Dissertations / Theses on the topic '200399 Language Studies not elsewhere classified'

This study investigates linguistic, perceptual, and pedagogical change (LPPC) in a short-term, study abroad English immersion program. It proposes the LPPC Interactive Model of second language acquisition based on Gardner's 1985 socioeducational model and Woods' 1996 beliefs, attitudes, and knowledge (BAK) structure. The framework is applied in a cross-cultural context, highlighting participants in the 1993 Camosun Osaka Aoyama English Language Institute involving Japanese English-as-a-Second-Language (ESL) students from Aoyama Junior College in Osaka, Japan, and non-Japanese ESL teachers at Camosun College and Canada's University of Victoria in British Columbia. The study examined the definition of teacher achievement; distinctions between language activation and language acquisition in the short-term, study abroad context; development of the constructs student BAK+, teacher BAK+, and class BAK+ to describe interactions in "class fit"; and the influence of temporal parameters on linguistic, perceptual, and pedagogical change. Data from teacher and student surveys and interviews suggest that change occurs in each of the linguistic, perceptual, and pedagogical dimensions and support constructs proposed for the model.

This thesis was conducted to examine the adequacy of the skills and preparation of the Nigeria Certificate in Education (NCE) English language teachers as the poor performance of Nigerian students in external English language examinations has become a source of concern to educational stakeholders (Patrick, Sui, Didam & Ojo, 2014). The NCE is the basic qualification for teaching in Nigeria. The concern for the quality of teachers in Nigeria is crucial as the Nigerian government recognized a problem with the training of teachers at the NCE level in 2010 and proposed to abolish the colleges and phase out the NCE (Idoko, 2010). The Context, Input, Process and Product (CIPP) Evaluation model is used as a theoretical framework in the study. The research questions were: What is the context of the English language programme of the Nigeria Certificate in Education? How does the implementation of the curriculum equip students to develop the four language skills? What are the lecturers and students’ perceptions of the implementation of the curriculum and how have the objectives of the curriculum been achieved? In examining these issues, a mixed methods approach was adopted within the framework of the CIPP model, while utilizing a case study. The study showed the ineffective implementation of the curriculum as a factor for the failure of Nigerian students in external English language examinations. The research established the deficiency of the students in the basic skills of the language. The process and product evaluations noted failures in the procedural design of the curriculum and demonstrated a lack of achievement of the objectives of the curriculum. The recommendations arising from the research emphasized an immediate review of the admission policy and an extensive involvement of the lecturers in the future reform of the curriculum. Future research is concerned with an investigation of the measures that will curb systemic failures in the colleges.

This study contributes to the growing body of knowledge about the realities of women's lives in the seventeenth-century Iberian peninsula, through a socio-historical interpretation of the poetic production of five women. One is Portuguese, Violante del Cielo, and four are Spaniards: Luisa de Carvajal y Mendoza, Leonor de la Cueva y Silva, Marcia Belisarda and Catalina Clara Ramírez de Guzmán. All are from the educated upper or noble classes and their lives span some one hundred and forty years, from 1566 to 1693. The thesis focuses particularly on their sonnets of love and friendship, both secular and religious. The sonnet was specifically chosen as the vehicle to study the ideas and concerns of literate, seventeenth-century women. As a difficult form of poetry requiring wit, artistry and education, sonnets enable a display of intellectual capabilities and offer opportunities for veiled criticism of contemporary systems of control. These women do not overtly rail against a system that offers them much in terms of social advancement and privilege. However, they do re-write our understanding of the Baroque by presenting their interests, pleasures and discontents from a feminine viewpoint. This detailed, contextual study of women's works, set against the philosophical, religious and moral treatises that governed their age, enables a wider interpretation of women's thought and intentions in the Iberian peninsula than may hitherto have been acknowledged, particularly in terms of relationships of affection within the family. Collectively, their individual works display a determination to demonstrate women's intelligence and moral strength. Furthermore, it becomes clear that women living within a system that utilised biological determinism as proof that they were incapable of reason, strive in their works to show that they are both capable of reason and determined to demonstrate it as undeniable fact.

