Thesis (M.A.)--University of Wyoming, 2008. / Title from PDF title page (viewed on July 15, 2009). Includes bibliographical references (p. 73-75).

Call number: LD2668 .T4 1936 P42

The purpose of this study was to determine whether there is a difference between the accuracy with which a child responds to oral instructions that are given in his native dialect (i.e., the dialect that he acquired when learning to speak) when compared to the accuracy of his responses to oral instructions given in a non-native dialect (i.e., a dialect other than the one he learned when he acquired speech). The two dialects used were standard English and black non-standard English. The dialect of the children was determined by use of the Rystrom Dialect Test. A field study was conducted by this researcher to establish criteria for scoring the Rystrom Dialect Test that would apply to this population.Forty-four intermediate grade black non-standard English speaking children and forty-four intermediate grade standard English speaking children were identified. This sample was drawn from three schools in a central Indiana city of 45,000 population.The paper and pencil type tasks used were the seventeen items on the Test 18, Oral Directions, of the Detroit Tests of Learning Aptitude. Two tape recordings were made of these directions, i.e., a standard English version and a black non-standard English version. The children in each dialect group were randomly assigned to receive the oral directions in either a native/non-native dialect or a non-native/native dialect order. For the standard English dialect speakers, standard English was their native dialect and black non-standard English was the native dialect of the black non-standard English speakers and standard English was their non-native dialect.A one way analysis of variance procedure was used to analyze the data. The mean of the scores obtained when the children received the directions in their native dialect was compared to the mean of the scores obtained when they received the directions in the non-native dialect.Analysis of the data revealed that there was no statistically significant difference between the accuracy with which a child responds to oral instructions that are given in his native dialect when compared to the accuracy of his responses to oral instructions given in a non-native dialect. This was true of both dialect groups.An auxiliary analysis was conducted by grade level in which the responses to the native dialect presentations were compared to the non-native dialect presentations for each dialect group. The results of this analysis indicated that there were no statistically significant differences for either dialect group on any of the grade levels considered, that is, grade four, five or six. The obtained means in all cases were very near the same value and no trend was observed.and black non-standard English was their non-native dialect.From the results of this study and within the limitations of this research, the following conclusions are drawn:1. There is no statistically significant difference in the accuracy of the responses of the native speakers of black non-standard English to directions spoken in black non-standard English and to the directions spoken in standard English.2. There is no statistically significant difference in the accuracy of the responses of the native speakers of standard English to directions spoken in standard English and to directions spoken in black non-standard English.3. The lack of differences mentioned in one and two above are discernable whether the data are considered on a composite intermediate grade level basis or whether they are considered by individual grade levels.The consistency of the results, i.e., no significant difference, is of interest. The findings do not tend to support the theory that dialect differences do interfere with children's performance nor does this study tend to support the theory that a language barrier exists between the middle class teacher and the lower class child. It is important to emphasize that the findings of this study cannot be construed to indicate that educational discrepancies between the two groups do not exist. It can only be said that on the basis of the findings of this study, educational differences do not appear to be the result of dialect differences.

toc / English Studies / Master / Master of Arts

published_or_final_version / abstract / toc / English / Master / Master of Philosophy

The purpose of this study was to make an original contribution to the literature concerning the question: How can the study of the English language best be taught to secondary school students in the United States? It is the result of an intensive six-year study of position papers on the definition, role and function of English in the high school, of curriculum theories and theoretical curricula, of teacher preparation studies and current trends in the teaching of English in the secondary schools, and, most of all, of the development of the English language and culture, particularly in America. It is also an attempt at an integrated answer to the often diverse problems of the teacher of secondary school English, and of his students, in approaching the study of the English language. The answer proposed is a comprehensive year's study of American English at the senior high level, perhaps on the order of an American Studies course, with emphasis placed on the historical development of American English as the foundation and generative force for the study.Chapter one examines some important preliminary considerations toward constructing new curricula based on American English, and includes a definition of the subject itself, the so-called "New English", the components of language study, the preparation of teachers in this subarea, the range of the student population, some broad objectives of the new curriculum, and the need for such an approach; in short, a brief history of recent trends in the field of historical English language study in the secondary schools.Although there exist no near-comparable formats for the study of American English, chapter two treats related proposals, most of them growing out of the Project English Curriculum Development Centers. The thrust of the great majority of sample curricula is toward the study of generative-transformational grammar, with only superficial treatment given to language history.Chapter three provides further justification, conceptually and pedagogically, for a curriculum in the history and development of American English. More importantly, this section offers specific suggestions on the construction of such a curriculum. Attention is given to the four major aspects of curriculum development: objectives, conceptual content, activities and materials. The four are integrated through an approach using special behavioral objectives.A brief resource history in the development of American English from its earliest beginnings is presented in chapter four as an important adjunct to the construction of a workable curriculum. The history is not meant to be comprehensive; rather, it is an attempt to give the teacher who proposes to construct or fulfill a curriculum an overview of the trends, processes and changes in the development of English in America. The relatively heavy documentation and the lengthy bibliography are meant to serve as a list of resources for information in depth or for specialized knowledge.Taken together, the four chapters represent the first serious attempt to integrate the many facets of language history and behavior within a comprehensive study of American English at the secondary school level.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Illinois State University, 2003. / Title from title page screen, viewed November 29, 2005. Dissertation Committee: James C. Palmer, George Padavil (co-chairs), Amelia D. Adkins, William Semlak. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 189-195) and abstract. Also available in print.

