Akateemisen maahanmuuttajan suomen kielen taidon tarve työssä ja arjessa

Author(s): Markku Nikulin / Language(s): Finnish / Issue: 29/2019

The article deals with the importance of Finnish language proficiency for nonnative students and staff members in the academic life in Finland. During the last few decades, there has been a lot of discussion on the allegedly deteriorated position of Finnish at the universities and in the society in Finland. Correspondingly, as English seems to become a valid alternative for Finnish in the academic world, it is often assumed that Finnish is no longer needed at the university and the incomers need not learn Finnish. This article takes part in the discussion by representing views of non-native academic people on the matter. Te article is based on a survey data collected in 2015 at the University of Turku. The survey had three major aims: to find out to which extent Finnish is used by the non-native people at the university, to find out whether more Finnish teaching is needed (especially at the highest levels) and to find out what is the importance of Finnish language proficiency in the life of academic people who do not speak Finnish as their first language. Te results of the survey are interpreted against a theoretical background of theories dealing with personal wellbeing, integration and the importance of personal motivation for learning a language. According to the survey, most respondents think it is actually perfectly possible to live in Finland also by using English. However, 74% of the respondents who answered in Finnish thought that it is not possible to live well or to integrate into social and cultural life in Finland to the full without being able to speak Finnish. In addition, most of the respondent expressed a desire to learn more Finnish, as they were not satisfied with their proficiency in Finnish. Especially the staff members desired to have a higher proficiency in Finnish. According to the results, an improved proficiency in Finnish seems to be connected to better personal wellbeing and thus a greater degree of integration. Interestingly, the respondents did not find the difficulty of the Finnish language a major obstacle in learning Finnish, as the biggest obstacles named were the lack of time and suitable language courses. Te results point out the importance of language proficiency for integration also in the academic world and call for additional and more tailored Finnish courses at the universities – also at the highest levels of language proficiency.

Ako a prečo sa výskumy detskej reči na Slovensku (ne)dostávajú do povedomia odbornej verejnosti a pedagogickej praxe

Author(s): Katarína Vužnáková / Language(s): Slovak / Issue: 1/2018

Ako sa rodičia a deti rozprávajú o minulých udalostiach

štúdia porovnávajúca okolnosti a témy rozhovorov rodičov a detí s typickým a špecificky narušeným vývinom reči

Author(s): Ludmila Micianová,Svetlana Kapalková,Daniela Slancová / Language(s): Slovak / Issue: 21-22/2015

On the background of the narrative definition and its research, the Questionnaire of Parents´ Beliefs on Talking with Children and Storytelling is introduced. The study is based on the analysis of 8 questions of the questionnaire asking on circumstances and topics of the parent-child conversations on previous events. The survey group was composed of 11 parents of intact children aged 5 – 7 and 11 parents of children with specific language impairment at the same age. Differences in quantity and quality of input between these two groups have been compared. Results show disparities among groups, which were statistically confirmed in area of topics of talking. Qualitative evaluation suggests differences also in frequency of talks and other areas, but more extensive investigation is necessary to validate these findings.

Aligning Who I Am with What I Do: Pursuing Language Teacher Authenticity

Author(s): Tammy Gregersen / Language(s): English / Issue: 1/2015

This study explores the dynamic, interactive relationship between teacher identity and authenticity. Through an examination of several socio-cultural (social identity, situated learning, and image text) and psycholinguistic (individual differences) second language acquisition theories, a conceptualization of identity is provided. Subsequently, language teacher authenticity is characterized from both a philosophical and pedagogical perspective and connected to the notion of teacher identity. The final section of the paper presents research-based applications that include reflecting critically, redefining personal credibility, discovering one’s personal style, displaying emotion and recognizing diversity to facilitate the positive-broadening quest of aligning one’s identity (i.e., who I am) with authenticity (i.e., what I do).

