Dissertations / Theses on the topic 'Mandarin first language'

This research is a case study of stakeholders' perceptions of learning and provision during a specific English language program. The pedagogical context of the program was clearly defined. English teachers from Hong Kong who had either Cantonese or Mandarin as their first language (L1) came to Australia for intensive language proficiency training and assessment. The Hong Kong government determined the program's syllabus, including assessment instruments and criteria in the Syllabus Specifications for the Language Proficiency Assessment for Teachers (English Language) (LPATE) (Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR), 2000). The Australian provider had created the program from the specifications and had developed appropriate teaching and assessment materials for its implementation in all syllabus components. Additionally, the provider was responsible for administering and marketing the program. Delivery was in immersion mode with the Hong Kong teachers travelling to Australia and residing with Australian 'homestay' families for the 6-week program. The 'guiding issue/question' for the case study was: How did the multiple stakeholders perceive learning and provision? The study drew on a corpus of data collected from the perspectives of various stakeholders within provision of a 6-week in-service and education training program (INSET) (Bolam, 1986) for Chinese first language (L1) primary and secondary school teachers. Stakeholders represented in the study were teachers who participated as learners; the researcher who was a part-time language instructor; a course designer who was a full-time language instructor in the program; and an administrator who also held a wider role in the general marketing of INSET. Multiple forms of data were collected and analysed within a case study design (Stake, 1995, 2000). These included: a document analysis; pretest and posttest questionnaires; semi-structured interviews from individuals and focus groups; stimulated recall interviews from individuals; learner journals; and a researcher journal. Existing knowledge was reviewed through a search of literature, policies and accounts that examined four contextual layers that framed the study and situated it in terms of global, local and intercultural issues. Specifically, the layers were: (a) imperatives for Australian higher education to internationalise; (b) provision of INSET for teachers of English as a Second or Foreign Language (ESL/EFL); (c) language education and proficiency in Hong Kong; and (d) intercultural communication and culture learning as they pertained to an immersion program. While higher education institutions in Australia have recognised the imperative to internationalise, some recent initiatives are poorly researched. Bodycott and Crew (2001a, p. 23) noted a 'dearth' (p. 2) of literature surrounding short-term, immersion versions of INSET such as that used in the current research. A review of literature where INSET had been used for the education of language teachers provided important insights into issues that might affect learning and provision. These involved the extent to which teachers' home country contexts were included in the design and content of programs, whether 'one-off' programs could be effective in the long-term, and what models underpinned the current design of INSET. The major gaps in the literature were (a) reported research on INSET where it is delivered as a short-term, immersion program to South East Asian teachers; and (b) published work on the LPATE as a learning-teaching experience. The current study attempted to address these gaps. While there was an absence of literature on the specific context of the INSET under study, the literature did reveal ways for the teacher/researcher to objectify and reflect on INSET provision. Literature on interactionism and social constructivism provided insights into the role and effect of the teacher/researcher in a data-gathering process. The case study approach was reviewed and Stake's (1995, 2000) design used in the study within a theoretical framework of social constructivism. In its reporting, the case accounts for forces of change surrounding the participants' INSET. These included the internationalisation of Australian higher education and curriculum reform in Hong Kong. At more personal levels, participants provided reflective data throughout the immersion experience. These data from the Hong Kong teachers indicated perceptions of strong positive growth in their English proficiency. This is an outcome consistent with the purpose of the INSET, which was to improve and benchmark proficiency standards. The data also revealed that the teachers had learned much about pedagogy and culture, which formed insights into intercultural negotiation and learning. The providers - an administrator and an instructor - supported accounts their learners had given of learning and provision. Yet, each had particular views regarding what constituted success in delivery of an INSET. While the case study provided detailed explication of the 'nature' of this particular INSET, this researcher supports Crew and Bodycott's (2001) call for further, longitudinal research into the phenomenon. Drawing on findings from this study, specific research questions are suggested to investigate the effects of immersion INSET. Within the constraints of case study method, implications are drawn for the design and delivery of future short-term, immersion INSET. A detailed mapping of what stakeholders reported as culture learning and cross-cultural experiences provided an account of this aspect of the phenomenon. There was strong evidence that a component based on intercultural communication should be included in any future trial to inform INSET design. A new model, entitled 'Intercultural INSET', is proposed for future implementation and research. It incorporates domains of learning established from the case study data and is informed by a theoretical construct designed in the current study and termed, 'Positive Effect Chain'. The proposed model embeds the design within contexts significant to the teacher/participants and to their ongoing critical reflection. This ongoing reflection informs thinking about the proposed INSET course evaluation. Finally, the proposed model extends INSET into a post-immersion phase. This subsequent phase extends participants' INSET interaction, once they have returned to their own countries and to their work in home classrooms. The model seeks enduring and effective learning and requires trial and further study. The case study approach provided a successful vehicle for organising the data of the research and for framing the discussion. It also yielded indications as to the means by which INSET providers might structure ongoing feedback and assessment of their intended curriculum design. These indications are reflected in the proposed 'Intercultural INSET' design.

