The current study has attempted to answer the question whether there is an interaction between the Aspect Hypothesis and the Discourse Hypothesis by investigating the use of Japanese tense-aspect morphology by native speakers of English learning Japanese as L2. These two hypotheses were argued for independently in previous studies, but never consolidated to account for the distributional pattern of L2 tense-aspect morphology. The Aspect Hypothesis claims that the L1 and L2 learners initially mark lexical aspect of the verbs with tense-aspect morphology; they tend to associate past with achievement verbs and progressive with activity verbs. On the other hand, according to the Discourse Hypothesis, the learners use the tense-aspect morphology to distinguish grounding; they tend to mark foreground with past more frequently than background. The current research used two methods: a multiple-choice task and a storytelling task. The former task was referred to as Study 1. The use of tense-aspect morphology in the story-telling task was analyzed in terms of lexical aspect, referred to as Study 2 and grounding, referred to as Study 3. Study 1 and Study 2 examined whether the use of tense-aspect morphology is different in obligatory contexts and in narrative discourse. The results of Study 1 supported the Aspect Hypothesis; L2 learners initially associated past inflection with achievement verbs and tended to mark the process encoded in activity and accomplishment verbs with present durative. The results of Study 2 supported the Aspect Hypothesis as regards the association of activity verbs and present durative. However, the frequent marking of past on achievement verbs across the proficiency levels suggest that the textual function of tense-aspect morphology plays a role in narrative discourse. Study 3 argued that the Japanese tense-aspect morphology weakly mark grounding. Finally, I claimed that the Aspect Hypothesis and the Discourse Hypothesis account for the different acquisition stages of the L2 tense-aspect system. There is a time lag among the tense-aspect morphemes in the process of acquisition; past marking functions as the temporal and textual device in narrative discourse at the relatively early stage while present durative remains as the marker of lexical aspect.

The present study investigated the reading process in Arabic by drawing on the Goodman Model of English Reading, and testing its applicability to Semitic languages. Due to the multi-tier nature of Arabic orthography (i.e. letters and diacritics), two questions were addressed: (1) how the absence/presence of diacritics affects the readers' performance on the reading tasks, and (2) how readers assign phonology and inflectional features in reading unmarked texts (i.e. texts that are written in Modern Standard Arabic with no diacritics). The study was conducted in Tucson, Arizona, and involved fifteen Saudi male undergraduate students enrolled at The University of Arizona. Due to the multi-tier nature of Arabic orthography, a new multi-tier methodology had to emerge. The methodology involved the designing of three tasks: (1) the Diacritic Placement Task (DPT), (2) the Arabic Text Reading Task (ATRT), and (3) playback interviews. The DPT showed that, in assigning phonology and inflectional features to context-free sentences with no diacritics, readers of Arabic rely on their linguistic knowledge. Readers' choices are not random, and they seem to follow a regular pattern depending on their degree of markedness. Readings that are unmarked or more frequent (i.e. immediate readings) precede the marked or less frequent ones (i.e. delayed readings). Immediate readings include the active voice and the passive voice sentences, whereas delayed readings include causative sentences. The ATRT showed how reading was relatively faster for most readers when they were inferring the diacritics that were absent. The presence of diacritics made reading relatively slower, because readers saw them as a "controlling system" which they had to follow. Most of them, however, preferred reading texts with diacritics if they were to read in front of an audience. The study provides evidence that reading is not a process of word identification. Reading is a universal sociopsycholinguistic process that operates within a specific sociocultural context and involves an interaction between language and thought. The study also shows that, by adding a multi-tier extension to it, the Goodman Model of Reading provides a powerful account of the reading process in Arabic.

