Master of Arts, University of Toledo, 2014, College of Languages, Literature, and Social Sciences

Previous studies have been done on the use of `this' and `that' by native speakers (NSs) of English, non-native speakers (NNSs) of English or foreign language speakers (FLSs) by Kelly-Lopez (2005), Esseili (2006), Hickman (2005), and Imai (2003). Although the first three studies were very well thought out they were missing one point that Imai had. But as Esseili points out in her thesis, Imai's research was flawed because he told his subjects what he was looking for. I want to re-do his test but remove the bias from the study to see if the presentation of objects would be more likely to elicit `this' for near objects and `that' for objects that are farther away from the subjects. In the current study four identical objects will be presented to subjects aligned at equal distances on a flat plane going away from the subjects on a mat, either on a table or on the floor. They may or may not be able to touch the items they are referring to. This will allow the researcher to see if the relative distance from the subject is important or not in the use of `this' and `that' and if Imai's “contact/control” theory is valid (Imai, p. 135). Affective distance of all objects presented horizontally to the subjects has been proven to have the same effect on the choice of `this' or `that', whether closer or farther from the subject. Using NSs and NNSs of English, I plan on testing relative distance of the same types of objects, set up on a table or on the floor, so that one object is closest to the subject and the following items are spaced on the axis so that the final object presented is completely out of the subject's physical reach. I feel that this presentation will elicit the desired response of `this' and `that' along with other possible deixis responses from the subjects. I would ask the subject in random order which item is first, second, third, and fouth. I also will use the survey provided by Christman for the assessment of handedness to check if handedness h (open full item for complete abstract)

Committee: Douglas Coleman Ph. D. (Committee Chair); Stephen Christman Ph. D. (Committee Co-Chair); Paul Fritz Ph. D. (Committee Member) Subjects: Adult Education; Bilingual Education; English As A Second Language; Linguistics

Master of Arts, University of Toledo, 2014, English (English as a Second Language)

According to current theories of second language learning that take into account how memories form in the brain, learners must be exposed to perceptual input that allows them to form associations between speech behaviors ("words") and parallel sensory input from other things in their environment. Yet many learners do not receive this exposure, and still succeed. A UT master's thesis (Postica, 2006) found evidence that some learners can create a substitute for such parallel sensory input by means of mental imagery. Her study provided a possible explanation for how people can learn a second language despite the absence of theoretically required parallel sensory input. This study is an extension/replication of Postica’s MA thesis research but with new dialogues. In the study, all the subjects were divided into two group and then will receive three very short mini-dialogues composed in an artificial language with translations in English (via PowerPoint). During the experiment, one of the groups was instructed to try to imagine the scene as they read the dialogues. The other group was not given this added instruction. Subjects were then allowed to review the dialogues and a vocabulary list for a fixed period of time (5 minutes). In the study period instructions, again one of the groups is instructed to visualize the people, the things in the scene, and the actions as they try to imagine hearing the lines of the dialogue. Afterwards, a post-test measures both accuracy and understanding of the elements of the target language that were presented in the mini-dialogues. Several other questions will also be asked about the subjects' learning strategies used during the study period. One of the strategies they were asked about was whether they tried to visualize the people, the things in the scene, and the actions as well as tried to remember hearing the lines of the dialogue. There were two hypotheses that were tested in the study. The first one explored if the sub (open full item for complete abstract)

Committee: Douglas W. Coleman (Committee Chair); Carmen Phelps (Committee Member); Russell Reising (Committee Member) Subjects: English As A Second Language

Master of Arts, University of Toledo, 2011, English (as a Second Language)

In recent ESL research, there has been a move away from grammar-based approaches for teaching students and more focus on content. Victor Yngve (1996) has stated such findings in Hard Science Linguistics, arguing that language is not a physical, real world property. What is real world are assemblages of people and their environment linked together. However, many language classrooms still adopt the grammar-based approach to learning. The problem is that while they may turn in grammatically polished classroom papers it is still possible to leave the classroom setting without being able to communicate with speakers of the target language. In response to the communication vs. language conflict, a study has been done that applies each of these teaching methods into slideshows for English as a Second Language (ESL) purposes. The study intended to show that context through communicating—as opposed to grammar lessons through language—is what a student needs when encountering a different language. The two slideshows for this study tested students' memory of the material, in this case a story that takes place between a server and a customer inside a restaurant. The subjects consisted of Second Language Learners (SLLs) and Foreign Language Learners (FLLs) from a university. The test consisted of multiple choice questions that tested subjects' knowledge of the content of the lesson they had witnessed (only one of two lessons was selected for each session). The test was created to determine the communicative effectiveness of that particular lesson. It is hoped that the lessons demonstrate a clear contrast between instruction using language and instruction focused on people communicating, and that this will encourage the growth of communication among teachers and students in ESL classrooms.

