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Thesis (M.A. (English Studies)) -- University of Limpopo, 2022 / This study explores written grammar errors committed by UL first entering non-native English language students. The problem is that the standard of English among nonnative English language students does not seem to improve due to the recurrence of errors, and this has always occupied the attention of many L2 researchers. First year English language lecturers participated in the study; they were interviewed by the researcher to better understand issues related to errors committed by the students. The study is underpinned by Error Analysis theory. Content Analysis (CA) was employed to analyse the qualitative data obtained from the 30 students’ assignment scripts to obtain grammatical errors in the following: word classes, sentences, tense, punctuation, and paragraphing. The findings indicate that English non-native students committed errors in punctuation, sentence structure, noun, pronoun, subject-verb agreement– determiner–, spelling-, logical connectors-, contraction-, preposition-, incomplete sentence and wrong topic sentences errors. It recommends that the Department of Languages should introduce an annual English language competency test at the beginning of each year to access students’ English competency level. This will allow the ELLs to revise and develop teaching materials according to the language needs of the first-year students in the university

Ting, Sum Pok. / "August 2011." / Thesis (M.Phil.)--Chinese University of Hong Kong, 2011. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 178-185). / Abstracts in English and Chinese. / ABSTRACT --- p.i / ACKNOWLEDGMENTS --- p.v / TABLE OF CONTENTS --- p.VI / LIST OF TABLES --- p.x / LIST OF FIGURE --- p.x / Chapter CHAPTER ONE --- INTRODUCTION --- p.1 / Chapter 1.1 --- BACKGROUND OF THE PRESENT STUDY --- p.1 / Chapter 1.2 --- PURPOSE OF THE PRESENT STUDY --- p.2 / Chapter 1.3 --- RESEARCH QUESTIONS OF THE PRESENT STUDY --- p.3 / Chapter 1.4 --- SIGNIFICANCE OF THE PRESENT STUDY --- p.5 / Chapter 1.5 --- ORGANISATION OF THE THESIS --- p.6 / Chapter CHAPTER TWO --- LITERATURE REVIEW --- p.8 / Chapter 2.1 --- STANDARDISATION OF ENGLISH AND WORLD ENGLISHES --- p.8 / Chapter 2.1.1 --- Standardisation of English --- p.8 / Chapter 2.1.2 --- World Englishes --- p.11 / Chapter 2.1.3 --- Non-standard English as a kind of deficiency --- p.12 / Chapter 2.2 --- B. KACHRU'S AND SCHNEIDER'S DEVELOPMENTAL MODELS OF N EW VARIETIES OF ENGLISH --- p.14 / Chapter 2.2.1 --- B. Kachru's three-stage developmental model of English --- p.14 / Chapter 2.2.2 --- Schneider's five-stage dynamic model of post-colonial Englishes --- p.16 / Chapter 2.3 --- DEBATE OF H K E AS A N EW VARIETY --- p.21 / Chapter 2.3.1 --- HKE as an autonomous variety --- p.21 / Chapter 2.3.2 --- The non-readiness of HKE as an autonomous variety --- p.23 / Chapter 2.4 --- DISTINGUISHING BETWEEN FEATURES AND ERRORS --- p.27 / Chapter 2.4.1 --- """Innovation"" and ""selection.""" --- p.27 / Chapter 2.4.2 --- "“Mistakes,´ح ""errors,"" ""deviations,"" and “features.