Many adults who have dual language experience describe themselves as "passive bilinguals," able to understand two languages, but speak only one. The aim of this study was to examine the relation between language production and comprehension in bilingual children in order to determine whether bilingual comprehension is more readily achieved than production. ... Productive and receptive skills in both languages were assessed using standardized tests. Children's relative amount of exposure to each language, as well as their language choice during production was measured via interview with the primary caregiver.... Language exposure as measured via dominance in one language over another appears to affect productive language differently than receptive language, further evidencing that language exposure is a significant predictor of acquisition that predicts production and comprehension differently. Additionally, when input is held constant, child language choice is uniquely related to productive and receptive language skill. The results of this study not only describe patterns of productive and receptive language skills and their correlates in young bilinguals, but they also address competing theories regarding the roles of input and output in the development of language comprehension and production. / by Krystal M. Ribot. / Thesis (M.A.)--Florida Atlantic University, 2012. / Includes bibliography. / Mode of access: World Wide Web. / System requirements: Adobe Reader.

It has been widely hypothesized that while doing arithmetic, individuals use two distinct routes for phonological output. A direct route is used for exact arithmetic which is language dependent, while an indirect route is used during arithmetic approximation and thought to be language independent. The arithmetic double route has been incorporated on the triple- code model that consists of visual arabic code for identifying strings of digits, magnitude code for knowledge in numeral quantities, and verbal code for rote arithmetic fact. Our goal is to investigate whether language experience has an effect on the processing of exact/approximation math using bilingual participants who have access to two languages, using a theoretical arithmetic processing model, which has been validated across many studies. We have measured the two groups (monolinguals/bilinguals) processing speed for completing the two tasks (Exact/Approximation) in two codes (Arabic digit/Verbal). We hypothesized a faster reaction time in exact arithmetic task in compared to approximation in accordance with the triple-code model. We alsoexpected a main effect for the task (Exact vs.Approximation) independent of the input code when the stimulus was presented in either Arabic digit and/or verbal codes. Our results show exact arithmetic is faster than approximation of arithmetic facts in all codes supporting earlier theories. Also, there was no significant difference in processing speed between monolinguals and bilinguals when performing the arithmetic task in either Arabic and/or verbal codes. In addition, our investigation suggests a modification to the triple-code model when interpreting arithmetic facts in verbal code due to interference of two languages with bilingual participants. Additions to the model can be suggested when the stimulus is expressed in verbal code for visual identification, which may cause interference in bilinguals leading to a first language advantage due to language experience. / Includes bibliography. / Thesis (M.A.)--Florida Atlantic University, 2015. / FAU Electronic Theses and Dissertations Collection

This study investigated the effects of family composition and properties of children's dual language exposure on bilingual first language acquisition. Mothers of 29 toddlers (13 boys and 16 girls, M age = 25.66 months, SD = .44) kept a language diary, providing measures of the amount, the contexts, and the persons with whom the children experienced English and Spanish. Measures of the children's vocabulary balance were obtained from English and Spanish language inventories. Results showed that only children with two native Spanish-speaking parents had larger Spanish than English vocabularies and experienced more hours of Spanish-only exposure and Spanish-only conversational contexts. Analysis of covariance demonstrated that the effect of family composition on vocabulary balance was completely mediated by the balance of English and Spanish in the children's language exposure. There was no evidence of a unique effect of experiencing Spanish-only conversational contexts or partners on children's acquisition of Spanish. / by Silvia Place. / Thesis (M.A.)--Florida Atlantic University, 2009. / Includes bibliography. / Electronic reproduction. Boca Raton, Fla., 2009. Mode of access: World Wide Web.

