Applied Linguistics Commons^™

Learners' Difficulties In Group Work In An Esl Classroom, Aziah Ibrahim

Student Works (2000-2009)

Research on effective approaches to language teaching is an on-going process. This study looks at a learner active classroom where students are encouraged to work as members of a team, sharing a common round table. The Malaysian English Language Syllabus for Secondary Schools recommend the use of group work in the language class. Thus, there is a dire need for teachers to understand the problems and difficulties that learners may face whilst carrying out group activities or task and at the same time, to help these learners overcome such language obstacles in the processes of both teaching and learning the …

A Study Of The Composing Skills Among Learners In A Chinese School, Kam Mee Foo

Student Works (2000-2009)

Composition writing has always been an integral part of the English Language curriculum in all schools. However, after years of practice in writing composition, many of our students are still weak in their composing skills. This study looks into the problems of composition writing among learners in a Chinese school. The instruments used in this study were two sets of questionnaires and to supplement and verify data obtained from questionnaire, structured interviews were conducted and sample of students' marked compositions were collected. Data obtained was analyzed via triangulation. The main findings revealed that there is very little direct teaching of …

First Language Transfer Amongst Malay Students In National Primary Schools, Kien Cheng Yong

Student Works (2000-2009)

This study attempts to discover the influence of first language transfer on the production of written English. Since all the subjects are Malay students, their first language is likely Bahasa Melayu. Their second language is the English Language which is taught in their national primary schools. Besides that, this study also seeks to discover the types of errors involved in first language transfer, whether gender and the socioeconomic background of the subjects affect ESL learning. 194 Year 4 students from two national primary schools in Kajang, Selangor were involved in this study. They were given four sets of writing tasks …

An Analysis Of Verb Form Errors Of Chinese Esl Students, Yong Meng Kam

Student Works (2000-2009)

This study sets out to investigate the types of errors in the simple past and past progressive tenses found in the written English of 40 Form Four Chinese students of Sek. Men. Tanah Merah Site 'C', Negeri Sembilan. The errors are examined according to Corder's (1981) taxonomy of errors. In the essays, selection errors accounted for the highest percentage of simple past tense errors, followed by addition and then, omission errors. In the past progressive tense, the omission category has the highest occurrence of errors, followed by the selection category with no errors in the addition category. In the structured …

Building Bridges : The Use Of Semantic Mapping To Enhance Reading Comprehension In A Form 6 English Language Class, Harbans Kaur

Student Works (2000-2009)

This piece of action research study investigates if the use of semantic mapping enhances reading comprehension. The study was conducted in a Form 6 ESL class in Sckolah Menengah Kcbangsaan Taman S.E.A. The purpose of th is study was to probe into the effec ti veness of semantic mapping as a reading comprehension strategy. It aimed at making students aware that understanding each individual word in a text was not necessary to understand the whole text. In essence, this study highlights the effect of the use of semantic mapping as a strategy to activate prior knowledge and enable students to …

Satu Kajian Penguasaan Sebutan Bahasa Al-Quran Di Kalangan Pelajar-Pelajar Sekolah Menengah Kebangsaan Agama, Abdul Rahman Md. Hassan

Student Works (2000-2009)

Disertasi ini ditulis berasaskan kajian yang dilakukan di Sekolah Menengah Kebangsaan Agama Tok Jiring, Kuala Terengganu. Fokus utama kajian yang dibuat adalah kepada guru-guru yang mengajar AI-Quran dan Pelajar-Pelajar Tingkatan Tiga Tahun 1997. Bab pertama merupakan pengenalan yang menerangkan tentang permasalahan pelajar-pelajar membaca AI-Quran secara umum. Kemudian dinyatakan secara ringkas tentang kepcntingan analisis kesilapan, kepentingan kajian ini , ruang lingkup kajian, responden, batasan kajian metodologi dan tinjauan awal kajian lepas. Bab kedua membicarakan tentang cara membunyikan bahasa Al-Quran yang melibatkan makhraj huruf, sifat-sifatnya yang lazim dan yang tidak lazim, mad, qasr, waqaf dan ibtida. Bab ketiga diisi dengan data-data yang …

Investigating Learner Autonomy Through Strategy Training In The Esl Classroom, Gurnam Kaur Gurdial Singh

Student Works (2000-2009)

