Duisburg, Univ., Diss., 2001.

In the age of digital literacy, teachers need to seek out the best practice in the use of technology so that the digital divide between teachers and learners can be bridged. This study proposed to look at ways to implement motion media (specifically the moving image) technology effectively as a supplementary instructional medium for literature study and to set guidelines for FET (Further Education and Training) English teachers so that learning outcomes could be achieved easily by all learners in the South African English literature class. The aim of this study was to provide guidelines for teachers in order to make optimal language (specific literature) learning possible and enjoyable through the application of motion media technology. In addition to the literature study, qualitative research was done through case studies and by conducting interviews with teachers who teach English Home Language and English as an Additional Language in the FET-phase. The problem addressed in this study is that even though educational technology (especially moving image technology) is easily available to most teachers, they do not implement it in their literature lessons as they are not adequately trained to incorporate it into their lessons. This makes the digital divide between teachers and learners even bigger. The dilemma for many teachers in the twenty-first century is that they have to teach learners print-based literature in an era where everything is technological. The pedagogical potential of moving image media within the English curriculum was explored in this study. The nature and scope of English as a subject area was discussed and various types of literacies were identified. A case was made for moving image education to become central to English literature teaching. Guidelines, strategies and techniques were proposed for teachers who are not technologically trained. Resources for teaching literature with the moving image were also identified. It became evident from the data received from the interviews conducted, that most teachers did not possess the knowledge and skills to use technology effectively in their English literature lessons. They did, however, express the need to receive training so that their literature lessons could be enriched with media other than just print. They wanted to empower themselves so that they in return could empower their learners. This study aimed to be of assistance to the pedagogy of English Home Language and Additional Language literacy teaching so that using the moving image in teaching does not add to teachers' workload, but enriches lessons in such a way that both the teachers and learners can obtain productive outcomes. The research also established that technology can be infused in English literature classes in a way that does not interfere with the content pedagogy, but supports it in a way that actively involves learners and prepares them with the technical and pedagogical skills for creating the new learner-centred classroom.

A study comparing University of Wisconsin-Stout freshmen and senior education majors’ computing and Internet technology skills/knowledge and associated learning experiences was conducted. Instruments used in this study included the IC³® Exam by Certiport, Inc. and the investigator’s Computing and Internet Skills Learning Experiences survey. UW-Stout freshmen education majors participating in the study demonstrated poor computing and Internet technology skills/knowledge. UW-Stout senior education majors participating in the study demonstrated marginal computing and Internet technology skills/knowledge. Both UW-Stout freshmen and senior education major study participants identified evidence of poor formal and informal learning experiences to develop computing and Internet technology skills/knowledge in elementary school, middle school and high school. Senior education major participants indicated more instances of formal and informal learning experiences in post-secondary schooling and employment. Informal self-teaching methods to develop computing and Internet technology skills/knowledge were more evident with UW-Stout senior education majors who participated in the study. Notable comparisons by class and major were conducted after initial analysis showing the impact of specific formal and informal learning experiences. Recommendations to improve UW-Stout education majors computing and Internet technology skills/knowledge follow Robin Kay’s Evaluating Strategies Used to Incorporate Technology into Preservice Education (2006).