Committee: Dr. Douglas Coleman PhD (Committee Chair); Dr. Berhane Teclehaimanot PhD (Committee Member); Dr. Dwayne DeMedio EdD (Committee Member) Subjects: English As A Second Language

Master of Liberal Studies, University of Toledo, 2011, Liberal Studies

Studies have shown bilinguals have an advantage over their monolingual peers when learning the same new language. One common proposal for this advantage is metalinguistic awareness. This presents a significant problem because metalinguistic awareness relies on a property (language) that does not exist in the real world. Previous research had made clear, conclusions dependent on language cannot be trusted as legitimate explanations for real-world observations. As a result, current ideas about bilingual advantage in new language acquisition need to be re-evaluated. 104 subjects were exposed to one of two inputs, teaching them to communicate 11 elementary phrases in an artificial language. Those exposed to Treatment A were given less information for each phrase compared to Treatment B. After being exposed to one of the two inputs, all subjects were assessed using the same test. If bilinguals truly do have an advantage over monolinguals they should have greater success when exposed to Treatment A.

Committee: Douglas Coleman (Committee Chair); Bernard Sypniewski (Committee Member); Patricia Murphy (Committee Member) Subjects: Linguistics

Master of Arts, University of Toledo, 2007, English (as a Second Language)

The field of second language acquisition (SLA) has accepted the ancient Greek tradition of grammar and the structure of language as a foundation for language acquisition, instruction and assessment (Yngve, 1996). Accordingly, much emphasis has been placed on how well foreign language learners (FLLs) can reproduce sentences that are grammatical. Instructors spend much of their time teaching their students grammatical rules in a fashion that follows current theories of SLA, and even though the theories of SLA have changed slightly the focus has continued to remain on the students learning grammar. Nonetheless, there have been many researchers who question the students' language ability. Upon such evaluation of the Foreign Language programs, these researchers look at the order of acquisition as a possible cause for the problems FLLs have when learning a foreign language (Pupura, 2004; Gass and Selinker, 2001). As Yngve (1996, p. 46) points out, the problem lies within the conceptual framework of traditional theoretical linguistics, which assumes that grammar exists in the physical domain or real world. Typically, researchers in the fields of SLA and foreign language instruction have thought of communication as what happens when people use language. This conventional assumption places language (the abstraction) in the center and marginalizes, or at least makes secondary, the people who are communicating (the physical domain reality). This assumption has lead researchers of SLA to focus on the apparent order of acquisition of grammar. Because of this domain confusion, FLLs are not taught to communicate but are taught to talk about a language. Accordingly, FLLs are assessed on how well they know the grammar of a language or on a person's ability to produce language in a grammatically appropriate manner. This study will examine different instruction methods, either traditional grammatical language instruction, or methods focused on real-world observable communicative behav (open full item for complete abstract)

Committee: Douglas Coleman (Advisor) Subjects:

Master of Arts, University of Toledo, 2007, English (as a Second Language)

This thesis incorporates a study that shows a relationship between verbal and nonverbal behaviors and the outcome of a communicative event. This study was conducted by observing the communicative behaviors that potential customers exhibited after they were offered a free sample. The societal norm of reciprocity states that people who receive gifts (such as free samples) are likely to express obligatory feelings to the gift-giver (Spradly 2000). However, it was demonstrated by El-Alayli and Messe (2003) that people who receive a gift may feel that their social freedom is challenged and choose not to respond. The study shows that although the majority of people accept a free sample, they are not likely to reciprocate; and responses that are traditionally assumed to show acceptance can actually refer to denial or rejection when one observes nonverbal responses. For example, ten percent of the time when the responses of “sure”, “yeah” or “okay” were spoken by a customer after a free sample was offered, he/she did not accept the sample. Four percent of the time when the customer said “thanks” or “thank you”, he/she also did not take the sample. The outcomes of this study coincide with Hard Science Linguistics that values human communication as being comprised of all observable behaviors in real world situations. Nonverbal behaviors are important to analyze because they do not depend on the properties of the researcher to be observed. Furthermore, articulations that are traditionally viewed as positive acceptance (such as "thanks", "thank you", "sure", "yeah" or "okay") can actually be part of a denial or rejection of an offer when analyzed in combination with nonverbal responses. Evaluations of the cultural and pragmatic circumstances surrounding an event directly reflect the behaviors of potential customers when they were offered a free sample. When teaching communication, one must take into account verbal and nonverbal behaviors of the native setting in relation to the (open full item for complete abstract)