This research is a case study of stakeholders' perceptions of learning and provision during a specific English language program. The pedagogical context of the program was clearly defined. English teachers from Hong Kong who had either Cantonese or Mandarin as their first language (L1) came to Australia for intensive language proficiency training and assessment. The Hong Kong government determined the program's syllabus, including assessment instruments and criteria in the Syllabus Specifications for the Language Proficiency Assessment for Teachers (English Language) (LPATE) (Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR), 2000). The Australian provider had created the program from the specifications and had developed appropriate teaching and assessment materials for its implementation in all syllabus components. Additionally, the provider was responsible for administering and marketing the program. Delivery was in immersion mode with the Hong Kong teachers travelling to Australia and residing with Australian 'homestay' families for the 6-week program. The 'guiding issue/question' for the case study was: How did the multiple stakeholders perceive learning and provision? The study drew on a corpus of data collected from the perspectives of various stakeholders within provision of a 6-week in-service and education training program (INSET) (Bolam, 1986) for Chinese first language (L1) primary and secondary school teachers. Stakeholders represented in the study were teachers who participated as learners; the researcher who was a part-time language instructor; a course designer who was a full-time language instructor in the program; and an administrator who also held a wider role in the general marketing of INSET. Multiple forms of data were collected and analysed within a case study design (Stake, 1995, 2000). These included: a document analysis; pretest and posttest questionnaires; semi-structured interviews from individuals and focus groups; stimulated recall interviews from individuals; learner journals; and a researcher journal. Existing knowledge was reviewed through a search of literature, policies and accounts that examined four contextual layers that framed the study and situated it in terms of global, local and intercultural issues. Specifically, the layers were: (a) imperatives for Australian higher education to internationalise; (b) provision of INSET for teachers of English as a Second or Foreign Language (ESL/EFL); (c) language education and proficiency in Hong Kong; and (d) intercultural communication and culture learning as they pertained to an immersion program. While higher education institutions in Australia have recognised the imperative to internationalise, some recent initiatives are poorly researched. Bodycott and Crew (2001a, p. 23) noted a 'dearth' (p. 2) of literature surrounding short-term, immersion versions of INSET such as that used in the current research. A review of literature where INSET had been used for the education of language teachers provided important insights into issues that might affect learning and provision. These involved the extent to which teachers' home country contexts were included in the design and content of programs, whether 'one-off' programs could be effective in the long-term, and what models underpinned the current design of INSET. The major gaps in the literature were (a) reported research on INSET where it is delivered as a short-term, immersion program to South East Asian teachers; and (b) published work on the LPATE as a learning-teaching experience. The current study attempted to address these gaps. While there was an absence of literature on the specific context of the INSET under study, the literature did reveal ways for the teacher/researcher to objectify and reflect on INSET provision. Literature on interactionism and social constructivism provided insights into the role and effect of the teacher/researcher in a data-gathering process. The case study approach was reviewed and Stake's (1995, 2000) design used in the study within a theoretical framework of social constructivism. In its reporting, the case accounts for forces of change surrounding the participants' INSET. These included the internationalisation of Australian higher education and curriculum reform in Hong Kong. At more personal levels, participants provided reflective data throughout the immersion experience. These data from the Hong Kong teachers indicated perceptions of strong positive growth in their English proficiency. This is an outcome consistent with the purpose of the INSET, which was to improve and benchmark proficiency standards. The data also revealed that the teachers had learned much about pedagogy and culture, which formed insights into intercultural negotiation and learning. The providers - an administrator and an instructor - supported accounts their learners had given of learning and provision. Yet, each had particular views regarding what constituted success in delivery of an INSET. While the case study provided detailed explication of the 'nature' of this particular INSET, this researcher supports Crew and Bodycott's (2001) call for further, longitudinal research into the phenomenon. Drawing on findings from this study, specific research questions are suggested to investigate the effects of immersion INSET. Within the constraints of case study method, implications are drawn for the design and delivery of future short-term, immersion INSET. A detailed mapping of what stakeholders reported as culture learning and cross-cultural experiences provided an account of this aspect of the phenomenon. There was strong evidence that a component based on intercultural communication should be included in any future trial to inform INSET design. A new model, entitled 'Intercultural INSET', is proposed for future implementation and research. It incorporates domains of learning established from the case study data and is informed by a theoretical construct designed in the current study and termed, 'Positive Effect Chain'. The proposed model embeds the design within contexts significant to the teacher/participants and to their ongoing critical reflection. This ongoing reflection informs thinking about the proposed INSET course evaluation. Finally, the proposed model extends INSET into a post-immersion phase. This subsequent phase extends participants' INSET interaction, once they have returned to their own countries and to their work in home classrooms. The model seeks enduring and effective learning and requires trial and further study. The case study approach provided a successful vehicle for organising the data of the research and for framing the discussion. It also yielded indications as to the means by which INSET providers might structure ongoing feedback and assessment of their intended curriculum design. These indications are reflected in the proposed 'Intercultural INSET' design.
Thesis (Professional Doctorate)
Doctor of Education (EdD)
School of Cognition, Language and Special Education
Full Text

