Hasil untuk "English language"

Zulfikar Ali Ansari, K. Kiran Kumar, Shahin Fatima et al.

Abstract Accurate and interpretable disease prediction is one of the major challenges faced in healthcare, especially for breast, heart, and lung cancers. This study proposes a highly structured, leakage-safe benchmarking framework for comparing conventional tabular Machine Learning (ML) models for multi-disease prediction, which is not a new ML model. Six conventional ML models, namely support vector machine (SVM), logistic regression (LR), random forest (RF), XGBoost, decision tree (DT), and k-nearest neighbors (KNN), were evaluated using nested cross-validation for proper model selection and performance on three benchmarking datasets. To improve the interpretability of the models, the authors incorporated Explainable AI (XAI) techniques, namely local interpretable model-agnostic explanations (LIME) for better instance-level interpretability and permutation feature importance (PFI) for better global interpretability. The results indicate high discriminative ability of the models, with random forest and XGBoost models achieving the best classification accuracy. SVM and logistic regression models also achieved the best results for ROC-AUC metric under outer-fold validation. The novelty of the paper is not the architecture of the ML models but the fact that the authors propose a highly structured, leakage-safe preprocessing pipeline, nested validation, statistically sound multi-model comparisons, and robust local–global interpretability aggregation, all of which are incorporated into a single benchmarking template.

Joshua Wang

Purpose Overemphasizing or distorting a study’s findings through spin compromises the interpretation of research both within the academic community and among the public more broadly. However, large-scale analyses of the use of positive words as rhetorical spin in psychiatry have not yet been conducted. Methods Titles and abstracts from articles published in 26 top-quartile general psychiatry journals between 2005 and 2024 were analyzed. PubMed searches identified the annual number of articles containing at least one positive, neutral, or negative word from a predefined list associated with rhetorical spin. Separate analyses compared authorship teams with and without at least one affiliation from countries where English is the primary national language (e.g., Australia, New Zealand, the United Kingdom, or the United States). Results Positive words were used more frequently over time (τ=0.947, two-sided P<0.00001), with a 1.97-fold increase in the proportion of abstracts containing positive rhetoric from 2005 (9.80%) to 2024 (19.27%). Authorship teams from English-speaking countries were significantly more likely to employ positive rhetoric (χ2=213.63, df=1, P<0.00001). Authors increasingly described their studies as “novel,” “unique,” “promising,” and “robust.” Conclusion Despite heightened awareness of its negative impact on scientific integrity, the use of rhetorical spin continues to grow within psychiatry. Greater efforts are necessary to promote intellectually humble and accurate reporting of research findings in psychiatric literature.

Pundziuvienė Daiva

In recent global practice, innovations in language teaching / learning go hand in hand not only with the use of Artificial Intelligence (AI), but also with the development of Emotional Intelligence (EI), with an emphasis on the integration of Social Emotional Learning (SEL) into the language teaching/learning process, and a shift from a four-skill model of language skills (listening, reading, speaking, and writing) to a four-communication mode model (reception, production, interaction, and mediation) (Council of Europe, 2020). SEL encompasses five broad and interconnected domains of competences: self-knowledge, self-management, social awareness, relationship skills and responsible decision-making, which can be learned in a variety of subject areas, with students of different ages and in different cultural contexts (Durlak et al., 2024). Various methodologies can be used for developing SEL competences, for example the innovative and increasingly popular teaching method – mediation, which the CEFR defines as the ability to help people understand each other, a complex text, an idea, or a cultural aspect when they cannot communicate or understand for various reasons. In order to investigate how mediation strategies in the English language classes can facilitate socially and emotionally enhanced language learning, the present research focuses primarily on the concept of SEL and the analysis of previous research on the enhancement of SEL competences in the educational settings, presenting a large-scale study of emotional intelligence among the Lithuanian youth. The introductory part also introduces the concept of mediation, the main mediation activities and strategies, and their potential application in language teaching / learning. In order to analyse the attitudes of students (N = 58) of Vytautas Magnus University Institute of Foreign Languages (VMU UKI) towards the use of mediation as a new method in the English language classroom and to improve their mediation and SEL competences, a study was conducted. The sample consisted of 58 students, 20 of whom were studying General English at B1 level and 38 of whom were studying Academic English at C1/C2 level according to CEFR. This study also presents a self-assessment analysis of the English language learners to assess their improvement in mediation and SEL competences. A quantitative research methodology and short semi-structured interviews were conducted to explore the needs, experiences and improved competences of the research participants. The results showed a positive correlation between the use of mediation strategies in the English language classes and the learners’ improved mediation and SEL competences. Based on the insights gained from the study, the paper provides practical recommendations for the use of mediation strategies in the English language classes and the development of learners’ socio-emotional competences.

