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published_or_final_version / Education / Master / Master of Education

This project serves as a resource to help teachers understand and meet the educational needs of second-language learners by promoting their metalinguistic awareness through peer response in writing in elementary English as a foreign language.

Describes the results of a research project that analyzes the interaction of a second language (L2) learners of English (non-native speakers (NNS)) with a native speakers (NS). The subjects of the study were four NNS and two NS of English at Imperial Valley College in Imperial, California. The first aspect of the analysis determines the way in which self-repair might be related to L2 development and the L2 learner's language proficiency level. The second aspect of the analysis determines whether the NNS use self-repair differently when the interlocutor is a NS or a NNS of English. Results of the study indicate that while there was not a correlation between overall frequency of self-repair and language proficiency, there was a relationship between frequency of particular types of repair and language proficiency.

This dissertation considers the factors affecting the acquisition of a second language and those factors thought to be the most important in the acquisition of English as a second language. An examination of the theories of language acquisition is followed by a literature study and discussion of the factors appearing to be of importance in second language acquisition. The account of the empirical investigation, conducted in an English medium school in Botswana, includes the formulation of hypothesis, discussion of the sample, a description of the measuring instruments used and a summary of the general procedure followed. The results of the empirical investigation suggest that the most important factors in the acquisition of English as a second language are age, intelligence, the amount of English spoken at home, pupil perception of parental support and first language acquisition. In conclusion, some of the educational implications of this investigation are considered. / Psychology of Education / M. Ed. (Psychology of Education)

