non-English Speaking Countries Research Articles

Harm from the drinking of people you know: A range of effects from different relationships.

To describe the range of effects experienced due to the drinking of people respondents know and analyze risk and protective factors for harm from the drinking of partners and household members, other relatives and friends and co-workers. Surveys of 2574 participants' experiences were obtained from two samples: 1000 people responded to random digitally dialled Australian mobile calls and 1574 participants responded from the Life in AustraliaTMpanel survey. Respondents were asked whether they had been negatively affected in the previous 12 months by the drinking of persons they knew who were 'a heavy drinker or drank a lot sometimes' and the nature of these harms. Weighted logistic regressions were used to analyze differences in rates of key negative outcomes from known others' drinking by gender, age and socio-economic status. Almost two thirds [60.2%; 95% confidence interval (CI) = 57.7%-62.7%] of participants reported having heavy drinkers in their lives and 21.8% (95% CI = 19.8%-23.9%) reported being negatively affected by the drinking of people they knew well in some way. Participants reported a gamut of effects, including, most commonly, adverse social effects: having to transport relatives and friends who had been drinking, role failure and faults, being emotionally hurt or neglected, serious arguments, family problems, having to care for drinkers and verbal abuse. Less commonly, respondents reported physical or sexual harm, property damage, financial stress and threats from others' drinking. Women (odds ratio = 1.49; 95% CI = 1.13-1.95), younger people, rural, Australian-born (vs. respondents born overseas in non-English speaking countries) and more frequent drinkers were more likely to report harm from a drinker they knew than their counterparts after adjusting for other variables in the model. Australians appear to be commonly adversely affected by the drinking of people they know. Harms from known drinkers are more likely to be experienced by women than men, particularly from the people they live with and other relatives.

Adaptation of the Communities That Care Youth Survey for Use in Estonia: A Pilot Study.

The Communities That Care Youth Survey (CTCYS) assesses risk and protective factors, predicting a range of behavioural health problems, including substance use, violence, and delinquency. Although the survey has been adapted to other contexts and languages, further studies on cross-cultural adaptations, particularly in non-English speaking countries, are needed. In 2022, CTCYS was adapted for Estonia, incorporating 38 risk and protective factors, along with measures of substance use, antisocial behaviour, mental health problems, and self-harm. This study investigated the psychometric properties and applicability of the CTCYS in Estonia. The adaptation process involved translating and refining the US CTCYS, followed by focus group discussions with students and specialists and a pilot study in two municipalities, with data obtained from 265 students. A focus group with municipality members explored the measure's feasibility. Results indicate that the original CTC framework largely captures key issues within the Estonian context. Overall, the survey showed good validity, as evidenced by its ability to predict problem outcomes through both risk and protective factors. Regarding reliability, with the removal of one item, internal consistency reached acceptable levels for all but eight risk and protective factor subscales. The most problematic scales in the Estonian context were Prosocial Involvement, Social Skills, and Belief in the Moral Order. Municipality members perceived the measure as useful but highlighted some challenges regarding its practicality and comprehensibility. It became clear that other elements are needed to effectively support communities in using the CTCYS results for preventive efforts.

Should Medicine be Taught in Leading Medical Languages or the Mother Tongue?

Abstract In non-English speaking developing countries, several debates have arisen over choosing the language of instruction in medical education, whether it should be one of the leading medical languages, such as English, or the mother tongue. In this article, we discuss this debate and provide a brief review of the pedagogical evidence supporting the superiority of the mother tongue as a language of instruction. We also highlight the academic challenges associated with second-language-based medical education and emphasize the impact of language of instruction on the doctor–patient relationship and health care. Finally, we examine the reasons or arguments for not including the mother tongue in medical education. In conclusion, the importance of English as a leading scientific and medical language should not overshadow the crucial role of the native language as the language of instruction in non-English speaking countries. Each country should develop strategies to include the mother tongue in medical education, following the example of developed countries.

Academic publishing requires linguistically inclusive policies.

Scientific knowledge is produced in multiple languages but is predominantly published in English. This practice creates a language barrier to generate and transfer scientific knowledge between communities with diverse linguistic backgrounds, hindering the ability of scholars and communities to address global challenges and achieve diversity and equity in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM). To overcome those barriers, publishers and journals should provide a fair system that supports non-native English speakers and disseminates knowledge across the globe. We surveyed policies of 736 journals in biological sciences to assess their linguistic inclusivity, identify predictors of inclusivity, and propose actions to overcome language barriers in academic publishing. Our assessment revealed a grim landscape where most journals were making minimal efforts to overcome language barriers. The impact factor of journals was negatively associated with adopting a number of inclusive policies whereas ownership by a scientific society tended to have a positive association. Contrary to our expectations, the proportion of both open access articles and editors based in non-English speaking countries did not have a major positive association with the adoption of linguistically inclusive policies. We proposed a set of actions to overcome language barriers in academic publishing, including the renegotiation of power dynamics between publishers and editorial boards.

