Orthographic Depth and Spelling Acquisition in Estonian and English: A Comparison of Two Diverse Alphabetic Languages

In this study, we investigated the link between the orthographic transparency of a language and the ease or difficulty of acquiring spelling proficiency in that language. The two languages compared are English, with a highly irregular sound-to-print correspondence, and Estonian, a Finno-Ugric language that has one of the most highly regular sound-to-print matches among alphabetic languages. Our study finds Estonian students able to use their early knowledge of stable letter-sound correspondence to attain a high level of spelling proficiency as early as first grade. English students progress more slowly along a predictable pattern of acquiring proficiency based on increasingly more difficult word features. The final indication is that progress in spelling is highly dependent on the orthographic depth of the language being studied.     

When language becomes power: Russian-speaking teachers in the bilingual general education system in Estonia

After the re-establishment of independent Estonian statehood in 1991, Russian lost its privileges as the dominant and official language in Estonia, and Estonian continued as the only official language. This paper attempts to map the position of a Russian-speaking teacher within the sociological categories of power and language, based on the analysis of legislative acts and strategic documents within the domain of language policy and language legitimization practices in historical retrospective. The main focus of the study stresses an attempt to elaborate on to what extent the low self-efficacy of Russian-speaking teachers as the agents of legitimization of the Estonian language in Russian-speaking schools, and their low position in power relations within the Estonian education system, can be explained in the categories of power and language, as conceptualized on the basis of the social theory of Bourdieu.     

浅析文化身份认同与语言学习

语言是文化的载体,也是文化交流、保存和传承的工具.语言学习的过程同时也是文化学习的过程,因此语言学习在学习者文化身份的构建过程中起着至关重要的作用;反过来,文化身份认同也影响着语言的学习.二者相互影响,相互制约.如何正确理解和看待语言学习和文化身份的关系,有助于语言教学和学习者文化身份的保存与维护.     

The value of learning English in Thailand and its impact on Thai: perspectives from university students

English is widely regarded as an essential skill for the globalized economy by governments around the world which devote considerable resources to its teaching in formal education, though often with limited success in terms of achievement levels. Thailand is a case in point. Set against the putative benefits of acquiring proficiency in English, concerns have been raised that the spread of English has a negative impact, threatening the vitality of the first languages and cultures of its learners. Examining whether these concerns are valid in Thailand, this article reports on a study amongst Thai university students which investigated their perceptions of English alongside their first language, Thai. Results indicate that these Thai students subscribe to the notion of English as a tool for personal economic advancement but that the position of Thai as the language of national identity remains unchallenged.     

现代汉语新词语活力研究

采用实地调查的方式,考察现代汉语新词语在大学生群体中的活力。结果显示,新词语在大学生群体中的认识度较高,但使用率不高;新词语的词性、语义、构词方式、语言竞争规律等都影响其活力。总体来说,从语义上看,新词语所代表的概念或事物的生命力直接决定着新词语的活力;从词类来看,动词类新词语的活力大于名词类新词语;从构词方式看,派生类词语的认知度较高,而标数类新词语的认知度较低;从语言竞争机制看,如果汉语词汇系统中已有与新词语意义相同或高度相近的词汇,那么新词语的活力将会很弱。     

Supporting emerging teacher identities: can we identify teacher potential among students?

The research focuses on Estonian university students’ emerging teacher identity and their interest in becoming teachers. Five hundred and sixty‐five first, third and fifth year students participated in the survey. The results suggest that pedagogical reasons for entering teacher education and clear motives for studying are significant indicators of teacher potential. Pedagogical reasons for entering teacher education or the teaching profession and the wish to function as a change agent in the society were related to academic self‐efficacy beliefs and the belief that the teacher expertise is mainly pedagogical in nature. However, at the point in their studies at which the students are able to choose their masters programme and entry into teacher education, their likelihood of choosing teacher education remains low, indicating that there is a need to develop pedagogical content, study counselling and career guidance services to encourage students’ continued interest in and entry to teacher education and the teaching profession.     

自我认同在民族认同与自尊中的中介作用

文章对乌鲁木齐市三所高校217名维吾尔族大学生就民族认同、自尊与自我认同等做了问卷调查.调查结果：表明民族认同、自我认同与自尊三者之间呈显著相关,民族认同能够预测自我认同的水平,且通过自我认同影响着自尊的水平.     

