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Although automatic speech recognition technologies have gained popularity in second language learning, there are still difficulties facing the use of automatic speech recognition in second language learning. Through a bibliometric review and a meta-analysis, this study examines the effects of automatic speech recognition on second language learning. The results of this investigation show that automatic speech recognition technologies can improve second language speaking skills and reduce speaking anxiety, but whether the listening skills can be improved relies on the degree of advancement of the automatic speech recognition technologies. Teachers and students positively evaluate the use of automatic speech recognition technologies in second language learning. Bibliometric analyses reveal the top ten authors, organizations, countries, cited sources, and cited authors, as well as the chronological research trend in the research on the automatic speech recognition used in second language education.

Research in science education has established the significance of collaborative concept mapping as a powerful strategy in fostering conceptual learning. During such collaboration, students talk about concept map features (i.e., concepts to include, linking words, and cross-links) in constructing a joint map. The quality of the concept map produced depends on the nature of discourses that happen in these collaborative interactions. We explored the nature of discourses between pairs of biology students collaborating on concept mapping and how these discourses contribute to the enhancement of different features of the concept maps. Six students individually constructed weekly individual maps on different topics and then came together in pairs to construct a joint concept map. Their discussions during collaboration were audio-recorded. Both the individual and joint concept maps were analyzed for knowledge of breadth, knowledge of depth, and knowledge of connectedness. To analyze the discussions and understand the nature of the discourses, both deductive and inductive coding approaches were used. The coded episodes were then categorised into the nine discourse patterns identified by Fu et al. (2016). We then matched the episodes with the concept map features that were discussed. Findings indicate that the biology students' collaboration exhibited mostly knowledge-sharing discourses when deliberating on the three features of a concept map. In turn, the number of valid concepts and propositions improved from individual to joint maps. Although the students' discussions of cross-links were characterized by knowledge-sharing discourses, most of the joint maps did not show improvement in terms of the number cross-links. We discuss these findings and provide implications regarding the value of understanding the intricacies of discourse patterns in collaborative concept mapping.

Using an episode of a student affairs podcast for professional development, we engage in a critical discourse analysis to better understand what discourses the podcast host and guest rely on when discussing college students engaged in sex work. Further, we examine how the discourses the host and guest use contribute to particular logics about sex workers by positioning them as a minoritized, stigmatized, and vulnerable population, which are more harmful than helpful.

With the rapid development of information technology, multimedia technology has gradually penetrated various fields, including physical education in colleges and universities. Traditional physical education teaching methods lack interaction, and it is difficult to ensure the durability and depth of the effect of teaching. In college physical education teaching, multimedia technology can be displayed through various forms of media, and it helps to stimulate students' interest and enthusiasm in learning. Therefore, we need to find a new teaching method to improve current physical education in colleges and universities. This paper expounds the applications of multimedia technology in college physical education from three dimensions: video teaching, audio teaching, and virtual reality technology. The effect of applying multimedia technology in physical education teaching is analyzed through case studies. This paper will provide a useful reference for the innovation and development of physical education teaching in colleges and universities.

The most critical parameter of audio and video information output is the playback speed, which affects many viewing or listening metrics, including when learning using tutoring systems. However, the availability of quantitative models for personalized playback speed control considering the learner's personal traits is still an open question. The work aims to develop a model to control the personalized playback speed of audio information for beginners and experienced learners for intelligent tutoring systems. Analysis of the data from the experimental study using traditional machine learning methods did not allow us to classify the preferred playback rate with accuracy higher than 60%. Therefore, we developed the three-level hierarchical logistic model that predicts the preferred playback speed of audio material on the scale from "very low speed" to "high speed" for beginners and experienced learners with 80% accuracy. The model uses a combination of cognitive and psychomotor traits of individual learners and aims to maximize audio listening convenience and satisfaction. We explained the influence of the learners' selected personal traits on the preferred speed of audio playback. We calculated the convenience of listening to the audio materials without and with the model. By using the model, the convenience of listening to audio materials increased by an average of 13% at a low speech speed and 37% at a high speech speed. The model extends the control theory of multimedia information in e-learning systems by describing the influence of selected psychophysiological traits of learners on the preferred playback speed of audio materials.

The Canadian Agility and Movement Skill Assessment (CAMSA) is a valid and reliable circuit-based test of motor competence which can be used to assess children's skills in a live or recorded performance and then coded. We aimed to analyze the intrarater reliability of the CAMSA scores (total, time, and skill score) and time measured, by comparing the live audio with the video assessment method. We also aimed to assess the interrater reliability using both audio- and video coding on a sample of 177 Spanish children. We found moderate-to-excellent inter- and intrarater video-audio intraclass correlation coefficients for the CAMSA score, time measured, time score, and skill score. Nonsignificant differences were found between video and audio recordings in the CAMSA score, time measured, and time score. Our findings support the rationale that different raters and scoring methods can accurately assess the participants' motor competence level using the CAMSA Spanish version.