Publish and perish: New issues in publication ethics

The expression "Publish or perish," first appeared in 1942. It signified the rising importance of publication as a means to obtain research funds and establish a secure academic career. The expression is still highly relevant, but increasingly problematic. Perhaps it should be revised to read “Publish and Perish”. We have reached a point where researchers, especially in non-English speaking countries, are no longer able to afford to publish their research. There seems little point in undertaking research if we can no longer disseminate or, indeed, apply the wisdom gained from it.

Acute rotenone poisoning: A scoping review

ContextRotenone is a toxic chemical found in various plants, including some used as food. Rotenone poisoning can be fatal and there is no antidote. Mechanistically, rotenone inhibits mitochondrial complex I, leading to reduced ATP production, compensatory glycolytic upregulation and secondary lactate production, and oxidative stress. Our literature review examined acute rotenone poisoning in humans, including exposure scenarios, clinical presentations, and treatments. MethodsWe searched five databases for relevant literature from database inception through the search date: July 12, 2022, pairing controlled vocabulary and keywords for “rotenone” with terms relating to human exposures and outcomes, such as “ingestion,” “exposure,” and “poisoning.” We included all peer-reviewed reports found using the search terms where the full English text was available. Data abstracted included the number, age, weight, and sex of the exposed person(s), country where exposure happened, exposure scenario, ingestion context, estimated dose, clinical features, whether hospitalization occurred, treatments, and outcomes. ResultsAfter removing non-qualifying sources from 2631 publications, we identified 11 case reports describing 18 victims, 15 of whom were hospitalized and five died. Most cases occurred in private quarters where victims unknowingly consumed rotenone-containing plants. Vomiting and metabolic acidosis occurred most commonly. Some patients exhibited impaired cardiopulmonary function. Supportive treatment addressed symptoms and included gastric lavage and/or activated charcoal to remove rotenone from the stomach, vasopressors for hypotension, mechanical ventilation for respiratory insufficiency, and sodium bicarbonate for acidosis. Some patients received N-acetylcysteine to counter oxidative stress. ConclusionsRotenone poisoning, though rare, can be fatal. Exposure prevention is impractical since rotenone is found in some plants used as food pesticides. Cases may be under-diagnosed because symptoms are non-specific and under-reported in English-language journals since most cases occurred in non-English speaking countries. Treatments are supportive. Exploring antioxidant therapy in animal models of rotenone poisoning may be indicated considering rotenone's mechanism of toxicity.

CONTESTING LINGUISTIC IDENTITIES AND THE PERSISTENCE OF STANDARDISED PRONUNCIATION

Despite a global paradigm shift towards multilingualism and EIL (English as an International Language) in English language education, a stubborn adherence to so-called ‘standardised’ forms of foreign languages persists in non-English language speaking countries. Language teachers, learners and their parents, as much as policy makers and curriculum designers, insist on the adoption of ‘standard’ varieties of English as normative and unquestioned. These expectations are natural, given language users’ awareness of the cultural capital that these standardised forms of pronunciations can afford to them. This paper discusses how formal education, often through the hidden curriculum, reinforces the pressure to conform to standardised pronunciation and how this can negatively implicate language learners’ identities. One may question why a Vietnamese speaker would want to have a distinct ‘American’ or ‘British’ accent when they speak, and what real privileges these bring to them. One may also question why a Vietnamese accent in English, a distinct identity marker, can be deemed to represent less prestigious capital, and whether this may disadvantage them in certain contexts. In discussing the cognitive and cultural benefits of multilingual and culturally responsive instruction, the paper argues that as language educators we need to make our learners aware of their linguistic identities and how intelligible but non-standardised accents of foreign languages can and should be legitimate markers of one’s identity.

English language hegemony: retrospect and prospect

This paper explores the ascent of English as a global lingua franca within the context of linguistic hegemony, following Phillipson’s 1992 framework. It scrutinizes English’s role in the rapidly globalizing world, emphasizing its dominance across economic, governance, and scientific sectors and its impact on non-native English-speaking countries. Utilizing a sociolinguistic approach, combined with historical and interdisciplinary analysis, the study evaluates the influence of English hegemony in cultural, educational, and technological domains, with a focus on post-colonial and expanding circle nations. Additionally, the paper provides critical insights for developing language policies in these areas, considering the intricate role of English in the global linguistic landscape. It concludes by considering the prospects of English language hegemony.

