Incidental language acquisition has been a topic of interest in the field of education, cognitive psychology, and behavior analysis (Horne & Lowe, 1996; Carey & Bartlett, 1978; Greer & Speckman, 2009). Researchers in the area of verbal behavior and derived relations have developed multiple perspectives that overlap in many ways (Greer & Ross, 2008; Greer & Speckman, 2009; Hayes, Barnes-Holmes, and Roche, 2001). Despite the overlap of these perspectives, research to date has been conducted independently. Fienup (2019) acknowledges the overlap in the respective work and suggest that integration can produce a more cohesive and comprehensive understanding of the development of verbal behavior. Study 1 included two experiments. In Experiment 1, the experimenter exposed 14 preschoolers with varying degrees of bidirectional naming (3 classified as having bidirectional naming (BiN), 8 as having unidirectional naming (UniN), and 3 as having no incidental naming (NiN) to two conditions, 1) directly reinforcing speaker (tact) responses and testing for the emergence of listener (point to) responses, and 2) directly reinforcing listener responses and testing for the emergence of speaker responses. The experimenter rotated between two conditions. Results suggested that participants with BiN readily derived speaker and listener responses, participants with unidirectional naming (UniN) readily derived listener, but not speaker responses, and participants with NiN had difficulty acquiring directly reinforced responses and deriving responses. In Study 1 Experiment 2, six participants with unidirectional naming (UniN) were selected from Experiment 1. Multiple Exemplar Instruction (MEI) and stimulus-stimulus pairing procedures were implemented to induce the capability of BiN. Following the acquisition of BiN, the experimenter replicated the repeated measure design of directly reinforcing speaker or listener responses and testing for the emergence of corresponding responses. Upon the acquisition of BiN, participants derived both listener and speaker relations, suggesting that the development from UniN to BiN is associated with the stimulus control for speaker responses following direct reinforcement for listener responses. Study 2 addressed the limitations of Study 1 and replicated the procedures with new participants and new science educational content. The experimenter selected 6 participants that demonstrated BiN and 5 that demonstrated UniN. Data support the findings of Study 1, suggesting that degrees of bidirectional naming are associated with degrees of derived relational responding.

Much research demonstrates that alphabet knowledge, phonological awareness, and emergent writing are all significant predictors of later reading and writing outcomes, and that children with language impairments (LI) are particularly at risk for later literacy difficulties. Further, children with LI consistently demonstrate depressed emergent literacy skills in the areas of phonological awareness, print concepts, and alphabet knowledge; however, little is known about their emergent writing skills. Therefore, the purposes of this study were twofold: (1) to compare the emergent writing skills of preschool children with language impairment to their typically developing peers using a range of writing tasks and a detailed, consistent scoring rubric for each task; and, (2) to explore the relationships among emergent writing skills and alphabet knowledge, phonological awareness, and oral language. The participants included four groups of preschool children: 11 4-year-old children with LI; 11 4-year-old language typical (LT) children, age-matched to children with LI; 20 4-year-old children with typical language; and, 21 5-year-old children with typical language. Children with language impairment scored between 70 and 84 on the Language Index of Assessment of Literacy and Language (ALL) (Lombardino, Lieberman, & Brown, 2005), and children with typical language scored between 85 and 115. All children passed a bilateral hearing screen, scored within the normal range on a non-verbal intelligence screen, demonstrated an unremarkable developmental history relative to sensory, neurological, and motor performance, spoke English as their primary language, and had mothers with at least a high school education or equivalent. iii During two sessions, children were administered the ALL and five emergent writing tasks: Write Letters, Write Name, Write CVC Words, Picture Description, and Sentence Retell. The writing tasks and accompanying scoring rubrics were adopted from a previous study by Puranik and Lonigan (2009). Results indicated that children with LI demonstrated significantly less advanced letter and word writing skills than their language typical, age-matched peers. In addition, significant relationships between all emergent writing tasks and alphabet knowledge were observed for all children as well as significant relationships between oral language and phonological awareness for children with typical language. No significant relationships between any of the emergent writing tasks and phonological awareness or between oral language and alphabet knowledge were found. Further, results indicated the same developmental patterns exist in written as well as oral language for children with LI. This study has therapeutic implications for speech-language pathologists. In particular, emergent writing tasks need to be included in comprehensive assessment and intervention approaches for children with LI. Assessments need to yield accurate descriptions of emergent writing skills relevant to later literacy outcomes. Finally, integrated intervention approaches that combine initial sound awareness tasks with alphabet knowledge and emergent writing tasks may achieve the best learning outcomes.

