No description available.

Thesis (Ed.D.)--Teachers College, Columbia University, l989. / Typescript; issued also on microfilm. Sponsor: Leslie Beebe. Dissertation Committee: John Fanselow. Bibliography: leaves 223-234.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Texas at Austin, 2004. / Vita. Includes bibliographical references. Available also from UMI company.

Thesis (M.A.)--University of Hong Kong, 2002. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 43-47). Also available in print.

I This thesis is an investigation of the Contrastive Analysis Hypothesis. This hypothesis is founded on the assumption that second language learners tend to transfer their native language structures when learnIng a, second language. In its strong version, this hypothesis claims that by contrasting two or more languages, it is possible to predict probable areas of difficulty and hence errors on part of the foreign language learner. Contrastive analysis yields two types of prediction: (i) second language learners will transfer their isomorphic Ll structures into the second language and thus produce correct target constructions, and (ii) they will transfer the anisomorphic structures of their mother tongue thus producing erroneous structures which reflect those of their mother tongue. The second hypothesis which I seek to verify in the present work claims that the more advanced the second language learner is, the more successfully he/she will perform in the second language. Long exposure to the new language will enable the learner to improve his/her linguistic competence in this language and as a result, he/she will utilise more positive transfer and less negative transfer than the less advanced learner. The validity of the two hypotheses will be investigated with reference to Syrian learners of English. The two languages under focus are English and Modern Standard Arabic. I focus exclusively on one syntactic structure viz., the noun phrase. My contrastive analysis of English and Modern Standard Arabic noun phrases is based on their description in terms of the general framework of the theory of Government and Binding. The predictions yielded by contrastive analysis were empirically tested by carrying out a small scale empirical investigation which consisted of three tests: a Completion Test, a Translation Test and a Judgment Test. The three tests were administered to two groups of Syrian students studying English at the University of Tishrin, Latakia, Syria. The first group comprised 25 first year students, and the second group included a similar number of fourth year students. I then carried out an error analysis of the data obtained in order to determine the source of each error and separate transfer from non-transfer errors. Quantificational measures were applied to the results in order to determine the relative frequency of each prediction in percentages. iii The degree of success of the predictions were taken as measures for the validity of the hypothesis on which they were based viz., the Contrastive Analysis Hypothesis. In order to verify the second hypothesis, I compared the mean percentages of transfer scored by both groups for each prediction in each test. Conclusions as to whether there were significant differences between the two groups in the degree of transfer were drawn by using the T-Test, which is statistical measure used to assess the significance of the differences between two given average scores.

The following thesis is an attempt to explore the relationship between translating and language learning. Chapter one is an attempt to relate the theory of Translating with that of Second Language Teaching. In the second chapter a review will be given of the history of translating within language teaching methodology, particularly noting the reasons why translating as a language teaching activity fell into disfavour. It will isolate and evaluate the criticisms which have been levelled at translating as a pedagogical device. Chapter three will look at the notion of Communicative Competence and this will include an investigation of the pragmatic and strategic dimension to language teaching. This will lead to a discussion of translating within the framework of developments along this dimension. The argument will centre around the point that within a discourse framework translating as a teaching method is much more relevant and that the criticisms and arguments against it discussed in chapter two therefore no longer apply. In chapter four the relationship between Translating Strategies and Interlanguage Strategies will be examined. This chapter will look at and compare the kind of processes at work within pidgins and creoles and first and second language acquisition with those used in Translating. Chapter five will follow on from the previous chapter with an empirical study of translating strategies and will test the hypothesis that translators and language users make use of similar strategies; and will include a description of data collection, a statistical study and conclusions. In chapter six the relationship between translating and communicative methodology will be examined. I will look particularly at how translating relates to questions of syllabus design and the polarities of accuracy and fluency Chapter seven will contain specific proposals for pedagogy looking at particular areas within linguistic, pragmatic and strategic competence. This chapter will include materials which have been piloted both with Arab learners of English and English learners of Arabic. Chapter eight concludes the thesis arguing that translating does have a vital role to play within a broader communicative approach to language teaching and looks at a number of potential areas for further research.

