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<p> This study looked at (1) motivation, (2) anxiety, (3) perception of the learning community, and (4) oral proficiency of beginner learners of French in two online sections: one on-campus section with 15 students located on campus or in the same state who could participate in synchronous class zoom, and one distance section with 13 students located all over the world who could only participate in small-group zoom meetings. At the end of the semester, participants filled surveys evaluating their motivation, level of anxiety, and connection with other students in the section. Qualitative and quantitative data from the surveys were collected and analyzed in terms of motivation, anxiety, and perception of the learning community. Participants also completed oral production assignments (individual speech and group conversation on a given topic) throughout the semester, which were collected, and analyzed in terms of complexity, accuracy, and fluency. Results showed that both sections were successful in creating a learning community and allow a progression in oral proficiency. A qualitative and statistical comparison between the sections’ results showed that the distance section had a lower sense of self confidence, enjoyment, motivation, as well as a higher course-related anxiety, whereas the on-campus online section had a higher level of language anxiety. In terms of learning communities, the on-campus section had a higher sense of community, but the distance section had a stronger connection with their groupmates. Finally, the on-campus section had a lower accuracy rate than the distance section in both the individual and group productions, which was due to a higher pronunciation errors rate.   </p>

Denna rapport belyser aspekter som kunder borde vara medveten om vid kontraktering med en molnleverantör. Molntekniken är effektiv, skalbar och relativt enkel att implementera, men det finns också ett antal nackdelar med tekniken som kunder borde vara uppmärksam på. I denna rapport är fokuseringen på hur villkoren och avtalen vid kontaktering med molnleverantörer ser ut, men fokus ligger också på att öka medvetenheten med riskerna vid kontraktering under en lång tidsperiod. Det finns fortfarande många frågetecken som behöver övervägas och analyseras när det gäller molntekniken. Inriktningen på denna rapport är därför kontrakten och designen av dessa ser ut och som leverantörerna oftast skriver ihop till sin egen fördel. Dessa leverantörsfördelar kommer att uppmärksammas i rapporten, dock är fördelarna med molntekniken lätta att upptäcka vid presentationer om tekniken, men kontrakten kan också innebära problem om beroendet på servicen är stor. För det är kontrakten leverantörerna hänvisar till om det skulle uppkomma fel på servicen. Exempelvis säger kontrakten att vid störningar på servicen kan maximalt 50 % av månadsbeloppen en kund betalar varje månad, återbetalas till kunden. Detta kan vid långvarit störning innebära finansiella problem för kunden. Kontrakt-aspekterna integritet, prestanda och kontrakts ändringar är oftast till fördel för leverantören, men det finns även ytterligare aspekter att försöka förhandla sig till bättre villkor på. Dock finns det åtgärder kunder kan göra för att förbättra sitt kontrakt. Exempelvis kan företag arbeta tillsammans för att stärka inflytandet mot leverantören för att på det sättet kunna förhandla sig till bättre kontraktsdetaljer. / This report highlights the aspects for customers to be aware of before contracting with a cloud provider. Cloud technology is efficient, effective, scalable and easy to implement, but there is also drawbacks that customers or potentials customers should know before contracting. The focus area in this report are the terms and agreements aspects when working with a cloud provider, but the report also highlights the risks with contracting with cloud providers in the long term. The focus is also on the design of the contracts that the providers want to design for their own winning. The report wants to make the reader aware of these pitfalls. There are several benefits with Cloud Computing and information about the technology is easy to find, but the information about the contracts are kept in the shadows and written in small letters by high paid lawyers. With maximum 50% payback of the monthly paid by the customer to the provider, if there is service disruption, the contracts can be an economical nightmare for the customers. With aspects such as privacy, performance and contract changes details that are in favor for the provider, are many aspects to consider when reading and negotiating about a contract. But there are things the costumers can do to improve their contract. An example is that by working together with other companies when the procurement is underway, the leverage is strengthened against the providers to negotiate for better contract details.

Building upon current research in native-speaker (NS) perception of L2 learner phonology (Zielinski, 2008; Derwing & Munro, 2009), the present investigation analyzed multiple dimensions of NS speech perception in order to achieve a more complete understanding of the specific linguistic elements and attitudinal variables that contribute to perceptions of accent in learner speech. In this mixed-methods study, Spanish monolinguals (n = 18) provided information regarding their views of L1 American English (AE) speakers learning Spanish and also evaluated the extemporaneous production of L2 learners from this same population. The evaluators' preconceived attitudinal notions of L1 AE speakers learning Spanish negatively correlated with numerical accentedness ratings for the speech samples, indicating that evaluators with more positive perceptions of the learners rated their speech as less accented. Following initial numerical ratings, evaluators provided detailed commentary on the individual phonological elements from each utterance that they perceived as "nonnative." Results show that differences in the relative salience of the nonnative segmental productions correspond with certain phonetic and phonemic processes occurring within the sounds, such as aspiration, spirantization and lateralization. / Spanish

