Worked examples, which present an explained code for solving typical programming problems are among the most popular types of learning content in programming classes. Most approaches and tools for presenting these examples to students are based on line-by-line explanations of the example code. However, instructors rarely have time to provide…

This study examines the extent to which instructions to self-explain vs. "other"-explain a text lead readers to produce different forms of explanations. Natural language processing was used to examine the content and characteristics of the explanations produced as a function of instruction condition. Undergraduate students (n = 146)…

Collaborative dialogue is rich in conscious and subconscious coordination behaviours between participants. This work explores collaborative learner dialogue through theories of alignment, analysing inter-partner movement and language use with respect to our hypotheses: that they interrelate, and that they form predictors of collaboration quality…

The ability to automatically assess the quality of paraphrases can be very useful for facilitating literacy skills and providing timely feedback to learners. Our aim is twofold: a) to automatically evaluate the quality of paraphrases across four dimensions: lexical similarity, syntactic similarity, semantic similarity and paraphrase quality, and…

Metacognition is a valuable tool for learning, since it is closely related to self-regulation and awareness of one's own affect. However, methods for automatically detecting and studying metacognition are scarce. Thus, in this paper we describe an algorithm for automatic detection of metacognitive language in writing. We analyzed text from the…

This paper explores a general approach to paraphrase generation using a pre-trained seq2seq model fine-tuned using a back-translated anatomy and physiology textbook. Human ratings indicate that the paraphrase model generally preserved meaning and grammaticality/fluency: 70% of meaning ratings were above 75, and 40% of paraphrases were considered…

The current study examined the degree to which the quality and characteristics of students' essays could be modeled through dynamic natural language processing analyses. Undergraduate students (n = 131) wrote timed, persuasive essays in response to an argumentative writing prompt. Recurrent patterns of the words in the essays were then analyzed…

A number of studies have demonstrated strong links between students' language features (as found in spoken and written production) and their math performance. However, no studies have examined links between the students' language features and measures of their Math Identity. This project extends prior studies that use natural language processing…

Students at the College of Languages and Translation (COLT) take an Islamic Translation course in which they practice translating different kinds of Islamic texts (genres) including excerpts from the Holy Quran and the Prophet's Sayings. The aims of the present article are to introduce the students to the history of the translation of the Holy…

Recent psycholinguistic literature has developed differing interpretations of metaphoric sentences' comprehension. The inadequacies of the psycholinguistic theories of language processing which rest on the assumption according to which language is the expression of a relatively autonomous cognitive activity are highlighted in the interpretation of…

Reviews the various definitions of communicative competence, and argues for a view of communicative competence as language use, a lesser but more readily achievable ambition for both theory and pedagogy. (Author/CB)

Gender schema theory predicts that sex-typed people are more likely than non-sex-typed people to invoke gender in processing information. This was tested in a covert semantic classification task in which male and female college students selected "and" or "but" to conjoin pairs of personality traits from the Bem Sex Role…

Attempts to clarify the notion of language competence and draws on its relevance to language teaching practices. Language use competence may involve the adjustment of pre-assembled and memorized patterns and not so much the generation of expressions by direct reference to rules. (Author/CB)

A study investigating whether and how non-native speakers of English (NNS) make efforts to repair communication breakdowns with other NNS used data gathered from 59 verbal interactions by 26 students. The students were grouped by proficiency level (low, medium, and high) before the analysis of the interactions took place. Each instance of…

The linguistic form of a nonliteral expression, and the context in which it occurs, can greatly influence young children's succcess or failure in assigning a meaning to a figurative expression. Experiments have shown that the same metaphorical expression can be easier to understand when expressed in a linguistic form that is familiar to young…