This paper reports a study of VanPatten's processing instruction (PI) and Ray's TPRS. High school students in a beginning Spanish course were divided into three groups (PI, TPRS, and control) and instructed in forms using the Spanish verb gustar. Treatment included sentence-level and discourse-level input, and tests included interpretation and production measures in a pretest, an immediate posttest, and a delayed posttest given two and a half months following treatment. The PI group made the greatest gains in production measures and in a grammaticality judgment test, and the TPRS group made the greatest gains in written fluency. The PI group's statistical gains in production measures held through the delayed posttest.

This dissertation investigated the acquisition and processing of anaphora by learners of English, using both "offline" methods such as paper-and-pencil written tests and "online" methods such as self-paced reading-for-comprehension. Three experiments were conducted. The first two experiments tested advanced Chinese ESL learners' knowledge and processing of anaphora. The focus of the first experiment was on whether participants automatically use gender and number cues, and verb information to interpret pronouns and reflexives during online processing. The second experiment manipulated gender and pragmatic cues to test whether participants have acquired knowledge of structural constraints on reflexive interpretation (i.e., the binding principles). The third experiment, using a pretest-treatment-posttest design, investigated the efficacy of computer-delivered Processing Instruction (PI) on the acquisition of structural constraints and the use of those constraints during reading. During the pretest, subjects completed a self-paced reading task and a written test. For the treatment, participants learned the grammatical constraints on reflexives through interaction with a computer program. Posttest assessment included one interpretation test, one sentence completion task, and one self-paced reading task. The role of feedback in Computer Assisted Language Learning was also examined. Results showed the following: (1) Advanced L2 learners were more sensitive to certain types of agreement information (gender) than others (number). (2) PI improved L2 learners' knowledge about constraints on reflexives as measured by offline tests. (3) PI led to improvement in learners' processing strategies as measured by online tasks. (4) No significant difference was found between the implicit feedback group and the explicit feedback group in the third experiment. Overall, this research highlights the importance of multiple types of assessment that tap the acquisition of grammatical knowledge as well as the proficiency with which learners use that knowledge during reading comprehension tasks.

No description available.

The subject of this study is a curricular model in word processing for post-secondary programs of business education. The study had the following purposes: to survey the present emphasis upon word processing in programs of business education; to survey the current use of word processing in business; to identify the characteristic form of word processing systems; to survey the need for qualified personnel for employment in word processing; to evaluate current educational practices in educating individuals for positions in word processing; and to utilize findings from both business and education to construct a curricular model for post-secondary educational institutions. The data results included the following findings: 1) no separate word processing course was offered by 73.8 percent of the responding post-secondary educational institutions; 2) a word processing program was offered by 2.4 percent of the responding institutions; 3) typing and English were common prerequisites to word processing course; 4) most of the teaching materials used in the courses were vendor products or teacher-constructed; 5) most of the interviewees felt that from three to six months' training on the equipment was necessary for proficiency; 6) in the overall comparison of all education responses to all business responses on the rating sheets, 37.7 percent of the 45 items showed a significant difference.

No description available.

This thesis investigates the effects of explicit input-based focus on form on the comprehension and production of noun clauses by the intermediate level students studying at Atilim University. To this end, a comparison was made between the comprehension and production scores of two groups of students from this context, one receiving explicit input-based focus on form (Group 1) and the other receiving no additional instruction other than the one suggested in the syllabus they were following (Group 2). Before and after this instructional intervention, both groups were given three different tests, namely an interpretation test (to evaluate how the students comprehended noun clauses), a production test (to evaluate how they used noun clauses), and a grammaticality judgment test (to evaluate the students&amp / #8223 / explicit knowledge of noun clauses). The comparisons between Group 1 and Group 2 revealed that explicit input-based instruction may have a power to influence the L2 learners&amp / #8223 / comprehension and explicit knowledge of noun clauses. However, the results indicated that this type of instruction may not be effective on the production of learners as it is on their comprehension of L2 forms.

