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Claire, Anita. "Language acquisition." Thesis, Loughborough University, 2002. https://dspace.lboro.ac.uk/2134/34018.
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This project investigates acquisition of a new language by example. Syntax induction has been studied widely and the more complex syntax associated with Natural Language is difficult to induce without restrictions. Chomsky conjectured that natural languages are restricted by a Universal Grammar. English could be used as a Universal Grammar and Punjabi derived from it in a similar way as the acquisition of a first language. However, if English has already been acquired then Punjabi would be induced from English as a second language.
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Choi, Myong Hee. "The acquisition of wh-in-situ constructions in second language acquisition." Connect to Electronic Thesis (CONTENTdm), 2009. http://worldcat.org/oclc/450899150/viewonline.
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De, Marcken Carl Gustave. "Unsupervised language acquisition." Thesis, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 1996. http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/10640.
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Thesis (Ph. D.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, 1996.<br>Includes bibliographical references (p. 125-133).<br>by Carl G. de Marcken.<br>Ph.D.
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Estigarribia, Bruno. "Asking questions language variation and language acquisition /." May be available electronically:, 2007. http://proquest.umi.com/login?COPT=REJTPTU1MTUmSU5UPTAmVkVSPTI=&clientId=12498.
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Prévost, Philippe 1966. "Truncation in second language acquisition." Thesis, McGill University, 1997. http://digitool.Library.McGill.CA:80/R/?func=dbin-jump-full&object_id=34766.
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In this thesis, I argue that early child second language (L2) grammars allow truncation, on a par with proposals by Rizzi (1993/1994) and Haegeman (1995) for first language (L1) acquisition. This account (the Truncation Hypothesis) holds that Rizzi's (1994) Root Principle, according to which root declaratives are CPs, is initially underspecified in L2 systems (for processing reasons). This means that the root of main declaratives will not systematically be CP. Instead, different types of roots should be projected, such as CP, IP or VP, with VP underlying root infinitives. If one further assumes that functional categories are present in early grammars, the possibility of truncation can thus account for optionality of verb-movement and finiteness in early SLA, and more generally for why such categories seem to be optionally projected initially (Vainikka & Young-Scholten, 1994; 1996; Eubank, 1992; 1993/1994; 1996).<br>Predictions based on the Truncation Hypothesis were tested against longitudinal spontaneous production data from child and adult L2 learners. There were two child and two adult learners of L2 French (whose L1s were English and Arabic) and two child two adult learners of L2 German (native speakers of Romance pro-drop languages). The findings suggest that the distribution of finite and nonfinite verbs is structurally determined in L2 child grammar, i.e. tenseless verbs only appear when VP is the root, while finite verbs are found when functional categories are projected. This in turn means that children project truncated structures in early L2 acquisition. I argue that no other theory of the nature of early L2 grammars is able to account for the full range of properties of the child L2 data.<br>The adult data are less conclusive concerning the possibility of truncation in adult L2 grammars. In particular, the learners seem to use infinitival markers as substitutes for finite inflections, which means that nonfinite verbs are found in contexts which are not predicted by the Truncation Hypothesis. The difference between the child and adult learners is attributed to problems that adults may have in mapping the syntactic and morphological systems (Lardiere, 1996), and not to a discrepancy in syntactic knowledge.
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Prévost, Philippe. "Truncation in second language acquisition." Thesis, National Library of Canada = Bibliothèque nationale du Canada, 1997. http://www.collectionscanada.ca/obj/s4/f2/dsk2/ftp03/NQ44557.pdf.
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Greene-Havas, Maia. "Acquisition of social language register." Connect to resource, 2008. http://hdl.handle.net/1811/32184.
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Pate, John Kenton. "Predictability effects in language acquisition." Thesis, University of Edinburgh, 2013. http://hdl.handle.net/1842/8235.
