This study tests Newports Less is More hypothesis with a language teaching experiment. Computerized French language lessons were presented to forty-two adults over two one-hour sessions. Learning trials were presented either in full sentences to resemble the adult learning environment, or in small increments that gradually increased to full sentences, resembling the steadily expanding processing capabilities of children. Trials were also presented randomly or ordered such that multiple examples of the same objects and verbs were presented consecutively. Language proficiency tests were administered after the lessons. A 2 (Presentation: incremental or full sentence) x 2 (Order of presentation: blocked or random) mixed ANOVA was used to analyze the data. The incremental conditions outperformed the sentence conditions on all proficiency measures. There was no significant effect of the blocking manipulation. This outcome suggests that a teaching method based on Newport's Less is More hypothesis can be advantageous in learning a foreign language. / by Simone L. Chin. / Thesis (M.A.)--Florida Atlantic University, 2009. / Includes bibliography. / Electronic reproduction. Boca Raton, Fla., 2009. Mode of access: World Wide Web.

Research in second language acquisition reveals that adults have difficulty learning the grammatical aspects of a foreign language. The present study investigated the efficacy of three teaching methods that were predicted to help adults better learn the grammar of a foreign language. First, lessons were presented in small pieces that gradually increased to full sentences. Second, lesson trials were blocked such that multiple examples of sentences with the same object or verb were presented consecutively. Third, participants were instructed to gesture the actions of the verbs within sentences. All three methods were predicted to increase the likelihood of learning the grammar form of sentences through guiding adults’ attention to fewer components of language input at a time. In Experiment 1, 82 English native speakers played an adventure videogame designed for the learning of French vocabulary and grammar of French sentences for two one-hour sessions. All three methods were incorporated in the lessons portion of the game resulting in a 2(incremental vs. full sentence) X 2(blocked vs. unblocked order) X 2(gesture vs. no gesture) between subjects design. The results from Experiment 1 revealed a) more nouns were acquired than verbs and b) a trend that the incremental conditions performed worse than the full sentence conditions on the grammar measures. In Experiment 2, 110 adult learners played the French videogame, but only the blocked presentation and gesture imitation methods were incorporated in the lessons portion (omitting the method of incremental presentation). The results from Experiment 2 revealed a) conditions with either method of blocked presentation or gesturing performed better on vocabulary and grammar measures than the unblocked non-gesture condition, and b) the combination of blocked presentation and gesturing led to better learning of inductive grammar than either method alone. The outcome of the study suggests gesturing and blocked order teaching methods that encourage adults to attend to a few but important components within a sentence are advantageous in learning the grammar of a foreign language. / Includes bibliography. / Dissertation (Ph.D.)--Florida Atlantic University, 2014. / FAU Electronic Theses and Dissertations Collection

Given the small body of existing research concerning focus on form at post-task stage in task-based language teaching, the present study adopts post-task transcribing as a focus on form activity and explores the effects of transcribing under various conditions. In addition, two task types are adopted in multiple task sessions to explore task effects and task practice effects on learners' oral performance. / Ninety-six participants, divided into five experimental groups and one control group completed four tasks with a one-week interval between each task. Different experimental groups were assigned various post-task activities respectively. No post-task activity was adopted in the control group. Task performance was measured in terms of complexity, accuracy, fluency and lexical performance. / The findings are multifaceted. First of all, the adoption of post-task transcribing was found to be efficient for different formal aspects of task performance. In the second place, the pair-based transcribing brought about more syntactically complicated language, whereas the individual condition at the post-task stage led to an improvement in lexical sophistication. Thirdly, further revision after transcribing had complex effects on accuracy and complexity. Fourthly, interactive tasks proved to be more promising for a better overall task performance. Last but not least, multiple task practices were found to be beneficial for learners' lexical performance. / The findings were discussed in light of the concept of noticing and attention, Levelt's speaking model, socio-cultural theory and other related SLA theories. Based on the theoretical discussion, pedagogical implications have been proposed. / This research argues that in task-based language teaching, more attention should be paid to the post-task stage regarding its effect on focus on form. Specifically, it suggests that (a) a post-task transcribing activity can be adopted as a feasible focus on form activity in L2 classrooms; (b) different conditions for the operation of post-task transcribing may bring about distinct effects on various aspects of task performance; (c) different task types have different effects on learners' performance; (d) multiple task sessions are necessary for L2 language improvement. Further, the present study calls for a process-product approach in further studies concerning the effects of post-task focus on form activities. / Li, Qian. / Adviser: Peter Skehan. / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 73-03, Section: A, page: . / Thesis (Ph.D.)--Chinese University of Hong Kong, 2010. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 254-278). / 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, [201-] System requirements: Adobe Acrobat Reader. Available via World Wide Web. / Abstract also in Chinese; appendix III also in Chinese.

