Many adults who have dual language experience describe themselves as "passive bilinguals," able to understand two languages, but speak only one. The aim of this study was to examine the relation between language production and comprehension in bilingual children in order to determine whether bilingual comprehension is more readily achieved than production. ... Productive and receptive skills in both languages were assessed using standardized tests. Children's relative amount of exposure to each language, as well as their language choice during production was measured via interview with the primary caregiver.... Language exposure as measured via dominance in one language over another appears to affect productive language differently than receptive language, further evidencing that language exposure is a significant predictor of acquisition that predicts production and comprehension differently. Additionally, when input is held constant, child language choice is uniquely related to productive and receptive language skill. The results of this study not only describe patterns of productive and receptive language skills and their correlates in young bilinguals, but they also address competing theories regarding the roles of input and output in the development of language comprehension and production. / by Krystal M. Ribot. / Thesis (M.A.)--Florida Atlantic University, 2012. / Includes bibliography. / Mode of access: World Wide Web. / System requirements: Adobe Reader.

Nesta tese observa-se o papel que a semântica e a pragmática desempenham, na gramática inicial (early grammar) da interlíngua de falantes de português, na compreensão de textos em inglês e em espanhol nos quais se relatam eventos passados e se empregam as oposições Present Perfect x Past Simple e Pretérito Perfecto x Pretérito Indefinido. Assumimos (MICHAELLIS, 1998) que um dos valores mais fortes das formas compostas dessas duas línguas é o resultativo e que como o português, na maioria das vezes, expressa o resultado de outros modos, o aprendiz vê naquelas apenas uma maneira de expressar ações passadas. Em função disso, ao analisar a estrutura da língua estrangeira, acaba atribuindo aos tempos compostos de ambas os valores aspectuais das perífrases [TER+Particípio] e [ESTAR+Gerúndio] do português, que em muitos casos não coincide com os valores das formas perifrásticas das línguas que estão aprendendo. Enquanto as perífrases da língua estrangeira têm o aspecto perfectivo resultativo, as do português têm valor imperfectivo continuativo. Tal fato, que afeta a compreensão do texto, não é percebido pelos aprendizes. Estes analisam primeiramente a sintaxe da língua-alvo (top-down procedure, Liceras, 2003a) uma vez que não têm acesso aos traços que desencadeiam a fixação de parâmetros para a realização do bottom-up. O padrão de atribuição dos valores das perífrases da L1 para a L2 aparece nas interlínguas do espanhol e do inglês, apontando para um mesmo processo, independente de a língua-alvo ser mais ou menos próxima do português. Testes com análise de variância comprovam que se trata de um mesmo processo para as duas línguas, que começa a partir da reestruturação da L1, sugerindo que a aquisição dessa é regida pelos princípios da GU, mas que a marcação de parâmetros não acontecerá como na L1, mas se dará via reestruturação de porções da L1. Os valores semânticos utilizados na interlíngua, nesse estágio, também são os da L1, o que aponta que, assim como acontece com a fonologia, a criança nasce com sensibilidade para acessar qualquer valor semântico, mas existe um período crítico que faz com que a aquisição da L2 ocorra por reestruturação não apenas sintática mas também semântica dos valores da L1. A pragmática, por sua vez, será acessada, após a semântica, como uma sintonia fina do sentido / In this thesis, the roles of Semantics and Pragmatics in text comprehension tasks have