Analysis of refugee students’ interest, attitudes and learning in social sciences lessons from the perspectives of teachers and students

Author(s): Mehmet Akpinar / Language(s): English / Issue: 12/2018

The aim of this study is to examine the interest, attitudes and learning of refugee students living in Turkey towards social sciences lessons from the perspectives of both teachers and students. This phenomenological study was carried out with 20 refugee students in 10 different public schools in Trabzon province, in the 2016–2017 spring term. In addition, 13 social sciences teachers working in these schools participated in the study. The participants were chosen via the purposeful sampling method of criterion sampling. An open-ended interview form was applied in the data collection phase, and the data were analysed through content analysis. The findings revealed that the social sciences teachers had problems in communicating with refugee students due to language barriers, and they were unable to apply individualized instruction with these students due to the limitations of the curriculum. It was further established that the refugee students had a particular difficulty in learning Turkish history and culture-related topics, because they were exposed to these subjects for the first time. On the other hand, it came to light that the students performed better when social sciences teachers taught their lessons using simpler terminology, assisted with visuals. As the results of the study highlight the fact that the social sciences curriculum is too intensive to allow for individualized instruction, it is suggested that additional studies should be carried out with refugee students; moreover, refugee students may be peer-educated with the help of other refugee students who can speak Turkish.

Ankstyvoji dvynių kalbos raida: specializuoto tekstyno kūrimas ir duomenų analizė

Author(s): Ingrida Balciuniene,Egle Krivickaite / Language(s): Lithuanian / Issue: 9/2017

Twin language is considered to be a unique object of scientific studies in psychology, linguistics, psycholinguistics, sociolinguistics, and speech therapy. Twins tend to lag behind singletons in their language development, but the causes are still unknown. There are many factors affecting the development of twins’ language such as low birth weight, genetic factors, gender, amountquantity of input, intensive interaction between the twins themselves, less interaction with adults than singletons, and many other factors. A commonly held belief is that twins develop their own autonomous and unique communication, also known as ‘secret language’, or ‘private language’. The specific twin language is unique for each pair of twins and cannot be understood by others, not even by their parents.The purpose of this study is threefold: 1) to present a unique Corpus of Lithuanian Twin Language; 2) to discuss the main principles of the Corpus development and methodological issues; and 3) to present the results of pilot research in the Lithuanian twin language.The analysis is based on longitudinal data of one pair of heterozygous twins (a girl and a boy) from Kaunas. The twins’ speech was recorded 2-4 times per week in natural daily situations; (around one and a half hour of recordings per month). The data collection was started when the twins were two years and five months of age. The data was collected by their parents under the supervision of linguists from Vytautas Magnus University. The results of our research attest to manifestations of twin secret language, including the reaction of their parents. In the future, a complex analysis of twin language will be carried out. The results will hopefully be useful not only to researchers, but also to teachers, speech therapists and anyone others who deal with interested in atypical language acquisition.Twin language is considered to be a unique object of scientific studies in psychology, linguistics, psycholinguistics, sociolinguistics, and speech therapy. Twins tend to lag behind singletons in their language development, but the causes are still unknown. There are many factors affecting the development of twins’ language such as low birth weight, genetic factors, gender, amount of input, intensive interaction between the twins themselves, less interaction with adults than singletons, and many other factors. A commonly held belief is that twins develop their own autonomous and unique communication, also known as ‘secret language’, or ‘private language’. The specific twin language is unique for each pair of twins and cannot be understood by others, not even by their parents.The purpose of this study is threefold: 1) to present a unique Corpus of Lithuanian Twin Language; 2) to discuss the main principles of the Corpus development and methodological issues; and 3) to present the results of pilot research in the Lithuanian twin language.The analysis is based on longitudinal data of one pair of heterozygous twins (a girl and a boy) from Kaunas. The twins’ speech was recorded 2-4 times per week in natural daily situations; (around one and a half hour of recordings per month). The data collection was started when the twins were two years and five months of age. The data was collected by their parents under the supervision of linguists from Vytautas Magnus University. The results of our research attest to manifestations of twin secret language, including the reaction of their parents. In the future, a complex analysis of twin language will be carried out. The results will hopefully be useful to researchers, teachers, speech therapists and anyone interested in atypical language acquisition.

