bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
The Communicative Language Teaching “Revolution” Tested: A Comparison of Two Classroom Studies: 1976 and 1993
Authors: Rollmann Marcella 
Published: January 2009

ABSTRACT  The purpose of this study was to measure empirically whether beginning FL classes are more communicative now than they were 17 years ago. Two sets of classroom obsewations, which form the basis of the study, were designed to observe the types and amounts of speaking activities in which beginning foreign language students engage, in order to determine how and to what extent students practice the language artificially in drills and other forms of pseudocom‐munication, and how and to what extent they use the foreign language as a real means of communication. The results of the 1993 investigation were then compared with data from a similar study completed in 1976, so that change in classroom speaking activities over the past 17 years could be measured.Using an observation tool which divided talk on a scale of least selection by the speaker as in repetition drills to total selection such as in free expression‐or “real communication” (RLC), as it is called in this study‐the results indicate an increase in RLC for both students and teachers, and a shift toward 12 as the language of instruction.
An Exploration of Reading Comprehension, Oral Reading Errors, and Written Errors by Subjects Labeled Learning Disabled
Authors: Mabbott Ann Sax 
Published: January 2009

ABSTRACT  There is a significant number of people labeled learning disabled (ID) who have extreme difficulty learning a second language. Although a large amount of research deals with learning disabilities, very little of it addresses the second language learning situation. The purpose of this research is to explore whether, and how, decoding and encoding problems with a first language acquisition carry over into the second language acquisition of five LD‐labeled students and what the consequences are for comprehensionThis research consists of case studies of LD‐labeled subjects who have gained a degree of proficiency in a second language. The subjects' performance on written dictations, oral readings, and comprehension after oral and silent reading are compared qualitatively between their first and second languages. In general, it was found that the subjects had the same kinds of problems and made the same kinds of errors in both the first and second languages. By administering these tests and interviewing the subjects about their language learning experiences, the researcher also gained useful information about classroom practices and learning strategies that may help students labeled ID learn a second language.All of these subjects (all adults) reported having extreme difficulty in the foreign language classroom as well as with English reading and writing skills. In spite of these problems with language, four out of five gained a high degree of fluency in their second language outside the classroom in immersion settings (as foreign exchange students, by marrying a native speaker, by working with migrant laborers). The fifth subject has been able to survive traditional university foreign language classes by working extremely hard and being very aggressive about seeking help. The paper discusses why these learners succeeded in learning a second language while many of their counterparts labeled LD fail.
Assessing Perceived Needs for Japanese Language Training in U.S. Business Education: Perspectives from Students, Business Faculty, and Business Professionals
Authors: Saito Yoshiko 
Published: January 2009

ABSTRACT  In the interest of developing new approaches to Japanese language instruction that can meet the demands of these career‐minded students, this study compares the responses of both business faculty and students of Japanese language to a survey that asked them to assess the career value of Japanese language ability. In order to determine whether the attitudes of business faculty and students are consonant with professional situations outside the academy, this study also surveys executives and directors of international divisions within a number of U.S. corporations about their perceptions of the practical advantages of a background in Japanese language in the contemporary business world.The results of this study show that business faculty, foreign language faculty, and business students have differing ideas about the role of language learning–in this study, the learning of Japanese–in preparing for careers that involve international activity. Students and business professionals outside the university, however, concur in their attitudes about the importance of foreign language proficiency. These findings suggest that business school curricula need to accommodate foreign language study to a greater degree and that the content of foreign language courses must reflect the practical needs of business students. It is critical that Japanese and other foreign language programs and business programs cooperate more fully so that students who are motivated to learn can apply their acquired language ability and cultural knowledge to successful career development.
Scaffolding Second Language Communicative Discourse with Teacher‐Controlled Multimedia
Authors: Johnston Jerome , Milne Lynda 
Published: January 2009

