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Conceptual mediation is one of the competences described by the Common European Framework of Reference (CEFR) during the acquisition of foreign languages. When practicing mediation, learners collaborate in the construction of knowledge to conduct activities that require higher-level cognitive skills, such as teamwork. This study analyzes the communicative functions and L1 use in peer interaction during a conceptual mediation activity in a group of students following Content Language Integrated Learning (CLIL) instruction and another receiving traditional language tuition. The sample was made up of 60 L1 Spanish, L2 German speakers enrolled in a A2.2 German course (age 18–20). For the analysis, the oral interaction of the groups was recorded through an online videoconference platform. The type of mediation used as well as the presence or absence of speakers' L1 (Spanish) were assessed. The analysis demonstrates that groups following a CLIL approach resorted to regulative discourse for work organization purposes (relational mediation) more frequently than those students following a more traditional approach. Regarding the use of the L1, non-CLIL groups used their first language to a greater degree in regulative discourse and during communicative mediation, that is, when they had to resort to translation to ensure comprehension among peers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper reports the findings of a critical qualitative study on trauma-informed teaching of English as a second language (ESL) at Australian universities. Post-traumatic stress affects verbal learning, yet most ESL teachers do not receive training in trauma-informed teaching. The field has suffered from a dearth of empirical studies and absence of student voice. This study used a validated tool to measure the post-traumatic stress of 39 participants, including international students and former refugees. Twenty of these completed semi-structured interviews about the ESL learning environment, based on a framework of trauma-informed principles. Data were analysed using critical, qualitative methods through a trauma-informed lens. A major theme in the findings was the importance of ESL teachers' understanding of students. Within this theme, four sub-themes are explored: personal engagement and attention, acceptance and understanding of the learner role, understanding the lives of students outside the classroom and an understanding of students' cultures. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Research on loanword semantics seldom investigates systematic patterns of change because semantic change is not nearly as constrained and predictable as phonological change. Hong Kong is a bilingual city of English and Chinese/Cantonese, where people frequently use English loanwords in Hong Kong Cantonese (ELCs). Drawing upon the notion of cognates, this questionnaire-based study examines the extent to which Hong Kong Cantonese speakers are aware of the contrasts in meaning between ELCs and the English words from which they have been borrowed. Three ELCs that are false friend cognates with their English source words were selected to be included in the study. Respondents who completed the questionnaire included a group of native English speakers (N = 19) and a group of native Cantonese speakers (N = 107). Their responses were compared and contrasted through both qualitative and quantitative methods. The results show that the ELCs affect the Cantonese speakers' understanding of the English source words. The English proficiency of native Cantonese speakers has been identified as a contributing factor that correlates with the accuracy of understanding word meanings. This study delineates the relationship between false friend cognates, ELCs and English vocabulary acquisition. It offers pedagogical implications for vocabulary learning and teaching in bilingual contexts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