´ح" --- p.28 / Chapter 2.4.3 --- Bamgbose's five factors in determining the status of language features --- p.29 / Chapter 2.5 --- FACTORS AFFECTING ACCEPTABILITY OF NON-NATIVE FEATURES --- p.31 / Chapter 2.5.1 --- Intelligibility --- p.31 / Chapter 2.5.2 --- Social prestige and stigma --- p.33 / Chapter 2.5.3 --- Past experience and somatic markers --- p.33 / Chapter 2.6 --- STUDIES OF ATTITUDES TOWARDS LOCAL VARIETIES IN ASIA AND HONG KONG --- p.35 / Chapter 2.6.1 --- Studies in the Asian context --- p.35 / Chapter 2.6.2 --- Studies in the Hong Kong context --- p.37 / Chapter 2.7 --- GRAMMATICAL FEATURES OF HKJE --- p.40 / Chapter 2.7.1 --- Grammatical features identified in previous studies --- p.40 / Chapter 2.7.2 --- The targeted grammatical features in the present study --- p.42 / Chapter 2.8 --- SUMMARY --- p.46 / Chapter CHAPTER THREE --- METHODOLOGY --- p.48 / Chapter 3.1 --- RESEARCH QUESTIONS --- p.48 / Chapter 3.2 --- RESEARCH DESIGN --- p.48 / Chapter 3.3 --- TARGET PARTICIPANTS --- p.50 / Chapter 3.3.1 --- Selection criteria --- p.50 / Chapter 3.3.2 --- Respondents of the acceptability survey --- p.52 / Chapter 3.3.3 --- Interviewees of the semi-structured interview. --- p.53 / Chapter 3.4 --- INSTRUMENTATION --- p.53 / Chapter 3.4.1 --- Acceptability surveys --- p.54 / Chapter 3.4.1.1 --- Rationale for employing acceptability surveys --- p.54 / Chapter 3.4.1.2 --- Design of the acceptability surveys --- p.54 / Chapter 3.4.2 --- Semi-structured interviews --- p.58 / Chapter 3.4.2.1 --- Rationale for employing semi-structured interviews --- p.58 / Chapter 3.4.2.1 --- Design of the semi-structured interviews --- p.60 / Chapter 3.5 --- Two PHASES OF DATA COLLECTION AND PROCESSING --- p.61 / Chapter 3.5.1 --- Quantitative phase --- p.62 / Chapter 3.5.1.1 --- Data collection --- p.62 / Chapter 3.5.1.2 --- Data analysis --- p.64 / Chapter 3.5.2 --- Qualitative phase --- p.64 / Chapter 3.5.2.1 --- Case selection --- p.64 / Chapter 3.5.2.2 --- Interview protocol. --- p.66 / Chapter 3.5.2.3 --- Data collection --- p.68 / Chapter 3.5.2.4 --- Data analysis --- p.69 / Chapter 3.6 --- ETHICS --- p.70 / Chapter 3.7 --- LIMITATIONS --- p.71 / Chapter 3.8 --- SUMMARY --- p.72 / Chapter CHAPTER FOUR --- FINDINGS AND DISCUSSION - FACTORS AFFECTING ACCEPTABILITY OF THE TARGETED GRAMMATICAL FEATURES OF HKE --- p.74 / Chapter 4.1 --- ACCEPTABILITY OF THE TARGETED GRAMMATICAL FEATURES AN OVERVIEW --- p.74 / Chapter 4.2 --- FACTORS AFFECTING THE ACCEPTABILITY OF THE TARGETED GRAMMATICAL FEATURES --- p.79 / Chapter 4.2.1 --- Intelligibility of the expression --- p.80 / Chapter 4.2.1.1 --- Perceived completeness of meaning. --- p.80 / Chapter 4.2.1.2 --- Perceived complexity of the sentence structure and the idea expressed --- p.83 / Chapter 4.2.2 --- Past experience of learning English in school --- p.86 / Chapter 4.2.2.1 --- Negative feelings towards the feature --- p.87 / Chapter 4.2.2.2 --- Perceived level of difficulty of the feature --- p.89 / Chapter 4.2.3 --- Everyday exposure to English --- p.92 / Chapter 4.2.3.1 --- Prevalence of the grammar item --- p.93 / Chapter 4.2.3.2 --- Perceived familiarity with the feature --- p.95 / Chapter 4.2.3.3 --- Perceived distinctiveness of the feature as “Hong Kong style. ´ح --- p.97 / Chapter 4.2.4 --- Contexts in which the features appear. --- p.98 / Chapter 4.2.4.1 --- "Computer-mediated communication in MSN, SMS, and Facebook." --- p.100 / Chapter 4.2.4.2 --- Daily face-to-face conversation --- p.105 / Chapter 4.2.5 --- Perceived competence and status of the users of the feature --- p.109 / Chapter 4.2.5.1 --- Perceived competence of the users of the feature --- p.109 / Chapter 4.2.5.2 --- Perceived social status of the users of the feature --- p.111 / Chapter 4.3 --- IMPLICATIONS FROM THE INTERVIEWS --- p.113 / Chapter 4.4 --- SUMMARY --- p.116 / Chapter CHAPTER FIVE --- FINDINGS AND DISCUSSION - PERCEIVED STATUS OF HKE --- p.118 / Chapter 5.1 --- AWARENESS OF THE EXISTENCE OF THE TARGETED GRAMMATICAL FEATURES --- p.118 / Chapter 5.2 --- INTERVIEWEES' PREFERRED VARIETY OF ENGLISH --- p.124 / Chapter 5.2.1 --- Preference for standard native varieties of English --- p.125 / Chapter 5.2.1.1 --- Perceived international intelligibility of the targeted grammatical features --- p.127 / Chapter 5.2.1.2 --- Perceived public image of the varieties of English and their users --- p.129 / Chapter 5.2.2 --- Low preference for standard native varieties of English --- p.132 / Chapter 5.2.2.1 --- Limited capability of the people in Hong Kong. --- p.132 / Chapter 5.2.2.2 --- Communicative effectiveness of the standard native varieties --- p.133 / Chapter 5.3 --- PERCEIVED STATUS OF HKE AS AN AUTONOMOUS VARIETY --- p.137 / Chapter 5.3.1 --- The perceived current status of HKE --- p.137 / Chapter 5.3.1.1 --- The lack of intention for the adoption of the non-standard features --- p.138 / Chapter 5.3.1.2 --- The lack of a unifying set offeatures --- p.140 / Chapter 5.3.2 --- The perceived future status of HKE --- p.142 / Chapter 5.3.2.1 --- Inevitability of becoming an autonomous variety. --- p.142 / Chapter 5.3.2.2 --- Perceived limited usage of English in Hong Kong --- p.143 / Chapter 5.3.3 --- The prospect of HKE as an autonomous variety --- p.144 / Chapter 5.3.3.1 --- Negative influence on English learning. --- p.144 / Chapter 5.3.3.2 --- The lack of ownership of English --- p.145 / Chapter 5.4 --- RECOGNITION OF THE TARGETED GRAMMATICAL FEATURES AS FEATURES OF HKE --- p.147 / Chapter 5.4.1 --- One standard for using English --- p.147 / Chapter 5.4.2 --- Non-standard features as identity marker. --- p.150 / Chapter 5.4.3 --- Ownership of English --- p.151 / Chapter 5.5 --- THE STATUS OF HKE IN BECOMING AN AUTONOMOUS VARIETY --- p.152 / Chapter 5.6 --- SUMMARY --- p.155 / Chapter CHAPTER SIX --- CONCLUSION --- p.157 / Chapter 6.1 --- ADDRESSING THE RESEARCH QUESTIONS --- p.157 / Chapter 6.1.1 --- Addressing research question 1: Acceptability of the targeted features --- p.157 / Chapter 6.1.2 --- Addressing research question 2: Factors affecting acceptability --- p.159 / Chapter 6.1.3 --- Addressing research question 3: Features or errors? --- p.162 / Chapter 6.1.4 --- Addressing research question 4: Perceived status of HKE --- p.164 / Chapter 6.2 --- IMPLICATIONS --- p.165 / Chapter 6.2.1 --- Exposure to varieties of English --- p.166 / Chapter 6.2.2 --- The teaching of grammar in school --- p.168 / Chapter 6.3 --- LIMITATIONS --- p.172 / Chapter 6.3.1 --- English proficiency of the participants --- p.172 / Chapter 6.3.2 --- The modes and styles of English under investigation --- p.172 / Chapter 6.3.3 --- The methodological design --- p.173 / Chapter 6.4 --- DIRECTIONS FOR FURTHER STUDIES --- p.175 / Chapter 6.4.1 --- Computer-mediated communication (CMC) and HKE --- p.175 / Chapter 6.4.2 --- Linguistic identity of local Hong Kong people --- p.176 / REFERENCE --- p.178 / Chapter APPENDIX I - --- SAMPLE OF ACCEPTABILITY SURVEY --- p.186 / Chapter APPENDIX II - --- INTERVIEW PROTOCOL --- p.191

published_or_final_version / English Studies / Master / Master of Arts

published_or_final_version / abstract / Education / Doctoral / Doctor of Philosophy

published_or_final_version / abstract / Linguistics / Master / Master of Arts