The current study lays the groundwork for a model of Mandarin tones based on both native speakers' and non-native speakers' perception and production. It demonstrates that there is variability in non-native speakers' tone productions and that there are differences in the perceptual boundaries in native speakers and non-native speakers. There are four experiments in this study. Experiment 1 utilizes native speakers' production data from a published speech database to explore the features of tone production by native speakers. Inter-speaker normalization is used to analyze the data. Experiment 2 synthesizes 81 tones that are carried by four sentences to measure perception by native and non-native speakers. The intra-speaker and inter-speaker normalization is used to investigate the perceptual space of T1, T2, T3, and T4. The researcher also explores the salient features distinguish native speakers' and non-native speakers' perception of the four principal tones. Experiment 3 uses both synthesized tones and natural tones that are carried by sentences to explore how pitch values of tones create overlapping areas in the perceptual map. Experiment 4 examines tone production by non-native speakers to identify the differences between native speakers' perception and non-native speakers' production; and the differences between non-native speakers' perception and their production of tones. The results of the perception and production experiments with native speakers show the perceptual boundaries and tonal categories in the perceptual space and the production space. The difference of native speakers' perception and production shows us the perceptual cue for perception. Meanwhile, the similarities of native speakers' perception and production reveal the acoustic cues, including register and contour, for tone perception and production. The results of the perception experiments with non-native speakers indicate that there are no clear boundaries, and that tone overlap in the perceptual space. Register plays an important role in the perception of tones by non-native speakers. The results of non-native speaker production also show overlapping tones in the acoustic space. The non-native speaker production appears to be determined by the contour of the tones in contrast both the contour and register determine the tonal categories of native speaker.

碩士
國立臺灣師範大學
英語學系
100
In first language acquisition, conditionals are regarded as one of the most complicated syntactic constructions, enjoying extensive discussion in the literature. However, few researchers have conducted an empirical study to investigate the competence and performance of Chinese children’s acquisition of conditional sentences. Therefore, the present study aims to probe into Chinese children’s development by investigating the markednesss issues, scenario differences, task effects, production analysis and age effects on the five types of conditionals. A comprehension task (i.e., interpretation task) and a production task (i.e., imitation task) were assigned to 90 Chinese children (aged 3-7), divided into five age groups, and a control group of 18 Chinese speaking adults. The overall results indicated that the markedness, scenarios, tasks and age were determinant factors in the acquisition of Mandarin Chinese conditionals. The five types exhibited different degrees of difficulty. Type 2 (i.e., clause-initial adverbial conditionals) was found the easiest, and Type 1 (i.e., double adverbial conditionals) and Type 4 (i.e., non-wh-word conditionals) were relatively easier than Type 5 (wh-word conditionals) and Type 3 (i.e., clause-final adverbial conditionals). The results also showed that children performed better on the unmarked types (Types 1, 2 and 4) while the marked types (Types 3 and 5) were found challenging. Concerning the scenarios, it was found that the hypothetical conditionals were acquired prior to the counterfactual conditionals, a result in accord with the literature. As for the task effects, the subjects performed the comprehension task significantly better than the production task. With regard to the production data, it was found that most of the children’s production resulted from Type 3 and Type 5. In addition, Insertion was commonly used by most subjects and they tended to add an unmarked clause-initial conditional adverbial ruguo ‘if’ to produce typical conditional sentences. Finally, it was found that age six was a cutting point where our children performed significantly better than preschoolers and reached the adult grammar.

