Thesis (Ph. D. (Education)) -- University of the North, 1976 / Refer to document

Students' use of language learning strategies (LLSs) is affected by their educational backgrounds and academic requirements, and so are their attitudes toward language learning. This study investigates Japanese students' perception of their English LLSs in different language environments: Japan and the United States. A group of 43 Japanese students from Otemae College participated in a cultural study program at Portland State University. The group consisted of 28 students who studied for two terms (ST Group) and 15 students who studied for three terms (LT Group). In this study, a combination of a self-assessment questionnaire, dialogue journals, and a card-ranking activity was employed. The self-assessment questionnaire, SILL (Rebecca Oxford's Strategy Inventory for Language Learning), was administered at different times during the learning period for identification of students' English LLSs in Japan (Ll) and in the United States (L2). The SILL provided this study with quantitative data; whereas, dialogue journals and the card ranking activity supplied qualitative data that more insightfully indicated students' perception of language learning, learning experiences, and insight into the students themselves. Dialogue journals allowed students to record their positive and negative experiences in the L2 related to language learning, emotions, concerns, problems, and questions. The students' LLSs increased in frequency and variety of use when the language environment changed from the Ll to the L2. The LLSs of the LT Group continued to improve during an additional term in the L2. Conversely, the LLS use by the ST Group regressed after only four months back in the Ll (except Affective and Social Strategies). The results of the SILL indicated direct strategies were adjusted according to English learning experience in a different learning environment. Three administrations of the SILL, dialogue journals, and the card ranking activity gave students opportunities to review the process of their English learning. This process functioned in raising students' awareness of language learning from cognitive, psychological, social, and cultural perspectives. Such conceptual development of metalinguistic awareness of the language and culture helped the students recognize their language learning experiences in the L2 as the process of human development.

This project fills a void in the area of dual immersion program implementation. Although there are general guidelines that exist, there is a paucity of specific guidelines that explicitly delineate the implementation of these critical components in the current accountability climate. We need to move beyond general categories and tailor them to the unique needs program models within situated contexts.

Since China's open-door policy of 1978, an increasing number of Western language teachers have entered the People's Republic. Numerous reports criticizing Chinese teaching methods, books, curricula, and students have been written by teachers of English, the cause of which can, in many cases, be related back to teachers' different expectations about language curricula. Dubin and Olshtain's (1986) curriculum framework was utilized in this study to examine the premises of language learning and teaching in China. A questionnaire was sent to teachers and students at seven schools in the People's Republic of China. The questionnaire included a brief needs analysis and questions related to views about language, language learning and education. Data from the 347 student respondents and 34 teacher respondents were used to discuss (i) the priorities of English language teachers and learners in China, and (ii) whether Western methodologies were suitable for use in China. The conclusions drawn from the study were, firstly, that Chinese language teachers and learners rank product over process. Linked to this was the conclusion that no one Western methodology was particularly suitable or unsuitable for use in China. Secondly, it appeared that students in China prioritize passive language skills and passive ways of learning over active language skills and active methods of learning.

"August 2003" / Bibliography: p. [1-29] / xii, 210, [166] p. : ill. ; 30 cm. / Title page, contents and abstract only. The complete thesis in print form is available from the University Library. / This study examines engagement in English as a foreign language (EFL) literacy practices as opportunities for making meanings with texts and for learning English as a foreign language. The study also proposes practical implications for EFL instruction. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--University of Adelaide, School of Humanities, Discipline of Linguistics, 2004

University of Macau / Faculty of Social Sciences and Humanities / Department of English

University of Macau / Faculty of Social Sciences and Humanities / Department of English

published_or_final_version / Applied English Studies / Doctoral / Doctor of Philosophy

