Dissertations / Theses on the topic 'Theories of language acquisition'
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Juffs, Alan. "Learnability and the lexikon : theories and second language acquisition research /." Amsterdam ; Philadelphia (Pa.) : J. Benjamins, 1996. http://catalogue.bnf.fr/ark:/12148/cb37522729r.
Full textAguilar, Ramírez Mariana. "Using Second Language Acquisition Theories to select technology tools for the Language Classroom." Thesis, Universidad de las Américas Puebla, 2011. http://catarina.udlap.mx/u_dl_a/tales/documentos/lio/aguilar_r_m/.
Full text(cont.) That technology should not be used just because it is a trend and that computers and technology do not constitute a teaching method, they are simply a medium to reach a goal.
Muroya, Akiko. "Testing theories of second language acquisition : evidence from Japanese learners' English." Thesis, University of Essex, 2015. http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.701637.
Full textGroff, Keith. "Perception and context : language acquisition grounded on activity theories of Lev Vygotsky /." The Ohio State University, 1985. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1248710173.
Full textPark, Hyeson. "Child second language acquisition and grammatical theories: The Minimalist Program and optimality theory." Diss., The University of Arizona, 2000. http://hdl.handle.net/10150/252897.
Full textStoller, Nicholas D. "A Linguistic Perspective on the Acquisition of German as an L2." Miami University Honors Theses / OhioLINK, 2006. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=muhonors1146416653.
Full textPolat, Mustafa. "Emerging Technologies in Language Pedagogy: Language Learners' Perceptions through the Lenses of Innovation Diffusion and User Intention Theories." Diss., The University of Arizona, 2016. http://hdl.handle.net/10150/612413.
Full textDemailly, Tulldahl Karine. "A Study and Analysis of Errors in the Written Production of Swedish Adolescent Learners of English : Comparing the Evolution of a Class at Two Different Points in Time." Thesis, Linköping University, Department of Educational Science (IUV), 2005. http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:liu:diva-3367.
Full textThe subject of this essay is a comparison of essays written by the same learners at two different points in time - i.e. while they were in the first and in the third grades of the Swedish secondary school. The essay includes a presentation of the raw data that have been used. The theoretical background is a general survey of some of the abundant literature relating to Second Language Acquisition and Error Analysis, and a large part of it deals with interlanguage theories. The analytical part of the work presents the results of the study, including a grammatical classification of the totality of the errors encountered as well as a presentation of the results for the whole of each class and for each individual learner. Finally, some of the theories are related to the results of the analysis and some conclusions are drawn. A part of the work consisted in the gathering of essays written by learners (exclusively with Swedish as their mother tongue) of the same class in a real school context, first to make a quantitative study of their errors, and second to make a comparison between their essays written at two different points in time. The aim was to find out if there had been an evolution, and to what extent the evolution had taken place. The hypothesis formulated at the beginning of this essay is that learners, in general, should make fewer errors after two years have passed. The results are that errors concerning Verbs (especially Concord), as well as miscellaneous spelling errors, were the most frequent ones, and this is true for both grades. As the total number of errors is lower for the third grade than for the first, and since the learners' production is larger in the third grade than in the first, the hypothesis can be considered to be true, though a larger study should be conducted to see if a general pattern can be found.
Basson, Magdalene. "Die ontwikkeling van ‘n geletterdheidsintervensieprogram ter bevordering van woordeskat en leesbegrip by Xhosa-moedertaalsprekers in graad 4-6 Afrikaansmediumklasse." Thesis, Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University, 2013. http://hdl.handle.net/10019.1/79797.
