Applied Linguistics Commons^™

Sound Effects: Age, Gender, And Sound Symbolism In American English, Timothy Krause

Student Research Symposium

This mixed-method study investigated the correlation of sound symbolic associations with age and gender by analyzing data from a national survey of 292 American English speakers. Subjects used 10 semantic differential scales to rate six artificial brand names that targeted five phonemes. Subjects also described the potential products they imagined these artificial brand names to represent. Quantitative analysis alone provided insufficient evidence to conclude that age or gender affect sound symbolism in American English. While 26 out of 60 scales showed a monotonic shift among the means of the three age groups, only three were statistically significant. The evidence of …

A Case For An Ecological Approach And Against Language Commodification In Elt, Vinicius O. Souza

MA TESOL Collection

This paper aims to provide an alternative approach to the English language education practiced in many developing countries which can help reverse their current low-proficiency status, as revealed by standard international examinations such as the PISA scores and others. The author argues that this can be best accomplished by adopting an ecological approach to teaching which promotes language learning as emergent and socially situated phenomena, two concepts largely neglected by current teaching methods. In fact, many of these countries have long been dominated by an extremely commodified and cognitivist ELT market, where business interests have taken precedence over pedagogical considerations. …

Linguistic Landscape Of Main Streets In Bosnia And Herzegovina, Rachel E. Lay

Undergraduate Honors Theses

After the breakup of Yugoslavia in 1991, Bosnia and Herzegovina erupted into ethnic conflict and ultimately genocide. Nearly 100,000 people, mainly Bosniaks, died in the Bosnian War. Two decades later, the violence has ended but the conflict is still present in Bosnia; the societal segregation of the 1995 Dayton Accords, intended only as an immediate solution to the violence, still stands. Population and language distribution are evidence of this segregation. Bosnia’s two entities are home to two different ethnic majorities: Serbs in the Republika Srpska and Bosniaks in the Federation of BiH. In an environment so sensitive that the government …

Leveraging Research To Inform Better Practice, Jill Castek

Presentations and Publications

Panel focused on the importance of research being designed strategically from the very beginning and thinking about dissemination at the outset of every project design, not as an afterthought.

Linguistic Landscape Of Main Streets In Bosnia And Herzegovina, Rachel E. Lay

Undergraduate Honors Theses

After the breakup of Yugoslavia in 1991, Bosnia and Herzegovina erupted into ethnic conflict and ultimately genocide. Nearly 100,000 people, mainly Bosniaks, died in the Bosnian War. Two decades later, the violence has ended but the conflict is still present in Bosnia; the societal segregation of the 1995 Dayton Accords, intended only as an immediate solution to the violence, still stands. Population and language distribution are evidence of this segregation. Bosnia’s two entities are home to two different ethnic majorities: Serbs in the Republika Srpska and Bosniaks in the Federation of BiH. In an environment so sensitive that the government …

Order Of Acquisition: A Comparison Of L1 And L2 English And Spanish Morpheme Acquisition, Kyle A. Mcferren

Senior Honors Theses

This paper examines the order of acquisition for grammatical morphemes in Spanish and English first and second language learners. Brown’s first morpheme order study, conducted in 1973, laid the foundation for what would become one of the most common types of study conducted within the field of second language acquisition. The four orders of acquisition relevant here are examined and compared in order to support the roles of salience, morphophonological regularity, complexity, input frequency, and native language transfer in first and/or second language acquisition. The conclusion is that these five determinants work interdependently in determining the difficulty of acquiring a …

Using Piaac’S Education And Skills Online To Examine Adults' Skills Locally, Jill Castek, Amy Honisett, Drew Pizzolato, Stephen Reder

Presentations and Publications

This session will explore Education and Skills Online (ESO) – a valid and reliable assessment tool based on PIAAC that addresses Literacy, Numeracy, and Problem Solving in Technology Rich Environments (PS-TRE). This project will use ESO’s PS-TRE together with the North Star Assessment to assess the digital literacy skills of library patrons.

