Thesis (M.Ed. (Language Education)) -- University of Limpopo, 2010 / This research study investigated subtractive bilingualism in teaching and learning through the medium of English without the support of the mother tongue. The aim was to investigate if it is possible for learners to acquire a second language (English) without totally losing their home language. This was done through: probing the reasons why the language policy is difficult to implement in schools as outlined by the constitution of South Africa; determining the causes of subtractive bilingualism in the school settings and; an emphasis of the rights and responsibilities of educators and parents to make a positive difference in the lives of bilingual and bicultural learners. This research was grounded on Cummins (1991) theory of second language acquisition. The literature review examined other theories of second language acquisition and learning (Krashen 1981). In particular, emphasis was placed on the following broad areas in the literature review: mother tongue development; language shift and language loss; language planning and language policy; language and culture; language and identity, attitudes and equity; language in education; the National Language Policy Framework; and multilingualism. This research was conducted using the qualitative research methodology. A case study design was employed. Three instruments were used for collecting of the data. These were: questionnaires, interviews and classroom observations. The data analysis strategy used in this research was interaction analysis which was done through transcriptions of observations and video and audio recordings of interviews and classroom observations. The following were some of the findings from this research study: learners were not happy with their educators who unduly force them to communicate in English as the educators themselves are also not proficient in the language; learners are afraid to take risks of communicating in English for fear of other learners intimidating them; and many learners now communicate only in English and cannot understand the greater details of their mother tongue. iv The recommendations of this study are: to reduce the extent of language loss, parents should establish a strong home language policy and provide ample opportunities for children to expand the functions for which they use the mother tongue; parents and care-givers should spend time with their children and tell stories or discuss issues with them in a way that develops their mother tongue vocabulary and concepts so that children come to school prepared to learn the second language successfully without being distracted; funding and resources must be made available for additional language acquisition; well-trained and dedicated teachers with similar linguistic backgrounds to the learners should be hired; and the new language policy should be adopted.

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Reflective eye movementa as a function of cognitive nodes were studied in English speaking and Spanish bilingual populations (N=20). A total of 40 questions were asked with the initial, lateral eye movement recorded. Questions consisted of 20 verbal-mathematical type intended to elicit right-eye movement and 20 spatial questions intended to elicit left-eye movement. A significant difference in responses was found dependent on the type of questions asked (F=114.3421,p<.001). No significant differences were obtained between the two groups.

The aim of this study is to present the views of some English-speaking parents and their children based in Sweden on the relationship between language learning and family language policies. To this end, interviews were conducted with six families living in Sweden who had spoken English at home with their children. The data was analysed using a thematic approach, which involves a close analysis of the collected data. I specified major and common points from the participants that were in line with my research questions. The results showed that the participating parents wanted their children to be able to speak with their English-speaking relatives and therefore felt that it was important to teach and maintain English. They also mention how English is a useful language to know because it is spoken all around the world. Some parents point out that consistency is important for the child’s language development in English, while others explain how there is no need for strict rules because it can lead to a resistance in speaking English. The most common strategies the parents employ are one- parent-one-language strategy, encouraging watching TV and films, reading books, repetition- and minimal grasp strategy and mother tongue tuition. The children emphasise the importance of knowing English when they talk with their relatives. However, the children find it difficult when learning a third language in school because they are used to acquiring a language instead of consciously learning it. The implications from my research may potentially help policy makers, researchers, and bilingual families in the process of teaching and maintaining a language at home.

Bilingualism and multilingualism are phenomena dominantly present in today’s globalized world. Sweden is not an exception and its international character is apparent in all domains, such as politics, business and education. English is perceived more as a second language rather a foreign one, taking into consideration the numerous bilingual and international schools of the country that promote the acquisition of Swedish and English from an early age. Teaching in bilingual classrooms may cause challenges due to students’ different linguistic abilities and background and thus, teachers are responsible to maintain a balance between both languages. The particular study has a two-fold aim; at first place, it analyzes theories of bilingualism that are directly related to pedagogical and teaching practices as well as the relation between bilingualism and brain functions. The purpose is to identify how these theories are reflected into everyday classrooms through teachers’ methods. The second part of the research is the examination of the contextual background of Sweden in terms of linguistic hierarchy, the aims of society to bilingual education and laws regarding languages and teacher training. The purpose is to outline the extent to which this background is applied into actual contexts. Therefore, the third part is the empirical study that is a comparative case-study through a qualitative approach into two bilingual schools in Sweden. The central focus is on teachers’ opinions about challenges, teaching methods and personal reflections and the identification of differences and similarities. The critical analysis of the three main parts enables the researcher to reach conclusions where certain points and issues are outlined along with possible solutions. The goal of the study is not the generalization of data but a focus on individuals and reflection of real situations that sets the basis for research in larger scales.

