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Despite a longstanding awareness of academic language as a pedagogically-relevant research area, the construct of academic language proficiency--understood as a more comprehensive set of skills than just academic vocabulary--has remained only vaguely specified. This study examines the potential--for both research and practice--of a more inclusive operationalization of an academic language proficiency construct. The authors refer to this operational construct as Core Academic Language Skills (CALS). This study explores the relationship of cross-disciplinary academic language skills and reading comprehension in a socioeconomically diverse crosssectional sample of students from 4th and 6th grade. The following two research questions guided the study: (1) Do 4th and 6th-grade students' core academic language skills--as measured by the CALS-I--vary by students' grade or socioeconomic status?; and (2) Controlling for socio-demographic characteristics, word recognition & decoding, and academic vocabulary knowledge, are 4th and 6th-grade students' cross-disciplinary academic language skills --as measured by the CALS-I--predictive of students' reading comprehension scores? A total of 282 students--85 4th graders and 197 6th graders--were included in this study. Two main hypotheses are tested in this study, First, the authors hypothesized that CALS-I scores would capture individual variability in core academic language skills within and across grades, with students in 6th grade outperforming students in 4th grade, and students from more privileged SES environments outperforming their peers from less privileged backgrounds. Second, the main hypothesis tested by this study was whether CALS-I scores would be predictive of reading comprehension above and beyond the contribution of socio-demographic status, basic word-level reading skills, and academic vocabulary knowledge. To test these hypotheses, data from a socio-economically diverse sample of 4th- and 6th-grade students was collected via group-administered assessments. Reading comprehension, was measured with the RISE Reading Comprehension Subtest and was used as outcome variable in the regression analyses. All participants completed the following group-administered assessments: (1) Reading Inventory and Scholastic Evaluation (RISE); (2) WG Academic Vocabulary test; and (3) Core Academic Language Skills Instrument (CALS-I). This study resides in having identified and empirically tested an initial set of high-utility cross-disciplinary academic language skills associated with text comprehension. This study advances the understanding of school-relevant language skills beyond the narrow definition of academic vocabulary and contributes relevant information for the design of more comprehensive interventions that provide cognitively demanding yet linguistically accessible and productive instruction. The following are appended: (1) References; and (2) Tables and Figures.

Writing activities have long been used in a foreign language class for reinforcing students' linguistic knowledge or other language skills. However teaching writing as writing in its own right has only been advocated in recent decades with the increasing awareness of second and foreign language students' needs to write for academic purposes in the target language countries. A writing-based pedagogy in second/foreign language has been evolved over the past two decades. The paper reviews the evolution of thoughts of what constitutes writing competence in a foreign language and several major approaches to teaching writing in a ESL/EFL language class--from teaching writing as a supportive language skill, to teaching writing as a writing, from emphasizing patterns and product to the emphasis of the writer and their writing process, and to the more resent recognition of writing as a social activity. The author argues that teaching writing as writing is not only essential to the development of students' writing competence but is also valuable in promoting their language acquisition, cognitive development and learning in general.

Writing activities have long been used in a foreign language class for reinforcing students' linguistic knowledge or other language skills. However teaching writing as writing in its own right has only been advocated in recent decades with the increasing awareness of second and foreign language students' needs to write for academic purposes in the target language countries. A writing-based pedagogy in second/foreign language has been evolved over the past two decades. The paper reviews the evolution of thoughts of what constitutes writing competence in a foreign language and several major approaches to teaching writing in a ESL/EFL language class--from teaching writing as a supportive language skill, to teaching writing as a writing, from emphasizing patterns and product to the emphasis of the writer and their writing process, and to the more resent recognition of writing as a social activity. The author argues that teaching writing as writing is not only essential to the development of students' writing competence but is also valuable in promoting their language acquisition, cognitive development and learning in general.

Language model is one of the most important modules in statistical machine translation and currently the word-based language model dominants this community. However, many translation models (e.g. phrase-based models) generate the target language sentences by rendering and compositing the phrases rather than the words. Thus, it is much more reasonable to model dependency between phrases, but few research work succeed in solving this problem. In this paper, we tackle this problem by designing a novel phrase-based language model which attempts to solve three key sub-problems: 1, how to define a phrase in language model; 2, how to determine the phrase boundary in the large-scale monolingual data in order to enlarge the training set; 3, how to alleviate the data sparsity problem due to the huge vocabulary size of phrases. By carefully handling these issues, the extensive experiments on Chinese-to-English translation show that our phrase-based language model can significantly improve the translation quality by up to +1.47 absolute BLEU score.

Human language, the most powerful communication system in history, is closely associated with cognition. Written text is one of the fundamental manifestations of language, and the study of its universal regularities can give clues about how our brains process information and how we, as a society, organize and share it. Still, only classical patterns such as Zipf's law have been explored in depth. In contrast, other basic properties like the existence of bursts of rare words in specific documents, the topical organization of collections, or the sublinear growth of vocabulary size with the length of a document, have only been studied one by one and mainly applying heuristic methodologies rather than basic principles and general mechanisms. As a consequence, there is a lack of understanding of linguistic processes as complex emergent phenomena. Beyond Zipf's law for word frequencies, here we focus on Heaps' law, burstiness, and the topicality of document collections, which encode correlations within and across documents absent in random null models. We introduce and validate a generative model that explains the simultaneous emergence of all these patterns from simple rules. As a result, we find a connection between the bursty nature of rare words and the topical organization of texts and identify dynamic word ranking and memory across documents as key mechanisms explaining the non trivial organization of written text. Our research can have broad implications and practical applications in computer science, cognitive science, and linguistics.