Full textENGLISH ABSTRACT: The increasing number of isiXhosa learners in Afrikaans medium schools gave rise to this investigation. According to our Constitution, all citizens have the right to receive education in one of the official languages. Some isiXhosa parents exercise their democratic right by enrolling their children in English- or Afrikaans-medium schools. They are of the opinion that the level of education is of a higher standard in these schools. Consequently, some isiXhosa learners in Afrikaans-medium schools develop barriers to learning due to the fact that they have little or no knowledge of Afrikaans. The purpose of this study was to develop a literacy intervention programme to improve the vocabulary and reading comprehension of isiXhosa mother tongue speakers in grade 4 to 6 Afrikaans-medium classes. Secondly, the aim of the study was to determine whether the literacy intervention programme would lead to the improvement of the Afrikaans vocabulary and reading comprehension of isiXhosa learners in grade 4 to 6 Afrikaans-medium classes. The research was conducted in a previously disenfranchised Afrikaans-medium school in Stellenbosch. The research methods employed comprised a literature review supported by an empirical investigation that included pre- and post-tests with learners, interviews with educators and the development and implementation of a literacy intervention programme. A mixed method research design was used, because quantitative data alone would have supplied inadequate answers to the research question. The theoretical basis of the study was Piaget’s theory of cognitive development, as well as Vygotsky’s social constructivist language acquisition theory. Both Piaget and Vygotsky emphasised the importance of social interactions in cognitive development. They regarded the development and use of vocabulary as an integral part of these interactions. Research indicates that the field of second language acquisition is multifaceted and is not supported by a singular theory. Three theories of second language acquisition were explored in this study. They are the communicative approach, shared reading and the schema theory. The role that the language-in-education policy, motivation and social economic status play in second language acquisition was also investigated. Another goal of the literature review was to collect data to develop a literacy intervention programme in which the above-mentioned theories of second language acquisition were utilised. The marsh at the school served as the context for the activities in the programme. Twenty isiXhosa mother tongue speakers in grade 4 to 6 Afrikaans-medium classes were subjected to an intervention programme over a period of six months to determine the success of the intervention programme. Data gathering included quantitative data (pre- and post-tests) as well as qualitative data (interviews with Afrikaans educators) to determine whether the learners’ vocabulary and reading comprehension had improved. The results of the study indicate that the implementation of the literacy intervention programme can lead to the improvement of the Afrikaans vocabulary and reading comprehension of isiXhosa mother tongue speakers in grade 4 tot 6 Afrikaans-medium classes. This is substantiated by previous research. The results also support findings that the Afrikaans vocabulary and reading comprehension of isiXhosa learners in the Afrikaans-medium intervention school can improve if the appropriate intervention is offered timeously.
AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Hierdie ondersoek is onderneem weens die toenemende getal Xhosa-moedertaalsprekers in Afrikaansmediumskole. Volgens die Grondwet het elkeen die reg om onderrig in enige van die amptelike tale te ontvang. Sommige Xhosasprekende ouers oefen hierdie reg uit deur hulle kinders in Afrikaansmediumskole te plaas. Hulle is van mening dat onderrig van 'n hoёr gehalte daar plaasvind. Gevolglik is daar 'n toename van leerders wat struikelblokke tot leer ondervind, omdat hulle min of geen begrip van Afrikaans het nie. Eerstens, is die fokus van hierdie studie die ontwikkeling van 'n geletterdheidsintervensieprogram om die Afrikaanse woordeskat en leesbegrip van graad 4 tot 6 Xhosa-moedertaalsprekers in 'n Afrikaansmediumskool te bevorder. Ten tweede is dit om te bepaal of die geletterdheidsintervensieprogram 'n verbetering in die woordeskat en leesbegrip van graad 4 tot 6 Xhosa-moedertaalsprekers tot gevolg gehad het. 'n Voorheen benadeelde Afrikaansmediumskool in die Stellenbosch-omgewing is deur die navorser gekies vir die implementering van die geletterdheidsintervensieprogram. Hierdie projek het 'n literatuurstudie ondersteun deur 'n empiriese ondersoek wat voor- en natoetse met leerders, onderhoude met onderwysers en die ontwerp en toepassing van 'n geletterdheidsintervensieprogram ingesluit het, behels. Daar is van 'n gemengde navorsingsontwerp gebruik gemaak, omdat die gebruik van slegs kwantitatiewe data onvoldoende antwoorde op die navorsingsvraag sou verskaf. 