碩士
國立臺灣師範大學
英語學系
107
The present study aims at investigating Mandarin-speaking children’s acquisition of classifiers. Two experiments were designed to elicit the subjects’ comprehension and production: a picture-pointing task and a picture--description task. The issues addressed in the present study included children’s difficulty in acquiring count-noun and noncount-noun classifiers, individual and group classifiers, and shape classifiers, as well as age effect. Forty-eight children participated in the present study, and they were further divided into three age groups: Group 1 (five to six years old), Group 2 (seven to eight years old), and Group 3 (nine to ten years old). In addition, sixteen adults were recruited as the control group. The major findings are summarized as follows: First of all, it was found that our subjects performed significantly better on noncount-noun classifiers than on count-noun classifiers (p < 0.05). Secondly, there was a significant difference between the subjects’ performances on individual classifiers and group classifiers (p < 0.05). They showed better ability in dealing with individual classifiers than with group classifiers. Thirdly, with regard to shape classifiers, all the child groups demonstrated an identical acquisition pattern, where irregular three-dimensional classifiers were the easiest to acquire, followed by two-dimensional classifiers and one-dimensional classifiers. Regular three-dimensional classifiers were the most challenging to acquire. Finally, the results indicated that children at the ages of five and six could comprehend and produce count-noun and noncount-noun classifiers, individual and group classifiers, and some shape classifiers, but not adult-like yet. Children aged seven to eight obtained adult-like comprehension of count-noun and noncount-noun classifiers, individual and group classifiers, and part of shape classifiers; however, they were not able to show adult-like production yet. Moreover, the subjects aged nine to ten comprehended all the test classifiers as the adult group did; nevertheless, their production was still not adult-like yet.

碩士
國立臺灣師範大學
英語學系
96
The resultative verb compounds (hereafter RVC) in Chinese consist of two verbal elements, with the second element signifying the result of the action/state denoted by the first (Li and Thompson 1981). Smith (1997) hence suggests that RVCs are like English Accomplishments. However, there are some cross-linguistic variations between RVCs and Accomplishments, though the two verbs have the action-result semantic relation between their semantic components. Tai (1984), for example, indicates that the Mandarin RVC encodes only the aspectual meaning of the result; thus, RVCs are instantaneous verbs, whereas English Accomplishments with the aspectual meaning of both the action and result are durative verbs. Tai (2003) also points out that in Mandarin RVCs, the result of an event is ‘overtly’ expressed with the resultative morpheme, while in English Accomplishments, it is ‘covertly’ expressed, or ‘implied’ in the meaning of the verb (Tai 2003). Based on the difference between Mandarin and English in the specification of ‘result’, Tai claims that English speakers would attend less to the result part of the event than Chinese speakers. Motivated by the cross-linguistic variations between Mandarin RVCs and English Accomplishments, this study explores the L2 acquisition of Mandarin RVCs by English L2 learners to see whether they have full understanding of the semantic properties of RVCs in general and whether their acquisition varies according to the three RVC types—divided based on the semantic property of the two constituents-- Activity-Result, Semelfactive-Result and State-Result RVCs. Forty native English speakers learning Chinese at the MTC participated in this study, and they were further divided into two groups according to their Chinese proficiency levels, i.e., the intermediate and high groups. The instrument was a survey composed of two tasks--grammaticality judgment (GJ) and sentence interpretation (SI). The overall results showed that the learners’ performance differed according to the three RVC types. They did best on the Sta-R RVCs, with the notable exception of test questions containing both a Sta-R RVC and the adverb chayidianr ‘almost’ in the SI task. Among the three RVC types, the Sem-R RVC had the lowest accuracy rate. Though the learners performed better on the Act-R RVC than on the Sem-R RVC, there was no significant difference between the performances. A further examination revealed that the English learners had the knowledge that the result part constitutes the semantic focus of RVCs and treated Act-R and Sem-R RVCs as English typical Achievements and derived Achievements, respectively. Moreover, the results showed that the learners’ L1 played a crucial role in the L2 acquisition of Mandarin RVCs. In the GJ task, it has been observed the compatibility between the meaning of the derived Achievement and the English progressive misled the learners into considering that Sem-R RVCs could appear with the Mandarin imperfective aspect marker zhengzai, which implies that the L1-L2 difference in structure brings about negative transfer. With respect to positive transfer, it was found that the accuracy of judgment for the Act-R RVC was higher than that for the Sem-R RVC, suggesting that the L1 knowledge of (typical) Achievements had great help in acquiring the Act-R RVC. In the SI task, the results showed that as far as the Action-Result RVCs are concerned, the frequency of the result interpretation for questions with the adverb ‘almost’ is higher than that for questions without the adverb, suggesting that the learners relied heavily on English Achievements when making decision on the center predication of sentences with such RVCs. Last but not least, our results showed that English-speaking people attended more to the action part of the event than to the action part.