Ankstyvoji vaikų kalba: nuo kalbos paribio iki kalbinės komunikacijos

Author(s): Ingrida Balciuniene,Laura Kamandulyte-Merfeldiene / Language(s): Lithuanian / Issue: 32/2018

The aim of the article is to discuss the early language acquisition, which comprises the language acquisition period from the very beginning of the grammar system development to its complete formation. In the present research, the part of The Corpus of Lithuanian Children Language, which comprises transcribed and grammatically coded longitudinal language records of four singletons (two typically developing children, one typically developing early talker, and one typically developing late talker) and one heterozygous twin pair (a girl and a boy). The following hypotheses have been proposed: 1) the period of the grammar system formation of atypical language (twins’ language) is later and lasts longer than in the case of a typical language development; 2) children with atypical language development (twins) experience more language acquisition problems than children with typical language acquisition. The quantitative comparative research has confirmed the first hypothesis that the development of twins’ language is later and the formation of the grammar system lasts longer than in typical language development. The second hypothesis has been only partly confirmed: in the language of the twin girl, the tendencies of the grammar system acquisition correspond to the typical late talking, while in the language of the twin boy, the acquisition of the grammar system is slower and longer than in typically developing children. In addition, slower development of lexis related to the frequent use of onomatopoeias and twins’ secret language and uneven mean length of an utterance are typical of twins’ language.

Another Look at the L2 Motivational Self System of Polish Students Majoring in English: Insights from Interview Data

Author(s): Miroslaw Pawlak / Language(s): English / Issue: 2/2016

One of the most recent theoretical developments when it comes to the role of motivation in second language learning is the theory of the L2 Motivational Self System (e.g., Dörnyei, 2005). It has been proposed in recognition of the fact that: (1) learning a foreign language does not only involve acquiring a new communicative code, but also affects the personality of an individual, (2) the difficulties involved in applying Gardner’s (1985) concept of integrativeness to foreign language contexts, and (3) the mounting empirical evidence (e.g., Dörnyei & Csizér, 2002), demonstrating that key components of motivation, such as integrativeness, instrumentality, attitudes towards L2 speakers or manifestations of motivated learning behavior are intricately interrelated. As a result, the notion of integrativeness has been reinterpreted as the L2-specific aspect of an individual’s ideal self and the motivational system is believed to comprise the following three dimensions: (a) ideal L2 self, which is related to the abilities and skills that learners envisage themselves possessing, which may trigger a desire to reduce the distance between their actual and ideal selves, (b) ought-to L2 self, which is connected with the attributes that the learners believe are important in the eyes of significant others, and (c) L2 learning experiences, which is a context-related factor reflecting the nature of the immediate learning environment and learning experiences. This framework was applied in a qualitative study, the participants of which were 28 English majors in the last year of a three-year BA program who were interviewed about their motives for learning the target language. The analysis revealed that although motivational influences which have traditionally been regarded as important do play a role, there are a number of factors, such as family influence, instrumentality, knowledge orientation or international posture, that are also of vital importance.

ANTIKINIŲ VARDŲ LIETUVINIMAS:TARP TRADICIJOS IR NAUJOVIŲ

Author(s): Audrone Kucinskiene,Audorne Kairiene,Dalia Staškeviciene / Language(s): Lithuanian / Issue: 3/2015

The problem of Lithuanization of Ancient names was and still is relevant and not fully resolved. It is manifested by varied spelling of names as well as by ongoing discussions and considerations of this matter in the media. Translated books are often subject to criticism: the translators and editors do not have the competences necessary to understand the patterns of ancient languages so that they could Lithuanize the names properly themselves, nor have they a unified reference. Development of the Digital Database of Ancient Names may be a solution to the problem. The tradition of spelling Latin and Greek ancient names is not stable or prevalent in Lithuanian writings. It is obvious from various cases of use in Lithuanian writings, collected in the Digital Database of Ancient Names.In fact, there are no grounds for speaking about traditions of Lithuanization, because such tradition was not formed or established. This is particularly true for transcription of proper names of Greek origin. We can only note certain tendencies and influences of other languages in different periods.