AbstractSiegel claimed that teachers are obliged to provide grounds whenever demanded, as a result of which they must be able to subject to scrutiny whatever they teach. In this paper, however, and taking as a reference Wittgenstein’s On Certainty, it is shown that such a demand cannot work for second language teachers because their main task consists in transmitting ungrounded certainties. To clarify this point, I begin by presenting Wittgenstein’s conception of ‘certainty’, and explaining why I think he was right to provide examples of teachers who refuse to answer their students’ doubts concerning certainties. Thereafter, I analyze two kinds of grounds – i.e. historical and practical – with which a second language teacher might reply to the students’ queries about the certainties that he aims to transmit to them. This will enable me to reveal the consequences of such replies and, by extension, the scenario that would result from allowing students to decide whether they accept whatever is taught to them. In this way, I will show not only that Siegel’s demand is unfeasible, but also why second language teaching provides a clear example that the acquisition of certainties constitutes a final goal in education. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of this study was to analyze the effects of Spanish literacy precursor skills on reading learning to read in the mother tongue and their degree of transfer to English. A quasi-experimental design was used, which allowed for a repeated measures comparison between two groups of students, who underwent a follow-up assessment one year after the end of the intervention. A total of 386 schoolchildren, aged 6–7 years at the time of the intervention, who were beginning to learn to read, participated in the study. The results show that the implementation of teaching models that favor the development of precursor reading skills in a first language, such as Spanish, contribute to the literacy process in a second language such as English, and that the benefits acquired are maintained over time. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The study aims to assess the significance of the English grammar test application for secondary-level students to improve their English language grammar skills. Using an appropriate smartphone application for teaching and learning ESL grammar skills is a challenge that must be considered. On the other hand, other associated challenges, such as internet connection, suitable ESL teaching pedagogy, learners' socio-cultural and socio-economic background, and low level of motivation among ESL learners, need a viable solution. Through mixed method techniques, pre-tests and post-tests were conducted. In both phases of the study, a purposeful sampling technique was used and the assigned teacher and a total of ten students were selected for filling in a questionnaire after the post-test. The data collected from the pre-test and post-test were analyzed through charts and tables, whereas the questionnaires were analyzed through QDA Miner and Word Stat. The study employed Skinner's learning theory of Behaviorism (1976) to practice stimulus, response, and reinforcement techniques. The findings concluded that although the students faced learning constraints, the teacher and the students positively responded to the English grammar test application. The study can be useful for ESL/EFL students in various contexts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Bulletin of Ablai Khan KazUIRandWL: Series 'Philological sciences' is the property of Kazakh Ablai Khan University of International Relations & World Languages and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

This article explores the views of Turkish language learners on digital writing and its impact on their language learning. The study involved 21 international students from 16 countries who were attending Turkish language classes at Akdeniz University. The participants engaged in digital writing using platforms such as WhatsApp, Instagram, Telegram, YouTube, and Twitter. They paid attention to spelling and punctuation and used the T9 typing system. The participants believed that digital writing contributed to their learning of Turkish. The study highlights the increasing importance of digital writing in language acquisition and the role of technology in facilitating communication. [Extracted from the article]

The decline in both the quantity and quality of interaction has emerged as a notable challenge in online learning. However, the definition of interaction quality remains unclear. This study clarifies it as a decrease in the breadth of interaction, which refers to interaction that can only cover a smaller number of learners. To address this, a synchronous interaction modality, termed Multiple Online Interaction (MOI), based on Zoom's interactive tools, was introduced. In a quasi-experiment involving 58 Chinese L2 learners (with 30 beginner and 28 intermediate students), emotions were assessed using the Brief Mood Introspection Scale (BMIS) while real-time emotional dynamics were revealed through the analysis of 5129 facial expression images during a 35-min synchronous class. MOI participants reported higher levels of Lively and Happy but also experienced more Nervous and less Calm. These emotional dynamics, tracked through expression recognition technology, demonstrate that MOI's impact is primarily observed during the first Grammar & Practice section of the teaching. The empirical findings of this study provide practical insights for educators aiming to conduct effective online teaching in the future.