Exploring Lexico-grammatical Patterns in Doctoral Dissertations: A Multidimensional Analysis

Doctoral dissertations occupy a prominent place in academic communication and advancement. This genre applies its intricate lexical and grammatical patterns to shape its effectiveness and these patterns need to be studied. The study aims to investigate the discussion section of the doctoral dissertations from ten leading British universities. The objective of the study is to explore the lexico-grammatical similarities and differences between ELT and Linguistics dissertations. It also attempts to analyze how far the lexico-grammatical choices used in the discussion section of ELT dissertations are similar to or different from those of Linguistics. The corpus used in this study consists of 200 discussion sections: 100 from ELT and 100 from Linguistics. A random sampling technique was used to collect data which consisted of publicly available dissertations. Biber’s Tagger was used to annotate grammatical and lexical features. To find out the significant interaction between the selected disciplines, a factorial ANOVA was used. The study is significant in terms of providing insight into the preferred lexico-grammatical patterns used by the students. It further explains how two different disciplines – Linguistics and ELT, make various lexico-grammatical choices. The findings of the study will help the researcher from around the world, particularly the ones from non-English speaking countries, in terms of familiarizing them with the conventions involved in writing a dissertation.

Bichronous scientific writing course for medical faculty during Covid-19: a SWOT analysis experience

IntroductionWriting and publishing scholarly articles in international peer-reviewed journals can be a challenging undertaking for medical and healthcare professionals in universities, especially in non-English speaking countries. Surprisingly, very few faculty members report receiving guidance on scientific writing. To encourage more faculty engagement in professional development courses aimed at enhancing their writing abilities, we have revamped scientific writing courses to incorporate bichronous (a combination of asynchronous and synchronous) teaching methods.MethodsAfter forming a team, we performed a SWOT (strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats) study of the medical faculty’s present programs and proposed alternatives to prior course issues. In this interventional study, fifty-nine eligible medical educators selected by purposeful sampling underwent a two-and-a-half-month bichronous scientific writing course from March to August 2021. The perspectives of the participants were evaluated through a SWOT analysis. The data were collected through online semi-structured interviews, and data collection continued until data saturation was achieved (40 participants). Data were then coded and analyzed based on conventional qualitative content analysis principles.ResultsOur planned blending sequence and e-feedback increased the medical faculty’s drive to learn, self-confidence, and autonomy while improving their writing skills. Poor ICT and network infrastructure hindered course adoption. Due to the course’s time and the faculty’s own online teaching, many battled with computer vision syndrome, self-discipline, and distractions. Our participants struggled with self-discipline and distractions, so setting a daily time limit may help them concentrate.DiscussionGiven the faculty’s demanding professional lives, this designed course provided a learning opportunity for many that would not have been feasible otherwise.

ADVANCING ESSAY WRITING WITH DIGLIT: APPLICATION AND EFFECTIVENESS OF A DIGITAL LITERACY TEACHING TOOL

Writing an essay is still a challenge for students even for those at the university level. There are many difficulties they find when they try to write it. First, especially in non-English speaking countries, students lack vocabulary, they do not have ideas to write, they are still confused about the mechanics, and they find it difficult to organize the writing. Since the problems are complex, giving only the theories of writing to the students is not adequate. Teachers have to ‘arm’ the students with tools. There are many tools available today on the internet, yet not many students are able to use them correctly. They need guidance to use them in the correct way. This research aims at developing a digital teaching tool to assist students in writing an essay. The research is done by doing need analysis, designing the digital tool, and finally testing the designed teaching tool. The digital teaching tool is named as Diglit which stands for Digital Literacy. It is named so since the tool guides the students to use their literacy skills for constructing a better essay. The research employed ASSURE design to develop the teaching tool. At the end of the process, the tool is tested for its effectiveness using quasi experimental research and it is found out that there is an effect of the use of Diglit on the students’ writing skill. Hence, the result shows that the digital tool created from the research is able to help the students construct an essay.

