Classroom Speech Research Articles

Figures of speech in the physics classroom: a process of conceptual change

Background: This study investigates the role of figures of speech in the process of conceptual change in the physics classroom. Purpose: Its objectives are to examine what teachers and students perceive to be the advantages in using figures of speech in teaching physics concepts, what they perceive to be the challenges in using them, and how teachers use these in their classrooms to minimize the challenges faced. Sample We chose a purposive sample of 95 students and nine teachers of physics, in four schools in Lebanon. Design and methods: A mixed-method approach was used. Interviews were conducted with physics teachers; questionnaires were distributed to students, and non-participant classroom observations were carried out. Results: Teachers viewed figures of speech as a tool that helps them transmit abstract physics concepts to students in a simpler and concrete way. Questionnaires and non-participant observations revealed several examples of figures of speech used and the positive responses of students towards them. Conclusions: The study suggests several ways to overcome the drawbacks. This study highlights the urgent need for all stakeholders to work collaboratively to include figures of speech in the curriculum to enhance the process of conceptual change in the physics classroom.

Recognition of indigenous and foreign speech in a noisy classroom: A case of primary school pupils

This study examines the level of speech recognition of English and Igbo utterances by 70 grade four children. The children, whose mother tongue is Igbo and aged between 8 and 10 years, had English monosyllabic words as well as Igbo monosyllabic and disyllabic words dictated to them in noisy and quiet classrooms. The results show that in noise, their level of recognition was significantly higher for English utterances (p < 0.05) while in quiet, it was significantly higher for Igbo (p < 0.05). Thus, the findings confirm those of previous studies that the recognition of Igbo is more affected by noise. In terms of the recognition of phonemes in quiet and noise, for both languages, the ‘t’ test analyses showed significant difference (p < 0.05) in the pupils’ recognition of vowels and consonants in both languages, with vowels being more identified than consonants in both noise and quiet. Hence, though the recognition of both languages is hindered in noise, the study of Igbo requires an acoustically serene environment for maximum results.

What Students Do with Words: Language Use and Communicative Function in Full and Partial Immersion Classrooms

Over the past 35 years, language immersion programs have been steadily increasing in number throughout the U.S. The popularity of these diverse, linguistically complex educational programs has led to a rather extensive body of research on language immersion and dual language contexts. Research, however, has thus far focused primarily on the quantification of language use (the amount of target language versus first language use) in different settings and with different interlocutors. Very few studies have probed the interesting and significant sociolinguistic question of what students ‘do’ with languages in the classroom. The present study fills this research gap by investigating the communicative functions of student language use in full and partial Spanish immersion classrooms among kindergarten, first and second graders. Twelve hours of recorded spontaneous classroom speech were analyzed for communicative functions. The results show that contrary to the existing research, students in this classroom use Spanish for a wide variety of communicative functions. These findings suggest that previous depictions of the diglossic classroom speech community may be influenced by the concept of figured worlds (Holland et. al., 1998), whereby our imagined typical immersion classroom differs from the actual reality of student language use.

A test of attention control theory in public speaking: cognitive load influences the relationship between state anxiety and verbal production

ABSTRACTThis study investigated the relationship between public-speaking state anxiety (PSA) and verbal communication performance when delivering a speech. In Study 1, participants delivered an extemporaneous five-minute classroom speech behind a lectern, and in Study 2, to increase cognitive load, participants delivered an extemporaneous five-minute classroom speech peripatetically. In line with attention control theory (ACT), anxiety and verbal performance were found to be unrelated under normal circumstances but inversely related under conditions of significant cognitive load. The project demonstrates the relevance of ACT in disentangling the impact of anxiety on verbal communication performance. An implication for public speakers is that anxiety is unlikely to affect language behavior in typical speaking settings.

Teachers' voicing and silence periods during continuous speech in classrooms with different reverberation times.

The relationship between reverberation times and the voicing and silence accumulations of continuous speech was quantified in 22 primary-school teachers. Teachers were divided into a high and a low reverberation time groups based on their classroom reverberation time (higher and lower than 0.90 s). Reverberation times higher than 0.90 s implicate higher voicing accumulations and higher accumulations of the silences typical of turn taking in dialogue. These results suggest that vocal load, which can lead to vocal fatigue, is influenced by classroom reverberation time. Therefore, it may be considered a risk factor for occupational voice users.

