This thesis draws on the theories of Foucault, and Deleuze and Guattari to describe some ways in which teacher and student identities are produced and performed in a second language classroom. Three major aspects of identity are considered: cultural identity, teacher professional role identity, and the changing identity of the language learner. The thesis uses poststructuralist perspectives to critique notions of identity current in second language theory and practice. It extends the conception of identity as 'subjectivity’ proposed by Bonny Norton Peirce - that is, as multiple, impermanent, fragmented – to include the notion of subjectivity produced in interaction and desire. Through an examination of texts produced in an ethnographic study, the thesis addresses issues of cultural categorisation and stereotyping in second language teaching and learning. It discusses the discursive production of subjectivity in discourses of cultural identity and the extent to which culture is a determining factor in subjectivity in the classroom site of the research. It shows how a homogenising effect of discourse leads to the positioning, both self-imposed and other-imposed, of individuals as members of particular cultural groups with particular characteristics. The thesis also discusses the discursive production of subjectivity through discourses of good teacher and good student, and demonstrates the extent to which these discourses are processes of molarisation. The thesis is thus concerned here with an examination of relatively static, fixed identifications and to demonstrate the power of discourse to determine subjectivities. It is also concerned to look at an excess to discourse, a flow which is beyond signification and identification: desire. Identity change at the discursive level is discussed through discourses of becoming, and is differentiated from movements away from subjectification. These movements of desire are proposed as a new way of conceiving agency. The thesis attempts to show some ways in which these subjectivities, produced in discourse and desire, play out in the classroom, in terms of their production and reception by participants, and the impacts on the teaching/learning context.

This essay concerns itself with the importance of learning English as a second language cohesively. The research focus is on student responsibility to learn English and if as well as how this responsibility contributes to have students' perceptions of learning the language cohesively. The applied research method consists of a student questionnaire and two teacher interviews. The questionnaire produces a description of students' relationship to, and view of, the English language and how they understand their learning process in acquiring it. The two teacher interviews establish if and how the teachers influence the students' cohesive understanding of the English language.

This study is a first attempt to explore how non-participant Chinese listener-learners in an EFL context interpret native English speakers' spontaneous conversation. It was designed to incorporate the theoretical models of how secondlforeign language learners derive meaning out of aural stimuli from the point of view of psycholinguistics as well as from a socio-pragmatic perspective. The study begins by identifying the relative contribution of the factors affecting the understanding of English oral input and diagnosing possible causes of poor listening comprehension. It then proceeds to investigate the individual's use of specific strategies so as to identify the most effective strategies for good listening. Finally, this study aims to develop a listening comprehension model, which will not only help to clarify the interpretative processes of Chinese EFL students, but also enable EFL teachers to focus their teaching strategies. The research subjects were fifteen students from two freshman classes of the Department of Civil Engineering and of the Department of Computer and Information Engineering at Chung Yuan Christian University in Taiwan. They grew up and were educated in Taiwan. They were screened by the National Taiwan Universities/Colleges Entrance Exam and considered to be intellectually and cognitively equivalent. They have good first-language listening and reading skills, and are diagnosed as having normal hearing, based on the medical records on file in the Chung Yuan Christian University Health Clinic. As to the findings on factors affecting listening comprehension, linguistic factors, including syntactic cues, semantic cues and semantic-syntactic cues in the text, are not equally important to the learners' understanding process. The learners' ability to catch the semantic cues is highly correlated with their overall listening comprehension performance; their ability to catch the semantic-syntactic cues is moderately correlated with the overall listening comprehension performance; their knowledge of grammar and vocabulary is wealdy correlated with their overall listening comprehension performance. Extra-linguistic factors, including visual, vocal, and contextual support, the speech rate of the speaker, and the repetition of text, play a crucial role in terms of differentiating listening proficiency levels even among advanced learners of English as a foreign language. As to the findings on the strategies of the learners in listening comprehension, the results indicate that there is a significant difference in strategy use between betterlistening groups and poor-listening groups. The highest-ranking group demonstrates higher frequencies of use of the three major categories of strategies (i.e. linguistic, cognitive and extra-linguistic), as well as soliciting more individual strategies. The findings also suggest that TESOL educators should help learners become more conscious of the importance and the development of more cognitively demanding strategies after they have some mastery of linguistic knowledge. Furthermore, the learners' positive attitude towards foreign language acquisition cannot be ignored in attaining a better performance with respect to listening comprehension. Based on the strategies and processes identified in this study, a non-linear listening model, with three levels appropriate for Chinese EFL learners, was developed. The first level consists of such elements as identifying the lexical, syntactic, semantic and contextual cues in the linguistic information and activating background knowledge and previous experiences related to the topic of the text. This level contributes to the formation of idea units and the construction of the sequence of the events, which constitute the elements of the second level. The second level, in turn, has an influence on the composition of a mental image about what is being said. This mental image implies understanding, which is the element of the highest level. Regression analysis is employed to calculate the correlations and weighting between elements and levels. The analyses throughout this model suggest that a higher speed to activate schematic knowledge and the ability to grasp a greater number of idea units are the two most predominant parameters for good listening. An inability or inexperience in sequencing the events from the text would lead a failure in the utmost understanding of the text. Based on the findings, pedagogical implications for language learning were revealed. The following five ideas are promulgated for future research in foreign language teaching. 1. More attention to be paid to sequence construction in listening problems of L2 learners. 2. Similar research on other populations or by using different genres of listening testing materials would strengthen the validation of the proposed model of listening strategies and processes of foreign language learners in an EFL context. 3. More research to be conducted in the investigation of the effects of cognitivedemanding strategies on EFL listening proficiency. 4. A listening strategy shift from Li to L2 would be an interesting area for future in-depth study. 5. Finally, a confirmatory study with a larger sample size is suggested to verify the model proposed in this study.