在過去的兩個世紀， 一系列廣泛的研究已經著眼於中國兒童以中文為母語和英文為二語的閱讀和寫字方面的探索。 研究發現母語為中文的兒童在認讀中文和英文詞語過程中，一些基本的認知，元認知，以及語言方面的能力和技巧對他們的中文和英文閱讀有相似且不同的作用。同閱讀英文相比，閱讀中文似乎運用不同的認知，語言和正字法能力。然而，極少有研究從以字母語言為母語的兒童學習中文二語的角度探索這個中文閱讀。现在还不明确譬如這些兒童是否像以中文為母語的兒童一樣在閱讀中文的過程中經歷相似的認知和語言加工。問題在于和中文為母語兒童相比，以字母語言為母語的兒童在學習閱讀中文方面有哪些的相似和不同處。這項研究關注這些研究問題，測試一群在香港環境中學習中文為二語的兒童。 / 在香港眾多國際學校中，大多數學校每天有一節40分鐘的中文課。這些學校將中文作為一門外語學習。少數學校採用英中文雙語課程，這些學校的學生在校有至少40的中文學習時間。這項研究一部分採樣來自一所採用英中雙語課程的學校（共102名8-9歲兒童，62名母语为中文的儿童，40名母语为非中文的儿童），另一部分數據採樣來自兩所以中文為外語（一天一节40分钟中文课）和英文为主要语言的學校(共88名8-9歲兒童，47名母语为中文的儿童，41名母语为非中文的儿童)。大多數以中文為二語的儿童在英文为母语的环境中成长，这些儿童中少数以其他字母语言为母语，例如荷兰语，德语，西班牙语或是韩语。 / 在这项研究对儿童语言背景调查中，所有兒童的家長們對其子女的英文和中文語言能力，語言環境和學習態度的評估為這項研究提供了詳盡的兒童語言背景資料。我們对这些儿童进行 了一系列中文及英文閱讀相關的任務测试。在數據分析時，我們以這些兒童母親匯報的第一語言為標准，將這些兒童分為中文為母語和中文為非母語的兩組。 / 因為課程設置不同對語言習得的影響，我分開處理分析兩類採樣學校的數據。在英文閱讀相關的任務上，兩類學校的中文母語兒童和非中文母語兒童表現相當。但是無論是雙語學校還是英文學校中的中文母語兒童都在中文閱讀相關任務上較非母語兒童表現出顯著的優勢。兩類學校的兩組兒童在視覺能力上表現相同，但是在中文正字法相關的視覺能力上，中文母語兒童優於非母語兒童。結構方差分析表示中文母語兒童在認讀中文字詞中大量運用正字法相關的視覺能力和拼音知識，而非母語兒童依賴語音意識能力和視覺能力認讀中文字詞。 / 理論上，這項研究肯定了閱讀中文運用較閱讀英文不同的認知和語言能力。這項研究對中文二語教學有深刻的影響。非中文母語特別是以字母語言為母語的兒童在學習中文時會依賴其母語的經驗。今后的研究需要更進一步的研究這個特殊群體。 / For the last two decades, an extensive line of research has focused on how Chinese children learn to read and write Chinese as a first language and English as a second language. Researchers identified a number of basic cognitive, metalinguistic and linguistic skills making contributions to the reading of Chinese and English words by native Chinese-speaking children, with some differences between the two languages. It appears that learning to read Chinese taps different cognitive, linguistic and orthographic skills than learning to read English. / Only very limited research has so far addressed the phenomenon from the angle of children with a non-Chinese language background, i.e. those learning alphabetic languages. It is not known, for example, if children learning Chinese as a second language might also go through similar cognitive and linguistic processes in learning to read Chinese as native Chinese-speaking children. The question is, how similar or dissimilar learning to read Chinese is for children with an alphabetic language background compared to native-speaking Chinese children. This research project addresses these questions by examining a group of children learning Chinese as a second language in a Hong Kong context. / A majority of Hong Kong international schools offer Chinese classes of at least 40 minutes each day, with Chinese being taught as a foreign language. A minority offers an English-Chinese bilingual curriculum, with at least 40% of all teaching done in Chinese. For this research, 102 8-9 year olds (62 native and 40 non-native Chinese-speaking children) from a bilingual school were assessed, and 88 8-9 year olds (47 native and 41 non-native Chinese-speaking children) from two schools teaching Chinese as a foreign language, i.e. one lesson each day. Most of the non-native Chinese-speaking children grew up with English as their first language (L1). Other children speak other alphabetic language such as Dutch, German, Spanish, or Korean as their L1. / For this research, parental evaluations of the children’s English and Chinese language proficiency, exposure and learning attitudes were collected to obtain data on the children’s language background. The children were tested on a range of cognitive, language, metalinguistic and literacy skills in both Chinese and English. In analyzing the data, the children were separated into a native and a non-native Chinese-speaking group based on the reported first language of each child’s mother. / Data from the two types of schools were analyzed separately. In both types of schools, native Chinese-speaking children performed similarly to non-native Chinese-speaking children on English language related tasks, but outperformed them in Chinese language related tasks. However, the two groups were similar in pure visual skill tasks, although native Chinese-speaking children outperformed the non-native children on visual-orthographic skills. Regression analyses showed that native Chinese-speaking children rely heavily on visual-orthographic skills and on their knowledge of Pinyin in Chinese word reading, while children speaking alphabetic languages rely on phonological awareness skills and pure visual skills in learning to read Chinese. / This research has confirmed the theory that learning to read Chinese exercises a somewhat different set of cognitive and linguistic skills than learning to read English. This research has strong implications for teaching Chinese as a second language. Children with an alphabetic language background rely on their first language experience in learning to read Chinese. Further research is needed to study this group of children. / Detailed summary in vernacular field only. / Detailed summary in vernacular field only. / Detailed summary in vernacular field only. / Detailed summary in vernacular field only. / Detailed summary in vernacular field only. / Zhou, Yanling. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--Chinese University of Hong Kong, 2012. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 113-122). / Electronic reproduction. Hong Kong : Chinese University of Hong Kong, [2012] System requirements: Adobe Acrobat Reader. Available via World Wide Web. / Abstract also in Chinese. / Abstract --- p.iii / 摘要 --- p.v / Acknowledgements --- p.vii / Table of Contents --- p.viii / List of Tables --- p.xi / Chapter Chapter 1. --- Introduction --- p.1 / What is reading? --- p.2 / Second language reading and biliteracy development --- p.4 / Chinese and English language and orthography --- p.6 / Chapter Chapter 2 --- Literature review --- p.9 / L1 reading acquisition --- p.9 / Oral language development in L1 English and Chinese reading development --- p.9 / Morphological awareness in L1 English and Chinese literacy development --- p.12 / Phonological processing skills in L1 literacy acquisition --- p.14 / Phonological awareness skills in L1 word reading --- p.15 / Phonological awareness and Pinyin knowledge for L1 Chinese word reading --- p.18 / RAN in L1 reading development --- p.20 / Phonological working memory --- p.20 / Working memory skills in literacy learning --- p.21 / Visual and visual-orthographic skills in literacy acquisition --- p.25 / L2 reading acquisition --- p.30 / Oral language in L2 reading development --- p.31 / Morphological awareness skills in L1 Chinese learning to read English as an L2 --- p.33 / Phonological awareness skills in L1 Chinese learning to read English as an L2 --- p.34 / Orthographic awareness skills in L1 Chinese learning to read English as L2 --- p.36 / Reading Chinese as L2 --- p.38 / Chapter Chapter 3 --- Methodology --- p.44 / Participants --- p.44 / Procedures --- p.47 / Measures --- p.48 / Raven’s non-verbal intelligence --- p.48 / Chinese Phonological awareness --- p.48 / English Phonological awareness --- p.49 / Chinese Pinyin Knowledge --- p.49 / Tone detection task --- p.49 / Chinese morphological awareness --- p.50 / English morphological awareness --- p.51 / Chinese Vocabulary knowledge --- p.51 / English Vocabulary knowledge --- p.52 / Chinese word reading --- p.52 / English word reading --- p.53 / Chinese word dictation --- p.53 / English real and pseudo-word dictation --- p.54 / Chinese delayed copy tasks --- p.54 / Speed of copying Chinese characters --- p.54 / Speed of visual processing --- p.55 / Visual spatial relations --- p.55 / Visual orthographic configuration --- p.55 / Visual orthographic memory --- p.56 / Chinese and English working memory tasks --- p.56 / Rapid number naming in Chinese and English --- p.57 / Chapter Chapter 4 --- Results --- p.58 / Results for the bilingual School --- p.58 / Group comparisons on Chinese and English reading related skills for the bilingual school --- p.59 / Chinese word reading in native and non-native Chinese-speaking children at the bilingual school --- p.65 / English word reading in native and non-native Chinese-speaking children at the bilingual school --- p.69 / Cross language transfer on English word reading for the bilingual school --- p.72 / Cross-language transfer on Chinese word reading for the bilingual school --- p.75 / Chapter Result For The Monolingual English-Speaking School --- p.77 / Group Comparison On Chinese And English Reading Related Skills For Children From The Monolingual English-Speaking Schools --- p.78 / Chinese Word Reading In Native And Non-Native Chinese-Speaking Children At The Monolingual English-Speaking Schools --- p.83 / English Word Reading In Native And Non-Native Chinese-Speaking Children At The Monolingual English-Speaking School --- p.87 / Cross Language Transfer On English Word Reading ForMonolingual English-Speaking Schools --- p.90 / Cross-Language Transfer On Chinese Word Reading For Monolingual English-Speaking Schools --- p.93 / Chapter Chapter5. --- Discussion --- p.95 / About Language Group Differences --- p.95 / Chinese Reading Related Skills On Chinese Word Reading For The Two Language Groups --- p.101 / English Reading Related Skills In Relation To English Word Reading For The Two Language Groups --- p.103 / Cross-Language Transfer Between Chinese And English --- p.104 / Vocabulary Development In Chinese --- p.104 / Chapter Chapter6. --- Conclusion --- p.109 / References --- p.113

