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The Introduction Of Mormonism To Finnish Society, 1840–1900, Kim Östman, Melvin J. Luthy Jan 2012

The Introduction Of Mormonism To Finnish Society, 1840–1900, Kim Östman, Melvin J. Luthy

BYU Studies

If one were to ask a returned missionary from Finland, or even a member of the Church in Finland, when missionary work began in that country, a likely response would be that it began in 1946, when Elder Ezra Taft Benson dedicated the land for missionary work. The date is well known, and a small monument commemorating the event has been erected in Larsmo, a small town on Finland's northwestern shore. Although many consider missionaries who served in the years immediately following the dedication to be the first missionaries in Finland, there is a general understanding that some members in …


Heritage Language Learners Of Russian And L2 Learners In The Flagship Program: A Comparison, Olga Kagan, Anna Kudyma Jan 2012

Heritage Language Learners Of Russian And L2 Learners In The Flagship Program: A Comparison, Olga Kagan, Anna Kudyma

Russian Language Journal

The paper will compare heritage language learners (HLL) with traditional learners of Russian as a foreign language (L2 learners). We will focus on the Intermediate-High and higher levels of proficiency in order to determine whether these two groups of students can profitably share the classroom and use a common curriculum. The findings of a new study as well as UCLA Flagship experience over several years confirm that these two groups are compatible at higher levels of oral proficiency as measured by oral proficiency tests.


Comparing Heritage And Non-Heritage Learning Outcomes And Target-Language Utilization In The Overseas Immersion Context: A Preliminary Study Of The Russian Flagship, Dan E. Davidson, Maria D. Lekic Jan 2012

Comparing Heritage And Non-Heritage Learning Outcomes And Target-Language Utilization In The Overseas Immersion Context: A Preliminary Study Of The Russian Flagship, Dan E. Davidson, Maria D. Lekic

Russian Language Journal

The heritage learner within U.S. foreign language education has received increasing attention over the past two decades, as university programs with substantial numbers of heritage students have developed improved diagnostic and curricular offerings for addressing the particular needs of those whose learning of their native language was incomplete or interrupted due to immigration to the U.S. (Valdés, 2000; Kagan & Dillon, 2004). While the heritage learner within the domestic language learning context is relatively well represented in the literature, relatively little research has been devoted to the acquisition experiences of heritage learners engaged in overseas immersion study (re-learning) of their …


Student And Tutor Perspectives Of Tutoring In A Russian Flagship Program, Dianna Murphy, Karen Evans-Romaine, Snezhana Zheltoukhova Jan 2012

Student And Tutor Perspectives Of Tutoring In A Russian Flagship Program, Dianna Murphy, Karen Evans-Romaine, Snezhana Zheltoukhova

Russian Language Journal

This paper presents findings from a small-scale qualitative study based on interviews with Russian Flagship students and tutors at the University of Wisconsin-Madison to explore students’ and tutors’ perceptions of tutoring in the UW-Madison Russian Flagship Program. The UW-Madison Russian Flagship is a rigorous undergraduate program funded by a grant from the National Security Education Program (NSEP) to provide opportunities for highly motivated students of any major to reach a Superior level of proficiency in Russian by graduation. Students in the program are provided with two to four hours per week of individual tutoring in Russian. The present study follows …


Argumentation And Debate In The Foreign Language Classroom: Russian And American University Students Collaborating Through New Technologies, N. Anthony Brown, Ekaterina V. Talalakina, Irina V. Yakusheva, Dennis L. Eggett Jan 2012

Argumentation And Debate In The Foreign Language Classroom: Russian And American University Students Collaborating Through New Technologies, N. Anthony Brown, Ekaterina V. Talalakina, Irina V. Yakusheva, Dennis L. Eggett

Russian Language Journal

As pressure to articulate clear learning outcomes has increased in recent years, many foreign language departments across the United States have drawn on proficiency guidelines established by the American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages (ACTFL) to define expectations of their curricula. Misguided perceptions in the past about the “hardness” of the discipline frequently stemmed from a combination of instructors relying on arbitrary measures rather than nationally recognized standards, and administrators failing to provide financial support needed to carry out proficiency testing.