金沧江：彪炳韩中两国文坛的汉文学家

中国儒家正统思想的长期熏陶,独特遭遇和丰富阅历,对文学和史学事业的执著追求,对中国古代文学作品和对古典文论的潜心的研磨,造就了旧韩时代伟大的文学家和历史学家金沧江。绵延2000余年的中国儒学,曾经是世界上最先进文化的一部分,而汉语则是世界上时间最悠久、结构最周密、语词最丰富、表义最精确、使用人口最多、最具表现力生命力的世界性语言之一,涵育了包括张謇与金沧江在内的众多中外思想家、文学家。在对外开放的今天,既要大力提倡学习外国语言文学,更要重视推广和发展汉语言文学,从而创造出无愧于先贤的文化硕果。     

云南丽江玉湖村纳西族群的母语认同与民族认同研究

语言是民族的核心要素,语言认同是民族认同的重要基础。对丽江玉湖村纳西族语言使用情况调查发现,目前丽江玉湖村纳西族族群成员母语水平较好,母语使用频率高,族群认可度较高,族群成员存在共同的文化心理,这些因素在影响着他们对母语的认同。研究表明:民族语言使用的本质是民族身份认同,民族语言使用的前提是母语认同;语言态度是影响民族认同的重要因素,语言水平是影响民族认同的间接因素。     

The Forum

A discussion of globalization is presented that focuses on the pros and cons of English spread. The postcolonial theoretical basis for promoting the status of second-language varieties of English, and how this impacts on the foreign-language speaker of English in the European Union, is investigated. Three primary factors, linguistic Anglo-Americanization, the decline of standard British English as an educational norm, and the monoculturalization that accompanies English language learning, are addressed. While the spread of English is beneficial in some respects, Anglo-Americanization is seen as threatening to the social and cultural integrity of non-native speakers of English. The construction of identity within foreign-language learning, of importance to learners of English worldwide, is discussed. It is held that a theoretically neutral program for English, which is growing out of the Euro-English and English as an international language paradigms, is the best possible platform for the teaching and learning of English.     

Some Notes on Teaching in a Multicultural Environment: the Estonian Literature Project at the University of Tartu

Since 1993, a course in Estonian literature has been taught in a multicultural environment for foreign students as part of the Baltic Studies Project at the University of Tartu. This class provides to participants their first glimpse of Estonian culture as a whole. Culture studies can presumably help foreign students overcome whatever culture shock they may first experience in an unfamiliar country. The structure and the teaching strategies of the class are intended to further the aims of multicultural learning. Teaching strategies emphasize the importance of personalities, information about who is processed and affirmed by reducing the writers to certain archetypes. Because of limited time, micro‐teaching is expected to be a prospective strategy for seminars. Among other technical tools, a computer game, INTERESTICA, is of distinct importance for assisting students in gaining their first knowledge of Estonian culture in the context of a course in literature.     

Language and Ethnic Identity of Minorities in Post-Soviet Russia: The Buryat Case Study

While the global ethnic revival, starting in the late 1960s, resulted in minorities' movements to maintain their ethnic identity closely connected with the revitalization of minority languages, the other ethnic identity pattern in relation to language can be identified from the perspective of a rarely discussed minority group-the Buryats. This article has found that within the Buryat minority group the assimilation strategy, widespread during the Soviet period, has been replaced by the integration strategy and a combination of strategies. In the latter case, linguistic integration is combined with the economic assimilation and marital separation. Two options have been identified regarding the language and identity link among Buryats. First, the native language is considered a salient feature of the Buryat ethnic identity, and it is actually used and maintained. However, more powerful is the trend to abandon the language as an irrelevant ethnocultural identity marker. In general, the native language has for Buryats a rather symbolic, unifying value and its abandoning does not affect the ethnic identity itself. Finally, the article explores external and internal determining factors, which have formed this identity pattern. As external factors we consider the ethnic and language policy of the Soviet Union, modernization, the Russian-dominated majority-minority configuration, and insufficient institutional support of the Buryat language restoration and development. The internal factor is the widespread attitude among the Buryats themselves consisting of a negative evaluation of the Buryat language and unwillingness to learn it and to transfer it to the next generations. The Buryat case shows that ethnic identity, in fact, can survive the loss of the indigenous group language, which has been sacrificed to the historical pressures of the last two centuries. It was the only possible ethnic identity pattern not only for the Buryat ethnic group, but also for many other minorities in Russia.     

