It is widely recognised that parents play an important role in children’s emotional and intellectual development, including their success at school. Recently, there has been a growing awareness of the potential of parents to support and enhance children’s English foreign language learning, especially since English learning resources are easily accessible through electronic media. In appreciation of this, there has been an increased interest in recent years in finding ways to harness parental potential through the creation of home-school partnerships in many parts of the world, including in the field of teaching English as an additional language. An important point of departure for developing effective home-school dialogues is an informed understanding of what parents are already doing to support their children’s learning, as an awareness of this can help schools and governments provide parents with targeted input to assist and improve their efforts. However, to date, this remains under researched. Of the limited research that has been undertaken, very little has examined parental efforts to support their children’s learning at home in non-western settings, and research into parental support for children’s foreign language learning is virtually non-existent. In order to address this research gap, the study reported in this thesis examines parental support for young children’s foreign language learning in Saudi Arabia with respect to English T.V. viewing. Drawing upon Vygotsky’s concepts of mediation and the ZPD, it aims to examine the extent and the ways in which parents currently mediate their children’s viewing of English T.V. programmes in Saudi Arabia, the factors which impact on their mediation practices, and how this is seen to contribute to their children’s experience of English language learning. The study is comprised two stages. The first stage entails the distribution of a questionnaire to 500 parents of children aged 6-8, who are currently learning English in a number of private schools in Jeddah, in Saudi Arabia in order to gain a global overview of parental perspectives on mediation. This is followed by stage 2, which aims to examine the features and quality of parent-child mediational dialogues. This is achieved by collecting recordings of the dialogues of two parent-child dyads watching DVDs of English T.V. programmes over a four-week period as well as interviewing parents and their children on the experience. The results of the study show that parents believe in the importance and value of supporting their children’s learning (both in general and with regard to their EFL learning). Moreover, they show that they are actively engaged in trying to do so. However, they also highlight a number of ways in which their mediational practices could be improved so that these are less directive and more responsive to their children’s learning needs and growing ability to self-regulate. More broadly, they highlight the need to engage with the complexity of parental mediation as an activity system in discussions of the quality of mediational practice. That is, to understand that parental efforts to mediate need to be considered alongside task, sociocultural setting and, most importantly, the child’s engagement with parental efforts. A number of implications are drawn from the results of the study. Chief among these is that research into parental mediation should look at the inter-relationship between the different elements of the parental mediational system identified and that this provides richer in-depth understandings of parental efforts to support their children than are currently available from those who seek to understand this merely as parental scaffolding. In addition, it is argued that the picture this in-depth analysis revealed provides valuable information which can be used to inform the need for home-school partnerships and the support parents need to make sure they engage in these effectively in settings such as Saudi Arabia where there is currently little appreciation of the importance of parental involvement and the concept of home school partnerships remains in its infancy. In line with the emphasis on the complex multidimensional understanding of mediation as activity as illustrated by the results of the study, it is argued that efforts to promote parental involvement should primarily focus on how parents can help promote quality learning experiences for their children.