Item Development And Scoring For Japanese Oral Proficiency Testing, Deryle W. Lonsdale, Hitokazu Matsushita Jan 2012

Item Development And Scoring For Japanese Oral Proficiency Testing, Deryle W. Lonsdale, Hitokazu Matsushita

Faculty Publications

This study introduces and evaluates a computerized approach to measuring Japanese L2 oral proficiency. We present a testing and scoring method that uses a type of structured speech called elicited imitation (EI) to evaluate accuracy of speech productions. Several types of language resources and toolkits are required to develop, administer, and score responses to this test. First, we present a corpus-based test item creation method to produce EI items with targeted linguistic features in a principled and efficient manner. Second, we sketch how we are able to bootstrap a small learner speech corpus to generate a significantly large corpus of …


Extracting Information From French Obituaries, Deryle W. Lonsdale, David W. Embley, Stephen W. Liddle, Joseph Park Jan 2012

Extracting Information From French Obituaries, Deryle W. Lonsdale, David W. Embley, Stephen W. Liddle, Joseph Park

Faculty Publications

This paper discusses ongoing efforts to develop a system for extracting information from French obituaries. The approach is based on prior work on ontology-based English obituary extraction, which we first summarize. Then we mention sources for, and characteristics of, typical French obituaries. We sketch ongoing knowledge source development and the relevant tools, as well as an evaluation procedure we intend to follow for quantifying performance of the French system. Throughout we mention some lessons learned in the process.


A Comparative Evaluation Of An Educational Program Designed To Enable Mechanical Engineering Students To Develop Global Competence, Aaron Gerald Ball Dec 2011

A Comparative Evaluation Of An Educational Program Designed To Enable Mechanical Engineering Students To Develop Global Competence, Aaron Gerald Ball

Theses and Dissertations

The 'flattening of the world', using Thomas Friedman's phraseology, is driving corporations to increasingly use collaborative engineering processes and global teams to operate on a global scale. Globalization of the traditional university engineering curriculum is necessary to help students prepare to work in a global environment. More scalable and economically sustainable program types are needed to enable the majority of students to obtain a globalized education. The purpose of this research was to determine how effectively a global team- and project-based computer aided engineering course provided learning opportunities that enabled students to develop elements of global competence in comparison to …


The Female Experience: Study Abroad Students In Egypt, Heather Raquael Walsh Dec 2011

The Female Experience: Study Abroad Students In Egypt, Heather Raquael Walsh

Theses and Dissertations

This qualitative study explores the experiences of female students on study abroad programs, with the aim of answering the following questions: do they face unique challenges as female students (including harassment or assault), how do they avoid or cope with any negative experiences, and can we as language departments better prepare our students to have the best experiences possible? The participants for the study were primarily 12 of 50 students involved in the Brigham Young University Study Abroad to Cairo, Egypt during Spring and Summer terms 2010. Data include participant observation, student journals, and ethnographic interviews conducted during the last …


Impact Of Indigenous Language On Achievement And Emotional Conditions: A Case Study Of East European Students In Utah, Natalya Georgiyeva Dec 2011

Impact Of Indigenous Language On Achievement And Emotional Conditions: A Case Study Of East European Students In Utah, Natalya Georgiyeva

Theses and Dissertations

The importance of using an indigenous language as a medium of school instruction has been discussed in world education for a long time. This study focuses on the influence of the presence of a native language in the learning process of the students and the impact on their academic achievement, emotional conditions, and post-school lives. A qualitative method of research was used in the study, comprising 12 interviews among Ukrainian/Russian adopted and nonadopted students who attended Utah schools. Information obtained through interviews presented language levels of students (both native and English), academic achievement, and emotional conditions of students during the …


Acquisition Of Spanish Voiceless Stops In Extended Stays Abroad, Mary Williams Crane Dec 2011

Acquisition Of Spanish Voiceless Stops In Extended Stays Abroad, Mary Williams Crane

Theses and Dissertations

Although English and Spanish both have the voiceless stops /ptk/, they differ in VOT; English has long-lag voiceless stops and Spanish has short-lag. This difference means that native English-speaking learners of Spanish are likely to transfer the long voice lag typical of their first language (L1) to Spanish voiceless stops. This study measured the VOT of 20 native English-speaking learners of Spanish, each with a length of residence (LOR) in a Spanish-speaking country of almost 2 years. The study participants were found to produce voiceless stops intermediate to the averages of their L1 (American English) and L2 (Spanish), with some …


Community Outreach English: Marketing A Community Esl Program, Carrie Lane Drake Dec 2011

