This study aims to investigate the foreign language anxieties Japanese international students at American universities have and the relationship between these anxieties and length of stay in the U.S. 151 Japanese international students answered a modified version of the Foreign Language Classroom Anxiety Scale (Horwitz, Horwitz & Cope, 1986) followed by demographic questions. The findings from the questionnaire were analyzed through SPSS 21 software. Results indicated a statistically significant relationship between students’ level of anxieties and the length of stay in the U.S. Implications for teachers and government officials in Japan, as well as for teachers and university administrators in the U.S., are discussed.

La thèse s'articule autour du thème des FPGA embarqués(eFPGAs). Ce manuscrit analyse les solutions existantes actuellement et discute les challenges et opportunités de ces technologies; une analyse en profondeur des échecs des tentatives passées est également donnée. Sur la base des solutions existantes dans la littérature, une structure de eFPGA à topologie de type grille est proposée, décrite en langage VHDL RTL. Cette solution comporte également les outils de programmation associés. Sur la base de cette proposition, des explorations sont menées quant à la pertinence des solutions proposées au sens de métriques d'actualité tells que densité logique, performance et consommation. Une des contributions notables de cette thèse repose sur la proposition d'une architecture de switch unifiée éliminant les blocs de connexions ainsi que l'interconnexion locale typique des FPGA actuels(telles que ceux modélisables dans le logiciel VPR) tout en autorisant une bonne routabilité. Toutes les expérimentations ont été menées sur une technologie CMOS 65nm faible puissance du fondeur STMicroelectronics, qui permet de fait d'obtenir des évaluations pertinentes. Une seconde contribution notable repose sur l'exploration de l'intégration de eFPGA dans un contexte système sur puce (SoC). Cette approche repose sur l'adjonction d'un eFPGA au sein d'un système intégré, au côté d'un processeur de type LEON3, la programmation s'effectuant sur la base d'une approche de type ESL. Deux explorations sont ainsi déclinées, comme unité intégrée au sein du processeur et comme coprocesseur. Les résultats présentés permettent ainsi d'analyser sous plusieurs angles les compromis possibles ainsi que les perspectives et limitations de ce type d'approches. Finalement, un cas d'étude est également présenté quant à l'intégration de mémoires de type magnétique (MRAM) au sein-même de l'architecture du eFPGA.

The research deals with an aspect of communication which could effect the teaching/learning situation, namely communication apprehension. The research also deals with cooperative group work, and the role that it plays in reducing communication apprehension. A review of literature concerning cooperative group work, communication apprehension and the role of the educator was conducted in order to establish which factors could affect the role that these variables play in the classroom situation. A general survey of educators was distributed to all the English first language schools in the KOSH (Klerksdorp-Orkney-Stilfontein and Hartebeesfontein) area of the North West province, and the data was analysed by the researcher. The Personal Report of Communication Apprehension (PRCA) was used as an instrument to measure the learners communication apprehension. The responses were analysed with the assistance of the Statistical Consultant Service of Potchefstroom University for Christian Higher Education. The study was two-fold: to determine if educators in the English first language primary schools in the KOSH area of the North West province, were implementing cooperative group work models in their classrooms, and to determine if the Grade 7 learners in these schools experienced communication apprehension. The study also aimed to determine if cooperative group work lessened the degree of communication apprehension experienced. The first section of the study indicated that the educators in these schools were indeed implementing cooperative group work models, although 36.6% of these educators had not received any formal training in the implementation of cooperative group work in their classrooms. The second section of the study, the empirical study, indicated that the study population experienced an average communication apprehension of 47.7%. Afrikaans female learners experienced the lowest average communication apprehension of 44.2%, while Afrikaans male learners experienced the highest average communication apprehension of 54.8%. The study indicated that L1 learners and ESL (English second language) learners experience comparative levels of communication apprehension. The study also indicated that for each of the L1 and ESL groups, group work communication apprehension was lower than all other communication apprehension contexts. / Thesis (M.Ed.)--Potchefstroom University for Christian Higher Education, 2002

The research deals with an aspect of communication which could effect the teaching/learning situation, namely communication apprehension. The research also deals with cooperative group work, and the role that it plays in reducing communication apprehension. A review of literature concerning cooperative group work, communication apprehension and the role of the educator was conducted in order to establish which factors could affect the role that these variables play in the classroom situation. A general survey of educators was distributed to all the English first language schools in the KOSH (Klerksdorp-Orkney-Stilfontein and Hartebeesfontein) area of the North West province, and the data was analysed by the researcher. The Personal Report of Communication Apprehension (PRCA) was used as an instrument to measure the learners communication apprehension. The responses were analysed with the assistance of the Statistical Consultant Service of Potchefstroom University for Christian Higher Education. The study was two-fold: to determine if educators in the English first language primary schools in the KOSH area of the North West province, were implementing cooperative group work models in their classrooms, and to determine if the Grade 7 learners in these schools experienced communication apprehension. The study also aimed to determine if cooperative group work lessened the degree of communication apprehension experienced. The first section of the study indicated that the educators in these schools were indeed implementing cooperative group work models, although 36.6% of these educators had not received any formal training in the implementation of cooperative group work in their classrooms. The second section of the study, the empirical study, indicated that the study population experienced an average communication apprehension of 47.7%. Afrikaans female learners experienced the lowest average communication apprehension of 44.2%, while Afrikaans male learners experienced the highest average communication apprehension of 54.8%. The study indicated that L1 learners and ESL (English second language) learners experience comparative levels of communication apprehension. The study also indicated that for each of the L1 and ESL groups, group work communication apprehension was lower than all other communication apprehension contexts. / Thesis (M.Ed.)--Potchefstroom University for Christian Higher Education, 2002