This study was an investigation of students’ explanations of disciplinary knowledge in content and language integrated learning (CLIL). In recent years, an increased interest in teaching content subjects in a foreign language (FL) has brought a growing body of research on CLIL (e.g., Dalton-Puffer, 2007; Llinares, Morton, & Whittaker, 2012), which has yielded valuable insights into CLIL classroom discourse. However, there is a paucity of studies that examined the development of student discourse in CLIL settings because most of existing CLIL research draws on large-scale corpus data and cross-sectional data. Thus, I investigated the processes in which students engaged with disciplinary knowledge and discourse in this case study. The participants included 25 students enrolled in a 15-week content-based English course on sociolinguistics at a Japanese university and a teacher who taught the course. In the sociolinguistics course, the students conducted a group research project in which they carried out sequenced tasks: writing and revising a research proposal, collecting and analyzing data, and presenting findings in oral and written forms. Data were collected in the sociolinguistics course through class observations, video-recordings of the lessons, seven focal students’ group work and oral presentations, and interviews with the focal students and the teacher. Moreover, written reports by the focal students were collected. Informed by a sociocognitive approach to second language acquisition (SLA) (Atkinson, 2002; Atkinson, Churchill, Nishino, & Okada, 2007), a multimodal interaction analysis was conducted on explanations of disciplinary knowledge in the instructional and student discourses. Data analysis suggested that content knowledge was represented at various degrees of abstraction in the textbook and teacher explanations (e.g., specific examples, decontextualized propositional claims). Moreover, the teacher drew on multimodal resources including gestures, body movement, and slides to make dense academic knowledge accessible to the students. Regarding student discourse in group work, the focal students flexibly coordinated diverse semiotic resources including talk, written texts, and gestures, which enabled them to appropriate content knowledge and advance their discussion. In this process, their explanations of disciplinary knowledge tended to change from descriptive ones to complex ones. In the oral presentations, the students made the structure of their explanations explicit and represented disciplinary knowledge at various degrees of abstraction (e.g., specific linguistic behaviors, sociolinguistic interpretations). In the question and answer sessions that followed the oral presentations, the teacher interactionally provided feedback, which likely led some students to produce more discipline-appropriate explanations (e.g., elaborated content, increased precision). Although there was a variation among the students, the written reports exhibited the increased use of metadiscourse markers including hedges, which likely resulted in careful explanations of propositional knowledge. These findings suggest that diverse discursive contexts afforded by sequenced tasks and access to varied semiotic resources can facilitate the appropriation of content knowledge by students and support the formulation of context-specific and discipline-appropriate explanations. / Teaching & Learning

In the context of language instruction and learning, L2 willingness to communicate (WTC) is a relevant factor in learners’ language use. It is viewed as a volitional process influenced by individual, social, linguistic, and situationally dependent factors. Foundational research focuses on either trait or state WTC-influencing factors as separate entities. Current research considers the dynamic relationship that occurs between the two though less research exists on how WTC manifests in classroom interaction. This study investigates such differences by examining learners’ self-reported, perceived trait WTC and situational state WTC. It treats WTC as a dynamic entity which is shaped by learners’ investment in language learning and the identity they take on as language learners. It considers the relationship of WTC to its three most influential trait variables: motivation, L2 perceived competence, and L2 anxiety. It presents findings of additional variables influencing state WTC. Data were comprised of questionnaire surveys, focal participant interviews, and classroom observations. Quantitative data consisted of 39 participants, and qualitative data consisted of 12 focal participants. The importance of the present study lies in its investigation of WTC in relation to trait and state factors, and its stance that investment in L2 learning is a key factor in fostering classroom WTC. Finally, it explores how WTC can be positively fostered to optimize the learner’s language experience. / Spanish

This paper examines some individual variables that affect adult Japanese learners’ self-perceptions related to learning and utilising Japanese polite speech styles in spoken dialogue. As Japan is considered a high context society, as well as having both horizontal and vertical social hierarchies; those wishing to be cohesive social group members must adopt different communication styles according to each relevant scenario. Speakers of the Japanese language utilise socially established linguistic features and strategies in order to orient one’s position within each social interaction relative to others, to navigate between different social groups, and to show respect or politeness towards others as a form of social lubricant. As such, utilising polite speech styles is an important- but complex- sociolinguistic skill to develop. There are two main aspects to consider when discussing how second language (L2) learners of Japanese become proficient in using politeness strategies. These are: acquiring the knowledge of how politeness strategies work and gaining the ability to apply this knowledge ad hoc in real communication situations. A survey was conducted for the purpose of identifying variables that affecta learner’s self-perception related to both these aspects. The results show a statistically strong connection between a learner’s perception of their own understanding and/or perceived abilities related to utilising polite speech styles in Japanese, and the variables of language proficiency, and lived experience within Japan. The results also indicate a potential connection related to the variables of native language, and age. Considering the results, advice is given regarding the way educational materials can be more tailored towards L2 Japanese learners’ specific needs related to polite speechstyles with the intention of better supporting the individual learner.

Yes / This briefing paper reports on research exploring ten detailed case studies of livelihoods-oriented interventions operating in Tanzania, Lesotho, South Africa and Uganda. Analysing these interventions through an audit of sustainable livelihood `principles¿ (as a proxy for best practice) revealed general lessons both about the practical opportunities and challenges for employing sustainable livelihoods approaches to the design, implementation, monitoring and evaluation of development interventions and also about the changing format of development interventions. / Department for International Development