Language Studies

Permanent URI for this collectionhttps://mro.massey.ac.nz/handle/10179/1868

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Start date: 2000Subject: search.filters.subject.420000 Language and Culture

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    Teacher cognition about technology-mediated EFL instruction in the Thai tertiary context : a thesis presented in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Second Language Teaching at Massey University
    (Massey University, 2010) Suwannasom, Thitirat
    Drawing on theories of teacher cognition and sociocultural frameworks, this study investigates Thai university English lecturers’ cognition about integrating Information and Communication Technology (ICT) in English language instruction and writing instruction in Thai tertiary contexts. A more specific goal is to investigate technology-using teachers’ personal principles and practices in their teaching contexts. The study was guided by the following research questions: What is the nature of Thai tertiary teacher cognition about the use of technology in EFL instruction? What is the nature of Thai tertiary teacher cognition about the use of technology in EFL writing instruction? How do Thai tertiary teachers perceive their practices and roles in relation to their technology-mediated EFL instruction in particular settings? In Thai tertiary education, what are the sociocultural aspects that shape teacher cognition and practice about technology-mediated EFL teaching? A teacher cognition questionnaire was designed and administered to 47 Thai EFL lecturers in seven public universities; semi-structured interviews and scenario-based tasks were conducted with seven lecturers; unstructured interviews and observations were carried out with three teachers who used technology in their classroom teaching in order to gain a better understanding of their situated perceptions about the use of technology in particular teaching and learning contexts. The results reveal that university EFL teachers’ views of technology are highly shaped by both their teaching environment and individual beliefs about English language learning. When teachers apply technology in their instruction, they also apply their personal principles or maxims that guide their practices. In addition, a number of sociocultural aspects emerged in teachers’ views about technology use in their EFL teaching contexts giving rise to theoretical implications about how teacher cognition is conceptualised. Some of the major implications for practice include: the need to encourage EFL teachers to reflect on their teaching principles relevant to their working contexts; the value of providing teachers with models of technology use in tertiary EFL teaching; and the maximisation of the use of available technology to support local practices. Implications for methodology include the use of multiple context-specific instruments and methods to elicit teachers’ underlying beliefs and perspectives about technology-mediated teaching.
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    Interpretation of contextualization cues in Japanese conversation : back-channel cues and turn-taking cues : a thesis presented in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Linguistics and Second Language Teaching at Massey University, Palmerston North, New Zealand
    (Massey University, 2003) Ishida, Hiroji
    This study investigates receptive strategies used by learners of Japanese, focusing on their on-line knowledge of three back-channel (BC) cues (uun, a soo na n desu ka and ee), and two turn-taking cues (one relating to initiating speech, and the other relating to yielding a turn to speak), as they occur in spontaneous conversation between native speakers of Japanese. A contextualization cue (CC) is any feature of language and behaviour including verbal and non-verbal signs which a speaker uses to signal his/her communicative intent, as demonstrated in the work of Gumperz (1982a, 1982b, 1992, 1996). In this study, learners' perception and interpretation of CCs are compared with those of native speakers of Japanese. In addition, the study aims to explore different levels of the receptive competence of learners by making use of a range of tasks with varying degrees of complexity. The data for this study was collected from 11 Japanese native speakers and 14 learners of Japanese, using five video clips as stimulus material and five types of tasks. A semantic differential (SD) stimulated recall task was designed to examine their perception and interpretation of CCs. SD items in the task for each clip were carefully designed on the basis of native and non-native informants' comments on each cue. A stimulated recall (SR) task was developed to elicit comments on the cue under study by pointing to a very short excerpt. A multiple-choice task was designed to elicit interpretations of the meaning of each cue based on the explicit highlighting of the cue along with a written description of the dialogue and background A rating task was developed to examine subjects' judgements on the importance of verbal and non-verbal cues. A ranking task was developed to examine their judgements about the main functions of conversation. The analysis reveals differences between the two groups in the perception and interpretation of CCs. Japanese subjects tend to judge BC cues as indicators of 'listening' or 'understanding', whereas learners of Japanese have a strong tendency to judge them as indicators of 'interest' or 'agreement'. In addition, those native speakers' interpretations lead to the interpretation of 'making the speaker feel comfortable', while those of the learners do not. Moreover, the difference in the perception of CCs, participants' appearances and setting (e.g., where the conversation takes place) causes different interpretations of the formality in conversation and the social distance of participants. Theoretical, methodological, and pedagogical implications of the study are presented. The study indicates four concrete areas which need to be focused on in Japanese language teaching: 1) verbal cues; 2) prosodic features; 3) non-verbal features; and 4) cultural values. Suggestions for future research are discussed as part of the conclusion of the study.
