Recognizing Handwritten Text in Slavic Manuscripts: a Neural-Network Approach Using Transkribus

Author(s): Achim Rabus / Language(s): English Issue: 19/2019

The paper discusses the automatic text recognition capabilities of neural network models specifically trained to recognize different styles of Church Slavonic handwriting within the software platform Transkribus. Computed character error rates of the models are in the range of 3 to 5 percent; real-life performance shows that specifically trained models, by and large, recognize simple (non-superscript) characters correctly most of the time. The error rate is higher with superscript letters, abbreviations, and word separation. Combined models consisting of training data from different sources are capable of transcribing different styles of Slavic handwriting with low error rates. Automatic text recognition using Transkribus and the models presented in this paper can help improve the efficiency of the process of digitizing Church Slavonic manuscripts and thus boost the number of digitized sources available in the future.

Aspekte der Sprache. Besonderheiten des deutschen Nomens

Author(s): Anca Dejica-Carțiș / Language(s): German Issue: 22/2023

Die Morphologie befasst sich mit verschiedenen Besonderheiten der Wortklassen und mit dem Gebrauch der Wörter nach bestimmten Regeln der Linguistik. Nomina (Substantive) gehören zu der Wortklasse der Hauptwörter in deutschen Sprache. Laut den verschiedenen Theorien der Linguistik, sind Nomina Wörter und Informationsträger für Personen, für Benennungen oder für Bezeichnungen. In der Grammatik sind Nomina von der grammatischen Kategorie (Genus, Kasus und Numerus) abhängig. Für Sprachenlerner kann das Nomen Probleme aufheben, da das Nomen sich nach dem grammatischen Genus orientieren. Viele Nomina werden nach der Form und nach der Bedeutung erkannt. Als Wortklasse unterscheiden die Nomina morphologische, syntaktische und semantische Merkmale. Im Rahmen des Faches: Die Struktur der Sprache C1- Morphologie werden wesentliche Aspekte des Nomens näher betrachtet und analysiert. Das Fach bevorzugt den korrekten Gebrauch des Nomens in einer klaren Sprache. Dementsprechend werden Aspekte des Nomens identifiziert und in demonstrativen Beispielen bewertet. Ziel des Unterrichtinhalts ist die Sprache korrekt in verschiedenen Kontexten zu verwenden. Im Empfang kommen verschiedene Lehr- und Lernmaterialen, Theorien, Forschungen zu Modalitäten der Anwendung der Sprache für die allgemeine Sprachwissenschaft oder im Sprachunterricht helfen verschiedene grammatische Regeln den Studierenden den Unterrichtsinhalt zu verstehen und die Sprache zu üben. Vorliegender Beitrag gibt einen Überblick über den wesentlichen Aspekten des deutschen Nomens, welche wesentliche Schwerpunkte der deutschen Grammatik mit einbeziehen.

Специфики на преподаване на лексика на чужденци, изучаващи български език

Author(s): Elena Runevska / Language(s): English,Bulgarian Issue: 1/2023

Teaching lexis has primary place in defining the communication competences in the foreign language teaching. There is a focus on the grammar in the practice of teaching Bulgarian as foreign language whereas texts and the lexis included in the grammatical exercises are relied on for the lexical progression. The theoretical work in teaching lexis to advanced students is focused on choosing words, their volume and range (thematic areas) as well as various techniques for introducing, contextualizing, automating and grading. Introduction to words, used in the studied texts, individual retrieval of the meaning from the context, visual aids for lexicalization, semantic fields work, word formation, synonyms, antonyms, compound words, phrases, idioms as well as the contrast semantics’ methods are among the means designed to develop the lexis.