Atta Abdalwahid Ahmed

Project-Based Learning (PBL) refers to an instructional approach where students engage in exploring and solving real-world, complex problems over an extended period. The present study aims to explore the impacts of project-based learning in nurturing student learning and engagement in Kurdish EFL high school context. The design of the study followed a descriptive approach using quantitative methods. The population of the study comprised 364 high school learners from grades 10, 11, and 12 in one of the public schools in Sulaymaniyah, Kurdistan region of Iraq. The data was analyzed through the Statistical Package of Social Sciences (SPSS). The independent sample t-test was employed to investigate the differences between male and female participants. Furthermore, ANOVA one-way was utilized to assess the variations among academic levels. The findings suggested that gender does not have a direct impact on experiences and attitudes of the learners towards PBL. Conversely, there is a significant difference between male and female in students’ perceptions in perceived benefits of PBL. Regarding the academic levels, there is a significant difference between grade 10 and 11 and grade 12 in both categories. These outcomes offer insights to teachers and educators to implement project-based learning in educational practices in various teaching environments.

Novera Putri Kirana, Alies Poetri Lintangsari, Ive Emaliana

Inclusive Education has been an emerging initiative in Indonesia, yet, the implementation of it in English Language Teaching is less explored. English Language Education Department, Faculty of Cultural Studies, Universitas Brawijaya has initiated a course called Introduction to Inclusive Education to prepare students with inclusive teaching competencies. This course has been implemented for 2 years, a course evaluation needs to be carried out to evaluate and improve the course quality. This present study reports the evaluation of the aforementioned course with the Framework of Outcome Based Education from the students’ perspective. Inviting 129 students enrolled in the course, this research revealed that most of students agreed that this course has met their expectation toward the offered competencies (M=3,25), positive perception toward course activities (M=3,12), positive perception toward the benefits of course materials (M=3,19), and positive perception toward tutor performance (M=3.2). Surprisingly, despite the students' agreement on the usefulness of the courses, they also acknowledged that the course materials are pretty difficult (M=3,15). The result of this course evaluation shed a light on the importance of adjusting the materials to be more achievable by the students so they have confidence in implementing inclusive teaching practices.     

Ghadah Albarqi

Self-monitoring—the ability to detect and correct errors during speech production plays an important role in second language production. Despite its importance, it has received little attention within English as a Foreign Language (EFL) contexts, particularly with regard to self-monitoring foci, speed, and its association with pausing behavior. This study aims to contribute to this area by investigating self-monitoring foci, speed, and the relationship between self-repair and pausing behavior within an EFL context. Sixty six EFL learners were recruited to perform picture-based description tasks. The research employed repeated measures and correlation analysis to address the research questions. The findings revealed that EFL learners frequently made more grammatical repairs compared to other repair types. Grammatical repair also took significantly longer to process than other repair types, implying that Grammatical repair might be challenging for EFL learners. Furthermore, the findings revealed a weak negative correlation between the frequency of Grammatical repair and pauses between clauses, suggesting that between-clause pauses in EFL speech might be associated with self-monitoring process. These insights shed light on the psycholinguistic aspects of self-monitoring in EFL contexts, carrying significant implications for research and theory.

Mariya Kozolup, Olha Patiyevych, Halyna Kryzhanivska et al.

