Thesis (M.Ed.)--Regis University, Denver, Colo., 2006. / Title from PDF title page (viewed on Sep. 7, 2006). Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (Ph.D.)--Indiana University, Dept. of Spanish and Portuguese, 2005. / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 66-08, Section: A, page: 2906. Advisers: James F. Lee; Kimberly L. Geeslin. Title from dissertation home page (viewed Oct. 9, 2006).

Thesis (Ph.D.)--Indiana University, 2004. / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 66-01, Section: A, page: 0163. Chair: Kathleen Bardovi-Harlig. Title from dissertation home page (viewed Oct. 12, 2006).

Thesis (Ph.D.)--Indiana University, Dept. of Linguistics, 2006. / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 67-05, Section: A, page: 1710. Adviser: Kathleen Bardovi-Harlig. "Title from dissertation home page (viewed June 20, 2007)."

<p> The current study seeks to further the insight on why advanced speakers of additional languages still speak non-natively by connecting the fields of SLA (SLA) and discourse. Invoking the IH (IH) and discourse universals proposed by Chafe, this study seeks to build on previous work in both areas of linguistics. </p><p> Participants for this study were asked to watch a silent film that has been used in discourse research for the better part of the past 40 years called <i> The Pear Film</i>. They then described this film, showing how non-native speakers use their language in real time description. Using a model proposed from the work of Chafe was then used to analyze their noun phrases (NP) and how they are used in terms of identifiability and accessibility. </p><p> Although there were not many incorrect uses of the topics at hand due to the speakers being advanced, there were intriguing results that surfaced. This study revealed that non-native speakers avoided using NPs that had a lower cognitive cost almost altogether and when such were used, they were often used incorrectly. More importantly, however, this study compared these results to a native retelling and revealed the elements of native-like speech that did not surface at all in their speech. This all brings in to question the line of methodology of previous SLA discourse work and the need for more research looking at actual spoken language of non-native speakers.</p><p>

<p> This mixed methods study examines the difference in high school foreign language learners&rsquo; acquisition of French oral proficiency skills by types of task. This study also examines the roles of the student learners and the teacher in developing oral proficiency skills during two different types of tasks in the high school foreign language classroom, namely the power of the social interactions between learner groups and between learners and teacher in developing oral proficiency. Over the course of an eight-week unit of study, three participating French 2 classes and one participating French teacher completed a prescribed series of speaking tasks. Class one completed only information gap tasks. Class two completed only dictogloss tasks. Class three alternated each task types every other week. Learner pre- and post-test scores were collected from the World Languages Department&rsquo;s speaking test for the unit. ANOVA was conducted using the quantitative data collected. While no significant differences were present between classes, qualitative findings indicate that the learners and the teacher have created powerful constructs of learning and that students were able to progress conversational skills across a unit of study. Teacher interviews, classroom observations, and video transcripts display the scaffolding of learning inside the classroom and lend insight to the roles of the learners and the teacher in the development of high school foreign language learner oral proficiency skills. The findings of the study suggest that the tasks, implemented through social interactions in the classroom, and constructed by the teacher&rsquo;s purposeful design, support foreign language learner oral proficiency development. The manner in which the participating teacher in this study implemented the taught curriculum demonstrates the influence of scaffolding, support systems, and the ability of learners to take ownership over their learning.</p><p>

De nos jours, les classes d'immersion française à niveaux multiples dans les écoles élémentaires au Canada sont de plus en plus répandues. Malgré ce fait, aucune recherche portant sur ce type de classes n'a été menée. Par contre, il existe des recherches au sujet des classes de langue première à niveaux multiples. Ces recherches montrent que les élèves dans les classes à niveaux multiples réussissent aussi bien et parfois mieux que ceux qui sont dans les classes à niveau simple. Cependant, les parents, les enseignants et les directeurs d'écoles ont tendance à se plaindre de la création des classes à niveaux multiples. Ce phénomène se retrouve aussi dans le contexte des classes d'immersion française à niveaux multiples. En effet, les parents, les enseignants et les directeurs d'école trouvent qu'il y a une surcharge de travail liée aux nombreuses attentes du curriculum jumelées à l'enseignement d'une langue seconde. Afin de mieux connaître et comprendre ce phénomène, cette étude tente de répondre à la question de recherche suivante: Quelles sont les perceptions des parents, des enseignants et des directeurs d'école à l'égard des classes d'immersion française à niveaux multiples à l'élémentaire? Un sondage par questionnaires écrits a permis de recueillir de l'information quantitative et qualitative auprès de parents, d'enseignants et de directrices d'écoles ayant de l'expérience avec de telles classes. Les résultats ont montré que les perceptions des participants sont diverses et dépendent de plusieurs facteurs. Cette étude a souligné le besoin de recherche à ce sujet afin de créer des ressources et d'offrir de la formation portant sur les classes d'immersion française à niveaux multiples à l'élémentaire au Canada.