been investigated in Portuguese speakers interlanguage early grammar. The texts in both English and Spanish had past events told employing Present Perfect x Past Simple and Pretérito Perfecto x Pretérito Indefinido pairings. We have adopted (Michaellis, 1998) that the English periphrasis has as its most salient meaning the resultative reading and have applied it to the Spanish periphrasis as well. Portuguese, on the other hand, expresses resultative meaning in different ways most of the times leading students to see in the Present Perfect and Pretérito Perfecto structures the past event meaning alone. Consequently, when analyzing the foreign language structures, learners end up assigning them the aspectual values which belong to the Portuguese [TER+Participle] and [ESTAR+Gerund] periphrases, despite their not sharing the same aspectual values most of the time, because the English and Spanish forms express the perfective and resultative aspect, while the Portuguese periphrasis indicates the imperfective and durative aspect. This mismatch affects text comprehension, but is not perceived by the students. Learners first analyze the target language structure (topdown procedure, Liceras, 2003a), once they cannot have access to the features which trigger the parameter setting, precluding a bottom-up procedure. The same pattern of value assignment from the L1 periphrasis to both L2 is noticeable in both English and Spanish interlanguages. Analysis of Variance tests have proven that both interlanguages undergo the same process, which starts from L1 reestructuring. This fact suggests that adult L2 learner will make use of UG principles, but will not set parameters the way children do, L2 will grow by reestructuring portions of L1. The semantic values applied in both English and Spanish interlanguages at this stage, are L1?s as well, allowing a comparison to the phonology acquisition. Children are born sensitive to any semantic value, but due to a critical period for semantics, adult L2 learners will acquire L2 semantic values by reestructing not only the syntax of L1 but also its semantic values. Learners will have access to pragmatics, after semantics, as a fine-tuned meaning

The primary purpose of the study was to examine the relationship between Haitian-Creole and Spanish-speaking English Language Learners students’ number of years in the ELL program and their academic achievement as indicated by performance on the third-grade Florida Comprehensive Achievement Test Reading. This study also sought to determine if elementary school size (total student population), ELL student count (total number of ELL students in a school), school socioeconomic status (percentage of free and reduced lunch), student gender, and student home language (Haitian-Creole and Spanish), individual SES, and individual Idea Proficiency Test moderate the relationship. The study included data analysis using quantitative methods for the 141 elementary schools in school district. A bivariate correlation of the Pearson Correlation value (r = -.021, p > .05) was used to test the relationship between the number of years in the ELL program and achievement results for third-grade student FCAT Reading proficiency and the moderator variables (elementary school size, ELL student count, school SES, student gender, student home language, individual SES, and IPT individual score). Later, a multiple regression was used to test the moderation hypotheses. The study found that the degree of relationship between the number of years students are in the ELL program and FCAT scores of Haitian-Creole- and Spanishspeaking English Language Learner students is higher as SES increases. As SES decreases, so does the relationship. Of the 1,204 records reviewed, 423 were classified as Haitian-Creole-speaking students versus 782 classified as Spanish-speaking students. Only 16% of the students scored a level 3-5 (passed as proficient) as opposed to 84% who scored a level 1-2 (non-proficient). The study reveals a need for further research to investigate the impact that ELLs’ SES as well as the school’s SES has on the school’s achievement. / Includes bibliography. / Dissertation (Ph.D.)--Florida Atlantic University, 2016. / FAU Electronic Theses and Dissertations Collection