Russian policy documents increasingly emphasise the importance of miagakaia sila for securing Russia’s foreign policy interests. Looking at the politics of Russian in a range of countries including the Ukraine, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Moldova, Ireland and Germany, this book examines Russian language promotion and its reception in different countries and across different contexts. Bringing together leading scholars in the field, the book examines the politics of the Russian language, the role of the Russian Federation in influencing these politics and the challenges that the promotion of Russian faces in particular contexts across the globe. Taking a comparative approach, the book also examines the institutional set-up and practice of Russia’s language promotion in relation to its British, French and German counterparts and against the history of Soviet cultural diplomacy.

https://archive.org/download/the-rolistes-present-episode-11-2020.11.07/The%20Rolistes%20Present_Episode%2011_2020.11.07.mp3 Listen, subscribe & review on Apple Podcasts ,  Spotify  or  Google Podcasts . Sign up to our  newsletter ! This panel is also available in video on Metatopia's YouTube channel . https://youtu.be/9FPeMw2nxFM I didn't expect to have an opportunity to host a panel for Metatopia any time soon but Covid-19 happened. My enthusiasm about organising a panel for Metatopia expressed itself in two ways. First, maybe I picked one of the longest and convoluted title for a topic: "Tabletop Roleplaying Games and English: Beyond the American Culture Online". Second, I set myself the goal to gather guests strictly from different continents. I did pull it off with talented TTRPG designers hailing from Asia, Latin America, Africa and Europe. What I love with constraints like that, is that they foster opportunities to meet new people. My panellists were: * #RPGSEA / #Sworddream  –  Pam Punzalan  (She/They) Pam Punzalan is a queer Filipino game designer, sensitivity and cultural consultant, and editor based in Manila. She first entered the spaces through  #RPGSEA  and  #Sworddream , and now does community organization for both spaces on top of Asians Represent. Beyond publishing her own work, particularly the PtbA games  Sundo: We Once Mortal  and  Navathem’s End , you may find her contributions across projects big and small. She was recently part of the team that released  The Islands of Sina Una , and is now on  Brinkwood ,  Thirsty Sword Lesbians ,  Gun & Slinger , and  Best Left Buried .* Old Skull Publishing  –  Diogo Nogueira  (He/Him) Diogo Nogueira  is a Brazilian game designer and graphic artist from Brazil. He created 

Quick intro to the new heterogeneous programming language called "ThorScript" and show its strength and simplicity for developer to build GPU-accelerated application without any prior GPU knowledge. In addition, we'll brief the high level architecture of our compiler and share some experience to those who want to build your own programming language some day.

'Transfers in banks beyond language area (14-Jul-1998)' from the RS Debates Digital Library

This publication describes the development, implementation, and success of the Ganado Language Arts Development (GLAD) Project on the Navajo reservation in northeastern Arizona which develops the foundation for literacy in each student, expands and enriches pedogogical competencies of staff in teaching language arts, and develops/strenghtens parental awareness/support for school programming. The first three chapters discuss the early years, set parameters for change, review ideas to improve the school and establish the language program, and describe the excitement within the project today. Chapter 4 reviews issues of early literacy related to creating an interactively rich, trusting environment. Chapter 5 and 6 present ideas for working in kindergarten and first grade classrooms. Chapter 7 examines integration and writing across the curriculum, while Chapter 8 focuses on writing in the second and third grades. Chapter 9 addresses teachers' attitudes toward change and the effects of involvement in writing and risk taking. Chapter 10 discusses the need to implement progress across the school as a whole and reflects on special areas of the school. The book concludes with a bibliography and a section about the contributors. The book is highlighted with reproductions/examples of student writing (paragraphs, poems, posters) and sample writing exercises and worksheets. (NEC)

This publication describes the development, implementation, and success of the Ganado Language Arts Development (GLAD) Project on the Navajo reservation in northeastern Arizona which develops the foundation for literacy in each student, expands and enriches pedogogical competencies of staff in teaching language arts, and develops/strenghtens parental awareness/support for school programming. The first three chapters discuss the early years, set parameters for change, review ideas to improve the school and establish the language program, and describe the excitement within the project today. Chapter 4 reviews issues of early literacy related to creating an interactively rich, trusting environment. Chapter 5 and 6 present ideas for working in kindergarten and first grade classrooms. Chapter 7 examines integration and writing across the curriculum, while Chapter 8 focuses on writing in the second and third grades. Chapter 9 addresses teachers' attitudes toward change and the effects of involvement in writing and risk taking. Chapter 10 discusses the need to implement progress across the school as a whole and reflects on special areas of the school. The book concludes with a bibliography and a section about the contributors. The book is highlighted with reproductions/examples of student writing (paragraphs, poems, posters) and sample writing exercises and worksheets. (NEC)

