flamboyant language captures students' attention and makes lessons more relatable and enjoyable. This study highlights the complexities of language use in educational settings, emphasizing the need for teachers to navigate cultural sensitivities while addressing language barriers. The research contributes to understanding code-switching as a pedagogical tool, advocating for its thoughtful application to improve academic outcomes and student interactions in diverse classrooms. The findings suggest a re-evaluation of language policies in education to embrace inclusive linguistic practices.

Translating the Public Sphere: Analyzing Linguistic and Cultural Dimensions in Publicistic Texts

This study explores the challenges and strategies involved in translating publicistic texts, which are characterized by their rich use of figurative language, complex syntactic structures, and culturally specific references. Publicistic texts play a critical role in shaping public discourse by conveying ideological and social narratives; however, their translation requires more than a literal rendering. Drawing on theories of figurative language (Glucksberg & McGlone, 2001) and intercultural communication (Iriye, 1979; Kulikova et al., 2017), the research examines how translators navigate linguistic complexities—such as idiomatic expressions and non-standard syntactic forms—while also adapting culturally embedded elements for target audiences. Employing a qualitative methodology that integrates comparative discourse and content analyses of selected texts and their translations, the study identifies common translation strategies, including domestication and the use of explanatory notes, as well as the inherent tensions between fidelity to the source and cultural adaptation. The findings underscore the translator’s role as an active mediator who shapes the final text, influencing its ideological and cultural impact. This research contributes to translation studies by offering insights into the effective handling of linguistic and cultural nuances in the public sphere, with implications for both academic practice and professional training.

Students’ Perception of the Effects of Using Self-assessment and Peer-assessment in Promoting Learner Autonomy in Speaking Skills

This study aims to examine the effects of self-assessment and peer assessment on learner autonomy development and the different effects between the two kinds of assessment practices in language use, focusing on EFL speaking skills. Eighty-eight first-year non-English majors at VNU-HCM University of Science taking a fifteen-week general English course participated in the study and were put in two groups: experimental 1 (n=49); and experimental 2 (n=39). The participants in experimental group 1 assessed their own work, whilst those in experimental group 2 assessed their peers' work. Quantitative data was collected from students' pre-and post-test questionnaires. Three key findings were revealed. First, through the use of self-assessment, dimensions of initiating, monitoring, and evaluating students' learner autonomy were significantly enhanced. Second, the implementation of peer assessment also considerably promoted students' learner autonomy dimensions by initiating, monitoring, and evaluating. Third, although both self-assessment and peer assessment developed these four learner autonomy dimensions, there is a small difference between the two kinds of assessment on dimension initiating. The effects of self-assessment on dimension initiating surpassed that of peer assessment on dimension initiating.

The Active Approach: Enhancing Language Skills through Classroom Engagement

This article explores the significance of active engagement in language learning, emphasizing how interactive classroom activities enhance communication skills, boost motivation, and provide contextual understanding. Drawing on research, it argues that active learning complements traditional methods, addresses diverse learner needs, and prepares students for real-world language use. Challenges such as time management and skill diversity are also discussed, with strategies for effective implementation. The article concludes with a call to educators to embrace innovative, active learning approaches for transformative language education.

The language use Inventory-Persian: report of the psychometric properties

BackgroundPragmatic language assessment is a necessary component of evaluation in language impairments. Some procedures are applied to assess pragmatic abilities in childhood. Parent-report questionnaires are among the most useful instruments for evaluating pragmatics in real situations. This study aimed to translate and adapt the Language Use Inventory (LUI) into Persian and examine its psychometric properties.MethodIt was a methodological and cross-sectional study. We pursued the steps of translation and adaptation of this questionnaire into Persian according to a standard guideline. Then, 348 parents/caregivers of three groups of children consisting of typically developing (TD), late-talking children, and ones with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) 18-47-month-old Persian-speaking children completed the adapted version of the LUI. The participants were recruited into study by convenience sampling. Next, different psychometric properties including item analysis, validity (content, face, and construct), and reliability (test-retest and internal consistency) were investigated.ResultsTranslation, adaptation, and item analysis led to the deletion of 7 Items. Differential validity for age revealed the noticeably different performance among different age groups (p < 0.001). Also, Given the clinical validity, TD and ASD children performed differently in this measure(p < 0.001). In addition, the evidence of the discriminant validity was confirmed by a significant difference between TD and late-talking children (p < 0.001). Concurrent validity was also established by a moderate and positive value of the correlation between total scores of the LUI-Persian and Newsha developmental scale (r = 0.54, p = 0.01). Exploratory factor analysis (EFA) indicated that the Language Use Inventory-Persian had 2 factors of verbal and nonverbal use of language. Also, the evidence for the confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) was attained (all the values of factor load were higher than 0.40). The internal consistency (α = 0.99) and test-retest reliability (r = 0.97) proved adequate values.ConclusionsThe Language Use Inventory-Persian with 173 items revealed the acceptable psychometric attributes for assessing pragmatics in 18-47-month-old Persian-speaking children; however, for screening pragmatic impairments, it may need further studies on clinical populations with a larger sample size to see whether the LUI items are appropriate or possible changes in the items are required.

