Dissertations / Theses on the topic 'Cultural awareness in the context of language acquisition'

The purpose of this project is to develop heuristics and guidelines for English teachers to design appropriate courses. The exploration begins with a review of relevant literature in order to provide principles to comprise a pedagogical model. Based on that model, an instructional unit is presented that incorporates the model in a real-world context.

Over the course of the last few decades the debate over culture and its relationship to language has remained heated and one can argue, unresolved. It has been underscored that it is not necessarily the question of culture teaching per-se but rather the methods and content of such teaching that remain controversial. Today's world demands that learners are not simply linguistically but also interculturally competent. It has been argued that high levels of intercultural awareness can be achieved with the help of experiential lessons taught in a formal setting that focus on the exploration of self as a cultural being.In this study, three groups of the intermediate learners of German and Russian were invited to participate in a number of cultural lessons based on either culture box highlights or experiential activities. The pre-posttests measured changes in learners' cognitive, behavioral and affective measures of intercultural competence. Results revealed that experiential activities tend to better facilitate the development of learners' intercultural skills and attitudes. Students written responses to critical incidents were analyzed with the Developmental Model of Intercultural Sensitivity (Bennett, 1993) to assess changes in learners' perspectives and intercultural disposition over the course of the semester. Additionally, learners' experiences with foreign and local cultures were quantified and correlated with cognitive, behavioral and affective measures of intercultural competence. Results showed that not all measures of intercultural competence may be broadened by the individuals' firsthand experiences with other cultures. The relevance of one's previous experiences with `sub-cultures' (states, cities, towns, and communities), i.e. his `mobility' must also be acknowledged.

This paper concerns a case study which attempts to underline the importance of culture learning through foreign language acquisition in the transformation of prejudices and the fomentation of cultural awareness. More specifically, it aims to present the way in which adult learners’ critical reflection on culture in combination to foreign language learning can lead to their acknowledgement of the equity between cultures and their proximity to “the other”, a fact that is considered to foster cultural respect and awareness. For doing so, a qualitative approach was used in order to examine the perceptions of a group of adults learning Spanish in an elementary level class in Greece. Data was collected from in-depth interviews where participants were asked to expose their opinion of the importance of culture and its connection to language, to consider the implication of culture learning in foreign language learning and to share their personal views of the Hispanic culture as it derives from their studying the Spanish language and reflecting on the Hispanic culture-Spanish language correlation. Research delivered positive outcomes concerning this specific issue and showed evidence that the transformative effect of learning about a culture through language acquisition is indeed possible. Suggestions for further research on the matter are made so as to investigate the replicability of such a transformative effect in other similar cases and to secure the generalization of results.

Rationale: The importance of well developed phonological awareness and the effect of poor phonological awareness skills on reading and spelling have long been recognised. However, a dearth of research exists regarding populations in multi-cultural, multi-lingual contexts both nationally and internationally. This issue is of particular importance in the South African context where many Black learners in the school setting have no other choice than English as the Language of Learning and Teaching (ELoLT). Aim: The purpose of the study was to explore the effect of a multi-cultural, multi-lingual context on the English phonological awareness skills of a group of Black Grade 4 learners in a primary school setting in South Africa. Method: An exploratory, descriptive and contextual research design was implemented, which incorporated both quantitative and qualitative paradigms. An assessment battery consisting of formal and informal assessments was used to determine levels of development. The researcher endeavoured to find statistical correlations between the participants' phonological awareness skills on the one hand, and their phonological abilities, their expressive and receptive language abilities, and their reading and spelling abilities in ELoLT on the other. Participants: Fifteen Black Grade 4 learners, each with a Black language as mother tongue, who attended a mainstream school where English was the language of learning and teaching (ELoLT), participated in the study. The participants' ages ranged between 9 years 11 months, and 10 years 11 months. Results: The participants’ phonological abilities in English as LoLT showed that 47% of the participants produced the target consonants with a consonant approximation, and vowel approximations were produced by all of the participants in single words. All fifteen the participants’ expressive and receptive language abilities in English as their LoLT, were on a below-average level and their expressive language abilities were more advanced than their receptive language abilities. All the participants evidenced problems in terms of their phonological awareness skills. Based on the results obtained for reading decoding abilities, only one third of the participants could be considered to be readers of an average standard. The reading comprehension abilities of all the participants were on a lower level than those of first language speakers of Standard South African English. Furthermore, the participants’ spelling abilities in English as LoLT were not age-appropriate. Even though no significant correlation could be determined between the participants’ reading comprehension and phonological awareness skills (due to the fact that memory probably played a role in their reading comprehension), it was statistically determined that their poor phonological awareness skills could be associated with their below-average phonological, receptive and expressive language, reading decoding, and spelling abilities. Conclusions: The results of this research have implications for the role of speech-language therapists in terms of collaboration, prevention, assessment, and intervention where the development of these learners' phonological awareness skills is concerned. Clinical implications focus on the dissemination of information, therapy planning, and EAL learner support. The need for further research in this field is emphasised.
Dissertation (M (Communication Pathology))--University of Pretoria, 2007.
Speech-Language Pathology and Audiology
M (Communication Pathology)
Unrestricted