In the present study, I adopt theoretical aspects from the Minimalist framework (Chomsky 1995), namely the theory of Economy, Merge Operation and Feature Checking, to account for the acquisition of functional categories in early child grammar. I focus on the acquisition of functional categories associated with Mandarin nominal expressions, namely Determiner Phrase (DP), Number Phrase (NumbP) and Classifier Phrase (ClP), by carrying out longitudinal studies of two Mandarin speaking children, one monolingual and the other bilingual. Based on the data from two corpora (starting from the onset of the one-word stage to the later multi-word stage), clear developmental sequences, which I categorize in terms of six phenomenological phases, for the acquisition of functional categories associated with Mandarin nominal expressions are identified. Interpretations of the developmental sequences, leading to proposals for the incremental development of phrase structure representations, together with tentative rationalizations for why the developmental sequences proceed as they do are provided. As a result of my analysis of the two corpora, I demonstrate that at least one functional head (namely head D) was already manifested in the child's grammar from the middle of the one-word stage onwards. Both head Numb and head Cl are instantiated from the second half of the two-word stage (MLU 1.5 - 2.0). However, while instantiated early in child Mandarin, the grammatical features of these functional heads appear to be under­ specified, i.e., they do not contain all the grammatical features of those in adult Mandarin. For instance, at least the specifier- and complement-feature of the head D and the complement-feature of the head Cl are still missing during the second half of the two-word stage. The grammatical features of functional heads in Mandarin nominal expressions are found to be instantiated incrementally in the child's grammar during the course of development. Overall, the findings of the present study provide strong support for the Weak Continuity perspective regarding children's grammatical competence during the earliest stage of syntactic development.

碩士
輔仁大學
跨文化研究所語言學碩士班
103
The phenomenon that Mandarin [-iŋ] being often replaced in Taiwan Mandarin by [-in] was observed by Kubler (1986) first. This study aims to observe whether the production of two nasal codas, [n] and [ŋ] in Taiwan Mandarin is associated with the language background of Hakka, Southern Min and Mandarin. A word list reading was conducted focusing on the nasal coda /n/ and /ŋ/ preceded by the vowels, /i/, / ə / and /a/. Forty-five subjects participated in the experiment, with each language groups recruiting 15 natives. The spectral analysis of digital audio recordings analyzed by Praat extracted the median values of F2 resulting in the average of each subjects. The results analyzed by Mixed Models indicated that the all groups have produced nasals in a similar way, in both citation form and phrase initial position. In addition, the vowel plays a significant role in the production of the nasals. More specific, the F2 vowels determine the place of articulation (POA) of the following nasals in Taiwan Mandarin, which is what Hsieh (2010) has observed. That is Taiwan Southern Min natives intend to rely on the F2 to determine the place of articulation of the nasals to keep the contrasts of the closed syllables (VC). The phenomenon that the [ŋ] tends to be produced more as [n] by natives of Taiwan Mandarin or Hakka can be explained by the fact that the Taiwan Southern Min natives keep more contrasts than the other two groups.

碩士
國立屏東師範學院
國民教育研究所
91
The primary purpose of this thesis is not only to investigate the appearances of contexts and contents of family concepts in different editions of Mandarin language textbooks of first grade in elementary schools, but also to discuss elementary school teachers’ opinions about contents of family concepts. So that the findings of the study can be provided as references for Mandarin language curriculum development and new editions in the future. The methods adapted by this research are document analysis, content analysis, and interviews. Specifically, collecting related literatures, analyzing the contents of all editions of Mandarin language textbooks of first grade in elementary schools, and discussing teachers’ perceived curricula through interviews. The main findings of this study are listed as the following: 1. Types of family: The main family type of all five editions is the core family. The frequency of appearances of stem family and extended family is low. Single-parent family and grandparent-and-grandchild family are not mentioned. 2. Family relationship: All editions of textbooks place emphasis on the parent-child relationship, but seldom on other members’ relationship. Marriage relationship and the role of grandparents belonging to mother’s family tree are not mentioned. 3. Family function: Most editions of textbooks emphasize on emotional function. Recreational function is limited to outdoor activities. Economic function is exhibited only in picture presentation without any further description. Religious function is not discussed. According to the finding of this study, the researcher provides the following suggestions: 1. Family types other than core family should be included in Mandarin language textbooks to present the existing family types in our society. 2.The roles of grandparents belonging to mother’s family tree can be included in textbooks, and stereotyped gender roles should be minimized. 3.Religious function and economic function of the family should be included; recreational activities and locations should be multiple. 4.Family education and parental education should be implemented in school. Gender education should be included in textbooks to facilitate correct family concepts when students learn in early period. 5.Teachers should be able to adjust one’s family concepts and critique the textbooks to avoid passing down the stereotype to the next generation. 6.The subject of Mandarin language can be integrated with other subjects during instruction and be incorporated the family concepts by integrated curriculum.

