Teaching a foreign language using multisensory structured language techniques to at-risk learners: a review.

An overview of multisensory structured language (MSL) techniques used to teach a foreign language to at-risk students is outlined. Research supporting the use of MSL techniques is reviewed. Specific activities using the MSL approach to teach the phonology/orthography, grammar and vocabulary of the foreign language as well as reading and communicative activities in the foreign language are presented.

Reflections on foreign language study for students with language learning problems: research, issues and challenges.

The study of foreign language (FL) learning for individuals who have found learning to read and write in their first language extremely problematic has been an under-researched area throughout the world. Since the 1980s, Leonore Ganschow and Richard Sparks have conducted pioneering research into the nature of difficulties, why they are encountered and how they can be minimized. In this paper the authors trace the development of their research on foreign language difficulties for students with language learning problems. They provide a summary of their findings and suggest new questions and directions for the field.

Foreign language learning, hyperlexia, and early word recognition.

Children with hyperlexia read words spontaneously before the age of five, have impaired comprehension on both listening and reading tasks, and have word recognition skill above expectations based on cognitive and linguistic abilities. One student with hyperlexia and another student with higher word recognition than comprehension skills who started to read words at a very early age were followed over several years from the primary grades through high school when both were completing a second-year Spanish course. The purpose of the present study was to examine the foreign language (FL) word recognition, spelling, reading comprehension, writing, speaking, and listening skills of the two students and another high school student without hyperlexia. Results showed that the student without hyperlexia achieved higher scores than the hyperlexic student and the student with above average word recognition skills on most FL proficiency measures. The student with hyperlexia and the student with above average word recognition skills achieved higher scores on the Spanish proficiency tasks that required the exclusive use of phonological (pronunciation) and phonological/orthographic (word recognition, spelling) skills than on Spanish proficiency tasks that required the use of listening comprehension and speaking and writing skills. The findings provide support for the notion that word recognition and spelling in a FL may be modular processes and exist independently of general cognitive and linguistic skills. Results also suggest that students may have stronger FL learning skills in one language component than in other components of language, and that there may be a weak relationship between FL word recognition and oral proficiency in the FL.

Students classified as LD and the college foreign language requirement: replication and comparison studies.

Two studies examined students classified as having learning disabilities (LD) who had received course substitutions for the college foreign language (FL) requirement. In the first study, 42 students at one university were divided into groups and compared on measures of IQ, academic achievement, FL aptitude, college grade point average (GPA), and FL and English grades. Findings showed that most of the 42 students had been classified as LD in college after experiencing problems in FL courses. Comparisons based on students' performance on measures of FL aptitude, native language skill, and performance in FL courses showed few significant group differences. In the second study, the 42 students from the first study were compared with 86 students at another university who had also been classified as LD and received course substitutions for the college FL requirement. Comparisons on demographic information and measures of IQ, academic achievement, FL aptitude, college GPA, and FL GPA showed few significant differences between the two groups. Both studies suggest that students classified as LD at different universities exhibit similar demographic, cognitive, academic achievement, and FL aptitude profiles and that educators should not make the a priori assumption that students classified as LD require course substitutions for the FL requirement or experience problems with FL learning.

Comparison of students classified as LD who petitioned for or fulfilled the college foreign language requirement.

In this study, we compared the cognitive, academic achievement, and demographic profiles of 46 students from one university who had been classified as learning disabled (LD) and had received permission to substitute courses for the university's foreign language (FL) requirement (petition group) with the profiles of 21 students from the same university who had been classified as LD and had fulfilled the university's FL requirement by passing FL courses (nonpetition group). Results showed no significant differences between the two groups on measures of reading, mathematics, written language, American College Testing score, and graduating grade point average when IQ was used as a covariate. More petition than nonpetition students had at least a 1.0 SD discrepancy between IQ and achievement and had been referred only for FL learning problems. More nonpetition than petition students had taken an FL in college and received accommodations in the FL. The two groups together appeared to constitute a heterogeneous group of learners, with more than half failing to meet a minimum discrepancy criterion for classification as LD. The discussion addresses the classification system for LD, the process for determining the presence of FL learning problems and how to address them, and directions for further research.

Students classified as LD and the college foreign language requirement: a quantitative analysis.

This study was conducted to determine whether students classified as learning disabled (LD) who were permitted to substitute courses for the college foreign language (FL) requirement at one university would display significant cognitive and academic achievement differences when grouped by level of discrepancy between IQ and achievement, by discrepancy between achievement according to different measures, and by level of performance on phonological-orthographic processing measures, on the Modern Language Aptitude Test (MLAT), and in FL courses. Results showed that there were no differences among students with different levels of discrepancy (i.e., < 1.0 SD, 1.0-1.49 SD, and > 1.50 SD) on MLAT and American College Testing (ACT) scores, graduating grade point average (GPA) or college FL GPA. Results also showed that among students who scored below versus at or above the 25th percentile on phonological-orthographic processing measures, there were no differences on measures of IQ, ACT, MLAT, and GPA, as well as most measures of academic achievement. Implications for the use of the LD label to grant FL course substitutions or waivers, use of the MLAT in the diagnostic and course substitution/waiver process, and the validity and reliability of traditional criteria for the classification as LD are discussed.