Effects of two teaching methods of connected speech in a Polish EFL classroom

Abe (2010) argues that the Negotiation of Form (NF) instruction exerts positive effects on learning of connected speech by Japanese learners of English, finding that the progres achieved with NF was more significant than for the traditional treatment. The study reported here seeks to uncover the acquisitional value of NF in a Polish classroom. The study hypothesizes that NF, in comparison with the deductive teaching method, effectively promotes learning of assimilation, elision and weak forms. The hypothesis was tested by investigating production and perception of 50 Polish students of English. As for evaluating the effects of the two types of instructions, a classic pretest-posttest design was used. With regard to methodology, acoustic analysis was performed. The results demonstrate that in general, NF proved more effective than NNF. With regard to individual processes of connected speech, NF was more effective in production, whereas no such effect was found for perception.

Teachers’ accumulation of silence and voicing periods of continuous speech in classroom with different reverberation times

The relationship between the distribution of continuous silence and voicing periods accumulated (duration of continuous voiced and unvoiced segments of 0.05 s) by teachers teaching in classrooms with different reverberation time (RT) was examined. Understanding the distributions of these accumulations and the relationship with the RT has implications on potential vocal fatigue risk factors and it can be a useful information for clinicians. Twenty-two primary school teachers were monitored over 1 or 2 four-hour workdays with the Ambulatory Phonation Monitor. The RT ranged between 0.58 s and 1.58 s, with a median equal to 0.9 s. The classrooms were classified as low RT (0.58 s < RT < 0.90 s) and high RT (0.90 s ≤ RT < 1.58 s). The values of silence accumulation in low RT classrooms were significantly shorter than the accumulation in high RT classrooms in almost the whole range of accumulation periods (0.2 s—10 s). The difference was negligible for time shorter than 1.5 s and longer than 8 s. The values of voice accumulation in low RT classrooms are significantly shorter than the accumulation in high RT classrooms in almost the whole range of accumulation periods (0.2 s—1.31 s).

Benefits of augmentative signs in word learning: Evidence from children who are deaf/hard of hearing and children with specific language impairment

BackgroundAugmentative signs may facilitate word learning in children with vocabulary difficulties, for example, children who are Deaf/Hard of Hearing (DHH) and children with Specific Language Impairment (SLI). Despite the fact that augmentative signs may aid second language learning in populations with a typical language development, empirical evidence in favor of this claim is lacking. AimsWe aim to investigate whether augmentative signs facilitate word learning for DHH children, children with SLI, and typically developing (TD) children. Methods and proceduresWhereas previous studies taught children new labels for familiar objects, the present study taught new labels for new objects. In our word learning experiment children were presented with pictures of imaginary creatures and pseudo words. Half of the words were accompanied by an augmentative pseudo sign. The children were tested for their receptive word knowledge. Outcomes and resultsThe DHH children benefitted significantly from augmentative signs, but the children with SLI and TD age-matched peers did not score significantly different on words from either the sign or no-sign condition. Conclusions and implicationsThese results suggest that using Sign-Supported speech in classrooms of bimodal bilingual DHH children may support their spoken language development. The difference between earlier research findings and the present results may be caused by a difference in methodology.

The influence of classroom input and community exposure on the learning of variable grammar

As pointed out by Carroll (Carroll), our team has investigated the influence of input on the spoken French competence of older Ontario bilinguals. Our research has examined the learning of invariant and variable aspects of French grammar. We focus here on the learning of variation, since it is an under-researched topic not covered by Carroll. Our research examines adolescent speakers of Ontario French from French-medium schools (e.g., Mougeon &amp; Beniak, 1991), same-age immersion students (e.g., Mougeon, Nadasdi &amp; Rehner, 2010) and advanced learners from a bilingual university (e.g., Mougeon &amp; Rehner, 2015). Two key dimensions of input are teacher classroom speech and frequency of use of French in the community for the Franco-Ontarian students and amount of extra-curricular interactions with Francophones for the FSL students. Having collected corpora from these student groups, we compared the output of learners with primarily classroom-based input with that of learners with broader ranging (extra-) curricular input. The availability of teacher in-class recordings for these learner groups has been crucial in identifying additional factors influencing these students’ output.

The use of a nursing home in central bundle care reduces the effectiveness of urinary tract infection

