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Articles 1 - 14 of 14
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The Effect Of Computer-Based Pronunciation Readings On Esl Learners' Perception And Production Of Prosodic Features In A Short-Term Esp Course, Caitlin Jolley
The Effect Of Computer-Based Pronunciation Readings On Esl Learners' Perception And Production Of Prosodic Features In A Short-Term Esp Course, Caitlin Jolley
Theses and Dissertations
Recent studies on pronunciation teaching in ESL classrooms have found that the teaching of suprasegmentals, namely stress, pausing, and intonation, has a great effect on improving intelligibility (Derwing, Munro, & Wiebe, 1998; Kang, Rubin, & Pickering, 2010; Morley, 1991). The current project describes the development and implementation of computer-based pronunciation materials used for an English for Specific Purposes (ESP) program. The pronunciation program made use of cued pronunciation readings (CPRs) which used suprasegmentals and were developed for English as a second language (ESL) missionaries at the Provo, Utah, Missionary Training Center (MTC). Because there was no pronunciation program in place …
A Statistical Approach To Syllabic Alliteration In The Odyssean Aeneid, Cory S. Robinson
A Statistical Approach To Syllabic Alliteration In The Odyssean Aeneid, Cory S. Robinson
Theses and Dissertations
William Clarke (1976) and Nathan Greenberg (1980) offer an objective framework for the study of alliteration in Latin poetry. However, their definition of alliteration as word initial sound repetition in a verse is inconsistent with the syllabic nature both of the device itself and also of the metrical structure. The present study reconciles this disparity in the first half of the Aeneid by applying a similar method to syllable initial sound repetition. A chi-square test for goodness-of-fit reveals that the distributions of the voiceless obstruents [p], [t], [k], [k^w], [f], and [s] and the sonorants [m], [n], [l], and [r] …
The Effects Of Quantitative And Qualitative Feedback On Speaking Fluency Development, Carlos Eduardo Dos Santos
The Effects Of Quantitative And Qualitative Feedback On Speaking Fluency Development, Carlos Eduardo Dos Santos
Theses and Dissertations
This study examined the effect of two forms of feedback (qualitatitive and quantitative) on the development of the spoken fluency of English language learners. Sixty-five intermediate- high students from 22 countries and 11 native languages enrolled in an intensive English language program at the English Language Center, Brigham Young University in Provo, Utah, participated.Throughout the 11-week course, the treatment group (consisting of 33 participants) received feedback on a weekly basis during speaking assessment tasks. The first form of feedback consisted of a quantitative analysis of their spoken fluency. This analysis, performed by PRAAT acoustic analysis software, measured several key features: …
An Intonational Description Of Mayan Q'Eqchi', Karl Olaw Christian Wagner
An Intonational Description Of Mayan Q'Eqchi', Karl Olaw Christian Wagner
Theses and Dissertations
Q'eqchi' is one of many Mayan languages spoken in Guatemala, C.A. This study provides the first Tone Break and Indices (ToBI) transcription system (Silverman et al., 1992) labeling of Q'eqchi' within the Autosegmental-Metrical (AM) model of intonation (Liberman, 1975; Pierrehumbert, 1980; Ladd, 1996). As an exploratory study into the basic intonation patterns of the language, observations were made on a variety of phenomenon relating to the intonational structure and contour pattern of the language. Three native male speakers of Q'eqchi' each provided 75 spoken sentences designed to best observe the basic patterns of intonation in the language. Each spoken utterance …
How We Feel About How We Talk: A Language Attitude Survey Of Utah English, David Matthew Savage
How We Feel About How We Talk: A Language Attitude Survey Of Utah English, David Matthew Savage
Theses and Dissertations
Research has shown that Utah English is a distinct variety of English, particularly as spoken in the Wasatch front region (Lillie 1998). It is characterized by particular linguistic features, including tense/lax vowel mergers before tautosyllabic /l/ (Di Paolo and Farber 1990) and the oral release of glottal stops in certain environments (Eddington and Savage 2012). The features of this variety have been studied; however, not much research has been done about the positive or negative attitudes people hold toward it. Casual observation indicates that Utahans themselves may judge speakers of this variety more harshly than do people from other regions. …
Tesol Employment Ads In China And South Korea: Personal Characteristics, Knowledge, And Skills Identified In Full-Time Ads Posted For International Instructors, Jae-Song Lee
Theses and Dissertations
The purpose of this master's project was to investigate the types of personal characteristics, knowledge, and skills TESOL employers are seeking in foreign job candidates in today's biggest EFL job markets, specifically in China and South Korea. First, the literature review introduces the enormous development of the EFL job market in these two countries and some challenges these two countries faced in their attempt to hire foreign EFL teachers. A total of 303 job advertisements were gathered from two Internet sources (Dave's ESL Café and TESOL.org) that met all the established criteria for choosing a reliable data source during a …
Ontosoar: Using Language To Find Genealogy Facts, Peter Lindes
Ontosoar: Using Language To Find Genealogy Facts, Peter Lindes
Theses and Dissertations
There is a need to have an automated system that can read family history books or other historical texts and extract as many genealogy facts as possible from them. Embley and others have applied traditional information extraction techniques to this problem in a system called OntoES with a reasonable amount of success. In parallel much linguistic theory has been developed in the past decades, and Lonsdale and others have built computational embodiments of some of these theories using Soar. In this thesis we introduce a system called OntoSoar which combines the Link Grammar Parser using a grammar customized for family …
Dynamic Written Corrective Feedback: Achieving Manageability, Angela Shelley
Dynamic Written Corrective Feedback: Achieving Manageability, Angela Shelley
Theses and Dissertations
This thesis provides reflections on a practice of corrective feedback known as dynamic Written Corrective Feedback (dynamic WCF). First addressing 20 years of concerns regarding the highly-debated topic of feedback in second language (L2) writing and then outlining dynamic WCF as a pedagogical practice founded on four principles, the thesis finally introduces a recently developed handbook for instructors. This handbook presents the four foundational principles of dynamic WCF (timeliness, manageability, meaningfulness, and constancy) to first-time instructors and supports the implementation of dynamic WCF to optimize benefit and enhance manageability in written corrective feedback.