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Human language has two fundamental requirements: it must allow competent speakers to exchange messages efficiently, and it must be readily learned by children. Recent work has examined effects of language predictability on language production, with many researchers arguing that so-called “predictability effects” function towards the efficiency requirement. Specifically, recent work has found that talkers tend to reduce linguistic forms that are more probable more heavily. This dissertation proposes the “Predictability Bootstrapping Hypothesis” that predictability effects also make language more learnable. There is a great deal of evidence that the adult grammars have substantial statistical components. Since predictability effects result in heavier reduction for more probable words and hidden structure, they provide infants with direct cues to the statistical components of the grammars they are trying to learn. The corpus studies and computational modeling experiments in this dissertation show that predictability effects could be a substantial source of information to language-learning infants, focusing on the potential utility of phonetic reduction in terms of word duration for syntax acquisition. First, corpora of spontaneous adult-directed and child-directed speech (ADS and CDS, respectively) are compared to verify that predictability effects actually exist in CDS. While revealing some differences, mixed effects regressions on those corpora indicate that predictability effects in CDS are largely similar (in kind and magnitude) to predictability effects in ADS. This result indicates that predictability effects are available to infants, however useful they may be. Second, this dissertation builds probabilistic, unsupervised, and lexicalized models for learning about syntax from words and durational cues. One series of models is based on Hidden Markov Models and learns shallow constituency structure, while the other series is based on the Dependency Model with Valence and learns dependency structure. These models are then used to measure how useful durational cues are for syntax acquisition, and to what extent their utility in this task can be attributed to effects of syntactic predictability on word duration. As part of this investigation, these models are also used to explore the venerable “Prosodic Bootstrapping Hypothesis” that prosodic structure, which is cued in part by word duration, may be useful for syntax acquisition. The empirical evaluations of these models provide evidence that effects of syntactic predictability on word duration are easier to discover and exploit than effects of prosodic structure, and that even gold-standard annotations of prosodic structure provide at most a relatively small improvement in parsing performance over raw word duration. Taken together, this work indicates that predictability effects provide useful information about syntax to infants, showing that the Predictability Bootstrapping Hypothesis for syntax acquisition is computationally plausible and motivating future behavioural investigation. Additionally, as talkers consider the probability of many different aspects of linguistic structure when reducing according to predictability effects, this result also motivates investigation of Predictability Bootstrapping of other aspects of linguistic knowledge.
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Waegner, Nicholas Paul. "Stochastic models for language acquisition." Thesis, University of Cambridge, 1993. http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.309214.
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Randall, Janet H. "Morphological structure and language acquisition." New York : Garland, 1985. http://catalog.hathitrust.org/api/volumes/oclc/12237695.html.
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Lacerda, Adriana Campbell Santos de. "Teenagers'motivation in second language acquisition." reponame:Repositório Institucional da UFSC, 2012. http://repositorio.ufsc.br/xmlui/handle/123456789/95741.
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Dissertação (mestrado) - Universidade Federal de Santa Catarina, Centro de Comunicação e Expressão, Programa de Pós-graduação em Letras/Inglês e Literatura Correspondente, Florianópolis, 2011<br>Made available in DSpace on 2012-10-26T05:30:55Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1
298672.pdf: 494099 bytes, checksum: e9d2e3ac265a053f38d186d6a33488e1 (MD5)<br>Considerando que a motivação é um fator de grande importância no processo de aquisição de uma segunda língua/língua estrangeira por gerar interesse em iniciar a aprendizagem da mesma e também por mantê-la durante todo o processo (Dornyei, 2005), o objetivo da pesquisa aqui proposta foi investigar a motivação dos alunos adolescentes em relação às suas aulas de Inglês e verificar a opinião dos seus professores em relação à motivação dos mesmos e seus comportamentos em sala de aula. A pesquisa foi realizada com duas coordenadoras, quatro professoras de Inglês e duzentos e trinta e sete alunos, de uma escola pública e de uma escola particular de Joinville, Santa Catarina, Brasil. O estudo procurou oferecer uma visão geral de alguns aspectos teóricos da motivação que são relevantes no processo de aquisição de uma segunda língua para os adolescentes, buscando discutir a relação existente entre o processo de aquisição de uma segunda língua, a adolescência e o impacto desta relação em tal aprendizado, considerando as diferenças individuais e os fatores afetivos, principalmente a motivação. O método utilizado na pesquisa consistiu de