bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Beneficial effects of splenectomy on massive hepatectomy model in rats
Authors: Arakawa Yusuke , Shimada Mitsuo , Uchiyama Hideaki , Ikegami Toru , Yoshizumi Tomoharu , Imura Satoru , Morine Yuji , Kanemura Hirohumi 
Published: January 2009

Aim:  Possible spleno‐hepatic relationships during hepatectomy remain unclear. The purpose of this study was to investigate the impact of splenectomy during massive hepatectomy in rats.Methods:  Rats were divided into the following two groups: 90% hepatectomy (Hx group), hepatectomy with splenectomy (Hx+Sp group). The following parameters were evaluated; survival rate, biochemical parameters, quantitative RT‐PCR for hemeoxygenase‐1 (HO‐1) and tumor necrosing factor α (TNFα), immunohistochemical staining for HO‐1, proliferating cell nuclear antigen labeling index and liver weights.Results:  The survival rate after massive hepatectomy significantly improved in Hx+Sp group as well as serum biochemical parameters, compared with Hx group (P < 0.05). HO‐1 positive hepatocytes and its mRNA expression significantly increased and TNFα mRNA expression significantly decreased in Hx+Sp group compared with Hx group (P < 0.05). Moreover, liver regeneration was significantly accelerated at 48 and 72 h after hepatectomy in Hx+Sp group.Conclusions:  Splenectomy had beneficial effects on massive hepatectomy by ameliorating liver injuries and promoting preferable liver regeneration.
The Pennsylvania Foreign Language Research Project: Teacher Proficiency and Class Achievement in Two Modern Languages
Authors: Smith Philip D. 
Published: January 2009

ABSTRACT: Since 1960 the MLA Foreign Language Proficiency Tests for Teachers and Advanced Students have been used to measure teacher achievement in language skills and allied professional areas. The tests are suggested as prerequisites for teacher certification In Pennsylvania, where the tests were mandatory from 1963 until 1969, a comparison was made between teachers' Proficiency Test scores and the subsequent achievement of their classes on standardized tests.No important significant relationships occurred between eighty‐nine French and German teachers' proficiency and class achievement after one year. No significant correlation could be found between teacher and student scores in forty classes after two years of French or German instruction with the same teacher nor in twelve intact German classes who maintained the same teacher through Level III Regression Analyses also failed to show that teacher Proficiency Test scores contributed substantially to individual student achievement. It is suggested that the MLA Proficiency Tests are valuable as advanced achievement measures or alternate criterion but should not be required for teacher certification until their contribution to student achievement is more fully defined.
To Read or Not to Read: An Experiment on the FLES Level
Authors: Lipton Gladys C. 
Published: January 2009

ABSTRACT: In this experiment, the auditory comprehension of two groups of gifted children in Grade Four FLES is compared. The experimental group had listening‐speaking activities and, from the second day of instruction, reading activities as part of their daily classwork. The control group, covering the same content, used listening and speaking activities.Individual children in the experimental group were matched with individual children in the control group for sex, age, and reading achievement level. There were 78 pupils in each group, making a total of 156 pupils in the study. The null hypothesis of no difference between the two groups was tested at the.05 level of confidence, using a “t” test. The results showed that the experimental group outperformed the control group in auditory comprehension, and that the girls surpassed the boys in each group. A rethinking of FLES methodology is indicated, particularly with respect to gearing the program to meet the needs of individual “learning styles.”
The Language Teacher Tours the Curriculum: New Horizons for Foreign Language Education
Authors: Ort Barbara A. , Smith Dwight R. 
Published: January 2009

Is the foreign language department an “island entire of itself?” Has the typical foreign language program, with its unfamiliar sounds and machines, become surrounded by a mystique, governed by its own unique laws and isolated from the mainstream of the school curriculum? A close look at many programs suggests that the response must be yes, but in this era of team teaching one wonders whether foreign language instruction should be divorced from the rest of the instructional program.If language is important; if the process of thinking and reacting in alternate linguistic modes provides individuals with greater potential for intellectual and emotional maturation; if language is an intensely social phenomenon—indeed, culture's basic centrex—then it follows that language instruction should be closely related to all facets of school life.This article explores some of the avenues open to foreign language teachers interested in leaving their secure and comfortable one‐way streets in closed foreign language programs; it presents descriptions of more than a dozen attempts to go beyond the matrix within which foreign language programs have been traditionally structured. The descriptions vary in length, style, and emphasis, but each brings some particular information, insight, or added dimension to this tour of the curriculum.In reading these descriptions, a number of critical themes emerge repeatedly: student viewpoint, planning, interdepartmental cooperation, materials selection and development, funding, research, intensive instruction, and moving from experimentation to regular curricular offering. Other factors such as student load, scheduling, use of community resources, teacher initiative and involvement in planning, evaluation, choice of content, and innovative teacher strategies are keys to understanding particular descriptions.The first two descriptions are particularly interesting because of Student Viewpoint; the first is written by a high schood student while the second reflects choice of content because of practical questions facing high school students.
The ACTFL Survey of Successful Programs
Authors: Hammond Sandra B. , Sims William D. 
Published: January 2009

