Changing ideologies and extralinguistic determinants in language maintenance and shift among ethnic diaspora Armenians in Beirut

The Armenian Diaspora in Lebanon was formed after the 1915 genocide, when the arrival of survivors reached its peak. Since its creation no study has been undertaken to examine the impact of displacement, survival, and multilingualism in Lebanon on the status of its language, and the linguistic and attitudinal behavior of its members. This thesis explores the state of the Armenian language through the analysis of language use and domains of use. It investigates the ways Armenians perceive their ethnicity and loyalties, since the awareness of the community and its linguistic ideology and loyalties are the interpretive and explanatory basis for research in this area. Some of the major findings are that limited use of the language is leading to limited exposure to that language, which results in a circle of decreasing competence, lack of confidence in using the language, and increasing reliance and shift to Arabic, English, and French. The study shows that the pattern of language use was very different in the period following the survivors' settlement in Lebanon from what it is today. The generational disparities in attitudes and perceptions demonstrate that along with the significant changes in the way different generations of Armenians grasp the meaning of the Genocide and their ethno-cultural identity, there are also considerable differences regarding feelings of loyalty to their ancestral language, homeland, and heritage. What is particularly striking is that the changes which affected the Armenians since their coming to Lebanon in the early decades of the last century are primarily ideological transformations, new ways of looking at the world and at themselves. While the older interviewees lament the present situation, the younger interviewees accept it as natural. What unfolds is deterioration in the status of the Armenian language and the oral fluency of its speakers, who have undergone a larger and more intense change in matters once held almost sacred by their parents and grandparents.EThOS - Electronic Theses Online ServiceGBUnited Kingdo

The effects of peer-versus self-editing on learner autonomy in ESL writing

This thesis reports on an action research study carried out with students attending an English medium university. The action research comprised three cycles, each presented here as a Study. Study One, which investigated the effects of peer-editing on students’ revised drafts as well as on new essays, revealed that the students did not benefit from peer feedback in improving their revised drafts. However, peer-editing helped them write new better quality essays. Results of Study One led to Study Two, which investigated the reasons for the students’ failure to benefit from their peers’ feedback in revising their essays. It showed that the students’ culture of learning played a major role in their giving and receiving of peer feedback. The insight gained from Study Two led me to modify my method of teaching peer-editing before embarking on Study Three, which investigated the same questions as Study One but with two new aspects: 1) Study Three employed an experimental group which engaged in peer-editing, and a comparison group which practiced self-editing, and compared the effects of peer-editing to that of self-editing on the students’ writing. 2) It also tested the students’ ability to correct specific types of language error. Compared to the comparison group, the experimental group significantly improved their writing in revised drafts as well as in new essays. Since both groups received teacher instruction, but only the experimental group had engaged in peer-editing, these results may be attributed to peer-editing. More specifically, the experimental group significantly reduced rule-based language errors in revised drafts but not in new essays. However, non rule-based errors were not significantly reduced either in revised drafts or in new essays. The thesis grounds the results of this action research study in a socio-cognitive theoretical framework of Second Language Acquisition. The study contributes to research by demonstrating the important role of both teacher intervention and peer interaction in developing the students’ writing skills in a way which may lead them to become autonomous writers. It also has important pedagogical implications for teachers as it reveals the benefit of correcting specific, rather than all, language errors in order to bring about some language development in their students’ linguistic knowledge.EThOS - Electronic Theses Online ServiceGBUnited Kingdo

Native and non-native speakers' perceptions of the meanings of English tense and aspect forms

This paper reports on an investigation carried out at the University of Brunei into what meanings native and non-native speakers of English associate with given English tense and aspect forms. Multiple choice questionnaires were distributed to 106 non-native speakers and 43 native speakers of English. Participants were asked to indicate the meanings of the underlined tense/aspect forms by ticking a maximum of three out of ten available options. The native and non-native speakers' perceptions differed in the saliency of particular form/meaning relationships to the different groups and possible developmental trends emerged

An exploratory study of a Middle Eastern writing center : the perceptions of tutors and tutees

This thesis presents the findings of a study of writing center tutorial practices in a Middle Eastern university where the language of instruction is English. Data from stimulated recall activities, written observations, and interviews were analyzed to answer the following research questions: 1. How do tutees perceive the effectiveness of writing center tutorials? 2. How do tutors perceive the effectiveness of writing center tutorials? 3. Which type of tutoring approach do tutees find more effective? 4. Which type of tutoring approach do tutors find more effective? The data revealed that tutees noticed an improvement in their assignments, believed that their concerns had been addressed, and that they had acquired transferable skills. Most tutees assessed their tutors positively, valuing tutors who inspired confidence and were able to explain concepts clearly. Although tutees appreciated knowledgeable tutors, they valued egalitarian peer-tutoring relationships. Tutors reported that tutorial sessions improved their tutees' assignments and that tutees had acquired transferable skills. Nevertheless, tutors were critical of their own performance. Some tutors admitted to lacking the knowledge necessary to explain certain writing concepts, including grammatical concepts; some felt they dominated the tutorials; and others felt their approach was too directive. The data revealed that both tutors and tutees preferred the directive approach for lower order concerns and a non-directive approach for higher order concerns. This study shows that diverse tutoring models that accommodate the background and experiences of Middle Eastern students, and their particular strengths and weaknesses, should be considered. It recommends tutorial training that emphasizes flexibility and recognizes the distinctive nature of each tutorial situation and the opportunity it presents to address the needs and expectations of individual students. These findings could signal a direction for the development of writing center pedagogy that focuses on the linguistically and culturally diverse students in the Middle East.EThOS - Electronic Theses Online ServiceGBUnited Kingdo