entrevistas semi-estruturadas, feitas com as coordenadoras e professoras, e de questionários, aplicados aos alunos. Os resultados sugerem que há uma dissonância entre o pensamento da maioria dos professores de Inglês, que acreditam que seus alunos normalmente se mostram desmotivados durante as suas aulas, e o que foi relatado pelos alunos. A análise dos dados também indica que o meio sócio-econômico e cultural dos alunos pode influenciar a motivação dos mesmos, uma vez que os alunos da escola particular, os de classe média, mostraram ter uma motivação extrínseca em relação ao aprendizado da língua inglesa, enquanto os da escola pública, os menos privilegiados, demonstraram ter uma motivação intrínseca. Tais resultados corroboram a hipótese de Dornyei (2001b) de que a motivação para aprender uma segunda língua é uma situação complexa, já que a aprendizagem de uma língua não é somente uma atividade educacional, mas também envolve questões sociais e culturais.<br>Considering that motivation is of great importance in the process of acquiring a second/foreign language, whereas it is responsible for providing the primary interest in initiating L2 learning and also for maintaining it throughout the process (Dornyei, 2005), the aim of the research here proposed was to investigate the teenagers# motivation towards their EFL classes and their teachers# opinions about their motivation and overall behavior in class. The research was carried out with two coordinators, four English teachers and two hundred and thirty-seven students from a public and a private school in Joinville, Santa Catarina, Brazil. The study attempted to provide an overview of some theoretical aspects of motivation that seem to be particularly relevant in the adolescent learners# process of learning a foreign language, discussing the relation between SLA, the adolescence and its impact in the SLA process, considering individual differences and affective factors, especially motivation. The method used in the research consisted of semi-structured interviews with the coordinators and teachers, and questionnaires administered to the students. The results suggest that there is a mismatch between the teachers# thoughts about adolescent students# motivation and the way they really feel in their EFL classes. Although English teachers, in general, usually believe that teenagers seem not to be motivated, the data collected showed that most of the participants of this study like their English classes and feel motivated towards them. The study also indicates that the socio-economic and cultural milieu of the students may influence their overall motivation, since the students from the private school, so the middle-class ones, showed extrinsic motivation for learning English, while the ones from the public school, the less privileged ones, showed intrinsic motivation. These findings corroborate Dornyei#s (2001b) assumption that motivation to learn a language is a complex situation, as language learning is not only an educational activity, but also involves social and cultural issues.
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Chan, Mei-lan, and 陳美蘭. "Notions of language dominance, language preference and language choicein the study of bilingual first language acquisition (BFLA)." Thesis, The University of Hong Kong (Pokfulam, Hong Kong), 2010. http://hub.hku.hk/bib/B45163893.
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Johnson, Brianne J. McManness Linda M. "Foreign language learning : an exploratory study on the external and internal influences affecting success /." Waco, Tex. : Baylor University, 2006. http://hdl.handle.net/2104/3959.
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Richard, Erin. "Individual differences and second language acquisition among low-income preschoolers." Fairfax, VA : George Mason University, 2007. http://hdl.handle.net/1920/2957.
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Thesis (M.A.)--George Mason University, 2007.<br>Title from PDF t.p. (viewed Jan. 21, 2008). Thesis director: Adam Winsler. Submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts in Psychology. Vita: p. 65. Includes bibliographical references (p. 58-64). Also available in print.
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Trent, Kenneth F. "Learning Languages Through the Media: Toward an Understanding of the Mediated Language Acquisition Process and the Motivation Cycle of Mediated Language Acquisition." BYU ScholarsArchive, 2011. https://scholarsarchive.byu.edu/etd/2712.
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Utilizing in-depth interviews and constant comparative analysis through a qualitative approach, this research study examined the development of second language acquisition of US immigrants via the mass media as a part of the acculturation process. Nine international students (or international spouses of students) of a major midwestern university participated in 25-60 minute interviews. Based on participant responses, the author formulated the mediated language acquisition process, or the process by which the participants acquired English as an additional language with the help of the mass media. Additionally, motivation was found to be the primary indicator of the rate of language acquisition. The motivation cycle of mediated language acquisition attempts to describe the elements and factors involved in the increase or decrease of motivation during mediated language acquisition. Finally, the author presents some key findings of the study, regarding types of media and message which were most beneficial to participants as they acquired English as a new language.