This publication describes the development, implementation, and success of the Ganado Language Arts Development (GLAD) Project on the Navajo reservation in northeastern Arizona which develops the foundation for literacy in each student, expands and enriches pedogogical competencies of staff in teaching language arts, and develops/strenghtens parental awareness/support for school programming. The first three chapters discuss the early years, set parameters for change, review ideas to improve the school and establish the language program, and describe the excitement within the project today. Chapter 4 reviews issues of early literacy related to creating an interactively rich, trusting environment. Chapter 5 and 6 present ideas for working in kindergarten and first grade classrooms. Chapter 7 examines integration and writing across the curriculum, while Chapter 8 focuses on writing in the second and third grades. Chapter 9 addresses teachers' attitudes toward change and the effects of involvement in writing and risk taking. Chapter 10 discusses the need to implement progress across the school as a whole and reflects on special areas of the school. The book concludes with a bibliography and a section about the contributors. The book is highlighted with reproductions/examples of student writing (paragraphs, poems, posters) and sample writing exercises and worksheets. (NEC)

This article sets out to parse code switched discourse samples involving Bassa and French, using the Matrix Language Frame Model proposed by Scotton. The model is based on the assumption that in code switching, there must be a dominant language referred to as the Matrix Language ML and a gap filler language referred to as the Embedded Language EL . It is further claimed in this model that the ML is always the first language of the speaker, who code switches, and also the dominant language in the linguistic environment where code switching occurs. The model was applied to two codes Swahili English, and French Arabic. In the present article, the endeavor is to find out how Scotton's model unravels code switching in a multilingual context where three or four codes may be involved in modules considered to be two codes at surface level. The endeavor is also to find out how the model sorts out the dominant language, i.e. the Matrix Language in Code switched discourse samples with a 50 50 morpheme split. It has equally been argued in the present contribution that discourse dominance or the morpheme frequency criterion is not the only variable to be used to predict, and carve out the ML in switched or mixed discourse. There are, indeed, switched data where focus prevails over morpheme dominance.RÉSUMÉCet article a pour but d'analyser des exemples de mélange de codes impliquant le Bassa et le français en se servant du modèle proposé par Scotton, lequel porte sur l'ossature de productions orales entremêlées. Selon ce modèle, dans chaque mélange de codes, il y a nécesssairement une langue dominante appelée la Matrice, et une langue secondaire, celle des éléments enchasés. Le modèle soutient ,en outre, que la matrice est toujours la première langue de l'individu qui procède au mélange de codes, et aussi la langue la plus en vue dans la communauté linguistique où le mélange de codes s'effectue. Ce modèle a été testé sur deux codes le Swahili et l'anglais, et l'arabe et le français. Dans le présent article, notre souci est de voir comment le modèle proposé par Scotton traite la question du mélange de codes dans un context multilingue où trois voire quatre codes peuvent être impliqués dans des modules considérés comme deux codes du point de vue de la surface. Notre souci est aussi de voir comment le modèle de Scotton parvient à dégager la langue dominante, c'est à dire la matrice dans les productions orales entremêlées où le même nombre de morphèmes est enregistré dans les deux langues ou codes mélangés . La présente contribution se propose aussi d'émettre l'idée selon laquelle la matrice d'une production orale mêlée ne se diétecte pas seulement sur la base de la dominance morphologique, mais aussi et parfois sur le focus de la production. By Mbeng Sampson Tambe "Beyond Scotton's Matrix Language Frame Model: A Look into Some Bassa-French Code-Switched Discourse Samples" Published in International Journal of Trend in Scientific Research and Development (ijtsrd), ISSN: 2456-6470, Volume-3 | Issue-5 , August 2019, URL: https://www.ijtsrd.com/papers/ijtsrd26561.pdf Paper URL https://www.ijtsrd.com/other-scientific-research-area/other/26561/beyond-scotton%E2%80%99s-matrix-language-frame-model-a-look-into-some-bassa-french-code-switched-discourse-samples/mbeng-sampson-tambe

