This study investigates the potential benefits for incidental vocabulary acquisition of implementing a particular sequence of input-outputinput activities. More specifically, learners of English as a foreign language (EFL; n = 32) were asked to watch a TED Talk video, orally sum up its content in English, and then watch the video once more. A comparison group (n = 32) also watched the TED Talk video twice but were not required to sum it up in between. Immediate and delayed posttests showed significantly better word-meaning recall in the former condition. An analysis of the oral summaries showed that it was especially words that learners attempted to use that stood a good chance of being recalled later. These findings are interpreted with reference to Swain's (1995) output hypothesis, Laufer and Hulstijn's (2001) involvement load hypothesis, and Nation and Webb's (2011) technique feature analysis. What makes the text-based output task in this experiment fundamentally different from many previous studies that have investigated the merits of text-based output activities is that it was at no point stipulated for the participants that they should use particular words from the input text. The study also illustrates the potential of TED Talks as a source of authentic audiovisual input in EFL classrooms.

This study examined whether the reading passages in the new series of English-language textbooks for high-school students in Vietnam fostered reading comprehension and incidental vocabulary acquisition through reading by looking at four factors: the number of unfamiliar words in the texts, the importance of these words for text comprehension, the usefulness of contextual clues for interpreting the meanings of these words, and the frequency of these words within and across the texts. Results showed that most of the reading passages were overloaded with novel words and few of these words were important for text comprehension. Rarely did these words reoccur in the texts and the chance for successful lexical inferencing was extremely slim due to the paucity of useful contextual clues. These findings provide useful implications for both second language (L2) instructors and textbook writers inside and outside of this context.

Background: The aim of this study was to determine the frequency and characteristics of bone and joint complications, specifically bone fragility, joint replacement surgery, and arthropathy, in hereditary hemochromatosis (HH) and related factors. Methods: This study was a cross-sectional observational study of 93 patients with HH. Radiographs of the hands, wrists, knees, and ankles were scored for joint space narrowing, erosions and cysts, osteophytes, and chondrocalcinosis. Prevalent (vertebral and non-vertebral) fragility fractures were recorded and bone mineral density (BMD) was systematically evaluated by dual energy X-ray absorptiometry. Bone fragility was defined as (i) a T-score ⩽ −2.5 at any site with or without a prevalent fragility fracture, or (ii) a T-score between −1.0 and −2.5 at any site and a prevalent fragility fracture. Results: The mean age of the patients was 60.0 (11.2) years, and 58.0% of them were men. The frequency of radiographic MCP2–3 arthropathy was 37.6% (95% CI 0.28–0.48). Radiographic MCP2–3 arthropathy was independently associated with older age [OR 1.17 (1.09–1.26) per year, p < 0.0001], male sex [OR 3.89 (1.17–12.97), p = 0.027] and C282Y+/+ genotype [OR 4.78 (1.46–15.68), p = 0.010]. The frequency of joint replacement surgery was 12.9% (95% CI 0.07–0.21). The frequency of bone fragility was 20.4% (95% CI 0.13–0.30). Bone fragility was independently associated with hepatic cirrhosis [OR 8.20 (1.74–38.68), p = 0.008]. Discussion: Radiographic MCP2–3 arthropathy was found to occur in 37.6% of patients with HH. The association observed between this form of arthropathy and C282Y homozygosity, male sex, and older age suggests that demographic characteristics and genetic background are likely to be major determinants of this joint disorder and play a more important role than severity of iron overload. Bone fragility was observed in a fifth of the patients with HH, independently of genetic background and severity of iron overload, and was strongly associated with hepatic cirrhosis. Conclusion: Future investigations should focus on pathogenesis and early identification of patients at risk of developing bone and joint complications secondary to HH.

Introduction: Mycobacterium bovis BCG instillations are used in bladder cancer treatment. Adverse effects can occur. Osteoarticular complications are mainly reactive arthritis, but true infections have been described, such as vertebral osteomyelitis. Methods: We made a review of M. bovis BCG vertebral osteomyelitis after instillations for bladder cancer using PubMed search. We added 3 new French cases. Review: Twenty-seven cases of BCG vertebral osteomyelitis had been reported on PubMed. Of the 30 cases, all were male, averaging 73.4 ± 8.7 year-old. Median time between diagnosis and first and last instillation was 22.5 months and 14 months respectively. Half of vertebral osteomyelitis was thoracic, and lumbar in the other half. Sensitivomotor deficit was present at diagnosis in 42% of cases. Other infectious locations were common, mainly infectious abdominal aortic aneurysms (20%). Rifampicin, ethambutol and isoniazid were the usual therapy. Poor outcomes were reported with 50% of one or more spine surgery. Conclusion: M. bovis BCG vertebral osteomyelitis following bladder instillation for bladder cancer is a rare complication. However, the late onset of back pain after instillations differentiates them from reactive arthritis. Concomitant septic location such as infectious abdominal aortic aneurysms must be known.

Opportunities to improve listening skills and to learn new language through listening in the language classroom can be enhanced through a principled approach to integrating speaking into listening‐based lessons. This entry outlines options and evaluates research support for integrating speaking in all three of the typical stages of a listening lesson (i.e., pre‐, during‐, and post‐listening) for the purposes of not only enhancing comprehension but also fostering metacognitive development and creating opportunities for focus on form.

In L2 listening instruction, pre‐listening activities such as predicting likely content and activating world knowledge are widely used to help learners listen more successfully. A rationale for such activities is that they activate learners' schematic knowledge (i.e., the conceptual frameworks that help organize and interpret information) which learners can then draw on to fill in gaps in their processing and comprehension of the speech stream. From an input processing perspective, activating schemata frees up attentional capacity. This is especially useful when learners are listening without opportunities for conversational interaction. Research provides strong support for the role of schemata in listening comprehension and for the effectiveness of many classroom activities designed for schemata activation.

This study proposed a three-step writing conference in which foreign/second language (L2) students, under the guidance of their writing instructor, first fastened their attentional focus on a form-related error, analysed a collection of standard L2 samples to deduce the underlying knowledge, and then planned for their error correction as well as future learning of this knowledge. The ultimate goal of this formative assessment practice was to scaffold student engagement with written corrective feedback (WCF). Using a between-group experiment design, the present study compared the effects on the success rate of error correction and L2 uptake of the above writing conference ( n = 14) against those brought about by a typical Teacher–Student ( n = 12) and a typical Student–Student one ( n = 12). Research participants were 38 intermediate learners of English as a Foreign Language (EFL) recruited from three intact classes at a language-learning center in Vietnam. The suggested writing conference was indeed found to yield better error correction and L2 uptake than the other counterparts. A closer look at the students’ mental engagement with WCF revealed that such engagement was moderately correlated with their L2 uptake. These findings altogether suggest that student engagement with WCF should not be taken for granted or, in other words, this engagement should be contingently supported by the writing instructor in order to foster learning from WCF.

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