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Guillory, Helen E. (Helen Elizabeth). "Computer Applications to Second Language Acquisition." Thesis, University of North Texas, 1991. https://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc504628/.
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This thesis is intended to give a panorama of technology in foreign language pedagogy. Although my field of study is French, the computer applications under scrutiny do not relate solely to the teaching of French. This paper begins with a criticism of the rigid listen-and-repeat language laboratory concept while tracking the rise of communicative language learning theory; follows the microprocessor revolution in language consoles; documents the development of computer-assisted instruction; showcases software evaluations of computer-assisted language learning; explores telecommunications; discusses satellite dishes and other computer peripherals; presents the results of a survey of Texas universities; and concludes with the presentation of the evolving language media center.
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Slabakova, Roumyana. "Zero acquisition : second language acquisition of the parameter of aspect." Thesis, National Library of Canada = Bibliothèque nationale du Canada, 1997. http://www.collectionscanada.ca/obj/s4/f2/dsk2/ftp02/NQ44589.pdf.
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Snyder, William Brandon. "Language acquisition and language variation : the role of morphology." Thesis, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 1995. http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/11130.
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Taylor, Annelies. "Languages : computation of communication : gender issues in curricular foreign language acquisition." Thesis, Open University, 2010. http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.526901.
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Meek, Barbra Allyn. "Kaska language socialization, acquisition and shift." Diss., The University of Arizona, 2001. http://hdl.handle.net/10150/290390.
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Language maintenance and re-creation are burning issues for many indigenous communities around the world. Child language acquisition and socialization are processes integral to understanding these issues. In order to design realistic language recreation projects, research must first address the many factors impacting the acquisition and maintenance of a language by children. This dissertation shows how different contexts, historical, environmental, interactional, relate to Kaska language socialization and acquisition. Kaska is a Northern Athabaskan language spoken in the Yukon Territory (Canada). In particular, it shows how the shift from Kaska being a language of everyday communication to one associated with authority and respect constrains children's Kaska production. To examine this shift, a combination of linguistic and ethnographic methods are used. Linguistic description identifies the grammatical structures of the target language. These are the structures that children need to acquire in order to be able to understand and speak the Kaska language. Additionally, grammatical description of adult utterances reveals that children are being exposed to a full Kaska grammar. This suggests that children may understand more Kaska than they produce. Ethnographic methods identify the social constraints on speaking the Kaska language and help establish links between interaction patterns and ideological constructs. They reveal that language choice is related to a speaker's age and social position. Older interlocutors may choose to speak Kaska while younger interlocutors typically choose English. Children have incorporated this pattern into their playgroups. By producing a Kaska utterance, a child may become leader of the playgroup. He or she uses Kaska to attain this social position. Speaking Kaska is also related to the concept of respect. Narratives on socialization emphasize this by instructing children on how to behave respectfully. While children are exposed to an adult Kaska grammar, they predominantly speak English. This pattern is not just the result of past assimilationist practices; it is part of Kaska language socialization.
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Buttery, P. J. "Computational models for first language acquisition." Thesis, University of Cambridge, 2006. http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.597195.
