Migrants here to provide maximun benefit

Today, 27/1/2019, Sajid Javid UK Home Secretary laid out that the Govt sees immigrants as an asset to generate a “maximum benefit”.

May´s thing with immigrants and freedom of movement

A couple of years ago I published research that examined how migrants were constructed both in the UK immigration legislation and in the information delivered through the UK Border Agency website. We wrote this in 2015 well before the Brexit Referendum. I read this again today and have realised how naive we were. The following is part of our conclusions:

What our results seem to suggest is that for the UK Administration, the issue of immigrant integration is not part of how immigrants are constructed in the legislation and the information that the UK immigration agencies and authorities publish and distribute. This failure to mention integration issues in the legislation is not found in other legal systems such as in Italy, where Hernández González (2016) discovered a tension between inclusion/integration and exclusion/control in the same 2007–2011 period. The language-driven evidence provided in this study corroborates that the use of the lemma ‘migrant’ in the two corpora analysed calls for a partial construction of immigrants mainly as workers who need to be tightly controlled and classified into Tiers to prevent unlawful behaviour. In doing so, migrants, an alternative word for immigrants in our research context, acquires an extremely subtle negative prosody.

Pérez-Paredes, P., Aguado. P. & Sánchez, P. (2017).  Constructing immigrants in UK legislation and Administration informative texts: a corpus-driven study (2007-2011). Discourse & Society,28,1,81-103.

AAAL 2019: March 9-12, 2019, Atlanta, Georgia

March 9-12, 2019, Atlanta, Georgia

Schedule now available www

Plenary Speakers

Nick Ellis, University of Michigan
“Usage-based Language Acquisition: Implicit and Explicit Learning and Their Interface”

Lenore Grenoble, The University of Chicago
“Language Vitality and Sustainability”

Emma Marsden, University of York
“Open Science and Applied Linguistics: Opportunities and Challenges”

Patsy M Lightbown, Concordia University and Nina Spada, University of Toronto
“In It Together: Teachers, Researchers, and Classroom Second Language Acquisition”

Iñaki Zabaleta, University of the Basque Country (UPV-EHU)
“Minority Language Media: Framing Their Reality, Development and Roles”

Invited Colloquia

“Let’s Automate: Natural Language Processing Tools and Their Applications”
Organizer: Scott Crossley, Georgia State University

“Expanding the Applied Linguistics Lens on Multiliteracies: Sociomaterial Assemblages”
Organizer: Diane Dagenais, Simon Fraser University [Wilga Rivers Language Pedagogy Colloquium]

“Assessing Lingua Franca Competence”
Organizer: Luke Harding, Lancaster University [Joint AAAL/ILTA Colloquium]

“Fandom and Language and Literacy Development”
Organizer: Shannon Sauro, Malmö University

“What Do the Data Show? Multiple Theoretical Perspectives on Learning in a Single Classroom”
Organizer: Paul Toth, Temple University

Strands
Proposals are welcome in the following topic strands:

Analysis of Discourse and Interaction (DIS)
Assessment and Evaluation (ASE)
Bilingual, Immersion, Heritage, and Minority Education (BIH)
Corpus Linguistics (COR)
Educational Linguistics (EDU)
Language Cognition and Brain Research (COG)
Language and Ideology (LID)
Language and Technology (TEC)
Language Maintenance and Revitalization (LMR)
Language Planning and Policy (LPP)
Language, Culture, Socialization and Pragmatics (LCS)
Phonology/Phonetics and Oral Communication (POC)
Reading, Writing, and Literacy (RWL)
Research Methodology (REM)
Second and Foreign Language Pedagogy (PED)
Second Language Acquisition, Language Acquisition, and Attrition (SLA)
Sociolinguistics (SOC)
Teacher Education, Beliefs, and Identities (TED)
Text Analysis (Written Discourse) (TXT)
Translation and Interpretation (TRI)
Vocabulary and Lexical Studies (VOC)

Proposals
Proposals are invited for individual papers, colloquia, posters, and roundtable discussions. The deadline for proposal submission is 4:00 p.m. on August 20, 2018 (EDT; UTC-4). If you need to renew your membership or create a guest account, you should do so at least 3 hours before the submissions deadline, to allow for changes to take place in the system. Requests relating to membership or guest accounts later than this may mean that you are unable to submit your abstract by the deadline.

