BACKGROUND: Children with bilateral permanent hearing impairment often have impaired language and speech abilities. However, the effects of universal newborns creening for permanent bilateral childhood hearing impairm...BACKGROUND: Children with bilateral permanent hearing impairment often have impaired language and speech abilities. However, the effects of universal newborns creening for permanent bilateral childhood hearing impairment and the effects of confirmation of hearing impairment by nine months of age on subsequent verbal abilities are uncertain. METHODS: We studied 120 children with bilateral permanent hearing impairment identified from a large birth cohort in southern England,at a mean of 7.9 years of age. Of the 120 children, 61 were born during periods with universal newborn screening and 57 had hearing impairment that was confirmed by nine months of age. The primary outcomes were languageas compared with nonverbal ability and speech expressed as z scores (the number of standard deviations by which the score differed from the mean score among 63 age-matched children with normal hearing),adjusted for the severity of the hearing impairment and for maternal education. RESULTS: Confirmation of hearing impairment by nine months of age was associated with higher adjusted mean z scores for language as compared with nonverbal ability (adjusted mean difference for receptive language, 0.82; 95 percent confidence interval,0.31 to 1.33; and adjusted mean difference for expressive language, 0.70; 95 percent confidence interval, 0.13 to 1.26). Birth during periods with universal newborns creening was also associated with higher adjusted z scores for receptive language as compared with nonverbal ability (adjusted mean difference, 0.60; 95 percent confidence interval, 0.07 to 1.13), although the z scores for expressive language as compared with nonverbal ability were not significantly higher. Speech scores did not differ significantly between those who were exposed to newborn screening or early confirmation and those who were not. CONCLUSIONS: Early detection of childhood hearing impairment was associated with higher scores for language but not for speech in midchildhood.展开更多
Under the widespread view that verbal competence is essential in foreign language acquisition. nonverbal communication has not been given sufficient attention and importance in foreign language teaching in China. In m...Under the widespread view that verbal competence is essential in foreign language acquisition. nonverbal communication has not been given sufficient attention and importance in foreign language teaching in China. In most cases in intercultural interaction, people focus on verbal cues while neglecting those nonverbal messages produced by the bodies and the environment. Such neglect often results in misunderstandings and conflicts because nonverbal communication reveals basic cultural traits from which people are able to gather clues about underlying attitudes and values. So the study of nonverbal communication is an important component to the study of intercultural communication. It deserves due attention in foreign language acquisition. Grounded on the model of cultural learning put forward by Hanvey, the study puts forward a set of feasible suggestions on how to improve intercultural nonverbal communication competence of college non-English majors.展开更多
文摘BACKGROUND: Children with bilateral permanent hearing impairment often have impaired language and speech abilities. However, the effects of universal newborns creening for permanent bilateral childhood hearing impairment and the effects of confirmation of hearing impairment by nine months of age on subsequent verbal abilities are uncertain. METHODS: We studied 120 children with bilateral permanent hearing impairment identified from a large birth cohort in southern England,at a mean of 7.9 years of age. Of the 120 children, 61 were born during periods with universal newborn screening and 57 had hearing impairment that was confirmed by nine months of age. The primary outcomes were languageas compared with nonverbal ability and speech expressed as z scores (the number of standard deviations by which the score differed from the mean score among 63 age-matched children with normal hearing),adjusted for the severity of the hearing impairment and for maternal education. RESULTS: Confirmation of hearing impairment by nine months of age was associated with higher adjusted mean z scores for language as compared with nonverbal ability (adjusted mean difference for receptive language, 0.82; 95 percent confidence interval,0.31 to 1.33; and adjusted mean difference for expressive language, 0.70; 95 percent confidence interval, 0.13 to 1.26). Birth during periods with universal newborns creening was also associated with higher adjusted z scores for receptive language as compared with nonverbal ability (adjusted mean difference, 0.60; 95 percent confidence interval, 0.07 to 1.13), although the z scores for expressive language as compared with nonverbal ability were not significantly higher. Speech scores did not differ significantly between those who were exposed to newborn screening or early confirmation and those who were not. CONCLUSIONS: Early detection of childhood hearing impairment was associated with higher scores for language but not for speech in midchildhood.
文摘Under the widespread view that verbal competence is essential in foreign language acquisition. nonverbal communication has not been given sufficient attention and importance in foreign language teaching in China. In most cases in intercultural interaction, people focus on verbal cues while neglecting those nonverbal messages produced by the bodies and the environment. Such neglect often results in misunderstandings and conflicts because nonverbal communication reveals basic cultural traits from which people are able to gather clues about underlying attitudes and values. So the study of nonverbal communication is an important component to the study of intercultural communication. It deserves due attention in foreign language acquisition. Grounded on the model of cultural learning put forward by Hanvey, the study puts forward a set of feasible suggestions on how to improve intercultural nonverbal communication competence of college non-English majors.
