This study investigates how seven Chinese sentence-final particles (SFP le, ne1, ma, ne2, ba1, ba2 and a; hereafter SFP) and their features are represented in English speakers’ L2 Chinese. In this research, SFPs are analysed as heads instantiating different positions in the CP domain (Paul 2009, 2014, 2015), which are head-final, and in particular, they are considered to carry semantic, syntactic and discourse features. As there is no SFP in English, the features on Chinese SFPs are realised by a variety of syntactic means. Through a proficiency test and six experimental tasks, data from 76 participants (including 18 Chinese native speakers, 20 low-intermediate learners, 20 high-intermediate learners and 18 advanced learners) were collected. Results show that English-speaking L2 learners can easily establish the basic syntactic structure of Chinese SFPs and successfully acquire the features attached to SFPs ma, ba1 and a. However, they have significant difficulty in acquiring the features attached to SFPs le, ne1, ne2 and ba2. In general, syntactic features on Chinese SFPs are intact in L2 grammars, whereas semantic features (i.e. syntax-semantics interfaces) are very vulnerable. In addition, it is found that not all discourse features (syntax-discourse interfaces) are problematic. Findings indicate that both L1 grammar (i.e. L1 transfer) and L2 input (frequency, saliency and complexity) play important roles in affecting learners’ acquisition of the features attached to Chinese SFPs. In particular, learners seem to transfer all feature sets from their L1 English. Semantic features that have been transferred from their L1 English but that are neither confirmed nor disconfirmed by the Chinese input have become dormant in the L2 Chinese, which complements the Dormant Feature Hypothesis (Yuan 2014). Furthermore, the homomorphous SFPs which exhibit a ‘one-to-many’ form-meaning connection are believed to complicate learners’ recognition and acquisition of relevant features on SFPs. It is also demonstrated that the mapping of a feature across CP domains (i.e. from a two-CP structure to a one-CP structure) can be problematic and difficult. The discourse feature needs to be reassembled in L2 grammars, which advances the arguments of the Feature Reassembly Hypothesis (Lardiere 2008, 2009a,b).

Submitted by Maike Costa (maiksebas@gmail.com) on 2016-01-12T13:44:01Z No. of bitstreams: 1 arquivototal.pdf: 1239269 bytes, checksum: 76dcf48851e0499880c281c58758b9e1 (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2016-01-12T13:44:01Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 arquivototal.pdf: 1239269 bytes, checksum: 76dcf48851e0499880c281c58758b9e1 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2014-03-26 / This work aims to investigate how Brazilian learners of English use the structural information during the resolution of coreference in sentences containing the ambiguous pronoun her in a position of object (NP) or possessive pronoun (SPEC). In English, in an intrasentencial context the pronoun her can generate ambiguity during processing if its unavailable antecedent matches in number and gender, however, the same pronoun is blocked by the principle B of Binding Theory (Chomsky, 1981). We investigate this phenomenon considering aspects of the Shallow Structure Hypothesis (SSH) Clahsen and Felser (2006). According to this hypothesis, L2 learners have a shallower grammar which is able to only successfully process unambiguous structures with low complexity. Through an on-line experiment of self-paced reading we verified if English learners at different levels of proficiency, were sensitive to the syntactic ambiguity of sentences containing the pronoun her, even though according to SSH their processing is more superficial. / Este trabalho tem como objetivo investigar a maneira como brasileiros aprendizes de inglês utilizam a informação estrutural durante a resolução da correferência em frases ambíguas contendo o pronome her em condições de objeto (NP) ou de pronome possessivo (SPEC). Em inglês, em um contexto intrasentencial o pronome her pode gerar ambiguidade durante o processamento se seu antecedente indisponível coincidir em gênero e número, no entanto, o mesmo pronome encontra-se bloqueado pelo o princípio B da teoria da ligação (Chomsky, 1981). Investigaremos esse fenômeno considerando aspectos da Hipótese da Estrutura Rasa (SSH) Clahsen e Felser, (2006). Segundo esta hipótese, aprendizes de L2 dispõem de uma gramática superficial capaz de processar com sucesso apenas estruturas de pouca complexidade e sem ambiguidades. Através de experimento on line de leitura automonitorada, verificamos se aprendizes de inglês em níveis distintos de proficiência, foram sensíveis às restrições sintáticas de frases contendo a ambiguidade do pronome her, ainda que segundo a SSH, disponham de um processamento mais superficial.