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This work investigates a computational model of first language acquisition; the Categorical Grammar Learner or CGL. The model builds on the work of Villavicenio, who created a parametric Categorical Grammar learner that organises its parameters into an inheritance hierarchy, and also on the work of Buszkowski and Kanazawa, who demonstrated the learnability of a <i>k</i>-valued Classic Categorial Grammar (which uses only the rules of function application) from strings. The CGL is able to learn a <i>k</i>-valued General Categorial Grammar (which uses the rules of function application, function composition and Generalised Weak Permutation). The novel concept of Sentence Objects (simple strings, augmented strings, unlabelled structures and functor-argument structures) are presented as potential points from which learning may commence. Augmented strings (which are stings augmented with some basic syntactic information) are suggested as a sensible input to the CGL as they are cognitively plausible objects and have greater information content than strings alone. Building on the work of Siskind, a method for constructing augmented strings from unordered logic forms is detailed and it is suggested that augmented strings are simply a representation of the constraints placed on the space of possible parses due to a sting’s associated semantic content. The CGL make crucial use of a statistical Memory Module (constructed from a type memory and Word Order Memory) that is used to both constrain hypotheses and handle data which is noisy or parametrically ambiguous. A consequence of the Memory Module is that the CGL learns in an incremental fashion. This echoes real child learning as documented in Brown’s Stages of Language Development and also as alluded to by an included corpus study of child speech. Furthermore, the CGL learns faster when initially presented with simpler linguistic data; a further corpus study of child-directed speech suggests that this echoes the input provided to children. The CGL is demonstrated to learn from real data. It is evaluated against previous parametric learners (the Triggering Learning Algorithm of Gibson and Wexler and the Structural Triggers Learner of Fodor and Sakas) and is found to be more efficient.
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張少能 and Siu-nang Bruce Cheung. "A theory of automatic language acquisition." Thesis, The University of Hong Kong (Pokfulam, Hong Kong), 1994. http://hub.hku.hk/bib/B31233521.
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Schuwerk, Timothy Andrew. "MORPHEME ACQUISITION IN SECOND LANGUAGE LEARNERS." Master's thesis, University of Central Florida, 2004. http://digital.library.ucf.edu/cdm/ref/collection/ETD/id/4451.
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This study explored morpheme acquisition in learners of English as a Second Language (ESL). Specifically, it looked at the development of eight selected individuals from Korea over the course of an intensive 8-week instruction program and tracked their acquisition of three specific English morphemes: indefinite articles used with singular count nouns, progressive -ing forms, and third person -s markers. The individuals were given an assessment test to place them at the correct level within the program prior to their selection for the study. The participants provided four sets of data in the form of writing samples at fixed intervals during the eight weeks. The results were evaluated and documented in the pages that follow. Improvement was shown in raw performance data on the morphemes, and a significant correlation was found for both the indefinite article and progressive -ing morphemes in number of correct responses.<br>M.A.<br>Department of Foreign Languages and Literatures<br>Arts and Sciences<br>Foreign Languages and Literatures
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Clark, Alexander Simon. "Unsupervised language acquisition : theory and practice." Thesis, University of Sussex, 2001. http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.394288.
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Goodman, Julie Marianne. "Acquisition and transfer of language function." Thesis, University of Southampton, 1990. http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.293183.
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Cheung, Siu-nang Bruce. "A theory of automatic language acquisition /." [Hong Kong] : University of Hong Kong, 1994. http://sunzi.lib.hku.hk/hkuto/record.jsp?B13671601.
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Vilkaitė, Laura. "Formulaic language : distribution, processing, and acquisition." Thesis, University of Nottingham, 2016. http://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/35442/.
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Formulaic sequences are very frequently used in language as a preferred way to convey certain meanings. This thesis looks at distribution, processing, and incidental acquisition of formulaic sequences, by presenting four separate studies on different aspects of formulaicity. Study 1 investigated the distribution of four different categories of formulaic sequences (collocations, idiomatic phrases, lexical bundles, and phrasal verbs) and showed that those four categories vary considerably in terms of frequency. Also, register seems to affect the number of formulaic sequences used, as well as the categories of formulaic sequences preferred. Importantly, this study raised an issue of form variation of formulaic sequences (especially collocations) which seemed to be an under-researched area. Therefore, the following studies investigated the effect of form variation (focusing on non-adjacency) on collocation processing and their incidental acquisition. Studies 2 and 3 used an eye-tracking technique to investigate how native and non-native speakers of English process adjacent and non-adjacent verb-noun collocations. The results suggest that native speakers process both adjacent and non-adjacent collocations faster than matched control phrases, albeit the collocation effect seems to be larger for adjacent collocations. As for non-native speakers, there is a clear collocation effect for adjacent collocations and it is moderated by prior vocabulary knowledge. However, there seems to be almost no effect for non-adjacent collocations. This finding suggests that even advanced non-native speakers process non-adjacent collocations differently than native speakers. Finally, Study 4 tried to take the findings from the previous studies to a classroom. It investigated whether there is any difference between the chances of incidentally acquiring adjacent and non-adjacent collocations from reading. The results suggest low but durable gains for both adjacent and non-adjacent collocations, with no significant differences between these two groups of items. Overall, the results presented in the thesis support the idea that formulaic language is ubiquitous, but suggest that some of the criteria that have been widely used for identifying formulaic sequences might need to be reconsidered. It seems that collocations, at least for native speakers, retain their formulaic status even when presented non-adjacently. They seem to be successfully learned as non-adjacent dependencies as well. While this finding cannot be easily generalized to other types of formulaic sequences, it seems to suggest that a lot more research on form variation of formulaic sequences is needed in order to better understand the scope of the phenomenon.
