Group items tagged

A film on OhioLINK. "The world is a mosaic of visions, and each vision is encapsulated by a language." Yet every two weeks, one of the world's approximately 6,500 languages dies out. What is the significance of this loss to those who speak the language as well as for the rest of humankind? Why do some languages become global while others disappear? And how are language and identity connected? In this program, linguists David Crystal, Peter Austin, and Jørgen Rischel search for the answers to those and other pressing questions as they investigate the state-and fate-of Livonian, in Latvia; Dogon, in Mali; Mlabri, in Thailand; Changsha Hua and Naqxi, in China; Pitjantjatjara and Pintupi, in Australia; and Tutunaku, in Mexico. Portions are in other languages with English subtitles. (60 minutes)

This is an ACM Computing Surveys article that breaks up the act of computer programming into the simplest of forms: symbols that make up expressions that make up larger constructs by following the syntax of a given language. It does this by analyzing the paradigm of specialized programming languages designed specifically for the beginner programmer. Not only does the beginner learn how to program in a particular language, but the language should not hinder the design of algorithms and constructs that are utilized across many different platforms. The article also details the pros and cons of the enumerated languages and whether or not they follow this paradigm.

Over the last seven years, Jessie Little Doe Fermino, a member of the Mashpee tribe on Cape Cod, has been on a single-minded mission to revive the language of her ancestors, Wampanoag, the one that greeted the Pilgrims when they landed at Plymouth Rock and that gave the state of Massachusetts its name. But when she applied to the National Endowment of the Humanities for a grant to create a Wampanoag dictionary, she was turned down. The apparent reasons: the Wampanoag language has not been used in about 100 years, the known descendants of the original speakers number only 2,500 and Ms. Fermino is trying to make a spoken language out of a language that until recently existed only in documents, many of them from the 17th century.

In this prospective study home literacy is considered a multifaceted phenomenon consisting of a frequency or exposure facet (opportunity), an instruction quality facet, a parent-child cooperation facet, and a social-emotional quality facet. In a multiethnic, partly bilingual sample of 89 families with 4-year-old children, living in inner-city areas in the Netherlands, measures of home literacy were taken by means of interviews with the parents and observations of parent-child book reading interactions when the target children were ages 4, 5, and 6 years. At age 7, by the end of Grade 1, after nearly 1 year of formal reading instruction, vocabulary, word decoding, and reading comprehension were assessed using standard tests. Vocabulary at age 4 and an index of the predominant language used at home were also measured in order to be used as covariates. Correlational and multiple regression analyses supported the hypothesis that home literacy is multifaceted. Home literacy facets together predicted more variance in language and achievement measures at age 7 than each of them separately. Structural equations analysis also supported two additional hypotheses of the present research. First, the effects of background factors (SES, ethnicity, parents' own literacy practices) on language development and reading achievement in school were fully mediated by home literacy, home language, and early vocabulary. Second, even after controlling for the effects of early vocabulary and predominant home language, there remained statistically significant effects of home literacy, in particular, opportunity, instruction quality, and cooperation quality. (Abstract taken from JSTOR.)

Current emphasis in curricular design for FLES programs dedicates little time to the development of second language literacy in foreign language learners in the elementary school. A focus on developing these literacy skills is essential, if communicative competence is to be the goal in a fully articulated K-12 curriculum for Spanish. The vehicle necessary for developing these skills lies in curricular objectives that emphasize literacy and in teacher development programs that foster the growth of this instructional skill in FLES teachers. In light of a theoretical discussion of the need for group reading instruction, an instructional unit serves as a model for developing the first and second language literacy of early elementary language learners. (Abstract taken from JSTOR.)

A film on OhioLINK. Could be helpful for students researching bilingualism. This menu-powered DVD explores how America's rise as an economic power made it the driving force behind the spread of English in the 20th century. A world tour illustrates how English has mixed with other languages from "Franglais" in France to "Singlish" in Singapore and how the dollar's power, coupled with the lure of consumerism, has made English the international trade language. Bringing it full circle, host Melvyn Bragg returns to the British Isles to survey English as it is spoken there now, measuring the influence of American slang and vocabulary from other languages. Can be viewed using a DVD player or computer DVD-ROM drive. (50 minutes, color)\n\nPart of the "Adevnture of English" series.

Using a nationally representative sample of 13,609 kindergarten children in 2,690 classrooms and 788 schools from the base year of the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study, Kindergarten Class of 1998-1999, along with three-level hierarchical linear models, this study investigates the impact of early literacy instruction on kindergarten children's learning, as measured by direct cognitive test scores, indirect teacher ratings of children's achievement in language and literacy, and indirect teacher ratings of children's approaches to learning. Two composite measures of phonics and integrated language arts are constructed from teachers' reports of their instructional practices. Findings show that classroom mean outcomes were significantly higher when classroom teachers reported using both integrated language arts and phonics more often. However, children with low initial performance benefited less from integrated language arts instruction, as measured by direct measures of achievement; such differential effects of instruction were not observed for teacher ratings of children's achievement and learning style. Policy implications of the findings are discussed. (Abstract taken from JSTOR.)

