Tatyana Baranovskaya, M. Antonova, Anna Zakharova, Stanislav Li
Background. The linguistic worldview theory stems from Humboldt’s ideas concerning the interdependence of language and its speakers. Since Humboldt’s time national linguistic worldviews remain a challenging aspect of linguistic research accounting for a significant number of publications. Since linguistic worldview is a multi-faceted phenomenon, studies differ in terms of the facets they investigate and applied methodology. The linguistic worldview research has covered a wide array of linguistic worldview fragments and utilised monolingual material as well as cross-linguistic analysis of worldview fragments. However, so far, little attention has been paid to the analysis of this ever-increasing body of research and quite few studies have attempted to review the literature in this field. Purpose. The subject field scoping review aims to overview the available literature on national linguistic worldviews and answers the three questions: What is a diachronic change of researchers’ interest in the issue? What fragments of linguistic worldview have been investigated comprehensively? What are the most frequently used methods of modelling the linguistic worldview? Methods. The literature for the scoping review was retrieved from the three electronic databases: SciVerse Scopus, Web of Science (Core Collection), and Google Scholar. Literature selection was performed in accordance with the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA). To generate a list of current research directions, which rest on the analysis of fragments of linguistic worldview, the visualisation map of authors’ key words was created using the VOSviewer software. Results and Implications. The concise scoping review of the previously published literature on linguistic worldview shows that most publications date between 2015 and 2021 and the years yielding most publications are 2018 and 2019. The number of publications mentioning linguistic worldview grew each year within the study period. The analysis of linguistic worldview fragments helped to identify six directions of researchers’ interest in the linguistic worldview field which include lexical fragments, linguistic worldview and consciousness, phraseological fragments, reflection of linguistic worldview in different discourses, linguistic worldview in translation and teaching, and grammar fragments. The most frequently used methods of modelling the linguistic worldview are an associative psycholinguistic experiment, a conceptual analysis, and a comparative method.
背景语言世界观理论源于洪堡关于语言与说话人相互依存的思想。自洪堡时代以来，民族语言世界观一直是语言学研究的一个具有挑战性的方面，出版了大量的出版物。由于语言世界观是一种多方面的现象，研究者在研究和应用方法论方面存在差异。语言世界观研究涵盖了广泛的语言世界观片段，并利用了单语材料和对世界观片段的跨语言分析。然而，到目前为止，很少有人关注对这一不断增加的研究机构的分析，也很少有研究试图回顾该领域的文献。意图主题领域界定综述旨在概述现有的关于民族语言世界观的文献，并回答三个问题：研究人员对这个问题的兴趣的历时性变化是什么？对语言学世界观的哪些片段进行了全面的研究？最常用的语言世界观建模方法是什么？方法。范围界定审查的文献来自三个电子数据库：SciVerse Scopus、Web of Science（核心收藏）和Google Scholar。文献选择根据系统评价和荟萃分析的首选报告项目（PRISMA）进行。为了生成一份基于语言世界观片段分析的当前研究方向列表，使用VOSviewer软件创建了作者关键词的可视化地图。结果和影响。对先前发表的语言世界观文献的简要范围审查显示，大多数出版物的出版日期在2015年至2021年之间，而产生大多数出版物的年份是2018年至2019年。在研究期间，提及语言世界观的出版物数量每年都在增长。对语言世界观片段的分析有助于确定研究者对语言世界论领域感兴趣的六个方向，包括词汇片段、语言世界观和意识、短语片段、不同语篇中语言世界观的反映、翻译和教学中的语言世界观以及语法片段。最常用的语言世界观建模方法是联想心理语言学实验、概念分析和比较方法。
{"title":"Modelling the Linguistic Worldview: Subject Field Scoping Review","authors":"Tatyana Baranovskaya, M. Antonova, Anna Zakharova, Stanislav Li","doi":"10.17323/jle.2022.14433","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.17323/jle.2022.14433","url":null,"abstract":"Background. The linguistic worldview theory stems from Humboldt’s ideas concerning the interdependence of language and its speakers. Since Humboldt’s time national linguistic worldviews remain a challenging aspect of linguistic research accounting for a significant number of publications. Since linguistic worldview is a multi-faceted phenomenon, studies differ in terms of the facets they investigate and applied methodology. The linguistic worldview research has covered a wide array of linguistic worldview fragments and utilised monolingual material as well as cross-linguistic analysis of worldview fragments. However, so far, little attention has been paid to the analysis of this ever-increasing body of research and quite