Nossa pesquisa visa a compreender como as relações pessoais se constroem por meio da linguagem. Para isso, consideramos o contexto social, cultural e interacional que, combinados de diferentes maneiras, moldam os pensamentos, as falas e as atitudes de cada indivíduo. Intentamos por meio da análise de interações autênticas explorar e evidenciar aspectos pragmáticos presentes no português brasileiro e no italiano que constituem e influenciam o fazer discursivo dos falantes em sala de aula. A partir da análise dos atos de fala discordância e desaprovação realizados por falantes bilíngues de italiano e português brasileiro em contexto escolar de uma escola bilíngue ítalo-brasileira no Brasil, a pesquisa evidencia (i) os componentes pragmáticos das duas línguas relacionados à cortesia verbal e, mais especificamente, ao uso de estratégias atenuadoras; (ii) se e em que medida foram realizadas estratégias atenuadoras na produção desses atos de fala por crianças bilíngues, em contexto ítalo-brasileiro, durante a interação em sala de aula e quais são os efeitos da sua (não) utilização; (iii) em que medida existem analogias e diferenças na utilização de procedimentos atenuadores em italiano e português. A coleta de dados foi realizada por meio de videogravações das aulas, de uma entrevista preliminar com as professoras e de um questionário para os alunos. A partir da análise dos dados, verificamos que as discordâncias em língua portuguesa apresentavam um número maior de procedimentos atenuadores em relação àquelas em língua italiana. Notamos que a utilização de procedimentos atenuadores nos atos de discordância em português objetivava a prevenção de conflitos interacionais e nas relações pessoais, logo, a atenuação relacionava-se à cortesia verbal em sala de aula. Nas discordâncias em língua italiana, verificamos que o uso de procedimentos atenuadores objetivava, além da prevenção, a reparação da ameaça à imagem do interlocutor e, algumas vezes, exercia a função de auto proteger o falante. Desse modo, a atenuação nem sempre estava relacionada à cortesia verbal. Além disso, nos atos de discordância em língua italiana observamos uma menor utilização de procedimentos atenuadores em relação as discordâncias produzidas em língua portuguesa. A ausência de atenuadores pode estar relacionada a uma tendência da língua italiana em realizar as discordâncias de forma imediata e direta, em sala de aula. A análise dos dados de desaprovação revelou um equilíbrio entre presença e ausência de estratégias atenuadoras nos atos realizados em ambas as línguas. A presença de táticas atenuadoras está relacionada à cortesia verbal, em que o ato intrinsecamente ameaçador da face (intrinsic Face-Threatening Act - intrinsic FTA) da desaprovação era suavizado, tentando evitar conflito na relação. Observou-se assim que, quando a desaprovação era feita de forma atenuada podia ser interpretada com um pedido e, quando era expressa sem o uso de atenuadores, aproximava-se de uma ordem. / Our research aims to understand how personal relationships are constructed through language. Therefore, we consider the social, cultural and interactional context that, combined in different ways, shapes the thoughts, speeches and attitudes of each individual. We have tried to explore and present some pragmatic aspects in the Brazilian Portuguese language and in the Italian language that constitute and influence the discursive making of the speakers in the classroom. Based on the analysis of disagreement and disapproval speech acts performed by bilingual speakers of Italian and Brazilian Portuguese in a school context of an Italian-Brazilian bilingual school in Brazil, the research has shown (i) the pragmatic components of Italian and Brazilian Portuguese related to verbal politeness and, more specifically, the usage of attenuating strategies in speech acts of disagreement and disapproval in the classroom; (ii) If and to which extent there was the use of attenuating strategies in the production of these speech acts by bilingual children, Italian-Portuguese Brazilians, during their interaction in the classroom and which are the effects of their (non) use; (iii) To which extent it was possible to identify analogies and differences in the use of attenuating procedures in Italian and Brazilian language. Data collection was done through video recordings of classes, a preliminary interview with the teachers and a questionnaire for the students. From the analysis of the data, we verified that the disagreements in the Portuguese language have presented more attenuation procedures related to the disagreements in the Italian language. We have observed that the use of attenuating procedures in the acts of disagreements in Brazilian Portuguese aimed at the prevention of interactional conflicts in personal relations, so the attenuation was related to verbal politeness in the classroom. In the disagreements in the Italian language, we have noted that the use of attenuating procedures had not only the intention of prevention, but also to repair the threat to the image of the interlocutor and sometimes exercised the function of self-protecting the speaker. Thus, attenuation was not always related to verbal politeness. In addition, in acts of disagreement in Italian language, we have observed a greater absence of attenuating procedures in relation to the disagreements produced in Brazilian Portuguese. The absence of mitigators may be related to a possible tendency of the Italian language in making disagreements immediately and directly in the classroom. The analysis of the disapproval data has revealed a balance between the presence and the absence of attenuating strategies in the acts performed in both languages. The presence of attenuating tactics was related to verbal courtesy, in which the intrinsic FTA (intrinsic Face-Threatening Act) of disapproval was softened, trying to avoid conflict in the relationship. Thus, it was observed that when the disapproval was attenuated it could have been interpreted as a request, while, when it was expressed without the use of attenuators, it was approaching an order.

