Master of Arts / Department of Modern Languages / Mary T. Copple / The English article system is one of the most difficult and subtle structural elements for EFL learners, and even advanced learners make errors in article use. This research analyzes patterns of use of English articles (a/an, the, zero) in guided conversations with Afghan Dari speakers who are intermediate or advanced English learners and who do have an article system in their primary language, Dari. In this research, six intermediate and six advanced learners participated by discussing similar topics (their first impressions of the USA, their life in Manhattan, their classes, and their future plans). These conversations were recorded and transcribed. The collected data were analyzed on the basis of referentiality, information status, and various properties of nouns. The results indicate that the participants were most accurate in their production of the indefinite article ‘a/an’ in referential and non-referential contexts with new information, the definite ‘the’ in referential contexts with known information, while the zero ‘Ø’ was difficult for both ELP (intermediate) and Post-ELP (advanced) learners mostly in referential contexts.

Master of Arts / Department of Modern Languages / Emma Betz / This conversation analytic study aims to describe how advice is re-issued in German in an institutional setting. Schank (1979) has shown that conversation during German advice programs consists of five different phases, one of which is the advice-giving phase. For the current study, four conversations from a radio advice program were analyzed. The data show that the advice-giving phase identified by Schank is further characterized by three sub-phases: 1) issuing of initial advice, 2) negotiation of rejected advice through reformulations of the initial advice, and 3) offer to move to the closing phase, done via generalization of the previously-given advice. I focus on the delivery of the second phase, in which the advice, previously rejected by the recipient, is re-issued using a number of discourse strategies on the part of the advice giver. These strategies include a change in recipient, a shift in source of the advice, the selection or change in reference (i.e. du ‘you’ vs. ich ‘I’), a change in advised action, and a change in strength. In selecting one of these identified discourse strategies, the advice giver addresses the reason for the rejection of the advice on which the reformulation is based. Finally, in looking at the third phase, I explain the function of generalizations and their role in situating the interlocutors interactionally within the larger advice-giving phase, thus sequencing the complex action (Schank, 1981).

Doctor of Philosophy / Department of Psychological Sciences / Donald A. Saucier / An overview discusses rape in terms of two systems of social power: oppression and resistance. Components of these systems—i.e., individuals’ rape-related attitudes, beliefs, perceptions, and behaviors, and outcomes—are compared in the literatures on “rape victims” and “rape survivors” (Hockett & Saucier, under review), suggesting that different results and conclusions are associated with different labels applied to the same group (i.e., women who have been raped). Three studies assessed differences in individuals’ rape-related perceptions (Study 1), intergroup helping intentions (Study 2), and interpersonal helping intentions (Study 3) for “rape victims,” “rape survivors,” and “women who have been raped.” Extending feminist and social psychological theories of social power, results generally supported my hypotheses that such labels would produce different perceptions and helping intentions. The discussion addresses implications for theory, limitations, and directions for future research.

Master of Arts / Department of Modern Languages / Mary Copple / Modality, a concept for which linguists have struggled to come to an agreed-upon, comprehensive definition, has been the subject of many linguistic studies over the last several decades. The contemporary English modal system has a long history of semantic and morphological development, or grammaticalization, which currently consists of auxiliary modals that function with lexical verbs to express levels of obligation, necessity, ability, permission, and degrees of certainty. For native speakers of English, determining the appropriate contexts and form of a specific modal verb is second nature. However, grasping the contextual complexity of the English modal system can be difficult for English language learners. Deontic modals such as must, have to, have (got) to and should are often presented to English language learners as relatively equal in meaning and contextual appropriateness, which makes gaining a native-like command of these modals even more difficult. This study, on a small scale, describes contemporary usage through a comparison of similar studies and data from a series of sociolinguistic interviews with native speakers of American English. The participants range from the ages of 25-50. They were chosen from the local population of Manhattan, KS and have lived in Kansas for a minimum of 10 years. Through a quantitative analysis of the tokens, patterns of dialogic use will be extrapolated from the linguistic data. The research questions will seek to find established patterns of deontic modal use that in order to identify practical applications of usage-based research for textbook publishers, curriculum designers, and educators.

