This book presents key issues in the teaching of Chinese as a second or foreign language (TCSL or TCFL). It investigates how multimedia can help to assist TCSL/TCFL and explores practical effects of multimedia-assisted teaching at secondary schools in the Philippines. It addresses the psychology of TCSL/TCFL and discusses various recurring foreign graduate students concerns when learning academic Chinese in graduate institutes in Taiwan. It examines issues of educational assessment and testing, analyzing the validity of a self-made placement test for an immigrant Chinese program, as well as the psychological characteristics of adult learners and their implications for immigrant Chinese curriculum design. As foreign learners of Chinese grow exponentially, this cutting edge read conceptualizes the educational philosophy of TCSL/TCFL as a distinctive discipline.

The book provides strong evidence that research on the cognitive processes from arithmetic thought to algebraic thought should take into consideration the socio-cultural context. It is an important contribution to the literature on linguistic structure in comparative studies related to Chinese student mathematics learning.

This book not only makes a great contribution to research in mathematics education, the findings of this study also addressed insightful approaches and thoughts of understanding the development of algebraic thinking in cultural contexts for classroom teachers. Using written Chinese language from different theoretical references provided wonderful approaches for understanding student algebra cognitive development in a different way and calls educators for to pay special attention to an epistemological and linguistic view of algebraic development. The findings inform classroom teachers that the cultural context plays an important role in student learning mathematics. A typical analysis of the cognitive dimension involved in some in the historical and cultural contexts is a great resource for classroom teachers.

I really enjoyed reading this book and learned a lot from its compelling analysis.

Shuhua An, Associate Professor and Director of Graduate Program in Mathematics Education, California State University, Long Beach

The Languages and Linguistics of the New Guinea Area: A Comprehensive Guide is part of the multi-volume reference work on the languages and linguistics of all major regions of the world. The island of New Guinea and its offshore islands is arguably the most diverse and least documented linguistic hotspot in the world - home to over 1300 languages, almost one fifth of all living languages, in more than 40 separate families, along with numerous isolates. Traditionally one of the least understood linguistic regions, ongoing research allows for the first time a comprehensive guide. Given the vastness of the region and limited previous overviews, this volume focuses on an account of the families and major languages of each area within the region, including brief grammatical descriptions of many of the languages. The volume also includes a typological overview of Papuan languages, and a chapter on Austronesian-Papuan contact. It will make accessible current knowledge on this complex region, and will be the standard reference on the region. It is aimed at typologists, endangered language specialists, graduate and advanced undergraduate students, and all those interested in linguistic diversity and understanding this least known linguistic region.

If you have ever been bamboozled by the use of a foreign word or phrase, or simply want to spice up your vocabulary with some well-chosen bons mots, then this is the book for you. Thousands of foreign words and phrases have been absorbed into the language and are currently used in English, from the everyday (macho, tete-a-tete, spaghetti) to the relatively obscure (ultra vires, auto-da-fe). Faux Pas focuses on familiar terms and expressions as well as those that are new, curious or amusing. Each expression is 'translated', with an indication of its language of origin and pronunciation, a comment on its usefulness and a Pretentiousness Index.

Gender, Power and Political Speech explores the influence of gender on political speech by analyzing the performances of three female party leaders who took part in televised debates during the 2015 UK General Election campaign. The analysis considers similarities and differences between the women and their male colleagues, as well as between the women themselves; it also discusses the way gender - and its relationship to language - was taken up as an issue in media coverage of the campaign.

The book examines the status of the Anglophone Caribbean economy and the options it faces as traditional preferential trade arrangements begin to disappear. Two broad options are explored: one is the transformation of primary exports into higher value-added products and the other is a shift in the economic structure toward tourism and other services. The book constructs a model of a potential Caribbean economy, described as a "travel economy." The travel economy is based on two enduring features of Caribbean life--tourism and migration.--and it is meant to provide a benchmark against which to gauge the evolution of the structure of individual economies. The main contribution of this book is a concise and methodological treatment of the issues of transition and adjustment that the Caribbean faces in an increasingly liberalized international trading system.

This book offers a systematic analysis of a wide range of questions used in censuses, national surveys and international surveys to measure language proficiency. It addresses the urgent need in language related survey research for a comprehensive examination of the large existing body of survey data in order to provide a fuller understanding of the extent to which survey results are shaped by the way language proficiency questions are worded. While census and survey language proficiency data are extensively used in a wide range of research areas, as well as in forming, implementing and monitoring government policies, there are as yet no universally accepted survey measures of language proficiency. This book will therefore provide a valuable resource for students and scholars working in sociological areas that use census or survey language data, such as sociology of language, sociology of education, politics, racial and ethnic studies, and cultural studies; as well as for policy analysts.