All in all, the thesis tries to fill the research gap in the study of English pronunciation in a Hong Kong context. It exhausts the pronunciation of all types of English consonant clusters by native Cantonese learners of English, provides experimental studies to investigate the most effective approach to the acquisition of English consonant clusters, and applies Optimality Theory to elucidate the pronunciation phenomena found among Cantonese learners of English. / Apart from the inquiry into language pedagogy, this thesis also analyses and expounds the language phenomena of consonant cluster production through the application of Optimality Theory. From the data of the pre-test and post-tests, the pronunciation modification phenomena of subjects were summarised and analysed. It is found that subjects produced pronunciation forms that resembled that of native English speakers, but at the same time they produced forms that deviated from that of native English speakers. The most frequent pronunciation modifications are substitution and deletion. / Optimality Theory argues that phonological differences between languages are the results of the differences in the ranking of universal constraints; therefore, the preference towards certain modification phenomena and the production of certain pronunciation forms by Cantonese speakers can be viewed as the differences in the ranking of constraints between English and Cantonese. In the interlanguage phonology of Cantonese speakers, words like pray /pre I/ and find /faInd/ could become [pe I] and [faIn] phonetically. This can be explained by assuming that the English words are input to a phonology in which *COMPLEX (complex onset or coda is not permissible) is highly ranked, and that in order to observe this constraint, Cantonese learners of English might apply deletion to delete a consonant in syllables with consonant clusters. / Yam Pui Suen, Josephine. / "June 2005." / Advisers: G. Gong; J. Hung. / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 67-01, Section: A, page: 0170. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--Chinese University of Hong Kong, 2005. / Includes bibliographical references (p. 202-214). / Electronic reproduction. Hong Kong : Chinese University of Hong Kong, [2012] System requirements: Adobe Acrobat Reader. Available via World Wide Web. / Electronic reproduction. [Ann Arbor, MI] : ProQuest Information and Learning, [200-] System requirements: Adobe Acrobat Reader. Available via World Wide Web. / Electronic reproduction. Ann Arbor, MI : ProQuest Information and Learning Company, [200-] System requirements: Adobe Acrobat Reader. Available via World Wide Web. / Abstracts in English and Chinese. / School code: 1307.

