To ensure smooth communication and collaboration, here are some troubleshooting tips to address common issues:
Check Internet Connection: Verify that you have a stable and reliable internet connection. Use a wired connection when possible, as it tends to be more stable than Wi-Fi. If using Wi-Fi, make sure you have a strong signal.
Update the Browser or App: Ensure that you are using the latest version of the web browser. Developers frequently release updates to address bugs and improve performance.
Clear Browser Cache: Sometimes, cached data can cause conflicts or issues. Clear the browser cache and cookies before joining the meeting.
Test Audio and Video: Before the meeting, check your microphone and camera to ensure they are working correctly. If you are a speaker, you can click on "Start Practice Session" button test to ensure audio and video devices are functioning.
Close Other Applications: Running multiple applications in the background can consume system resources and lead to performance issues. Close unnecessary apps to free up resources for the Dryfta meeting platform.
Restart Your Device: If you encounter persistent issues, try restarting your computer or mobile device. This can help resolve various software-related problems.
Use Supported Browsers: Ensure you are using a browser supported by the meeting platform. Recommended browsers: Chrome, Firefox, Edge, and Brave.
Allow Necessary Permissions: Make sure the Dryfta meeting platform has the required permissions to access your microphone, camera, and other necessary features.
Disable VPN or Firewall: Sometimes, VPNs or firewalls can interfere with the connection to the meeting platform. Temporarily disable them and see if the issue persists.
Switch Devices: If possible, try joining the meeting from a different device to see if the problem is specific to one device.
Reduce Bandwidth Usage: In cases of slow or unstable internet connections, ask participants to disable video or share video selectively to reduce bandwidth consumption.
Update Drivers and Software: Ensure your operating system, audio drivers, and video drivers are up to date. Outdated drivers can cause compatibility issues with the Dryfta meeting platform.
Contact Support: If none of the above steps resolve the issue, reach out to the platform's support team. They can provide personalized assistance and troubleshoot specific problems.
By following these troubleshooting tips, you can tackle many common problems encountered on Dryfta meeting platform and have a more productive and seamless meeting experience.
20230719T101520230719T1315Europe/Amsterdam[SYMP84] Development of a Test for Early Detection of English Learning DifficultiesHybrid Session (onsite/online)AILA 2023 - 20th Anniversary Congress Lyon Editioncellule.congres@ens-lyon.fr
A Study on Identification of Children with Learning Difficulties in Listening Comprehension and Semantic Comprehension of English Vocabulary
Oral Presentation[SYMP84] Development of a Test for Early Detection of English Learning Difficulties10:15 AM - 01:15 PM (Europe/Amsterdam) 2023/07/19 08:15:00 UTC - 2024/07/19 11:15:00 UTC
Learners with learning disabilities (LD) in English may experience difficulties from the early stages of learning. However, it is difficult to clarify the actual situation in Japan because there is no test to recognize children's difficulties in learning English. In addition, there are no studies that have investigated learning difficulties in English speech at the elementary school level. One of the most frequently observed difficulties in the early stages of English learning is vocabulary learning. In English vocabulary learning, the correspondence between phonemes and semantics is particularly important at the elementary school level. Vocabulary is formed by the correspondence between phonetics, spelling, and meaning (Kadota & Ikemura, 2006). Concerning spelling, Japanese elementary school foreign language education does not require instruction in establishing letter spelling, so spelling is treated in the category of focusing on phonetically recognizable letters. Therefore, the vocabulary recognition skills required at the elementary school level in Japan can be described as listening comprehension and semantic comprehension, as abilities necessary for the two correspondences of speech and meaning and phonological awareness. Lack of these abilities may cause difficulties in learning English. Therefore, the authors first identified learning difficulties and factors that may be associated with them in 2020, developed a test to identify children with difficulties in listening to and recognizing English vocabulary, and administered it to 957 children. The results identified specific words that might identify children with vocabulary listening difficulties. Based on the results, a modified version of the test was then completed and administered to 957 children in five schools across the country. The objectives were to verify (1) that the modified test could identify the upper and lower tiers and (2) that the results of the modified test showed similar trends across the country. The results showed that the modified version of the test is likely to have the ability to detect children with learning difficulties concerning English sounds and that it is practical because it can be administered in about 10 minutes by teachers with no expertise in English and no reports of false positives. Based on the results of the revised test, a new vocabulary recognition test was developed in 2022 to measure the relationship between letter recognition, phonological awareness, and vocabulary for fifth- and sixth-grade elementary school students. The results of the revised test in 2020 will be presented in this presentation. This presentation will provide an overview of the revised test and the results of the vocabulary awareness test, as well as a discussion of the results.
Bibliography Kadota, S. and Ikemura, D. (Eds.) (2006). Handbook of English Vocabulary Instruction, Tokyo: Taishukan Shoten. Takeda, K. (2017, August 18-19). Keynote Address at the 43rd Annual Conference of the National Association for English Language Education, Shimane University, "Challenges of English Education for LD and Dyslexia". Murakami, Kayoko (2018). 'Teaching Alphabet, Phonological Awareness, and Word Reading to Elementary School Students with Reading and Writing Difficulties,' Bulletin of Kobe Yamate Junior College, 61, 39-53.