This article sets out to parse code switched discourse samples involving Bassa and French, using the Matrix Language Frame Model proposed by Scotton. The model is based on the assumption that in code switching, there must be a dominant language referred to as the Matrix Language ML and a gap filler language referred to as the Embedded Language EL . It is further claimed in this model that the ML is always the first language of the speaker, who code switches, and also the dominant language in the linguistic environment where code switching occurs. The model was applied to two codes Swahili English, and French Arabic. In the present article, the endeavor is to find out how Scotton's model unravels code switching in a multilingual context where three or four codes may be involved in modules considered to be two codes at surface level. The endeavor is also to find out how the model sorts out the dominant language, i.e. the Matrix Language in Code switched discourse samples with a 50 50 morpheme split. It has equally been argued in the present contribution that discourse dominance or the morpheme frequency criterion is not the only variable to be used to predict, and carve out the ML in switched or mixed discourse. There are, indeed, switched data where focus prevails over morpheme dominance.RÉSUMÉCet article a pour but d'analyser des exemples de mélange de codes impliquant le Bassa et le français en se servant du modèle proposé par Scotton, lequel porte sur l'ossature de productions orales entremêlées. Selon ce modèle, dans chaque mélange de codes, il y a nécesssairement une langue dominante appelée la Matrice, et une langue secondaire, celle des éléments enchasés. Le modèle soutient ,en outre, que la matrice est toujours la première langue de l'individu qui procède au mélange de codes, et aussi la langue la plus en vue dans la communauté linguistique où le mélange de codes s'effectue. Ce modèle a été testé sur deux codes le Swahili et l'anglais, et l'arabe et le français. Dans le présent article, notre souci est de voir comment le modèle proposé par Scotton traite la question du mélange de codes dans un context multilingue où trois voire quatre codes peuvent être impliqués dans des modules considérés comme deux codes du point de vue de la surface. Notre souci est aussi de voir comment le modèle de Scotton parvient à dégager la langue dominante, c'est à dire la matrice dans les productions orales entremêlées où le même nombre de morphèmes est enregistré dans les deux langues ou codes mélangés . La présente contribution se propose aussi d'émettre l'idée selon laquelle la matrice d'une production orale mêlée ne se diétecte pas seulement sur la base de la dominance morphologique, mais aussi et parfois sur le focus de la production. By Mbeng Sampson Tambe "Beyond Scotton's Matrix Language Frame Model: A Look into Some Bassa-French Code-Switched Discourse Samples" Published in International Journal of Trend in Scientific Research and Development (ijtsrd), ISSN: 2456-6470, Volume-3 | Issue-5 , August 2019, URL: https://www.ijtsrd.com/papers/ijtsrd26561.pdf Paper URL https://www.ijtsrd.com/other-scientific-research-area/other/26561/beyond-scotton%E2%80%99s-matrix-language-frame-model-a-look-into-some-bassa-french-code-switched-discourse-samples/mbeng-sampson-tambe

Speech sound skills can be a risk factor for later problems in reading. However, we know little about how speech sound skills can predict development of language comprehension and reading comprehension over time. Therefore, we here present a longitudinal study of unselected children following from four to nine years of age. We used a bi-factor model with speech sound measures and language measures as a predictor in three growth models: listening comprehension, expressive language skills and reading comprehension, with phonological awareness as a covariate.

Original Airdate: 09/30/16 The Midday Briefing w/ Tim Farley Weekdays 12 - 2 pm ET The Midday Briefing with Tim Farley, recaps the early morning news, delivers live events from the White House and Capitol Hill and gives you an in-depth look at the day ahead in politics. Midday features exclusive interviews with the lawmakers who are shaping the future of our government, as well as the educators, authors, and ordinary citizens that are making a difference in today’s society. It’s your midday dose of unfiltered news that matters the most. Source: https://soundcloud.com/siriusxm-news-issues/robin-sol-lieberman-the-charisma-code-communicating-in-a-language-beyond-words Uploader: SiriusXM News & Issues

Original Airdate: 09/30/16 The Midday Briefing w/ Tim Farley Weekdays 12 - 2 pm ET The Midday Briefing with Tim Farley, recaps the early morning news, delivers live events from the White House and Capitol Hill and gives you an in-depth look at the day ahead in politics. Midday features exclusive interviews with the lawmakers who are shaping the future of our government, as well as the educators, authors, and ordinary citizens that are making a difference in today’s society. It’s your midday dose of unfiltered news that matters the most. Source: https://soundcloud.com/siriusxm-news-issues/robin-sol-lieberman-the-charisma-code-communicating-in-a-language-beyond-words Uploader: SiriusXM News & Issues

Original Airdate: 09/30/16 The Midday Briefing w/ Tim Farley Weekdays 12 - 2 pm ET The Midday Briefing with Tim Farley, recaps the early morning news, delivers live events from the White House and Capitol Hill and gives you an in-depth look at the day ahead in politics. Midday features exclusive interviews with the lawmakers who are shaping the future of our government, as well as the educators, authors, and ordinary citizens that are making a difference in today’s society. It’s your midday dose of unfiltered news that matters the most. Source: https://soundcloud.com/siriusxm-news-issues/robin-sol-lieberman-the-charisma-code-communicating-in-a-language-beyond-words Uploader: SiriusXM News & Issues

Visible Language - Inventions Of Writing In The Ancient Middle East And Beyond

Visible Language - Inventions Of Writing In The Ancient Middle East And Beyond

This report examines language and area competencies, research, campus-based and national organizations, and library and information resources. It concludes that the combined federal and private resources invested over several decades have created an immensely valuable national resource in language and area studies, one unrivaled anywhere in the world. The period growth and expansion, however, has come to an end. Important parts of this national resource have are in clear danger of serious decline. Furthermore, vital gaps exist in both the research and teaching components of language and area studies programs. Present funding mechanism are inflexible and inadequate. Capacities, now missing, to monitor the cross-sectional nature of the field and to allocate resources in ways better suited to the nation's needs for language and area expertise are required. The report recommends some new programs and modifications of existing ones in those government agencies and private organizations most interested in thesse areas. It calls for relatively small but carefully targeted investments.

The present study is based on a previous pilot study (Gutiérrez-Colon, 2008). The present study aimed at widening the scope of the pilot study increasing the sample size in number of participants, degree courses and number of universities. This time, four Spanish universities were involved, and the number of participants was 197, who were registered in English Philology (N = 72), Business Studies (N = 36) and Mechanical Engineering (N = 89). The data was organised into four main areas which describe the essential methodological teaching practices that are present and should not be avoided in blended virtual courses according to the interviewed students: a) Management of the subject; b) Students' perception of the subject; c) Design of the course and the documents; and d) Feedback from the teacher. The results obtained indicate that teachers should modify their teaching habits and methodology when teaching online.