Community Outreach English: Marketing A Community Esl Program, Carrie Lane Drake

Theses and Dissertations

The focus of this MA TESOL project was to develop promotional products for BYU's Community Outreach English (CORE) program. The purpose of these products is to create greater community awareness of the program and the resources it provides to learners. It is also hoped that the promotional products will aid in the process of recruiting students for the program from one year to the next. While the essential elements of the marketing mix (product, place, promotion, and price) were reviewed, an emphasis for this project was placed on promotion, which translated into developing materials for this purpose. Promotional materials that …


Better Speakers Make More Friends: Predictors Of Social Network Development Among Study-Abroad Students, J Wyatt Brockbank Dec 2011

Better Speakers Make More Friends: Predictors Of Social Network Development Among Study-Abroad Students, J Wyatt Brockbank

Theses and Dissertations

Social network development has been studied in the social sciences for the last several decades, but little work has applied social network theory to study-abroad research. This study seeks to quantitatively describe factors that predict social network formation among study-abroad students while in the host countries. Social networks were measured in terms of the number of friends the students made, the number of distinct social groups reported, and the number of friends within those groups. The Study Abroad Social Interaction Questionnaire was compared against these pre-trip factors: intercultural competence, target-language proficiency, prior missionary experience, gender, study-abroad program, neuroticism, extroversion, agreeableness, …


La Grande Arche Des Fugitifs?,/I> Huguenots In The Dutch Republic After 1685, Michael Joseph Walker Dec 2011

La Grande Arche Des Fugitifs?,/I> Huguenots In The Dutch Republic After 1685, Michael Joseph Walker

Theses and Dissertations

In the seventeenth century, many refugees saw the United Provinces of the Netherlands as a promised land—a gathering ark, or in French, arche. In fact, Pierre Bayle called it, "la grande arche des fugitifs." This thesis shows the reception of one particular group of Protestant refugees, the Huguenots, who migrated to the Netherlands because of Catholic confessionalization in France, especially after the Revocation of the Edict of Nantes in 1685. The thesis offers two case studies—one of the acceptance of Huguenot clergymen and one of the mixed reception of refugee radical and philosopher Pierre Bayle—in order to add nuance …


Gains In Fluency Measures During Study Abroad In China, Jeongwoon Kim Dec 2011

Gains In Fluency Measures During Study Abroad In China, Jeongwoon Kim

Theses and Dissertations

This thesis study investigates gains in the speaking of China study abroad (SA) students from Brigham Young University. Pre-and post-program Simulated Oral Proficiency Interview (SOPI) tasks were used to generate multiple fluency measures, such as native judges' subjective fluency ratings, word count, number of unique words, number of filler words, mean pause length, tonal accuracy, etc. The study results display significant differences between pre- and post-tests for all fluency measures. In other words, China SA students were perceived to be more fluent in their speech by native judges after SA; their speech samples show more word (token and type) production, …


The Development Of Two Units For Basic Training And Resources For Teaching English To Speakers Of Other Languages: "Teaching Styles And Cultural Differences" And "Understanding Students' Learning Styles", Kyle F. Johnson Dec 2011

The Development Of Two Units For Basic Training And Resources For Teaching English To Speakers Of Other Languages: "Teaching Styles And Cultural Differences" And "Understanding Students' Learning Styles", Kyle F. Johnson

Theses and Dissertations

To create a much-needed program for training novice and volunteer English teachers, Dr. Lynn Henrichsen put together a team of interested TESOL graduate students who developed materials and resources for this purpose. Under his supervision and mentorship, each student helped with the development of units for a website and book titled, Basic Training and Resources for Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages (BTRTESOL). Recognizing the target audience as novice teachers with little or no training in teaching English as a second language, each graduate student approached the development of each unit for this BTRTESOL program with this in mind. …


Coming To Terms: The Challenge Of Creating Christian Vocabulary In A Non-Christian Land, Van C. Gessel Dec 2011

Coming To Terms: The Challenge Of Creating Christian Vocabulary In A Non-Christian Land, Van C. Gessel

BYU Studies

Because words, in any language, are not actual concrete objects but simply "sounds," "symbols," or "signifiers" that at best can only be a shadowy approximation of reality and truth, we must regard language as one of the slipperiest of the slippery treasures of mortality. If language itself produces, at best, a shadowy approximation of reality and truth, then translating that shadowy approximation from one language to another significantly compounds the slipperiness. The difficulty increases when translating Christian terms into a historically non-Christian language and culture such as Japanese. Thus, as Christian translators have attempted to borrow words from other languages …


