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The study investigates the role of lexical aspect in the acquisition (use and development) of the simple past, past progressive and present tenses by a group of Saudi EFL learners, adopting the Aspect Hypothesis as a general framework. For the simple past tense, data were elicited using a fill-in-the-gap test (Gap-Fill Past), personal narration (Free-writing), story narration (Tom and Jerry) as well as a Two- Option Multiple Choice Task. The results stemming from the different tasks offer evidence both for and against the Aspect Hypothesis, which claims that use of the perfective past spreads from achievements to accomplishments to activities and finally to states. With regard to Gap-Fill Past, the results show that the use of the simple past was consistent with the predictions of the Aspect Hypothesis, except with the lexical aspectual class of activities, which showed the least use of the simple past. On the other hand, results from the Free-writing and Tom and Jerry tasks show that the participants used the past tense best with state predicates which provides counterevidence to the claims of the Aspect Hypothesis regarding the distribution of perfective past verbal morphology. For the other two tenses, only the fill-in-the-gap tests and Two-Option Multiple Choice Task were used. The results of the past progressive support the Aspect Hypothesis in that the use of the progressive is mostly associated with activities and then with accomplishments. The semantic and structural complexities of the present perfect had a stronger effect on the use of the tense than the lexical aspect of the predicates. The Analysis of the alternative forms for the three tenses gave evidence for the Prototypical Hypothesis regarding the associations between verbal morphology and lexical aspect. It was observed that the present form was used mostly with states and the progressive with activities. It was also noticed that the past and base forms were used mostly with accomplishments and achievements. Finally, it was observed that the learners' interlanguage was influenced by their first language, Arabic. The similarity in form but differences in scope between the two languages has an effect of the learners' use of the different form.

Nowadays, most scholars looking for promotion and other academic rewards must publish in impacted journals that use English. However, writing in this language is difficult for Non Native English (NNE) academics, who use other languages in their national disciplinary context. In such contexts, NNE researchers may benefit from comparative studies of the local and the native English (NE) writing conventions. Results from these studies can help NNE academics write more felicitous research texts in English. The present study comparatively analyses reflexive metadiscourse use in research articles (RAs) written in English by NE and Tunisian researchers. The analysis investigates reflexive metadiscourse in a corpus of 100 RAs from hard and soft sciences, with 50 RAs from each cultural group. The focus of this work is on Economics, Business and Management RAs as samples of the soft sciences and Earth and Planetary Sciences RAs as samples of the hard sciences. This work uses an analytical model which draws its main components from Mauranen (1993b) and Adel (2006). A number of adjustments are made in order to render the model more applicable to the research article genre. Employing corpus linguistics methods, this thesis has shown that the NE writers use more markers of total reflexive metadiscourse in the soft than in the hard sciences, while Tunisian authors use equal amounts in the two sciences. It was also found that reflexive metadiscourse is denser in the argumentative RA sections followed by the opening and closing sections, while it is much less frequent in the expository sections. This work also proved that there are more reflexive metadiscourse markers in theoretical than in empirical RAs. As such, the present work contributes to EAP by providing more accurate guidance to Tunisian EAP course designers and/or instructors about the use of reflexive metadiscourse in English RAs.

A number of studies have attempted to examine the writing processes of skilled and non-skilled native and non-native speakers of English. However, few studies have examined the writing processes of Arab university students, and none has been conducted on Libyan students' writing processes. This study examines the writing processes in L1 (Arabic) and L2 (English) of twelve Third-Year Libyan University Students (TYLUS), as they verbalised and produced written texts in both languages. The study investigates the process and product data separately to see if any relationship exists between an individual subject's process skill and product quality in either language. Observation, think-aloud protocols, interviews, questionnaires, and written products have been utilised to gather data in a triangulated case study. The composing sessions were audio-taped; the tapes were then transcribed, translated, and coded for analysis, along with the drafts and the final written compositions. The investigation into Ll and L2 writing processes was guided by one main and three sub-research questions. The main research question was: what writing processes do Libyan University students use while writing in Ll Arabic and in L2 English? Do they follow similar or different strategies? The first sub-research question was: how is the linguistic knowledge of the students reflected in Ll and L2 writing? The second was: does the Arabic rhetorical pattern affect the students' English writing? And lastly, how does instruction influence the writing processes and products of these students? The L1 and L2 protocol data yielded a number of interesting findings. Most subjects had a purpose in mind while composing their texts, but had little concern for audience. Individually, each subject displayed a unitary composing style across languages, tending to compose in the Ll and L2 similarly, with some variations in specific aspects. , As a group, the subjects' writing process differences were manifested in planning, time and content; writing time was shorter in L1 than in L2; reviewing in L1 focused on organisation and content, but on form, grammar and vocabulary in L2. Similarities were apparent in mental planning and reliance on internal resources as the subjects alternated between writing, repeating, and rehearsing. The L2 compositions gradually emerged with repetitions, pauses, and the use of L1, and seemed to be constrained by the subjects' linguistic knowledge and imperfect mastery of L2. This suggests that the composing knowledge and skills of Ll could potentially be transferred into L2 composing, and the subjects had employed many similar strategies deemed necessary for writing in both languages but were unable to apply accurately them in L2. In addition, the subjects used Ll to facilitate their composing in L2. They tended to comment and repeat portions of texts in words, rehearse in phrases, and engage in other composing activities at sentence level. Translated segments occurred at almost every level but mainly at phrase level. Finally, and interestingly, some subjects made more errors in L1 than in L2. A tentative composing process model showing the locations in which LI was used during the writing process is proposed. Implications for EFL, particularly. for Libyan University students, and suggestions for further research are also provided.

