bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Honokiol as a specific collagen receptor glycoprotein VI antagonist on human platelets: Functional ex vivo and in vivo studies
Authors: Lee Tzu-Yin , Chang Chao-Chien , Lu Wan-Jung , Yen Ting-Lin , Lin Kuan-Hung , Geraldine Pitchairaj , Li Jiun-Yi , Sheu Joen-Rong
Published: January 2017

Honokiol, derived from Magnolia officinalis, has various pharmacological properties. Platelet activation plays a critical role in cardiovascular diseases. Honokiol has been reported to inhibit collagen-stimulated rabbit platelet aggregation. However, detailed further studies on the characteristics and functional activity of honokiol in platelet activation are relatively lacking. In the present study, honokiol specifically inhibited platelet aggregation and Ca+2 ion mobilization stimulated with collagen or convulxin, an agonist of glycoprotein (GP) VI, but not with aggretin, an agonist of integrin α2β1. Honokiol also attenuated the phosphorylation of Lyn, PLCγ2, PKC, MAPKs, and Akt after convulxin stimulation. Honokiol have no cytotoxicity in zebrafish embryos. Honokiol diminished the binding of anti-GP VI (FITC-JAQ1) mAb to human platelets, and it also reduced the coimmunoprecipitation of GP VI-bound Lyn after convulxin stimulation. The surface plasmon resonance results revealed that honokiol binds directly to GP VI, with a KD of 289 μM. Platelet function analysis revealed that honokiol substantially prolonged the closure time in human whole blood and increased the occlusion time of thrombotic platelet plug formation in mice. In conclusion, honokiol acts as a potent antagonist of collagen GP VI in human platelets, and it has therapeutic potential in the prevention of the pathological thrombosis.
Goal attribution to inanimate moving objects by Japanese macaques (Macaca fuscata)
Authors: Atsumi Takeshi , Koda Hiroki , Masataka Nobuo
Published: January 2017

Humans interpret others’ goals based on motion information, and this capacity contributes to our mental reasoning. The present study sought to determine whether Japanese macaques (Macaca fuscata) perceive goal-directedness in chasing events depicted by two geometric particles. In Experiment 1, two monkeys and adult humans were trained to discriminate between Chasing and Random sequences. We then introduced probe stimuli with various levels of correlation between the particle trajectories to examine whether participants performed the task using higher correlation. Participants chose stimuli with the highest correlations by chance, suggesting that correlations were not the discriminative cue. Experiment 2 examined whether participants focused on particle proximity. Participants differentiated between Chasing and Control sequences; the distance between two particles was identical in both. Results indicated that, like humans, the Japanese macaques did not use physical cues alone to perform the discrimination task and integrated the cues spontaneously. This suggests that goal attribution resulting from motion information is a widespread cognitive phenotype in primate species.
Soft porous silicone rubbers with ultra-low sound speeds in acoustic metamaterials
Authors: Ba Abdoulaye , Kovalenko Artem , Aristégui Christophe , Mondain-Monval Olivier , Brunet Thomas
Published: January 2017

Soft porous silicone rubbers are demonstrated to exhibit extremely low sound speeds of tens of m/s for these dense materials, even for low porosities of the order of a few percent. Our ultrasonic experiments show a sudden drop of the longitudinal sound speed with the porosity, while the transverse sound speed remains constant. For such porous elastomeric materials, we propose simple analytical expressions for these two sound speeds, derived in the framework of Kuster and Toksöz, revealing an excellent agreement between the theoretical predictions and the experimental results for both longitudinal and shear waves. Acoustic attenuation measurements also complete the characterization of these soft porous materials.
Ameloblastin induces tumor suppressive phenotype and enhances chemosensitivity to doxorubicin via Src-Stat3 inactivation in osteosarcoma
Authors: Ando Toshinori , Kudo Yasusei , Iizuka Shinji , Tsunematsu Takaaki , Umehara Hanako , Shrestha Madhu , Matsuo Toshihiro , Kubo Tadahiko , Shimose Shouji , Arihiro Koji , Ogawa Ikuko , Ochi Mitsuo , Takata Takashi
Published: January 2017

Ameloblastin (AMBN), the most abundant non-amelogenin enamel matrix protein, plays a role in ameloblast differentiation. Previously, we found that AMBN promoted osteogenic differentiation via the interaction between CD63 and integrin β1, leading to the inactivation of Src; however, how AMBN affects the malignant behavior of osteosarcoma is still unclear. Osteosarcoma affects the bone and is associated with poor prognosis because of the high rate of pulmonary metastases and drug resistance. Here we demonstrated that stable overexpression of AMBN induced apoptosis and suppressed colony formation and cell migration via the inactivation of Src-Stat3 pathway in human osteosarcoma cells. Moreover, AMBN induced chemosensitivity to doxorubicin. Thus, AMBN induced a tumor suppressive phenotype and chemosensitivity to doxorubicin via the AMBN-Src-Stat3 axis in osteosarcoma. Indeed, immunohistochemical expression of AMBN was significantly correlated with better outcome of osteosarcoma patients. Our findings suggest that AMBN can be a new prognostic marker and therapeutic target for osteosarcoma combined with conventional doxorubicin treatment.
Direct arylation of benzoazoles with aldehydes utilizing metal–organic framework Fe3O(BDC)3 as a recyclable heterogeneous catalyst
Authors: Doan Son H. , Nguyen Khoa D. , Nguyen Tung T. , Phan Nam T. S.
Published: January 2017