Background. Nowadays, almost all indexed journals expect submissions in English, which is a great challenge for exophonic authors. Code-switching context, where cross-language effects, especially native language interference, are well distinct, is critical for approaching the dilemma. Navigating the complicated issues of language-related challenges will be impossible without referring to three crucial levels of written production: lexical, syntactic, and textual. In our investigation, we address the nature of potential errors and their inter- and intralingual origins. In particular, we identify and interpret the deviations from Standard English in scholarly research writing of Ukrainian authors in the field of life sciences, exemplify and classify errors into categories based on the type of language misuse. Materials and Methods. Language material for the study comprised 50 manuscripts submitted by authors from Ukraine to the journal “Studia Biologica”. This research is a mixed-method study encompassing descriptive qualitative and descriptive quantitative methods. Content analysis was employed as the data gathering technique. The analysis of texts was focused on tracing deviations from consistent principles and rules of Standard English and linguistic features of English research discourse and encompassed such steps as highlighting the error, cross-checking and stating the deviation, listing and classifying the errors, and tracing a possible connection of the error to authors’ first language interference. Results. The study identified language areas where Ukrainian authors fail to effectively communicate their ideas to the global academic community. At the textual level, the problem areas encompass defective paragraph structure and excessive verbosity. At the syntactic level, the most critical deviations from the language and stylistic norm comprised misuses of word order and clauses, wordy and confusing sentences with multiple issues that hinder the readability of text. The most widespread grammatical mistakes include missing predicates, faulty subject-verb agreement, incorrect forms of the verb, and inappropriate use of articles, pronouns, demonstratives and quantifiers. At the lexical level, the prevalent errors relate to various types of loan translation, but also include improper word choices and poor vocabulary. Orthographic mistakes, though in minority, refer to the spelling of toponyms, capitalisation, switching from American to British orthographic standards and other random spelling errors. Conclusions. An insight into the nature of the analysed deviations suggests the presence of both intra- and interlingual factors that cause mistakes in papers submitted for publication in the field of life sciences. The error analysis can be beneficial in the educational process for both educators and practitioners. Proper understanding of the functional mechanism of the mistakes might increase the awareness of the potential pitfalls and consequently help avoid them. The classification of errors can be adopted in the educational process and contribute to the development of error pedagogy.

Juhana Juhana, Hanna Sundari, Widya Rizky Pratiwi

Writing difficulty and constraints have gained much attention nowadays, particularly in the EFL context. However, the writing difficulties of EFL male and female writers perceived in developing an argumentative essay were still under-researched. To fill the void, this concurrent mixed method study aimed to scrutinize the variation and frequency and explore the perceptions of being argumentative writers among 113 EFL university students in Jakarta, Indonesia. Online questionnaires were distributed through a survey and the framework of interpretative phenomenological analysis (IPA), and the interviews were conducted concurrently. The findings illustrated that EFL male and female writers experienced almost similar major difficulties, including argumentative text genre, language use, difficulty in source/reference, problems in the cognitive process, and other technical difficulties. Further, to be argumentative writers, female writers tend to feel various combinations of feelings and apply more learning strategies. In contrast, male writers express more on the cognitive process of essay completion. However, either male or female writers become more aware of their weaknesses in the English language, such as reading skills.

