Thesis (M.Ed.)--University of Hong Kong, 1997. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 81-84). Also available in print.

Previous comparative studies of usage of contrast markers have found that Swedish non-native speakers of English underuse and overuse different individual items compared to native speakers. This paper compares the use of the contrast markers however, nevertheless/nonetheless, yet and still in essays in linguistics to determine how and why they might be used differently. Essays are taken from the Stockholm University Student English Corpus and are equally represented by examples from King’s College and Stockholm University. Random samples are analyzed for type of contrast signalled and repeated collocational patterns. The findings show that the Swedish students underuse however and overuse nevertheless/nonetheless, yet and still in signalling concessive relationships. The research suggests that the Swedish students have a weaker grasp of prototypical frequency of usage than native speakers, which may result from native language transfer. It is argued that it would be beneficial for Swedish learners of English, and by extension other L2 learners, to improve awareness of constructing effective contrastive relationships.

L’immigration russophone en France se nourrit de quelques siècles de l’Histoire contemporaine. La population à laquelle nous consacrons notre étude correspond aux départs ayant eu lieu au lendemain de l’effondrement de l’URSS. Notre intérêt s’attache tout particulièrement à l’intégration des migrants dans la vie française.Cette étude a donc pour objet l’analyse du processus d’intégration d’une population russophone échantillonnée vivant en France en s’appuyant sur l’analyse théorique des interférences linguistiques et socioculturelles rencontrées. L’apport de ce travail est notamment de montrer à quel point l’influence des interférences peut jouer sur l’intégration. Nous cherchons ici à définir l’intégration comme le résultat d’un certain nombre d’étapes à accomplir et de compétences à acquérir dans les domaines du savoir, du savoir-faire et du savoir-être.Cette analyse permet d’évaluer les difficultés des russophones, créées par les conditions de l’immigration sur la base des témoignages, des observations, des échanges dans le cadre associatif et éducatif, ou encore au travers du forum russophone Infrance.Cette expérience permet de recenser ou compléter des lacunes des apprenants au profit de l’enseignement du Français Langue Étrangère.Au-delà du défi permanent qu’impose à tout apprenant l’interlangue, c’est dans l’intimité de l’intégration des russophones que ce travail de recherche propose au lecteur de se plonger. / The immigration of native Russian speakers to France has been going on for several centuries but in this study we will focus primarily on the migrants who left following the collapse of the USSR. More especially we will look at the integration of these migrants into daily French life.This study has therefore chosen to analyse the integration process of a selected Russian speaking population living in France with particular attention on the theoretical analysis of language transfer (L1 Interference) and also on socio-cultural issues. The aim of this study is to show to what extent language transfer plays a role in the integration process. Here we seek to define integration as a number of steps to accomplish in order to acquire not simply language skills but the “soft” skills which add up to real savoir-faire.This analysis allows the evaluation of the difficulties faced by Russian speakers in France based on personal testimonies, observations and discussions in ex-pat associations, in education and also via the Russian language internet forum, Infrance. As a result of this study, FLE (French as a Foreign Language) teaching will be better able to cater to the precise needs of French language learners from a Russian speaking background.As well as looking into the ongoing challenge of interlanguage, this study invites the reader to explore the interesting question of integration for the Russian speaker.

No description available.

published_or_final_version / abstract / Linguistics / Master / Master of Arts

published_or_final_version / abstract / Linguistics / Master / Master of Arts

Bilingual children sometimes respond to their interlocutors using a different language than the one in which they were addressed. These language choices, their concurrent correlates, and relations to subsequent language growth were examined in 91 Spanish-English bilingual children (44 girls, 47 boys). Children's language choices were assessed at 30 months, and their English and Spanish productive vocabularies and receptive language skills were examined at the ages of 30, 36, and 42 months. Children's language choices were concurrently related to English and Spanish productive and receptive language scores and to mothers' English and Spanish proficiency levels. Longitudinal multi-level modeling analyses indicated that children's language choices at 30 months were uniquely related to language growth on measures of English and Spanish productive vocabulary and Spanish receptive language, when controlling for language expo sure. These findings suggest that language use plays a causal role in language development. The findings of this study have implications for the maintenance of heritage languages in the U.S. and for the development of children's English language skills. / Includes bibliography. / Dissertation (Ph.D.)--Florida Atlantic University, 2015. / FAU Electronic Theses and Dissertations Collection

This study investigated the effect of first language (L1) transfer on Arabic ESL learners' acquisition of the relative clauses, the passive voice and the definite article. I used Contrastive Analysis (CA) and Error Analysis (EA) to analyze 50 papers written by Arabic ESL students at the ACTFL Advanced Mid proficiency level. The analysis was paired with interviews with five advanced students to help determine whether L1 transfer was, in fact, influencing students' errors predicted by CA. Students in this study made L1 errors along with other errors. Although no statistical difference was found between the frequency of transfer and other (non-transfer) errors, L1 transfer errors were still common for many learners in this data. The frequency of the relative clause L1 transfer errors was slightly higher than other errors. However, passive voice L1 errors were as frequent as other errors whereas definite article L1 errors were slightly less frequent than other errors. The analysis of the interviews suggested that L1 still played a crucial role in influencing learners errors. The analysis also suggested that the frequency of transfer errors in the papers used in this study might have been influenced by CA-informed instruction students received and students' language level. Specifically, learners reported that both factors helped them reduce the frequency of L1 transfer errors in their writing. The teaching implications of this study include familiarizing language instructors with possible sources of errors for Arabic ESL learners. Language instructors should try to identify sources of errors by conducting their own analyses or consulting existing literature on CA paired with EA. Finally, I recommend adopting a CA-informed instruction to help students reduce and overcome errors that are influenced by their L1.

No description available.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Ohio State University, 2006. / Title from first page of PDF file. Includes bibliographical references (p. 258-273).