Title: Estimation of normative values for the semantic verbal fluency test in older adults over 50 Objective: The aim of the diploma thesis was to create normative values for the semantic verbal fluency test (animal category) for older adults over 50 years, depending on the level of education achieved. Methods: The diploma thesis is constructed as a cross-sectional study. All data were obtained from the international project Survey of Health Aging and Retirement in Europe (SHARE). The descriptive statistics of participants were produced with calculated means and standard deviation for continuous variables and percentage for categorical variables. The median and interquartile range for age and semantic verbal fluency test (animal category), and 2nd , 7th , and 16th percentile as the cut-off points for verbal fluency test (animal category) were calculated for participants divided into ISCED - 97 education levels and for each country separately. Results: Data from 64,242 participants aged 66.4 were analyzed, and the female ratio was 55.8 %. All respondents were older adults over 50 years old from 20 European countries. Figures and tables show that all percentiles as cut-off points increased linearly with levels of education. Other result is that the performance in the test gradually decreased with...

A growing body of research has compared the effects of explicit and implicit corrective feedback (CF) on L2 accuracy. However, L2 performance is not limited to accuracy. Fluency is another important aspect of L2 performance, but less is understood about its relationship with CF and CF explicitness/implicitness. This experimental study examined the effects of explicit correction versus implicit recasts on not only the accuracy but also the fluency of L2 speech during videoconferencing. Forty-eight lower-intermediate learners of English as a foreign language (EFL) were assigned to an explicit correction group, an implicit recast group, and a no-feedback group. Each engaged in eight picture description tasks with the researcher and received feedback according to the group they came from. Pre and posttests (immediate and delayed) of accuracy and fluency were conducted using additional picture tasks. Accuracy was measured by calculating the percentage of learners’ (a) error-free clauses and (b) error-free T-units. Fluency was measured by calculating the number of (a) syllables per minute and (b) meaningful syllables per minute. Statistical analyses included (a) two-way repeated measures ANOVAs with feedback type as the between-subject factor and time as the within subject factor, (b) Planned comparisons, which treated the two experimental groups as one group and compared their mean with the mean of the control group, (c) Bonferroni post hoc tests, which examined the pairwise differences, and where needed, (d) paired sample t-tests, which examined each group’s pretest-posttest differences. As for accuracy, planned comparisons showed that videoconferencing CF, irrespective of its explicitness/implicitness, improved accuracy. Further analyses showed that whereas the explicit correction group outperformed the control group on both the immediate and delayed posttests, the recast group did not. However, the explicit feedback group produced a significantly less fluent speech compared to the recast group and the control group. But this was true on the immediate posttest and not on the delayed posttest. Pretest-posttest comparisons further indicated a negative effect for explicit correction but a positive effect for recasts on L2 fluency. The results suggest that (a) while explicit correction assisted accuracy, it negatively influenced fluency, and (b) while implicit correction seemed to assist fluency, it was not as effective as the effect of explicit correction on L2 accuracy. Further analyses indicated that the explicit correction group exhibited a large amount of monitoring behaviour on the immediate posttest, whereas the other two groups did not. The results are explained using an information-processing perspective of language performance and a knowledge proceduralization model of language development. The theoretical, empirical, and pedagogical implications are also discussed. / Graduate

Large numbers of children in the United States are not functioning at adequate levels of literacy. Students who have weak reading proficiency skills are identified as at-risk; failure to acquire competency early in their schooling adversely affects performance in all academic fields and limits their potential for achievement in life. There is an extensive knowledge base about the skills and strategies children must learn in order to read well. Effective fluency and comprehension strategies need to be taught to help students become powerful, active readers who are in control of their learning. This study evaluated a structured classroom model for delivery of small group reading instruction called the Intermediate Extended Literacy Routine (IELR). The IELR is a model for delivery of explicit reading instruction that incorporates fluency instruction with the intent to provide a bridge between word recognition and comprehension. This study examined the effects of the IELR on the achievement of third graders designated as struggling readers. A repeated single subject experimental design was used. Thirteen students in two classrooms at the same west-central Florida school were given the IELR 4 days a week for 8 weeks. The IELR incorporated explicit strategy instruction and was delivered in the form of focused mini-lessons that targeted specific reading strategies the researcher identified as lacking in the subjects. Assessments of performance were made with timed readings, running records, narrative retellings, and the school district's reading comprehension common assessment tool. Results are presented in tabular and graphic form for analysis. The IELR had a positive effect on reading rate (measured in words read per minute), reading accuracy and increased instructional level assessments: students who received the IELR maintained or increased their instructional level on running record assessments and showed evidence of increased reading rate on timed readings. Reading comprehension, measured by narrative retellings, did not improve for most students over the course of the study. Recommendations for future research include the use of a control group; oral (rather than written) retelling measures to assess comprehension, and a longer duration of IELR application to gauge its effectiveness.