This research expands our understanding of the relationship between orthographic knowledge and phoneme perception by investigating how orthographic knowledge affects phoneme perception not only in the first language (L1) but also in the second language (L2), and an unfamiliar language (L0). Specifically, this research sought not only to confirm that L1 orthographic knowledge influences L1 phoneme perception, but also to determine if L1 orthographic knowledge influences L2 and L0 phoneme perception, particularly as it relates to native English speakers. Via a phoneme counting task, 52 participants were divided into two experimental groups—one with a Russian L0 and one with a Mandarin L0—and counted phonemes in words from their L1 (English) and L0. In addition, two subgroups of participants also counted phonemes in their L2 (either Russian or Mandarin). The stimuli for each language were organized along two parameters: 1) match (half with consistent letter-phoneme correspondences and half with inconsistent correspondences) and 2) homophony (half with cross-language homophonous counterparts and half without homophonous counterparts). The assumption here was that accuracy and RT differences would indicate an effect of orthographic knowledge on phoneme perception. Four-way repeated measures ANOVAs analysed the data along four independent factors: group, language, homophone, and match. Overall, the results support the hypotheses and indicate that L1 orthographic knowledge facilitates L1 and L0 phoneme perception when the words have consistent letter-phoneme correspondences but hinders L1 and L0 phoneme perception when the words have inconsistent correspondences. Similarly, the results indicate that L2 orthographic knowledge facilitates L2 phoneme perception with consistent words but hinders L2 phoneme perception with inconsistent words. On a more specific level, results indicate that not all letter-phoneme mismatches are equal in terms of their effect on phoneme perception, for example mismatches in which one letter represents two sounds (e.g., = /ks/) influence perception more so than do mismatches in which one or more letters are silent (e.g. = /ʃ/). Findings from this research support previous claims that orthographic and phonological information are co-activated in speech processing even in the absence of visual stimuli (e.g., Blau et al., 2008; Taft et al., 2008; Ziegler & Ferrand 1998), and that listeners are sensitive to orthographic information such that it may trigger unwanted interference when the orthographic and phonological systems provide conflicting information (e.g., Burnham, 2003; Treiman & Cassar, 1997). More importantly, findings show that orthographic effects are not limited to L1. First, phoneme perception in unfamiliar languages (L0) is also influenced by L1 orthography. Second, phoneme perception in L2 is influenced by L2 orthgraphic interference. In fact, L2 orthographic effects appear to override any potential L1 orthographic effects, suggesting orthographic effects are language-specific. Finally, the preliminary findings on the different types of letter-phoneme mismatches show that future research must tease apart the behaviours of different kinds of letter-phoneme inconsistencies. Based on the findings, this dissertation proposes the Bipartite Model of Orthographic Knowledge and Transfer. The model identifies two components within L1 orthographic knowledge: abstract and operational. The model predicts that abstract L1 orthographic knowledge (i.e., the general assumptions and principles about the function of orthography and its relationship to phonology) transfers into nonnative language processing regardless of whether the listeners/speakers are familiar with the nonnatiave language (e.g., Bassetti, 2006; Vokic, 2011). In contrast, the model predicts that operational knowledge (i.e., what letters map to what phonemes) transfers into the nonnative language processing in the absence of nonnative orthographic knowledge (i.e., the L0), but does not transfer in the presence of nonnative orthographic knowledge (i.e., the L2). Rather, L2-specific operational knowledge is created based partly on the transferred abstract knowledge. The research here contributes to the body of literature in four ways. First, the current research supports previous findings and claims regarding orthographic knowledge and native language speech processing. Second, the L2 findings provide insight into the relatively sparse—but growing—understanding of the relationship between L1 and L2 orthography and nonnative speech perception. Third, this research offers a unified (albeit preliminary) account of orthographic knowledge and previous findings by way of the Bipartite Model of Orthographic Knowledge and Transfer.
Graduate

碩士
臺北市立教育大學
身心障礙教育研究所
95
The Purpose of this study was to explore the composition in first-grade elementary children with normal children and mandarin learning disabilities. 30 first-grade elementary children (15 normal children, 15 children with mandarin learning disabilities) were measured by means of Oral Language Syntax Ability Diagnostic Test for preschool and lower grade children. The research data were analysed in terms of language syntax ability and error patterns. The major results were summarized as follow: 1. Normal children were higher than children with mandarin learning disabilities for receptive, expressive and whole oral language syntax quotient. 2. The receptive, expressive and whole oral language syntax ability of normal children were higher than children with mandarin learning disabilities. 3. Children with mandarin learning disabilities were demonstrated significantly more oral language syntax error patterns than normal children.

