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"Language acquisition Globalization."
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Describing bilinguals: A systematic review of labels and descriptions used in the literature between 2005–2015
Recent years have seen a surge in research comparing bilinguals to monolinguals, yet synthesizing this literature is complicated by the diversity of language and social backgrounds behind these dichotomous labels. The current study examines the labels and descriptions reported in 186 studies comparing bilinguals and monolinguals published between 2005–2015 in order to understand how bilingualism has been operationalized and to describe the degree to which different facets of bilingual experience are reported. Proficiency and usage were the most frequently reported features (77% and 79%), followed by language history (67%) and the language of schooling (60%). However, less than half of the studies measured proficiency objectively or reported proportional usage, and even less – 30% – described the sociolinguistic context from which the sample was drawn. Given the increase in language contact due to globalization, more transparent and comprehensive reporting of participant characteristics is critical to building our understanding of how bilingualism affects experience.
Journal Article
Language for specific purposes
\"Language for Specific Purposes provides a concise history of the roots of LSP, and an analysis of the current trends in globalization, technology and applied linguistics that directly affect the learning, teaching and researching of LSP. The book provides insights into language course planning, design and implementation, assessment and evaluation, as well as issues in pedagogy, classroom management and professional development of particular interest to LSP practitioners. Another important focus of the book is research: the nature of research in LSP, typical research methods in the field, and ideas for researchable projects. Numerous case studies and lists of useful resources for further study and research make this book a rich resource, not only for graduate students planning to teach LSP, but also for professionals looking to update or extend their knowledge of the field\"-- Provided by publisher.
Book
Looking ahead: Future directions in, and future research into, second language acquisition
This article begins by situating modern‐day second language acquisition (SLA) research in a historical context, tracing its evolution from cognitive to social to sociocognitive accounts. Next, the influence of the zeitgeist is considered. In this era of rapid change and turmoil, there are both perils and opportunities afforded by globalization. In addition, what globalization is bringing to the forefront is a need to grapple with the complexity of the world. It follows then that we need to think differently about SLA. I suggest that this thinking take two directions. The first is that the researchers in the field adopt an ecological perspective, whereby the relations among factors are what is key to elucidating the complexity. I offer as an example overcoming the bifurcation between research on individual differences and research on the SLA process. Doing so ushers in a person‐centered, humanistic dimension of SLA. A second, related change is the renewed awareness of the importance of context and of the nature of constraints that shape any particular context. Language learning does not occur in an ideological vacuum but rather is affected in a serious way by prevailing beliefs in the society at large. I therefore make the case for language researchers to be more mindful of the social injustices that exist in the world concerning language learning and use, and I indicate several of the ideologies and myths that deserve to be challenged accordingly. Before concluding, I discuss the implications of these two changes for issues of language assessment, research, and teaching. Challenges How can the field of second language acquisition/development help learners to cope with the complexity and dynamism of the world we live in? An ecological approach that is considerate of the learning context and learners’ individual differences and that teaches them to adapt and make use of access‐creating affordances offers a logical choice.
Journal Article
Introduction: Identity, Transdisciplinarity, and the Good Language Teacher
What constitutes a \"good teacher\" and \"good teaching\" has come under much scrutiny in an age of globalization, transnationalism, and increased demands for accountability. It is against this evolving landscape and the pathbreaking work of the Douglas Fir Group (DFG, 2016) that this special issue engages the following two broad questions: (a) In what ways is language teaching \"identity work\"? and (b) To what extent does a transdisciplinary approach to language learning and teaching offer insight into language teacher identity? We begin this Introduction with a discussion on identity research in second language acquisition and applied linguistics, and then address innovations in language teacher identity research, exploring how this work has been advanced methodologically through narratives, discourse analysis, and an ethical consideration of research practices. We then consider how the transdisciplinary framework of the DFG, and its focus on macro, meso, and micro dimensions of language learning at the ideological, institutional, and classroom levels, respectively, might contribute to our understanding of language teacher identity. In the final section, we argue that the host of complementary theories adopted by the six contributors supports the view that a transdisciplinary approach to language teacher identity is both productive and desirable. Further, the contributors advance the language teacher identity research agenda by taking into consideration (a) how teacher identity intersects with the multilingual (Higgins and Ponte) and translingual (Zheng) realities of contemporary classrooms, (b) the investment of teachers in developing the semiotic repertoires of learners (Stranger-Johannessen and Norton) and a socially inclusive learning environment (Barkhuizen), and (c) the emotions (Wolff and De Costa) and ethical practices (Miller, Morgan, and Medina) of teachers. Central to all articles in this special issue is the need to recognize the rich linguistic and personal histories that language teachers bring into the classroom in order to promote effective language learning.
Journal Article
English-medium instruction in Chinese higher education
With the relentless internationalization and marketization of higher education in the past decades, English has been increasingly adopted as a medium of instruction at universities across the world. Recent research, however, has shown that despite its various optimistically envisioned goals, English-medium instruction (EMI) is not without problems in practice. This article reports a case study of an EMI Business Administration program for undergraduate students at a major university of finance and economy in mainland China. Informed by Spolsky's language policy framework, the study made a critical analysis of national/institutional policy statements and interviews with professors and students to uncover EMI-related language ideologies, language practices, and language management mechanisms. Findings evinced a complex interplay of these three constitutive components of language policy in the focal EMI program and revealed considerable misalignment between policy intentions and actual practices in the classroom. These findings raise concerns about the quality and consequences of EMI in Chinese higher education. The article concludes with recommendations for further research on EMI policies and practices in China. (HRK / Abstract übernommen).
Journal Article
\Non-coercive Rearrangements\: Theorizing Desire in TESOL
In this article, the authors argue that at the center of every English language learning moment lies desire: desire for the language; for the identities that English represents; for capital, power, and images that are associated with English; for what is believed to lie beyond the doors that English unlocks. However, despite its centrality within TESOL practice, the construct of desire has been largely undertheorized by English language educators. The authors propose (1) that educators in the TESOL field would benefit from a greater recognition of desire as situated and co-constructed, acknowledging that our desires are not solely our own but are intersubjectively constituted and shaped by our social, historical, political, institutional, and economic contexts; (2) that the difference between conscious and unconscious desire is significant in language learning; and (3) that whereas desire can be manipulated in exploitative or unethical ways, it can also, given the right circumstances, serve as a tool for compassionate and liberatory pedagogy. This article explores the interconnectedness of desire with motivation and investment, the commodification of English, ahogare desire, racial identities, globalizing forces, colonialism, and communicative language teaching. The authors propose a revisioning of TESOL that recognizes the centrality of desire in the acquisition of English.
Journal Article
Automatic Speech Recognition Method Based on Deep Learning Approaches for Uzbek Language
Communication has been an important aspect of human life, civilization, and globalization for thousands of years. Biometric analysis, education, security, healthcare, and smart cities are only a few examples of speech recognition applications. Most studies have mainly concentrated on English, Spanish, Japanese, or Chinese, disregarding other low-resource languages, such as Uzbek, leaving their analysis open. In this paper, we propose an End-To-End Deep Neural Network-Hidden Markov Model speech recognition model and a hybrid Connectionist Temporal Classification (CTC)-attention network for the Uzbek language and its dialects. The proposed approach reduces training time and improves speech recognition accuracy by effectively using CTC objective function in attention model training. We evaluated the linguistic and lay-native speaker performances on the Uzbek language dataset, which was collected as a part of this study. Experimental results show that the proposed model achieved a word error rate of 14.3% using 207 h of recordings as an Uzbek language training dataset.
Journal Article