Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Hong Kong, 2007. / Title proper from title frame. Also available in printed format.

<p>This study aims to investigate, describe and discuss the views of group new arrived pupils from the preparatory training to the compulsory school level. They all came to Sweden and started in the preparatory training there they also started studying Swedish as a second language. This study aims to investigate the creation of identities and how the pupils socialize in the Swedish school. The study has been conducted with respect to the pupil´s own perspectives and what they consider important.</p><p>The methods used are interviews together with an interpreter. Their voices are used and described in this paper. Their names and the school´s name have been used anonymous. One must take into consideration that there is no objective of being neutral or to generalize the results to any other group.</p><p>The pupils are convinced that second language acquisition is the key to success although their first language - the Arabic language is still symbolized as their identity. They are still working on their identities, their language acquisition and adaptation to expectations in different situations. They always will be seen as multidimensional personalities. </p><p> </p>

<p>The aim of this study was to investigate how the target language is used in the foreign language classroom and how different teachers combine the target language and the first language in their teaching. The study was conducted in three different Swedish schools at different levels: one at the intermediate level; one at the secondary level; and two at the upper secondary level. The teachers were observed during class and interviewed. In addition to this, the students answered a questionnaire about their own and their teacher's use of the target language.</p><p>The results showed that the teachers used the target language as the most common language in their teaching, although the first language was also used. The intermediate teacher used the first language when she did not have enough language herself, when she explained grammar or went through important information. The secondary teacher used the first language when she explained grammar as well as the upper secondary teacher, who also used the first language when she had important information. The results showed that the teacher's choice of language in the classroom had an impact on the students since more teacher target language use encouraged more student target language use in the classroom, and that it is important to start the lesson in the target language to encourage more target language use by the students. Both the teachers and the students thought that the target language was important during language teaching.</p>

<p>The aim of this paper is to investigate the amount of feedback given in language-focused exchanges and communicative exchanges. I also investigated if recasting is the feedback method most frequently used in communicative activities.<strong> </strong>Errors are natural parts of learning and cannot be avoided. However, corrective feedback is very important because fossilization can occur if students are not aware of their errors. Several different types of corrective feedback can be used to correct the students’ speech, but the most subtle one is recasts. Studies show that recasting is the method most common in communicative exchanges in the classroom.<strong> </strong>I have observed three different classes, at different levels of the Swedish school system, and also interviewed the teachers. It was shown that feedback was more frequently provided during the language-focused exchanges. It was also shown that two of the teachers were very reluctant to provide their students corrective feedback during communicative activities. All three teachers agreed that recasting is the best method to use for correcting the students’ speech because it does not interrupt the<strong> </strong>communication and does not inhibit the students. Communicating with students about feedback is something that I believe could help and facilitate some of the issues about giving corrective feedback. I believe that clarification requests and other types of feedback could be used more frequently without damaging the students’ self-confidence if there is a dialogue between the teacher and the students.</p>

Culture, thought worldview and language have been discussed for a long time in different fields from various perspectives. However, the basis of this study is the view of language as both the product and producer of people just as people are the producer and product of language. Each language requires of those who use it, a particular way of viewing reality. The structure of language containing a particular worldview therefore must influence how people learn and acquire a second language. The purpose of this study is to test this assumption about worldview in adult second language acquisition. The main concern is whether or not the native English speakers' worldview influences their ability to learn Chinese as a second language. The focus of this investigation is the Aspect marker -le, which represents a different way of observing action when compared to Tense used in English. Chinese is a context sensitive language. The way of perceiving action is in terms of Aspect, which is to observe an action within an event from a specific point of view without considering Speech-time. In contrast, English is less context sensitive, and its way of perceiving action is more precise and time-conscious, in terms of Tense. The results of the investigation of a group of native- English-speakers learning Chinese as a second language reveals that the worldview they have in observing action is shaped by their native tongue and interferes with their use of the Chinese Aspect marker -le. / Graduation date: 1998

Thesis (Ph.D.)--The Chinese University of Hong Kong, 2005. / Advisers: G. Gong, J. Hung. Includes bibliographical references (p. 202-214)

While much research has been dedicated to studying the speech of French immersion students, relatively little is known about their sociolinguistic competence, particularly in the area of phonetics. This study aims to determine the extent to which a group of French immersion students in Ontario, Canada display the native Canadian French phenomenon of lowering the high vowel /i/ to its lax allophone // in the obligatory context of a stressed syllable closed by any consonant other than /v, z, / or //. Results indicate that the majority of the students do not employ the lax vowel, and those students who demonstrate some degree of vowel lowering apply the rule inconsistently. No strong correlation between social or linguistic factors is apparent in the application of the rule, suggesting that more explicit teaching of this phenomenon is necessary in order to make students aware of these kinds of native Canadian French speaker variations.

Thesis (M. A.)--University of Hong Kong, 2006. / Title proper from title frame. Also available in printed format.

Thesis (M. A.)--University of Hong Kong, 2006. / Title proper from title frame. Also available in printed format.

Thesis (M. A.)--University of Hong Kong, 2006. / Title proper from title frame. Also available in printed format.