In schools, didactic training is a common method for promoting intervention fidelity. Despite its prevalence, however, a number of literature reviews suggest that didactic training alone is not an effective way to promote intervention fidelity. Training seems to be more effective when coupled with daily or weekly performance feedback in applied settings. However, given the level of resources in typical public schools, this amount of performance feedback for all teachers and paraprofessionals may not be feasible. Therefore, there is a need to explore additional means of promoting intervention fidelity. The current study examines the effects of fluency training on intervention fidelity by paraprofessionals in an applied setting. Results suggest that systematic fluency training can improve intervention fidelity, even when the interventions are complex and are being conducted by paraprofessionals with limited formal education. The study's findings also suggest that ongoing monitoring of implementation fidelity is necessary, because maintenance of these effects is idiosyncratic.

Core reading programs (CRPs) provide the curriculum and guide reading instruction for many classroom teachers. The purpose of this study was to conduct a content analysis of reading fluency instruction in current (2008-2011 copyright) grade 2 and 3 top-selling core reading program lessons to answer the following two research questions: (1) How do core reading programs recommend that fluency skills be taught? (2) How do reading fluency instructional practices in core programs compare to evidence-based reading fluency instructional practices defined in current research? The results of the analysis revealed that fluency instruction is more prevalent in current core reading programs than reported in previous content analyses and that the recommendations for fluency instruction are somewhat aligned with the findings of the National Reading Panel (NRP). All lessons coded focused on one of four characteristics of a fluent reader (i.e., rate, accuracy, expression, and/or comprehension). However, more lessons focused on expression than the other three categories. Second, current CRPs incorporated guided oral reading procedures; almost half of lessons included some type of explanation, modeling, and/or guided practice from a teacher or peer; however, reading with a partner was more prevalent than reading with the teacher (choral and echo reading). Also, more than half of the lessons included the use of repeated reading procedures; however, several CRPs suggested that students read the text more than the recommended three to four times. Last, the near absence of lessons that suggest the practice of independent silent reading also reflect the NRP’s findings that neither recommended nor endorsed its use in the classroom. More recent research reports no significant effect differences of guided wide reading (one time reading of text) and scaffolded silent reading of texts over guided oral repeated reading of texts. The five current CRPs did not recommend the use of either of these two practices.

京都大学 / 0048 / 新制・課程博士 / 博士(医学) / 甲第19889号 / 医博第4138号 / 新制||医||1016(附属図書館) / 32966 / 京都大学大学院医学研究科医学専攻 / (主査)教授 古川 壽亮, 教授 髙橋 良輔, 教授 富樫 かおり / 学位規則第4条第1項該当 / Doctor of Medical Science / Kyoto University / DFAM

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English holds a significant status as a lingua franca in Sweden, offering regular contact opportunities for learners through media consumption and entertainment, starting at a young age. Exposure to English outside the walls of the formal language classroom has been extensively studied especially in conjunction with students’ motivation, vocabulary acquisition, and oral proficiency (cf. Sundqvist & Sylven, 2016). This study examines the impact of self-reported time spent on extramural English (EE) exposure on the complexity, accuracy, and fluency of written proficiency among lower-secondary students in Sweden. The research focuses on the quantitative measures of complexity and accuracy in argumentative essays (N=20) as well as quantitative measures of fluency in argumentative essays (N=53) taken from a sample of the corpus of Swedish learners of English (SLEC). The findings show that there are positive correlations between EE and complexity, as indicated by lexical diversity and lexical sophistication. Additionally, the normalized error ratio suggests that EE is associated with fewer errors in students' writing. Fluency, measured by written words per minute, aligns with students' self-reported EE contacts, with high-frequency EE users producing longer essays. While group-level findings indicate a positive influence of EE on written proficiency, individual-level analysis reveals a non-linear and complex relationship between contact with EE and written proficiency components. The study emphasizes the importance of integrating students' EE experiences into the formal language classroom to maximize the benefits of extramural English.