INDIVIDUAL PAPERS: Papers are formal presentations on a contribution of original knowledge by one or more authors within a thirty-minute period, including 20 minutes for presentation and 10 minutes for discussion. Paper presentations will be organized into sessions of 2-3 papers grouped by strand or theme.
There will not be designated session chairs. When their presentation time comes, presenters must announce their session title, introduce themselves briefly, and start their presentation. All presenters must present their work during their scheduled time. No time changes will be allowed even if the previous presenter is absent or has finished early. Each presenter must make sure that they respect their allocated time in order to allow for the other presenters in the session to set up their equipment and start on time.

POSTERS: Poster presentations are intended for face-to-face discussions of research. Posters are especially effective for information that can be presented visually (e.g. charts, graphs, tables, diagrams). Prospective presenters are encouraged to consider posters, because of the opportunity they provide for extended discussion with other researchers. There will be several poster sessions scheduled, each approximately 1.5 hours in length. Presenters are required to be present at their posters during the coffee breaks scheduled within the session to which they have been allocated. For the rest of the period, presenters may choose to stay at their poster board at their discretion. The bulletin boards for mounting the posters are normally four feet by eight feet in size. One poster presenter will use the front and another presenter will use the back.

ROUNDTABLE DISCUSSIONS: Roundtable discussions present an opportunity for informal, in-depth discussions between presenters and attendees on a specific topic. They are particularly well suited for works-in-progress and are not meant to be formal paper presentations. The purpose is not to present on a finished project but rather to address a specific topic in such a way as to engender whole-group discussion. The advantage of roundtable sessions is that they allow for stimulating conversations and networking opportunities among participants on shared research interests. Presenters are encouraged to prepare handouts or clearly visible laptop PowerPoint slides for key information needed to support the discussion.

Roundtable discussions will be held in large rooms with several sessions taking place at the same time at different tables. Each table will be organized by strand or theme. Each presenter will be assigned to a table that seats up to twelve attendees. Presenters will be allocated 30 minutes: 10-15 minutes to speak on their topic and 15-20 minutes for group discussion.There will be a time-keeper assigned to reach roundtable session.

COLLOQUIA: Colloquia allow for extended discussion on a particular topic, achieved through the organization of individual presentations that are clearly linked to the colloquium theme and to each other. A small number of colloquia are invited by the conference chair, but others may be proposed by AAAL members. Proposals for colloquia can be for either one-hour or two-hour block of time. (Please note the change in colloquium length from previous AAAL conferences).

Two-hour colloquia: The number of presenters and length of each presentation is left up to discretion of the colloquium organizer, as is the decision to include one or more discussants. Because the purpose of this format is to foster dialogue among attendees, generous time allowance should be made throughout the colloquium for extended audience discussion of the papers presented.

One-hour colloquia: This is a new format for 2019, designed to provide better coherence among the shorter 10 minute paper sessions offered at AAAL for the past two years. Conferences in many other academic fields limit presentations of full papers to a maximum of ten minutes, in paper sessions that are thematically linked. This has some advantages: it encourages conciseness and focus and allows more time for discussion than the longer paper presentations. Sessions in this format will consist of three individual ten-minute papers within a one-hour time slot. Each paper is allocated up to two minutes for clarification questions, followed by 20-25 minutes of discussion after all three papers have been presented. The thematic linking of the three papers in the session was previously made by the AAAL conference organizing committee. This year, one or more of the authors of the three papers will serve as the colloquium organizer(s). Please note that the one-hour colloquia should not include an additional presenter in a “discussant” role; the discussion is managed by the authors of the three papers.

Colloquium organizers serve as the liaisons between participants in the colloquium and the AAAL conference program committee, and are therefore responsible for communication among the presenters and discussants

AV EQUIPMENT: Please note that AV equipment will not be available for Posters or Roundtable Discussions. Presenters may bring handouts or use their laptops if they wish. However, be advised that the computers will have to operate on battery as there will be no outlets.

