Sign language vocabulary development practices and internet use among educational interpreters

Sign language interpreters working in schools often face isolation in terms of their sign language vocabulary development opportunities. The purposes of this study were to determine the key demographic characteristics of educational interpreters in British Columbia, to identify the resources they use to learn new vocabulary, and to shed light on their Internet use and access levels, with a view to exploring the viability of this resource as a tool for vocabulary development for interpreters working in educational settings. Key demographics associated with interpreters' access to time and materials in advance of a lesson were job title and graduation from an interpreter training program. Interpreters with job titles that reflected their status as interpreters had more preparatory time each week than interpreters who had job titles focused on their roles as educational assistants. Interpreters overwhelmingly expressed the need for continuing professional development with respect to vocabulary development. In terms of the resources currently used, human resources (colleagues, deaf adults) were used significantly more often than nonhuman (books, videotapes, Internet). The resource use results showed that convenience was more important than quality. Books were used more often than videotapes, CD-ROMs, and the Internet, although the latter three had higher percentages of very satisfied users than did books. The design and content of online vocabulary resources and limited interpreter preparation time were identified as current issues keeping the Internet from reaching its potential as an easily accessible visual resource. Recommendations aimed at enhancing the viability of the Internet as a vocabulary development tool for educational interpreters are discussed.     

Stereotypes in cyberspace: writing an anti-racist website

This article deals with some of the difficulties and dilemmas of writing and producing an educational website about ‘race’ and racism (www.britkid.org). With a ‘cast’ of fictionalized characters exploring a wide range of issues relating to racism in the UK, the site is arguably closer to being a mass media product than conventional school materials, and the white, male author had to negotiate complex dilemmas about stereotyping and representation in both the initial drafts and in responding to prepublication feedback. These are explored, together with some reflections upon the relationship between research and a ‘product’ such as this.     

二外日语的教学探讨

在二外日语的教学过程中，教师、学生、日语处于动态平衡之中。对学生使用日语的交际能力的培养不仅要求其熟练运用已记住的语言材料，达到不假思索地脱口而出的程度。而且还要求其创造性地运用语言材料。此外，利用母语学习日语是可取的。日、汉语音有很多相似之处；在语法方面品词的概念也有些是一致的；句子的结构也有相通之处。学生已掌握的汉语和英语方面的听说读写等言语技能也有助于学生学习日语相应的言语技能，促进汉语和英语在日语习得中的语用迁移；但同时也要克服汉语的干扰作用，消除语用失误。     

Interpreting images: An investigation of the problem of literalism in language use and religious thinking

Abstract

This article discusses the use of metaphor in human attempts to communicate religious experience and insight. In particular, it argues that, all too often, metaphors are misunderstood because they are interpreted literally. Examples of primary school children's writing are provided to illustrate the problem of literalism in religious understanding. The article concludes by recommending the extensive teaching of metaphor throughout education.     

网络环境下的语言文字应用研究综述

网络环境下,语言文字有其独特的应用特征,网络语言的广泛流传对汉语言文字和人们的语言生活产生了正反两方面的影响。语言使用者和语言管理者都要积极行动起来,采取相应的规范措施使用和管理网络语言,从而扬其长避其短,为网络语言提供更好的发展前景。     

熟悉网络语言适应网络生活

科学技术的发展把人们带入了网络无所不在而又不可或缺的时代,没有了网络这个巨大的信息库,人们也将失去多姿多彩的现代生活。而网络语言正是人们徜徉这个浩瀚世界的航船。随着国内外交流的不断加强,许多新词汇诞生并通过网络进入了人们的日常生活。文章归纳了网络上新词汇的特征,说明了熟悉网络语言的重要性。     

网络语体风格的软规范与硬规范

语言规划研究是一种战略研究。网络语体风格的规范问题是语言规划必不可少的部分，但却是一个很少有人触及的领域。网络语体风格的表现是进行网络语体风格规范的基础，在此基础上，主要讨论网络语体风格软规范和硬规范的基础、理据和基本策略问题。并认为，语言的规范都应该分成两个部分，即软规范和硬规范。     

计算机及互联网在外语教学中的应用

计算机及互联网给现代教育带来深刻影响,英语教学应高度重视这一新变化,采取有效方式充分实践新技术手段,是当前英语教学改革的一个重要内容。文中讨论了计算机及互联网在英语写作教学、网上实时讨论、教材生活化、合作学习,搜索与研究以及英语测试数字化等方面的运用,分析了教师教学主体行为的变化及其应对措施。     

The perception gap in cross-cultural training: an investigation of British Council English language teaching projects in China

This paper examines the implementation of British Council English language teaching projects at Chinese universities. The study argues that the key to successful cross-cultural communication is an informed appreciation of the perception gap that separates donor and recipient. Cultural sensitivity and the use of a culturally appropriate methodology are of fundamental importance in educational development projects. The study argues that a local willingness to promote change is the key to sustainability of innovation. Rather than a focus on the transfer of technical skills in classrooms, the successful long-term impact of development projects depends upon professional empowerment and emancipation for the teachers.     