Previous research has shown L1 attrition to be selective (Gürel 2004) and often restricted to structures at the interfaces between syntax and context/pragmatics, but not to occur with syntactic properties that do not involve such interfaces (Interface Hypothesis, Sorace & Filiaci 2006). This is supported by many studies exploring cross-linguistic influence effects in interface structures, such as the production and/or interpretation of null versus overt pronominal subjects, not only in L1 attriters (Tsimpli et al. 2004, Montrul 2004) but also in other bilingual groups with different language combinations, such as early bilinguals (Paradis & Navarro 2003, Sorace et al. 2009), and advanced late bilinguals (Belletti et al. 2007, Rothman 2009). The current hypothesis is that individual L1 attrition affects only the ability to process interface structures but not knowledge representations themselves (Sorace 2011). In this thesis, we first compared a well-studied syntax-pragmatics interface phenomenon (pronominal subjects in Spanish) with a non-interface structure (the Spanish personal preposition a, also known as Differential Object Marking, DOM). In Spanish, the distribution of null and overt subject pronouns is pragmatically constrained, whereas the presence of the preposition just depends on the animacy and specificity of the direct object. Participants included a group of attrited speakers of L1 Spanish who had been living in the UK for a minimum of 5 years, and a group of Spanish monolinguals. Using a naturalness judgment task and eye tracking while reading, participants were presented with anaphoric sentences in which number cues matched or mismatched predicted antecedent preferences (i.e. null pronoun: subject preference; overt pronoun: object preference). The DOM study also used a mismatch paradigm, crossing preposition presence (al vs. el) with animacy, where an animate object requires the prepositional form al and an inanimate object requires the article el. Offline ratings revealed equal mismatch sensitivity for both groups of participants with both structures. However, eye-tracking measures showed that monolinguals were reliably more sensitive than attriters to the pronoun mismatch, while both groups showed equal on-line sensitivity to the DOM mismatch, which reveals that attrition affects interface structures, but not non-interface structures. Second, we investigated the effects of recent (re)exposure to L1 input on attrition. A second group of attriters carried out the same experiment after having been exposed exclusively to Spanish in a monolingual Spanish-speaking environment for a minimum of a week. Their eye-tracking results patterned with the monolingual group. This novel manipulation shows that attrition effects decrease as a result of L1 exposure, which reveals that bilinguals are sensitive to input changes and that attrition affects online sensitivity rather than causing a permanent change in speakers’ L1 grammatical representations.

Os sistemas de aumento, conhecidos como SBAS (Satellite-Based Augmentation System) fornecem informações de integridade e acurácia em tempo real para seus usuários, utilizando-se das correções diferenciais que são transmitidas pelos satélites geoestacionários e estão disponíveis em algumas regiões do globo terrestre. Fora da sua região de abrangência o sistema ainda não disponibiliza os dados de correção em tempo real. Entretanto, o sinal é transmitido na mesma frequência L1 do GPS, o qual fica disponível aqui no Brasil, e alguns receptores GNSS possuem canais de frequência especifica que captam este sinal, com a perspectiva de que os dados destes satélites melhoram as condições do rastreio, além da melhoria na acurácia das coordenadas. Partindo deste princípio, foi utilizada a observável fase da onda portadora (L1) para inferir sobre a sua contribuição para o posicionamento. Os rastreios foram realizados em diferentes localidades devido à elevação dos satélites SBAS variar em função da latitude e longitude. Contudo, este estudo foi direcionado para os dados dos satélites PRN 138 (WAAS), PRN 120 e 124 (EGNOS), pois foram os únicos visíveis durante todo o rastreio, tendo simultaneidade dos dados entre os receptores base e móvel. Durante a etapa de processamento, o qual foi utilizado o software GNSS Solution, alguns experimentos foram realizados, tais como: 1) Processamento com todas as observáveis L1 dos satélites disponíveis (GPS e SBAS), análise dos desvios-padrão e comparação das coordenadas obtidas com as consideradas verdadeiras; 2) Processamento sem as observáveis L1 dos satélites SBAS, análises e comparações; 3) Retirada gradativa dos satélites GPS e reprocessamento em conjunto (GPS+SBAS) e separadamente (apenas GPS). A finalidade principal desses experimentos foi verificar a potencialidade da observável L1 dos satélites SBAS processadas em conjunto com a observável L1 do GPS, no posicionamento relativo. Análises estatísticas, como tendência e erro médio quadrático (RMS), foram aplicadas para verificar a existência de erros sistemáticos e a acurácia das coordenadas. Os resultados mostram que, especificamente nos locais de rastreio, as observáveis L1 dos satélites SBAS ao serem adicionados ao processamento, combinado com as observáveis L1 dos satélites GPS, não são determinantes para melhoria da acurácia das coordenadas. / The augmentation systems, known as SBAS (Satellite-Based Augmentation System) provide information for completeness and accuracy in real time to its users, using the differential corrections that are transmitted by geostationary satellites. They are available in specific regions of the globe such as USA, Canada and Europe. Outside their region of coverage the system still does not provide the correction data in real time. However, the signal is transmitted at the same frequency L1 GPS, which is available here in Brazil, and some GNSS receivers have specific frequency channels that capture this signal, with the prospect that the data from these satellites improve the conditions of screening, besides improving the accuracy of the coordinates. With this assumption, we used the observed phase of the carrier wave (L1) to infer its contribution to the placement. The surveys were conducted in various locations due to rising SBAS satellites vary with latitude and longitude. However, this study was directed to the data from the WAAS satellites (PRN 138) and EGNOS (PRN 120 and 124) because they were the only visible throughout the screening taking simultaneity between the base and mobile receivers. During the processing stage, which was used the software GNSS Solution, some experiments were performed, such as: 1) Processing with all the L1 observable from available satellites (GPS and SBAS), analysis of standard deviations and comparison of the coordinates obtained with the true, 2) processing without observable L1 SBAS satellites, analysis and comparisons, 3) gradual withdrawal of the GPS satellites and reprocessing together (GPS + SBAS) and separately (GPS only). The main purpose of these experiments was to investigate the potential of the L1 observable processed SBAS satellites together with GPS L1 observable in the relative positioning. Statistical analysis such as trending and root mean square (RMS) were applied to verify the existence of systematic errors and accuracy of these coordinates. The results show that, specifically at sites of screening, the observables L1 SBAS satellites to be added to the processing, combined with the L1 observable GPS satellites, are not decisive for improving the accuracy of the coordinates.

