Dissertations / Theses on the topic 'Language exploration'

Despite the wealth of LI collocation studies and the explosive growth in corpus linguistics in the last 20 years, relatively little research has been conducted into L2 collocation knowledge and development. Most L2 studies have involved isolated single interventions that have taken as their main research focus collocation errors or collocation types. The assumption is that (advanced) L2 learners should strive for native-like collocation ability and that their lack of collocation accuracy should be judged by a far- removed NS standard. Extremely little experimental work has been completed on the development of L2 collocation knowledge at lower levels of proficiency. Even less has been carried out into how learners themselves address developing their L2 collocation knowledge and what psycholinguistic and contextual factors might be involved. This research sets out to investigate how we can experimentally measure L2 collocation recognition knowledge and production knowledge. It also seeks to examine factors in learning that help or hinder the development of L2 collocation knowledge. From exploring L2 collocation knowledge from these three viewpoints, an experimentally grounded model of L2 collocation knowledge is proposed. This model has several implications for how we might understand the development and organization of the L2 lexicon in relation to L2 collocation knowledge.

One central question I have explored in graduate school is “What is language?” I decided to explore language through creative research, seeking a new understanding through research writing and art-making. I set out to investigate language visually, materially and conceptually. Using the medium of printmaking, I distilled basic concepts from Linguistics into abstract form. I started by thinking about structural properties of language such as patterns that form words (morphology) and sentences (syntax), those patterns used fluidly by speakers of a language. Visually, the basic mechanics of morphology seem to reveal themselves as colour, shape and line, establishing patterns or breaking into fragments. Syntax becomes parts combining into a whole, with some combinations legible, some not and some more visually engaging. My experience of these concepts has been affected by formal language learning from textbooks, where rules stress what is “correct” or not. Yet, language in use is experience; fluent speaking happens without conscious attention to form. It is using and feeling, sometimes following and sometimes defying “the rules.” Language is also the unspoken; meaning is communicated by gesture, facial expression, and even by physical proximity in space, also called proxemics. The result of my research is three works of art, Morphology, Syntax and Proxemics, which I exhibited at the Alternator Centre for Contemporary Art in Kelowna, BC in June of 2013.

The use of neuropsychological tests with regards to language and culture is a relatively under researched area. Previous research has found that cultural familiarity with test-items is important for minimising differences between groups and that completing tests in a second language can increase differences between groups on both language- and performance-based tests. An exploratory mixed methods design was used for this study. Participants were 46 participants with English as a first language (L1) and 23 participants with English as a second language (L2). The L1 and L2 participants differed only on the Language index of the SPANS, with L1 participants scoring significantly higher. Participants whose first language is not English reported generally that the test experience was good and the language used in the testing was clear. They reported some anxiety and worry in relation to memory and numbers. The results of this study support previous research which suggests that language may influence performance on language based neuropsychological tests as well as support for a need for culturally familiar test-items. As there were minimal differences between the two groups this is support for the SPANS’s use with the tested population with caution given to interpretation of the language index.

This study explores the relationship between phonological acquisition and ambient language. By utilising corpora of spoken adult language(as an indicator of ambient language characteristics), an empirical rather than a theoretical approach is adopted for this research and through the development of a method of assessment (FUSE) it is proposed that a novel way of observing and illuminating this relationship can be made. The concept of FUSE aims to combine previous measures of functional load, which are system based, with the recognition of the relative usage of particular phonemes by speakers of the language to differentiate between words. The phonemic systems of the two historically unrelated languages of Finnish and English have been assessed and phonemic usage data compiled. Child data samples for five children over three ages of development for each of the languages have been likewise assessed so that the similarity in usage between adult and child data samples could then be compared. This study shows that the characteristics of the ambient language that the child needs to acquire varies for the two languages in terms of length of words (Finnish has longer words), the nature of syllables tructures and phonological usage. Finnish was also found to have less WI minimal pairs and make less use of word initial contrastive phonemes. The findings indicate that ambient language does have a role to play during the children's phonological development process. The children's usage closely reflected the adult language on both frequency and FUSE based assessments. The movement by the children towards their language specific goal was better indicated with the FUSE method of assessment than a purely frequency based assessment. When test crosslinguistically the FUSE results tend to suggest that the children, already at age 2 , are showing few universal tendencies of usage.

Over the past few decades, there has been an increased interest in the formulaic aspects of languages, including English. There has also been work conducted into the learning and teaching of formulaic language and its use by non-native speakers. Despite the increase in English language teaching in China, there has, however, so far not been any combined research into the learning, use and teaching of formulaic language in the Chinese EFL context. This study addresses this gap by investigating the written texts of Chinese university students and the learning, use and teaching of formulaic language in this research context. As background to this study, an overview of existing research on formulaic language is firstly introduced, and then the rationale for this study, investigating formulaic language through student written texts, is established by positioning the role of written language in second language research and the relation between formulaic language and genre analysis studies. After these, specific background information on the EFL context in China is presented by supporting the claim that the EFL students in the study are seen as language learners as well as writers and users of English. The research questions that this study sets out to answer are the following: (1) To what extent do Chinese university students use formulaic language in their written English? a) What are the main structures of formulaic language used by these learners? b) What are the main discourse functions of formulaic language used by these learners? c) What is the relationship between the distribution of structural and functional categories of formulaic language in the learners’ written texts? d) How is the formulaic language used differently in the written texts of Year1 and Year 3 university students? (2) What do Chinese university students perceive formulaic language to be? a) To what extent is this perception different in Year 1 and Year 3 students? (3) How do Chinese university students perceive the learning, use and teaching of formulaic language? The results of this research will present formulaic language use in student written texts, and link this use to students’ self-reported processes, strategies and sources of formulaic language learning and use. Nevertheless, student reflections on the teaching of formulaic language in the research context will be introduced in order to address the research questions thoroughly. A mixed methods research design is employed in this study. The fieldwork took place during one semester (16 weeks) at a Chinese university. The participants were 83 students from the Year 1 and 73 students from Year 3 groups in the foreign language department. The main sources of data were firstly, students’ written texts and secondly, in-depth interviews with 12 informant writers. The findings of the research present a well-rounded description of formulaic language use in Chinese university students’ English written texts, by analysing and comparing the distribution of structural and discourse functional categories in the formulaic strings identified by the student perceptions and through corpus linguistic methods. Also, triangulation of the textual data collected from the written texts and perceptual data gathered from interviews shows some discrepancies regarding the perception of formulaic language in English among students and in researchers in the field. This thesis ends with a discussion of the implications and limitation of the present study, and directions for future research on formulaic language in the EFL context.

