Poor Language Skills Research Articles

The Efficacy of Teaching English for Engineering Students

India is a nation that has an adequate number of engineering colleges but, the language proficiency of students is not to the mark, and owing to this, many of them are to earn only a meagre salary. As communicative skill is the yardstick for their placements, it is necessary to improve their language skills (LSRW). This paper briefly explains the various causes of engineering students’ poor language skills along with measures to have a successful career.

THE MEDIATING EFFECT OF COOPERATIVE LEARNING APPLICATION ON THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN SOCIAL MEDIA USAGE AND LANGUAGE PROFICIENCY OF STUDENTS

Language proficiency is the ability to use language for a variety of communicative purposes. Users with a good command of the language are considered to have a good command of it because they can grasp it without difficulty, communicate a wide range of ideas clearly in speech and writing, and comfortably engage with other speakers (Renandya et al. 618). Thus, educators agree that proficiency in the English language is the basis for success in academic pursuits. Subsequently, Trice reported that international students were isolated from local students and faculty members because of their poor English language skills.

Supporting the mental health of children with speech, language and communication needs: The views and experiences of parents

Background and aimsA high rate of children in mental health services have poor language skills, but little evidence exists on how mental health support is delivered to and received by children with language needs. This study looked at parental experiences, asking parents of children with speech, language and communication needs (SLCN) about their experiences seeking help for their children's mental health. We were particularly interested on the experiences of parents of children with Developmental Language Disorder (DLD), a specific SLCN that remains relatively unknown to the general public.MethodsWe conducted an online survey of 74 parents of children with speech, language and communication needs (SLCN). Survey respondents included parents of children with a range of difficulties, including DLD, autism, verbal dyspraxia, global intellectual delay, a history of hearing problems, and SLCN without a primary diagnosis. Survey respondents were asked what sources of support they had accessed for their child's mental health and to provide comments on what was good and what was not good about this support. We then conducted 9 semi-structured interviews of parents of children with DLD about their experiences. These were parents of children with DLD aged 7 to 17 years, from across a range of educational settings, and with a range of present mental health concerns.ResultsContent analyses of the survey responses from parents of children with SLCN highlighted three broad factors of importance to parents’ experiences: relational aspects of care, organisational aspects of care, and professionals’ knowledge. Thematic analyses of the interviews of parents of children with DLD identified 5 themes: the effects of language problems on the presentation of distress; the role of the school environment; the role of key professionals; standard approaches to mental health support might not be appropriate; and the role and impact on parents. Parents expressed concerns that their children's mental health problems and need for support would not be recognised, and felt interventions were not accessible, or delivered in a manner that was not comfortable for their children due to high reliance on oral language skills. Some parents were left feeling that there was no provision suitable for their children.ConclusionsParents of children with SLCN face barriers accessing support for their children's mental health, including a lack of professional knowledge about their children's language needs. Parents argued that language and communication needs can significantly affect the delivery and success of psychological therapies and interventions. Systematic research is needed to understand how to successfully adapt services to make them accessible to children and young people with language needs, and to ensure that mental health problems are detected in children with language difficulties. Increased knowledge about language disorders such as DLD, and access to speech and language therapy expertise, is needed amongst professionals who work to support children's mental health.

Computerized cognitive training for improving cochlear-implanted children's working memory and language skills.