This study uses CiteSpace to map the scientometric analysis of dynamic assessment (DA) research in the Web of Science core collection from 1990 to 2022 in the areas of psychology, education and language learning. Firstly, the study found that DA was initially employed in the fields of psychology and special education, and has been gaining attention from second language acquisition researchers in recent years. And Vygotsky, the representative figure of sociolcultural theory, has the highest influence, and Budoff has the greatest degree as a bridge. Secondly, five research topics are found through keyword clustering, which are early identification, group dynamic assessment, short-term progress monitoring, computerized dynamic assessment and teacher education. At the same time, the analysis of burst reference shows that the computerized dynamic assessment will be the trend in the future, and dynamic assessment of second language tends to use mixed research method. Through a review of previous studies, this paper explores the paradigms and methods of empirical research in DA, hoping to provide new alternatives for future research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the post-pandemic era, the Digital 2023 Report highlights a rapid expansion in the global user base of social networking sites (SNSs). Despite the lack of formal integration of SNSs in second language (L2) education, which could enhance real-time creation, collaboration, and communication in the target language and culture, L2 learners still actively use these technologies outside of educational settings. This exploratory study utilizes a descriptive survey research design with a purposefully selected sample of 239 undergraduate and graduate students in their first and second years of language studies. These students pursue commonly taught languages, such as Spanish, as well as less commonly taught ones, such as Arabic, Persian, Slavic (Bosnian-Croatian-Serbian, Russian, and Polish), Turkic (Turkish and Uyghur), and Uralic (Estonian, Finnish, and Hungarian), in addition to others, such as Mongolian. The diverse range of languages enables a thorough investigation of the use of SNSs among college-level L2 learners in the United States, including both widely taught and less commonly taught languages. The findings of this study show that the target age group exhibits distinct preferences in their choice of social platforms for personal use compared to those used in L2 classrooms. Furthermore, the outcomes underscore the significant impact of age, gender, and the method of course delivery on the usage patterns of social networking sites. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The study measured the effects of building learner profiles for homogeneous groups of students to increase the effectiveness of Spanish language teaching to foreigners. Studies on the effectiveness of learning profiles of L2 students for addressing their language learning needs are almost inexistent.The corpora were collected following an adaptation of the model of Tare et al. (2014). Subsequently, the Tare et al. model for the collection of the corpus was applied. Once the corpus was collected, latest software like OCR Stylus (2022), MAT tagger andAntConc were utilized to analyze the corpus. For this analysis the Elliserror analysis approach(2005) was applied, to reveal common patterns of errors when producing a student output in Spanish language. The results show that Pakistani immigrants present similar characteristics demographically and linguistically and a large number oferrors in Spanish language usage derive from their L1. The profile built was tested for a year and utilized for the improvement of teaching and learning materials with positive results. The analysis resulted in a language profile that can be utilized for the teaching of Spanish language to Pakistani learners in any language center by any instructor.

This study documents students' experiences during the Emergency Online Transition of Spring 2020 in a Spanish language program at a large public university in the United States. Data from students' mid-term and end-of-term questionnaires, as well as teachers' journals, were collected in the Spring, and follow-up teacher interviews were carried out in Fall 2020. Results indicate that students' overall stress levels diminished from beginning to end of the academic term but that individual experiences were extremely varied. While some students enjoyed the increased autonomy and self-paced learning opportunities of the online format, others felt distressed in this less directed modality and emphasized the negative effect of reduced social interactions on their levels of engagement. Only few students mentioned technological difficulties as a central challenge in their learning process, but many believed that they had learned less than in traditional face-to-face courses. Instructors’ views differed in this respect, as they considered that the reduced group-size of synchronous Zoom sessions allowed them to hear more of each student, which they saw as evidence of increased student talk as compared to the usual whole-class face-to-face sessions. This more intimate virtual set-up also increased a sense of proximity between teachers and students.

Despite attempts to discourage the use of machine translation (MT), we have observed that students continue to rely on it. Are teachers powerless? We believe not! Consistent with a range of solutions proposed in previous publications, we hypothesized that a “hands-on” approach would be effective in helping students raise awareness of the benefits and limitations of machine translation. This approach strives to reframe machine translation from an object of interdiction to an object of critical reflection. Hence, we created, implemented, and evaluated a 50-minute online lesson during Fall 2020. Our aim was to guide students toward a critical awareness of various machine translation tools [Google Translate (GT), WordReference.com (WR), French dictionaries] by choosing carefully crafted machine translation examples and asking students to correct them in class (“post-editing”). We also tried to track any potential change in the students’ representations via a confidential pre- and a post-survey, and an audio-record of the interactions in class. One of our main results is that a majority of the students had already built complex representations and clever usages of machine translation before the class, much more than what we had expected. This allows us to reflect on what kind of impacts can or cannot be expected from such a class and to discuss the benefits and limits of such an approach to better integrate translation tools into second language teaching.

