Pragmatics is part of communicative competence. In order to communicate successfully, pragmatic competence is of vital importance. Although pragmatics has played a significant role in L2 learners' communicative competence, pragmatics still has not been commonly taught in the classroom. The present research investigates the efficacy of instruction in pragmatics in the advanced Chinese language class has on the production and appropriate use of apology strategies, and examines the correlation between exposure in a Chinese Speaking Community (CSC) and pragmatics development. The subjects include 55 students in their third-year of college-level Chinese, divided into four classes at Brigham Young University. The study uses an experimental design in which the participants are assigned either to an explicit instruction group or an implicit instruction group. Participants in both groups also report their experience in a CSC. Results of this study show which as a whole improved their apology performance over the 8-week instruction, as rated by Chinese native speakers. Results reveal no significant difference between the explicit and implicit instruction groups, suggesting that explicit and implicit approaches were both effective methods in facilitating pragmatic competence. In addition, we also found no statistically significant difference between the CSC and Non-Chinese Speaking Community (NCSC) group in their pragmatic development. The findings of the present study indicate that pragmatic knowledge may emerge from classroom instruction, regardless of explicit or implicit instructional approaches; and living in a Chinese speaking communities do not necessary aid or accelerate the development of pragmatic competence.

Students are human beings; they, like all of us, make mistakes. In the language classroom, these mistakes may be written, spoken, and even thought. How, if, when, under what conditions and to what degree these errors are treated is of current concern in research regarding language acquisition. In their meta-analysis of interactional feedback, Mackey and Goo (2007) report that the utilization of feedback is beneficial and find evidence that feedback within the context of a focus on form environment is also facilitative of acquisition, echoing Norris and Ortega's (2000) positive findings regarding focus on form research. Thus, the role of feedback has found a somewhat limited, very informative and equally persuasive niche in current theory building and research. There is lack of research specifically addressing the role and effects of forms of feedback, other than recasts, namely prompts, in the second language classroom where the focus in on language use as a means of communication rather than the objectification of it. This context employs focus on form, a brief pedagogical intervention that momentarily shifts the focus of the class from meaning to linguistic form (See Long, 1991). Because prompts withhold correct forms (Lyster, 2004; Lyster & Saito, 2010), encourage students to simultaneously notice and self-correct (Lyster & Ranta, 1997), and push modified, student-generated output (de Bot, 1996; Lyster & Izquierdo, 2009; Lyster & Saito, 2010; Swain & Lapkin, 1995), they may be theoretically more appropriate for a focus on form context. This study examines this role in its function and efficacy comparing an implicit prompt, the clarification request, with an explicit prompt, metalinguistic feedback on students' spoken errors in the use of a very complex target structure, the subjunctive in nominal clauses in Spanish. Efficacy of the feedback is measured through successful student uptake, that is, whether or not students are able to self-repair as a result of the intervention and then through development operationalized as mean gains in a pre-test/post-test design. Statistical significance is shown for uptake with metalinguistic feedback only, however no development is shown as a result of any feedback due to the target structure's acquisition complexity.

<p>This thesis considers how Zadie Smith's novel White Teeth contributes to contemporary debates on immigration, race, gender, and identity. The focus is on Smith's character Irie Jones and how her feelings of instability and displacement are negotiated in post-war Britain. Essentially this thesis considers the characters' inabilities to feel a sense of belonging in their lives as a result of the political and cultural climate in England during the late 20th century. The characters' struggles are explained and dissected in three chapters. The first chapter is devoted to the role that diaspora and travel theory play in a desire to belong; chapter two investigates the second-generation immigrant children's familial relationships and the conflict between the generations; and chapter three focuses on how gender and femininity function in regards to Irie's difficulties. This thesis investigates the ways that Irie diverges from her matrilineal heritage and negotiates for herself a place that she can call home in contemporary Britain.</p> / Master of Arts (MA)

<p>The purpose of this paper will be as follows: in Chapter I to study Cocteau's references and reactions to death in his own life; in Chapter II to discuss the theme of death as it appears in his theatre; in Chapter III to examine the techniques in which death is presented on his stage; to assess, in the Conclusion, the dramatic value of both the theme of death and its expression and the effectiveness and suitability of the mise en scène in the presentation of this theme.</p> / Master of Arts (MA)