Este trabalho aborda questões acerca da (a)normalização do sujeito aluno-surdo em diversas situações cotidianas da vida escolar de salas de aula regulares da rede pública estadual de São Paulo. Desta forma, a pesquisa contribui significantemente para a compreensão da visão que muitos dos profissionais da educação possuem a respeito do aluno surdo que aprende sob perspectiva inclusiva, através de uma educação denominada bilíngue pela legislação e que visa à abordagem do termo surdez através de uma visão sócio-antropológica. Com o objetivo de registrar e analisar episódios de (a)normalização existentes em três salas de aula inclusivas da unidade escolar escolhida, o trabalho adota uma metodologia de abordagem qualitativa e exploratória, utilizando-se da observação não-participativa de roteiro semi-estruturado como técnica de coleta de dados. Para o enriquecimento da pesquisa e das observações em sala, um levantamento bibliográfico foi realizado para investigar a normalização do sujeito aluno-surdo através da história, sendo por meio da Educação, da Institucionalização ou das Ciências Médicas, permeando questões clínicas, psicológicas, sociais e legislativas. Como resultado, foram analisados episódios registrados em diário de campo, destacando a (a)normalização provocada por docentes, professores interlocutores de Libras, colegas de sala ouvintes e, ainda, por situações de aprendizagem decorrentes de situações, materiais e espaços físicos utilizados para ministrar as aulas / This work addresses questions about the normalization of deaf-students in various everyday situations of the school routine of regular classrooms of the state public network of São Paulo. In this way, the research contributes significantly to the understanding of the vision that many of the education professionals have about the deaf student who learns from an inclusive perspective, through an education denominated bilingual by the legislation and that aims to approach the term \"deafness\" through a socio-anthropological vision. With the objective of recording and analyzing episodes of (no)standardization in three inclusive classrooms of the chosen school unit, the work adopts a methodology of qualitative and exploratory approach, using non-participatory observation of semi-structured script as Technique of data collection. For the enrichment of the research and the observations in the room, a bibliographic survey was carried out to investigate the normalization of the student-deaf subject throughout history, being through Education, Institutionalization or Medical Sciences, permeating clinical, psychological, social and Legislation. As a result, episodes recorded in field diaries were analyzed, highlighting the (a) normalization provoked by teachers, traslators/interlocutors, listening roommates and also by situations of learning arising from situations, materials and physical spaces used to minister the classes

No final do século XIX e durante o século XX, a história do Brasil se caracterizou pela intensa imigração de homens e mulheres de diferentes idades, provenientes de muitas partes do mundo e que procuravam aqui um lugar para viver, trabalhar e encontrar condições de vida menos duras do que aquelas presentes nos lugares que, com tristeza, tiveram de deixar. Foram muitos os italianos que, desde 1875, começaram a chegar aos principais portos brasileiros. No Paraná, o fenômeno migratório teve início na mesma década, em consequência de campanhas de recrutamento que o governo paranaense promoveu a fim de atrair mão-de-obra italiana para a agricultura depois de abolida a escravidão. De fato, a partir daquela data, inúmeros italianos originários sobretudo das regiões setentrionais da Itália se estabeleceram primeiramente ao longo do litoral paranaense e, mais tarde, nos arredores da capital Curitiba, criando inúmeras colônias onde viviam de acordo com os usos e costumes da pátria-mãe. Mediante a realização de uma série de entrevistas, este estudo se propõe a analisar o léxico usado por um grupo de italianos, que vive na cidade de Curitiba, no Paraná, e que emigrou para cá ao fim da Segunda Guerra Mundial, no período compreendido entre o final dos anos quarenta e o início dos anos setenta. Nosso objetivo será também o de estabelecer quanto a língua italiana foi preservada por eles ou quanto o idioma sofreu interferências da língua portuguesa depois de vários anos de vida em um outro país. Os indivíduos entrevistados têm em comum diversas características: na realidade, além de viverem na mesma cidade, eles podem ser considerados