An OhioLINK film from the series "Childhood Development: A Cognitive Approach to Developmental Psychology." Starting right from infancy, this program charts the development of language during childhood. Basic language acquisition, learned from rudimentary and higher-level child/caregiver interactions, is described. Aspects of competence that go beyond the purpose of simple communication are also considered, including the skill of using conversation for establishing and furthering social relationships, the ability to employ language as a part of games, the capacity to understand jokes, and the awareness of what other people know and understand at various stages of maturation. (25 minutes)

A film on OhioLINK. Could be helpful for those students studying Biblical literacy. In late-medieval England, English quietly ousted French in law and government but the move to make it God's language meant bloodshed. This enhanced DVD looks at the battle for a Bible in English, a struggle with huge impact on the language itself. Dramatic readings from successive English Bibles show the language's evolution. Location footage and original manuscripts illustrate key figures and events, such as John Wycliffe, the Lollards, and the first English Bible; William Langland's Piers Plowman; Henry V's official correspondence; the role of the Chancery or English civil service; William Caxton's printing press; William Tyndale's translation; and the King James Bible. Can be viewed using a DVD player or computer DVD-ROM drive. (50 minutes, color) Part of the "Adventures of English" series.

The resurgence of a language once rejected as outdated and irrelevant is reflected across the country as Latin is embraced by a new generation of students

This article is talking about how there is a connection between the language someone speaks and their literacy. The article discusses how speech-language pathologists try to promote literacy.

This essay is an overview of the theoretical, methodological, pedagogical, ideological, and power-related issues of world Englishes: varieties of English used in diverse sociolinguistic contexts. The scholars in this field have critically examined theoretical and methodological frameworks of language use based on western, essentially monolingual and monocultural, frameworks of linguistic science and replaced them with frameworks that are faithful to multilingualism and language variation. This conceptual shift affords a "pluricentric" view of English, which represents diverse sociolinguistic histories, multicultural identities, multiple norms of use and acquisition, and distinct contexts of function. The implications of this shift for learning and teaching world Englishes are critically reviewed in the final sections of this essay.

A film on OhioLINK. Could be helpful for students researching bilingualism. When Massasoit hailed the Plymouth settlers in their own language, they might have taken it for a sign that English would dominate the New World. Packed with surprising etymologies and intriguing stories, this enhanced DVD traces the dynamic relationship between English and America, exploring the linguistic influence of westward expansion, cowboy culture, slave culture, and encounters with the French and Spanish languages. Key works examined include The New England Primer and Webster's The American Spelling Book. Can be viewed using a DVD player or computer DVD-ROM drive. (50 minutes, color) Part of the "Adventure of English" series.

Clark turns to philosophy to assess the relationship between naturalism and supernaturalism. In a political sense, all debates must deal with the physical world, for that is all that we know. Religious doctrines are acceptable as moral implicates, but in order to extend universality in the public realm, the language cannot be theological. The issue is essentially linguistic; by using a common language grounded in empiricism, we can better tackle the issues at hand. Clark suggests that the best mode of pacifying these views is to turn toward empiricism, which is grounded in evidence rather than faith. There is no way to "prove" faith. However, it is important to guard against the threat of "totalitarian empiricism" in which uniformity replaces consciousness. We live in a pluralistic society, and so it is to remain. Extending this thinking to the evolution-creation debate can perhaps shed light on a very plausible and practical solution.

This is an article from the Technical Symposium on Computer Science Education in the Proceedings of the 40th ACM technical symposium on Computer science education. The article lays out a "ground up" approach to learning a complete picture of computer architecture. Instead of learning a complex and convoluted set of rules that dictates how the hardware works symbiotically with software, the authors modularize the process by creating a hands on approach to computer architecture. By starting out at the hardware level and then building to the level of abstraction created by modern operating systems and programming languages, a complete picture of how the computer functions can be obtained. I find this article interesting as it reverses the typical approach of understanding computer architecture. Instead of looking down at the hardware from the software above, the engineer or scientist can understand the ties that are created between machine level language and the hardware.

A film on OhioLINK. The development of language in babies and young children.

A film on OhioLINK. Why do girls demonstrate greater reading and writing ability than boys? Is the female brain hardwired for faster verbal development? Should men let women do the talking? This program studies language differences between the sexes and explores the possibility that many communication skills are gender-specific. Following two teams of well-educated adults as they undergo a crash course in broadcast journalism, the program documents wide variations between male and female abilities to verbally multitask, and examines distinctions in physical interaction, eye contact, and other behavioral factors. Clinical evidence regarding the significance of testosterone levels is also explored. (45 minutes)

A film on OhioLINK. Could be useful background information for those researching bilingualism. Melvyn Bragg begins the story of English in Holland, finding ancestral echoes in the Frisian dialect. What follows is a chapter on survival as the English language weathers Viking and Norman invasions, vying with and eventually absorbing rival tongues. Lively settings such as village pubs and markets bring home the lasting influence of Anglo-Saxon, Old Norse, and Old French. The connection between Christianity, Latin, and an alphabet is explored, as well as the role of the language's first champion, King Alfred the Great. Nobel prize-winning poet Seamus Heaney reads from and discusses the first epic in English, Beowulf. This menu-driven disc can be viewed using a DVD player or computer DVD-ROM drive. (50 minutes, color) Part of the "Adventures in English" series.

A film on OhioLINK. Could be helpful for students researching bilingualism. "Amok," "boomerang," "bungalow," "bangle," "dumdum," "plonk," "assassin"?these are some of the many words that have entered English by way of colonial expansion. This enhanced DVD explores how the British Empire in its heyday exported its language around the globe and how different forms of speech and vocabulary, as well as different attitudes to English, developed out of that colonial expansion. Rich variations of dialect, accent, and slang are heard in many samples from India, the Caribbean, and Australia. Can be viewed using a DVD player or computer DVD-ROM drive. (50 minutes, color) Part of the "Adventure of English" series.

An interesting article that unites language and finance and the current fiscal crisis.