Thesis (M.Ed.)--Kutztown University of Pennsylvania, 1980. / Source: Masters Abstracts International, Volume: 45-06, page: 2795.

Thesis (M.Ed.)--University of Hong Kong, 1995. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 59-63). Also available in print.

Thesis (Ed. D.)--Harvard Graduate School of Education, 1980. / Vita. Description based on print version record. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 266-267).

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Wisconsin--Madison, 1982. / Typescript. Vita. eContent provider-neutral record in process. Description based on print version record. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 79-82).

Thesis (M.S.) -- Central Connecticut State University, 2006. / Thesis advisor: Gloria Marie Caliendo. "... in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Science in Spanish." Includes bibliographical references (leaves 107-110). Also available via the World Wide Web.

Thesis (B.Sc)--University of Hong Kong, 2000. / "A dissertation submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the Bachelor of Science (Speech and Hearing Sciences), The University of Hong Kong, May 10, 2000." Also available in print.

Thesis (B.Sc)--University of Hong Kong, 1992. / A dissertation submitted in partial fulfilment of requirements for the Bachelor of Science (Speech and Hearing Sciences), University of Hong Kong, April 30, 1992. Also available in print.

Thesis (B.Sc)--University of Hong Kong, 1995. / "A dissertation submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the Bachelor of Science (Speech and Hearing Sciences), The University of Hong Kong, April 28, 2995." Also available in print.

This thesis attempts to draw together two distinct perspectives on literacy acquisition, an educational perspective and a psychological perspective. Written English has a complex orthography that has motivated academics since the 15th century to devise 'definitive' teaching methods. Throughout much of the 20th century two influential and mutually exclusive teaching approaches dominated literacy acquisition, i.e. ~whole language' and 'phonics'. Recently, empirical psychological investigation has opened a new debate into the cognitive underpinning required for successful literacy acquisition. A developmental psychological approach argues that literacy development should capitalise on children's naturally developing phonological awareness that generally progresses from large units of sound such as rhyme and syllables to small units of sound, such as phonemes. Conversely, an instructional psychological approach proposes that, irrespective of children's naturally developing ability, it is the phoneme and its correspondence with its visual counterpart, the grapheme, that needs to be brought to children's attention from the earliest stages of learning about written language. It will be argued from an educational perspective, that the whole language approach is sub-optimal for induction into an alphabetic script and most phonics approaches take too long to be effective, are too decontextualised, or require too much apparatus. In line with the small unit approach in psychology, it is proposed that the starting point for literacy acquisition is to focus pre-literate children's attention on the 44 English grapheme-phoneme correspondences that can be blended and segmented into phonetically pronounceable words. This proposal was investigated in an intervention study over a period of 8 weeks for 10 minutes a day, in a whole early-years class setting and an error free entertaining environment. Results showed that this significantly improved initial literacy acquisition for less advantaged children, suggesting that an early induction into the alphabetic principle provides children with "a framework for setting up a written language recognition and production system sufficient to drive the development of a self-teaching mechanism" (Share, 1995; Stuart, 2000). The practical implications of this finding have particular significance for the NLS, which proposes a later start and a two-year structured programme of phonics teaching.

Motivation is the driving force behind successful learning. It is especially crucial in a curriculum area such as foreign language study. This investigation aims to explore the motivational role of the central teaching and learning resource used in schools - the coursebook. The opening Chapter reviews major theories of motivation and learning from behaviourism to cognitivism with the aim of establishing a theoretical base. Chapter Two examines mother tongue acquisition and foreign language learning. Theories of both are discussed, compared and contrasted with the emphasis on identifying compatible features. Key aspects of learning theory and motivational factors related to foreign language learning are presented. The motivational function of the teacher is reviewed with particular reference to the planning and management of learning. The role and the nature of the foreign language coursebook are reviewed and reappraised in Chapter Three. The main aim of this study is identified and, in the light of previous discussion of motivation and learning, an evaluation instrument for coursebooks is drawn up. Chapters Four and Five report and discuss surveys of the views of pupils and teachers on three widely-used coursebooks. Although reactions are generally positive, clear areas of unfulfilled need emerge, as do shortcomings in coursebooks' effectiveness in motivating learners and promoting successful learning. A broad consensus of views between the two groups is revealed. The most popular coursebook of the 1980s is used as a case study in Chapter Six. Application of evaluation criteria established earlier reveals some commendable features but a rather larger number which fail to generate motivation or promote effective learning. The final Chapter sets an agenda for a reappraisal of coursebook design based both on findings of this study and on the impact of sweeping change and reform of the education system which will take effect in the 1990s.