Boston University. University Professors Program Senior theses. / PLEASE NOTE: Boston University Libraries did not receive an Authorization To Manage form for this thesis. It is therefore not openly accessible, though it may be available by request. If you are the author or principal advisor of this work and would like to request open access for it, please contact us at open-help@bu.edu. Thank you. / 2031-01-02

<p> The purpose of this research is to determine whether speech shadowing influences the values of voice onset time (VOT) of word-initial consonants, /b/, /p/, /t/, /d/, and /k/ in reading and speaking conditions after a four-week training period. Twenty participants separated into two groups from a learning center in Taipei, Taiwan were recruited for this experiment. Mann-Whitney U tests were conducted to compare the values of VOT of five word-initial consonants in reading and speaking conditions, and narrative analyses were conducted to distinguish the differences among reading, speaking, and shadowing conditions. The results indicate that after the training period, the pronunciations of the consonants /b/, /p/, and /d/ had changed in reading and speaking conditions. The teaching of English pronunciation in Taiwan elementary schools was discussed and speech shadowing was recommended as one pedagogical method for improving the acquisition of English pronunciation.</p><p>

The present research examines the importance of time factors as predictors of success in language learning. Time factors are periods of time which students spend on language learning. The research addresses four main questions: (1) what is the nature of the relationship between language learning and time; (2) what is the relative importance of time factors to language learning; (3) to what extent can time factors predict success in language learning; and (4) what do students spend most time on? A group of 118 students of French and EFL at the Universities of Sussex and Brighton completed a questionnaire during the period March to May 1995. This questionnaire collected data on the periods of time students spent on language learning and on student proficiency levels, using self-report instruments. This data was triangulated with similar data collected from 23 interviewees, and 6 case-study students. The results of a correlational analysis indicated that total hours of study and active residence was the best predictor of student proficiency, and that there seemed to be a logarithmic relationship between this predictor and proficiency. The best multiple regression model accounted for 67% of variance in proficiency levels. Students of French spent most time on classwork and homework, whereas the EFL students spent most time chatting to non-native speakers and listening to the radio.

<p> This study aims to investigate programmatic and curricular support systems in place for ESL instructors to readily and appropriately address mental well-being concerns amongst their student populations. Furthermore, the study evaluated instructors&rsquo; involvement with local counseling and trauma-based training with refugee and immigrant populations in mind. As refugees, along with a percentage of the immigrant population, enter the United States with a pre-flight history of war, violence, and persecution the ESL classroom exists as a social point of entry to establish communal ties. Additionally, an ESL classroom may be the first educational context an immigrant or refugee experiences after a protracted period of time. To determine the knowledge and practices of instructors and their institutions, an online survey was sent to program directors and ESL instructors at adult ESL programs throughout Illinois. The survey questions were created to examine ESL instructors' awareness of mental well-being of their students and identify types of training and resources at ESL instructors&rsquo; disposal and whether ESL professionals were able to assist with their students&rsquo; mental well-being. Findings from this study indicated that instructors need more support from their programs to effectively respond to trauma and other mental well-being concerns manifested in both social and cognitive behaviors in the classroom. Findings showed that instructors with clear protocols and procedures for mental well-being concerns were more likely to know of and refer students to mental health providers. Additionally, instructors indicated a desire for more training on the subject of trauma and mental health and methods to incorporate this knowledge into their lesson planning and classroom instruction.</p><p>

<p> In St. Croix, United States Virgin Islands (USVI), the growing population of English language learners (ELLs) are expected to meet the standards of the Smarter Balanced assessment and take the test during their first year of school on the island. However, meeting the accountability measures while acquiring academic language proficiency is overwhelming. The lack of language proficiency in English prevents ELLs from achieving academic success in high-stakes standardized testing. For this reason, it was necessary to study this phenomenon. This study addressed the problem of educational policies concerning strategies to help ELLs to demonstrate success on standardized assessments (Modiga, 2013). Results will give leaders and teachers a voice regarding ways to improve practices to assist ELLs on standardized assessments. The purpose of this qualitative study was to understand the struggle of ESL teachers in the USVI to meet not only the language needs of ELLs but also the requirements for them to pass the Smarter Balanced assessment in the St. Croix School District. Eight themes emerged from the data analysis: lack of professional development (PD), language support, commonly used assessments, language proficiency, cultural diversity, language background experience and expectations, district and school-wide initiatives, and lack of understanding how to meet the provisions of the constructivism theory or ESSA. The first recommendation is to extend the scope of the research to involve more mainstream middle school teachers across the USVI who also serve ELLs and must prepare them for the Smarter Balanced assessment. The second recommendation is to identify instructional practices that can best meet the needs of ELLs in content-area classes in the USVI. The third recommendation is to compare the perceptions of best practices of mainstream teachers from two districts in the USVI, one not making statistically significant gains with ELLs and the other making statistically substantial gains on the Smarter Balanced assessment. The last recommendation is to conduct a study in the USVI on the alignment of the core curriculum with English language proficiency and Common Core State Standards with mainstream teachers using ESL strategies to serve ELLs&rsquo; language needs to see if there is improvement on standardized test scores.</p><p>

<p> This study investigated the effect of first language (L1) transfer on Arabic ESL learners&rsquo; 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&rsquo; errors predicted by CA. </p><p> 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. </p><p> 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&rsquo; language level. Specifically, learners reported that both factors helped them reduce the frequency of L1 transfer errors in their writing. </p><p> 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.</p><p>