A research report submitted to the Faculty of Humanities, University of the Witwatersrand, in partial fulfilment of the degree of Master of Education Johannesburg, 2016. / The aim of this research is to understand how the use and manipulation of concrete tools, specifically six DUPLO bricks, can impact language acquisition and vocabulary development in second language learners. The study works within a social constructivist paradigm and draws on the work of Vygotsky (1978b). This is an exploratory study and the data is gathered from observations, focus group sessions and semi-structured interviews. The research is conducted over a period of 14 weeks with one class of Grade 1 children who are learning through the medium of English but are also second language learners. The selected school was a northern suburbs government school. The findings show that the children did benefit from the intervention and that learning was enhanced through tactile activities and embodiment. The social collaborative learning through play provided the best opportunities for language acquisition and the development of a shared repertoire of vocabulary. The research study has implications for the theory and practice of teaching early literacy in South Africa in particular language learning and vocabulary development. / MT2017

by Belinda Nga Yee Wong. / Thesis (M.Phil.)--Chinese University of Hong Kong, 1997. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 111-116). / Acknowledgements --- p.iv / Chapter CHAPTER ONE: --- INTRODUCTION --- p.1 / Chapter CHAPTER TWO: --- THEORETICAL BACKGROUND --- p.5 / Chapter 2.1 --- Introduction --- p.5 / Chapter 2.2 --- θ-Theory and Arguments --- p.7 / Chapter 2.3 --- Argument Structure / Lexical Syntactic Representation --- p.10 / Chapter 2.4 --- Lexical Syntactic Representation --- p.10 / Chapter 2.5 --- Summary --- p.20 / Chapter CHAPTER THREE: --- ENGLISH RESULTATIVES --- p.21 / Chapter 3.1 --- Introduction --- p.21 / Chapter 3.2 --- Features of English Resultatives --- p.21 / Chapter 3.2.1 --- Categories for Resultative Phrase --- p.23 / Chapter 3.2.2 --- Resultative Phrase as Complement --- p.26 / Chapter 3.2.3 --- Transitive Resultatives --- p.29 / Chapter 3.2.4 --- Intransitive Resultatives --- p.36 / Chapter 3.2.5 --- Subject of Predicate Expression --- p.41 / Chapter 3.2.6 --- Syntactic Structure of Resultatives in the Literature --- p.41 / Chapter 3.2.7 --- Change-of-State Linking Rule --- p.45 / Chapter 3.3 --- Incompatibility of Verbs with Resultatives --- p.47 / Chapter 3.3.1 --- Classification of Verbs --- p.47 / Chapter 3.3.2 --- Incompatibility of Resultative Phrases with Stative Verbs --- p.49 / Chapter 3.3.3 --- Resultative Phrases as Delimiters --- p.50 / Chapter 3.3.4 --- Incompatibility of Resultative Phrases with Verbs of Inherently Directed Motion --- p.51 / Chapter CHAPTER FOUR : --- A PREDICATION THEORY FOR ENGLISH RESULTATIVES --- p.53 / Chapter 4.1 --- Introduction --- p.53 / Chapter 4.2 --- Bowers' Syntax of Predication --- p.57 / Chapter 4.3 --- An Extension of Bowers' Predication Theory to English Resultative Constructions --- p.60 / Chapter 4.3.1 --- Introduction of Double Predication Structure --- p.60 / Chapter 4.3.2 --- The Notion of Causativity --- p.61 / Chapter 4.3.3 --- More about Conflation and Resultative Verbs --- p.62 / Chapter 4.3.4 --- Weakness of Bowers' Structure --- p.65 / Chapter 4.3.5 --- A Modified Structure for Intransitive Resultatives with an Unergative --- p.65 / Chapter 4.3.6 --- A Suggested Structure for Transitive Resultatives --- p.67 / Chapter 4.3.7 --- A Suggested Structure for Intransitive Resultatives with an Ergative --- p.69 / Chapter 4.4 --- Concluding Remarks --- p.72 / Chapter CHAPTER FIVE: --- CANTONESE