This study investigates how pre-service Teachers of English in Bilingual Streams’ (TEBs) perceptions of plurilingualism are elicited through carrying out small-scale research with learners. It builds on previous studies showing positive relations between teacher education and shifts in pre-service teachers’ predispositions towards plurilingual education, particularly when opportunities for critical reflection on the interplay between course- and field work is emphasised. TEBs (N=6) were introduced to visual and spoken data collection methods consisting of language mapping and focus group interviews during coursework and administered these during fieldwork. Spoken and written research reports were analysed deductively using language ideologies adapted from Ricklefs (2023). Results show all participants have a positive disposition to plurilingualism on completion of the course and fieldwork, particularly in relation to valuing plurilingualism as a potential resource in CLIL. Implementing multimodal research methods makes linguistic variation visible and draws out learner experiences. This helps TEBs make connections between their own beliefs and experiences, and those articulated by their learners and in their placement schools. This approach builds on the dynamic nature of the interaction between teacher beliefs and practices and confirms that critical reflection can play a key role in shaping TEBs’ dispositions towards plurilingualism and plurilingual pedagogies.
DOCUMENT
‘Creating the Difference’ is the theme of the 2014 edition of the Chi Sparks conference. It is also the challenge that the Human-Computer Interaction (HCI) community is facing today. HCI is a creative field where practitioners engage in design, production, and evaluation of interactions between people and digital technology. Creating excellent interfaces for people, they make a difference in media and systems that people are eager to use. Usability and user experience are fundamental for achieving this, as are abilities at the forefront of technology, but key to a successful difference is getting the right concepts, addressing genuine, intrinsic, human needs. Researchers and practitioners contribute to this area from theory as well as practice by sharing, discussing, and demonstrating new ideas and developments. This is how HCI creates a difference for society, for individuals, businesses, education, and organizations. The difference that an interactive product or service makes might lie in the concept of it but also in the making, the creation of details and the realisation. It is through powerful concepts and exceptional quality of realisation that innovation is truly achieved. At the Chi Sparks 2014 conference, researchers and practitioners in the HCI community convene to share and discuss their efforts on researching and developing methods, techniques, products, and services that enable people to have better interactions with systems and other people. The conference is hosted at The Hague University of Applied Sciences, and proudly built upon the previous conferences in Arnhem (2011) and Leiden (2009). Copyright van de individuele papers ligt bij de betreffende auteurs.
DOCUMENT
The aim of this dissertation is to examine how adult learners with a spoken language background who are acquiring a signed language, learn how to use the space in front of the body to express grammatical and topographical relations. Moreover, it aims at investigating the effectiveness of different types of instruction, in particular instruction that focuses the learner's attention on the agreement verb paradigm. To that end, existing data from a learner corpus (Boers-Visker, Hammer, Deijn, Kielstra & Van den Bogaerde, 2016) were analyzed, and two novel experimental studies were designed and carried out. These studies are described in detail in Chapters 3–6. Each chapter has been submitted to a scientific journal, and accordingly, can be read independently.1 Yet, the order of the chapters follows the chronological order in which the studies were carried out, and the reader will notice that each study served as a basis to inform the next study. As such, some overlap in the sections describing the theoretical background of each study was unavoidable.
MULTIFILE
ion of verb agreement by hearing learners of a sign language. During a 2-year period, 14 novel learners of Sign Language of the Netherlands (NGT) with a spoken language background performed an elicitation task 15 times. Seven deaf native signers and NGT teachers performed the same task to serve as a benchmark group. The results obtained show that for some learners, the verb agreement system of NGT was difficult to master, despite numerous examples in the input. As compared to the benchmark group, learners tended to omit agreement markers on verbs that could be modified, did not always correctly use established locations associated with discourse referents, and made characteristic errors with respect to properties that are important in the expression of agreement (movement and orientation). The outcomes of the study are of value to practitioners in the field, as they are informative with regard to the nature of the learning process during the first stages of learning a sign language.