Aryl-substituted azoles were effectively produced via the direct arylation of azoles with benzaldehydes under metal–organic framework catalysis.
Metastable intermolecular composites of Al and CuO nanoparticles assembled with graphene quantum dots
Authors: Tao Yue , Zhang Jiali , Yang Yaoyao , Wu Haixia , Hu Lan , Dong Xiaohu , Lu Jian , Guo Shouwu
Published: January 2017

Metastable intermolecular composites (MICs) have attracted great attention during the last two decades owing to their potential applications for both civilian and military purposes.
A Case of an Extensive Keratocystic Odontogenic Tumor in the Mandible Reconstructed with a Custom-Made Total Joint Prosthesis
Authors: Farzad Payam
Published: January 2017

The use of virtual surgical planning and computer-aided design/computer-aided manufacturing has previously been reported to enhance the planning for the reconstruction of mandibular continuity defects and to reduce surgical time. Reported is a case of a large keratocystic odontogenic tumor (KOT) affecting right hemimandible including the condylar neck. This case was initially reconstructed with a condyle-bearing reconstruction plate, but because of fatigue fracture 15 years later, a new reconstruction with a custom-made total joint temporomandibular prosthesis was performed.
Power quality enhancement of single phase grid tied inverters with model predictive current controller
Authors: Chatterjee Aditi , Mohanty Kanungobarada , Kommukuri Vinaya Sagar , Thakre Kishor
Published: January 2017

Recognition of renewable energy sources as alternative sources for power generation has augmented the number of distributed generation plants being incorporated into the conventional power distribution system. The single phase voltage source inverter allying the distributed generation plant with the grid has to address various issues related to the quality of current injected into the grid, output power factor, and power exchange between the plant and the grid. This paper focuses on the analysis, design, and implementation of a digital predictive current control technique known as model predictive current controller for the control of single phase power inverter integrating renewable energy based plant with the grid. The proposed controller is tested in diverse operating conditions and is compared with the existing proportional resonant current control scheme. The simulation and experimental results validate the efficacy of the proposed control technique.
How many trophic roles can elasmobranchs play in a marine tropical network?
Authors: Navia Andrés F. , Mejía-Falla Paola A. , López-García Juliana , Giraldo Alan , Cruz-Escalona Victor H.
Published: January 2017

The aims of the present study were to identify the trophic roles of shark and batoid species in a tropical marine food web and to examine how ontogenetic dietary changes affect these roles. Elasmobranch species at different stages of maturity (juveniles and adults) are distributed at medium and high trophic levels (3.2–4.2), preying on numerous fish and invertebrates. Nine trophic groups comprising species at different stages of maturity were identified. Considering the maturity stages, elasmobranchs were found in five trophic groups and 37.5% of the regular equivalence nodes in the web. These species had roles as both predator and prey in four trophic levels of the web, participating in most of the roles identified, and are highly redundant in their functions as prey and mesopredators, but not in their role as top predators. The results of the present study suggest that elasmobranchs can be fundamental to the structure and function of marine food webs and highlight the need to include the effect of ontogenetic changes in the diet of these predators in future assessments of their ecological relevance.
Structural characterization of nonactive site, TrkA-selective kinase inhibitors
Authors: Su Hua-Poo , Rickert Keith , Burlein Christine , Narayan Kartik , Bukhtiyarova Marina , Hurzy Danielle M. , Stump Craig A. , Zhang Xufang , Reid John , Krasowska-Zoladek Alicja , Tummala Srivanya , Shipman Jennifer M. , Kornienko Maria , Lemaire Peter A. , Krosky Daniel , Heller Amanda , Achab Abdelghani , Chamberlin Chad , Saradjian Peter , Sauvagnat Berengere , Yang Xianshu , Ziebell Michael R. , Nickbarg Elliott , Sanders John M. , Bilodeau Mark T. , Carroll Steven S. , Lumb Kevin J. , Soisson Stephen M. , Henze Darrell A. , Cooke Andrew J.
Published: December 2016

Significance

Signal transduction through Tropomyosin-related kinase A (TrkA), a receptor tyrosine kinase, is a target for inhibition of chronic pain and could lead to a new class of drugs against pain. Selectivity against kinases can be difficult to achieve, especially against members of the same kinase family. Structures of the compounds bound to TrkA show a binding site comprised of the kinase, which is conserved among the Trk family, and the juxtamembrane (JM), which is not well conserved. Depending on their chemical substructure, the region of the juxtamembrane that interacts with the compounds can be different, leading to differences in specificity. This study emphasizes the importance of including residues beyond the catalytic domain for small-molecule screening, importance of screening by affinity, and structural characterization to understand binding interactions.
Problems of English Composition in Jordanian Secondary Schools
Authors: Al-Makhzoumy Khalaf , Al-Shorafat Mohammed O.
Published: December 2016

There is a general consensus among researchers that most students of English as a foreign language (EFL) are weak in writing composition. One of the main reasons for their weakness is due to the fact that there is no general agreement among teachers on how to teach and/ or evaluate compositions.