Despite the rapid growth of software use in foreign language education, many language-specific issues in computer-mediated instruction have not been investigated in research. One example is L2 orthography in CALL. When the target language is a non-alphabetic type, such as Japanese, decoding the unfamiliar script becomes a difficult task. Although the type of current Japanese language software ranges from immersion to translation-mediated, the method for script presentation is not spelled out with a clear pedagogical principle. Furthermore, due to the lack of empirical evidence, we have yet to find out which feature of CALL assists most effectively the Japanese beginner's L2 vocabulary acquisition. The present study attempts to evaluate the impact of using Romaji, or alphabetic spellings of Japanese, on beginners' learning of Japanese vocabulary. Sixty-one students enrolled in first-semester Japanese were recruited from two American universities. Individually the subjects participated in a vocabulary CALL experiment created with the HyperCard authoring system. The control and experimental groups were exposed to CALL lessons that taught 40 new Japanese words in conversational context. Immediately after the instructional phase, both groups were assessed on their retention of the vocabulary items in the same computer program. The only difference was the intervention of the Romaji script added to the vocabulary instruction of the experimental group. Both learner processes and performance data were collected and were analyzed. Major findings from this CALL study are (1) contrary to the prediction, the aid of Romaji did not facilitate the learner's short-term vocabulary retention, (2) the subjects who used the "sound" button more frequently recalled more words, and (3) the CALL vocabulary instruction assisted the learners of beginning-level Japanese in retaining a majority of the vocabulary items for recognition posttests but not for production tests. It is implied that the orthographic accommodation in CALL is not effective in assisting English-speaking students' Japanese vocabulary learning. Regardless of the presence or absence of Romaji, the intensive use of audio recordings was found to play the most crucial role in Japanese beginners' short-term vocabulary retention.

This study aimed to achieve three goals. First, it investigated the notion that the process of L2 idiom comprehension and interpretation is not the same as that for L1 comprehension, that is there are some fundamentally different ways in which second language (SL) learners grasp idiomatic meaning of Vivid Phrasal (VP) Idioms. Second, it researched the notion that the L2 comprehension process of idioms may be universal with regard to Spanish, French, and German. Third, it researched the extent to which SL learners want idioms to be an integral part of their language and culture training. The dissertation then proposed a systematic program for developing idiomatic competence in second and foreign languages in the context of meaningful authentic use. The subjects of this study were 60 third-year adult university learners of Spanish, French, and German. Employing three types of data-collection practices--(1) Computer-mediated Reading Tasks (Idiom Detection Task, Zero Context Task, Full Context Task, and Eureka Task), (2) Interactional Reading Tasks (Think-Aloud Reading Tasks, Retellings, and Introspection), and (3) Demographic Data Collection and Post-Task Evaluations--this study involved within-subject repeated measures of data and included both quantitative and qualitative analyses of 30 computerized idiomatic texts from each language group. The results strongly suggested that the L2 comprehension process of idioms is not the same as that for L1 comprehension and, moreover, that there is indeed a universal process of comprehending and interpreting VP idioms in second languages, at least with respect to the languages investigated. More specifically, the study provided strong evidence that (1) SL readers are quite capable of detecting VP idioms in texts successfully using a variety of contextual cues and reading strategies, including, but not limited to, word and idiom recognition, lexical access and retrieval, contextual and pragmatic support, background and world knowledge, formal schemata, and strategy use; (2) matching idioms between L1 and L2 (Lexical-Level or LL Idioms) are processed and comprehended faster and with greater ease than partially-matching idioms (Semi-lexical Level or SLL Idioms) or non-matching idioms (Post-lexical Level or PLL Idioms) between L1 and L2 and, finally, (3) increased context and an individual's pragmatic knowledge exert a significant impact on the comprehension and interpretation of all VP idioms, especially on those of the PLL type.

In natural language processing subject-verb agreement sometimes derails yielding ungrammatical sentences such as *The cost of the programs have not yet been estimated. In light of questions concerning the semantic versus syntactic nature of sentence subjects and the interactivity of language processing, researchers have investigated the occurrence and possible causes of erroneous agreement. In complex subject noun phrases such as The cost of the programs, the plurality of the noun in the lower clause has been shown to significantly affect the frequency of subject-verb agreement errors. This effect has been shown in English (Bock and Miller, 1991) and in Italian and Spanish (Vigliocco et al., 1995 and 1996). More importantly, a cross-linguistic difference appears with respect to distributivity, the semantic notion of plurality represented in a singular complex subject noun phrase. The phrase The label on the bottles can have a multiple token interpretation where several instances of the same label are conceptualized. Native (L1) English speakers show no effect for distributivity in light of subject-verb agreement errors, whereas L1 speakers of Italian and Spanish do. The primary question addressed in the current study is the following: Do the subject-verb agreement errors of non-native (L2) speakers of Spanish pattern in the same way as those of L1 speakers of Spanish, particularly with respect to distributivity? The results of the current study indicate that at least some L2 speakers of Spanish are sensitive to the effects of distributivity when processing subject-verb agreement. It is argued that the observed cross-linguistic variation with respect to the effect of distributivity on subject-verb agreement is attributable to differences in processing load resulting from cross-linguistic configurational variation within the subject noun phrase.

