1,721,045 research outputs found
Shaping reading tasks for the MUET: developing the craft
No full textIn the last several decades, theories and models of reading have changed from seeing reading as primarily receptive processes from text to reader to interactive processes between the reader and the text (cf., Adams, 1990Eskey and Grabe, 1988Perfetti, 1985Samuels, 1994Stanovich, 1992and Swaffar, 1988). Approaches to the teaching of foreign language reading have attempted to reflect this development through interactive exercises and tasks. The use of authentic materials is an integral aspect of such activities, and in our experiences as language teachers, we have seen that well-designed reading comprehension activities could help students interact with the text to create or construct meaning. Many guidelines are available to address key issues for the development of appropriate materials. This paper discusses some considerations, both linguistic and non-linguistic, that influence the designing of reading comprehension materials for the MUET (Malaysian University English Test). The influencing features are discussed in relation to the materials designed for the book Best Practice in MUET
Determining attrition of writing skills among Chinese EFL learners
No full textSo far, little research about writing has been said to have occurred in an EFL environment compared to an ESL environment. This study anchors on an EFL environment found in China. In connection with the EFL environment is the question of writing attrition. The main thrust of the study is to investigate if writing attrition occurred after a long period of nonuse by tertiary students. In addition, attempts are made to link writing attrition to levels of motivation and social activities experienced by the learners. To obtain data, we resorted to standardized writing tests used by the tertiary institution and also developed a questionnaire to investigate the levels of motivation and social activities. To give credibility to the writing instrument used to gauge attrition, test validation is also carried out to lay the fundamentals for the discussion of attrition in writing. We find that overall writing skills attrite coupled with attrition in coherence, clarity and pertinence, but not in grammar. Motivation and social activities may correlate to changes in writing skills
Virtual teenage talk in game play: the nuances and variants in interactive written discourse
No full textIn recent years, research in computer-mediated communication (CMC) via the Internet has revealed the fostering of a sense of community in which special, close, and intimate interactions can be traced. These research studies have employed both qualitative and quantitative approaches to get insights into the understudied virtual phenomenon. In an attempt to add to this body of knowledge, a study was conceptualized to analyse interactive written discourse (IWD) that takes place in game play. Game play attracts teenagers as participants and allows them to express themselves in virtual space that invites reciprocal exchange in a variety of contexts. These exchanges are subject to content and textual analysis to show the forms and performatives of language use in a specific sub-community of teenagers which invariably forms part of the larger community. The data give information about \u27virtual speak\u27 that helps to illuminate how and what teenagers talk about in virtual space through IWD. The results show specific themes of social interaction and particularities in language use that characterize the social dynamics of engagement in teenage game play
Norms of language choice and use in relations to listening and speaking: the realities of the practice in the Malaysian banking sector
No full textSociolinguists have pointed to the current linguistic development of the present era as being marked by a complex interplay of sociolinguistic concerns, among which are contradictions between global networks, local identities, (Barber, 199
Going Beyond Counting First Authors in Author Co-citation Analysis
Get PDFThe present study examines one of the fundamental aspects of author co-citation analysis (ACA) - the way co-citation
counts are defined. Co-citation counting provides the data on which all subsequent statistical analyses and mappings
are based, and we compare ACA results based on two different types of co-citation counting - the traditional type that
only counts the first one among a cited work's authors on the one hand and a non-traditional type that takes into
account the first 5 authors of a cited work on the other hand. Results indicate that the picture produced through this non-traditional author co-citation counting contains more coherent author groups and is therefore considerably clearer. However, this picture represents fewer specialties in the research field being studied than that produced through the traditional first-author co-citation counting when the same number of top-ranked authors is selected and analyzed. Reasons for these effects are discussed
Variations on the Author
Get PDF“Variations on the Author” discusses two of Eduardo Coutinho’s recent films (Um Dia na Vida, from 2010, and Últimas Conversas, posthumously released in 2015) and their contribution to the general question of documentary authorship. The director’s filmography is characterized by a consistent yet self-effacing form of authorial self-inscription: Coutinho often features as an interviewer that rather than express opinions propels discourses; an interviewer that is good at listening. This mode of self-inscription characterizes him as an author who is not expressive but who is nonetheless markedly present on the screen. In Um Dia na Vida, however, Coutinho is completely absent form the image, while Últimas Conversas, on the contrary, includes a confessional prologue that moves the director from the margins to the center of his films. This article examines the ways in which these works stand out in the filmography of a director who offers new insights into the notion of cinematic authorship
Appropriate Similarity Measures for Author Cocitation Analysis
Get PDFWe provide a number of new insights into the methodological discussion about author cocitation analysis. We first argue that the use of the Pearson correlation for measuring the similarity between authors’ cocitation profiles is not very satisfactory. We then discuss what kind of similarity measures may be used as an alternative to the Pearson correlation. We consider three similarity measures in particular. One is the well-known cosine. The other two similarity measures have not been used before in the bibliometric literature. Finally, we show by means of an example that our findings have a high practical relevance.information science;Pearson correlation;cosine;similarity measure;author cocitation analysis
- …