Language Assessment at a Thai University: A CEFR-Based Test of English Proficiency Development

The increasing popularity of the Common European Framework of Reference (CEFR) in non-native English-speaking countries has generated a demand for concrete examples in the creation of CEFR-based tests that assess the four main English skills. In response, this research endeavors to provide insight into the development and validation of a CEFR-based test aimed at evaluating undergraduate students’ English proficiency for placement tests and exit exams. The CEFR served as the framework for item development while Classical Test Theory informed the test evaluation process. A sample of 2,248 first-year students participated in Testing 1 and 3,655 first- and second-year students took part in Testing 2. The results of the analysis of the multiple-choice listening and reading tests indicated favorable levels of item difficulty and discrimination indices, as well as high reliability coefficients obtained from Cronbach’s alpha, Kuder-Richardson, and split-half reliability. The correlation and regression analyses revealed close relationships between the subtests and between each subtest and the total score, supporting the test’s criterion validity. The study also demonstrated significant predictive validity on TOEIC scores. The findings of this study offer implications for the development of university-level English proficiency tests that integrate CEFR levels and CTT analysis.

PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT IN TEACHING ACADEMIC WRITING: THE EXPERIENCE OF A FACULTY READING GROUP

Professional development in academic writing in English can be challenging for university instructors in non-English speaking countries. These challenges may be caused by a lack of experts in the field to conduct professional development, budgeting issues, access to training, and motivating and meeting the needs of faculty who may already be overburdened by high teaching loads. In this article, the authors describe conducting a year-long reading group focused on professional development in the teaching of academic writing. The goal of the group was to advance participants’ understanding of how to teach academic writing. To achieve the goal, the group was designed to increase awareness of writing pedagogy theories, construct a clearer understanding of the concept of academic writing, and critically examine current practices in teaching academic writing within the context of higher education in Russia. The authors describe the design, facilitation, and outcomes of the group. They also consider the benefits and limitations of engaging in this form of professional development. Finally, they offer implications for continuous professional development for university language instructors in a collaborative environment.

Academic Writing Needs of International Psychology PhDs in a South African University

"The paper examines the academic writing experience amongst international psychology PhD students at a South African public university. The paper also discusses the challenges of academic writing and the support structures of academic writing. Sixteen (16) international students studying at PhD level in psychology were selected by purposive sampling from a public South African university in KwaZulu-Natal. Drawing from generated by iproposalss, findings suggest that participants experienced academic writing challenges in drafting PhD proposal, supervisor’s feedback and plagiarism. Academic writing challenges were aggravated for international PhD students from non-native English-speaking countries. Findings also suggest that university support structures such as academic writing retreats improved the academic writing of participants and exposed them to the rigors of academic writing. Keywords: academic writings, PhD doctoral program, analytical, research, and communication skills"

Reflecting on bilingualism policies in non-English speaking countries in Latin America: The case of Colombia and Argentina

English has been considered the official language in many non-English speaking countries. In the case of Latin America, language policies have been included in most of the countries where English has been officialized as the foreign language and it is mandatory to teach it in educational contexts. Most countries are aiming for the formation of bilingual citizens and professionals with proficiency in English to meet the demands of globalization. This article presents a reflection on the case of two countries that have implemented bilingua-lism policies such as Colombia and Argentina. These two countries have similarities in terms of policies and social, economic, geographic, and cultural factors, however, evaluating the level of English that each country has. It shows a marked difference between the two. Argentina occupies the first place in the performance of communicative skills in English with a high level, while Colombia is in the last places and has been recognized as one of the countries with the lowest level. In addition, the qualitative approach, the constructivism paradigm and documentary research method will be considered to achieve this objective.

The implementation of soundscape attributes in Indonesian: A case study of soundwalk

The ISO 12913-3 method A of part 2 is a standardized method to calculate the score of pleasantness and eventfulness according to the rating of standard soundscape attributes mentioned in ISO 12913-2. However, implementing the attributes might result in invalid measurement if the attributes are used directly for soundscape studies in non-English speaking countries. The Soundscape Attributes Translation Project (SATP) is an initiation to develop the standard soundscape attributes in different languages. This study employs a soundwalk to validate soundscape attributes in Indonesian and English for soundscape study in Indonesia. The validation process involves the utilization of Principal Component Analysis (PCA), Multidimensional Scaling (MDS), Reliability Analysis, and Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA). The analysis shows that implementing soundscape attributes in Indonesian gives a more similar result to the standard circumplex model than the standard attributes in English. Further analysis of the soundwalk data shows that the circumplex model, which implemented Indonesian attributes, is not ideal. As a result, the circumplex model might need correction. The model developed using CFA from the soundwalk experiment with Indonesian attributes demonstrates that the application of the CFA model results in average differences in pleasantness score of −1.76 and eventfulness score of −0.06 compared to the result from standard ISO 12913-3 model calculation.