Sensory deprivation, including hearing loss, can affect different aspects of a person's life. Studies on children with hearing impairment have shown that such patients, especially those with cochlear implants (CIs), suffer from cognitive impairments, such as working memory problems and poor language skills. The present study aimed to examine the efficacy of cognitive computer training in improving working memory and language skills in children with a CI. This research was a quasi-experimental study with a pre-test-post-test design and a control group. Fifty-one children with a CI aged 6-12 years were recruited through convenience sampling and randomly assigned to the control and treatment groups. The Wechsler Working Memory Subtest and the Test of Language Development (TOLD) were used to evaluate children's working memory and language skills pre- and post-treatment. The treatment group attended twenty 50-60-minute cognitive computer training sessions three times a week. Sina-Working Memory Training was used to provide the treatment group with working memory training, whereas no intervention was provided to the control group. Univariate and multivariate analyses of covariance were used to analyze data. The results demonstrated the efficacy of cognitive computer training in improving the performance of cochlear-implanted children's working memory (auditory and visual-spatial) (P < 0.01). The results also pointed to improved performance in sentence imitation (P < 0.01), word discrimination (P < 0.01), and phonemic analysis subtests (P < 0.01). Overall, the findings indicated that cognitive computer training might improve working memory and language skills for children with CI. Therefore, the development and execution of such programs for children with CIs seem to improve their cognitive functions, such as working memory and language skills.

Knowledge, Attitudes, and Barriers toward Evidence-based Dentistry among Moroccan Dental Professionals

The aim of the study was to assess Moroccan dental professionals’ knowledge and attitudes towards evidence-based practice and investigate their perception toward evidence-based dentistry (EBD) and barriers that compromise its use. A cross-sectional survey was conducted by means of a questionnaire among Moroccan dentists. The questionnaire included questions on demographics data, attitudes, awareness and current practice, resources to guide clinical practice, understanding of terms, clinical situations to assess awareness of EBD and barriers. Quantitative variables were described in terms of numbers and percentages, and qualitative variables were compared using a Chi-square test. A p-value of less than 0.005 was considered significant. 208 participants were invited to take part in the study, corresponding to a response rate of 67.53%. 167 participants were general practitioners (GP) (80.3%) and 40 participants (19.7%) were specialist. 86.5% of the participants were graduates of national dental schools, and 13.5% graduated from other countries. Moroccan dental professionals expressed positive attitudes toward EBD, but a relatively a fair understanding of evidence-based practice. 57.7% of dentists indicated they had never heard of EBD. There were no significant differences between age groups or places of graduation. The most reported means of discovering EBD was through lectures (16.3%), a colleague or the internet (6.7%). Poor language and communication skills and lack of knowledge of information technology were the major barriers identified in this study. To overcome existing barriers and the lack of competencies relevant to dental practitioners, it is essential that EBD be incorporated into dental curriculum and in continuing professional education. Such a curriculum will increase the understanding and use of evidence-based dentistry.

The Challenges Facing Arab Researchers in Using English References in Research

This study investigates why Arabic researchers do not employ English references and citations in their studies. Even though many colleges and universities teach English in their undergraduate and postgraduate stages, Arabic researchers face real challenges in using English language references. This is due to apparent weakness in their English language competency, and teaching, learning, and assessing at schools, colleges, and universities. As a result, graduates with poor English language skills from colleges and universities with various scientific credentials and specialties, particularly the humanistic specialization, are produced. This, in turn, has a significant impact on the quality of the research and studies they perform both before and after graduation. This weakness is also due to their independence and general ignorance of the English language, so they rely primarily on Arabic references, rarely using English language references. As a result, they miss out on a significant amount of information, valuable studies, significant research, and a vast amount of scientific areas. The study data consisted of 76 Arabic journals to determine to what extent Arabic researchers employ English references in their studies compared to Arabic ones. The findings revealed that the researchers depend on Arabic references when they do their research. Indeed, this will impact the overall quality of Arabic research and development, resulting in a frail motivation towering over the world's correspondences. Some recommendations were made to develop remedies and enhance researchers in the Arab world.

"Did I just do that?"-Six-month-olds learn the contingency between their vocalizations and a visual reward in 5 minutes.