Hand gestures during speech lighten the speaker's cognitive load, provide lexical access, augment the precision of memory, and identify when a speaker is ready to learn a new skill (Abner, Cooperrider, Goldin-Meadow, 2015). Much of the research that has discovered these purposes of gesture have focused on gestures produced during speech in the speaker's first language. Many researchers use these findings to argue for the same cognitive benefits of gesture in the second language, though only little research of gesture and second language speech has been done. The present study sought to fill the gap between first and second language research on gesture production by investigating the differences between the gesticulation produced by bilinguals in their first and second languages as well as discover their perceptions of those gestures. Native English speakers bilingual in Spanish and native Spanish speakers bilingual in English were interviewed in both languages and their gestures were counted and compared between their first and second languages. Results showed that even though native Spanish speaker's gestured significantly more than native English speakers, all participants significantly increased their gesture production from their first to their second language. Task type also played an important part in this increase, wherein gestures increased only in descriptive and narrative tasks, but not in conversational role plays. Gestures also seemed to increase due to a heightened cognitive load within the tasks more so than due to increased anxiety levels, agreeing with previous research done in first language contexts. Participants also tended to base perceptions of gesture use on native cultural attitudes towards gesture, causing inconclusive results on speaker awareness of their co-speech gesture in either their native or second language. Some limitations suggest that this study be repeated with modifications, such as evaluating participant proficiency before interviewing and matching all participants to a specific range of time immersed in the foreign culture.

The body of the literature examining the acquisition of Spanish rhotics is expanding (e.g., Canfield, 1940; Face, 2006; Rose, 2010; Hurtado & Estrada, 2010). Most studies on the acquisition of Spanish rhotics have focused on how students progress at different levels of instruction (e.g., Rose, 2010; Hurtado & Estrada, 2010) while various other factors have been shown to affect the second language acquisition of phonology, such as style variation (e.g., Diaz-Campos, 2006; González--Bueno, 1997; Zampini, 1994), L1 transfer (e.g., Major, 2001), and experience abroad (e.g., Díaz-Campos, 2004, 2006; Lafford, 2006). Work on the acquisition of the Spanish tap and trill by regular classroom students has consistently shown that these sounds, especially the trill, are difficult to master for adult English speaking learners (e.g., Reeder, 1998; Face, 2006). However, the influence of factors such as cultural sensitivity, motivation, and experience abroad has been relatively understudied. This study explores the influence of these factors on the second language acquisition of the pronunciation of Spanish rhotics. In order to investigate the acquisition of Spanish pronunciation, 39 adult learners of various levels of instruction participated in the study. Participants completed a background questionnaire, the Survey of Motivational Intensity (Gardner 1985), and the Intercultural Development Inventory (IDI) as a measure of cultural sensitivity. Learners' speech was recorded as they completed three different tasks, including a brief oral interview, the reading of a story, and a world list including rhotics in six different phonetic contexts that students were asked to read aloud. The tasks were recorded digitally and production of the tap and trill was analyzed spectrographically using Praat. Finally, the relationship between the aforementioned factors and target-like production of /ɾ/ and /r/ was explored with a crosstab analysis combined with an ANOVA analysis and a multiple regression analysis. The results show that neither Motivational Intensity nor Cultural Sensitivity have an influence in the acquisition of Spanish rhotics. Level of instruction and time of residence are the main predictors of target like pronunciation of the Spanish rhotics. The phonetic context harder to acquire is the trill after an alveolar consonant while the easiest is the tap between vowels.

