The Huang and Van Naerssen (1987) survey in Southern China proved conclusively that the more
fluent Chinese L2 learners ofEnglish used more communicative strategies than their not :fluent
counterparts. This study was an attempt to repeat the Huang and Van Naerssen study in a
different setting with L2 learners of different ethnic and cultural backgrounds. L2 learners of
English at secondary level were chosen from four countries in which I had recently lived and
worked. In addition an attempt was made to empirically test the validity of Schumann•s (1978)
acculturation hypothesis on models for which it was not originally intended. A correlation was
being sought between the level of acculturation ofL2 learners and their fluency in English.
A cloze test was given to the one hundred and twenty-five L2 learners in the study in order to
gauge their level of proficiency in English. A survey was then presented to L2 learners in all four
countries, Chile, Paraguay, South Africa and Botswana. Part One of the survey asked questions
related to acculturation. Part Two asked the same communicative questions used in the South
China study.
The results from the survey were inconclusive though the raw data for the communicative
strategies and acculturation helped to show that the more proficient the student in English, the
more likely he or she was to use communicative strategies or show a higher level of acculturation.
The results were not statistically significant. / English Studies / M.A. (English)
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:netd.ac.za/oai:union.ndltd.org:unisa/oai:umkn-dsp01.int.unisa.ac.za:10500/703 |
| Date | 01 January 2002 |
| Creators | Warren, Philip James |
| Contributors | Kilfoil, W. R. (Wendy Ruth), 1952- |
| Source Sets | South African National ETD Portal |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Dissertation |
| Format | 1 online resource (iii, 169 leaves) |
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