'n Literatuurondersoek is gedoen om 'n teoretiese grondslag vir die studie te verkry. Piaget se teorie van kognitiewe ontwikkeling en Vygotsky se sosiaal-konstruktivistiese taalverwerwingsteorie is gebruik om die verwerwing van 'n tweede taal te beskryf. Beide Piaget en Vygotsky het die belangrikheid van sosiale interaksies in kognitiewe ontwikkeling beklemtoon. Hulle het die ontwikkeling en gebruik van woordeskat as 'n integrale deel van hierdie interaksies beskou. Die studie dui daarop dat die aard van tweedetaalverwerwing kompleks is en nie deur 'n enkele teorie ondersteun kan word nie. Drie verskillende benaderings tot tweedetaalverwerwing, naamlik die kommunikatiewe benadering, gedeelde lees en die skema-teorie, is ondersoek. Die rol wat die taal-in-onderwysbeleid (TiOB), motivering en sosio-ekonomiese status in tweedetaalverwerwing speel, is ook ondersoek. 'n Verdere doel van die literatuurondersoek was om inligting te versamel om 'n geletterdheidsintervensieprogram te ontwerp waarin bogenoemde benaderings tot tweedetaalverwerwing gebruik is. Die vleiland by die skool het die konteks geskep waarbinne die onderskeie aktiwiteite beplan is. Die geletterdheids-intervensieprogram is vir ses maande in 'n klas met 20 graad 4 tot 6 Xhosa-moedertaalsprekers toegepas om die sukses daarvan te bepaal. Datagenerering het bestaan uit kwantitatiewe data (voor- en natoetse) asook kwalitatiewe data (onderhoude met die opvoeders wat Afrikaans onderrig) om vas te stel of die leerders se woordeskat en leesbegrip verbeter het al dan nie. Die resultate van hierdie studie toon dat die toepassing van die geletterdheidsintervensieprogram tot die verbetering van die Xhosa-moedertaalsprekers in graad 4 tot 6 Afrikaansmediumklasse se Afrikaanse woordeskat en leesbegrip kan lei. Dit stem ooreen met bevindinge van vorige navorsing, naamlik dat die verbetering van leerders se woordeskat tot die verbetering van leesbegrip lei. Verder ondersteun die resultate die bevindinge dat Xhosa-moedertaalsprekers in die Afrikaansmedium intervensieskool se Afrikaanse woordeskat en leesbegrip kan verbeter, mits hulle die nodige, gepaste ondersteuning betyds ontvang.
Aravena, Ruiz Erick, Quezada Daniela Bascuñán, Cáceres Hugo Briones, Pino Katherine Jara, Sierra Denisse Lillo, Morales Gabriel Morales, Novoa Bárbara Muñoz, and López Evelyn Yumha. "Second language acquisition theories: their application in Ministry of Educaction's Curriculum and their expected impact on teacher training programs from three chilean universities." Tesis, Universidad de Chile, 2015. http://repositorio.uchile.cl/handle/2250/130555.
Full textSecond Language Acquisition (SLA) and Language Planning and Policy (LPP) play a fundamental role in the design of public policies concerning the teaching of a second language. Thus, the present study focuses on the analysis of SLA theories in the teaching of the English language in the country, as well as their implementation in the curriculum proposed by the Ministry of Education and the curricula from three selected teaching programs created by the following institutions: Universidad de Chile, Universidad Metropolitana de Ciencias de la Educación and Universidad de Santiago de Chile. The gap this investigation aims at filling is the current limited research in education and, particularly, regarding the teaching of the subject. The major findings indicate a lack of an explicit theory proposed by any of the aforementioned institutions, except by the program from Departamento de Estudios Pedagógicos of Universidad de Chile. The implications concerning these results are mainly related to the proposition of improving the policies that are functioning today in order to have a more homogeneous approach to the teaching of English in Chile.
Britz, Lize. "Suggestopaedie als alternative Methode in der aktuellen Diskussion zu Fremdsprachenmethoden : Theorie und Praxis im sudafrikanischen DaF-Kontext." Thesis, Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University, 2013. http://hdl.handle.net/10019.1/85772.
Full textENGLISH ABSTRACT: The following thesis aims to contribute to the field of teaching German as a foreign language. It investigates the evolutionary history of Suggestopaedia, an alternative teaching method which originated during the late 1970s. The Bulgarian psychiatrist, Dr. Georgi Lozanov, discovered that relaxation and a stress-free environment promote both accelerated learning and memory retention. Further research proves that the combined elements and techniques of this method play a significant role to positively manipulate brain activity as well as individual perceptions, which could eventually result in the development of the personality. The author of this study analyses both the contributions and shortcomings of Suggestopaedia, reporting from personal experience gathered while teaching at a university in South Africa, and subsequently suggests an altered version of the suggestopaedic teaching ways. Various foreign language teaching methodologies are examined and evaluated while the main focus remains on Suggestopaedia and its principle of holistic learning. By exploiting the eclectic aspects of the suggestopaedic teaching method, this thesis investigates to what extent selected elements of different conventional methods can be integrated into Suggestopaedic teaching. Thereby the author ultimately proposes a holistic, enriched and modernized variant of Lozanovs Suggestopaedia for the teaching of German at schools in South Africa, by demonstrating practical examples executed at a private school.
AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Hierdie tesis poog om ʼn bydrae te lewer tot die gebied in die onderrig van Duits as ʼn vreemdetaal. Dit ondersoek die evolusionêre geskiedenis van Suggestopedie wat as „n onderrigmetode in die laat 1970‟s ontstaan het. Die Bulgaarse psigiater, dr. Georgi Lozanov, het bevind dat „n ontspanne en stresvrye omgewing beide versnelde leer en geheue retensie bevorder. Verdere navorsing toon dat die gekombineerde elemente en tegnieke van hierdie metode „n betekenisvolle rol speel om brein-aktiwiteit positief te manipuleer en individuele persepsies positief te beïnvloed, wat ten slotte ʼn persoonlikheidsontwikkeling tot gevolg kan hê. Die skrywer van hierdie studie analiseer sowel die bydrae asook die tekortkominge van Suggestopedie aan die hand van persoonlike ervaring wat versamel is tydens onderrig aan „n Suid-Afrikaanse universiteit. Hieruit word dan „n gewysigde weergawe van suggestopediese onderrig voorgestel. Verskeie vreemdetaal-onderrigmetodes word ondersoek en geassesseer, terwyl die fokus steeds op Suggestopedie en die beginsel van holistiese leer bly. Deur gebruik te maak van die eklektiese aspek van die suggestopediese leermetode, ondersoek die skrywer tot watter mate geselekteerde elemente van verskillende konvensionele metodes geintegreer kan word met Suggestopedie. Met bogenoemde navorsing inaggeneem, stel die skrywer gevolglik „n holistiese, verrykte en gemoderniseerde weergawe van Lozanov se Suggestopedie voor, aan die hand van praktiese voorbeelde wat by „n privaatskool toegepas is.
Kotze, Yolanda. "Developing a framework for the writing of ESP study guides / Yolanda Kotze." Thesis, North-West University, 2007. http://hdl.handle.net/10394/1699.
Full textThesis (Ph.D. (English))--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2007.
Lesné, Susanna. "Does working in asymmetrical pairs in class lead to better results than working individually? : A study of an 8th grade English class in Sweden." Thesis, Högskolan i Halmstad, Sektionen för humaniora (HUM), 2011. http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:hh:diva-15866.
Full textPrigent, Gaïd. "Développement morphosyntaxique complexe : comprendre et évaluer les acquisitions syntaxiques tardives, chez l’enfant tout-venant et chez l’enfant présentant des troubles sévères d’acquisition du langage." Thesis, Paris 10, 2016. http://www.theses.fr/2016PA100001/document.
Full textThe Construction and Usage-based Theory (CUT) argues that children develop their language, and more precisely morphosyntactic structures, thanks to the use of general cognitive processes by complexifying and generalizing their own prior productions and productions used in the input. These hypotheses have been tested in children with specific language impairment (SLI) in very few studies. Moreover, development of complex syntax is a little studied area in the literature. Thus, the current doctoral thesis focused on complex syntax difficulties of children with SLI using spontaneous language samples and experimental tasks. This work defines complexity as linguistics forms which are rare, long or nested and more generally cognitively costly. The results obtained show that children with SLI use frequent forms heard in the input productively, whereas complex forms, which are rare in the input are difficult for them. These children need to be exposed to more exemplars and practice settings to reach critical mass and making possible learning of constructions. Finally, this current doctoral thesis highlights a relatively obvious link between complex syntax difficulties and lack of generalization of construction schemas
Claire, Anita. "Language acquisition." Thesis, Loughborough University, 2002. https://dspace.lboro.ac.uk/2134/34018.
Full textDe, Marcken Carl Gustave. "Unsupervised language acquisition." Thesis, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 1996. http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/10640.
Full textIncludes bibliographical references (p. 125-133).
by Carl G. de Marcken.
Ph.D.
MELLO, BIANCA NOVAES DE. "LACAN S THEORIES OF LANGUAGE." PONTIFÍCIA UNIVERSIDADE CATÓLICA DO RIO DE JANEIRO, 2010. http://www.maxwell.vrac.puc-rio.br/Busca_etds.php?strSecao=resultado&nrSeq=35560@1.
Full textCONSELHO NACIONAL DE DESENVOLVIMENTO CIENTÍFICO E TECNOLÓGICO
A tese tem como tema a ênfase dada por Lacan à linguagem na experiência psicanalítica, em diferentes momentos de seu ensino. A partir da oposição entre modelos de linguagem que reduzem seu objeto às leis internas ao sistema da língua, e modelos que abarcam a posição dos falantes e o contexto discursivo, buscamos verificar qual concepção de linguagem Lacan usa quando teoriza sobre a linguagem na experiência analítica. A fim de demarcar a especificidade do campo psicanalítico, cotejamos a noção de linguagem em Lacan com o modelo estruturalista e com a filosofia pragmática da linguagem.