Les verbes de position suédois encodent la localisation statique (stå « être debout », ligga « être couché », sitta « être assis ») et dynamique (ställa « mettre debout », lägga « coucher », sätta « asseoir ») d'un objet concret ou d'une personne. Selon nos données, élicitées à partir de stimuli présentés à 98 participants, la fréquence élevée de l'emploi de ces verbes en assure une acquisition précoce par les enfants apprenant le suédois en tant que langue maternelle et par les francophones adultes apprenant le suédois en tant que langue étrangère. Or, leur complexité sémantique rend difficile leur utilisation dans la mesure où les choix d'un verbe ne correspondent pas toujours à ceux de la langue cible. En effet, les difficultés perdurent même à un haut niveau de compétence (enfants de 10 ans, apprenants L2 avancé). Un ordre d'acquisition se discerne d'une part selon le type de verbe (les verbes statiques sont appris avant les dynamiques), d'autre part selon les paramètres sémantiques (l'HORIZONTALITÉ et la VERTICALITÉ sont appris avant la BASE et le CONTACT/INCLUSION), et enfin selon le sens prototypique (acquis avant les sens élargis). Plusieurs stratégies sont utilisées par les apprenants pour résoudre ces problèmes : l'usage d'un verbe statique pour encoder une situation dynamique ; l'usage généralisé de l'un des verbes (généralement celui encodant l'HORIZONTALITÉ) ; l'usage collocationnel d'un verbe avec une Figure ; l'usage d'une ellipse verbale ou d'un verbe positionnellement neutre (ex. la copule). L'acquisition par les apprenants L2 de l'organisation discursive de la langue cible semble se faire en dernier lieu, due à la différence typologique des deux langues. / The Swedish posture verbs encode static (stå « stand », ligga « lie », sitta « sit ») and dynamic (ställa « stand », lägga « lay », sätta « set ») location of a person or a concrete object. The elaborated stimuli elicited data from 98 participants. Our data shows that the usage frequency of these verbs guarantees an early acquisition by children learning Swedish as their first language and by adult French-speaking learners of Swedish as a second language. However, their semantic complexity constitutes an obstacle for arriving at idiomatic language use with regard to choosing the correct verb. These difficulties exist even at high levels of competence (children of 10 years and advanced L2 learners respectively). An acquisition order can be distinguished regarding the verb type (static verbs are acquired before the dynamic ones), the semantic parameters (HORIZONTALITY and VERTICALITY are acquired before BASE and CONTACT/CONTAINMENT) and the prototypical meaning (acquired before the extended meanings). Several strategies are used by the learners to solve these problems: the use of a static verb to encode a dynamic situation; the generalized use of one of the verbs (generally the one encoding HORIZONTALITY); a collocational use of a verb and a Figure; the use of a verbal ellipsis or a positionally neutral verb, like the copula. The Swedish discourse organization seems to be acquired late by the L2 learners, due to the typological differences between the two languages.

>Magister Scientiae - MSc / This study describes the synthesis and characterisation of Cu(II) and V(IV) complexes of tri- and quadridentate ligands L1 and L2 formed by condensation of ethylenediamine with acetylacetonate in 1:1 and 1:2 molar ratio, respectively. Encapsulation of these metal complexes in the nanocage of zoilite-Y generates new heterogeneous catalysts. These catalysts were synthesized employing the flexible ligand method encapsulation technique.The structures of these encapsulated complexes were established on the basis of various physico-chemical and spectroscopic studies. The results indicated that the complexes did not hinder or modify the framework or structure of the zeolite, confirming successful immobilization of Schiff-bases through the voids of zeolite Y.These encapsulated complexes were screened as heterogeneous catalysts for various oxidation reactions such as such as phenol, benzene, styrene and cyclohexene using a green oxidant (H2O2).For comparison, the corresponding neat complexes were screened as potential homogeneous catalysts for these oxidation reactions. The results proved that the corresponding homogeneous systems described here represent an efficient and inexpensive method for oxidation of phenol, benzene, styrene and cyclohexene, having advantages over heterogeneous catalysis are its high activity and selectivity and short reaction times. Its major problem is its industrial application regarding principally the separation of the catalyst from the products.The size of the substrate has a significant effect on the conversion by encapsulated complexes such as in styrene oxidation. Therefore, it was established that steric effects of the substrates play a critical role in the poor reactive nature of the encapsulated complexes.In general, the percentage conversion decreased upon encapsulation of complexes in zeolite Y. All catalysts studied proved to be potential catalysts for the various oxidation reactions.It has been shown in this study that encapsulation can effectively improve product selectivity but requires a longer reaction time in most cases for maximum activity.Furthermore,oxovanadium complexes were more reactive than copper-based catalysts in all oxidation reactions tested in this study.A reaction mechanism study revealed that the activity of the encapsulated and neat complexes occurs through either formation of peroxovanadium (V) or hydroperoxidecopper(II) intermediate species.The studies in this thesis, therefore, conclude that the Cu(II) and V(IV) complexes encapsulated in Y-zeolite are active heterogeneous catalysts for the selective oxidation of various substrates. Encapsulation of the metal complexes in the super cages (-cages) of the zeolite matrix has the advantages of solid heterogeneous catalysts of easy separation and handling, ruggedness, thermostability, reusability (regeneration of the deactivated catalysts) as well as share many advantageous features of homogeneous catalysts.

