Study Abroad and Students’ (Lack of) Social Integration

Linking neurogenetics and individual differences in language learning: The dopamine hypothesis

This research paper aims to analyse the role of cognitive processes in language learning from a psycholinguistic perspective. The paper reviews the individual differences in language learning due to cognitive attitude and its role in the cognitive process of individual learning from a psycholinguistic perspective. Quantitative design was selected to review the role of the cognitive process in learning. The analysis approach selected is statistical review which was selected to review the cause-and-effect relationship from the perspective of psycholinguistic learning. 74 students from languages and translation department at Haql College were participated in this paper.The findings of the paper addressed the role of cognitive learning processing to raise the quality of language learning abilities, the cognitive process's role in improving the psycholinguistic learning perspective such as memory, problem-solving solving and attention are related factors that are affecting the cognitive process of psychological learning. The teaching-learning providers will address the implementation of critical factors addressing the cognitive development of the students while language learning strategies. Keywords: Cognitive processes, Language learning, psychological perspective,Cognitive development, Language acquisition, Learning strategies.

This empirical study examines the relationship between individual psychological differences and English language learning outcomes among university students. A sample of 80 students (mean age = 19.8 years, SD = 1.2) from a large urban university participated in this research. The study utilized standardized instruments including the Eysenck Personality Questionnaire (EPQ) to assess temperament, the Riding Cognitive Style Analysis to measure cognitive styles (verbal-imagery and wholist-analytic dimensions), and Cambridge English Placement Test to evaluate language proficiency. Results indicate significant correlations between extraversion and speaking performance (r = 0.42, p < 0.01), between imagery cognitive style and vocabulary acquisition (r = 0.38, p < 0.01), and between analytic style and grammar comprehension (r = 0.44, p < 0.01). Multiple regression analysis revealed that cognitive style dimensions predicted 31% of variance in overall English proficiency (R² = 0.31, p < 0.001). Based on these findings, we propose a framework for personalized language instruction that considers learner temperament and cognitive preferences. The study demonstrates that individual differences significantly impact language learning processes and outcomes, suggesting the need for differentiated pedagogical approaches in EFL contexts.

Individual differences are attached considerable importance in almost all components of the linguistic system, including the acquisition and processing of properties of speech, complex grammatical structures, and discourse (Kidd, Donnelly & Christiansen, 2018). For this reason, research on individual differences has excellent potential to contribute significantly to the debates in the language sciences. Considering each individual as a unique language learner, exploring individual differences can provide language teachers with lots of opportunities concerning material adaptation, adopting appropriate strategies, adjusting their teaching style, and giving feedback in the language learning and teaching process. More specifically, there is a complex relationship among learner variables such as first language literacy, self-efficacy, gender, attainment, and so on (Courtney, Graham, Tonkyn & Marinis, 2017). Individual Differences in Language Learning: A Complex Systems Theory Perspective attempts to decipher this complex system adopting an evidence-based perspective in each significant individual difference presented in different sections. One of the strengths of the book is that each section has been designed in a reader-friendly manner with eye-opener prompt questions at the very beginning and at the end, follow-up tasks, and a list for further reading which serves as a guide for researchers.

Individual Differences in Language Learning: A Complex Systems Theory Perspective. Carol Griffiths and Adem Soruç2020Palgrave MacmillanSwitzerland978-3-030-52899-7220(paperback), ISBN 978-3-030-52900-0 (eBook)

Chapter 2. Attention, awareness, and individual differences in language learning

The present paper draws on cognitive lexicography, a relatively new amalgamation of lexicography and cognitive linguistics, to approach the curation of manner of motion verb entries in online bilingual Turkish-English dictionaries. Following Dalpanagioti’s methodology and analysis (651), the study adopts the following steps in creating an online dictionary entry, as used by Dalpanagioti (651): (a) compile a pre-lexicographic database (Atkins and Rundell 100-101), (b) employ Corpus Pattern Analysis (Hanks 404), and (c) utilize Frame Semantics (Fillmore 373-400), the Conceptual Metaphor and Metonymy Theory (Lakoff and Johnson 12) and the Principled Polysemy approach (Evans and Green 342-352) to interpret the data for glide, a manner of motion verb. To this end, this paper is an attempt to improve bilingual dictionary entries for manner of motion verbs using cognitive lexicography and suggesting the use of GIFs to accommodate individual differences in language learning, to contribute to the Turkish lexicography literature by addressing the research gap, and lastly to contribute to the field of cognitive lexicography.