ABSTRACT ACTFL is currently studying successful language programs in schools throughout the nation. This project, supported by the Department of Education, involves the identification, description, and analysis of fifty exemplary programs in American secondary schools. Selection criteria include size of student enrollment, rate of completion of course sequences, and degree of proficiency achieved by the students. In choosing programs we shall focus primarily on those whose successful features can be adopted in part or in toto by other schools.Profiles of these exemplary programs will be published later this year in a sourcebook provisionally titled Prescriptions for Success. We offer as a preview of the sourcebook the following brief description of the language program in the Edison (New Jersey) Public Schools.
Dewey's Theory of Language With Some Implications for Foreign Language Teaching
Authors: Herron Carol A. 
Published: January 2009

ABSTRACT John Dewey is an American philosopher who dedicated much thought to how school subjects should be related and taught. He developed a theory of language and meaning that has been analyzed in various philosophical journals and essays. It is the intent of this paper to extend Dewey's ideas on language into the domain of foreign language teaching. The discussion will focus on (1) the origins of language; (2) the relation between language and communication; and (3) the value of studying a foreign language.While Dewey did not always intend for foreign language teachers to be the beneficiaries of his general philosophy of language, he did make observations and distinctions from which worth‐while pedagogical inferences can be drawn. Of special significance are the teaching practices that emanated from his theories as they were implemented by foreign language teachers in his University of Chicago Laboratory School. These strategies suggest certain positive directions for foreign language teaching in American schools. In particular, they respond to the imperative for our profession to convert strong arguments for foreign language study into successful programs that merit public support. Not only did the Dewey School anticipate the possibility of attributing communicative and cultural benefits to foreign language study, it organized the curriculum around this objective.
Toward Community‐Wide Interest in Other Peoples
Authors: Nostrand Howard Lee 
Published: January 2009

ABSTRACT A nine‐month experiment, “Bonjour Seattle,” suggests the possibility of building community support for the motivation to learn about other peoples. The Community Advisory Board of a multidisciplinary university group started small, and after two years organized a city‐wide program of some 50 cultural and commercial events. Financial contributions and volunteer time totaled more than $135,000. Suggestive for others is the program's experience of different types of events, management with 130 volunteer workers, fund‐raising, and trade promotion.The program led to a second‐year phase, concentrating on trade development, French conversation and discussion groups, and as centerpiece, the twinning with a French sister city. This relationship interests the community and the media, and it solves the problem of arousing a reciprocal interest among the French. It gives a role to city and state government, and affords the opportunity for a membership organization.Understaffed and undercapitalized as it was, the program built bridges between education, business, and government as well as between an ethnic group and a community, and between the Pacific Northwest and France.
Why or Why Not Foreign Languages
Authors: Clark Margaret L. , Rudolph Marjorie H. 
Published: January 2009

ABSTRACT This article describes the first of three public fora which were designed to give the general public the opportunity to air opinions, both pro and con, on the value of foreign languages in public school curricula. Held in Fayetteville, Arkansas, the fora were videotaped by the Arkansas Educational Television Network and shown statewide.Expressions from newspaper readers and television viewers, as well as from forum participants, suggested that there is a general belief in the value of foreign language study in public schools and a desire to extend such study, with the recognition that many problems will have to be overcome in order to do so.
The Standard Sequence and the Non‐Traditional Methodologies
Authors: Lafayette Robert C. , Strasheim Lorraine A. 
Published: January 2009

ABSTRACT Several non‐traditional methodologies have existed on the fringes of the profession for almost two decades. Of late, however, these approaches are receiving a great deal of attention, motivated, in large part, by the impetus toward proficiency testing and the research findings in second language acquisition.While the professional literature is featuring more and more descriptive articles on the non‐traditional methodologies, either individually or collectively, what is needed is an assessment of how these methodologies address four major concerns in the profession today: 1) the provision of as stress‐free a learning environment as possible; 2) the emerging role of silence in foreign language learning and teaching; 3) the role of grammar; and 4) the development of students' speaking skills. In the process of analyzing some of the salient features of the non‐traditional methodologies and postulating how teachers can utilize their handling of the four concerns identified, what emerges is some perspective as to what the impact of the non‐traditional methodologies upon the standard sequence can and should be.
Tours of the Community as Part of the Conversation Class
Authors: Petronio Vivetta G. 
Published: January 2009

