Development of Reading in Grades K–2 in Spanish‐Speaking English‐Language Learners

Development of English‐ and Spanish‐reading skills was explored in a sample of 251 Spanish‐speaking English‐language learners from kindergarten through Grade 2. Word identification and reading comprehension developed at a normal rate based on monolingual norms for Spanish‐ and English‐speaking children, but English oral language lagged significantly behind. Four categories of predictor variables were obtained in Spanish in kindergarten and in English in first grade: print knowledge, expressive language (as measured by vocabulary and sentence repetition tasks), phonological awareness, and rapid automatic naming (RAN). Longitudinal regression analyses indicated a modest amount of cross‐language transfer from Spanish to English. Hierarchical regression analyses indicated that developing English‐language skills (particularly phonological awareness and RAN) mediated the contribution of Spanish‐language variables to later reading. Further analyses revealed stronger within‐ than cross‐language associations of expressive language with later reading, suggesting that some variables function cross‐linguistically, and others within a particular language. Results suggest that some of the cognitive factors underlying reading disabilities in monolingual children (e.g., phonological awareness and RAN) may be important to an understanding of reading difficulties in bilingual children.     

Predictors of Grade 2 Word Reading and Vocabulary Learning from Grade 1 Variables in Spanish‐Speaking Children: Similarities and Differences

We examined the components of first (L1) and second language (L2) phonological processing that are related to L2 word reading and vocabulary. Spanish‐speaking English learners (EL) were classified as average or low readers in grades 1 and 2. A large number of children who started out as poor readers in first grade became average readers in second grade while vocabulary scores were more stable. Binary logistic regressions examined variables related to classifications of consistently average, consistently low, or improving on reading or vocabulary across grades. Good L2 phonological short‐term memory and phonological awareness scores predicted good reading and vocabulary scores. L1 and L2 measures differentiated consistently good performers from consistently low performers, while only L2 measures differentiated children who improved from children who remained low performers. Children who are EL should be screened on measures of pseudoword repetition and phonological awareness with low scorers being good candidates for receiving extra assistance in acquiring L2 vocabulary and reading. This study suggests measures that can be used to select children who have a greater likelihood of experiencing difficulties in reading and vocabulary.     

Technical Training Evaluation Revisited: An Exploratory,Mixed‐Methods Study

The purpose of this research was to explore some of the most prevalent methods for conducting Levels 4 and 5 of technical training evaluation among large organizations with a preponderance of technical talent. The researchers collected data through a survey and conducted interviews with select study participants. The sample size for the study (n = 26) comprised predominantly large, global organizations in technical industries. While a larger percentage of organizations have been found than in previous research to conduct Level 4 evaluations, few conduct Level 5 evaluations for their technical training, and most of the participant organizations struggle with advanced analytical techniques for technical training evaluation. The article summarizes some of the most prevalent training evaluation models reported in the literature since 2000, and provides useful examples from study participants of how they evaluated their technical training at Levels 3 and 4, along with their advice to fellow technical training and performance improvement professionals. Although the study was exploratory in nature and utilized a small sample size, the study is only the second study since 2000 to specifically explore the evaluation practices of large organizations with a focus on technical training as opposed to general training.     

大学生英语口语语块使用的研究

语块由于其兼具语法和语用功能,在自然语言中大量存在,并引起了很多研究者的兴趣：通过对大学二年级本科生在口语中使用的语块进行统计、分析和描述,发现学生在语块使用的形式和功能上均有一定的特点,这与平时语块意识不强、语块训练不足以及母语迁移等都有关系。通过有意识地在口语课堂上开展语块教学,可以提高学生的语块意识,能提高学生口语产出的流利性准确性和语用能力。     

社会生产——物质生产与精神生产的有机统一

人类社会的生产实践活动从来就是物质生产和精神生产的有机统一,社会生产方式也是物质生产方 式与精神方式的有机统一。同理,作为反映社会生产推动人类社会历史发展的社会基本矛盾,也是对社会物 质生产与精神生产相互作用,有机统一的矛盾运动规律的概括。人类社会就是在物质生产和精神生产的相互 作用、相互促进中不断发展的。社会基本矛盾是物质生产与精神生产相互作用的有机整体及其辩证运动。     

Reliability and comparability of a Spanish‐language form of the preschool and kindergarten behavior scales

Comparability of a Spanish language translation of the Preschool and Kindergarten Behavior Scales was examined in relation to the English language version. Children ages 3–6 enrolled in preschool, kindergarten, or Head Start programs were rated concurrently by respondents on English and Spanish versions of the PKBS. Results showed virtually identical internal consistency of scores on both forms on Social Skills (.93) and Problem Behavior (.96) Scales. Correlations between forms for Social Skills and Problem Behavior scores were .93 and .94, respectively. Implications of these findings, directions for future research and the importance of continued work toward development/translation of other Spanish language assessment instruments for the early childhood population are discussed. © 2002 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