Purpose: Urinary tract infection is one of long-term care residents infections occur most frequently, According to statistics, there are as many as 50% of the residents have a long-term indwelling catheter, and urinary tract infections and catheter placement has its relevance, indwelling catheter a few days more elderly, the likelihood of the occurrence of urinary tract infection is higher,Through the catheter placement checklist designed foley catheter placement and foley catheter placement care evaluation form to assess the care and use of the audit form of education and training and auditing foley catheter Bundle Care Strategies to reduce residents of indwelling foley catheter urinary tract infection, the ability to enhance the care of nurses and care attendants, enhance quality of care quality institutions that residents have access to safe and comfortable in life. Methods: Date: July4, 2014 to 30 September 30,2014; Tools: Designed for use nursing home checklist foley catheter placement, Foley catheter home care assessment form, foley catheter care assessment audit table set, and translate Vietnam text for nurses and Taiwan, according to foreign attendants use. Educational training: Classroom speech urinary tract infectionrelated knowledge, catheters Bundle Care Policy and related pretest and posttest questionnaire (in Vietnamese), indwelling catheter care reply teach the skills, training, seed care colleagues modular units internal improvement activities to promote long-term monitoring of audit, develop reward and punishment mechanism. Results: The urinary tract infection catheter placement April-June average 7.93&,July-September6.2 &, the improvement rate of 1.31 &; hospital handwashing compliance rate of 33.6% up to 53.5; urinary tract infectionrelated knowledge, before class The total average pretest score 63.6, nurses: 85.9 according to attendants: 53.2, after measuring the total average score of 88.5, paramedics: 95.6, care attendants: 86.3; modular care measures before class average pretest score: 60.3, nursing staff: 71.8, according to the attendants: 53.8, after measuring the total average score of 85.4, paramedics: 92.5 according to attendants: 85.9. Conclusion: Indwelling foley catheter Bundle Care implementation of successful elements, including the unit in charge of the support and promotion, regular education and training, standardization of monitoring and feedback, this measure is long-term and sustained, so there must be good planning.

Language, Access, and Power in the Elementary Science Classroom

ABSTRACTThe Next Generation Science Standards call for the adoption of many aspects of scientific inquiry in the classroom. The ways in which classroom talk and classroom environment change as students and teachers learn to utilize inquiry approaches are underexplored. This study examines the frequency with which linguistic markers related to access and power appear in student and teacher speech in the elementary science classroom. As teachers begin to implement argument‐based inquiry methods, teacher and student use of these markers changes significantly. These changes indicate that students whose teachers utilize argument‐based inquiry have greater access and power in the science classroom. In this paper, the mechanisms by which teachers afford their students access and power are explored from a quantitative perspective.

Input, Output, And Negotiation Of Meaning In Spanish Conversation Classes

This research study is based on the analysis of speech in three Spanish conversation classes. Research questions are: What is the ratio of English and Spanish spoken in class? Is classroom speech more predominant in students or the instructor? And, are teachers’ beliefs in regards to the use of English and Spanish consistent with their classroom practices? Data were obtained from the tape-recording of fifteen intermediate Spanish college level lessons. Data also came from non-participant observations and an interview with each of the three instructors. It was found that while the use of the primary language versus target language varied greatly among the different instructors, there was a large amount of teacher over student speech in two of the three instructors’ classes. Results also indicate that there is consistency between beliefs regarding the use of English and Spanish in two of the instructors, but not in the third instructor.

Heterogeneous Speech Prediction Using LDA Classifiers

Classroom speech intelligibility has become one of the main concerns in schools and other learning institutions development nowadays. This is because the qualities of student’s perceptions towards teacher are essentials in learning development. Measures have been introduced by the acoustical association to tackle the speech intelligibility problems in the classroom such as room renovations. Room’s acoustics standards have been introduced in several countries but still the questions on whether the standards fits on every classroom in different countries are still arise. Studies have also shown that most of the researches that have been conducted were only focusing on the conventional type classroom which depends only on the teacher’s vocal power. This paper will formulate the measurement protocol on measuring the speech intelligibility in the sound reinforced (multiple speaker) classroom. Finally it was found that the speech intelligibility in the sound reinforced classroom is better than the conventional classroom by using Linear Discriminant Analysis.

Elwood Murray: Pioneering Methodologist in Communication

Elwood Murray (1897–1988) was a pioneer in communication education. Beginning in the 1930s, he applied nontraditional methods in the speech classroom to encourage students to internalize and apply what they learned, and to view knowledge holistically. Drawing on the work of Kunkel, Moreno, Lewin, and Korzybski, Murray focused on developing skills in interpersonal and group communication. He facilitated classroom activities that he believed would bring about positive change in students' personalities as well as enhance their relationships and leadership ability. Communication methodologies, he argued, could facilitate learning in all fields and foster interdisciplinary understanding. In spite of much skepticism by his colleagues, Murray introduced innovative classroom practices that advanced our thinking about instructional communication.

Reasons for Students’ Code-Switching Between Informal Indonesian and English in ELT Contexts

This descriptive and analytical study aimed at exploring the phenomenon of code-switching between Informal Indonesian (INF-I) and English exhibited in the classroom speech of the students at English Education Department of Faculty of Education and Teachers Training Lancang Kuning University in Pekanbaru-Riau. The main discussion of code-switching (CS hereafter) is the students’ reasons for employing CS. The data was collected by recording the students’ speech which was then transcribed as conversational data and by conducting unstructured interview. The research was conducted particularly in formal situations; in Speaking I classes involving sixty students of the first year. This study found that in formal situations such as in ELT contexts, the students’ reasons for CS were as compensatory strategy for the deficiency, as a language negotiation, as extended explanation, as an expression of solidarity, as flexibility of expression and as translation. These all reasons were primarily pertinent to fulfill communicative needs and communicative strategies.