A. Fernández Sanz, J. Ruíz Serrano, H. Tejada Meza et al.

Introduction: The modified Rankin Scale (mRS) is the main functional assessment tool used after stroke. The simplified mRS questionnaire (smRSq) has recently been validated in English, and represents a simpler, reliable scale with an excellent reproducibility via telephone. The present study aims to validate a Spanish-language version of the telephone smRSq. Methods: We conducted a prospective cohort study, assessing 50 patients 3 months after they presented an ischaemic stroke. We assessed the Spanish-language smRSq by telephone and in person, the mRS with a structured interview, the Spanish-language smRSq, and the Stroke Impact Scale-16. Inter-rater reliability, test-retest reliability, construct validity, and criterion validity were assessed. Results: Inter-rater reliability showed strong agreement (k = 0.810); test-retest reliability and criterion validity showed moderate agreement (k = 0.639 and k = 0.759, respectively), and construct validity showed moderate agreement (Spearman correlation coefficient = –0.728). Conclusions: The Spanish-language telephone smRSq is reliable and simple, and saves time in the functional assessment after a stroke. Resumen: Introducción: La escala modificada Rankin (mRS) es la principal herramienta para la valoración funcional tras un evento cerebrovascular. Recientemente, fue validado en inglés, el cuestionario simplificado de la mRS (smRSq) telefónico, consiguiendo una escala basada en la mRS, más sencilla, fiable y con buena reproductibilidad telefónica. Nuestro objetivo es validar en castellano el cuestionario smRSq telefónico. método: Se realizó un estudio de cohortes prospectivo, evaluando a 50 pacientes, a los 3 meses de haber sufrido un ictus isquémico. Se evaluó el cuestionario smRSq en castellano por teléfono y posteriormente de forma presencial la mRS mediante entrevista estructurada, el cuestionario smRSq y la SIS-16 (Stroke Impact Scale-16). Se estudió la fiabilidad interobservador, test–retest y la validez de constructo y de criterio. Resultados: La fiabilidad interobservador obtuvo una correlación muy alta (k = 0,810); la fiabilidad test-retest y la validez de criterio respecto a la entrevista estructurada de la mRS de forma presencial, obtuvieron una correlación alta (k = 0,639 y k = 0,759) y la validez de constructo respecto a la SIS-16, obtuvo una correlación lineal alta (coeficiente de Spearman = −0,728). Conclusiones: El cuestionario smRSq telefónico en castellano es una herramienta fiable, rápida y sencilla para la obtención del estado funcional de los pacientes tras un evento cerebrovascular, basado en la mRS.

Martha Nandari Santoso

In this changing era, which is characterized by the interconnected world, and the increasing mobility of people, the need to be able to communicate inter-culturally is evident. To be successful in intercultural communication, one does not only need to be linguistically competent but also culturally knowledgeable and sensitive. Bearing in mind these cultural needs, this paper details the scavenger hunt technique as a tool for enhancing culture learning and intercultural communication practice. Although this technique applies to students of any major, this study was specifically implemented to a group of English as a Foreign Language (EFL) students in Indonesia. Participants of this study were nine (9) male and twenty (20) female students of The English Language Education Program at a private university in Central Java, Indonesia. The students did the scavenger hunt in a group of four or five during their three-day trip to a multicultural setting in Indonesia: Bali island, and documented the activities in vlogs. The students’ vlogs which were data of this study were analyzed by using a qualitative content analysis approach. The findings showed that the scavenger hunt task resulted in the students' learning on cultural knowledge, intercultural communication, intercultural adaptation, information technology, and soft skills. During the three-day program, the students could also use English in a meaningful way. The study presented the strengths, weaknesses, and recommendations of this study, as well as some ideas for further research. Keywords: culture learning, intercultural communication, EFL,scavenger hunt.

D. V. Kvashnina, O. V. Kovalishena, N. V. Saperkin

Aim. To perform a systematic review of hepatitis В risk factors in patients receiving hemodialysis.Materials and Methods. We screened English-and Russian-language databases for relevant obser- vational cohort studies. Screening of publications and extraction of primary data were carried out in accordance with the Cochrane recommendations. The significance of hepatitis В risk factors was given in odds ratios with 95% confidence intervals.Results. All included primary studies demonstrated that patients on hemodialysis are at high risk of acquiring blood-borne diseases due to the combination of various risk factors. For example, duration of hemodialysis &gt; 2 years significantly increased hepatitis В risk (OR = 2.24, 1QR 1.052.08).Conclusion. A critical attitude to modifiable and non-modifiable risk factors increases the effectiveness of epidemiological surveillance and infection control and ensures quality and safety of medical care for the patients receiving hemodialysis.

Ana Clara Sánchez Solarte

This article describes the importance of classroom management for language teachers, particularly for novice L2 teachers since it can affect their permanence in the teaching profession. A definition of classroom management along with a description of its dimensions, a set of initial principles and practical ideas to approach teaching with more confidence are provided in this paper. It is expected that this information will contribute to equip inexperienced teachers with procedures and strategies that can be translated and adapted to their teaching situation and ease the transition from student-teacher to being in charge of a classroom on their own.