few studies have attempted to review the literature in this field. \u0000Purpose. The subject field scoping review aims to overview the available literature on national linguistic worldviews and answers the three questions: What is a diachronic change of researchers’ interest in the issue? What fragments of linguistic worldview have been investigated comprehensively? What are the most frequently used methods of modelling the linguistic worldview? \u0000Methods. The literature for the scoping review was retrieved from the three electronic databases: SciVerse Scopus, Web of Science (Core Collection), and Google Scholar. Literature selection was performed in accordance with the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA). To generate a list of current research directions, which rest on the analysis of fragments of linguistic worldview, the visualisation map of authors’ key words was created using the VOSviewer software. \u0000Results and Implications. The concise scoping review of the previously published literature on linguistic worldview shows that most publications date between 2015 and 2021 and the years yielding most publications are 2018 and 2019. The number of publications mentioning linguistic worldview grew each year within the study period. The analysis of linguistic worldview fragments helped to identify six directions of researchers’ interest in the linguistic worldview field which include lexical fragments, linguistic worldview and consciousness, phraseological fragments, reflection of linguistic worldview in different discourses, linguistic worldview in translation and teaching, and grammar fragments. The most frequently used methods of modelling the linguistic worldview are an associative psycholinguistic experiment, a conceptual analysis, and a comparative method.","PeriodicalId":37020,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Language and Education","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.7,"publicationDate":"2022-09-30","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"45633378","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Background. Although the constructivist and humanistic theories advocate for a more student-centred learning approach, the contemporary practice of English teachers is more oriented towards the behavioural approach in the Saudi EFL context. Purpose. This study aimed to explore teachers’ perceptions of promoting student-centred learning in the Saudi EFL context. It initially amplifies elements of effective student-centred EFL teaching and merges the elements with teachers’ behaviours, resulting in four measurable categories: assessment strategy, communicative approach to learning, teachers’ qualifications, and group activities in teaching EFL. Methods. Following the quantitative approach, a questionnaire on teachers’ observable behaviours, comprising 47 items and categorised under four constructs, with a three-point Likert scale, was carried out on a group of 302 English teachers. The instrument was devised through an online survey. To analyse data, descriptive and inferential statistical analysis was used. Exploratory factor analysis was performed to validate the study’s instrument. Results. The interpretation of data primarily showed teachers’ self-reported practices were more oriented toward a teacher-centred approach, specifically in teaching grammar. Other findings showed teachers’ positive attitude towards student-centred learning in lesson preparation, using ICT to prepare interactive teaching materials and giving constructive feedback. Teachers had a mediocre attitude towards their professional qualifications, indicating that the teachers might need more effective English language training workshops based on their needs. Additional data also proved that there was no significant difference in teachers’ perception in terms of their gender, location and status of the school, and classroom size. Implications. This study provides an overview of the teachers’ position on integrating student-centred learning in their English classroom and thus accentuates the need for potential opportunities for the teachers’ professional development and demands less content overload so that the teachers can ample their teaching process appropriately.