Though communicative methodologies have been preeminent over the past several decades, the skill of L2/FL pronunciation instruction has remained in the shadows, having been relegated to the sidelines along with the outdated methodologies with which it was taught. The purpose of this study was to gan insight into the efficacy of one types of second language pronunciation instruction: Individualized English pronunciation instruction under the Covert Rehearsal Model (Dickerson, 1989). To this end, seventeen university ESL students from various degree programs were recruited to receive six hours of English pronunciation tutoring spread out across six to eight weeks. Instruction was provided by eleven MA student-teachers (tutors), who concurrently received instruction in applied linguistics and pronunciation pedagogy. To evaluate the actual and perceived efficacy of the model. this study drew upon multiple instruments, such as recorded pre- and post-student-assessments, student and tutor questionnaires, and tutor portfolios. Study results indicated that (a) the individualized pronunciation instruction provided by graduate student-teachers was effective in improving tutees' reading of English reduced vowels, contracted words, intonation contours, and primary phrasal stress, and (b) tutees perceived their instruction as both effective and personally empowering. / text

<p> Collocations, two or more words that co-occur (e.g., <i>extensive research, conduct a study),</i> are linked with native-like lexical accuracy and fluency. Yet even advanced-level second language (L2) learners frequently have difficulty producing appropriate collocations. To help them achieve accurate and fluent collocation production, researchers believe that L2 writers should take advantage of learner friendly collocation tools. To explore whether L2 writers benefit from collocation tools, the current study examined the effect of three collocation tools (two online and one paper) on accurate production of collocations in L2 writing. The collocation tools included (a) the <i> Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English</i> (LDOCE) (online), (b) <i> Macmillan Collocation Dictionary</i> (MCD) (online), and (c) <i> wordandphrase.info</i> (WPI) (paper).</p><p> L2 writers of English (<i>N</i> = 45) in an intensive English program (IEP) in the southwestern part of the USA were divided into three groups. Each group was provided with collocation training for a different collocation tool. After training, each group used the collocation tool to correct 16 miscollocations (8 verb + noun; 8 adjective + noun) embedded in an essay-format collocation test. After each test, the participants completed a quality review checklist. The procedure was repeated three times so that each group used each tool but in a different order; thus, the study employed a Latin Square Design.</p><p> This study used quantitative data to examine the effect of these three collocation tools on L2 learners&rsquo; ability to self-correct collocations in their own writing. Qualitative data were used to further understand L2 writers&rsquo; use of and perception of the collocation tools.</p><p> The results indicated that online collocation tools (LDOCE and WPI) contributed more than a book collocation dictionary (MCD) to accurate collocation production in L2 writers&rsquo; essays. L2 writers favored WPI because it was easier to navigate and it helped them locate the correct collocations. Furthermore, both online tools, namely, LDOCE and WPI, helped the participants correct more collocations than MCD. Focusing on the type of collocations, the participants made more accurate collocation corrections to adjective + noun collocations than to verb + noun collocations.</p><p> The study has several implications. First, English language teachers need to introduce collocation tools to L2 writers because without such introductions, L2 writers will remain unaware of the availability of useful collocation tools. Second, L2 writers will benefit from explicit collocation introduction to and practice with strategies for using collocation tools effectively. Such training will help L2 writers improve their collocation accuracy and fluency. Third, learners should be able to differentiate verbs, adjectives, and nouns. These parts of speech are important to assist learners in producing appropriate verb + noun and adjective + noun collocations.</p>

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Note: / Intensive English programs can be highly motivating for high-ability grade 6 students in Quebec.Following the progression of learning included in the Ministry of Education’s currentcurriculum, four in-class projects were created, focusing on cultural aspects and challenging,authentic tasks to increase students’ motivation and academic achievement. These inquiry-basedprojects emphasize students’ use of communication, collaboration, and problem-solving skillsand promote effective English Second Language learning among grade 6 students in IntensiveEnglish classes of Quebec.