This study explores storybook illustrations in learning word meanings among English learners in a university intensive language program. The impact of children’s literature on the comprehension and vocabulary development of second language children is well-documented. However, the use of the literature with adults still needs to be researched. Therefore, a mixed-method study was designed (1) to investigate whether readers who read an authentic illustrated story differed from those who read the same story without illustrations; and (2) to learn more about the readers’ process of learning words from storybook illustrations. Results suggest that illustrations play an important role in both comprehending the text and learning individual words, however issues related to the accessibility of the text and readers’ ability to use context should also be taken into consideration. The findings support prior research that the benefits of learning from context take time to become robust. The study suggests that illustrated storybooks provide a rich context for adults to infer word meanings and recommends children’s literature as an alternative source of reading in programs serving adult English learners.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Michigan State University. Linguistics and Germanic, Slavic, Asian, and African Languages, 2008.
Title from PDF t.p. (viewed on Aug. 17, 2009) Includes bibliographical references (p. 286-296). Also issued in print.

The present research project focuses on investigating how students’ cultural and diversity awareness can be raised while teaching a foreign language to young learners. Nowadays, key notions such as difference and diversity are being replaced by others of a more homogenizing, standardizing kind, typical of the globalised era in which we live. Simultaneously, and as a consequence of this tendency, the topic of intercultural awareness has been insufficiently developed, especially in the foreign language classroom in the primary school context in Portugal. As an example of this, primary course books resort more and more to symbols or icons in an unsuccessful attempt to show diversity, instead of presenting young learners with a deeper, more varied – in a word, more realistic – view of differences between people and cultures. It is my view, then, that the foreign language primary classroom is the ideal setting for this: that is, to learn about diversity while learning a new language, to acquaint children, who are naturally drawn to what is different, with various concepts of difference and otherness, and ultimately to raise better, more tolerant and inclusive human beings. To do so, I chose a small series of diversity related-topics which were dealt with in class, not in the traditional method, but with the aid of new materials produced by myself, specially aimed at simultaneously promoting the diversity awareness of young learners, and improving their language skills. The result was a more understanding, more open, and also more knowledgeable group of young learners – proof that, under the right circumstances, and with the correct motivation, the foreign language classroom is indeed an optimal place to change the current negative tendency of not thoroughly developing the teaching of diversity, difference and empathy in classrooms.