Secondary school teachers in Jordan often complain that most students face problems and make errors when they write English compositions. These errors are usually reflected in school exams as well as in the General Secondary School Examination (Tawjihi), held annually by the Ministry of Education.

The main concern of this research is to study students' problems in writing English compositions in Jordanian Secondary Schools. A questionnaire has been set for this purpose. The research is expected to identify the most serious problems that secondary students face and recommend certain procedures to avoid these problems and improve students' writing ability in English compo-sitions.
Lateral Preference and L2 Proficiency
Authors: Alptekin Cem , Çetin Elif
Published: December 2016

This study investigates the relationship between the L2 proficiency of advanced EFL learners and biological lateral preference. The former is thought of as the person's advanced ability in English, developed within a school setting and involving both reading comprehension and grammatical and lexical knowledge - as represented by the Michigan Test of English Language Proficiency. The latter is conceptualized as a continuous and multifactorial construct that predicts the degree of the hemispheric specialization of cognitive functions in the human brain as well as the degree of hemisphericity as a personal trait. It is measured by the Lateral Preference Schedule, developed as an instrument to meet the research and clinical needs for a standardized measure of lateral preference. Sixty university students majoring in TEFL participated in the study. Overall, the findings suggest that, from the various lateral preference patterns, only those which involve footed-ness and handedness are related to L2 proficiency. The findings further suggest that the relationship between lateral preference and L2 proficiency is independent of differences in gender.
English and the other Tongues in Official Communicative Interaction in Nigeria
Authors: Omoniyi Tope
Published: December 2016

This paper examines issues of language choice and language use patterns, attitudes to English and to indigenous languages in official communicative interaction in Nigeria as they exist in the offices today. The report is projected against the background of the claim that English is 'the language of government, education, commerce, etc.' in Nigeria; a claim that does not present the current roster of functions performed or shared by English and the other languages. It does not correctly portray workers' preferences of language medium in participating in the numerous communicative interactions they get into in the course of their day's work.

This report acclaims the importance of English particularly in a multiplex society such as Nigeria's, but also goes on to role-sharing and competition for certain communicative functions is actually going on between English and the indigenous languages in the offices today. The report therefore represents a state of the art commentary on language use practice and preferences in the offices. It is a signal to the writers of the Nigerian Constitution and drafters of the National Language Policy per se that a reworking is due. And for other English as a Second Language (ESL) nations, the report is a hint that assessment of the actual roles of English in national life is a continuous process rather than a once-and-for-all issue.
The Candidature of Nigerian Pidgin as a National Language
Authors: Adegbija Efurosibina
Published: December 2016

This paper examines arguments for and against the candidature of Nigerian Pidgin as an official language. Potent buttressing arguments include its widespread use at the grassroots level; its apparent cultural neutrality; and the ease in acquiring it. Arguments against its candidature include its stigmatization; its lack of a cultural base; queries over its bona fide indigenous status; its being a threat to the mastery and use of "standard" English, especially in the educational domain, and its low language development status. The fact that attitudes towards Nigerian Pidgin are completely negative is pinpointed as the most powerful argument against its candidacy as national language. The paper concludes with the observation that on purely linguistic sgrounds, there is no reason why Nigerian Pidgin cannot function as a national language. However, on social grounds, it may, at the moment, not be able to effectively fulfil this role. A language that has no esteem within its major constituency is most unlikely to be awarded such esteem simply because it has been pronounced a national language. It is therefore suggested that serious corpus and status planning efforts are prerequisites for the acceptance of Nigerian Pidgin as a national language and the changing of attitudes towards it; these tasks, it is pointed out, are gargantuan and bedevilling hurdles.
Leur enseigner leur langue?
Authors: Jucquois Guy
Published: December 2016

Qu’enseigne-t-on lorsqu’on enseigne la langue maternelle? Si le contenu civilisationnel paraît de première importance lorsqu’il s’agit de langues étrangères, il semble au contraire absent dans le cas de la langue maternelle. Les instructions officielles ne vont, sur ce point, guère dans le détail.
The Language Learner's Environment as a Resource for Linguistic Input? A Review of Theory and Research
Authors: Pica Teresa
Published: December 2016

This article reviews theory and research on the second language learning environment as a source of input to learners and the contributions made by speakers in learners' environment to their input needs and requirements. Discussion centers on connections between the formal and interactional properties of input which have been identified in research on learners and learning environments and theoretical claims about their contributions to second language learning.
Fossilisation contre emploi du moniteur
Authors: Van Der Linden Elisabeth
Published: December 2016

Dans cet article, nous parlerons de deux aspects de l'apprentissage des langues qu'on désigne communément par le nom de fossilisation (angl. fossilization) et d'emploi du Moniteur (angl. Monitor use).

