Self-reformulation is when a speaker produces a "second saying" of something, changing the wording but keeping the semantic content more or less unaltered. This conversational practice may constitute ...a method for avoiding potential understanding problems in talk addressed to second language users. Speakers preempt problems by substituting a potentially problematic word or construction with a version that is more recipient designed-that is, better adapted to the assumed linguistic competence and background knowledge of the interlocutor. The reformulations are self-initiated but may be triggered by a lack of response by the interlocutor. They may substitute for the original formulation by an alternative referring expression or by an explanation of word meaning. While most reformulations display an orientation to simplifying the wording, some instances involve reformulation from an everyday term to a technical one, displaying an orientation to language teaching. Data are in Norwegian.
This commentary is a response to Nelson Flores and Jonathan Rosa's article "Undoing Competence: Coloniality, Homogeneity, and the Overrepresentation of Whiteness in Applied Linguistics" (same journal ...issue).
This article contributes to a dialogue between childhood studies and the sociolinguistic subfield ‘Family Language Policy’ (‘FLP’). The article argues that the two fields provide complementary ...vantage points for exploring child agency. It explains a revised version of a model I developed to conceptualise child agency in FLP, consisting of four intersecting dimensions: compliance regimes; linguistic norms; linguistic competence and generational positioning (Smith‐Christmas, Handbook of home language maintenance and development. De Gruyter Mouton, pp. 218–235, 2020a). The article examines two conversational excerpts as a means to illustrating the dynamic and relational nature of child agency and how it is both shaped by as well as shapes interactional practices over time and space.
To describe the demographic and health-related characteristics of school-aged children with low competency in fundamental movement skills (FMS).
Cross-sectional representative school-based survey of ...Australian elementary and high school students (n = 6917) conducted in 2010. Trained field staff measured students' height, weight, and assessed FMS and cardiorespiratory endurance (fitness). Information on students' demographics and physical activity was collected by questionnaire.
Overall, the prevalence of students with low motor skill competency was high. Girls with low socioeconomic status (SES) were twice as likely to be less competent in locomotor skills compared with high SES peers. Among boys, there was a strong association between low competency in FMS and the likelihood of being from non-English-speaking cultural backgrounds. There was a clear and consistent association between low competency in FMS and inadequate cardiorespiratory fitness. For boys, there was a clear association between low competency in object-control skills and not meeting physical activity recommendations. Conversely, the odds of being inactive were double among girls who had low competency in locomotor skills.
Low competency in FMS is strongly associated with lower cardiorespiratory fitness and physical activity levels in children and adolescents. The characteristics of students with competency in FMS differ by gender and skills types and show that interventions need to target girls from low SES backgrounds and boys from non-English-speaking cultural backgrounds. The high prevalence of low competency in FMS among Grade 4 students indicates that FMS interventions need to start during the preschool and early school years.
A growing body of work suggests that speaker‐race influences how infants and toddlers interpret the meanings of words. In two experiments, we explored the role of speaker‐race on whether newly ...learned word‐object pairs are generalized to new speakers. Seventy‐two 20‐month‐olds were taught two word‐object pairs from a familiar race speaker, and two different word‐object pairs from an unfamiliar race speaker (four new pairs total). Using an intermodal preferential looking procedure, their interpretation of these new word‐object pairs was tested using an unpictured novel speaker. We found that toddlers did not generalize word meanings taught by an unfamiliar race speaker to a new speaker (Experiment 1), unless given evidence that the unfamiliar race speaker was a member of the child's linguistic community through affiliative behaviour and linguistic competence (Experiment 2). In both experiments, generalization was observed for the word‐object pairs taught by the familiar race speaker. These experiments indicate that children attend to speakers’ non‐linguistic properties, and this, in turn, can influence the perceived relevance of speakers’ labels.
We measured whether toddler's selectively generalize newly learned word labels on the basis of cues to linguistic community membership. In Experiment 1, toddlers generalized word‐object pairs taught by a familiar race speaker to a novel voice at test, but not word‐object pairs taught by an unfamiliar race speaker. In Experiment 2, toddlers first saw a pre‐familiarization in which both speakers were shown to be competent speakers of English and were shown to affiliate. In this case, toddlers generalized wordobject pairs taught by both speakers to a novel voice at test.
New-born infants communicate from the first minute they come to life. This non-linguistic and non-verbal capacity to interact from the first day they come to life enables them to express their needs ...and evidence their typical development. This capacity to interact develops to include linguistic and non-linguistic use of verbal and non-verbal interaction, that is, pragmatics. Because pragmatics is heterogeneously structured of semiotic, cognitive, motor and sensory elements so it is vital to ensure successful human interaction. The other language elements (i.e., phonological, morphological, syntactic and semantic) are essential inputs for this human interaction outcome (i.e., pragmatics). Accordingly, this study sought to map evidence that pragmatics can enhance children’s use of linguistic and non-linguistic capacities for interactive communication. This was addressed by conducting bibliometric and scientometric analyses of 6554 documents from Scopus, 1167 from WOS and 11,230 from Lens between 1939 and 2022. We analysed the past, present and future developments of the field of pragmatics using bibliometric and scientometric indicators. The scientometric analysis was conducted using CiteSpace 5.8.R3 and VOSviewer 1.6.18 software, which enabled the tabulation, visualisation and measurement of the impact of central influencers in the field of pragmatics. In the light of our results, pragmatics continues to expand in order to understand human interaction in a deeper way and to enhance children’s typical interactions with the environment around them. The group should also include adults or elderly people whose pragmatic language skills have been impaired due to any acquired or developmental disorder, such as a brain injury.
Content and Language Integrated Learning (CLIL) represents an increasingly popular pedagogic approach that has evolved in response to the recognised need for plurilingual competence in Europe. In ...this article, we present key findings from one of the first large-scale, multidimensional CLIL evaluation projects. We begin by outlining the emergence of European CLIL and by comparing it with other, non-European bilingual education initiatives and then we narrow the scope to Southern Spain, where the research was conducted. We outline the Andalusian Bilingual Sections programme, one of the cornerstones of the government's Plurilingualism Promotion Plan (2005), within which the research was conducted. In presenting results, we focus on specific areas that we believe make significant contributions to some of the key concerns in contemporary CLIL research including the linguistic competence of CLIL learners, the question of starting age, the distribution and functionalities of L2 use in CLIL classrooms, and the ways in which CLIL appears to be impacting on the educational system in general.
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