ABSTRACT The Interactive Tour Schema (ITS) is based upon the theory that the artificiality inherent in most conversation class situations is imposed by the classroom setting rather than by any particular method. Accordingly, classes using the ITS approach are freed from the classroom once or twice a week for excursions into the community, where student guides simulate at a historical or cultural site the relationship naturally existing between a guide and the tourists who make use of his or her services.The student guide's talk provides a natural basis for interaction: questioning and discussion involving the entire class, thus improving language skills and fluency. The content of the on‐site talk also provides an unstrained means of comparing and contrasting American culture with that of other countries. Using the foreign language in this dynamic setting lends credibility to the concept of language as a tool for living.
Getting Them All into the Act: Using Audience Participation to Increase the Effectiveness of Role‐Play Activities
Authors: Horwitz Elaine K. 
Published: January 2009

ABSTRACT Foreign language teachers often use role‐play and simulation activities to encourage spontaneous language use in the classroom. Although these activities are a useful tool in developing student communicative competence, they have several inherent problems which can limit their effectiveness. Typically, three or four students act out a scene while the rest of the class watches. The majority of the class, therefore, has no active role in the activity.This paper describes several organizational strategies designed to increase the level of audience participation in role‐play and simulation activities. By giving non‐performing students a specific task during a role play, they become more involved in the experience, and the time devoted to these activities becomes more productive and more enjoyable for all students.
Assessing Ethnic Beliefs Beforehand
Authors: Murphy John H. 
Published: January 2009

ABSTRACT To achieve the behavioral objective of developing positive attitudes toward an ethnic group, the instructor must first ascertain what entry beliefs his students have. This study sought to create an easy method for establishing the rank order of beliefs about Germans. Forty‐nine high school subjects, using selfreport, generated a final scale of twenty‐three statements.Two themes dominated the scale: forgiveness of the past German generation and tolerance for the present one. Some old stereotypes disappeared. Follow‐up analysis of individual beliefs revealed inaccurate cultural and historical in formation and prejudice among subjects. Implications for instruction are that German teachers need to address the strong interest in the history of the Nazi period and to update political misconceptions about Germany.
The Foreign Language Classroom: A Forum for Understanding Cultural Stereotypes
Authors: Heusinkveld Paula R. 
Published: January 2009

ABSTRACT All foreign language educators agree on the importance of including the study of culture in a foreign language course. However, the methodology for teaching culture lags far behind recent innovations in foreign language teaching itself. Too many culture courses emphasize only the rote memorization of cultural “facts” and fail to help students acquire the sensitivity to understand deeper cultural values.This article proposes a series of practical classroom activities designed to increase cross‐cultural sensitivity. The first exercises help sharpen students' awareness of their own (U.S.) cultural background. Subsequent activities focus on differences between U.S. culture and the target culture. Foreign photographs and advertisements are used to teach students to observe and interpret cultural differences. Students interview foreigners to gain a new perspective on U. S. culture. Use of any or all of these activities in the classroom should heighten cultural sensitivity, discourage stereotyping, and develop cross‐cultural adaptation skills.
Languages for Travel Industry Managers: Focus on Japanese
Authors: Hijirida Kyoko , Iwamura Susan Grohs 
Published: January 2009

ABSTRACT: The choice of a major in travel industry management frequently is based on an interest in people from different countries. Paradoxically, however, courses on the languages and cultures of potential travelers are seldom included in degree programs in management. This paper describes courses that were developed to correct this omission at the School of Travel Industry Management. Four target languages were chosen: French, Spanish, Japanese, and Mandarin.The development of the language program is discussed, with the courses in Japanese receiving special attention. The significance of the cultural component of the courses is explored. Among the questions which had to be answered were those addressing the characteristics of both the home culture (France, China, Japan, Spain, Latin America) and the natives of these countries when they travel abroad. Since our students are training to be managers, they need to know how to talk with management personnel as well as tourists.This paper explains the type of background information that was collected prior to developing materials for the first‐ and second‐year Japanese courses. It shows how this information suggests which language structures and vocabulary items will be taught and how the teaching materials should be designed. The professors who designed the courses were concerned with developing an awareness of the crucial role of language and culture in the potential for success of any business venture.
The Business Alcove: Library Resources for Students of Commercial French
Authors: Fairchild Sharon L. 
Published: January 2009