Literacy Instruction,SES, and Word‐Reading Achievement in English‐Language Learners and Children with English as a First Language: A Longitudinal Study

Socioeconomic gradients and growth‐mixture model trajectories of word‐reading achievement were examined from kindergarten to Grade 5 in all the children who entered kindergarten within a school district and started receiving literacy‐intensive instruction from that point on. In kindergarten, the relationship between socioeconomic status (SES) and word reading was significant in two of the three subgradients identified in English‐language learners (ELL), and in the only gradient identified in children with English as first language (L1). With more instruction, SES effects progressively disappeared and ELL and L1 gradients became identical. The trajectories showed that ELL and L1 children of middle‐SES level improved similarly as they progressed through Grade 5. However, at the lowest and highest end of the SES spectrum, the ELL children improved more than the L1 even though in kindergarten they were the most at risk for reading failure. The results suggest that the literacy‐intensive program may have reduced the negative influence of SES on word‐reading development.     

Voice over instant messaging as a tool for enhancing the oral proficiency and motivation of English‐as‐a‐foreign‐language learners

The challenge of providing authentic experiences and interactions for fostering oral proficiency and motivation in foreign languages is an opportunity for innovation in educational technology and instructional design. Although several recent innovations have received the attention of scholars, empirical investigation and validation is often lacking, as is the case with voice over instant messaging (VoIM). The goal of this study was to empirically test the effectiveness of VoIM for enhancing students' oral English proficiency and learning motivation. Different types of online discussions were examined—unstructured, structured without the facilitation of English teaching assistants (ETAs) and structured with the facilitation of ETAs. A pre‐test and post‐test quasi‐experimental design was employed to achieve this goal. The participants, 90 students enrolled in three sections of a freshman English course at a large university in Asia, participated in eight VoIM discussions in addition to their regular coursework. The results provide empirical support for the importance of structured discussions and the facilitation of ETAs in improving both oral English proficiency and learning motivation. These findings highlight the role of facilitation in VoIM discussions, and recommend prompt feedback, modelling and encouragement for fostering oral proficiency and learning motivation in foreign language classes. Based on the results of this study, recommendations for future research are provided.     

试论动词词汇意义对动词时态的重要作用——以2008年全国高校英语专业四级考试一道语法题为例

转态动词及其它终结动词的一般现在时不能用来表示现在时间发生的某个变化或结果;转态动词及其它终结动词的不定式形式与情态动词过去时的结合,不能用于虚拟语气主句表示对现在事态主观设想的结果。上述原则对各层次的英语教学都具有重要的指导意义。     

大学生心理健康理念与心理健康关系的实证研究

心理健康理念是影响大学生心理健康水平的主要因素之一。通过自编问卷对上海市3所高校不同专业、年级大学生的心理健康理念与心理健康水平进行调查,结果显示:大学生心理健康理念状况一般,处于中等水平;大学生心理健康理念的性别、专业存在显著差异,年级差异不显著;大学生心理健康理念与其心理健康水平有着显著的正相关,大学生心理健康理念影响其心理健康水平的程度从高到低依次为心理问题表现、心理健康内涵、心理健康调适方法和心理健康影响因素。     

Phonological deficit and the reliance on orthographic approximation for reading: a follow‐up study on an English‐Japanese bilingual with monolingual dyslexia

A follow‐up study was conducted on AS, previously reported as an English‐Japanese bilingual with monolingual phonological dyslexia in English ( Wydell and Butterworth, 1999 ). It was hypothesised that AS's fundamental deficit which lead to his dyslexia in English would still persist despite him successfully taking a BSc course in an English‐speaking country. AS and his Japanese and English control participants were asked to read aloud a target stimulus first, and then to decide whether the target was a word or nonword. Unlike the control participants, AS showed a marked dissociation between his performance in the lexical (orthographic and phonological) decision and the word naming tasks. Often those words and pseudo‐homophones (e.g. neym), which AS read erroneously, were correct in the decision tasks – the target pseudo‐homophone or word was substituted by another orthographically similar word. The results thus demonstrated that his reading of unfamiliar words or nonwords is essentially based on orthographic approximation using the visual similarities between words. The results confirmed the earlier finding that AS has a core phonological deficit which led to his dyslexia but never affected his reading in Japanese. The results also confirmed that this deficit persists when reading in English. This implies that whatever the neurological abnormality that AS may have, this only affects certain languages, and this abnormality persists with time.     