Ten years into a democratic South Africa, significant changes have been witnessed in economic, social, political and educational development. Changes in the education system have resulted in many of the learners being encouraged to attend English medium schools although this is not their L1. Hence, there has been an increase of learners learning to read in a language that is not their first language. The transition from their home language to the language of learning is often not easy and impacts on their academic proficiency as well as academic development. This study investigated English reading abilities and academic performance of Grade 8 L1 and L2 learners attending an Ex-Model C school. The SDRT – Brown Level was used to assess the level of reading and its impact on academic achievement was investigated. Results show that the SDRT was highly correlated with, and a significant predictor of academic performance with certain tests being stronger predictors than others for L1 and L2 learners. Implications of these findings for the education of L1 and L2 learners are discussed.

In support of educational equity, the White Paper 6 (Department of Education, 2001) states that every learner in South Africa has the right to pursue their learning potential to the best of their ability. The South African Schools Act of 1996 states that a school’s language policy may not exclude learners from different backgrounds. As a result, many English second language (L2) learners struggle to understand the learning material and perform poorly academically. Poor literacy and reading skills have been identified in the literature (for example Pretorius, 2005) as a significant cause for poor academic performance. In an endeavour to work within the Outcomes Based Education (OBE) system, teachers are increasingly seeking ways to improve group learning. These factors motivated the present study and a paired reading intervention was selected and administered to Grade 9 English second language learners. Volunteer participants consisted of an Experimental Group (n 53) and a Comparison Group (n 53). Each group was divided into strong (mentor) and weak (mentee) readers. Pre-tests and post-tests were conducted regarding the Experimental and Comparison Group’s scores on the Vocabulary and Comprehension subtests of the Stanford Reading Diagnostic Test (SDRT): Brown Level and the Academic Performance of both groups were recorded at pre and post-test phases. After an 11 week intervention programme a statistical analysis of the results was conducted. The overall means for the groups were analysed using t-tests to establish any significant differences between the pre-test and post-test results. An Analysis of Covariance (ANCOVA) was also conducted to determine whether any significant differences existed between the Experimental and Comparison Group. A null hypothesis was supported. It would appear that the whole-hearted commitment and participation of all role-players is essential for the effective implementation of a peer reading intervention at a school.

Thesis advisor: Junona Moroianu / During the papillomavirus replication cycle, the L2 minor capsid protein enters the nucleus in the initial phase after uncoating of the incoming virions and in the productive phase when L2 together with L1 major capsid protein mediate the encapsidation of the newly replicated viral genome. L2 proteins of both high risk HPV16 L2 and low risk HPV11 L2 have two nuclear localization signals (NLSs): one at the N-terminus (nNLS) and one at the C terminus (cNLS). The purpose of these experiments is to determine the minimal mutations necessary to inhibit the function of the NLSs. In this study, subcellular localization of enhanced green fluorescent protein (EGFP) fusions with full length L2 and L2 mutants lacking either the cNLS (EGFP-L2ΔC), nNLS (EGFP-L2ΔN), or both NLSs (EGFP-L2ΔNΔC) was analyzed in HeLa cell transfection assays. Full length HPV16 L2 and HPV11 L2 proteins localize to the nucleus. For both HPV16 and 11 L2, each NLS could independently mediate nuclear import in vivo. EGFP fusions were also made with mutated nNLS (EGFP-L2ΔCSbN) or mutated cNLS (EGFP-L2ΔNSbC). Transfected HeLa cells were examined by fluorescence microscopy and quantitative studies were done. In both HPV16 and 11 L2 proteins, mutation of basic residues in either NLS inhibited its nuclear import ability. / Thesis (BS) — Boston College, 2008. / Submitted to: Boston College. College of Arts and Sciences. / Discipline: Biology. / Discipline: College Honors Program.