This study explores advanced models for second language instruction within the artificial intelligence landscape, spotlighting the integration of mixed quantile regression and Bayesian inference to refine teaching strategies and bolster learning achievements. By adopting mixed quantile regression, this research constructs a model that surpasses traditional assumptions of normality, enabling the handling of complex, multilevel heterogeneous data. Bayesian inference was applied for parameter estimation, enhancing the precision and reliability of our findings. An empirical investigation involving 658 students from College M revealed an average adaptability score in second language learning of 3.663, with all dimensions scoring above 3—learning attitude ranking highest at 3.956. Key factors influencing learning capacity, including motivation, intellectual literacy, self-efficacy, and the availability of resources, demonstrated a positive correlation. These findings suggest the potential of mixed quantile regression and Bayesian inference in assessing learning adaptability and determinants, offering a novel approach to AI-supported second language education.

In this conceptual article, the author introduces decolonization as an alternative to social justice frameworks. As stakeholders in second language (L2) teaching, the author stresses decolonization as a means for L2 researchers to work against colonial practices in educational research, which negatively impact historically disenfranchised communities. Specifically, Patel's (Patel, Leigh. 2016. Decolonizing educational research: From ownership to answerability. New York: Routledge) answerability framework is introduced as a practical method to support decolonization in L2 research. The article is made up of four main sections. The first section explains the concept of settler colonialism and highlights how it is ingrained in educational research. In the second section, the author defines decolonization and distinguishes it from the more popular social justice movement. In the third section, the author summarizes four computer-assisted language learning (CALL) papers which were featured in a recent special issue on the topic of social justice. The author then provides a critical analysis of the reviewed studies from a decolonial perspective in the fourth and final section, while also suggesting ways in which researchers and educators can re-orient their work towards decolonization. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of International Journal of Language Academy is the property of Rota Kariyer and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Advertising is among the most dynamic engines of language innovation, a "living" laboratory of catch-phrases and slang that give insight into modern social attitudes and developments. This study argues that advertising is an under-appreciated resource for effective teaching of suprasegmental characteristics. It aims to embrace advertising, a central component of the media and cultural landscape, as the basis for a phonopragmatic tool that expands students' understanding of the persuasive power of pitch variability. The linguistical part of the study combines auditory and acoustic types of complex phonetic analysis of 30 advertisement videos. The results testify to the strategic use of intonational and prosodic means in advertising discourse that reflect differing approaches to audiences. Variations in pitch help convey explicit messages directed at rational thinking, or foster more intimate conversational approaches aiming to influence the emotional dimension. The findings of the linguistic analysis contribute to the scientific description of advertising discourse as a multimodal category and assist in the teaching of intonation in more appealing forms to the students who may be inhibited by interference from their native language (L1). Acquiring prosodic strategies of a second language (L2) through the familiar medium of advertising may represent an additional incentive for teachers and learners, as part of communicative phonetics that emphasizes the pragmatic impact of various intonation combinations in coherent discourse. This approach diversifies traditional phonetic drills of separate pitch patterns and reinforces the focus on students' L2 comprehension and public speaking skills ensuring powerful communicative performance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Adult education has been used as a means to enhance citizens' opportunities to participate and be included in society, but adult education may also construe students as excluded. This study focuses on how teachers in second language education for migrants conceptualise and enact teaching for social inclusion. It draws on Fraser's concept of social justice and Biesta's aims of sound education. The article is based on observations and interviews with teachers. The findings highlight that the teaching is enacted to develop the students' language skills for formal qualification and everyday life as well as their knowledge of Civics and norms in Swedish society. Thus, conceptualising the students as emerging participants, lacking skills and knowledge as language users and citizens. This teaching enactment reflects qualification and socialisation as central aims of education, but less of subjectification processes. Consequently, social inclusion is conceptualised as migrants adjusting to society in predefined ways. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Adult education has been used as a means to enhance citizens' opportunities to participate and be included in society, but adult education may also construe students as excluded. This study focuses on how teachers in second language education for migrants conceptualise and enact teaching for social inclusion. It draws on Fraser's concept of social justice and Biesta’s aims of sound education. The article is based on observations and interviews with teachers. The findings highlight that the teaching is enacted to develop the students’ language skills for formal qualification and everyday life as well as their knowledge of Civics and norms in Swedish society. Thus, conceptualising the students as emerging participants, lacking skills and knowledge as language users and citizens. This teaching enactment reflects qualification and socialisation as central aims of education, but less of subjectification processes. Consequently, social inclusion is conceptualised as migrants adjusting to society in predefined ways.