Research in second language acquisition reveals that adults have difficulty learning the grammatical aspects of a foreign language. The present study investigated the efficacy of three teaching methods that were predicted to help adults better learn the grammar of a foreign language. First, lessons were presented in small pieces that gradually increased to full sentences. Second, lesson trials were blocked such that multiple examples of sentences with the same object or verb were presented consecutively. Third, participants were instructed to gesture the actions of the verbs within sentences. All three methods were predicted to increase the likelihood of learning the grammar form of sentences through guiding adults’ attention to fewer components of language input at a time. In Experiment 1, 82 English native speakers played an adventure videogame designed for the learning of French vocabulary and grammar of French sentences for two one-hour sessions. All three methods were incorporated in the lessons portion of the game resulting in a 2(incremental vs. full sentence) X 2(blocked vs. unblocked order) X 2(gesture vs. no gesture) between subjects design. The results from Experiment 1 revealed a) more nouns were acquired than verbs and b) a trend that the incremental conditions performed worse than the full sentence conditions on the grammar measures. In Experiment 2, 110 adult learners played the French videogame, but only the blocked presentation and gesture imitation methods were incorporated in the lessons portion (omitting the method of incremental presentation). The results from Experiment 2 revealed a) conditions with either method of blocked presentation or gesturing performed better on vocabulary and grammar measures than the unblocked non-gesture condition, and b) the combination of blocked presentation and gesturing led to better learning of inductive grammar than either method alone. The outcome of the study suggests gesturing and blocked order teaching methods that encourage adults to attend to a few but important components within a sentence are advantageous in learning the grammar of a foreign language. / Includes bibliography. / Dissertation (Ph.D.)--Florida Atlantic University, 2014. / FAU Electronic Theses and Dissertations Collection

何子煌 = A study of the effects of academic and ... / 手稿影印本. / Thesis (M.A.)--香港中文大學硏究院敎育學部. / Shou gao ying yin ben. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 186-199). / He Zihuang = A study of the effects of academic and ... / Thesis (M.A.)--Xianggang Zhong wen da xue yan jiu yuan jiao yu xue bu. / Chapter 第一章 --- 緒論 --- p.1 / 問題說明 --- p.1 / 文獻探討 --- p.13 / 假設 --- p.68 / 重要名詞釋義 --- p.69 / 研究的局限 --- p.73 / Chapter 第二章 --- 研究方法 --- p.75 / 研究設計 --- p.75 / 研究對象與取樣方法 --- p.77 / 研究工具 --- p.79 / 實施程序 --- p.95 / Chapter 第三章 --- 結果與討論 --- p.97 / Chapter 第四章 --- 研究結論與建議 --- p.167 / 摘要與結論 --- p.167 / 建議 --- p.183 / 參考文獻 --- p.186 / 附錄 / Chapter 一 --- 華語第二語文聽能測驗（錄音稿） --- p.200 / Chapter 二 --- 華語第二語文聽能測驗（試卷） --- p.221 / Chapter 三 --- 華語第二語文聽能測驗（答案紙） --- p.227 / Chapter 四 --- 學生資料調查問卷 --- p.228 / Chapter 五 --- 華語第二語文聽能測驗試題的難度及鑑別度 --- p.233 / Chapter 六 --- 信件 --- p.234