It has been shown that infants can increase or modify a motorically available behavior such as sucking, kicking, arm waving, etc., in response to a positive visual reinforcement (e.g., DeCasper & Fifer, 1980; Millar, 1990; Rochat & Striano, 1999; Rovee‐Collier, 1997; Watson & Ramey, 1972). We tested infants to determine if they would also change their vocal behavior in response to contingent feedback, which lacks the social, emotional, and auditory modeling typical of parent‐child interaction. Here, we show that in a single five‐minute session infants increase the rate of their vocalizations in order to control the appearance of colorful shapes on an iPad screen. This is the first experimental study to demonstrate that infants can rapidly learn to increase their vocalizations, when given positive reinforcement with no social element. This work sets the foundations for future studies into the causal relationship between the number of early vocalizations and the onset of words. In addition, there are potential clinical applications for reinforcing vocal practice in infant populations who are at risk for poor language skills.

Migrant networks, information flows and the place of residence: The case of Polish immigrants in the UK

AbstractNumerous studies in the field of international migration focus on utilizing migrant networks in migration process, outlining their role in the choice of destination country as well as in the job search process. However, relatively few of the studies discuss migrant networks’ role in the choice of a specific location within destination cities. This paper contributes to this research area by providing additional insights into the motives behind choosing place of residence by immigrants in contemporary European cities. In our paper, we use data of a tailor‐made survey of 610 Polish immigrants, who emigrated from Poland to the UK shortly after 2004, that is, after opening of the British labour market for Polish citizens. Our study results reveal that propensity towards living in the Polish neighbourhood is inversely correlated with migrants’ English language proficiency. Moreover, we discover that networking within the Polish diaspora is to a large extent limited to family and close acquaintances, which most likely results from the limited generalized trust towards other Poles. Based on our study results, we argue that settling in geographical proximity of migrant's ethnic group is likely to maintain its relevance in the contemporary cities, especially in case of immigrants with poor destination language skills.

Language skills and social contact among students with intellectual disabilities in special needs schools

Children and adolescents with intellectual disabilities (ID) often have language difficulties. Guided by interactional theories of language acquisition, this study expected that more social contact with peers positively affects language development for this student group. Conversely, it was also hypothesized that poor language skills predict fewer social contacts with peers, thereby reducing their social inclusion. To test our hypotheses, we studied a sample of 1125 students (aged 4 to 19 years) in 16 Swiss special needs schools, on whom data was collected at the beginning and end of a school year. Social contact was measured as the number of peers at school with whom a student has frequent contact, according to teacher reports. Language skills were measured by teacher ratings of verbal and non-verbal abilities. Results of a cross-lagged multilevel model indicated that greater numbers of social contacts at the beginning of the school year were related to an increase in both verbal and non-verbal language skills. However, better verbal and non-verbal language skills at the beginning of the school year did not predict more social contacts later on. The findings support the assumption that more social contacts among students in special needs schools are conducive to language development.

Problematika Pembelajaran Maharah Qiraah Daring: Studi Kasus Terhadap Mahasiswa PBA IAIN Syaikh Abdurrahman Siddik Bangka Belitung

Online learning during this pandemic poses many problems. A common problem is that not all students have smartphones or a good network in their homes. Therefore, this study is intended to see more about what problems students face in learning reading skills. This study used a quantitative approach with descriptive methods. The subject of this research is students in the Arabic education program in the 4th semester. To collect data, the researcher used questionnaires and analyzed them using percentage techniques. The results of this research showed that the problems in learning reading skills faced by students of the Arabic education program IAIN SAS Bangka Belitung include: 1) Linguistic Aspect. More than 50% of students have poor language skills, especially in the mastery of nahwu and sharf, and 2) Non-linguistic Aspect. There are no significant problems, except for problems with the lost network caused by changes in weather or power outages.