Throughout the history of English Language teaching, the pendulum of L1 use has shifted drastically depending on the method that had gained prominence during a particular period of time. Today, that pendulum has yet to settle and the use of a learner's first language during instruction in a second language classroom continues to be an issue of serious debate. This study aimed to examine the effect of L1 use in instruction on the performance of low proficiency level learners on a grammar task of the present and progressives tenses in an ESL/IEP environment. To determine its effect, the 24 Arabic speaking English learners participating in the study were divided into two groups, an English-Only instruction group and an English & Arabic instruction group and an instrument with three item types (items with adverbials, non-action verbs and context clues that determined tense use) was created. The participants were given the instrument as a pre-and post-test before and after instruction on present and progressive tense use in either English only or English and Arabic according to the group. After the post-test, the students took a survey intended to ascertain their perceptions of the instruction they received. The quantitative data was analyzed using descriptive statistics and independent and dependent t-tests to draw comparisons between the means of the performance scores of both groups and within each group over the pre- and post-tests. Additionally, the quantitative data from the survey underwent content analysis to discover themes for student preference for instructional language use in the classroom. The resultant findings showed that the participants in the English & Arabic Group performed better on the grammar task and had greater percent increases from the pre-test to the post-test than the English-Only Group. The means of the total performance score and of the question types exhibited these same increases. The surveys indicated that the participants in the English & Arabic Group understood their instruction better and a majority of the participants preferred the use of both English and Arabic during grammar instruction irrespective of language instructional group during the treatment. This study showed that the use of L1 in the classroom has measureable positive effects on the learning of the students. Moreover, it has contributed to the growing body of research in favor of L1 use in the classroom and has considerable implications for the field of second language teaching.

