Digital Commons Network^™

Principled Construction Of Elicited Imitation Tests, Deryle W. Lonsdale, Carl Chritensen, Ross Hendrickson

Faculty Publications

In this paper we discuss the methodology behind the construction of elicited imitation (EI) test items. First we examine varying uses for EI tests in research and in testing overall oral proficiency. We also mention criticisms of previous test items. Then we identify the factors that contribute to the difficulty of an EI item as shown in previous studies. Based on this discussion, we describe a way of automating the creation of test items in order to better evaluate language learners’ oral proficiency while improving item naturalness. We present a new item construction tool and the process that it implements …

Epicene Pronoun Use In Modern American English, Robin Montgomery Watson

Theses and Dissertations

Traditional prescriptive grammar for English states that the epicene or gender neutral pronoun for third person singular use is he. Research into speaker perceptions has clearly demonstrated that he is not perceived as neutral. Research has also shown traditionally proscribed epicene pronouns such as he or she and singular they to be commonly used, despite the long-standing proscriptions against them. The author examines the endurance of such proscribed options through the lens of markedness theory, considering the impact of cultural values on speakers' epicene pronoun choices. Gender in language is also considered, as well as Kuryłowicz‘s 4th Law of …

The Relationship Of Three L2 Learning Factors With Pronunciation Proficiency: Language Aptitude, Strategy Use, And Learning Context, Naomi Ofeina Haslam

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to determine whether language aptitude and the use of language strategies predict pronunciation gains in second language (L2) acquisition. A second goal was to determine whether these factors differed depending on whether learning occurred in an English as a second language (ESL) or English as a foreign language (EFL) learning context. Eighty-six ESL students in the United States and one hundred EFL students in China were asked to take the Pimsleur language aptitude test. The top 15 or 16 and lowest 15 or 16 scorers on this test from each group were asked to …

Essential 500 Wordlist For The Foundations Program At The Brigham Young University's English Language Center, Inho Jung

Theses and Dissertations

In order to help ESL students in the Foundations Program at BYU's ELC, I have developed a 500-word list of essential English vocabulary. This list attempts to reach one of the goals of the institute's curriculum, which is to develop systematic, integrated vocabulary instruction. Published literature reveals that studying with a list in conjunction with explicit instruction can enhance L2 vocabulary learning when the instruction is systematically integrated with other skills and activities. The literature also shows the importance of learning the most frequent and essential words first, which can be found in the General Service List and the Academic …

Instructional Readers: Teaching Content Through Vocabulary, Rachel E. Wood

Theses and Dissertations

This project resulted in the creation of a prototype for a new book series entitled Instructional Readers that will be linguistically engineered to assist English-language learners in acquiring academic and content-based vocabulary in the sciences. The development of the prototype represented a process of trial and error, with decisions firmly grounded in extensive research concerning linguistic features that assist vocabulary growth while reading. The end result, the prototype entitled Cellular Transport, reflects the author's best attempt to combine these features. The project write-up details the steps used in writing the prototype to aid in the creation of similar instructional …

The Effect Of Language Aptitude And Strategy Use On Esl And Efl Learners' Pronunciation Proficiency, Naomi Ofeina Haslam

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to determine whether language aptitude and the use of language strategies predict pronunciation gains in second language (L2) acquisition. A second goal was to determine whether these factors differed depending on whether learning occurred in an English as a second language (ESL) or English as a foreign language (EFL) learning context. Eighty-six ESL students in the United States and one hundred EFL students in China were asked to take the Pimsleur language aptitude test. The top 15 or 16 and lowest 15 or 16 scorers on this test from each group were asked to …

Androcentrism In Modern American English: Reforming "The Oppressor’S Language", Kelsey Lee '10

Honor Scholar Theses

No abstract provided.

A Longitudinal Study Of Language And Ideology In Congress, Bei Yu, Daniel Diermeier

School of Information Studies - Faculty Scholarship

This paper presents an analysis of the legislative speech records from the 101st-108th U.S. Congresses using machine learning and natural language processing methods. We use word vectors to represent the speeches in both the Senate and the House, and then use text categorization methods to classify the speakers by their ideological positions. The classification accuracy indicates the level of distinction between the liberal and the conservative ideologies. Our experiment results demonstrate an increasing partisanship in the Congress between 1989 and 2006. Ideology classifiers trained on the House speeches can predict the Senators' ideological positions well (House-to-Senate prediction), however the Senate-to-House …

Event Segmentation And Memory Retrieval In Reading Comprehension, Charles Baker Brenner

