Adolescent Language Research Articles

Konsep Diri Remaja dari Keluarga Bercerai

Being an adolescent as a family member from parental divorce is still lackingtobe appointedon aresearch topic, and mostly focused on the influence or impact of divorce. The researcher wants to explore adolescents’ experiences from divorce families. The study was conducted using qualitativeresearchmethods through observation and in-depth interviewwith descriptive case study on tenadolescentsfromdivorcefamilies. While the respondents weretaken bysnowball samplingandpurposivesampling. The results showed thatadolescents have difficult experiencesto be in divorcefamily. The adolescent experience of being displaced communicated verbally and nonverbally. The verbal communication is the language of motivation adolescents enlightened and openness. While the non verbal, they follow parents advices, full of comfort, and positive appearance. Theybecome adolescents whohavevirtueinreligiousity, independence, futuristic and maturity self-concept.

Corpus Analysis of Russian and English Resources in Vilnius Adolescents’ Speech

This paper presents the quantitative analysis of Russian and English resources in Vilnius adolescents’ language. The analysis draws on Vilnius Adolescents’ Language Corpus data, documenting the linguistic practices of 10–16 year old adolescents from differently socially and ethnically marked Vilnius neighbourhoods. The research has revealed strong correlation between ethnic marking of Vilnius neighbourhoods and both frequency as well as lexico-functional variation of Russian resources. Creativity, playfulness, situational strategic use of Russian resources characterize the language of adolescents from ethnically marked neighbourhoods. In contrast, Russian resources among adolescents in ethnically unmarked neighbourhoods have been limited to slang and swearing. In addition, Russian resources may correlate with such values as toughness and masculinity as they were twice more frequent among boys (from ethnically unmarked neighbourhoods) than girls. English resources are available to adolescents through computer-mediated communication, popular culture. Accordingly, the frequency of English resources and lexico-functional categories are similar among adolescents irrespective of the ethnic marking of the district. Generally, Vilnius adolescents’ practices of using Russian and English resources can hardly be described as one system. It is rather an open, dynamic interplay of different sub-systems having their internal organization, norms, which correlate with gender or ethnic marking of Vilnius neighbourhoods.

In-Service Teachers' Perspectives on Adolescent ELL Writing Instruction

As writing has assumed increasing importance in discussions of pedagogy for diverse classrooms, attention to the contexts in which secondary teachers develop and implement writing instruction for adolescent English language learners (ELLs) is of great importance. Drawing on ecological language learning theories and situated teacher learning theory (van Lier, 2003; Borko, 2004), the authors present findings from participants in a focus group (N = 10) and follow-up interviews (N = 6) conducted with a set of secondary English language arts and English as a second language (ESL) teachers. Within overlapping institutional/professional and pedagogical contexts, teachers identified teacher expertise, high-stakes testing, classroom assessment and grading, placement and tracking, and disciplinary disconnects as the ecological factors most influential in their instructional choices related to ELL writers. Implications of these findings for research and teacher education are discussed.

"Visual" Cortex Responds to Spoken Language in Blind Children.

Studies of plasticity provide key insights into how experience shapes the human brain. The "visual" cortex of adults who are blind from birth responds to touch, sound, and spoken language. To date, all existing studies have been conducted with adults, so little is known about the developmental trajectory of plasticity. We used fMRI to study the emergence of "visual" cortex responses to sound and spoken language in blind children and adolescents. We find that "visual" cortex responses to sound increase between 4 and 17 years of age. By contrast, responses to spoken language are present by 4 years of age and are not related to Braille-learning. These findings suggest that, early in development, human cortex can take on a strikingly wide range of functions.

Self and Identity in Adolescent Foreign Language Learning, Florentina Taylor

Self and Identity in Adolescent Foreign Language Learning, Florentina Taylor

Flersprogethed på Facebook. Flersprogede unges interaktion på Facebook i et sprogtilegnelsesperspektiv

Many adolescent language users have their first authentic experiences with written language on the social media. Presumably, this is also true for bilingual adolescents, and this makes social media interesting from an acquisitional perspective. In this paper I present an explorative study on how three bilingual adolescents use Facebook. The point of departure is an investigation of the affordances of Facebook’s user interface, and the purpose of the study is, firstly, to investigate whether or not activities on the social media support L2-acquisition and, secondly, if and how the affordances of Facebook facilitate L2-acquisition.