{"title":"Teachers’ Perceptions of Promoting Student-Centred Learning Environment: An Exploratory Study of Teachers’ Behaviours in the Saudi EFL Context","authors":"Mohammad H. Al-khresheh","doi":"10.17323/jle.2022.11917","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.17323/jle.2022.11917","url":null,"abstract":"Background. Although the constructivist and humanistic theories advocate for a more student-centred learning approach, the contemporary practice of English teachers is more oriented towards the behavioural approach in the Saudi EFL context. \u0000Purpose. This study aimed to explore teachers’ perceptions of promoting student-centred learning in the Saudi EFL context. It initially amplifies elements of effective student-centred EFL teaching and merges the elements with teachers’ behaviours, resulting in four measurable categories: assessment strategy, communicative approach to learning, teachers’ qualifications, and group activities in teaching EFL. \u0000Methods. Following the quantitative approach, a questionnaire on teachers’ observable behaviours, comprising 47 items and categorised under four constructs, with a three-point Likert scale, was carried out on a group of 302 English teachers. The instrument was devised through an online survey. To analyse data, descriptive and inferential statistical analysis was used. Exploratory factor analysis was performed to validate the study’s instrument. \u0000Results. The interpretation of data primarily showed teachers’ self-reported practices were more oriented toward a teacher-centred approach, specifically in teaching grammar. Other findings showed teachers’ positive attitude towards student-centred learning in lesson preparation, using ICT to prepare interactive teaching materials and giving constructive feedback. Teachers had a mediocre attitude towards their professional qualifications, indicating that the teachers might need more effective English language training workshops based on their needs. Additional data also proved that there was no significant difference in teachers’ perception in terms of their gender, location and status of the school, and classroom size. \u0000Implications. This study provides an overview of the teachers’ position on integrating student-centred learning in their English classroom and thus accentuates the need for potential opportunities for the teachers’ professional development and demands less content overload so that the teachers can ample their teaching process appropriately.","PeriodicalId":37020,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Language and Education","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.7,"publicationDate":"2022-09-30","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"44973751","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Introduction. Citations of scholarly publications are considered an efficient measure of productivity of research and researchers. They are part of scholarly communication, driving the evolving knowledge in all disciplines. Citations form an integral part of literature practices of researchers. The latter are prone to deliberate or unconscious biases. One of the challenges all researchers face is to overcome or at least mitigate identified biases in citation. It may lead to distorting knowledge development in the least possible way. Purpose. As the research of citations is on the rise, more theoretical background is being developed. The editors call the JLE readers attention to the Triangular Citations, with various relationships among publications formed by citations. Results. Empirical studies are not unanimous in defining the features that affect citations most. Most researchers highlight a publication source as the most influential feature, with multi feature approach favoured by the academic community at large. Other features entail features relating to authors, journal, and publication itself. Moreover, there are varieties across the disciplines. The field of research of citation behaviour is only beginning to widen. The focus of such research is made on citation behaviour patterns, individual incentives behind the references and citations aligned with financial or reputation stimuli, and citations patterns linked to citation behaviour. Bias in citation threatens to distort knowledge and may evolve it subtly or obviously in a specific direction. Biases are not easy to deal with. In addition, values and mindsets vary across the countries and academic and scholarly communities that hinders efforts to overcome biases. Implications. The JLE editors sum up the best guidelines on improvements in publications that add to greater citations, with the high quality of articles as the key.
{"title":"Citations and References: Guidelines on Literature Practices","authors":"E. Tikhonova, Lilia K. Raitskaya","doi":"10.17323/jle.2022.15960","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.17323/jle.2022.15960","url":null,"abstract":"Introduction. Citations of scholarly publications are considered an efficient measure of productivity of research and researchers. They are part of scholarly communication, driving the evolving knowledge in all disciplines. Citations form an integral part of literature practices of researchers. The latter are prone to deliberate or unconscious biases. One of the challenges all researchers face is to overcome or at least mitigate identified biases in citation. It may lead to distorting knowledge development in the least possible way. \u0000Purpose. As the research of citations is on the rise, more theoretical background is being developed. The editors call the JLE readers attention to the Triangular Citations, with various relationships among publications formed by citations. \u0000Results. Empirical studies are not unanimous in defining the features that affect citations most. Most researchers highlight a publication source as the most influential feature, with multi feature approach favoured by the academic community at large. Other features entail features relating to authors, journal, and publication itself. Moreover, there are varieties across the disciplines. The field of research of citation behaviour is only beginning to widen. The focus of such research is made on citation behaviour patterns, individual incentives behind the references and citations aligned with financial or reputation stimuli, and citations patterns linked to citation behaviour. Bias in citation threatens to distort knowledge and may evolve it subtly or obviously in a specific direction. Biases are not easy to deal with. In addition, values and mindsets vary across the countries and academic and scholarly communities that hinders efforts to overcome biases. \u0000Implications. The JLE editors sum up the best guidelines on improvements in publications that add to greater citations, with the high quality of articles as the key.","PeriodicalId":37020,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Language and Education","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.7,"publicationDate":"2022-09-30","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"43204764","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Background. Coherence is considered one of the most important qualities of written discourse. Despite its fundamental importance, it is still considered a fuzzy and abstract concept in most English Second Language (ESL) contexts. Consequently, many ESL learners struggle to produce a coherent text. Morphological, phonological, orthographic awareness, vocabulary knowledge, and grammatical competence have been identified as predictors of writing quality in novice writers. There is, however, a lack of data to assess whether such linguistic skills also predict coherence in adult ESL learners’ writing. Purpose. The purpose of the study was to find out the relationships among a set of linguistic skills measures which included morphological, phonological, orthographic awareness, vocabulary knowledge and grammatical competence and coherence in adult ESL learners’ writing. Methods. To testify to the potential predictors of coherence in ESL writing, adult university students (126) were assessed by the measures of the linguistic skills mentioned above in addition to four measures of coherence: two relatively reader-based measures (ILETS and the Holistic Coherence Scale) and two relatively text-based measures (Topical Structure Analysis and Topic Based Analysis). All measures of the study were proved valid and reliable. Results. The findings revealed that vocabulary knowledge, morphological awareness, and grammatical competence were related to the coherence measures, particularly the reader-based measures. In contrast, measures of phonological and orthographic awareness generally did not correlate with the coherence measures. Implication. Reasons for the associations among the variables of the study were discussed and areas for future research were offered.
