Do Our Beliefs Affect The Way We Sound? The Phenomenon of Second Language Pronunciation


Book Description

Age of first exposure to the target language has been shown to be a strong predictor of phonological attainment (e.g., Pullen, 2012; Piske et al., 2001 & Moyer, 1999). Results from these studies support the Critical Period Hypothesis, that is, the notion that there is a neurological period, ending at the onset of puberty, beyond which mastery of a second language is no longer achievable (Lenneberg, 1967). The prominence of the Critical Period Hypothesis in the field of Applied Linguistics has diminished the impact of research on socio-psychological differences in second language acquisition. A neurologically based component such as age of learning onset is not, however, the single determining factor of second language ability. Little is known about the influence of socio-psychological factors on pronunciation performance. This book attempts to bridge this gap in the literature by examining the effects of beliefs about second language pronunciation on phonological performance. The book concludes that certain beliefs associated with affective factors appear to be detrimental to L2 phonological attainment.




Teaching Learning


Book Description

Since the 1970's, educators, psychologists and politicians have continually stressed the need to help children actually learn how to learn. This groundbreaking book is the first of its kind to do just that. Aimed at parents who want to start their kids off on the right track, this book is actually a step-by-step course to help you teach your kids how to learn. It's filled with explanations, exercises, tips, check lists and guidelines to help you at every step in the process. Your kids won't learn these things in school, because schools aren't equipped to provide it. Here is your chance to make up for what's missing in the classroom. You won't find anything like it anywhere else. THIS BOOK IS GREAT! Sid has written what may be the definitive guide for parents (... and anyone else who works with children). He literally covers it all: how to prepare yourself, the most important things you need to pay attention to when you are working with children to help them succeed... -Joseph Riggio, Ph.D., Cognitive Scientist, author of The State of Perfection The frustration with learning can be greatly alleviated if we apply the principles and processes offered in this book. If you are a parent, teacher or have ever been a young frustrated learner, you will love this book.... -Judith DeLozier, Co-author of NLP II: The Next Generation In a remarkably practical and engaging way, Sid Jacobson offers helpful and unique suggestions for how to help kids to fall in love with 'learning to learn'. It is clear that Sid is sharing a passion that he has developed for many years. I highly recommend this book! -Stephen Gilligan, Ph.D., Psychologist, author of The Courage To Love




Expanding Humanitys Vision Of God


Book Description

How has our understanding of our world and our place in the universe changed in recent decades through the momentous discoveries of science? Do recent developments in the philosophy of science, which place limitations on scientific knowing, provide a more level playing field? This collection of essays and sermons, which have not been readily available before, address these thought-provoking questions. The John Templeton Foundation sponsored an essay and sermon contest to convey an expanded vision of God, one that is informed by recent discoveries of science on the nature of the universe and the place we have in the world. These selections are the winners of that competition. The book is divided into three sections: “Contemporary Science Raising Theological Questions,” “New Visions of Theology,” and “Historical and Philosophical Perspectives on the Science-Religion Dialogue.” The essays cover such areas as physics, theology, cosmology, origins, and artificial intelligence. “There is another way to conceive our life together. There is another way to conceive of our life in God, but it requires a different worldview—not a clockwork universe in which individuals function as discrete springs and gears, but one that looks more like a luminous web, in which the whole is far more than the parts. In this universe, there is no such thing as an individual apart from his or her relationships. Every interaction—between people and people, between people and things, between things and things—changes the face of history. Life on earth cannot be reduced to four sure-fire rules. It is an ever-unfolding mystery that defies precise prediction. Meanwhile, in this universe, there is no such thing as 'parts‚' The whole is the fundamental unit of reality.” —Barbara Brown Taylor, “Physics and Faith,”




Epistemology


Book Description

In this study of how we know what we know, W. Jay Wood surveys current views of foundationalism, epistemic justification and reliabilism.




Believe and Listen


Book Description

This book is not about religion, but rather about spirituality. It is about how to find and know God-often in spite of religion. It explains our need for spiritual nourishment in order to achieve spiritual health. It explains how the lack of spiritual health can lead to despair and spiritual death. It shows how we are taught not to believe in God-the source of spiritual nourishment. In the absence of an interactive relationship with God, we default to inadequate worldly substitutes. There are those who believe that what God wants from us is obedience through religious conformity. In truth, he wants a personal relationship with each of us, not for his benefit, but for ours. Unfortunately, as you'll come to see, the United States in the present day is perhaps the most difficult time and place in the history of human-kind for people to maintain their spiritual health. The time will come when the only thing you can take from this life is your relationship, if you have one, with God. If this book holds no interest for you now, put it on a shelf and pull it down when its relevance is inescapable.