Over the past several decades, research that explored various teaching-and-learning contexts has provided valuable insights into teacher-learner interactional practices in second language classrooms. Many of these practices focus on learners’ language accuracy by targeting the correct answer, a worthy but perhaps insufficient goal; an additional teacher responsibility is to encourage learners to build on their understanding by reasoning through that correct answer. This current study adds to previous research by examining how one experienced teacher and her adult ESL students in a community language program in the U.S. engage in a particular type of interactive, collaborative work on understanding that moves beyond what is correct to why it is correct, which I call “digging.” Based on a conversation analytic examination of 15 hours of video-recorded classroom interaction, the findings showcase two complementary types of teacher-led digging that are preceded by a critical “pre-digging” phase, during which the teacher redirects learners’ attention and constitutes a group that will work together as a collective. The first type of digging zooms in on one particular language issue which the teacher frames as a language challenge for the group and works collaboratively with the collective toward resolving it. The second type of digging, by contrast, zooms out from a specific language issue to a larger pattern in either the learners’ native languages or the target language, English. In both types of digging, exploratory talk and various scaffolding techniques are employed to promote participation and learner agency. The findings contribute to the literature on classroom interaction by specifying, in fine-grained detail, the how-to of these teacher interactional practices during whole group work on understanding which involves the intricate work of every gaze, every gesture, every posture shift, every utterance, and every second of silence. Such specifications also enrich teacher educators’ pedagogical content knowledge by providing them a common language to talk about, and illuminate the complexity of, teaching as they guide students to “see” such complexity.

Touted as the future of language teaching, task-based pedagogy is grounded in current Second Language Acquisition (SLA) theories, and is in line with the trend of learner-centeredness in general education. However, the method has yet to be fully embraced by the language teaching community due to the lack of 1) clear delineation of pedagogical procedures, and 2) quality research on implementation and evaluation of task-based programs. In this study, two different task-based teaching methods, namely, task-based language teaching (TBLT) and task-supported language teaching (TSLT), were implemented in a college-level Chinese class for beginners (n=41) for 14 weeks. The effects of each instructional approach were evaluated and their relative effectiveness compared. The study also contributes to the thorny debate of how grammar is most effectively learned and taught in foreign language classrooms.