{"title":"Cognitive Predictors of Coherence in Adult ESL Learners’ Writing","authors":"Abdul Saeed","doi":"10.26021/2710","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.26021/2710","url":null,"abstract":"Background. Coherence is considered one of the most important qualities of written discourse. Despite its fundamental importance, it is still considered a fuzzy and abstract concept in most English Second Language (ESL) contexts. Consequently, many ESL learners struggle to produce a coherent text. Morphological, phonological, orthographic awareness, vocabulary knowledge, and grammatical competence have been identified as predictors of writing quality in novice writers. There is, however, a lack of data to assess whether such linguistic skills also predict coherence in adult ESL learners’ writing. \u0000Purpose. The purpose of the study was to find out the relationships among a set of linguistic skills measures which included morphological, phonological, orthographic awareness, vocabulary knowledge and grammatical competence and coherence in adult ESL learners’ writing. \u0000Methods. To testify to the potential predictors of coherence in ESL writing, adult university students (126) were assessed by the measures of the linguistic skills mentioned above in addition to four measures of coherence: two relatively reader-based measures (ILETS and the Holistic Coherence Scale) and two relatively text-based measures (Topical Structure Analysis and Topic Based Analysis). All measures of the study were proved valid and reliable. \u0000Results. The findings revealed that vocabulary knowledge, morphological awareness, and grammatical competence were related to the coherence measures, particularly the reader-based measures. In contrast, measures of phonological and orthographic awareness generally did not correlate with the coherence measures. \u0000Implication. Reasons for the associations among the variables of the study were discussed and areas for future research were offered.","PeriodicalId":37020,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Language and Education","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.7,"publicationDate":"2022-09-30","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"48865121","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Background. Recent years have seen tremendous research efforts in the development of English for academic and research publication purposes, utilising an established approach to comparative genre analysis. This growing interest is primarily driven by the global dominance of Anglophone writing conventions, which necessitates raising awareness among researchers, particularly in non-Anglophone contexts. Purpose. This study explored and analysed the communicative intents of the discussion sections in research articles in two different contexts to investigate the effect of nativeness on the structural organisation in this genre. The focus of the study was on the rhetorical structure and employment of Moves in the applied linguistics research article Discussions, written in English by Iranian and native English-speaking researchers. Methods. A mixed-methods research study was conducted on two corpora, comprising 40 Discussions written by Iranian scholars and 40 Discussions written by native English-speaking scholars, selected from research articles published in international peer-reviewed journals. Results. The comparison of the two corpora revealed similarities and differences in the frequency, type, structure, sequence, and cyclicity of Moves. While there were significant differences in the frequency and sequence of Moves and Steps, both corpora employed the same types. They featured cyclical structures with no evidence of linear patterns across the Discussions. Both groups of researchers found it essential to provide background information and report and comment on the results in the research article Discussions, however, with notable differences in commenting strategies, i.e., Steps. The results indicated that socio-cultural conventions might have influenced the scholars' under- and over-employment of certain Moves and Steps in the research article Discussions. Implications. The findings of this study provide research-based evidence to practically and pedagogically assist in the context of English for academic and specific purposes, particularly in teaching English for research publication purposes to non-native English-speaking scholars.