Purpose: Our study focuses on providing empirical evidence regarding the optimization of podcasting in asynchronous learning. This action research aimed to innovate the delivery of asynchronous classes using differentiated podcasts. Design/methodology/approach: We utilized action research as the research design for the study. Participating in action research entails developing practical knowledge to improve educational practices through specific methods and critical perspectives (Sáez Bondía and Cortés Gracia, 2022). According to Burns (2007), action research involves deliberate interventions usually prompted by identified issues, mysteries or inquiries that individuals in the social setting seek to improve or change. Implementing changes to enhance individuals' actions and understanding within their context is the focus of action research (Kemmis, 2010). The study's approach is ideal for examining new practices and gaining enhanced theoretical insights (Altrichter et al., 2002). Engaging in action research helps enhance understanding and empowers us to impact and enhance practices through continuous reflection, exploration and action. Through this iterative process, we can continuously enhance our comprehension and make substantial strides toward fostering positive transformation. Findings: The study findings showed an apparent rise in student regulation and engagement and remarkable enhancements in learning outcomes, as demonstrated by differences in pre-test and final exam scores. These results highlight the actual effect of specialized podcasts on self-paced inducing students' self-efficacy in learning. Our research provides valuable insights on effectively incorporating podcasts into education, offering innovations and improvement of practice among educators and institutions adapting to the ever-changing landscape of the educational environment while catering to the diverse needs of the learners. This research is pioneering research catering to the various learning styles of asynchronous learning environments. Research limitations/implications: Although our current sample offered valuable insights, upcoming studies could gain from more extensive and more diverse participant groups to strengthen the reliability of our results and guarantee broader applicability across various demographics and contexts. Moreover, the length of our intervention may have been relatively brief, which could have limited our ability to evaluate the long-term impact of customized podcasts on learning results. Continued investigation into the long-term effects of these interventions could provide valuable insights into their effectiveness over time and help shape the creation of more lasting educational approaches. Practical implications: Innovation in asynchronous learning differentiated teaching attuned to the diverse learning styles of the students. Social implications: The study promotes equitable education, which eventually promotes learning outcomes of the students. Originality/value: We created differentiated podcasts tailored to the learning styles of the students. This research is pioneering research catering to the various learning styles of asynchronous learning environments.

There is growing literature on computerized dynamic assessment (C-DA) wherein individual items are accompanied by mediating prompts, but its effectiveness at fine-grained levels across time has not been explored sufficiently. This study constructed a computerized listening dynamic assessment (CLDA) system, where mediation was informed by an attribute-based mediation model (AMM) that established the relationship between the listening items and their underlying cognitive attributes. One hundred and twelve low-level university learners participated in the study, with the experimental group using the AMM-informed CLDA system (hereafter the CLDA group) and the control group (CG) using a non-dynamic assessment. Results indicated that the CLDA group significantly outperformed the CG in the post- and transfer- tests at both the test and attribute levels, and mediation was more effective for items of low and medium difficulty levels than those of high difficulty levels. Questionnaire and interview data indicated that most students perceived the CLDA system positively. The study demonstrates the advantages of AMM-informed C-DA in fine-grained diagnosis and tailored mediation. At the same time, it helps advance the validation pursuit of future mediation development.

Speaking skills generally receive little attention in traditional English as a Foreign Language (EFL) classrooms, and this is especially the case in secondary education in Indonesia. A vocabulary deficit and poor pronunciation skills hinder learners in their efforts to improve speaking proficiency. In the present study, we investigated the effects of using two language learning websites, "I Love Indonesia" (ILI) and "NovoLearning" (NOVO). These websites are equipped with Automatic Speech Recognition (ASR) technology, with each website providing different types of immediate feedback. We measured written receptive and productive vocabulary knowledge of 40 target words before and after the intervention in which 146 students practiced with these two ASR-based websites, and compared it to that of a control group (n = 86). The ASR-based websites successfully helped students enhance their receptive vocabulary. Twenty-four students participated in a spoken pre- and post-test pronouncing the same 40 target words. We successfully developed an approach to measure pronunciation skills which showed that the treatment groups outperformed the control group. Our results indicate that our technology is successful in improving vocabulary and pronunciation skills.

The overarching goal of this design-based research was to explore WhatsApp's potential for facilitating and supporting speaking and pronunciation instruction in an EFL large-class speaking course. More specifically, this paper explored the perceived learning outcomes of WhatsApp-supported pedagogy in large English-speaking classes. Ninety-nine English students practiced their English by recording themselves, listening to the recordings, and comparing their recordings to native speakers' pronunciation. When satisfied with the quality, they sent their own recordings to a five-member WhatsApp group made up of their classmates. The recordings involved "speed reading, singing a song or reading the lyrics aloud, tongue twisters," and "making a video summary." Students listened to the recordings of the other four group members and provided feedback on pronunciation. The data were collected via an open-ended survey and individual and focus-group interviews. Qualitative content analysis of the data indicated that the vast majority of the participants reacted positively and mentioned the following major contributions to large speaking classes: (1) educational affordances for pronunciation, speaking, motivation, vocabulary, and reading; and (2) technological affordances, i.e. ease of use and accessibility. The adopted approach supported speaking and pronunciation instruction, specifically through instructor and peer feedback, speed reading, and ease of access. The paper concludes that it is rewarding to unravel WhatsApp's potential as a mobile instant messaging (MIM) tool in large-classes.

