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Teaching English for Specific Purposes through the lens of digital literacy isperceived as a contemporary educational conundrum, as it deals with various elements of permanentchanges. Focused on using technology and gadgets along the teaching-learning process, teachers andlearners require solid digital literacy skills to guide them through the blended learning formats. Theacquisition of language skills today is no longer a simple matter of learning and producing content inthe physical school environment, but rather, it has become an elaborate process of combining multipleskills (digital, literacy, visual, technological) and creating the most appropriate frameworks forcustomised learning. With the specificity of teaching ESP, the challenges that occur within thiseducational endeavour are many and complex, spanning from learners’ tailored needs to teachers’tech-saviness. It is therefore the purpose of the current paper to analyse some particularities of ESPteaching based on sharing digital skills, by indicating potential flaws and benefits along the way.The practical viewpoint will be rendered in a brief analysis of the most common and prolific digitaltools used to provide aid in teaching specific foundational language skills.
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There is neither consensus whether the category of linguistic rights shall be distinguished, nor international agreement on the catalogue of such rights. Nevertheless, access to education in mother tongue constitutes a core element of most of the international and national frameworks of minority protection. Academic and legal disputes are particularly absorbing in Europe, where linguistic policies frequently intertwine with politics (e.g. Cyprus, Moldova, Ukraine). Thus, it is essential to pose the question, whether the right to education in mother tongue is always granted the equal scope of protection or is such protection differentiated by any additional criteria. Most of all, it shall be considered whether the analyzed right has an independent character or its protection is associated with perception of other fundamental rights and freedoms. This paper investigates the scope of the protection of this right within the framework of the Council of Europe.
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In the given article the derivatives with the prefixes не-, без- are examined in the aspect of the form and can be devided into: 1) correlative forms, eg: солодкий - несолодкий, шумний - безшумний; 2) pseudo-correlative forms, eg: хватка - нехватка, слух - неслух, живність - безживність; 3) non correlative forms, eg: немічність - 0, безжурність - 0 ; 4) partially correlative forms, eg: хвостатий - безхвостий, окастий, окатий - безокий.
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In the article the subject matter of a number of determinants connected to the mandatory learning of the English language since the preschool stage that is instituted in Poland has been taken up. The core curriculum of preschool education in Poland sets a frame and a basic aspect related to teaching English to children aged 3 to 6 years old. The article brings up such subjects as the goals and substance of education in the field of the English language in kindergartens as well as methods of evaluating students’ abilities and grading them. The author also brings up the question of qualifications of English teachers in preschools while paying close attention to conditions of teaching children in this age group and to the specific preparation which is expected from such tutors.
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The article presents the analysis of linguistic needs of students of the University of Economy in Bydgoszcz, Poland. The article is coauthored and is devoted to the issue of language interest and needs of students. This topic is of particular importance in the context of developing the processes of globalization, including the educational sphere. The thematic justification being revealed, the importance of the language skills attained by students is highlighted. To this end the students survey was carried out with the overall results indicating high interest among the young in acquiring an additional foreign language in the University. The authors analyze the findings of the conducted questionnaire and determine the prospects for development of certain aspects of foreign languages teaching in the present paper. The article highlights possible practical use of the findings by means of adjusting the existing curricular, arrangement of culture parties for international students, etc.
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In the second half of the last century the English term black hole was borrowed into Polish and Russian. Soon, secondary meanings began to appear predominantly in journalistic texts. They have been partially recorded in linguistic dictionaries. The aim of this paper is to show the secondary meanings of the phrase czarna dziura / чернаядыра listed in dictionaries as well as those present only in Polish and Russian texts.