ABSTRACT Providing examples of authentic target‐language discourse is a challenge for teachers of first‐ and second‐level foreign language courses. TheTeacher's Partneris a multimedia tool that assists the teacher by presenting communicative exchanges among native speakers. Compared to videotape, this computer‐mediated videodisc permits more precise control over video segmentation–essential for the limited language decoding skills of novice learners. The computer also provides contextualized textual and graphical resources, including a hypertext transcript that will reveal word and phrase definitions and selective grammatical explanations in the target language.The use of theTeacher's Partnerinfluenced the nature of classroom discourse in a French 1 and French 2 class. Year‐long research analyzing classroom interaction patterns showed increased use of communicative discourse by a teacher and students in those class periods when theTeacher's Partnerwas used by the teacher (an increase of 39 percent in French 1 and 55 percent in French 2.) Reflections by the teacher provide a rationale for how this tool scaffolded teacher‐student discourse. The challenge of integrating advanced technology into classroom settings is discussed.
Pronouns of Address in Spanish‐Language Textbooks: The Case for vos
Authors: Mason Keith , Nicely Kenneth 
Published: January 2009

ABSTRACT  The voseo is a frequently used second person singular form of address in many New World varieties of Spanish. Unfortunately, most textbooks of Spanish regularly treat the use of til, usted, ustedes, and vosotros, but ignore vos. This article includes a survey of 37 first‐year secondary and postsecondary Spanish textbooks for their coverage of the voseo. All texts were carefully analyzed via a page‐by‐page survey of explanations, tables of contents, readings, marginal glosses, and indexes. Results of the survey revealed that only 16 percent of the analyzed texts included any reference to the voseo. The article also makes recommendations for the inclusion of the voseo in future textbooks of Spanish and in class instruction. Indeed, the vos may be considered as the simple addition of one more vocabulary item that could improve students' communicative competence in Spanish.Several factors support an increased attention on vos: our students have contact with a number of native speakers who regularly use vos. This contact is between our students and Central and South Americans both as immigrants in the United States and through contact with native speakers when our students travel and study in Central and South America. Therefore, the ever‐increasing contact with dialect speakers exhibiting vos requires increased attention to this important form of address in pedagogical materials and class lessons at all levels.
Assessing the Assessments: The OPI and the SOPI
Authors: Kuo Jane , Jiang Xixiang 
Published: January 2009

ABSTRACT  This paper is an overall examination of the two forms of oral proficiency testing currently in use in most language teaching programs across the country, namely, the Oral Proficiency Interview (OPI) and the Simulated Oral Proficiency Interview (SOPI). The authors, who have extensive experience in conducting the OPI and in training SOPI raters, have attempted to provide readers with an objective assessment of these two oral language tests by comparatively examining the test administration, response elicitation, and rating procedures. At the same time, the paper also provides a concise but general overview of the two test instruments regarding their theoretical underpinnings, administrative support from their test developers, and the test structures and contents.While recognizing that the two tests under discussion are both proven to be valid and reliable oral proficiency measurements, the authors have examined the characteristics that distinguish them as two different tests suitable for different purposes in different situations. Teachers are encouraged to initially identify the specific testing needs of their own institutions, and then align the features of the two oral tests with their institutional requirements before making a decision on a particular form of the test.
Multicultural, Multiracial High School Students' Feelings toward Hispanic Cultures
Authors: O'Neill Nancy S. 
Published: January 2009

ABSTRACT  Culture is “everything humans have learned” (Seelye 1993, 22). How to teach culture in an integrated manner with language study is an ongoing dilemma. Before foreign language educators can successfully teach culture along with language, it is important that we listen to and learn about our growing, diverse student population ‐ to know what cultures and races the students belong to, what understanding they possess about other cultures, and how they feel about themselves and others. In this way, educators may utilize instructional strategies more effectively by building on students' backgrounds, that is, by tapping into what they already know.A qualitative mode of inquiry was employed in this study. Most of the research investigations in foreign language education have been quantitative in nature; few have been qualitative. Most have dealt with homogeneous populations, mainly white, monolingual, English‐speaking students in nonurban settings. This article reports the views of Hispanic cultures held by a diverse group of eight high school students who were studying Spanish as a foreign language. These eight students' perceptions of Hispanic cultures were culled from comments they made during an instructional activity (e.g., grouping pictures) and an interview, on a questionnaire, and during follow‐up interviews. The participants represented the multicultural, multiracial mix in a large, urban public high school located in the Northeast. The findings overall revealed some degree of empathy on the part of each of the students toward Hispanic cultures. Any feelings of prejudice were related mainly through stereotypes and ethnocentrism. The varying degrees of cultural awareness the students possessed generally were not derived from the foreign language class.
Reading Goals and the Standards for Foreign Language Learning
Authors: Arens Katherine , Swaffar Janet 
Published: January 2009

