This dissertation examines the development of long-distance wh- movement questions in the L2 English of (Canadian) French and Bulgarian speakers. The main phenomenon under investigation is medial wh- constructions (wh- scope marking and wh- copying). Such constructions are of particular interest because they are unattested in both the L1 and the L2 of the two learner populations; at the same time, they are licensed options in a number of other typologically distinct languages, of which the participants report no knowledge. As such, medial wh- constructions pose a learnability problem in L2 acquisition: how can a learner "know" something that is not supported by either the native language or the target input, but is attested in other languages? Two experiments, a written grammaticality judgment multiple-choice task and an oral elicited production task, were carried out with the two different learner populations and with English native speaker controls. The written experiments showed that medial wh- constructions co-exist and compete with the target English long-distance structure at the early and intermediate stages of acquisition of both the French and the Bulgarian speaking participants; at the advanced stages of acquisition, both populations showed evidence that medial wh- representations had been successfully eliminated from the interlanguage grammar, and the L2 data converged with that of the native speakers. In the oral elicitation experiments both the French and the Bulgarian speaking participants resorted to medial wh- and a number of other strategies aimed at avoiding long-distance wh- movement; I argue that such strategies are due to both the derivational complexity and the high processing load associated with long-distance wh- movement. The account developed to address the findings of the dissertation incorporates insights from both nativist and domain-general views on acquisition. The proposal is that L2 grammars have to be UG-constrained in order for the learnability problem to be resolved. In addition, the acquisition process has to be strongly driven by the input, allowing learners to make extensive use of a general probabilistic learning mechanism; this mechanism helps them to gradually eliminate the competing representations unsupported by the L2 input and to converge with the grammatical target. This approach is in principle applicable to both L1 and L2 acquisition and accounts for some relevant similarities between the two.

Using new longitudinal data, this thesis investigates the acquisition of clause structure from the earliest stages of language production of a child native speaker of Arabic learner of English. Specific attention is paid to the acquisition of the TP and CP systems and their related syntactic features. The first major objective of this work is to investigate the initial and subsequent emerging grammars of this child. Another objective is to investigate the status of child L2 acquisition with regard to child L1 and adult L2 acquisition. The idea is to test whether child L2 resembles child L1/adult L2 in the domain of syntax and/or morphology. A third objective is to determine the extent to which L1 intervenes with the L2 acquisition, and to ascertain the nature of the intervention. In this work I mainly study the TP and CP systems with their related features. This involves a variety of morphosyntactic constructions related to those features. I assume, following Hawkins (2005) and Lardiere (2008), among others, that language acquisition involves feature activation/assembly. A feature-based account of functional categories assumes that the language faculty provides a set of features and a computational tool that assembles these features into lexical items and expressions (Hawkins, 2005). In this system, formal features play a more important role as they determine agreement, case relations, and movement processes. Therefore, recent developments in minimalist syntax have shifted the acquisitionist's focus from the acquisition of functional categories to the availability and organization of formai features. The data of this study suggest that the functional projections TP and CP are activated early on. Formai features associated with the TP and CP systems are present from the earliest data available from this child. Moreover, this thesis confirms previous tradings (e.g., Haznedar 2001) that even very young L2 children are subject to the influence of the native language. Finally, this study shows that although child L2 resembles child L1 and adult L2 in certain morphosyntactic aspects, the differences among these three groups are much more salient than the similarities.

Many second language (L2) teachers are concerned about the use of computers in the classroom and question the value of using them if they do not promote meaningful interaction. Research performed on French as a Second Language (FSL) students’ language interaction at the computer agrees with Mohan's (1986) research on English as a Second Language students' language interaction which suggests that the quantity and quality of interaction is lower during computer tasks compared to conversation. Secondly, analysis of the codeswitching (CS) of the FSL students' interaction suggests that intersentential CS shows functional variation in discourse during computer use compared to conversation. This study examines the use of the computer to facilitate interaction as well as the possible role of CS in second language acquisition. / Education, Faculty of / Language and Literacy Education (LLED), Department of / Graduate

M.Ed. / This study is concerned with the experiences of Grade Eight African learners attending a school in Lenasia where English is the medium of instruction. Multilingualism is prevalent in the multiracial society in which we live. Since the adoption of the language policy by the new democratic government, South African schools now have the right to choose their language of instruction. The experiences of the Grade Eight African learners and the choice of English as the medium of instruction and the rationale behind this choice was investigated. The increasing number of functions that English plays in our lives, as well as, the role played by, and the importance of, home languages in our lives, were explored. The role that English and home languages play when, or if, used simultaneously to bring about positive changes, was researched. This study was an attempt to ensure that all languages are appreciated for the part they play in our lives., as well as the empowerment they bring about in our culturally different communities. This research design used has its origin in the nature of the research problem "What are the experiences of grade eight African second language learners attending an English medium school in Lenasia?" The research methods chosen for this study emerged from both the research orientation and the aim of the study. This research study discusses the experiences experienced by learners, being taught through the medium of English. Problems which are partially caused by the use of the vernacular is further explored. Insight into how these negative experiences of learners and their low self-esteem could be minimised was investigated, and recommendations were suggested. Learners' perceptions on activities and curriculum, which will assist in the improvement of English, were also determined. The use of home languages and their values in the learners' lives was researched. The role of home languages in the community as well as at school, together with English spoken at home and at school was determined. The programmes and methods, which can be utilised to ensure the proximal use the vernacular and English, were reflected through the approaches suggested by different scholars, and by the literature review. These approaches are explained and discussed to ensure a clear understanding of the research study being investigated.

