大学生外语阅读动机的多维比较

本研究以大学二年级学生为样本,以外语和母语阅读动机问卷和阅读能力测试卷为调查工具,以SPSS for Windows13.0软件为分析工具,对大学生外语阅读动机进行实证性的比较研究：外语和母语阅读动机比较,非英语专业和英语专业学生外语阅读动机的比较,不同阅读能力学生的阅读动机比较。研究得出的结论如下：外语阅读动机以外部动机为主,而母语阅读动机则内外部动机兼有;外语专业学生的外语阅读动机整体上来看较非外语专业学生强;无论是英语专业学生还是非英语专业学生,具有不同阅读能力的学生在部分外语阅读动机上有显著性的差异。     

FACTOR STRUCTURE OF THE WECHSLER INTELLIGENCE SCALES FOR CHILDREN–FOURTH EDITION AMONG REFERRED NATIVE AMERICAN STUDENTS

The Native American population is severely underrepresented in empirical test validity research despite being overrepresented in special education programs and at increased risk for psychoeducational evaluation. The structural validity of the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children – Fourth Edition (WISC‐IV) was investigated with a sample of 176, six‐to‐sixteen‐year‐old Native American children referred for a psychoeducational evaluation. Confirmatory factor analysis procedures replicated the normative first‐order factor structure and a higher‐order general ability factor that accounted for the greatest amount of common (69%) and total (33%) variance. These results support the structural validity of the WISC‐IV with a referred Native American sample and suggest that interpretation of the WISC‐IV scores should not neglect the strong general ability factor.     

Teacher–Child Interactions in Chile and Their Associations With Prekindergarten Outcomes

Quality of teacher–child interactions is central to prekindergarten children's learning. In the United States, the quality of teacher–child interactions is commonly assessed using the teaching through interactions conceptual framework and an associ/ated observational tool, the Classroom Assessment Scoring System (CLASS). This study examined: (a) whether there was evidence supporting three distinctive domains of teacher–child interactions in Chile (construct validity) and (b) whether these domains predicted end‐of‐prekindergarten language, academic, and executive function skills in Chile (predictive validity). The sample consisted of 91 Chilean prekindergarten classrooms (1,868 four‐year‐old children). The findings support both construct and predictive validity of the teaching through interactions conceptual framework as assessed by the CLASS in Chile. Implications for cross‐country comparison of quality of teacher–child interactions in prekindergarten classrooms are discussed.     

Language! Effects of an individualized structured language curriculum for middle and high school students

This chapter documents the success of a 12-month individualized structured language curriculum (LANGUAGE!) provided to middle and high school juvenile offenders (n=45; 43 males; 2 females) enrolled in a rehabilitation program. Although individual students participated in the program for an average of just 22.7 weeks (SD 8.51), they made significant gains (more than three years growth) over this period in written language expression (composition), encoding (spelling), and decoding (isolated word recognition), as documented by standardized literacy measures, moving from standard scores in the 60s and 70s to the 80s and 90s. Gains on the Gray Oral Reading Test (GORT III) were consistent with these measures and well exceeded gains made by a comparison group (n=51; 48 males, 3 females) which included students attending similar rehabilitation programs for a comparable period of time, but these students were not offered the individualized LANGUAGE! curriculum. Details of the LANGUAGE! curriculum and the basis of its success are discussed.     

中学教师工作支持量表的初步编制

目的:编制中学教师工作支持量表,并检验其信度和效度。方法:建构中学教师工作支持的理论模型,并依据该模型编制量表。量表的有效样本为275名中学教师,用因子分析和相关分析考察量表的信度和效度。结果:①量表的Cronbach′sα系数为0.858,分半信度为0.716,重测信度为0.831;②因素分析产生4个因子,共解释55.45%的变异;③与工作敬业量表(WES)的相关为0.50(p<0.01)。结论:中学教师工作支持量表具有较好的信效度,可以用于中学教师获得的工作支持的评定。     