Thesis (S.M.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Program in Media Arts & Sciences, 1999.
Includes bibliographical references (leaf 49).
Children's intuitions about the grammar of their language are resources which children can use to leverage understanding of formal grammatical concepts. In this thesis, I demonstrate how the Logo programming environment can be used to encourage and support children's intuitive explorations in the domain of formal linguistics. Computer programming was used to create a meaningful context in which formal grammatical concepts were introduced to children through the engagement and mobilization of their linguistic intuitions. To initially engage and mobilize children's linguistic intuitions, I made a computer program in which children could play at using their intuitions about the English language to figure out the basis of a turtle character's linguistic judgments. In the context of working to understand how my program was made, children arrived at a meaningful understanding of the formal linguistic concepts I had used to construct my computer program. Furthermore, children personally appropriated the formal linguistic concepts for the purpose of modifying my original program and making their own computer programs about language.
by Savalai Vaikakul.
S.M.

Thesis (M. Eng.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, 2007.
Includes bibliographical references (p. 81-84).
This thesis describes a sequence-data processing toolkit for analysis of Intelligent Tutoring System (ITS) log data, that unlike other tools allows directed exploration of sequence patterns. This system provides a powerful yet straightforward abstraction for sequence-data processing, and a set of high-level manipulation primitives which allow arbitrarily complex transformations of such data. Using this language, very sophisticated queries can be performed using only a few lines of code. Furthermore, queries can be constructed interactively, allowing for rapid development, refinement, and comparison of hypotheses. Importantly, this system is not limited to ITS logs, but is equally applicable to the manipulation of any form of (potentially multidimensional) sequence data.
by Eric J.P. Mumpower.
M.Eng.

Bibliography: leaves 166-172.
Isihlonipho Sabafazi (the Xhosa women's language of respect) is a language in which syllables occurring in the names of menfolk are avoided by women. Thie thesis attempts to place the practice in it social context by applying both descriptive and analytical methodologies. The thesis include a literature survey and a critique on the dynamics of gender and language. The results of interviews conducted in three areas, one urban and two rural, are analysed and tabulated. A glossary of substitute words is included.

