Search results for "First language"
showing 10 items of 112 documents
Location of navigation menus in websites: an experimental study with Arabic users
2015
Published online: 31 October 2015 While Arabic users represent by far the fastest growing language population on the Internet, research about how the peculiarities of Arabic language may shape users’ web interactions is still scarce. The preferences of Arabic users for menu location in websites have been studied. Two competing arguments have been proposed regarding the best location of menus in websites: conventional design (navigation menu should be placed on that side where users expect it based on previous experience) and reading direction (navigation menu should be placed on that side where readers are used to start off reading, so that the navigation menu is likely to be attended first…
Using a Computerised Corpus in the Construction of a Bilingual Phraseological Dictionary
2016
It is generally acknowledged that one of the main purposes of bilingual dictionaries is to provide learners with relevant and sufficient information about the grammatical, lexical and phraseological units of a language (Yong and Peng 2007: 20). Furthermore, this must be done in a way that is both convenient and comprehensible for very specific kinds of users (Cabre 2007: 80–81; Pecman 2008: 205), namely, non-native speakers who are still developing their linguistic and discourse competence but who have not fully attained the intuitive ability to tackle major grammatical issues. It follows that this kind of learner cannot rely on previous discourse experience and sociolinguistic training in …
Diversity and Social Interaction at Work
2019
Today’s workplaces are characterized by interactions among people with diverse backgrounds. These interactions may occur face-to-face or in technology-mediated settings; as interpersonal exchanges between co-workers, supervisors, and subordinates or between business partners and clients; in small groups and teams or as one-off encounters with customers. The persons engaged in these interactions jointly strive for the shared goals of their organization though they may come from different countries, speak different first languages, or identify with different ethnic, gender, or age groups. This chapter explores the role of diversity in different workplace contexts and situations. First, we unp…
La lengua materna y la traducción en el aula de lenguas extranjeras: ¿dos recursos perjudiciales?
2020
Mother tongue (MT) and translation have been two undervalued resources in foreign language (FL) classrooms since the rise of monolingual methods. However, already in the 21st century, the Council of Europe promotes the adoption of plural approaches to language teaching (see Candelier et al., 2013), in which the teacher may work with the entire linguistic repertoire found within the classroom, including the MT. Therefore, our aim in this article is to review and reassess the criticisms that claim that MT and translation slow down the learning of the new language with the aim of moving away from this position and defending the importance of these two resources in today’s classrooms, in which …
From canon to chaos management: blogging as a learning tool in a modern Finnish literature course
2015
This article is based on the teaching experiment implemented in summer 2013 in a modern Finnish literature course organised by the Centre for International Mobility (CIMO) and the University of Jyvaskyla Language Centre. In order to break away from the traditional conception of literature and text, students’ independent blogging was chosen as the final course assignment instead of a traditional final project. Our aim has been to determine what blogging as an activity can add to second-language learning (i.e. learning the language in a country where it is spoken as a native language) in the context of modern Finnish literature. Our special interest is how new learning environments and approa…
Analysis of Spanish policies for the integration of immigrant schoolchildren
2016
The Organic Law on the Improvement of the National Education Quality (Ley Organica de Reforma de la Calidad Educativa) readdressed one of the most significant educational issues: educational policies related to immigrant students. Therefore, this is an appropriate moment to evaluate these types of policies in three singular Spanish regions: Madrid, Catalonia and Andalusia. This article presents an analysis of the measures taken in three Spanish regions: Madrid, Catalonia and Andalusia in response to students’ reception, acceptance and enrolment of immigrant students. A qualitative methodology based on the comparative method is used. Diverse similarities, but also specific characteristics an…
Models of Data Quality
2018
The research proposes a new approach to data quality management presenting three groups of DSL (Domain Specific Language). The first language group uses concept of data object in order to describe data to be analysed, the second group describes the requirements on data quality, and the third group describes data quality management process. The proposed approach deals with development of executable quality specifications for each kind of data objects. The specification can be executed step-by-step according to business process descriptions, ensuring the gradual accumulation of data in the database and data quality verification according to the specific use case.
Model Transformation Languages and Their Implementation by Bootstrapping Method
2008
In this paper a sequence of model transformation languages L0, L1, L2 is defined. The first language L0 is very simple, and for this language it is easy to build an efficient compiler to C++. The next language L1 is an extension of L0, and it contains powerful pattern definition facilities. The last language L2 is of sufficiently high level and can be used for implementation of traditional pattern-based high level model transformation languages, as well as for the development of model transformations directly. For languages L1 and L2 efficient compilers have been built using the bootstrapping method: L1 to L0 in L0, and L2 to L1 in L1. The results confirm the efficiency of model transformat…
The Early Bird gets the Word
2019
Success in an increasingly globalized world sets requirements for versatile communication skills and understanding about other cultures. One of the keys to success is versatile language skills, on which the European Commission spoke out as early as in 1995, recommending that every European citizen should learn two foreign languages in addition to their mother tongue. Now, more than twenty years later, the launch of early A1 language teaching that is to begin in the first grade in Finland, in January 2020, is a significant step towards this goal. Studies show that early foreign language learning needs to be carefully carried out in order to achieve positive effects and the effects that have …
Towards Multicultural Education in Finland
2011
Finland is going through a rapid process of multiculturality within a European context, if measured by the numbers of those migrating to the country. This has even given an impetus to reconsider the earlier representation of Finland as a culturally homogenous country. The historical fact is that cultural, ethnic and indigenous minorities have been living in the country for a long time (Pentikainen, 1995a; Leitzinger, 2008).