Various researchers have viewed metalinguistics as the ability to consciously reflect upon language (Van Kleeck 1984a; Franklin 1979; Cazden 1975; Dale 1976). Prior to schooling, children use language as a means of functional communication through developing an interaction with the environment. They are aware of the content of their messages but not the language they are using to communicate their ideas. The emergence of language is developed primarily through concrete operations according to Van Kleeck (1984a). However, Allan (1982) states that when children enter school and begin to read, metalinguistics is emphasized and the language evolves from an unconscious, experimental use to a conscious, metalinguistic use. There is a growing interest among researchers in the study of metalinguistics. Smith and Flusberg (1982) employed judgment tasks to look at how the child attends to certain properties of language. This behavior is particularly important when studying the semantic, syntactic and pragmatic development of children.

No description available.

Lam Wai-man. / Thesis (M.Phil.)--Chinese University of Hong Kong, 2002. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 199-208). / Abstracts in English and Chinese. / ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS --- p.i / ABSTRACT --- p.iii / Chapter CHAPTER ONE --- INTRODUCTION --- p.1 / Chapter 1.1 --- RATIONALE OF THE PRESENT STUDY --- p.1 / Chapter 1.2 --- THE BACKGROUND OF THE PRESENT STUDY --- p.5 / Chapter 1.2.1 --- What is “Language Awareness´ح？ --- p.5 / Chapter 1.2.2 --- What is “LA-oriented Teaching´ح？ --- p.6 / Chapter 1.3 --- ORGANIZATION OF THE THESIS --- p.7 / Chapter CHAPTER TWO --- REVIEW OF LITERATURE --- p.10 / Chapter 2.1 --- THEORIES OF LANGUAGE AWARENESS (LA) --- p.11 / Chapter 2.1.1 --- Seminal Statements on Language Awareness --- p.12 / Chapter 2.1.1.1 --- "Hawkins' “ Awareness of Language """ --- p.12 / Chapter 2.1.1.2 --- Report on Language Awareness by the NCLE --- p.13 / Chapter 2.1.2 --- Two Broad Senses of LA --- p.14 / Chapter 2.1.2.1 --- The Psychological Sense of LA --- p.14 / Chapter 2.1.2.2 --- The Educational Sense of LA --- p.15 / Chapter 2.1.3 --- Contemporary Views of LA in the Educational Context --- p.16 / Chapter 2.1.3.1 --- LA as a Developmental Quality --- p.16 / Chapter 2.1.3.2 --- LA as a Curricular Component and a Language Education --- p.17 / Chapter 2.1.3.3 --- LA as a Methodology --- p.19 / Chapter 2.1.3.4 --- LA as a Critical Inquiry into the Socio-cultural Domain --- p.22 / Chapter 2.1.4 --- The Five Domains of Language Awareness --- p.23 / Chapter 2.1.5 --- """Language Awareness “ Revisited “" --- p.25 / Chapter 2.1.6 --- LA-related Language Learning and Teaching Theories --- p.25 / Chapter 2.1.6.1 --- """Task-based Learning “ Theory" --- p.25 / Chapter 2.1.6.2 --- """Language Experience “ Approach" --- p.29 / Chapter 2.1.6.3 --- """Learner-centred"" Approach" --- p.29 / Chapter 2.1.6.4 --- """Whole-language "" Education" --- p.30 / Chapter 2.2 --- PRACTICES OF LANGUAGE AWARENESS --- p.32 / Chapter 2.2.1 --- "“Incidental"" LA" --- p.32 / Chapter 2.2.2 --- """ Planned ´ح LA as Curricular Components" --- p.33 / Chapter 2.2.2.1 --- LA/KAL as a Curriculum Dimension --- p.34 / Chapter 2.2.2.2 --- LA/KAL as a Language Education --- p.34 / Chapter 2.2.3 --- """Planned"" LA Implemented as School Programmes" --- p.35 / Chapter 2.3 --- DEFINING CHARACTERISTICS OF LA-ORIENTED TEACHING --- p.41 / Chapter 2.3.1 --- Learner-centred LA Activities --- p.41 / Chapter 2.3.2 --- The Categories of LA --- p.42 / Chapter 2.3.3 --- Learner-centred Teaching Approach --- p.44 / Chapter 2.3.4 --- Enhancing LA through Teaching: A Conceptual Model --- p.45 / Chapter 2.4 --- INADEQUACIES OF THE LA THEORIES AND PRACTICES --- p.47 / Chapter 2.4.1 --- Relation between Enhanced LA and Language Performance --- p.47 / Chapter 2.4.2 --- Delineation of LA Effects and Establishment of Instruments for Measuring LA Effects --- p.49 / Chapter 2.5 --- ASPECTS OF FOREIGN LANGUAGE LEARNING AND DEVELOPMENT --- p.50 / Chapter 2.5.1 --- Learning of Foreign Language Vocabulary --- p.51 / Chapter 2.5.1.1 --- The Mental Lexicon and Networks of Word Associations --- p.51 / Chapter 2.5.1.2 --- Factors Affecting Second /Foreign Language Vocabulary Acquisition --- p.52 / Chapter 2.5.2 --- Development of Writing Ability --- p.56 / Chapter 2.5.2.1 --- Theories on Development of Foreign Language Writing Ability --- p.56 / Chapter 2.5.2.2 --- Approaches to Evaluating Writings --- p.57 / Chapter 2.5.3 --- Learning of a Second Foreign Language / Third Language --- p.58 / Chapter 2.5.3.1 --- Cross-linguistic Influence and Transfer --- p.59 / Chapter 2.5.3.2 --- Language Distance and Other Factors Affecting Cross-linguistic Influence --- p.60 / Chapter 2.6 --- RESEARCH QUESTIONS AND HYPOTHESES --- p.63 / Chapter 2.7 --- SUMMARY OF CHAPTER TWO --- p.67 / Chapter CHAPTER THREE --- DESIGN OF THE STUDY --- p.69 / Chapter 3.1 --- THE LA STUDIES --- p.70 / Chapter 3.2 --- LA PILOT SCHEME (THE PILOT) --- p.71 / Chapter 3.2.1 --- Aims --- p.71 / Chapter 3.2.2 --- Subjects --- p.71 / Chapter 3.2.3 --- Administration and Course Contents --- p.72 / Chapter 3.2.4 --- Method of Evaluating the Pilot LA Effect --- p.72 / Chapter 3.2.5 --- The Pilot Results --- p.74 / Chapter 3.2.6 --- Conclusions and Implications for the Pilot --- p.77 / Chapter 3.3 --- THE MAIN LA TEACHING PROGRAMME (THE PROGRAMME) --- p.78 / Chapter 3.3.1 --- Subjects --- p.78 / Chapter 3.3.2 --- The Control Group --- p.79 / Chapter 3.3.3 --- Teaching Themes --- p.80 / Chapter 3.3.4 --- The LA Teachers and Medium of Instruction --- p.82 / Chapter 3.3.5 --- LA Time Frame and Duration --- p.82 / Chapter 3.3.6 --- LA Syllabus and Lesson Design --- p.83 / Chapter 3.3.7 --- LA Tasks and Learning Activities in the Study --- p.84 / Chapter 3.3.8 --- Course Materials in the Study --- p.90 / Chapter 3.4 --- CONSTRUCTION OF TESTING INSTRUMENTS --- p.91 / Chapter 3.4.1 --- An Overview of the Procedure --- p.91 / Chapter 3.4.2 --- Measuring the Subjects' Foreign Language Proficiency --- p.93 / Chapter 3.4.2.1 --- Pre-test and Post-test of Vocabulary Acquisition --- p.93 / Chapter 3.4.2.2 --- Evaluation of Writings --- p.95 / Chapter 3.4.2.3 --- JFL Proficiency Assessments --- p.101 / Chapter 3.4.3 --- Measuring the Subjects' Attitude towards LA-oriented Teaching and Language Learning --- p.105 / Chapter 3.4.3.1 --- Course Satisfaction Questionnaire --- p.105 / Chapter 3.4.3.2 --- Learner's Course Review --- p.106 / Chapter 3.4.3.3 --- JFL Pre-course and Post-course Questionnaires --- p.107 / Chapter 3.4.3.4 --- JFL Learner's journal --- p.108 / Chapter 3.4.3.5 --- Archival data /Learners' Work --- p.109 / Chapter 3.4.4 --- Recording LA-oriented Language Behaviour (LALB) --- p.110 / Chapter 3.5 --- THE EXPERIMENTAL PROCEDURE --- p.111 / Chapter 3.5.1 --- Overview of the Procedure