Public Health Messaging on Twitter During the COVID-19 Pandemic: Observational Study.

Effective communication is crucial during health crises, and social media has become a prominent platform for public health experts (PHEs) to share information and engage with the public. At the same time, social media also provides a platform for pseudoexperts who may spread contrarian views. Despite the importance of social media, key elements of communication, such as the use of moral or emotional language and messaging strategy, particularly during the emergency phase of the COVID-19 pandemic, have not been explored. This study aimed to analyze how PHEs and pseudoexperts communicated with the public during the emergency phase of the COVID-19 pandemic. We focused on the emotional and moral language used in their messages on various COVID-19 pandemic-related topics. We also analyzed their interactions with political elites and the public's engagement with PHEs to gain a deeper understanding of their influence on public discourse. For this observational study, we gathered a dataset of >539,000 original posts or reposts from 489 PHEs and 356 pseudoexperts on Twitter (subsequently rebranded X) from January 2020 to January 2021, along with the replies to the original posts from the PHEs. We identified the key issues that PHEs and pseudoexperts prioritized. We also determined the emotional and moral language in both the original posts and the replies. This allows us to characterize priorities for PHEs and pseudoexperts as well as differences in messaging strategy between these 2 groups. We also evaluated the influence of PHEs' language and strategy on the public response. Our analyses revealed that PHEs focused more on masking, health care, education, and vaccines, whereas pseudoexperts discussed therapeutics and lockdowns more frequently (P<.001). PHEs typically used positive emotional language across all issues (P<.001), expressing optimism and joy. Pseudoexperts often used negative emotions of pessimism and disgust, while limiting positive emotional language to origins and therapeutics (P<.001). Along the dimensions of moral language, PHEs and pseudoexperts differed on care versus harm and authority versus subversion across different issues. Negative emotional and moral language tends to boost engagement in COVID-19 discussions across all issues. However, the use of positive language by PHEs increases the use of positive language in the public responses. PHEs act as liberal partisans: they express more positive affect in their posts directed at liberals and more negative affect in their posts directed at conservative elites. In contrast, pseudoexperts act as conservative partisans. These results provide nuanced insights into the elements that have polarized the COVID-19 discourse. Understanding the nature of the public response to PHEs' messages on social media is essential for refining communication strategies during health crises. Our findings underscore the importance of using moral-emotional language strategically to reduce polarization and build trust.

The impact of sign language on Spanish language acquisition

The present research article examines the role of sign language in the acquisition of the Spanish language through the teaching of sign language at the high school level. It focuses on a sample of high school students from a private institution in the city of Chone. Additionally, a descriptive approach was employed, centered on the scientific tasks of research and the respective sampling method. For data collection, two interviews were conducted with English teachers, and a survey was applied to an English teacher. The results indicate that the acquisition of the Spanish language through the use of sign language is significant for students. Moreover, the use of pedagogical strategies is essential to help them develop their communicative skills. On the other hand, it is important for teachers to use visual resources to ensure active participation from students. Consequently, the findings highlight factors influencing the learning and acquisition of the Spanish language through the use of sign language. In other words, this study contributes to educational research by providing relevant information about the importance of Spanish language acquisition for students with hearing impairments.

The Impact of Sign Language on Spanish Language Acquisition

The present research article examines the role of sign language in the acquisition of the Spanish language through the teaching of sign language at the high school level. It focuses on a sample of high school students from a private institution in the city of Chone. Additionally, a descriptive approach was employed, centered on the scientific tasks of research and the respective sampling method. For data collection, two interviews were conducted with English teachers, and a survey was applied to an English teacher. The results indicate that the acquisition of the Spanish language through the use of sign language is significant for students. Moreover, the use of pedagogical strategies is essential to help them develop their communicative skills. On the other hand, it is important for teachers to use visual resources to ensure active participation from students. Consequently, the findings highlight factors influencing the learning and acquisition of the Spanish language through the use of sign language. In other words, this study contributes to educational research by providing relevant information about the importance of Spanish language acquisition for students with hearing impairments.