Sin Ping Wong. / Thesis (M.Phil.)--Chinese University of Hong Kong, 1991. / Bibliography: leaves 143-147. / Abstract --- p.i / Acknowledgements --- p.ii / Table of Contents --- p.iii / Chapter CHAPTER 0. --- INTRODUCTION --- p.1 / Chapter 0.1. --- Learning the English Sound System --- p.1 / Chapter 0.2. --- The Importance of the Acquisition of English Word Stress --- p.5 / Chapter 0.2.1. --- "Stress, Morphology and Syntax" --- p.5 / Chapter 0.2.2. --- Stress and Intelligibility of Non-native Speech --- p.7 / Chapter CHAPTER 1. --- THE STRESS PATTERNS OF ENGLISH WORDS --- p.12 / Chapter 1.1. --- The Phonetic Properties of English Word Stress --- p.12 / Chapter 1.2. --- Theoretical Approaches to English Word Stress --- p.13 / Chapter 1.2.1. --- Chomsky and Halle (1968) 一一 The Sound Pattern of English --- p.14 / Chapter 1.2.1.1. --- Strong/Weak Syllables --- p.15 / Chapter 1.2.1.2. --- The Transformational Cycle --- p.15 / Chapter 1.2.1.3. --- The Main Stress Rule --- p.18 / Chapter 1.2.1.4. --- The Compound Stress Rule and Nuclear Stress Rule --- p.20 / Chapter 1.2.2. --- Liberman and Prince (1977) -- Metrical Phonology --- p.22 / Chapter 1.2.2.1. --- The Stress Rules --- p.24 / Chapter 1.2.2.2. --- The Lexical Category Prominence Rule --- p.26 / Chapter 1.2.3. --- Selkirk (1980) ´ؤ Prosodic Categories --- p.29 / Chapter 1.2.4. --- Hayes (1981) ´ؤ Extrametricality --- p.34 / Chapter 1.2.4.1. --- Rime Projection --- p.34 / Chapter 1.2.4.2. --- Extrametricality --- p.35 / Chapter 1.2.4.3. --- English Stress Rules and Word Tree Construction --- p.36 / Chapter 1.3. --- Prerequisites for the Acquisition of English Word Stress --- p.40 / Chapter CHAPTER 2. --- STUDIES ON THE ACQUISITION OF STRESS --- p.43 / Chapter 2.1. --- The Acquisition of Stress by Children --- p.43 / Chapter 2.2. --- Adults' Stress Patterns - Native Speakers and ESL Learners --- p.45 / Chapter CHAPTER 3. --- METHODOLOGY --- p.51 / Chapter 3.1. --- Research Objectives --- p.51 / Chapter 3.2. --- Research Design --- p.55 / Chapter 3.2.1. --- Test Materials --- p.55 / Chapter 3.2.1.1. --- Criteria for the Coinage of Test Items --- p.55 / Chapter 3.2.1.2. --- The Rime Structure of Test Words --- p.57 / Chapter 3.2.1.3. --- Number of Syllables and Directionality of Rule Application --- p.59 / Chapter 3.2.1.4. --- Syntactic Categories --- p.61 / Chapter 3.2.2. --- Subjects --- p.64 / Chapter 3.2.3. --- Procedure --- p.64 / Chapter CHAPTER 4. --- FINDINGS --- p.68 / Chapter 4.1. --- Overall Performance --- p.69 / Chapter 4.1.1. --- Proficiency Test --- p.69 / Chapter 4.1.2. --- Overall Performance in Test Items --- p.70 / Chapter 4.1.2.1. --- Secondary Students Versus University Students --- p.72 / Chapter 4.1.2.2. --- Syntactic Category --- p.73 / Chapter 4.2. --- Learners' Stress Patterns Classified According to Syllable Structures --- p.76 / Chapter 4.2.1. --- The Stress Patterns of ESL Learners in Verbs --- p.78 / Chapter 4.2.1.1. --- 2-syllable Verbs --- p.78 / Chapter 4.2.1.2. --- 3-syllable Verbs (Regularly Patterned Responses) --- p.83 / Chapter 4.2.1.3. --- 3-syllable Verbs (Irregularly Patterned Responses) --- p.87 / Chapter 4.2.2. --- Stress Patterns of ESL Learners in Nouns --- p.92 / Chapter 4.2.2.1. --- 2-syllable Nouns --- p.92 / Chapter 4.2.2.2. --- 3-syllable Nouns --- p.96 / Chapter 4.3. --- 4-Syllable Nouns --- p.104 / Chapter CHAPTER 5. --- DISCUSSION --- p.116 / Chapter 5.1. --- Summary of Findings --- p.117 / Chapter 5.2. --- The Metrical Theory and the Stress Patterns of ESL --- p.123 / Chapter 5.2.1. --- Rime Structures --- p.123 / Chapter 5.2.2. --- Extrametricality --- p.125 / Chapter 5.2.2.1. --- Consonant Extrametricality --- p.125 / Chapter 5.2.2.2. --- Noun Extrametricality --- p.126 / Chapter 5.2.3. --- Directionality --- p.130 / Chapter 5.2.4. --- Stress Assignment --- p.132 / Chapter 5.3. --- Second Language Acquisition --- p.137 / Chapter 5.3.1. --- Learners' Strategy --- p.137 / Chapter 5.3.2. --- Group Difference --- p.138 / Chapter 5.3.3. --- L1 Transfer --- p.139 / Chapter CHAPTER 6. --- CONCLUSION --- p.141 / REFERENCES --- p.143 / Appendix A --- p.i / Appendix B --- p.vi / Appendix C --- p.xvi

by Gu Yongqi. / Thesis (M.Phil.)--Chinese University of Hong Kong, 1989. / Bibliography: leaves 145-151.