Linguistics Honors Projects

Comprehending text involves the convergence of top-down, expectation-driven processes and bottom-up, stimulus-driven processes. The precise nature of this convergence, however, is not well understood. The current study used narrative time shifts and shifts in protagonist goal, both hypothesized to encourage event-segmented memory representations, to investigate the interaction between automatic and constructive memory processes during reading. The addition of time and goal shifts was found to have no effect on the automatic retrieval of information from memory. The results are interpreted as support for the bottom-up account of retrieval of information during reading, and for the idea that the top-down account …

Investigating Gricean Maxims In Conversations Among Malaysian Women., Lee Pei Ling

Student Works (2010-2019)

In this investigation into the conversations of Malaysian women friends, H.P. Grice’s conversational maxims are analyzed in terms of fulfillment and non-fulfillment. Included are the theoretical aspects and findings of both foreign and local researchers who have done studies pertaining to all female conversations (Coates, 1996; Hafizah Ahamad, 2004) and Grice’s maxims (Rundquist, 1992; Kulasingam, 2004; Brumark, 2006). Data is drawn from audio-tape recordings of different groups of women friends, transcribed and instances of fulfillment and non-fulfillment were singled out in the analysis process. To strengthen the validity of the findings, the recordings were triangulated with onsite observations, field notes, …

The Effectiveness Of Content-Based Instruction In Literature-Based Esl Reading Classes., Uma Rani A Rethina Velu

Student Works (2010-2019)

This study investigates the effectiveness of CBI in Literature-based ESL Reading Classes in an urban Primary School in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. The researcher used quantitative method to collect the data, which were analysed using SPSS (Statistical Packages for Social Sciences), version 16. Sixty students were the subjects for this study. The data for this study was gathered via three questionnaires and 3 tests. Findings revealed that the students, who had medium and low proficiency levels in English, had a positive attitude towards the use of CBI in the teaching and learning process in the reading classes. The CBI approach was …

Pembelajaran Bahasa Arab Melalui Aktiviti Lakonan Di Kalangan Pelajar Sekolah Menengah., Azani Ismail

Student Works (2010-2019)

This dissertation aims at investigating the role of role play in assisting Malay student to learn Arabic Language. The respondents of this study comprise the form four student of SMKA KL. This study focuses on the role play activity during the teaching and learning session of Arabic Language as well as the student communication skill. The objective of this study is to identify the student perception toward role play activity in learning Arabic in order to enhance the Arabic proficiency among them in four aspects namely, vocabulary, phonetics, sentence structure and communication strategies. Morever, this study also examines the level …

Sistem Fonetik Dan Fonologi Bahasa Melayu Dan Bahasa Perancis : Satu Analisis Kontrastif Dan Analisis Kesilapan., Roshidah Hassan

Student Works (2010-2019)

This study was undertaken to investigate the similarities and differences of the Malay and French sound systems and to identify what are the problems faced by Malay students when pronouncing the French words. This research also aims to help teachers involved in the teaching of French in Malaysia to have better understanding of what and why Malay students have problems in producing the French sounds. The Contrastive Analysis was conducted based on the approach proposed by Robert Lado (1957). The phonetics and phonological systems of both languages are described systematically and then compared to see the similarities and differences …

Masalah Penterjemahan Kolokasi Bahasa Arab Ke Bahasa Melayu : Satu Kajian Teks Tafsir., Saifullah Kamalie

Student Works (2010-2019)

Collocation is a universal linguistic phenomenon and has been a common concern among linguists, lexicographers as well as language pedagogues and those involved in translation works. Arabic language has paid special attention to collocation usage, although in the early days it had not been recognized nor termed as collocation. Arabic collocations have existed in the Jahiliah poetry, or Islamic texts such as the Holy Qur’an as well as in language and literature books. This thesis characterizes collocations in the Arabic language, by classifying grammatical and semantic distributional patterns of collocations and investigates the problems of its translation into Malay language. …

Lexical Errors In The Written Compositions Of Thai Efl Students., Jehsuhana Suetae

Student Works (2010-2019)

This research examines the lexical errors in the written work of fifty forthyear students at Prince of Songkla University (PSU), Pattani campus, majoring in English from both the Faculty of Education and the Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences. The aim of this study is to investigate the types of lexical errors produced by Thai EFL students. This study also attempts to explain the possible causes of lexical errors in terms of interlingual and intralingual errors. Procedures for an error analysis study are adapted from Corder (1974). The lexical errors classified in this study are based on lexical classifications proposed …

Language Choice Of Bidayuh Graduates In Kuching-Samarahan Division., Norazuna Norahim

Student Works (2010-2019)