Argument-based validation of Chulalongkorn University Language Institute (CULI) test: a Rasch-based evidence investigation

Chulalongkorn University Language Institute (CULI) test was developed as a local standardised test of English for professional and international communication. To ensure that the CULI test fulfils its intended purposes, this study employed Kane’s argument-based validation and Rasch measurement approaches to construct the validity argument for the CULI test. This study analysed score data from a single test administration involving 237 test-takers and used a dichotomous Rasch model for the data analysis in Winsteps. The Rasch results indicated appropriate psychometric properties of the CULI test. Overall, the Rasch-based evidence reasonably contributes to the validity argument for the CULI test. Specifically, it partly supports the plausibility of the claims that CULI test tasks and contents represent those in the intended target language use (TLU) domain, and CULI test scores accurately summarise test-takers’ performance and reflect test-takers’ performance consistency, the intended construct, and language performance levels in the TLU domain. Although the CULI test showed sound psychometric functioning, the Rasch results indicated the need for further investigation into certain correct and incorrect choices and the difficulty levels of writing items, which could provide valuable insights for optimising test quality. This study offers implications for future research on argument-based and Rasch-based validation.

Creole Languages and American Englishes: Multilingualism and Pediatric Speech-Language Pathology.

Multilingualism is the norm, not the exception, with most children speaking more than one language daily. These factors have motivated an increased need to better understand language use in the growing population of children whose cultural and linguistic background evidence language variation by way of Creole languages and dialects of American Englishes. Within speech-language pathology in the United States, however, a cultural and linguistic mismatch exists with only 8% of speech-language pathologists self-identifying as multilingual service providers. A variety of publications have documented speech-language development and disorders in speakers of majority language pairings (such as Spanish-English) to address this mismatch and the potential for misdiagnosis of speech-language function. However, there is a shortage of information on speakers of minority language pairings (such as a Creole language and its lexifier) for supporting culturally responsive practices in speech-language pathology. This clinical seminar considers multilingualism for speech-language pathology with the goal of offering a historical context. In so doing, this clinical seminar aims to address the need for distinguishing between dialect and disorder, and offer practical considerations that reduce the risk of misdiagnosis in children who speak minority languages such as Creoles (e.g., Gullah/Geechee, Jamaican Creole) and dialects of American Englishes (e.g., African American English), as examples in the context of the United States.

A Critical Eco-perspective in English Textbook for Indonesian 12th Graders: A Case on Nationally Issued Textbook

Ecological values in textbooks are essential because they help instill environmental awareness and responsibility in students from an early age to support sustainable development. The study addresses how ecological values are portrayed in Indonesian 12th-grade English textbooks. Using a qualitative content analysis framework, this study examines the transitivity system found in the textbook. The analysis emphasizes environmental conservation, sustainable practices, and encouraging cognitive engagement through positively framed language and relatable, contextual examples. Through a thorough exploration of how elements are connected, positive language use, and specific contextual details, the research provides nuanced insights into the representation of ecological values. This research provides valuable insights into the nuanced instructional approach that shapes environmental awareness within the context of these textbooks. These findings suggest that English Language Teaching (ELT) materials for Indonesian students should actively incorporate eco-friendly linguistic elements and emphasize sustainability-oriented pedagogy to cultivate environmental responsibility.

Use of screens, books and adults' interactions on toddler's language and motor skills: A cross-cultural study among 19 Latin American countries from different SES.

Children's screen use is ubiquitous, with toddlers in particular demonstrating increases after the pandemic and negative associations with cognitive abilities. Thus, the objective of this cross-cultural study was to broaden and deepen existing results by describing Latin American toddlers' screen use and its association with parental reports of language skills, developmental milestones, and sociodemographic variables. A sample of 1878 toddlers from 12 to 48 months (M.age = 27.55, SD = 9.68, male = 933, low-SES = 945) from 19 different Latin American countries was evaluated. Parent-report measures of children's use of screens, SES, language, and developmental milestones were administered virtually or face-to-face. Results indicated that infants' screen exposure times were longer than recommended, with TV and smartphone being the most frequent screen media among them. Also, most of the screen time was shared with an adult. These results were consistent across parent-reported SES and nationality. In addition, negative and significant associations were generally found between screen time and language skills, which were in turn positively associated with shared reading times. The frequency of shared screen use with adults demonstrated positive correlations with language skills, after controlling for sociodemographic variables. Lastly, entertainment and educational content was associated with higher levels of language skills compared to music. In conclusion, this study demonstrates the importance of promoting responsible and accompanied use of screens with age-appropriate content during the first years of life across different contexts.