bilíngues, ainda que falem quotidianamente apenas a língua portuguesa. Alguns deles chegaram a Curitiba no começo da adolescência e, bem depressa, para melhor se integrarem, abandonaram o uso da língua italiana, até mesmo em casa, e adotaram o português como nova língua materna. Outros, tendo chegado já adultos e depois de se casarem com pessoas da localidade, preferiram utilizar quotidianamente e ensinar aos próprios filhos a língua portuguesa em lugar da italiana. A maior parte deles mantém contato com a Itália e com o idioma italiano por meio de cursos de língua, encontros com outras pessoas pertencentes à comunidade ou simplesmente lendo livros ou assistindo à televisão italiana. Além disso, a muitos deles, por diversas razões, ligadas à guerra ou à impossibilidade econômica, não completou os estudos. Após um longo período de permanência fora da Itália constatamos, naturalmente, uma perda no repertório lexical de origem e a presença de algumas interferências da língua portuguesa na língua italiana falada. Fenômeno este amplamente justificado pelos quase cinquenta anos de vida longe da terra natal. Os fatores que determinam a manutenção ou a perda dependem da aproximação ou do distanciamento que os indivíduos mantêm com a comunidade italiana residente em Curitiba ou com a Itália e também do seu grau de escolaridade. Entretanto, apesar da clara influência da língua portuguesa sobre a italiana, podemos considerar que o italiano falado hoje pelos indivíduos objeto deste trabalho se preservou bem. / By the end of the XIX century and during the XX century, the history of Brazil was characterized by the intense immigration of men and women from different ages, who came from several parts of the world. These people were looking for a place to live, work and have better life conditions, in opposition to the hard life they had in the places they sadly left. A huge number of Italians has arrived in the main Brazilian harbours since 1875. In Parana, the emigration movement started in the same decade, as a consequence of recruitment campaigns promoted by the state government in order to bring Italian labors to the agriculture after the slavery abolition. Actually, from that date, lots of Italians who came especially from the north of Italy established themselves along the coast of Parana at first. Later, the Italian also went to the outskirts of Curitiba and created many colonies where they lived according to their nations habits and customs. The present study has the intention of analyzing the lexicon used by a group of Italians through a series of interviews. These Italians, who live in the city of Curitiba, in Parana, emigrated to this region in the end of the Second World War, in the period between the end of the forties and the beginning of the sixties. Our objective is also to analyze how much of the Italian language was preserved by them or the intensity of the Portuguese language interferences in their mother tongue after several years of living in another country. The interviewed people have many characteristics in common. In fact, besides living in the same city, they can be considered bilingual, even if they speak only the Portuguese language in their daily life. Some of them arrived in Curitiba in the beginning of their teen years. In order to interact better to others, they quickly abandoned the Italian language and adopted the Portuguese as their new mother tongue, even at home. Other immigrants came at an older age and, after getting married to Brazilian natives, preferred to use and teach their own children the Portuguese language instead of the Italian. Most of the interviewed Italians keep in contact with Italy and the Italian language through language courses, meetings with other people from the same community or just by reading books or watching the Italian TV channel. In addition, most of them did not finish their studies due to the war or financial problems. After being such a long period out of Italy we could certainly notice the loss in the original lexicon and the presence of some Portuguese interference in the Italian spoken. This fact can be explained by the fifty years living far from their homeland. The factors that determine the language continuation or its loss depend on the proximity or detachment these people keep with Italy or with the Italian community that lives in Curitiba, and also their schooling level. Despite the strong Portuguese influence on the Italian language, we can consider the Italian spoken nowadays by the interviewed people in this paper has been well preserved.

