This study is an examination of the use of English definite and indefinite articles in 900 compositions written by 475 adult ESL students from nine different L1 backgrounds: Arabic, Chinese, French, Indonesian, Japanese, Korean, Spanish, Thai, and Turkish, in response to these questions: (1) Can a common sequence of development of accuracy in the written use of articles by adult ESL students be identified in relation to advancing proficiency or in relation to first language, and (2) Is there systematic variation in the use of determiners other than articles in contexts where articles are obligatory or more likely to be used by a native speaker. / These compositions were written placement and exit examinations of international students at the Center for Intensive English Studies at Florida State University between 1983 and 1991. They were analyzed for omissions, additions, or confusion of the and a, using SOC (supplied in obligatory context) methodology, across five levels of global proficiency as measured by the Institutional Test of English as a Foreign Language, and obligatory contexts checked for lexical items other than articles. Researcher native speaker judgment was checked with a questionnaire administered to six writing instructors, resulting in 96% interrater reliability. / Development was found to be strikingly similar among students with L1s which contained articles, and also strikingly similar among students whose first languages did not, although some of the latter were quantitatively different in frequency. Eleven demonstratives, personal and possessive pronouns appeared in twenty-two configurations in apparent substitution for articles. / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 53-07, Section: A, page: 2352. / Major Professor: Frederick L. Jenks. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--The Florida State University, 1992.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:fsu.edu/oai:fsu.digital.flvc.org:fsu_76676 |
| Contributors | Myers, Sharon A., Florida State University |
| Source Sets | Florida State University |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Text |
| Format | 210 p. |
| Rights | On campus use only. |
| Relation | Dissertation Abstracts International |
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