碩士
臺北市立教育大學
特殊教育學系碩士班
96
A Study of Oral Language Syntax Competence in Normal Children And Children with Mandarin Learning Disabilities Abstract The Purpose of this study was to explore the composition in first-grade elementary children with normal children and mandarin learning disabilities. 30 first-grade elementary children (15 normal children, 15 children with mandarin learning disabilities) were measured by means of Oral Language Syntax Ability Diagnostic Test for preschool and lower grade children. The research data were analysed in terms of language syntax ability and error patterns. The major results were summarized as follow: 1. Normal children were higher than children with mandarin learning disabilities for receptive, expressive and whole oral language syntax quotient. 2. The receptive, expressive and whole oral language syntax ability of normal children were higher than children with mandarin learning disabilities. 3. Children with mandarin learning disabilities were demonstrated significantly more oral language syntax error patterns than normal children.

碩士
國立臺灣師範大學
華語文教學研究所
97
This study uses the theory of interlanguage (IL) to examine the effects of first language transfer on the acquisition of the Mandarin near synonyms renshi and zhidao. The results of this study may be applied to teaching Chinese as a second language, reducing the difficulties students encounter when learning and using near synonyms. The methodology comprises questionnaires supplemented by interviews. Contrastive analysis is performed with data gathered from 120 study subjects divided into four groups of foreign students: 30 intermediate-level native Thai speakers, 30 advanced-level Thai native speakers, 30 intermediate-level native Japanese speakers, and 30 advanced-level native Japanese speakers. Results of the study demonstrate that the extent of lexical divergence is different in the first language and the target language. This implies that there are differences in how native speakers of Thai and Japanese acquire and use near synonyms. The Mandarin equivalents of renshi and zhidao in Thai are รู้จัก (roo-jak) and รู้ (roo) respectively. Mandarin and Thai are relatively similar languages, thus native Thai speakers in the study committed fewer errors. Japanese, however, has greater lexical sophistication with respect to renshi and zhidao in Mandarin—the verb知る (shi ru) encompasses the functions of both near synonyms. Native speakers of Japanese therefore had difficulty understanding the rules for using renshi and zhidao when learning Mandarin and committed more errors. This study uses hierarchies of difficulty as proposed by Prator (1967), which states that when the rules or structure of the learner’s first language diverge into two or more rules or structures in the target language, the learner encounters greater difficulty. Advanced-level learners experienced less interference from their first language and demonstrated higher levels of proficiency in the target language. In addition, learners in the advanced groups committed fewer negative transfer errors than the intermediate groups when using renshi and zhidao, confirming the views of scholars such as Taylor (1975) and Brown (1987) who hold that interference from the first language appears primarily in the early stages of second language acquisition. The error rate is higher in the intermediate groups, which supports the U-Shaped Development Theory proposed by Kellerman (1983). The error rate is highest when learners reach the intermediate level. Learners commit fewer errors as they gain greater competence in the target language and show more positive transfer. The textbook Practical Audio-Visual Chinese was used in designing teaching materials for the near synonyms renshi and zhidao. The teaching process is discussed and suggestions are provided. The effectiveness of the lesson is analyzed based on actual class drills.

Thesis (Ph.D.)--University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 2009.
Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 70-06, Section: A, page: . Adviser: Arlette I. Willis. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 178-185) Available on microfilm from Pro Quest Information and Learning.