Effects of cooperative learning on the oral proficiency of Chinese students in the tertiary-level EFL classroom

To explore the impact of cooperative learning (CL) on Chinese students’ English oral proficiency, a 15-week quasi-experiment was conducted in a Chinese university during the first term of the Academic Year 2007-2008. A non-randomized pre-test-post-test control group research design was adopted with 37 first-year students in the experimental class (the EC) and 36 in the control class (the CC). The EC students participated in CL in conjunction with regular language instruction in an integrated skills course. They were exposed to CL activities for about 30 minutes in each session, making up a total of 90 minutes every other week. The CC students only received conventional whole-class instruction. The oral pre-test and post-test were conducted before and after the intervention to measure the students’ gains in oral proficiency. The National College Entrance English Exam (NCEEE) and a final term English exam (FTEE) were employed to measure their improvement in general proficiency. Interactional data of two EC groups (the ESs) and two CC groups (the CSs) were collected by the oral pre-test and post-test, and a pre-task and post-task in the classroom. The purpose was to detect any change in their interactional strategy use. The interactional data of the ESs and the CSs were transcribed, and interactional strategies were identified in the transcriptions. The quantitative results are presented using descriptive analysis as well as inferential analysis. Effect size was also measured to examine the relative magnitude of the treatment. The interactional strategies used by these two groups were compared. The quantitative results revealed a null experimental effect on overall oral proficiency and on its components: grammar and vocabulary, pronunciation and discourse management, but the effect on interactive communication was inconclusive. Conversation analysis showed that the ESs appeared to do somewhat better in interactional strategy use than the CSs. Also, the results did not significantly favour CL in comparison with conventional whole-class instruction in helping Chinese students improve their general proficiency. As this study was conducted with intact classes with a small sample, the results may only be generalized to similar universities in China, and may not be generalized to all the foreign language learners or institutions in China.EThOS - Electronic Theses Online ServiceGBUnited Kingdo

Limited aspects of reality: Frames of reference in language assessment

Language testers and educational measurement practitioners operate within two frames of reference: norm-referenced (NRT) and criterion-referenced testing (CRT). The former underpins the world of large-scale standardized testing that prioritizes variability and comparison. The latter supports substantive score meaning in formative and domain specific assessment. It has recently been claimed that the criterion-referenced enterprise is all but dead; its one legacy being the way in which test results are communicated (Davidson, 2012, p. 198). In this article, we argue that the announcement of the demise of CRT is premature. But we acknowledge that what for the most part passes as CRT is in fact not criterion-referenced, and is based upon a corruption of the original meaning of “criterion” as domain-specific performance. This distortion took place when NRT co-opted the term “standard” to serve as a rationale for the measurement enterprise of establishing cut-scores to retrofit NR tests with meaning derived from external scales. We argue that this is not CRT, and the true heirs of the CRT movement in applied linguistics are researchers who base test design in the careful analysis of construct and content in domain specific communication

The Problem of False Language Awareness

The boldness of the Language Awareness undertaking is encapsulated in the word 'awareness', implying knowledge of 'the truth', as evidenced in the collocation 'to be aware of with 'the fact that'. Thus a Language Awareness approach tries to guide learners towards discovery and understanding of truths about language. This paper tries to show that sometimes, on the contrary, learners are lead to acquire a false awareness. That is to say, instruction may create or reinforce misconceptions about the language. Explanations, choice of context and visual illustrations can all be misleading. It has been found, for example, that would is more strongly associated with unreality among Malay-speaking learners that among native speakers of English (Svalberg, 1998 and forthcoming). The classroom focus on conditional contexts encourages this particular association above other equally valid ones. It will also be shown that instruction may encourage learners to construe alternative, non-English tense systems. The overall purpose of the paper is to raise the question of whether the descriptive models teachers work with are adequate for the aims of a Language Awareness approach to language teaching

The impact on language learning of Lebanese students’ attitude towards English in the context of globalization and anti-Americanism

Second language acquisition (SLA) is embedded in a complex network of influential variables, among which is the socio-political context. Indeed, researchers agree that attitudes and motivation are significant in determining linguistic proficiency and achievement (Gardner, 1985, 2001, 2004; Oxford and Shearin, 1994; Oxford, 1996; Dörnyei, 1996, 1998, 2001, 2003). The purpose of this study was to investigate whether negative attitudes existed towards English as an international language in the context of globalization and anti- Americanism, and if so, whether they interfered with second language acquisition. Data was collected through qualitative research methods, namely individual and group interviews and in class writing assignments. The students considered English indispensable for employment and career advancement (extrinsic motivation or instrumental motivation). This outweighed negative attitudes associated with the target language community (TLC) and the power of the target language (TL). The study signals a parallel duality where participants acknowledged the significance of the English language and wanted to learn it even though they were aware of political discrimination against Arabs and the linguistic power exerted by the dominant powers. Even though attitudes towards the L2 and the TLC impact language acquisition, it seems that in this sample, they did not have a direct effect on L2 motivation as displayed in the willingness to use the language or to learn it. Most importantly, my study identifies a desire to integrate, not to a specific TLC but to a global community and workplace to which the English language provided access. One reason fueling this integrative motivation is the conflict zone in which the participants live. The socio-political as well as economic context and its concomitant Arab identity inferiority complex encourage students to seek to escape from the limitations of the local workplace and context.EThOS - Electronic Theses Online ServiceGBUnited Kingdo