ABSTRACT  The Standards for Foreign Language Learning (1996) provide a new set of guidelines for the curricular development of second language (L2) or foreign language programs that will soon be in place across the United States to describe age‐appropriate levels of student achievement, and against which teacher preparation and rewards will be measured. This essay traces the Standards as a template for an integrated L2 reading curriculum (Grades 4 through 16) and argues for the early inclusion of authentic reading materials in the L2 classroom.First, we model ways to visualize the cognitive demands that the Standards place on students who attempt to fulfill them when learning to read in a foreign language. After that, with reference to a short reading text (included in the Appendix in the German original and in translation), we trace how these demands must be accommodated across a reading curriculum that spans grades K to 16 and make a case for the Standards as a tool that must be used to describe curricular sequences, not only learner achievement at particular age or grade levels.
Learning Strategies and Writing Processes of Proficient vs. Less‐Proficient1Learners of Arabic
Authors: Khaldieh Salim A. 
Published: January 2009

Abstract:Previous research in second language (L2) learning indicates that successful learners seem to use a wider variety of learning strategies than unsuccessful learners. This article reports the author's findings on the learning strategies used by 43 American learners of Arabic as a foreign language (AFL) in their writing tasks. The learning strategies were assessed through a process of introspection. While composing, students wrote down all techniques and procedures used to perform the writing task. The learners' strategies were tallied, classified, and analyzed.Analysis of the data shows that all learners — proficient and less‐proficient — were active users of different learning strategies to varying degrees. The findings demonstrate that the less‐proficient writers experienced a high level of anxiety and frustration, adopted a negative attitude toward writing, and did not show complete control and mastery of the language structures of AFL. As a result, their writing samples exhibit a low level of writing proficiency. That is, their writing skill was developing at a slow pace. In contrast, the proficient writers appeared to have controlled their anxiety level, were sure of their linguistic ability, and performed to their potential — as shown in their essays. Furthermore, a closer examination of the linguistic system used in the writing task showed that the linguistic system and rhetoric of the first language (L1) prevailed. Translation of L1 structures was evident in the learners' writing samples. However, proficiency in writing seemed to be evolving; the attempt to create with and imitate L2 linguistic structures was obvious in the learners' essays.This study identifies the writing techniques and procedures used by learners of AFL, as indicated by the learners' introspection. Implications for classroom instruction are discussed in the final section of the article.
Tension Level during Preconditioning Influences Hamstring Tendon Graft Properties
Authors: Elias John J. , Kilambi Srianjana , Ciccone William J. 
Published: January 2009

Background Hamstring tendon grafts used for anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction are preconditioned to reduce the influence of viscoelasticity on the stiffness and tension. Hypothesis Increasing the tension applied during preconditioning will decrease the loss of tension and stiffness due to viscoelasticity. Study Design Controlled laboratory study. Methods Six quadruple-strand hamstring tendon grafts were tested twice in vitro with 2 tension levels applied during preconditioning. The grafts were preconditioned at 80 N or 160 N, followed by 15 minutes of relaxation, and subsequently loaded to 80 N to represent application of initial tension. After 5 minutes of relaxation, the tension was recorded and the stiffness was measured over 0.06 mm of displacement. The tension and stiffness measurements were repeated 3 hours later. The data were compared between the 2 preconditioning levels with a 2-way repeated-measures analysis of variance. Results Graft tension and stiffness were significantly larger (P <. 05) for 160 N during preconditioning. For 80 N, the average tension at 5 minutes and 3 hours was 40 N and 21 N, respectively, compared with 50 N and 30 N, respectively, for 160 N. For 80 N, the average stiffness at 5 minutes and 3 hours was 152 N/mm and 124 N/mm, respectively, compared with 173 N/mm and 146 N/mm, respectively, for 160 N. Conclusion Increasing the tension applied to hamstring tendon grafts during preconditioning can decrease the postoperative loss of tension and stiffness due to viscoelasticity. Clinical Relevance The increased graft tension and stiffness could reduce postoperative knee laxity.
Inhibition of HMG CoA reductase reveals an unexpected role for cholesterol during PGC migration in the mouse
Authors: Ding Jiaxi , Jiang DeChen , Kurczy Michael , Nalepka Jennifer , Dudley Brian , Merkel Erin I , Porter Forbes D , Ewing Andrew G , Winograd Nicholas , Burgess James , Molyneaux Kathleen 
Published: January 2009