When an old friend and colleague passes away, an LSU English professor named Jack Claire travels to Swansea, Wales, to attend the funeral and is bequeathed a cache of handwritten manuscripts, the plays of William Shakespeare, along with a rare, leather-bound copy of the "First Folio" --the first collection of Shakespeare's plays. A problem arises, however, when he recognizes that the handwriting is NOT William Shakespeare's. He returns to Baton Rouge with and attempts to authenticate the documents, inadvertently alerting a ruthless collector who covets these priceless literary artifacts. The collector hires a relentless mercenary to steal the Shakespeare papers. Benedict resorts to violence when his surreptitious searches fail.

In California, Joseph Lawrence Conrad, a handsome young college instructor, receives mysterious handwritten original plays of Shakespeare. Not an Elizabethan scholar, Joe Conrad seeks the help of a colleague named Jonathan "Smitty" Smythe, a literary Sherlock Holmes to Joe's Watson. At once, Smitty recognizes the potential of the manuscripts and enlists the aid of Silvia Williamson, a brilliant and beautiful African-American scholar from Berkeley. As these three amateur sleuths labor to authenticate the manuscripts and determine the true author of Shakespeare's plays, they learn someone is after the priceless papers --and he's leaving a trail of bodies in his wake. Eventually, everyone connected to the Shakespeare papers is in danger, including Joe's wife and children.

Plots intersect as the scholars discover evidence (based on thorough research) pointing to the most probable author(s) of Shakespeare's works, while the ruthless collector grows closer to the prize. Along the way, Joe and the others are assisted by police detective Ryan Dunn, who saved Joe and his family years earlier, FBI Agent Terry Lott, who helps uncover the identity of the mercenary, and Bill Morgan, an attorney who assists in protecting the Shakespeare papers and the family.

This fast-paced journey of discovery takes these appealing characters from Louisiana to California, to Washington, DC, Oxford, England, Swansea, Wales, and back to London where they discover a surprising link to today's Queen Elizabeth and the Royal Family, which ultimately leads Joe and Smitty to Stratford-upon-Avon, where they come face to face with a surprising and lethal truth.

A new comparative reference guide for English speaking learners of Alsatian German. This comparative multilingual dictionary is based on the main similarities between the two languages and will show how English speakers can take advantage of the resources of English and thus learn basic Alsatian through English. Owing to striking similarities between Alsatian and English, English speakers can put their knowledge of everyday English to good use when learning basic Alsatian.

This new edition of Jenner's classic Handbook of the Cornish Language appears more than a century after the book's first publication. Now that the Cornish Revival has weathered many storms, it is well worth making Jenner's ground-breaking work available again, copies of the 1904 edition having become rare and expensive.

This book gathers original studies presented at the PROMS 2016 conference on Rasch theories and Rasch-based applications. It provides significant examples used to address practical measurement problems across a range of disciplines, including: Classic Testing Theory (CTT), Item Response Theory (IRT), philosophy of measurement, dimensionality, the role of fit statistics and research, business and industrial applications, health-related research and the latest Rasch-based computer software. PROMS welcomes empirical and theoretical studies and workshops, preferably with an emphasis on the Rasch model. Special attention is paid to manuscripts submitted by non-native English-speaking authors from Pacific Rim countries, regions and beyond. PROMS 2016 (Pacific Rim Objective Measurement Symposium) was held July 30-August 3, 2016 in Xi'an, China. The goal of the conference was to bring together researchers, scholars and professors from research institutes, universities, hospitals, business and management sectors, as well as professional practitioners, to exchange and share ideas, problems and solutions regarding the multifaceted aspects of the Rasch model and on the much debated yet highly topical issues of objective assessment.

This comprehensive account of performance-based assessment of L2 lexical proficiency analyzes and compares two of the primary methods of evaluation used in the field and unpacks the ways in which they tap into different dimensions of one model of lexical competence and proficiency. This book builds on the latest research on performance-based assessment, which has most recently pointed to the application of more quantitative measures to L2 data, to systematically explore the qualitative method of using human raters in assessment exercises and the quantitative method of using automatic computation of statistical measures of lexis and phraseology. Supported by an up-to-date review of the existing literature, both approaches' unique features are highlighted but also compared to one another to provide a holistic overview of performance-based assessment as it stands today at both the theoretical and empirical level. These findings are exemplified in a concluding chapter, which summarizes results from an empirical study looking at a range of lexical and phraseological features and human raters' scores of over 150 essays written by both L2 learners of English and native speakers. Taken together, the volume challenges existing tendencies within the field which attempt to use one method to validate one another by demonstrating their capacity to indicate very different elements of lexical proficiency, thereby offering a means by which to better conceptualize performance-based assessment of L2 vocabulary in the future. This book will be of interest to students and researchers working in second language acquisition and applied linguistics research, particularly those interested in issues around assessment, vocabulary acquisition, and language proficiency.