莆田学院开设定向运动课程探究

运用文献资料、问卷调查、访谈、数理统计等方法,了解莆田学院师生对定向运动认知的不足和对该运动开展的认可态度,认为定向运动应以学校公体选项课、学校公共选修课和俱乐部的形式开展,调查也发现师资水平和学校领导不够重视是制约学校定向运动开展的重要原因。为此,加大宣传力度、加强师资队伍建设、配备定向装备是当前学校开展定向运动的当务之急。     

CET-SET测试任务类型对被试词汇产出影响研究

通过分析大学英语四、六级考试口语考试(CET-SET)全程录像所得的语料调查被试在不同测试任务下的词汇产出特点。研究旨在探索不同测试任务就流利性、词汇多样性以及词频广度三项指标对被试词汇产出的影响。研究还将显著性指标与总成绩做相关分析来进一步探讨词汇产出指标对总成绩的影响。最后,研究者依据研究结果就提升词汇产出水平方面提出了几点口语测试任务类型开发及口语教学的拙见。     

The Effects of State Terrorism and Exile on Indigenous Guatemalan Refugee Children: A Mental Health Assessment and an Analysis of Children's Narratives

This study examined the mental health and psychosocial development of 58 Guatemalan Mayan Indian children living in 2 refugee camps in the Mexican state of Chiapas. Conventional assessment instruments were adapted for use in this unique context, and semistructured interviews were utilized to gather phenomenological data from children regarding various developmental, sociocultural, and political topics. Data are presented that show minimal evidence of psychological trauma in this sample, and various factors are suggested to account for this finding. In addition, data are presented showing a positive relationship between children's mental health and the health status (physical and mental) of their mothers. In particular, a strong association was found between depressive symptomatology in girls and poor health status in their mothers. Qualitative data from the interviews are presented, focusing on children's understandings of why their families fled Guatemala, the nature and causes of the violence, and their thoughts and feelings regarding the prospect of returning to Guatemala at some future point.     

《论语》半月刊"幽默"文化初探

20世纪30年代,《论语》半月刊在林语堂等人的努力下大力提倡幽默文化。其将中西幽默文化融于一体,试图构建本土化的幽默文化。这一方面是在政治高压环境中寻求表达批判性政见的安全渠道,另一方面又是在乱世中创造宣泄人生苦闷的娱乐场域。《论语》半月刊提倡的"幽默"在社会上一度引起了热烈的追捧,也招致了严厉的批评。这正反映出传统文人在国难深重、革命盛行的时代,向现代文人转变的尴尬和阵痛。该刊提倡幽默文化,既促进了中西文化交流,又在一定程度上反映出民国时期城市社会文化的曲折进展。     

邻氯苯甲醛生产中的异常情况分析研究

通过分析研究邻氯苯甲醛生产中出现的异常情况,提出了具体的排除方法,从而避免出现整料报废的现象,提高了产品质量和收率,经济效益显。     

An Evaluation of the Linearity of Curriculum‐Based Measurement of Oral Reading (CBM‐R) Progress Monitoring Data: Idiographic Considerations

Educators use curriculum‐based measurement of oral reading (CBM‐R) to measure student response to instruction. Current decision‐making frameworks assume students demonstrate linear growth across a school year. However, growth appears nonlinear for at least a subgroup of students. We assessed the degree to which grade two (n = 800) and grade three (n = 800) students receiving intensive interventions experienced discontinuous growth. We also explored when discontinuous growth tended to occur, and whether students improved or regressed afterward. Results indicate linear patterns were adequate for most students (80 percent). Students who showed discontinuous growth early tended to improve afterward. Conversely, students who showed discontinuous growth later tended to plateau. Findings suggest multilevel models may obscure variability in growth patterns. Practice and research implications are discussed.     

词汇单位的动态性--汉语词汇单位的离合现象分析

对离合词的认识人们并不统一,其实,离合词是扩展法留给我们的难题,在扩展法的指挥棒下,词可离可合的形式阻碍了我们对这种现象的本质的认识.事实上,离合现象并非词独有,而是词汇单位的一种普遍现象.词汇单位的历时态为词汇单位的离合提供了可能性,在共时平面,这种可能性在语境中得以实现.语言中的词汇单位是抽象的、概括的,以各种具体形式存在于言语中,包括凝固形式和分离形式.表面形式被分离的词汇单位是语言中的词汇单位在言语中的具体表现形式之一,是一种变异形式.因此,离合词是词汇单位动态性的一种体现,而不是一种特殊的词.     

An Instrument for Assessing Students' Mental State and the Learning Environment in Science Education

The purpose of this research was to develop and validate a new instrument, the Mental State in Learning Environment Questionnaire (MSLEQ), to assess student's mental state in a given learning environment. The MSLEQ has high internal consistency reliability values between 0.70–0.92 as well as good construct validity and predictive validity. After conducting a factor analysis, four main factors were extracted and were described as ‘emotion’, ‘intention’, ‘internal mental representation’ and ‘external mental representation’. The important feature of this study is the construction of an economical questionnaire on the mental state in a given learning environment. The questionnaire yielded important information that can be concretely applied to science teaching and learning.