This paper introduces our special issue about ideologies in sign language vitality and revitalization and discusses ideologies related to the vitality of sign languages. Rather than taking for granted the notions of vitality and endangerment or developing criteria for measuring sign language vitality, the papers in this issue will provide a discursive construction of sign language endangerment. This construction in turn provides critical and historical reflection on how vitality has emerged as a concern for sign languages in specific local, national, and international contexts, the actors and institutions bringing forward this framing, and in whose interest it is to promote such discourses. The issue will survey how and by whom these ideologies are described, mobilized and legitimized, and what conceptualizations of language are emphasized and by whom.
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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.
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The following guidelines address issues related specifically to sign language tests and testing of children since most of the existing guidelines focus on tests for adult learners. Links are provided to existing guidelines for test development, such as from the International Testing Commission (ITC), or the European Association of Language Testing and Assessment (EALTA), which include more general, construct-independent issues on (language) tests to provide additional/in-depth information. The guidelines stated here serve as a point of reference to develop, evaluate, and use tests, both for children or adult learners of a sign language. To investigate specific topics more in-depth, we recommend using existing guidelines (see Additional resources and guidelines for (language) test development) or refer to publications on sign language test development and adaptation (see Selected references
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The purpose of the design-based research reported here is to show – as a proof of principle – how the idea of scaffolding can be used to support primary teachers in a professional development programme (PDP) to design and enact language-oriented science lessons. The PDP consisted of six sessions of 2.5 h each in which twelve primary school teachers took part over a period of six months. It centralised the language support that pupils need to reason during science lessons. In line with the idea of scaffolding, the structure of the PDP targeted teachers' gradual independence in designing lessons. The first research question is how scaffolding was enacted during the PDP. The analysis of video recordings, field notes, researcher and teacher logs, and teacher design assignments focused on the enactment of three scaffolding characteristics: diagnosis, responsiveness and handover to independence. The second research question concerns what teachers learned from the participation in the PDP that followed a scaffolding approach. The data analysis illustrates that these teachers had learned much in terms of designing and enacting language-oriented science lessons. In terms of diagnosis and responsiveness, our PDP approach was successful, but we problematise the ideal of scaffolding approaches focused on handover to independence.
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BackgroundInterprofessional collaborative practices (IPCP) are considered to be a crucial factor in the optimal support of young children (3–6 years) with speech, language and communication needs (SLCN) in inclusive early childhood education and care (ECEC).AimsTo investigate IPCP in interventions using a collaborative approach for young children with SLCN in ECEC, by identifying mechanisms within IPCP and how these mechanisms relate to specific context factors and professional and child-related outcomes.MethodsA realist review of 22 empirical intervention studies, published between 1994 and 2019, was conducted to synthesise context-mechanism-outcome (CMO) configurations, combining context factors, IPCP mechanisms and outcomes at staff and child level.Main ContributionReciprocal IPCP mechanisms were reported together with interprofessional intervention practices, whereas one-directional IPCP mechanisms were restricted to gains in professional development. Our review further suggests that collective ownership of intervention goals, combined with personal cooperation and communication skills of staff, is vital for inclusive practices and functional communication of children with SLCN.ConclusionOur review has revealed indications for effective IPCP mechanisms, context factors at staff level, and positive outcomes for the professional development of staff working with children with SLCN. In addition, our findings support a link between IPCP and child-related outcomes regarding speech, language and communication development. Future studies should increase our insight into how practitioners, children and families profit from daily collaborative practices.WHAT THIS PAPER ADDSWhat is already known on this subjectInterventions using a collaborative approach for young children (3-6 years) with SLCN in ECEC are considered to be part of the optimal support of these children.What this paper adds to existing knowledgeConducting a realist review of 22 empirical studies on collaborative intervention offered the possibility to identify specific context factors, IPCP mechanisms and professional and child-related outcomes and to synthesise CMO configuations. Findings suggest multiple routes from effective delivery of SLCN services to improvement of speech, language and communication development, supporting the suggested beneficial function of collaboration between multiple professions. Collective ownership of intervention goals, combined with personal cooperation and communication skills of staff, seems to be vital for inclusive practices and functional communication of children with SLCN. Reciprocal IPCP mechanisms were reported together with interprofessional intervention practices, whereas one-directional IPCP mechanisms were restricted to gains in professional development.What are the potential or actual clinical implications of this work?High-quality collaborative intervention for children with SLCN in requires awareness of and critical reflection on IPCP mechanisms in order to improve outcomes for both professionals and children. Both, institutional structural support and individual communicative and cooperative skills are required to increase interprofessional collaboration with the aim to meet the needs of every individual child with SLCN.