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Medina, Erica. "Individual Differences in Second Language Acquisition." Thesis, The American University of Paris (France), 2019. http://pqdtopen.proquest.com/#viewpdf?dispub=13871585.
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<p> Second language acquisition can be defined as the process in which language learning occurs through the formal study of rules, patterns, and conventions which enable one to talk about and consciously or unconsciously apply the knowledge gained. Individual differences, along with linguistic input, play a key part in the process of second language acquisition. Studies such as the VILLA Project focus on the exposure conditions and the content of the input leading to initial contact in the process of second language acquisition. Participants’ individual differences in the categories of motivation and individual learning style for Francophone students served as the control variables, and the form-based versus meaning-based input as the experimental variable. In comparison to their German and Dutch counterparts, neither the Francophone meaning nor form based groups presented any significant results based on these specific individual differences in their acquisition of Polish in the word formation tasks. Further study should be conducted on other individual differences and their role in the acquisition process.</p><p>
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Ionin, Tania. "Article semantics in second language acquisition." Thesis, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 2003. http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/7963.
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Thesis (Ph. D.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Brain and Cognitive Sciences, 2003.<br>Includes bibliographical references (p. 311-318).<br>This thesis examines article choice and parameter-setting in second language (L2) acquisition. It argues, on the basis of L2-English elicitation and production data, that L2- learners have access to UG-based semantic distinctions governing article choice, but do not know which distinction is appropriate for English. A Fluctuation Hypothesis (FH) is proposed, according to which L2-learners fluctuate between different parameter settings until the input leads them to set the parameter to the target value. The thesis proposes that articles cross-linguistically may encode definiteness or specificity. The definition of specificity that is adopted is based on Fodor and Sag's (1982) view of specificity as speaker intent to refer. The behavior of referential this, a specificity marker in colloquial English, is examined, and it is proposed that the definition of specificity incorporates the concept of noteworthy property. An Article Choice Parameter is next proposed, which governs whether articles in a given language are distinguished on the basis of definiteness or on the basis of specificity. While English has the Definiteness setting of this parameter, it is suggested, on the basis of data from Mosel and Hovdhaugen (1992), that Samoan has the Specificity setting. It is hypothesized, in accordance with the FH, that L2-learners fluctuate between the two settings of the Article Choice Parameter. This hypothesis leads to the prediction that L2- English errors of article use should come in two types: overuse of the with specific indefinites and overuse of a with non-specific definites. These predictions are examined in a series of studies with adult speakers of Russian and Korean, two languages with no<br>(cont.) articles. The empirical data confirm the predictions, and show that L2-English article choice is not random but reflects access to the two settings of the Article Choice Parameter. The same patterns of results are found for L-Russian and L-Korean speakers, and it is shown that the results are not attributable to LI-transfer. On the basis of these findings, it is concluded that L2-learners have direct UG-access to semantic distinctions underlying article choice. The data also provide evidence for the existence of a specificity distinction which cross-cuts the definiteness distinction.<br>bu Tania Ruth Ionin.<br>Ph.D.
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Lei, Tao Ph D. Massachusetts Institute of Technology. "Domain knowledge acquisition via language grounding." Thesis, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 2013. http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/82412.