This paper aims to conduct an in-depth analysis of studies on the relationship between reading and writing skills and digital literacy at the K-12 level, following the PRISMA statement. The analysis included examining subjects, aims, digital materials, methodologies, and learning outcomes of relevant studies. Data were collected from the Web of Science database based on specified inclusion criteria. In total, 23 empirical studies were analyzed: 6 articles exploring the relationship between writing and digital literacy skills, and 17 articles examining the relationship between reading and digital literacy skills. The relationship between reading skills and digital literacy was explored in several contexts: the impact of digital texts on reading processes, comprehension and interpretation skills, effects of digital technologies on traditional reading methods, the influence of digital graphic novels on reading processes, and early literacy education. Findings indicated a relationship between writing skills and digital literacy, covering topics such as digital technologies in traditional writing, critical discourse analysis, writing skills in new media, and writing practices. Various digital tools were employed to enhance reading, writing, and digital literacy skills, including digital tablets, computer software, comics, educational videos, e-books, picture books, digital novels, voice recorders, and mobile devices. The majority of studies utilized qualitative and mixed methods; no studies employed quantitative methods. Overall, these findings highlight the interplay between reading, writing, and digital literacy skills at the K-12 level, providing a foundation for future research.

This research focused on Black gay, bisexual, and queer men (BGBQM) and addressed the nuanced ways BGBQM experienced a sense of belonging within mentorship program settings, given their intersecting identities. Utilizing a novel research design that blended aspects of phenomenology and arts-based research, this study explored the following research questions: (1) How do BGBQM experience a sense of belonging in Black Male Initiatives (BMI) and Men of Color (MoC) mentorship programs? (2) What formative experiences do BGBQM develop in belonging to these mentorship program environments? Findings revealed approaches to how BGBQM experienced Blackness and queerness within mentorship programs in higher education settings. Being immersed in traditionally heteronormative enclaves, these men found solace in racial belonging yet experienced isolation due to their sexuality. This work provides key insight into addressing the pervasive ways mentorship programs need to dismantle heteronormativity and hypermasculine norms and ideals.

In recent years, the opportunities for academic libraries to engage as a partner in digital initiatives in academia have expanded significantly. The traditional focus on digitization, preservation, and dissemination of collections has developed and shifted considerably, bringing new strategies for adequately serving the changed academic needs, as well as building and utilizing different types of collections. The goal of this article is to elaborate on these strategic shifts by presenting one of Panitza Library's newest digital collections projects - the "Sound Library" of the American University in Bulgaria, thus sharing insights into the practical process.

To provide the current student generation with an innovative online learning method, podcasts with science fiction short stories are introduced to marketing education. Findings from neurology and psychology point to positive effects of storytelling for gaining knowledge and developing interpersonal skills. Science fiction stories challenge common conceptions and enable students to engage with upcoming marketing issues in creative ways. An overview of eight marketing related science fiction stories is provided that are available for download as open access podcasts, with 23 more management and economics podcast stories available in the online appendix. To show how science fiction podcasts can be implemented in class, one of the stories is discussed in more detail. Further suggestions for implementation and possible challenges are outlined.

The author, a fifth-grade teacher, describes how she reimagined the literary essay curriculum to amplify student identity, agency, and voice by creating a class podcast. Because of their similar structure and organization, teaching students literary analysis and interpretation through podcast writing offered entry into literary essays. The author provides the steps for teaching students how to create a class podcast and write episodes reviewing diverse, inspiring, and thought-provoking texts. She explains how to support students to transfer their voice, energy, and skills when writing literary essays. The article shares insights about how engaging students as talkers and thinkers supports their identities as readers and writers.

Whether visual information belongs in second language (L2) listening tests has long been a subject for scholarly debate, with L2 learners' performance on and perceptions of video-based tests being the primary sources of evidence. The research into L2 teachers' perceptions, however, is scarce, as is the research into stakeholders' views of content visuals, such as a graph or diagram, in a listening assessment construct. This study sought to bridge these gaps by exploring stakeholders' perceptions of audio-only vs. video-based academic listening tests, the latter featuring a combination of context (e.g. the speaker's posture) and content (e.g. a graph) visuals. The questionnaire data from 143 English-as-a-second-or-foreign language (ESL/EFL) learners and 310 ESL/EFL teachers showed that both the learners and the teachers generally found video lectures to be less difficult, more motivating, more authentic, and suitable for high-stakes L2 academic listening tests. Although most stakeholders favored video-based lectures, wide variation among the learners' and teachers' perceptions suggests that some stakeholders had reservations about the role of videos in listening tests. These findings are discussed in the light of their implications for the assessment construct of L2 academic listening.