Presenters Kagari Tsuchiya Assistant Professor, Tokyo Seitoku University
Assessment and teaching of English Learning Difficulties in Japanese Middle-High School Students
Oral Presentation[SYMP84] Development of a Test for Early Detection of English Learning Difficulties10:15 AM - 01:15 PM (Europe/Amsterdam) 2023/07/19 08:15:00 UTC - 2024/07/19 11:15:00 UTC
In Japanese schools, 4.5% of students with significant learning difficulties are enrolled in regular classes which include learning disabilities (LD), and support for children with learning disabilities (Ministry of Education, 2012). However, It is not included that who have difficulty only in English. From the start, it is hard to say that learning disability in English is recognized in Japan. Therefore, students with difficulties in English are hidden in regular classes with no support. Furthermore, that kind of student often to be truancy because of the strict lesson in English writing. This is the current state of junior high schools in Japan. One of the assessments named the Understanding Reading and Writing Skills of School children – English (URAWSS-English) was developed to determine whether words that fail to read are due to unlearning or cognitive characteristics (Murata, et al., 2017). The test features a phonetic representation of the word in katakana for students who cannot spell the correct English spelling. Since katakana is a syllabic character, it cannot correctly represent the alphabetic words, but it is possible to guess whether the misspelling is due to a lack of knowledge or phonemic weaknesses. The study found that 11 of 154 eligible junior high school students may have learning disabilities. In this study, we picked up the students who performed low scores in URAWSS-English and evaluated the effect of teaching phonological awareness. 144 middle-high school students aged from 13 to 14 participated in this study. 23 students were determined as lower scores in URAWSS-English. We also used the pre-post test to evaluate the change of skills around phonological awareness. After the assessment, all the students attended the lesson on phonological awareness. There were 20 lessons in 6 months and one lesson took 10 minutes. English teacher used the PowerPoint files and speaker to teach phonological awareness. As a result, the scores were improved in 17 of 23 students compared to other students without difficulties. These students were not diagnosed with learning difficulties. However, they were struggling with reading and writing in English and their difficulties were proven by the results of the URAWSS-English. Their English skills were improved by learning phonological awareness. These results mean that we need to provide education that does not rely on a diagnosis. We also found the importance of teaching phonological awareness skills. The efficacy of phonological awareness was reported by Murakami in primary school children in Japan (Murakami, 2018). This study shows that teaching phonological awareness is also effective for middle school students. With the installation of phonological awareness in a normal lesson in Japanese middle-high school, the student who feels difficulties in English may decrease.
Murata, M., Hirabayashi, R., Kono, T. & Nakamura, K. :Understanding Reading and Writing Skills of Schoolchildren – English. atacLab, 2017 Murakami,K. Practical Report of Teaching the Alphabet, Phonological Awareness and Word reading to an Elementary Student with Reading and Writing Difficulties. Bulletin of Kobe Yamate Junior College, 61, 39-53.
Error Factors and Assessment Tests Regarding Japanese Students with English Learning Difficulties
Oral Presentation[SYMP84] Development of a Test for Early Detection of English Learning Difficulties10:15 AM - 01:15 PM (Europe/Amsterdam) 2023/07/19 08:15:00 UTC - 2024/07/19 11:15:00 UTC
Dyslexia in English-speaking countries is characterized by word reading accuracy and fluency problems. Phonological processing deficits have been identified as a major factor in dyslexia (IDA, 2002). While English teachers have focused on the characteristics of the target language, i.e., English, little attention has been paid to how the learner's native language affects the acquisition of English in an EFL or ESL environment. Suppose the acquisition of English phonemic awareness is essential for letter-sound correspondence. In that case, learners with a writing or phonological system close to the English language should have an advantage over those who do not. For example, English is a closed syllable language, and instructors must consider it difficult for native speakers of Japanese, an open syllabic language, to learn it (Kawagoe, 2021). Prior research has shown native Japanese speakers have difficulty naturally acquiring English phonemes (Tsuda & Takahashi, 2014). Therefore, the difficulty of English acquisition for learners in EFL and ESL should be discussed from the perspective of cognition and acquisition of readiness, including orthography of the native language, with a hint of dyslexia and learning disabilities. This presentation will introduce case studies of Japanese junior high school students struggling with English word reading and writing. In all cases, vowels were added to the consonants of the alphabet (e.g.,/ku/ instead of /k/). In the phonological awareness test, the tendency to pronounce phonemes with vowels added to them was also observed in the phoneme segmentation task . In spelling tasks, there are many errors in which vowels are added to consonants (e.g., desk → desuku). In Japan, there has been little phonological awareness instruction in English. However, after the instructional intervention, syllable, rime, and phoneme phonological awareness skills all improved. In the research on elementary school students, letter name dictation, letter selection, vocabulary, and phonological awareness tests (phoneme segmentation) were administered to 5th graders. Correlation analysis between items revealed that phoneme segmentation and lowercase dictation had the most significant impact on vocabulary. Interviews with homeroom teachers revealed that children in the lower English reading achievement groups also tended to be behind in Japanese language learning.
Bibliography International Dyslexia Association (2002). Definition of Dyslexia. Retrieved July 1, 2022, from https://dyslexiaida.org/definition-of-dyslexia/. Kawagoe, I. (2014). Syllables and Mora. In Sugahara, M. (Ed.), Phonology, Asakura Japanese-English Contrastive Linguistics Series 3 (pp. 30-57). Tokyo： Asakura Shoten. Murakami, K. (2020). Error analysis of word listening tasks for junior high school students. A before-and-after comparison of phonological awareness and decoding instruction, Oral presentation at the 2nd Annual Conference of the Association of Universal Design in English Language Learning, December 8, 2020. Tsuda, C. and Takahashi, N. (2014). The influence of English phonological awareness on English learning by native Japanese speakers, Journal of Developmental Psychology,25, 95-106.
Presenters Kayoko Murakami Associate Professor, Mukogawa Women's University
Kagari Tsuchiya
Kayoko Murakami