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At the end of the ХХ and the beginning of the ХХІ century an intensive development of theo-linguistics can be traced as a direction of linguistics, which aims at the investigation of the relation between language and religion. A theonym is considered to be the main unit of theolinguistics, and bibleism is considered to be its variety. Phraseologism – the main form of the structural expres-sion of bibleisms – is considered to from the point of its wide linguistic understanding. Nowadays the formation of an international bibleisms-phraseologisms can be traced and have a specific ex-pression in Ukrainian and Polish linguo-cultures. The above mentioned phenomenon has got its reflection in the Concise Ukrainian-Polish Dictionary ofSetExpressions: Equivalent Words, Phraseologisms, Proverbs and Sayings (compilors: T. Kosmeda, O. Gomenyuk, T. Osipova, 2017), and was the first one in the history of Ukrainian-Polish Phraseology. The character, the types and the degree of equivalence of the fragment of Ukrainian-Polish phraseological units have been analyzed. The degree of equivalence includes the bibleisms, which are fixated in the above mentioned dictio-nary (75 units). It has been revealed that the Ukrainians and Polish expressions are the product of two related Slavic languages that have got many things in common in the system of the bibleisms-phrase-ologisms. Under conditions of similar semantics we may trace some formal differences caused by variation and optional components of the structure of phraseologisms and a non-correspondence of their grammatical forms and syntactic structures in general, etc. Not full equivalents can be traced as well, and were caused by semantics non-correspondence (it can be wider or narrower and rarely absolutely non-equivalent or homonymic) and pragmatics (the presence of polar axiology, unequal stylistic parameterization).
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English for Specific Purposes (ESP) is a demanding field for its practitioners regarding its methodology, pedagogy, didactics, for numerous factors, primarily, it having a paradoxical position within the field of English language teaching due to at once its undeniable presence and relevance but rare academia institutional establishment, and still not having a consolidated relevant theoretical basis. Practice of teaching ESP involves dealing with real life issues of how to teach a group of students who need this instruction for clearly pre-determined reasons, and therefore, what approach to use, which material, grammatical units, and alike. Stemming from actual teaching experiences, there appear valuable insights, opinions, research results of ESP practitioners as formulated and presented in the form of journal articles, which even more than in other fields become primary sources of familiarizing with current and emergent approaches in ESP didactics. As an Editor-in-Chief of an ESP scientific journal, the author presents discernible, most prominent tendencies in ESP methodology, pedagogy, didactics worldwide over, which summarize current theoretical and practical basis of this form of language teaching and intercultural communication.
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Fierce competition of student admission to strong reputation higher education institutions as well as getting employment in respected companies has built the need to profile potential candidates and select those that best meet one's requirements. Our research aimed to predict students' success potential, i.e. grades achieved in their English for Specific Purposes courses. Total of 292 students studying at the Faculty of Electrical Engineering, Computer Science and Information Technology Osijek, Croatia and 150 students studying at the Faculty of Material Science and Technology in Trnava, Slovakia voluntarily participated in the research by submitting their short biographies. The biographies were analyzed with the software for computational analysis (LIWC) whose output, in the form of raw numbers, was entered in an application specifically designed for this purpose. Based on the input data, the application calculated students' grades in the aforementioned courses which were later compared to the students' actual grades. The research has proven the application's high efficiency since it correctly predicted students' grades in 75% of the cases and in additional 12%, the grades were approximately predicted, i.e. the predicted grade was one grade higher/lower than the actual grade.
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The number of international students in Estonian higher education institutions has increased by nearly five times in the past ten years and now amounts to 6000. Universities must inevitably consider how to integrate international students into Estonian society and language space. But what, if anything, could motivate a foreigner to learn Estonian? Being a relatively small language, Estonian does not have the kind of consumer value that English has. Studies have shown that Russian-speaking inhabitants of Estonia mainly learn Estonian for pragmatic reasons, i.e. their motivation is instrumental. The paper focuses on the issue of international students’ motivation for learning Estonian – whether it is mainly instrumental or integrative, showing the learner’s positive attitude towards the target language community. Some of the questions discussed in the paper are whether the learning motivation is associated with socio-demographic factors such as the international student’s gender, field of study, previous level of education and intended duration of stay in Estonia, and whether the orientation of the motivation differs between those who learn Estonian and those who do not. The results were obtained by a survey and statistical data analysis. The attitudes of international students (N = 194) were measured both on a seven point Likert scale and with eight relevant statements using the method of semantic differential. The results indicate that international students in Estonia have mainly integrative motivation for learning Estonian. The instrumental value of Estonian was considered less important with the difference on the scale being relatively great (average values of 19 and 15 of the maximum of 28, p < 0.001). Students not learning Estonian gave lower points to both instrumental and integrative statements than students learning Estonian. When socio-demographic factors were taken into account it became evident that the students who stayed in Estonia longer also started to place a greater instrumental value on Estonian. Regardless of the field of study, the motivation for learning Estonian was mainly integrative. Only students of information technology (in comparison with students of natural sciences) showed noticeably more instrumental motivation. International students with higher education saw the integrative value of Estonian more than students with secondary education. No statistical difference between genders was found in the study.