Master of Arts / Department of Modern Languages / Earl K. Brown / Considerable research exists on the various uses of modals of obligation in English, while the number of studies on Spanish modals is limited. The research of Fairclough (2000) looks at the variation and changes of the Spanish modals DEBER 'should' and TENER QUE ‘to have to’ spoken in Houston. Another study was conducted on modals and their variation in San Juan, Puerto Rico by Jose Santos (1994). However, most of the research does not include the verb NECESITAR 'to need'. This study examines and compares the uses of the modal verbs TENER QUE and NECESITAR. First, this paper presents previous research on modality, the changes and usage of modals in English, and the limited research on Spanish modals. Then the researcher examines the results of data collected using Twitter in order to determine for what main verbs TENER QUE and NECESITAR act as modal verbs, the frequency with which the Twitter users in the Spanishspeaking capitals in Central and South America use these verbs, and in what tense do these two modals occur most often. After discussing the results of the data collection, the study includes a brief discussion on the implications for teaching modals of obligation in Spanish to second language learners. This study finds overall that TENER QUE is preferred over NECESITAR. However, some verbs collocate with NECESITAR more than the average suggesting that patterns of collocations play a key role in determining the use of NECESITAR.

Master of Arts / Department of Modern Languages / Emma Betz / Using conversation analytic methodology, this paper examines the self-repair of actions in everyday German conversation, with focus given to the replacement of verbs and the subsequent effect on actions. While study has been done on the function of recycling repair within a turn (Fox, Hayashi, Jesperson, 1996) no research has been done on the function of verb replacement and its effect on talk. This paper shows that verb replacement is a strategy employed by speakers in order to either a) negotiate what type of action is preferred within a particular TCU or b) to invoke external forces to either deflect an action, or to make a particular action available to an interlocutor. This paper concludes by discussing the specific function of this particular type of repair and how it is useful in repairing problematic actions.

Master of Arts / Department of Modern Languages / Mary T. Copple / Adjective use and intensification by native speakers of English has been the subject of much study, yet intensification strategies used by non-native speakers have received relatively less attention. The present study compares adjective use by five native English speakers with that of five English L2 speakers at Kansas State University in order to describe in detail how learner patterns of use differ from those of native speakers living in the same community. From conversational data, adjectives were extracted and analyzed for linguistic features such as adjective class, and use of intensification. Results quantify how the non-native speakers have access to a smaller set of adjectives than native speakers, and how those sets differ. Interestingly, the L2 speakers intensify their adjectives at a higher rate than native speakers, again employing a smaller set. The types of adjectives used by the two groups differed in significant ways, with native speakers using more precise, contextually-specific evaluative adjectives such as crappy, elite, retarded, and obsessed, while non-native speakers used more generic adjectives such as happy, nice, long, and famous. The generalized nature of these adjectives, as well as the smaller number of lexemes at the non-native speakers’ disposal, may account for the increased rate of intensification shown by the non-native speakers. Specifically, the depth and complexity of meaning required for conversational interaction is more often handled by native speakers via a variety of specialized adjectives, while non-native speakers must rely more on adjective intensification in order to convey subtle differences in meaning. These results help us better understand how advanced learner language compares to native use. Implications for English language teaching include, but are not limited to, new insight into the types of adjectives taught for conversational English, explicit teaching of intensification strategies, and teaching learners how to construct compound adjectives.

This thesis begins with the premise that strategies are important if students are to learn effectively, and that this applies no less to language than to any other field of learning. After issues of terminology and definition are addressed, there is a discussion of the theoretical underpinnings of the language learning strategy concept. Since the concept of proficiency is also central to the thesis, issues relating to the definition and assessment of proficiency are considered before previous research in the language learning strategy field is reviewed. This research was carried out in three stages in a private language school in Auckland, New Zealand. Part A, Section 1 used the Strategy Inventory for Language Learning (SILL) (Oxford, 1990) as the basic instrument to investigate the relationship between language learning strategies and proficiency and to examine the strategy patterns used by more proficient students. Part A, Section 2 used the same data to investigate language learning strategy use according to learner variables (nationality, gender, age). Part B used interviews to investigate language learning strategy use by individuals and Part C used a classroom based programme to explore means of instructing students in language learning strategy use and also to construct an original questionnaire using student input (the English Language Learning Strategy Inventory or ELLSI). This questionnaire was used to further investigate the relationship between language learning strategy use and proficiency and also changes in strategy use over time as well as teachers’ perspectives on language learning strategy use. The results of the SILL phase of the study revealed a significant relationship between language learning strategies and proficiency (a finding supported by the results of the ELLSI study) and also significant differences in strategy use according to nationality, while the interviews revealed some useful insights regarding the use of language learning strategies by individuals. From the longitudinal section of the study it was found that those students who made the most progress were the ones who most increased the frequency of their language learning strategy use. The results of the teachers’ survey indicated that teachers regarded language learning strategies as highly important, an encouraging result in terms of positive implications for a good accord between teachers and students in the teaching/learning situation. The classroom programme, however, aimed at exploring ways to promote language learning strategy use among students, was only a lukewarm success and much work remains to be done to find ways of making insights regarding language learning strategies available to students. The thesis concludes by bringing together the key findings and suggesting areas for further research.