Lam Lai-chuen. / "May 2003." / Thesis (Ph.D.)--Chinese University of Hong Kong, 2003. / Includes bibliographical references (p. 261-280). / Electronic reproduction. Hong Kong : Chinese University of Hong Kong, [2012] System requirements: Adobe Acrobat Reader. Available via World Wide Web. / Electronic reproduction. Ann Arbor, MI : ProQuest Information and Learning Company, [200-] System requirements: Adobe Acrobat Reader. Available via World Wide Web. / Mode of access: World Wide Web. / Abstracts in English and Chinese.

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of a metacognitive language learning strategy training program that was implemented into computer-assisted language learning (CALL) software on second language learners' independent use of metacognition and language learning strategies (LLS). Questions under investigation included what effect this metacognitive training had on learners' independent use of metacognition, the differences in use of metacognitive strategies between fast and slow language learners, and the effect of learners' perceptions of metacognition on their use of LLS and specific metacognitive strategies.The subjects included 239 missionaries learning Spanish as a second language at the Missionary Training Center (MTC) in Provo, Utah where the learners experienced a rigorous, two-month language training program in their second language. The missionaries were randomly assigned to either the experimental group, which consisted of 120 missionaries, or control group, composed of 119 missionaries.

Although the benefits of group and pair work in the second language (L2) classroom have been extensively studied, most documented research has focused on the use of oral tasks and spoken interaction between learners. Recently however, researchers have begun to investigate the advantages of collaboration on written work. More specifically, with the advancements in computer technology and web-based collaborative platforms like wikis, there has been a growing awareness of the educational possibilities of wikis to enhance L2 writing instruction. This study followed a pretest/posttest repeated measures design to investigate the impact and students' perceptions of wiki-based collaborative writing activities on individual writing performance. The study involved 12 university students in a TOEFL preparation course at a large university in Bogota, Colombia. Students were divided into two groups: the experimental group (n=8) engaged in a series of wiki-based collaborative writing activities and focused practice between pre and posttests, while the control (n=4) received no treatment. Two individual writing samples (pre and posttest) composed by each participant under timed conditions were quantitatively analyzed using the three linguistic developmental measures of complexity, accuracy, and fluency. While statistically significant differences were not evident for measures of fluency or accuracy, descriptive statistics showed an overall positive impact for collaborative writing on individual learners' written fluency. Analysis of complexity measures revealed mixed results with respect to learning gains. Further analysis of perception data reported by learners in an exit survey disclosed their positive attitude towards perceived linguistic benefits with regard to the wiki-based collaborative writing activities. Both theoretical and pedagogical implications of the study, limitations, and directions for future research are presented.