Katie Rybakova, Nicole Damico

As preservice teachers develop ideas about what it means to be and become educators, they benefit from opportunities that allow them to experience cooperative group work with diverse populations. This is especially important because during the induction phase, as they cross over from teacher education students to inservice teachers, they are often expected to engage in collegial work with their coworkers. In this article, the authors describe a cross-university project using a digital platform that afforded two sets of preservice teachers from two different universities to cooperate over the course of four weeks to inform each other’s practice. This cooperative project included peer review sessions focused on lesson plans and synchronous revision conferences as part of a digital learning community. The authors considered the affordances and limitations of using an online platform as a way to foster cooperative practice among preservice teachers. Overall, preservice teachers had a positive perception of this project. In this article, we share the planning and implementation of the project, the ways in which students engaged with both their peers and the digital tools, and the trials and tribulations of the authors as instructors of these two cohorts of preservice teachers. Ultimately, our goal is to highlight the need in teacher education for projects that engage preservice teachers in cooperative practice with both the use of digital tools and authentic conversations with others outside of their own educational communities.

Antonio García Gómez, Fátima Garrido Pozo

Abstract: Social networks have been evolving throughout time not just as a tool to socialize or interact, but as a fundamental system that helps people develop their lives. Among social network users, adolescents are, without any doubt, those who are more dependent on technology in general terms and social media in particular. They not only use it to connect to each other, but also to update and to evaluate what they hear, read and do both on- and offline. This research uses Facebook posts from British and Spanish male and female teenagers in order to explore these teenagers’ practices of social networking. More precisely, the main aim of the current study is not only to analyse similarities and differences in the ways male and female teenagers communicate online, but also to uncover the different linguistic strategies they use to relate to others. The analysis gives evidence that there is a fine line in the use of positive and negative politeness strategies according to gender when negotiating conversational topics online.   Título en español: “Revisión de las fronteras entre Lengua y Género: La performatividad de género en redes sociales”. Resumen: Las redes sociales han evolucionado a lo largo del tiempo. De este modo, han dejado de ser utilizadas exclusivamente como una herramienta de socialización e interacción y han pasado a entenderse como un sistema fundamental que ayuda a las personas a desarrollar sus propias vidas. Entre los usuarios de redes sociales, los adolescentes son, sin lugar a dudas, aquellos que son más dependientes de las nuevas tecnologías en general y de las redes sociales en concreto. No sólo las utilizan para estar en contacto con otras personas, sino que también las usan para estar al día y evaluar aquello que oyen, leen y hacen tanto en línea como fuera de línea. La presente investigación utiliza mensajes publicados en el muro de Facebook por adolescentes británic@s y español@s con el objeto de explorar sus prácticas en esta red social. En concreto, este estudio tiene como objetivo no sólo analizar las diferencias y similitudes en la(s) forma(s) que est@s adolescentes se comunican en línea, sino también descubrir las diferentes estrategias lingüísticas que usan para relacionarse con otros usuarios. El análisis prueba que hay una delgada línea en el uso de las estrategias de cortesía positiva y negativa en lo que respecta al género de los usuarios mientras tratan distintos temas en línea.

Setyoningsih Setyoningsih

This study aims to identify and analyze the cultural conflicts between the main characters in the novel Not Without my Daughter (NW). The analysis was carried out through the following process. The first procedure related to problems of classification i.e. cross cultural conflicts. The next phase of data analysis related to the colletion data of cross cultural conflicts in NW. The last phase is presentation the result of the analysis that had been conducted in this research. Having analyzed the data, the researcher concludes  that cultural conflicts occured in NW because of  stereotype, prejudice, and ethnocentrism. Cultural conflicts can be prevented if we increase our awareness of our own attitudes and learn to be sensitive to cross-cultural differences. However, if we develop intercultural sensitivity, it does not mean that we need to lose our cultural identities-but rather that we recognize cultural influences within ourselves and within others.

Sara Shahani, Abdorreza Tahriri

The use of modern technologies has been widely prevalent among language learners, and video, in particular, as a valuable learning tool provides learners with comprehensible input. The present study investigated the effect of silent and freeze-frame viewing techniques of video materials on the intermediate English as a foreign language (EFL) learners’ listening comprehension. To this end, 45 intermediate EFL learners participated in this quasi-experimental study. The results of one-way ANOVA revealed that there was a statistically significant difference between the experimental groups (using two types of viewing techniques) and the control group. While the difference between the two experimental groups was not statistically significant, the experimental groups outperformed the control group significantly.