The main purpose of this study was to investigate empirically the impacts of dictionary strategy instruction and exposure on the dictionary performance, perceptions of and attitudes towards dictionary use, and knowledge of dictionary strategy and use by tertiary students of English in Saudi Arabia. Data were collected by means of questionnaires, interviews, observation and students interview feedback. The study was carried out in two phases; phase I, in which 14 participants were chosen to carry out the interviews, and in which the questionnaire was conducted on 77 male students in the preparatory year at the College of Applied Health Science of Qassim University in Saudi Arabia; and phase II where four participants were chosen to carry out the training in dictionary use through a one-to-one tutorial mode. The data in the second phase were collected through observation and students interview feedback. The findings from phase I of the study indicated that the Saudi students did not have appropriate knowledge of their own dictionary. It revealed some instances of failing to take advantage of the potential of dictionary use for language learning and identified factors behind this ineffective use. It demonstrated how the teacher’s role was essential in this respect and could directly influence the process of dictionary implementation inside the classroom The results of phase II demonstrated that strategy training was effective in disseminating the knowledge and skills required of students in using their dictionaries to solve linguistic problems. More importantly, the results showed that the strategy training approach holds great potential for developing students' independence and that it moves them towards greater autonomy. Thus, it is recommended that training be provided to English language learners to optimise their use of this important tool. Finally, specific implications for both teaching and future research are identified.

This thesis explores the teaching and learning of English for Medical Purposes (EMP) in a Syrian Arab university (Tishreen University). It investigates the inherent contradictions in the position of EMP in an Arab-medium university by drawing on the socio-political and economic factors shaping English language education policy in Syria. It also critiques “mainstream” ESP through examining the “purpose” in English for Medical Purposes. Rather than viewing learning as an end product, this study suggests that learning English is part of a dynamic process of learning to become a doctor in Syria and as part of constructing the 21st Century Syrian “doctor” identity. I draw on aspects of poststructuralism and complexity theory to take the analysis of English for Specific Purposes beyond issues of needs analysis, content, and materials development. ESP, from its outset, has been proposed for decades as a commodity that meets students’ linguistic and communicative needs. However important these concerns are for the development of the discipline, as I argue in this thesis, ESP seems to adopt a “mechanistic” approach by predetermining “needs” and “purposes” which fails to account for the complexity of human beings’ behaviours and responses in educational contexts. The deterministic conceptualisation of ESP places rigid boundaries between ESP and the reality of the medicine profession, therefore, fails to meet students’ needs which transcend boundaries of classroom in aspiration for recognition by the medical community worldwide. English for Medical Purposes, in this study, goes beyond “specific purposes” to account for the role of English as a foreign language in constructing doctor identity and in the process of becoming a doctor. Data in this qualitative research were collected through focus groups with students of medicine in Tishreen University, semi-structured interviews with medical tutors and management officials in the Faculty of Medicine and the Higher Institute of Languages, as well as ESP teachers. Policy documents were analysed, and field notes were taken in classroom and hospital observations. Based on the analysis of these sources, a deeper understanding of EMP at Tishreen University is reached through the lens of poststructuralism and complexity theory. Finally, this thesis ends by drawing an ESP/Applied Linguistics relationship among the implications the findings have for policy makers, teachers and medical students, alongside recommendations for future ESP research directions.