Language specialists’ views on the academic language and learning abilities of English as an additional language postgraduate coursework students: towards an adjunct tutorial model

As in other Anglophone nations, a large percentage of Australia’s postgraduate international students come from English as an additional language (EAL) backgrounds, and many require development of their academic language and learning (ALL) capabilities to successfully navigate a higher degree. This paper investigates those capabilities through the eyes of experienced ALL practitioners (n?=?42), whose views on the issue were sourced via an online survey. The paper further explains how the findings were used to implement a trial of an ALL enhancement strategy at one university in the form of adjunct tutorials within selected coursework masters programmes. Both the research and the pedagogical model depart from monolithic conceptualizations of international students by identifying the issues of vertical transition peculiar to EAL postgraduate coursework students, a task that is addressed through the tripartite perspective of the personal, the linguistic and the academic. Findings suggest that, while EAL postgraduates have previous study experience, motivation and maturity, they benefit from opportunities to address disjunctures between the knowledge base they bring to higher study and the expectations of that knowledge base held by universities. Successful transition is also facilitated by explicit (re)orientation to the academic norms of the host institution and nation. Academic writing was noted as a particular area requiring attention, along with the related matters of research skills, information literacy, academic integrity, independent learning, and time management.     

Gender violence in schools in the developing world

This paper explores gender violence in schools in what is commonly known as the ‘developing world’ through a review of recent research written in English. Violence in the school setting has only recently emerged as a widespread and serious phenomenon in these countries, with the consequence that our knowledge and understanding of it is embryonic; much of it remains invisible or unrecognized. Informed by research from elsewhere, we use theories of gender/sexual relations to provide a more coherent understanding of the issues, to point to absences and open up spaces for further research with the potential to contribute to strategies through which it might be addressed. We start by clarifying the purposes and the broad position adopted in writing this paper. Then, we trace the conceptual connections between gender/sexual relations and gender violence in schools, acknowledging the importance of locating understanding of the phenomena within the context of the school’s culture, its structures and processes. We organize the review using two overlapping categories: implicit gender violence, which relates to the everyday institutional structures and practices, and explicit gender violence, which relates to more overtly sexualized encounters. Both categories cover gender violence perpetrated by students on other students, by teachers on students, and by students on teachers. In the final section, the theoretical connections (and distinctions) generated by the research allow for a critical overview of the strategies that have been used to address the problem to date.     

Promoting academic writing/referencing skills: Outcome of an undergraduate e-learning pilot project

Future health care professionals will require self‐directed learning skills. e‐Learning is a tool to assist in this process and therefore there is a need to develop the capacity and readiness to utilise e‐learning within educational programmes. The aim of this study was to determine if extra‐curricular online referencing and anti‐plagiarism lectures would be utilised and would ultimately improve 1st‐year undergraduate health sciences students’ performance in written assessments. A series of six online archived multimedia lectures (asynchronous) were offered. Adult learning theory principles guided the resource design. Pre‐ and post‐testing of knowledge, attitudes and computer skills was carried out. In‐person tutorials and online email support were also offered. Less than 36% (self‐report) of students accessed the online resources. The poor uptake revealed in this study is consistent with a number of other studies. These findings indicate the need for more careful scrutiny of the learning theory applied in e‐learning design. Prochaska's transtheoretical model is suggested as a framework with strong potential for e‐learning initiatives.     

Longitudinal correlation analysis of standing height and intelligence

Intercorrelations of 10 successive years of measurement of height and intelligence are presented for separate samples of girls and boys. These correlations are based on data originally gathered and published by Dearborn, Rothney, and Shuttleworth as the Harvard Growth Study. Sample size varies from correlation to correlation, but most of those for girls are based on samples of 500-700 and those for boys on samples of 400-500. The intercorrelations of each of the 2 variables over 10 occasions do not differ appreciably by sex, but there are significant differences between the sexes in the cross-correlations. For the sample of girls there is clear evidence that individual differences in height at 8 and 9 anticipate later individual differences in intelligence. Correlations of early height with intelligence at 11 and 12 are especially high (.40). There is little evidence for similar anticipation of intelligence by height for boys. Correlates for both height and intelligence are found in socioeconomic status, ethnicity, and age of first menstruation for girls. Only the last of these contributes to the explanation of the changes in the cross-correlations with age. Analyses of sitting-height correlations with intelligence indicate that length of the long bones of the legs is also related to the observed pattern of correlations.     

The Effect of Urdu Vocabulary Size on the Acquisition of Single Word Reading in English

The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of Urdu, a phonologically transparent orthography with regular letter-sound correspondences on the development of reading in English. The results showed that children who had high levels of vocabulary knowledge and phonological awareness in Urdu, were more likely to perform well on English reading and reading related tasks, but poorly on visual memory tasks. In contrast, children who had some Urdu word recognition skills, but low levels of Urdu vocabulary knowledge and Urdu phonological awareness tended to perform poorly on English reading and reading related tasks, but better on visual memory tasks. The findings provide further support to the direct impact of Urdu on single word reading in English.     

Writing with imagination: the influence of hot and cold executive functions in children with autism characteristics and typically developing peers

Reading and Writing - The current study investigated the extent cognitive and emotion regulation deficits (i.e., executive functions) associated with autism impact on the development of imagination...     

感恩节的米饭

四年前,癌症带走了我的祖母;在此之前,我家族中国血统的一边,也就是我爸爸的那边,每年都会在祖母家里过感恩节。那一天,祖母家里总会被炉灶烘得暖洋洋的,因为祖母通常一大早就开了炉火烧煮个不停。我们的家族庞大,但祖母准备的宴席却总是更加盛大。她会烹制各种派、肉类、蔬菜和酿制菜式——这些菜肴都可口美