The thesis examines the concept of normalisation of Computer Assisted Language Learning (CALL), i.e. complete, effective integration of technology, in the context of primary Modern Foreign Languages (MFL) in England. While normalisation research is conducted predominantly in the English as a Foreign Language (EFL) context, understanding normalisation in the primary mainstream education in England is important due to the contrast between teachers’ lack of readiness to deliver languages as part of the National Curriculum, and technology penetration in the classrooms. This thesis therefore, taking a sociocultural perspective of Activity Theory, attempts to redefine normalisation to include context specific characteristics, identify what factors contribute to and impede normalisation, and assess where primary CALL is on route to normalisation. An ethnographic approach was deemed to be most suitable to gain deep understanding of normalisation. Prolonged immersion in a primary school and the thematic analysis of observations, interviews, field notes and audio recordings revealed that factors impeding normalisation of primary CALL revolve around the following areas: attitudes, logistics, training and support and pedagogy. The issues related to the subject itself, e.g. negative attitudes toward the subject, lack of skills, impact on the achievement of normalisation to larger extent than issues related to technology. Hence in the primary context, normalisation needs to be considered from the point of view of normalisation of MFL and then the technology that is embedded into MFL. The analysis of the data allowed the researcher to create a model which serves as a form of audit of factors that need to be considered when thinking of successful technology integration into languages. Such guidance is needed for the primary MFL context having reoccurring issues, but is also relevant to primary EFL contexts in Europe where similar problems related to teaching of the subject are reported.

The health of the environment is integral to the health and wellbeing of the people. When the balance between Atua, whenua and tangata is disrupted, desecrated, disturbed or violated, it can have a detrimental impact on these relationships. This research study explored alternative indigenous paradigms for conceptualizing an environmental health framework that would improve the potency and health of all living things. A key question of the research study was to explore how Ngati Kuri sought to strengthen their relationship and connection with the natural world. The Hapu established Te Tai O Marokura health and social services as a vehicle to improve potency: healthy environments, healthy people. The specificity of Ngati Kuri experiences provided a broader context for researching and theorizing about restorative models that utilized traditional knowledge localized to a particular area. Another key question was to examine how Maori cultural values that were embedded within a worldview, could offer insights and constructs for new ways of being and thinking in the modern world. Kaupapa Maori philosophical positioning and theorizing informed the approaches and practices underpinning the study. The key aspects of the methodology were constructed around the tikanga principles of tinorangatiratanga, whakapapa and kaitiakitanga to provide a rationale for the collaboration formed with the Hapu. At the heart of the thesis is the validity given to the collective ownership of indigenous knowledge which challenges the fictional notion of a singular, temporally bound authorship. The thesis reflects the whakawhanaungatanga (reciprocal understanding) relationship between the Tuakana represented by Miriama Kahu and the Teina, Benita Wakefield working collaboratively with the Kaitiaki construct group formed to ensure that the use of indigenous knowledge and its transmission processes had honest transparency. The Tuakana was responsible for providing guidance, wisdom and mentoring to the Teina, the enrolled academic student responsible for producing the written thesis. These innovative collaborative Kaupapa Maori methods and practices in the study have tested the boundaries of conventional doctoral processes, breaking university academic regulations and challenging the western academy in the political nature of collective knowledge production and validity of indigenous knowledge. Qualitative and quantitative processes, approaches and methods were also utilized to inform the study and to ensure reflexivity of research practices. The key findings of the study were: • Improving potency requires a depth of intimacy and connection with all living things that involves a reciprocal understanding of the relationship between Atua, whenua and tangata. • Indigenous knowledge is localized to a spatial area and embedded within a worldview that validates and affirms cultural values and beliefs which continue to have relevance in more contemporary times. • The transformative nature of alternative indigenous paradigms must encompass the totality of creation, humanity and their genealogical and inter-generational linkages to all life. A major contribution of this PhD has been to create new knowledge, ways of thinking and meaning for restoring potency through the environmental health conceptual framework grounded in cultural and spiritual values. The specific focus on Ngati Kuri traditional knowledge authentic to the Hapu and their application, has significantly contributed towards constructing alternative indigenous approaches for meeting the challenges within the modern world.