Los estudiantes de hoy han crecido en un mundo digitalizado y la competencia digital es algo importante en la sociedad. Es una de las ocho competencias que ha formulado la UE para un aprendizaje permanente. La importancia de la competencia digital también es visible en los documentos relacionados con la escuela sueca. Es algo que se valora y que se trabaja en los diferentes cursos. Para trabajar y desarrollar la competencia digital es imprescindible usar las TIC. En esta investigación se ha investigado cómo cuatro profesoras de E/L2 usan las TIC en su enseñanza y sus actitudes hacia las mismas, usando entrevistas cualitativas. Del análisis se puede deducir que las informantes sobre todo usan las TIC para mostrar y buscar información, películas, música y artículos. Los aspectos interactivos y comunicativos de la Web 2.0 no se usan tan frecuentemente. Además, la investigación muestra que existen ciertas diferencias entre los nativos e inmigrantes digitales en cuanto a su confianza a la hora de usar las TIC y su modo de reflexionar sobre las mismas. Entre otras cosas, muestra que la informante más joven se siente cómoda usando las TIC porque ha crecido usando este tipo de medios mientras que las informantes que forman parte a la categoría inmigrantes digitales, si se sienten cómodas, es porque se han educado y han aprendido cómo usarlas TIC y porque tienen confianza en su capacidad de averiguar cómo incorporar elementos nuevos en la enseñanza

This study aims to seek answers to what type of motivation strategies serve the development of foreign language learning in an effective way. Motivation is a complex concept and therefore there are no absolute answers to what kind of strategies are preferable, but there are plenty of recommendations and research about motivation. One of the main issues in foreign language learning is students lack of self-confidence, which often leads to motivational issues and loss of interest. In today`s globalized society, knowing a foreign language can lead to new opportunities, both in social and professional life. The teacher has a crucial role in finding ways to reach out to each student and finding a motivational strategy suited for every individual. On the other hand, applying strategies such as for example an ”open class environment”, is more adequate when teaching multiple students at the same occasion. It is important to understand the combined use of different types of motivational strategies, depending on the circumstances, is one of the corner stones in improving the students results.

In this thesis English interdental fricative acquisition by Brazilians second language learners has been investigated. Data from oral productions of three students groups has been gathered. The first group is composed by sixth semester undergraduate students of UNIFRA English course. The second and third groups are composed by third and tenth semester students of an extra curricular English course of UFSC. First, a phonetic transcription of selected words that contained interdental fricatives has been performed. Then, an analysis based on Connectionist Optimality Theory proposed by BONILHA (2004) has been carried out. This analysis uses the reranking of constraints, and it reveals that Brazilians second language learners are prone to make substitutions of the segment /θ/ by the segment [t] as well as the substitutions of the segment /ð/ by the segment [d]. Furthermore, there is a strong impact of the Lexical Frequency on the learners behavior. / No presente trabalho, investiga-se a aquisição das fricativas interdentais por aprendizes brasileiros de inglês como segunda língua (L2). Os dados foram colhidos a partir da leitura de palavras contextualizadas, leitura de um texto e narrativas orais produzidas por três grupos de estudantes de inglês. O Grupo 1 é composto por estudantes universitários que estavam cursando, no momento da coleta, o sexto semestre do curso de Letras do Centro Universitário Franciscano. Os Grupos 2 e 3 são formados por estudantes que freqüentavam o projeto extracurricular de ensino de línguas da Universidade Federal de Santa Catarina e estavam no terceiro e décimo semestres, respectivamente. Após a transcrição fonética e seleção das palavras que continham as fricativas interdentais, foi feita a análise dos dados. Essa análise tem como base a Teoria da Otimidade Conexionista proposta por Bonilha (2004) que, através da hierarquia de restrições, demonstra a gramática da interlíngua apresentada pelo aprendiz. Os resultados apontaram para a emergência precoce da fricativa interdental desvozeada, para as substituições do segmento /θ/ pelo [t] e do segmento /ð/ pelo [d] e também a interferência do tipo de coleta realizada nos percentuais de produções corretas. Foi constatada ainda uma grande influência da freqüência lexical no comportamento dos sujeitos estudados.

