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<p> The purpose of this study is to address Korean adult L2 learners&rsquo; developmental English vowel acquisition process. The present study demonstrated how adult L2 learners turn their initial L2 proficiency into more advanced state, and how new L2 sound system relates with existing L1 sound system. The present study hypothesized that L2 learners&rsquo; phonetic category is subject to change followed by three stages of L2 vowel acquisition process: Stage 1 (Initial L2 proficiency), Stage 2 (Intermediate L2 proficiency), and Stage 3 (Advanced L2 proficiency). Secondly, this study hypothesized that L2 learners&rsquo; identity /attitudes/motivation may have an influence on their L2 perception and production.</p><p> To investigate Korean L2 learners&rsquo; English vowel learning process, this study carried out longitudinal experiments with 8 Korean adult L2 learners for 6 months. The experiments were conducted on a monthly basis and the procedure was controlled in a laboratory setting to examine any possible changes of L2 ability during L2 learning process. English tense/lax vowel contrasts (/i/-/I/ and /u/-/(n/a)/) and Korean rounded/unrounded vowels (/(n/a)(i)/ and /(n/a)(u)/) were used for the experiments. 360 tokens of English vowels (60 words &times; 2 vowel pairs &times; 3 speakers) were used for each perception test and a total of 2,160 stimuli (360 tokens &times; 6 times) were generated for perception experiments. Korean participants produced 360 tokens of English vowels (60 words &times; 2 tense/lax vowel pairs &times; 3 sets) and 160 tokens of Korean vowels (40 words &times; 2 rounded/unrounded vowels &times; 2 sets) in each production test. A total of 2,160 English tokens (360 tokens &times; 6 times) and 960 Korean tokens (160 words &times; 6 times) were generated for production experiments. Two different phonetic environments were provided; a case of cross-language similarity environment and an emergence of a new sound category.</p><p> The results demonstrated that Korean L2 learners&rsquo; English vowel productions have changed to a more native-like English vowel production through their L2 learning process. Thus, in the final experiment, Korean L2 learners&rsquo; English vowel production showed almost an exact similarity to native speakers&rsquo; vowel production. The present study investigated the relationship between adult L2 learners&rsquo; identity/motivation/attitudes and their L2 vowel perception and production. The result indicated that higher identity/attitudes/motivation may result in advanced L2 vowel perception and production. L2 learners&rsquo; L2 proficiency developed gradually. Hence the L2 learners&rsquo; L2 learning is able to be considered to be following the sequential development pattern accompanied by the process of L2 learning.</p>

<p> This dissertation examines how college students' participation in a Spanish service-learning course affected their perceptions of language culture and community. Findings demonstrate that students will potentially experience connections, disconnections, and reconnections when they interact with others in a Spanish service-learning experience. The connections that they form may motivate them to improve their skills and knowledge related to the subject matter. In this qualitative, practitioner action research study, I interviewed four students who were enrolled in my service-learning course. The narratives were analyzed using the Listening Guide (Gilligan et al., 2003) a feminist relational methodology. </p><p> When the students spoke of their experiences with language, culture, and community in interviews prior to taking the course, they used voices of powerlessness, rejection, observation, and separation. In the interviews that occurred after the service-learning experience, their voices spoke of empowerment, acceptance, participation, and inclusion. Cross-case analysis revealed that students formed relationships with the community, other students, and the instructor during the service-learning experience. Even if these relationships were short-term and limited, they often experienced the cycle of connection, disconnection, and connection of long-term relationships. Prior to the course, students spoke of previous experiences with language-exclusion and disconnections that they experienced because of their relational images of observation and separation. When they spoke of their service-learning experiences, they described multiple relational triangles (Hawkins, 1974; Raider-Roth &amp; Holzer, 2009) and revealed their developed sense of empathy. This empathy demonstrates the connections they formed with other students and with the community members. Two students spoke of disconnections that occurred during the course, but these disconnections were outweighed by connections. These connections led them to desire more meaningful connections, which they realized could only happen by improving their language skills. </p><p> The implications of this study suggest that in a relational service-learning course, instructors no longer are only part of the relational triangle between the instructor, the student, and the subject matter; they also facilitate relationships between students, community partner organizations, community members, other volunteers, and the subject matter. The multiple relational triangles that they facilitate combine to form a relational hexagon. This relational understanding of service-learning has implications for instructors, the discipline, and the university.</p>

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