In language classrooms, listening is considered a problematic skill for various reasons. The uncontrollable nature of speech's speed of delivery plays a major role in these issues. Tight teacher control over the audio input creates even more unfavorable conditions for listeners to sufficiently absorb input. This study explores the positive effects of self-regulating the audio on listening comprehension problems of foreign language (FL) listeners. Thirty Flemish secondary school English as a Foreign Language (EFL) learners in Belgium participated in a quasi-experimental design in which the control group (N = 16) worked in pairs and listened to the audio input twice, while the experiment group (N = 14), also working in pairs, had the option to regulate the audio input. Despite having a common listening proficiency level (A2), a qualitative analysis reveals that there are prominent differences in the significance and frequency of listening comprehension problems between pairs with and without the self-regulation option. By documenting the listening problems students experience and self-regulation's effect on them, the current study illustrates the possible benefits of more autonomy for listeners and suggests new insights into listening education from linguistic and pedagogical perspectives.

Previous research that explores the effect of ethnicity in the perception of speaker accentedness and personality traits often finds that Asian appearance contributes to a more accented and less competent impression. Importantly, most of the work done to date employed only Caucasian first language-speaking listeners; moreover, ethnicity and gender were not considered together. This study describes a series of evaluations of nine Korean (Asian) and nine German (Caucasian) second language English speakers by 41 Chinese listeners. The participants were asked to rate each speaker on an accentedness and 12 personality scales under two conditions: audio-only and audiovisual. The accentedness result indicates that with the availability of visual information, Korean speakers were rated significantly more accented than German speakers and male speakers were rated less accented than females. As for personality evaluation, the result suggests that power and competence traits share a similar trend, with Korean and female speakers being rated lower when listeners can see them, but solidarity traits show a slightly different trend. In general, Chinese listeners' bias in relation to speaker ethnicity and gender in both accentedness and personality evaluation was highlighted by the use of visual information, and a relationship between linguistic and social information was demonstrated.

Background: Educational podcasts are a new medium that provides content and profession-specific knowledge. Although educational podcasts are widely distributed and listened to within professional fields, little is known about the communities of learners or communities of practices (CoPs) that surround them. Within the field of physical education, effective CoPs have been documented within social media spaces, such as Twitter and Facebook, whereby physical educators engage to strengthen each other's teaching practices and knowledge. Although scholars have suggested that CoP exist around these podcasts, no research to date has examined these communities. Thus, the purpose of this study was to examine what motivates podcast creators and listeners within the field of physical education and how CoPs are cultivated using podcasts. Methods: A purposive sample of 15 participants (7 = podcast creators, 8 = podcast listeners) were interviewed for this study. This investigation was guided by an interpretative phenomenological analysis approach (IPA). Separate interview guides were developed for the PE podcast creators and PE podcast listeners, being developed using the CoP and research questions, with each guide having similar and overlapping questions. In addition, an inductive category development method was used to analyze the data. Results: Three themes were constructed: (a) "enhancing and replacing professional development experiences", (b) "degrees of community around physical education podcasts", and (c) "attractive features of podcasts and areas of improvement". enhancing and replacing professional development experiences degrees of community around physical education podcasts attractive features of podcasts and areas of improvement Conclusions: The findings support that an emerging CoP centered around physical education podcasts is being used as a means of knowledge-sharing. However, issues were raised that can negate the benefits of CoPs. These findings inform how physical education practitioners are engaged in informal professional development and the growing literature around CoPs that exist around educational podcasts in general.

Intelligent Personal Assistant (IPA) has emerged as a valuable tool for EFL learning by offering interactive authentic contexts. Although IPA is believed to be motivational and useful, empirical evidence is limited and contradictory, especially the efficacy of listening comprehension. Therefore, the study investigated the impact of IPA on adolescent EFL learners' listening comprehension, particularly regarding the presentation mode of IPA responses and its interaction styles. Ninety-two ninth-grade EFL learners were recruited from three intact classes and randomly divided into two experimental groups (i.e. GA-Hub group, using Google Nest Hub with multimodal responses; GA-Mini group, using Google Nest Mini with audio responses) and one control group (non-GA group, using a CD player as they did in the conventional class). Both quantitative (English listening tests) and qualitative data (questionnaires and interviews) were collected and analyzed in the 10-week study. The results showed that Google Assistant, especially via Google Nest Hub, positively promoted the participants' listening comprehension. Detailed analyses of interviews demonstrated that Google Assistant provided interactive listening, presented multimodal screen-based responses, encouraged peer collaboration, and offered edutainment (a combination of IPA- and game-based learning), which added authenticity, flexibility, and enjoyment for meaningful interaction and thus promoted EFL listening.

With the enhancement of internet medium and development of science and technology, interactive technologies have gradually emerged in the field of language education. However, previous empirical studies and meta-analyses have focused on the impact of specific types of technologies. Therefore, this study aims to comprehensively synthesize the effect of overall interactive technologies on language education through meta-analysis. The results revealed that interactive technologies could exert a substantial influence on learning attitudes, self-efficacy, listening, reading, writing skills, vocabulary and grammar level, and overall learning outcomes. Additionally, numerous types of interactive technologies have demonstrated potential in language education, such as mobile apps, multimedia, technology-assisted tools, etc. In future research, educators should judiciously apply interactive technologies to different language educational processes according to their unique features, and researchers should expand their survey scope to ensure data validity.