The teaching and learning of English is pervasive in Hong Kong, and children begin to learn English as a second language from as early as when they enter kindergarten at the age of three. Early vocabulary development (i.e., the knowledge of word meanings) is one of the important building blocks for reading development in English. This thesis portrayed two contexts, namely the home and the school, within which the teaching and learning of English vocabulary occurred for young children in Hong Kong. Two studies were conducted to (i) describe the home literacy environment and the English vocabulary skills of children from different socioeconomic backgrounds; (ii) explore the relationship between the home literacy environment and children’s English vocabulary skills; (iii) describe the contexts in which English vocabulary instruction occurred; and (iv) identify the teaching strategies adopted by teachers during English vocabulary instruction in early childhood classrooms. In Study 1, participants were 65 Chinese children (including 40 girls) and their mothers or fathers from four kindergartens. Children’s nonverbal IQ and receptive and expressive vocabulary were assessed. Parents completed a questionnaire which tapped family demographics and the home literacy environment. There were significant differences in home literacy practices and English vocabulary skills as a function of socio-economic status. The home literacy environment, as measured by book reading practices and the teaching of print-related skills, accounted for unique additional variance in English receptive and expressive vocabulary after controlling for the effects of child age, nonverbal IQ and maternal education. In Study 2, English vocabulary instruction was observed in six early childhood classrooms from three kindergartens over the course of a week. From 23 sessions of observations and 535 minutes of data, field notes were coded to identify the contexts of vocabulary instruction and the strategies used in teaching words. The teaching of vocabulary occurred in 12 out of 23 sessions and words were taught within the context of theme-based learning, systematic phonics instruction and storybook read-aloud. Teachers predominantly used certain strategies that promoted children’s recognition and memorization of words, such as the use of visuals, the emphasis on the pronunciation and written form of words, and pointing and labeling of words. This thesis provides an account of the home and school context for the English vocabulary development of Chinese children learning English as a second language. The findings highlight the importance of a rich home literacy environment for the support of second language vocabulary development and reflect the instructional strategies used in early childhood classrooms to facilitate word learning. Implications of these findings are discussed. / published_or_final_version / Education / Doctoral / Doctor of Philosophy

The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationships between lexical and grammatical knowledge in the L2 acquisition of English by Korean EFL learners by examining how the depth of lexical knowledge that Korean learners have about English verbs is related to their grammatical knowledge. For this study, L2 research into depth of lexical knowledge and generative syntactic theory have been reviewed to suggest the interdependent nature of vocabulary and grammar in L2 acquisition (Nation, 1990, 2001; Chomsky, 1981, 1986, 1995; Herschensohn, 2000). Data were collected from Korean EFL learners through a depth of vocabulary knowledge test which focused on semantic, morphological, and syntactic properties of English verbs and a grammar test. The results showed that there was a high positive correlation between vocabulary and grammar knowledge in L2 English acquisition by Korean learners, and that semantic, morphological, and syntactic properties of lexical knowledge all contributed to the prediction of L2 learners' grammatical knowledge. In particular, the syntactic property of lexical knowledge was found to be the most important predictor of grammatical knowledge. However, it was also found that the morphological property was not as important in the prediction of L2 grammatical knowledge as the syntactic property. Based on these findings, it was argued that the in-depth view of L2 lexical knowledge might be appropriate for explaining the interdependent nature of lexical and grammatical knowledge, since this in-depth perspective sees lexical knowledge as consisting of various properties such as semantic, morphological, and syntactic features. On the other hand, a generative view on syntax also seems to provide an account of how each property of lexical knowledge would be related to overall grammatical knowledge. Thus, the syntactic property of word knowledge such as argument structures and subcategorization frames might serve as a connector which links lexical and grammatical knowledge. Finally, some possible accounts of why the morphological property of vocabulary knowledge did not contribute as much to the prediction of L2 grammatical knowledge as the syntactic property were provided on the basis of the notion of argument structures, the characteristics of morphological knowledge assessed by the in-depth vocabulary test, and L2 lexical development model proposed by Jiang (2000).