RESULTATIVE CONSXRUCTIONS --- p.73 / Chapter 5.1 --- Introduction --- p.73 / Chapter 5.2 --- Dou-Constructions --- p.76 / Chapter 5.2.1 --- The Syntactic Properties of Dou-constructions --- p.76 / Chapter 5.2.2 --- Null Elements in Cantonese --- p.82 / Chapter 5.2.3 --- The Status of V1 --- p.83 / Chapter 5.3 --- Directional Complements --- p.87 / Chapter 5.4 --- Summary --- p.89 / Chapter CHAPTER SIX: --- A PREDICATION THEORY FOR CANTONESE RESULTATIVES --- p.90 / Chapter 6.1 --- Introduction --- p.90 / Chapter 6.2 --- The Syntactic Derivations of Dou-Resultative Constructions with Intransitive --- p.90 / Chapter 6.3 --- The Syntactic Derivations of Dou-Resultative Constructions with Transitive --- p.93 / Chapter 6.3.1 --- Base Positions for NP2 and NP3 --- p.95 / Chapter 6.3.2 --- Redupiication and V' Constraint --- p.98 / Chapter 6.4 --- Passive Resultatives --- p.100 / Chapter 6.5 --- A Note on Resultative Dou-Constructions with a Causative --- p.105 / Chapter 6.6 --- A Remark on V-V Compounds --- p.107 / Chapter 6.7 --- Summary --- p.109 / REFERENCES --- p.111

Thesis (Ph.D.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Linguistics and Philosophy, 1980. / MICROFICHE COPY AVAILABLE IN ARCHIVES AND HUMANITIES. / Bibliography: leaves 251-255. / Ph.D.

The use of word processors has become common in writing instruction for students of English as a second language (ESL). Recent developments in microcomputer technology have increased the number of "tools" or writing aids that are incorporated into word processing programs. Among these are computer style and grammar checkers, programs that attempt to identify and diagnose stylistic, grammatical, and mechanical problems in writing. This study examines the suitability of commercial grammar checking programs for use by ESL writers through descriptive analysis of program features and evaluation of accuracy. The programs evaluated are Grammatik 5, Microsoft Word 6.0 and Correct Grammar (both using CorrecText as an underlying system), and Right Writer 6.0. The principal issues explored in the descriptive analysis are comparative ease-of-use, the nature of diagnostic advice and tutorial information, and modification capabilities of each program. The analysis shows that grammar checking programs that are part of word processing programs (e.g., Word Perfect and Microsoft Word) are easier to use, but lack key components that permit modification of advice messages and tutorial information, or addition of new error patterns. The evaluation of accuracy examines program performance in terms of error types the programs were designed to identify in relation to errors common in ESL writing. In a test of sample sentences, the overall accuracy rate for the most successful program, Grammatik 5, was only 50%. Microsoft Word and Correct Grammar were second with 42%; Right Writer 6.0 was the weakest, with a score of 25%. Program accuracy was substantially reduced in analysis of a sample student essay. Microsoft Word and Correct Grammar performed best, but with only 21% accuracy. The score of Grammatik 5 was reduced to 17%, and that of Right Writer 6.0 to 13%. This suggests that student writing contains a larger number of errors the programs cannot identify than do the test sentences. In addition, sentences in the essay contained multiple errors, while most of the test sentences contained only one error. Low accuracy rates might be improved by rule modification features of standalone versions of programs such as Grammatik 5 and Correct Grammar.