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Te focus of this paper is on Swedish influence on bilingual adolescents’ Finnish in informal group and pair conversations in Haparanda and Stockholm. Te theoretical framework is found in the fled of language contact research, especially earlier cross-linguistic influence studies. Te primary data was video- and audio-recorded in 2014–2017 from bilingual adolescents at three junior high schools in Haparanda and the secondary data was collected in 2015–2016 at two Swedish-Finnish junior high schools in Stockholm. All the recordings were made outside lesson times. Te analysis of the collected conversation data is qualitative and contrastive. Our earlier studies have shown that most of the embedded Swedish nouns and verbs in code-switching were adapted to the Finnish morphological system and to Finnish syntax, and the words were integrated into the Finnish grammatical system by declination, infection and conjugation. Only adjectives and adverbs were uninterested into the Finnish grammar. Nevertheless, Swedish words were not incorporated into the Finnish phonological frame in the data from Haparanda and Stockholm. Te results of this study show that Swedish influence on the bilingual adolescents’ Finnish takes place mainly in the lexicon and semantics. In addition to code-switching and borrowing, the semantic influence of Swedish on Finnish was shown in forms with Swedish idiomatic content owing to literal translations. Te corpus of conversations contains semantic influence from Swedish words with two Finnish counterparts. In those cases, a shift of meaning occurs during which the one Finnish word additionally takes on the semantic content of the other word (semantic extension). Overall, the adolescents’ spoken Finnish in Haparanda and Stockholm displays very little syntactic influence from Swedish shown in non-standard and incorrect forms in their informal conversations in Finnish. In sum, cross-linguistic influence is a complex phenomenon and bilinguals’ language repertoire is not made up of two distinct and autonomous languages that could be linearly and separately acquired and used.
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Te aim of this case study is to research the connection between phonetic features and perception of foreign accent in Finnish. Te phenomenon is analyzed with a listener test, acoustic measurements and auditory observations by the researchers. Te speakers are very advanced L2 speakers of Finnish. Te results are compared regarding certain phonetic features. These features are distances between long vowels, sound and syllable durations, pitch (f0) range, mean absolute slope and standard deviation for f0, and articulation speed. Te results give new information not only on the perception of foreign accent but also on the pronunciation of advanced L2 learners of Finnish and their L2 learning paths. From the results we can conclude that all the features have an impact on foreign accent and all the features distinguish L1 and L2 speakers from each other to some extent. Te category of native-likeness forms a continuum where L1-Finnish native speakers, bilingual Finland-Swedish speakers and L2-speakers who have learned Finnish after puberty take different positions. Te effect on accent seems to be clearer for vowel distances and deviations in duration than for f0 features and articulation speed. Differences in vowel distances made a moderate distinction between the L2 speakers, and this feature seems, therefore, to be a promising measure for native-likeness among L2 speakers. Te effects of vowel distances on perceived accent should, however, be examined in further studies with larger speech material and different methods. Results on vowel distances imply that native-like sound qualities are difficult to attain even for very highly advanced L2 speakers. When comparing the results with earlier studies, our observations are alike: deviations in the quality of individual sounds and deviations in sound duration have the most obvious connection to perception of foreign accent.
