This paper is a partial replication study of research to investigate an aspect of English articles: the acquisition of 4 nongeneric uses of the definite article in English. Analysis of article use in these four categories (i.e. cultural, situational, structural, and textual) was investigated by Liu and Gleason (2002), and a hierarchy of difficulty and acquisition was proposed based upon the initial results. This partial replication used the same testing instrument as Liu and Gleason (2002) with additional items included to further investigate the category, cultural use of the article. The participants, 17 low-intermediate, 20 high-intermediate, and 34 advanced ESL learners completed a 100 item test with sentences containing deleted obligatory uses of the as well as distractor items. The results partially supported Liu and Gleason‟s original study, and raised many concerns with the test instrument.

Syftet med denna studie är att undersöka variationen i utläsningen av matematiska symboluttryck och vilka strategier, liknande dem som identifierats vid andraspråks-kommunikation, som används för att överkomma problem vid muntlig kommunikation av uttrycken. Genom att studenter fick läsa utvalda symboluttryck högt innantill, men också med ord skriva hur de skulle läsa olika integraluttryck, identifierades en rad olika strategier för utläsning och många variationer noterades. Då den skriftliga datainsamlingsmetoden var ny, utvärderades denna. Att instruera informanterna om att ”skriva som de skulle säga” resulterade i text som lätt kunde översättas i talspråk och därefter analyseras på liknande sätt som muntliga utläsningar. Studien resulterade i en presentation av några av de vanligaste variationerna när det gäller utläsning av valda symboluttryck; en ovan läsare av integraluttryck kastar t.ex. relativt ofta om integrationsgränserna och/eller utelämnar ”dx”, att göra omskrivningar för att kompensera för bristande ordförråd är vanligt och vid uttal av en främmande symbol verkar de flesta välja att ersätta uttalet med uttalet av en till formen likartad symbol. Att många av de strategier som förekommer vid andraspråkskommunikation kunde identifieras vid symbolutläsningarna kan vara ett tecken på att de hinder man ska överkomma vid kommunikationen, t.ex. brister i ordförråd och komplikationer vid språkväxling, liknar varandra. Vikten av att kunna läsa symboluttryck, dels för att lösa matematiska problem, men också för att förstå matematiska texter diskuteras. Att öva på att översätta symboluttryck till talat språk kan vara värdefull matematikundervisning.

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The United States Department of Defense has introduced two new GPS civilian signals on its “Link 2” (L2) and “Link 5” (L5) center frequencies. The first of these new civilian signals to reach full operational capability in the GPS constellation will be the L2 C signal. The L2 C signal boasts new signal structure features aimed at better tracking performance in comparison to the legacy L1 C/A signal. Amongst these are two new chip-by-chip interleaved spreading code sequences, Civilian Moderate (CM) and Civilian Long (CL), and a new, higher resolution navigation message, CNAV. The two new C codes are longer than the legacy C/A code and feature a data less pilot signal (CL) for improved tracking performance in weak signal environments. This work investigates L2 C acquisition and tracking considerations and implements algorithms for acquiring and tracking the signal in a software-defined receiver developed in MATLAB. The Emergent MATLAB L2 C (EMAL2) receiver was developed for the purpose of GPS signal simulator testing. This software-defined receiver differs from legacy receivers containing application specific integrated circuits (ASICs) in that all of EMAL2’s digital signal processing is done in software able to run on a general purpose processor. This approach offers greater flexibility and ease in configuration over ASICs for tracking a number of different types of signal structures in the receiver. The EMAL2 receiver’s design and implementation is described here-in. Initial testing of the EMAL2 receiver was conducted with live-sky signal data captured by antennas and front-ends at the University of Texas Radionavigation Laboratory (UT RNL). The data was processed by the GRID receiver (also at the UT RNL) to provide EMAL2 baseline received signal characteristics. / text

Collaborative writing, the joint construction of a text by two or more authors, is an instructional practice originally used in first language classrooms. More recently, it has been applied in second language (L2) learning contexts. Collaborative writing can take place in the classroom, with pairs or small groups of learners working face-to-face and interacting verbally to make decisions about the content and form of their text. It can also take place in online contexts, allowing larger groups of learners to collaborate on longer texts over a longer period of time. The aim of this paper is to explore empirical research undertaken on second language (L2) collaborative writing tasks in face-to-face and online environments. Attention is paid to the instructional contexts in which these tasks have been used, including educational settings, learners’ proficiency levels, and task types. After these elements are described, the paper integrates and analyzes research concerning the outcomes of collaborative writing tasks, namely the nature of languaging and peer scaffolding, the writing process, language learning, text quality, and learners’ perceptions of collaborative writing. The paper concludes with pedagogical implications and directions for future research. / text

Suppose $f,g_1,\cdots,g_p$ are holomorphic functions over $\Omega\subset\cxC^n$. Then there raises a natural question: when can we find holomorphic functions $h_1,\cdots,h_p$ such that $f=\sum g_jh_j$? The celebrated Skoda theorem solves this question and gives a $L^2$ sufficient condition. In general, we can consider the vector bundle case, i.e. to determine the sufficient condition of solving $f_i(x)=\sum g_{ij}(x)h_j(x)$ with parameter $x\in\Omega$. Since the problem is related to solving linear equations, the answer naturally connects to the Cramer's rule. In the first part we will give a proof of division theorem by projectivization technique and study the generalized fundamental inequalities. In the second part we will apply the skills and the results of the division theorems to show some applications. / Mathematics