New Concept of Teaching English to Students from Non-English Speaking Countries

The objective of this study is to compare and underscore the advantages and disadvantages of learning English in non-English speaking countries to propose the concept of a new English teaching method for students from non-English speaking countries (the case of Russia, Spain, Serbia, and Indonesia). The study used a mixed-methods approach with qualitative analysis of literature from Russia, Serbia, Spain, and Indonesia, and a research questionnaire was developed. 1595 participants were recruited for a survey determining their experiences of learning English and students’ perspectives on English teaching methods in non-English speaking countries. The data went through thematic analysis in the qualitative part of the research and descriptive analysis in the quantitative survey-based design. Findings of the qualitative analysis revealed both advantages and disadvantages of teaching English to students in selected countries; however, the main findings reported the presence of cultural barriers and students finding it difficult to form meanings from the English language context. Conceptual thinking helped to understand the role of memory and comprehension when learning a foreign language, whereby research focuses on more novel concepts. Future researchers can focus on the area of neural development of students' memory, which can help guide strategies to teach the English language effectively. Doi: 10.28991/ESJ-2023-07-06-020 Full Text: PDF

Implementing E-portfolios in English Speaking Assessment: Vietnamese Students’ Perspectives

English speaking is an essential skill that university students need to develop, particularly those studying in non-native English-speaking countries. However, research has shown that traditional assessment methods such as standardized tests and oral exams may not always accurately capture students' speaking ability, which highlights the need for alternative assessment methods that can better evaluate students' language proficiency. E-portfolio assessment is one such alternative that has emerged as a promising method. Therefore, this study seeks to explore the perspectives of 268 Vietnamese university students on the use of e-portfolios for English-speaking assessment through a survey questionnaire. The findings reveal students’ positive attitudes towards the application of e-portfolios in speaking assessment in terms of washback and self-regulated learning. The study also delves deeper into the potential of e-portfolio assessment for English-speaking proficiency in Vietnamese higher education. It hopes to contribute to pedagogical implications to improve the efficacy of teaching and learning English speaking in Vietnamese higher education with regard to the use of e-portfolios.

AI-based approach for transcribing and classifying unstructured emergency call data: A methodological proposal.

Emergency care-sensitive conditions (ECSCs) require rapid identification and treatment and are responsible for over half of all deaths worldwide. Prehospital emergency care (PEC) can provide rapid treatment and access to definitive care for many ECSCs and can reduce mortality in several different settings. The objective of this study is to propose a method for using artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) to transcribe audio, extract, and classify unstructured emergency call data in the Serviço de Atendimento Móvel de Urgência (SAMU) system in southern Brazil. The study used all "1-9-2" calls received in 2019 by the SAMU Novo Norte Emergency Regulation Center (ERC) call center in Maringá, in the Brazilian state of Paraná. The calls were processed through a pipeline using machine learning algorithms, including Automatic Speech Recognition (ASR) models for transcription of audio calls in Portuguese, and a Natural Language Understanding (NLU) classification model. The pipeline was trained and validated using a dataset of labeled calls, which were manually classified by medical students using LabelStudio. The results showed that the AI model was able to accurately transcribe the audio with a Word Error Rate of 42.12% using Wav2Vec 2.0 for ASR transcription of audio calls in Portuguese. Additionally, the NLU classification model had an accuracy of 73.9% in classifying the calls into different categories in a validation subset. The study found that using AI to categorize emergency calls in low- and middle-income countries is largely unexplored, and the applicability of conventional open-source ML models trained on English language datasets is unclear for non-English speaking countries. The study concludes that AI can be used to transcribe audio and extract and classify unstructured emergency call data in an emergency system in southern Brazil as an initial step towards developing a decision-making support tool.

The Viability of Doctoral Thesis and Oral Exams in Student’s Native Language

ABSTRACT The issue of English being the lingua franca in transnational higher education remains a debate, especially regarding fairness in doctoral examinations. The current study builds upon a recent publication that proposes examining doctoral students of an Anglophone doctoral program offered on an offshore campus in China to be held in the Chinese language with translation and interpretation. The current study explores the viability of this option for transnational doctoral programs from doctoral supervisors' and students' perspectives. This qualitative exploratory study recruited 13 full professors and 18 doctoral students to collect data using a hypothetical case scenario and in-depth face-to-face interviews. The qualitative data analysis utilized the six-phase framework of Clarke and Braun for the thematic analysis of the data. Four major themes in the findings suggest that such a radical provision might be an arduous process, if not impossible. The results are discussed regarding fairness in assessment, efforts to safeguard indigenous knowledge, and creating spaces for building knowledge from non-English speaking countries. This research sheds important light on the complexities and challenges involved in promoting fairness and inclusivity in transnational doctoral programs, highlighting the need for creative solutions that balance practical feasibility and ethical ideals.