浅论教师的口语特征

教师的语言修养至关重要,口语表达是关键所在。教师良好的口才具有准确简明、通俗平易、形象生动、声情并茂、激思明辨、机智幽默的特征。教师必须重视口语的培养,以提高教学水平。     

如何在大学英语口语教学中合理运用纠正性反馈——对浙江农林大学非英语专业学生开展的问卷调查和启示

纠正性反馈是二语习得研究领域的一个热门话题。它不仅令学习者意识到自身的二语水平和目标语之间的差距,并且提供机会让他们修正自己的语言输出,从而提高自身的语言水平。本研究对本校非英语专业学生对口语教学中教师提供纠正性反馈的态度进行了抽样调查,并分析了学生个体因素对这种态度的形成所产生的影响,以启示教师在口语教学中更为合理有效地运用纠正性反馈。     

通海兴蒙乡蒙古族聚居村民族认同现状调查———以教育人类学的视角简

采用修订的民族认同问卷调查200名兴蒙乡蒙古族村民,以田野调查获得的一手资料为基础进行兴蒙乡蒙古族民族认同的分析.调查显示：兴蒙乡蒙古族的民族认同主要包括民族认知、民族情感和民族意识等三方面.民族认同不同方面的影响因素互有差异,但总体而言,年龄、受教育程度、成长环境变迁等对民族认同影响显著.兴蒙乡的老年人是民族认同的中坚力量.     

基于建构主义语言认同观的对外汉语教学策略

分析了建构主义视角下语言与认同的关系,以此为理论基础进行对外汉语教学策略设计,指出汉语学习者自身的认同、对中国文化的认同以及对汉语社团的认同,这三者对对外汉语教学策略有重要影响.     

黑龙江赫哲族语言濒危现状评估及其教育对策

从联合国教科文组织的语言活力评估指标体系来衡量,黑龙江街津口赫哲语在代际语言传承、语言使用者的绝对人数、语言使用者的相对人数、语言使用域的走向、语言对新语域和媒体的反应、语言教育和读写材料、语言态度评估、语言族群成员对母语的态度、语言记录材料的数量和质量九个方面都处于极度危险状态,定量评定赫哲语综合语言活力指标值为0.4973,处于"极度危险"等级.目前从语言记录材料、语言使用环境、语言课程建设、语言师资队伍建设四个方面提升赫哲语活力.     

Marvelous Human Rights Rhetoric and Grim Realities: Language Rights in Education

This article examines patterns of national, cultural, and linguistic identification among Chilean-Swedish transmigrant adolescents in and around Stockholm, Sweden. Drawing from ethnographic interviews and observations, analysis focuses on adolescents' (a) views on ethnic and national identity; (b) general perceptions of Chileans and Swedes; and (c) attitudes toward Spanish, Swedish, and Spanish-Swedish code-switching. Interview discourse of these adolescents, and their metalanguage in particular, provides insights concerning how transmigrant adolescents position themselves within their complex social niche. Our findings suggest that Chilean adolescents are in the process of constructing an identity that is both Swedish and Chilean; they also point to the importance of individual factors, such as the adolescents' gender and age of arrival, and contextual factors, such as legal status, in shaping the discourse on identity. Key words: transmigration, Chile, Sweden, Spanish, Swedish, metalanguage, language attitudes, linguistic minority education, assimilation, acculturation, code-switching     

网络环境下影响大学生英语写作教学因素的调查与分析

在为期一年的日常实践教学的基础上通过问卷调查的方式了解影响我校非英语专业学生在网络环境下发展英语写作能力的各种因素。调查结果显示,绝大部分学生承认网络写作模式具有传统写作模式不可替代的各种优势,但对通过网络写作模式更有效的提高写作能力没有足够的信心。调查发现,整体语言水平低是阻碍网上英语写作教学顺利实施的最重要的因素,其次是技术因素,最后,由于语言水平和技术条件的障碍所导致的心理障碍也是不容忽视的因素之一。鉴于以上实际情况,作者建议设计一套适合我校以及与我校有相同校情的西南地区各高校的阶梯式网上写作模式,以充分发挥现代网络技术的各种优势,实现写作教学改革的新突破。