The effect of grammar instruction on second language acquisition continues to be a source of debate in SLA research. Previous studies have shown that input-based instruction such as Processing Instruction (PI) is more effective than traditional grammar instruction (TI) for the acquisition of grammatical structures such as object pronouns in Spanish, the Spanish preterite, the simple present vs. the present progressive in English, and the ser/estar contrast in Spanish (VanPatten and Cadierno, 1993; Cadierno, 1995; Buck, 2000; Cheng, 2004). This quasi-experimental, classroom-based study examines the effects of output-based instruction (OB) and PI on the acquisition of the perfective/imperfective aspectual distinction in French, shown to be difficult to master by English-speaking learners due to its linguistic and pragmatic complexity. Specifically, the research design investigates whether OB instruction and PI have significant effects on the learners' performance involving the interpretation and production of the passé composé and the imparfait in narration. Two second semester university level French classes at the University of Texas at Austin were randomly assigned to one of the two groups: an output-based instruction group (n=18) and a processing instruction group (n=17). A distinct instructional treatment was developed for both groups, and a pretest/posttest procedure was used to assess the effect of instruction. The two posttests were administered one day and one month after instruction. All tests except the pretest included a written interpretation task, a controlled written production task, and a written composition. The findings show that both the OB and the PI groups improved their performance significantly on the assessment tasks and that there was no statistical difference between the groups on any of the tasks. These results differ from those of previous PI research and suggest that either type of instruction, output-based or processing, may have had a significant impact on the learners' developing system. The type of output-based instruction used in this study differs from TI in that it does not include a mechanical component. The results of the present study are consistent with Farley (2004b) in showing that approaches to grammar instruction that are meaning-oriented may bring about significant effects on SLA. / text

Este presente estudo comparou o efeito de duas combinações de instrução com foco na forma no ensino da flexão de adjetivos I e NA da língua japonesa, em sua forma predicativa, aplicadas em duas turmas de nível básico. Uma combinação foi baseada no composto: instrução para processamento com uso de técnica de saliência textual atividade de produção estruturada, e a outra, na atividade de consciousness raising com uso de técnica de saliência textual atividade de produção estruturada. A primeira combinação teve como principal intervenção pedagógica a instrução para processamento formulada por VanPatten (1993, 1996, 2004), e a segunda, a atividade de consciousness raising defendida por alguns autores como Fotos & Ellis (1991). O objetivo principal foi avaliar qual das duas intervenções é mais eficaz na aprendizagem a curto e a longo prazo das flexões dos adjetivos. Para tanto, o desempenho dos aprendizes foi avaliado por cinco pós-testes e por um teste postergado, todos em formato de produção escrita, aplicados após os respectivos tratamentos. Os resultados obtidos pela análise estatística constatam que, apesar de ambas as combinações apresentarem um efeito positivo, a instrução para processamento é mais eficaz tanto na aprendizagem a curto prazo como na de longo prazo das flexões dos adjetivos I e NA. / This study focused on comparing the effects of two combinations of form-focused instruction on the learning of Japanese I and NA adjective inflection, in their predicative form, applied to two elementary level student groups. One combination was based on the composite: processing instruction with textual input enhancement technique structured output activity, and the other one was formed by consciousness raising activity with textual input enhancement technique structured output activity. The main classroom intervention of the first combination was the processing instruction formulated by VanPatten (1993, 1996, 2004), and of the second was the consciousness raising activity advocated by some authors like Fotos & Ellis (1991). The main purpose was to evaluate which of the two interventions is more effective in the short and long term learning of adjective inflection. To that end, the learner`s performance was evaluated through five post-tests and one postponed test, all in written production form, applied after the respective treatments. The results obtained by statistical analysis found that, although both combinations of instruction showed positive learning results, the processing instruction appeared more effective in the short and in the long term learning of Japanese I and NA adjective inflection.