published_or_final_version / abstract / Linguistics / Doctoral / Doctor of Philosophy

published_or_final_version / Humanities / Master / Master of Philosophy

This study casts the code-switching patterns observed among Spanish-English bilinguals in Bayside, Texas within the framework of Bell’s (1984) theory of audience design, which is claimed to apply to both monolingual style-shifting as well as bilingual code-switching. The latter part of this claim has been little explored. The intent of this study, then, is to determine if the explanatory power of audience design, as demon¬strated in studies on style-shifting, does indeed hold when applied to cases of language alternation. Analysis of the data from Bayside generally supports Bell’s theory as it shows speakers adjusting their use of Spanish and/or English to suit their audience. The study will highlight a less frequently analyzed aspect of Bell’s model, i.e., the role of the auditor, and will call for the auditor to be classified as a primary influencer of lin¬guistic choice in bilingual contexts, alongside the addressee. The code selection patterns exhibited by a pair of Bayside residents in a series of interviews and in conversations videotaped at the local general store will be com¬pared to illustrate the effects of addressee and auditor. A qualitative analysis will dem¬onstrate that differing determinations regarding the linguistic repertoires of the auditors led to contrasting linguistic choices on the part of the study’s subjects. The data collected will show that, when selecting a language of communication, as opposed to a register, style, or dialect, a speaker may be more greatly affected by an auditor than by the addressee. The methods used in collecting the data will also support an expan¬sion of Bell’s model to include an additional participant category suitable for capturing the effect of the recording device, as per Wertheim (2006). / text

Over the past decade, there have been diverse theoretical perspectives and increasing empirical literature on bilingualism and specific language impairment (SLI), some of which highlighted the complex nature of accurately diagnosing SLI in bilingual populations. The goal of the current study is to enhance our understanding of morphosyntax development in an understudied bilingual population - Mandarin-English children who are growing up in an L2-dominant environment (English) in the United States. The study included a total of 55 bilingual Mandarin-English children between the ages of four and seven years, including 53 typically developing (TD) children and 2 children diagnosed with SLI. Using a newly developed screening test - the Bilingual English-Mandarin Oral Screener (BEMOS), we compared Mandarin performance in both TD and SLI children on 7 morphosyntax tasks which respectively measure passive -bei, possessive -de, prepositional phrases, noun classifiers, quantifier and scope, aspects (imperfective “-zai” and perfective “-le”), and sentence repetition. Our analysis of TD bilingual children revealed a trend towards a significant age effect in the total score and a near-significant effect in the preposition and the aspect sub-sections of the screener. When age was considered, perceived Mandarin proficiency by parents was associated with TD bilingual children’s performance. All students performed poorly on the classifier section, but our error analysis showed a predominant response pattern of imitation, suggesting bilingual children have growing sensitivity and are attentive to semantic similarity of nouns. Overgeneralized use of the general classifier “ge” was also observed in the errors. Both children with SLI scored lower overall compared to their age- and gender-matched TD peers, especially in the classifier and quantifier & scope sections. Reliable clinical markers were not identified due to the two SLI children’s distinct performance. Clinical implications and future research needs were also discussed. / text

The unique linguistic experience of bilingualism purportedly produces cognitive control advantages. Although there is a significant body of evidence supporting this view, there are also several recently published research studies that failed to replicate bilingual advantages. Furthermore, there is some evidence of a publication bias that favors findings supporting a bilingual advantage. The purpose of this study was to address this discrepancy in the literature by examining performance of bilinguals and monolinguals on a variety of cognitive control tasks. A second purpose was to determine how bilinguals are able to achieve better performance if they do indeed have an advantage. Specifically, we were interested in whether there were differences in the tendency for bilinguals and monolinguals to mind wander, a phenomenon associated with poorer cognitive control performance. We hypothesized that bilinguals would demonstrate better performance than monolinguals on Operation Span, Numerical Stroop, SART, Color- Shape, and Letter Memory tasks, which are measures of working memory, proactive inhibition, reactive inhibition, shifting, and updating, respectively. We further hypothesized that if bilinguals outperformed monolinguals on these tasks, this would be associated with less mind wandering for bilinguals. Participants completed all measures of cognitive control and were probed periodically throughout the tasks for mind wandering. Accuracy and reaction times where appropriate were recorded for each task, and data from 52 monolinguals and 52 bilinguals were analyzed. The results did not reveal any bilingual advantages. For all tasks, performance of the two groups was equivalent with the exception that monolinguals had faster reaction times for Numerical Stroop, SART, and Color-Shape tasks. There were also no differences between language groups in mind wandering tendencies. Secondary analyses examining age of acquisition (i.e., early versus late) and similarity of languages (i.e., same-script versus differentscript) did not change the overall pattern of no bilingual advantages. The lack of a bilingual advantage supports recent calls to temper bilingual advantage claims and shows a need for future research to address which underlying factors of bilingualism may or may not have an effect on cognitive control.