'The Handbook of Language Variation and Change', 2nd Edition J. K. Chambers and Natalie Schilling (eds.) (2013) Malden/Oxford: Wiley-Blackwell. Pp. 616. ISBN: 978-0-470-65994-6

The Handbook of Language Variation and Change (2nd edition) J. K. Chambers and Natalie Schilling (eds) (2013) Malden and Oxford: Wiley-Blackwell. Pp. 616. ISBN 978-0-470-65994-6In order to get an impression of variationist sociolinguistics, The Handbook of Language Variation and Change is an excellent guide. The Handbook provides even a seasoned scholar with inspiration and expertise and constitutes, in short, a useful tool for anyone with an interest in sociolinguistics. In this review, I will first take a glance at the differences between the first and second editions, and then I will browse through the contents of the Handbook.The first edition of the Handbook was published in 2002, so now - more than a decade later - is the right time to have it updated. Of the 29 chapters of the first edition, 19 are still included in the second edition, although revised and upgraded so profoundly that two of them have got new titles and three have gained an additional author. There are also seven entirely new chapters, and to keep the book manageable, ten of the original chapters of the first edition have been leftout altogether. And yet, the second edition contains a total of 26 chapters and 616 pages and thereby is most adequate as a handbook for students, teachers, researchers and other scholars. There are, in total, thirty authors from six nations, all leading researchers in their fields, who give the reader a comprehensive and inspiring tour around the fascinating world of sociolinguistics.The second edition contains a total of eight subject areas instead of the five of the first edition, each including three or four chapters (Part VIII constitutes an exception in containing only one chapter). The main difference between the editions is that the subdivision within the subject areas has been simplified. However, the division into individual topics has not changed much.Part I, Data Collection, presents different perspectives on data collection: it contains chapters on fieldwork (by Crawford Feagin), data handling (by Tyler Kendall) and historical written documents (by Edgar W. Schneider). Part II, Evaluation, offers a short tour of some basic issues on working with the data through chapters on quantitative research (by Robert Bayley), sociophonetics (by Erik R. Thomas), comparative sociolinguistics (by Sali A. Tagliamonte) and folk linguistics (by Dennis R. Preston). These two parts which in the first edition were subsections of a part titled 'Methodologies' give a very nice overview to anyone contemplating initiating a sociolinguistic research project. For instance, in Chapter 2, 'Data in the Study of Variation and Change', Tyler Kendall explains in detail how decisions on processing data affect the results of the research project and possible further use of the data. This is very useful for students executing their first projects and considering their choices and decisions, and it may also serve as a checklist for more experienced researchers.The third part of the present edition, titled 'Linguistic Structure', contains chapters on syntactic theory (by Ralph W. Fasold), chain shifts (by Matthew J. Gordon) and discourse variation (by Ronald Macaulay). To cite but one example, Chapter 8 by Ralph F. Fasold ('Variation and Syntactic Theory') lucidly presents the use of the Minimalist Program in variation analysis as well as the benefits and drawbacks of it with respect to other syntactic theories.Parts IV-VI of the second edition originally constituted subsections of a part titled 'Social Factors'. In the second edition, Part IV, Language and Time, includes four chapters presenting the methodologies of sociolinguistic research in real and apparent time (by Patricia Cukor-Avila and Guy Bailey), basic information on researching variation in child language (by Julie Roberts) and adolescent language (by Sam Kirkham and Emma Moore), and some patterns of variation and change (by J. …

OP55 – 2335: Effect of adjunctive perampanel on language and coordination in adolescents with uncontrolled partial-onset seizures