This thesis has as its theme the emphasis given by Lacan to the language in the psychoanalytic experience, during different moments of his teaching. From the opposition between language models that reduce their object to the internal laws of the language system and models that embrace the position of the speakers and the discursive context, we seek to determine which is the conception of language Lacan uses when theorizing on language in the psychoanalytic experience. In order to demarcate the specificity of the psychoanalytic field, we compare the notion of language in Lacan with the structuralist model and the pragmatic philosophy of language.
Evers, Hendrik Willem Adriaan. "Subjectivist theories of normative language." Thesis, University of Oxford, 2011. http://ora.ox.ac.uk/objects/uuid:44df12c0-01ed-4675-9b79-0dabc15cd84a.
Full textReshetniak, Maryna Valeriivna, Марина Валеріївна Решетняк, and Марина Валерьевна Решетняк. "A Foreign Language Acquisition." Thesis, Publishing house Education and Science, 2010. http://essuir.sumdu.edu.ua/handle/123456789/50985.
Full textСтаття розкриває історично сформовані підходи до вивчення іноземних мов, а також надає додаткову інформацію щодо нового дослідження, яке може внести революційні зміни до вивчення будь-якої мови. Основні методи навчання іноземним мовам, що будуть проаналізовані в даній статті, наступні: метод граматичного перекладу, аудіально-лінгвістичний метод, комунікативний метод, прямий метод та послідовний (серійний) метод. І сучасне дослідження доктора філософії з Нової Зеландії оглянуто нижче.
Статья раскрывает исторически сформировавшиеся подходы к изучению иностранных языков, а также предоставляет дополнительную информацию про новое исследование, которое может революционно перевернуть изучение языков. Основные методы преподавания иностранных языков, которые будут проанализированы в данной статье, следующие: метод грамматического перевода, аудиально-лингвистический метод, коммуникативный метод, прямой метод и последовательный (серийный) метод. И современное исследование доктора философии из Новой Зеландии рассмотрено ниже.
Estigarribia, Bruno. "Asking questions language variation and language acquisition /." May be available electronically:, 2007. http://proquest.umi.com/login?COPT=REJTPTU1MTUmSU5UPTAmVkVSPTI=&clientId=12498.
Full textChoi, Myong Hee. "The acquisition of wh-in-situ constructions in second language acquisition." Connect to Electronic Thesis (CONTENTdm), 2009. http://worldcat.org/oclc/450899150/viewonline.
Full textPrévost, Philippe. "Truncation in second language acquisition." Thesis, National Library of Canada = Bibliothèque nationale du Canada, 1997. http://www.collectionscanada.ca/obj/s4/f2/dsk2/ftp03/NQ44557.pdf.
Full textGreene-Havas, Maia. "Acquisition of social language register." Connect to resource, 2008. http://hdl.handle.net/1811/32184.
Full textPrévost, Philippe 1966. "Truncation in second language acquisition." Thesis, McGill University, 1997. http://digitool.Library.McGill.CA:80/R/?func=dbin-jump-full&object_id=34766.
Full textPredictions based on the Truncation Hypothesis were tested against longitudinal spontaneous production data from child and adult L2 learners. There were two child and two adult learners of L2 French (whose L1s were English and Arabic) and two child two adult learners of L2 German (native speakers of Romance pro-drop languages). The findings suggest that the distribution of finite and nonfinite verbs is structurally determined in L2 child grammar, i.e. tenseless verbs only appear when VP is the root, while finite verbs are found when functional categories are projected. This in turn means that children project truncated structures in early L2 acquisition. I argue that no other theory of the nature of early L2 grammars is able to account for the full range of properties of the child L2 data.
The adult data are less conclusive concerning the possibility of truncation in adult L2 grammars. In particular, the learners seem to use infinitival markers as substitutes for finite inflections, which means that nonfinite verbs are found in contexts which are not predicted by the Truncation Hypothesis. The difference between the child and adult learners is attributed to problems that adults may have in mapping the syntactic and morphological systems (Lardiere, 1996), and not to a discrepancy in syntactic knowledge.
Pate, John Kenton. "Predictability effects in language acquisition." Thesis, University of Edinburgh, 2013. http://hdl.handle.net/1842/8235.