This dissertation describes the language choice patterns of Bidayuh graduates in an urban setting. It demonstrates the interaction between macro-sociological modifications with changes in language choice patterns of the Bidayuh community, an ethnic minority located in East Malaysia. The motivation for the study is driven by the need to ascertain the direction of the changing language choice patterns of its community members, and the extent to which it is threatening the position of the mother tongue. Despite having a population of approximately 170,000 speakers, the Bidayuh language displays characteristics of a “threatened” language. The proximity of the Bidayuh speech community …

Wacana Cerita Dalam Al-Qur'an : Satu Kajian Dalam Surah Al-Kahf., Ahmad Fikri Haji Husin

Student Works (2010-2019)

Surah al-Kahf is a distinctive surah that looks into the narrative discourse through retrospections of some of the most amazing tales that had ever happened in the history of human civilisation and customs. It has 110 verses comprising four main stories: The Story of Asha:b al-Kahf (Cave Dwellers), The Story of Sa:hib al- Jannatayn (Owner of Two Orchards), The Story of the Meeting of Prophet Musa (Moses) and Khidr, and The Story of Dhul-Qarnain. This surah also tells a few anecdotes on the sideline that consist of idioms and comparisons through short tales of arrogance and devil’s deceptions, the consequences …

Developing A Curriculum Evaluation Model For The English Language Center At Brigham Young University, Rie Teraoka

Theses and Dissertations

Evaluation is an important process in any language program curriculum to determine whether the program is meeting the needs of students, teachers and others who are involved in the program. The English Language Center (ELC) at Brigham Young University (BYU) is a unique institution that functions as 1) a language school for students from different backgrounds and with various purposes of learning English and 2) as a lab school for undergraduate and graduate students studying TESOL at BYU to have practical teaching experiences. Because of these two purposes, there are constant changes to the curriculum at the ELC. Evaluation is …

Measuring Variations Of Mimicry By Means Of Prosodic Cues In Task-Based Scenarios And Conversational Speech, Brian Vaughan, Celine De Looze

Other resources

Here, we address the measurement of mimicry, that is when speakers’ speech variations look like parallel patterns.

As a definition of mimicry, we often read in the literature description such as mimicry is “The situation where the observed behaviours of two inter-actants although dissimilar at the start of the interaction are moving towards behavioral matching”. These types of descriptions imply that mimicry is a linear phenomenon and that speakers tend to imitate over time. However, it can be assumed, especially when studying spontaneous speech, that there are rather phases of mimicry and non-mimicry and that mimicry should be rather …

The Foundations Prep Course For Low Proficiency Students At Brigham Young University's English Language Center, Jessica H. Mcgovern

Theses and Dissertations

At the beginning of each term, a handful of students who are linguistically unable to function in an English-speaking classroom appear at the doors of intensive English language programs across the globe. The English Language Center (ELC) at Brigham Young University (BYU) is no exception. In the recent past, five to twelve students have arrived each semester inadequately prepared for the lowest level class available. When placed in that level (Level One), these so-called "Level Zero" students have had trouble progressing and have also delayed the progress of the entire class. Without intervention, these students can continue to lag behind …

Speech And Gesture In Language Acquisition Studies, Gale Stam

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

A Study Of Refusal Strategies Used By Malaysian Teenagers., Phaveena Primsuwan

Student Works (2010-2019)

The aim of this study is to identify the refusal strategies used by Malaysian students when they make refusals. The data was taken from 80 respondents in one of the universities in Malaysia, where conversations between the researcher and the respondents based on a task that was set by the researcher were recorded. The spoken data was analyzed based on Beebe et. al’s refusal strategies (1990) which consist of direct and indirect refusals. Data was then transcribed using Jefferson’s(1978) transcription conventions. This study found that most of the respondents employed the direct refusal when they refuse. Most of them tend …

Tasybih Dalam Surah Al-Baqarah : Satu Analisis Balaghah., Faridah Omar

Student Works (2010-2019)

The aim of this research is to introduce one of the styles of al-Tasybih language ( style of comparative language ) in balaghah’s analysis . Tasybih is a form of Arabic rhetoric which lead to education, teaching and effective communication through the correct use by linguist. The style of al-Tasybih not only in the surface structure, but it contains the meaning of balaghah beautifully in sentences context to the listeners heart and mind. This research is based on fifteen sentences of tasybih from the chapter al-Baqarah that contain two hundred and eighty six sentences. These sentences are categorised based on …

Struktur Al-Idafat Dalam Al-Qur'an Al-Karim : Kajian Dalam Surah Al-An'am., Nofri Yeni Azwar Ahmad

Student Works (2010-2019)