Orientador: Antonio Francisco Magnoni / Banca: Ricardo Alexino Ferreira / Banca: Regina Célia Baptista Belluzzo / Resumo: A pesquisa de mestrado aqui apresentada permite identificação no plano teórico de algumas mudanças comportamentais e culturais individuais e coletivas, que são derivadas de uma mundialização quase plena da abrangência e dos usos de sistemas e dos dispositivos digitais de comunicação midiática. Em um contexto de globalização de mercados e das vagas de trabalho, o domínio de línguas estrangeiras tende a ser cada vez mais estratégico para os estudantes dos sistemas públicos brasileiros, cuja maioria é derivada das camadas trabalhadoras que também aspiram legitimamente a uma formação individual e profissional, que seja contemporânea, abrangente e emancipadora. Afinal, as novas gerações, independentes de suas origens socioeconômicas, estão inseridas em contextos culturais e sociais onde a realização de diversas atividades ou de vários tipos de relações interpessoais cotidianas serão sempre mais condicionadas ao acesso às redes e dependentes do uso de diversos tipos de dispositivos informáticos atualizados. Diante da constatação de uma influência crescente das mediações digitais no espaço escolar, a pesquisadora dedicou períodos seguidos para a observação dos cursos presenciais e on-line de língua estrangeira que são disponibilizados para estudantes do ensino fundamental e médio das escolas estaduais paulistas, no âmbito da cidade de Bauru. Os objetos de pesquisa e análise são os cursos de inglês Early Bird (madrugador) na E.E. Profª Marta Aparecida Hjertquist Barbosa, em Bauru (SP... (Resumo completo, clicar acesso eletrônico abaixo) / Abstract: The master's research presented here allows us to identify in theory some cultural behavioral changes and individual or collective which are derived from an almost full globalization of the scope and use of systems and digital devices of media communication. In a context of globalization of markets and job openings, the command of foreign languages tend to be increasingly strategic for students of the Brazilian public systems, most of which is derived from the working classes, which also legitimately aspire individual training and professional that is contemporary, comprehensive and emancipatory. After all, the new generations, regardless of their socioeconomic backgrounds, are embedded in cultural and social contexts, where the implementation of various activities or various types of everyday interpersonal relations will be ever more dependent on access to networks and the use of updated computer devices. Before the finding of a growing influence of digital mediation at school, the researcher spent periods followed for observation of classroom courses and online foreign language courses, which are available to students from middle and high school of the São Paulo state schools, in the city of Bauru. The research and analysis objects are the English courses Early Bird in E.E. Teacher Marta Aparecida Hjertquist Barbosa school, in Bauru (SP) and the English and Spanish course in the Language Study Center (CEL) Teacher Christino Cabral, in the same city, beside the on-line Engli... (Complete abstract click electronic access below) / Mestre

Evidence is presented to support the notion that US regional accents influence decisions in the hiring process. Fifty-six people who hire for a variety of corporations participated in a computerized survey, during which they listened to speakers from regions of the US reading the same passage. Respondents judged the speakers on personal characteristics commonly considered in hiring decisions, attempted to identify the speakers' regions, and selected job categories for each speaker, in addition to providing information about their own linguistic security. Results indicate: 1) judgments based on regional accents strongly correlate to selection of job categories, 2) respondents were not able to identify regional accents correctly, and 3) negative judgments were assigned to the speakers of accents that were correctly identified.

Thesis. 1976. Ph.D.--Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Dept. of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science. / Microfiche copy available in Archives and Engineering. / Bibliography: leaves 322-332. / Ph.D.