Measuring language learner autonomy in tertiary-level learners of English

The thesis aims to explore the viability of using a quantitative instrument to measure language learner autonomy and investigate whether such an instrument has a function in supporting teachers and learners in the development of learner autonomy. The research developed into a critical reflexive approach which probed the theoretical and design issues surrounding the development of a quantitative autonomy-measurement instrument by actually attempting to produce such an instrument. This approach means that I could experience and examine first-hand the theoretical and practical issues which the quantified measurement of autonomy would involve. The main conclusions of this research were, firstly, that the aim of measuring learner autonomy needs to be recast in the light of the research which indicated that it is necessary to understand autonomy as a quality which has only an abstract existence if it is not instantiated in a context. This means that the aim of producing an instrument which measures an abstract universal learner autonomy cannot be achieved. However, such an instrument can be used to monitor learners in autonomyrelevant areas and can serve a useful purpose in scaffolding the learners in their environment in order to facilitate the dialogue which enables a teacher to support the learners better in the development and maintenance of their autonomous learning. Secondly, teacher estimates of their learners' autonomy can be complemented and assisted by using the data provided by the quantitative instrument developed in this research. Another outcome was that the translation of instruments in second language teaching research is an issue which needs to be given more serious consideration and should be carried out in a more principled way than it is currently

The persuasiveness of British accents: Enhancing parental self-efficacy to manage children's oral health behaviours

PhD thesisThis interdisciplinary research builds on Pine et al.’s (2016) oral health intervention, ‘Bedtime Brush and Read Together to Sleep’ (BBaRTS), conducted among families in Tayside, Kent and Newham. It uses children’s storybooks to improve parents’ self-efficacy to manage their child’s oral health behaviours. The storybooks are being adapted into animated cartoons with voice-overs. Therefore, my research question is: What are the persuasive effects of British accents in each BBaRTS trial area? Study one tests the persuasiveness of six British accents (Received Pronunciation (RP), Multicultural London English (MLE), Yorkshire English, Dundee English, Irish English and Estuary English) among 114 parents (Tayside, n = 46; Kent, n = 34; Newham, n = 34). It was hypothesised that there would be a persuasive effect of accent, which differs by area. Participants completed an accent identification task, along with implicit and explicit measurement procedures. In Tayside, Estuary English was more persuasive than MLE (p = 0.002). In Newham, MLE was more persuasive than Dundee English (p = 0.001), Yorkshire English (p = 0.011) and RP (p = 0.011). In Kent, there was no persuasive effect of accent. Findings are examined in the context of Gawronski and Bodenhausen’s (2006, 2011) Associative-Propositional Evaluation model. This study also explores individual differences and reaction time in relation to accent persuasiveness, but results suggest that neither factor plays a fundamental role. Study two applies the most and least persuasive accent in Newham (MLE and Dundee English) to animated versions of the BBaRTS storybooks. 37 participants from Tower Hamlets – a demographically similar East London borough – completed an experiment based on the self-validation hypothesis (Petty et al. 2002). It was hypothesised that accent would affect participants’ confidence in their thoughts about the oral health messages, and in turn their attitudes. MLE was indeed associated with higher thought confidence than Dundee English (p = 0.001), but not with more favourable attitudes to the oral health messages. Results are discussed in relation to the participants’ English proficiency. This research contributes to the growing work on implicit cognition in sociolinguistics, and furthers our understanding of how accent interacts with persuasion. Crucially, it emphasizes the value of interdisciplinary research by connecting linguistics and public health