In Perceptionicity, Erwin Aguayo reminds us that it is how organizations and their myriad stakeholders think that most matters to their success. From the opening example of the trucking company clerk who had to decide whether to help a driver stranded in the proverbial "middle of nowhere," we are buffeted with constant reminders that our perceptions and understandings of organizational vision, mission and purpose are central to organizational success. Perhaps a few major corporations have already received the memo, but most still attend to significant organizational problems with short term palliatives. The immediate response is often to graft what might even be good policy or process onto an inhospitable organizational culture. Perceptionicity is a cogent reminder that an organization's soul is the ultimate predictor of its success. How every stakeholder understands and embraces the company's vision is more important than the color of the stationery, or the make of the cars it leases, or the glass and steel structure in which it is housed, or the trendy titles an organization assigns to its executives, or whether every "t" is crossed or every "i" is dotted. But the author does more than identify the problem. He offers an effective methodology to allow organizations to move beyond palliative care to more comprehensive evidence-based solutions. The methodology is not for the meek hearted or weak kneed. It requires commitment and perseverance. But in the end it represents an alternative to the half-hearted, superficial solutions that too often result in "pretend" change. In other words, Perceptionicity is for every person who wants to give up pretense for substance. Antone Aboud, Ph.D. Management Consultant

This volume examines the role of English in academic and research settings in Europe and provides recommendations on the challenges posed by the dominance of English over national languages as languages of science and research dissemination; the need for language support for academics that need to disseminate their research in English; and the effect of past and present language policies.

This volume contributes to the research in two different research areas: lexical availability studies and vocabulary research in second or foreign languages. Lexical availability is defined as the words that immediately come to mind as a response to a stimulus provided by topics related to domains closely connected to daily life: for instance animals, food and drink, daily activities, politics, or poverty. Lexical availability is a dimension of learners' receptive and productive lexical competence, and, consequently, an important variable of learners' communicative competence. Written by leading researchers in Spanish and English applied linguistics, the studies presented in this volume offer the reader findings and insights from studies conducted in learners with different mother tongues, who learn English or Spanish as their second or third language. "This book made me aware of an approach to vocabulary acquisition which has a long tradition in European research, but has been somewhat neglected by English-speaking researchers. The methodology was pioneered in France where it developed into the Francais Fondamental project - an influential approach to the vocabulary needs of learners of French. It was also taken up by Spanish researchers, and more recently developed by the team at La Rioja University. Where English-language research has focused on the frequency of words in large corpora and the implications of this feature for L2 vocabulary acquisition, the lexical availability tradition takes a much more learner-centred approach to L2 vocabulary skills, directly reflecting learners' needs and learners' ability to do things with small, effective vocabularies. This leads to a set of research priorities that look refreshingly different from the ones we are used to. Read this book. It might change the way you think about vocabulary research." Paul Meara, Swansea University, Wales, UK

This book contributes to our growing understanding of the nature and development of language learner self-concept. It assesses the relevant literature in the disciplines of psychology and applied linguistics and describes in-depth, qualitative research examining the self-concepts of tertiary-level EFL learners. Although researchers in applied linguistics and SLA have recognized the importance of self-constructs, there remains little empirical work in the context of foreign language learning that focuses exclusively and at length on this central psychological construct. The content of this monograph draws on interdisciplinary sources, with input from psychology and applied linguistics. It will appeal to students and researchers interested in language-learner psychology as well as self-related constructs in general. The text provides insights into how learners view themselves, and how these self-beliefs can develop and affect the progress of an individual's language learning.

This book presents a thought-provoking challenge to mainstream theories of second language learning. Focusing on Chinese Hanzi, a self-sufficient meaning-making system that operates via visual shape and the logic built into its formation, it analyses 'post-lingual' pedagogy. The author examines this 'language beyond language' or linguistic theories, demonstrating that Hanzi is not made up simply of arbitrary signs but is the result of a complete conceptualisation process. In doing so, she creates a conceptual framework that builds on Hanzi's humanistic spirit of language learning. This intriguing book will interest students and scholars of language education, and offers practical advice for those involved in teaching and learning Chinese as a foreign language.

