Linguistics Commons^™

Review Of "Methods Of Language Teaching", By Blair Bateman And Baldomero Lago, Lara Ducate

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Developing A Teachers' Handbook For Content-Based Instruction At Brigham Young University's English Language Center, Melinda Clement Hardman

Theses and Dissertations

In Winter semester of 2005 the English Language Center (ELC) began plans to implement a content-based program for students at its highest proficiency level in order to provide them with more effective preparation for academic studies in English. Since that time, the program has undergone various changes to provide a more stable, cohesive, and responsive curriculum. There is a need, however, for greater teacher support and training. This paper outlines the process I underwent to create a handbook that would provide needed guidance and training for teachers in this program. This project involved an in-depth needs analysis of teachers and …

Validation Of The Reading Level Achievement Test Of The English Language Center, Marina Vasilyevina Mikhaylova

Theses and Dissertations

This study investigated the validity of the Reading Level Achievement Test of the English Language Center (ELC) of Brigham Young University. Test validation is a complicated process that involves evaluation of various types of validity. It was beyond the scope of this study to investigate different types of validity of the Reading LAT. The present study was only focused on the exam's construct validity. In an effort to validate the LAT, various models of reading comprehension were examined with the purpose of defining the construct of academic reading comprehension. The TOEFL academic reading framework was chosen to be the construct …

Story 2 (Part 2), George Tucker Childs

Mani, a Disappearing Language of Sierra Leone and Guinea

Text of a performance of a Mani folk tale by a group of children in Moribaya.

Story 1 (Part 2), George Tucker Childs

Mani, a Disappearing Language of Sierra Leone and Guinea

The is the second of two parts of a Mani folk tale.

10 Key Principles For Designing Video Games For Foreign Language Learning, Ravi Purushotma, Steven L. Thorne, Julian Wheatley

World Languages and Literatures Faculty Publications and Presentations

This paper was produced for the Open Language & Learning Games Project, Massachusetts Institute of Technology Education Arcade.

Dit’S Dynamic Speech Corpus, Dermot Campbell, Ciaran Mcdonnell, Marty Meinardi, Charles Pritchard, Bunny Richardson, Yi Wang

Conference papers

Given the current focus of language learning on learner autonomy, the Technological University Dublin is using its FLUENT project (commencement date 7/1/’08) to produce a Dynamic Speech Corpus, which will be a valuable resource for learners, teachers, authors and researchers. The resultant database will afford access to a unique audio resource based on unscripted dialogues between friends, characterized by industry-standard audio quality (for analysis purposes) and a high degree of naturalness. By means of search string and/or tags such as speaker intention, users will be able to find samples of native-to-native speech (various L1 varieties) on a chosen topic, particularly …

Die Taal Is Gans Die Volk? Building A Common Afrikaans-Language Identity And Community In Post-Apartheid South Africa, Susan Demartino

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

The following paper examines some of the ways in which Afrikaans-speakers have begun to renegotiate Afrikaans-speaking identity and community in reaction to a perceived decline in Afrikaans in post-apartheid democratic South Africa. It also examines the values of re-negotiating Afrikaans for a multilingual South Africa.

The data was obtained through interviews with four Afrikaans-speaking South Africans who connect with the language both as a mother-tongue speaker and as players in renegotiating its role through empowerment efforts, blogging, and creating positive language policy and programming.

I have concluded that the renegotiation of Afrikaans involves depoliticizing and consciously separating Afrikaans from ideologies …

Finding Cost-Effective Methods For Language Access Services Administration At New York City Children's Services, Kerry Cook

MPA Capstone Projects 2006 - 2015

New York City Children's Services (CS) serves an increasing populations of persons with limited English language proficiency (LEP). Federal and local laws mandate that these persons are provided with meaningful language access services. This analysis attempts to find the most cost-effective strategy for CS' Division of Child Protection (DCP) to provide interpretation services to LEP persons involved in DCP cases of child abuse and neglect. The study first identifies alternative strategies for providing these services, and then qualifies the cost of the current methods and alternative methods. A framework of transaction cost economic theory guides the cost analysis process. Next, …

Place Names In Israeli Sign Language, Bettina Revilla

Theses and Dissertations

One of the obstacles in translating the Hebrew Scriptures into sign language is the lack of signs for Biblical places in most sign languages of the world. What solutions are there? One possibility is to borrow existing signs for Biblical places from another sign language, particularly from Israeli Sign Language, since Israeli Deaf already have signs for the places where they live.

