published_or_final_version / Chinese / Doctoral / Doctor of Philosophy

published_or_final_version / Chinese / Master / Master of Philosophy

La intencion de esta disertacion titulada, "El Papa y la Princesa: Eneas Silvio Piccolomini e Isabel La Catolica en la evolucion de la literatura sentimental espanola durante el siglo XV," es ofrecer una nueva interpretacion en cuanto al genesis del genero sentimental. Varios eruditos han tratado de redefinir el genero pero han fallado en poner enfasis en la importancia que tuvo la obra de Piccolomini, Historia de duobus amantibus (1444), para el desarrollo del novel genero en Espana que comienza con la obra de Juan Rodriguez del Padron, Siervo libre de amor, composicion que segun mis investigaciones fue compuesta hacia 1444, es decir, posterior a la obra de Piccolomini. Dado que Piccolomini es de suma importancia para el desarrollo del genero sentimental, he reservado el primer capitulo de mi disertacion para un estudio biografico de este hombre renacentista. En el transcurso de esta exploracion de su vida, puntualizo en el capitulo segundo las importantes huellas clasicas que se encuentran en su Historia de duobus amantibus. El tercer capitulo esta consagrado al estudio de diez premisas paralelas que encontramos en la Historia de duobus amantibus y las siguientes siete obras sentimentales: (1) Siervo libre de amor, (2) Triste deleytacion , (3) Arnalte y Lucenda, (4) Carcel de amor, (5) Grisel y Mirabella, (6) Grimalte y Gradisa, (7) Coronacion de la senora Gracisla. El cuarto y ultimo capitulo, abarca los acontecimientos historicos durante el siglo XV que ocasionan la aparicion del genero sentimental: (1) el debil reinado de Juan II (1406-1454); (2) el surgimiento de una nueva clase docta con una percepcion mas benigna de la mujer; (3) tres reinas que abogaron por los derechos de las mujeres, Maria de Aragon (1419-1445), Isabel de Portugal (1447-1454), e Isabel de Castilla (1474-1504); (4) la publicacion del Corvacho (1438) por el Arcipreste de Talavera, provocando la ira de la reina Maria y una decisiva reaccion literaria de parte de sus defensores; (5) la enorme popularidad de la Historia de duobus amantibus, obra que serviria de modelo para la primera novela sentimental espanola.

The focus of investigation in this study was the online reading behavior of intermediate learners of French as they read a hypertext with L1 and L2 lexical glosses and their comprehension. By design, access to the L2 translations was constrained by access to the L1 gloss information first. This prescribed path of support was meant to maximize target language input, and to prompt cognitive and metacognitive processes toward the goal of increased comprehension. Comprehension was measured through multiple choice and recall tasks, and questionnaires were used to gather demographic data and learner perceptual variables. The study provides evidence that comprehension is increased with access to the hypertext glosses among readers who accessed both French and English language glosses, regardless of prior ability. Accessing only French glosses was not linked to greater comprehension, and no access to glosses reduced a comprehension factor score. Prior ability, as measured by a standardized FL placement exam, was not related to gloss access or time on task. L2 readers' preference for L1 language glosses in also reaffirmed to some extent, though French language glosses seem to have some appeal. Gender also played a role in the extent to which the text was enjoyed by L2 readers, and there is suggestive evidence for the roles of background schema and formal schema based on a qualitative analysis of recall. Questionnaire data reveal insights on readers' perceptions of FLL, reading, their abilities, and reading online, findings which are related in a variety of ways to other factors in this study. Pedagogical implications are considered, as well as directions for future research.

This dissertation investigates "tip-of-the-tongue" states (TOTs) in native speakers of English, Russian, and Spanish, studying foreign languages, and in fluent Spanish-English bilinguals. Study (1) explored retrospective reports of subjects' every-day experiences with TOTs. Study (2) investigated TOTs (fragmentary information, associated words, resolution type) that were recorded in structured diaries over a four-week period. Experimental study (3) examined TOTs elicited through definition and translation primes in Spanish-English bilinguals in the U.S., and speakers of Spanish in Mexico. Studies (1) and (2) found that English, Russian, and Spanish TOTs display similar characteristics, but also differences concerning reported letters, syllable numbers, and associates. Foreign language TOTs also displayed differences compared to first language TOTs (different target word types, more phonologically related associates, 24% interlingual associates, extensive reference use). Bilingual TOTs involved 22% interlingual associates and above-average resolutions through reference use. Most of the TOT targets across all groups were nouns; proper names occurred relatively infrequently. Subjects' access to gender in Russian and Spanish noun TOTs, strong syntactic constraints on word associates, and the similarity of most target-associate pairs in either meaning or form support two-stage models of lexical production: Word meaning and syntax is processed at a first stage, dissociated from a second stage at which sound structure is accessed. Study (3) elicited high TOT rates for targets from the diaries supporting the respresentativeness of the diary data. Bilinguals were found more susceptible to TOTs (32%) compared to the control group (14%). Translation proved to be a useful TOT elicitation technique reducing ambiguity compared to definition primes. A comparison of targets of different cognate status found increased recall for cognates compared to non-cognates but no reduction in TOT elicitation. Concerning TOT causation and development, it is argued that neither the incomplete activation hypothesis nor the blocking hypothesis can completely account for this data corpus. Various TOT types were suggested: incomplete activation (with or without non-blocking or facilitating associates), incomplete activation with late blocking associates, and early blocking. Whereas most TOTs appeared to be the product of incomplete target activation, some TOTs occurred as a consequence of word substitution errors.

