The advantages of rime‐prompting: a comparative study of prompting methods when hearing children read

Goswami (1999) summarised the evidence supporting the teaching of onset and rime in early reading development. In the present study onset‐rime theory was applied in a randomised controlled trial to the authentic reading task of reading aloud to an adult. Helpers heard Year‐2 children read and responded to miscues and hesitations using one of two prompting procedures. Half of the subjects were prompted using a rime‐prompt approach whereas the other half were told the correct word after five seconds. Progress was measured using word and text‐level tests and the rime‐prompt group performed significantly better than the word‐prompt group at the 5% level. The rime‐prompt method has potential for helping children recognise one‐ and two‐syllable words. It is suitable for use by parents, teachers and other helpers.     

生活化视阈下大学生道德教育路径研究

当前学校道德教育出现了种种与生活相分离的现象,而导致学校德育效果低下。基于对学校道德教育脱离生活的原因分析基础上,力图在更新德育理念、优化学校育人环境、提高教师道德素质、打造生活化的课堂教学等方面提出一些有效措施,以建构生活化的学校道德教育路径。     

Research on pictures in instructional texts: The need for a broadened perspective

Considering the popularity of instructional textbooks, it is a bit surprising that few research studies have examined how pictorial illustrations affect learning from texts. This article takes a look at the research that has been done, notes its diversity of purpose, approach, and methodology, and identifies some shortcomings. The author offers some ideas for future research and suggests that the work might be undertaken by a new type of researcher, one who has traditional research skills as well as the concerns of instructional development specialists.     

Understanding of the alphabetic principle through invented spelling among hearing‐impaired children learning to read and write: experimentation with a pedagogical approach

Given the problems experienced by hearing‐impaired individuals in learning the written language, a pedagogical approach was tested. The study examined the links between the development of representations of alphabetic system and the results in reading and writing of first graders. In the study, there were 31 hearing‐impaired children and 25 hearing ones. Invented spelling was measured three times during the school year. Reading and writing tests were given at the end of the year. The results obtained revealed a similarity between the learning profile of the hearing‐impaired children and that of the hearing children. It also demonstrated the importance of the work done through invented spelling, among the hearing‐impaired children. Thus, like their hearing peers, hearing‐impaired children are able to use procedures to process the written word based on the alphabetic principle, but continuous support‐implying invented spelling constantly adjusted to the progression of their representations must be provided.     

The developmental progression of comprehension‐related skills in children learning EAL

Many children who speak English as an additional language (EAL) underachieve in areas of English literacy, especially in the primary years. These difficulties are often attributed to low levels of English language fluency as they enter the education system. In an effort to provide a greater understanding of this underachievement, the cognitive‐linguistic factors underlying literacy development in monolingual children and children learning EAL were examined in a three‐year longitudinal project. The project, conducted in schools in the north of England, followed the developmental progression of forty‐three children learning EAL and forty‐three monolingual children from school years Two to Four. Children were assessed on measures of reading accuracy, reading and listening comprehension, receptive and expressive vocabulary, and reception of grammar. Analysis revealed similarities between the two groups of children on reading accuracy, but children learning EAL had lower levels of vocabulary and comprehension at each point in time. Data are discussed in terms of the development of underlying language skills and the impact of these skills on both reading and listening comprehension. The implications of the findings for classroom practice are considered.     

Exploring student teachers' motivation change in initial teacher education: A Chinese perspective

Informed by a multiple, integrated perspective on teacher motivations, this study explores ten student teachers' motivation change throughout a pre-service language teacher education program in China. Drawing on data from the participants' personal reflections, focus group interviews, and individual interviews, this study reveals how the participants' motivations were shaped and reshaped through their professional practice and social interactions in relation to their self-efficacy, outcome expectations, professional autonomy, and social support in their learning context. This study concludes with some implications for policy makers and teacher educators on how to cultivate and promote pre-service teachers' motivations and commitments towards teaching as a life-long career.     