Une étude des prémices théoriques de ces deux phénomènes mène à la conclusion que par leur essence même, ils semblent s'exclure mutuellement. L'étude d'un cas (des énoncés d'un sujet chilien parlant le roumain dans une situation "monitorisée" et dans une situation informelle) montre que dans ces deux situations, des différences sont présentes mais qu'elles sont peu importantes.
Variation synchronique dans l’interlangue
Authors: Dewaele Jean-Marc
Published: December 2016

Dans cet article nous analysons le modèle d’inspiration labovienne que Elaine Tarone a développé pour expliquer la variation dans l’interlangue. Le “Modèle du Caméléon” connaît un vif succès depuis les années quatre-vingts malgré un manque de preuves empiriques de ses hypothèses. La théorie de Tarone est soumise à une analyse approfondie et critique.
Assessing Short-term Change in Advanced Oral Proficiency
Authors: Lennon Paul
Published: December 2016

This paper presents four case studies to demonstrate developments in oral proficiency made by advanced learners of English during two months in England. The data base consists of picture story oral narratives. Performance shortly after arrival in Britain is compared with that at the end of the two months. Assessment was by:

subjective reactions of a panel of experienced native-speaker EFL teachers

quantitative analysis of transcriptions of recordings.

An attempt is made to apply VORSTER’s (1980) components of proficiency developed for use with children mother tongue speakers. The main findings were as follows:

There was considerable dissension among teachers, so that the reliability of subjective teacher assessment in such cases must be seriously questioned.

Results on the objective quantitative measures were very chequered, suggesting that the variables chosen did not, in many cases, function well to identify developments over so short a period.

Nevertheless, there were clear trends towards improvements in productivity and modality (co-verbs).

There were signs of individual differences among subjects in route of development.
Gender
Authors: Zoubir-Shaw Sadia
Published: December 2016

In English,inanimate referents that are not clearly defined in terms of sex-related attributes do not seem readily classifiable into feminine or masculine categories.

The present study of gender use by American speakers tested the gender connotations of English inanimate referents commonly considered or perceived as "neuter".

The results suggest that, when a noun is strongly connoted the natural gender rule applies, showing more salience for women than for men. However, contrary to the findings of current research, when the inanimate noun is conceived as neuter it is not necessarily labeled as masculine. Women are more likely than men to classify inanimate referents into feminine and masculine categories, and a confidence level test revealed that answers were more often random for male respondents while females tended to favor the feminine category. In light of this feminization tendency, this study suggests that in addition to its major function as a reference-tracking device, gender could be used as a "status marker".
The comparative Phonetics of Dutch and its Dialects
Authors: Shibles Warren
Published: December 2016

The literature on Dutch phonetics reveals a controversy about certain vowels and consonants. Dictionaries typically do not give phonetics, or if they do, it is not standard IPA, but Dutch-IPA, a personal, or local symbolism. In addition, transcriptions differ. The effect is that the researcher must use questionable symbols and descriptions, and that the language teacher and learner are not provided with a reliable or accessible resource for pronunciation. These difficulties are met here by the attempt to give more careful descriptions of articulations, and consonants. Terms for articulation are standardized, and an extended IPA vowel chart is given to provide a better descriptive analysis than is presently available. A system is presented for the consistent and precise location of vowels.

This extended IPA system is used as the basis of phonetic description, analysis and comparison. Emphasis is on the specific case or paradigm method of the philosophy of science so that numerous examples must of necessity be given. This contrasts with the usual article on phonology which provides the fewest number of examples required to support a general or universal hypothesis. This is one of the important differences between phonetics and phonology. These examples provide data for phonology, further research, comparative and contrastive phonetics, as well as to aid the language teacher or learner.