The purpose of this dissertation was to investigate the use of German as a foreign language during written conversation in an intermediate German course. Specifically, the study compared the language output of intermediate students of German in the context of the innovative computer conferencing and the more traditional group journals. The dissertation aimed to serve two purposes: (1) to provide further insights into the role of computer-mediated interaction for promoting the successful development of communicative competence in foreign language pedagogy (both in theory and practice); (2) to shed light on the quality of language that learners produce in the two writing contexts, in terms of grammatical and lexical accuracy, sociolinguistic appropriateness and communicative success. For these purposes, the researcher analyzed the language output of 46 subjects at the University of Arizona during the Fall semester of 1996. Learners' language output was examined using statistical analyses (matched t-tests and multiple regression analyses), discourse analysis and the ethnography of writing. The results indicated many differences of the language produced in the two writing contexts. Although there was no difference between them in terms of lexical diversity, learners' language in computer conferencing reflects a higher level of grammatical accuracy, richer lexicon and improved comprehensibility (as rated by native speaker judges). Furthermore, learners had a more positive attitude towards the computer conferencing than towards the group journals. Learners were also found to use the two writing contexts for different communicative purposes (computer conferencing reflected interaction among participants, while group journals were monologues). Finally, learners managed conversations, and prevented or resolved instances of miscommunication, differently in the two conversational contexts. In conclusion, it can be said that the results of this study concur with previous research that supports the beneficial implementation of computer-mediated interaction in foreign language pedagogical contexts (Healy Beauvois, 1995; Kern, 1995; Leppainen and Kalaja, 1995). This dissertation was also able to contribute to our understanding of the level and quality of interlanguage of intermediate German learners, to our knowledge of how writing context and purpose interact, and to our understanding of the process of pidginization in foreign language learning contexts.

This dissertation reports the findings of a study on pragmatic ability and metapragmatic judgments of native and nonnative speakers of English conducted at a public university in the United States and also at a public university in Singapore. Specifically, the research study investigated the realization of apologies, complaints and requests focusing on the production of downgraders and upgraders. In addition, the study also examined metapragmatic ratings provided by these subjects and their reasons for the ratings. Thirty-eight native and thirty nonnative speakers participated in the first phase of the study, which involved responding to a 30-item discourse completion task (DCT). In the second phase of data collection, responses to the DCT were used to construct a metapragmatic judgment task (MJT) in order to investigate subjects' metapragmatic ratings of apologies, complaints and requests. A new group of native speakers (69 total) and thirty-seven nonnative speakers (a new but comparable group) completed the MJT (the Singaporean subjects were unavailable for participation in the MJT). Fourteen native and 16 nonnative speakers participated in the interviews. Various statistical tests were conducted to analyze the coded DCT responses as well as the MJT data. Interview protocols were summarized to study opinions provided by subjects for the MJT ratings. Results of this research study indicated that native speakers used a significantly higher number of downgraders in complaints and requests than nonnative speakers. A significantly higher number of downgraders were also supplied in requests than in complaints. Metapragmatic ratings of native speakers differed significantly from those of nonnative speakers in 29/90 cases. While the two groups were significantly different in their performance on the DCT and the MJT, the subjective opinions expressed about the appropriateness of responses converged to a great extent. In conclusion, this dissertation was able to contribute to our understanding of native and nonnative speakers' use of modality markers and their perceptions about appropriate language use. The results of this study also concur with previous research that indicates the need for instruction in pragmatic aspects of the L2.