关联理论视角下汉语言语礼貌的解读——以莫言的小说《蛙》为例

关联理论认为交际过程是一个明示-推理过程,但从听话人的角度来看,交际中的关联实际只是一个推理的过程。听话人的推理过程往往受到个人因素的影响,本文以莫言的长篇小说《蛙》为语料,分别从四个因素:先存经验的不同、对语境的不同评价、意向的动态变化性以及个体不同的凸显方法来分析汉语言语礼貌的理解机制。     

The impact of oral training on argumentative texts produced by ten-and eleven-year-old children: Exploring the relation between narration and argumentation

10 and 11-year old children were trained to improve their argumentative abilities. Tests were performed on two experimental groups to find out the effects of (1) a didactic sequence of seven lesson with oral exercises, and (2) a co-operative oral debate. To allow us to determine the improvements, the children had to produce three argumentative constrained texts (Alpha-Omega), before and after each phase of training. We compare the results with two control classes to try to determine the quality of transfer between the teaching periods. The qualitative analysis of the texts allows us to identify certain linguistic indicators of the underlying cognitive processes. The results show an effect of training only for the 11-year-old writers. In the 10-year-old children, no clear transfer from oral training was observed. With or without training, ten-year-old writers seem to have difficulties organising the text and managing multiple constraints when writing. In contrast, at 11, the subjects reorganise their activity without taking account of their narrative abilities. The vast majority produce better balanced argumentative texts. However their texts tend to be justificatory rather than negotiated. At the same time, the Alpha-Omega task carries very strong constraints which interfere with cognitive processes during on-line production.     

Remediating the core deficits of developmental reading disability: a double-deficit perspective

The double-deficit hypothesis (Wolf, 1997; Wolf & Bowers, 1999, this issue) contends that deficits in phonological awareness and deficits in visual naming speed represent two independent causal impediments to reading acquisition for children with developmental reading disabilities (RD). One hundred and sixty-six children with severe RD from 7 to 13 years of age were classified into three deficit subgroups according to a double-deficit framework. A total of 140 children with RD, 84% of the sample, were classified; 54% demonstrated a double deficit (DD), 22% a phonological deficit only (PHON), and 24% a visual-naming speed deficit only (VNS). Diagnostic test profiles highlighted the joint contributions of the two core deficits in depressing written language acquisition. The children in the DD group were more globally impaired than those in the other subgroups, and the VNS group children were the highest achieving and most selectively impaired readers. Following 35 hours of word identification training, sizable gains and significant generalization of training effects were achieved by all subgroups. A metacognitive phonics program resulted in greater generalized effects across the domain of real English words, and a phonological training program produced superior outcomes within the phonological processing domain. The greatest non-word reading gains were achieved by children with only phonological deficits.     

Exploring pharmacy students chosen career path: a year-on-year perspective

Higher Education - There are many factors that motivate students to choose a particular academic major, whether it is due to interest, salary, or family. Government policies and...     

汉英翻译中异质性的有效克服——从一篇译文谈起

文章以一篇汉语信息型文本的英译为例,结合纽马克的翻译理论,探讨了克服中国文本中异质性的有效途径.     

The effects of bilingualism on learning to read English: evidence from the contrast between Urdu‐English bilingual and English monolingual children

Learning to read in a shallow alphabetic orthography such as Urdu may depend primarily on phonological processing skills, whilst learning to read in a deeper orthography, such as English, may place more reliance on visual processing skills. This study explores the effects of Urdu on the acquisition of English literacy skills by comparing the reading, memory and phonological processing skills of bilingual Urdu‐English and monolingual English children (7–8 years). The bilingual children had more difficulty in reading irregular English words, but were better at reading regular words and nonwords compared to the monolinguals. The poor performance of the bilingual children with irregular English words was linked to their poor visual memory skills, whilst their good performance with regular words and nonwords was related to the presence of enhanced phonological skills. The results demonstrate the transfer of first language skills to reading development in a second language. In English, first language skills can facilitate the development of either lexical or non‐lexical routes to reading.     