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My paper concerns the contents and user groups of two textbooks, those of Johannes Aavik (1902) Praktilik Soome keele õpetus (A practical textbook of Finnish) and Béla Györfy (1939) Gyokorlati Finn Nyelvkönyv (A practical Finnish textbook). I will look at the relationship between the contents of these textbooks and the phenomena of the time they were written. From a cultural-historical point of view, I seek solutions in the textual content of the books that refer to linguistic relationships or possible confluences with historical realities at the time the books were published (1902, 1939). My aim is to open up perspectives to the authors’ thought and learning concepts by means of a comparison of the themes of text contents, as well as to possible special assignments set for the books at their publishing time. Te authors are linked to their own time, in this case by the time of publication of the textbook and by the reality of the writing process and the requirements it has created. What in particular can be said about the contents of the texts in these books? In the Hungarian textbook there is a strong emphasis on religious content, as it was intended for students of the Lutheran church. Te Estonian textbook has many fragments of Finnish fiction (Juhani Aho), Finnish songs (Maamme, the national anthem) and also many features of Finnish nationalism due to the difficult Russian grand duchy time. Beforehand I had thought that the texts in the Hungarian textbook were completely disregarding the historical reality of that time (the year 1939), but after reading one particular chapter at the end of the book I realized that the writer was full of worries surrounding him and Europe.
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This article examines the possibilities and obstacles there are for collaboration between the students of preparatory training for upper secondary education and the students of upper secondary school. Additionally, this article discusses how the students, teachers and principals describe the possibilities for translanguaging in preparatory training. In Finland, the National Core Curriculum for Preparatory Training for General Upper Secondary Education was set out for the first time in 2014. Te responsible body for this curriculum is the Finnish National Agency for Education. Te curriculum is intended for immigrants and foreign-language speakers, rather than other student groups such as Finns with learning difficulties (e.g. the preparatory students are separated from the non-preparatory students, but in the same school). Te objective of the education is to provide young and adult immigrants with linguistic and other capabilities to transfer to general upper secondary education. Te preparatory education syllabus must be completed in 1-2 years and it contains studies in Finnish/Swedish language, in another language where necessary, studies in the student’s own language, subjects included in the general upper secondary education syllabus, and the skills and knowledge required to study in a general upper secondary school. Te curriculum also includes guidance counselling and one of its aims is to increase the students’ knowledge of Finnish society and culture. This article is based on the theory of usage-based language acquisition, which posits that the most important component of language learning is the interaction and usage of the language. Te central concept of the article is translanguaging, which is seen as an opposite to the monolingual norm. Recent research-based discussion on the monolingual norm and multilingual practices can also be found in this article. Te method of this research is based on linguistic ethnography. Te data consists of interviews with principals, teachers and students of the preparatory class in one school over two years. Video recordings of classroom practices and feld notes were also utilized. In contrast to the government’s intentions, the principals do not feel that the preparatory training should only be available to immigrants. The principals point out that the integration of the two schools could be positive for language learning. Despite championing co-operation between the preparatory and nonpreparatory students, the principals describe co-operation through activities such as joint celebrations of national holidays, rather than fully integrated education. Te teachers admit that interaction between students is very important, and claim they can notice if a preparatory student has Finnish-speaking contacts. In spite of this belief, the data reveals there is a lot of teacher talk during the lessons, and that the students are mainly listening to the Finnish of the teacher without the possibility of interaction in Finnish or in any other language. Te analysis of the student practices shows that at home it is possible to make use of translanguaging and that using the student’s own language makes it possible to learn science more effectively. Te following of the monolingual norm hinders learning to some extent. Te students also express the wish to have friends outside their own class, while still acknowledging the multilingual and multicultural power of their own class. In the curriculum, it is stated that education should encourage interaction between various cultural groups and “the original population” and promote good ethnic relations. Furthermore, the curriculum must include co-operation and participation in the general upper secondary school’s activities. This article shows that the students, due to the lack of collaboration in their class and with the other secondary school students, are not able to use large parts of their language repertoires, and that the fact that they live in a languagised world is only partly considered in preparatory training. Te main research finding is that the students only have limited interaction with the other Finnish speaking students in the school. In addition, the classroom usage of languages follows the monolingual norm. As such, the aims of the language learning cannot be fully realized. It is obvious that more teacher training is needed in both the theory and the practice of second language learning, for both language-specific and subject-specific teachers. Te surrounding society has to be taken into consideration as an important part of language learning.
