David Hirsh

It’s not only English: Effects of other individual factors on English language learning and academic learning of ESL international students in Australia

Geographic mobility and favourable educational policies have resulted in a rapid expansion in international education in recent decades. International education not only provides significant economic benefits and intellectual progression at the national level but also equips individuals with a good understanding of the educational, linguistic, social and cultural diversities that characterize our world. For international students, being successful academically and socially requires more than just a high level of English language proficiency. Personal factors such as motivation, self-efficacy, personal values and self-regulation are also significant factors in student success. This article addresses the importance of such personal factors, using a structural equation modelling approach that allows us to examine the complex relationship between personal factors, students’ English language proficiency and academic achievement. The participants were 341 English as a second language (ESL) international students who were attending the final semester of their Foundation Studies programme which prepared them for undergraduate entry at an Australian university. It was found that motivation, self-regulation, self-efficacy and English language proficiency were significant learner factors explaining not only English language learning but also academic achievement. The study suggests the need for language classroom teaching and university support that incorporates such personal factors with academic language content as a way to maximize students’ learning outcomes.

Acoustic Analyses of Speech Sounds and Rhythms in Japanese- and English-Learning Infants

The purpose of this study was to explore developmental changes, in terms of spectral fluctuations and temporal periodicity with Japanese- and English-learning infants. Three age groups (15, 20, and 24 months) were selected, because infants diversify phonetic inventories with age. Natural speech of the infants was recorded. We utilized a critical-band-filter bank, which simulated the frequency resolution in adults’ auditory periphery. First, the correlations between the power fluctuations of the critical-band outputs represented by factor analysis were observed in order to see how the critical bands should be connected to each other, if a listener is to differentiate sounds in infants’ speech. In the following analysis, we analyzed the temporal fluctuations of factor scores by calculating autocorrelations. The present analysis identified three factors as had been observed in adult speech at 24 months of age in both linguistic environments. These three factors were shifted to a higher frequency range corresponding to the smaller vocal tract size of the infants. The results suggest that the vocal tract structures of the infants had developed to become adult-like configuration by 24 months of age in both language environments. The amount of utterances with periodic nature of shorter time increased with age in both environments. This trend was clearer in the Japanese environment.

Academic vocabulary in context

Contents: Academic vocabulary - Theoretical contributions to a functional framework - A functional framework for classifying academic word use - Sections of a biomedical research article - Biomedical research articles - Research articles across subject areas - Textbook chapters across subject areas - Comparison of journal and newspaper texts - Carrier words.

Current Perspectives in Second Language Vocabulary Research

Contents: David Hirsh: Introduction - David Hirsh: Vocabulary Research: Current Themes, New Directions - Hua Zhong: Multidimensional Vocabulary Knowledge: Development from Receptive to Productive Use - Chen-Chun Lin: The Nature of Word Learnability in L2 Contexts - Yu-Tse Lee/David Hirsh: Quality and Quantity of Exposure in L2 Vocabulary Learning - Chen-Chun Lin/David Hirsh: Manipulating Instructional Method: The Effect on Productive Vocabulary Use - Warren Matsuoka: Searching for the Right Words: Creating Word Lists to inform EFL Learning.