Antrosios kalbos įsisavinimas natūralioje aplinkoje: įvaikinimo Italijoje atvejis

Author(s): Jogile Teresa Ramonaite / Language(s): Lithuanian / Issue: 2/2013

The functional approach to the interlanguage of spontaneous learners of L2 permits to see that from the very beginning when not yet possessing many resources of the target language the speakers makes a systemic use of them. When acquiring a language in a naturalistic environment the effectiveness of the communication is of vital importance to the speaker because he or she must start interacting without yet having acquired many of the elements of the structure of the target language. A second language learner makes use of the cognitive resources already in possession and therefore when beginning to use the new language invokes the universal pragmatic principles for utterance organization such as word order and similar. A very important step in L2 acquisition is the appearance of the predicate in the interlanguage of the learner because then the utterances of the speaker start to be constructed following also the semantic-syntactic principles. This variety of the learnerʼs interlanguage, called the basic variety, is essentially sufficient for the elementary communication and the development of the interlanguage in the morphological perspective fossilizes in this variety for some learners. In time and given favourable conditions, the interlanguage of the learner can move on to a so-called post-basic variety, that sees the formation of a system approaching that of the target language and the principles of utterance organization previously used are gradually replaced by syntactic principles characteristic to the specific target language. The situation of international adoption creates conditions that are very favourable for language acquisition also to the older children. The article presents examples and analysis of the linguistic behaviour of an over 11-year-old Lithuanian girl adopted to Italy. Her linguistic behaviour has been meticulously observed and recorded for a year after the adoption starting from the very first contact with the new language. The analysis shows that the structure of the target language is acquired in a universal path: from simple forms to more complex ones, however the situation in which the acquisition takes place determines the great rapidity of acquisition and a very advanced level after a year in the new country. The observed girl reaches the basic variety after having spent only a month surrounded by the new language and one month later her interlanguage presents clear signs that indicate morphological sensitivity and the interlanguage system that is heading towards that of the target language. After a year in the country the entire Italian verb system is in place, including the most complex parts of it, moreover, the girl fluently makes use of those system elements that are not obligatory, but optional, in a way that native speakers are able to do.

Apie pažymimuosius pasakymus sakytinėje lietuvių kalboje

Author(s): Laura Kamandulyte-Merfeldiene,Ingrida Balciuniene / Language(s): Lithuanian / Issue: 8/2016

The syntactic features of spoken Lithuanian are still under-researched due to insufficient data bases, limited technologies, and research methodologies. During the last years, the Corpus of Spoken Lithuanian (developed at Vytautas Magnus University; 225,000 words; 80 hours of digitalized audio recordings) has been syntactically annotated, and this has enabled complex automatized syntactic analysis. In the present paper, one of the first such studies is presented and its results are discussed. The corpus linguistics methodology has been employed.The paper deals with the frequency and basic types of attributive clauses in spoken Lithuanian language. The results of the study have highlighted that attributive clauses tend to be more frequent (up to 15% of all subordinate clauses) in public speech, and they are significantly less frequent (up to 7% of all subordinate clauses) in private spontaneous speech.The position of a subordinate clause after the head noun is unmarked and the most frequent in public speech and spontaneous private speech. Consequently, 65% and 88% of all attributive adjectives followed the head noun in private spontaneous speech and in public speech. Since in Lithuanian the word order is not so strict, in private spontaneous speech constructions with a subordinate clause before the head noun are used.The analysis of subordinating conjunctions and relative pronouns has revealed that in public speech the link between a subordinate clause and an independent clause tends to be expressed by the relative pronoun kuris, kuri (‘which’). Namely, in public speech, this pronoun is employed in 85% of all attributive clauses. The number of relative pronouns in private spoken speech reaches only 30%, whereas the subordinating conjunction kur (‘where’) has been used in the majority of attributive clauses (51%). The findings of the study reveal the main tendencies in the distribution and frequency of attributive clauses and suggest that the usage of attributive clauses depends, to a large extent, on the register of spoken language

