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[pt] Esta pesquisa teve o objetivo de investigar as estratégias de revisão textual de alunos da modalidade Educação de Jovens e Adultos (EJA) a partir de um referencial teórico sobre escrita processual, revisão textual e EJA. Trata-se de pesquisa desenvolvida sob o escopo da Psicolinguística em interface com a área da Educação. O estudo foi realizado com alunos oriundos de uma escola exclusiva para EJA, denominada Centro Municipal de Referência de Educação de jovens e Adultos (CREJA), localizado no município do Rio de Janeiro. Esses alunos são estudantes do PEJA II, Bloco I (sexto e sétimo anos do Ensino Fundamental) e PEJA II, Bloco II (oitavo e nono anos do Ensino Fundamental). A metodologia consistiu em uma atividade de produção textual organizada em três etapas, baseada em Rodrigues (1996), e de entrevistas semiestruturadas feitas com esses alunos e com o professor de Língua Portuguesa dessas turmas. A análise dos textos, feita com base em Rodrigues (1996), Lima (2012) e nas orientações curriculares para o PEJA (Rio de Janeiro, 2012) e CREJA (Rio de Janeiro, 2015), considerou a quantidade de palavras, a quantidade de alterações em cada uma das três etapas da produção textual e os tipos de alterações e ações de revisão realizadas. As categorias que apresentaram mais alterações na turma Bloco I, em relação à média de alterações por categoria, em ordem decrescente, foram as seguintes: ortografia, alteração lexical, alteração discursiva. Já no Bloco II as categorias foram alteração discursiva, ortografia, alteração lexical e pontuação. Em relação aos aspectos comuns, as turmas apresentaram significativa concentração de alterações nos aspectos relacionados à norma culta da língua, em especial a ortografia. Esse, inclusive, foi um aspecto recorrente nas entrevistas dos alunos e do professor de língua portuguesa, indicando uma concepção de revisão ancorada na ideia de correção, com foco mais nos aspectos superficiais do texto, mesmo nas séries mais avançadas do Ensino Fundamental. O estudo aponta para a relevância de uma investigação centrada na análise das operações de revisão como forma de mapear o que pode representar dificuldade para os alunos no processo de escrita. Espera-se que os resultados da pesquisa possam subsidiar reflexão sobre formas de intervenção voltadas ao desenvolvimento das habilidades de produção textual em turmas de EJA. / [en] This research aimed at investigating the strategies of textual revision of Youth and Adult Education modality (EJA) students. The study focused on writing processes, strategies of revision and EJA, adopting a Psycolinguistics perspective, in interface with the Education Area. The research was held with students from an EJA school, called Centro Municipal de Educação de Jovens e Adultos (CREJA), located in the city of Rio de Janeiro. They are students at PEJA II, Block I (6th and 7th years of Elementary School) and PEJA II, Block II (8th and 9th years of Elementary School). The methodology consisted of a text production activity organized in three stages, based on Rodrigues (1996), and on semi-structured interviews with these students and the Portuguese Language teacher. The analysis of the texts was done based on Rodrigues (1996), Lima (2012) and the curricular guidelines for the PEJA (Rio de Janeiro, 2012) and CREJA (Rio de Janeiro, 2015), considering the number of words, and the quantity of changes in each of the stages of textual production as well as the types of revisions made. The categories that presented the higher number of occurrences in the Block I group, in relation to the average of changes by category, were the following (in descending order): orthography, lexical alteration, discursive alteration. Considering the Block II, the categories were: discursive changes, orthography, lexical and punctuation changes. Both groups presented high concentration of changes in aspects that related to language standards, especially in orthography. Moreover, this was a constant aspect in the interviews of the students and of the Portuguese teacher, indicating a revision concept based on the idea of correction, focusing more on the superficial aspects of the text, even in the most advanced grades of Elementary School. The study directs to the relevance of an investigation centered on the analysis of revision as a way of mapping what may represent difficulty for students in the writing process. The results of the research may contribute to a reflection on forms of intervention aimed at the development of textual production skills in EJA classes.