This research paper explores podcasting as a viable assessment technique in current academic English language teaching pedagogy. The study was done with two 3rd-year university classes who created the podcast in groups of four as an academic English-speaking exam with the goal being to enhance the student's intrinsic and extrinsic motivation, through self-determination theory, to assess the students' speaking skills. Motivation is the core concept of this study, and it aligns with current trends in technology and a desire among students for speaking assignments to reflect real-world practices. Critique on the podcast as a form of academic English-speaking assessment was given in the form of questionnaire surveys and interviews with students from the selected classes, with the results presented giving evidence that podcasting is a suitable alternative method in assessing university student's academic speaking skills. It was seen to increase motivation, enhance self-efficacy, and encourage speaking in a suitably congenial environment.

Podcasts are a unique media that have been used in Indigenous and endangered language communities in the form of Indigenous radio podcasts, instructional websites, or tools to aid classroom instruction. A podcast called Rituals of Kanauji speakers was created in Kanauji, a low-resource Indian language variety. Using this case study in Kanauji, I aim to examine the usage of podcasts for outside classroom instruction in low-resource and lesser-studied languages. Thus, this study highlights the uniqueness of podcasting for language revitalization, as podcasts can be created and consumed anytime and anywhere. For low-resource languages, there can be three kinds: podcasts for teaching language, those for cultural expression and general awareness, and those for entertainment purposes. The paper also describes their pros and cons as well as directions for creating a podcast, to help native speakers and linguists in their future documentary projects. Remote data collection of audio recordings was done via WhatsApp for making this podcast. The performance statistics from Kanauji's podcast demonstrate that it has helped promote the language and brought pride and prestige to native speakers. Finally, I conclude that podcasts break the norm and help in language reclamation.

Children with visual impairments (VI) have numerous and well-documented health disparities that negatively impact their quality of life. Although physical education should serve as an avenue to reduce these disparities, physical educators often report being unprepared to work with children with VI. Physical education undergraduate programs also struggle to adequately address issues related to teaching children with disabilities. Hence, it is imperative that educational tools are identified that can more efficiently imbue the knowledge and skills related teaching children with VI in a physical education setting. The purpose of this study was to compare the effects of two types of educational podcasts (i.e., content acquisition podcasts and open-access podcasts) on preservice physical educators' knowledge and self-efficacy around teaching students with VI. The CAPs group had significantly higher knowledge gains compared to the control group but was non-significantly higher than the open-access group. The CAPs group significantly improved self-efficacy compared with the open-access and control groups. Implications for future research and suggestions for the use of educational podcasts within college and university settings are discussed.

We presented 28 Spanish monolingual and 28 Catalan-Spanish close-language bilingual 5-year-old children with a video of a talker speaking in the children's native language and a nonnative language and examined the temporal dynamics of their selective attention to the talker's eyes and mouth. When the talker spoke in the children's native language, monolinguals attended equally to the eyes and mouth throughout the trial, whereas close-language bilinguals first attended more to the mouth and then distributed attention equally between the eyes and mouth. In contrast, when the talker spoke in a nonnative language (English), both monolinguals and bilinguals initially attended more to the mouth and then gradually shifted to a pattern of equal attention to the eyes and mouth. These results indicate that specific early linguistic experience has differential effects on young children's deployment of selective attention to areas of a talker's face during the initial part of an audiovisual utterance.

Purpose: Podcasting is a new mobile technology application for language learning. Drawing upon the stimulus-organism-response model and the interest driven creator (IDC) theory from e-learning, this study aims to develop and test an integrative conceptual framework. This study investigates contextual and environmental stimuli effects (content richness [CR], self-directed learning [SDL] and situational interest [SI]) from a podcast English learning context on learners' experience states (cognitive absorption [CA], pleasure [PL] and arousal [AR]) and their subsequent responses (continuance learning intention [CLI]). Design/methodology/approach: Using 416 valid responses from five universities located in North Taiwan, data analysis is performed using a structural equation model. Findings: The results show that most of the interest factor stimuli (CR, SDL and SI) have significant impacts on learners' experiences (CA, PL and AR), which in turn affect their CLI. Practical implications: The findings provide useful insights for English show podcasters and operators to invest in establishing learners' interest factor and stimulating experiences to improve their CLI. Originality/value: This paper contributes to a better understanding of students who use contextual factors of podcast English learning and how these factors influence their CLI via a framework of stimulus-organism-response and the IDC theory.

The last decade has seen a rise in big data approaches, including in the humanities, whereby large quantities of data are collected and analysed. In this paper, we discuss long-form audio recordings that result from individuals wearing a recording device for many hours. Linguists, psychologists and anthropologists can use them, for example, to study infants' or adults' linguistic behaviour. In the past, recorded individuals and communities have resided in high-income countries (HICs) almost exclusively. Recognising the need for better representation of all cultures and linguistic experiences, researchers have more recently started to collect long-form audio recordings in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). We aim to help researchers to collect, analyse and use these recordings ethically. To do so, we identify four main ethical challenges linked to research that relies on long-form recordings in LMICs. We provide recommendations to overcome these challenges. These considerations should be useful to researchers employing other big data techniques collected via wearables.