Apprentissage du français de la douane dans le cadre d’un dispositif hybride

Author(s): Miroslav Stasilo / Language(s): French / Issue: 11/2017

This article analyzes the teaching of French and methods in the context of multilingualism. We present the flagship of vectors which direct the choice of methods by focusing on active approaches and techniques, especially on the hybrid method blended learning. In the context of globalization and multilingualism these language skills are very important for Customs officials. The main purpose of this article is the teaching of modern languages to adults, including specialized French customs. We analyze the programs offered by Customs Training Centre located in Vilnius by focusing on the comprehensive study of combined learning program in French because this method participates actively in the realization of the policy of multilingualism through the cooperation between the teacher and the learner. This method facilitates a more rapid and effective integration of participants in the professional and social life as well as a broader multidisciplinary approach through the use of new technologies and authentic documents of various fields: from the customs checking vehicles to ethical issues in Customs. It also has 5 components of the lexical acquisition accompanying the vocational training of customs in French: linguistic, discursive, referential, social, cultural and strategic.

ARGUMENTS IN FAVOR OF ESTABLISHING PROMPT AND COMPLEX INTERVENTION IN LANGUAGE DISORDERS

Author(s): Iuliana Barbuceanu / Language(s): Romanian / Issue: 14/2018

Constructing a harmonious, tailored, integrated personality, depends on the successful browsing of stages of development. In child development of great importance is the acquisition and evolution of language. The language has many implications: cognitive, pertaining to school, social, behavior, in the personality, passing first through emotional side. As language disorders is extensive and/or deep, even children’s emotional imbalances are more pronounced. Emotional imbalances are reduced by complex intervention: speech and psycho.

Art. culture. language.

(On some aspects of teaching english abroad)

Author(s): Eva Smetanová / Language(s): English / Issue: 2/2017

The education system in Kazakhstan has been undergoing significant changes since the past years, driven by historical events and associated with political, economic and social changes in the world society. Kazakh universities and higher institutions keep in line with the Bologna Process to provide comparability in the standards and quality of higher-education qualifications. The current national educational programmes and legislation aim to ensure modern education of high quality. Foreign language education is considered a priority by different stakeholders: economists, politicians, teachers, students, parents, school administrators, therefore much attention is paid to the issue of modernization of foreign language education environment by designing innovative teaching materials or introducing new techniques and technologies in the study programmes offering teacher training courses. Together with Kazakh and Russian, English has now become a key subject at all levels of education. The author of the article is currently living and working in Kazakhstan and brings some aspects related to teaching foreign languages, specifically English, in one of the higher-education institutions.

Artikulacijsko-fonološke sposobnosti djece s cerebralnom paralizom

Author(s): Emica Farago,Draženka Blaži,Martina Vukovic Ogrizek / Language(s): Croatian / Issue: 1/2016

The goal of this research was to examine and compare articulation and phonological abilities in children with cerebral palsy and their typically developing peers. An examination was conducted on a sample of 15 children with cerebral palsy and 15 typically developing children. The two groups were equalized by gender and age. The measuring instruments used were the Articulation Test and phonological ability tasks. The data were analysed using the robust discriminative analysis, t-test, chi-square test, as well as the Cohran-Cox test. The results showed a signifycant statistical difference in articulation and phonological abilities between children with cerebral palsy and typically developing children. The difference between the groups is for the most part due to the variables deletion of consonants and number of articulation errors. The variables first voice segregation, phonemic analysis, and rhyme searching are also signifi cant in creating this discriminant function. The results also confirm statistical differences in articulation and phonological abilities that are related to the type of cerebral palsy. A group of children with a spastic type of cerebral palsy was more successful in phoneme analysis, syllable analysis, consonant deletion tasks, and rhyme searching tasks. They also had better articulation abilities.