Problematika Pembelajaran Maharah Qiraah Daring: Studi Kasus Terhadap Mahasiswa PBA IAIN Syaikh Abdurrahman Siddik Bangka Belitung

Online learning during this pandemic poses many problems. A common problem is that not all students have smartphones or a good network in their homes. Therefore, this study is intended to see more about what problems students face in learning reading skills. This study used a quantitative approach with descriptive methods. The subject of this research is students in the Arabic education program in the 4th semester. To collect data, the researcher used questionnaires and analyzed them using percentage techniques. The results of this research showed that the problems in learning reading skills faced by students of the Arabic education program IAIN SAS Bangka Belitung include: 1) Linguistic Aspect. More than 50% of students have poor language skills, especially in the mastery of nahwu and sharf, and 2) Non-linguistic Aspect. There are no significant problems, except for problems with the lost network caused by changes in weather or power outages.

Early Visual Attention Abilities and Audiovisual Speech Processing in 5-7 Month-Old Down Syndrome and Typically Developing Infants.

Communicative abilities in infants with Down syndrome (DS) are delayed in comparison to typically developing (TD) infants, possibly affecting language development in DS. Little is known about what abilities might underlie poor communication and language skills in DS, such as visual attention and audiovisual speech processing. This study compares DS and TD infants between 5–7 months of age in a visual orientation task, and an audiovisual speech processing task, which assessed infants’ looking pattern to communicative cues (i.e., face, eyes, mouth, and waving arm). Concurrent communicative abilities were also assessed via the CSBS-DP checklist. We observed that DS infants orient their visual attention slower than TD infants. Both groups attended more to the eyes than the mouth, and more to the face than the waving arm. However, DS infants attended less to the eyes than the background, and equally to the face and the background, suggesting their difficulty to assess linguistically relevant cues. Finally, communicative skills were related to attention to the eyes in TD, but not in DS infants. Our study showed that early attentional and audiovisual abilities are impaired in DS infants, and might underlie their communication skills, suggesting that early interventions in this population should emphasize those skills.

Associations Between Language Difficulties, Peer Victimization, and Bully Perpetration From 3 Through 8 Years of Age: Results From a Population-Based Study.

Background and Purpose Schoolchildren with language difficulties experience more peer victimization compared to their typically developing (TD) peers. Whether these children also bully their peers (bully perpetration) more than TD children is unclear. Furthermore, little is known about peer victimization and bully perpetration among preschool children with language difficulties and how it may be related to different paths of language difficulties. This study aimed to investigate associations between language difficulties, peer victimization, and bully perpetration from preschool to school age as well as the risk of peer victimization and bully perpetration for children with different developmental paths of language difficulties and mild language difficulties compared to TD children. Method The sample was drawn from the Norwegian Mother, Father and Child Cohort Study. Participants with completed questionnaires at 3, 5, and 8 years of age (n = 22,628) were included. Paths between latent variables of language skills at 3, 5, and 8 years of age, peer victimization at 5 and 8 years of age, and bully perpetration at 8 years of age were examined with structural equation modeling. Logistic regression was used to investigate peer victimization and bully perpetration for predefined paths of language difficulties. Results Poor language skills at 3 and 5 years of age were associated with peer victimization at 5 years of age. Poor language skills at 5 and 8 years of age were associated with peer victimization and bully perpetration at 8 years of age. The association between poor language skills at 5 years of age and bully perpetration at 8 years of age was stronger for girls. Persistent paths of language difficulties at 3, 5, and 8 years of age showed the highest risk of peer victimization and bully perpetration. Conclusions Language difficulties are associated with peer victimization and bully perpetration. The risk of peer victimization and bully perpetration differs according to different developmental paths of language difficulties from preschool to school age.