Interactional feedback has received a lot of attention recently in the field of second language acquisition (SLA). In particular, the literature on the effects of recasts (correct reformulation of a learner’s utterance) has produced conflicting results. The object of the present study is to contribute to the recent investigation of interactional feedback on L2 acquisition by examining the effects of recast, elicitation, and recast plus elicitation on the development of question formation by ESL learners in a typical classroom environment. The study followed a pre-test/post-test design and was carried out over 7 weeks. Results provide some support for short-term effects of recasts, long-term effects of elicitations and delayed effects for recasts in combination with elicitation. These results suggest that recasts and elicitation may both be effective forms of feedback in different ways. As well, the results also imply that recasts may be most effective when their saliency is enhanced in some manner.

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Interactional feedback has received a lot of attention recently in the field of second language acquisition (SLA). In particular, the literature on the effects of recasts (correct reformulation of a learner’s utterance) has produced conflicting results. The object of the present study is to contribute to the recent investigation of interactional feedback on L2 acquisition by examining the effects of recast, elicitation, and recast plus elicitation on the development of question formation by ESL learners in a typical classroom environment. The study followed a pre-test/post-test design and was carried out over 7 weeks. Results provide some support for short-term effects of recasts, long-term effects of elicitations and delayed effects for recasts in combination with elicitation. These results suggest that recasts and elicitation may both be effective forms of feedback in different ways. As well, the results also imply that recasts may be most effective when their saliency is enhanced in some manner.

This thesis explores how learner independence was implemented as a curricular goal at a tertiary level Preparatory Programme (PP) in the United Arab Emirates. This exploratory-interpretive case study shows how students and teachers at the English programme responded to an Independent Learning Log (ILL) and how they interpreted learner autonomy with respect to the ILL. The study analyzes how various interpretations of autonomy affected the students’ and teachers’ attitudes towards the ILL. The interviews and the surveys used in this study were conducted between 20122014. The data was examined using Critical Discourse Analysis and was coded with NVivo software. As a result of the data analysis, the researcher identified themes related to student and teacher roles in the promotion of autonomy, learner representations in TESOL, and issues of control and agency, in the language classroom and out-of-class. The findings suggest that, in the teachers’ discourse, students are assigned passive roles and are often represented as lacking, deficient, and in need of control. Furthermore, the teachers are represented as the agents and controllers of education. These findings are supported by other studies from different cultural settings. This suggests that the US and THEM divide is not unique to the context of this study, but, rather, that it reflects a broader issue that is characteristic of TESOL discourse. In the discussion section, the researcher demonstrates how the themes identified in this study draw on a Social Order perspective in education. It is argued that this conceptual model remains ingrained in teachers’ and students’ group consciousness as the default model for learning. We conclude that learner independence as an educational goal is incompatible with this way in which students and teachers conceptualise education. In order for autonomy to become a feasible educational goal, we need to re-think how we organise language learning and what roles teachers and students assign each other. Overall, this case study reveals the problems that educators may face when promoting autonomy in a language programme. An understanding of these issues may help future language programmes develop better strategies towards fostering learner autonomy at an institutional level.

This dissertation reports research into the problem of how to teach mastery of the English writing system (MEWS) to students of English as a second language (ESL). The problem involves the relatedness of English orthography and phonology. The research had two purposes. First was development of classroom instructional materials for improving reading proficiency in ESL students by application of generative phonological principles. Second was use of the instructional materials in a pilot study of fifty-three ESL college freshmen. A major finding was that subjects' reading proficiency was far below that of native speakers at the college level. Another was that the subjects had more difficulty with English vowels than with consonants. The subjects' scores on nonsense-word tests correlated significantly with five other criteria, including measures of ability to use ESL. A uniform disparity between ESL-student and native-speaker scores on tests of nonsense words was identified. Native-speakers generally had perfect scores, and ESL students had low scores. A chief implication is the importance of understanding orthography in reading English. Recommendations are that ESL proficiency be determined by nonsense-word tests and that the MEWS program be used by students of English as a second dialect.

A lack of research in adult literacy for both native speakers and speakers of English as a second language led to the development of the Test of Affixes in Syntactic Structures (TASS) for use in a pilot study (Dogger, January 1978) in which knowledge of derivational morphology was tested to determine its possible relationship with reading for English as a second language students. Test construction was followed by a thorough verification procedure which is the purpose of this study. In September 1978 the following measures of test strength were established: construct validity, content validity, item difficulty, item discrimination, internal consistency, rational equivalence, and concurrent validity. The degree of relationship between reading proficiency, as demonstrated by subject performance on the Iowa Silent Reading Test, Level III (ISRT,III), and knowledge of derivational affixes, as demonstrated by subject performance on TASS, was also established. Results show that successful performance on the ISRT, III includes reading strategies beyond those required for successful performance on TASS. In other words, mastery of language structures as represented by English orthography is necessary but not sufficient for college-level reading proficiency.