谈语言测试的信度

信度在语言测试中非常重要，对于广大语言教师来说，重要的是从一开始就认识到不同因素对信度的影响，因为很多教师倾向于认为测试是绝对可靠的测量工具，却认识不到语言测试只能是一种间接测试，即使是最好的测试在充当测量语言能力的工具时，也有几分不准确。本文简要介绍检验测试信度的方法及提高信度要注意的主要事项。     

Multiple Factor Analysis

The knowledge explosion in combination with an overcrowded curriculum at all educational levels is causing many educators to place greater emphasis on attitude conceptualization. This paper confronts two interrelated problems, that problem dealing with the psychological concept of attitudes and the problem of attitude measurement. Conceptually, attitudes are explored from an affective, cognitive, behavioral, and biologic dimension. The result is a comprehensive attitude concept. The problem of attitude measurement is not that attitudes exist, nor that they are specific or general, but lies in the way that they are organized. With the current emphasis on computerized research and data analysis, it is astonishing that multiple factor analysis has been so infrequently used for attitude validation and instrumentation. As a measurement and analytic technique, multiple factor analysis provides the intrinsic power to isolate and identify attitudinal factors. Multiple factor analysis is a measurement technique designed to assess construct validity. As such, it unites psychometrics with psychological theory. Factor analysis as a computational technique and as a scale construction technique is explored. The principal component method of factor analysis is reviewed. Multiple factor analysis assists in the process of attitude scale construction in the following ways: 1.) determines the content (factorial) validity of a series of attitude statements by ascertaining whether they measure a single unitary characteristic or a complex of characteristics as reflected in an item intercorrelation matrix; 2.) contributes to the determination of construct validity by ascertaining the smallest number of factors that can be postulated to account for item intercorrelations 3.) provides the statistical research strategy upon which predictive and assessment instruments can be empirically determined from an unrotated factor matrix; and, 4.) serves in general as an objective basic research tool through which psychological traits underlying human attitudes can be derived.     

An Analysis of Foreign Language Learning Styles from the Cognitive Perspective

From the 1970s,learning styles began to enter the domain of foreign language learning researches.Foreign language learning style is often regarded as a significant factor attributing to individual differences among language learners.Nowadays,many researchers begin studying individual learners’characteristics and exploring how different learners interact with external factors from cognitive perspective.The field-independence/dependence construct became a focus.Based on previous studies,the paper is committed to analyzing the nature of FID learners.It is expected that this research can establish a well-grounded basis for following studies.     

EXTENDING THE VALIDITY OF THE FAMILY INVOLVEMENT QUESTIONNAIRE–SHORT FORM FOR CULTURALLY AND LINGUISTICALLY DIVERSE FAMILIES FROM LOW‐INCOME BACKGROUNDS

The construct validity of the Family Involvement Questionnaire–Short Form (FIQ‐SF) was examined in an independent sample of ethnically and linguistically diverse low‐income families (N = 498) enrolled in an urban Head Start program in the Southeast. A series of exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses replicated the three‐factor structure identified in initial validation studies with Northeast samples: home‐school conferencing, home‐based involvement, and school‐based involvement. Findings from multiple group confirmatory factor analyses provided evidence that the three‐factor structure was invariant across family ethnicity. multivariate analyses of variance also confirmed hypothesized mean differences on FIQ‐SF dimension scores across family demographic variables such as caregiver ethnicity, primary home language, caregiver education, employment, and marital status. Findings replicate and extend prior construct validity evidence to support the use of the FIQ‐SF by early childhood education programs such as Head Start serving diverse families from low‐income backgrounds. Implications for future research, practice, and policy applications in early childhood are discussed.     