Given the multicultural, multilingual character of Canadian society, it is no surprise that second-language programs were implemented in our elementary schools. The need and demand for such programs were acknowledged by politicians when French Core Programs were introduced at the elementary level in the late sixties and foreign language programs (Heritage Language Programs) were introduced after school hours in the mid-seventies. The topic was selected primarily to examine how adequately our elementary schools are fulfilling the need and demand for second-language learning. At present, there is strong evidence to support the claim that these programs are failing to motivate students to pursue further studies in a second language or to produce students who are fairly fluent in a second language. These claims arouse concern and controversy as to the effectiveness and perhaps the validity of such programs as they exist today in our elementary schools. It is imperative that elementary second-language programmers examine what is happening in this area. They have to deal with the factors influencing the effectiveness of their programs. It is my view that a number of changes have to be introduced into second-language programs at the elementary level if they are to survive at this and other levels and if they are to support the multilingual, multicultural identity of Canada. / Thesis / Master of Arts in Teaching (MAT)

This dissertation explores the beliefs of students on the relevance (if at all) of addressing the Fifth skill, culture, in English education in a Pakistani context, with sub question that aims to answer what definitions of the Fifth skill (Tomalin, 2008) could be appropriate to English education in a Pakistani context? So far the research done on English language teaching in Pakistan and anything related to it is based on teachers’ beliefs alone, therefore it was important for me as an English Language teacher to find out what the students attitudes were towards the integration of 5th skill in the classroom. However, I did not limit the research to students’ beliefs alone; my research also includes the perception of the teachers. This is not only to give validity to the research, but also to realize any differences regarding the teachers’ beliefs on the issue in previous researches. To explore the role of 5th skill in teaching English languages in a Pakistani classroom, at the secondary level, this dissertation collected the responses elicited from both the students and the teacher through a semi-structured questionnaire and focus group discussion, and a thematic analysis was carried out. The results of this study highlight a number of issues regarding cultural acceptance, language acceptance and integrating of 5th skill in language teaching. Certain interesting contradictions regarding English culture(s) and English language and their status in Pakistani society also emerged. The findings suggest that students regarded the 5th skill as an essential source for better understanding the concepts and their functional use of English language, as it presents them with real life situations. However, where the 5th skill was seen as an important tool to enhance language competence, the students also supported that both the students’ culture as well as the culture associated with English Language be incorporated in the language class. The students saw integrating 5th skill in a language class as a means to express their ideas, values and experiences, and an opportunity to make others understand them and their point of view, and not restrict the use of Fifth skill to a one way cultural awareness stream only. The dissertation also questioned the current status of English as a second language as perceived by the students and its implications on the future of English Language teaching in Pakistan.

The purpose of this study is to understand the influence of English learning experience and metacognitive language learning strategy training on students¡¦ language learning beliefs and achievement. The sample of this study is 42 third grade students in primary school. The experimental group received metacognitive language learning strategy training while the control group didn¡¦t. The training program lasted for thirteen weeks. The study adopted a pretest-posttest non-equivalent-control-group design. The t-test, analysis of variance and analysis of covariance were adopted to examine the differences between participants¡¦ achievement. The percentage and mean were to describe participants¡¦ beliefs. This study revealed six general findings. First, participants in this study have more realistic expectation and high motivation about learning English. Second, students with English learning experience have better motivation beliefs, higher involvement and greater achievement. They also tend to believe that every individual has English learning abilities. However, students without English learning experience changed their attitude toward learning at the end of this study. Third, the strategy training can improve participants¡¦ beliefs and proved to be useful with other learning materials, but only in difficult test the trained participants get better scores. Fourth, to most beliefs, learning experience has better influence and strategy training affects greater on students with learning experience. Fifth, there is no significant interaction between English learning experience and strategy training on achievement. Finally, metacognitive language learning strategy training can improve participants¡¦ reading abilities, but speaking skill is influenced by learning experience. The conclusion provides suggestions for future development.

This study aimed to evaluate the efficacy of a software-administered shaping procedure in guiding English monolinguals to acquire accurate Mandarin pronunciation. A single-subject reversal ABAB design was used to evaluate treatment effects. A purposely-developed algorithm generated an accuracy score defined as the similarity between a participant’s utterance and the target pronunciation. The shaping procedure provided performance-dependent reinforcement, while the control condition provided performance-independent reinforcement at a density yoked to the shaping procedure. A no-feedback condition assessed spontaneous language learning ability prior to treatment. Data were evaluated via visual analysis and complemented with effect size analyses and repeated-measures ANOVAs. There were no overall treatment effects. However, three individuals demonstrated a statistically significant difference between treatment and control. A follow-up study compared shaping to no feedback using a simplified procedure and simpler stimuli. A multiple-baseline design was used. The results showed no treatment effects. Possible contributing factors and directions for future research are discussed.