This study investigated the development of learner autonomy through strategy, training in the ESL classroom. Leamer autonomy refers to learners' ability to take responsibility for their own learning whi le strategy training refers to the explicit introduction of language learning strategies during lessons where learners are givens explanations as to when, how and why these strategies can be used to facilitate the learning process. The study examined both the implementation and the effects of 15 week Strategy Training Programme. The subjects of this study involved one Test trained teacher and an ESL class of 42 Form Four students in an …

Analisis Kesilapan Tatabahasa Dalam Penulisan Karangan Bahasa Melayu Pelajar Tingkatan Lima, Mohamad Abdul Rahman

Student Works (2000-2009)

This survey is mainly done for identifying the grammatical errors in Malay Language essay writing of form five students. It focuses on the wrong usage of three kinds of grammatical items; ; subject-verb-agreement, conjunction and pluralization. A total of 30 form five students from Guar Chempedak Secondary School participated in this survey. The data are analysed by using the descriptive statistic to find out the frequency and the percentage of the errors found in the essay. The finding indicates that a number of 279 grammatical errors (subject-verb agreement, conjunction and pluralization) are done by the students. The most significant error …

Analisis Kesilapan Penggunaan Kata Kerja Dalam Bahasa Portugis Di Kalangan Pelajar Universiti Malaya, Jamian Mohamad

Student Works (2000-2009)

Disertasi ini bertajuk "Analisis Kesilapan Penggunaan Kata Kerja Dalam Bahasa Portugis Di Kalangan Pelajar Universiti Malaya". Tumpuan utama penyelidik di dalam kajian ini ialah untuk melihat kesilapan penggunaan kata kerja dalam bahasa Portugis. Kata kerja dipilih kerana ia merupakan asas kepada pembentukan ayat atau sintaksis dalam bahasa Portugis. Masalah untuk menyesuaikan kata kerja berdasarkan gantinama dan kala sering dihadapi oleh pelajar-pelajar bahasa Portugis.

Pengajaran Ta'bir : Satu Kajian Kes Di Kolej Islam Sultan Alam Shah (Kisas), Normah Mohd Ariff

Student Works (2000-2009)

This dissertation on Arabic Language has been prepared focusing on problems faced by students in their oral practice . The writer has recognized that most students in schools and higher learning institution nowadays have difficulties in spoken Arabic. What is the reason? The writer has tried to identify the culprit through various methodologies , including survey on 120 respondents. With KISAS being the location, the survey was specifically focused on its students

Teaching Listening Comprehension Skills In An Intermediate Level English As A Foreign Language Classroom, Dwipa Janardhanan Pillai

Student Works (2000-2009)

This piece of action research was driven by the need to diagnose the problems that students of English as a Foreign Language face in developing better listening skills. As a teacher, I felt that it was essential to scaffold the learning experiences through various strategies so that a satisfactory level of development could be attained. This study therefore, probed the following questions : a) What are the problems EFL students encounter in comprehending audiotexts? b) Why do EFL students face difficulty in taking down notes or information from audio-texts? c) What are the effective teaching-learning strategies which will help students' …

An Investigation Of Subject-Verb Agreement Errors In The Interlanguage Of Esl Learners, Kok Tin Koh

Student Works (2000-2009)

This study seeks to investigate the subject-verb agreement errors in the interlanguage of ESL learners of a secondary school in Kuala Lumpur. Using a self-designed cloze test. a total of 2,454 errors (61.4%) was elicited and categorised into five main categories of singular/plural subject-verb agreement. From the errors and percentage of errors obtained, the most common error was identified and the cause of errors explained. The sub-categories in each main category of errors were compared to determine which area of the singular/plural subject-verb agreement posed more difficulty to the learners. The subject+ auxiliary does/do category accounted for the highest percentage …

Kecekapan Penggunaan Kamus Ekabahasa Dalam Meningkatkan Pengembangan Kosa Kata, Noraziah Ahmad Ghazali

Student Works (2000-2009)

A general survey of dictionary use would show that there is a tendency to agree that referring to the dictionary is a useful activity in enhancing and enriching one's vocabulary or word power, and that dictionary is a useful tool in language learning. However, the importance of introducing effective technique of dictionary use to students is neglected in the teaching and learning of language; as a matter of fact, it has been left to students to find their own way to acquire the skill. The dissertation seeks to examine how far an exposure to techniques of dictionary use can help …

An Evaluation Of The Reading Component Of Business English Courses : A Case Study, Tuck Chee Pong