Increasingly, government and educational institutions are turning to study abroad programs as one of the primary means of providing students with important cross-cultural and linguistic skills. However, because of constraints on time and financial resources most students participate in short term programs lasting approximately two months. Additionally, research regarding students’ linguistic and cultural growth in study abroad shows that some students gain far more from their participation than others. The purpose of this study was to examine the cultural and linguistic learning that takes place in short-term programs and discover some of the factors that predict students’ growth while abroad. This study examined the relationship between important factors such as students’ level of cultural sensitivity, students’ relationship with their host family, motivation to learn the language, the amount of time students’ spent interacting with native speakers, as well as students’ oral language skills during a seven-week study abroad program. Surveys were used to measure each of the variables except for students’ oral language skills. To measure changes in oral skills, the researcher created an innovative instrument in which native speakers rated clips of student speech in the target language from before and after their time abroad. As found in previous research, students varied greatly in the amount of progress made in oral language skills and cultural sensitivity while abroad. However, students generally demonstrated small, but significant improvements in their oral language skills, despite the brief nature of their program. Further, the instrument created to measure growth in oral language skills showed high reliability. Interestingly, students’ level of cultural sensitivity prior to going abroad predicted changes in oral language skills. These results provide support for students’ participation in short-term study abroad programs since students generally experience noticeable improvements in language skills. They also suggest that students who are more culturally sensitive may have an advantage in language learning during study abroad programs. These results could be helpful for administrators in determining who may benefit most from such programs and may suggest that helping students gain cultural sensitivity could also aid students’ language learning.
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Recent surveys of international business professionals indicate that foreign language abilities and cultural sensitivity are important competitive advantages in today's globalized economy. The current study interviewed 71 practicing global professionals currently working in cross border transactions in diverse fields. Biographic, demographic and second language data were collected, including information on experiences and opinions on the use and importance of foreign language and cultural awareness abilities in the professional world. Research questions include: (1) Who are the global professionals applying L2 abilities at work? (2) How do they apply these abilities? (3) What are the profiles of advanced and non-advanced proficiency users? (4) How important are linguistic abilities and how much of a competitive advantage do they represent? (5) What language strategies and communication strategies are used? (6) What are the most common beliefs on the role of foreign languages and culture awareness in business? (7) How well do intercultural communication models explain the culture views and experiences reported by working professionals? Results indicate that learners with self-reported advanced proficiency regularly apply the four language abilities (listening, reading, speaking and writing) at work, albeit in varying degrees, depending on the level of complexity of the task (phone, email, face-to-face meeting, etc.). For the majority of informants, foreign language and culture abilities are considered important for professional effectiveness. For those who reported advanced foreign language abilities, they also exhibited a greater appreciation for increased exposure to foreign language learning, had received more foreign language instruction, and had more experience working and living abroad. Those advanced in foreign language abilities were also more likely to be non-native speakers of English, have earned a university degree while using an L2, had family or community connections to the target language, have emigrated, or have a spouse with a different L1. The study also ranks and identifies the informants' strategies used to deal with language and culture issues. Participants' anecdotes were analyzed in light of current cultural analysis models applied in International Business Communications. Suggestions are presented for curricula changes to improve foreign language proficiency in professional settings.
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Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI)
El propósito del presente estudio es cultivar un entendimiento avanzado de este proceso de construcción identitaria por medio del análisis de un cuestionario diseñado para explorar las relaciones complicadas entre el estudio de lenguas extranjeras, la cultura y la identidad. Específicamente, examinaré los efectos del componente cultural en sus diversas manifestaciones durante el estudio de una lengua extranjera para acertar cómo interactúan varias experiencias culturales en la creación de una identidad L2, qué efectos tienen ciertas experiencias en esta construcción o renegociación identitaria y cuáles son las experiencias culturales que más influyen y contribuyen a la creación de una identidad L2. Además, exploraré las varias combinaciones de tales experiencias culturales para relacionarlas con la fuerza y la profundidad de la identidad L2 construida, estableciendo así patrones preestablecidos si los resultados del cuestionario revelan correlaciones claras. Este proceso de crear, reconstruir y renegociar una identidad L2 por medio de un conjunto de experiencias de exposición cultural es un fenómeno válido con importantes implicaciones pedagógicas tanto para la enseñanza de lenguas extranjeras como para el campo de la adquisición de segundas lenguas. Es mi creencia que las conclusiones del presente estudio serán imprescindibles para la enseñanza de lenguas extranjeras, puesto que los patrones revelados por el cuestionario podrían influir la formación de nuevos currículos y programas de estudio orientados más a la enseñanza—y exposición—de la cultura de la lengua meta. Con el propósito de ayudar con el proceso de renegociación identitaria ya establecido en la metodología de enseñanza, estos nuevos currículos podrían incorporar los componentes culturales más efectivos en la construcción de una identidad L2. Por extensión, la implementación de estos nuevos programas de estudio quizá cambiará la manera en la que los estudiantes se acerquen al estudio lingüístico y facilitará el aprendizaje de lenguas extranjeras tanto en el aula como en el extranjero, logrando de este modo mejores resultados y la creación exitosa de más hablantes proficientes.