for the EFL Modules --- p.111 / Chapter 3.5.2 --- Overview of the Procedure for the JFL Module --- p.111 / Chapter 3.6 --- SUMMARY OF METHODS OF DATA ANALYSIS --- p.112 / Chapter 3.6.1 --- Pre-test and Post-test of Vocabulary Acquisition --- p.112 / Chapter 3.6.2 --- Evaluation of the Writings --- p.115 / Chapter 3.6.3 --- JFL Proficiency Assessments --- p.115 / Chapter 3.6.4 --- Course Satisfaction Questionnaire --- p.116 / Chapter 3.6.5 --- Learner's Course Review --- p.116 / Chapter 3.6.6 --- JFL Pre-course and Post-course Questionnaire --- p.116 / Chapter 3.6.7 --- JFL Learner's Journal --- p.117 / Chapter 3.7 --- SUMMARY OF CHAPTER THREE --- p.117 / Chapter CHAPTER FOUR --- RESEARCH FINDINGS --- p.119 / Chapter 4.1 --- EFFECTS OF LA-ORIENTED TEACHING ON SUBJECTS´ةEFL AND JFL PROFICIENCY --- p.120 / Chapter 4.1.1 --- Acquisition of English Vocabulary --- p.120 / Chapter 4.1.2 --- Development of English Writing Ability --- p.123 / Chapter 4.1.3 --- Acquisition of Elementary Japanese --- p.127 / Chapter 4.2 --- EFFECTS OF LA-ORIENTED TEACHING ON SUBJECTS' ATTITUDES TOWARDS LANGUAGE TEACHING AND LEARNING --- p.130 / Chapter 4.2.1 --- The Subjects' Attitudes towards LA-oriented Teaching and EFL Learning --- p.130 / Chapter 4.2.1.1 --- The Subjects' Level of Satisfaction with the LA-oriented EFL Modules --- p.131 / Chapter 4.2.1.2 --- The Subjects' Evaluation of the EFL Modules and Their Own Learning --- p.132 / Chapter 4.2.2 --- The Subjects ´ة Attitudes towards JFL Learning --- p.134 / Chapter 4.2.2.1 --- The Subjects' Perceptions and Expectations for JFL Learning --- p.134 / Chapter 4.2.2.2 --- The Subjects' Evaluation of their JFL learning --- p.136 / Chapter 4.2.2.3 --- The Subjects' Evaluation of the JFL Module --- p.138 / Chapter 4.3 --- SUMMARY OF CHAPTER FOUR --- p.142 / Chapter CHAPTER FIVE --- DISCUSSIONS OF RESEARCH FINDINGS --- p.144 / Chapter 5.1 --- EFFECTS OF LA-ORIENTED TEACHING ON SUBJECTS´ة EFL PROFICIENCY --- p.146 / Chapter 5.1.1 --- Acquisition of English vocabulary --- p.146 / Chapter 5.1.1.1 --- Theme Effects --- p.146 / Chapter 5.1.1.2 --- Task Effects --- p.150 / Chapter 5.1.1.3 --- Provision of Authentic Experience --- p.151 / Chapter 5.1.1.4 --- Other Interesting Findings --- p.152 / Chapter 5.1.2 --- Development of English Writing Ability --- p.154 / Chapter 5.1.2.1 --- Conditions Fostering Development of English Writing Ability --- p.154 / Chapter 5.1.2.2 --- Factors Inhibiting Development of Writing Ability --- p.156 / Chapter 5.2 --- EFFECTS OF LA-ORIENTED TEACHING ON SUBJECTS ´ة JFL PROFICIENCY --- p.158 / Chapter 5.2.1 --- Japanese Speaking Ability --- p.158 / Chapter 5.2.2 --- Japanese Listening Ability --- p.160 / Chapter 5.2.3 --- Japanese Reading / Word Recognition Ability --- p.161 / Chapter 5.2.4 --- LA-oriented Language Behaviour --- p.163 / Chapter 5.3 --- EFFECTS OF LA-ORIENTED TEACHING ON SUBJECTS´ة ATTITUDES TOWARDS EFL LEARNING --- p.166 / Chapter 5.3.1 --- Challenging Tasks and Activities --- p.167 / Chapter 5.3.2 --- Enjoyable Authentic Learning Experience --- p.168 / Chapter 5.3.3 --- Strong Sense of Ownership --- p.169 / Chapter 5.3.4 --- Supportive Language Learning Environment --- p.169 / Chapter 5.4 --- EFFECTS OF LA-ORIENTED TEACHING ON SUBJECTS ´ة ATTITUDES TOWARDS JFL LEARNING --- p.170 / Chapter 5.4.1 --- Strong Inclination for Japan --- p.171 / Chapter 5.4.2 --- Unique Language Learning Experience --- p.171 / Chapter 5.4.3 --- Strong