Thesis advisor: Janet E. Helms / Researchers have argued that whether Latina/o students and other students of Color resist their negative educational experiences with feelings of hopelessness or consider them challenges to overcome, depends on whether they have developed a Social Justice Orientation (SJO) (Cammarota, 2004; Diemer, 2009; Watts, Griffith, & Abdul-Adil, 1999). SJO is the motivation to promote justice and equality among all in society. The purpose of the present study was to develop and test a longitudinal model of predictors and outcomes of SJO among Latina/o youths, the SJOLY model. The constructs investigated were (a) environmental factors (i.e., school relational and language climates), (b) personal skills (English proficiency and Spanish language background) and characteristics (SJO and agency), and (c) social (i.e., community engagement) and academic outcomes (school behavioral disengagement, grades, and school dropout). The study was conducted with a subsample of Latinas/os taken from the National Educational Longitudinal Study of 1988. Participants were enrolled in eighth grade (N = 1,472), sampled from different schools and regions in the U.S., and followed through three waves of data collection until the 12th grade. The age range of the participants at Time 1 was 13 years to 16 years (M = 14.46, SD = .65), and 49.6% were girls. The SJOLY model was tested using structural equation modeling (SEM). Results indicated that school relational climate was a positive predictor of SJO, which in turn predicted more community and school engagement, higher grades, and decreased likelihood of dropping out of school via its impact on personal agency. In addition, school language climate and language skills predicted greater sense of personal agency, which in turn predicted higher grades and decreased likelihood of dropping out. Gender differences were observed, as more SJO was associated with higher levels of personal agency for girls, but not for boys. Higher levels of personal agency were associated with less likelihood of dropping out of schools for boys, but not for girls. Implications of the study results for education, counseling, and research are discussed. / Thesis (PhD) — Boston College, 2011. / Submitted to: Boston College. Lynch School of Education. / Discipline: Counseling, Developmental, and Educational Psychology.

Thesis advisor: María Estela Brisk / Linguistic assimilation has been historically regarded as a cornerstone for nationalistic sentiments in the United States. Schools have been utilized as influential filtering sites where non-English languages are marginalized, and then assimilated into the dominant American English ways of languaging (Crawford, 1992; Flores, 2014; Heath, 1976; Nieto, 1999; Wiley & García, 2016). Drawing on theories of language policy (Spolsky, 2004) and governmentality (Foucault, 1991), this dissertation examined the links between family language policies and educational language policies at two public elementary schools in the state of Massachusetts during its final year of enforcing an English-only educational policy (Chapter 71A of Massachusetts General Laws). The participants were four fourth grade children, four parents, and eight school staff at two public elementary schools in two different districts (one urban and one suburban). The families spoke Cape Verdean Creole, Mandarin, Portuguese, and Spanish as their heritage languages. The study was designed as a qualitative multiple case study to conduct a multi-sited analysis of language policy. The data for the case studies were collected through surveys of parents, language logs filled by the children, interviews with the children, the parents, and the school staff, as well as weeklong school observations of each child. The units of analysis were family and school as two main language policy contexts the children regularly navigated. Qualitative thematic analysis was used to analyze the data (Braun & Clarke, 2006). The findings indicated that although the families and the schools seemed to appreciate bilingualism, they were still strongly influenced by the historical monoglossic ideologies of the society that convinced them to eventually conform to English in the name of ensuring success for the children. These ideologies were communicated between schools and families as “unspoken dialogues” through children who navigated language policies in both contexts. The findings highlight implications for teacher preparation, curriculum development, language policy research on schools and families, and educational language policies that impact children of immigrants. / Thesis (PhD) — Boston College, 2018. / Submitted to: Boston College. Lynch School of Education. / Discipline: Teacher Education, Special Education, Curriculum and Instruction.