{"title":"Rhetorical Structure of Applied Linguistics Research Article Discussions: A Comparative Cross-Cultural Analysis","authors":"L. Ahmadi","doi":"10.17323/jle.2022.12750","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.17323/jle.2022.12750","url":null,"abstract":"Background. Recent years have seen tremendous research efforts in the development of English for academic and research publication purposes, utilising an established approach to comparative genre analysis. This growing interest is primarily driven by the global dominance of Anglophone writing conventions, which necessitates raising awareness among researchers, particularly in non-Anglophone contexts. \u0000Purpose. This study explored and analysed the communicative intents of the discussion sections in research articles in two different contexts to investigate the effect of nativeness on the structural organisation in this genre. The focus of the study was on the rhetorical structure and employment of Moves in the applied linguistics research article Discussions, written in English by Iranian and native English-speaking researchers. \u0000Methods. A mixed-methods research study was conducted on two corpora, comprising 40 Discussions written by Iranian scholars and 40 Discussions written by native English-speaking scholars, selected from research articles published in international peer-reviewed journals. \u0000Results. The comparison of the two corpora revealed similarities and differences in the frequency, type, structure, sequence, and cyclicity of Moves. While there were significant differences in the frequency and sequence of Moves and Steps, both corpora employed the same types. They featured cyclical structures with no evidence of linear patterns across the Discussions. Both groups of researchers found it essential to provide background information and report and comment on the results in the research article Discussions, however, with notable differences in commenting strategies, i.e., Steps. The results indicated that socio-cultural conventions might have influenced the scholars' under- and over-employment of certain Moves and Steps in the research article Discussions. \u0000Implications. The findings of this study provide research-based evidence to practically and pedagogically assist in the context of English for academic and specific purposes, particularly in teaching English for research publication purposes to non-native English-speaking scholars.","PeriodicalId":37020,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Language and Education","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.7,"publicationDate":"2022-09-30","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"43363228","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Through the years, English has increasingly been spoken by millions of speakers in the world as a second and foreign language to communicate across countries. As it was natively used by, following categorization conceptualized by Braj Bihari Kachru (1990), inner circle countries (English as L1), the speakers of outer circle (English as L2) and expanding circle (English as a foreign language, EFL) have outnumbered the native speakers (Kirkpatrick & Sussex, 2018). The cultural, geographical, and physical distinctions of speakers worldwide may shape and transform linguistic features (Kirkpatrick & Lixun, 2021). It leads to varieties of English. Bearing this in mind, through the lens of the use of English worldwide shaped by his upbringings, Andy Kirkpatrick, experienced living in the U.K., Malaysia, and Australia edited a sheer handbook of world Englishes by compiling 40 cutting-edge chapters capturing the varieties of English around the world, from its home origins involving U.K., U.S., Canada, Australia, and New Zealand to outer and expanding circles (European, African, and Asian countries) and also comprises varieties across social disciplines (culture, education, and business). As the successor of its preceding edition, the second edition attempted to address extensively the up-to-date issue on the role of English including socio-cultural, language literature, and pedagogical concerns and welcome readers across disciplines.
{"title":"The Routledge Handbook of World Englishes: A Book review","authors":"Fadhila Yonata, D. Rukmini, Suwandi, S. Fitriati","doi":"10.17323/jle.2022.13785","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.17323/jle.2022.13785","url":null,"abstract":"Through the years, English has increasingly been spoken by millions of speakers in the world as a second and foreign language to communicate across countries. As it was natively used by, following categorization conceptualized by Braj Bihari Kachru (1990), inner circle countries (English as L1), the speakers of outer circle (English as L2) and expanding circle (English as a foreign language, EFL) have outnumbered the native speakers (Kirkpatrick & Sussex, 2018). The cultural, geographical, and physical distinctions of speakers worldwide may shape and transform linguistic features (Kirkpatrick & Lixun, 2021). It leads to varieties of English. Bearing this in mind, through the lens of the use of English worldwide shaped by his upbringings, Andy Kirkpatrick, experienced living in the U.K., Malaysia, and Australia edited a sheer handbook of world Englishes by compiling 40 cutting-edge chapters capturing the varieties of English around the world, from its home origins involving U.K., U.S., Canada, Australia, and New Zealand to outer and expanding circles (European, African, and Asian countries) and also comprises varieties across social disciplines (culture, education, and business). As the successor of its preceding edition, the second edition attempted to address extensively the up-to-date issue on the role of English including socio-cultural, language literature, and pedagogical concerns and welcome readers across disciplines.","PeriodicalId":37020,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Language and Education","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.7,"publicationDate":"2022-09-30","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"41757885","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Background. Epistemic beliefs refer to a person’s viewpoints about the nature of knowledge and the process of knowing. A