Wong Shee-hei. / Thesis (M.Phil.)--Chinese University of Hong Kong, 2002. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 173-181). / Abstracts in English and Chinese. / List of Abbreviations --- p.iii / List of Tables and Figures --- p.v / Abstract / -English --- p.vii / -Chinese --- p.iv / Chapter Chapter One: --- Introduction --- p.1 / Chapter 1.1. --- An Overview --- p.1 / Chapter 1.1.1 --- Reasons for the Study --- p.2 / Chapter 1.2. --- Previous Research --- p.7 / Chapter 1.2.1. --- Studies on the Acquisition of Chinese as Second Language --- p.8 / Chapter 1.2.2. --- Studies on the Acquisition of English Passives by ESL learners --- p.12 / Chapter 1.2.3. --- Studies on the English L2 Overpassivization Errors ´ؤ Passivization of Unaccusative Verbs by ESL --- p.14 / Chapter 1.3. --- Theories of Interlanguage --- p.19 / Chapter 1.3.1. --- Prior Linguistic Knowledge and Language Transfer --- p.19 / Chapter 1.3.2. --- Language Universals and Universal Grammar --- p.22 / Chapter 1.4. --- Research Question of the Present Study --- p.24 / Chapter 1.5. --- Preview of Other Chapters --- p.24 / Notes to Chapter One --- p.25 / Chapter Chapter Two: --- Passive Constructions and Related Structures in Chinese and English --- p.27 / Chapter 2.0. --- Introduction --- p.27 / Chapter 2.1. --- Chinese Passives --- p.29 / Chapter 2.1.1. --- Chinese Bei-passives --- p.32 / Chapter 2.1.1.1. --- Some Characteristics of Chinese Bei-passives --- p.35 / Chapter 2.2. --- English Passives --- p.41 / Chapter 2.2.1. --- English Be-passives --- p.42 / Chapter 2.2.2. --- Get/Have-passives in English --- p.44 / Chapter 2.3. --- Structures related to Passives --- p.46 / Chapter 2.3.1. --- Topic Structures --- p.46 / Chapter 2.3.1.1. --- Topic-comment Structure in Chinese --- p.47 / Chapter 2.3.1.2. --- Topic Structure in English --- p.50 / Chapter 2.3.2. --- Unaccusative Verbs --- p.50 / Chapter 2.3.2.1. --- Chinese Unaccusative Construction --- p.53 / Chapter 2.3.2.2. --- English Unaccusative Construction --- p.56 / Chapter 2.3.2.3 --- Japanese Unaccusative Construction --- p.58 / Chapter 2.4. --- Conclusion and Interlanguage Problems Predicted --- p.60 / Notes to Chapter Two --- p.62 / Chapter Chapter Three: --- Methodology --- p.64 / Chapter 3.1. --- Aims of the Experiment --- p.64 / Chapter 3.2. --- Research Hypotheses --- p.65 / Chapter 3.3. --- Subjects in the Experiment --- p.68 / Chapter 3.4. --- Types of the Test Structures --- p.70 / Chapter 3.5. --- Experiment Materials --- p.75 / Chapter 3.5.1. --- The Picture Description (PD) Task --- p.75 / Chapter 3.5.2. --- The Grammaticality Judgment (GJ) Task --- p.77 / Chapter 3.6. --- Experimental Procedure and Test Scoring --- p.83 / Notes to Chapter Three --- p.84 / Chapter Chapter Four: --- Results of the Experiment --- p.85 / Chapter 4.1. --- Overall Results --- p.85 / Chapter 4.1.1. --- The Picture Description (PD) Task --- p.86 / Chapter 4.1.2. --- The Grammaticality Judgment (GJ) Task --- p.101 / Chapter 4.2. --- English-speaking Learners verse Controls --- p.119 / Chapter 4.3. --- Japanese-speaking Learners verse Controls --- p.125 / Chapter 4.4. --- Possible Shortcomings of the Experiment --- p.126 / Chapter 4.4. --- Conclusion --- p.127 / Notes to Chapter Four --- p.128 / Chapter Chapter Five: --- Discussion and Conclusions --- p.129 / Chapter 5.1. --- The Research Questions and Hypotheses --- p.129 / Chapter 5.2. --- A Summary of the Findings in the PD Task --- p.131 / Chapter 5.3. --- A Summary of the Findings in the GJ Task --- p.132 / Chapter 5.4. --- Some Important Issues --- p.133 / Chapter 5.4.1. --- Evidence of Ll Transfer --- p.133 / Chapter 5.4.2. --- Overpassivization of Chinese Unaccusative Verbs and the Universality of Overpassivization Phenomenon in IL Grammar --- p.136 / Chapter 5.4.3. --- Further Difficulties in the Acquisition of Chinese Passives and Related Structures --- p.139 / Chapter 6.5. --- Conclusions --- p.140 / Chapter 6.6. --- Suggestions for Further Studies --- p.142 / Appendices --- p.145 / References --- p.173