DOCUMENT
Posterpresentatie op conferentie Introductie: De afgelopen twee decennia is er geen communis opinio over de vraag of er sprake is van regionale factoren bij de constituentvolgorde in de Nederlandse Gebarentaal (NGT) (Coerts, 1994; Crasborn & De Wit, 2005; Vermeerbergen, Nijen Twilhaar & Van Herreweghe, 2013). Dit onderzoek levert een bijdrage aan de discussie over constituent-volgorde in het algemeen, doordat werd onderzocht of constituentvolgorde in NGT verschillend is voor eerste- en tweedetaalverwervers van de NGT. Methode: Er namen tien participanten (studenten NGT aan de Hogeschool Utrecht) deel: vijf dove moedertaalgebruikers en vijf horende studenten (leeftijd 19-30 jaar). Productie werd uitgelokt van drie verschillende typen enkelvoudige zinnen aan de hand van plaatjes (Volterra et al., 1984): 6 zinnen met omkeerbare constituenten, 6 zinnen met niet-omkeerbare constituenten en 6 locatieve zinnen. Alle 180 geproduceerde zinnen werden getranscribeerd en syntactisch (Subject, Object, Verbum) geanalyseerd. Resultaten: De moedertaalgebruikers gaven duidelijk de voorkeur aan de volgorde SVO of SVOV bij omkeerbare zinnen en SOV voor niet-omkeerbare zinnen. Voor de locatieve zinnen werd veel variatie gevonden, met een lichte voorkeur voor OSV. De T2-verwervers vertoonden veel variatie in de productie van omkeerbare zinnen zonder duidelijk patroon. Voor de niet-omkeerbare zinnen werd een lichte voorkeur voor SOV gevonden en wederom variatie. De loca-tieve zinnen werden voornamelijk uitgedrukt in de volgorde OSV. Conclusie: Deze studie toont aan dat de constituentvolgorde van moedertaalgebruikers en T2-verwervers verschillen. Opvallend is dat de T2-verwervers de neiging hebben de regel voor locatieve zinnen ‘Het grootste element voorop in de zin’ te overgeneraliseren naar het type niet-omkeerbare zin.
MULTIFILE
Customer-supplier relationships are becoming more digital. However, a personal approach still seems to be a key success factor in the service journey, creating an optimal customer experience. In this research, we investigated the effects of a personal communication approach on customer experience and customer relationship. The personal touch was operationalised in two studies focusing on written forms of communication (Study 1) and spoken forms of communication (Study 2) amongst customers of an energy company. Both studies show that a personal tone of voice in customer contact results in a more positive customer experience (in terms of consumption emotions, customer satisfaction and recommendation intention). However, it does not impact the long term relationships between service provider and customers. Customers do not adjust previously built relationship norms when they are approached in a more or less personal way, as long as the chosen approach does not violate relationship norms. The research is relevant for organisations interested in the effects of a more personal approach in customer contact. The paper combines existing theories on customer experience and customer communication with the existing theories on relational models.
LINK
In this paper we describe our work in progress on the development of a set of criteria to predict text difficulty in Sign Language of the Netherlands (NGT). These texts are used in a four year bachelor program, which is being brought in line with the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (Council of Europe, 2001). Production and interaction proficiency are assessed through the NGT Functional Assessment instrument, adapted from the Sign Language Proficiency Interview (Caccamise & Samar, 2009). With this test we were able to determine that after one year of NGT-study students produce NGT at CEFR-level A2, after two years they sign at level B1, and after four years they are proficient in NGT on CEFR-level B2. As a result of that we were able to identify NGT texts that were matched to the level of students at certain stages in their studies with a CEFR-level. These texts were then analysed for sign familiarity, morpheme-sign rate, use of space and use of non-manual signals. All of these elements appear to be relevant for the determination of a good alignment between the difficulty of NGT signed texts and the targeted CEFR level, although only the morpheme-sign rate appears to be a decisive indicator
DOCUMENT
A significant body of research supports the affective benefits of drama activities in foreign language (FL) learning, yet little is known about how to train teachers to implement such activities. In this study, we tested a professional development program (PDP) aimed at galvanizing FL teachers to integrate improvisational drama techniques (IDTs) into their repertoire. IDTs are defined here as activities which place pupils in a fictional situation and stimulate spoken interaction. Nineteen Dutch secondary school FL teachers participated in the PDP. The goal of this research was to discover the extent to which (1) teachers implement IDTs according to the study’s definition, (2) the techniques become integrated into the teacher’s repertoire, and (3) teachers develop the self-efficacy to execute IDTs. All three areas were met with positive results as evidenced through questionnaires, logbooks, observations and interviews. Teachers demonstrated that they could inspire the fictional artistry of drama while simultaneously stimulating FL speaking. Frequency of implementation also increased after the training. Self-efficacy furthermore improved widely, both in implementing IDTs and speaking activities in general.
DOCUMENT
A significant body of research supports the affective benefits of drama activities in foreign language (FL) learning, yet little is known about how to train teachers to implement such activities. In this study, we tested a professional development program (PDP) aimed at galvanizing FL teachers to integrate improvisational drama techniques (IDTs) into their repertoire. IDTs are defined here as activities which place pupils in a fictional situation and stimulate spoken interaction. Nineteen Dutch secondary school FL teachers participated in the PDP. The goal of this research was to discover the extent to which (1) teachers implement IDTs according to the study’s definition, (2) the techniques become integrated into the teacher’s repertoire, and (3) teachers develop the self-efficacy to execute IDTs. All three areas were met with positive results as evidenced through questionnaires, logbooks, observations and interviews. Teachers demonstrated that they could inspire the fictional artistry of drama while simultaneously stimulating FL speaking. Frequency of implementation also increased after the training. Self-efficacy furthermore improved widely, both in implementing IDTs and speaking activities in general.
LINK