Este artigo, sob forma de revisão de literatura, incide sobre a caracterização da Língua Gestual Portuguesa (LGP), utilizada pelas pessoas surdas em Portugal. Em primeiro lugar, será feita uma breve abordagem sobre a nomenclatura a adotar, clarificando a necessidade de dissociação de deficiência auditiva, baseada na visão sócio antropológica da biodiversidade enquanto indicador de saúde no ecossistema. Assim, perspetivando as pessoas surdas portuguesas enquanto elementos de uma comunidade linguística, serão, apresentadas algumas particularidades inerentes à sua língua natural: a LGP, que permite aceder a um input linguístico e comunicativo, promovendo o desenvolvimento da sua linguagem e interação com a comunidade. A LGP, à semelhança de todas as outras línguas, apresenta características exclusivas, tratando-se de um sistema de signos arbitrários e convencionais. É nesta base que este artigo encontra a sua pertinência, debruçando, ainda, a sua atenção na LGP enquanto língua, mais precisamente, nos aspetos gramaticais (sintaxe, morfologia, léxico e querologia). Apesar de ser uma língua estruturada e reconhecida como língua de ensino do nosso país, ainda se verificam algumas lacunas relativamente ao acesso da informação sobre a mesma, constatando-se, entre outros, a inexistência de instrumentos de avaliação para a sua aprendizagem.
A Língua Gestual Portuguesa (LGP) é uma língua estruturada e natural, devendo, por isso, ser a escolhida enquanto potenciadora no processo de ensino-aprendizagem das crianças surdas portuguesas. No entanto, ainda há necessidade de expandir o seu conhecimento, sobretudo sobre as várias etapas de desenvolvimento e aquisição, dando especial atenção à consciência fonológica – estudo dos sons, que neste caso deverá ser denominada de querologia (kyros-mão) – estudo dos queremas. Os estudos existentes sobre a consciência querológica, contemplada no programa curricular da LGP, demonstram que o seu desenvolvimento assume um papel importante no processo de aquisição da linguagem. A consciência querológica inicia-se desde cedo, sendo a sua aquisição progressiva ao longo de toda a infância. Contudo, a sua evolução depende do desenvolvimento cognitivo e intelectual da criança, bem como das experiências linguísticas proporcionadas. Sabendo, à priori, que o contexto onde a criança está inserida deve ser coadjuvante e promotor no contacto com a sua língua natural, e uma vez que o seu desenvolvimento depende do ambiente linguístico, abordam-se os diferentes contextos na aquisição da língua gestual, bem como os parâmetros da consciência querológica e as lacunas - concetuais e metodológicas, inerentes ao seu estudo e avaliação.
A avaliação da língua gestual Portuguesa (LGP) exige maior atenção à consciência querológica, dada a sua relevância na aprendizagem da língua. A nível nacional constata-se a inexistência de instrumentos avaliativos da consciência querológica, pelo que o objetivo deste artigo é apresentar o Instrumento de Avaliação da Consciência Querológica (IACQ-LGP) e a análise das suas propriedades métricas. O instrumento (constituído por 5 subtestes) foi aplicado a 23 participantes entre os 5 e 12 anos (9.09±1.92), 17 do género masculino (73,9%) e 6 do género feminino (26,1%). Os índices da validade de conteúdo (IVC>.71), acordo universal (>.94) e média (>.94) apontaram a relevância dos itens. A proporção de acordo (.82 e 1) indiciou o forte consenso entre peritos, bem como os valores de Kappa de Cohen (k>.84). A fiabilidade foi confirmada pela consistência interna (.78>α<.82) e correlações moderadas a fortes ao nível da estabilidade temporal, pela técnica teste-reteste (.37>r<.73), exceção ao que avalia a discriminação de pares mínimos. A validade de constructo, analisada pelas intercorrelações entre domínios apontou correlações fracas a moderadas (.12≥r.≤84), e a análise fatorial exploratória a multidimensionalidade do constructo. O IACQ-LGP parece ser um instrumento fiável e válido para avaliar a consciência querológica. Conclusões e recomendações serão apresentadas.