A study examined the role of individual differences in the journal writing of adult students of English as a second language (ESL). Subjects were nine students from six countries enrolled in two university ESL writing classes. The primary writing activity was personal journal writing that required description and examination of the students' past experiences. Data were drawn from two questionnaires, notes and audiotapes of classroom observations, teacher and student interviews, and teacher and student journal writing. Writing samples were analyzed for five features: functions (representational and reflective), content, audience, organizational form, and linguistic form. Although the subjects were treated as case studies, writing samples were compared for different treatments or combinations of the five features. Overall, the findings indicated that individual differences such as past writing experience and personality had a greater influence than cultural background on students' approaches to the journal writing task. Teachers are cautioned against over-reliance on cultural values and customs to explain student behavior and learning. (Author/MSE)

The report resulting from a federally mandated year-long study of the status of foreign language and area studies in United States higher education concentrates on the present capacities of the nation's universities for advanced training and research in those fields. A preamble outlines the history of language and area studies in this country, noting the role of military and defense education. A chapter on language competency examines teaching methods, instructional and evaluative issues, and funding in the broad field of foreign language instruction. A chapter on area competency examines defense education efforts and the demand and supply of trained individuals. An overview of related research looks at its findings, characteristics, funding, policy formation, and other issues. A discussion of campus-based and national organizations outlines their functions, support, and competition for funding. A chapter concerning library and information resources discusses resource sharing, administrative and financial issues in maintaining and building library collections and resource centers, and special issues such as computer applications, overseas resources, materials preservation, and resource monitoring. A final chapter summarizes the problems and recommendations for each of these areas and makes general statements concerning funding and monitoring. Supplemental information derived from the national survey is appended, including methodology, language and area programs, statistics on published faculty research by area of the world and field of discipline, Fulbright grants (1971-1984), and summaries of study group needs by world area. (MSE)

The book and accompanying CD-ROM is designed to assist teachers who want to develop their own materials on the World Wide Web, are interested in integrating interesting Web sites and ideas into their curriculum, or are interested in students' perspectives of the Web. It is also for anyone who wishes to refresh a language or get a feel for a new one or who wants to learn more about Web-based language teaching. The book is divided into three parts and several chapters. Part one, "Development: Doing It with More or Less," includes eight chapters and an introduction: "InterDeutsch: Going Solo: First Steps into Virtual Teaching on a Zero Budget" (Claudia Popov); "Advanced EFL Online: How Can It Help? (Miriam Schcolnik); "A Resource Centre on the Net: A Model for Less Commonly Taught Languages" (Injung Cho); "Going Online: Can Language Teachers Go It Alone and Is It Worth the Heartache?" (Sally Staddon); "Sakura: An Interactive Site for Japanese Language Learners" (Takako Tomoda, Brian May); "Online German for Secondary School Students" (Stefo Stojanovsjki, Fred Hollingsworth, Jennifer Saynor-Locke); "Building Bridges: Design Issues for a Web-Based Chinese Course" (Jane Orton); and "Worlds of Words: Tales for Language Teachers" (Truna Aka J. Turner). Part two, "Practice: Virtual Language Learning Revisited," and part three, "Research: Absolutely Worth the Effort," are not divided into chapters. Web site references appear throughout the text. (Contains 67 references.) (KFT)

The use of the data files contained in the High School and Beyond (HSB) research project is discussed. The comments are based on an analysis of the HSB material and are specifically directed at the language file, high school bilingual program participation, and HSB tests. In an evaluation of the language file, the question of whether Hispanic language minorities are adequately represented is addressed. Regarding bilingual program participation, the question of which HSB survey questions are most applicable in ascertaining such participation is considered. Finally, the adequacy of the HSB cognitive tests is assessed. (RW)

vi, 202 pages : 25 cm

We study the role of field redefinitions in general scalar-tensor theories. In particular, we first focus on the class of field redefinitions linear in the spin-2 field and involving derivatives of the spin-0 mode, generically known as disformal transformations. We start by defining the action of a disformal transformation in the tangent space. Then, we take advantage of the great economy of means of the language of differential forms to compute the full transformation of Horndeski's theory under general disformal transformations. We obtain that Horndeski's action maps onto itself modulo a reduced set of non-Horndeski Lagrangians. These new Lagrangians are found to be invariant under disformal transformation that depend only in the first derivatives of the scalar. Moreover, these combinations of Lagrangians precisely appear when expressing in our basis the constraints of the recently proposed Extended Scalar-Tensor (EST) theories. These results allow us to classify the different orbits of scalar-tensor theories invariant under particular disformal transformations, namely the special disformal, kinetic disformal and disformal Horndeski orbits. In addition, we consider generalizations of this framework. We find that there are possible well-defined extended disformal transformations that have not been considered in the literature. However, they generically cannot link Horndeski theory with EST theories. Finally, we study further generalizations in which extra fields with different spin are included. These field redefinitions can be used to connect different gravity theories such as multi-scalar-tensor theories, generalized Proca theories and bi-gravity. We discuss how the formalism of differential forms could be useful for future developments in these lines.