Thesis advisor: Junona Moroianu / The L2 minor capsid protein of human papillomavirus is one of two structural proteins that comprise the icosahedral shell. Two potential, leucine-rich nuclear export signals (NESs) had been identified in the HPV16 L2 sequence, one in the n-terminus (51MGVFFGGLGI60) and one in the c-terminus (462LPYFFDSVSL471). DNA primers for mutant L2 proteins were designed to specifically target these two potential NES regions. Two primers had mutations in the n-terminal located NES (nNES), while the other two primers had mutations in the c-terminal NES (cNES). L2 nuclear retention mutants, RR297AA (“MS4”) and RTR313AAA (“MS5”), served as the templates for these NES mutations. Using mutagenesis, the desired secondary mutations were introduced into the mutant L2 genes in order to create four, distinct mutants: RR297AA + P463_ (“MS4 T1”), RR297AA + V469_ (“MS4 T2), RTR313AAA + P463_ (“MS5 T1”), and RTR313AAA + V469_ (“MS5 T2”). In contrast to the pancellular localization of the MS4 and MS5 L2 mutants, the “MS4 T1,” “MS4 T2,” “MS5 T1”, and “MS5 T2” mutants were all localized nuclearly. These results suggest that deletion of the cNES inhibits nuclear export of the HPV16 L2 minor capsid protein. / Thesis (BS) — Boston College, 2011. / Submitted to: Boston College. College of Arts and Sciences. / Discipline: College Honors Program. / Discipline: Biology Honors Program. / Discipline: Biology.

English education in Sweden tends to be viewed as a second language, rather than a foreign language. Therefore, it is generally expected that instruction is performed, and content is taught in English. However, previous research shows that English is generally not the sole language used, even in classrooms with explicit “English only” policies. The following essay has investigated how this translates into classroom practice through observations of classroom interactions between students and teachers, as well as between students and students. Three different teachers were observed at two upper secondary schools. Shorter interviews were also conducted with the teachers. The results showed large differences between observations, but some clear trends were observed nonetheless. Socializing and metalanguage were more prevalent than other code-switches among students, while floor-holding was very rare and in most observations, non-existent. All teachers claimed to use English as much as possible although they also recognized the utility of using Swedish as a tool in the classroom. The view that English should be used as the language of instruction to a great extent was additionally observed in teacher interviews. However, there were no categorical opinions arguing for “English only”. The teachers also largely concurred with the use of Swedish, or other first languages as a language of comparison. This was supported by observations in the classrooms and significant differences existed between teachers. An investigation with a larger cohort in this field could be fruitful for future researchers. The results of the study could be used to further examine strategies to find a balance in the classroom between English and Swedish. The differences between classrooms show that there is no clear consensus on the extent of Swedish use in the EFL classroom. In order to improve teaching it is important to know why students use code-switching and in what situations it might be helpful to them, such as in translation or grammatical rules. However, different classrooms may require different approaches, which highlight the importance of discussing these issues.