number of studies have explored language learners’ subjective views about what knowing and learning a foreign or a second language (L2) means to them personally. For the most part, these studies adopted quantitative research designs and employed self-reported questionnaires with Likert-type scales to collect the data. Purpose. This pilot study aimed to assess feasibility of adopting Q-methodology (Q) for explorations of language-related epistemic beliefs held by Chinese university students. A detailed account is given of the development of the research instrument (Q-sample); the findings from the Q-sample piloting are reported. Methods. The newly-developed Q-sample consisting of 45 statements was tested among six students learning the English language in a university in Mainland China. The students were at a different level of the English language proficiency. The 11-point Q-sorting grid had the values ranging from -5 (“Most disagree”) to +5 (“Most agree”). To gain deeper insights into the students’ personal epistemologies, a semi-structured post Q-sorting interview was conducted with each student. Results. The newly-developed Q-sample was found suitable for exploring language-related epistemic beliefs. Two groups of students sharing similar beliefs were distinguished. Students who clustered together to form Factor 1 held stronger viewpoints concerning certainty of knowledge; these students were at a lower English language proficiency level. The students who conglomerated on Factor 2 were at a higher level of language proficiency and they held stronger opinions relating to the authority and source of knowledge. Implications. The findings highlighted the relevance and salience of the epistemic beliefs pertaining to the process of acquiring knowledge. Further research with larger numbers of students is required to explore the role of language proficiency in shaping language learners’ personal epistemologies.
{"title":"Developing and Piloting a Q-sample on Chinese Language Learners’ Epistemic Beliefs","authors":"Yanyan Wang, L. Nikitina, J. Kaur, F. Furuoka","doi":"10.17323/jle.2022.13590","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.17323/jle.2022.13590","url":null,"abstract":"Background. Epistemic beliefs refer to a person’s viewpoints about the nature of knowledge and the process of knowing. A number of studies have explored language learners’ subjective views about what knowing and learning a foreign or a second language (L2) means to them personally. For the most part, these studies adopted quantitative research designs and employed self-reported questionnaires with Likert-type scales to collect the data. \u0000Purpose. This pilot study aimed to assess feasibility of adopting Q-methodology (Q) for explorations of language-related epistemic beliefs held by Chinese university students. A detailed account is given of the development of the research instrument (Q-sample); the findings from the Q-sample piloting are reported. \u0000Methods. The newly-developed Q-sample consisting of 45 statements was tested among six students learning the English language in a university in Mainland China. The students were at a different level of the English language proficiency. The 11-point Q-sorting grid had the values ranging from -5 (“Most disagree”) to +5 (“Most agree”). To gain deeper insights into the students’ personal epistemologies, a semi-structured post Q-sorting interview was conducted with each student. \u0000Results. The newly-developed Q-sample was found suitable for exploring language-related epistemic beliefs. Two groups of students sharing similar beliefs were distinguished. Students who clustered together to form Factor 1 held stronger viewpoints concerning certainty of knowledge; these students were at a lower English language proficiency level. The students who conglomerated on Factor 2 were at a higher level of language proficiency and they held stronger opinions relating to the authority and source of knowledge. \u0000Implications. The findings highlighted the relevance and salience of the epistemic beliefs pertaining to the process of acquiring knowledge. Further research with larger numbers of students is required to explore the role of language proficiency in shaping language learners’ personal epistemologies.","PeriodicalId":37020,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Language and Education","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.7,"publicationDate":"2022-09-30","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"44552867","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Background. The present paper focuses on meta-representational changes occurring in ageing by studying the decline in Definitional Competence, an ability so far little studied in this period of life. Purpose. The paper hypothesises a relation between Theory of Mind (ToM) and Definitional Competence, in a view that posits the former as a preparatory and facilitating competence for a more complex linguistic production, that is lexicographic definition. The effects of levels of education on the decline in ageing for Definitional Competence and ToM are also investigated. Methods. We recruited 24 adults (age range 21–55), 25 young-old adults (age range 60–70) and 25 old-old adults (age range 71–85) and administered them the Eyes task to measure ToM and the Co.De. Scale to assess Definitional Competence. Results. Results suggest that Definitional Competence declines earlier on than ToM, mirroring the well-known process according to which in semantic knowledge, during ageing, taxonomic relations are lost before thematic ones. Our results also show that better levels of education are associated with better performance in both our key constructs and that ToM predicts Definitional Competence, in line with our expectations. Conclusion. The paper offers one of the first systematic studies on the changes in Definitional Competence during the last phase of life and it provides theoretical insights into the relation between ToM and Definitional Competence in ageing. Implications. The paper is informative for future interventions aimed at enhancing linguistic and metalinguistic skills in ageing through the preservation of better levels of awareness and the assumption of a decentralised perspective in interpersonal communication.