Does Inclusive Language Increase the Visibility of Women, or Does It Simply Decrease the Visibility of Men? A Missing Piece of the Inclusive Language Jigsaw

The use of a single bipolar gender scale to evaluate the estimated gender breakdown of an occupational group has long been the standard measure for assessing the effects of linguistic-grammatical information and gender stereotypes on the mental representations of gender. However, this scale presupposes a reciprocal relationship between the gender poles, assuming that the estimated number of one gender group constrains the estimation of the other. This is questionable, as distinct linguistic modulations and gender stereotypes may exert asymmetrical influences on each gender group’s representation. The current study, therefore, used gender-separated scales and showed that an inclusive language manipulation on the presentation of occupations can increase the visibility of women when the occupations do not carry feminine stereotype information but can also decrease the visibility of men when the occupations do not carry masculine stereotype information. Using this scale may be a more appropriate approach for future studies to capture the influence of language forms on gender representation in a more nuanced way.

Exposure to Audiovisual Media and Its Role in Toddlers' Language Development.

This study examined (i) whether the amount of audiovisual media exposure predicts child language use, language input and language interaction, and (ii) the role of the media programme type (child-oriented educational, child-oriented entertainment, adult-oriented) in relation to parent-child language. Using Language Environment Analysis (LENA) recorders, we collected day-long language recordings in homes of families with children in the U.S. Human coding of entire recordings was used to capture the amount of total media exposure and programme type for child language environment. Automated measures of language (child vocalisations, adult word count, conversational turns) were obtained from LENA recordings. The study included 29 children (12 girls [41.38%]; mean [SD] age 25.28 months [3.01]). Regression analyses showed that higher total audiovisual media time was associated with lower child language use, language input and language interaction. Higher child-oriented entertainment media time was also associated with lower child language use, language input and language interaction, while adult-oriented media time was associated with lower child language use and language interaction. It is recommended that practitioners communicate the importance of caregiver-child interactions as well as media timing and content management to families with young children.

Insights into language management in the health sector: Reflecting on the COVID-19 pandemic in South Africa

This article explores language management issues in South Africa’s multilingual context during the COVID-19 pandemic. Understanding the critical role of language as both an enabler of and impediment to access to health care is important for health care systems and governments that are characterised by linguistically and culturally diverse populations as in South Africa. A significant concern during the pandemic was the inadequate use of indigenous African languages for disseminating crucial health care information. During this period, English was predominantly used for health care communication. For example, the president’s addresses to the nation and the Corona Virus Command Council announcements were done in English, thus disadvantaging most African language speakers who may not be fully proficient in English. This happened even though African languages are spoken by over 80% of the South African population. The article draws from the language management approach to argue that the sociolinguistic and cultural dynamics that affect language use in the health sector should be addressed through effective macro- and micro-level language management to achieve language management goals. In conclusion, although the disruption caused by the COVID-19 pandemic was unprecedented, it presented an essential opportunity for transformative and adaptive changes, offering valuable insights into language management in the health sector.

No three productions alike: Lexical variability, situated dynamics, and path dependence in task-based corpora

Abstract Situated language use is influenced by a number of dynamic phenomena that introduce lexical variability and path dependence, such as fluid discourse granularity, priming, and alignment in dialogue. The empirical tradition of usage-based lexicology does not account for such variability. In fact, its primary theoretical approaches appear to presuppose high population convergence on particular lexemes in language production. This is implied in several key concepts of phraseological and constructionist models, notably entrenchment, the principle of no synonymy, and the idiom principle, as well as the dominance of the statistical paradigm in the field. In spite of its relevance for linguistic theory and corpus methodology, this assumption appears to be untested. This study provides an analysis of inter-individual lexical overlap of verbs and nouns in five task-based corpora of (mostly) German. Results indicate that speakers are maximally variable and highly divergent in their lexical use in spite of narrow communicative constraints and group homogeneity. A qualitative analysis links this variability to situational (cognitive, socio-pragmatic, and discourse-level) engagement with the task and material, which results in referential diversity, spontaneous meaning mapping, and abundant word formation. The degree of observed variability raises questions with respect to the stochastic properties and functional mechanics of entrenchment and the role of repetition of identical material, such as lexicalized chunks, in conventionalization. It further emphasizes the need for a better understanding of the distributions that underlie pooled data, without which the validity of frequential extrapolation to individual behavior and system status stands to question. This is of particular relevance to language assessment and other practices of contrastive analysis of speaker productions, e.g., in multilingualism studies.