Operationalizing Success In A Digital Learning Environment Designed To Support Vulnerable Adults, Elizabeth Withers, Jill Castek, Robert Fountain, Drew Pizzolato, Kimberly D. Pendell, Gloria Jacobs, Stephen Reder

Presentations and Publications

This study seeks to examine patterns of successful learning identified when economically vulnerable, underserved, and high-need adults engaged in self-access, tutor facilitated learning to acquire digital literacy. In large part, this diverse population of learners has been left behind in the digital revolution, thus compounding their social, economic, and educational disadvantages. These individuals have unique patterns of engagement within educational endeavors, at times dropping in and out of programs as a result of social and economic impediments that permeate their lives. Traditional means of identifying success in their learning endeavors inadequately describe the paths these learners take on the road …

Philology, Anthropology And Poetry In Arthur Waley's Translation Of The Shijing, Qingyang Lin

Lingnan Theses

The topic of my thesis is Arthur Waley and his translation of the Shijing, or The Book of Songs (1937), as Waley entitled it. The Book of Songs is especially noted for its philological ingenuity, anthropological insight and poetic appeal; during my preliminary research I discovered that there exists an interesting interplay between these three aspects of this translation. In this thesis, I hope to examine the textual and thematic hermeneutics of The Book of Songs.

Waley did not read the Shijing as a scriptural text inscribed with sagely intention and authority; rather, he returned it to its folkloric origin, …

Disfluent Pausing Effects On Listener Judgments Of An Asl-English Interpretation, Stephen Fitzmaurice, Kim A. Purdy

Journal of Interpretation

Although not all spoken language pauses are purposeful or functional, there is general agreement on the function and appropriate length and placement of pauses in English. Failing to conform to this agreement constitutes a pausing disfluency. In an interpreted environment, pauses do not generally detract from the discourse event, nor do they negatively impact the participants’ perception of one another, as long as the interpreter maintains generally acceptable pausing parameters (Fors, 2011; Heldner & Edlund, 2010; Krivokapi, 2007). Listeners of any communication event invariably form opinions about the speaker’s personality and make judgments about their character and background, forming a …

Contextualized Views Of Practices And Competencies In Call Teacher Education Research, Nike Arnold, Lara Ducate

Applied Linguistics Faculty Publications and Presentations

While teachers play a central role in capitalizing on the potentials of computer assisted language learning (CALL), CALL teacher education overall still appears not to be adequate and effective (Healey et al., 2011; Hubbard, 2008). Furthermore, foreign/second language teachers have expressed a desire for more and better professional development opportunities in that area (Beaven, Emke, Ernest, Germain-Rutherford, Hampel, Hopkins, Stanojevic & Stickler, 2010; Digedu, 2014; Kessler, 2006). Given the continuing and new challenges for CALL teacher education, this special issue of Language Learning & Technology on CALL teacher education further speaks to its importance for our field and ultimately our …

Busy Intersections: A Framework For Revitalization, George Tucker Childs

Applied Linguistics Faculty Publications and Presentations

Slides from a presentation given to the 4^th International Conference on Language Documentation & Conservation (ICLDC4), University of Hawai’i at Mānoa, Honolulu, Hawaii. 26 Feb – 1 Mar., 2015.

Program Design: Learning Digital Skills In A Corrections Setting, Jill Castek, Gloria Jacobs, Kimberly D. Pendell, Drew Pizzolato, Stephen Reder, Elizabeth Withers

Research Briefs and Case Studies

The Learning Digital Skills in a Corrections Setting Brief describes the mentoring and learning model as applied in the Orleans Parish Prison Reentry Program. The brief also discusses the unique value of this program in a reentry setting. Also included is information about the logistics of ensuring Internet security and compliance to law prohibiting inmate access to the internet. The Research Briefs series highlight key findings about how underserved adults acquire digital literacy skills, and include quotes from participants and practitioners. The Briefs are designed to be accessible by practitioners, program administrators, and policy makers to inform and enhance digital …

Tutors: Tutoring Strategies And Organizing Learning, Jill Castek, Gloria Jacobs, Kimberly D. Pendell, Drew Pizzolato, Stephen Reder, Elizabeth Melissa Withers

Research Briefs and Case Studies

The Tutoring Strategies and Organizing Learning Brief describes the strategies that tutors used to foster successful engagement with technology among a wide variety of learners. The Research Briefs series highlight key findings about how underserved adults acquire digital literacy skills, and include quotes from participants and practitioners. The Briefs are designed to be accessible by practitioners, program administrators, and policy makers to inform and enhance digital literacy programs.

