Background. The article addresses the issue of lexical interference among Chinese students learning Russian as a foreign language. This phenomenon is due to significant differences between the structural and semantic systems of the two languages. Lexical interference errors are manifested in calquing, violations of lexical collocations, semantic substitutions, and the use of words in inappropriate contexts, all of which hinder the development of stable lexical competence.
Purpose. The aim of the study is to identify the typical manifestations of lexical interference among Chinese-speaking students and to substantiate effective methodological approaches for overcoming it in the process of teaching Russian.
Materials and methods. The methodological basis includes the analysis of students’ written and oral works, questionnaire surveys, and a pedagogical experiment involving a set of adapted exercises aimed at developing conscious and contextually appropriate lexical usage.
Results. The experimental part was conducted among 50 second-year students at one of the universities in the People's Republic of China. The participants were divided into control and experimental groups. The results of the comparative analysis showed that the use of contrastive tasks, lexico-semantic exercises, and digital learning tools contributed to a 37.3% reduction in lexical errors in written speech and a 43.3% reduction in oral speech in the experimental group. In addition, the students demonstrated increased confidence in their ability to use Russian vocabulary in real communication situations. The scientific novelty of the study lies in the comprehensive examination of lexical interference from both linguistic and cognitive psychological perspectives, as well as in the practical testing of the proposed methodology in a Chinese-language learning environment. The findings confirm the significance of systematic corrective work and can be implemented in Russian as a Foreign Language (RFL) programs at both beginner and intermediate levels. The results of the study lead to the conclusion that targeted work on lexical interference contributes not only to a decrease in error frequency but also to the development of confident lexical usage skills. The methodology developed within the framework of the research can be effectively applied in the practice of teaching RFL to students with a Chinese mother tongue.
EDN: UAQPEU
Background: Early identification of dysphagia followed by intervention reduces, length of hospitalisation, degree of morbidity, hospital costs and risk of aspiration pneumonia. The emergency department offers an opportune space for triage. Triaging offers risk-based evaluation and early identification of dysphagia risk. A dysphagia triage protocol is not available in South Africa (SA). The current study aimed to address this gap.
Objectives: To establish the reliability and validity of a researcher-developed dysphagia triage checklist.
Method: A quantitative design was used. Sixteen doctors were recruited from a medical emergency unit at a public sector hospital in SA using non-probability sampling. Non-parametric statistics and correlation coefficients were used to determine the reliability, sensitivity and specificity of the checklist.
Results: Poor reliability, high sensitivity and poor specificity of the developed dysphagia triage checklist was found. Importantly, the checklist was adequate in identifying patients as not being at risk for dysphagia. Completion time for dysphagia triage was 3 minutes.
Conclusion: The checklist was highly sensitive but not reliable or valid for use in identifying patients at risk for dysphagia.
Contribution: The study provides a platform for further research and modification of the newly developed triage checklist, which is not recommended for use in its current form. The merits of dysphagia triage cannot be ignored. Once a valid and reliable tool is confirmed, the feasibility of implementation of dysphagia triage must be considered. Evidence to confirm that dysphagia triage can be conducted, when considering the contextual, economic, technical and logistic aspects of the context, is necessary.
The purpose of this study was to analyze knowledge co-construction as a self-organization process and the role of technology as its catalyst. Novel AI-directed speech recognition technology and the artifacts it generates were deployed to scaffold the knowledge co-construction process in two groups of pre-service teachers in a science education context. Throughout the lesson, the focus of the learning tasks was on pedagogical content knowledge and students' preconceptions. Analysis was conducted through the key characteristics of the social system's self-organization theory. The process of self-organization refers to the system's capacity to diverge from familiar structures, perspectives, and operations. Through the lenses of system theories, the active role of artifacts in co-construction was grasped and the role of technology in the self-organization of knowledge was analyzed. The pedagogical design of knowledge co-construction followed the principles of student-engaging learning. The technology used in co-construction was novel speech recognition AI software, which produced visual and editable word cloud artifacts from oral discussions on the large-format screen to edit. The data included videos and audio recordings. In this qualitative study, a content analysis and interaction analysis were used with descriptive analysis. The results showed that when technology became visible, as an active component of the system, artifacts triggered key signs of the social system's self-organization in co-construction. Exchange of information, “entropy levels,” were rapidly increased, and different viewpoints were expressed. Also, “chaos zones,” far-from-equilibrium states, were reached in both groups. Editable artifacts on the screen represented bifurcation spaces where groups' discussions were crystallized for the first time. Information was further categorized and evaluated through artifacts and this demonstrated how the groups processed communication into learning insights. Based on the results, the role played by this kind of technology was significant in the self-organization of knowledge. Materialized artifacts pushed the groups from small group conversation phases, comfort zones, toward uncertainty and confusion, which are central in self-organization. Technology in the system is seen not only as an interactor but also as an active agent that can facilitate epistemic emotions and support the group in the self-organization of knowledge.