If teachers have previously used technology (e.g., Learning Management Systems, document sharing, video-conferencing, gamification, social media or video-recording), they are likely to use it again. For second language teachers, sudden or planned-for online instruction during the COVID-19 pandemic may have resulted in their using new or familiar technology to support their pedagogy, engage students, or provide authentic target language input. However, since online instruction was temporary, perhaps their use of certain technologies was temporary as well. To investigate L2 teachers' use of technology before, during, and (anticipatedly) after the pandemic, this study statistically analyzed data on technology use (n = 18 items) from a survey of Canadian L2 teachers (n = 203). It inquired about their use of Learning Management Systems, document sharing, video-conferencing, gamification, social media, and video-recording. Findings reveal that teachers' use of technology during the pandemic predicted their anticipated use post-pandemic. Teachers who used any of the six technologies during the pandemic were significantly more likely to anticipate using those same ones post-pandemic than those who did not. Despite the challenges of implementing these tools under these circumstances, these six technologies may remain as part of L2 teaching in the future. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Apuntes Universitarios: Revista de Investigación is the property of Universidad Peruana Union Filiar Tarapoto and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

In this paper, I examine the development, implementation, and results of utilizing three types of storybooks in a language revitalization classroom for students ages 5-12 learning Teotitlán del Valle Zapotec, an indigenous language of southern Mexico. Although each method used for creating books in Zapotec generated a positive reaction from students and parents, I consider the ways in which each method facilitates student learning while also problematizing the cultural authenticity of the classroom. Based on classroom observations, a parent focus group, and student interviews, I conclude that the most effective method for storybook creation involved students creating their own book modeled on a pre-existing book written in the non-indigenous language. This student-created book generated sustained interest in the language and allowed for students to shape the materials into something that was culturally relevant for them personally.

This review aims to describe and critically evaluate the volume Un Alfabeto di 73 Lettere. Strategie per la Didattica Linguistica, by Paolo Torresan. The work’s topic and structure are outlined in the first section, where book’s three parts are briefly described. The second section delves into the contents and chapters of each part of the book. In the third section, potential readers of the book are identified. Finally, in the fourth and last section of the book, a critical evaluation is attempted, highlighting strengths and possible critical points.

The field of teaching Chinese as a foreign language is in rapid development after the Covid pandemic. One primary reason is that digitalization and e-learning seem to make almost everything possible. However, due to restrictions encountered in institutes and the variety of different types of language learners, there are plenty of face-to-face language courses needed around the world. What kind of face-to-face Chinese course is unique and not replaceable by digital means remains to be discovered. This teaching design aims to integrate the strategy of acting training into TCFL courses. The first part of the article is about the demand for face-to-face courses that can be observed in Taiwan and overseas and also about the need for speaking and listening training. Secondly, this article explores what acting training strategies could and maybe should be applied in TCFL courses. The course design offered at the end of this article presents a practical syllabus for a 14 weeks Chinese course incorporating acting, the development of text parts by the learners, and their use for language learning in a course for advanced Chinese learners. This design has proven its worth in a course led by the author and is here recommended and shared to encourage similar endeavors at other institutions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Journal of Faculty of Letters / Edebiyat Fakultesi Dergisi is the property of Hacettepe University Faculty of Letters and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

