Search

In the present study, with the aim of analyzing the relationship among teacher feedback, feedforward, and grade, the corrections and comments made by four experienced assessors on 187 compositions were under scrutiny. These essays were written by 56 Swedish university students studying English as a second language at three different educational levels. The results reveal that while there were clear links between mid-essay corrections/comments and grades given, the links between mid-essay corrections/comments and end comments were not only comparatively few, but less clear. Moreover, although valued highly in the research literature because of their ability to promote writing skills in an enhanced manner, there were more summative end comments than formative ones. The conclusion was, therefore, drawn that it is quite taxing for assessors, even for experienced ones, to produce connections that involve an alignment among a) mid-essay corrections/comments, b) end comments and c) grade that will, at the same time, promote students' writing skills in accordance with what is suggested by the research literature. The assessors were, however, irrespective of grade given, attuned to the educational level at hand, focusing more on analytic aspects at the two lower levels, while taking a more holistic approach at the highest educational level. This may indicate that offering corrections/comments does not only entail a developmental journey for students, but for teachers too.

Idiomatic expressions are not just neutral equivalents of their literal counterparts, but exert some sort of evaluative force. This study employed the appraisal system (AS) to explore the functions of idiomatic expressions and their variations in English as a lingua franca context, and to compare different academic domains in terms of use of evaluative language in the form of idiomatic expressions. To this end, the corpus of English as a lingua franca in academic settings and the Vienna–Oxford International Corpus of English were searched for idiom tokens through whole‐phrase and keyword search. The idioms and their variations were classified based on the AS. The findings indicated that social and behavioral scientific texts included higher proportions of evaluative idiomatic expressions whereas medical and natural scientific texts generated lower percentages of appraisal idioms. There was a stronger tendency in both corpora toward using idioms as appreciation as compared to judgment and affect. Given the employed methodology, the AS could not be applied to some idioms for their compositionality nature. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Developing the skill to form derivatives is a slow incremental process even for native speakers of English, starting in elementary school and continuing through high school. In fact, it appears to be a universally challenging area of the lexicon. Nevertheless, studies have shown that it is one of the most important skills to possess for a learner aiming to enlarge his/her L2 vocabulary and that it therefore may be worth the while for learners spending time on gaining mastery of derivative forms. In the present investigation, 15 Swedish first-term university students were asked to take two gap-filling context-based tests on suffixation, one in their L1 (Swedish) and one in their L2 (English), both of which were frequency-based (both stem and suffix considered). The students were also asked to evaluate their L1 and L2 knowledge of suffixation. The present study thus addresses the following research questions: Considering 1) the combined frequency of the stem and suffix, 2) the complexity of the suffix (in terms of frequency, predictability, productivity and regularity) and 3) what word classes the suffixes are able to form, what 1) quantitative and 2) qualitative knowledge of suffixation do Swedish university students have in English as their L2 as compared to their L1?

In the present investigation, 15 first term university students were faced with 80 context-based idioms in English (L2) and Swedish (L1) respectively, 30 of which were in the source domain of animals, commonly used in both languages, and asked to explain their meaning. The idioms were of varying frequency and transparency. Three main research questions were thus addressed: 1. How well do students master idioms in their L2 as compared to their L1? 2. How do (a) degrees of transparency, (b) idiom frequency and (c) the choice of source domain affect students' L1 and L2 comprehension? 3. To what extent is context used when interpreting L1 and L2 idioms? Results show that while the frequency of an idiom does not appear to play a part in whether it is comprehended or not in either language, the degree of transparency is of great importance in students' L2. Also, students make extensive use of context in their L2.

Research shows that the most important skill to possess when learning a previously unknown word is to be able to interpret its meaning based on the context in which it is found (Nation, 2001). This is especially true for L1 learners, but regrettably, research shows, not as true for students learning a second language (Nation, 2001). The aim of the present study is therefore to investigate what differences, if any, there are between advanced learners' inferencing skills in their first versus their second language. This is done by subjecting 15 first-term university students to two parallel inferencing tests in their L1 (Swedish) and L2 (English) respectively. Although the number of inferences and the success rate vary from student to student, the results of the present study show that the learners made extensive use of contextual clues, in their L1 as well as in their L2. Also, the success rate was comparatively high, indicating the great potential learners possess for inferencing. However, in order to improve the students' results, it may be that the teaching syllabus needs to make room for instruction on how to make use of contextual clues so that the potential learners clearly possess is nurtured further.