In addition, a phonetic comparison is given between Dutch and the Germanic languages.
Effect of Gender on the Rate of Interaction. Some Implications for Second Language Acquisition and Classroom Practice
Authors: Kasanga Luanga A.
Published: December 2016

In the course of a preliminary analysis of data used in an investigation into the effect on the rate of interaction in the target language of the "level of proficiency" and the "type of task", some unexpected results for participation pattern led the analyst to pursue additional lines of enquiry. A decision was taken to consider gender in a subsequent analysis. Gender had been suggested by previous studies as being capable of affecting the learners' L2 access and performance. Some of the data of the wider investigation were re-analyzed with gender as an independent variable in lieu of, then together with, the level of proficiency. This paper reports on the results of the wider investigation and describes the findings of the analysis of data with gender as an independent variable. To set the scene for the discussion of the results relevant to gender, the paper discusses a sampling of studies on gender and communication. The results of the analysis concurred with those of at least four separate studies in which it had been suggested that gender tended to affect the learners1 target language access and performance in ways that may influence their language learning.
Subsequences of Self-initiated Self-repair Repetition in the Speech of Arab EFL Students
Authors: Al-Arishi Ali Yahya
Published: December 2016

This study investigates the subsequential relationship between repetition and the other three types of self-initiated self-repair — correction, abandonment, and postponement — in the speech of Arab EFL students: Repetition followed by correction (Re → C), by abandonment (Re → A), and by postponement (Re → P). It also examines the repetition as repair (Re/R) pattern when it is followed by an error (Re/R → E). Subjects of the study were twenty-seven beginning EFL students whose native language was Arabic and who attended a college in Saudi Arabia: fifteen from level one and twelve from level two. The data of the study confirm the frequent use of repetition as a self-repair device, particularly repetition used as repair (the Re/R pattern), and that Re/R functions almost exclusively as a planning or stalling device. Also there appeared to be a subsequential relationship between repetition and abandonment (the Re → A pattern), particularly with the first-year subjects; a subsequential relationship between repetition and correction (the Re → C pattern) for the level one group, and a subsequential relationship between repetition as repair and a following error (the Re/R → E pattern) for both groups. However, this last pattern particularly needs further testing.
The Effect of Reading on the Acquisition of English Relative Clauses
Authors: Lee Yon Ok , Krashen Stephen D. , Gribbons Barry
Published: December 2016

49 adult acquirers of English as a second language took two tests probing restrictive relative clause competence. The amount of reported pleasure reading done by subjects were the only significant predictor of both measures. Neither years of formal study nor length of residence in the United States was a significant predictor. These results are consistent with the input hypothesis.
A comparison of the perceptions and practices of Chinese and French-speaking Belgian university students in the learning of English
Authors: Kelly Peter , Li Xinghua , Vanparys Johan , Zimmer Carole
Published: December 2016

This paper describes the first stage of a pedagogically oriented programme of research, the ultimate objective being to facilitate the learning of lexis within the context of the language learning programmes already developed within our respective universities, namely, the Facultés Universitaires Notre-Dame de la Paix (Namur, Belgium) and Wuhan University of Hydraulic and Electrical Engineering (Wuhan, China). This first stage consists in exploring the personal language learning practices and perceptions of the student populations concerned. We have already completed the second stage which attempts to highlight the most salient and persistent difficulties encountered by our respective student populations. At present, we are investigating various exercises and techniques which, in the light of theoretical and empirical findings, should facilitate their learning of lexis; if proved effective, they would eventually be integrated into the existing language programmes.
Reading, Language Acquisition, and the “Din in the Head”
Authors: Mcquillan Jeff
Published: December 2016

The phenomenon of involuntary mental rehearsal or "Din in the head," has been associated by researchers with second language (L2) acquisition, primarily with beginning learners. This study provides new evidence for Din in association with the acquisition of new linguistic elements from a different population of language acquirers, advanced first language readers. The results lend support to the claims made by Krashen concerning the nature of L1 and L2 acquisition, and indicate a connection between acquisition and the perceived pleasure of the Din phenomenon. Possible implications for the selection of L1 and L2 classroom activities are discussed.
Structural Regularities vs. Definition Patterns
Authors: Fontenelle Thierry
Published: December 2016

In a paper dealing with the computational analysis of dictionaries, Boguraev ("Building a Lexicon: The Contribution of Computers", in International Journal of Lexicography, 4:3, Autumn 1991) claims that exploiting definition patterns in the Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English (PROCTER, 1978) to identify verbs participating in the causative/inchoative alternation misses a number of verb candidates. His contention is that this linguistic property of verbs is reflected in the structure of dictionary definitions and not in the language of definitions. However, the algorithm he suggests for extracting causative/inchoative verbs from LDOCE on the basis of purely structural regularities is not sufficiently selective insofar as it also identifies verbs which participate in other types of transitivity alternations, such as, for instance, the reciprocal alternation.
On the likelihood of past tense situations still being the case at the time of speaking
Authors: Depraetere Ilse
Published: December 2016

Several linguists have pointed out that the past tense has the implicature that the situation it refers to is no longer the case at the moment of speaking (cf. John lived in London in 1985, but he no longer does). In this article, it is argued that in certain types of sentences the implicature associated with the past tense is more likely to be cancelled than in others. It is shown how (un)-boundedness, (a)telicity and the status of adverbials in terms of given or new influence the likelihood of a past tense situation still/no longer being the case at the moment of speaking.
Phonological planes and spaces A quantitative study on five corpora
Authors: Bourdeau Marc , Tubach Jean-Pierre
Published: December 2016