The current study has attempted to answer the question whether there is an interaction between the Aspect Hypothesis and the Discourse Hypothesis by investigating the use of Japanese tense-aspect morphology by native speakers of English learning Japanese as L2. These two hypotheses were argued for independently in previous studies, but never consolidated to account for the distributional pattern of L2 tense-aspect morphology. The Aspect Hypothesis claims that the L1 and L2 learners initially mark lexical aspect of the verbs with tense-aspect morphology; they tend to associate past with achievement verbs and progressive with activity verbs. On the other hand, according to the Discourse Hypothesis, the learners use the tense-aspect morphology to distinguish grounding; they tend to mark foreground with past more frequently than background. The current research used two methods: a multiple-choice task and a storytelling task. The former task was referred to as Study 1. The use of tense-aspect morphology in the story-telling task was analyzed in terms of lexical aspect, referred to as Study 2 and grounding, referred to as Study 3. Study 1 and Study 2 examined whether the use of tense-aspect morphology is different in obligatory contexts and in narrative discourse. The results of Study 1 supported the Aspect Hypothesis; L2 learners initially associated past inflection with achievement verbs and tended to mark the process encoded in activity and accomplishment verbs with present durative. The results of Study 2 supported the Aspect Hypothesis as regards the association of activity verbs and present durative. However, the frequent marking of past on achievement verbs across the proficiency levels suggest that the textual function of tense-aspect morphology plays a role in narrative discourse. Study 3 argued that the Japanese tense-aspect morphology weakly mark grounding. Finally, I claimed that the Aspect Hypothesis and the Discourse Hypothesis account for the different acquisition stages of the L2 tense-aspect system. There is a time lag among the tense-aspect morphemes in the process of acquisition; past marking functions as the temporal and textual device in narrative discourse at the relatively early stage while present durative remains as the marker of lexical aspect.

Despite the rapid growth of software use in foreign language education, many language-specific issues in computer-mediated instruction have not been investigated in research. One example is L2 orthography in CALL. When the target language is a non-alphabetic type, such as Japanese, decoding the unfamiliar script becomes a difficult task. Although the type of current Japanese language software ranges from immersion to translation-mediated, the method for script presentation is not spelled out with a clear pedagogical principle. Furthermore, due to the lack of empirical evidence, we have yet to find out which feature of CALL assists most effectively the Japanese beginner's L2 vocabulary acquisition. The present study attempts to evaluate the impact of using Romaji, or alphabetic spellings of Japanese, on beginners' learning of Japanese vocabulary. Sixty-one students enrolled in first-semester Japanese were recruited from two American universities. Individually the subjects participated in a vocabulary CALL experiment created with the HyperCard authoring system. The control and experimental groups were exposed to CALL lessons that taught 40 new Japanese words in conversational context. Immediately after the instructional phase, both groups were assessed on their retention of the vocabulary items in the same computer program. The only difference was the intervention of the Romaji script added to the vocabulary instruction of the experimental group. Both learner processes and performance data were collected and were analyzed. Major findings from this CALL study are (1) contrary to the prediction, the aid of Romaji did not facilitate the learner's short-term vocabulary retention, (2) the subjects who used the "sound" button more frequently recalled more words, and (3) the CALL vocabulary instruction assisted the learners of beginning-level Japanese in retaining a majority of the vocabulary items for recognition posttests but not for production tests. It is implied that the orthographic accommodation in CALL is not effective in assisting English-speaking students' Japanese vocabulary learning. Regardless of the presence or absence of Romaji, the intensive use of audio recordings was found to play the most crucial role in Japanese beginners' short-term vocabulary retention.

This study aimed to achieve three goals. First, it investigated the notion that the process of L2 idiom comprehension and interpretation is not the same as that for L1 comprehension, that is there are some fundamentally different ways in which second language (SL) learners grasp idiomatic meaning of Vivid Phrasal (VP) Idioms. Second, it researched the notion that the L2 comprehension process of idioms may be universal with regard to Spanish, French, and German. Third, it researched the extent to which SL learners want idioms to be an integral part of their language and culture training. The dissertation then proposed a systematic program for developing idiomatic competence in second and foreign languages in the context of meaningful authentic use. The subjects of this study were 60 third-year adult university learners of Spanish, French, and German. Employing three types of data-collection practices--(1) Computer-mediated Reading Tasks (Idiom Detection Task, Zero Context Task, Full Context Task, and Eureka Task), (2) Interactional Reading Tasks (Think-Aloud Reading Tasks, Retellings, and Introspection), and (3) Demographic Data Collection and Post-Task Evaluations--this study involved within-subject repeated measures of data and included both quantitative and qualitative analyses of 30 computerized idiomatic texts from each language group. The results strongly suggested that the L2 comprehension process of idioms is not the same as that for L1 comprehension and, moreover, that there is indeed a universal process of comprehending and interpreting VP idioms in second languages, at least with respect to the languages investigated. More specifically, the study provided strong evidence that (1) SL readers are quite capable of detecting VP idioms in texts successfully using a variety of contextual cues and reading strategies, including, but not limited to, word and idiom recognition, lexical access and retrieval, contextual and pragmatic support, background and world knowledge, formal schemata, and strategy use; (2) matching idioms between L1 and L2 (Lexical-Level or LL Idioms) are processed and comprehended faster and with greater ease than partially-matching idioms (Semi-lexical Level or SLL Idioms) or non-matching idioms (Post-lexical Level or PLL Idioms) between L1 and L2 and, finally, (3) increased context and an individual's pragmatic knowledge exert a significant impact on the comprehension and interpretation of all VP idioms, especially on those of the PLL type.