Affection for the Japanese Teacher --- p.172 / Chapter 5.4.4 --- Authenticity in the Japanese Teacher's Look and Manners --- p.172 / Chapter 5.4.5 --- Learner-oriented Activities --- p.173 / Chapter 5.5 --- FEASIBILITY OF LA WORK IN THE EFL CLASSROOM IN PRIMARY SCHOOLS IN HONG KONG --- p.173 / Chapter 5.6 --- FEASIBILITY OF TEACHING A SECOND FOREIGN LANGUAGE IN PRIMARY SCHOOLS IN HONG KONG --- p.176 / Chapter 5.7 --- SUMMARY OF CHAPTER FIVE --- p.179 / Chapter CHAPTER SIX --- CONCLUSION --- p.181 / Chapter 6.1 --- LIMITATIONS OF THE STUDY --- p.181 / Chapter 6.2 --- IMPLICATIONS --- p.184 / Chapter 6.2.1 --- Implications for the FL Classroom --- p.184 / Chapter 6.2.2 --- Implications for the FL Curriculum Design --- p.191 / Chapter 6.3 --- RECOMMENDATIONS FOR FUTURE RESEARCH --- p.195 / Chapter 6.4 --- SUMMARY OF CHAPTER SIX --- p.198 / REFERENCES --- p.199 / APPENDICES / Appendix A1: Course Outline of LA Pilot Scheme --- p.209 / Appendix A2: List of Activity Sheets for LA Pilot Scheme --- p.210 / Appendix A3: Samples of Pupils' Work in LA Pilot Scheme --- p.211 / Appendix B1: Course Outline of Module One1 --- p.213 / Appendix B2: Course Outline of Module Two2 --- p.216 / Appendix B3: Course Outline of Module Three3 --- p.220 / Appendix C1: Scheme of Work of Module One --- p.223 / Appendix C2: Scheme of Work of Module Two --- p.227 / Appendix C3: Scheme of Work of Module Three --- p.231 / Appendix D1: A Lesson Plan of Module One --- p.236 / Appendix D2: A Lesson Plan of Module Two --- p.240 / Appendix D3: A Lesson Plan of Module Three --- p.244 / Appendix E: Sample of Coursebook Materials --- p.247 / Appendix F1: List of Activity Sheets for Module One --- p.250 / Appendix F2: List of Activity Sheets for Module Two --- p.251 / Appendix F3: List of Activity Sheets for Module Three --- p.252 / Appendix G1: Sample of AS4 for Module One: My Favourite Bread --- p.253 / Appendix G2 (A): Sample of AS for Module Two: The New Year --- p.254 / Appendix G2 (B): Sample of AS for Module Two: The New Year --- p.255 / Appendix G2 (C): Sample of AS for Module Two: Favourite Food --- p.256 / Appendix G3 (A): Sample of AS for Module Three: My favorite playground game --- p.257 / Appendix G3 (B1): Sample of AS for Module Three: Let's Play playground games --- p.258 / Appendix G3 (B2): Sample of Completed AS: Let's play playground games --- p.259 / Appendix G3 (C1): Sample of AS for Module Three: What are instructions like? --- p.260 / Appendix G3 (C2): Sample of Completed AS: What are instructions like? --- p.261 / Appendix H1 (A1): Pre-test on Vocabulary Acquisition for Module One --- p.262 / Appendix H1 (A2): Post-test on Vocabulary Acquisition for Module One --- p.263 / Appendix H2 (A1): Pre-test on Vocabulary Acquisition for Module Three --- p.264 / Appendix H2 (A2): Post-test on Vocabulary Acquisition for Module Three --- p.265 / Appendix I1 (A1): Writing AS for Module One: Writing instructions for baking bread (1) --- p.266 / Appendix I1 (A2): Writing AS for Module One: Writing instructions for baking bread (2) --- p.267 / Appendix I1 (B1): Sample of Completed AS: Writing instructions for baking bread (1) --- p.268 / Appendix I1 (B2): Sample of Completed AS: Writing instructions for baking bread (2) --- p.269 / Appendix I2 (A1): Writing AS for Module Three: My favourite playground game --- p.270 / Appendix I2 (A2): Writing AS for Module Three: Talking about playing playground games --- p.271 / Appendix I2 (B1): Sample of Completed AS: My favourite playground games --- p.272 / Appendix I2 (B2): Sample of Completed AS: Talking about playing playground games --- p.273 / Appendix I2 (C1): Writing AS for Module Three: Let's create our playground games --- p.274 / Appendix I2 (C2): Sample of Pupils' Instructions for Created Playground Games --- p.275 / Appendix J1 (A): JFL Oral Assessment --- p.278 / Appendix J1 (B): JFL Oral Assessment: Marking Scheme --- p.279 / Appendix J2 (A): JFL Listening Assessment --- p.280 / Appendix J2 (B): JFL Listening Assessment: Script --- p.281 / Appendix J3: JFL Reading and Writing Assessment --- p.282 / Appendix K1: Course Satisfaction Questionnaire for the EFL Modules --- p.284 / Appendix K2: Learner's Course Review for the EFL Modules --- p.286 / Appendix L1: JFL Pre-course Questionnaire --- p.288 / Appendix L2: JFL Post-course Questionnaire --- p.290 / Appendix Ml: The JFL Learner's Journal --- p.292 / Appendix M2: Samples of Completed JFL Learner's Journal --- p.293 / Appendix N1: Samples of Pupils' Work for the JFL Module: Calligraphy --- p.294 / Appendix N2: Samples of Pupils' Work for the JFL Module: New Year Card --- p.295 / Appendix N3: Samples of Pupils' Work for the JFL Module: My Favourite Food --- p.296 / Appendix O1: Categorization of Words and Expressions of Module One --- p.297 / Appendix O2: Categorization of Words and Expressions of Module Three --- p.298 / Appendix P1: Mean Numbers of Words and Expressions in Pre-test and Post-test of Module One --- p.300 / Appendix P2: Mean Numbers of Words and Expressions in Pre-test and Post-test of Module Three --- p.301 / Appendix Q1: Paired Samples T-tests on Subjects' Performance in Pre-test Post-test of Module One --- p.302 / Appendix Q2: Paired Samples T-tests on Subjects' Performance in Pre-test Post-test of Module Three --- p.302 / Appendix R1 (A1): Raw Scores of Recipes - First Draft --- p.303 / Appendix R1 (A2): Raw Scores of Recipes 一 Second Draft --- p.304 / Appendix R2 (A1): Raw Scores of First Games Descriptions --- p.305 / Appendix R2 (A2): Raw Scores of Second Games Descriptions --- p.306 / Appendix R3 (A1): Raw Scores of Games Instructions ´ؤ First Draft --- p.307 / Appendix R3 (A2): Raw Scores of Games Instructions - Second Draft --- p.308 / Appendix S: Subjects' Performance in JFL Proficiency Assessments --- p.309 / KEY / Chapter 1. --- """Module One"" refers to Theme One ""Baking Bread and Making Sandwiches""" / Chapter 2. --- """Module Two"" refers to Theme Two ""Foreign Language Taster: Japanese as a foreign language""" / Chapter 3. --- """Module Three"" refers to Theme Three ""Playground Games""" / Chapter 4. --- """AS"" refers to Activity Sheet"

published_or_final_version / abstract / Linguistics / Master / Master of Arts

Studies of Russian, Polish, and Lithuanian language learners converge on the finding that morphological features of nouns are first generalized to word clusters of high morpho-phonological similarities such as diminutives, that grammatical categorisation is are more easily applied to novel words that fall into these clusters. The present thesis explores whether the facilitating effect of diminutives on the acquisition of complex noun morphology can be extended to Serbian, a south Slavic language, morphologically similar to Russian and Polish. Specifically, the thesis explores the role of parameters responsible for the obtained diminutive advantage: high frequency of a