The shift toward bilingualism and multilingualism in historically monolingual societies resulting from globalization has positioned second/foreign language (L2) learning research as a significant field. Extensive research in L2 motivation over decades has demonstrated motivation to be a significant determiner of L2 learning achievement and has yielded many sound L2 motivation theories and frameworks. The latest L2 motivation framework is the L2 Motivational Self System (L2MSS) offered by Dörnyei (2005, 2009). Numerous studies have been conducted to validate this theory in different English as a foreign language (EFL) contexts (e.g., in China, Iran and Japan: (Taguchi, Magid & Papi, 2009); in Hungary: (Csizér & Kormos, 2009); in Saudi Arabia: (Al-Shehri, 2009); and in Turkey: (Thompson & Erdil-Moody, 2014). Studies have found the theory sufficiently elaborate to explain the multifaceted L2 motivation in its dynamic nature. This study utilized the theoretical framework of L2MSS to examine L2 learners’ motivation. Due to the importance of motivation in L2 learning and achievement, research focusing on EFL instructors’ use of motivation-enhancing strategies has gained significance. To fill a longstanding gap in L2 research for a unified and systematic motivational strategies framework for teachers, Dörnyei (2001) offered the Motivational Teaching Practice in the L2 Classrooms Model (MTP) – which offers various strategies that L2 teachers can use to enhance student motivation. The current study used this MTP theoretical framework to investigate L2 teachers’ motivational teaching practice. However, how the L2MSS could be integrated into the motivational teaching practice has not been adequately studied and requires further examination. Moreover, most language teacher education programs lack motivational teaching practice training for pre-service L2 teachers. Consequently, the present study aims to fill the gap in L2 research by examining a) how to promote EFL instructors’ motivational teaching practice through a training program on motivation-enhancing strategies within the L2MSS framework; b) how L2 teachers’ consistent and systematic use of motivation-enhancing strategies within this framework impact students’ motivated learning behaviors. Another way this study contributes to L2 research is by offering both quantitative and qualitative empirical data in an understudied EFL context, Turkey, concerning the relationship between motivational teaching practice and learner motivation. The study employed a mixed-methods experimental design. The researcher collected data from February 2015 to June 2015, coordinating and delivering the teacher workshops, and analyzing and interpreting the data. The data involve various sources: self-report questionnaires from L2 teachers and students, classroom observations of teachers’ motivational teaching practice and students’ motivated learning behaviors, semi-structured interviews with teachers and students, teachers’ strategy logs and reflective journals. Quantitative and qualitative data analysis procedures were employed to analyze the data. The self-report questionnaire data were analyzed via exploratory factor analyses, Cronbach’s alpha, descriptive statistics, independent and paired samples t-tests; the classroom observation data were analyzed using repeated measures ANOVA; strategy logs were analyzed using descriptive statistics; and the qualitative data via classroom observations, reflective journals and interviews were analyzed via content analysis. The researcher coded, categorized, themed, and analyzed the data separately. This study intends to a) contribute to the L2 motivation research, b) offer pedagogical recommendations for motivational teaching practice to promote learner motivation within the L2MSS framework, c) contribute to the pre-service L2 teacher training to promote motivational teaching practice. The results showed that instructors’ and students’ perceptions of instructors’ use of motivational strategies demonstrated both differences and similarities, indicating that both groups have varying perceptions in regards to instructors’ motivational teaching practice. An overall analysis of the MTP across 25 different EAP classes showed an average use of motivational strategies excluding any of the recently suggested strategies that enhance the L2 self guides (the ideal L2 self and the ought-to L2 self) of learners grounded in the L2MSS theory. The classroom observation and L2 motivation data that were collected in both experimental and control groups before and after the treatment showed that instructors who received motivational teaching workshop started using more varieties of strategies more often and in a more consistent way compared to the control group instructors who did not receive any treatment. Similarly, experimental group students in the classes where instructors used more consistent and varied motivational strategies demonstrated more motivated classroom behaviors compared to the control group students. Experimental group instructors’ reflective journals and strategy logs also indicated an increased awareness of MTP and more conscious effort in trying to vary their motivational strategy use and develop their own consistent MTP. The interviews with the experimental group instructors showed that instructors were more confident in their MTP, more conscious in their choice of motivation-enhancing strategies and lesson and material design that address learners’ ideal L2 selves. They all expressed that participating in the study including but not limited to taking the MTP workshop, implementing those strategies in their classes, continuous feedback and discussion sessions with the other experimental group instructors and the researcher, writing the reflecting journals and the strategy logs were altogether helped them to a great deal creating a “transformational experience like a wake-up call” in their teaching. Interviews with the students revealed that experimental group students were happier in their EAP class this semester compared to their previous pre-requisite EAP class because they were kept more motivated, engaged and active throughout the semester. They found their instructors as the most motivating factor on their motivation and achievement this semester.

TITLE: Didactic use of knowledge, competence, learning strategies and habits acquired when learning English (L2) in teaching French (L3) AUTHOR: PhDr. Radek Vít DEPARTMENT: Department of French language and literature SUPERVISOR: doc. PhDr. Marie Fenclová, CSc ABSTRACT: In the Czech Republic, French is most often taught as a second foreign language after English. Factors influencing cross-linguistic transfer (English - French) are analyzed. Its areas are delimited. By means of a questionnaire and an experiment, it is examined whether learners of French can make use of knowledge, competence, learning strategies and habits acquired when learning English to facilitate learning French and make it more efficient. The questionnaire revealed that 87% grammar school teachers highlighted similarities between English and French in subject matter in French lessons, 70% claim that their learners make use of learning strategies, metalinguistic competence and learning habits acquired previously in English lessons and 90% state that their learners make mistakes probably due to interference of English. After the experiment at grammar schools, the posttests showed that making use of activities based on similarities between the subject matter in English and French when presenting new grammar in French lessons does not...