Orientador : Prof. Dr. Clarissa Menezes Jordão
Tese (doutorado) - Universidade Federal do Paraná, Setor de Ciências Humanas, Programa de Pós-Graduação em Letras. Defesa: Curitiba, 22/06/2017
Inclui referências : f.187-195
Resumo: Jamaica, uma das Antilhas Maiores do Caribe, compartilha com outras ilhas da região uma história de colonização, imigração e encontro de culturas que tem resultado na criação de uma cultura diversa e uma língua crioula. Como fenômeno integrador de cultura e história na sociedade, o crioulo jamaicano gera interesses múltiplos, segundo mostram a diversidade de estudos sobre essa língua e as diferentes questões de pesquisa em campos acadêmicos diversos, incluindo a linguística, a educação, a sociologia, a filosofia, entre outros. Seguindo um método cartográfico apoiado com o fundamento teórico da uma análise rizomática (Deleuze e GUATTARI, 1978), a tese apresenta um estudo panorâmico sobre o crioulo jamaicano, visando encontrar pontos de encontro entre a visão rizomática proposta para entender o desenvolvimento da língua jamaicana e os dados gerados a partir de entrevistas com os professores participantes. A tese discute aspectos diversos relacionados com a língua crioula jamaicana e apresenta uma interpretação de narrativas baseada nas percepções e concepções de língua prevalentes entre professores de espanhol como língua estrangeira na ilha. Estes professores compartilham com a autora interesses profissionais, especificamente por serem professores de línguas, o que aporta uma perspectiva diferente, dado que, ao considerar os assuntos das línguas, tanto os participantes quanto a autora estão incluindo pontos de vista que incluem a língua como um produto sociohistórico de amplo uso social e a língua como objeto de ensino. As narrativas interpretadas, portanto, incluem as experiências e ângulos pessoais de professores falantes nativos do crioulo jamaicano que têm informação de primeira mão sobre a realidade social dessa língua e sobre o seu impacto sobre a língua estrangeira que eles ensinam (espanhol). Consequentemente, a pesquisa sobre as narrativas compartilhadas e pessoais dos professores participantes mostra visões nascidas das experiências profissionais como professores de língua, e das suas próprias vidas dentro do contexto jamaicano. Conduzido entre professores jamaicanos que trabalham no contexto de educação secundária na Jamaica, o estudo conduz à interpretação de que esses participantes compartilham narrativas que têm a ver com a sua vida profissional e social, segundo há sido inferido de observações nas escolas, dos seus critérios e ideias nas entrevistas e conversas. Igualmente, a tese apresenta uma interpretação dos pontos de encontro entre as narrativas dos participantes com aquelas encontradas em publicações da mídia, as redes sociais, e conversas com pessoas proeminentes da sociedade jamaicana. O fato de não ser falante do crioulo jamaicano colocou à pesquisadora no papel de "outsider". No entanto, esse papel contribuiu para enriquecer o processo devido à experiência profissional e pessoal da autora como professora de espanhol e moradora da Jamaica há mais de 20 anos. Essa informação e vivências tem contribuído no desenvolvimento da própria narrativa da autora e conformaram uma outra perspectiva possível para interpretar o rico contexto jamaicano e as suas contradições lógicas. Palavras-chave: Crioulo. Rizoma. Crioulização. Descrioulização. Transcrioulização. Ensino. Espanhol. Jamaica. Narrativa. Percepções. Concepções de Língua. Cartografia
Abstract: Jamaica, one of the largest islands in the Caribbean, shares a history of colonization, immigration and culture convergence with other islands in the region, which has resulted in the creation of a diverse culture and a Creole language. As a phenomenon of sociocultural and sociohistorical integration, Jamaican Creole generates multiple interests; as shown by the diversity of language studies and the various research interests in several academic fields, including Linguistics, Education, Sociology, Philosophy, among others. Based on a cartographic approach, as proposed in DELEUZE & GUATTARI (1978) the thesis discusses various aspects pertaining to the language situation in Jamaica, especially the matter of Jamaican Creole, and presents an interpretation of narratives based on the language perceptions and conceptions prevailing amongst teachers of Spanish as a foreign language in the island. The thesis presents a discussion on various aspects pertaining to Jamaican Creole and an interpretation of participant's narratives about such situation, based on a study of the most prevalent language conceptions and perceptions found in this particular group composed of Jamaican Creole speakers involved in the teaching of Spanish in the island. The participating teachers and the author share common professional interests due to the fact that, being language teachers, they bring forth a different perspective to the discussion and analysis of language matters, particularly in connection with the socio-historical nature of languages and their use in education. The narratives interpreted, therefore, include the experiences and personal angles of teachers, who are native speakers of Jamaican Creole and who also have first-hand information about the social reality of that language, as well as its impact on the foreign language they teach (Spanish). Consequently, the research delved on the shared and personal narratives of language professionals, as views emerging from their personal and professional experiences within the context of Jamaica. After presenting a panoramic study of the language situation in Jamaica, based on a rhizomatic view of language development, the thesis discusses the data generated from interviews and unstructured conversations with Secondary Education Spanish teachers, most of whom are operating within a sociolinguistic context characterized by the presence of two languages: English (the official language of education) and Creole (the popular language). The study leads to the interpretation that these participants share narratives that involve their professional and social lives, as inferred from observations at their work spaces, their criteria and the ideas presented during interviews and conversations. Furthermore, the thesis presents an interpretation of connecting points between participant's narratives and those found in media publications, social network debates, and conversations with prominent Jamaicans. The fact of not being a Jamaican Creole speaker puts the researcher in a role of an "outsider". However, such role contributed to enrich the process due to the professional and personal experience of the author as a Spanish teacher and resident of Jamaica for more than 20 years. The sharing of information and experiences have contributed in the development of her own narrative and has brought forth yet another perspective to interpret the rich and multiple Jamaican context and its logical contradictions. Keywords: Creole. Rhizome. Creolization. Decreolization. Transcreolization. Teaching. Spanish. Jamaica. Narrative. Perceptions. Conceptions of language. Cartography
Resumen: Jamaica, una Antillas Mayores, comparte con otras islas del Caribe una historia de colonización, inmigración y encuentro de culturas que ha dado lugar a la creación de una cultura diversa y una lengua criolla. Como fenómeno integrador de cultura e historia en la sociedad, el criollo jamaicano genera múltiples intereses, según muestra la diversidad de estudios sobre el lenguaje y los distintos problemas de investigación en varios campos académicos, incluyendo la educación, la sociología, la lingüística, la filosofía, entre otros. Siguiendo un método cartográfico, basado en el fundamento teórico que ofrece el análisis rizomático (DELEUZE y GUATTARI, 1978), la tesis presenta un estudio panorámico sobre el criollo jamaicano, que tiene por objetivo encontrar y analizar puntos comunes entre la visión rizomática que se propone, para analizar el desarrollo del lenguaje jamaiquino, y los datos generados a partir de entrevistas con los profesores participantes. La tesis analiza diversos aspectos relacionados con la lengua criolla de Jamaica y presenta una interpretación de narrativas, en base a algunas percepciones y concepciones de lenguaje que existen entre los profesores de español participantes. Estos docentes comparten intereses profesionales con la autora, específicamente por el hecho de ser profesores de lenguas extranjeras. Tal hecho genera una perspectiva diferente, dado que, tanto los participantes como la autora aportan puntos de vistas que consideran aspectos del lenguaje como un producto sociohistórico de amplio uso social, incluyendo la educación. Las narrativas interpretadas, por tanto, incluyen experiencias y ángulos personales de profesores que son hablantes de criollo jamaicano, por lo que tienen información de primera mano sobre la realidad social de ese idioma y su impacto en la lengua extranjera que imparten (español). En consecuencia, la investigación sobre narrativas compartidas y personales de los profesores participantes muestra visiones relacionadas con las experiencias profesionales y de vivencia de los participantes dentro del contexto jamaicano. Sus experiencias y puntos de vista han conducido a una interpretación de narrativas, apoyada no solamente en los criterios e ideas presentados en las entrevistas, sino también en observaciones cartográficas del entorne característicos de sus escuelas. Al mismo tiempo, la tesis presenta una interpretación de los puntos de encuentro entre las narrativas de los participantes y las emergentes de publicaciones de los medios, redes sociales y conversaciones con personalidades de la sociedad jamaicana. El hecho de no ser hablante de criollo jamaicano puso a la autora en un rol de "outsider". Sin embargo, esa función contribuyó a enriquecer el proceso debido a su experiencia personal y profesional como profesora de español y residente de Jamaica durante más de 20 años. Esta información y experiencia ha contribuido en el desarrollo de su propia narrativa, a la vez que aporta otra perspectiva posible para interpretar el rico y múltiple contexto jamaicano y sus contradicciones lógicas. Palabras clave: Criollo. Rizoma. Criollización. Descriollización. Transcriollización. Enseñanza. Español. Jamaica. Narrativa. Percepciones. Concepciones de lenguaje. Cartografía.
Di Driff: Jamaica a wanna di biggess ailan inna di Caribbean an dem an di adda ailan dem inna di region ave di same istry a colonization an immigration, an dem copy tings from deh wanna nedda. A succum dem kultcha become suh mix up mix up, an a it mek dem ave patwa as a langwidge. Patwa great inna most people eye wen yuh considda di social an cultural fakta plus di social an istorical side a tings as well. Everybody interestid inna Patwa an yuh cyan si dat because a nuff study dem duh pan it, people weh interestid inna langwidge, Education, peeple weh study society, knowlidge an life an nuff more tings, study patwa. DELEUZE & GUATTARI (1978) suggess wan way fi duh research weh name cartography, i basically mean seh yaahgo map tings out, a it deh study yah use fi pree di langwidge situation inna Jamaica, exprecially Patwa, an di study explain certain tings base pa'how di Jamaican teecha dem weh teech Spanish feel bout Patwa. Deh study yah discuss wol heep a tings bout Patwa an it show yuh a meds bout how di participants dem feel bout it, an di study show yuh dem ting yah base pan di most common feelins weh dis particular group have wen i come to Patwa. An yuh dun know seh is a group a Jamaican Patwa-tawking teecha weh teech Spanish rait a yaad yah. Di teecha dem an di summady weh duh deh study yah have nuff tings in common wen yaah talk bout dem job because di wol a dem a teecha an dat a lone mean she dem kinda bring a different meds to di wol langwidge ting, exprecially if yaah tawk bout di social and history side a langwidge and how yuh use dem wen yaah deal wid tings fi duh wid education. From yuh hear dat yuh dun know seh anyting wi tell yuh, wi tell yuh base offa weh di teecha dem seh base pan dem own experience and feelins bout di matta. Plus, yuh know seh dem a Jamaican teecha weh tawk patwa from dem baan suh dem know firs han how peeple really treat pawta, plus dem know how it affeck tings wen dem a teech wan foreign langwidge like Spanish. Aarait, suh, di study use weh di teecha dem seh (buot weh di wol a dem agree pan an weh each a dem seh fi demself) fi get to di meet a di matta. After wi lay out everyting clear clear bout di langwidge situation inna Jamaica, base offa wan view weh dem use fi study how langwidge cum about weh dem call rhizomatic, weh mean seh langwidge can develop from different roots an levels, deh study yah discuss di response dem weh wi get from di interview dem an di conversation dem weh wi ave wid di teecha dem weh teech Spanish inna di high school dem. Most a dem deh teecha deh come from wan settings weh a two langwidge di people dem tawk, wan a Inglish, di wan weh dem use inna di skool dem, and di adda wan a Patwa, di wan weh almost all a people dem tawk. Di study lead up to wan andastandin seh di wol a di participant dem have similar experience, buot inna dem workplace an inna dem home an community surroundin, an wi realize dis base offa weh dem seh inna di interview dem an wen wi tawk to dem. Not ongle dat, but di study lead to wan andastandin of how weh di participants dem seh conneck wid weh dem always seh pan tv, an pan social media an weh sum a di big shot people dem always seh. Di fack seh di person weh a duh deh study ere nuh tawk Patwa mean seh yuh can basically call di person wan "outsaida". But di fack seh di person a wan outsaida add supm to di wol experience because of di professional an personal experience weh di person ave, because shi teech Spanish inna Jamaica an live deh fi ova 20 years. Because shi share infamation an experience wid di participants dem shi andastan di wol Pawta ting even betta now an can explain di nitty gritty a it much betta. Key word dem: Patwa. Rhizome. Creolization. Decreolization. Transcreolization. Teaching. Spanish. Jamaica. Di way people si tings. Feelins bout tings. How peeple si di langwidge. Mappin Out