We describe a statistical methodology that provides a quantitative definition of the concept of phonological space that has been used for a long time as a purely qualitative description of languages. We apply this description to five corpora : four of French language, and one of Polish language. We obtain cartesian planes where the speakers are represented as points. We show that we can discriminate the five corpora. We end by pointing to applications to the learning and destruction of phonological capabilities.
Writing Apprehension in Chinese as a First Language
Authors: Lee Sy-Ying , Krashen Stephen
Published: December 2016

First year high school students in Taiwan filled out a questionniare probing their writing anxiety and leisure reading and writing habits in Chinese. A strong relationship was found between reported writing apprehension and frequency of leisure writing, confirming results reported by Daly and associates with North American English-speaking subjects. In addition, there was evidence of a relationship between writing apprehension and frequency of reading, suggesting that those who read more have lower writing apprehension.
Personality and Language Learning
Authors: Kiany G. Reza
Published: December 2016

There is a clear contradiction between the predictions of psychologists and applied linguists regarding the relationship between extraversion and learning. Psychologists claim that extraversion is a disadvantage for learning on the ground that an extravert has "less cortical arousal", is more easily "inhibited" and has a "limited long term memory". In contrast, many applied linguists predict that extraversion is an advantage for learning a second/foreign language on the assumption that an extravert elicits more "input" and produces more "output". To resolve this conflict, forty Iranian Ph.D. students who sat for TOEFL and IELTS were given the Persian restandardised form of Eysenck Personality Questionnaire (EPQ) twice. They were also asked to report their Grade Point Averages (GPA) of Diploma, Bachelor and Master. A pattern of negative but nonsignificant relationship was found between extraversion and GPAs. An even weaker but still negative relation emerged between extraversion and both total and subscores of TOEFL & IELTS. It might be concluded that extraversion may not help in developing cither linguistic skills (e.g. Structure section of TOEFL) or even communicative skills (e.g. Speaking of IELTS) in an Iranian EFL situation where there is no exposure to English and non-communicative teaching methods are used in English classes. It would be more interesting to see if extraversion helps learning English in ESL situation where exposure is present and the learners have the chance to communicate in English both inside and outside the class environment. It may also be more revealing to measure English proficiency by administering various tests with different nature.
Acquisition of Chinese Aspect
Authors: Wen Xiaohong
Published: December 2016

This study investigates the acquisition of Chinese aspect markers of -le, -guo, and -zhe by English-speaking learners at the university level. The speech and written data produced by students at two different levels of proficiency were collected, compared and analyzed. The results show that English-speaking learners of Chinese acquire the perfective aspect marker -le and the past experience marker -guo before the durative aspect marker -zhe. The process by which learners acquire the aspect markers appears be meaning-based and can be summarized into: 1) looking for logical temporal sequences; 2) using time adverbials and conjunction for the time references; 3) using lexical aspects and word meanings; and 4) using pragmatic cues with the aspect markers of -le and -guo. Learners, especially at the lower level of proficiency, rely more on the time adverbial expressions and lexical aspects than learners at the more advanced level.
Can Extensive Reading help Unmotivated Students of EFL Improve?
Authors: Mason Beniko , Krashen Stephen
Published: December 2016

University level students of English as a Foreign Language in Japan, enrolled in a special class for students who had failed English, did a semester of extensive reading in place of the traditional curriculum. Their gains in reading comprehension were significantly greater than a comparison group of traditionally taught regular students, and they clearly enjoyed the class.

Despite the growing amount of research supporting the use of extensive reading for improving second language competence (e.g. ELLEY and MANGUBHAI, 1983; TUDOR and HAFIZ, 1989; HAFIZ and TUDOR, 1989; ELLEY, 1991; PILGREEN and KRASHEN, 1993; CHO and KRASHEN, 1994; (1995a), (1995b); CONSTANTINO, 1994), many teachers are still uncertain about how effective it is. Some maintain that extensive reading will only benefit more successful and more motivated students, and will not help those who are unmotivated and who have not done well in language classes. These poor students, it is argued, lack the grammatical knowledge and vocabulary that is necessary for reading comprehension and enjoyment.

In this study, we investigate whether so called “bad students” or failures in EFL could improve with an extensive reading treatment.
Self-Repair in L1 and L2 Production
Authors: Van Hest Erna , Poulisse Nanda , Bongaerts Theo
Published: December 2016

In this article we will give an overview of the findings of L1 and L2 self-repair studies to date. A comparison between L1 and L2 self-repair research shows that, while L1 studies are firmly based in theory, most L2 studies are not. In order to contribute to theories and models of L2 production and acquisition, L2 self-repair studies will have to be more theory-driven than has been the case so far. Moreover, it is essential that large-scale investigations be conducted which focus on self-repair by L2 speakers at different levels of proficiency as well as on intra-individual comparisons between L1 and L2 self-repair.
The effect of gender on the choice of speech style
Authors: Dewaele Jean-Marc
Published: December 2016