In Swedish schools the education should stimulate students’ creativity, curiosity and self-confidence, as well as provide security and generate the will and desire to learn. Therefore, the aim of this case study is to investigate the area of motivation and how motivation is affected by the usage of Content and Language Integrated Learning (CLIL). Initially, the theoretical foundation for the research, including scaffolding and important theories of second language learner motivation, are outlined and defined. The Process Motivational Model (PMM), is used as a framework to investigate key aspects of motivation in language learning by using two different pedagogical approaches. Our findings show a rise in key aspects of motivation when using CLIL. The learning environment changes positively, and the learner engagement increases when the content of the lesson is fun and authentic. The major conclusions from the results of the case study are that (i) the students were more intrinsically motivated during CLIL-lessons and the L2 learners efforts improved, (ii) the combination of the curricular subject matter Geography and English increased the interest to learn, (iii) the motivation of the students that were passive or interruptive during the non-CLIL lessons increased significantly during the CLIL-lessons (iiii) and the feelings of competence and self-worth increased after the CLIL-lessons. This study is a qualitative case study based on observations, focus groups and a teacher interview in an elementary school in Sweden.

[pt] Este estudo investiga os comportamentos de processamento de um grupo de Brasileiros bilíngues instrucionados de português L1 e inglês L2, (n igual a 21), e um grupo de monolíngues de inglês norte-americano (n igual a 11) durante a sua compreensão de sentenças no present perfect (vs. simple past) em uma tarefa on-line de leitura auto-monitorada (Self-Paced Reading - SPR). Uma medida off-line, Tarefa de Julgamento de Aceitabilidade (Acceptability Judgment Task - AJT) foi utilizado como uma linha de base de conhcimento explícito da estrutura. Os resultados são comparados, qualitativamente, entre o grupo do monolíngue e bilíngue para investigar a sensibilidade, de cada grupo, às manipulações experimentais em tempo/aspecto, correspondência adverbial, e telicidade. O present perfect foi usado para os estímulos, pois é um tempo verbal do inglês adquirido mais tardiamente o que permite estudar as estratégias de processamento de bilíngues de nível mais avançado. Ambos os grupos foram capazes de reconhecer incongruências na atividade off-line. No entanto, o grupo monolíngue não foi sensível à condição de incongruência adverbial em tempo real, na atividade SPR. Por outro lado, o grupo bilíngue mostrou-se mais sensível a variável da incongruência adverbial, apresentando um comportamento que indica uma facilitação (automatização) de processamento da condição. O grupo monolíngue mostrou sensibilidade significativo às manipulações de telicidade em várias regiões do sintagma verbal. Diferenças entre os dois grupos foram observadas nas suas distribuições de tempos de leitura entre as condições em várias regiões da frase e elas são discutidas em termos de estratégias de processamento. Os monolíngues apresentaram efeitos de processamento integrativo no final da frase, os quais não são observados no grupo bilíngue. Atualmente, não há estudos com condições experimentais semelhantes que investiguem como os brasileiros bilíngues, avançados em inglês comportam na compreensão on-line de sentenças em inglês no present perfect. / [en] This study investigates the processing behaviors of a group of Brazilian bilingual students, instructed, advanced English students (n equal 21), and an English monolingual control group (n equal 11) during their comprehension of Present Perfect and Simple Past sentences in an on-line, self-paced reading (SPR) task. An off-line Acceptability Judgment Task (AJT) provides a baseline measure of explicit knowledge in order to validate the on-line results. The results are compared, qualitatively, between the bilingual and monolingual groups in order to investigate their sensitivity to experimental manipulations in Tense/Aspect, adverbial (Mis)match, and Telicity. The Present Perfect was used for the stimuli as it is a late-acquired feature of English which allows for the study of processing strategy of advanced level students. While both groups were able to recognize Mismatches off-line, monolinguals were not sensitive to the Mismatch condition in the on-line experiment. Surprisingly, the bilingual group showed more sensitivity to the adverbial Match variable, showing a processing facilitation in the Match condition as well as some mismatch sensitivity as well. The monolingual group showed significant effects for Telicity at multiple sentence regions. Some qualitative differences were seen between the two groups in their reading-time contours across the verb phrase. The monolinguals show within-group consistency across multiple conditions and signs of integrative processing (wrap-up) effects in their processing patterns which are not seen among the bilingual group. There are currently no studies with similar experimental conditions which investigate the on-line comprehension of the English Present Perfect with Brazilian Portuguese-English bilinguals in comparison to American English monolinguals.

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