Gesticulating science: Emergent bilingual students’ use of gestures

This article examines how emergent bilingual students used gestures in science class, and the consequences of students’ gestures when their language repertoire limited their possibilities to express themselves. The study derived from observations in two science classes in Sweden. In the first class, 3rd grade students (9–10 years old) were involved in a unit concerning electricity. The second class consisted of 7th‐grade students (13–14 years old) working with acids and bases. Data were analyzed by using practical epistemological analysis (PEA). When students’ language proficiency limited their possibility to express themselves, using gestures resulted in the continuation of the science activities. Furthermore, both peers and teachers drew on the used gestures to talk about the science content. In some situations, the meaning of the gestures needed to be negotiated. Regardless, the gestures were always related to language. Both students and teachers participated in this process, but the teachers directed the communication toward the goal of the lessons: learning how to talk science. The study contributes to the field by showing the importance of paying attention to and valuing bilingual students’ use of gestures as a way to express scientific knowledge. In addition, it demonstrates how teachers might draw on students’ gestures to teach science and discusses the importance of creating multimodal learning environments. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Res Sci Teach 55: 121–144, 2018     

Relevance matters. Eighteen-month-olds’ use of relevant informative pointing as a predictor of two-year-olds’ language abilities / La relevancia es importante. El uso de gestos deícticos relevantes e informativos por parte de niños de año y medio como factor predictor de las capacidades lingüísticas a los dos años

Abstract

The significance of pointing gestures in the development of linguistic communication is linked to their referential character and formation of common ground in use of gestures and speech. Our longitudinal study aimed to define the nature of this relationship more precisely and to explore whether the relevance vs lack of relevance of a child’s pointing gestures is related to development of language abilities. We developed a special protocol to measure relevant and irrelevant pointing gestures in 18-month-olds, sampled production of spontaneous speech and measured their language comprehension at two years of age. A group of 343 children was tested, and using structural equation modelling we showed that relevant gestures predict the level of development of language production and comprehension. As predicted, this association was not applied to irrelevant gestures. It is likely that a child’s more frequent use of relevant pointing gestures helps the caregiver to recognize the child’s communicative intentions and to comment on his/her behaviour appropriately. The identified developmental/predictive relationship is valid in both mentalistic and teleological interpretation of early communicative development.     

Small steps and stronger relationships: parents' experiences of homeschooling children with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND)

During the current global pandemic, parents and carers in England and across the UK have been asked by the Government to ‘home school’ their child/ren, and a plethora of resources have been produced and made available to assist with this. The perceived detrimental effects of being absent from school have been a driver for the Government in ensuring that schools remain open for as long as possible, and the current pandemic situation is replete with narratives of ‘loss’. Little attention has been paid to any potential benefits for children and families of homeschooling or the opportunities it provides. This paper reports on a small-scale online survey that explored the experiences of parents’ homeschooling their child/ren with SEND during a global pandemic in England. The findings are revealed through a qualitative methodology merged with post-qualitative concepts that emerged post-analysis. Novel findings regarding possibilities for creative and inclusive learning practices, family bonding and children’s improved social and emotional well-being are revealed in this paper.     

A student with mild intellectual disability and two-step equations

The authors of this study conducted an exploratory study of the teaching and learning processes of a tutor and a student with a mild intellectual disability (MID) while working on two-step equations. The researchers focused on situations in which the participant was likely to struggle with memory and processing as well as the challenges of the mathematics tasks with which he was presented. The student benefitted from his own use of strategically organised work on pencil and paper as well as the teacher's use of gestures and strategically asked questions designed to promote his progress, yet not interfere with his critical thinking. While the student did experience some challenges, this study demonstrated a case in which a student with a MID solved and discussed two-step equations successfully.     

句法象似性探究及实例分析

语言的任意性特征在现代语言学研究中一直占据统治地位,而象似性没有受到应有的重视。语言的象似性是指语言形式和其概念结构之间存在映照关系,而句法象似性指句法结构的组织形式和人的思维结构之间有着某种自然的对应关系,主要遵循三大理据原则:距离象似、顺序象似和数量象似。理解句法象似性的概念和原则,有助于从认知层面更好地掌握二语习得的规律,从而促进教学活动的顺利开展。     

诗歌的象似性翻译观

语言象似性是认知语言学的一个重要内容,是对索绪尔的语言符号任意性的挑战和补充。在各种文学体裁中,诗歌的象似性特点最为突出。把象似理论运用到诗歌翻译中,探讨诗歌的象似性翻译观,以期对诗歌的翻译研究有所启示。     

Making sense of iconic symbols: a study of preschool children conducting a refuse-sorting task

This article is part of a larger project focusing upon explanatory illustrations that children encounter in pre- and primary school education. The research questions concerned (a) how preschool children make sense of iconic symbols when placing items of refuse on illustrations of refuse bins in a sorting task and (b) what stumbling blocks they encounter when interpreting these symbols. Video data were collected with 30 children between four and five?years of age. From the children’s verbal and non-verbal interactions, four different categories of sense-making were constructed: by material, by object type, by appearance and by function. Three stumbling blocks were identified. The first had to do with giving the symbols a different logical meaning to the intended one; the second related to what materials the different refuse items were made of; the third was being able to stick to one correct way of interpreting each symbol.     

Lending a helping hand for English-Chinese bilingual children’s idiom comprehension and retention: implications for early childhood educators

Idiom comprehension and production reflect a child’s language competence. Research suggests that there is a positive relationship between children’s reading comprehension skills and their idiom understanding. This study examines whether adult verbal scaffolding, in conjunction with the deliberate use of iconic gestures, can facilitate young bilingual children’s comprehension and retention of idiomatic expressions in their different languages. Twenty-three five-year-old English-Chinese bilingual children learned novel idioms across two experimental conditions. In Experiment 1, a native Chinese-speaking adult and a native English-speaking adult, respectively, taught children a set of Chinese and English idioms via speech only. In Experiment 2, the same adults, respectively, taught a different set of Chinese and English idioms via speech–gesture combinations. The results suggest that children could comprehend more idioms in both languages after being taught via the speech–gesture modality than the speech-only modality. They also tended to retain more idioms taught in the speech–gesture modality than in the speech-only modality in both languages. Moreover, those children who scored high in their idiom comprehension and retention also scored high both in their recast of the gestures used by the adults and in their rate of speech–gesture mismatches. Educational implications for early childhood settings are discussed.     

教师课堂消极体态语言的心理透视、危害及纠正

在课堂教学中 ,一些教师不同程度地存在着对教学效果起负作用的消极体态语言 .如 :“法官进课堂”、“镜口窥学生”、“脚印印墙上”、“小事动怒容”、“尘沫共飞舞”、“眼睛盯门生”、“食指点学生”、“倒背双臂踱”等 .作者剖析了其产生原因及危害 ,提出了纠正对策 .