Lessons Learned: The Process Of Creating And Evaluating An Adult Literacy Curriculum For College Transition, Meredith Leigh Packard Gravett
Lessons Learned: The Process Of Creating And Evaluating An Adult Literacy Curriculum For College Transition, Meredith Leigh Packard Gravett
Theses and Dissertations
This thesis documents the process of developing and evaluating a curriculum written for adult literacy students transitioning from their current literacy goals to academic and occupational pursuits. The curriculum, titled the Basic College Skills Transition Curriculum (BCS Transition Curriculum), was written for students at Project Read, a non-profit adult literacy program located at the Provo Library in Provo, Utah. The model used to design this curriculum is a variation on the ADDIE model (analysis, design, development, implementation, and evaluation), including the reiterative steps of research and evaluation. The lesson plans and materials in the BCS Transition Curriculum include the topics …
Determining Dictionary And Usage Guide Agreement With Real-World Usage: A Diachronic Corpus Study Of American English, Amanda Kae Fronk
Determining Dictionary And Usage Guide Agreement With Real-World Usage: A Diachronic Corpus Study Of American English, Amanda Kae Fronk
Theses and Dissertations
Dictionaries and, to a lesser extent, usage guides provide writers, editors, and users of American English information on how to use the language appropriately. Dictionaries, in particular, hold authority over correct usage of words. However, historically, usage guides and dictionaries were created using the knowledge of a small group of people. Lexicographers like Noah Webster set out to prescribe a proper way of using American English. To make these judgments, they often relied on a combination of study and idiosyncratic intuitions. A similar process took place in creating usage guides. Though these manuals profess to explain how the language is …
Interpreting Standard Usage Empirically, Jacob F. Frandsen
Interpreting Standard Usage Empirically, Jacob F. Frandsen
Theses and Dissertations
Writers, editors, and everyday language users look to dictionaries, style guides, usage guides, and other published works to help inform their language decisions. They want to know what is Standard English and what is not. Commentators have been prescribing and proscribing certain usages for centuries; however, their advice has traditionally been based on the subjective opinions of the authors. Recent works have analyzed usage by relying wholly or partly on statistical and descriptive data rather than traditional opinion alone; however, no work has presented statistical usage data in a user-friendly and consistent format. This study presents a statistically based methodology …
Automatic Readability Detection For Modern Standard Arabic, Jonathan Neil Forsyth
Automatic Readability Detection For Modern Standard Arabic, Jonathan Neil Forsyth
Theses and Dissertations
Research for automatic readability prediction of text has increased in the last decade and has shown that various machine learning methods can effectively address this problem. Many researchers have applied machine learning to readability prediction for English, while Modern Standard Arabic (MSA) has received little attention. Here I describe a system which leverages machine learning to automatically predict the readability of MSA. I gathered a corpus comprising 179 documents that were annotated with the Interagency Language Roundtable (ILR) levels. Then, I extracted lexical and discourse features from each document. Finally, I applied the Tilburg Memory-Based Learning (TiMBL) machine learning system …
The Effect Of Age On Second Language Acquisition In Older Adults, Charisse Alaine Major
The Effect Of Age On Second Language Acquisition In Older Adults, Charisse Alaine Major
Theses and Dissertations
A primary purpose of second language (L2) research is to determine what factors hinder or help L2 acquisition. One aspect that has a strong effect on L2 proficiency is learners' age of onset of acquisition (AOA) (Johnson & Newport, 1989). These studies and others suggest that younger learners are more adept than older learners at learning an L2, especially to a near-native level. However, some older learners can become quite proficient in an L2 (Ioup, et al. 1994; Bialystok, 1997; Bongaerts, 1999), although learners who have acquired the L2 over the age of 30 are rarely studied. Why is it …
A Modified Approach To The Implementation Of Dynamic Written Corrective Feedback, Brooke Elizabeth Eddington
A Modified Approach To The Implementation Of Dynamic Written Corrective Feedback, Brooke Elizabeth Eddington
Theses and Dissertations
Grammatical accuracy in second language (L2) writing is one of the key issues that English as a Second Language (ESL) learners struggle with, both in intensive English language programs and continuing after their university matriculation. Numerous instructional methodologies exist that center around the concept of error correction—how can or should ESL instructors correct grammatical errors in L2 students' writing to best facilitate improvements in written linguistic accuracy? Error correction in L2 writing has been a controversial issue for over a decade (e.g., Ferris, 1999; Truscott, 1996), and in an effort to contribute to an understanding of this controversial topic, this …