While translation in L2 learning/teaching has been viewed negatively since the 1950s in North America, in the late 1980s a re-evaluation of translation has begun (Duff, 1989). The purpose of this research is to explore text-level translation from the learner’s perspective, as this kind of research, at present, remains quite scarce (Krings, 1987). This study focuses on text-level translation as a useful component of second language (L2) learning/teaching. Adult L2 learners’ translation processes and performance are examined and contrasted with the same group’s Li and L2 writing performance. Twenty-two Japanese ESL students studying at a Canadian college performed three tasks individually (translation from Li into L2, Li writing, L2 writing), thinking aloud. Their writing samples were evaluated, and think-aloud protocols were analyzed, supplemented by interviews and text analyses. The data were analyzed with attention given to four recent cognitive theories of language learning: Cummins’ theories (1986) of cross-linguistic interdependence of cognitive academic skills; Schmidt’s “conscious attention” (1990); Swain’s “i+1 output” hypothesis (1985); and McLaughlin’s “restructuring” (1 990b). Findings: 1) The correlations of the quality of translation, Li writing, and L2 writing of L2 learners (whose Li writing skills are still developing) were not significant. 2) The learners’ conscious attention to language use was high in the translation task, but unexpectedly low in the L2 writing. Their language use was more sophisticated in the translation than in the L2 writing. 3) Some students preferred translation tasks to L2 writing tasks, expressing their views which were consistent with the “i+1 output” hypothesis. 4) Contrary to general expectation about student translations, the students did not translate word for word; they often restructured Li/L2 correspondences, and examples of “restructuring” were not limited to the word level. General conclusions: Cross-linguistic interdependence among translation, Li writing, and L2 writing was not confirmed clearly. However, there was evidence that translation processes prompted conscious attention, “i+1 output”, and restructuring, which some consider to be necessary for second language learning. Thus translation in L2 learning deserves a closer look as it provides potential opportunities for learners to learn a second language. / Education, Faculty of / Curriculum and Pedagogy (EDCP), Department of / Graduate

In July of 2011, the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) determined that Massachusetts had violated the civil rights of its English Language Learners (ELLs) by placing them in classes with inadequately prepared teachers. Massachusetts is the contextual background for this study but it also serves as an example of the challenges across the U.S. in preparing teachers to meet the diverse needs of the growing population of ELLs within a national context of increasingly standardized curriculum and testing. The U.S. Secretary of Education, the Massachusetts Commissioner of Education, policy makers, teacher educators, and academics are all looking to educational research for answers to the current challenges. There are many answers or approaches coming from multiple discourses of educational research. However, as has been demonstrated in Massachusetts, research-based approaches to educational challenges are not always successful. More needs to be understood about how these approaches are actually taken up in classrooms. Unfortunately, there is limited research about teachers’ understandings and uses of different discourses of research. In this dissertation I have explored how two urban ESL teachers engaged with research at different stages of their professional development. The questions that guide this study focused on how the teachers made meaning of research and enacted research during the three stages of the study: their master’s program, their ESL practicum and a site visit two years after graduation. I conducted two longitudinal case studies drawing on constructivist grounded theory (Charmaz, 2006). Building on the findings from my literature review of ESL teachers’ engagement with research I collected and analyzed data from the three stages mentioned above over a five-year period. Multiple phases of analysis included critical incident analysis (Angelides, 2001), and text analysis (Fairclough, 1992; 2003; Janks, 2005). The findings of this study show that while the teachers engaged in multiple ways with research, certain types and discourses of research discouraged teachers from meeting the needs of their students. The teachers’ engagement with research as praxis (Lather, 1986) was complex but entailed change-enhancing engagement with theory, practice, and action that not only met students’ needs, but promoted socially just teaching.