{"title":"Changes of Meta-Representational Skills in Ageing: First Empirical Evidence on the Relation between Metalinguistic Competence and Attributions of Mental States","authors":"Federica Bianco, Ilaria Castelli, C. Belacchi","doi":"10.17323/jle.2022.13868","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.17323/jle.2022.13868","url":null,"abstract":"Background. The present paper focuses on meta-representational changes occurring in ageing by studying the decline in Definitional Competence, an ability so far little studied in this period of life. \u0000Purpose. The paper hypothesises a relation between Theory of Mind (ToM) and Definitional Competence, in a view that posits the former as a preparatory and facilitating competence for a more complex linguistic production, that is lexicographic definition. The effects of levels of education on the decline in ageing for Definitional Competence and ToM are also investigated. \u0000Methods. We recruited 24 adults (age range 21–55), 25 young-old adults (age range 60–70) and 25 old-old adults (age range 71–85) and administered them the Eyes task to measure ToM and the Co.De. Scale to assess Definitional Competence. \u0000Results. Results suggest that Definitional Competence declines earlier on than ToM, mirroring the well-known process according to which in semantic knowledge, during ageing, taxonomic relations are lost before thematic ones. Our results also show that better levels of education are associated with better performance in both our key constructs and that ToM predicts Definitional Competence, in line with our expectations. \u0000Conclusion. The paper offers one of the first systematic studies on the changes in Definitional Competence during the last phase of life and it provides theoretical insights into the relation between ToM and Definitional Competence in ageing. \u0000Implications. The paper is informative for future interventions aimed at enhancing linguistic and metalinguistic skills in ageing through the preservation of better levels of awareness and the assumption of a decentralised perspective in interpersonal communication.","PeriodicalId":37020,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Language and Education","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.7,"publicationDate":"2022-09-30","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"43940794","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Background. Academic writing skills are crucial to the enterprise of higher education, because much of the academic communication is in writing. As a rule, foreign language learners face different problems with vocabulary misuse, grammatical errors, spelling, capitalization, punctuation and some others when write academic texts in English. There are various technologies for solving these problems. One of them is digital support, because traditional types of academic writing instruction in the classroom are not always sufficient. Purpose. The present study researches the influence of digital support on students’ knowledge and punctuation skills in academic writing in English. Methods. The paper summarizes the results of an empirical study: training punctuation in academic writing lessons for two groups of students. The control group was applied a face-to-face and a text-book based traditional methodology. The experimental group was trained not only with a basic text-book but also with digital support. The level of knowledge and abilities in punctuation were measured with three final tests. Results. The results obtained indicate that digital support has significant didactic potential that is why it should be applied permanently in academic writing training process.