This book presents a sociolinguistics of academic publishing from an historical and contemporary perspective. Using Swedish academia as a case study, it focuses on publishing practices within history and psychology. The author demonstrates how new regimes of research evaluation and performance-based funding are impinging on university life. His central argument, following the French sociologist Bourdieu, is that the trend towards publishing in English should be understood as a social strategy, developed in response to such transformations. Thought-provoking and challenging, this book will interest students and scholars of sociolinguistics, language planning and language policy, research policy, sociology of science, history and psychology.

This familiar guide to information resources in the humanities and the arts, organized by subjects and emphasizing electronic resources, enables librarians, teachers, and students to quickly find the best resources for their diverse needs. Authoritative, trusted, and timely, Information Resources in the Humanities and the Arts: Sixth Edition introduces new librarians to the breadth of humanities collections, experienced librarians to the nature of humanities scholarship, and the scholars themselves to a wealth of information they might otherwise have missed. This new version of a classic resource-the first update in over a decade-has been refreshed to account for the myriad of digital resources that have rewritten the rules of the reference and research world, and been expanded to include significantly increased coverage of world literature and languages. This book is invaluable for a wide variety of users: librarians in academic, public, school, and special library settings; researchers in religion, philosophy, literature, and the performing and visual arts; graduate students in library and information science; and teachers and students in humanities, the arts, and interdisciplinary degree programs.

This book also focuses on analyzing each trait from the point of view of its higher and lower order structure, as well as from the affective, cognitive, behavioral, social and academic perspectives, apart from outlining the field of personality psychology. Personality traits are important in daily interaction, and are a significant factor in achieving educational goals also for second and foreign language (L2) learners. Consequently, studying the role of personality in the field of second language acquisition (SLA) appears to be of primary importance, especially because there has been little research on this subject. Moreover, general results pertaining to the role of personality in L2 are inconclusive. This book's primary objective is to present a concise and updated picture of personality on the basis of the Big Five model, which is accessible for non-psychologists. The middle part of the book focuses on discussing potential merits and drawbacks of each trait for the purpose of the process of SLA, both from the formal and informal, theoretical and empirical points of view. The next part includes a description of an empirical study, whose main aim is to sensitize the reader to direct and indirect influences that personality may exert on L2 learning. The book closes with a concluding chapter aiming at clarifying directions for further empirical study of personality as well as issues in research methodology.

Quoting is all around us. But do we really know what it means? How do people actually quote today, and how did our present systems come about? This book brings together a down-to-earth account of contemporary quoting with an examination of the comparative and historical background that lies behind it and the characteristic way that quoting links past and present, the far and the near. Drawing from anthropology, cultural history, folklore, cultural studies, sociolinguistics, literary studies and the ethnography of speaking, Ruth Finnegan's fascinating study sets our present conventions into cross cultural and historical perspective. She traces the curious history of quotation marks, examines the long tradition of quotation collections with their remarkable cycling across the centuries, and explores the uses of quotation in literary, visual and oral traditions. The book tracks the changing defi nitions and control of quoting over the millennia and in doing so throws new light on ideas such as 'imitation', 'allusion', 'authorship', 'originality' and 'plagiarism'.

A History of the Chinese Language provides a comprehensive introduction to the historical development of the Chinese language from its Proto-Sino-Tibetan roots in prehistoric times to Modern Standard Chinese. Taking a highly accessible and balanced approach, it presents a chronological survey of the various stages of the Chinese language, covering key aspects such as phonology, syntax, and semantics. The second edition presents a revised and updated version that reflects recent scholarship in Chinese historical linguistics and new developments in related disciplines. Features include: Coverage of the major historical stages in Chinese language development, such as Old Chinese, Middle Chinese, Early Modern Chinese, and Modern Standard Chinese. Treatment of core linguistic aspects of the Chinese language, including phonological changes, grammatical development, lexical evolution, vernacular writing, the Chinese writing system, and Chinese dialects. Inclusion of authentic Chinese texts throughout the book, presented within a rigorous framework of linguistic analysis to help students to build up critical and evaluative skills and acquire valuable cultural knowledge. Integration of materials from different disciplines, such as archaeology, genetics, history, and sociolinguistics, to highlight the cultural and social background of each period of the language. Written by a highly experienced instructor, A History of the Chinese Language will be an essential resource for students of Chinese language and linguistics and for anyone interested in the history and culture of China.