Background Severe acute malnutrition (SAM) is associated with cognitive and motor deficits. Little is known about the swallowing, feeding and communication characteristics of hospitalised toddlers with SAM, limiting the abilities of speech-language therapists to provide effective early intervention. Objective To explore the background, swallowing, feeding and communication characteristics of toddlers with SAM during in-patient nutritional rehabilitation. Method An exploratory, prospective, collective case-study was conducted with three hospitalised toddlers who were 12–18 months old and independently diagnosed with SAM, at least 1 week after transitioning to oral feeding. Detailed case histories were compiled through medical file perusal and parent interviews. Cross-sectional clinical bedside assessments were completed with the Rossetti Infant-Toddler Language Scale and Schedule for Oral-Motor Assessment. Results All three participants had a history of feeding difficulties before admission. Despite intact pharyngeal swallows, heterogeneous oral-sensorimotor dysfunction and disruptive feeding behaviours were identified. Risk for oropharyngeal dysphagia indicates the need to modify dietary consistencies to prevent prolonging recovery or SAM relapse. Participants had mild-to-moderate language delays, particularly in interaction-attachment, play and language comprehension, with an atypical moderate receptive and mild expressive language delay profile. None of the participants were referred for speech-language therapy. Conclusion This exploratory research showed the oral-sensorimotor skills, swallowing and communication characteristics of children with SAM. Speech-language therapists could address oral-sensorimotor functioning, feeding difficulties and communication interaction delays before discharge to community-based management for SAM. Further investigation with a larger sample size is recommended. Contribution Novel description of the oral-sensorimotor skills for feeding and the communication development of three severely malnourished toddlers with HIV and tuberculosis co-infection was presented. The complexity of the three cases is highlighted.
En los años 1916-1917 la antropóloga norteamericana Elsie Clews Parsons registró en comunidades de inmigrantes de Cabo Verde establecidas en la costa oriental de los Estados Unidos una importante colección de cuentos folclóricos, que publicó en 1923. Entre esos cuentos hay versiones, en prosa, de varios romances hispánicos: Gerineldo, La doncella guerrera, El Cid y el conde Lozano, El Cid pide parias al rey moro, Gaiferos, Carlomagno y sus doce pares, El conde Alarcos y Bela Infanta. En este artículo son presentados y analizados varios de esos romances-cuentos.
Oral communication. Speech, French literature - Italian literature - Spanish literature - Portuguese literature
PURPOSE The purpose of this study was to analyze the impact of the implementation of the Picture Exchange Communication System (PECS) on the comprehension of instructions by children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). METHODS This is a longitudinal study (N° 0809/2018). The sample consisted of 20 children with nonverbal ASDs, 15 boys and 5 girls, aged 6 to 12 years, evaluated and diagnosed by a multidisciplinary team according to the DSM-5. For assessment of the comprehension of instructions, we used eight visual instructions and eight oral instructions, which were applied at two points in the PECS Implementation Program: early phases II and IV. The program consisted of 24 individual speech therapy sessions with the presence of a family member and followed the six phases originally proposed by the PECS Training Manual. RESULTS There was an expressive increase in the comprehension of all instructions, in the comparison between the two moments of the study; and this increase was statistically significant in six of the oral instructions (p=0.001) and five of the visual ones (p=0.002). CONCLUSION It was possible to observe the positive impact of the use of PECS in the comprehension of both visual and oral instructions, showing that this system not only provides an augmentative or alternative communication tool for the children to express themselves but also promotes significant improvement in the understanding of contextual information.
PURPOSE To create a consensus version of a speech-language pathology (SLP) script to assess the expressiveness of voice professionals. METHODS The process was divided into three stages: stage 1 included a survey of the literature and classification of the variables found in the instruments used; in steps 2 and 3, through teamwork, expert judges (focus groups I and II) created and adapted, along with the researcher, a consensus version of the expressiveness assessment script. RESULTS The initial list presented to the judges contained 48 variables found in the literature: 11 related to emotional and interpretation aspects, 20 associated with oral expressiveness, three related to issues of verbal expressiveness, and 14 related to nonverbal expressiveness. In stage 2, the initial version of the script of the focus group I resulted in a document with 28 parameters, distributed in three thematic assessment groups: general aspects of communication, with three parameters; aspects related to oral expressiveness, with 16 parameters; aspects associated with body expressiveness, with nine parameters. In stage 3, after adequacy by focus group II, the consensus version also resulted in 28 parameters, distributed in two thematic groups. CONCLUSION The consensus version of the SLP expressiveness assessment script for voice professionals was finalized with 28 parameters, distributed in two thematic axes: initial impact of communication, with six parameters; expressiveness, with 22 parameters.
