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A case study in the restructuring of linguistic knowledge among adult ESL students Fazio, Ronald John
Abstract
This study examines two cases of Japanese learners involved in an eight-month university exchange program in Canada. Case A, comprised of one male and one female subject, was classified as containing "advanced" speakers of English, while Case B, also composed of one male and one female subject, was classified as containing "novice" speakers of English. For the first time in their careers as second language students, these subjects experienced a task-based, process approach to learning mediated through student group membership. The study attempted a psycholinguistic analysis of individual styles of second language acquisition (SLA) through an examination of the use of three kinds of performance features: self repairs, repeats and hesitation pauses. It also attempted to draw a sociolinguistic portrait of these subjects as learners whose strategies for language acquisition were related to educational and cultural factors. Although the findings in psycho- and sociolinguistic areas of inquiry were inconclusive regarding the role of restructuring, the results indicated that changes in procedural knowledge regarding strategic behaviour occurred for both cases, and that a more autonomous attitude towards group control of behaviour was articulated by the Case A subjects. Changes in orientations to learning as measured by performance feature use were not significant, although a trend towards decreased use of hesitation pauses in Case B suggested a reduced reliance on unverbalized planning. Finally, both cases demonstrated growth in the use of such reading strategies as scanning for main ideas and using contextual clues.
Item Metadata
| Title |
A case study in the restructuring of linguistic knowledge among adult ESL students
|
| Creator | |
| Publisher |
University of British Columbia
|
| Date Issued |
1992
|
| Description |
This study examines two cases of Japanese learners
involved in an eight-month university exchange program in
Canada. Case A, comprised of one male and one female
subject, was classified as containing "advanced" speakers
of English, while Case B, also composed of one male and
one female subject, was classified as containing "novice"
speakers of English. For the first time in their careers
as second language students, these subjects experienced a
task-based, process approach to learning mediated through
student group membership.
The study attempted a psycholinguistic analysis of
individual styles of second language acquisition (SLA)
through an examination of the use of three kinds of
performance features: self repairs, repeats and hesitation
pauses. It also attempted to draw a sociolinguistic
portrait of these subjects as learners whose strategies
for language acquisition were related to educational and
cultural factors.
Although the findings in psycho- and sociolinguistic
areas of inquiry were inconclusive regarding the role of
restructuring, the results indicated that changes in
procedural knowledge regarding strategic behaviour
occurred for both cases, and that a more autonomous
attitude towards group control of behaviour was
articulated by the Case A subjects. Changes in
orientations to learning as measured by performance
feature use were not significant, although a trend towards
decreased use of hesitation pauses in Case B suggested a
reduced reliance on unverbalized planning. Finally, both
cases demonstrated growth in the use of such reading
strategies as scanning for main ideas and using contextual
clues.
|
| Extent |
4870708 bytes
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| Genre | |
| Type | |
| File Format |
application/pdf
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| Language |
eng
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| Date Available |
2008-12-15
|
| Provider |
Vancouver : University of British Columbia Library
|
| Rights |
For non-commercial purposes only, such as research, private study and education. Additional conditions apply, see Terms of Use https://open.library.ubc.ca/terms_of_use.
|
| DOI |
10.14288/1.0078111
|
| URI | |
| Degree | |
| Program | |
| Affiliation | |
| Degree Grantor |
University of British Columbia
|
| Graduation Date |
1992-11
|
| Campus | |
| Scholarly Level |
Graduate
|
| Aggregated Source Repository |
DSpace
|
Item Media
Item Citations and Data
Rights
For non-commercial purposes only, such as research, private study and education. Additional conditions apply, see Terms of Use https://open.library.ubc.ca/terms_of_use.