particular cluster of words in child-directed speech (CDS) and morpho-phonological homogeneity within this cluster. A corpus analysis of the distribution of diminutives in Serbian CDS indicated a rather unexpected difference in frequency relative to Russian and Polish CDS, despite the high similarity of the diminutive derivation across these three Slavic languages. Out of the total number of nouns in Serbian CDS only 7% were diminutives, compared to 20-30% in Polish and 45% in Russian. Two experimental studies explored whether the low frequency of diminutives in Serbian CDS attenuates the diminutive advantage in morphology learning compared to Russian and Polish. In the first two experiments, Serbian children exhibited a strong diminutive advantage for both gender agreement and case marking in the same range as Russian children, indicating that morpho-phonological homogeneity within the cluster of diminutives may play as important a role as their frequency for grammatical categorisation of novel nouns. A third study investigated in more detail the effects of morpho-phonological homogeneity on the emergence of the diminutive advantage using a gender-agreement task with novel nouns in simplex and pseudo-diminutive form over four sessions with Serbian children. The results showed a pseudo-diminutive advantage for gender agreement by Session 2, suggesting that the categorisation of nouns into grammatical categories is based on morpho-phonological homogeneity of the word cluster, emerges relatively fast, and can occur despite the much lower frequency of diminutives in Serbian CDS. Finally, a series of neural network simulations designed to capture the pattern of results from the third experimental study was used to examine to what extent a simple associative learning mechanism, relying on morpho-phonological similarity of the noun endings, can explain the findings. The performance of three models, a whole-word feed-forward network, a Simple Recurrent Network (SRN) and a last-syllable feed-forward network, was compared to the experimental data. The superior fit of the SRN suggests that gender learning is based on a very fast sequential build-up of representations of the entire word, allowing the system to exploit the predictive power of word stems to anticipate regularised endings. Overall, the findings of this thesis contribute to our general understanding of mechanisms responsible for the acquisition of complex inflectional noun morphology in two ways. First, by extending experimental studies and neural network simulations to Serbian, the results underline the universality of the idea that noun morphology is learned and processed through a single-route associative mechanism based on the frequency and morpho-phonological structure of nouns. More specifically, the results from experimental studies and neural network simulations demonstrate that for diminutives, the low-level grammatical categorisation is based mainly on the morpho-phonological similarity of word endings, and can emerge after just a few exposures. And second, the neural network simulations suggest that during the process of categorisation of nouns into gender categories, learners rely not only on predictable information from the noun endings, but also on phonological regularities in the stems of nouns. Taken together, these findings contribute also to a better understanding of the facilitating role of CDS in morphology acquisition.