There is a trend towards borrowing foreign place name signs (toponyms), especially when a language does not have a sign. This research provides a corpus of Israeli Sign Language (ISL) toponyms for ninety-two place names, documenting in photos …

The Electrophysiological Manifestation Of Dutch Verb Second Violations, Dirk B. Den Ouden, Roelien Bastiaanse

Communication Sciences and Disorders Faculty Articles and Research

We investigated the processing of violations of the verb position in Dutch, in a group of healthy subjects, by measuring event-related potentials (ERPs) through electroencephalography (EEG). In Dutch, the base position of the verb is clause final, but in matrix clauses, the finite verb is in second position, a construction known as Verb Second. In embedded clauses, the finite verb remains in its clause-final base position. The results show that ungrammatical placement of finite verbs in second position in embedded clauses yields a P600 response, which suggests that the parser treats this type of violation as a clear syntactic …

Collaborative Writing In Wikis: Insights From Culture Projects In Intermediate German Classes, Nike Arnold, Lara Ducate, Claudia Kost

Applied Linguistics Faculty Publications and Presentations

This presentation reports the findings of a study designed to investigate the collaborative writing and revision processes of foreign language learners in a wiki environment. Specifically, it is based on a comparison of two wiki projects in intermediate German classes in which small groups of students used wikis to collaborate on a project based on cultural and historical topics related to a novel. The archived versions of the wiki were analyzed for the amount, type, and quality of revisions. In addition, an end-of-semester survey was administered to assess learner attitudes towards the project and perceptions of the writing process.

External Possession Meets Bare Nouns In Malagasy, Ileana Paul

French Studies Publications

This paper examines apparent noun incorporation in Malagasy that is the result of external possession (possessor raising). It is shown that such incorporation is not derived via head movement or via compounding. Instead, it is argued that this is an instance of pseudo noun incorporation (Massam, 2001): the possessum is merged as an NP sister to the predicate. As for the structure of external possession, a non-movement analysis is proposed: the apparent possessor is generated as the specifier of a null possessive head and binds an empty argument position within the possessum. The resulting structure and meaning are shown to …

Sluicing And Multiple Wh-Fronting., Lydia Grebenyova

Linguistics

This paper explores multiple wh-fronting under Sluicing. Contrary to previous proposals that an interrogative +wh complementizer licenses TP-ellipsis, I propose that +focus feature licenses this ellipsis operation. Assuming the deletion analysis of sluicing, following Ross (1969), I argue for focus-licensed sluicing based on data from Slavic languages like Russian and Polish, where it is possible to have focused R-expressions as remnants of sluicing. I demonstrate how semantic restrictions in multiple interrogatives are maintained under sluicing, presenting a new argument for the clausal structure of the sluice. Finally, I explore Superiority effects under sluicing, deriving those from parallelism in variable binding.

The Relationship Between Language Teaching And Mayan Language Conservation In Guatemala., Rusty Barrett

Linguistics Presentations

Although the Kaqchikel program was the model and inspiration for the K’iche’ program, the two programs differ in a number of ways because of differences in the sociolinguistic contexts in which they operate:

• Approaches to pedagogy and dialectal variation
• Integration with local communities
• Relationship to language documentation

Deaf And Hard Of Hearing Homeschoolers: Sociocultural Motivation And Approach, Elizabeth S. Parks

Work Papers of the Summer Institute of Linguistics, University of North Dakota Session

Research on the education of deaf and hard of hearing students has largely ignored homeschooling as an option that parents are choosing, yet thousands of parents across America are pulling their children from more traditional school placements to educate their children at home. This is a pilot study of 21 parents, investigating through questionnaires their backgrounds, motivations for homeschooling, methods of constructing their school environment, communication preferences, and the socialization that occurs for their children. Results show that while homeschooler demographics and approaches vary, there are similarities among their motivations and approaches to providing their children with socialization and interaction …

Issues In Sign Language Translation, With Special Reference To Bible Translation, Mark Penner