<p>The goal of this study was to elucidate whether articulations of visual-speech are processed phonologically, and in the same manner as auditory-speech. Phonological processing, measured through the amplitude of the Phonological Mapping Negativity (PMN), was compared across three conditions using the electroencephalogram (EEG). Planned polynomial contrasts compared conditions of related and unrelated linguistic stimuli versus a non-linguistic control stimulus. A significant Site x Condition polynomial trend at posterior sites (Pz and Oz) during the N400 tine window revealed that the unrelated condition was most negative in amplitude, an N400-like deflection in the control condition reached similar negative amplitude, while the related condition was the most positive. A significant quadratic trend of PMN amplitude differentiated between the linguistic conditions and the non-linguistic control at site Fz, but did not differentiate the related and unrelated linguistic conditions from each other. These results support a conclusion that non-lexical speech-like and gurning motions of the lips are treated differently than articulations of a meaningful nature. Moreover, the PMN response patterned similarly in the linguistic conditions, compared to the non-linguistic control, indicating phonological processing. The prediction that PMN amplitude will distinguish visual-speech events congruent or incongruent to a phonologically constrained context was not supported.</p> / Master of Science (MSc)

In this study I addressed three problems related to how sandhi-variation, the adjustments made by speakers to the speech stream, filters comprehension for second language listener processing. The first was the need to better understand proficiency problems encountered by L2 listeners as they decode the speech stream with the phonological features of sandhi-variation, elision and assimilation, by investigating the item difficulty hierarchy of the phenomena. The second was the scarcity of research on aural processing abilities of second language learners in relation to their understanding sandhi-variation in aural texts. The third concerns the lack of research investigating links between learners’ backgrounds and their ability to handle listening texts, especially variations in the speech stream in target aural texts. The purpose of this study was threefold. My first purpose was to investigate the item difficulty hierarchy of sandhi-variation types that learners have in relation to L2 listening proficiency. My second purpose was to evaluate links between aural input containing elision and assimilation and second language aural processing, to provide insight into how learners deal with sandhi-variation as they process such input. My third purpose was to investigate through the use of interviews the aural input that participants have encountered prior to the interventions of this study, to help explain which types of aural input can facilitate intake. Twenty-five first- and second-year Japanese university students participated in the current study. The participants completed a series of instruments, which included (a) a Test of English as a Foreign Language Paper-Based Test (TOEFL PBT), (b) a Listening Vocabulary Levels Test (LVLT), (c) a Modern Language Aptitude Test–Elementary (MLAT-E), (d) a Pre-Listening in English questionnaire, (e) an Elicited Imitation Test (EIT), and (f) a Background and Length of Residency interview. The EIT was used as a sandhi-variation listening test with two component parts (i.e., elision and assimilation) and two sub-component parts (e.g., two different utterance rates), using elicited imitation. Finally, the participants were interviewed about their language backgrounds to gauge their understanding and feelings about English. An empirical item hierarchy for elision and assimilation was investigated, along with the determinants of the hierarchy. Overall, the tendency was for items with elision and assimilation to be more difficult. Results also indicated that the two input rate variables combined with elision and assimilation affected the non-native participants’ listening comprehension. Moreover, the strength of the relationship between two measures of the participants’ language ability, proficiency and aptitude, and their comprehension of items with and without the phonological features of elision and assimilation, were investigated. The results confirmed a positive relationship between language aptitude as measured by the MLAT-E and the comprehension of the phonological features of elision and assimilation. Finally, the results indicated that there were no significant, positive correlations between English language proficiency scores and both the Pre-Listening Questionnaire, which measured the participants’ feelings about second language listening, and the Background and Length of Residency Interview. More research needs to be conducted to determine how learners’ backgrounds are related to listening comprehension in order to better prescribe aural input in second language listening classrooms. / Teaching & Learning

This project focuses on the importance of reading fluency, emphasizing its role in the construction of meaning and aiding in the overall comprehension process. Its components: accuracy, automaticity, and prosody are examined in relation to various activities that enhance each component. A sample curriculum is discussed.