Abstract

Background
Primordial germ cells (PGCs) are the embryonic precursors of the sperm and eggs. Environmental or genetic defects that alter PGC development can impair fertility or cause formation of germ cell tumors.

Results
We demonstrate a novel role for cholesterol during germ cell migration in mice. Cholesterol was measured in living tissue dissected from mouse embryos and was found to accumulate within the developing gonads as germ cells migrate to colonize these structures. Cholesterol synthesis was blocked in culture by inhibiting the activity of HMG CoA reductase (HMGCR) resulting in germ cell survival and migration defects. These defects were rescued by co-addition of isoprenoids and cholesterol, but neither compound alone was sufficient. In contrast, loss of the last or penultimate enzyme in cholesterol biosynthesis did not alter PGC numbers or position in vivo. However embryos that lack these enzymes do not exhibit cholesterol defects at the stage at which PGCs are migrating. This demonstrates that during gestation, the cholesterol required for PGC migration can be supplied maternally.

Conclusion
In the mouse, cholesterol is required for PGC survival and motility. It may act cell-autonomously by regulating clustering of growth factor receptors within PGCs or non cell-autonomously by controlling release of growth factors required for PGC guidance and survival.
OAG induces an additional PKC-, PI3K-, and Rac2-mediated signaling pathway up-regulating NOX2 activity, independently of Ca2+ entry
Authors: Bréchard Sabrina , Salsmann Alexandre , Tschirhart Eric J 
Published: January 2009

AbstractThe requirement of calcium ion (Ca2+) entry for neutrophil NADPH oxidase (NOX2) regulation is clearly established. However, its role in the signaling pathway leading to NOX2 activation is still elusive. 1-oleoyl-2-acetyl-sn-glycerol (OAG) causes an increase in NOX2 activity and has been shown to directly modulate Ca2+ channels unrelated to the well-known store-operated Ca2+ entry (SOCE) mechanism. In our study, we have investigated the potential role of OAG in Ca2+ influx-mediated NOX2 activity in neutrophil-like-differentiated HL-60 cells to further characterize second signals involved in the regulation of NOX2. OAG inhibited fMLF- and thapsigargin-induced Ca2+ entry, a phenomenon that was not restored by protein kinase C (PKC) or PI3K blockade. Addition of OAG resulted in a rapid decrease of maximal intracellular Ca2+ concentration induced by thapsigargin. Both results suggest that OAG has an inhibitory effect, independent of PI3K and PKC, on the regulation of SOCE. In contrast to SOCE inhibition, OAG-induced NOX2 activation was mediated by PKC and PI3K. Our data establish that both kinases exert their effects through the regulation of Rac2 activity. In addition, OAG potentiated the effect of fMLF on the activation of NOX2 and led to a discernible activity of NOX2 upon thapsigargin stimulation. In conclusion, our results demonstrate that an additional PKC- and/or PI3K-dependent signal may act in synergy with Ca2+ influx to trigger NOX2 activation.
Identification of biologically active peptides that inhibit binding of human CXCL8 to its receptors from a random phage-epitope library
Authors: Houimel Mehdi , Mazzucchelli Luca 
Published: January 2009