Religious Metaphor And Cross-Cultural Communication: Transforming National And International Identities, Joseph E. Richardson Dec 2011

Religious Metaphor And Cross-Cultural Communication: Transforming National And International Identities, Joseph E. Richardson

BYU Studies

The challenges of intercultural communication multiply in religious discourse, with its objective of translating abstract ideas into cultures and languages with sufficient power to transform individual, ethnic, and regional identities and to build cohesive communities of faith. Metaphor plays a primary role in this transformative communication. A powerful tool to abbreviate and facilitate communication, metaphor enables individuals to transmit abstract ideas quickly, efficiently, and memorably. Metaphor is not just a tool for efficient communication; it also guides thought, extends ideas, and influences behavior. Daily language is full of metaphor, which affects our beliefs and faith and, consequently, our actions. As …


Now You See It, Now You Don't: Biblical Perspectives On The Relationship Between Magic And Religion, Shawna Dolansky, David A. Allred Dec 2011

Now You See It, Now You Don't: Biblical Perspectives On The Relationship Between Magic And Religion, Shawna Dolansky, David A. Allred

BYU Studies

Defining terms is a foundational task in academic studies, and a clear example of its importance is in the ongoing debates on the relationship between magic and religion. Because of the various ways in which magic has been defined over time and because of the negative connotations that can accompany some definitions, explorations of magic and religion are rife with misunderstanding and ethnocentrism, most famously dating back to the milieu of cultural evolution that characterized nineteenth-century anthropology, especially in the works of Edward B. Taylor and James G. Frazer. However, questions about the relationship between magic and religion go back …


Indigenismo In The Mexican Photographs Of Tina Modotti: The Revolutionary And The Indigenista, Shannon Dame Nov 2011

Indigenismo In The Mexican Photographs Of Tina Modotti: The Revolutionary And The Indigenista, Shannon Dame

Theses and Dissertations

During Tina Modotti's time in Mexico in the 1920s, much of her photography and political activities focused on and fought for the rights of those who had been previously overlooked and marginalized, namely the indigenous people of Mexico. Many government officials, artists and intellectuals at the time believed that it was through the indigenous culture that Mexico could redeem itself and create its own national identity. Indigenismo, the philosophy that supported this claim, was of interest to Modotti and was a recurring theme throughout her photography. Following the Mexican Revolution of 1910, indigenismo appeared to be the solution to …


Reframing Student Accommodation In Education Abroad: Reporting On A Cross-National Study Of Learning Outcomes, Anthony C. Ogden, Dan Dewey, Tomomi Kumai Nov 2011

Reframing Student Accommodation In Education Abroad: Reporting On A Cross-National Study Of Learning Outcomes, Anthony C. Ogden, Dan Dewey, Tomomi Kumai

Faculty Publications

All too often student accommodation is understood as a minor component of an education abroad program with only trivial impact on the overall educational experience. As such, students are frequently permitted to choose housing based on location, cost, convenience and more frequently, on the availability of amenities, such as wireless Internet, cable, and telephone. Unfortunately, the prioritization given to such logistical and practical arrangements tends to overshadow the fundamental learning potential of student accommodation. Through active reflection and experimentation, the learning that takes place in student accommodation can lead to meaningful and transformative learning.

This “theory to practice” pilot study …


Full Issue, Comparative Civilizations Review Oct 2011

Full Issue, Comparative Civilizations Review

Comparative Civilizations Review

No abstract provided.


Racial/Ethnic Matching Of Clients And Therapists In Mental Health Services: A Meta-Analytic Review Of Preferences, Perceptions, And Outcomes, Timothy B. Smith, Raquel R. Cabral Oct 2011

Racial/Ethnic Matching Of Clients And Therapists In Mental Health Services: A Meta-Analytic Review Of Preferences, Perceptions, And Outcomes, Timothy B. Smith, Raquel R. Cabral