The purpose of this research is to reveal and compare the language proficiency profiles of Purdue’s Chinese and Indian graduate applicants in various disciplines to take a step towards the development of Language Proficiency Literacy (LPL) of graduate admissions decision makers. The study argues that before being able to offer LPL development opportunities to admissions decision-makers, language testers need to gain admissions literacy in their specific academic context. One way this can be achieved is by analyzing graduate admissions data to see patterns of test score use in each discipline and to reveal language proficiency profiles of graduate applicants. Providing admissions decision makers with information about the linguistic characteristics of their applicants can be a very helpful step towards enhancing LPL in the context of graduate admissions.

One of the analyses conducted towards the goal LPL development in the context of graduate admissions was a Cluster Analysis procedure followed by a Chi-square analysis to compare the language proficiency profiles of graduate applicants from various L1 backgrounds based on scores on the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL). The study found three language proficiency profiles in graduate applicants’ TOEFL data: 1) the ‘unbalanced’ profile, which consists of applicants who have higher scores in the subskills of reading and listening, and comparatively lower scores on speaking and writing, 2) the ‘balanced medium’ profile, which represents students who have moderate scores across all four subskills, and 3) the ‘balanced high’ profile, which consists of applicants who have high scores across all four subskills. The study found evidence for the interaction between graduate applicant test-takers’ L1 background and belonging to a balanced or an unbalanced language proficiency profile, which highlights the importance of considering subskill scores in addition the total score when using language proficiency test scores to select graduate students from specific L1 backgrounds.

Migration entails adjustment and change, a process crystallized in the way language use patterns, proficiencies and identifications change. Although migrants are often bi/ multilingual, their language proficiency tends to be associated with fluency in the host language. Such a monolingual approach is fundamentally at odds with the ethnolinguistic diversity in migration contexts and has prevented a more holistic approach to the dynamic realities of bi/multilinguals. It has also perpetuated a view of linguistic proficiency as technical skill, judged according to idealized monolingual norms. Little is known of speakers' own notions of proficiency in their existing migrant languages (ML) and the impact on their socialpsychological makeup as their linguistic repertoire undergoes changes in use, function and status. This research investigated proficiency as a matter of conceptualization through its users, including its role for migrants' continued sense of self in the face of sociolinguistic discontinuities. A three-phase research design involving focus groups, a postal survey and follow-up interviews was used with a sample of migrants from a wide range of ethnolinguistic backgrounds. The study found evidence for a multidimensional conceptualization of migrant language proficiency (MLP) with a complex range of underlying motivations and a strong emotional attachment to ML, revealing ML as a linguistic resource crucial for self-construction. The present study aimed to provide a deeper understanding of the dynamic nature of these matters to contribute to a socio-culturally grounded view of proficiency and self-concept to help reveal some of the complex processes associated with migrants' social, cultural and psychological wellbeing. The study proposes bi/multilingualism as a settlement target to facilitate this outcome and to foster a sense of self that accommodates multiple identities. Investment in languages promotes an inclusive society of global citizens and complements New Zealand's official Māori/English bilingualism.

This investigation into the status of English in Iran and cultural presentations in Iranian English has two areas of emphasis. The first is a sociolinguistic profile of English in Iran in which the status, functions, uses and users of this language are described within in the country’s social and political contexts. In this part, contributing factors to the growth of English in three political periods, including the Qajar dynasty (1796 -1925), the Pahlavi era (1925-1979) and post-Revolutionary time (1979 – present), are elaborated upon to establish the historical and political bases for the second area of focus.

The second focus is the cultural content in the locally developed English textbooks used from 1939 to the present time (2020). Accordingly, the content of four generations (across five textbook series) of Iranian high school English textbooks are analyzed based on an evaluation scheme which the author has developed. This research finds answers to the questions on the status of culture in the Iranian English textbooks; distribution of Iranian and non-Iranian cultures; dominance of cultural elements (products, practices and perspectives) in each English textbooks series; and the political and ideological influence of each era on the content of English textbooks.