Os sistemas de aumento, conhecidos como SBAS (Satellite-Based Augmentation System) fornecem informações de integridade e acurácia em tempo real para seus usuários, utilizando-se das correções diferenciais que são transmitidas pelos satélites geoestacionários e estão disponíveis em algumas regiões do globo terrestre. Fora da sua região de abrangência o sistema ainda não disponibiliza os dados de correção em tempo real. Entretanto, o sinal é transmitido na mesma frequência L1 do GPS, o qual fica disponível aqui no Brasil, e alguns receptores GNSS possuem canais de frequência especifica que captam este sinal, com a perspectiva de que os dados destes satélites melhoram as condições do rastreio, além da melhoria na acurácia das coordenadas. Partindo deste princípio, foi utilizada a observável fase da onda portadora (L1) para inferir sobre a sua contribuição para o posicionamento. Os rastreios foram realizados em diferentes localidades devido à elevação dos satélites SBAS variar em função da latitude e longitude. Contudo, este estudo foi direcionado para os dados dos satélites PRN 138 (WAAS), PRN 120 e 124 (EGNOS), pois foram os únicos visíveis durante todo o rastreio, tendo simultaneidade dos dados entre os receptores base e móvel. Durante a etapa de processamento, o qual foi utilizado o software GNSS Solution, alguns experimentos foram realizados, tais como: 1) Processamento com todas as observáveis L1 dos satélites disponíveis (GPS e SBAS), análise dos desvios-padrão e comparação das coordenadas obtidas com as consideradas verdadeiras; 2) Processamento sem as observáveis L1 dos satélites SBAS, análises e comparações; 3) Retirada gradativa dos satélites GPS e reprocessamento em conjunto (GPS+SBAS) e separadamente (apenas GPS). A finalidade principal desses experimentos foi verificar a potencialidade da observável L1 dos satélites SBAS processadas em conjunto com a observável L1 do GPS, no posicionamento relativo. Análises estatísticas, como tendência e erro médio quadrático (RMS), foram aplicadas para verificar a existência de erros sistemáticos e a acurácia das coordenadas. Os resultados mostram que, especificamente nos locais de rastreio, as observáveis L1 dos satélites SBAS ao serem adicionados ao processamento, combinado com as observáveis L1 dos satélites GPS, não são determinantes para melhoria da acurácia das coordenadas. / The augmentation systems, known as SBAS (Satellite-Based Augmentation System) provide information for completeness and accuracy in real time to its users, using the differential corrections that are transmitted by geostationary satellites. They are available in specific regions of the globe such as USA, Canada and Europe. Outside their region of coverage the system still does not provide the correction data in real time. However, the signal is transmitted at the same frequency L1 GPS, which is available here in Brazil, and some GNSS receivers have specific frequency channels that capture this signal, with the prospect that the data from these satellites improve the conditions of screening, besides improving the accuracy of the coordinates. With this assumption, we used the observed phase of the carrier wave (L1) to infer its contribution to the placement. The surveys were conducted in various locations due to rising SBAS satellites vary with latitude and longitude. However, this study was directed to the data from the WAAS satellites (PRN 138) and EGNOS (PRN 120 and 124) because they were the only visible throughout the screening taking simultaneity between the base and mobile receivers. During the processing stage, which was used the software GNSS Solution, some experiments were performed, such as: 1) Processing with all the L1 observable from available satellites (GPS and SBAS), analysis of standard deviations and comparison of the coordinates obtained with the true, 2) processing without observable L1 SBAS satellites, analysis and comparisons, 3) gradual withdrawal of the GPS satellites and reprocessing together (GPS + SBAS) and separately (GPS only). The main purpose of these experiments was to investigate the potential of the L1 observable processed SBAS satellites together with GPS L1 observable in the relative positioning. Statistical analysis such as trending and root mean square (RMS) were applied to verify the existence of systematic errors and accuracy of these coordinates. The results show that, specifically at sites of screening, the observables L1 SBAS satellites to be added to the processing, combined with the L1 observable GPS satellites, are not decisive for improving the accuracy of the coordinates.

This empirical study investigates language use and collaborative learning in informal non-classroom settings by learners of German as a Foreign Language (GFL). I examine learner interactions resulting from a language course requirement for which small groups of students composed a role-play to be performed in front of the class. Bridging the two research traditions of activity theory and the socio-interactionist approach, my research starts with an analytical focus on speech events as they are embedded in an object-oriented educational activity. The activities are further analyzed using a conversation analytic (CA) approach within the socio-interactionist framework by focusing on the ways participants construct knowledge of the second language (L2) through word searches and the re-use of word search solutions. I also examine the role of voice when participants speak German, and the role of non-target languages in L2 learning. The video-recorded peer-to-peer interactions are the substantial part of the dataset for analysis. The data also include questionnaires, class observations and interviews, stimulated interviews, and in-class presentations that further inform the analysis. The data were gathered during the Fall 2007 semester with learners from two beginners courses of GFL. Two groups of three and two students, respectively, were chosen for closer analysis from among 31 students and 9 instructors participating in the study. This research found that students’ past individual and group histories serve as resources for the formation of the German role-play which becomes an analytical achievement based on shared understanding of the object at all phases of its construction, including the storyline and the formulation of the text in L2. Learners engage each other in learning, simultaneously displaying different kinds of expertise linked to task instructions, the circumstances of the context, speakers' biographies, and learning histories. The artifacts (e.g. textbook and dictionary) serve to support the authoritative knowledge when negotiating different types of expertises. Similarities in dealing with language problems could be observed in that participants learned lexical items by solving language problems, whereby the solution-word becomes a resource for further learning to produce the same item in different types of talk. Also, voices show up as the social facets of the construction of the knowledge in L2. Speaking voices gave learners the opportunity to practice varieties of vernacular German and to negotiate their discursive identities in the new language. Non-target languages provided cognitive support in solving problems with L2, serve social functions such as interpersonal work and expression of public self-image, and proved to be an essential tool enabling participants to work in the pursuit of the object of the activity as a collective achievement.