Thesis (PhD)--Macquarie University, Division of Linguistics & Psychology, Department of Linguistics, 2006.
Bibliography: p. 742-762.
Systemic functional linguistics as a framework for description -- An overview of the grammar of Thai -- Textual clause grammar: the system of THEME -- Interpersonal clause grammar: the system of MOOD -- Experiential grammar at clause rank: the system of TRANSITIVITY -- Thai narrative register: context, semantics and lexicogrammatical profiles -- Conclusions.
This research is a text-based study of the grammar of standard Thai, based on systemic functional linguistics. It is the first attempt to explore Thai in systemic functional terms, that is with the account of the grammar of Thai being interpreted as resource for making meaning that is part of language as a higher-order semiotic system. This account utilizes a corpus-based methodology and explores extensive evidence from natural narrative texts, specifically fourteen Thai folk tales. This systemic functional interpretation of Thai is also supported by an investigation of other text types (See Chapter 2). The research has both intermediate and long term implications. The description itself will be a resource for the Thai community and it will also contribute to the growing area of linguistic typology based on systemic descriptions. The long term implication of the research is that the description will be used as a model for text-based research into minority languages in Thailand. -- There are two introductory chapters to the study. The first chapter discusses some general issues concerned with systemic functional theory and data used in the development of the description of the grammar of Thai. The second chapter is a preview chapter which provides an overview of the grammar of Thai in terms of three strands of meaning: textual, interpersonal, and the experiential mode of ideational meanings. The systemic functional interpretation is based on an exploration of a number of texts with a wide generic spread (e.g. news reports, topographic texts, encyclopedia, and television interview). -- Chapter 3 to Chapter 7 constitute the main body of the thesis. Chapter 3 deals with the textual metafunction: it explores the THEME system as the enabling resource for the clause grammar for presenting interpersonal and experiential meanings as a flow of information in context. Chapter 4 is concerned with the interpersonal metafunction. It is focused on exploring the MOOD system, that is, the resource of clause grammar for enacting social roles and relationships in an exchange. Chapter 5 is concerned with the experiential mode of the ideational metafunction: it investigates the TRANSITIVITY system, which is the resource of the clause grammar for construing our experience of the world around and inside us. As this thesis is based mainly on narrative discourse, Chapter 6 profiles Thai narratives in terms of context, semantics, and lexicogrammar. Firstly, at the context stratum, the chapter describes the generic structure potential of Thai folk tales. Secondly, the chapter describes the realization of this generic structure by semantic properties. Finally, the chapter is concerned with quantitatively exploring the narratives on the basis of clause-rank systems, at the stratum of lexicogrammar, across the metafunctional spectrum midway up the cline of instantiation. In the final chapter, the study concludes by summarizing the preceding chapters, pointing out research implications and limitations, and suggesting some areas for further studies.
Mode of access: World Wide Web.
xxxv, 762 ill. +

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Michigan State University. Dept. of Counseling, Educational Psychology and Special Education, 2006.
Title from PDF t.p. (viewed on Nov. 20, 2008) Includes bibliographical references (p. 125-131). Also issued in print.

Since the mid 90s, an increasing number of researchers have adopted a sociocultural theory (SCT) of mind to investigate the social and cognitive functions of language during learner-learner interaction (Lantolf & Thorne, 2007). Researchers from an SCT perspective have identified that first languages (L1s) serve important cognitive functions (Alegría de la Colina & García Mayo, 2009; Storch & Aldosari, 2010). Swain and colleagues (Swain, 1995; Swain & Lapkin, 1995, 1998) have also illustrated that languaging, a form of verbalization, facilitates the completion of complex linguistic tasks which leads to second language (L2) development (Swain, Brooks, & Tocalli-Beller, 2002). Moreover, researchers have found that task type impacts language development (Storch & Aldosari, 2010; Storch & Wigglesworth, 2003; Swain & Lapkin, 2001). Due to the growing number of multilingual learners in the world today (Hammarberg, 2010), researchers need to expand the scope of the research to include the role(s) of native and nonnative languages on third language (L3) development. Thus, the purpose of the current multiple case study was to investigate the specific mediating functions of multilingual learners’ languages during four types of collaborative tasks and to explore the relationship between languaging and L3 development. A 16-week classroom-based study was conducted in a university French as a foreign language classroom in Mexico with four focal participants. The language produced during learner-learner interaction was examined using three types of analysis: (1) each turn was coded for language and for their specific functions; (2) each Language-Related Episode (LRE) was coded for type and for resolution; and (3) accuracy on individual tailor-made posttest items. Findings uncovered a complex picture of task type effects on the specific mediating functions of language as well as complementary functions of L1 and L3 mediation. Results from the analysis of LREs show that task type impacts the occurrence and resolution of LREs. Accuracy scores from the posttests suggest that L1 and L3 mediation promotes L3 development. Findings are in line with the focal participants’ beliefs. The findings that languages serve various social and cognitive functions during task completion are discussed in light of current ideas from an SCT perspective.

Thesis (M.A.)--University of Toledo, 2010.
Typescript. "Submitted to the Graduate Faculty as partial fulfillment of the requirements for the Master of Arts Degree in English with a concentration in English as a Second Language." "A thesis entitled"--at head of title. Title from title page of PDF document. Bibliography: p. 59-62.

Thesis (M.Phil (R)) -- University of Glasgow, 2008.
M.Phil(R) submitted to the Department of Curriculum Studies, Faculty of Education, University of Glasgow, 2008. Includes bibliographical references. Print version also available.