Path to Hope: America's New Face


Book Description

/About The Book Life is the pursuit of happiness, something that is ordained not by men, but bestowed by God. Our Path to hope is our purpose, something we all must discover if we are to truly live up to our potential as human beings. In this book, I will address one of the most pressing concerns facing our country today: Immigration and cultural diversity. One is the problem and the other is the solution. As a citizen of the world, I will use my experiences to show how cultural diversity is not to be feared, but used to benefit us all. In difficult economic times, native citizens will naturally look for scapegoats, and immigrants, both legal and illegal, fit the bill. But if we are to move forward, we need to find ways to allow immigrants to freely contribute to our society in order to solve the problems we accuse them of causing. If we embrace the cultural diversity rather than fight it, we will succeed. In the global economy, we cannot afford to discount such a valuable resource as the many who leave their homes for a better life, fueled by their own Path to Hope. Immigration isn’t the problem, it’s the answer! Even when unemployment is high, millions of jobs remain unfilled 49% of businesses find it hard to fill critical jobs, 15% above the global average. By 2018, science, technology, engineering, and mathematics jobs won’t be filled even if every American graduate with an advanced degree finds employment. Immigrants bring critical skills Construction will add 1.8 million jobs by 2020. 60% of Latino immigrants arrive with a sophisticated knowledge of the trade. 25% of scientists and engineers in the U.S. are foreign-born. Immigrants are 13% of the U.S. population but make up 28% of in-home health workers. Immigrants have higher work force participation rates than those born in the U.S. The U.S. must attract and retain human capital Immigration caps force 20,000 American-educated students to leave the U.S. every year. As the U.S. population ages, unfilled jobs will hinder growth By 2030, the U.S. will need to add 25 million workers to the labor force to sustain current growth. Without immigrants, the U.S. will not have enough new workers to support retirees. More than one-third of the U.S. population growth is attributed to new immigrants. By 2050, 93% of growth in the U.S. working-age population will be due to immigrants and their children. 75% of the foreign-born labor force is in the vital 25-54 year-old category - higher than their U.S.-born counterparts. Multi-lingual immigrants boost trade Every 100 H1-B visas creates 183 jobs for American-born workers. Every 100 H2-B visas creates 464 additional jobs.




Sex Therapy


Book Description

Sex Therapy: The Basics offers an introduction to modern sex therapy and is essential reading for anyone working professionally with sexual issues or just interested in sex. This book contains all you need to know to get started, find more information or learn how and when to refer. Current approaches to sex therapy are described, along with detailed interventions and approaches which address an array of sexual issues to bring qualified sex therapists up to date and introduce learners to the essentials. Helping the reader make informed choices about professional development and to find the most appropriate solutions for patients and clients, this book answers all your sex therapy questions. As well as being essential reading for those considering or interested in sex therapy, this book is a valuable resource for both trainee and experienced therapists, offering contemporary information and advice about assessing and treating a wide range of sexual problems.




Learning to Learn from Experience


Book Description

Our success in life and living depends largely on our ability to learn from experience. Direct contact with things and persons affects every facet of our lives--behavior, perception, autonomy and creativity. This overview of experiential learning explores the process of learning from experience, showing how it affects one's personality and offers means to cope with feelings of powerlessness and insignificance. The book describes the conditions under which experiential learning results in personal growth and those in which growth is inhibited. It shows how we test the validity of our interpretations and how we resist such tests. Learning to Learn from Experience examines the learning process in various types of social relationships. It shows how learning in large groups differs from that in intimate circles. Finally it illustrates the interrelationships between experiential and academic learning. This book also provides a wealth of practical strategies and tools enabling the reader to prepare for useful experiential learning.




Cognitive Discourse Analysis


Book Description

Analysing language data systematically and looking closely at how people formulate their thoughts can reveal astonishing insights about the human mind. Without presupposing specific subject knowledge, this book gently introduces its readers to theoretical insights as well as practical principles for systematic linguistic analysis from a cognitive perspective. Drawing on Thora Tenbrink's twenty years' experience in both linguistics and cognitive science, this book offers theoretical guidance and practical advice for doing cognitive discourse analysis. It covers areas of analysis as diverse as attention, perspective, granularity, certainty, inference, transformation, communication, and cognitive strategies, using inspiring examples from many different projects. Simple techniques and tools are used to allow readers new to the subject easy ways to apply the methods, without the need for complex technologies, whilst the cross-disciplinary approach can be applied to a diverse range of research purposes and contexts in which language and thought play a role.




The Oxford Handbook of Sound Art


Book Description

Sound art has long been resistant to its own definition. Emerging from a liminal space between movements of thought and practice in the twentieth century, sound art has often been described in terms of the things that it is understood to have left behind: a space between music, fine art, and performance. The Oxford Handbook of Sound Art surveys the practices, politics, and emerging frameworks of thought that now define this previously amorphous area of study. Throughout the Handbook, artists and thinkers explore the uses of sound in contemporary arts practice. Imbued with global perspectives, chapters are organized in six overarching themes of Space, Time, Things, Fabric, Senses and Relationality. Each theme represents a key area of development in the visual arts and music during the second half of the twentieth century from which sound art emerged. By offering a set of thematic frameworks through which to understand these themes, this Handbook situates constellations of disparate thought and practice into recognized centers of activity.