This empirical study investigates language use and collaborative learning in informal non-classroom settings by learners of German as a Foreign Language (GFL). I examine learner interactions resulting from a language course requirement for which small groups of students composed a role-play to be performed in front of the class. Bridging the two research traditions of activity theory and the socio-interactionist approach, my research starts with an analytical focus on speech events as they are embedded in an object-oriented educational activity. The activities are further analyzed using a conversation analytic (CA) approach within the socio-interactionist framework by focusing on the ways participants construct knowledge of the second language (L2) through word searches and the re-use of word search solutions. I also examine the role of voice when participants speak German, and the role of non-target languages in L2 learning. The video-recorded peer-to-peer interactions are the substantial part of the dataset for analysis. The data also include questionnaires, class observations and interviews, stimulated interviews, and in-class presentations that further inform the analysis. The data were gathered during the Fall 2007 semester with learners from two beginners courses of GFL. Two groups of three and two students, respectively, were chosen for closer analysis from among 31 students and 9 instructors participating in the study. This research found that students’ past individual and group histories serve as resources for the formation of the German role-play which becomes an analytical achievement based on shared understanding of the object at all phases of its construction, including the storyline and the formulation of the text in L2. Learners engage each other in learning, simultaneously displaying different kinds of expertise linked to task instructions, the circumstances of the context, speakers' biographies, and learning histories. The artifacts (e.g. textbook and dictionary) serve to support the authoritative knowledge when negotiating different types of expertises. Similarities in dealing with language problems could be observed in that participants learned lexical items by solving language problems, whereby the solution-word becomes a resource for further learning to produce the same item in different types of talk. Also, voices show up as the social facets of the construction of the knowledge in L2. Speaking voices gave learners the opportunity to practice varieties of vernacular German and to negotiate their discursive identities in the new language. Non-target languages provided cognitive support in solving problems with L2, serve social functions such as interpersonal work and expression of public self-image, and proved to be an essential tool enabling participants to work in the pursuit of the object of the activity as a collective achievement.

This study aims to investigate how second language (L2) learners’ first language (L1) affects the acquisition of locative phrases in Chinese by examining the performance of L2 Chinese learners with different L1s (L1 English and L1 Korean learners). Locative phrases in Chinese introduced by preposition zài ‘at’ can occur in two positions in a sentence: between a subject and a verb (preverbal position); after a verb (postverbal position). A preverbal locative phrase indicates the general location where an event happens. However, a postverbal locative phrase occurs with restrictions (Li and Thompson, 1981; Liu, 2009) and carries a distinctive semantic function indicating the location where an action ends up (Fan, 1986). These characteristics of locative phrases in Chinese cause difficulties for L2 learners. In the field of Chinese as Second Language or Foreign Language, the preposition zài ‘at’ is the most frequent preposition, but it also incurs the most errors among learners’ usage (Ding and Shen, 2001; Zhao, 2000). It has been assumed L1 Influence is the main contributing factor (Cui, 2005; Ding and Shen, 2001), but to date relatively little empirical research has been done. The present study compares the performance between two L1 groups. The participants were studying Chinese as a foreign language in the US and in South Korea respectively. Three experiments were conducted: a grammaticality judgment, a picture-meaning match, and an open-ended short essay. The grammaticality judgment experiment was designed to investigate how learners’ L1 affects their judgment of grammaticality; the picture-meaning match experiment explored learners’ knowledge on meaning differences between preverbal and postverbal locative phrases; the open-ended short essay experiment examined L1 influence on the use of locative phrases in learners’ writings. Performance of the participants was compared in three ways, following the methodology suggested by Jarvis (2000): within each L1 group (intra L1 group), between L1 English and L1 Korean (inter L1 group), and between each learner group and the NS group (inter L1 group congruity). Results show that L1 influence is significant only when there is a mismatch between L1 and L2. The results confirm that preverbal locative phrases are acquired earlier than postverbal locative phrases, regardless of learners’ L1. Possible factors that may affect the acquisition sequence of Chinese locative phrases were also discussed. This study also finds evidence of avoidance (Laufer and Eliasson, 1993) in the usage of postverbal locative phrases among L1 Korean learners.