by Chan Mable. / Thesis submitted in 1997. / Thesis (M.Phil.)--Chinese University of Hong Kong, 1998. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 120-124). / Abstract also in Chinese. / Chapter Chapter1 --- Second Language Acquisition Research: Background to the Present Study / Chapter 1.1 --- Introduction / Chapter 1.2 --- Rationale for the Present Study / Chapter 1.2.1 --- Structures and Properties of Middles and Unaccusative Verbs in English / Chapter 1.2.1.1 --- Derivation of Middles / Chapter 1.2.1.2 --- Derivation of Unaccusative Verb Structures / Chapter 1.2.2 --- Common Properties Shared by Middles and Unaccusative Verbs / Chapter 1.2.3 --- SLA Studies on L2 Acquisition of Middles and Unaccusative Verb Structures / Chapter 1.3 --- Research Issues / Chapter Chapter2 --- Theoretical Issues / Chapter 2.1 --- Introduction / Chapter 2.2 --- Why Is It Difficult to Acquire Middles and Unaccusative Verbs? / Chapter 2.2.1 --- "Common Properties shared by Passives, Middles and Unaccusatives" / Chapter 2.2.2 --- "The Differences between Passives, Middles and Unaccusatives" / Chapter 2.3 --- A Comparison of the Middles and Unaccusative Verbs in L1 and L2 / Chapter 2.3.1 --- The issue of L1 Transfer / Chapter 2.3.2 --- Middles in Cantonese / Chapter 2.3.3 --- Unaccusative Verbs in Cantonese / Chapter 2.4 --- Predictions of Difficulties posed by both structures / Chapter 2.4.1 --- Middles / Chapter 2.4.2 --- Unaccusative Verbs / Chapter Chapter3 --- Methodology and Results / Chapter 3.1 --- Experiment / Chapter 3.2 --- Subjects / Chapter 3.3 --- Procedures / Chapter 3.4 --- Rationale of the Tasks / Chapter 3.4.1 --- The Grammaticality Judgment Task / Chapter 3.4.2 --- Picture Description Task / Chapter 3.5 --- Scoring Method / Chapter 3.6 --- Results of the Picture Description Task / Chapter 3.7 --- Results of the Grammaticality Judgment Task / Chapter 3.8 --- Diagnostics of Middle Constructions and Unaccusative Verbs / Chapter 3.9 --- Prompting Effect / Chapter Chapter4 --- Discussion and Conclusion / Chapter 4.1 --- Research Issues Revisited / Chapter 4.2 --- Acquisition Problem with the Middle Construction / Chapter 4.3 --- Acquisition Problem with Unaccusative Verbs / Chapter 4.3.1 --- Paired Unaccusative Verbs / Chapter 4.3.2 --- Unpaired Unaccusative Verbs / Chapter 4.4 --- Do L2 Learners have Knowledge of Middle Constructions and Unaccusative Verbs? / Chapter 4.5 --- Developmental Patterns of L2 Learners in Acquiring English Middle Constructions and Unaccusative Verbs / Chapter 4.6 --- Is there L1 Transfer? / Chapter 4.7 --- How to Account for the Difficulties Posed by Middle Constructions and Unaccusative Verbs / Chapter 4.7.1 --- Acquisition of Unaccusative Verbs / Chapter 4.7.2 --- Acquisition of the Middle Constructions / Chapter 4.8 --- Incompleteness' and 'Divergence' in Second Language Acquisition / Chapter 4.9 --- Conclusion / References / Appendix I / Appendix II

Increasing numbers of Hispanic immigrants are entering the US (US Census Bureau, 2011) and are learning American English (AE) as a second language (L2). Many may experience difficulty in understanding AE. Accurate perception of AE vowels is important because vowels carry a large part of the speech signal (Kewley-Port, Burkle, & Lee, 2007). The relationship between native language and L2 vowel inventories causes some vowels to be more difficult to perceive accurately than others (Best & Tyler, 2007). The present study examined the patterns with which early and late Spanish-English bilingual adults assimilate AE vowels to their native vowel inventory and the accuracy with which they discriminate and identify the vowels. Early bilingual listeners demonstrated similar perceptual assimilation patterns to late bilingual listeners, but judged AE vowels as less Spanish sounding than did late learners. Additionally, discrimination and identification accuracy of L2 vowels improved with early age of L2 acquisition. However, early bilingual listeners’ vowel perception was not native-like. Certain AE vowels (/ʌ/, /ɑ/ and /æ/) were difficult to discriminate and identify. Perceptual assimilation patterns predicted categorial discrimination accuracy, an outcome posited by the Perceptual Assimilation Model-L2 (Best & Tyler, 1997).