Full textWaegner, Nicholas Paul. "Stochastic models for language acquisition." Thesis, University of Cambridge, 1993. http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.309214.
Full textRandall, Janet H. "Morphological structure and language acquisition." New York : Garland, 1985. http://catalog.hathitrust.org/api/volumes/oclc/12237695.html.
Full textLacerda, Adriana Campbell Santos de. "Teenagers'motivation in second language acquisition." reponame:Repositório Institucional da UFSC, 2012. http://repositorio.ufsc.br/xmlui/handle/123456789/95741.
Full textMade available in DSpace on 2012-10-26T05:30:55Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 298672.pdf: 494099 bytes, checksum: e9d2e3ac265a053f38d186d6a33488e1 (MD5)
Considerando que a motivação é um fator de grande importância no processo de aquisição de uma segunda língua/língua estrangeira por gerar interesse em iniciar a aprendizagem da mesma e também por mantê-la durante todo o processo (Dornyei, 2005), o objetivo da pesquisa aqui proposta foi investigar a motivação dos alunos adolescentes em relação às suas aulas de Inglês e verificar a opinião dos seus professores em relação à motivação dos mesmos e seus comportamentos em sala de aula. A pesquisa foi realizada com duas coordenadoras, quatro professoras de Inglês e duzentos e trinta e sete alunos, de uma escola pública e de uma escola particular de Joinville, Santa Catarina, Brasil. O estudo procurou oferecer uma visão geral de alguns aspectos teóricos da motivação que são relevantes no processo de aquisição de uma segunda língua para os adolescentes, buscando discutir a relação existente entre o processo de aquisição de uma segunda língua, a adolescência e o impacto desta relação em tal aprendizado, considerando as diferenças individuais e os fatores afetivos, principalmente a motivação. O método utilizado na pesquisa consistiu de entrevistas semi-estruturadas, feitas com as coordenadoras e professoras, e de questionários, aplicados aos alunos. Os resultados sugerem que há uma dissonância entre o pensamento da maioria dos professores de Inglês, que acreditam que seus alunos normalmente se mostram desmotivados durante as suas aulas, e o que foi relatado pelos alunos. A análise dos dados também indica que o meio sócio-econômico e cultural dos alunos pode influenciar a motivação dos mesmos, uma vez que os alunos da escola particular, os de classe média, mostraram ter uma motivação extrínseca em relação ao aprendizado da língua inglesa, enquanto os da escola pública, os menos privilegiados, demonstraram ter uma motivação intrínseca. Tais resultados corroboram a hipótese de Dornyei (2001b) de que a motivação para aprender uma segunda língua é uma situação complexa, já que a aprendizagem de uma língua não é somente uma atividade educacional, mas também envolve questões sociais e culturais.
Considering that motivation is of great importance in the process of acquiring a second/foreign language, whereas it is responsible for providing the primary interest in initiating L2 learning and also for maintaining it throughout the process (Dornyei, 2005), the aim of the research here proposed was to investigate the teenagers# motivation towards their EFL classes and their teachers# opinions about their motivation and overall behavior in class. The research was carried out with two coordinators, four English teachers and two hundred and thirty-seven students from a public and a private school in Joinville, Santa Catarina, Brazil. The study attempted to provide an overview of some theoretical aspects of motivation that seem to be particularly relevant in the adolescent learners# process of learning a foreign language, discussing the relation between SLA, the adolescence and its impact in the SLA process, considering individual differences and affective factors, especially motivation. The method used in the research consisted of semi-structured interviews with the coordinators and teachers, and questionnaires administered to the students. The results suggest that there is a mismatch between the teachers# thoughts about adolescent students# motivation and the way they really feel in their EFL classes. Although English teachers, in general, usually believe that teenagers seem not to be motivated, the data collected showed that most of the participants of this study like their English classes and feel motivated towards them. The study also indicates that the socio-economic and cultural milieu of the students may influence their overall motivation, since the students from the private school, so the middle-class ones, showed extrinsic motivation for learning English, while the ones from the public school, the less privileged ones, showed intrinsic motivation. These findings corroborate Dornyei#s (2001b) assumption that motivation to learn a language is a complex situation, as language learning is not only an educational activity, but also involves social and cultural issues.
Slabakova, Roumyana. "Zero acquisition : second language acquisition of the parameter of aspect." Thesis, National Library of Canada = Bibliothèque nationale du Canada, 1997. http://www.collectionscanada.ca/obj/s4/f2/dsk2/ftp02/NQ44589.pdf.