The goal of language learning programs is to utilize language for effective communication. Due to the needs, interests, and motivations of language learners, they may show individual differences in language learning. Vocational students need English for Specific Purposes related to their fields. While based on the 2013 Indonesian English Curriculum, both senior high school and vocational learners receive the same English learning materials. Meanwhile, the English learning materials for vocational learners are supposed to be more specific in bordering certain areas. This study aimed at developing English learning materials for the caregiver program at Vocational School (SMK) Darmawan Bogor. The data was gained qualitatively by analyzing students’ needs by applying questionnaires and interviews. Learning material is then developed based on the results of the needs analysis. Furthermore, the teachers of the caregiver program reviewed the materials and they were interviewed to find out their responses. The result showed that the materials has met the learners’ needs, demands, and interests. Therefore, it can be concluded that the developed English material has met its target needs.

ABSTRACTStudying abroad may seem like an unparalleled opportunity to learn a foreign language. Massive exposure to the language, chances for interaction with native speakers, and cultural immersion appear to create excellent conditions for language learning. Yet, most available research indicates that study abroad (SA) participants rarely achieve linguistic success. By way of contrast, the aim of the study reported below is to investigate an example of accomplishment in language learning abroad. The participant of the study is a Polish third-year student of English studies who took part in a semester-long SA programme (Erasmus+) in Turkey. The instrument used in the study is her personal narrative, specifically her language learning history which was analysed with the use of a grounded theory approach. The results of the study provide insights into which and how motivations, personality traits, and SA contexts interact resulting in successful L3 learning.

In today’s globalized world, learning languages and developing intercultural skills are of paramount importance due to dynamic and complex global interdependencies. However, not every language student around the world has a chance to engage in face-to-face intercultural communication with people from different backgrounds. Telecollaboration offers a worthwhile opportunity by creating digital environments for language learners to communicate with people from diverse backgrounds. This qualitative meta-synthesis therefore aimed to investigate the research papers that were published between 2010 and 2015 in respect to language and intercultural learning within telecollaborative environments. Besides reporting emerging research trends among the studies, this synthesis study scrutinized recent emerging issues and observable patterns under five main themes: (1) the participants’ overall views on their telecollaborative experiences, (2) language learning through telecollaboration, (3) intercultural learning through telecollaboration, (4) the challenges experienced within the telecollaborative projects, and (5) the needs for further effective telecollaboration. Finally, this study synthesizes key emerging issues in telecollaborative projects and offers further research and practice directions in line with the current observable patterns.

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to discover which social networking sites international students prefer for information dissemination activities. As more libraries experiment with social networking to inform and connect with students, there is a need to determine the effectiveness of this strategy for reaching international students. The paper seeks to address three questions: what social networking sites do international students prefer and why? Which sites do they use to socialise and which do they use to gather and distribute information? How can libraries leverage this information to enhance the international student experience?Design/methodology/approachInformation on social networking preferences and usage was gathered from 13 per cent of students at Bond University via an online survey.FindingsThe findings confirm that for some international student populations, social networking preferences differentiated between the domestic students' preferences. In addition to social activities, international and domestic students are using particular social networking sites for a wide range of educational purposes, including group work and sharing and gathering information. Although Facebook is still the predominant choice for the majority of students, the findings suggest particular sites such as Twitter and YouTube should be considered by libraries as a means to engage both international and domestic students. Institutions with large Chinese student populations should consider the use of Renren.Originality/valueAs of yet there have been no studies that have investigated and compared international students' social networking preferences to domestic students. The study connects the findings to practical implications for academic library use of social networking sites.

Purpose: This exploratory study sought to investigate how the information literacy process and the writing process may simultaneously be experienced by international students working at both the graduate and undergraduate level. Any connections or intersections that were observed between the two processes were described with an eye towards informing the practice of academic librarians who work with non-native speakers of English. The investigation was framed by a language learning perspective. Methodology: This study used a mixed-method approach. Investigation of the international graduate students who were non-native speakers of English took place through the use of an online survey that consisted of open-ended questions. Investigation of the international undergraduate students who had more limited proficiency in English took place through quantitative means, whereby samples of their produced output on a writing assignment were collected by the researcher and assigned numeric scores indicating both their writing abilities and their information literacy abilities. Findings: Evidence of information literacy and the writing process taking place simultaneously was found for both graduate and undergraduate students who were non-native speakers of English. The graduate student group showed a strong connection between the two processes as they described intersections at critical junctures during the writing of their research essays. They engaged in library practices that can also be viewed as language learning experiences. Undergraduate students who were non-native speakers of English also engaged in both processes simultaneously but no strong correlation was found between the two sets of scores. Originality and Practical Implications: Library literature offers us some information on the information literacy needs of international students but it does not offer any in-depth study that examines how the processes of information literacy and writing may be connected for this particular group of users. In framing a closer look at how these processes appear through a language learning lens, academic librarians may learn how to work more effectively with these students.