Work Papers of the Summer Institute of Linguistics, University of North Dakota Session

Sign Language (SL) translation is a field of growing interest to major groups involved in translation, but many SL translation projects are encountering difficulties. In examining these, I argue that the Deaf community occupies a unique sociolinguistic context as it relates to translation, and that this makes Deaf ownership of translation projects and training of Deaf people a high priority. I then look at three other salient issues in SL translation: personnel, exegesis, and the question of signing style, offering tentative solutions. In addition, I suggest that projects might benefit from: 1) engaging in discourse studies early in the SL …

Do The Talysh And Tat Languages Have A Future In Azerbaijan?, John M. Clifton

Work Papers of the Summer Institute of Linguistics, University of North Dakota Session

Tat and Talysh are two less-widely-used Iranian languages indigenous to Azerbaijan. Sociolinguistic research revealed that both languages are being displaced in some communities but coexist with Azerbaijani in others. Factors contributing to these differences include isolation, ethnic diversity, and economic opportunity. One other factor contributing to displacement is a desire to see children excel in school. This could well be the most important factor breaking transmission from one generation to the next. In light of this, it is important to document the language and culture while they are vital.

The Neglect Of Listening Activities Among Egyptian Preparatory School Efl Teachers, Mohamed Eltawila

MA TESOL Collection

This thesis is divided into four chapters. Chapter one describes the reasons for this study, the learning environment in which this study was done--La Seifer Prep School which is the school in which I teach, the general aims for TEFL (teaching English as a foreign language) at Egyptian preparatory schools which is a foreign language context, the ten teachers of English who have been working or have worked at La Seifer Prep School who were interviewed for the study, and the textbooks used at the school and how they address listening. The second chapter is devoted to reviewing the literature …

Curriculum And Student Motivation, Jennifer Jones

MA TESOL Collection

This paper details the process and results of an experimental project-based curriculum for a college preparatory ESL course and its effects on student motivation. The course, designed to appeal to students’ desire for variety, community and self-expression, was divided into three modules, each with a different focus. Participants were international adults studying English at a private school in Austin, Texas. Results indicated that the course structure and content can play a large role in students’ motivation levels. Course documents are appended.

The Role Of Pragmatics In Second Language Teaching, Roberto Eduardo Echeverria Castillo

MA TESOL Collection

This research paper explores the application of pragmatics in second language teaching. It presents pragmatics as a discipline that may be taught and learned utilizing the experiential learning cycle. The paper explores challenging pragmatic experiences and how the cycle was used to overcome them. Additionally, it proposes a model to teach pragmatics, illustrated by a lesson based on an episode of a television show. Finally, the paper ends with my personal view of this project, and its applications on my learning of English and to my language teaching.

Imaginary Friends: Using Guided Imagery, Line Drawings And Webquests To Incorporate Culture Into The Foreign Language Curriculum, J.E. Buckingham

MA TESOL Collection

This paper examines the integration of authentic cultural experience into the foreign language curriculum through the use of guided imagery, line drawings, and a WebQuest designed to facilitate the creation of an imaginary friend living within a country where the target language is spoken. The student uses these techniques to vicariously communicate with and experience a proscribed facet of that imaginary friend’s life. Through the use of the guided imagery and web-based research, the student will breathe life into a black and white line drawing by coloring in an appropriate complexion and by giving the character a name which would …

The Language Of Consent In Police Encounters, Janice Nadler, J.D. Trout

Faculty Working Papers

In this chapter, we examine the nature of conversations in citizen-police encounters in which police seek to conduct a search based on the citizen's consent. We argue that when police officers ask a person if they can search, citizens often feel enormous pressure to say yes. But judges routinely ignore these pressures, choosing instead to spotlight the politeness and restraint of the officers' language and demeanor. Courts often analyze the language of police encounters as if the conversation has an obvious, context-free meaning. The pragmatic features of language influence behavior, but courts routinely ignore or deny this fact. Instead, current …

Research On Autonomous English-Learning Strategies Of American Culture And Language Students, Jing Xu

Theses Digitization Project

This study will serve as a guideline for adult second-language learners who want to strengthen the effectiveness of self-directed learning outcomes or develop their self-directed learning strategies. Through the understanding of learning factors, fossilized language elements, and their own learning strategies, learners will be more confident and motivated to pursue their personal second-language acquisition goals and aspirations. These strategies are designed to help Taiwanese second-language learners.