This thesis begins with the premise that strategies are important if students are to learn effectively, and that this applies no less to language than to any other field of learning. After issues of terminology and definition are addressed, there is a discussion of the theoretical underpinnings of the language learning strategy concept. Since the concept of proficiency is also central to the thesis, issues relating to the definition and assessment of proficiency are considered before previous research in the language learning strategy field is reviewed. This research was carried out in three stages in a private language school in Auckland, New Zealand. Part A, Section 1 used the Strategy Inventory for Language Learning (SILL) (Oxford, 1990) as the basic instrument to investigate the relationship between language learning strategies and proficiency and to examine the strategy patterns used by more proficient students. Part A, Section 2 used the same data to investigate language learning strategy use according to learner variables (nationality, gender, age). Part B used interviews to investigate language learning strategy use by individuals and Part C used a classroom based programme to explore means of instructing students in language learning strategy use and also to construct an original questionnaire using student input (the English Language Learning Strategy Inventory or ELLSI). This questionnaire was used to further investigate the relationship between language learning strategy use and proficiency and also changes in strategy use over time as well as teachers’ perspectives on language learning strategy use. The results of the SILL phase of the study revealed a significant relationship between language learning strategies and proficiency (a finding supported by the results of the ELLSI study) and also significant differences in strategy use according to nationality, while the interviews revealed some useful insights regarding the use of language learning strategies by individuals. From the longitudinal section of the study it was found that those students who made the most progress were the ones who most increased the frequency of their language learning strategy use. The results of the teachers’ survey indicated that teachers regarded language learning strategies as highly important, an encouraging result in terms of positive implications for a good accord between teachers and students in the teaching/learning situation. The classroom programme, however, aimed at exploring ways to promote language learning strategy use among students, was only a lukewarm success and much work remains to be done to find ways of making insights regarding language learning strategies available to students. The thesis concludes by bringing together the key findings and suggesting areas for further research.

This thesis begins with the premise that strategies are important if students are to learn effectively, and that this applies no less to language than to any other field of learning. After issues of terminology and definition are addressed, there is a discussion of the theoretical underpinnings of the language learning strategy concept. Since the concept of proficiency is also central to the thesis, issues relating to the definition and assessment of proficiency are considered before previous research in the language learning strategy field is reviewed. This research was carried out in three stages in a private language school in Auckland, New Zealand. Part A, Section 1 used the Strategy Inventory for Language Learning (SILL) (Oxford, 1990) as the basic instrument to investigate the relationship between language learning strategies and proficiency and to examine the strategy patterns used by more proficient students. Part A, Section 2 used the same data to investigate language learning strategy use according to learner variables (nationality, gender, age). Part B used interviews to investigate language learning strategy use by individuals and Part C used a classroom based programme to explore means of instructing students in language learning strategy use and also to construct an original questionnaire using student input (the English Language Learning Strategy Inventory or ELLSI). This questionnaire was used to further investigate the relationship between language learning strategy use and proficiency and also changes in strategy use over time as well as teachers’ perspectives on language learning strategy use. The results of the SILL phase of the study revealed a significant relationship between language learning strategies and proficiency (a finding supported by the results of the ELLSI study) and also significant differences in strategy use according to nationality, while the interviews revealed some useful insights regarding the use of language learning strategies by individuals. From the longitudinal section of the study it was found that those students who made the most progress were the ones who most increased the frequency of their language learning strategy use. The results of the teachers’ survey indicated that teachers regarded language learning strategies as highly important, an encouraging result in terms of positive implications for a good accord between teachers and students in the teaching/learning situation. The classroom programme, however, aimed at exploring ways to promote language learning strategy use among students, was only a lukewarm success and much work remains to be done to find ways of making insights regarding language learning strategies available to students. The thesis concludes by bringing together the key findings and suggesting areas for further research.