The role of cultural dimensions of international and Dutch students on academic and social integration and academic performance in the Netherlands

Taking the visiting international students in Suicheng as the research object, this paper analyzes the impact of the International Students Festival on the local integration of the visiting international students, and at the same time introduces the embodied experience as a mediator variable, which is as follows: 1) Through empirical analysis, it is verified that the demographic attributes of the visiting international students have a partially significant impact on the three variables of the embodied experience, participation in the festival activities, and social integration. Among them, there is a significant difference in the influence of the number of visiting international students’ participation in international students’ cultural exchanges on the experience of embodiment, participation in festivals and activities, and social integration; and there is a significant difference in the influence of the time of visiting international students’ coming to China on the experience of embodiment. 2) Through theoretical and empirical analyses, it is verified that the participation of international students in festivals has a significant positive effect on local integration, which is realized through the social and emotional integration of the local community. The participation of international students in festivals has a significant positive effect on their own sexual experience; this effect is realized through the influence on the international students’ embodied experience and embodied situation. 3) The mediating effect of international students’ embodied sexual experience in the process of local integration is mediated by their participation in festivals. This mediating effect is realized through the following two ways: first, the festival activity participation of visiting international students has a significant positive effect on local social integration and emotional integration through embodied experience; second, the experience of visiting international students is that the activity participation has a significant positive effect on local social integration and emotional integration through embodied context.

Attainment inequalities exist for ethnic minority students graduating from higher education institutes (HEIs) in the UK. Previous research has investigated the outcomes and experiences of students from ethnic minority backgrounds on health and social care programmes. However, studies exploring ethnic minority speech and language therapy (SLT) students' experiences have only focused on international students and were conducted in Australia. No known studies exploring the experiences of both home-domiciled and international SLT students from ethnic minority backgrounds have been conducted in the UK. To explore the experiences of home-domiciled and international ethnic minority students on a SLT training programme and to identify ways to improve these experiences. All SLT students attending a pre-registration postgraduate course who identified as being from an ethnic minority background were invited to participate. Two focus groups, one for three international students and one for six home students, were conducted. Data were analysed using reflexive thematic analysis. Three themes were identified that illustrated students' current experiences and how experiences could be improved: (1) feeling an outsider, explores students' sense of belonging in SLT education; (2) finding ways to manage, describes the strategies used by students to cope with their experiences of marginalization, and how adopting these strategies impact on their well-being; and (3) promoting inclusion, explains how the training programme could be modified to improve the experience of ethnic minority students. A better understanding of the experiences of ethnic minority SLT students can help others to support them more effectively. The findings suggest that making changes to SLT training programmes could improve ethnic minority students' outcomes and experiences. These include: more training for staff and students, support groups for ethnic minority students, sharing lived experiences of students and experienced SLTs from ethnic minority backgrounds, and clearer ways of reporting racist incidents. International students would benefit from receiving more information on HEI support services and cultural practices in the UK. What is already known on this subject Previous studies have investigated the experiences of ethnic minority students on a range of HEI programmes, including those for students of physiotherapy and occupational therapy. The only studies investigating the experiences of ethnic minority SLT students are those exploring how international SLT students in Australia can be supported on professional placement. What this paper adds to the existing knowledge This study explores the experiences of home and international SLT students in the UK who identify as being from minority ethnic backgrounds. Findings suggest that these students feel like outsiders, affecting their sense of belonging. The need to find and implement strategies to manage their feelings of marginalization impacts on their well-being. What are the potential or actual clinical implications of this work? The findings suggest measures to promote the inclusion of ethnic minority SLT students to improve their experiences and support their well-being. These include more training for all staff and students and the creation of a 'lived experiences library' where students and experienced SLTs from ethnic minority backgrounds could share positive experiences as well as ways of dealing with challenges. Clearer ways of reporting racist incidents would be beneficial for all students. International students would benefit from receiving more information on HEI support services and cultural practices in the UK. It is important that ethnic minority SLT students are involved in developments that aim to improve their experiences.