Aspecte ale dialogului ca formă de comunicare orală

Author(s): Iulia Mihaela Tama? / Language(s): Romanian / Issue: 1/2018

This article approaches the defining aspects of oral speech,the manner in which the syntax of the dialogue becomes a mixed syntax, the latter being determined by the place, position and elements within both the linguistic context and within the situational or social-historical context.We also target certain aspects of the conversation viewed as a form of dialogue in dialectal surveys. The statement of oral speech is often fragmented, elyptical or beyond proper analysis, consisting in nouns, adverbs, interjections, random constructions having varied discourse effects. The communication between the interviewer and the local community member is a stimulated one.The text created by the interviewee sounds like a targeted monologue.In dialectal surveys, the conversation becomes similar to the structure of dyadic conversation, an important role being played by the factual elements whose purpose is to actually trigger, lengthen, as well as to interrupt communication.

Aspects of the Lexicographic Registration of Certain English Collocations in Romanian Dictionaries

Author(s): Vlad Preda / Language(s): English / Issue: XVIII/2017

The premise behind our research is the constant occurrence of certain English collocations in Romanian (underground, memory-stick, pdf, pps, all-inclusive, wireless,copywriter, copy-paste, offshore, lifestyle, open-minded, playback, hand made, reality show, prepay, voice-over, drag and drop, slide-show, smartphone, timeout, malware, part-time, broadcasting, open-space) on the one hand, and the difficulty in synchronizing it with their lexicographic registration on the other hand. This paper will present several aspects of the lexicographic registration of such highly occurring collocations all the while trying to offer certain solutions.

Aspektualność i consecutio temporum w języku niderlandzkim i polskim

Author(s): Agnieszka Flor-Górecka / Language(s): Polish / Issue: 6/2016

In Poland, Dutch is becoming gradually a popular foreign language. It belongs to the Germanic languages, which have a verbal system with tenses. Polish is a Slavonic language with an aspectual verb system. In Polish there are 3 grammatical tenses: present tense, future tense and past tense. Polish verbs can be used in a perfective and an imperfective aspect. In Dutch we have 8 tenses. Four of them are voltooid (perfect) describing the situation or action as completed and the other four are onvoltooid (imperfect), they describe the situation or action as continuous or progressive. As all Germanic languages, Dutch lost aspect as an obligatory grammatical category. The perfective and imperfective aspect of the verb depends on other parts of the sentence.

Attitudes of Parents towards Their Children’s Culture Learning in an EFL Setting

Author(s): Nermin Punar,Çigdem Karatepe / Language(s): English / Issue: 2/2019

Language and culture are inseparable terms and in many researchers’ opinions, such as those of Byram (1988), Kramsch (1993), and Brown (2000), they should be integrated during the foreign language teaching process. Many studies have been conducted about the effects of culture teaching on language learning, or the views of both language teachers and learners about target culture teaching while learning a foreign language. However, there is very limited research examining the effects of parents on their children’s foreign language learning process about target culture teaching. Based on this gap in the literature, the present paper attempts to find out what parents think about the target culture in English as a Foreign Language (EFL) classes, and to identify whether there is any difference between the attitudes of parents considering their educational background, whether they know a foreign language, and whether they have been abroad before. One hundred and nine parents participated in this study, and a mixed research design was used. The quantitative data were analyzed by using descriptive statistics, independent samples t-test and one-way ANOVA, and the qualitative data were collected by interviews and analysed by content analysis. As a result, it was found that some parents believe that culture is important and a good way to learn a foreign language; however, some of them do not believe that it is necessary for language learning. The majority of the parents believe that learning about a foreign culture could harm their children’s own culture and that they can learn the target language without being exposed to the target culture. The detailed results are discussed.

Awareness of second language inflectional morphology: A case study on Finnish as a second language

Author(s): Minna Suni / Language(s): English / Issue: 2/2007

The Finnish language has a very extensive inflectional morphology, whereas Vietnamese, as an isolating language, has no inflection at all. Therefore, the major challenge encountered by Vietnamese immigrants learning Finnish is to develop awareness of the existence, function and use of inflection. This paper examines how this process manifests itself in native-non-native speaker (NS-NNS) conversations during the initial stages of second language acquisition. All the negotiation sequences including overt signals of problems in understanding were subjected to a closer analysis, and the linguistic modifications performed to solve the problems were analysed on the level of both interaction and grammar. In this paper, the focus is on the observable signs of gradually growing morphological awareness, and especially the receptive segmenting skills of the learners.