Рекламата в обучението по бизнес немски

Author(s): Gergana Fyrkova / Language(s): English,Bulgarian Issue: 1/2023

Using commercials in teaching business German opens up great opportunities for an attractive and pragmatic approach to a foreign language. Due to its interdisciplinary nature, advertising is an ideal format for deepening linguistic and communicative competences and for acquiring specialized knowledge not only about economics, but also about the society, the culture and the mentality of the native speakers. Commercials can arouse curiosity about the target language country and its inhabitants, they motivate, they evoke emotions, they create opportunities for speaking and writing, and for analysing cultural specificities. They are very interesting and productive for knowledge transfer because they link linguistic, aesthetic, social and economic topics. A number of possibilities for the didacticisation of advertising arise from its narrative character and its position on the border between art and economy.

MORPHOLOGICAL ANALYSIS IN THE SERBIAN EFL LEARNING CONTEXT: INSIGHTS FROM THINK-ALOUD PROTOCOLS

Author(s): Jelena R. Danilović Jeremić / Language(s): English Issue: 81/2023

Word-building or morphological analysis features prominently in the EFL/ESL teaching lit- erature as an effective vocabulary learning strategy (cf. Gairns & Redman 1986; Nation 2001; Nunan 1995; Oz 2014) which enables learners to decipher the meaning of new lexical items by breaking them down into constituent morphemes. While L1 speakers can rely on this strategy upon encountering unfamiliar words from an early age (Anglin 1993; Clark 2001), the use of word-building in the field of EFL acquisition appears to be an under-researched topic (cf. Ward & Chuenjundaeng 2009; Diaz Contreras 2018). Therefore, the aim of this paper is to contribute to the growing body of literature on the development of morphological awareness in non-native contexts by investigating the way Serbian B2-level learners (CEFR) attempt to figure out the meaning of morphologically complex words, namely derivatives comprising one, two or three derivational affixes. Think-aloud protocols revealed that the upper-intermediate Serbian L1 English L2 learners mostly employed morphological analysis with multimorphemic words (i.e. those containing two or three derivational affixes) while bimorphemic words were often regarded as unanalyzable lexical units. Also, the data collected indicated that the learners rarely drew analogies between unknown words and words of similar morphological structure. The ensuing pedagogical implications and possible teaching interventions will be discussed.

CОЦИОКУЛЬТУРНЫЙ КОМПОНЕНТ КАК МАРКЕР СЛОЖНОСТИ ТЕКСТА (по данным учебников по русскому языку как иностранному)

Author(s): Tatyana Sergeevna Veselovskaya / Language(s): Russian Issue: 3/2024

The article provides an overview of Russian language textbooks for foreign learners with specific focus on sociocultural content. This approach helps to identify the main strategies used in educational materials to present culture-specific units across various proficiency levels, tailored to the needs of the intended audience. The study employed various methods including critical discourse analysis, comparison, semiotic analysis, and contextual analysis. The data was drawn from a collection of tagged Russian language textbooks published over the past two decades in Russia and abroad. The study describes the implications of sociocultural and linguocultural units at different levels in educational texts, which serve as potential indicators of text complexity and require specific commentary. The analysis revealed an imbalance in the presentation of historical and contemporary information about Russia and Russian culture, as well as a tendency for greater coverage of humanities in comparison with mathematics or natural sciences. The findings of the study provide insights for drafting recommendations regarding the sociocultural content of contemporary textbooks aimed at L2 Russian learners across different levels of language proficiency, as well as for selecting stimulus material to validate the conclusions through experimental methods.

MENTAL TRANSLATION AND ITS CONTRIBUTION TO COMMUNICATIVE LANGUAGE TEACHING AND LEARNING

Author(s): Adriana Toma,Daniel Dejica / Language(s): English Issue: 16/2023

The aim of this article is to present a series of analytical considerations concerning the use of mental translation in communicative teaching and learning English as a foreign language. The main part of the article focuses on the literature review concerning the impact of mental translation method on students’ language acquisition level during their English learning practice. The existing research on this topic has shown that learners use mental translation as a strategy to compare and establish similarities and differences between their first language and the foreign language. Learners create a translational field where they store the results of the similarities and differences between their native language and the foreign language. These mental translation results become some procedural knowledge, stored in their long-term memory. While communicating in a foreign language, learners automatically reuse the information previously stored in their translational field. The last part of the article contains some directions of research in relation to the use of mental translation in communicative language learning and teaching.