In order to explain the development of English and Spanish skills in children from Spanish-speaking homes in the United States, it is necessary to identify their sources of language exposure. Most research to date has focused on home language use. The aim of this study is to identify sources of English and Spanish exposure outside the home that bilingual children experience between the ages of 2 and 5 years. The present study focuses on 3 potential sources: grandparents, extracurricular activities, and early childcare and education settings. We ask how much English and Spanish exposure children receive, how that changes from 2.5 to 5 years, and whether family variables influence those changes. Participants were 149 children from Spanish-speaking homes in southeastern Florida, with at least one parent an immigrant from a Spanish-speaking country. Measured out-of-home sources of input included hours per of week of English and Spanish from a Grandparent, during Extracurricular Activities, and during Preschool at 30, 36, 42, 48, and 60 months. Parents’ Native Language Background groups were either both native Spanish-speaking or one native, Spanish-speaking and one native, English-speaking. Maternal Education was treated as a dichotomous variable: mothers whose highest level of education in English is less than a four-year college degree and mothers whose highest level of education in English is equivalent to or greater than a four-year college degree. Child Birth Order was also treated as a dichotomous variable: only children and first-born children or later born children. Results revealed that for these children from Spanish-speaking homes, Grandparents are primarily a source of heritage-language (Spanish) input and Extracurricular Activities and Preschool are primarily a source of societal-language (English) input. Findings suggest English exposure from out-of-home sources increases over time possibly at the expense of Spanish exposure. Parents’ Native Language Backgrounds and Maternal Education influenced children’s exposure to both languages from these outside sources of input; Child Birth Order did not. Implications for future research and practical application are discussed. / Includes bibliography. / Dissertation (Ph.D.)--Florida Atlantic University, 2017. / FAU Electronic Theses and Dissertations Collection

published_or_final_version / abstract / toc / Linguistics / Master / Master of Philosophy

The purpose of the current study was to investigate the relation of language and cognitive factors to biliteracy development among EFI first grade children. Variables of interest included phonological awareness, print awareness, level of operativity, English/French verbal ability, and influences in the home environment (e.g. socioeconomic status, parent's level of education, time spent on reading activities). A battery of language, cognitive and reading tests was administered in Fall and again in Spring of the first grade to sixty-eight preliterate Anglophone children. A parent questionnaire yielded information pertaining to socioeconomic status, and reading related leizure activities in the home. A teacher questionnaire provided details which described the various classroom environments of the children in the study. Results of correlational analyses indicate that phonological and print awareness both form a significant, positive relationship with French and English reading. Level of operativity and level of English verbal ability did not correlate significant with any measure of reading. The pattern of correlations between French verbal ability tasks and French/English reading was inconsistent. Four of the six French verbal measures correlated significantly, but weakly with French reading and only one measure formed a significant positive correlation with English reading. Analyses of scatterplots which showed the relation of phonological abilities to reading suggest that phonological awareness is a necessary, but not sufficient skill for learning to read. Several children who had mastered a French phonological test could not decode French words; however, there were no children who were good readers who did not score above the sample mean on at least one measure of phonological awareness. Step-wise multiple regression analyses of sample performance on measures of reading and phonological awareness indicate print awareness is the best predictor of reading achievement in French and English. Scores on phonological measures were able to account for residual variance after print awareness had entered the equation. Limitations and implications of the study are discussed and recommendations for further research are presented. / Arts, Faculty of / Psychology, Department of / Graduate