This study focuses on the education of students who have been adopted internationally and are now learning English in school. Teachers typically have little training for—or experience with—working with these learners. Largely an unstudied area, this dissertation aims to shed light on how teachers develop teaching practices for this population. The present study takes as its theoretical framework a sociocultural perspective on second language acquisition (Lantolf 2000), a social semiotic approach to language (Halliday and Matthiessen 2004), and a critical discourse analysis perspective (Fairclough 1992). I specifically examine the literacy practices (Barton 2001, Gee 2008, Street 1995) of adopted Ethiopian students' teachers with attention to student identity, agency, and literacy development (Dyson 1993, Ibrahim 1999, Luke and Freebody 2000, New London Group 2000, Peirce 1995). During an eight-month period of ethnographic fieldwork (Emihovich 1989) I researched how white, English-speaking teachers and other school staff in three Vermont schools discursively constructed their Ethiopian students. I endeavored to examine how faculty assumptions about students shaped classroom literacy practices, implicating student identity and learning (Harklau 2000, Hawkins 2005, McKay and Wong 1996, Norton 1997, Thesen 1997, Toohey 1998, Willett 1995). Analysis reveals that teachers and other faculty drew on culturally dominant discourses about language, ethnicity, race, class, and health in developing understandings about their adopted students. While articulating the best of intentions toward their Ethiopian learners, teachers unknowingly took up assimilationist, colonialist, “model minority,” classist, and medicalized perspectives about their students that, in turn, informed their educational decision-making. In other words, faculty members positioned adopted Ethiopian learners in ways that constructed them as certain kinds of students (Gee 2008), and, based on those representations, teachers structured literacy activities that afforded them differential learning opportunities. I discuss at length the implications of this study for public education and research. There is a need for teachers and other school professionals to assume perspectives on learning grounded in theories of power, identity, and a contextual understanding of language. Education reform that fosters professional collaboration within schools is necessary. Finally, future education research from sociocultural and critical perspectives focusing on internationally adopted students is warranted.

The purpose of this study is to determine whether extensive reading has positive effects on developing inferencing skills. Extensive reading is a language learning method of reading large amounts of comprehensible texts. This method limits the use of dictionaries while reading; therefore, extensive readers have greater practice in dealing with unfamiliar words than non-extensive readers. One of the ways to deal with unfamiliar words is to infer the meaning of the word using contextual clues. Knowing how to infer the meaning of unknown words is a helpful skill for language learners. Due to the fact that extensive readers have a greater practice in dealing with unknown words, this study examines whether there are any differences in the precision of inferencing skills between extensive readers and non-extensive readers. There were 39 participants analyzed in this study, 28 non-extensive readers and 11 extensive readers. The results showed that extensive reading has positive effects on language learners’ inferencing skills. In terms of accuracy, we could not see a statistical difference; however, the extensive readers had a higher percentage in accurately inferring the word meaning. In terms of the use of knowledge sources, extensive readers were able to choose the appropriate knowledge source when inferring the target word. These results indicate that extensive reading can enhance language learners’ inferencing skills.

MA (English) / Department of English / The purpose of this study was to investigate the English reading strategies utilised by level-one students at the University of Venda. The respondents in this study were three hundred and nine level-one students from various Schools in the University of Venda who were doing English Communication Skills (ECS) course in the 2016 academic year. The study adopted a mixed methods research design (quantitative and qualitative research approaches). Data were collected by means of a self-completion questionnaire of the Survey of Reading Strategies (SORS) developed by Mokhtari and Sheorey. The researcher employed descriptive statistics to analyse frequency use of each reading strategy using frequency, percentage, mean, standard deviation, and usage level. Open-ended data were summarised by using grouping technique. The results of the study revealed that the participants in this study were, to a large extent, aware of what they were doing when reading as they reported utilising English reading strategies with different frequencies and with the high and moderate levels of reading strategy usage. The highest mean frequency with which the respondents used a given category of strategies when reading English academic materials was 3.98 (high) which was derived from the category of problem-solving strategies, while the category of support reading strategies and global reading strategies were reported being used with the relative mean of 3.79 (high) and 3.57 (high) respectively. The findings can be helpful to students in increasing their awareness of reading strategies while reading, improving their understanding of the reading process, and enhancing confidence in their own reading ability and to teachers and lecturers in helping their students learn to become constructively responsive and thoughtful readers, which will promote academic reading skills and ultimately enhance academic achievement.

<p>The overarching objective in undertaking this study is to examine the impact of the implementation of EGP and ESP program for ESP teachers in China, to explore into tertiary-level ESP teachers’ transformative learning experiences as well as the personal, institutional and societal factors that either facilitate or constrain such transformation. I employed narrative inquiry as the research methodology to reflect teachers’ profound transformative learning experiences from story collections through co-construction and collaboration with participant teachers in all phases of research. Five ESP teachers’ unique trajectories mirror their unique learning and professional development roadmap.</p> <p>Through detailed examination, I concluded that teachers stepped into the new territory of ESP instruction with various degrees of hesitation and resistance. Their non-linear transformative learning experiences shed lights on the uncertainty and struggles they confronted along the journey, and demonstrate how teachers hold their own stance adjusting the complex instructional ecosystem to enhance their potential success being as an ESP instructor.</p> <p>The significance of this study lies in the exploration of ESP teachers’ transformative learning from a critical perspective. By taking into consideration the essence of a teacher as an adult learner, this study will not only break through the existing studies’ inadequate attention to teacher’s transformative learning, but also emphasizes the value of teacher learning for their own transformation, emancipation and professional advancement.</p>