{"title":"Digital Support for Teaching Punctuation in Academic Writing in English","authors":"M. Ivanova, N. Arupova, Natalya Mekeko","doi":"10.17323/jle.2022.13608","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.17323/jle.2022.13608","url":null,"abstract":"Background. Academic writing skills are crucial to the enterprise of higher education, because much of the academic communication is in writing. As a rule, foreign language learners face different problems with vocabulary misuse, grammatical errors, spelling, capitalization, punctuation and some others when write academic texts in English. There are various technologies for solving these problems. One of them is digital support, because traditional types of academic writing instruction in the classroom are not always sufficient. \u0000Purpose. The present study researches the influence of digital support on students’ knowledge and punctuation skills in academic writing in English. \u0000Methods. The paper summarizes the results of an empirical study: training punctuation in academic writing lessons for two groups of students. The control group was applied a face-to-face and a text-book based traditional methodology. The experimental group was trained not only with a basic text-book but also with digital support. The level of knowledge and abilities in punctuation were measured with three final tests. \u0000Results. The results obtained indicate that digital support has significant didactic potential that is why it should be applied permanently in academic writing training process. \u0000 ","PeriodicalId":37020,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Language and Education","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.7,"publicationDate":"2022-09-30","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"45927138","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Background. Literature indicates that in academic writing, authors are expected to demonstrate a noticeable stance so that they can make their meaning clear. Therefore, differences between native and non-native writers along with cross-disciplinary academic writing assume great significance. Purpose. The interactional, dialogic, and reflective nature of academic writing requires writers to utilize stance-establishing tools in their writing, the most prominent ones being stance nouns. In addition, the that-clause construction plays a vital role in conveying the author’s stance. Studies that compare L1 Turkish writers of English and L1 English writers regarding academic writing are rather scarce. As such, the present paper aims to analyze L1 Turkish writers of English and L1 English writers in eight disciplines from natural and social sciences in terms of the use of stance nouns in that-clause constructions. Methods. The study employs Jiang and Hyland's (2016) functional classification model in exploring the nominal stance in cross-disciplinary writing of L1 Turkish writers of English and L1 English writers. To this end, journals with high impact in eight disciplines from social and natural sciences were scanned and a total of 320 articles were included in the corpus. The social sciences included in the present study cover applied linguistics, history, psychology, and sociology while the natural sciences cover medicine, engineering, astronomy, and biology. In total, a corpus of 2.232.164 words was formed. Results and Implications. The study found significant differences not only in terms of natural and social sciences but also in terms of L1/L2 distinction. In addition, a secondary purpose of the study was to see whether writers in social and natural sciences differed in terms of empiricist and interpretive rationality. The results indicated that writers in social sciences tended to use more status and cognition nouns, indicating that they tend to be more interpretive. With significant differences between Turkish and English writers from a cross-disciplinary perspective, the present study offers important insights into how writers weave their stance in academic writing. Moreover, the present study also confirmed that writers in social sciences, whether L1 or L2, tend to use more stance nouns compared with writers in natural sciences.
{"title":"Nominal Stance in Cross-disciplinary Academic Writing of L1 and L2 Speakers in Noun + that Constructions","authors":"Ozkan Kirmizi, Gülin Dağdeviren Kırmızı","doi":"10.17323/jle.2022.12252","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.17323/jle.2022.12252","url":null,"abstract":"Background. Literature indicates that in academic writing, authors are expected to demonstrate a noticeable stance so that they can make their meaning clear. Therefore, differences between native and non-native writers along with cross-disciplinary academic writing assume great significance. \u0000Purpose. The interactional, dialogic, and reflective nature of academic writing requires writers to utilize stance-establishing tools in their writing, the most prominent ones being stance nouns. In addition, the that-clause construction plays a vital role in conveying the author’s stance. Studies that compare L1 Turkish writers of English and L1 English writers regarding academic writing are rather scarce. As such, the present paper aims to analyze L1 Turkish writers of English and L1 English writers in eight disciplines from natural and social sciences in terms of the use of stance nouns in that-clause constructions. \u0000Methods. The study employs Jiang and Hyland's (2016) functional classification model in exploring the nominal stance in cross-disciplinary writing of L1 Turkish writers of English and L1 English writers. To this end, journals with high impact in eight disciplines from social and natural sciences were scanned and a total of 320 articles were included in the corpus. The social sciences included in the present study cover applied linguistics, history, psychology, and sociology while the natural sciences cover medicine, engineering, astronomy, and biology. In total, a corpus of 2.232.164 words was formed. \u0000Results and Implications. The study found significant differences not only in terms of natural and social sciences but also in terms of L1/L2 distinction. In addition, a secondary purpose of the study was to see whether writers in social and natural sciences differed in terms of empiricist and interpretive rationality. The results indicated that writers in social sciences tended to use more status and cognition nouns, indicating that they tend to be more interpretive. With significant differences between Turkish and English writers from a cross-disciplinary perspective, the present study offers important insights into how writers weave their stance in academic writing. Moreover, the present study also confirmed that writers in social sciences, whether L1 or L2, tend to use more stance nouns compared with writers in natural sciences.","PeriodicalId":37020,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Language and Education","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.7,"publicationDate":"2022-06-30","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"41618845","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
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