The analysis of a number of linguistic variables reflecting formality in the advanced oral French interlanguage of 27 Dutch-speaking students showed significant differences between male and female speakers. Female speakers were found to opt for a much more implicit and deictical speech style, especially in an informal situation. As the situation became more formal, the differences between male and female speakers weakened. The same variation was found in a corpus of native Dutch.
Grammatical instruction and implicational features
Authors: Lando John
Published: December 2016

The present study examines the relationship between direct grammatical teaching of the past tense system of standard Italian and the use of some implicational features which, without being the object of direct instruction, are normally found within the same structure and context of the instructed ones. The subjects of the experiment were 60 tertiary learners of L2 Italian from a variety of Italian regional dialect background (age 18-25), receiving a period of intensive instruction on the use of the past tense system of standard Italian. The incidence of use of implicational features was measured on the basis of a written test prior to a three week period of intensive instructional treatment, followed by immediate and delayed written posttests. Similar monitoring was carried out with a control group of 40 comparable learners, who had not received direct instruction. The results of the study support the hypothesis that explicit and intensive form-focused instruction, when combined with continuous meaning-focused practice of instructed features, encourages an increased and more accurate use of other features that are closely related to the targeted ones.
Linguistic Minority Children's Knowledge of multiple Word Meanings; Polysemy and the Testing of lexical Skills
Authors: Appel René
Published: December 2016

It is often observed that minority children's lexical proficiency in the majority language lags behind that of majority children. This observations is substantiated by scores on vocabulary tests. However, in these (traditional) tests words are generally treated as having one meaning, while most words are polysemous, i.e. they have multiple meanings. A new test was designed to measure the knowledge of multiple word meanings of minority and majority children. Results pointed to a rather high correlation between the scores on a traditional vocabulary test and the newly developed test for the minority children. Furthermore, the minority children scored lower on the new test than the majority children, which suggests that they not only have a lexical deficit in their second language with respect to the number of words known, but also with respect to the number of meanings attached to each word.
Requests in English by second-language users
Authors: Kasanga L.A.
Published: December 2016

The study of learners' pragmatic and discourse knowledge, also known as "interlanguage pragmatics", is now an important preoccupation of second-language acquisition (SLA) research. Spurred by this growing interest in interlanguage pragmatics and with a view to contributing to this field of research I conducted a study of requests in English produced by English as a second language (ESL) university students in their daily interaction mainly with lecturers. I collected the data for this study by means of observation and by recording "golden episodes of requesting behaviour in students' spontaneous speech. For comparative purposes, I elicited additional data by means of a discourse-completion task (DCT). One finding is that the students' knowledge of contextual use of requesting strategies in English is inadequate because their requests are of (very) limited range and inappropriate in context. The in-appropriacy of the requests was confirmed by native speakers' judgments. One explanation of the inadequacy of the students' pragmatic knowledge is the lack of exposure to the whole gamut of requesting devices. Another may have a strategic dimension. Also important is the explanation of transfer from the first language/s (Ll/s) : learners may be simply carrying over into English structures translated from their L1. From a pedagogical point of view, it is suggested that discourse and pragmatic knowledge be systematically taught to avoid miscommunication and negative reactions from native and competent non-native speakers of English. The suggestion of teaching pragmatic knowledge seems to be supported by the finding about one subject who, after exposure to a variety of requesting expressions, seemed to modify the pattern of her requests.
La langue influence-t-elle la pensée? un état de la question
Authors: Fouyer Karine , Dewaele Jean-Marc
Published: December 2016

Langue et pensée ont longtemps été considérées indissociables. La langue, pensait-on, déterminait la pensée de l'individu. Des études récentes en linguistique et en psycholinguistique suggèrent cependant que le lien entre langue et pensée est beaucoup plus nuancé que l'on imaginait.
Towards a Teaching of French to English-speaking Learners by Cognate Comprehension
Authors: Robert Jean-Michel
Published: December 2016

Acquiring a foreign or a second language differs strongly according to the proximity of the target language and the mother tongue. In the case of distant languages, the learner tends to simplify the structure of his/her mother tongue and use semantax. On the other hand, the learner of a cognate language could consider the target language as a dialectal variant of his/her own mother tongue. The resulting adaptation would be an innate adaptation, a linguistic superposition. The didactic strategy would then consist in supervising this process of superposition and devising a teaching system based on 'cognate comprehension' of the closely related languages. Such a strategy could be used in the teaching of French to English-speaking learners, though English and French are not commonly considered closely related languages.
Islam and Learning English
Authors: Haggan Madeline
Published: December 2016

