Elite Olshtain

Explicit contrastive instruction facilitates the acquisition of difficult L2 forms

Proponents of the cognitive information‐processing approach view linguistic input salience as an important factor in promoting SL acquisition. Salient input facilitates explicit learning by assisting the learners to attend to the new L2 forms, as they formulate new rules or restructure old ones. Attending to the input, learners may notice a specific linguistic feature in it. Noticing is defined as detecting the new form and rehearsing it in short‐term memory. Selinker (1992) theorises that learners often make an L1‐L2 equation which may result in erroneous rule formulation. This comparison may be related to rehearsal in short‐term memory. Sharwood Smith (1987) further suggests the promotion of enhanced contrastive input for difficult language items. Our study tested the effect which such input has on the acquisition of difficult grammatical structures in English by speakers of Hebrew. All the subjects were exposed to natural linguistic input while the experimental group was also exposed to contrastive lin...

The acquisition of a linguistic skill by adults: Procedural and declarative memory interact in the learning of an artificial morphological rule

Abstract How does practice make perfect in the acquisition of morphological skill in adults? Participants underwent intensive, multi-session training on an artificial morphological rule (AMR) requiring phonological transformations of verbs according to a semantic distinction. All participants learned to apply the AMR to repeated items, with a power law like improvement in speed and accuracy (group average), both within-sessions and between-sessions (consolidation phase) gains, and robust retention, as in non-linguistic skill learning. Generalization to new items evolved separately for different aspects of the AMR. Phonological aspects were generalized by all participants, independently of explicit (declarative) knowledge, and well fitted by a power function. However, the generalization of the semantic aspect required the explicit discovery of its requisite role, and was not universally attained; when attained, explicit knowledge of the semantic aspect of the AMR coincided with an abrupt increase in accuracy and initiated a phase of fluency gains (proceduralization). Our results suggest that both procedural and declarative memory contribute differentially to the learning of distinct aspects of a morphological rule, at different stages along the mastering of skilled linguistic performance.

Parental perceptions of children's literacy and bilingualism: the case of Ethiopian immigrants in Israel

Abstract The present study describes factors affecting the home and school literacy patterns in the Ethiopian immigrant community in Israel. Parents were asked to complete a questionnaire evaluating their childs development, literacy, schooling, and language proficiency (L1 and L2). The results indicate that while non-Ethiopian and Ethiopian parents seek the same future for their child there are significant differences in the means to bridge between home and school literacy patterns. Ethiopian immigrant parents engage in their childs educational and social life until first grade. Once schooling begins, these parents disengage from the childs educational needs and the generational worlds begin to part. Such disengagement is often accompanied by relinquishing the maintenance of the first language, its culture and traditions in favour of a yet inappropriate second language devoid of ethnic or cultural values to be acquired. We contend that mutual respect and interaction between the two literacy traditions could enhance both childs and parents confidence and wellbeing contributing greatly to literacy enhancement and development.

Teaching teachers about augmentative and alternative communication: Opportunities and challenges of a web-based course

Although augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) has become a widely accepted means of supporting children who have complex communication needs, demographic data indicate that AAC instruction lags behind service delivery needs. In this paper, information is presented about a web-based AAC course for special education teachers, which was delivered primarily via distance learning. Also presented are data about (a) how the course participants responded to material presented in the online format and (b) their level of satisfaction with the learning environment. As an investigation of what might be considered current best practice, both successes and difficulties that characterized the course are highlighted. A number of suggestions are made for improvements and recommendations for the delivery of media-enhanced web-based courses in AAC.

Reflective-Narrative Discourse of FL Teachers Exhibits Professional Knowledge.

This article describes a case study and a follow-up comparative study which focused on expert foreign language (FL) teachers’ professional knowledge as it was reflected in their spoken and written discourse. Both studies provide evidence indicating that professional knowledge can develop via its verbalization in reflective-narrative discourse from personal past-tense stories into generic statements, which guide classroom activities. The follow-up study further compared experts’, new teachers’ and student teachers’ written answers to a domain-specific questionnaire. Qualitative and quantitative data analyses identified two distinctive features in the experts’ language: a n abundance of t e n s e d verbs in past and present forms, focusing on ‘ r e a l world’ experience (realis), and i n t e g r a t i v e comments which combine subject-matter issues with general pedagogical issues, within the same linguistic unit. The former was interpreted as a discourse manifestation of experts’ knowledge which is fully anchored in their professional r e a l i t y, and the latter as a guiding principle which experts use to enhance FL learning.