The present study investigated the conventional vs. nonconventional use of idioms in general and academic English as a lingua franca (ELF) corpora taking into account the speech event type, academic domain, and discipline. ELFA and VOICE corpora were searched for idiom tokens based on Collins COBUILD Idioms Dictionary. Results showed that idioms were more frequent in VOICE than in ELFA, indicating a higher proportion of formulaic language in informal and interactive discourse as compared to more formal and transactional discourses. Tokens in conventional form and meaning were the most frequent in both corpora. Entirely novel idioms were small in number in both corpora. However, both corpora generated a large number of idioms with formal variations. Idiom use in the academic corpus was register sensitive. ELF speakers in both corpora used communication strategies to prevent unilateral idiomaticity. Overuse of high-frequency idioms by some speakers could be associated with idiomatic teddy bears. Results can help understand the nature of idiomaticity in ELF in general and academic settings. Findings on the academic corpus can also inform curriculum development and assessment in English for Academic Purposes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The current study explores the language of non-commercial advertising, both quantitatively and qualitatively, within the framework of pragmatics. The main incentive is (1) to investigate how creators of such advertising aim to seek attention, inform and persuade, and (2) to examine whether non-commercial and commercial advertising differ linguistically. Orbiting around key notions of Relevance Theory and Tanaka's pragmatic approach to advertising, the study pays attention to how collected advertisements use internal and external contexts in their explicit and implicit language, and whether their language complies with the hierarchy present in commercial advertising in which information is subordinated to persuasion. The findings show that language functions in non-commercial advertising are frequently incorporated into complex arrangements in which they sometimes overlap and/or collaborate. Such arrangements appear to cause the audience to be inventive and to use extra processing efforts in solving explicit and implicit problems of the stimulus. Moreover, it is suggested that non-commercial and commercial advertising do not differ from one another in a linguistic sense. There are, indeed, times when non-commercial advertisers leave out clear persuasion and instead aim their main focus at improving the audience's knowledge. In a purely linguistic sense, however, it is shown that persuasive language is always embedded, which indicates that the genre is not necessarily less persuasive than its commercial counterpart. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background. Differences in socioeconomic status contribute to inequalities in lifestyle habits and burden of noncommunicable diseases. We aimed to examine how the effects of a 1-year structured lifestyle education program associate with the participant's educational level and socioeconomic area (SEA) of residence. Methods. One hundred individuals (64% women) with high cardiovascular risk were included. Education level (nonuniversity vs university degree) was self-reported and SEA (low vs high) defined by living in different SEAs. Lifestyle habits and quality of life were self-reported, cardiovascular risk factors and Framingham 10-year cardiovascular disease risk were measured at baseline and after 1 year. Results. Sedentary behavior decreased in both nonuniversity degree and low SEA group over 1 year, with a significantly greater improvement in daily activity behavior in low- compared with high-SEA group. Abdominal obesity decreased significantly more in the nonuniversity compared with the university degree group. Cardiovascular risk and quality of life improved in all groups, however, with greater discrimination when using educational level as the dichotomization variable. Conclusion. The results are clinically and significantly relevant, suggesting that low socioeconomic status measured both as educational level and SEA are no barriers for changing unhealthy lifestyle habits and decreasing cardiovascular risk after participation in a lifestyle program. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The primary aim of this paper is to examine students´ relational engagement in a short story, as well as their use of mental state expressions in responding to it in three different writing assignments, one of which involved photo elicitation. A secondary aim is to examine and compare the relational engagement between students reading the story in Swedish (i.e., their L1) and English (i.e., their L2), respectively. The theoretical framework draws on research in relational engagement/transactional theory, the Appraisal system, Dual Code Theory (DCT), and the Linguistic Threshold Hypothesis. Both qualitative and quantitative methods were used. A total of 33 students participated in the study, half of whom read the story in Swedish, and half in English. The results show that the students used a wide range of mental state expressions, but also that these expressions changed in accordance with task formulation. The results also show that the photoelicitation assignment yielded the strongest relational engagement. Furthermore, students reading the story in Swedish generally demonstrated a stronger relational engagement than students reading the story in English. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Paroxysmal atrial fibrillation is associated with impaired health-related quality of life. Yoga has been suggested to improve health-related quality of life among patients with heart failure and hypertension. Aim: The aim of the study was to evaluate the effects of MediYoga, in respect of health-related quality of life, blood pressure, heart rate, as well as N-terminal pro b-type natriuretic peptide, among patients with symptomatic paroxysmal atrial fibrillation, compared with standard therapy or relaxation. Methods: Patients with symptomatic paroxysmal atrial fibrillation, n =132, were stratified for gender and randomised to MediYoga, a relaxation group or a control group, 44 patients per group with a 12-week follow-up. Health-related quality of life, blood pressure, heart rate and N-terminal pro b-type natriuretic peptide were assessed. Results: After 12 weeks, there were no differences in health-related quality of life between the groups. There were improvements in Short-Form Health Survey bodily pain, general health, social function, mental health and mental component summary scores within the MediYoga group (p =0.014, p =0.037, p =0.029, p =0.030, p =0.019, respectively). No change was seen in the relaxation and control groups. Systolic blood pressure decreased in the MediYoga group (134±18 to 127±13) compared with the control group (126±17 to 127±15, p =0.041); no difference compared with the relaxation group (131±17 to 125±12). Diastolic blood pressure decreased in the MediYoga group (79±9 to 74 ±9) compared with the control group (76±9 to 79±8, p =0.005); no difference compared with the relaxation group (76±9 to 77±8). There were no differences in heart rate and N-terminal pro b-type natriuretic peptide between the groups after 12 weeks. Conclusions: MediYoga improves health-related quality of life and decreases blood pressure in patients with paroxysmal atrial fibrillation. MediYoga may be used as a part of a self-management programme among patients with paroxysmal atrial fibrillation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aim: To explore and describe how patients' sleep is addressed at acute‐care hospitals in Sweden with regard to nursing care, management and the development of knowledge in this area. Background: Sleep is a basic human need and thus important for health and health maintenance. Patients describe sleeping in hospital as a stressor, and research shows that nurses tend to underestimate patients' perceived problems with sleep during hospitalisation. How do nursing staff at acute hospitals address patients' sleep and the development of knowledge in this area? Design/Method: A cross‐sectional descriptive study was conducted based on data collected through a web survey. Head nurses, registered nurses, nursing care developers and local training supervisors at 36 randomised acute‐care hospitals in Sweden were invited to participate. This study was executed and reported in accordance with SQUIRE 2.0. Results: The results of the survey (53 responses from 19 wards at 15 acute‐care hospitals) showed that no policy documents exist and no current training addresses sleep during hospital stay. All participants agreed that sleep should be considered a nursing topic and that it is important for hospitalised patients. Conclusion: Patients' sleep during hospitalisation is undermanaged at acute‐care hospitals. Nurses, health care managers and organisations face challenges if they are to achieve better outcomes. Relevance to clinical practice: This study shows that nurses do consider patients' sleep important and addressing sleep as part of nursing care. Future studies in the area should focus on what kinds of support and education are needed in the clinical context. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the present study, with the aim of analyzing the relationship among teacher feedback, feedforward, and grade, the corrections and comments made by four experienced assessors on 187 compositions were under scrutiny. These essays were written by 56 Swedish university students studying English as a second language at three different educational levels. The results reveal that while there were clear links between mid-essay corrections/comments and grades given, the links between mid-essay corrections/comments and end comments were not only comparatively few, but less clear. Moreover, although valued highly in the research literature because of their ability to promote writing skills in an enhanced manner, there were more summative end comments than formative ones. The conclusion was, therefore, drawn that it is quite taxing for assessors, even for experienced ones, to produce connections that involve an alignment among a) mid-essay corrections/comments, b) end comments and c) grade that will, at the same time, promote students' writing skills in accordance with what is suggested by the research literature. The assessors were, however, irrespective of grade given, attuned to the educational level at hand, focusing more on analytic aspects at the two lower levels, while taking a more holistic approach at the highest educational level. This may indicate that offering corrections/comments does not only entail a developmental journey for students, but for teachers too. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]