The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between English language proficiency scores as measured by the ACCESS for ELLs and achievement and growth scores on the reading subtest of the Measures of Academic Progress (MAP). The sample consisted of 2,006 3rd-5th grade English language learners (ELLs) from a large Midwestern school district. Results confirmed that an increase in English proficiency is associated with higher reading achievement scores. The unique variance explained by each of the domain scores (reading, writing, speaking, and listening) on the ACCESS for ELLs supports the use of a weighted composite score for decision making purposes. When considering within-year MAP growth by differing levels of proficiency, a curvilinear trend emerged. The two lowest proficiency groups demonstrated significantly lower reading growth than the two moderate and two highest proficiency groups. The greatest growth was seen by the two groups in the middle of the proficiency spectrum. Given the increased demands on measuring the achievement and progress of all students, including ELLs, and the use of standardized achievement scores for program and teacher evaluation, the results of this study suggest that a dichotomous classification of ELL/non-ELL might not accurately reflect the variability in growth at various levels of English proficiency. Implications for interpreting and using scores by ELLs are discussed.

This research explored the experiences of bilingual therapists, whose first language was not English, conducting psychotherapy/counselling in English. Eight bilingual therapists/ counsellors who were originally from six different countries were interviewed using semi-structured interviews. All of the bilingual therapists had the experience of working in the United Kingdom in English as well as working in their own mother tongue. The findings were analysed using Interpretive Phenomenological Analysis (IPA) and five clusters of themes were identified. The first cluster of themes was related to the emotions experienced, like ‘anxiety’ and ‘frustration’. The second group of themes was those pertaining to the relationship of the participants with their clients, like ‘avoidance of clarification’, ‘shift of attention’ and ‘delay in the pace of therapy’. The third array of themes described the professional identity of the participants as therapists/ counsellors, like fear of ‘the client’s judgment’, or feeling of ‘not being self’, and also the possibility of a ‘hierarchy of acceptance of languages in the United Kingdom’. The fourth collection of themes represented the support systems that were available to the participants when they had difficulties working in English as a second language. The prime source of support for the research participants was their supervisors. They also referred to ‘review with their clients’ and ‘help of a colleague’. The fifth cluster of themes was related to any reference to culture in their interviews. All eight participants believed that culture and language overlap to some degree and are hard to separate. The dissemination of this dissertation was to promote the awareness of bilingual therapists regarding the hardships of working in a second language, and to increase the awareness of supervisors, academic staff and regulating authorities like UKCP and BPS of the problems bilingual therapists might face in working in English as a second language. This study recommends the integration of short-term workshops in the accreditation process or curriculum of studies of such bilingual therapists about the potential hurdles they might face in fulfilling their job as a therapist. As some of the findings—like avoiding clarifications or pretending to comprehend—could be potentially harmful to clients and their therapists, a systematic review of the work of international students or bilingual therapists who have language-related issues seems advisable. Based on the findings of this research, some ideas for further studies are suggested. As most of the fear of being judged and the anxiety experienced by the participants were subjective experiences, a dyad study of both client and therapist experiences could investigate the similarities and discrepancies between the therapists’ perceptions and their clients’ experiences of them. Research into the experiences of the supervisors of such therapists could lead to a richer understanding of this phenomenon from another angle.

This three-article dissertation explores the first year of a sheltered university bridge program (also commonly known as "pathway" programs-see Winkle, 2011) for ESL students at a large public university in the American southwest. "Sheltering" is the practice of offering "academic courses taught in the second language" where "native and non-native [...] students are not mixed in any one class" (Snow & Brinton, 1984, p. 8), a model commonly found in K-12 settings (Echevarria & Graves, 1998; Freeman, Freeman & Gonzalez, 1987; Weinhouse, 1986), though there are sheltered programs in university settings (see, for example, the University of Ottawa Program-Burger, Weinberg & Wesche, 2013). The labels "bridge" and "pathway" refer to pre-matriculation programs that "feature a hybrid of credit-bearing coursework and instruction in English language and academic skills" (Redden, 2010, para 1). Bridge and Pathway Program (BPP) curricula typically follow the adjunct model in which ESL courses are linked with mainstream, unsheltered university courses, with the ESL course providing support. The model in the current study follows the sheltered convention of ESL-only cohorts, but adds the adjunct convention of offering linked support. As international student interest in studying at U.S. universities has grown over recent decades (Open Doors Report, 2015), a subset of international students has emerged that may have lower-than-institutional-benchmark English proficiency for admission based on exams like the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) or the International English Language Testing System (IELTS) exam. BPPs primarily serve this subset of students by offering non-testing curricular paths (linked ESL/university courses) to full matriculation that focus on "achievement, as opposed to proficiency alone" (Dooey, 2010, p. 185). One can expect that BPPS will continue to proliferate given that they bring in previously inadmissible international enrollees to add to the now essential revenue stream that international students represent for universities (Andrade, 2006; Marshall, 2005; Redden, 2010; 2014). This dissertation adds to a growing body of recent research (e.g. Dooey, 2010; Fiocco, 2006; Redden, 2010; 2014, Winkle, 2011) about these models. Article 1 (Appendix A): The Past, Present, and Future of Combined ESL/University Study Programs: From Ad Hoc ESL Interventions to Bridge and Pathway Programs. This article is both a critical literature review and "state-of-the-field" piece (Canagarajah, 2006) that situates the evolution of postsecondary ESL support historically. It explores how postsecondary ESL has gone from an ad hoc, situational endeavor focused on remediating language deficiencies to a multifaceted field of program offerings replete with varying curricular models and dedicated faculty and recruiting structures, a field that has evolved into current BPPs. Article 2 (Appendix B): Exploring Dynamics and Dimensions in Two Linked Adjunct/Content Courses in a Sheltered University Pathway Program for ESL Students: A Case Study. This case study considers the nuances of a sheltered university pathway program for ESL students in its first year of existence. It follows the research framework of an Unlu and Wharton (2015) study using grounded theory analysis. By reconciling classroom observations in two university general education courses (Introduction to Anthropology and US History) and their linked EAP courses (EAP Bridge to Anthropology and EAP Bridge to American History) with participant interviews, I explore the dynamics between students, content instructors, and EAP support instructors. I form a theory about the pedagogy constituted by (and constitutive of) participant actions and beliefs in the observed classes, and argue that the current program may uphold uncritical, remedial predispositions vis-à -vis EAP, as well as content instruction and learning. Finally, I discuss future considerations for this, and other, linked course programs couched in EAP literature. Article 3 (Appendix C): Team-Teaching in a First-Year Composition Course for ESL Students: A Participant-Observational Reflexive Account of One Sheltered University Pathway Context. This case study takes place in a first-year composition course in a sheltered university pathway program for ESL students. It focuses on a specific and complex essay assignment: the Text-in-Context essay (TICE). I consider the assignment parameters, primary and secondary texts offered for completion, interviews with students and instructors, field notes, notes from tutoring sessions, written student reflections, the assignments themselves, and a reflexive narration of my research experience to describe the milieu of the TICE. The description suggests a community of practice (Wenger, 2002) in which a team-teaching approach helps to facilitate the completion of a complex analytical task, while also fostering the growth of the ESL students as academic writers.