Full textChan, Mei-lan, and 陳美蘭. "Notions of language dominance, language preference and language choicein the study of bilingual first language acquisition (BFLA)." Thesis, The University of Hong Kong (Pokfulam, Hong Kong), 2010. http://hub.hku.hk/bib/B45163893.
Full textVon, Klopp Ana. "Negation : implications for theories of natural language." Thesis, University of Edinburgh, 1993. http://hdl.handle.net/1842/20266.
Full textBrown, Cynthia A. 1967. "Acquisition of segmental structure : consequences for speech perception and second language acquisition." Thesis, McGill University, 1997. http://digitool.Library.McGill.CA:80/R/?func=dbin-jump-full&object_id=34704.
Full textThree related areas of research are explored and integrated in this work: first, a theoretical study explores the feature-geometric representation of sonorant and non-sonorant laterals, based on their behavior in a variety of phonological processes cross-linguistically, and suggests that [lateral] is not a phonological feature, but rather that laterality is a phonetic property that derives from a specific feature-geometric representation; second, an experimental study investigates the acquisition of phonemic contrasts by English children and demonstrates that segmental representations are acquired in a uniform order that is consistent with properties of Feature Geometry; finally, a series of experimental studies examines the perception and acquisition of the English /l-r/, /b-v/, /p-f/, /f-v/ and /s-theta/ contrasts by native speakers of Japanese, Mandarin Chinese and Korean.
The findings from each of these studies are synthesized to obtain a comprehensive picture of how segmental representations are acquired and how this L1 knowledge impinges on the acquisition of L2 phonemes: it is argued that the monotonic acquisition of feature-geometric structure by young children restricts their sensitivity to particular non-native contrasts, and the continued operation of this existing feature geometry in adult speech perception constrains which non-native contrasts adult learners will be sensitive to in the L2 input and, therefore, capable of acquiring; the circumstances in which the native grammar facilitates perception of non-native contrasts and in which acquisition is possible are also discussed.
Snyder, William Brandon. "Language acquisition and language variation : the role of morphology." Thesis, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 1995. http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/11130.
Full textSwanson, Kimberly Anne Bankart. "Acquisition versus suppression of phonological processes in the second language acquisition of French and English." [Bloomington, Ind.] : Indiana University, 2007. http://gateway.proquest.com/openurl?url_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info:ofi/fmt:kev:mtx:dissertation&res_dat=xri:pqdiss&rft_dat=xri:pqdiss:3243793.
Full textTitle from PDF t.p. (viewed Nov. 17, 2008). Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 67-12, Section: A, page: 4529. Advisers: Daniel A. Dinnsen; Albert Valdman.
Manly, Susan. "Authorized language : theories of language and questions of authority (1786-1851)." Thesis, University of Oxford, 1995. http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.307353.
Full textMatsumoto-Sturt, Yoko. "Second language acquisition of Japanese orthography." Thesis, University of Edinburgh, 2004. http://hdl.handle.net/1842/24918.
Full textButtery, P. J. "Computational models for first language acquisition." Thesis, University of Cambridge, 2006. http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.597195.
Full text張少能 and Siu-nang Bruce Cheung. "A theory of automatic language acquisition." Thesis, The University of Hong Kong (Pokfulam, Hong Kong), 1994. http://hub.hku.hk/bib/B31233521.
Full textSchuwerk, Timothy Andrew. "MORPHEME ACQUISITION IN SECOND LANGUAGE LEARNERS." Master's thesis, University of Central Florida, 2004. http://digital.library.ucf.edu/cdm/ref/collection/ETD/id/4451.
Full textM.A.
Department of Foreign Languages and Literatures
Arts and Sciences
Foreign Languages and Literatures
Clark, Alexander Simon. "Unsupervised language acquisition : theory and practice." Thesis, University of Sussex, 2001. http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.394288.
Full textGoodman, Julie Marianne. "Acquisition and transfer of language function." Thesis, University of Southampton, 1990. http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.293183.
Full textVilkaitė, Laura. "Formulaic language : distribution, processing, and acquisition." Thesis, University of Nottingham, 2016. http://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/35442/.
Full textMedina, Erica. "Individual Differences in Second Language Acquisition." Thesis, The American University of Paris (France), 2019. http://pqdtopen.proquest.com/#viewpdf?dispub=13871585.