This investigation finds that the English textbooks which were developed before the Islamic Revolution (first and second generations) were highly cultural compared to the post-Revolution materials (third and fourth generations). Also, non-Iranian cultural components (particularly the American and British cultures) were more represented in the English textbooks of the Pahlavi period, whereas Western cultures were all eliminated in the post-Revolution textbooks, replaced by the Islamic/Revolutionary cultures. Additionally, cultural perspectives outnumbered cultural products and practices in the first and second generations of English textbooks (Pahlavi era) whereas cultural products dominated the post-Revolutionary English materials. This study finds that political and ideological hegemony of each era have directly influenced the textual and illustrative content of locally developed English textbooks in Iran.

This research extends upon interpretations of the use of text as a visual component in contemporary studio based practices. It continues my ongoing research trajectory into the use of text in art and the development of a practice that heavily reflects, and is influenced by urban and suburban experiences.

This study uses a sociocultural framework to trace the experiences of 24 Chinese international undergraduate students studying business and information sciences in a New Zealand university, using community of practice perspectives recognising the university as a site of complex discourses requiring negotiation of new identities and practices. The students’ expectations, the issues that emerged and the processes of change they went through to meet their goals were investigated from retrospective and longitudinal viewpoints, using semi-structured interviews supported by schematic representations developed by the researcher and photographic representations compiled by participants were. The findings suggest that preparation before departure focused largely on expected English demands, rather than wider matters of academic culture, and this was only partially rectified during prior study in New Zealand. Students thus entered the university unfamiliar with its specific discourses and found conditions for resolving difficulties more limited than previously experienced. The anonymity and extreme time pressure pertaining in large first-year classes led to bewilderment about requirements, threats to the sense of identity as competent students which they had arrived with, and often, failure of courses. Nevertheless, the investment, personal and monetary, which this journey represented provided the incentive to persevere. Most students were resourceful in negotiating a fit between their learning preferences and the affordances of the university, resulting in very different journeys for each of them. Measures adopted included those sanctioned by the university, such as developing skills to meet the demands of academic literacies, and others less valued, such as extreme dependence on teacher consultation. Success was gained through personal agency which proved more important than the university goal of student autonomy. Beyond the academic arena, other activities such as part-time jobs were significant in contributing to a sense of identity as competent and educated adults, and to new viewpoints which contrasted with original cultural norms. They continued to identify as Chinese, but in a “third space” owing something to New Zealand influences. The study concludes that entry criteria should include a component of university preparation. It also recommends measures by which the university might enhance the experiences of such students.

A great deal of the research on cross-linguistic phonetic influence demonstrates that a speaker’s knowledge of their first language (L1) significantly affects their ability to perceive and produce sounds in any other language. While current studies show that cross-linguistic transfer occurs at the L3 level, some research suggests that properties of both L1 and L2 are present in the production of L3 (Ionin, Montrul & Santos, 2011). Many studies have addressed perception, production and factors that influence foreign speech in Second Language Acquisition (SLA) (Watkins, Rauber & Baptista, 2009). As the number of multilingual individuals rises, so does the need for studies that investigate not only SLA but also that of additional languages (i.e., Third Language Acquisition). This dissertation examines how cross-linguistic influence (CLI) occurs among English, Spanish, and Brazilian Portuguese (BP), examining instances of vowel reduction, an aspect of phonological production. English and BP are assumed as vowel reducing languages, whereas Spanish displays negligible vowel reduction in comparison. The vowel productions in L3 BP of two multilingual groups, L1English-L2Spanish-L3BP (ESP) and L1 Spanish-L2 English-BP (SEP) were investigated in two tasks: a paragraph reading task (PRT) and a carrier phrase task (CPT). The study sought to determine whether i) a native speaker of a vowel reducing L1 and a non-vowel reducing L2 displays more or less vowel reduction in a vowel reducing L3 than a native speaker of a non-vowel reducing L1 and vowel reducing L2 and ii) how length of exposure to an L3 affects phonological production. Three fixed effects were considered: duration ratio, intensity ratio and height (F1). The goal was to ascertain whether the Typological Primacy Model (TPM) (Rothman 2011, 2015) or the L2 Status Factor Model (Bardel & Falk 2007, 2012; Hammarberg, 2001) would be a better predictor for how vowel reduction would occur in the L3. Results for duration ratio and vowel height showed no significant difference between groups ESP and SEP. Results for intensity ratio suggest L2 Status as a better predictor, as group SEP displayed more phonological transfer than the ESP group. A hybrid approach to L3 acquisition models is proposed.