<p> In this thesis, a new methodology is proposed for investigating Spanish [s] lenition (sound weakening or loss) via morphological analysis instead of phonetics. Word-final [s] is a morphological plural marker in Castilian Spanish, but is rarely produced in Western Andalusian Spanish (WAS). It is often asserted in the literature that the loss of [s] in WAS requires plurality to be expressed fcvia alternative means. The results of this study rule out lexical and morpho-syntactic compensation for [s] lenition in WAS in several previously untested domains, and imply that there is no functional motivation in Modern Spanish driving a need for compensation for word-final [s] lenition on nouns or determiners. This investigation is built on a predictable calculation of the environments in which the loss of [s] may result in derived singular/plural homophony in WAS nouns. This is used to quantify potential semantic ambiguity. A frequency comparison of 27,366 WAS and Castilian nouns, across 60 specific Determiner + Noun phrase environments, finds no significant differences between the dialects in the type or token frequencies of numerically ambiguous nouns, nor in 98.7% of the tested phrase environments. When taken in context with studies excluding phonetic compensation in WAS, the current results suggest that the low semantic relevance of word-final [s] in Modern Spanish is a potentially far-reaching explanation for the variable manifestations of [s] lenition experienced in Spanish dialects across the world.</p><p>

Debates about book censorship and selection are far-reaching and ongoing, however little research has lingered in the spaces of irresolvable tension within these debates, and specifically the debates that focus on novels read in school. In an intertextual analysis of literary theory and editorial-blog responses to a recent debate about the suitability of Margaret Atwood's The Handmaid's Tale as a high school text, I work to broaden and trouble understandings of what it means to read this novel in school. The online forum for discussion is a unique space that offers new and different insights into an age-old conversation. Weaving online reader responses to the Handmaid's Tale debate with a large body of research that struggles with our complicated relationship with reading, this thesis strives to add complexity and depth to an often-polarizing issue.

Increasing awareness of the value of home literacy experiences, combined with a recognition of the importance of the family, has contributed to growth in the number of family literacy programs. These, however, lack theoretical underpinnings. Further, there is a paucity of studies in family literacy practices with school age children. This study uncovers the interplay of family literacy practices in one low-income neighbourhood. To address sociocultural factors that affect literacy, societal circumstances and issues which enable or constrain literacy events were explored. By entering into the life-worlds of participants to portray lived dimensions of enculturation and family literacy this study employs critical theory to expand research in family literacy. The following questions guided my inquiry into the literacy-related practices and perceptions of low-income families: how family literacy practices unfold, how literacy is embedded in the social practices and relationships between school and home, and what conditions and factors within the family contribute to family literacy practices and children's enculturation into these practices? Eight families were purposively selected for this exploratory case study. Data collection included observations at school, parent interviews, questionnaires, journal entries, parent-child interactions and field notes. The findings uncover the ways that low-income families use and perceive literacy in their homes and serve to challenge assumptions, namely that we live in an egalitarian society and that schools do not privilege particular ways of thinking. The tragedy of living in poverty with its inherent barriers to equitable access and participation is presented as a key factor in limiting educational opportunities for low-income children. Emergent themes include: conflicting time orientation of low-income families; cultural mismatch between teachers and students; importance of the social environment and families as powerful social conduits for culture and identity formation; and limitation in household resources to support educational pursuits. These were analyzed for discourses of hope, invasion, time, space, female body and maternity that they frame in the women's lives. Implications for shaping current practice, future research, teacher education, and public policy are discussed. The significance of this study for the family literacy field inheres in offering an interactive model of literacy practices for educators.