We study the role of field redefinitions in general scalar-tensor theories. In particular, we first focus on the class of field redefinitions linear in the spin-2 field and involving derivatives of the spin-0 mode, generically known as disformal transformations. We start by defining the action of a disformal transformation in the tangent space. Then, we take advantage of the great economy of means of the language of differential forms to compute the full transformation of Horndeski's theory under general disformal transformations. We obtain that Horndeski's action maps onto itself modulo a reduced set of non-Horndeski Lagrangians. These new Lagrangians are found to be invariant under disformal transformation that depend only in the first derivatives of the scalar. Moreover, these combinations of Lagrangians precisely appear when expressing in our basis the constraints of the recently proposed Extended Scalar-Tensor (EST) theories. These results allow us to classify the different orbits of scalar-tensor theories invariant under particular disformal transformations, namely the special disformal, kinetic disformal and disformal Horndeski orbits. In addition, we consider generalizations of this framework. We find that there are possible well-defined extended disformal transformations that have not been considered in the literature. However, they generically cannot link Horndeski theory with EST theories. Finally, we study further generalizations in which extra fields with different spin are included. These field redefinitions can be used to connect different gravity theories such as multi-scalar-tensor theories, generalized Proca theories and bi-gravity. We discuss how the formalism of differential forms could be useful for future developments in these lines.

We study the role of field redefinitions in general scalar-tensor theories. In particular, we first focus on the class of field redefinitions linear in the spin-2 field and involving derivatives of the spin-0 mode, generically known as disformal transformations. We start by defining the action of a disformal transformation in the tangent space. Then, we take advantage of the great economy of means of the language of differential forms to compute the full transformation of Horndeski's theory under general disformal transformations. We obtain that Horndeski's action maps onto itself modulo a reduced set of non-Horndeski Lagrangians. These new Lagrangians are found to be invariant under disformal transformation that depend only in the first derivatives of the scalar. Moreover, these combinations of Lagrangians precisely appear when expressing in our basis the constraints of the recently proposed Extended Scalar-Tensor (EST) theories. These results allow us to classify the different orbits of scalar-tensor theories invariant under particular disformal transformations, namely the special disformal, kinetic disformal and disformal Horndeski orbits. In addition, we consider generalizations of this framework. We find that there are possible well-defined extended disformal transformations that have not been considered in the literature. However, they generically cannot link Horndeski theory with EST theories. Finally, we study further generalizations in which extra fields with different spin are included. These field redefinitions can be used to connect different gravity theories such as multi-scalar-tensor theories, generalized Proca theories and bi-gravity. We discuss how the formalism of differential forms could be useful for future developments in these lines.

We study the role of field redefinitions in general scalar-tensor theories. In particular, we first focus on the class of field redefinitions linear in the spin-2 field and involving derivatives of the spin-0 mode, generically known as disformal transformations. We start by defining the action of a disformal transformation in the tangent space. Then, we take advantage of the great economy of means of the language of differential forms to compute the full transformation of Horndeski's theory under general disformal transformations. We obtain that Horndeski's action maps onto itself modulo a reduced set of non-Horndeski Lagrangians. These new Lagrangians are found to be invariant under disformal transformation that depend only in the first derivatives of the scalar. Moreover, these combinations of Lagrangians precisely appear when expressing in our basis the constraints of the recently proposed Extended Scalar-Tensor (EST) theories. These results allow us to classify the different orbits of scalar-tensor theories invariant under particular disformal transformations, namely the special disformal, kinetic disformal and disformal Horndeski orbits. In addition, we consider generalizations of this framework. We find that there are possible well-defined extended disformal transformations that have not been considered in the literature. However, they generically cannot link Horndeski theory with EST theories. Finally, we study further generalizations in which extra fields with different spin are included. These field redefinitions can be used to connect different gravity theories such as multi-scalar-tensor theories, generalized Proca theories and bi-gravity. We discuss how the formalism of differential forms could be useful for future developments in these lines.

We study the role of field redefinitions in general scalar-tensor theories. In particular, we first focus on the class of field redefinitions linear in the spin-2 field and involving derivatives of the spin-0 mode, generically known as disformal transformations. We start by defining the action of a disformal transformation in the tangent space. Then, we take advantage of the great economy of means of the language of differential forms to compute the full transformation of Horndeski's theory under general disformal transformations. We obtain that Horndeski's action maps onto itself modulo a reduced set of non-Horndeski Lagrangians. These new Lagrangians are found to be invariant under disformal transformation that depend only in the first derivatives of the scalar. Moreover, these combinations of Lagrangians precisely appear when expressing in our basis the constraints of the recently proposed Extended Scalar-Tensor (EST) theories. These results allow us to classify the different orbits of scalar-tensor theories invariant under particular disformal transformations, namely the special disformal, kinetic disformal and disformal Horndeski orbits. In addition, we consider generalizations of this framework. We find that there are possible well-defined extended disformal transformations that have not been considered in the literature. However, they generically cannot link Horndeski theory with EST theories. Finally, we study further generalizations in which extra fields with different spin are included. These field redefinitions can be used to connect different gravity theories such as multi-scalar-tensor theories, generalized Proca theories and bi-gravity. We discuss how the formalism of differential forms could be useful for future developments in these lines.