Objective To evaluate the short-term effects of adjunctive perampanel on language and coordination in adolescents with refractory partial-onset seizures (POS), supplementing previously reported primary cognition outcomes (Meador et al., AAN 2014). Methods In this Phase II study, 133 adolescents (12–17 years) with uncontrolled POS were randomised 2:1 to receive perampanel (target dose 8–12 mg/day) or placebo (PBO). Patients received blinded treatment over a 6-week titration phase and 13-week maintenance phase. Effects on language were assessed at various study visits using the Controlled Oral Word Association Test (COWAT), which consists of two parts (letter fluency and category fluency). The Lafayette Grooved Pegboard Test (LGPT) was used to evaluate the effects on coordination skills. For each assessment, mean change from baseline to end of treatment was calculated from the cognition population and results were compared between treatment groups. Results Of the 133 randomised adolescent patients, 123 adolescents (PBO, n=44; perampanel, n=79) were included in the cognition population. No difference in the mean change in COWAT letter fluency scores from baseline to end of treatment was observed between PBO and perampanel (+0.5 and +0.7, respectively). Although a small difference in the mean change in COWAT category fluency scores from baseline to end of treatment was observed between PBO (+0.3) and perampanel (–0.5), this difference was not considered clinically relevant. Results of the LGPT indicated that patients' motor skills did not worsen with perampanel treatment compared with PBO. Conclusion Assessment of language and coordination using COWAT and LGPT, respectively, in adolescent patients with POS receiving adjunctive perampanel showed that there was no clinically relevant changes in these parameters with perampanel treatment. Acknowledgements: Study sponsor: Eisai Inc. Medical writing: Choice Healthcare Solutions, funded by Eisai Ltd.

Balanced intervention for adolescents and adults with language impairment: a clinical framework.

Providing effective intervention services for adolescents and adults who struggle with spoken and written language presents a variety of unique challenges. This article discusses the 5S Framework (skills, strategies, school, student buy-in, and stakeholders) for designing and implementing balanced spoken and written language interventions for adolescents and adults. An in-depth case illustration highlights the usefulness of the framework for targeting the language and literacy skills of adolescents and young adults. By describing and illustrating the five key components of the intervention framework, the article provides a useful clinical tool to help guide clinicians and educators who serve the needs of adolescents and adults who struggle with spoken and written language.

Spotlight on adolescent and adult language and literacy.

Spotlight on adolescent and adult language and literacy.

The Impact of Host Family Relations and Length of Stay on Adolescent Identity Expression during Study Abroad

AbstractThis study focuses on the relationships between host family success, social integration, length of stay and acquisition of adolescent language by students on extended international homestay programmes. Degree of adolescent language acquisition and integration is measured by use of two hallmarks of adolescent language: markers of approximation (e.g. “and stuff”) and intensification (e.g. “like”). Participants are 26 German teenagers on either a 5- or a 10-month exchange to Australia. Their use of approximation and intensification markers is measured quantitatively before arriving in Australia and then after 5 months of living in the host country. Host family relations and levels of social integration are measured qualitatively by analysis of interview content and responses to a Language Contact Profile. Results indicate that there is a direct link between host family relations, social integration and acquisition of markers of adolescent language. Additionally, exchange students on a 5-month exchange use fewer of those approximation and intensification markers most associated with Australian adolescent language than students on a 10-month programme. This can be explained by lower investment and integration in the Australian adolescent community.

Pragmatic Language of African American Children and Adolescents

Pragmatic Language of African American Children and Adolescents

Telecollaboration in the secondary language classroom: case study of adolescent interaction and pedagogical integration

This study builds on research examining the in-school technology practices of adolescent language learners by exploring the patterns of classroom literacy practices that emerge when a telecollaborative project is introduced into a conventional secondary language classroom. We draw on the conceptual frameworks and discourse analytical tools developed by researchers of online communication practices at the post-secondary level and turn this lens to examine how an international online exchange project might contribute to the creation of an in-school learning environment in which adolescents use technology to interact with distally located peers through telecollaboration. The particular contribution of this study is twofold: to offer insight into patterns that characterize the literacy practices that emerge through the introduction of telecollaboration into the learning environment and to document the types of pedagogical decision-making that such projects introduce into the secondary context. Using a case-study design, we explored two central areas: (1) What patterns of interaction emerge in the literacy practices of adolescent students as they build relationships with their intercultural partners? (2) How do teachers address the pedagogical issues that are foregrounded when introducing innovative literacy practices such as telecollaboration into the secondary learning environment? Our premise is that online exchanges might offer a different kind of learning experience that provides opportunities for adolescents to engage with language in ways that do not typically get enacted in conventional language classrooms. Our interest therefore is grounded both in providing a rich, descriptive inventory of how adolescents engage with telecollaboration in the classroom context, as well as in documenting the types of pedagogical issues that are introduced. We offer a linguistically grounded portrait of what constitutes the interactional patterns and pedagogical issues in a classroom learning environment shaped by the introduction of an online intercultural project. Using a case-study approach, therefore, we provide close documentation and analyses of a 15-week, classroom-based telecollaboration project through student transcripts and focal teacher interviews. We conclude with a discussion of the empirical and pedagogical implications associated with integrating telecollaboration into secondary language classroom contexts.