Satire's Club: Reality, Reason, And Knowledge In Joseph Andrews, Heather Anne Law Davis

Theses Digitization Project

Satire has been credited with possessing the power to deconstruct the distinctions we make between opposing concepts and thus lead us to reevaluate established views. Structuralist Ferdinand de Saussure claimed that language relies on sets of opposites, or binary pairs, to create meaning. Building on this idea, deconstructionist Jacques Derrida explored the hierarchies he believed were inherent in all binary pairs, arguing that on concept in each pair occupies a superior position in our consciousness.

United States Mainland Speakers' Use Of Hawaiian Creole English And Standard American English Across Social Situations, Nicole Kaylani Kanahele Stutz

Theses Digitization Project

This study will focus on Hawaiian Creole English and standard American English (HCE/SAE) speakers who grew up in Hawai'i and relocated to the mainland as adults, and how their use of HCE and SAE varies across different social situations. In Hawai'i much of the population speaks Hawaiian Creole English and Standard American English, speakers often code-switch between the two varieties. Fluency in HCE and SAE differs among speakers, and this fact has implications for communication in a preferred language variety in particular social situations.

Bilingual Lexical Disambiguation In Context: The Role Of Non-Selective Cross-Language Activation, Ana Schwartz, Li-Hao Yeh, Ana Areas Da Luz Fontes

Selected Works Temporary Series

The present study tested whether lexical disambiguation in sentence context is affected by cross-language lexical activation. In Experiment 1 Spanish-English bilinguals read English sentences biasing the subordinate meaning of homonyms that were either cognates or non-cognates. Participants’ ability to reject follow-up target words related to the dominant meaning showed greatest inhibition when the homonym was a cognate and the dominant meaning was shared with Spanish. In Experiment 2 a separate group of bilinguals read sentences biasing the dominant meaning of the homonyms and were instructed to accept target words related to any meaning of the homonym. In this case cognate …

Working Memory Influences On Cross-Language Activation During Bilingual Lexical Disambiguation, Ana Areas Da Luz Fontes, Ana Schwartz

Selected Works Temporary Series

This study investigated the role of verbal working memory on bilingual lexical disambiguation. Spanish-English bilinguals with low and high digit span read sentences in their second language ending in a cognate homonym (novel), noncognate homonym (fast), cognate (piano) or non-cognate (pencil). The dominant meanings of cognate homonyms were shared across languages while subordinate meanings were unique to the second language. Participants decided whether follow-up targets were related in meaning to the sentence. On critical trials sentences biased the subordinate meaning of the homonym and targets were related to the dominant meaning (novel – BOOK; fast – SPEED), forcing rejection of …

On A Different Plane: Cross-Language Effects On The Conceptual Representations Of Within-Language Homonyms, Ana Areas, Ana Schwartz

Selected Works Temporary Series

We examined whether bilinguals’ conceptual representation of homonyms in one language are influenced by meanings in the other. 117 Spanish-English bilinguals generated sentences for 62 English homonyms that were also cognates with Spanish and which shared at least one meaning with Spanish (e.g., plane/plano). Production probabilities for each meaning were calculated. A stepwise multiple regression revealed that whether a meaning was shared with Spanish or not accounted for a significant portion of the variance, even after entering production probabilities from published monolingual norms. (Twilley et al., 1994). Homonyms classified as highly polarized based on monolingual responses became less polarized if …

Luciano Bianciardi’S Aprire Il Fuoco: On The Function Of Literature In Society, Stefano Giannini

Languages, Literatures, and Linguistics - All Scholarship

This is the first article to assess the importance of Luciano Bianciardi’s last novel, Aprire il fuoco [Open Fire!](1969), a work often overlooked, that offers crucial insights into Bianciardi’s commitments to social causes. A so-called “irregular” of 20th-century Italian literary panorama, Luciano Bianciardi (1922-1971) in his Aprire il fuoco discusses his idea of literature as an activity that must aim at assuming the role of ethical guide in societies. In my article, I gloss the often obscure historical and literary references of the novel, and provide a critical assessment of its impact.