TEACHING EFL TO THE DIGITAL-BORN GENERATION. CHALLENGES AND EXPECTATIONS

Author(s): Cornelia-Patricia Grigoraș,Daniel Dejica / Language(s): English Issue: 16/2023

This paper is part of a wider research and targets the present demand for using technology in teaching English. The relevance of the study is justified not only by the pandemic and post-pandemic backgrounds regarding the use of technology in teaching EFL, but also by the needs and expectations of the new generation we teach. One of our main objectives is to come up with tangible digital solutions, which may complement existing teaching methods and facilitate the teaching and learning processes. Some of the advantages of using technology in EFL classes include, but are not limited to a better learning process, more interactive lessons, reduction of time spent by teachers preparing the lessons, improvement of the students' learning quality, decrease in dependence on the teacher, increase towards the positive attitude upon EFL and access to the information available on learning platforms.

Formation of communicative competence in students of Ukrainian elementary schools with instruction in the languages of national minoritiesʼ

Author(s): Natalya Moskovchuk,Mariana Palchynska / Language(s): English Issue: 2/2023

The article presents an ethnolinguistic didactic model of Ukrainian language communicative competence formation in students of elementary level in general secondary education institutions with instruction in the national minorities’ languages (Hungarian, Romanian, Polish, Slovak, Bulgarian, etc.). It singles out and substantiates the model’s structural components; determines the purpose and content of teaching Ukrainian language to bilingual students; outlines the key blocks of the model of Ukrainian language communicative competence; determines pedagogical conditions for the Ukrainian language communicative competence formation in elementary school students taught in the national minorities’ languages (adaptation and pedagogical support of elementary school students in the educational space of Ukraine; ensuring positive motivation of elementary school students to study the Ukrainian language; a developing communicative Ukrainian language environment for elementary school students; the involvement of elementary school students in active Ukrainian speaking activities); determines the levels of the Ukrainian language communicative competence formation in elementary school students taught in the national minorities’ languages (high, satisfactory, low).

WHAT IS SOCIAL EMOTIONAL LEARNING AND HOW IT CAN BE USED IN A MULTICULTURAL CONTEXT

Author(s): Silvana Diana Stoica / Language(s): English Issue: 36/2024

SEL should play an important role in the educational process and it should also be an important part of human development. It is used if we want to help young people and adults to acquire and apply the things they learn in class, the skills and attitudes in order to develop healthy identities, handle emotions and achieve personal and collective goals. Especially when we deal with young adults, SEL could also offer support in feeling and showing empathy for their peers, establishing and maintaining supportive relationships, and making responsible and caring decisions. SEL can be taught in any type of class and it can lead to positive student outcomes that are important for success in school and in life. It encourages equity among students and it involves the family as well as the entire community in order to establish a safe learning environment for students. Students build trusting relationships and co-create healthy and safe communities. Using SEL in class can improve students’ social and emotional skills, attitudes, relationships, academic performance and perception of classroom. It has proven an evident decline in students’ anxiety, behavior problems and some addictions (gaming, alcohol use) and it has also shown improvements in students’ skills, attitudes, prosocial behavior and academic performance.

ROMANIAN AS A FOREIGN LANGUAGE – STRATEGIES FOR TEACHING PHRASEOLOGICAL UNITS

Author(s): Ruxandra Coman / Language(s): Romanian Issue: 36/2024

The study emphasizes the importance of developing teaching strategies and learning contexts that might create a proper frame for engaging students in interactive communicative activities in order to allow them to learn in a more effective way that part of the vocabulary which is the most difficult, meaning the expressions that have figurative charge. The main idea is that in any language some idioms, although constructed strictly related to the specific cultural space, can be understood and learned by reference to universally valid cultural values. Some cognitive mechanisms are activated the moment the non-native learners use operations with various semantic categories, such as synonymy, explanatory paraphrases based on homonymy and polysemy.