Models for science education, rather than paralleling the process of scientific discovery, have traditionally involved the dissemination of information through texts and controlled lab experiences. These have had limited effect in the development of science concepts. Therefore, the focus of this study was to investigate alternative avenues, such as the use of narrative, for science conceptualization. Despite the potential for narrative as an avenue for science conceptualization, for the most part studies involving literature have not explored this relationship. The purpose of this study was to investigate the process of science conceptualization, with a specific focus on narrative. This was done through a fifth grade classroom based study where learning experiences were created, focused on the concept of interdependence in relationship to water. These experiences included open-ended, hands-on science experiences, literature discussion groups, self-selected research projects and the creation of narrative pieces based on those research projects. Data sources included: (a) audio and videotaped literature discussion group sessions; (b) audio and videotaped study group interviews and curricular sessions; (c) individual interviews; (d) learning log entries and reflections; and (e) student narratives. Data analysis was conducted within a semiotic theoretical framework and involved the process of retroduction. Retroduction entails a kind of spiraling dialectic between theoretical considerations and data incidences, from which are generated possible explanations. These possible explanations or abductions, provide direction for further forays into the data. The process of retroduction lends itself to the creation of data analysis chapters that highlight theoretical issues in relationship to the data or "theoretical memos". Three theoretical memos emerged from this process. Theoretical memo one explores the role of experience in conceptualization; theoretical memo two focuses on the role of analogy and narrative experiences in relationship to intertextuality in conceptualization; and theoretical memo three highlights metaphor in relationship to the intertextual process of transmediation, whereby conceptualization is symbolized through student generated narratives. Together, these memos provide some insights into aspects of the process of conceptualization that are often ignored both in "real" science as well as science instruction. The implications of the study findings are summarized in light of what is known about the discovery process, as compared to what happens in traditional science instruction.

The purpose of this study was to investigate the benefits of collaboration while cross-age students and teachers conducted research. The cross-age collaboration investigated ways that students assist each other with writing and concept development as they researched a topic. The collaborative teacher research explored ways that classroom teachers assist each other with their professional development while they are examining ways to assist their students. This was a participant-observational study which took place over a semester. The cross-age students conducted research on teacher selected topics. The teachers held meetings to share their questions, observations, reflections and plans regarding the cross-age collaboration. Data sources included student surveys, student interviews, teachers' reflective journals, and transcriptions of teachers' meetings. The methods of analysis were domain analysis and constant comparison. The findings suggested that students assisted each other with writing and concept development when provided the opportunity to collaborate. They used language for constructing and reconstructing knowledge as they researched their topics. As they used language for learning, they also assisted each other with language development by using scaffolding strategies. A major finding in this study is that the students and teachers place high value on the interpersonal relationship that develops through the collaborative process. They found that encouragement, listening to one another, and respecting each other's ideas were foundational for igniting the collaborative process. Findings also suggested that the collaborative process gave the classroom teachers opportunities to assist each other with professional development. The teachers were able to assist each other by sharing their beliefs and knowledge about teaching and learning. Sharing beliefs about teaching and learning caused harmony in planning, as well as tensions. Variances in belief systems caused tensions which led to rich discussions about professional knowledge. The teachers reconstructed their knowledge through collaborative research.

