Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Dept. of Modern Languages. Thesis. 1965. Ph.D. / Ph.D.

Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Dept. of Modern Languages. Thesis. 1965. Ph.D. / Ph.D.

Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Dept. of Modern Languages. Thesis. 1965. Ph.D. / Ph.D.

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Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Dept. of Modern Languages. Thesis. 1965. Ph.D. / Ph.D.

Because of the significant and sensitive role of verb tenses in learning English, the current study examined the occurrence of the twelve verb tenses that native writers (NWs) utilized in their selected academic papers at the college level. In doing so, the study created a baseline of relative frequency of verb tense usage that may benefit further studies, especially those connected with the teaching grammar to English learners. The main linguistic items targeted for tabulation in this study were the 12 verb tenses, modals, perfect modals, and imperatives. These items were elicited from an original corpus of 31 research papers written by undergraduate students studying at UCF. The total size of this original corpus is 103,181 words, with the length of papers varying from 1,964 words to 6,676 words. In order to analyze the data and facilitate a more accurate counting process, the researchers used a code coloring method. The results revealed that the most frequently used tenses were present simple, past simple, modals, and present perfect, while future progressive, future perfect, and past and future perfect progressive were almost never used by NWs. These findings could contribute toward the development of the methodology of teaching verb tenses as well as help English learners to comprehend and master this important grammatical area. The pedagogical implication of these results is in improving the teaching of the verb tenses to English learners, as it accentuates the difference between which of the twelve verb tenses could be given more class time as well as those that could be given less attention.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Wisconsin--Madison, 1974. / Typescript. Vita. Includes bibliographical references.

This PhD explores the notion of learner participation within the context of online language learning in virtual world platforms. Participation is discussed as learner interaction in the target language with reference, in particular, to Breen (2001) and Lantolf (2000) and as online learner activity as discussed by Bento and Schuster (2003) and Hrastinski (2007). In addition, the study builds more specifically on existing research into learner participation in virtual worlds by Deutschmann, Panichi and Molka-Danielsen (2009) and Peterson (2010). Data was collected through a case study of a Business English course within a European telecollaboration project at tertiary level. The course at the centre of the case study comes under the umbrella of the EUfunded Euroversity Network (www.euroversity.eu). The study makes use of Reflexivity (e.g. Alvesson and Sköldberg, 2009) and Exploratory Practice as its core methodological approach to the building of the case. The virtual world data is analysed from a multimodal perspective within CMCL (e.g. Lamy, 2004) and makes use of visualisation (Mason, 2002) as the primary analytical tool. The study provides an expanded definition of learner participation which reflects the learning dynamics of virtual worlds within the specific teaching and learning context. The study evaluates the role played by designer beliefs in determining learner participatory outcomes and makes recommendations for teaching and future course design. The study also illustrates the use of virtual world platforms as a research tool.

This research project involved the creation of a viable, interdisciplinary language-learning curriculum for the middle-school child who is experiencing his/ her initial contact with a language other than the native tongue. The course is exploratory in nature, lasting only nine weeks of the school year and was developed from a humanistic point of View, taking into account the special academic, emotional, and social needs of the preadolescent. Course content focuses on the development of students’ listening, speaking, reading, and writing skills and the importance of cultivating awareness and respect for the culture of the world’s peoples who communicate in the foreign language on a daily basis. Although French is the target language, student performance objectives and the enabling activities can easily be adapted to meet the needs of learners in other foreign- language classes.

Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Dept. of Modern Languages and Linguistics. Thesis. 1968. Ph.D. / Title-page illustrated in colors. Vita. / Bibliography: leaves 793-796. / Ph.D.