Este presente estudo comparou o efeito de duas combinações de instrução com foco na forma no ensino da flexão de adjetivos I e NA da língua japonesa, em sua forma predicativa, aplicadas em duas turmas de nível básico. Uma combinação foi baseada no composto: instrução para processamento com uso de técnica de saliência textual atividade de produção estruturada, e a outra, na atividade de consciousness raising com uso de técnica de saliência textual atividade de produção estruturada. A primeira combinação teve como principal intervenção pedagógica a instrução para processamento formulada por VanPatten (1993, 1996, 2004), e a segunda, a atividade de consciousness raising defendida por alguns autores como Fotos & Ellis (1991). O objetivo principal foi avaliar qual das duas intervenções é mais eficaz na aprendizagem a curto e a longo prazo das flexões dos adjetivos. Para tanto, o desempenho dos aprendizes foi avaliado por cinco pós-testes e por um teste postergado, todos em formato de produção escrita, aplicados após os respectivos tratamentos. Os resultados obtidos pela análise estatística constatam que, apesar de ambas as combinações apresentarem um efeito positivo, a instrução para processamento é mais eficaz tanto na aprendizagem a curto prazo como na de longo prazo das flexões dos adjetivos I e NA. / This study focused on comparing the effects of two combinations of form-focused instruction on the learning of Japanese I and NA adjective inflection, in their predicative form, applied to two elementary level student groups. One combination was based on the composite: processing instruction with textual input enhancement technique structured output activity, and the other one was formed by consciousness raising activity with textual input enhancement technique structured output activity. The main classroom intervention of the first combination was the processing instruction formulated by VanPatten (1993, 1996, 2004), and of the second was the consciousness raising activity advocated by some authors like Fotos & Ellis (1991). The main purpose was to evaluate which of the two interventions is more effective in the short and long term learning of adjective inflection. To that end, the learner`s performance was evaluated through five post-tests and one postponed test, all in written production form, applied after the respective treatments. The results obtained by statistical analysis found that, although both combinations of instruction showed positive learning results, the processing instruction appeared more effective in the short and in the long term learning of Japanese I and NA adjective inflection.

Made available in DSpace on 2014-12-17T15:48:05Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 ChristianeAN_DISSERT.pdf: 2651034 bytes, checksum: 1c708aec5eba3fd620f2944124931c55 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2012-08-17 / Coordena??o de Aperfei?oamento de Pessoal de N?vel Superior / The increasing complexity of integrated circuits has boosted the development of communications architectures like Networks-on-Chip (NoCs), as an architecture; alternative for interconnection of Systems-on-Chip (SoC). Networks-on-Chip complain for component reuse, parallelism and scalability, enhancing reusability in projects of dedicated applications. In the literature, lots of proposals have been made, suggesting different configurations for networks-on-chip architectures. Among all networks-on-chip considered, the architecture of IPNoSys is a non conventional one, since it allows the execution of operations, while the communication process is performed. This study aims to evaluate the execution of data-flow based applications on IPNoSys, focusing on their adaptation against the design constraints. Data-flow based applications are characterized by the flowing of continuous stream of data, on which operations are executed. We expect that these type of applications can be improved when running on IPNoSys, because they have a programming model similar to the execution model of this network. By observing the behavior of these applications when running on IPNoSys, were performed changes in the execution model of the network IPNoSys, allowing the implementation of an instruction level parallelism. For these purposes, analysis of the implementations of dataflow applications were performed and compared / A crescente complexidade dos circuitos integrados impulsionou o surgimento de arquiteturas de comunica??o do tipo Redes em chip ou NoC (do ingl?s, Network-on-Chip), como alternativa de arquitetura de interconex?o para Sistemas-em-Chip (SoC; Systems-on-Chip). As redes em chip possuem capacidade de reuso de componentes, paralelismo e escalabilidade, permitindo a reutiliza??o em projetos diversos. Na literatura, t?m-se uma grande quantidade de propostas com diferentes configura??es de redes em chip. Dentre as redes em chip estudadas, a rede IPNoSys possui arquitetura diferenciada, pois permite a execu??o de opera??es, em conjunto com as atividades de comunica??o. Este trabalho visa avaliar a execu??o de aplica??es orientadas a dados na rede IPNoSys, focando na sua adequa??o frente ?s restri??es de projeto. As aplica??es orientadas a dados s?o caracterizadas pela comunica??o de um fluxo cont?nuo de dados sobre os quais, opera??es s?o executadas. Espera-se ent?o, que estas aplica??es possam ser beneficiadas quando de sua execu??o na rede IPNoSys, devido ao seu elevado grau de paralelismo e por possu?rem modelo de programa??o semelhante ao modelo de execu??o desta rede. Uma vez observadas a execu??o de aplica??es na rede IPNoSys, foram realizadas modifica??es no modelo de execu??o da rede IPNoSys, o que permitiu a explora??o do paralelismo em n?vel de instru??es. Para isso, an?lises das execu??es de aplica??es data flow foram realizadas e comparadas