This study focuses on how applying MCII, a wish-fulfillment and goal-setting method researched by Gabriele Oettingen, benefits the quantity and quality of English language learners' (ELLs) social networks while participating in a study abroad program in the United States. This is done by instructing participants in the use of MCII, giving them weekly reminders on that instruction and the goals they set, and by measuring change from beginning to end. Analyzing the social networks of 36 English language learners at an intensive English program (IEP) after 14 weeks of instruction shows that the ELLs displayed growth in the number of ways they met new people and in the depth of their relationships. This study also shows although learners who used MCII largely perceived it positively and noted using it in their lives, there was no significant difference between that group and those who did not use MCII in terms of proficiency development.

Applied Linguistics
Ed.D
This study is an investigation of Japanese university English language teachers' self-efficacy beliefs. Research has established that teachers' self-efficacy has considerable influence on a wide variety of teaching practices. However, in the English as a Foreign Language domain, and more specifically at the university level in Japan, self-efficacy beliefs have hardly ever been examined. The purpose of this study was to investigate teachers' self-efficacy beliefs based on the teachers' native language, teaching experience, contract and tenured status, and gender. Furthermore, the sources of these beliefs, how they are strengthened, and how they are challenged were also explored. In order to provide answers to these questions, the Japanese University Language Teachers' Efficacy Beliefs Scale (JULTEBS), a new instrument measuring language teacher self-efficacy was validated using the Rasch rating-scale model as well as a confirmatory factor analysis. A triangulation strategy mixed-method design was employed in which the collection and analysis of data from the quantitative survey was completed in addition to the collection and analysis of data from qualitative open-ended interviews. A profile analysis, a special application of a MANOVA, was conducted to check the hypotheses for parallelism, levelness, and flatness of the self-efficacy scores among the various groups of respondents. The four self-efficacy variables that were measured were Efficacy in Student Engagement, Efficacy in Instructional Strategies, Efficacy in Classroom Management, and Efficacy in Dealing with Superiors. Semi-structured interviews were also employed to help determine what potentially strengthens and weakens the self-efficacy beliefs of English language teachers. The results showed that native English language teachers perceived themselves to be more efficacious than Japanese English teachers across all four self-efficacy variables. Additionally, more experienced teachers exhibited higher self-efficacy beliefs than less experienced teachers. Tenured teachers and limited-term contract teachers showed similar levels of self-efficacy on all variables except for Efficacy in Dealing with Superiors, where tenured teachers rated themselves higher than contract teachers. Furthermore, male and female teachers showed no statistically significant differences across all four self-efficacy variables. Finally, four themes (Autonomy, Colleagues, Money, and Students) emerged as qualities that could support teachers' self-efficacy, whereas three themes (Administration, Students, and Limited-term Contracts) surfaced as qualities that could weaken teachers' self-efficacy. The findings of this study not only highlight the importance of teacher self-efficacy, but also provide valuable insights into the beliefs of English language teachers, as well as the current state of affairs for these teachers at Japanese universities.
Temple University--Theses

This qualitative study explored the strategies that teachers use to implement virtual literature circles in middle and high school classes and university Reading programs. Through questionnaires, interviews, and document analysis, several strategies that support student learning were identified, including guided questions, rubrics with clear expectations, and targeted feedback. Making the process student-centered rather than teacher-centered, using appropriate platforms with small groups, and including a face-to-face component also supported student learning.

Additionally, an examination of teacher perceptions of benefits and challenges of virtual literature circles revealed more advantages than disadvantages. Benefits included improved writing, specificity, and critical thinking; connections to other subject matter; peer interactions; ease of differentiation; technology integration; flexibility; teacher collaboration; engagement; and student-centered practice. Challenges included technology access issues and glitches, student apathy, superficial student responses, and time issues.

Includes bibliographical references (leaves [215]-233).
Using the theory of the twentieth century Russian literary scholar and linguist, Mikhail Bakhtin, this thesis has set out to explore narrative strategy in the Gospel of Luke, the aim being to consider how this would affect a generic reading, and what implications this would have in assessing the discourse of this text. Bakhtin classifies early Christian writings as part of the Menippea, a collective name for a body of parodying-travestying literature ofthe Graeco-Roman period. In contrast to the classical genres of the mainstream, epic, love-poetry and tragedy, Bakhtin rates Menippean texts as being essentially dialogic, engaged in exploring ideas of life and death from the perspective of a carnivalistic view ofthe world. He uses the genre of the Greek Romance, seen by him as a forerunner of the European novel, to demonstrate some of his theory. Having selected the Romance, Chaereas and Callirhoe, by Chariton, as a comparative text to the Gospel of Luke, both texts are explored in terms of the Bakhtinian concepts of chronotope, carnival, and intertextuality.

Various theorists have treated the problem of sound and sense in poetry. The influence of sound in poetry can be found both in the overall musical structure of a poem and in the internal sounds of rhythm and diction. Plato suggests that rhythm and harmony have a direct effect on man, and can establish either balance or disproportion within the soul. The debate whether sound determines sense or sense determines sound is rejected in favor of a third possibility: an interdependent relationship between sound and sense, an intrinsic formal structure, as the ideal governing the creation of poetry. Further, Aristotle proves to be quite close to Plato in suggesting a moral character to certain sounds. Poe, in emphasizing the distinction between poetry and prose, points to sound as the distinguishing characteristic of verse. Yeats stresses the rhythm of poetry in linking man with an ancient past. Eliot uses care in describing the function of music in poetry, but reaffirms its significance as interdependent with the meaning of the words. Stevens explores the relationship of music and poetry, and offers a rich theory that poetry is the embodiment in sound of a bridge between spirit and reality. The influence of free verse on Eliot and Stevens appears in their conversational tone, yet the sound of their poetry determines its value to a significant extent. This tracking of the ideas about sound and sense from Plato and Aristotle to Poe, Yeats, Eliot, and Stevens helps to clarify the nature and range of the problem.

This is a multiple case study of the leadership language of three senior women working in a large corporation in Bahrain. The study’s main aim is to explore the linguistic practices the women leaders use with their colleagues and subordinates in corporate meetings. Adopting a Foucauldian (1972) notion of ‘discourses’ as social practices and a view of gender as socially constructed and discursively performed (Butler 1990), this research aims to unveil the competing discourses which may shape the leadership language of senior women in their communities of practice. The research is situated within the broader field of Sociolinguistics and the specific field of Language and Gender. To address the research aim, a case study approach incorporating multiple methods of qualitative data collection (observation, interviews, and shadowing) was utilised to gather information about the three women leaders and produce a rich description of their use of language in and out of meeting contexts. For analysis, principles of Qualitative Data Analysis (QDA) were used to organise and sort the large amount of data. Also, Feminist Post- Structuralist Discourse Analysis (FPDA) was adopted to produce a multi-faceted analysis of the subjects, their language leadership, power relations, and competing discourses in the context. It was found that the three senior women enact leadership differently making variable use of a repertoire of conventionally masculine and feminine linguistic practices. However, they all appear to have limited language resources and even more limiting subject positions; and they all have to exercise considerable linguistic expertise to police and modify their language in order to avoid the ‘double bind’. Yet, the extent of this limitation and constraints depends on the community of practice with its prevailing discourses, which appear to have their roots in Islamic and cultural practices as well as some Western influences acquired throughout the company’s history. It is concluded that it may be particularly challenging for Middle Eastern women to achieve any degree of equality with men in the workplace because discourses of Gender difference lie at the core of Islamic teaching and ideology.