Ensuring consistent and reliable scoring is paramount in education, especially in performance-based assessments. This study delves into the critical issue of marking consistency, focusing on speaking proficiency tests in English language learning, which often face greater reliability challenges. While existing literature has explored various methods for assessing marking reliability, this study is the first of its kind to introduce an alternative statistical tool, namely the gauge repeatability and reproducibility (GR&R) approach, to the educational context. The study encompasses both intra- and inter-rater reliabilities, with additional validation using the intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC). Using a case study approach involving three examiners evaluating 30 recordings of a speaking proficiency test, the GR&R method demonstrates its effectiveness in detecting reliability issues over the ICC approach. Furthermore, this research identifies key factors influencing scoring inconsistencies, including group performance estimation, work presentation order, rubric complexity and clarity, the student's chosen topic, accent familiarity, and recording quality. Importantly, it not only pinpoints these root causes but also suggests practical solutions, thereby enhancing the precision of the measurement system. The GR&R method can offer significant contributions to stakeholders in language proficiency assessment, including educational institutions, test developers and policymakers. It is also applicable to other cases of performance-based assessments. By addressing reliability issues, this study provides insights to enhance the fairness and accuracy of subjective judgements, ultimately benefiting overall performance comparisons and decision making.

Background: Students who are blind are integrated into public schools in many countries, yet are often excluded from full participation in science since most learning materials are visual. To create a compensatory route, an existing model-based inquiry-learning environment was adapted by means of sonification (addition of non-speech sounds that represent dynamic information). The learning environment uses agent-based models and a complex systems approach to teach the Kinetic Molecular Theory (KMT) and Gas Laws. The models are accompanied by a workbook consisting of text (printed or auditory) and images (printed or tactile). Objectives: The current research examined whether such perceptual compensation creates a comparable learning environment for learners who are blind compared with learners who are sighted using the original learning environment. The aim of the study is to expand knowledge about how the auditory channel may compensate the visual channel among individuals who are blind. Methods: Conceptual learning in science and reasoning about complex systems were assessed using pre- and post-questionnaires. To explore learners' learning progression throughout the unit, four progression analysis "windows" were selected. These were groups of adjacent or nearly adjacent items in the workbook that permitted a glimpse of learners' progression. Results: The sonified environment not only supported the learning of learners who are blind compared with the learning of learners who are sighted using visual material, but even furthered their learning with respect to diffusion, one of the more challenging concepts in KMT. It seems the types of sonified representations used in this study increased listeners' sensitivity to the micro-level interactions in a way less accessible in visual representations. Takeaways: Sonified environments can be provide learners who are blind with equitable participation by compensating and complementing the visual channel. Sonification can have implications for students who are blind as well as students who are sighted.

The Society of Music Analysis report indicated that digital music often sits uncomfortably within a curriculum where the main focus is on the non-digital. This article takes as its starting point a broad definition of digital music as both a type of music and a way that music is represented. It will examine how digital music has altered the music landscape within informal and formal educational settings, and it will explore conflicting notions of music literacy while suggesting that traditional arguments about the value of notation fluency in the digital age may be misdirected. Ultimately, it will propose a definition of 'critical music literacy' in which Western standard music notation is not the crucial consideration, with implications for the design of music curricula and for progression.

With the popularity of online one-to-one tutoring, there are emerging concerns about the quality and effectiveness of this kind of tutoring. Although there are some evaluation methods available, they are heavily relied on manual coding by experts, which is too costly. Therefore, using machine learning to predict instruction quality automatically is an effective way to reduce human costs. Three classification methods are analyzed in this article: (1) random forest algorithm with human-engineered descriptive features; (2) long and short-term memory algorithm with acoustic features generated by open speech and music interpretation by large space extraction toolkit; and (3) convolutional neural network algorithm with Mel spectrogram of the audio. The results show that the three approaches can complete the prediction task well, with the second approach exhibiting the best accuracy. The importance of the features in these classification models is analyzed according to eXplainable Artificial Intelligence techniques (i.e., XAI) and statistical feature analysis methods. In this way, key indicators of high-quality tutoring are identified. This study demonstrated the usefulness of XAI techniques in understanding why some tutoring sessions are of good quality and others are not. The results can be potentially used to guide the improvement of online one-to-one tutoring in the future.

Many studies have revealed multilinguals' reduced emotionality of a foreign language (LX) compared to a first language (L1). Contrary to the bulk of research so far, which has focused on multilinguals' own emotion experience or emotion processing, this study focuses on interpersonal communication and investigates how one perceives the intensity level of someone else's emotional experience. Data were collected via an online survey. A total of 557 L1 users and 811 upper-intermediate to advanced LX users of English rated the intensity of the emotional experience of a British actress enacting different emotional events in six audiovisual or audio-only clips in English. Overall, audiovisual stimuli yielded higher intensity ratings than audio-only stimuli. More surprisingly, the L1 participants' intensity ratings were lower than the LX participants' ratings in both conditions. English proficiency was not significantly correlated with intensity ratings among L1 and LX users, which suggests that paralinguistic skills develop independently from linguistic skills.