Student Works (2000-2009)

The Business English Courses are compulsory for Business Students at Tunku Abdul Rahman (TAR) College. These courses are aimed at improving the reading, writing, speaking and listening skills of the students. This study is an evaluation of the reading component of the Business English Courses for Chartered Institute of Management Accounting (CIMA) students. The reading component emphasized the teaching of nine reading skills that were considered useful to reading. The study attempts to obtain information about the utilization of these reading skills and the benefits derived from utilizing them. In addition, it also seeks to get feedback from both the …

Communicative Events In Sales And Marketing In The Hotel Industry : A Case Study, Sharifah Bahyah Syed Ahmad

Student Works (2000-2009)

This research is a study of the communicative events surrounding the discourse community of the sales and marketing staff in the hotel industry. Focusing on the internal and external communication of one company which is responsible for the sales and marketing of a local chain of hotels, the research is in essence a reality check, a look at text and how it is used in authentic context. Using the ethnographic approach, the researcher has attempted to expose the nonns, values and culture behind the patterns of communication of that particular community through the analysis of its communicative actions. These nonns, …

Is It Lost Or Just Forgotten? The Use Of Age Regression In Recapturing A Second Language, Marlene J. Mowery

All-Inclusive List of Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This study addresses the question of whether a second language learned in early childhood and later forgotten is lost forever or is situationally unretrievable. The focus of this case study is the examination of hypnotic age regression as a means of retrieval and the use of posthypnotic suggestion in recapturing and maintaining a lost language. A multi-session single subject design was employed in this study. The participant was a nine-year-old American female who was exposed to Hungarian in a Budapest pre-school setting from age three years nine months to age four years seven months. The subject became as fluent as …

Computer Networks And The Teaching Of English As A Second Language: How Networks Affect Second Language Acquisition, Kirstin J. Reed-Perez

English Theses & Dissertations

No abstract provided.

Attitudes, Motivations And Expectations Of Students And Instructors In An Intensive University Esl Summer Session, Ronald Andrew Ragsdale

Dissertations and Theses

All international students have specific motivations and expectations when learning English as a Second Language (ESL) in the United States, and recognizing the diversity of those motivations and expectations is the first step toward providing successful second language instruction. This study was designed to elicit the attitudes, expectations and motivations of two unique groups of students studying in the same classes in an ESL summer session at Portland State University (PSU), the preconception of the instructors, and the impressions and evaluations of the program upon its completion by the students, instructors, coordinators and administrators.

A successful curriculum can only be …

Effects Of Participant Roles On Input Interactions And Comprehensible Output, Larry Douglas Morgan

Dissertations and Theses

The purpose of this thesis is to investigate what effect, if any, the social roles between second language learners and their conversational partners have on the types and frequencies of the following discourse categories: (a) input interactional modifications (b) corrections of language learners' linguistic errors by others and (c) language learners' production of comprehensible output. This study also seeks to corroborate previous research findings with regards to negotiation of meaning interactions and other-corrections of language learners' linguistic errors.

The Effects Of Captioned Videotapes On The Listening Comprehension Test Scores Of Esl Students, Yuan-Chyuan Andy Lin

Dissertations and Theses

This study was meant to provide some empirical evidence to confirm or disconfirm the assumption that the use of captioned videotapes will enhance the listening comprehension of second language students. This study compared the listening comprehension test results of intermediate English as a Second Language (ESL) students using videotapes with and without captions. Two episodes of an educational program were selected for the study. Students viewed one episode with captions and a second episode without captions. A total of sixty-four students participated in this study. Thirty-two students in Class 1 watched Video I with captions first and then watched Video …

An Investigation Of English Spelling Problems Of Arabic-Speaking Students, Deborah Georgette Keim

Dissertations and Theses

In this two-part study, English spelling errors of Arabic speaking students are investigated. Specifically, an empirical study is done to document and investigate exactly what kinds of English spelling errors Arabic-speaking students actually make. Then these data are analyzed and spelling error patterns are discovered. Next, a study is done to determine if the presence of spelling errors in written work has a significant negative effect on readers' evaluations of this writing.

Effects Of Setting On Japanese Esl Students' Interaction Patterns, Noriko Yamamoto

Dissertations and Theses

Japanese ESL students are often evaluated negatively by their teachers because of their quiet verbal behavior in the classroom; yet, this study suggests that such silence may be situation specific. The purpose of this study is to describe characteristics of eight Japanese ESL students' production and interaction by comparing with those of four non-Japanese students, across three settings: teacher-fronted, group work, and NS-NNS conversation.