Foreign language learning difficulties: an historical perspective.

For 10 years, the authors of this article have examined cognitive, affective, and linguistic influences on foreign language learning. They have proposed the Linguistic Coding Differences Hypothesis (LCDH) as a model for understanding foreign language learning problems. The authors review their empirical support for the LCDH and explain the diagnostic, pedagogical, and policy implications of their research.

Language anxiety and proficiency in a foreign language.

Study examined the extent to which there would be differences in oral and written proficiency in a foreign language among groups of low-, average-, and high-anxious high school students. Participants were 60 girls attending a single-sex, college-preparatory high school and completing the second year of a foreign language course. Analysis showed over-all differences on measures of proficiency in the foreign language among the three groups. The results support the hypothesis that anxiety about foreign language learning is likely to represent students' differences in language learning.

Foreign language proficiency of at-risk and not-at-risk learners over 2 years of foreign language instruction: a follow-up study.

In this follow-up study, students at risk for problems with learning a foreign language who were taught using a multisensory, structured language approach to Spanish made significant gains over 2 years on three native language phonological/orthographic measures and a foreign language aptitude test. Despite gains, at-risk students did not "catch up" with not-at-risk students on these measures. Qualitative between-group differences were noted on foreign language proficiency measures.

Examining the linguistic coding differences hypothesis to explain individual differences in foreign language learning.

In this paper, it is suggested that foreign language learning problems result from difficulties with native language learning and hypothesized that difficulties with phonological processing may be the locus of foreign language learning difficulties for some poor foreign language learners. Evidence is described that supports these positions. It is argued that conceptualizing foreign language learning problems as alanguage problem allows researchers to more clearly specify deficits related to the learning of a foreign language. Research evidence which shows that good and poor foreign language learners exhibit significantly different levels of native language skill and phonological processing is summarized. Finally, potential challenges to my hypotheses as an explanation for foreign language learning problems are reviewed.

Sperm-damaging effects of electric current: possible role of free radicals.

The generation of reactive oxygen species (ROS) and sperm damage was evaluated in (a) samples obtained during electroejaculation (EE) of men with spinal cord injury and (b) in electrolyzed HAM's F-10 medium subjected to electric current in vitro. Chemiluminescence data showed a significant increase in ROS in the ejaculates (6 x 10(7) photons/ml) collected immediately after EE and in the electrolyzed medium (3 to 7 x 10(6) photons/ml) when compared to the control (4 to 7 x 10(4) photons/ml). Incubation of normal human sperm with the electrolyzed medium resulted in a significant threefold decrease in percent motility and a twofold decrease in percent viability. Sperm subjected to direct electric stimulation in vitro exhibited a significant twofold decrease in percent motility and percent viability. Superoxide dismutase (SOD) activity decreased significantly in sperm subjected to direct electric current in comparison to the control or the sample incubated with electrolyzed medium. These studies indicate that in vitro and in vivo electrical stimulation generate reactive oxygen species and affect SOD activity, which in part are responsible for decreased sperm motion and viability.

Regulation of differentiation and protein kinase C expression in 3T3 T proadipocytes: effects of TGF-beta and transformation.

We are studying the mechanisms that regulate proliferation and differentiation of normal 3T3 T proadipocytes and neoplastically transformed clones which have lost the ability to differentiate. The phorbol ester 12-O-tetradecanoylphorbol-13-acetate (TPA) and transforming growth factor beta (TGF-beta) are known inhibitors of the same step of the differentiation process in 3T3 T cells. Here, we examined the expression of the phorbol ester receptor/protein kinase C (PKC) during adipocytic differentiation of 3T3 T cells and its modulation by the differentiation inhibitor TGF-beta. PKC receptor assays were performed using a tritiated analogue of TPA and it was found that PKC receptor levels decreased approximately threefold during differentiation. Northern blot analyses revealed an even greater decrease of PKC transcripts during differentiation. TGF-beta inhibited not only differentiation, but the differentiation-dependent decrease in PKC levels as well. Transformed 3T3 T cells which have lost the ability to differentiate were found to express aberrant levels of PKC. The data suggest that TGF-beta may inhibit differentiation via a PKC-dependent pathway and that disruption of normal PKC levels or its regulation may be involved in the loss of differentiation control in transformed 3T3 T cells.

Loss of differentiation control in transformed 3T3 T proadipocytes.