Neural correlates of language and non-language visuospatial processing in adolescents with reading disability

Despite anecdotal evidence of relative visuospatial processing strengths in individuals with reading disability (RD), only a few studies have assessed the presence or the extent of these putative strengths. The current study examined the cognitive and neural bases of visuospatial processing abilities in adolescents with RD relative to typically developing (TD) peers. Using both cognitive tasks and functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) we contrasted printed word recognition with non-language visuospatial processing tasks. Behaviorally, lower reading skill was related to a visuospatial processing advantage (shorter latencies and equivalent accuracy) on a geometric figure processing task, similar to findings shown in two published studies. FMRI analyses revealed key group by task interactions in patterns of cortical and subcortical activation, particularly in frontostriatal networks, and in the distributions of right and left hemisphere activation on the two tasks. The results are discussed in terms of a possible neural tradeoff in visuospatial processing in RD.

Adolescent language brokering in diverse contexts: associations with parenting and parent-youth relationships in a new immigrant destination area.

In the US, children in immigrant families have a longstanding history of language brokering for their parents. Scholars have surmised that youth's role in language brokering may influence the nature of parenting practices and parent-child relationships that are important to the positive adjustment of adolescent youth. Research findings in this regard, however, have been mixed. Drawing from the family stress model and the concept of adolescent helpfulness, the present study examined how language brokering across different contexts-school, community, and home-was associated with indicators of parental support and parental behavioral control. The sample included 118 (53% female) primarily Mexican- and Central American-origin 7th, 9th, and 11th grade children in Latino immigrant families living in suburban Atlanta, an important new immigrant destination. The results from structural equation models indicated that language brokering at home-translations for items such as bills, credit card statements, and insurance forms-was associated with less parental decision-making authority, lower levels of parental knowledge, and less parent-child closeness. Language brokering pertinent to school and community contexts, on the other hand, was not associated with variations in parenting. The adverse consequences for parenting conferred by youth translating insurance forms and family financial bills may stem from the excessive cognitive demands placed on youth in these situations, as well as the elevated power that youth gain in relationship to their immigrant parents. For the country's rapidly growing population of youth being raised by immigrant Latino parents, it is important to consider that youth's role as language broker at home may affect closeness in the parent-child relationship as well as the degree to which parents are able to maintain authority over youth's behaviors.

Language, communication, and literacy skills of adolescents with behavioral difficulties in mainstream education

Research has increasingly reported the presence of speech, language, and communication difficulties in young people who have a propensity to offend. Young offenders comprise a population with severe behavioral difficulties; however, less attention has been paid to students at risk of school exclusion and possible subsequent offending in the school to prison pipeline progression. This study focuses on individuals with relatively mild behavioral difficulties in a preventative step to identify potential communication challenges earlier in the offending trajectory. A between-group design was employed to ascertain the language, literacy, and communication abilities of 26 high school students aged between 13; 6 (years; months) and 14; 7. Students identified with challenging classroom behavior (n = 11) were compared to students with no history of behavioral difficulties (n = 15). Assessment of non-verbal intelligence, receptive language, literacy, and metalinguistic ability was undertaken. Students with challenging classroom behavior performed more poorly on measures of receptive language and non-verbal intelligence. Significant associations between the severity of an individual's behavior and two measures of receptive language, metalinguistic abilities, and non-verbal intelligence were also detected. The results provide further information regarding the relationship between behavior, and language, literacy, and communication difficulties. The findings suggest that raising the language profiles of those who may be at risk of future offending may contribute to enhanced academic, social, and vocational opportunities for this group.

Language Brokering and Adjustment among Chinese and Korean American Adolescents: A Moderated Mediation Model of Perceived Maternal Sacrifice, Respect for the Mother, and Mother-Child Open Communication.