ISSUES IN TEACHING ENGLISH TO NON-PHILOLOGICAL MULTI-LEVEL UNIVERSITY STUDENTS

Author(s): Mihai Rotaru / Language(s): English Issue: 36/2024

Many students come from high schools where English has been approached more or less seriously (in some institutions English is not taught at all). Hence, their English proficiency varies from level A1 to level C1 or even C2 and since at every faculty studying a foreign language during at least two semesters is mandatory and most students opt for English, it is the instructor`s responsibility to find different ways so that each individual can benefit from language classes. Dealing with heterogeneous groups of learners can be a tough mission for every teacher—especially for an early teacher who, due to insufficient training sessions during the bachelor and master programs, can be put in a vulnerable position in the classroom. This article aims to present and offer possible solutions to some challenges that can be encountered during the first years of teaching.

Използването на изкуствен интелект в преподаването на български като чужд

Author(s): Antonia Radkova / Language(s): Bulgarian Issue: 2/2024

The article explores the possibilities of using artificial intelligence, specifically ChatGPT and Bing, in the practice of teaching Bulgarian as a foreign language. The text introduces the principles of how these two platforms operate and provides practical suggestions for creating materials for Bulgarian language lessons. It discusses the advantages and disadvantages of using these platforms and offers options for generating texts, modifying texts, creating exercises, and formulating tasks.

Прозодични аспекти на произношението на украински студенти, изучаващи български език като чужд

Author(s): Mirena Patseva,Elena Runevska / Language(s): Bulgarian Issue: 2/2024

The work represents an attempt to take a step in the direction of building a connection between scientific developments in the field of instrumental phonetics and the teaching of Bulgarian as a foreign language. Technological studies point to problem areas of the pronunciation of the Bulgarian language by speakers of closely related languages such as Ukrainian. As an object of attention and corrective work, we noted some segmental deviations in the articulation of (е, ə, о, tʃ , t), slow pace of speech and articulation, fluency disorders, positional accent deviations and those in accent realization (indiscernible difference in the acoustic ques of stressed and unstressed units) and inconsistent reduction. We believe that audio and visual demonstrations have a place in teaching pronunciation in Bulgarian as a foreign language. A „translation“ of the specialized terminology of linguistics and illustrative materials are needed, which serve not only for illustration, but also as material for one‘s own production in comparison with that of native speakers.

Адаптирани и преводни текстове за нуждите на обучението по български език като чужд

Author(s): Reni Manova,Katrin Kostova / Language(s): Bulgarian Issue: 2/2024

When talking about the role of the text in foreign language learning, an important differentiation should be made between an authentic, adapted text for educational purposes, and a completely invented text. The adapted text goes through a variety of steps such as shortening, selecting parts, simplifying, co-contextualizing (giving learners the opportunity to activate the cognitive scheme through the use of pictures, illustrations, photographs accompanying the text body), creating a phrasebook. An essential element of foreign language training is working with texts for translation. Translation is not just transferring words and sentences from one language to another. Transmission is from one culture to another. Culture is very clearly manifested in the linguistic picture of the world. Translation aims to achieve effective intercultural communication. The article describes practical observations from the work with adapted and translated texts during the Bulgarian language classes for foreign students from the Sofia University “St. Kliment Ohridski”.

Obecność tekstów prozy polskiej po 1989 roku i strategie ich czytania w nauczaniu języka polskiego jako obcego

Author(s): Małgorzata Świstowska / Language(s): Polish Issue: 9/2009

The aim of this article is showing the presence of Polish post-1989 prose in the teaching of Polish as a foreign language. The article examines the problem of literary canon in teaching foreigners. The author inquires into the reasons for the lack of adequate teaching aids in the form of modern anthologies of Polish prose. The second part of the article presents techniques of working with a written text, used in teaching methodology, and considerations on the significance of reading skills and literary education in language teaching. Finally, the author presents an analysis of Polish language coursebooks, paying special attention to the presence of post-1989 Polish prose. The article is concluded with a question about the reasons of such a limited usage of Polish modern literature in teaching foreigners.