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    An exploratory study of motivation and self-regulated learning in second language acquisition : Kanji learning as a task focused approach : a thesis presented in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master in Second Language Teaching at Massey University, Manawatu, New Zealand
    (Massey University, 2010) Hirata, Akie
    This study aimed to identify motivational factors affecting self-regulated learning (SRL) in the context of second language acquisition. Rather than investigating learners’ overall disposition toward their learning, it focused on a particular task, the learning of kanji in Japanese, in order to provide a clearer picture of the complex relationship between motivation and SRL. Using quantitative methods, the underlying structure of motivation and SRL was explored and the relationships among the extracted factors were examined. On the basis of a self-administered questionnaire specifically developed for this study, the data were obtained from 381 tertiary students studying Japanese at one of the seven cooperating institutions in New Zealand. Principal components analyses identified three motivational orientations (intrinsic, instrumental mastery, and performance orientation), four sources of motivation (self-efficacy, self-concept, extrinsic value, and intrinsic value), and four types of self-regulation (behavioural, environmental, cognitive, and metacognitive regulation) involved in kanji learning. The results of correlational analyses revealed a number of significant relationships suggesting the interdependence of the identified constructs. However, instrumental mastery, performance orientation, and extrinsic value did not predict students’ use of SRL. Further investigation of individual and situational factors indicated that learning opportunities outside the classroom possibly confounded the significant relationships between these non-predictors and SRL. On the other hand, intrinsic orientation, self-concept, self-efficacy, and intrinsic value were identified as significant predictors of SRL in general. These significant predictors displayed a unique contribution to different types of SRL. The results show that intrinsic interest in kanji learning is necessary for cognitive and metacognitive regulation. A sense of positive self-concept, on the other hand, influences environmental regulation while self-efficacy beliefs facilitate behavioural regulation. Overall, self-concept was found to be the best predictor of the use of SRL. However, self-efficacy is another important factor since students who used behavioural regulation tend to use a wider variety of strategies to self-regulate their own learning. In this study, the interactions of identified motivational constructs and their possible effects on SRL are discussed. The study concludes with a discussion of practical and theoretical implications of the findings along with suggestions for future research.
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    Italian identity and heritage language motivation : five stories of heritage language learning in traditional foreign language courses in Wellington, New Zealand : a thesis presented in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Linguistics and Second Language Teaching at Massey University, Palmerston North, New Zealand
    (Massey University, 2009) Berardi-Wiltshire, Arianna
    The study explores the motivational role of the personal constructions of Italian identity (Italianità) of five learners of Italian descent studying their heritage language by means of traditional foreign language courses in Wellington, New Zealand. By adopting a social constructivist perspective on both language learning and the motivational processes underlying it, and by applying such concepts as investment (Norton, 2000), ideal L2 self (Dörnyei, 2009) and language learning as identity reconstruction (Pavlenko & Lantolf, 2000), the study aims to further our understanding of heritage language learning motivation as a socially mediated process (Ushioda, 2003). Qualitative data was collected through waves of semi-structured interviews from five case-study participants over the course of several months of learning. Responses were used to map the influence that the participants’ constructions of their own Italianità exerted on three aspects of their language learning motivation: their reasons for learning the language, the decision to embark on the study of it, and the maintenance of their interest and learning efforts throughout the learning process. Detailed observations of learning sites, classes and materials, and interviews with teachers provided rich contextual data concerning key episodes identified by the students as relating to different aspects of motivation. The findings suggest that Italianità is heavily implicated in the initial stages of motivation, but that its influence is mediated by the learners’ personal constructions of a multitude of internal and external factors, through which they come to personalise and prioritise their own objectives and identity ambitions in ways that guide their motivational arousal, their decision to pursue the language and their creation and visualisation of learning goals. Italianità is also found to have an influence on the maintenance and shifts in the participants’ motivational states throughout their learning, supporting a socially mediated view of L2 motivation in which motivational fluctuations are explained as the result of the learners’ own processing of and reaction to elements of their context, including critical events inside and outside the classroom, exchanges with teachers, peers and speakers of Italian, and ongoing developments of opportunities and challenges for the achievement of the personal goals and identity ambitions driving their learning.