O objetivo deste trabalho é analisar o léxico empregado em cartas familiares, escritas em língua italiana, por falantes italianos provenientes da região Lombardia e por seus descendentes nascidos no Brasil e residentes em São Paulo, sob duas perspectivas diferentes. Na primeira, elencaremos quais eram os assuntos mais recorrentes nas cartas, analisaremos as escolhas lexicais e verificaremos a função destas no contexto em que foram empregadas. Pretendemos, portanto, entender quais são os relatos, as histórias, as informações contidas nesses escritos, bem como o léxico empregado para a composição das cartas. A segunda perspectiva, diz respeito ao contato linguístico que houve entre italiano e português em nível lexical. Nossa proposta será demonstrar, por meio de excertos das cartas, exemplos de léxico que revelam o uso corrente da língua italiana, mesmo em contexto estrangeiro, no qual prevalecia aquele do português. Dessa forma, é nosso propósito tanto identificar e analisar o enriquecimento do leque comunicativo e cultural que esses imigrantes tiveram ao escreverem em italiano, não inibindo, porém, o uso do português (seja de maneira implícita ou explícita); como também entender se houve a formação de uma eventual variedade de italiano no interior dessa pequena comunidade. / The purpose of this study is to analyze the lexicon used in family letters, which were written in Italian by native Italian speakers from Lombardy and by their descendants who were born in Brazil and lived in São Paulo, from two different perspectives. The first one will list the most recurring topics in the letters, the lexical choices will be analyzed and their functions will be verified in the context in which they were used. Therefore, this study intends to understand the accounts, stories, and information contained in the letters, as well as the lexicon used when writing them. The second perspective is about the language contact that occurred between Italian and Portuguese at the lexical level. Excerpts from the letters were used to show examples of the lexicon, which revealed that the Italian language was widely used, regardless of the international context, in which Portuguese predominated. As a result, the study aims to identify and analyze the language and cultural enrichment that such immigrants had by writing in Italian, although it did not prevent them from using Portuguese (either explicitly or implicitly), and also understand if there has been an accidental variety of the Italian language in that small community.

L’existence de textes rédigés à la fois en caractères grecs et phéniciens, provenant du pourtour de la Méditerranée, notamment pendant la deuxième moitié du Ier millénaire av. J.-C., a fait naître l’hypothèse d’un bilinguisme gréco-phénicien.En nous appuyant sur un corpus épigraphique exhaustif, qui dépasse même les limites d’un recueil des textes rédigés en deux langues, nous avons exploré les conditions de mise en contact et d’interaction qui ont généré diverses formes de multiculturalisme, dont témoignent les inscriptions. En partant de la microstructure des énoncés, des mots, de la phonologie et de la morphologie des textes, sans négliger l’étude matérielle des supports, qui contiennent et intègrent les textes, cette thèse analyse les conditions, modalités et effets de la cohabitation entre le phénicien et le grec, entre les Phéniciens et les Grecs. La réalité du bilinguisme gréco-phénicien s’est ainsi révélée plus complexe qu’on n’imaginait, si bien que ce label a montré ses limites et son inaptitude à cerner, caractériser et comprendre des phénomènes variés et modulés, qu’une approche dynamique, tenant compte des cas particuliers, permet de mieux saisir. D’un bout à l’autre de la Méditerranée, Grecs et Phéniciens ont échangé en termes de pratiques langagières, onomastiques et rituelles. L’étude des anthroponymes, ainsi que de la médiation opérée par les divinités, spécialement visible dans les dédicaces bilingues, qui, par le truchement du mécanisme de l’interpretatio, associent un dieu d’un panthéon et un dieu de l’autre, se sont avérées des portes d’accès privilégiées pour l’enquête sur les contacts entre ces deux peuples, en nous introduisant dans les mailles profondes des réseaux de leurs relations. / The existence of texts written both in Greek and Phoenician characters, coming from all around the Mediterranean, and particularly during the second half of first millennium B.C., gave birth to the hypothesis of a Greek-Phoenician bilingualism.Working on an exhaustive epigraphic corpus, which goes even beyond the limits of a collection of texts written in the two languages, this research explores the many contexts which lead to contacts and interactions generating several forms of multiculturalism, as witnessed by inscriptions. Going through the microstructure of utterance, phonetics and texts morphology, and taking into account supports material analysis, which completes texts comprehension, this thesis analyzes conditions, modalities and effects of the cohabitation between Greeks and Phoenicians, and between Greek and Phoenician languages and writing systems. The Greek-Phoenician bilingualism appears to be more complex than we could imagine, so much that this label has showed its limits and its inaptitude to pinpoint, characterize and understand phenomena that are manifold and modulated, which a dynamic approach, taking into account specific case-studies, allows us to better seize.From each side of the Mediterranean Sea, Greeks and Phoenicians exchanged in terms of language practices, onomastic and rituals. The study of anthroponyms, as well as of divinities mediation (that we can observe especially in bilingual inscriptions), which matches a god from the pantheon to a god of the other, through the mechanism of interpretatio, have provided a privileged access to the contacts between these two people and to the deep links of their relationships networks.