Asian American adolescents often language broker for their immigrant parents. Using a two-wave sample of Chinese American (n = 237; average age at W1 = 14.65, SD = .68) and Korean American (n = 262; average age at W1 = 14.72, SD = .69) adolescents, this study examined a culturally relevant conditional mechanism through which language brokering may contribute to lower levels of internalizing/externalizing problems. Results suggested that language brokering for the mother was associated with perceived maternal sacrifice, which was in turn associated with respect for the mother, which was eventually associated with lower levels of externalizing problems (but not internalizing problems) in the adolescents. Moreover, the indirect effect was conditional on the level of mother-child open communication. With a lower level of open communication, the indirect effect of language brokering on externalizing problems became stronger. Results indicate that interventions designed to reduce Asian American adolescent language brokers' externalizing problems may be effective if they target adolescents' perception of parental sacrifice and respect for parents, especially for those adolescents experiencing a low level of parent-child open communication. At the same time, increasing open communication within the family may also ultimately reduce adolescent externalizing problems.

Chat Alert! Language in Danger? On the Chat Language of Flemish Adolescents and Young Adults

Is interlanguage becoming the common colloquial speech in Flanders? De Caluwe (2009) used the four features put forward by Lemahieu (2008) to state this argument. Although Lemahieu focused on Standard Dutch, these features can also be used for research of written interlanguage. This contribution examines chat language of 60 subjects, both male and female, within the five Flemish provinces (A (Antwerp), EF (East Flanders), FB (Flemish Brabant), L (Limburg), and WF (West Flanders)). Next to gender and geographical divisions age is also taken into account. The research is based upon several online chat conversations that were fragmented and analyzed. The analysis of the above-mentioned variants per participant, age, and province gives an idea of the presence of interlanguage. The variants of Lemahieu are therefore an interesting tool, because they provide data regarding how many times a representative selection of Flemish chatters with regard to a set of variants choose to use interlanguage in a situation in which they have the choice to use inter- or standard language. The conclusion resulting from this research reveals that there are indeed regional variants and there is a high percentage of interlanguage, but Standard Dutch still prevails. Therefore, it is claimed that chat language does not impoverish the standard written language, but enriches it and that it rather should be considered as change in progress.

Attribution of emotions to body postures: an independent component analysis study of functional connectivity in autism.

The ability to interpret others' body language is a vital skill that helps us infer their thoughts and emotions. However, individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) have been found to have difficulty in understanding the meaning of people's body language, perhaps leading to an overarching deficit in processing emotions. The current fMRI study investigates the functional connectivity underlying emotion and action judgment in the context of processing body language in high-functioning adolescents and young adults with autism, using an independent components analysis (ICA) of the fMRI time series. While there were no reliable group differences in brain activity, the ICA revealed significant involvement of occipital and parietal regions in processing body actions; and inferior frontal gyrus, superior medial prefrontal cortex, and occipital cortex in body expressions of emotions. In a between-group analysis, participants with autism, relative to typical controls, demonstrated significantly reduced temporal coherence in left ventral premotor cortex and right superior parietal lobule while processing emotions. Participants with ASD, on the other hand, showed increased temporal coherence in left fusiform gyrus while inferring emotions from body postures. Finally, a positive predictive relationship was found between empathizing ability and the brain areas underlying emotion processing in ASD participants. These results underscore the differential role of frontal and parietal brain regions in processing emotional body language in autism.

Achievement in mathematics and language is linked to regular physical activity: a population study in Chilean youth

We examined the association between the allocation of time to regular physical activity (PA) and achievement in mathematics and language in Chilean adolescents after controlling for confounders. In a random sample of 620 ninth graders (15.6 ± 0.7 years old), we measured regular PA, including physical education and sports extracurricular activities, and academic performance, using national standardised tests. Bivariate and multivariate regression analyses modelled the relation between academic and health-related behaviours. Sufficiency and proficiency in mathematics and language were used as outcome variables. Only 18% of adolescents had >4 h·week–1 of regular PA. Devoting >4 h · week–1 to regular PA significantly increased the odds of sufficiency and proficiency in both domains. After full adjustment, the odds of sufficiency and proficiency in mathematics increased by 1.9 (95% CI: 1.1–3.5) and 2.7 (95% CI: 1.7–4.3), respectively. Similarly, the odds of sufficiency and proficiency in language increased by 3.3 (95% CI: 1.7–9.7) and 2.6 (95% CI: 1.6–4.1), respectively. Adolescents with the highest allocation of time to regular PA performed much better in mathematics and language than inactive students. The academic benefits associated with PA can help to promote sustained behaviour changes regarding lifestyles. They can be more easily perceived as gains than health benefits alone.