I This thesis is an investigation of the Contrastive Analysis Hypothesis. This hypothesis is founded on the assumption that second language learners tend to transfer their native language structures when learnIng a, second language. In its strong version, this hypothesis claims that by contrasting two or more languages, it is possible to predict probable areas of difficulty and hence errors on part of the foreign language learner. Contrastive analysis yields two types of prediction: (i) second language learners will transfer their isomorphic Ll structures into the second language and thus produce correct target constructions, and (ii) they will transfer the anisomorphic structures of their mother tongue thus producing erroneous structures which reflect those of their mother tongue. The second hypothesis which I seek to verify in the present work claims that the more advanced the second language learner is, the more successfully he/she will perform in the second language. Long exposure to the new language will enable the learner to improve his/her linguistic competence in this language and as a result, he/she will utilise more positive transfer and less negative transfer than the less advanced learner. The validity of the two hypotheses will be investigated with reference to Syrian learners of English. The two languages under focus are English and Modern Standard Arabic. I focus exclusively on one syntactic structure viz., the noun phrase. My contrastive analysis of English and Modern Standard Arabic noun phrases is based on their description in terms of the general framework of the theory of Government and Binding. The predictions yielded by contrastive analysis were empirically tested by carrying out a small scale empirical investigation which consisted of three tests: a Completion Test, a Translation Test and a Judgment Test. The three tests were administered to two groups of Syrian students studying English at the University of Tishrin, Latakia, Syria. The first group comprised 25 first year students, and the second group included a similar number of fourth year students. I then carried out an error analysis of the data obtained in order to determine the source of each error and separate transfer from non-transfer errors. Quantificational measures were applied to the results in order to determine the relative frequency of each prediction in percentages. iii The degree of success of the predictions were taken as measures for the validity of the hypothesis on which they were based viz., the Contrastive Analysis Hypothesis. In order to verify the second hypothesis, I compared the mean percentages of transfer scored by both groups for each prediction in each test. Conclusions as to whether there were significant differences between the two groups in the degree of transfer were drawn by using the T-Test, which is statistical measure used to assess the significance of the differences between two given average scores.

The following thesis is an attempt to explore the relationship between translating and language learning. Chapter one is an attempt to relate the theory of Translating with that of Second Language Teaching. In the second chapter a review will be given of the history of translating within language teaching methodology, particularly noting the reasons why translating as a language teaching activity fell into disfavour. It will isolate and evaluate the criticisms which have been levelled at translating as a pedagogical device. Chapter three will look at the notion of Communicative Competence and this will include an investigation of the pragmatic and strategic dimension to language teaching. This will lead to a discussion of translating within the framework of developments along this dimension. The argument will centre around the point that within a discourse framework translating as a teaching method is much more relevant and that the criticisms and arguments against it discussed in chapter two therefore no longer apply. In chapter four the relationship between Translating Strategies and Interlanguage Strategies will be examined. This chapter will look at and compare the kind of processes at work within pidgins and creoles and first and second language acquisition with those used in Translating. Chapter five will follow on from the previous chapter with an empirical study of translating strategies and will test the hypothesis that translators and language users make use of similar strategies; and will include a description of data collection, a statistical study and conclusions. In chapter six the relationship between translating and communicative methodology will be examined. I will look particularly at how translating relates to questions of syllabus design and the polarities of accuracy and fluency Chapter seven will contain specific proposals for pedagogy looking at particular areas within linguistic, pragmatic and strategic competence. This chapter will include materials which have been piloted both with Arab learners of English and English learners of Arabic. Chapter eight concludes the thesis arguing that translating does have a vital role to play within a broader communicative approach to language teaching and looks at a number of potential areas for further research.

abstract: The goals of science and myth go hand in hand. Both seek to see beyond the senses. Both seek to understand the environment and the human mind. Both seek patterns. Both invent, through narrative, reasons for things happening the way they do. This considered, how do writers use myths in contemporary literature? How do they use science? Myth and science are stories that belong to everyone, stories that are shared. For those who are brought up learning science in school or who are raised in a religious society, how can writers take advantage of these shared associations, these shared memories, when writing fiction? What is the power of science in fiction? This essay seeks to answer these questions. / Dissertation/Thesis / Masters Thesis English 2015

<p> With the significant increase in the number of immigrants entering the United States, schools and adult programs must prepare teachers to teach English Language Learners. The problem is that educators are unsure of what is the most effective method to teach the increasing number of ELLs who are in the silent/pre-production and production stages of learning the new language, and these learners are not engaging in appropriate cooperative learning strategies. Teachers are overwhelmed since many are not equipped to teach ELLs. This impact has left a greater need for educators to identify strategies to assist learners in acquiring the English language to gain employment and enter higher education. The purpose of this qualitative case study was to discern the effectiveness of cooperative learning strategies, a theory supported by Johnson and Johnson cognitive developmental and social interdependence perspective. Participants for this study were ELLs who were at least 18 years old and did not speak English. Participants had to be enrolled in an English as a Second Language (ESL) Adult Education program. Data were collected by observing students interacting in groups and with their peers in a classroom. ESL teachers were also part of the data collection process through interviews, using an open-ended, semi-structured process. The data were analyzed using thematic analysis in (a) Strategies, (b) Evaluating Success, and (c) Teaching. Findings suggested that cooperative-learning strategies not only increased students&rsquo; acquisition, it also improved social interactions; as such, teachers should be encouraged to use the approach. The study concluded with potential implications that ELLs were at different levels; secondly, some ELLs might become dependent on others to speak for them, and that teachers in the setting did not evaluate their own students. Future studies should observe ELLs for longer periods to identify if their goals were realized, in addition, ELL&rsquo;s pre-test scores should be compared with their post-test scores to ascertain their growth in language acquisition</p><p>