In a world with existential issues, inequalities/injustice are (re)emerging in varying degrees around the globe, and yet, each of us strives to sustain our life with our own disappointments/griefs and desires/hopes. Then, identity formation research should elucidate how a human being makes sense of multifaceted voices/dimensions ('selves' and…

Widening participation in higher education has led to the global expansion of universities, increased student and program diversity, and greater provision of flexible pathways into university. Critical to supporting a growing student body is helping all students develop their ability to communicate confidently and effectively in their academic…

Early vocabulary development benefits from diverse lexical exposures within children's language environment. However, the influence of lexical diversity on children as they enter middle childhood and are exposed to multimodal language inputs remains unclear. This study evaluates global and local aspects of lexical diversity in three…

While 10% of the U.S. population are afflicted with a rare disease, patients with a rare disease can have a difficult time finding a provider or useful information. Patients with rare diseases are often frustrated by lack of knowledge from their provider, lack of satisfaction with their provider, and lack of available time with their provider.…

Purpose: The Language ENvironment Analysis (LENA) is a technological tool designed for comprehensive recordings and automated analysis of young children's daily language and auditory environments. LENA recordings play a crucial role in both clinical interventions and research, offering insights into the amount of spoken language children are…

Social media has been recognized as a promising online communication environment that supports self-directed informal learning activities outside educational institutions. Development of metacognition is necessary for self-directed learning. Nevertheless, most studies have focused on the use of social media for formal learning. To fill this gap,…

Autistic adults are often perceived as having an atypical speech. The acoustic characteristics of these impressions prove surprisingly difficult to delineate, but one feature that does robustly emerge across different studies is higher pitch (F0 values) in autistic versus neurotypical individuals. However, there is no clear explanation why…

MOOC platforms provide a means of communication through forums, allowing learners to express their difficulties and challenges while studying various courses. Within these forums, some posts require urgent attention from instructors. Failing to respond promptly to these posts can contribute to higher dropout rates and lower course completion…

This paper explores ways in which applied semantics (coming out of Natural Semantic Metalanguage approach) can inform effective communicative strategies for action on climate change. After framing discussion, it presents three case studies, which are intentionally disparate in nature: contrastive semantics of the expressions 'climate crisis',…

This article examines the role, meaning, and practice of letter writing in the lives of two Finnish girls during the Second World War (WWII). We use a particular set of letters (N = 41) from the wartime letter collection kept in the Tampere University Folklife Archives and argue that they give us an interesting perspective on not only the girls'…

The Chinese Football Reform and Development Program aims to increase the international competitiveness of men's national teams through cultural communication with Western countries. However, difficulties in developing such communication have come to light. This study uses semistructured interviews with 20 participants to explore ways to improve…

Background: Effective classroom communication is key to shaping the learning environment and inspiring student engagement. And, it's not just what is said, but how it's said, that influences students. Yet, few (current or future) teachers receive education on vocal pedagogy. Aims: This study examined the impact of raising vocal awareness in…

Families are central to promoting communication in young children with disabilities with complex communication needs. Providing coaching on naturalistic language interventions (NLI) gives parents tools for independently intervening on communication across activities in the home. Both parents and professionals have limited resources, which requires…

Background: Content validity is a key measurement property that should be considered when selecting or reviewing a patient-reported outcome measure (PROM). In the field of communication disorders, there are several PROMs available, most of which are disease specific. It is unknown what the quality of the content validity of these PROMs is. Aims:…

Surgical face masks reduce the spread of airborne pathogens but also disturb the flow of information between individuals. The risk of getting seriously ill after infection with SARS-COV-2 during the present COVID-19 pandemic amplifies with age, suggesting that face masks should be worn especially during face-to-face contact with and between older…