Some references on Usage-based language learning approaches

Ellis, N. (2017) Chapter 6 – Chunking in Language Usage, Learning and Change: I Don’t Know from Part III – Chunking. Edited by Marianne Hundt, Universität Zürich, Sandra Mollin, Universität Heidelberg, Simone E. Pfenninger, Universität Salzburg. Cambridge University Press, pp 113-147
https://doi.org/10.1017/9781316091746.006

Ellis, N. (2017). Cognition, Corpora, and Computing: Triangulating Research in Usage‐Based Language Learning. Language Learning, 67(S1), 40-65.

Ellis, Nick C., & Ferreira-Junior, Fernando. (2009). Construction Learning as a Function of Frequency, Frequency Distribution, and Function. Modern Language Journal, 93(3), 370-385.

Tyler, A. (2010). Usage-Based Approaches to Language and Their Applications to Second Language Learning. Annual Review of Applied Linguistics, 30, 270-291.

Tyler, A., & Ortega, L. (2016). Usage-based approaches to language and language learning: An introduction to the special issue. 8(3), 335-345.

Tyler, A. (2018). Nick C. Ellis Ute Römer Matthew Brook O’Donnell: Usage-based approaches to language acquisition and processing: Cognitive and corpus investigations of construction grammar. Cognitive Linguistics, 29(1), 155-161.

Weber, Kirsten Morten H. Christiansen Peter Indefrey Peter Hagoort (2018) Primed From the Start: Syntactic Priming During the First Days of Language Learning. Language Learning. https://doi.org/10.1111/lang.12327

Free copy of our latest paper in Computer Assisted Language Learning

Our article, Language teachers’ perceptions on the use of OER language processing technologies in MALL, has just been published on Computer Assisted Language Learning Journal, Taylor & Francis Online.

50 free eprints can be downloaded from the following URL:

http://www.tandfonline.com/eprint/epWFWhVAGFZ4yRSIaMcA/full

Get yours now!!!!

Abstract

Combined with the ubiquity and constant connectivity of mobile devices, and with innovative approaches such as Data-Driven Learning (DDL), Natural Language Processing Technologies (NLPTs) as Open Educational Resources (OERs) could become a powerful tool for language learning as they promote individual and personalized learning. Using a questionnaire that was answered by language teachers (n = 230) in Spain and the UK, this research explores the extent to which OER NLPTs are currently known and used in adult foreign language learning. Our results suggest that teachers’ familiarity and use of OER NLPTs are very low. Although online dictionaries, collocation dictionaries and spell checkers are widely known, NLPTs appear to be generally underused in foreign language teaching. It was found that teachers prefer computer-based environments over mobile devices such as smartphones and tablets and that teachers’ qualification determines their familiarity with a wider range of OER NLPTs. This research offers insight into future applications of Language Processing Technologies as OERs in language learning.

KEYWORDS: Language learning, teachers’ perceptions, OER, MALL, natural language processing technologies, higher education

TAALES 2.2 is out : automatic analysis of lexical sophistication, Windows and Mac

From the TAALES website:

Kyle, K. & Crossley, S. A. (2015). Automatically assessing lexical sophistication: Indices, tools, findings, and application. TESOL Quarterly 49(4), pp. 757-786. doi: 10.1002/tesq.194

TAALES is a tool that measures over 400 classic and new indices of lexical sophistication, and includes indices related to a wide range of sub-constructs. TAALES indices have been used to inform models of second language (L2) speaking proficiency, first language (L1) and L2 writing proficiency, spoken and written lexical proficiency, genre differences, and satirical language.

Starting with version 2.2, TAALES provides comprehensive index diagnostics, including text-level coverage output (i.e., the percent of words/bigrams/trigrams in a text covered by the index) AND individual word/bigram/trigram index coverage information.

TAALES takes plain text files as input (it will process all plain text files in a particular folder) and produces a comma separated values (.csv) spreadsheet that is easily read by any spreadsheet software.

 

You can find all the info here. Windows and Mac versions available for free.