Giving grammar feedback to ESL writers is still debatable among researchers. While researchers like Truscott (1996) argue that grammar feedback does not help ESL students, others like Ferris (2001) argue that it does. Moreover, scholars debate whether the modes of feedback (written and oral versus computer) might affect student revisions. Research has been conducted on the effectiveness of different types and modes of feedback, but it is inconclusive and decontextualized. The present study addresses the effectiveness of different types and modes of feedback in the ESL writing classroom. Thirteen ESL students at a southwestern university participated, where they were required to write three papers. They were divided into two groups. Group 1 received rhetorical and grammatical feedback combined on the first paper, while Group 2 received only rhetorical feedback on that paper. On Paper 2, the order was reversed. For Paper 3, the students were re-grouped into two groups. Group 1 received rhetorical and grammar feedback combined through computer and Group 2 received it in the written mode. A mixed approach, quantitative and qualitative, was used. The frequencies of the errors and the corrections that the students made on each paper were calculated and tabulated. The students wrote journals and were interviewed regarding their reaction to the different types and modes of feedback. The study revealed rather a complex picture of how and why students use different types and modes of feedback. The students' backgrounds, their perception of writing, their writing and revision processes and their motivation affected their use of grammar feedback as well as computer feedback. Although the students did not make a lot of changes, error feedback drew their attention to their errors and made them more aware of these errors. Students did not use computer feedback successfully and they attributed that to their cultural background, attitudes, writing styles and the dynamics of computer feedback. This study suggests that training students on self-editing might help them in detecting and correcting their errors. It also suggests that we need to integrate computer feedback with other formats of feedback and to assess the students' reactions to using computer as well as the ways in which they use it. This assessment can be employed to adjust our pedagogical approaches.

Two of the mandatory English composition classes offered by the Writing Program at the University of Arizona are all-international (NNS) and mixed (NNS/NES) sections of composition. The NNS sections consist solely of international students who are non-native speakers of English. The NNS/NES sections, on the other hand, are open to both American and international students; therefore, they are mixes of non-native and native speakers of English. This study investigates classroom interaction patterns of 35 international and 9 American students enrolled in one NNS and one NNS/NES section of composition. Data was collected through classroom observations, Teacher's Journal, questionnaires, one-on-one interviews with the participants, and videotaped lectures, in-class small group work, and teacher-student conferences. The study attempts to identify common interaction patterns within five culture groups in the two classes: Asian Indian, Japanese, Chinese, Middle Easterner, and American. Classroom interaction patterns that reveal the students' home culture or interaction norms in educational institutions in their country are examined for this purpose. This study also compares classroom dynamics in the two sections to report whether mixing Americans with international students causes differences in the classroom atmosphere and the ease of communication among students. Finally, this study reports international students' perspectives about being in a mixed section with Americans, their thoughts and feelings about American culture and people, their adjustment difficulties in the United States and the classroom manifestations of these difficulties. The results of this study have pedagogical and methodological implications and suggestions. Pedagogically, the results and interpretations of this project can enable instructors to have a better understanding of the difficulties and interaction patterns of international students. This may lead to better teacher preparation and improved interaction between teachers and students in these types of classes. Methodologically, this study presents an application of sociolinguistic and ethnographic research in a pedagogical context. Interaction analysis in the classroom through the use of technologically-advanced data collection methods, such as video- and audio-taping, in collaboration with more common data collection techniques such as observations, questionnaires, and interviews may be inspiring to teacher-researchers who are looking for more consistency, credibility, and practicality in their research studies.

The present study investigated awareness of and attitudes toward language variation among college level learners of German as a foreign language. The first part, language samples of varieties of English and German, was presented to students with Likert-type/Osgood semantic differential response sheets to explore patterns of reactions indicative of students' attitudes. The second part, a questionnaire including demographic items, items on German language background, and special items on language variation in English and German, was designed to examine possible connections between awareness and attitude in English, in German, and across languages, as well as any potentially related demographic or linguistic background factors. The third part, interviews of volunteers, was included to provide qualitative insights into the web of life experiences, linguistic background, and awareness of and attitudes toward language variation. The underlying purpose of the study was the establishment of baseline data on awareness of and attitude toward language variation among college students with a view to incorporating these findings into language planning, teacher training, material development, and classroom practice. Variation awareness was found to be well-developed among students, especially in L1 where up to 90% declared having experienced variation as opposed to 70% for L2, German. Attitudes toward variation were quite positive in L1 and slightly negative in L2. Awareness and attitudes were found to correlate strongly both within the languages and across languages. Overall, students found it important to learn about variation in L1 and L2 (4 out of 5 on a scale from 1-5). According to interviewees, language variation has a strong cultural component and awareness thereof has the potential to enhance communication. Based on these findings, the following recommendations can be formulated. Students' rich linguistic background and sometimes dormant metalinguistic capacities should be taken advantage of. Curricula, materials, and teacher training modules reflecting a concern for language variation should be developed. Finally, collaboration between L1 and L2 instructors and/or programs could contribute to disentangling the web of variation awareness and attitudes, cognition and affect, acceptability, appropriacy and critical language use.