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UBC Theses and Dissertations
Referential communication strategies as a function of accessing conceptual representations of abstract shapes in a second or foreign language Schuetze, Ulf
Abstract
This thesis investigates referential communication strategies using the theoretical framework of Levelt's (1989) model of speech production and its application to second language speech production (de Bot, 1992). The investigation focuses on utterances of adult speakers who solve a referential communication task in their first language (English) and their second language (German). Two different groups participate in the study. The first group consists of students from a large West Canadian University who learn German in a foreign language classroom, whereas the second group consists of native speakers of English who work in Germany and acquire German in a second language environment. All participants describe abstract shapes while their utterances are being recorded and later transcribed for analysis. Quantitative and qualitative methods measuring the time and words reflect the strategies used to describe the shapes. The analysis of the data reveals that the participants in Germany are more accurate in their descriptions and solve the referential problems more successfully than the participants from the West Canadian University do. The direct contact these participants have with the German language and culture proves to be beneficial to the process of generating a comprehensible message in referential communication. The study concludes with suggestions for the teaching of German as a second language and recommendations are made for future research on language acquisition the learning environment.
Item Metadata
Title |
Referential communication strategies as a function of accessing conceptual representations of abstract shapes in a second or foreign language
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Creator | |
Publisher |
University of British Columbia
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Date Issued |
2003
|
Description |
This thesis investigates referential communication strategies using the
theoretical framework of Levelt's (1989) model of speech production and its
application to second language speech production (de Bot, 1992). The
investigation focuses on utterances of adult speakers who solve a referential
communication task in their first language (English) and their second language
(German). Two different groups participate in the study. The first group consists
of students from a large West Canadian University who learn German in a foreign
language classroom, whereas the second group consists of native speakers of
English who work in Germany and acquire German in a second language
environment. All participants describe abstract shapes while their utterances are
being recorded and later transcribed for analysis.
Quantitative and qualitative methods measuring the time and words reflect
the strategies used to describe the shapes. The analysis of the data reveals that the
participants in Germany are more accurate in their descriptions and solve the
referential problems more successfully than the participants from the West
Canadian University do. The direct contact these participants have with the
German language and culture proves to be beneficial to the process of generating
a comprehensible message in referential communication.
The study concludes with suggestions for the teaching of German as a second
language and recommendations are made for future research on language acquisition
the learning environment.
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Extent |
11642761 bytes
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Genre | |
Type | |
File Format |
application/pdf
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Language |
eng
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Date Available |
2009-11-13
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Provider |
Vancouver : University of British Columbia Library
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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.
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DOI |
10.14288/1.0091154
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URI | |
Degree | |
Program | |
Affiliation | |
Degree Grantor |
University of British Columbia
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Graduation Date |
2003-05
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Campus | |
Scholarly Level |
Graduate
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Aggregated Source Repository |
DSpace
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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.