This study compares the language proficiency gains of two groups of students taking a business English course module in a bilingual university in Catalonia (Spain). Whereas one of these groups followed a 'translanguaging' or 'plurilingual' pedagogy, the other followed a strictly monolingual approach. Participants were 54 mostly Catalan/Spanish bilingual university students of Business (n = 35 translanguaging and n = 19 monolingual). Whereas the teacher in the 'translanguaging group' used and fostered the use of Catalan and Spanish besides English, the teacher in the 'monolingual group' only used English and allowed only English in class. Participants were administered a placement test, and performed a written composition and an oral sales pitch the first and last week of the semester. Participants were also administered a questionnaire before and after the treatment. The EFL development of the participants was measured in terms of fluency, lexical complexity, grammatical complexity and accuracy, but it was also assessed by an expert examiner, who based her ratings on a rubric including four scales: language, communicative achievement, content, and organisation. Results show that both groups experienced comparable gains, but the few significant differences favoured the translanguaging group. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article details how an Intensive English Program course employed a framework of learner-centeredness in adapting curriculum for returned face-to-face instruction after a year of remote virtual learning due to COVID-19. The article highlights the acclimatization of high-intermediate learners' academic experience, the application of learner-centricity, and the identification and the resolution of their needs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of RumeliDE Journal of Language & Literature Research / RumeliDE Dil ve Edebiyat Araştırmaları Dergisi is the property of RumeliDE Uluslararasi Hakemli Dil & Edebiyat Arastirmalari Dergisi and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

This article offers an analysis of the roles and their respective knowledge types, and competences, which characterize a higher educational English language teacher working in a virtual and hybrid exchange project – CLAVIER. The project in question is a language and intercultural exchange which connects three core partners – Universite Clermont Auvergne (France), Warwick University (UK) and Jagiellonian University (Poland). This study explores the collaboration tasks completed by the French and Polish partners over a period of six years between 2014 and 2020. Set against the backdrop of the challenges faced by contemporary education such as the rapidly progressing digital revolution, the pivoting to online learning caused by global challenges of the recent times, and the pressure on internationalization of higher education, this autoethnographic analysis of the project activities reveals new functions and requirements to academic teachers of English from the point of view of their personal cultural and intercultural experience. One of the conclusions of this study is that the English language teaching profession is moving away from the role in which teachers acted as mere language instructors or language input providers. Instead, contemporary and future language teachers are likely to be required to focus more on those tasks which facilitate meaningful communication, to be concerned with setting up and managing educational activities in offline and online spaces and will need to encourage reflection on local and global community involvement. The article separates concepts of virtual exchange as referring to the engagement of groups of learners in online intercultural interactions and collaboration projects with partners from other cultural contexts or geographical locations as an integrated part of their educational programmes, and hybrid exchange, which adds to virtual exchange incorporation of offline interactions and physical mobility of students. Thus this research contributes to the solution of the problem of changing the viewpoint to second language teacher’s knowledge and competences by suggesting an alternative, more comprehensive framework which takes into account what is likely to become an increasingly common educational reality – virtual and hybrid teaching.

The COVID-19 pandemic forced countless colleges and universities worldwide to switch to online teaching, and many language instructors delivered their course content the usual way but remotely. This synchronous solution was motivated by the urgency of the situation but also by the common belief that languages cannot be learned efficiently without the simultaneous presence of the teacher and other learners. However, new technologies at our disposal increasingly dispel this myth by rendering asynchronous language teaching very efficient despite a few challenges. This paper presents data from Université TÉLUQ, the world's oldest French-speaking distance university, offering remote language courses for more than 40 years in a minority setting, namely a French-speaking province in English-speaking North America. We present challenges posed by teaching asynchronously in remote settings and various solutions to circumvent or overcome these challenges.