Purpose The purpose of this tutorial is to re-examine the current literature on nonspeech oral motor exercise (NSOME) in general and its use in the treatment of children with cleft palate specifically and provide a best practice recommendation. Method The Population Intervention Comparison Outcome process was used to investigate the clinical question. This systematic framework identifies the clinical population, evaluates the intervention(s) applied to the population, assesses the results of interventions, and delineates the outcome. A literature search, which examined developmental research, applied clinical research, and systematic treatment reviews, was conducted for this purpose. Results The literature reviewed herein suggests that, on a number of different levels, the implementation of NSOMEs does not result in positive communication outcomes for children with cleft palate who present with velopharyngeal dysfunction or compensatory speech errors. Conclusion Based on the current review, there is no empirical support for the use of NSOME as a direct or adjunct treatment for velopharyngeal dysfunction or compensatory speech errors. Appropriate treatments for these communication disorders include surgical, dental, and speech-based interventions.
Due to the increase in globalization, communication between different countries has become more and more frequent. Language barriers are the most important issues in communication. Machine translation is limited to texts, and cannot be an adequate substitute for oral communication. In this study, a speech recognition and translation system based on embedded technology was developed for the purpose of English speech recognition and translation. The system adopted the Hidden Markov Model (HMM) and Windows CE operating system. Experiments involving English speech recognition and English-Chinese translation found that the accuracy of the system in identifying English speech was about 88%, and the accuracy rate of the system in translating English to Chinese was over 85%. The embedded technology-based English speech recognition and translation system demonstrated a level of high accuracy in speech identification and translation, demonstrating its value as a practical application. Therefore, it merits further research and development.
Madihin art is one of oral literary works in Banjar area of South Kalimantan. In the process of delivering it, the utterances of madihin contain directive speech acts. The directive speech act sare one of pragmatic aspects in communication. The aim of study was to find the types of directive speech acts in madihin art. The study on madihinin the domain of directive speech acts was never been carried out before. It motivated the researcher to do study on it to investigate the way of madihin performers using directive speech acts in performing madihin to create amusing utterances. This study used the data 10 videos of madihin performances which were taken randomly. The results of the study showed that the utterances of madihin containing seven types of directive speech acts namely (1) commanding, (2) entreating, (3) inviting, (4) advising, (5) suggesting, (6) expecting and (7) requiring. It found the importance of directive speech acts used in the utterances of madihin performances to create humor. This study is expected to give an understanding of oral literature especially about directive speech acts used in madihin.
E. Weisblatt, C. Langensiepen, Beverley Cook
et al.
ABSTRACT Autism is a heterogenous condition, encompassing many different subtypes and presentations. Of those people with autism who lack communicative speech, some are more skilled at receptive language than their expressive difficulty might suggest. This disparity between what can be spoken and what can be understood correlates with motor and especially oral motor abilities, and thus may be a consequence of limits to oral motor skill. Point OutWords, tablet-based software targeted for this subgroup, builds on autistic perceptual and cognitive strengths to develop manual motor and oral motor skills prerequisite to communication by pointing or speaking. Although typical implementations of user-centered design rely on communicative speech, Point OutWords users were involved as co-creators both directly via their own nonverbal behavioral choices and indirectly via their communication therapists’ reports; resulting features include vectorized, high-contrast graphics, exogenous cues to help capture and maintain attention, customizable reinforcement prompts, and accommodation of open-loop visuomotor control.
Objective: The aim of this study was to explore how 7-year-olds describe speech in children born with cleft palate in their own words and to investigate whether they perceive signs of velopharyngeal incompetence (VPI) and articulation errors, and if so, which terminology they use. Methods/Participants: Twenty 7-year-olds participated in 6 focus group interviews where they listened to 8 speech samples with different types of cleft speech characteristics and described what they heard. The same speech samples had been assessed by speech-language pathologists and comprised normal speech, different degrees of VPI, oral articulation disorders, and glottal articulation. The interviews were analyzed with qualitative content analysis. Results: The analysis resulted in 4 interlinked categories: descriptions of speech, thoughts on personal traits, consequences for communication, and emotional reactions and associations. Each category contains 4 to 5 subcategories with the children’s descriptions and reflections. Glottal articulation and severe signs of VPI caused the most negative emotional reactions and were described as sounding scary and incomprehensible and the children speculated on the risk of social rejection of the speakers. Retracted oral articulation was also noted and described but with a vocabulary similar to the professionals. Minor signs of VPI were not noted. Conclusions: Seven-year-olds are direct and straightforward in their reactions to cleft palate speech characteristics. More pronounced signs of VPI and articulatory difficulties, also minor ones, are noted. Clinically, articulatory impairments may be more important to treat than minor signs of VPI.