Challenges of Learning in Second Language among South African School Learners with Developmental Language Disorder

Author(s): Nettie N. Ndou,Segun Emmanuel Adewoye / Language(s): English Issue: 10/2024

Language in education plays a critical role in effective teaching and learning worldwide. This study aimed to explore the challenges of learning in a second language among secondary school learners with developmental language disorder (DLD). The study also unveils strategies used by professionals to support learners and learners’ attitudes towards support. The study participants were learners (n = 1 2), t eachers ( n = 5), a speech Language therapist, and an educational psychologist. A qualitative research approach was utilised employing a case study as the research design. Data generation sources included non-participatory observations, interviews, and focus group discussions. Data was analysed using thematic analysis. Findings indicated that learning in a second language as the medium of instruction posed challenges for learners with DLD. They struggled with comprehension, reading, and word recognition of learning content. Teachers indicated that they used strategies such as remedia lessons and giving learners more reading material to enhance their vocabulary and narrative skills. They also referred learners to other professionals for further assistance. Parental involvement is also encouraged in support of learners. However, one of the factors limiting learners’ support is learners’ attitudes. Learners’ attitudes towards support may be attributed to limited awareness of DLD. Hence, there is a need to raise awareness of DLD among the learners. An in-depth course on special education in secondary teacher training programmes is necessary to further equip teachers with strategies to enhance inclusive classrooms. The promotion of local languages as a medium of instruction must be highly prioritised, even at a secondary level of education.

The Development of Intercultural Mediation Skills in English Language Teaching

Author(s): Irena Dimova / Language(s): English Issue: 1/2023

This article focuses on the rise of English as an international language and explores its function as a global lingua franca used for enabling communication among speakers of different linguistic and cultural origins. It discusses research concerned with investigating the pedagogical implications of the use of English as a lingua franca and presents calls on the part of scholars for encouraging students to become intercultural mediators and acquire pragmatic competence for negotiating differences in language use/sociocultural standpoint and achieving intelligibility in intercultural communication. It also reviews research engaged in offering practical advice on devising pedagogical activities for developing intercultural mediation skills necessary for functioning well in lingua franca interactions. Drawing upon this body of literature, the present study argues for the need to incorporate the teaching of intercultural mediation skills into traditional English pedagogy. It proposes two categories of pedagogical activities, awareness-raising and analytic, which can make space for the development of intercultural mediation competence in the English language classroom. The current study also gives an example of how these activities can be incorporated into tertiary education English classes by presenting pedagogical tasks from a course offered in the Department of English and American Studies at Sofia University.

MULTILINGUAL EDUCATION FOR MINORITY SCHOOLS IN LITHUANIA: IN SEARCH OF BALANCE AND COMPROMISE

Author(s): Ineta Dabašinskienė / Language(s): English Issue: 1/2023

This paper examines language policy concerns in Lithuania, with a particular focus on the prominence, acquisition and use of the state language within the education of national minorities. Comparative aspects with Latvia and Estonia are shortly discussed as well. The study draws upon secondary data sources, primarily statistics provided by Lithuanian governmental institutions and policy documents. The paper highlights ongoing debates in language policy for education from the topdown mono-ethnic state approach and the opposing (or complementary) postmodernist perspective, which advocates for a context-speaker-sensitive approach to language in education. While discussing these issues, the paper aims to offer a deeper understanding of the complex dynamics between language policies in education and sociolinguistic realities by encouraging further research and considerations for more inclusive language approaches in multiethnic societies.

Среща на балкански българисти

Author(s): Velka Popova,Tanya Todorova / Language(s): Bulgarian Issue: 48/2024