The Effects Of A New Method Of Instruction On The Perceptions Of Appalachian English, Michelle L. Compton

Theses and Dissertations--Linguistics

This paper evaluates whether students’ perceptions of Appalachian English improve through a method of instruction that uses dialect literature in the classroom. Most existing methods of instruction tend to portray dialects as wrong, incorrect, or in some way less rule-governed than Standardized English, despite the numerous studies that have demonstrated otherwise (e.g., Labov 1969, Wolfram 1986). The data from this study derives from two groups of students enrolled in introductory composition and communication at the University of Kentucky. Each group is given a pre-test to determine attitudes toward Appalachian English and Standardized English. An experimental group is then exposed to …

Executive Summary: Tutor-Facilitated Digital Literacy Acquisition, Gloria Jacobs, Jill Castek, Drew Pizzolato, Kimberly D. Pendell, Elizabeth Withers, Stephen Reder

Presentations and Publications

The Tutor-Facilitated Digital Literacy Acquisition in Hard-to-Serve Populations research project was supported by a National Leadership Grant from the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) grant. It was conducted over the course of 3 years in cooperation with five partners across the United States, which were participating in a project funded by the U.S. Department of Commerce’s Broadband Opportunities Technology Program (BTOP). All phases of the research were guided by two national advisory groups made up of scholars and practitioners in the field of adult education and digital literacy.

Language Learners: The Learner/Tutor Relationship, Jill Castek, Gloria Jacobs, Kimberly D. Pendell, Drew Pizzolato, Stephen Reder, Elizabeth Withers

Research Briefs and Case Studies

The Learner/Tutor Relationship brief describes findings that show how tutors who are bilingual are preferred by English language learners, even when they do not speak the learner’s first language. The unique ways that tutors and learners work together in digital literacy acquisition program are featured. The Research Briefs series highlight key findings about how underserved adults acquire digital literacy skills, and include quotes from participants and practitioners. The Briefs are designed to be accessible by practitioners, program administrators, and policy makers to inform and enhance digital literacy programs.

Tutors: Personal Qualities Of Tutors, Jill Castek, Gloria Jacobs, Kimberly D. Pendell, Drew Pizzolato, Stephen Reder, Elizabeth Withers

Research Briefs and Case Studies

The Personal Qualities of Tutors Brief highlights findings that detail the key qualities of effective tutors. These findings indicate that that patience is more important than technology knowledge in a digital literacy acquisition program The Research Briefs series highlight key findings about how underserved adults acquire digital literacy skills, and include quotes from participants and practitioners. The Briefs are designed to be accessible by practitioners, program administrators, and policy makers to inform and enhance digital literacy programs.

Tutors: The Tutor-Learner Relationship, Jill Castek, Gloria Jacobs, Kimberly D. Pendell, Drew Pizzolato, Stephen Reder, Elizabeth Withers

Research Briefs and Case Studies

The Tutor/Learner Relationship Brief emphasizes the impact that a positive relationship with tutors can have on learners’ engagement and progress in a digital literacy acquisition program. The Research Briefs series highlight key findings about how underserved adults acquire digital literacy skills, and include quotes from participants and practitioners. The Briefs are designed to be accessible by practitioners, program administrators, and policy makers to inform and enhance digital literacy programs.

Program Design: The Learner Path, Jill Castek, Gloria Jacobs, Kimberly D. Pendell, Drew Pizzolato, Stephen Reder, Elizabeth Withers

Research Briefs and Case Studies

The Learner Path Brief describes the steps learners took as they acquired digital literacy, including key moments of transition. Tutors supported learners on the road to becoming independent, confident technology users. The Research Briefs series highlight key findings about how underserved adults acquire digital literacy skills, and include quotes from participants and practitioners. The Briefs are designed to be accessible by practitioners, program administrators, and policy makers to inform and enhance digital literacy programs.