Submitted by PPG Letras (letraspg@pucrs.br) on 2018-05-14T20:06:15Z No. of bitstreams: 1 ELLEN_Dissertacao_2018_ENTREGA.pdf: 889432 bytes, checksum: 589e186b509ef6cd7f264e2e915082ca (MD5) / Approved for entry into archive by Caroline Xavier (caroline.xavier@pucrs.br) on 2018-05-16T12:09:27Z (GMT) No. of bitstreams: 1 ELLEN_Dissertacao_2018_ENTREGA.pdf: 889432 bytes, checksum: 589e186b509ef6cd7f264e2e915082ca (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2018-05-16T12:15:31Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 ELLEN_Dissertacao_2018_ENTREGA.pdf: 889432 bytes, checksum: 589e186b509ef6cd7f264e2e915082ca (MD5) Previous issue date: 2018-03-28 / Conselho Nacional de Pesquisa e Desenvolvimento Cient?fico e Tecnol?gico - CNPq / Reading involves multiple interdependent processes and, according to the dual route model, this is basically achieved through two routes, the phonological route (normally used to read new words or pseudowords) and the lexical route (for reading familiar and irregular words). Reading in the mother tongue (L1) requires explicit instruction and it is a great challenge. By learning a second language (L2), new elements (phonological, orthographic and semantic, among others) are introduced into reading, requiring the speaker to choose between two written codes each time one has to read. Moreover, during this process of choice, more characteristic reading strategies of one language may interfere with the reading strategy of the other. Research indicates that, just as in the case of monolingual subjects, several factors influence the reading strategy used by bilingual subjects, the orthographic depth of the language and the reader's proficiency being the key elements. This study aims at identifying how these factors influence the strategy of reading in late bilinguals (beginners or proficient), native speakers of Brazilian Portuguese with English as a second language. In order to do this, accuracy and the latencies required to word and nonword reading in both L1 and L2 were measured. Among the main results we found that the most proficient group (MaP) had a shorter reading time in the words and pseudowords of PB than the less proficient group (MeP), suggesting an interference of L2 (more opaque) in L1 (more transparent) and a larger use of the lexical route in L1. In addition, the study revealed that in the MeP group there was no difference between the time of reading of words and pseudowords in English, suggesting a predominance of the use of the phonological route in the reading of L2 (more opaque). Such findings are important to reinforce that the choice of reading strategies and the use of routes are susceptible to multiple factors, which act together and interrelated. / A leitura envolve m?ltiplos processos interdependentes e, segundo o modelo de dupla rota, tal habilidade se d? basicamente por duas vias, a fonol?gica (normalmente utilizada para a leitura de palavras novas ou pseudopalavras) e a lexical (utilizada para palavras familiares e irregulares). Ler na l?ngua materna (L1) requer um aprendizado sistem?tico e ? um grande desafio. Ao aprender uma segunda l?ngua (L2), novos elementos (fonol?gicos, ortogr?ficos e sem?nticos dentre outros) s?o introduzidos na leitura, exigindo que o falante escolha entre dois c?digos escritos a cada vez que ? preciso ler. Al?m disso, durante esse processo de escolha, estrat?gias de leitura mais caracter?sticas de uma l?ngua podem influenciar na estrat?gia de leitura da outra. Pesquisas indicam que diversos fatores influenciam a escolha da rota de leitura, sendo a profundidade ortogr?fica da l?ngua e a profici?ncia do leitor os principais. Assim, este estudo tem como objetivo identificar de que forma esses fatores influenciam a escolha da rota de leitura por bil?ngues sucessivos (mais ou menos proficientes) falantes nativos do Portugu?s Brasileiro (PB) tendo o Ingl?s como L2. Para isso, foram medidas a acur?cia e o tempo de leitura de palavras e pseudopalavras tanto na L1 como na L2. Dentre os principais resultados encontrados, destacamos que o grupo mais proficiente (MaP) teve um menor tempo de leitura nas palavras e pseudopalavras do PB do que o grupo menos proficiente (MeP), sugerindo uma influ?ncia da L2 (mais opaca) na L1 (mais transparente) e uma utiliza??o maior da rota lexical na L1. Al?m disso, o estudo revelou que no grupo MeP n?o houve diferen?a entre o tempo de leitura de palavras e pseudopalavras no Ingl?s, sugerindo uma predomin?ncia do uso da rota fonol?gica na leitura da L2 (mais opaca). Tais achados s?o importantes para refor?ar que a escolha das estrat?gias de leitura e o uso das rotas s?o suscet?veis a m?ltiplos fatores, que atuam de forma conjunta e interrelacionada.