Dal Santo, Regina Maria

The idea of happiness in sermons in the long eighteenth century is examined, in particular the idea of moral reformation promoted by the Latitudinarian movement, which obtained relevant importance in the Church of England after the Restoration. The analysis focuses on Archbishop John Tillotson’s Sermons as they exemplify the Church’s position on Man’s relationship with God and happiness. His sermons describe Man as a traveller whose destination is happiness. They underline the role of reason and conscience in promoting human obedience to divine law, while insisting on self-love and its force to move the individual to moral reformation. Tillotson clearly addresses the malleable nature of Man, the part that can be educated to religion and to the promotion of sincerity and charitable activities. Seeking for happiness therefore endorses the improvement in the mores of society and potentially helps Man to gain God’s favour, which was considered lost after the Great Plague and the Great Fire of 1666. 

Bigliazzi, Silvia

Rejane Teixeira Vidal

Este estudo examina o conceito de lingualização (Swain, 2006) em contexto de instrução-focada-na-forma e o seu papel como uma importante ferramenta a ser utilizada por aprendizes de brasileiros de língua estrangeira, sejam avançados ou de nível elementar, se o objetivo é a precisão linguística. Com o apoio da teoria sociocultural da mente de Vygotsky (1978) e com base nos estudo desenvolvidos por Swain no contexto canadense, assim como nos de Vidal (2003) em contexto brasileiro, ambos com alunos avançados, a investigação mostra como aprendizes brasileiros de língua inglesa de diferentes níveis de proficiência e de diferentes realidades instrucionais se beneficiam com a lingualização _ o processo de se construir significado e moldar conhecimento e experiência por meio da própria língua-alvo. Análise qualitativa de diálogo colaborativo e de feedback corretivo fornecem evidências para a reivindicação. Sugere-se que a instrução-focada-na-forma via reflexão consciente sobre uso de língua parece um recurso pedagógico muito atraente para ajudar aprendizes de ILE a aprender a língua-alvo, assim como a desenvolver sua interlíngua.<br>This paper examines the concept of languaging (Swain, 2006) in the context of form-focused instruction and its role as an important tool for Brazilian foreign language learners, both at advanced level and at elementary level, if linguistic precision is the target. Supported by the Vygotskian sociocultural theory of mind (Vygotsky, 1978) and based on studies developed by Swain (2006) in the Canadian context and by Vidal (2003) in the Brazilian scenario, both with advanced learners, the paper shows how Brazilian learners of English of different levels of proficiency and from different instructional realities benefit from languaging _ the process of making meaning and shaping knowledge and experience through target-language use. A qualitative analysis of both collaborative dialogue and corrective feedback provide evidence for the claim. It is suggested that form-focused instruction via conscious reflection on language use seems to be a very attractive pedagogical resource to help learners EFL to develop their interlanguage further as well as it serves language learning

Annabelle Hernández Herrero

El propósito de este artículo es proporcionar una guía para la implementación de la lectura extensiva en un programa de inglés como lengua extranjera. La primera parte presenta la definición y características de la lectura extensiva según personas expertas en el campo. Luego aparece una serie de actividades para ser utilizadas en un programa de lectura extensiva. La última sección es una bibliografía anotada de textos que han sido utilizados con éxito en el curso LM-1246 Comprensión de Lectura en la Escuela de Lenguas Modernas de la Universidad de Costa Rica. Incluye el título, autor, género, nivel de dificultad, un resumen del contenido y críticas de la población estudiantil.   The purpose of this article is to provide guidelines to implement an extensive reading program in an English as a Foreign Language Program. The first section includes a definition and characteristics of extensive reading based on experts on the field. This section is followed by activities to be used in an extensive reading program. The last section is an annotated bibliography of texts which have been used successfully in the course LM-1246 Reading Comprehension at the School of Modern Languages at the University of Costa Rica. It includes the title of the book, the author, genre, level of difficulty, a summary of the book and students’ critiques.