<p>Naus nous proposons dans ce travail d'analyser l'oeuvre surrealiste de Paul Eluard du point de vue du style. Nous examinerons et expliquerons l'usage que fait cet auteur des divers éléments du langage qui lui ont permis d'exprimer Ie vrai fonctionnement de sa pensée t de sa réalité intime. Nous aborderons en premier lieu son voc8.bulaire, ensuite ses images et enfin sa phrase et son vers.</p> / Master of Arts (MA)

<p>A critical analysis of Zola's La Joie de Vivre together with certain biographical ïnformation and details of Zola's methods of composition.</p> / Master of Arts (MA)

<p>The traditional paradigm of causality presupposed by the natural sciences is not equipped to handle the new ways of thinking coming in the wake of what has been called the "interpretive tum" in philosophy and the social sciences. This dissertation initiates a new paradigm of causality, one that seeks to be more adequate to the needs of twenty-first century philosophical and scientific thinking. The dissertation begins by reviewing the central problems of the old paradigm and attempting to indicate precisely how it is inadequate. Next, with the aid of David Hume's deconstruction of causality, this dissertation seeks to ground the proposed paradigm in the meaning of causality as accessible to everyday lived experience (as opposed to basing it upon an a priority idea). Then, the analysis of causality so far achieved is brought within the phenomenological ontology of Maurice Merleau-Ponty, which provides a non-dualist way of thinking the relationship between subject and object (as well as between objects and between subjects). The discussion seeks to show how a new manner of conceiving such relationships overcomes the intractable difficulties arising from thinking causality in traditional terms. Finally. the dissertation indicates some ways that the new paradigm might be deployed in both human and natural sciences and considers some of the implications of the new paradigm for changes in Scientific thinking.</p> / Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

This thesis examines the function of music within different theories of nationalism and the appropriation of folk music within the genre of min’ge. Min’ge, a term in Chinese which directly translates to “folk songs”, has generally been defined as oral musical traditions. However, due to the increased politicization of popular music since the 1930s, the nature folk music has fundamentally changed, reflecting its new significance within Chinese nationalism. Through the years, min’ge has become more useful to promoting the goals of the state than representing the musical traditions of the many different ethnic groups in China. This transformation has established min’ge as an important extension of the Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP) cultural policy, and the manipulation of folk music has asserted the CCP’s cultural hegemony. Ultimately, this cultural hegemony has important implications on Han-minority relations and highlights certain dynamics within Chinese nationalism. Despite its limited and distorted representation of minorities, however, the popularization of min’ge has also inspired minority musicians to reclaim their identities through music. Therefore, this paper explores both the cooptation and contestation of state-promoted identities through the medium of popular folk music.

The research in this thesis will focus on China’s increasingly important role in the global film industry, including the dynamic between the Chinese government, the Chinese film industry, and Hollywood. The first chapter gives a comprehensive overview of the history of artistic trends in postsocialist Chinese film since 1979. The following chapter provides a history of the commercial and economic developments regarding the Chinese film industry after Deng Xiaoping’s economic reforms and open door policy. In the third chapter, a detailed analysis of the different Chinese state entities and their functions provide insight into the history of the political and regulatory framework of the Chinese film industry. The fourth chapter examines Hollywood’s role and response to China’s burgeoning film industry and market including case studies of top western film companies that have been heavily involved with China. It also focuses on the challenges the domestic Chinese film industry faces in response to government censorship and competition from Hollywood. Finally, the conclusion offers predictions for the future state of the Chinese film industry, and discusses the implications surrounding the growing relationship between the China and Hollywood.

The author covers issues of gender and Iranian national identity as reflected in Iran’s first published woman novelist, Simin Daneshvar. Her novel, Savushun, is the first novel to be published by an Iranianwoman in 1969. The novel depicts Iran at the start of the country’s governmental factions in 1941 when Reza Shah Pahlavi overthrew years of Iranian dynasty and established a monarchy. This thesis explores how the novel is a vital part of Iran’s historical literature as well as essential to the present day discussion of gender and politics, especially for women within the patriarchal paradigm.