The association between receptive language skills and reading comprehension has been established in the research literature. Even when the importance of receptive skills for reading comprehension has been strongly supported, in practice lower levels of skills tend to go unnoticed in typically developing children. A potentially more visible modality of language, expressive skills using speech samples, has been rarely examined despite the longitudinal links between speech and later reading development, and the connections between language and reading impairments. Even fewer reading studies have examined expressive skills using a subgroup of speech samples – narrative samples – which are closer to the kind of language practitioners can observe in their classrooms, and are also a rich source of linguistic and discourse-level data in school-aged children. This thesis presents a study examining the relationship between expressive language skills in narrative samples and reading comprehension after the first two years of formal reading instruction, with considerable attention given to methodological and developmental issues. In order to address the main methodological issues surrounding the identification of the optimal linguistic indices in terms of reliability and the existence of developmental patterns, two studies of language development in oral narratives were carried out. The first of the narrative language studies drew data from an existing corpus, while the other analysed primary data, collected specifically for this purpose. Having identified the optimal narrative indices in two different samples, the main study examined the relationships between these expressive narrative measures along with receptive standardised measures, and reading comprehension in a monolingual sample of eighty 7- and 8-year-old children attending Year 3 in the UK. Both receptive and expressive oral language skills were assessed at three different levels: vocabulary, grammar and discourse. Regression analyses indicated that, when considering expressive narrative variables on their own, expressive grammar and vocabulary, in that order, contributed to explain over a fifth of reading comprehension variance in typically developing children. When controlling for receptive language however, expressive skills were not able to account for significant unique variance in the outcome measure. Nonetheless, mediation analyses revealed that receptive vocabulary and grammar played a mediating role in the relationship between expressive skills from narratives and reading comprehension. Results and further research directions are discussed in the context of this study’s methodological considerations.

This study presents the findings of an in-depth exploration of English as Foreign Language (EFL) teachers’ attitudes towards and experience of curriculum change and development at the English Language Teaching (ELT) department in the Higher Institute of Languages in Damascus, Syria. Syria considers English to be a second language and thus the EFL curriculum has not been afforded as much attention as the core subjects, such as Arabic. In the last two decades, Syria has witnessed some major changes within the area of education. Educational change in the Syrian context is seen as an important means of keeping the citizens updated with other events taking place worldwide. In 2009, the Syrian Ministry of Education adopted a change in the EFL curriculum intended to improve the general level of English to facilitate the country’s modernisation and the implementation of information communication technology (ICT). However, the results appear to have been negligible and therefore, and as part of the strategic guidelines of reforms in higher education, the Ministry of Higher Education continues to attach considerable importance to restructuring research in higher education institutions and to establishing a ‘programme for creating appropriate evaluation mechanisms and methods concerning curricula and institutions for EFL’ (2004). In evaluating this strategy by the Syrian government, this study, carried out at the Syrian Higher Institute of Languages at Damascus University, has been guided by three objectives. The first is to investigate how EFL teachers’ use the current ELT materials. The second involves identifying the main challenges faced by EFL teachers in using the ELT materials available at the Institute. The third objective explores how EFL teachers view their involvement in designing a potential curriculum and whether this involvement can indeed contribute to the quality of the new curriculum. By using an interpretive research design and exploratory methodology, the study used semi-structured interviews and open-ended questionnaires as primary data collection methods to elicit the views of EFL teachers at the Institute. Significant findings are highlighted in each of the three areas. With regards to methodology, it was found that many EFL teachers mainly tend to favour and employ communicative language teaching approaches to their teaching. Concerning the challenges faced in the ELT classroom; the study found that various problems such as: lack of motivation; rigid administrative rules; incorrectly-placed students; time limitations; difficulties in achieving goals and objectives; and professional development challenges, all cumulate in predominantly negative perceptions of the current Syrian EFL teaching materials. Finally, EFL teachers have different attitudes towards the design and implementation of the new EFL curriculum. They can tend to see it as a mandatory and onerous task, and often feel that they lack the high-level of awareness and understanding required to design an appropriate curriculum. Mixed reactions towards changing the existing curriculum, needs assessment, and process evaluation are also apparent. These results suggest that any attempts to change the Syrian EFL curriculum would face a number of challenges. The thesis recommends the inclusion of teachers and students in the process as one possible solution to combat problems relating to the EFL curriculum within the Higher Institute of Languages and that of other institutions in Syria.

China’s growing economic power has led to over one hundred million people speaking Chinese world-wide (Chai & Wang, 2017). Although the Chinese language may not replace English as the most popular language worldwide, it is acknowledged that the Chinese language is an indispensable part of the future world (Zhao & Huang, 2010). However, there appears to be a paucity of research into the role self-efficacy and establishing good habits as a language learner play in non-native speaking students experiencing success while learning Chinese. A phenomenological study was conducted to investigate college students who were early Chinese learners in a beginning level preparatory course of a non-academic long-term Chinese language program, their experiences of learning Chinese, and the association, if any, between students’ self-efficacy as learners of Chinese and their demonstration of characteristics of Good Language Learners (GLLs). Data were collected from a survey, questionnaires, and one-on-one interviews. Six research findings were generated from research data and based on early Chinese learners, referred to students in the findings. Research findings from this study are listed as followed. Research Finding 1: Students’ perceptions of their strengths in learning Chinese are the strengths related to language aspects and personality traits. Research Finding 2: Students’ perceptions of their challenges in learning Chinese are language-related challenges, challenges from the teachers, challenges from the curriculum setting, and challenges from the class members. Research Finding 3: Students have at least five characteristics of GLLs (Edge & Garton, 2009) which are Characteristics 1, 2, 3, 6, and 7 and partial of Characteristics 8 and 10. More specifically, early Chinese learners have a positive attitude toward Chinese and Chinese speakers (Characteristic 1). They have strong motivations to learn Chinese (Characteristic 2). They are confident in becoming successful learners (Characteristic 3). They actively organize Chinese practices (Characteristic 6). They have ways to express themselves correctly (Characteristic 7). They are willing to engage in Chinese-speaking situations (partial of Characteristic 8). They use strategies to learn Chinese (partial of Characteristic 10). Research Finding 4: Students tend to have Characteristics 4 and 5 and partial of Characteristic 10. To be more specific, early Chinese learners tend to have their minds prepared for making mistakes when using Chinese and to learn from the mistakes (Characteristics 4). They tend to like learning Chinese (Characteristics 5). And they tend to try out new strategies while learning Chinese (partial of Characteristic 10). Research Finding 5: Students lack Characteristic 9 and partial of Characteristic 8. To be more specific, early Chinese learners are not used to working directly in Chinese (Characteristic 9). They are neither ready to use Chinese as frequently as their native languages (partial of Characteristic 8). Research Finding 6: There is no obvious association between students’ efficacy and their demonstration of characteristics of GLLs (Edge & Garton, 2009) while learning Chinese. This study investigated college students who were early Chinese learners in a beginning level preparatory course of a non-academic long-term Chinese language program, their experiences of learning Chinese, and the association, if any, between students’ self-efficacy as learners of Chinese and their demonstration of characteristics of Good Language Learners (GLLs). This study offered recommendations for teachers, administrators, and policy makers, in non-academic long-term Chinese language programs and in the field of teaching Chinese as a foreign language. Last but not least, recommendations for further research were provided for researchers in the field of teaching Chinese as a foreign language.