网络环境下大学生英语学习策略与学习效能的相关性研究

本研究采用问卷调查的方法,分别对网络环境下的英语学习策略和传统学习环境下的一般学习策略的使用情况进行了调查与分析,比较两种不同学习环境中大学生英语学习策略使用的异同,并探究了网络学习环境下英语学习策略与学习效能之间的相关性,旨在探讨如何培养大学生基于网络的学习策略意识,有效地构建网络环境下的英语学习策略,从而提高学习效能。     

Multiple language use and mathematics: Politicizing the discussion

Macroeconomic forces, globalization, transnational capital flight, and massive migration have global and local reverberations that affect our classrooms, teachers, communities, and students. In particular, teaching and learning mathematics in multiple language contexts is affected by these broader dynamics. Thus, politicizing the discussion around language usage is not a choice mathematics educators have the luxury of making-circumstances dictate that for us. This brief commentary responds to the six articles in the present volume and situates them within the larger sociopolitical context we live in today.     

The use of repair strategies: bilingual deaf children using sign language and spoken language

The language effects on repair strategies employed by 7 bilingual deaf children (native signers who also used spoken language) was examined. During two sessions--one conducted in sign language and the other in spoken language--each child described a picture. The examiner stopped the child twice to request clarification. The children's responses to the requests were coded into seven repair strategies. Results indicated that language mode significantly influenced repair strategy behavior: In sign language, the children used a greater frequency, variety, and level of strategies. The position of the clarification request also had an effect: Later in the sequence, the children used more advanced strategies. It was assumed that these native signers evidenced a higher language level in sign, which allowed them to use more advanced communicational strategies in sign than in spoken language. This performance gap should be considered in intervention.     

Becoming individual in education and cyberspace

This article traces key competences that are necessary to master as teachers are increasingly obliged to orchestrate learning as initiation into individual autonomy. The context is one that acknowledges that learning increasingly dissipates out into cyberspace.Inspired by Gilles Deleuze and Michel Foucault, the article explores preconditions for professionalizing the teacher using project work as a generalized case. Project work claims to anticipate initiation into autonomy and reflects new power relations between professionals and clients as well. It is assumed that project work illustrates the transition from traditional school forms to a more individualized society where Information and Communication Technologies media (ICT) are increasingly integrated in learning. It is likewise assumed that the procedures and rules governing project work—as a way of shaping the image of oneself as an individual—correspond in ambivalent ways to competences that one must master in order to navigate as an up‐to‐date employee, citizen, and parent, and so on.     

The use of the internet in university teacher training

Education students often complain about the style of learning practiced at universities. In addition to theoretical knowledge, they want to gain more experience with “real” students. We are investigating new ways of combining theoretical learning and practical teaching by using digital communication techniques. We design courses for the study of German in primary and secondary schools, where our students cooperate with high school students via E-mail, messageboard, and chat. We aim to interest future teachers of German language and literature in media literacy and to prepare them for their future tasks in German classrooms against the background of the new information society. We developed the coursework over the last 5 years in the light of the experience we have gained, research performed, and the changes in hardware and software. Our program can also be transferred to other fields of teacher education.     

Knowledge building for use of the internet in education

Instructional Science - The purpose of this commentary is not so much to critique the studiesin this special issue as to stimulate deeper thinking and dialogueabout the issues raised by these...     

Literacy and language change: The special case of speech act verbs

This paper explores the methodological and theoretical issues that need to be addressed in testing the validity of proposed correlations between the rise of a certain class of words and the development of literacy. Olson and Astington (in press) suggest a correlation between the rise of a) assertive speech act verbs such asobserve,state, andclaim, b) literacy, and c) the Enlightenment. Data from the history of speech act verbs in English do not provide evidence for any privileged correlation with the Enlightenment, since assertives abound from Old and especially Middle English on. Possible correlations with literacy point not to writing as the motivating force but rather to the language of the law-courts, feudal practices, and rhetorical debate in the Middle Ages.This paper is being reprinted from Judith Langer (Ed.),Language, Literacy and Culture: Issues of Society and Schooling/it (Norwood, NJ: Ablex, 1987) with the permission of the publisher.     

Computer use in learning about language

This study is part of a research project aimed at studying ways and effects of introducing computer use within a context of linguistic education. Linguistic activities, in which language was treated as an object instead of a means of communication, were carried out through a curriculum unit aimed at developing reflection on language. Within the curriculum a new software has been developed and implemented. The software promotes reflection on language and metalinguistic awareness in a social and educational context in wich «playing with language» is stimulated in children. It requires language comprehension and production, and offers to children (working in groups of three) the open task of composing sentences and stories in a problem solving setting. In this study we collected observational data on children’s interactions with the software and used the data as an ecological measure of children’s metalinguistic development. Positiv effects of the curriculum supported by the computer use were verified through measures of metalinguistic skills, investigated through individual interviews and administered also to a matched control group.