Historical Narrative of American Lithuanian Identity

The article looks into the unexplored problem of the expression of American Lithuanian identity through food. The author tries to reveal the main eating habits of Lithuanian emigrants by using comparative historical research of the narrative. Based on a theoretical approach of “change” perceived as a changing identity, food is seen as a distinctive part of culture that changes in the migration process. In her esearch, the author is going deep into the 20th century cookbooks published in America at different times and by different migration waves of Lithuanian migrants. These cookbooks reveal how the new culinary environment is accepted or rejected through food similarities or differences. The article deals with the problem of (non-)formation of American ethnic cuisine; analyzes how the food of Lithuanian diaspora changed during migration, how its choices were influenced by the multicultural American environment; what is the connection between American Lithuanian food and language; and whether Lithuanian food influenced the construction of national identity in the diaspora.The analysis of the narrative of the cookbooks reveals that the multicultural American environment and the prevailing ideas of the “Melting Pot” and “Salad Bowl” theories conditioned the “change” in the emigrant kitchen. The ideas of the “Melting Pot” theory determined not only the addition of “American” and other nations’ dishes to Lithuanian cuisine, but also a certain “melting” process, during which dishes were flavored or their ingredients were replaced with non-Lithuanian cuisine. In the second half of the 20th century, when another “Salad Bowl” theory describing multicultural communities prevailed, Lithuanian emigrants turned to their cooking traditions inherited from their parents. This suggests that food and the traditions associated with its preparation, even when socio-cultural circumstances have changed, remain unchanged or little changed in people’s memory.The analysis of the connection between language and food reveals that in America, when Lithuanians gradually take over the dominant English language, the gap between the knowledge of the mother tongue and the practice of Lithuanian food becomes more relevant. By no longer knowing or having poor Lithuanian language skills, the younger generation of emigrants does not lose the desire to prepare dishes prepared by parents and grandparents. This raises the need to memorize recipes for such dishes in English. This fact allows us to state that while living in the diaspora, Lithuanian food exists as an important expression of ethnic identity, regardless of the level of language proficiency, and the culinary heritage is more enduring than the atrophy of the Lithuanian language.Finally, it becomes clear that in certain strata of the Lithuanian community there is an understanding that food and nutrition are important not only as meeting physical needs for the maintenance of vital functions. Nevertheless, it is also very important for the nation’s survival by deliberate food choice. Encouraging the production of Lithuanian dishes can become an opportunity to express a sense of ethnic self-awareness and strengthen the Lithuanian communities in the diaspora.

Maternal depressive symptoms and language development: The moderating role of child temperament.

The current study examined the interaction between maternal depressive symptoms and child temperament in predicting subsequent child language skills. Participants were 252 mother-child dyads recruited from the All Our Families longitudinal cohort, a primarily middle-class sample (62.9% completed postsecondary education) from Alberta, Canada (90.5% White, 6% Asian, 3.5% other). Maternal depressive symptoms at age 3, controlling for prenatal depressive symptoms, did not evidence a direct effect on child language skills at age 5 (49.6% males; mean [M] = 5.12 years old, standard deviation [SD] = .11). However, both child surgency and effortful control interacted with maternal depression at age 3 to predict later language skills. Low effortful control was a risk factor for poorer language abilities in contexts of high maternal depressive symptoms. High child surgency emerged as a differential susceptibility marker, predicting poorer language skills in contexts of high maternal depressive symptoms but better language skills in contexts of low depressive symptoms. Negative affect did not interact with maternal depressive symptoms in predicting language skills. These findings highlight the complex interaction between maternal and child characteristics in predicting language development during a developmental period in which language skills are a prime indicator of school readiness and a predictor of future academic achievement and socioemotional adjustment. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2021 APA, all rights reserved).

Background factors for chronic low back pain resistant to cognitive behavioral therapy

This study examined the factors that inhibit the therapeutic effects of cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) and clarify the adaptation judgment criteria of CBT. We included patients with chronic low back pain and allocated them to the adaptation (with visual analog scale [VAS] improvement) or non-adaptation group (without VAS improvement). The patients were analyzed using various psychological tests. CBT improved depressive symptoms and catastrophic thinking; however, they were not correlated with the VAS and did not directly affect low back pain improvement. The non-adaptation group showed an unexplainable/vague sense of anxiety; an excessive focus on searching for pain; a strong intimacy desire; a strong tendency of medical dependency; and fantasy or distortion of the actual experience, especially self-image. Moreover, the patients showed a low ability to objectively express or attribute meaning to pain due to poor language skills, attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder, and emotional value judgment. Individuals with the aforementioned characteristics of pre-CBT psychological tests should select a different treatment approach given the high poor-adaption possibility. Even patients with depressive or anxious symptoms are not necessarily adaptable for CBT. Therefore, pre-CBT tests for treatment suitability are necessary. Future studies should establish a protocol for psychotherapy suitable for the non-adaptation group.

