Low-cost devices have widened the use of multimodal data in experiments providing a more complete picture of behavioural effects. However, the accurate collection and combination of multimodal and behavioural data in a manner that enables reproducibility is challenging and often requires researchers to refine their approaches. This paper presents…

Despite repeated calls for change, the problem of widening access (WA) to medicine persists globally. One factor which may be operating to maintain social exclusion is the language used in representing WA applicants and students by the gatekeepers and representatives of medical schools, Admissions Deans. We therefore examined the institutional…

This column provides ideas and techniques to enhance your science teaching. This month's issue discusses planning and using interactive word walls to support science and reading instruction. Many classrooms have word walls displaying vocabulary that students have learned in class. Word walls serve as visual scaffolds to support instruction. To…

Sinclair (1991) found that lexical analysis can be overcomplicated, yet Johns (1994) called for investigation into whether corpus analysis can motivate beginners and near-beginners. The findings of this research suggest that young EFL learners can enjoy using corpus analysis tools (wordlists and concordances) to identify, classify, and generalize…

Theories of working memory (WM) capacity limits will be more useful when we know what aspects of performance are governed by the limits and what aspects are governed by other memory mechanisms. Whereas considerable progress has been made on models of WM capacity limits for visual arrays of separate objects, less progress has been made in…

The scenario for free recall set out in Laming (2009) is developed to provide models for the serial position curves from 5 selected sets of data, for final free recall, and for multitrial free recall. The 5 sets of data reflect the effects of rate of presentation, length of list, delay of recall, and suppression of rehearsal. Each model…

Introduction: The purpose of the study was to evaluate the effectiveness of reading racetracks and direct instruction flashcards with two students with behavior disorders. A token economy with a response cost component was also implemented to increase on-task behavior during data collection. Method: The participants were two eight-year-old males.…

Reports data collected by supervised student investigators on learners' use of strategies in organizing words when learning English as a Second Language. Results proved that word grouping was a worthwhile study. A second study investigated word organization strategies of secondary school students given a list of 50 words. (33 references)…

Purpose: To construct a table for upper and lower limits of the 95% critical range for changes in word recognition scores obtained with monosyllabic word lists (of lengths 10, 25, 50, and 100 words) using newly available methods. Although such a table has been available for nearly 30 years (A. R. Thornton & M. J. M. Raffin, 1978), the earlier…

Examines data from a think-aloud study and explores how randomly selected undergraduates react to "extreme" intensifiers and hedges. Results indicate that think-aloud data can within limits provide valid evidence of attention to specific words, and that there is a need to distinguish between attending to a word and using it to formulate…

Reports on three studies of the learning strategies of adult students of second languages. The research identified two distinct approaches to vocabulary learning that differed in aspects relating to independent study, self-initiated learning activities, recording of lexical items studied, review of these records, and practice of vocabulary outside…

Analyzes a large sample of spelling errors taken from free writing to assess how great a challenge such errors present for automatic checking and correction. Analysis of results reveals a high proportion of errors that match dictionary works, necessitating the use of the word in context to detect errors. (Author/LRW)

Children with spelling difficulties are limited in their participation in all written school activities. We aimed to investigate the influence of word-prediction as a tool on spelling accuracy and typing speed. To this end, we selected 80 Grade 4-6 children with spelling difficulties in a school for special needs to participate in a research…

Reports on a study of the color terms used in Setswana. The study compared terms used by children with those of adults and those used by people from rural areas with those used by people from urban areas. Results show a move away from traditional Setswana color terms toward the use of borrowed English terms, particularly among the young and…

Investigated the independent and interactive effects of contextual and definitional information on vocabulary learning. German students of English received either a text with unfamiliar English words or their monolingual English dictionary entries. A third group received both. Information about word context is crucial to understanding meaning. (44…