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    Living and learning in New Zealand : perceptions of Bhutanese students, parents and teachers of their learning progress : a thesis submitted for the degree of Master of Arts in Second Language Teaching at Massey University, Palmerston North, New Zealand
    (Massey University, 2015) McCarthy, Geraldine Anne
    This study investigates twelve Bhutanese second language students’ perceptions of their learning. The research locale is a Year 7-13 New Zealand school. Qualitative grounded theory research methods are used. Methodology consists of semi-structured interviews and focus groups with students, their parents’ and teachers’. Questions sought details of the students’ aspirations and expectations, barriers and facilitating experiences affecting their learning, with parents and teachers perceptions of the same. Relevant findings reveal that the students have a very strong first-culture family and community web of support, to supports their personal investment in the maintenance of a multicultural identity, and upholds their involvement in L2 education. Student L2 learning progress is marked with time challenges, cognitive and articulation issues, decisionmaking about friendship, and concerns to establish a sense of legitimacy within the school population. Though supportive and affirming of their children’s learning, parents’ efficacy with student education is limited by second-language literacy and inexperience with New Zealand educational systems and practices. The study also shows wide differences of perception between English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL) staff and mainstream staff about second-language background and learning needs. Mainstream staff show a lack of opportunity, and sometimes will, to engage in professional development about Bhutanese second language needs, in spite of some personal appreciation for the participants. Government funding is provided to support secondlanguage learning, professional development, guidelines and research in schools, but there are no effective structures to monitor their use. The study concludes with implications for participants, their families, ESOL and mainstream staff, for further diversity in the New Zealand educational system.
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    Motivational influences affecting female long-term learners of English in Japan : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Philosophy (Humanities and Social Sciences) in Second Language Teaching, Massey University, Manawatu, New Zealand
    (Massey University, 2010) Watabe, Kathryn Mary
    This study explores the influences that have affected the motivational development of a group of adult Japanese female long-term learners of English. The participants in this study are representative of large numbers of Japanese women who continue to invest significant amounts of time and money into learning English over many years but whose circumstances mean that they do not appear to fit traditional theories of motivation in which integrative or instrumental factors are central. This study also shows that in order to understand the development of motivation in long-term learners it is necessary to consider the individual within the context of a range of wider social forces. I use the Life Stages approach to better understand the way in which the learning situation and experiences of these women have been affected by the reality of their social and domestic roles during different periods in their lives as English students. This study also supports Dörnyei’s theory of the Ideal-L2-Self (2009) as more useful than previous theories of integrativeness, which do not appear to be relevant to the context of these learners, in understanding the motivational development of these women. The study found that the Ideal-L2-Self changed for these women as they moved through the different Life Stages but that it was the Ideal-L2-Self that was able to sustain their interest in studying English despite negative and frustrating learning experiences. The study found that while these women may by some measures not be considered to be serious English students due to the fact that they did not seek to integrate into an English-language community, the experience of being long-term learners of English had been significant in the lives of these women. In particular, as mature students of English, these women have been able to participate in a socially sanctioned activity that allows them to develop an aspect of themselves that is separate to their domestic roles.
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    Computer-mediated collaborative learning in a Vietnamese tertiary EFL context : process, product, and learners' perceptions : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Applied Linguistics at Massey University, Palmerston North, New Zealand
    (Massey University, 2011) Nguyen, Long Van
    Viewing language learning from a sociocultural perspective, this study investigates the nature of both synchronous and asynchronous computer-mediated communication (CMC) and how these two modes of communication may complement each other and contribute to collaborative learning in an EFL classroom environment. The focus is on collaborative language learning competence and learners‟ perceptions of the application of CMC to classroom practices. This classroom-based research took the form of a collaborative problem-solving experiment in a group of EFL students in a large university in Central Vietnam. Various data were collected for the study, including the initial pre-project questionnaire on students‟ background and attitudes, transcripts from both face-to-face and chat discussion, after-chat focus-group interviews, peer comments from both traditional pen-and-paper and wiki exchanges, final collaborative written assignments, and post-project questionnaires and interviews with students about their reflections on classroom CMC in collaborative learning. The study, with both process and product orientation, took place throughout a 12-week semester. Results from the study indicated promising avenues for the application of various CMC technologies in the language classroom. First, although learners‟ language production in the online synchronous discussion was not as high as that from traditional face-to-face practice, the quality of discussion was persuasively better in the SCMC mode. In addition to the fact that learners‟ participation was more equal, evidence of interaction and negotiation leading to a satisfactory level of information synthesis were found to be promising elements in online chatscripts. Second, the use of wikis as a new platform for peer exchanges can be considered an innovation, liberating the students from the conventional, narrow, and linear practice of pen-and-paper-based peer editing. The students participated more, interacted more, and negotiated more in the multi-way interactive architecture of participation, the wiki. Third, although there was no significantly statistical difference in any of the comparative criteria between the two sets of essays produced by the two classes, indications of trends in terms of quality were positive toward the online essays. Fourth, the students‟ reflections on and perceptions of the introduction of CMC into the language classroom presented a potential picture of a technology-enhanced classroom. Apart from the fact that computer and typing skills turned out to be the biggest hindrance regarding the effectiveness of CMC integration, the students‟ reflections on the process were positive and they saw it as constructive. Finally, the four key issues emerging from the study included classroom boundary, the sociotechnical affordances of the CMC environment, the teacher‟s roles in the CMC environment, and product-oriented versus learning-oriented collaborative learning styles.