Today, higher education (HE) faces new challenges, such as incorporating consideration of diversity and inclusion into its operations. Such challenges, many of which are part of strategic institutional plans, offer teachers an opportunity to introduce new practices in the classroom. In this paper, we look at introducing language students to the task of audio description (AD) -- that is, making visual content available to blind and visually impaired people by verbal means. We first present a framework for evaluating the learning that might derive from such an activity in the context of FL study, and then use this framework to evaluate a sequence of five tasks undertaken with Irish learners of Spanish. The tasks provided opportunities for the students to reflect on the communication needs of blind and visually impaired people and to understand how these could be addressed effectively in AD. The students practised AD in various contexts: both "improvised" or "spontaneous" AD as well as more carefully prepared AD, and undertaking AD in both the L1 (English) and the FL (Spanish). The pedagogic approach investigated here was inherently multidisciplinary and aimed to help learners become self-reflecting agents and mediators in their L1 and FL.

Artificial intelligence (AI) will be in the future lives of children at school today. Voice-activated intelligent personal assistant devices are used in the home and could be useful in the classroom. This article explores how two groups of New Zealand children aged 7-12 engaged with Google Home devices in their classroom. Interactions recorded through the devices were analysed to evaluate how the devices were used, how easy they were to use and how the use aligns with the purposes of education. A framework for analysis was developed from Davis's Technology Acceptance Model and Biesta's three functions of education. The children used the devices across the three functions of education. They anthropomorphised the device, talking respectfully, sharing jokes and asking for its opinion. Use was influenced by the social context of the classroom and teacher beliefs about education, and limited as the devices were not designed for the classroom.

We reflect on the use of photovoice methods in a hybrid classroom environment for an interdisciplinary course titled Climate and Society at the University of Miami. The activities, based on our team's hyperlocal method of community-based climate adaptation engagement, create opportunities to engage with the complexities of climate science and policy solutions in unique and powerful ways. Our principal contribution is a series of exercises that can be done by educators anywhere in the world, providing a foundation for reflection and rich conversations. We conclude with recommendations and tools to aid educators in recreating the exercise in many settings.

Rates of obesity continue to rise in the United States and across the globe. Obesity is a risk factor for developing insulin resistance, type 2 diabetes, and cardiovascular disease. For clinicians, other health care providers, and educators, providing patients with accurate and meaningful information about obesity, including lifestyle (diet and exercise) interventions and symptom monitoring, is challenging because of infrequent contact, methods of communication, a lack of effective patient education resources, and inefficient patient feedback methods. Evidence suggests that significantly more patients are now getting their health care information online from general medical websites, disease-specific network communities, and social media. Thus, harnessing the power of technologies, including personal computers and smartphones, with attention to social media may equip health care providers with methods to serve their patients better by addressing challenges, improving indirect patient contact, and enhancing health outcomes. This article aims to provide an overview of technology with a focus on social media use in obesity education and outreach. Practical information is provided related to creating content, delivering content, and managing the social media space for the novice creator.

Self-regulation strategies and behaviors are important aspects of instrumental music learning because they allow students to set learning goals by testing and controlling their cognition, motivation, behaviors, and emotions. This work investigates the self-regulation processes of four young instrumentalists (aged 10-11 years) in their initial stages of viola and violin learning, during practice with Plectrus, a real-time instrumental intonation training and assessment software. The qualitative-hermeneutical nature of this research employed a multiple case study design to investigate the construct of self-regulation within a software-supported instrumental learning process. Data were collected from the participants' practice diaries over a 4-week period. The final practice session was also analyzed from audio-visual recordings. The results indicate that, despite their limited experience, the students showed a diversity of strategies and behaviors with which they self-regulated their cognitions, motivations, behaviors, and emotions. However, not all the students employed the same processes, and there was variability in the frequency of their use. One of the students showed more self-regulatory processes than the rest and achieved the best scores, although it has not been possible to establish a relationship between the scores and self-regulation.

Infant-directed speech (IDS) is characterized by a range of register-typical characteristics. Many of those can be objectively measured, such as acoustic-prosodic and structural-linguistic modifications. Perceived vocal affect, however, is a socio-emotional IDS characteristic and is subjectively assessed. Vocal affect goes beyond acoustic-prosodic and structural-linguistic IDS features and includes a perceptive-subjective component in the listener. This study describes vocal affect valence in Swedish IDS during the first year of life, and compares vocal affect between mothers' and fathers' IDS and their adult-directed speech. Adult native speakers of Swedish (N = 16) rated affect valence in low-pass filtered IDS samples from free play interactions of mothers with infants at 3, 6, 9, and 12 months (N = 10) and fathers with their 12-month-olds (N = 6). Across the first year, the trajectory of mothers' positive affect in Swedish IDS shows the highest affect scores toward the youngest infants and the lowest at 9 months of age. This follows a pattern comparable to that in Australian English IDS, showing that mothers express vocal affect similarly across different languages and cultures. Both mothers' and fathers' IDS to 12-month-olds have higher positive vocal affect valence than their adult-directed speech. There was no difference in positive affect valence between mothers' and fathers' IDS, that is, mothers and fathers express vocal affect to the same extent when talking to their infants. In conclusion, the findings of this study indicate that high positive vocal affect characterizes IDS across different languages and speakers.