The purpose of this project is to address the need from helping English learners to improve their oral expression. The research mainly focuses on oral expression stategies with which students can overcome their fear of speaking in public and be better understood in society. Sample curriculum/lesson plans included.

This thesis entitled Umoya Wamagama endeavors to establish the nature of the relationship between IsiZulu and Haitian Kreyòl. As a member of the Nguni group, IsiZulu is spoken by Africans. On the other side, Kreyòl is spoken by African descendants of Haiti, the world's first Black independent Republic. Viewed from a multidisciplinary perspective, these two languages exhibit a significant relationship, hence this important observation: IsiZulu- Haitian Krèyol: So Close, Yet So Far! In other words, they are far from a linguistic point of view but close from a psycho-theological perspective. * So Far: Comparative linguistics shows that Kreyòl is genetically related to French and Latin. * So Close: Born in Haiti during the Trans Atlantic Slave Trade, Kreyòl keeps alive the spirit of the African ancestors and still contains linguistic roots of ancestral languages. Vital and vibrant is this historical relatedness linking the two languages. While Haitian Kreyòl is genetically related to French and Latin, it shares with IsiZulu an ancestral psychodynamic and theological paradigms deeply rooted in Ubuntu. Umuntu ngumuntu ngabantu. These words crystallize the essence of Ubuntu. Its psychological and theological study transcends the literal language. In that regard Umoya Wamagama refers to both literal and figurative linguistic expressions. The emphasis however is more on the words which connote additional layers of meaning rather than those which simply denote their meanings. The method used in this thesis is comparative, descriptive, investigative, analytic and exegetic when necessary. Providing evidence of linguistic relationships, the comparative and analytic approach then embraces the semantic field of IsiZulu-Kreyòl as a significant psycholexicology where explanations puts an emphasis on the meaning and the spirit of the words. Siye ngomoya wamagama. Hence, the core question of addressing the psychological and theological dimensions of this research which is based on a multidisciplinary approach. After 500 years, in the wake of European colonial expansion, the Spirit of the African slaves is still alive in the psyche and the language of the Haitian people. As we said above: Yize isiKreyòl saseHaiti sifuze nesiFulentshi nesiLatini, sabelana nesiZulu ngokwemisuka nangokwezimiso zezinkolelo okunezimpande ezijulile emfundisweni yobuntu. IsiZulu and Kreyòl are related through an ancestral psychodynamic and theological paradigms rooted in Ubuntu. / African Languages / D. Litt. et Phil. (African Languages)

Linguistic fossilization is a prevalent phenomenon in adult ESLA and presents a perpetual pedagogical challenge to teachers. Despite controversy about the theoretical concept, research is increasingly showing that persistent erroneousness cannot be attributed to single causal factors. This single case study examines controversial aspects surrounding the concept and formulates criteria for identifying fossilization. The study investigates the conversational output of an independent adult learner over a period of nine months and presents a holistic exploration of causal influences. The findings substantiate that fossilization arises from changing combinations of factors, and that such combinations are unique to the situation of each adult learner. The key to the successful treatment of fossilized errors may lie in identifying their roots, which can be achieved by analyzing output and through discussion with learners in order to gain insight into their experience of the learning process. Results also suggest that a critical perspective on the theoretical construct is needed in order to investigate the phenomenon in adult second language acquisition. / Linguistics / M.A. (Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages (TESOL))

This thesis engages in the language acquistion of the mother tongue (czech) and the second language (English) in preschool age and discribes the development of child language competence in both languages based on available theories, results of illustrative research and one-year observation in kindergarten with bilingual education program. In the beginning, there are defined theories which engaged in past and engage today (from 20th century till the present day) in study of language acquisition. In addition of these theories we focus factors which influence on the language development of children and consideration even theory of children's linguistic picture of the world. We compare the development of language competence (phonetic-phonological, semantic, grammatical, communication, pragmatic and vocabulary) in first language (czech) which are defined in agreement with available theories with empirical discoveries which indicate the development of those competence in second language (English) and we discribe partial methodological processes.