Mapping the Relationship between Teachers' Language Anxiety in Teaching Science and Students' Motivation at Secondary Schools

Public school teachers are instructed by the government to teach science subjects through English at secondary schools, which is not less than a nightmare for teachers. Their poor language skills enhance their level of anxiety while teaching through English which ultimately affect the student' motivation. This study aimed to investigate the relationship between language anxiety in teaching science and students' motivation at secondary schools. A quantitative research methodology was adopted to conduct this study. A convenient sampling technique was adopted to collect data from secondary school teachers and students. Simple linear regression and independentsample t-test were applied to analyze data. As to findings, it is identified that teachers' language anxiety has no impact on students' level of motivation. As to language anxiety, both male and female teachers perceived equal level of anxiety. Whereas the difference between boys and girls in relation to their perceived motivation was significant. The discussion highlighted these strange results with the help of available researches.

A critical discourse analysis of impact of code-switching on modern adult language learners’ motivation in Pakistan

This research yields a review on demotivation among students due to poor language skills resulting in less participation in classrooms. It provides code-switching, the alternating use of languages in the discourse, as a solution to this problem. It is mixed-method research in which the data was collected from university teachers and students on a survey. The study followed Fairclough’s model of Critical Discourse Analysis and helped reach conclusions regarding the use of code-switching in classes. It finds out that our university teachers are already using code-switching in their classes to help reduce foreign language anxiety and motivate learners towards learning. The study also highlighted the possible harm code-switching may bring to the students: students suffer in the long run due to their reliance on the usage of code-switching, and this complete dependency ultimately results in poor language skills development. Thus, the study recommends that teachers be careful and judicious in the use of code-switching in classes and that too only in the initial phase of university education.

Influence of language skills on the choice of terms used to describe lung sounds in a language other than English: a cross-sectional survey of staff physicians, residents and medical students

IntroductionThe value of chest auscultation would be enhanced by the use of a standardised terminology. To that end, the recommended English terminology must be transferred to a language other than...

TEAM EFFECTIVENESS IN SOFTWARE DEVELOPMENT: THE ROLE OF PERSONALITY AND WORK FACTORS

Globalization and dynamic economic conditions have exponentially increased the use of virtual work in organizations. Effectiveness in software development teams, therefore, is now a relevant issue in business, psychology or other fields. Despite the uniqueness of software development teams and their work conditions, their effectiveness has not been sufficiently researched to clearly determine how it relates to personality traits, work challenges and the virtualization level. To expand the understanding of the mechanisms that influence team effectiveness in software development, an ecological framework is selected. The purpose of this study is to explore the relationship between personality traits, work factors and team effectiveness within the context of software development teams. Methodology: The exploratory study was conducted in international software development companies operating in Lithuania. Forty-five software development teams (N = 142) filled in the Team task performance scale, Hexaco-PI-R questionnaire and rated perceived work challenges and team virtualization level. The statistical analysis was conducted with SPSS. This survey is an initial stage of a larger project. Findings: Personality traits Conscientiousness and Extraversion relate to team effectiveness. In software development teams the most prevalent work challenges were time zone differences, lack of information when working on a project, and lack of a clear purpose. Lack of information and poor foreign language skills negatively affect team effectiveness. A higher virtualization level is associated with more frequent work challenges (culture and foreign language challenges, time zone differences) and team performance.