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M. Wellewills’s textbook for Finnish appeared in Estonia under the name Soome keele õperaamat iseõppijatele in 1919. Te name of the author is a pseudonym, and the textbook itself is a translation of the German textbook Praktische Grammatik der Finnischen Sprache für den Selbstunterricht, published in 1890. Tis article deals with whether and to what extent the Estonian translation difers from the German original. It can be assumed that the linguistic afnity between Estonian and Finnish, as well as the cultural proximity between Estonia and Finland, will cause some changes. On the other hand, the question of how Õperaamat difers from Johannes Aavik’s Praktilik Soome keele õpetus (1908) and Lauri Kettunen’s Soome keele õpiraamat (1920) is examined. It can be shown that Õperaamat difers only slightly from its German original. Te diference to the two contemporary textbooks is more striking because Õperaamat is still structured strictly according to the traditional grammar-translation method.
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The current paper deals with acoustic cues of the prevocalic palatal stops ķ [c] and ģ [ɟ] in the Standard Latvian produced by informants of the four age groups (5–15, 16–39, 40–59, and 60–80). These consonants become a theme of interest, as their correct pronunciation causes difficulties for a quite wide range of speakers, including children those articulatory basis and habits are still in the process of development and thus are more variable in comparison to adults. The new edition of The Latvian Grammar (2013) contains the chapter of orthoepics, where the most important inaccuracies in the pronunciation of the palatal stops ķ [c] and ģ [ɟ], observed for speakers of the High Latvian subdialects and for the Latvian as a foreign language learners (having no such consonants in their subdialect or native language), are discussed. There are still lack of wider studies for speakers’ age impact on the articulation, acoustics, and perception of the Latvian speech sounds. In the current paper the palatal stops ķ [c] and ģ [ɟ] are studied in the phonetic context of the monophthongs i [i], ī [iː], e [e], ē [eː], e [æ], ē [æː], a [ɑ], ā [ɑː], o [ɔ], o [ɔː], u [u], ū [uː]. The analyzed material consists of CVC syllables, e. g. ķiķ [cic], ķīķ [ciːc], ķeķ [cec], ķēķ [ceːc] etc., pronounced by 20 male speakers (5 within each age group). In the framework of this study two acoustic cues of the palatal stops ķ [c] and ģ [ɟ], a duration of release phase and a frequency of spectral peak, are discussed. The results are compared to the data of the alveolar affricates č [ʧ] and dž [ʤ], since the palatal stops ķ [c] and ģ [ɟ] in children’s speech can be mixed or substituted by the alveolar affricate that is similar in its voicing, i. e. ķ [c] by č [ʧ] and ģ [ɟ] by dž [ʤ] (see Markus, Čeirane 2013). The most markable differences are found in the results displayed by the youngest (5 years old) speaker in comparison to older speakers. Further research, more data for children’s speech and the Tests for Statistical Significance are required to be able better distinguish between individual and age related effects.
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Academic lectures are implemented as a basic genre in developing students’ disciplinary knowledge in higher education settings. Frequently appearing in their traditional monologic form, they tend to be more interactive nowadays, due to the use of a variety of activities that accompany them, including new technologies. With the internationalization of higher education, numerous lecture attendees are now multilingual students learning through the medium of a non-native language. The aim of this paper is to explore the most vital issues that emerge when lectures are delivered to non-native students at lower language proficiency level so as to enable them to meet their study goals as well as develop their intellectual and language potential. The author argues for the need of effective collaboration between lecturers and their students, based on a better understanding of the complexity of the instructional situation in which students’ language problems can be dealt with by making appropriate adjustments that can improve both lecture comprehensibility and knowledge acquisition.
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Heterogeneity of class composition in schools, regarding cultural background and often language, is increasingly the norm in western countries. This paper explores some of the effects of cultural diversity on students’ participation in school activities, examining a transcript taken from the videorecording of an Italian lesson in a high school in Sydney, Australia. The lesson is taught by a teacher whose mother tongue is English, while the pupils come mostly from families of Italian origin.
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