Los mecanismos de la valoración en la construcción del discurso en el aula universitaria

This paper focuses on the study of oral speech in the university classroom, using the principles of Systemic Functional Linguistics (Halliday, 1994). Following on Walter Ong (1993), we discuss on the possibilities offered by oral communication practices to guide the construction of university student's own speech. Based on Systemic Functional Linguistics and the Mood System, specific to the interpersonal function of language, and using evidence from previous researches, (Muñoz Dagua, 2009; Muñoz Dagua, 2010; Cisneros-Estupiñán, Rojas y Olave, 2005), we justify the use of the Appraisal Theory (Martin, 2000). This theory is related to the evaluation of grammatical lexical resources, attitude, commitment and gradation in specific contexts as a methodological procedure to identify problems in classroom oral interactions, and suggest mechanisms to improve academic discursive practices.

Intelligibility assessment in elementary school classrooms from binaural room impulse responses measured with a childlike dummy head

In a classroom, especially for those intended for small children, speech intelligibility is a basic issue for learning efficacy. As it is well known, applying articulation tests (AT’s) is the best way to assess room’s speech intelligibility. However, the technique is expensive and takes a rather long time to be completed. In this paper, a new technique to assess classroom speech intelligibility is presented, which does not require the application of AT’s inside the classroom. The room binaural impulse response, produced by a sweep sine signal and emitted by an artificial speaker (AS), is recorded with a dummy head. Since small children are involved, the binaural recording was performed with a childlike dummy head, with a size corresponding, roughly, to that of a 10years old child. The binaural measurements were also made using an adult dummy head for comparison purposes. The measured binaural impulse responses were convolved with anechoic signals containing the enunciation of monosyllables. The background noise measured in the room is then added and the result is convolved again with a headphone impulse response, generating an acoustical virtual reality – the auralizations. The resulting binaural signals are applied to subjects of the same age in virtual AT’s. To validate the technique, actual AT’s using the same anechoic lists of monosyllables emitted by the AS inside the classroom were performed. The technique was applied in three schools to students of different level classrooms. The results show that the proposed technique presents good reliability to assess classroom intelligibility when the measurements are made with the childlike dummy head. For virtual AT’s obtained with the adult dummy head, however, it was verified that the children ability to recognize the monosyllables was much lower than that with the childlike dummy head. This is a consequence of the pronounced differences between the head related impulse responses for an adult and a child, resulting in distinct binaural impulse responses.

On the perception of speech in primary school classrooms: Ranking of noise interference and of age influence

It is well documented that the interference of noise in the classroom puts younger pupils at a disadvantage for speech perception tasks. Nevertheless, the dependence of this phenomenon on the type of noise, and the way it is realized for each class by a specific combination of intelligibility and effort have not been fully investigated. Following on a previous laboratory study on "listening efficiency," which stems from a combination of accuracy and latency measures, this work tackles the problems above to better understand the basic mechanisms governing the speech perception performance of pupils in noisy classrooms. Listening tests were conducted in real classrooms for a relevant number of students, and tests in quiet were also developed. The statistical analysis is based on stochastic ordering and is able to clarify the behavior of the classes and the different impacts of noises on performance. It is found that the joint babble and activity noise has the worst effect on performance whereas tapping and external traffic noises are less disruptive.

Lexical types and tokens found in the classroom speech of native and non-native English language instructors in a Japanese high school

Lexical types and tokens found in the classroom speech of native and non-native English language instructors in a Japanese high school

Teacher oral‐language use as a component of students’ learning environment in mathematics and science

This paper adopts a qualitative approach to investigate classroom interaction in mathematics and science at the elementary school level. Specifically, it examines teacher oral language to elucidate the role it plays in shaping students’ learningenvironment in a Creole language context. Using a framework of Halliday’s systemicfunctional linguistics and Bourdieu’s social theory, I analyze six instructional episodes in mathematics and science to uncover features of teachers’ oral language that influence students’ learning environment. The analysis suggests that teachers’ classroom speech reflects the linguistic complexities of school mathematics and science, and can be challenging for learners’ comprehension, especially in a second language situation. Sociolinguistic aspects of classroom interaction are also important to fully understand how teacher language affects student engagement in classroom discourse when their active participation is crucial to the understanding and use of academic language. Based on the findings and the research literature, I offer recommendations and a strategy for teachers who wish to use language in ways that better facilitate student learning across the curriculum.