EFL Learners' Multiple Documents Literacy: Effects of a Strategy-Directed Intervention Program

2015 ◽  
Vol 99 (1) ◽  
pp. 40-56 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mohammad Nabi Karimi
2018 ◽  
Vol 7 (1) ◽  
pp. 8-17
Author(s):  
Mahsa Assadi

This study reports a pre-experimental research on the impact of metacognitive instruction on EFL learners’ metacognitive awareness and their listening performance. To obtain the goal of the study, a group of 30 Iranian intermediate EFL learners, including 14 males and 16 females, were selected randomly. Their ages range from 20 to 24. The participants took part in 16 weeks’ intervention program based on metacognitive pedagogical sequence consisted of five stages. The metacognitive awareness listening questionnaire (MALQ), and a listening test were also used to find changes in metacognitive awareness and listening performance before and after the treatment. The results of comparing pre and posttests scores revealed that metacognitive instruction raised the learners’ metacognitive awareness and helped them improve their listening comprehension ability.


Researchers have asserted that the sense of uncertainty of the other person’s nonverbal cues during a conversation, could become an inhibitor for good communication and accordingly create anxiety. Since not much has been done to empirically prove such assumptions, this study explores the effect of Nonverbal Communication training on Iranian EFL learners’ perception of communication apprehension and communicative competence. In order to conduct this quasi-experimental study, intermediate level Iranian EFL learners from two intact classes studying in a language institute were selected through convenience sampling. These study participants were assigned to the Control Group (n=27) and the Experimental Group (n=32), respectively. Both groups were trained in speaking skills within a span of ten sessions in accordance with the regular method used in the study venue. The only difference was that the Experimental Group was trained in non-verbal communication incorporated into their regular speaking classes as an intervention program. The SPCC and PRCA-24 self-report questionnaires were used to collect learners’ perception of communicative competence and communication apprehension prior and subsequent to the intervention program. These pretest and posttest measures were then analyzed to test the null hypotheses of this study using two sets of the Analysis of Covariance. The results showed an empirically significant increase in the self-perceived communication competence and a simultaneous decrease in the personal report of communication apprehension scores of the Iranian EFL learners in the experimental group who participated in the intervention program. On the other hand, the control group students, who were not provided with the non-verbal communication training, perceived no significant changes in neither their communication competence nor their communication apprehension. This empirical evidence suggests that familiarity with non-verbal cues of the target language could positively affect learners’ perception of their speaking ability and lower speaking anxiety. Thus, this study not only provides evidence as to the effectiveness of incorporating non-verbal communication training in speaking classes in decreasing apprehension and increasing communicative competence but it also provides a sample within which this training can be integrated into a regular language learning class. The findings contribute to EFL research on the importance of nonverbal communication in the teaching and learning of the speaking skill and provide input for further analysis in this context.


1977 ◽  
Vol 8 (1) ◽  
pp. 23-32
Author(s):  
Gerald E. Chappell

Test-teach questioning is a strategy that can be used to help children develop basic concepts. It fosters the use of multisensory exploration and discovery in learning which leads to the development of cognitive-linguistic skills. This article outlines some of the theoretical bases for this approach and indicates possibilities for their applications in child-clinician transactions.


1995 ◽  
Vol 4 (2) ◽  
pp. 31-36 ◽  
Author(s):  
Joanne E. Roberts ◽  
Elizabeth Crais ◽  
Thomas Layton ◽  
Linda Watson ◽  
Debbie Reinhartsen

This article describes an early intervention program designed for speech-language pathologists enrolled in a master's-level program. The program provided students with courses and clinical experiences that prepared them to work with birth to 5-year-old children and their families in a family-centered, interdisciplinary, and ecologically valid manner. The effectiveness of the program was documented by pre- and post-training measures and supported the feasibility of instituting an early childhood specialization within a traditional graduate program in speech-language pathology.