Syftet med denna studie är att undersöka andraspråksinlärares förståelse av språkliga skämt som ordvitsar och ordlekar i svenskan samt vilka bakgrundsfaktorer som påverkar inlärningen. Metoden har varit att spela upp ett monolog innehållande vitsar för grupper av elever som studerar svenska som andraspråk och som på ett frågeformulär uppger om de hör humor i vitsarna eller ej samt om de, vid nejsvar, förstår – eller inte förstår -  ord och meningar men inte något som är roligt i dem samt att sammanställa data från dessa insamlingar och göra jämförelser mellan startålder, studietid samt vistelsetid i Sverige och de erhållna svaren. Resultatet bekräftar rön från tidigare forskning, nämligen att förståelse av ord och ordkombinationer som är  idiomatiska, flertydiga eller liknande, vilket oftast är fallet med ordvitsar, är lägre för L2-studerande än för L1-studerande, särskilt för dem som  påbörjat sina studier i andraspråk i högre ålder, då förmågan till inlärning av ord och ordkombinationer, är som störst fram till tonårsåldern, men även för dem som vistats kort tid i målspråkslandet samt studerat målspråket kortare tid. En slutsats blir att humor och ordvitsar borde presenteras och förklaras för andraspråkselever så tidigt som möjligt, dels för att möjligheten till lexikoninlärning är större ju yngre man är, dels för att inlärning av ordvitsar ger de studerande ett större ordförråd samt möjlighet att uppfatta den humor som sköljer över oss i olika media.

En rad studier som har undersökt syntaktisk priming som fenomen och metod har genomförts framför allt med L1- och L2-engelska. Kan man se effekter av syntaktisk priming inom L2, även när L2 är svenska? Finns det någon skillnad mellan effekterna av priming i en grupp deltagare med svenska som L2, jämfört med effekterna i en grupp deltagare med svenska som L1? Kan man finna samband mellan olika bakgrundsfaktorer som vistelsetid, omfattning av språkanvändning respektive språkbehärskning och effekter av priming i en grupp svenska som L2-talare? För att finna svar på dessa frågor genomfördes ett experiment med syntaktisk priming. Ett fyrtiotal gymnasieelever uppmanades skriva meningar till bilder, sedan de primats med morfologiska passiver. Resultaten av experimentet visar på tydliga primingeffekter i linje med tidigare studier: Det finns primingeffekter både inom L1- och L2-svenska, detta trots att den undersökta grammatiska konstruktionen är av annat slag än de som legat till grund för tidigare forskning.

To master English to such a degree that you can read a wide variety of English texts without having to look certain words up in a dictionary requires a huge vocabulary. Estimates are that you will need to understand 8000 – 9000 word families to reach that goal. The aim of this study was to investigate what opportunities for reaching such a goal there are to be found in the explicit vocabulary instructions found in two textbooks written for Swedish upper-secondary school. Another point of study was how these textbook instructions are related to research in fields relevant to L2 vocabulary acquisition. It was found that there is a good variety in textbook instructions concerning issues such as semantic groups, formulaic sequences and word formation. However, there are big differences between the two textbooks that were studied regarding this. Furthermore, it was found that both textbooks, although having different approaches to teaching vocabulary, rest their reasoning upon research.

Recent research in both native (L1) and non-native (L2) knowledge of quantifier scope has led to a number of competing beliefs about the nature of learner knowledge. With regard to native knowledge, it has been noted in the literature that there is a discrepancy between L1 child and adult performance in quantifier interpretation. This observed mismatch has led to the formulation of two conflicting analyses of the L1 data. Philip (1991, 1992, and 1995) and others (Philip and Takahashi, 1991; Roeper, Strauss and Pearson, 2004, 2005; DelliCarpini, 2003) propose that quantification is a natural acquisition process constrained by Universal Grammar (UG) in which children progressively mature in their competence until they converge upon an adult grammar. Conversely, Crain (1995, 1996, and 1998) and others (Musolino, Crain and Thornton, 2000; Musolino and Lidz, 2006) maintain that children as young as five years old have a mature competence and that the failure to apply semantic principles is the result of the infelicitous nature of experimental task items. Essentially, the former account posits imperfect child L1 competence, while the latter asserts perfect competence. Similar research in the non-native (L2) knowledge of quantifier scope has been motivated by two essential questions: 1) Is adult L2 acquisition constrained by the same innate linguistic mechanisms as L1 acquisition; and 2) what is the role of L1 knowledge in adult L2 acquisition? (Marsden, 2004b: 9). In consideration of these questions, two main approaches have been devised as predictive models (following Epstein, Flynn and Martohardjono, 1996; Grüter, Lieberman and Gualmini, 2008, 2010). Under the Full Transfer hypothesis, the learner is predicted to approach an L2 with the same values, settings and preferences of the L1, whereas under the Full Access account, the L2 learner is informed by the Language Faculty directly without the intervening effects of the L1 (Grüter et al., 2008: 47). A third approach, Schwartz and Sprouse's (1996) model, unites both Full Access and Full Transfer to explain L2 acquisition. The present study explores L1 Mandarin knowledge of L2 English quantifier scope in order to address the issue of perfect vs. imperfect competence (as applied to SLA), as well as the matter of access to UG vs. L1 transfer. Incorporating insights from DelliCarpini (2003), I first assess the presence of symmetric and exhaustive responses, which are indicative of an immature grammar. Crucially, I use one group (n=11) of L2 English speakers (low intermediate and advanced) in order to test for a maturational discrepancy that would putatively differ according to proficiency. Secondly, I identify a potential poverty of the stimulus situation: L1 transfer cannot account for the L2 acquisition of English non-isomorphic scope licensing by native speakers of Mandarin Chinese due to the Isomorphic Principle (Aoun and Li, 1993). If demonstrated, the ability of L2 learners to converge upon this semantic principle (non-isomorphism) will serve as potential evidence for access to Universal Grammar in adult non-native learners.