Faculty Publications

The effects of matching clients with therapists of the same race/ethnicity have been explored using a variety of approaches across several decades. We conducted a meta-analysis of three variables frequently used in research on racial/ethnic matching: Clients' preferences for a therapist of their own race/ethnicity, clients' perceptions of therapists, and therapeutic outcomes. Across 52 studies of preferences, the average effect size was d = .63, indicating a moderately strong preference for a therapist of one's own race/ethnicity. Across 81 studies of individuals' perceptions of therapists, the average effect size was d = .32, indicating a tendency to perceive therapists of …


Bridging Civilizations Through Nothingness: Manchuria As Nishida Kitaro's "Place", Chi-Yu Shih, Chi-Yu; Huang, Chiung-Chiu Huang Oct 2011

Bridging Civilizations Through Nothingness: Manchuria As Nishida Kitaro's "Place", Chi-Yu Shih, Chi-Yu; Huang, Chiung-Chiu Huang

Comparative Civilizations Review

No abstract provided.


Laina Farhat-Holzman, How Do You Know That? A Guide To Critical Thinking About Global Issues., Dario Fernandez-Morera Oct 2011

Laina Farhat-Holzman, How Do You Know That? A Guide To Critical Thinking About Global Issues., Dario Fernandez-Morera

Comparative Civilizations Review

No abstract provided.


Fans Don't Boo Nobodies: Image Repair Strategies Of High-Profile Baseball Players During The Steroid Era, Kevin R. Nielsen Sep 2011

Fans Don't Boo Nobodies: Image Repair Strategies Of High-Profile Baseball Players During The Steroid Era, Kevin R. Nielsen

Theses and Dissertations

Baseball's Steroid Era put many different high-profile athletes under pressure to explain steroid allegations that were made against them. This thesis used textual analysis of news reports and media portrayals of the athletes, along with analysis of their image repair strategies to combat those allegations, to determine how successful the athletes were in changing public opinion as evidenced through the media. The contexts, media reports, and strategies of Jason Giambi, Mark McGwire, Andy Pettitte, and Roger Clemens were analyzed and revealed important implications involving effective use of image repair strategies. They provided a deeper framework for the success of mortification …


End Matter, Religious Educator Sep 2011

End Matter, Religious Educator

Religious Educator: Perspectives on the Restored Gospel

No abstract provided.


Jon Jonsson: Icelandic Mormon Poet And Translator, Fred E. Woods, Kári Bjarnason Sep 2011

Jon Jonsson: Icelandic Mormon Poet And Translator, Fred E. Woods, Kári Bjarnason

Faculty Publications

Jon Jonsson (Jón Jónsson), a catalytic Icelandic convert to Mormonism, was a gifted poet and translator whose literary work focused on the theme of salvation. Perhaps his most valuable contribution to Mormon history is that he is the first known person to translate a portion of the Book of Moron into Icelandic. He completed a translation of the First Book of Nephi in 1881.


Foreign Language Houses: Identities In Transition, Wendy Baker, Jennifer Brown, Dan P. Dewey, Rob A. Martinsen Aug 2011

Foreign Language Houses: Identities In Transition, Wendy Baker, Jennifer Brown, Dan P. Dewey, Rob A. Martinsen

Faculty Publications

This study examined the lived experience of students participating in foreign language houses to improve their skills in Russian, French, or Japanese. American students residing in apartments with other language learners and a nativespeaking resident facilitator were required to speak with one another exclusively in the target language and participate in activities such as preparing and eating dinner together. Data sources for the study included interviews, observations, and video recordings. The data, which were analyzed qualitatively, revealed that the central experience of living in the foreign language house was the creation of a livable community and that use of the …


A Preliminary Report On Disordered Speech With Deep Brain Stimulation In Individuals With Parkinson's Disease, Christopher Dromey, Suzy Bjarnason Aug 2011

A Preliminary Report On Disordered Speech With Deep Brain Stimulation In Individuals With Parkinson's Disease, Christopher Dromey, Suzy Bjarnason

Faculty Publications

Deep brain stimulation (DBS) of the subthalamic nucleus (STN) has proven effective in treating the major motor symptoms of advanced Parkinson's disease (PD). The aim of this study was to learn which laryngeal and articulatory acoustic features changed in patients who were reported to have worse speech with stimulation. Six volunteers with PD who had bilateral STN electrodes were recorded with DBS turned on or off. Perceptual ratings reflected poorer speech performance with DBS on. Acoustic measures of articulation (corner vowel formants, diphthong slopes, and a spirantization index) and phonation (perturbation, long-term average spectrum) as well as verbal fluency scores …