M.Ed. / Please refer to full text to view abstract

While language aptitude and motivation are considered to be important contributors to second language (L2) attainment, two major gaps in the past research have been (1) a lack of nonlinear models stemming from a naïve and tacit assumption that learning outcomes are linearly related to their predictors, and (2) a lack of unified and integrative understanding of key individual differences (ID) variables (Dewaele, 2009; Larsen-Freeman, 1997). Despite changes in conceptualization of language development as a dynamic system comprised of nonlinear and interconnected subsystems (e.g., CDST), an integrative understanding of ID variables in L2 acquisition remains lacking. The purpose of this dissertation study was to examine motivation and aptitude and their relationship to second language acquisition. Specifically, the study set out to validate a number of theoretical claims made by energy conservation theory for second language acquisition (ECT-L2A) and its attempt to unify key ID variables under one model (Han et al., 2017a). ECT-L2A predicts, inter alia, that aptitude and motivation are positively related to L2 achievement but their effects diminish with increase in proficiency. This is visually represented as a nonlinear and asymptotic L2 learning trajectory vis-à-vis aptitude and motivation. In the current study, two hundred and three adult Spanish-speaking learners of L2 English (N=203) of wide range of proficiency were measured on their level of aptitude (LLAMA_F), motivation (Attitude Motivation Test Battery) and attainment (grammaticality judgment test). The data were analyzed using correlations (PPMC, partial, dis-attenuated), R-squared measures, and fitted with orthogonal distance regression via total least-squares method. The results of correlation analyses and regression showed that as predicted, aptitude contributed positively towards attainment, but its effect diminished with increase in proficiency. On the other hand, while all participants were motivated to learn, motivation decreased with increases in attainment throughout L2 development. Motivation’s effect on achievement became asymptotic and its contribution towards target language (TL) mastery diminished. When aptitude and motivation were combined as a single unit, the learning trajectory closely resembled the curve predicted by ECT-L2A. Based on these findings, two general interpretations concerning motivation and aptitude were presented: 1) changes in motivation and aptitude with respect to attainment and 2) their differential efficacy towards native-like proficiency during L2 development. Finally, implications regarding the universality and the versatility of ECT-L2A are discussed under the broader call for more mathematical models in future SLA research.

M.Ed. / Please refer to full text to view abstract

Employing Daisaku Ikeda’s iteration of soka, or value-creative education, I detail a small qualitative study with adolescents involving commonplace, a traditional literacy practice of collecting excerpts from a variety of texts, as well as an accompanying inquiry activity of writing memory vignettes that includes a procedure that I call mirroring text. With an interest in self-reflexive responses to reading, my study explores what happens when five adolescent multiliteracies practitioners select, compile, and respond to excerpted multimodal texts, primarily from social media sites. Conducted in a virtual tenth grade advisory class during the 2020-2021 school closures due to the global pandemic, I discuss the peculiarities and challenges of the virtual learning space and the study activities that occurred therein, as well as the pedagogical implications of commonplace and mirroring for secondary Language Arts.

Strategic competence, or the cognitive resources necessary for utilizing language knowledge, is widely recognized as an essential component of second language (L2) ability. However, research on strategic competence in the context of L2 speaking assessment has been limited, and findings have been inconsistent, making it challenging to discern the nature of strategic competence and its relationship with L2 speaking performance. Therefore, the purpose of the current study was to examine the cognitive dimension of L2 academic speaking ability and its role in L2 speaking performance. In an effort to capture a broadened construct of L2 academic speaking ability through the assessment of a real-world academic speaking competency that calls for the L2 learner’s use of language, topical, and cognitive resources, the current study utilized a scenario-based academic speaking test (i.e., SBEST) to assess the test-takers’ ability to orally present their ideas on a disciplinary topic. The SBEST was administered to 155 adult English language learners. The test scenario simulated an online journalism class, and the culminating task of the scenario required the test-takers’ participation in an online discussion forum. The test-takers were asked to listen to audio-visual materials on a specific topic related to journalism and perform a series of coherently sequenced strategy tasks leading up to the scenario goal. The strategy tasks were designed to elicit and assess the test-takers’ use of eight different cognitive and metacognitive strategies. The performances on the strategy tasks were scored and quantitatively analyzed using a variety of data analysis procedures (e.g., mean comparison, multiple regression, confirmatory factor analysis, and structural equation modeling) to investigate the functionality of the test instrument and its underlying constructs, explore the nature of test-taker performance, and examine the effects of strategic competence on L2 speaking performance. The findings indicated that the SBEST is a reliable and valid instrument for assessing academic speaking ability where L2, topical, and cognitive resources are required to effectively demonstrate the target academic speaking competency. The test-takers also exhibited improvement in their speaking performance, especially with regard to their disciplinary topical knowledge, suggesting that the SBEST facilitated learning. Additionally, the results provided supporting evidence that strategic competence is an integral component of L2 academic speaking ability and a significant contributor to L2 speaking performance. Finally, the study demonstrated that strategic competence can be appropriately addressed, operationalized, and possibly even scored in L2 assessments.