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Applied Linguistics Commons

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Full-Text Articles in Applied Linguistics

The Comprehension Of Metaphor By Preschool Children: Implications For A Theory Of Lexicon, Barbara Pearson Jun 2012

The Comprehension Of Metaphor By Preschool Children: Implications For A Theory Of Lexicon, Barbara Pearson

Barbara Zurer Pearson

Comprehension of metaphor in preschoolers was studied through an elicited repetition task. Subjects were 52 children ages 3;0 to 5;2. Repetition performance on metaphors was compared to repetitions of semantically well-formed literal sentences as well as semantically anomalous sentences, all matched for length, vocabulary and sentence structure. Accuracy on literal and metaphoric stimuli were comparable and both were significantly better than performance on anomalous sentences. There were no effects for age or sex. It was shown that the metaphors were not semantically anomalous to the children and that they were processed on a par with literal language. The argument is …


Key Concepts For Theorizing Spanish As A Heritage Language, Andrew Lynch Dec 2011

Key Concepts For Theorizing Spanish As A Heritage Language, Andrew Lynch

Andrew Lynch

In this chapter, I provide a selective, critical overview of the principal theoretical concepts that have served to frame studies of Spanish as a heritage language in the United States since the 1970s. Among the concepts I consider are: diglossia, standard language, proficiency, register, agency, and generation.


Student Evaluations 2010-2011, Ewelina Barski Dec 2010

Student Evaluations 2010-2011, Ewelina Barski

Ewelina Barski, PhD

Student evaluations of "Intermediate Spanish".


The Opc: An Experimental Approach, Ewelina Barski Dec 2010

The Opc: An Experimental Approach, Ewelina Barski

Ewelina Barski, PhD

A variety of studies have documented the acquisition of the Overt Pronoun Constraint (OPC) (Montalbetti 1984) in second language speakers (Kanno 1997, Pérez-Leroux & Glass 1999, Rothman & Iverson 2007). This study is an experimental approach to the Overt Pronoun Constraint in native Spanish speakers. Much has been said about this constraint but very few data have been collected to corroborate the asymmetry between referential NPs and quantified antecedents. According to the Overt Pronoun Constraint (OPC) (Montalbetti, 1984) unlike the null pronoun, the overt pronoun can never refer back to a quantified expression (1) or a WH-word (2): The overt …


Teaching Award 2009-2010, Ewelina Barski Dec 2009

Teaching Award 2009-2010, Ewelina Barski

Ewelina Barski, PhD

Teaching Honour Roll Certificate


The Linguistic Similarities Of Spanish Heritage And Second Language Learners, Andrew Lynch Dec 2007

The Linguistic Similarities Of Spanish Heritage And Second Language Learners, Andrew Lynch

Andrew Lynch

This article addresses the situation of lower-proficiency heritage language learners of Spanish in terms of their linguistic similarities to second language learners. The analysis highlights grammatical and lexical features in the oral discourse of Spanish heritage and second language learners at intermediate and advanced levels of study, establishing common linguistic ground between the two groups. Given the similarities, the article emphasizes the current need for courses designed to accommodate lower-proficiency heritage learners, integrating principles and aspects of second language acquisition theory and pedagogy.