Maximising meaning: creating a learning environment for reading comprehension of informative texts from a Vygotskian perspective

Sociocultural theories based on the work of Vygotsky have been increasingly influential in educational sciences. Developmental education (DE) is a pedagogical approach based on Vygotskian theory that has inspired primary schools in the Netherlands to change the learning environment innovatively in a comprehensive way. In this article, we focus on the learning environment for reading comprehension of informative texts in upper-primary grade classrooms in DE. Our aim is to contribute to a more profound understanding of the characteristics of learning environments that are inspired by a Vygotskian approach and that are conducive to reading comprehension of informative texts. Five fourth-grade expert DE teachers participated in a multiple case study aimed at describing and analysing these characteristics for the domain of reading informative texts. Data were collected over a period of six to eight weeks for each teacher and consisted of videotaped interviews, classroom observations and documents. We conclude that DE learning environments are focused on maximising meaning from text for students. This is achieved by organising learning on the basis of emergent goals within students’ participation in sociocultural practices.     

From oral to written language: a developmental and interventional perspective

The article discusses relations between early oral language abilities and reading and writing development as reflected in longitudinal research. The observation that poor reading is less accurately predicted than superior reading is documented, and developmental characteristics of poor readers and superior readers, respectively, are described. The importance of early intervention is emphasized both by reference to experimental research and by a documented high consistency between reading at grades 2–3 and reading in adolescence.     

Computer‐assisted learning to read and spell: results from two pilot studies

Because multimedia computer programs may provide promising opportunities for the training of initial reading and spelling skills, two small‐scale pilot studies have been conducted with a recently‐developed program to examine its efficacy and impact on the motivation of the users. The first study is concerned with the use of the program in kindergarten children (K2). As there is no curriculum for these children, a computer program that is fully adaptive may well boost their independence in learning to read and spell. The main finding in this study was that kindergarten readers learned in up to 16 hours of computer practice as much as is normally attained in the first 3 months of formal reading instruction in the classroom. In the second study, reading‐disabled students with low levels of motivation engaged in computer‐based spelling practice. The most important finding in this study was that the amount of non‐task directed behaviour of those who had practised with the computer significantly decreased during both computer sessions and classroom sessions. In the discussion the way in which computers can be used most efficiently for the instruction of reading and spelling is analysed and suggestions for further research and development are presented.     

探析增强现实技术在对外汉语中的应用

为充分发挥增强现实技术在对外汉语中的作用,从而促进对外汉语教学质量的提升,作者以《探析增强现实技术在对外汉语中的应用》为课题,从增强现实技术在对外汉语中的应用优势入手,对其进行了全面而深入的分析,并在此基础上探究了增强现实技术在对外汉语教学中的应用策略,给出了具有代表性的个人建议。     

从对外汉语教学的角度看中日辅音对比

通过对中日辅音进行对比,从对外汉语教学的角度,针对日本学生学习汉语辅音的重点难点,提出容易被学生接受的教学方案。     

The education for sustainable development movement in Japan: a political perspective

The Japanese government provided various political opportunities for non‐governmental groups and individuals in Japan to ‘jointly propose’ policy on education and sustainable development at the World Summit on Sustainable Development, Johannesburg, 2002. These opportunities resulted in the emergence of the Japanese education for sustainable development (ESD) movement, and the crystallisation of a broader proposal that led to the initiation of the UN Decade of ESD (2005–2014). In this paper, we trace the history of these two outcomes, arguing that the opportunities, developed through the coordination of non‐governmental groups by government, took place within, rather than broadened or confronted, the government’s scope of interests. While the paper illustrates how the government’s continued support was crucial to the development of the ESD movement and the UN Decade, and the movement has met with considerable achievements thus far (via its collective challenges to conventional education in a sustainability context in Japan), we argue that recognition of the political opportunity structures that affect the movement’s further development remains crucial. In particular, we argue for close attention to the significance of a corporatist framing of this emerging civil society movement in Japan by the national government, and call for further political and historical analysis of ESD movements and their relations with government, around the world.