AbstractA random bacteriophage peptide library was used to map structural features of human (h)CXCR1 and hCXCR2 by determining the epitopes of neutralizing mAb 5A12 anti-hCXCR1 and mAb 6C6 anti-hCXCR2. After three rounds of biopanning, five mAb5 A12- and four mAb 6C6-binding peptides were identified from a 6-mer peptide library. Consensus sequences (S/T)1(F/A/N/D)2(I/M)3W4D5F6 and F/L/M)1W2(D/N/L)3D4F5W6 were deduced from sequences of these peptides. They correspond to a highly conserved N-domain sequence 9MWDF12 of hCXCR1 and 13DFW15 of hCXCR2. The phage bearing the peptides showed specific binding to immobilized mAb 5A12 or mAb 6CC, and over 86% of phages bound were competitively inhibited by free synthetic peptides. In FACScan analysis, all selected phage peptides were able to strongly inhibit the binding of mAb 5A12 and mAb 6C6 to hCXCR1- and hCXCR2-transfected preB 300-19 murine cells. Furthermore, synthetic peptides of the corresponding phage epitopes were effective in blocking the antibody-CXCR1/2 interactions and to inhibit the binding of hCXCL8 to hCXCR1 and hCXCR2 transfectants. Peptides 5A12/2 (SAMWDF) and 6C6/1 (FWDDFW) competed effectively for 125I-hCXCL8 binding to hCXCR1 and hCXCR2 with IC50, respectively, equal to 10 μM and 5.4 μM. Calcium release and chemotaxis of hCXCR1/2 transfectants or human neutrophils were inhibited by all peptides in a dose-dependent manner. Furthermore, the peptide 6C6/1 FWDDFW showed inhibitory effects on chemotaxis of human netrophils induced by hCXCR2 chemokines such as hCXCL1–3 and hCXCL5. Specificities of peptides 5A12/2 and 6C6/1 were assessed with hCXCR3, hCXCR4, hCXCR5, hCCR3, and hCCR5 receptors. In vivo, peptides 5A12/2 and p6C6/1 blockade hCXCL8-induced neutrophil recruitment in skin inflammation in rabbits. Taken together, these data demonstrate that phage-display analysis provides information about the relative location of amino acids on the N-domain surfaces of hCXCR1 and hCXCR2 proteins using antibody imprints of the receptor-surface structure. The derived mimotopes could be used as inhibitors of hCXCL8-induced activities related to its interaction with the N-domain of hCXCR1 and hCXCR2.
B cells from periodontal disease patients express surface Toll-like receptor 4
Authors: Shin Hyunjin , Zhang Yue , Jagannathan Madhumita , Hasturk Hatice , Kantarci Alpdogan , Liu Hongsheng , Van Dyke Thomas E , Ganley-Leal Lisa M , Nikolajczyk Barbara S 
Published: January 2009

AbstractChronic systemic inflammation links periodontal disease (PD) to increased incidence of cardiovascular disease. Activation of TLRs, particularly TLR4, promotes chronic inflammation in PD by stimulating myeloid cells. B cells from healthy individuals are generally refractory to TLR4 agonists as a result of low surface TLR4 expression. Unexpectedly, a significantly increased percentage of gingival and peripheral blood B cells from patients with PD expressed surface TLR4. Surface expression correlated with an active TLR4 promoter that mimicked the TLR4 promoter in neutrophils. B cells from PD patients were surface myeloid differentiation protein 2-positive and also packaged the enhancer of a proinflammatory cytokine, IL-1β, into an active structure, demonstrating that these cells harbor key characteristics of proinflammatory cell types. Furthermore, B cells lacked activating signatures of a natural IL-1β inhibitor, IL-1 receptor antagonist. Surprisingly, despite multiple signatures of proinflammatory cells, freshly isolated B cells from PD patients had decreased expression of TLR pathway genes compared with B cells from healthy individuals. Decreases in inflammatory gene expression were even more dramatic in B cells stimulated with a TLR4 ligand from a periodontal pathogen, Porphyromonas gingivalis LPS 1690. In contrast, B cell TLR4 was not activated by the prototypic TLR4 ligand Escherichia coli LPS. These findings raise the unexpected possibility that TLR4 engagement modulates B cell activation in PD patients.