This dissertation entitled “Struktur al-Idafat Dalam al-Qur’an al-Karim : Kajian Dalam Surah al-An‘am”. This dissertation is a study of structural analysis of annexation in al-Qur'an al-Karim, especially in surah al-An‘am. It is also a descriptive study to describe the forms of annexation structure in Arabic, al-Qur'an al-Karim and surah al-An‘am. The purpose of this study is to see the views of Arab Linguists about annexation structure, to see the difference between annexation structure in Arabic, al- Qur'an al- Karim, and surah al-An‘am, to know the forms of annexation structure in al-Qur'an al- Karim, especially in Surah al-An‘am and to know …

The Cognitive Processes Of Japanese As A Foreign Language Learners In Understanding Videos., Yoshida Masahiro

Student Works (2010-2019)

The aim of this study is to explore the differences between the thinking processes of proficient learners and less proficient learners of Japanese language while watching Japanese videos.  This study examines facilitating and distracting factors which impact the learners’ understanding of the video content. Data of think aloud protocols, verbal summaries and semi-structured interviews were collected from four proficient learners and four less proficient learners while watching two kinds of videos; i.e., a Japanese animation “Doraemon” and a Japanese drama “Nodame Cantabile”. Analyses of listening strategies revealed that both proficient and less proficient learners used a lot of visual elements …

Factors Which Influence The Learning Strategies Of Efl Learners., Persis Dineen Rodrigues

Student Works (2010-2019)

Research studies on language learning strategies have been carried out by researchers in their quest to locate factors that influence the proficiency of language learners. Language learning strategies are found to be one of the key factors that contribute to successful language learning. This paper presents the findings of factors that influence the choice of learning strategies of proficient and less proficient EFL learners in a four-week English Intensive Programme. A total of 30 participants took part in this study, and collection of data was carried out via the use of the SILL questionnaires and semi-structured interviews. The results indicate …

Perbandingan Pengujaran Kata-Kata Dua Subdialek Terengganu., Rusidah Abdul Wahab

Student Works (2010-2019)

This is a study on the variation at utterances of residents in Kampung Surau Panjang and Kampung Atas Tol in Mukim Pengadang Buluh, located in Daerah Kuala Terengganu, Terengganu, and effects of social interaction on the sound change of their utterances using comparative approach. It is found that final vowel phoneme /a/ in Terengganu dialect (or /au/ in Standard Malay) corresponds with /ɔ/ in Kampung Surau Panjang and /a/ in Kampung Atas Tol. The difference can be attributed to social interaction from the aspects of age, education and economic status of respondents. Sound shift was observed to be predominant in …

Distribusi Fungsional Verba Pada Konteks Plot Dalam Wacana Narasi Dongeng Bahasa Indonesia, Petrus Poerwadi

Bahasa dan Seni: Jurnal Bahasa, Sastra, Seni, dan Pengajarannya

Every type of verb has a specific distribution in the context of plot in the written Indonesian tale narrative discourse (WNDBI). That specific distribution im- plies specific verb functions and meanings in the context of plot in WNDBI. There are three types of verbs dominant in the use of verbs in the WNDBI, namely materi- al-process verbs, relational-process verbs, and mental-process verbs. Types of claus- es, internal pattern of clauses embedded by certain types of verbs, and characteristics of participants have effects on the functions and meanings of the clauses in WNDBI. The written Indonesian tale narrative discourse possesses a …

Eksistensi Varietas Bahasa Inggris Dan Bahasa Inggris Standar, Flora Deborah Floris

Bahasa dan Seni: Jurnal Bahasa, Sastra, Seni, dan Pengajarannya

English is not only used by people from ENL (English as a Native Lan- guage) countries to communicate with people from ESL (English as a Second Lan- guage) and EFL (English as a Foreign Language) countries or vice versa, but it even functions as a lingua franca among non-native speakers. As a result, English varie- ties or Englishes emerged. This paper proposes an argument that the coexistence of both standard and varieties of English is equally important.

Tindak Ilokusi Komisif Bahasa Indonesia Dalam Interaksi Keluarga, Alif Mudiono

Bahasa dan Seni: Jurnal Bahasa, Sastra, Seni, dan Pengajarannya

This research was aimed at describing as well as explaining certain types of Indonesian illocutionary acts, usages, and their impacts on family interactions. Communicative and pragmatic designs were used in the research. The results of the research indicate that Indonesian commissive illocutionary acts in family interactions include promises as well as bargain actions, and these actions can develop through various powers. They are implicated by the usage of the following principles: politeness, cooperation and values developing in the family. The principles are also influenced by the socio-cultural dimensions.