Moving beyond academic achievement goal measures: A study of social achievement goals

The current research explored the theory of social goal orientation. More specifically, we conducted three studies utilizing six-independent university student samples to evaluate the construct validity of the Social Achievement Goal Orientation Scale (SAGOS; Ryan & Hopkins, 2003), a measure representing the construct of social goal orientation. The purpose of Study 1 was to: (1) compare the three-dimensional (mastery, performance-approach, and performance-avoidance) model of social goal orientation to three theoretically based competing models, (2) examine item functioning, and (3) assess generalizability of the factor structure. The fit of the proposed three-factor model was promising; however, areas of misfit and problematic items were identified. Stronger support for the three-factor structure of goal orientation was found using scores from an abbreviated 13-item SAGOS. In Study 2, item wording was altered slightly to evaluate a revised Social Achievement Goal Scale (SAGS), yet resulted in similar findings. Study 3 examined external validity evidence for the SAGS, garnering some support for the meaning of the scores. Although continued refinement of the SAGOS and SAGS is recommended, the findings help contribute to our general understanding and conceptualization of social goal theory and the role that social goals may play in academic contexts.     

The use of Makaton for supporting talk,through play,for pupils who have English as an Additional Language (EAL) in the Foundation Stage

This study examines the use of Makaton, a language programme based on the use of signing, symbols and speech, as a pedagogic tool to support the development of talk for pupils learning English as an Additional Language (EAL). The research setting was a Reception class with a high percentage of pupils who have EAL in the initial stages of learning English. Observations, questionnaires and interviews were used to collect data to ensure reliability and validity of the conclusions. The findings suggest that Makaton can assist in the development of talk, as the data showed a positive correlation between the use of Makaton and the use of spoken English. This study has implications for practitioners and schools, not only those catering for the specific needs of EAL learners because Makaton® is a skilfully devised programme that is underpinned by the very principles that are documented to support pupils who have EAL.     

英语专业学生语言学习焦虑及社会支持相关性研究

国内外许多学者对焦虑成因进行过探讨,但是大多从语言课堂本身和学习者的内部因素来分析,很少有从语言课堂外和外部因素的角度进行探讨。笔者通过调研认为学生学习中所感知的社会支持和语言学习焦虑呈负相关,教师社会支持是语言学习焦虑的预测变量。     

A Cognitive Approach to the Development of Early Language

A controversial issue in the field of language development is whether language emergence and growth is dependent solely on processes specifically tied to language or could also depend on basic cognitive processes that affect all aspects of cognitive competence (domain-general processes). The present article examines this issue using a large battery of infant information-processing measures of memory, representational competence, processing speed, and attention, many of which have been shown to predict general cognition in a cohort of full-terms and preterms. Results showed that various aspects of infant memory and representational competence (a) related to language at both 12 and 36 months, (b) predicted similarly for the two groups, and (c) predicted 36-month language, independently of birth status, 12-month language, and the 12-month Bayley Mental Development Index. Additionally, the results established predictive validity for the MacArthur 12-month language measure. These findings support a domain-general view of language.     

The assessment of intrinsic and extrinsic motivation and amotivation: Validity and reliability of the Greek version of the Academic Motivation Scale

Self‐determination theory provides an integrated conception of school‐ and academic motivation. The theory proposes a continuum comprising three types of motivation: intrinsic motivation (IM), extrinsic motivation (EM), and amotivation (AM), characterised by seven dimensions (IM = to know, to accomplish and to experience stimulation, EM = external regulation, introjection and identification, and Amotivation). The purpose of the present study was to examine the psychometric properties of the Academic Motivation Scale (AMS) with Greek high school students. Two studies were conducted to examine the factorial, construct, concurrent and predictive validity of the scale along with its reliability properties. Confirmatory factor analyses supported the proposed seven‐factor structure. The scale showed satisfactory levels of internal consistency and temporal stability. Additionally, indices of the scale’s construct, concurrent, and predictive validity were in the desired direction. These findings support the use of the Greek version of the AMS for the assessment of intrinsic motivation, extrinsic motivation, and amotivation.     

Factor Structure and Construct Validity of the Counselor Skills Personal Development Rating Form

The authors completed an exploratory factor analysis of the scores of 248 counselors‐in‐training on the Counselor Skills Personal Development Rating Form (CSPD‐RF; M. B. Wilbur, 1991). Participants' counseling program was accredited by the Council for Accreditation of Counseling and Related Educational Programs at a midsize western university. The authors of the CSPD‐RF hypothesized that the CSPD‐RF measured 2 factors: (a) personal development and (b) skills development. Factor analysis yielded 4 factors (Emotional Sensitivity, Basic Listening Skills, Multicultural Skills, and Influencing Skills), accounting for 58.4% of the total variance, thus providing some support for the construct validity of the CSPD‐RF.     