This paper focuses on the situation of undergraduates from a conservative Muslim society (Kuwait), who opt to major in English Language and Literature. Informal observations are reported that indicate that this might present a disturbing predicament since it requires of such students an appreciation of values and traditions which are contrary to those upheld in their religion and practised in their society. Since, it is argued, this could have an inhibiting effect on mastery of their subject, particularly on the language front, a detailed questionnaire was administered to a group of students from the Department of English Language and Literature, Kuwait University, to ascertain the extent of the problem. Responses showed a high degree of religiosity among the students and considerable unease regarding some of the material they had to read, in spite of a fairly exacting standard of censorship already applied by the teaching staff. The nature of what disturbs them is gone into in some de-tail as are the ways that students reportedly cope with this problem. Since distancing seems a very common strategy used to maintain psychological equilibrium, this would seem to have adverse effects on the most commonly stated aim of these students which was to perfect their language and it is suggested that the concept of the English degree in such an environment may need to be re-thought. Finally, the question is raised of what kind of individual places himself in such a conflict situation and remains there. A personality test showed that the students taking part in the study scored highly on certain personality variables which suggests that these students may be unconsciously self-selected from a certain personality type and this, in turn, may explain how they are able to operate both within their field of study and their socio-religious traditions.
A President, Speech Acts and Development in Nigeria
Authors: Ioratim-Uba Godwin Aondona
Published: December 2016

The discourse strategies and social implications of speech importantly overlap to govern our relationships in person versus person, group versus group, and person versus group capacities. We apply here Speech Act Theory to communicative interactions with respect to person versus group by discourse - analytically studying the utterances of a nation’s president to his fellow country men and women. Based on the extensions by GRICE (1975), VAN DIJK (1977) and LEECH (1989) of AUSTIN’S (1962) Speech Act Theory, we examine the promise by a Nigerian Military President to return the country to democratic rule and the extent to which he kept his word. The syntactic and semantic frameworks are combined with the pragmatic acts to bring out the strategy of the spoken discourse. Saying, in the view of the theory, is tantamount to doing. Consequently, utterances carry the social responsibility weight, and there is great honour in redeeming the social weight of utterances through commensurate action. Speech acts executed with the consideration of this obligation as well as sincerity of action in mind can lead to development. However, we find that the promise in the Nigerian President’s speech acts to return the country to democracy is not fuiflied. Considering the primacy of the spoken word in the political realm, which can affect development in many ways, this paper strongly recommends that public leaders should bridge the familiar opposition between promise and fulfilment.
Assimilation vs Translation of SL Lexical Items. Factors and Criteria.
Authors: Al-Qlnai Jamal B.S.
Published: December 2016

The paper is divided into three segments. First, it highlights the major factors that lead to the adoption of foreign lexicon. The second segment focuses on the criteria for identifying foreign words assimilated into Arabic. The study concludes with a survey of the factors that lead to alterations in the pronunciation and morphology of assimilated items.
Zu einigen Aspekten der deutsch-bulgarischen interkulturellen Kommunikation
Authors: Toplava Antoanita
Published: December 2016

Der Beitrag geht auf Unterschiede in der deutsch-bulgarischen interkulturellen Kommunikation ein, die durch eine Urnfrage ermittelt wurden. Deshalb fassen die festgestellten Unterschiede Eindrücke und Erfahrungen bulgarischer fortgeschrittener Deutschlernender zusammen. Sie beziehen sich auf Phänomene der verbalen und nichtverbalen Kommunikation, wobei die am häufigsten erwähnten Abweichungen den Gebrauch der Anreden an Frauen und der vertraulichen und höflichen Form betreffen.
Assessing Second Language Writing
Authors: Li Yili
Published: December 2016

This article examines the relationship between two kinds of methods used to assess the quality of second language writing : 1) objective computerised text analysis focusing on the linguistic features of written texts, and 2) subjective evaluation performed by human raters using a combination of holistic and analytical scoring procedures. In particular, it attempts to explore the potentials and possible limitations of using computerised programs as research tools in second language writing research.

The written sample consisted of a total of 132 short essays written b y ESL students enrolled in various academic programs at an American university. The first method used computerized programs to assess the written texts in terms of syntactic complexity, lexical complexity and grammatical accuracy, whereas in the second method, two ESL raters evaluated the same sample of texts by first assigning a holistic score to each piece of writing, then applying an analytical scheme to assess linguistic features at the syntactic, lexical and grammatical level as well as textual and rhetorical features at the discourse level. A series of correlation analyses were performed using the scores obtained from these two kinds of assessment procedures at the correspondent levels. The results show that a significant correlation was consistently found between these two kinds of scores at the level of grammatical accuracy, yet n o significant correlation was found in any of the other categories. The results also indicate a high level of internal consistency in t he computerized analysis.
Pauses and hesitation phenomena in second language production
Authors: Cenoz Jasone
Published: December 2016

This article focuses on the study of pauses in second language production by analysing the frequency of silent and filled pauses and their functions. It also examines the combination of pauses and other hesitation phenomena in second language production and it explores the relationship between pauses and language proficiency. The results confirm that pauses and hesitations are frequent phenomena in second language production and the individual variation in their occurrence. It was also found that pauses are often associated with other hesitation phenomena and that filled and silent pauses can have the same functions.