Committee: Douglas Coleman (Advisor) Subjects:

Master of Arts, University of Toledo, 2006, English (as a Second Language)

Communicative Language Teaching (CLT) is the current trend of second/foreign language learning. CLT has contributed to moving the focus from the forms of language to communication. However, it only changes the context and contents of lessons, focusing still on teaching “language” rather than teaching how to communicate. Language exists only in our mental domain; it does not exist in the physical domain (Yngve, 1996). Thus, our focus should be on learning/teaching how to communicate in a target speech community. This research re-examines the general notion of CLT and comprehensible input within a real-world perspective based on Yngve's (1996) theory of Hard Science Linguistics. The main discussion of this research is the use of simulations in classrooms concerning learning/teaching how to communicate in the target speech community. Simulations can offer efficient and effective learning in the classrooms while providing naturalistic environments, which maximize the opportunities of creating real communication in EFL classrooms. The discussion presented here about simulations in language learning/teaching is based on Jones' (1982) view. The research presented here explores the use of simulations in the classrooms with the aim of helping learners of EFL to improve their communicative ability.

Committee: Douglas Coleman (Advisor) Subjects:

Master of Arts, University of Toledo, 2006, English (as a Second Language)

This thesis presents a historical overview of conceptions of language and language teaching and discusses the incompatibility of these conceptions with the reality of human communication. Emphasis is put on the work of Noam Chomsky and his followers, and assumptions on which they based their research are refuted. The thesis discusses the domain confusions on which traditional linguistics relies and reviews Victor H. Yngve's framework for human linguistics. Based on human linguistics theory, a change in focus is suggested, from language teaching to communication learning; research in neurobiology that supports the proposed change is presented. An experiment (previously reported at TESOL 2006) is described that looks at what constitutes input in real-world communication. The results of the experiment indicate the role of mental imagery in generating input for communication learning; the concept of mental imagery is discussed. New terminology is suggested as well as a number of ways to improve the outcomes of communication learning in classroom settings. Simulation in the classroom is reviewed from the perspective of human linguistics and retained as the most appropriate practical application for communication learning.

Committee: Douglas Coleman (Advisor) Subjects:

Master of Arts, University of Toledo, 2005, English (as a Second Language)

This study examines and compares the use of [ðIs] and [ðæt] by native speakers of English (NS's) and non-native speakers of English (NNS's) in a deictic study. The study examines traditional definitions of this and that found in dictionaries as well as contemporary definitions of this and that provided by email queries. Sixty subjects were shown pictures of eleven apples and were asked which specific apple they liked best and which specific apple they liked least. The response pairs of NS's and NNS's were compared to see if they were significantly different. Chi-square tests showed that NNS's used [ðIs] as their first response and [ðæt] as their second response significantly more often than NS's. The research suggests that definitions and rules traditionally found in books and which are taught in ESL classes are more descriptive of behavior of NNS's than that of NS's in a real world situation. Thus, this research suggests the possibility that the use of these rules in ESL teaching may lead to speech that is not native-like.

Committee: Douglas Coleman (Advisor) Subjects: Language, Linguistics

Master of Arts, University of Toledo, 2004, English (as a Second Language)

This study examines and compares the nonverbal behavior of native speakers of English (NS) and nonnative speakers of English (NNS) and their interaction with students. Thirty subjects were studied by observing their non-verbal behavior and checking for varying degrees of frequency in use as well as for the possibility of a communicative breakdown. Several variables to classify the non-verbal behavior were designed, among them being hand-raising, frowning, head-nodding / head-shaking, directed gaze, and change in body posture. The subjects were all teachers of English as a Second Language, some of them being teachers within the University of Toledo's English Department, and others being instructors for the American Language Institute (ALI) on campus. All subjects have had some teaching experience, the core of the group ranging from two to 14 years. The choice of variables reflects the root of this study. Hard-science linguistics examines observable, real-world characteristics. It focuses on the presentation of these characteristics, rather than interpreting non-real world concepts. Therefore the variables used for this study reflect this “ability to observe”. These variables (non-verbal behavior of observed individuals) had to conform to a previously designed framework that had the purpose of limiting the interpretability of the observed behavior. In order to exclude researcher bias as much as possible, only those instances in which the non-verbal signal conformed to this framework were recorded.

Committee: Douglas Coleman (Advisor) Subjects: Language, Linguistics