Purpose: Children progress from making grapheme-phoneme connections to making grapho-syllabic connections before whole-word connections during reading development (Ehri, 2005a). More is known about the development of grapheme--phoneme connections than is known about grapho-syllabic connections. Therefore, we explored the trajectory of syllable use in English developing readers during oral reading. Method: Fifty-one English-speaking children (mean age: 8.9 years, 55% females, 88% monolinguals) in year groups three, four, and five read aloud sentences with an embedded target word, while their eye movements and voices were recorded. The targets contained six letters and were either one or two syllables. Result: Children in grade five had shorter gaze duration, shorter articulation duration, and larger spatial eye-voice span (EVS) than children in grade four. Children in grades three and four did not significantly differ on these measures. A syllable number effect was found for gaze duration but not for articulation duration and spatial EVS. Interestingly, one-syllable words took longer to process compared to two-syllable words, suggesting that more syllables may not always signify greater processing difficulty. Conclusion: Overall, children are sensitive to sublexical reading units; however, due to sample and stimuli limitations, these findings should be interpreted with caution and further research conducted.

Science communication skills are increasingly emphasized as an important skill for undergraduate STEM students. In our science communication podcast project, students use the fundamentals of science communication to research a topic related to their inquiry-based lab project. Groups then create a podcast that presents the current science to a general audience. This project has been run in an integrated introductory biology and chemistry course each semester since 2018. Student course evaluations indicate that they enjoy having autonomy over the topic and style of their podcast. Students' confidence in their science communication skills increased after completion of this multiweek scaffolded project.

This narrative inquiry explores the experiences of youth in a school within a juvenile detention facility, who participated in a hip hop and podcasting small-group counseling intervention. Specifically, youth wrote and recorded a podcast consisting of a hip hop song, interviews with their peers, and staff reflections on the youth's experience. Salient results from this study offered that the hip hop podcasting group supported youth in emotionally processing their experience of being incarcerated.

This article presents a close ethnographic reading of an intercultural community choir's experience recording lullabies in a professional studio setting. Bringing together Chadwick's (2020, 2021) posthuman voice analytics with interdisciplinary voice studies, I turn ethnographic ears to the voice-as-vocalised by attuning to its materialities and more-than-human entanglements. In so doing I work to trouble idealised conceptions of voice that permeate music education practice and research, including the tropes of "giving voice," "finding voice" and "collective voice" that I deployed in co-developing and facilitating the Lullaby Choir itself. By interrogating naturalised regimes of aurality and voice, this article contributes to broader efforts that enliven the material and the bodily in music, education, and research -- considered together and separately -- gesturing to pedagogies of sensation.

This action research study provides insight into the learning of university music education students who participated in a popular musicianship experience. The participants were thirty-four music education students (i.e. pre-service music educators) at an American university enrolled in a student-directed Popular Musicianship course. Although given access to "rock band" instruments and sound equipment during the semester-long experience, they did not receive any direct instruction from the faculty instructor of record. After organizing into bands, the participants were challenged to prepare for performance two or three songs, including one cover and one original song. They also indicated the confidence they had in their ability to lead their future students in popular music making. This measure of self-efficacy was collected at the beginning, middle, and end of the experience. Also, participant written descriptions of their experiences was analyzed qualitatively. The findings of the study indicated that participants believed their overall musicianship benefited from the experience due to the challenging nature of vernacular music making, which was also enjoyable and rewarding. The experience also appeared to impact their teaching philosophies for the future. Finally, their self-efficacy increased significantly across the experience.

Teachers must relate to practitioners from a range of professions, which represent different, sometimes conflicting, perspectives on teaching and learning. Thus, student teachers must develop the expertise to understand, challenge and make constructive use of the perspectives of other professionals. From a socio-cultural perspective, this study investigates how a student-created podcast emerges as an arena and genre for interprofessional work in teacher education. Interaction analysis was used to examine student teachers' engagement with perspectives provided by professionals from the ed-tech sector. The results demonstrate how the student-created podcast affords dialogic spaces for developing interprofessional expertise in teacher education.

This study is about the use of contemplative practices in forest fieldwork and how such practices could support the growth of ecological literacy. Ecological literacy is explored by employing Donna Haraway's notions of "becoming-with" and "companion species." The study is based on fieldwork with a group of adult learners attending a folk high school in Sweden. The participants are followed as they encounter and are becoming-with species of the forest. The empirical material consists of video- and audio-recordings. The results provide a narrative of forest encounters, environmental concerns and dreams about the simple harmonic life. The forest fieldwork thus provides a site for elaborating a more inclusive ethics and teaching strategies where nonhuman-human relational aspects become center to ecological literacy. The results suggest that folk high school environmental education could be used as a source of inspiration in disrupting the practices of compulsory science education.