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    Japanese ESL students' use and perception of English linking and intrusive sounds : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Masters of Arts in Second Language Teaching at Massey University, Albany, New Zealand
    (Massey University, 2016) Wickins, Glenn
    This study investigates the use of linking and intrusive sounds in English by Japanese students studying university preparation English as a Second Language (ESL) courses at a tertiary institution in New Zealand. Such students covet a native-like accent, which in part comes from the ability of native English speakers to resolve the interruptions in the constant stream of language that they are producing. Producing a constant stream of English sounds more “natural” and “fluent”. Native English speakers have options to help them do this, which are called sandhi. This study focuses on six such features of connected speech: linking /j/, /w/ and /r/ sounds which are only pronounced when the following word begins with a vowel; and the intrusive versions of the same three sounds used to remove hiatus (interruptions in the flow of speech) between two vowel sounds. The purpose of this study is to investigate potential links between the usage of sandhi techniques and the current proficiency level of learners to see how teachers can best encourage the use of these “natural-sounding” features. By collecting speech samples from 38 participants and comparing them to the linking patterns of native English speakers as reported by other studies, this study endeavours to draw some conclusions about the usage of sandhi in Japanese ESL students.
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    The identification and classification of struggling readers based on the simple view of reading
    (John Wiley & Sons Ltd, 2022-08) Sleeman M; Everatt J; Arrow A; Denston A
    The simple view of reading (SVR) predicts that reading difficulties can result from decoding difficulties, language comprehension difficulties, or a combination of these difficulties. However, classification studies have identified a fourth group of children whose reading difficulties are unexplained by the model. This may be due to the type of classification model used. The current research included 209 children in Grades 3–5 (8–10 years of age) from New Zealand. Children were classified using the traditional approach and a cluster analysis. In contrast to the traditional classification model, the cluster analysis approach eliminated the unexplained reading difficulties group, suggesting that poor readers can be accurately assigned to one of three groups, which are consistent with those predicted by the SVR. The second set of analyses compared the three poor reader groups across 14 measures of reading comprehension, decoding, language comprehension, phonological awareness, and rapid naming. All three groups demonstrated reading comprehension difficulties, but the dyslexia group showed particular weaknesses in word processing and phonological areas, the SCD group showed problems deriving meaning from oral language, and the mixed group showed general deficits in most measures. The findings suggest that the SVR does have the potential to determine reading profiles and differential intervention methods.