This article, through a literature review, aims to characterize the Portuguese Sign Language used by deaf Portuguese people. Firstly, it will be presented the approach about terminology, through the clarification between deafness and hearing impairment, based on a socio-anthropological perspective of biodiversity as a health indicator. It will also be described some specificities inherent to the natural language of Portuguese deaf people. The Portuguese Sign Language allows deaf persons to acquire a linguistic and communicative input, promoting their language development as well as their interaction with the community. This language, like any other, presents exclusive characteristics, due to the fact of being a system composed by arbitrary and conventional signs. The pertinence of this article is based on these elements, and is focused on Portuguese Sign Language as a language, specifically on grammar aspects (syntax, morphology, lexicon and kerology). Although it is a structured language, and recognized as a teaching language in our country, it is still possible to point out some gaps about the knowledge within this topic, like the absence of an assessment instrument for its learning.
The Portuguese Sign Language (PSL) is a structured and natural language and should therefore, be chosen to enable the learning process of Portuguese deaf children. However, there is still a need to expand its knowledge, especially about the various acquisition periods. Special attention should be paid to phonological awareness (which analysis the sound) that in PSL should be name cherology (kyros – from the greek hand). The cherological awareness focuses on the study of the cherems-. The scarce evidences on cherological awareness demonstrate that its development plays an important role in the language acquisition process. This awareness develops from an early age, continuing throughout childhood. However, its proficiency depends on the child's cognitive and intellectual development, as well as on the language experiences. Therefore, the children environment must be supportive and promote contact with their natural language. Due to the relevance of linguistic environment, it is important to address the different contexts in the acquisition of sign language, as well as the cherological parameters. Finally, the conceptual and methodological gaps will be addressed. There is no existent measure for the assessment of cherological awareness.
The assessment of Portuguese Sign Language (PSL) is demanding an increase interest to cherological awareness, due to its relevance for PSL’ learning and as far as we are concerned there are no instrument in Portugal. This article goal is to present the development of the Instrumento de Avaliação da Consciência Querológica (IACQ-LGP) and its preliminary psychometric properties. The IACQ-LGP was applied to 23 children, between 5 and 12 years (9.09±1.92), 17 males (73,9%) and 6 females (26,1%). Items’ content validity indexes (IVC>.71), universal agreement (>.94) and average (>.94) pointed out the relevance of all items. Agreement proportion (.82-1) indicated a strong agreement between seven experts, as well as the Cohen kappa scores (k>.84). Reliability was analyzed through internal consistency, with Cronbach alphas ranging from .78 to .82, and by moderate and strong correlations (.37>r<.73) confirming temporal stability (by test-retest technique). The only exception was discrimination between pairs (r=.13). Construct validity was analyzed through Spearman coefficients, which scores indicated weak to moderate correlations between subtests (.12≥r.≤84), and by an exploratory factorial analysis that pointed out the cherological awareness as a multidimensional construct. IACQ-LGP seems to be a valid and reliable instrument to assess cherological awareness. Conclusions and recommendations will be presented.

Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI)
Este estudio analiza las percepciones de mejoría en el español y de conocimiento cultural de los participantes en un programa de ayudantes de inglés, Auxiliares de Conversación, mientras trabajaron en escuelas primarias y secundarias en varias regiones de España. Los participantes provenían de varios países anglófonos, entre ellos los Estados Unidos, el Reino Unido, Canadá, Nueva Zelanda, Australia. Varios participantes rellenaron encuestas a través de internet para evaluar su crecimiento lingüístico y cultural durante el programa, experiencia en los centros educativos y alojamiento. Además, plantearon varias sugerencias para el programa para futuros auxiliares y profesores. Seis auxiliares fueron entrevistados sobre los mismos temas en mayor profundidad.