Made available in DSpace on 2016-03-22T17:26:03Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 cintia.pdf: 1119481 bytes, checksum: dd2b8acf570b93f4f689c061aaaf8b99 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2008-03-06 / The research in the area of second language acquisition presents a strong tendency to investigate the relationship between an L1 and an L2, leaving out the process of transfer which can occur when one is learning more than one foreign language. The present study aims at analyzing the transfer of grapho-phonic-phonologic patterns of an L2 into an L3 in a connectionist perspective. For that purpose, a case study was carried out with one male adult Brazilian Portuguese native speaker, who speaks French (L2) in an advanced level and is learning English (L3) in a pre- intermediate level. Therefore, the main goals of this research were: 1) to investigate whether the vowel assimilation in the L3 would happen towards the vocalic characteristics (F1, F2 and duration) of subject s L1 or L2; and 2) to assess whether the effects produced by the L2 orthography would cause L2-L3 grapho-phonic-phonologic transfer. The data relative to the first objective of this research was obtained via naming tasks performed in the three languages spoken by the subject, whose productions were analyzed acoustically with the aid of Praat (version 4.4.2.2). The results regarding the acoustic vowel analysis suggest the creation of hybrid categories between the L1 and L2, which were assimilated by the L3 vowels of the subject. As for the data concerning the second goal, obtained by a lexical access task in the participant s L2 and L3, the software E-Prime was used together with a Serial Response Box. For the lexical access task, apart from graphophonic- phonologic transference from the L2 (French) into the L3 (English), evidence of grapho-phonic-phonologic transference from the L3 into the L2 were also found. The results obtained are in consonance with a connectionist view of the processing of memory systems, which would work in a collaborative way, which would enable the interaction between previous knowledge from the L1 and the L2 (more consolidated), and the knowledge of a new L3 (less stabilized) / As pesquisas na área de língua estrangeira apresentam uma forte tendência em investigar a relação entre a L1 e a L2, deixando de lado a explicação dos processos de transferência que podem ocorrer quando da aprendizagem de mais de uma língua estrangeira. No presente estudo, tem-se por objetivo analisar a transferência de padrões grafo-fônicofonológicos da L2 para a L3, através de uma abordagem conexionista. Para tanto, um estudo de caso foi desenvolvido, contando com um sujeito adulto do sexo masculino falante nativo do português brasileiro, falante de francês como L2 em nível avançado e falante de inglês como L3 em nível pré-intermediário. A partir do objetivo geral estipulado acima, procurou-se investigar: se a assimilação vocálica durante a tarefa de recodificação leitora em L3 ocorreria em direção às características vocálicas (F1, F2 e duração) da L1 ou da L2 do sujeito; e se o efeito exercido pela ortografia da L2 suscitaria a transferência grafo-fônico-fonológica da L2 para a L3. Os dados coletados para verificar o primeiro objetivo desta pesquisa, obtidos através da gravação de tarefas de recodificação leitora nas três línguas faladas pelo sujeito, foram analisados acusticamente com o programa Praat (versão 4.4.2.2). Os resultados da análise acústica das vogais apontam para a criação de categorias híbridas entre a L1 e a L2 para as vogais da L3 do sujeito. Já para os dados relativos ao segundo objetivo, obtidos através da aplicação de uma tarefa de acesso lexical na L2 e na L3 do sujeito, fez-se uso do programa E-Prime em conjunto com uma Serial Response Box. Para o teste de acesso lexical, além de uma forte transferência grafo-fônico-fonológica da L2 (francês) para a L3 (inglês), foram encontrados também indícios de transferência grafo-fônico-fonológica da L3 sobre a L2. Os resultados alcançados estão em consonância com a visão conexionista a respeito do processamento dos sistemas de memória, que funcionariam de forma colaborativa, possibilitando a interação entre o conhecimento prévio da L1 e da L2 (mais consolidados) e o conhecimento novo da L3 (menos estabilizado)