Empowerment amongst teachers holding leadership positions

This study used semi-structured in-depth interviews to explore empowerment patterns among teachers who hold leadership positions in school. Our qualitative analysis presents a hierarchical ladder with three types of empowerment amongst these teachers, ranging from limited empowerment through rewarding empowerment to change-enhancing empowerment. The level of empowerment seems to be related to the leadership position which the teachers hold and to their perception of the position. Our results contribute to the theoretical understanding of empowerment as a complex construct that affects the career characteristics of the teacher, ranging from limited impact of the leadership position to a powerful effect on the organizational culture. We also suggest that this model has practical implications on the way principals can evaluate their teachers’ empowerment patterns and accordingly assist their development toward change-enhancing empowerment.

Gradeschoolers' linguistic and pragmatic speech adaptation to native and non-native interlocution

Abstract This study examines conversational skills and attention to interlocutors’ speech features in Hebrew-speaking gradeschoolers in verbal interaction with Russian-speaking Hebrew learners and with Hebrew native speakers. Twelve native Hebrew-speaking gradeschoolers aged 9–10 years were recorded in conversation with a native-speaking partner and with a non-native Hebrew learner. When addressing non-native partners, participants used features of foreigner talk. The differing discourse they produced in talking to native and non-native partners showed that gradeschoolers are already able to vary their speech in different circumstances, taking into account the linguistic knowledge of their addressee. However, gradeschoolers differed widely in their communicative skills and in their ability to lead the conversation, steer their partners towards desired goals, and supply missing information in cases of communication breakdown.

A Model of Identity and Language Orientations: The Case of Immigrant Students from the Former Soviet Union in Israel.

A theoretical model featuring the relationship between identity and language orientations within the broader constellation of variables impacting immigration and acculturation processes was proposed within the framework of the current study and its applicability was tested with regards to 152 immigrant university students from the Former Soviet Union in Israel. A revised model best depicting the self-reported language and identity-related attitudes and behaviours of this unique population was presented, clearly illustrating the significant contributory effect of identity orientations on bilingual language attitudes and especially on language use. The strength of identity as a predictor of language orientations significantly exceeds that of immigrants’ perceptions of ethnic and national language group status or of their subjective assessment of native and national language proficiency. Identity orientations and language behaviour are also noticeably impacted by age of the individual at the time of immigration. The model presented herein may serve as a template for replication and comparative research in the future, whereby its applicability may be tested with regard to diverse immigrant groups acculturating in varying host societies and contexts.

Logical Connectors in Hebrew: How Well Do Eighth-Graders Master Them?

Research to date has shown that logical connectors play a significant role in enhancing reading comprehension of any text, particularly expository type texts (Geva & Ryan, 1985; Goldman & Murray, 1992; Sanders, Spooren, & Noordman, 1992; Horning, 1993; Storey, 1997). Yet, many studies have indicated that mastery of the functions such logical connectors fulfill is by no means an easy task. In fact high-school students and even college students exhibit incomplete knowledge of logical connectors in their mother tongue and mastery may be acquired only at the more advanced stages of college education (McClure & Geva, 1983; Nippold, 1988; Burstein, 1996). Based on the research which claims that mastery of logical connectors is closely related to effective reading comprehension, two important findings seem to stand out: a) a text which makes use of explicit logical connectors can be understood more easily since it simplifies the process of inference (Nippold, 1988; Sanders, Spooran, & Noordman, 1992); and b) when readers are directed to focus on logical connectors in the text, they become more efficient readers (Storey, 1997; Goldman & Murray, 1992; Sarel, 1991, Gevan & Ryan, 1985). Logical connectors are one important type of cohesive devices, which typically play a central role in expository type texts. As Celce-Murcia and Larsen-Freeman (1999) indicate “(these are) lexical expressions that may add little or no propositional content by themselves but that serve to specify the relationships among sentences in oral or written discourse, thereby leading the listener/reader to the feeling that the