Nontransformed 3T3 T mesenchymal/proadipocyte stem cells can be readily induced to differentiate, yet previous work has shown that 3T3 T cells that are spontaneously or virally transformed not only lose their normal growth control mechanisms but also lose the ability to differentiate. Loss of growth control can be due to autocrine mechanisms in some transformed cells, but the mechanisms involved in disrupting differentiation control are poorly understood. Our goal is to further define the growth and differentiation defects that arise in neoplastically transformed cells and the mechanisms underlying those defects. For example, exogenous transforming growth factor beta and tumor necrosis factor, both of which are secreted aberrantly by some tumor cells, are known inhibitors of different steps of the normal 3T3 T adipocyte differentiation process, suggesting a potential role as autocrine factors in disrupting differentiation of transformed 3T3 T cells. In the current study we transformed 3T3 T cells in vitro with chemical or UV irradiation treatment in order to determine if the acquisition of the transformed phenotype after these treatments is also associated with loss of differentiation control as it is with spontaneously or virally transformed cells. Four chemically and two UV-treated 3T3 T cell lines were isolated from type III foci and all have been found to be tumorigenic in syngeneic animals and to have lost the ability to differentiate. Relative to the parental cell line the differentiation abilities of the transformed clones ranged from 0 to less than 5%. In this regard, we also analyzed the normal and aberrant expression of three growth factors and differentiation inhibitors in transformed cells. Both transforming growth factor alpha and beta were found to be expressed in non-transformed 3T3 T cells as determined by Northern blot analyses. In addition, both were found to be down-regulated during differentiation of 3T3 T cells. Transformed/differentiation-defective 3T3 T cells expressed varied levels of transforming growth factor alpha and beta. Three of the new transformed clones expressed particularly high levels of transforming growth factor alpha. Very low levels of tumor necrosis factor expression were found in the normal cells and the transformed cells appeared to express tumor necrosis factor at similar levels. In contrast, none of the transformed cells expressed any of the differentiation-specific genes tested (lipoprotein lipase, glycerol-3-phosphate dehydrogenase, etc.). Even a transformed clone which could undergo growth arrest but not morphological differentiation expressed no differentiation-specific genes. Together, these data suggest that neoplastic transformation in general disrupts differentiation control.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)

The effects of multisensory structured language instruction on native language and foreign language aptitude skills of at-risk high school foreign language learners: A replication and follow-up study.

According to research findings, most students who experience foreign language learning problems are thought to have overt or subtle native language learning difficulties, primarily with phonological processing. A recent study by the authors showed that when a multisensory structured language approach to teaching Spanish was used with a group of at-risk high school students, the group's pre- and posttest scores on native language phonological processing, verbal memory and vocabulary, and foreign language aptitude measures significantly improved. In this replication and follow-up study, the authors compared pre- and posttest scores of a second group of students (Cohort 2) who received MSL instruction in Spanish on native language and foreign language aptitude measures. They also followed students from the first study (Cohort 1) over a second year of foreign language instruction. Findings showed that the second cohort made significant gains on three native language phonological measures and a test of foreign language aptitude. Follow-up testing on the first cohort showed that the group maintained its initial gains on all native language and foreign language aptitude measures. Implications for the authors' Linguistic Coding Deficit Hypothesis are discussed and linked with current reading research, in particular the concepts of the assumption of specificity and modularity.

TGF-beta blocks early but not late differentiation-specific gene expression and morphologic differentiation of 3T3 T proadipocytes.

Transforming growth factor-beta (TGF-beta) inhibits morphologic differentiation of BALB/c 3T3 T cells as well as other proadipocyte models. Our prior studies suggested that TGF-beta may act only during the early stages of differentiation induction. However, we did not determine whether TGF-beta was differentially effecting expression of any of the various differentiation-specific genes or if it could cause down-regulation of these genes in differentiated cells. Therefore, in the current study we tested the effects of exogenous TGF-beta (0.01-5.0 ng/ml) on morphologic differentiation and on differentiation-dependent gene expression (Northern and slot blot analyses) at various times during differentiation. When induced to differentiate, 3T3 T cells first undergo predifferentiation growth arrest and from this state molecular, biochemical, and morphological differentiation proceeds. Here it was found that when added prior to the onset of differentiation, TGF-beta was a potent inhibitor or morphologic differentiation as well as of the expression of differentiation-specific genes such as lipoprotein lipase (LPL) and glycerol-3-phosphate dehydrogenase (GPD). However, once morphologic differentiation began, TGF-beta was ineffective in blocking differentiation. In addition, exposure of fully differentiated cells to TGF-beta for up to 72 hours caused no decrease of differentiation-specific genes and even a 7-day treatment caused no morphologic dedifferentiation. Tumor necrosis factor also had no detectable effect on fully differentiated cells.