2008 ◽  
Vol 17 (2) ◽  
pp. 62-68 ◽  
Author(s):  
Cathy Binger

Abstract Many children who use AAC experience difficulties with acquiring grammar. At the 9th Annual Conference of ASHA's Special Interest Division 12, Augmentative and Alternative Communication, Binger presented recent research results from an intervention program designed to facilitate the bound morpheme acquisition of three school-aged children who used augmentative and alternative communication (AAC). Results indicated that the children quickly began to use the bound morphemes that were taught; however, the morphemes were not maintained until a contrastive approach to intervention was introduced. After the research results were presented, the conference participants discussed a wide variety of issues relating to grammar acquisition for children who use AAC. Some of the main topics of discussion included the following: provision of supports for grammar comprehension and expression, intervention techniques to support grammatical morpheme acquisition, and issues relating to AAC device use when teaching grammatical morpheme use.


2012 ◽  
Vol 21 (4) ◽  
pp. 127-135 ◽  
Author(s):  
Cathy Binger ◽  
Jennifer Kent-Walsh

Abstract Clinicians and researchers long have recognized that teaching communication partners how to provide AAC supports is essential to AAC success. One way to improve clinical outcomes is to select appropriate skills to teach communication partners. Although this sometimes seems like it should be a straightforward component of any intervention program, deciding which skills to teach partners can present multiple challenges. In this article, we will troubleshoot common issues and discuss how to select skills systematically, resulting in the desired effects for both communication partners and clients.


GeroPsych ◽  
2011 ◽  
Vol 24 (2) ◽  
pp. 83-92 ◽  
Author(s):  
Valentina A. Tesky ◽  
Christian Thiel ◽  
Winfried Banzer ◽  
Johannes Pantel

To investigate the effects of leisure activities on cognitive performance of healthy older subjects, an innovative intervention program was developed. Frequent participation in cognitively stimulating activities (i.e., reading, playing chess, or playing music) is associated with reduced risk of dementia. AKTIVA (active cognitive stimulation – prevention in the elderly) is an intervention program designed to enhance cognitive stimulation in everyday life by increasing cognitive stimulating leisure activities. The present study determines the effects of AKTIVA on cognitive function, mood and attitude toward aging in a sample of older participants from the general population. Several measurement instruments were used including the Alzheimer’s Disease Assessment Scale (ADAS-Cog), the Trail-Making Test (TMT), and the Memory Complaint Questionnaire (MAC-Q). Initially, the sample consisted of 307 older persons (170 female, 72 ± 7 years). The intervention was evaluated with a randomized, controlled pre-post follow-up design. Participants were randomly assigned to one of three conditions: AKTIVA intervention (n = 126), AKTIVA intervention plus nutrition and exercise counseling (n = 84), no-intervention control group (n = 97). The AKTIVA intervention consisted of 8 weekly sessions and two booster sessions after a break of 4 months. Participation in the group program resulted in positive effects on cognitive function and attitude toward aging for subassembly groups. Older persons (≥ 75 years) showed enhanced speed of information processing (by TMT Version A) (F = 4.17*, p < .05); younger participants (< 75 years) showed an improvement in subjective memory decline (by MAC-Q) (F = 2.55*, p < .05). Additionally, AKTIVA enhanced the frequency of activities for leisure activities for subassembly groups. The results of this study suggest that the AKTIVA program can be used to increase cognitively stimulating leisure activities in the elderly. Further research is necessary to identify the long-term effects of this intervention particularly with respect to the prevention of dementia.


Crisis ◽  
1999 ◽  
Vol 20 (2) ◽  
pp. 78-85 ◽  
Author(s):  
Thomas Reisch ◽  
Petra Schlatter ◽  
Wolfgang Tschacher

This study assesses the efficacy of the treatment approach implemented in the Bern Crisis Intervention Program, where particular emphasis is placed on the remediation of suicide ideation and suicidal behavior, and depression, fear, and phobia are generally considered to be contributing factors. Four questionnaires addressing psychopathology, emotional well-being, social anxiety, and personality were administered prior to and after the treatment of 51 patients over a period of 2 to 3 weeks. The reduction of symptoms contributing to suicidal ideation and behavior was interpreted as indirect evidence of an antisuicidal effect of the program. Significant improvements were found in the psychopathology ratings, with depression and anxiety showing the largest reductions. The impact on personality and social phobia, however, was only moderate, and on average patients still exhibited symptoms after attending the program. This residual symptomatology points to the necessity of introducing a two-step therapy approach of intensive intervention targeted at the precipitating causes of the crisis, augmented by long-term therapy to treat underlying problems.


Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document