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Interprofessional collaboration and practice (IPCP) is considered the cornerstone for effective service delivery for children with speech language and communication needs (SLCN). Following Stutsky and Spence Laschinger’s framework, we investigated IPCP-related differences between Dutch and Norwegian professionals in a cross-national comparative survey study. The personal relational skills of communication, trust and situational factor support structures were related to interprofessional collaboration in both countries. Trust was a stronger predictor for the Dutch sample than the Norwegian sample. A moderated moderation analysis revealed that the relationship between IPCP and perceived team effectiveness is moderated by trust for the Dutch professionals but not for their Norwegian colleagues. Trust may play a vital role for interprofessional teams in the Dutch context because service delivery is mainly characterised by the pull-out intervention of specialised professionals. In the integrated early intervention context of Norway, emphasis on professional communication skills seems a fruitful strategy to enhance the effectiveness of teams. Early intervention service delivery may be strengthened by structural facilitation and building networks to develop trust across professionals and organisations, which supports the development of professional competence relevant to IPCP in early intervention service delivery.
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This reports is about content and language integrated learning (CLIL) in multilingual primary classrooms. While in theory CLIL offers many opportunities for inclusive education in multilingual settings, questions remain as to how integrated language teaching can be realised, and what teacher knowledge is required for this. This research used a CLIL Teaching Wall activity and interviews with UK and Dutch primary school teachers to capture teacher knowledge underlying decision-making in actual multilingual classrooms. The report presents a framework of CLIL teacher knowledge that emerged from this work.
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During the Middle Ages and early modern period, a dramatic culture of astonishing vitality developed in the Low Countries. Owing to the activities of organisations known as rederijkerskamers, or "chambers of rhetoric", drama became a central aspect of public life in the cities of the Netherlands. The comedies produced by these groups are particularly interesting. Drawing their forms and narratives from folklore and popular ritual, and entertaining in their own right, they also bring together a range of important concerns; they respond directly to some of the key developments in the period, reflecting the political and religious turmoil of the Reformation and Dutch Revolt, the emergence of humanism, and the appearance of an early capitalist economy. This collection brings together the original Middle Dutch text of ten of these comic plays, with facing translation into modern English. The selection is divided evenly between formal stage-plays and monologues, and provides a representation of the full range of rederijker drama, from the sophisticated Farce of the Fisherman, with its sly undermining of audience expectation, to the hearty scatology of A Mock-Sermon on Saint Nobody, and the grim gallows humour of The Farce of the Beggar. An introduction and notes place the plays in their context and elucidate difficulties of interpretation.
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This paper is a summary paper of the Thematic Working Group (TWG) on Adult Mathematics Education (AME). The theme AME made its first appearance on CERME11 and in this paper we provide an overview of the growing and blossoming field of AME and the results of the working group. The main themes associated with AME are: the definition, scope, and assessment of numeracy, the role of language and dialogue, the role of affect, including motivation, and the role of societal power structures, including subthemes like equity, inclusion, vulnerable learners, agency and self-efficacy. We conclude with the opportunities and challenges for this theme from both scientific and societal perspective.
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Course materials play a vital role in the foreign language classroom. Relatively little attention has been paid, however, to analyzing the activities that foster oral interactional ability in EFL course materials. For the purpose of this study, a coding scheme was designed that focuses specifically on the development of interactional ability. This was used to analyse the three most commonly used EFL course books for pre-vocational learners in The Netherlands. The analysis revealed that course books focus more on developing language knowledge than on developing the ability to use this knowledge in interaction, that interactional strategies practice is missing, and that interactional practice is limited to the personal and public context. We conclude that EFL course books lag behind current SLA theories in the practical application of activities focused on developing interactional ability. Recommendations to strengthen the link between theory and practice are made.
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