网络语言的文化表现初探

网络语言是介于口语和书面语之间的特殊语言状态。“网络语言”是因为载体的变化而造成的语言风格或者语体的变化,其本质上是现代汉语的一种社会变异。网络语言展示了一种生活态度,是网民身份识别的符号资本,也是表达自我叛逆性、向传统进行挑战的媒介和工具。这也决定了网络语言具有反叛和戏谑的解构性、无序和匿名的创造性、狂欢与边缘的前卫性等文化特性。     

Mentoring and the Retention of Newly Qualified Language Teachers

Much of the recent literature on mentoring has focused on generic issues. This paper looks at subject-specific issues in mentoring from the perspective of newly qualified modern language teachers in their first year of teaching. While the majority of teachers in the sample expressed dissatisfaction with the quality of the mentoring they received, most progressed successfully into their second year of teaching. The findings suggest that conventional conceptions of mentoring may only be a marginal factor in the survival of these teachers in their first year. Conflicts over language teaching methodology, in particular, emerge as a contributory factor in the breakdown of relationships between these teachers and their mentors. Equally, it is in terms of their own pedagogical skills and of a clearly established rationale for their practice in the language classroom that these newly qualified teachers express their confidence and their ability to survive without formal support. The implications of these findings are discussed in the light of the introduction of new requirements for induction of newly qualified teachers and in particular with reference to the selection of induction tutors in school.     

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.     

Lexical and Acoustic Features of Maternal Utterances Addressing Preverbal Infants in Picture Book Reading Link to 5-Year-Old Children's Language Development

Research Findings: I examined the long-term association between the lexical and acoustic features of maternal utterances during book reading and the language skills of infants and children. Maternal utterances were collected from 22 mother–child dyads in picture book–reading episodes when children were ages 6–12 months and 5 years. Two aspects of language input were studied: lexical features (the amount and diversity of vocabulary, and the proportion of isolated target words) and an acoustic feature (the acoustic space of vowels). Standardized language tests were used to assess receptive vocabulary and language production abilities at age 5. The results showed that greater diversity of vocabulary and the use of fewer isolated target words during book reading with infants were associated with enhanced language skills in children 4 years later. Regression analyses showed that the proportion of isolated target words was the most potent predictor of, and acoustic vowel space also accounted for, variance in language expression skills at age 5. Maternal utterances and mothers' education jointly accounted for more than 60% of the variance in language abilities. Practice or Policy: These findings suggest that lexical and acoustic inputs in picture book reading with infants have long-term associations with children's language development throughout early childhood.     

Measuring Teachers’ enjoyment,anger, and anxiety: The Teacher Emotions Scales (TES)

The emotions of teachers are considered relevant not only for their own well-being but also for the functioning of classrooms. Nevertheless, research on teacher emotions has been slow to emerge, and scales for their assessment via self-report are generally lacking. In the present research we developed four-item scales for three emotions considered most relevant in the context of teaching: enjoyment, anger, and anxiety (Teacher Emotions Scales, TES). Based on data of 944 teachers, we tested German and English language versions of the TES for reliability, internal and external validity, and cross-language equivalence, while exploring the utility of both a general and a student-group specific variant. All scales proved to be highly reliable, and confirmatory factor analysis supported internal validity by showing that three-factor models (enjoyment, anger, and anxiety) were superior to single-factor or two-factor (positive vs. negative affect) models. The external validation analyses provided consistent evidence for theoretically meaningful relations with teachers’ general affect, burnout, job satisfaction, and teacher self-efficacy. These findings were robust across multiple studies. In addition, consistent relationships with student ratings of teaching behaviors were found. Analyses of measurement invariance revealed that the English and the German language versions were fully structurally equivalent und displayed metric invariance.