Analysis Of English Articles Used By Japanese Students, Noriko Iwasaki

Dissertations and Theses

English articles are perhaps the most difficult grammatical items for Japanese students to master. However, because these are among the most frequently occurring grammatical items in English, Japanese students must concern themselves with them.

Patterns Of Rhetoric/Patterns Of Culture : A Look At The English Writing Of Japanese Students, Suzanne Raschke

Dissertations and Theses

That a link exists between language and culture has long been accepted; however, not only the extent, but also the exact nature of that link remains unclear. In recent years, rhetoricians have raised questions about how culture affects the patterns of organization and other rhetorical features of writing. At present, the search for answers to these questions is made difficult by the cultural bias imposed by the language of any analysis of writing that may be undertaken and by a lack of criteria that can be used in performing such an analysis.

Metaphoric Extension As A Basis For Vocabulary Teaching In English As A Second Language, Dennis L. Bergmann

Dissertations and Theses

This thesis addresses the problem of teaching and learning vocabulary in English as a Second Language (ESL), and proposes that a vocabulary based on the process of metaphoric extension could be taught directly. Despite the fact that an inadequate vocabulary is one of the main obstacles for intermediate-level ESL students, both ESL teachers and applied linguists have emphasized other aspects of English more than the study of vocabulary teaching and learning. Consequently, ESL students have few strategies for learning vocabulary other than reliance on the dictionary, and the predominant strategy for teachers is to present words rather unsystematically in the …

A Study Of The Perceptual Learning Style Preferences Of Japanese Students, Elizabeth Ann Hoffner

Dissertations and Theses

This study was based on a study by Joy Reid (1987) on the perceptual learning style preferences of English as a Second Language (ESL) students. The purpose of this study was to identify the perceptual learning style preferences of three groups of students: Japanese students studying in the US, Japanese students studying in Japan, and American students studying in the US. The perceptual styles studied were visual, auditory, kinesthetic, and tactile, with the additional styles of group and individual learning also being studied. The learning style preferences were identified so as to determine the relationship between style and the variables …

An Evaluation Of The Academic Success Of Students Who Participated In The English For Non-Native Residents Program At Portland State University, Linda Carol Andrews Dunn

Dissertations and Theses

Many programs exist across the United States to prepare non-native English speaking students for academic work. The effectiveness of these programs has been the subject of various research projects, with mixed results. Some have found that the programs they have examined seem to have led to higher achievement among participants. Others have found that it is difficult to show any effect. However, the amount of time and resources devoted to such programs warrants continuing efforts to evaluate their success.

This study compares the academic records of non-native English speaking students who were enrolled in the English for Non-native Residents Program …

Study Of Referential And Display Questions And Their Responses In Adult Esl Reading Classes, Susan Lindenmeyer

Dissertations and Theses

The technique of asking questions in the classroom has prevailed in first language classes for many years. This teaching technique has also been widely used in ESL reading classes. Though there has been extensive research about teachers' questions and students' responses in first language classrooms, there is a paucity of studies in second language classrooms.

This is a descriptive study of six experienced college level English as a Second Language (ESL) teachers and their discussions of the same reading selection with ninety-eight non-native speakers in each of their classes. Teacher-led discussions were audiotaped and twenty minutes of each class were …

The Effect Of Media On The Listening Comprehension Scores Of Intermediate Esl Students, Marian Tyson

Dissertations and Theses

The use of videotapes has become widespread in ESL classes in recent years. The decline in cost of tapes and VCR equipment has assisted in the spread of this technology. These tapes are often used in listening comprehension classes and may replace or supplement the use of audiotapes. However, research has not established that the addition of the visual element, especially in the movie or TV type context of many videos, is an advantage to the language learner.

A total of seventy-six students participated in a listening comprehension recall exercise. Thirty-nine students viewed a videotape segment, and the remaining thirty-seven …

Chinese Voices: Towards An Ethnography Of English As A Second Language, Diane Niblack Fox

Dissertations and Theses

This study draws on ethnographic methods to provide background information for the English as a Second Language teacher who looks out at the classroom and asks, "Who are these Chinese students?" The goal is to let Chinese students describe for themselves their experiences learning English, both in China and in the United States.