碩士
國立屏東師範學院
語文教育學系碩士班
93
This research is based on 1st-9th Grade Curriculum of Junior High and Elementary Schools, which was declared by Ministry of Education on 2003, and examines the qualified textbook as the research object through Ministry of Education on 2003 semester. Using content analysis to analyze the situation about the writing ability indicator of the first learning stage in every version, and the situation teachers were offered the relative teaching methods; students were offered exercise materials. In the hoping of understanding weather Mandarin language textbooks nowadays, the writing ability indicator in every version, the teaching methods offered, and exercise materials offered can help teachers to train students basic wiring ability. The main discovery of this research is as follows: 1. Mandarin language textbooks of the 1st-9th grades curriculum included four items: attitude and interest, basic exercise, writing exercise, and sharing experiences. 2. The teaching guide in every version textbook show the situation of the writing ability indicator, two following points are found: (1)The appearance rate in the main category of the writing ability indicator is great different in teaching index of every version; “ F-1-1 training attitude and interest” or “ F-1-2 correct wording and phrasing, basic sentence exercise” are the most highest in every version. (2)The appearance rate in the sub-category of the writing ability indicator in teaching index, “ F-1-2 correct wording and phrasing, basic sentence exercise” is the highest in every sub-category; the appearance rate of “ F-1-3 knowing various kinds of literary style and writing exercise”, “ F-1-4 practice every kinds of expression ways”, “F-1-5 distinguishing the mistake”, “ F-1-6 realizing the writing steps”, “F-1-7 knowing and using the punctuation mark” are not high in sub-category. 3. Every version textbook is aimed at the main and sub category of the writing ability indicator to offer the situation of teachers teaching methods. Two following points are found: (1)The appearance rate of teachers’ teaching method offered by the main category of every version aimed at the writing ability indicator, the rate of “ F-1-2 correct wording and phrasing, basic sentence exercise” is the highest, except “ F-1-5 distinguishing the mistake and “ F-1-7 knowing and using the punctuation mark”, the appearance rate of the other main category are higher than the appearance rate that is selected. (2)The appearance rate of teachers’ teaching method offered by the sub-category of every version aimed at the writing ability indicator, if cooperating with content speaking, content studying, type studying or the composition activity are designed, the appearance rate is high, or the appearance rate is low. 4. Every version textbook is aimed at the main and sub category of the writing ability indicator to offer the situation of students exercise materials. Two following points are found: (1)The appearance rate of students exercise materials offered by the main category of every version aimed at the writing ability indicator, the rate of “ F-1-2 correct wording and phrasing, basic sentence exercise” is the highest; the rate of “ F-1-5 distinguishing the mistake and “ F-1-7 knowing and using the punctuation mark” are the lowest. (2)The appearance rate of students exercise materials offered by the sub-category of every version aimed at the writing ability indicator, the rate in the sub-category of “ F-1-1 training attitude and interest”, “ F-1-2 correct wording and phrasing, basic sentence exercise” and “ F-1-8 distinguishing and appreciating rhetoric skill” are much higher; the rate in the sub-category of “ F-1-3 knowing various kinds of literary style and writing exercise”, “ F-1-4 practice every kinds of expression ways”, “F-1-5 distinguishing the mistake”, “ F-1-6 realizing the writing steps” and “F-1-7 knowing and using the punctuation mark” etc. are much lower. Final, according to the result of this research, we give suggestions to editorial group of textbooks, individual version, teachers and future study.

The importance of China as world power has led to a growing interest in and demand for learning Mandarin as a Foreign Language (MFL) worldwide. This study focuses on a comparative study of the provision of MFL in higher education in China and in South Africa. A conceptual framework was provided by examining theories of language policy planning and second language or foreign language acquisition as well as an overview of MFL provision in Chinese and South African higher education. MFL policy in China is characterised as a diffusion policy driven by economic globalisation, „soft power‟ and culture, and supported by legislation, funding and implementation. In South Africa, no specific policy underlies MFL, although motivation for MFL provision is given through strategic economic relations between South Africa and China. Against this background, a mixed-method inquiry conducted in two phases examined MFL at three purposefully selected universities in China and at the four university providers in South Africa. Phase One investigated lecturer perceptions of MFL tuition using a researcher-designed questionnaire; Phase Two explored student experiences of MFL using semi-structured interviews with purposefully selected MFL students in both countries. Findings indicated similarities in lecturer profile and differences in lecturers' perceptions regarding institutional support for MFL, particularly in institutions offering degrees in MFL, the MFL classroom environment and the curriculum. Student participants identified differences in studying MFL abroad in China and at home in South Africa in terms of class scheduling, peer and tutor support, student enrolments and design of educational programmes. All language skills were acquired more rapidly in the immersion learning context in China than in the first language dominant South African context, especially communication skills. Similarities were demonstrated in the emotional dimension of learning a new language, the main needs of MFL students, the opportunity to use or speak Mandarin, motivation to study Mandarin, and the challenges characteristic of Mandarin as a language. Recommendations for improvement of practice were given in terms of immersion context creation, opportunity to learn support, Confucius Institute facilities and exchange programmes for study abroad, lecturer and tutor improvement, and the establishment of an incentive to learn mechanism in South Africa.
Educational Studies
D. Ed. (Comparative Education)

碩士
國立交通大學
電信工程研究所
86
In this thesis, a word-class bigram of Chinese is discussed for speech-to-text conversion . An algorithm is first proposed to partition all words of a large lexicon containing 111246 word entries into several hundreds of word classes. It considers many linguists features of word inchuding part-of-speech, prefix, suffix, and length to make words with same characteristics being clustered together. Then a word-class bigram model is constructed using a text-corpus containing 9 million wors.Performance of the proposed word-class bigram model was examined by simulation to combine it with a HMM-based base-syllable recognier for converting speech into text. The base-syllable accuracy rate of the HMM recognizer was 81%. A character accuracy rate of 57.7% was achieved for the baseline system. By further including all proper nouns and some information rules for compound words, the accuracy rate raised to 64.4%.