Identifying native language difficulties among foreign language learners in college: a "foreign" language learning disability?

The present study compared successful and unsuccessful college foreign language learners on measures of intelligence, foreign language aptitude, native oral and written language, and math. Unsuccessful students had received petitions to waive the foreign language requirement. No significant differences between groups were found on intelligence and reading comprehension. Significant differences were found on the Modern Language Aptitude Test, on tests of written and oral language in the syntactic and phonological domains, and on math calculation. Authors suggest that students with foreign language learning difficulties may have underlying native language problems manifested especially in the areas of syntax and phonology. Suggestions for diagnosing a foreign language disability are made.

Antidiabetic AD4743 enhances adipocyte differentiation of 3T3 T mesenchymal stem cells.

AD4743 is an antidiabetic agent that, when added to fetal bovine serum (FBS), has been shown to have adipogenic activity for some proadipocyte cell lines once they reach confluence. In the current study, the effects of AD4743 on the growth and adipocytic differentiation of 3T3 T multipotential mesenchymal stem cells have been tested. 3T3 T cells, unlike other cells capable of undergoing adipocyte differentiation, are routinely induced to differentiate at low cell density. This is done using platelet-poor human plasma (HP), a potent inducer of growth arrest and differentiation. AD4743 (0-200 micrograms/ml) was tested in varied concentrations of HP or FBS, at varied cell densities, and at various times during growth and differentiation. AD4743 slowed the growth rate of 3T3 T cells and it induced their differentiation in a dose-dependent manner in medium containing 10% FBS once they reached confluence. The data suggest that the ability of AD4743 to inhibit growth may also be coupled with its ability to enhance differentiation. In addition, AD4743 (1-10 micrograms/ml) in the presence of 25% HP markedly increased the kinetics of adipocyte differentiation, at low (less than 5,000 cells/cm2) or high cell density. Greater than 50% cell differentiation could be achieved in 2 days in low density cultures; 80-95% differentiation could be achieved in just 4 days, compared to 8-12 days in a typical culture. The maximum amount of differentiation in HP was potentiated by AD4743 to a greater degree in poor lots of HP; however, the kinetics were increased in all lots. Adipocytic differentiation was measured both morphologically and by Northern blot analyses of differentiation-specific genes. AD4743 at 1-10 micrograms/ml appeared to be most effective, depending on the cell density and other conditions. The mechanism of action of AD4743 remains to be elucidated, but the enhancement of adipocyte differentiation does not appear to occur via an insulin-dependent pathway.

Use of an orton-gillingham approach to teach a foreign language to dyslexic/learning-disabled students: Explicit teaching of phonology in a second language.

Recent research findings suggest that students who have difficulty learning a second language have weaknesses in oral and written native-language skills which affect their performance in the foreign-language classroom. These weaknesses involve understanding the phonological, syntactic, and semantic codes of language. Evidence suggests that dyslexic/learning-disabled and other "at risk" students who struggle in the second language classroom exhibit particular difficulty with the phonological and syntactic codes of the language. The Orton-Gillingham method, a multisensory, structured language approach which adheres to the direct and explicit teaching of phonology, is presented as an alternative to the "natural" communication approaches recently developed by foreign-language educators to teach a second language. A method for adapting this approach for teaching Spanish is described.

Specific expression of proteins and phosphoproteins in 3T3 T mesenchymal stem cells at distinct growth arrest and differentiation states.

Murine mesenchymal stem cells can be induced to arrest their growth at a series of growth and differentiation states in the G1 phase of the cell cycle. These include the predifferentiation arrest state (GD) at which the integrated control of proliferation and differentiation is mediated, the growth factor/serum deficiency arrest state (GS), and the nutrient deficiency arrest state (GN). Cells at states of reversible nonterminal differentiation (GD') and irreversible terminal differentiation (TD) can also be isolated. In this paper we have employed 1- and 2-dimensional (D) gel electrophoresis to evaluate changes in specific proteins that occur during the various growth and differentiation states of 3T3 T mesenchymal stem cells. The protein composition of membrane, microsome and cytosol preparations of cells arrested at GD, GS and GN states was determined by 2-D gel electrophoresis. More than 50 distinct polypeptides could be identified for each arrest state in gels analysed by a silver staining procedure or by autoradiography following [35S]-methionine labelling. A second series of studies established that a more limited number of differences could be identified if phosphoproteins were analysed by 1-D gel electrophoresis in cells at the GS, GD, GD' and TD states. These results established that one distinct 37 kD phosphoprotein is present in all growth arrested cells and that two distinct differentiation-associated phosphoproteins with molecular weights of 29 kD and 72 kD are present in cells at the GD' and TD states. Thus, the composition of proteins and phosphoproteins in mesenchymal stem cells serves to characterize different states of growth arrest and differentiation.2+he identification of differential