We study the role of field redefinitions in general scalar-tensor theories. In particular, we first focus on the class of field redefinitions linear in the spin-2 field and involving derivatives of the spin-0 mode, generically known as disformal transformations. We start by defining the action of a disformal transformation in the tangent space. Then, we take advantage of the great economy of means of the language of differential forms to compute the full transformation of Horndeski's theory under general disformal transformations. We obtain that Horndeski's action maps onto itself modulo a reduced set of non-Horndeski Lagrangians. These new Lagrangians are found to be invariant under disformal transformation that depend only in the first derivatives of the scalar. Moreover, these combinations of Lagrangians precisely appear when expressing in our basis the constraints of the recently proposed Extended Scalar-Tensor (EST) theories. These results allow us to classify the different orbits of scalar-tensor theories invariant under particular disformal transformations, namely the special disformal, kinetic disformal and disformal Horndeski orbits. In addition, we consider generalizations of this framework. We find that there are possible well-defined extended disformal transformations that have not been considered in the literature. However, they generically cannot link Horndeski theory with EST theories. Finally, we study further generalizations in which extra fields with different spin are included. These field redefinitions can be used to connect different gravity theories such as multi-scalar-tensor theories, generalized Proca theories and bi-gravity. We discuss how the formalism of differential forms could be useful for future developments in these lines.

18 pages ; 22 cm

The National Association for the Education of Young Children and Head Start have clearly articulated their position on the provision of high-quality instruction for the 4 million dual language learners (DLLs) enrolled in early childhood (EC) programs nationwide. Professional development (PD) provides a way for educators to increase their knowledge and skills; however, teacher practices in the classroom are strongly influenced by implicit beliefs about how children learn. This study examined the influence of 6 PD sessions related to high-quality instruction for DLLs and examined other influential factors related to beliefs and practices. Participants were 98 early childhood educators serving 3- and 4-year-old DLLs in an urban area in the Southwest US. Quantitative findings indicate educators' beliefs and practices shifted after PD. Qualitative findings suggest that educators' empathy, expectations, and external factors also influenced their beliefs and practices. Implications for PD and program design are discussed.

The National Association for the Education of Young Children and Head Start have clearly articulated their position on the provision of high-quality instruction for the 4 million dual language learners (DLLs) enrolled in early childhood (EC) programs nationwide. Professional development (PD) provides a way for educators to increase their knowledge and skills; however, teacher practices in the classroom are strongly influenced by implicit beliefs about how children learn. This study examined the influence of 6 PD sessions related to high-quality instruction for DLLs and examined other influential factors related to beliefs and practices. Participants were 98 early childhood educators serving 3- and 4-year-old DLLs in an urban area in the Southwest US. Quantitative findings indicate educators' beliefs and practices shifted after PD. Qualitative findings suggest that educators' empathy, expectations, and external factors also influenced their beliefs and practices. Implications for PD and program design are discussed.

It is no exaggeration to say that language learning is the very foundation of global competence and the most deeply effective way for students to be able to "investigate the world, recognize perspectives, communicate ideas, and take action," which is the definition of global competence developed by Asia Society Vice President for Education, Tony Jackson. Using the twin lenses of "linguist" and "diplomat," Asia Society is working with a national network of 100 K-12 schools that teach Chinese in almost 30 states, with the goal of including Chinese language learning as a core component of a much larger mission to build students' global competence. Learning a new language, particularly one as challenging and as different from English as Chinese, can also play a major role in building students' self-esteem and self-confidence. It is important to recognize this social-emotional dimension to language learning, and to understand it together with the more usual attention given to language proficiency, cognitive, and academic development. This article discusses how teaching students Chinese is a means for helping students become twenty-first century global citizens.

A description of the federal Office of Refugee Resettlement's standards and curriculum for its Mainstream English Language Training (MELT) program, first designed in 1983, outlines the principles on which the curriculum is based, its structure, and development over its first 15 years. An introductory section gives background information on the project and its design. The second section explains the adoption of the competency-based approach to English language instruction, the design of the core curriculum, and provision for local curriculum development based on this core. The specific competencies for each instructional level are then listed, and criteria for assessing performance at each level are detailed. Finally, procedures and issues in learner assessment and program accountability are discussed. Appended materials include a list of original MELT program participants, a list of commercial textbook series that incorporate MELT competencies, and oral language, reading, and writing assessment checklists at the beginning level. (MSE) (Adjunct ERIC Clearinghouse on Literacy Education)

This guide explores three ways for teachers to increase speech and culture samples in the foreign language classroom: using foreign exchange students, using U.S. students returning from overseas experience, and identifying and using community resources. The guide includes six chapters, which cover the following topics: the value of bringing in foreign students, problems connected with this practice, and preparing for the visit; general and specific suggestions for classroom activities (both short-term activities and complete units of study); activities involving the entire school, including gaining support, informing the public, using the student as a resource in non-language classes, introducing the student to the faculty, and helping the student pursue personal goals; identifying and using a wide variety of individual, organizational, and other community resources, both in school and within the communuity; and community exploration projects that look at an entire segment of the community, such as an ethnic neighborhood, as a cultural resource. Appended materials include a brochure produced for exchange students, a list of organizations concerned with international exchange programs and language study, and a list of useful books. (MSE)

In this issue of "The Claremont Letter," the author argues that efforts to educate immigrant youth need to expand beyond a sole focus on language. Focusing solely on getting immigrant students to become English Proficient is short-sighted and inadequate. Efforts to educate immigrant youth need to include recognition of the various cultural and psychological resources that students bring into the classroom setting. First, the author discusses the research literature that describes the cultural and psychological characteristics that immigrant youth bring into the context of learning. Second, he details the damaging effects of forced linguistic and cultural assimilation and shows how these schooling practices undermine the achievement motivation of immigrant students. Finally, he suggests classroom and school practices that can be implemented to support and nurture academic excellence among immigrant youth.