The Power of Persuasive Language in Judicial Opinions

Judicial opinions wield immense power, not only in shaping the outcomes of legal disputes but also in molding societal norms and public perceptions of justice. This paper examines the persuasive tools embedded in judicial language, exploring its symbolic enactment of authority, its rhetorical techniques, and its impact on legal interpretation. By dissecting the use of analogies, metaphors, emotive language, repetition, and parallelism, the analysis illuminates how judges craft their reasoning to establish authority, persuade audiences, and legitimize decisions. Moreover, it underscores the ethical considerations and responsibilities accompanying such linguistic choices. As a communicative enterprise, the law depends on its language for both clarity and persuasion, making rhetorical skills a cornerstone of judicial practice. The study concludes by emphasizing the importance of rhetorical training for judges and advocates, suggesting that further research into the evolution of judicial communication can enhance understanding of its role in shaping law and society. Keywords: Judicial opinions, persuasive language, legal rhetoric, analogies, metaphors.

Factors Affecting Online Health Promotion Program Adherence Among People with Disabilities

As online health and wellness programs become more ubiquitous post-pandemic, there is a need to better understand how people with physical disabilities (PWPD) respond to different types of program offerings. Online health promotion programs have become popular in the disability community, and programs offer a range of activities across various wellness domains (e.g., exercise, nutrition). This study examined factors predicting adherence to three different types of online health promotion programs tailored for PWPD. A survey was developed to examine factors associated with high, moderate, and low adherence to three different types of health promotion programs. Participants who completed an online wellness program were sent a survey that asked questions related to adherence to a range of wellness activities. The three programs included the MENTOR (Mindfulness, Exercise, and Nutrition to Optimize Resilience), GROWTH (Growing Resilience Out of Wellness and Thoughtful Habits), and SOSE (State of Slim Everybody) programs, all of which focus on different self-care strategies. MENTOR focused on educating participants about mindfulness, exercise, and nutrition; GROWTH aimed to deliver mental and emotional health techniques, while SOSE’s purpose was to teach participants how to implement healthy weight loss, weight management, and daily exercise practices. Results indicated that participant perceptions of program delivery, specifically programs being disability friendly, virtual environment enjoyment, having positive instructor relationships, adaptable content, the instructor’s knowledge about disability, the instructor’s use of appropriate language, and program satisfaction, affected the likelihood of high adherence among people with physical disabilities enrolled in the health and wellness programs.

Institutional distance, trade agreements, and intellectual property trade networks: Evidence from cross-border data.

Based on the Temporal Exponential Random Graph Models (TERGM), this paper applies global intellectual property trade data between countries to investigate the impact and mechanism of institutional distance on the intellectual property trade network. The study finds that the smaller the institutional distance between countries, the more conducive it is to build an intellectual property trade network. This conclusion remains valid after controlling for geographical adjacency, use of a common language, existence of colonial relationships, and characteristics of the intellectual property trade network. Moreover, through regression by year, it is found that this impact increases year by year. Further, after regressing on sub-indicators of institutional distance, it is found that the smaller the distance in political stability, government efficiency, and regulatory quality, the greater the probability of generating an intellectual property trade relationship. Mechanism analysis reveals that economies with smaller institutional distances are more likely to sign trade agreements, thereby generating trade relationships and promoting the establishment of intellectual property trade networks. In order to deeply participate in the intellectual property trade network, countries should actively align with international institutional norms and sign bilateral or multilateral trade agreements with countries with similar institutional levels to enhance the production level and export of intellectual property.

Hotel Responses in Arabic to Negative Reviews on TripAdvisor

The present study has sought to bridge a gap of research on online hotel responses in Arabic to negative reviews in the business context from the perspective of discourse analysis. The study identified the structural generic concept of moves found in Arabic responses to negative reviews posted by dissatisfied customers on TripAdvisor. Responses were collected from 5-star hotels located in six popular regional destinations in Saudi Arabia. The corpus comprised 252 responses written in Arabic and included 41 hotels. Responses were manually collected and analyzed using Microsoft Excel. The results showed that there was a total of 23 moves used by hotel managers in response to negative reviews on TripAdvisor. The use of opening pleasantries/greetings and expressing gratitude were the most frequent moves, followed by closing pleasantries, visit invitation, proving action, and apologizing, respectively. The most common moves were used to support the relationship between hotel managers and customers. In addition, the personal pronoun ‘we’ was used more frequently than ‘I’ to refer to the corporate identity when addressing the customers, expressing gratitude, inviting for a visit, apologizing, and so forth. These results can be used in preparing workshops and training courses to enhance the efficiency of language use for hotel managers when responding to dissatisfied customers by using the moves that support the relationship and avoid the others that damage it.