Thesis (Ph.D.)--Indiana University, Dept. of Language Education, 2006.
Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 67-04, Section: A, page: 1317. Advisers: Martha Nyikos; Kimberly Geeslin. "Title from dissertation home page (viewed May 14, 2007)."

This dissertation explores the nature, purpose, function and role of language documentation in order to further our understanding of mechanisms of language transmission and maintenance in the face of language endangerment and the repression of indigenous identity. Beyond its traditional use for generating linguistic data, I argue that the act and the process of language documentation can be understood as a comprehensive means to evaluate the interactions between speakers and researchers and as the stage where various beliefs and emotions are displayed. Extending the notion of “sites” developed by Silverstein (1998) and Kroskrity (2009), I argue that the act of language documentation can create “sites” of linguistic transaction, of self recognition, and of ideological and emotional stance shift. To attain this goal, this project linguistically and ethnographically documents and describes Belizean Mopan, an endangered Mayan language spoken in the southern Petén region of Guatemala and in the Maya Mountain region (Toledo District) of Southern Belize as a case study. Ethnographic and linguistic observation suggest that characteristics of Belizean Mopan do not simply stem from its linguistic features but rather are derived from ethnic complexity, language ideologies, identity politics, the history of Belize and speakers’ awareness of the self. Linguistic biographies, interviews, participant observation, and ethnographic accounts indicate that the individual’s emotional attachments to the language and the sense of belonging to one’s linguistic community are crucial keys for effective language documentation and revitalization. Discourse and grammatical analysis of sound symbolic words in narratives suggest that speakers’ linguistic affects can be evoked through sound itself. The devices used during language documentation, such as voice and video recorders can be understood as “signifying instruments” (J. D. Hill 2014), which amplify or evoke speakers’ and researchers’ linguistic ideologies and/or affects. Tzik ‘respect’ plays a pivotal role in distinguishing Mopans from other Maya groups and many stories and personal narratives either explicitly or subtly demonstrate the concept and importance of tzik for regulating and maintaining the traditional community and for having a successful life, which resembles the secretos ‘secrets’ described in Hofling’s (1996: 109) account of Itzaj Maya lives. Focusing on tzik gained through being a ch’ija’an kristiyanojo ‘the grown-up people’, I argue that storytelling is a primary device to transmit and circulate traditional knowledge, worldview, ideologies and memories of Maya people from the present, the immediate past, and the mythological past and that in a sense, the role and meaning of dream divination and my language consultant, Orlando Sho’s musical performances can be equated with the practice of storytelling. The act of language documentation is a portal to the site of linguistic and cultural transaction and of world learning, in which I see a key to successful language renewal and revitalization.

This multiple case study examined the experiences of elementary L2 learners who received instruction in either reciprocal teaching or the think aloud strategy (TAS), and identified patterns of use that emerged from participants' employment of the strategies. The three L2 participants took a pre- test and a posttest, were recorded using the strategies, and responded to interview questions about the strategies. Using qualitative data analysis techniques, four themes emerged from analysis of the data, including; talking like a teacher, I know what I know, established strategies, and declines to use the steps in the strategy. Implications from these findings suggest that the discussion facilitated by reciprocal teaching assists elementary L2 participants in better understanding the text and also supports their language acquisition, whereas TAS does not facilitate discussion. Further, even though reciprocal teaching promotes discussion, teacher assistance during discussion is necessary. Finally, it is essential that teachers are mindful of students' understandings of topics and the difficulty of texts used when students are learning the strategies.

Formulation is a fundamental component in many of the psychological therapies practised within the National Health Service (e.g. cognitive behavioural therapy and psychodynamic therapy) (British Psychology Society, Division of Clinical Psychology, [BPS, DCP], 2011). It is seen as a starting point for the process of intervention (DCP, 2011). However, despite the importance placed on formulation, it is under conceptualised and under researched (Johnstone & Dallos, 2015). More specifically, little is known about how service users experience and make use of formulation in therapy for psychosis. Semi structured interviews were undertaken with 11 service users and two clinical psychologists with experience of formulation in therapy for psychosis. Data from the interviews were analysed from a critical realist perspective using grounded theory methodology. An emerging model was constructed to depict the processes that occur during the sharing of a formulation. ‘Linking previous experiences with current ways of being’ and ‘building the therapeutic relationship’ emerged as core reciprocally influential processes. ‘Making use of new understandings’ was also identified as an important process. The findings suggest that formulations should be developed collaboratively and progressively with service users, and that care should be given to the emotions that arise as a result. Further research is necessary to elaborate our understanding of formulation given the importance placed on it in UK clinical psychology.

This study involves an exploration of language acculturation and it’s reflection in the art of Latino American families. For Latino American families, language acculturation involves the processes of English language acquisition, Spanish language maintenance, and the formation of language identity. Included in this text is a literature review that presents articles focusing on the role language plays within Latino American families and articles focusing on the use of art therapy with Latino American populations. This study uses qualitative strategies involving the use of survey questions and phenomenological art based research procedures to gather information about Latino American experiences with language acculturation. Research participants included first generation parents and second generation adolescents from eight Latino American families. Research data consisting of art work and survey responses are used to answer research questions which serve as the framework for data analysis. Based on data collection and analysis, challenge, opportunity, and cultural identity were three prominent themes found to reflect the first and second generation Latino American participants’ experience with language acculturation. For first generation participants, challenges with language acculturation related to language brokering, limited English proficiency, and loss. Both first and second generation participants recognized opportunities associated with language acculturation and bilingualism that included greater social involvement, better employment with increased salary, and an improved sense of security and self-esteem. Second generation participants also conveyed a sense of pride in linguistic and cultural identity which involved the blending of Latino and American cultures.