This thesis investigates factors which impact on Indigenous student learning and success in secondary schooling in South Australia. The research contributes to greater understandings of why Indigenous students make the decision to stay on at school, and highlights the importance of teachers and culturally responsive schooling for improved learning outcomes.

U.S. rhetoric that embraces immigration is juxtaposed with the lived experiences of Latinx immigrants, the country’s largest immigrant group. Intergenerational research shows how immigrants’ social mobility depends on socioeconomic and environmental factors, impacting occupational attainment. Immigration policies portray immigrants negatively—contrasting deserving/good with undeserving/bad. This study uses d/Discourse (i.e., everyday talk/societal understandings) to investigate how immigrants from different generations make sense of policy, immigrant portrayals, and their lives through the lens of “calling.” Here, calling is used to understand differences across generations, rather than positioned as an individual pull toward an occupation. Specifically, this study answered three questions: (1) What occupational and intergenerational d/Discourses are perceived by immigrants?; (2) Whose interests are served by these d/Discourses and who is marginalized?; (3) How do immigrants experience “callings” across generations? Semi-structured interviews were conducted with different generations of immigrants (N=36). Generational and intergenerational sensemaking themes are identified using d/Discourse, while critical discourse analysis is used to explain inequalities and in whose interests d/Discourses are created. The main theoretical contribution of this study suggests that callings can be enacted and fulfilled intergenerationally. Within immigrant families, first-generation immigrants often hold visions of who their children (second-generation immigrants) will become. This vision often includes high educational attainment, a prestigious occupation, and documentation in the United States. Second-generation immigrants felt a pressure to perform well in school and validate the sacrifices made by their parents. They recognized that the visions for their future constructed by their first-generation parents were riddled with tensions. The occupational decisions of the second-generation immigrants often tried to find a middle ground between fulfilling their parents’ vision but also practicing in occupations that they were personally interested in. Several barriers made the path to fulfilling intergenerational callings more difficult. Second-generation immigrants recognized the privileges they held that their parents did not, including language barriers and acceptance into the country tied to documentation and acceptance based on racial models in the United States. While first-generation immigrants accepted these challenges as part of their intergenerational calling, the second-generation struggled to do the same. Finally, in fulfilling intergenerational callings many immigrants unintentionally reproduced deservingness narratives. In short, this study contributes theoretically and practically by challenging immigrant portrayals and viewing callings as intergenerational but filled with internal and external challenges.

This dissertation aims to create a scholarly space where a seventy-five-year-old “special relationship” (1945-2020) between the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the United States is examined from an interdisciplinary comparativist perspective. I posit that a comparative study of Saudi and American fiction goes beyond the limitedness of global geopolitics and proves to uncover some new literary, sociocultural, and historical dimensions of this long history, while shedding some light on others. Saudi writers creatively challenge the inherently static and monolithic image of Saudi Arabia, its culture and people in the West. They also simultaneously unsettle the notion of homogeneity and enable us to gain new insight into self-perception within the local Saudi context by offering a wide scope of genuine engagements with distinctive themes ranging from spatiality, identity, ethnicity, and gender to slavery, religiosity and (post)modernity. On the other side, American authors still show some signs of ambivalence towards the depiction of the Saudi (Muslim/Arab) Other, but they nonetheless also demonstrate serious effort to emancipate their representations from the confining legacy of (neo)Orientalist discourse and oil politics by tackling the concepts of race, alterity, hegemony, radicalism, nomadism and (un)belonging.