ABSTRACT: Foreign language teachers have developed commercial foreign language courses partly in response to recent reports and studies that have deplored the lack of foreign language competence among Americans, especially those involved in international commerce. Large corporations consider foreign language and international studies skills as a tool to be used with functional business knowledge. Commercial language courses should foster the linkage by including practical exercises that improve students' business knowledge. The two research assignments described here were designed to develop some business skills in a junior‐level commercial French course.The assignments require students to use reference works available in the business section of the library. As a result of their work, students become familiar with business concepts such as corporate organization, economic sectors, and financial worth. They also gain competence in reading and interpreting business publications. The use of directories of multinational corporations reinforces the vocabulary and concepts learned in class. The article includes an annotated bibliography of references containing information on multinational corporations that are used by business students as well as businessmen and ‐women.
Recent Trends in Support by Private Foundations for Foreign Language Education
Authors: Dandonoli Patricia 
Published: January 2009

ABSTRACT: The National Endowment for the Humanities provided support to ACTFL to conduct an analysis of the type of support provided by private foundations for foreign language education. Under the special NEH program that funded this project, no new data were to be collected; rather, the study was to be based on analyses of existing data resources. Using the Foundation Center's Grants Index as the primary source of data, ACTFL developed several categories for analyzing and reporting results.The study revealed a total of 340 grants made in support of foreign language education during the 1973–1984 period, with support totaling $14,983,347. Eighty‐three supporting foundations and 178 recipient organizations were identified. The summary report that follows presents the highlights of the study.
English for Academic Listening: Teaching the Skills Associated with Listening to Extended Discourse
Authors: Anderson‐Mejias Pamela L. 
Published: January 2009

ABSTRACT  Many ESL and bilingual students at our universities face problems in the transition from “special” programs, in which they listen and interact in settings with trained language specialists, to university courses, in which they are taught by professionals in other areas.Research in discourse analysis has acquainted us with the need to view language as it is actually used before developing materials to teach its usage. This article presents a brief review of literature available to most ESL professionals regarding the skills associated with listening, and provides an overview of one successful approach.
The Relationship Between Anxiety and Foreign Language Oral Proficiency Ratings
Authors: Young Dolly J. 
Published: January 2009

ABSTRACT The American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages (ACTFL) has developed an oral proficiency test, the Oral Proficiency Interview (OPI), which may become the official test of oral performance for prospective foreign language teachers in Texas. Professionals in foreign language education are raising concerns about the effect of anxiety on Oral Proficiency Interview ratings. The purpose of this study was to provide an assessment of how anxiety may influence scores on the OPI.An examination of the relationship between anxiety and oral performance must take foreign language ability into account. In this study, subjects' foreign language proficiency was assessed through a Self‐Appraisal of Language Proficiency questionnaire and a dictation test. Subjects' anxiety was assessed on the basis of four independent anxiety measures: the State Anxiety Inventory, the Cognitive Interference Questionnaire, a Self‐Report of Anxiety, and a Foreign Language Anxiety Scale of Reactions.A total of sixty subjects took the OPI at the University of Texas at Austin, Southwest Texas State University, or the University of Texas at El Paso. These subjects were either majors in French, German, or Spanish or prospective French, German, or Spanish teachers at one of these three institutions. The Self‐Appraisal of Speaking Proficiency and the State Anxiety Inventory were administered before the OPI, and the other anxiety instruments were given immediately after it.Results showed significant negative correlations between anxiety and the OPI, but once the effects of ability were accounted for, the correlations were no longer significant. In other words, once the effect of an individual's language proficiency was accounted for, oral performance no longer decreased as anxiety increased.An important qualification that must be noted is that subjects were aware that the OPI in this study represented an unofficial administration of the test. Therefore, this study does not provide data on anxiety levels for official test situations.
Authentic Language and Authentic Conversational Texts
Authors: Rings Lana 
Published: January 2009

ABSTRACT  Although there is a trend to advocate the use of authentic texts in the foreign language classroom, a consensus regarding the criteria determining textual authenticity has not been reached. Instead, researchers often provide varying, sometimes conflicting definitions as to what comprise authentic materials.This paper draws on research in discourse analysis in an attempt to determine text authenticity through text type authenticity and provide implications for classroom materials. A text may be considered a spoken or written verbal unit, and a text type may be described as a specific type of spoken or written unit. Thus, for example, the text type “textbook conversation,” written by textbook authors for the purpose of teaching specific structures, can probably not be defined as the text type “authentic conversation,” in which native speakers engage in speaking for purposes other than to teach their language. In addition a ranking of types of conversational texts, from most to least authentic, provides a scale by which to judge the value of materials used in the classroom.