In this issue of "The Claremont Letter," the author argues that efforts to educate immigrant youth need to expand beyond a sole focus on language. Focusing solely on getting immigrant students to become English Proficient is short-sighted and inadequate. Efforts to educate immigrant youth need to include recognition of the various cultural and psychological resources that students bring into the classroom setting. First, the author discusses the research literature that describes the cultural and psychological characteristics that immigrant youth bring into the context of learning. Second, he details the damaging effects of forced linguistic and cultural assimilation and shows how these schooling practices undermine the achievement motivation of immigrant students. Finally, he suggests classroom and school practices that can be implemented to support and nurture academic excellence among immigrant youth.

In this issue of "The Claremont Letter," the author argues that efforts to educate immigrant youth need to expand beyond a sole focus on language. Focusing solely on getting immigrant students to become English Proficient is short-sighted and inadequate. Efforts to educate immigrant youth need to include recognition of the various cultural and psychological resources that students bring into the classroom setting. First, the author discusses the research literature that describes the cultural and psychological characteristics that immigrant youth bring into the context of learning. Second, he details the damaging effects of forced linguistic and cultural assimilation and shows how these schooling practices undermine the achievement motivation of immigrant students. Finally, he suggests classroom and school practices that can be implemented to support and nurture academic excellence among immigrant youth.

Modifications to the Office of Civil Rights (OCR) Task Force Remedies are suggested with reference to identification of national origin minority students, assessment and educational prescription, staffing, desegregation assurance, and parent involvement. These considerations are addressed in five sections: (1) student identification; (2) program offerings (K-12); (3) staffing; (4) prevention of programmatic discriminatory practices; and (5) evaluation. The first section describes and gives examples of a home language survey, methods of identifying students, language proficiency and student achievement, and a classification of Lau Students. The second section discusses programs for various categories of students with limited English proficiency, individualized learning programs, factors triggering comprehensive bilingual programs, and special education concerns. The third section deals with instructional personnel requirements, staff development, and affirmative action. The fourth section on discriminatory practices includes communication with parents and parent involvement. Finally, evaluation is discussed in terms of educational context, content, process, and product. (AMH)

This article is from Frontiers in Psychology , volume 5 . Abstract We report results from an eye-tracking during listening study examining English-speaking adults’ online processing of reflexive pronouns, and specifically whether the search for an antecedent is restricted to syntactically appropriate positions. Participants listened to a short story where the recipient of an object was introduced with a reflexive, and were asked to identify the object recipient as quickly as possible. This allowed for the recording of participants’ offline interpretation of the reflexive, response times, and eye movements on hearing the reflexive. Whilst our offline results show that the ultimate interpretation for reflexives was constrained by binding principles, the response time, and eye-movement data revealed that during processing participants were temporarily distracted by a structurally inappropriate competitor antecedent when this was prominent in the discourse. These results indicate that in addition to binding principles, online referential decisions are also affected by discourse-level information.

This article is from Frontiers in Psychology , volume 5 . Abstract We report results from an eye-tracking during listening study examining English-speaking adults’ online processing of reflexive pronouns, and specifically whether the search for an antecedent is restricted to syntactically appropriate positions. Participants listened to a short story where the recipient of an object was introduced with a reflexive, and were asked to identify the object recipient as quickly as possible. This allowed for the recording of participants’ offline interpretation of the reflexive, response times, and eye movements on hearing the reflexive. Whilst our offline results show that the ultimate interpretation for reflexives was constrained by binding principles, the response time, and eye-movement data revealed that during processing participants were temporarily distracted by a structurally inappropriate competitor antecedent when this was prominent in the discourse. These results indicate that in addition to binding principles, online referential decisions are also affected by discourse-level information.

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Children with poor reading comprehension tend to have oral language weaknesses leading to the suggestion that poor language in the early years is a proximal cause of later reading comprehension difficulties. Yet, longitudinal studies have not been able to reliably predict which children go on to have comprehension weaknesses and evidence comprises small sample sizes and a narrow focus on language in isolation. In this registered report, we will examine early predictors of later outcomes using a sample of 879 children identified as having comprehension weaknesses at 9 years in the Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children (ALSPAC). Study 1 will test whether they had language weaknesses at ages 15, 24, and 38 months relative to peers who did not go on to develop reading difficulties (n=4516). We will examine the extent to which preschool language measures predict later group outcomes, and whether early language risk is exacerbated by an impoverished language and communication environment. Study 2 builds on this multiple risk approach to examine broader cognitive predictors alongside language. Using a subsample of 125 children with comprehension weaknesses and 562 typically developing readers, we will ask whether the breadth (number) or depth (severity) of risk factors predict reading outcomes. Together, these findings will improve our understanding of who is at risk of later comprehension difficulty, and the breadth of support that may be necessary for successful intervention.