Gender Identity Reflected from Language Use in Casual Conversation

Language use can reflect social identities and the way a person is presenting himself or herself to other people. As to show how gender identities can be reflected from the discourse, a casual conversa...     

探析微博在大学英语语言习得中的运用

该研究试图探索微博在大学英语语言习得中的运用。笔者以45位同学一个月内的2355条微博为研究基础,分析他们的微博模式和微博目的。研究发现,微博能够促使英语学习者用英语进行交流,促进了他们的语言输出,微博为英语学习者在课堂之外提供了一个积极交流的平台。因此,微博可以运用在大学英语的学习之中,促进语言习得。     

基于建构主义学习理论的二外日语互动教学模式研究

目前,我国高校二外日语课堂教学多以教师为中心,采用“传授—强化—记忆”为过程的“填鸭式”教学模式,老师与学生以及学生与学生之间的互动性不强,课堂效果不够理想,究其根源在于忽视了学习者的主体作用和创造潜能。建构主义学习理论强调以学生为中心的互动教学,对改进目前高校二外日语课堂教学现状具有借鉴意义。应从学习与教学、学生与教师两方面,通过情境创设与合作学习,在师生互动、生生互动以及学生和教学内容的互动中完成意义建构,发挥学生在学习过程中的能动作用,有效提高学生的日语运用能力和课堂教学质量。     

语言中的“反”性别歧视

语言是社会的镜子,同样也随着时代的脚步而逐步更新,它过滤了违背时代潮流的“旧语”,也推出了顺应时代潮流的“新语”。而语言性别歧视话题几经斗争和演变,也都将会在语言这面镜子中得到修正和完善。传统上人们总是片面地认为性别歧视语言主要针对女性,而忽视了对男性的语言歧视;并且,既然性别歧视语言是在历史发展中产生的,那么也必然会随着历史发展而演变。因此,该文从相反的视角,提出“反”性别歧视---一方面研究女性在语言歧视中的“反抗”,另一方面也探究女性“反过来”针对男性的歧视。     

Application of the Second Language Acquisition Theory into China’s English Classes

Krashen’s second language acquisition theory makes great contribution to second and foreign language teaching field and has caused world-wide attention. This paper will give a systematic analysis to it...     

大学英语课堂新闻教学模式探析

作为内容教学法的一种重要实践方式,新闻英语教学增强了大学英语课堂趣味性,提高了学生学习积极性,扩大了学生视野,进一步提高了学生的英语听说读写能力。本文论述了新闻英语教学模式的具体践行方式,探讨了其对大学英语课堂的积极作用,并提出了如何在日常大学英语教学中更好地完善该教学模式。     

Autistic young people’s experiences of transitioning to adulthood following the Children and Families Act 2014

Changes to special educational needs and disability (SEND) legislation in England were implemented in 2014. Here, we evaluate the impact of these changes from the perspective of 80 autistic young people aged 16–25 years. Using an online survey and/or interviews, we examined young people’s views on three key principles of the SEND reforms: the help and support provided to them; whether they were given a say in the choices and support that they were offered; and their satisfaction with their educational journeys and outcomes. The results paint a mixed picture. Our sample of young people reported varied experiences regarding the help and support they received, and how much of a say they had regarding the choices and support available to them. The types of schooling they accessed played a role here: young people in mainstream schools highlighted particular challenges in accessing appropriate support, while many young people in special schools said they felt well supported. Parental advocacy was crucial for all young people, as was having key ‘champions’ in the form of teachers who really knew them well. The need for the development of general life and self-advocacy skills was apparent, however, especially in preparing the young people for life after school. Encouragingly, most of our participants were generally happy with their current situation, despite identifying several areas for further improvement. Overall, the results highlight the importance of listening to—and learning from—autistic young people, throughout their educational journeys and especially as they transition to adulthood.     

Mathematical language and mathematical abilities in preschool: A systematic literature review

It is well established that early general language during preschool is critical for children's mathematical abilities. In an attempt to further characterize this association between language and mathematics, an increasing number of studies show that one specific type of language, namely mathematical language or the key linguistic concepts that are required for performing mathematical activities, is even more critical to children's mathematical abilities. The purpose of this systematic review is to summarize the evidence on mathematical language and mathematical abilities. We focus on preschool children as nearly all of the existing work has been done at this age. We first explain how mathematical language has been defined across studies, and report how it has been evaluated in studies in preschool. Next, we present the results of our systematic review. Following the PRISMA guidelines and after a critical appraisal, we ended with a set of 18 papers that were all of sufficient methodological quality. In these studies, mathematical language was defined as terms that are about numbers and operations on numbers (e.g., nine), but also included linguistic terms that do not directly refer to numbers, yet are important to understand mathematical concepts (i.e., quantitative and spatial terms such as fewest and middle, respectively). Some of these studies evaluated children's performance on mathematical language tasks, while others evaluated the mathematical language input provided to the child by their (educational) environment (teachers/parents/interventionists). Mathematical language correlated positively with children's mathematical abilities, concurrently and longitudinally. It also directly affected children's mathematical abilities, as was shown by intervention studies. We discuss potential directions for future research and highlight implications for education, arguing for more support for teachers and parents to improve the use of mathematical language in the classroom and in home settings.     

Teacher perspectives on partnerships on families of children with autism

The success of students with disabilities in school and community largely relies on productive family professional partnerships (FPPs). The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA, 2004) recognises the importance of family collaboration to student success by mandating that parents be involved in the Individualised Education Plan (IEP) process as full team members. While several previous studies examined the perspectives of parents of children with disabilities on partnerships with educators, less research exists on teacher perspectives on family professional collaborations. Additionally, there are even fewer studies that focus on teacher perspectives on partnerships with parents of children with autism, a disability category which continues to increase in prevalence. The present study contributes to the literature by examining teacher perspectives on factors that build and hinder positive partnerships with families of children with autism. Researchers surveyed 25 Special Education teachers and conducted additional individual interviews and open-ended questionnaires to examine teachers' first-hand experiences. Findings identified four common themes that educators felt helped and hindered collaborative relationships with families. Study results may lead to the development of specific family professional collaboration strategies that can be implemented and discussed in school districts, teacher trainings, pre-service teacher education programs and family workshops.     

Do labels matter? Analysis of teachers' self-efficacy towards the autism spectrum disorder depending on the diagnostic label used (ASD or Asperger's)

Changes in the classification of autism and Asperger's syndrome led to changes in social perception of ASD. Since last criteria, studies indicate higher levels of stigma towards ASD than towards Asperger's. These prejudices are barriers to inclusive education. Thus, it is relevant (1) to evaluate pre-service teachers' self-efficacy towards the label of ASD; (2) to evaluate pre-service teachers' self-efficacy towards the label of Asperger's and (3) to compare those results to analyse whether the use of different diagnostic labels brings about different levels of self-efficacy. One hundred and eighty-six primary education pre-service teachers participated in the current study. Two adaptations of the Autism Self-Efficacy Scale for Teachers (ASSET) were used: a version with the label of ‘ASD’ (n = 96) and another for ‘Asperger's’ (n = 90). The scores obtained by the group asked about ASD were high according to the ASSET score range, while the scores obtained by the group asked about Asperger's were medium. After comparing the results, participants asked about the label ASD showed higher levels of self-efficacy than participants asked about Asperger's. These results could be a consequence of the consolidation of the ASD diagnosis among society and the higher presence of children with ASD in schools and cultural products, among other factors.