Full textSecond language acquisition can be defined as the process in which language learning occurs through the formal study of rules, patterns, and conventions which enable one to talk about and consciously or unconsciously apply the knowledge gained. Individual differences, along with linguistic input, play a key part in the process of second language acquisition. Studies such as the VILLA Project focus on the exposure conditions and the content of the input leading to initial contact in the process of second language acquisition. Participants’ individual differences in the categories of motivation and individual learning style for Francophone students served as the control variables, and the form-based versus meaning-based input as the experimental variable. In comparison to their German and Dutch counterparts, neither the Francophone meaning nor form based groups presented any significant results based on these specific individual differences in their acquisition of Polish in the word formation tasks. Further study should be conducted on other individual differences and their role in the acquisition process.
Ionin, Tania. "Article semantics in second language acquisition." Thesis, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 2003. http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/7963.
Full textIncludes bibliographical references (p. 311-318).
This thesis examines article choice and parameter-setting in second language (L2) acquisition. It argues, on the basis of L2-English elicitation and production data, that L2- learners have access to UG-based semantic distinctions governing article choice, but do not know which distinction is appropriate for English. A Fluctuation Hypothesis (FH) is proposed, according to which L2-learners fluctuate between different parameter settings until the input leads them to set the parameter to the target value. The thesis proposes that articles cross-linguistically may encode definiteness or specificity. The definition of specificity that is adopted is based on Fodor and Sag's (1982) view of specificity as speaker intent to refer. The behavior of referential this, a specificity marker in colloquial English, is examined, and it is proposed that the definition of specificity incorporates the concept of noteworthy property. An Article Choice Parameter is next proposed, which governs whether articles in a given language are distinguished on the basis of definiteness or on the basis of specificity. While English has the Definiteness setting of this parameter, it is suggested, on the basis of data from Mosel and Hovdhaugen (1992), that Samoan has the Specificity setting. It is hypothesized, in accordance with the FH, that L2-learners fluctuate between the two settings of the Article Choice Parameter. This hypothesis leads to the prediction that L2- English errors of article use should come in two types: overuse of the with specific indefinites and overuse of a with non-specific definites. These predictions are examined in a series of studies with adult speakers of Russian and Korean, two languages with no
(cont.) articles. The empirical data confirm the predictions, and show that L2-English article choice is not random but reflects access to the two settings of the Article Choice Parameter. The same patterns of results are found for L-Russian and L-Korean speakers, and it is shown that the results are not attributable to LI-transfer. On the basis of these findings, it is concluded that L2-learners have direct UG-access to semantic distinctions underlying article choice. The data also provide evidence for the existence of a specificity distinction which cross-cuts the definiteness distinction.
bu Tania Ruth Ionin.
Ph.D.
Lei, Tao Ph D. Massachusetts Institute of Technology. "Domain knowledge acquisition via language grounding." Thesis, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 2013. http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/82412.
Full textCataloged from PDF version of thesis.
Includes bibliographical references (p. 54-60).
This thesis addresses the language grounding problem at the level of word relation extraction. We propose methods to acquire knowledge represented in the form of relations and utilize them in two domain applications, high-level planning in a complex virtual world and input parser generation from input format specifications. In the first application, we propose a reinforcement learning framework to jointly learn to predict precondition relations from text and to perform high-level planning guided by those relations. When applied to a complex virtual world and text describing that world, our relation extraction technique performs on par with a supervised baseline, and we show that a high-level planner utilizing these extracted relations significantly outperforms a strong, text unaware baseline. In the second application, we use a sampling framework to predict relation trees and to generate input parser code from those trees. Our results show that our approach outperforms a state-of-the-art semantic parser on a dataset of input format specifications from the ACM International Collegiate Programming Contest, which were written in English for humans with no intention of providing support for automated processing.
by Tao Lei.
S.M.
Jordan, Geoffrey. "Theory construction in second language acquisition." Thesis, University College London (University of London), 2004. http://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/10020474/.
Full textCheung, Siu-nang Bruce. "A theory of automatic language acquisition /." [Hong Kong] : University of Hong Kong, 1994. http://sunzi.lib.hku.hk/hkuto/record.jsp?B13671601.
Full textMeek, Barbra Allyn. "Kaska language socialization, acquisition and shift." Diss., The University of Arizona, 2001. http://hdl.handle.net/10150/290390.
Full textGuillory, Helen E. (Helen Elizabeth). "Computer Applications to Second Language Acquisition." Thesis, University of North Texas, 1991. https://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc504628/.
Full textBarber, Alexander. "Tacit-knowledge of linguistic theories." Thesis, McGill University, 1996. http://digitool.Library.McGill.CA:80/R/?func=dbin-jump-full&object_id=41974.
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