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Thesis (S.M.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, 2013.<br>Cataloged from PDF version of thesis.<br>Includes bibliographical references (p. 54-60).<br>This thesis addresses the language grounding problem at the level of word relation extraction. We propose methods to acquire knowledge represented in the form of relations and utilize them in two domain applications, high-level planning in a complex virtual world and input parser generation from input format specifications. In the first application, we propose a reinforcement learning framework to jointly learn to predict precondition relations from text and to perform high-level planning guided by those relations. When applied to a complex virtual world and text describing that world, our relation extraction technique performs on par with a supervised baseline, and we show that a high-level planner utilizing these extracted relations significantly outperforms a strong, text unaware baseline. In the second application, we use a sampling framework to predict relation trees and to generate input parser code from those trees. Our results show that our approach outperforms a state-of-the-art semantic parser on a dataset of input format specifications from the ACM International Collegiate Programming Contest, which were written in English for humans with no intention of providing support for automated processing.<br>by Tao Lei.<br>S.M.
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Jordan, Geoffrey. "Theory construction in second language acquisition." Thesis, University College London (University of London), 2004. http://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/10020474/.
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Whereas ten years ago most SLA researchers assumed a rationalist, "scientific" approach to theory construction, recently, growing numbers have adopted relativist positions that strongly criticise the methods, and authority of the rationalist/empiricist paradigm. Apart from the problem of research methodology, other problems make progress in the construction of a theory of SLA difficult: the proliferation of theories, contradictions among them, and, most important of all, confusion about the domain and objectives of a theory of SLA. This thesis addresses the problems outlined above by returning to first principles and asking what it is that we can know about the world, whether there is any such thing as reliable knowledge, what is special about scientific methodology, and what the best way of tackling the complex task of explaining SLA might be. While previous surveys of SLA research exist, no previous attempt has been made to examine SLA research in terms of its epistemological underpinnings and its relation to scientific method, or to evaluate different research programmes and putative theories in terms of how they form part of, and contribute towards, a rational, scientific explanation of the phenomena of SLA. Having outlined basic terms and the problems to be dealt with, I give a brief history of scientific method and explain the objections to a rationalist methodology raised by various relativists. I then attempt to defend rationality against relativists' attacks and suggest criteria that can guide a rationalist research programme in SLA. The questions of the domain of SLA theories, what counts as an explanation, and different theory types are examined. Having suggested guidelines for a rationalist approach to SLA theory construction, I examine different approaches to SLA in the history of SLA, assessing them in terms of the guidelines. Finally I suggest what the domain of a theory of SLA should be and discuss to what extent theories to date offer a satisfactory explanation of the phenomena within that domain.
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Matsumoto-Sturt, Yoko. "Second language acquisition of Japanese orthography." Thesis, University of Edinburgh, 2004. http://hdl.handle.net/1842/24918.
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The aim of this thesis is to address issues on second language (L2) acquisition of Japanese orthography. In particular, I investigate L2 acquisition of reading and writing in Japanese with special attention paid to how linguistic and perceptual difficulties influence lexical processes involved in reading and writing by English-speaking learners of Japanese. I first establish that L2 spelling problems are found in writing by keyboard. Evidence is presented from error patterns of L2 language used in a small self-constructed L2 error corpus that was gathered according to originally set external criteria. Next, I demonstrate that there are predictable error causes as well as general linguistic and perceptual problems among L2 writers. Real-time observational data illustrates how and when L2 writers make spelling mistakes with the keyboard, and an analysis of verbal protocol data reveals L2 writing strategies. Third, I turn to the domain of L2 perception and L1-specific listening strategies. I show the different patterns of learners’ perceived rhythmic units in terms of L2 Moraic Awareness of Japanese words, and determine the extent of the use of L1-specific listening strategies. Fourth, I provide a general picture of Interlanguage (IL) lexical representations in reading and spelling. Evidence from novel and existing experimental work is presented which shows that L2 writer’s linguistic problems are reflected in their written products. I present an account of a typical learner strategy of sub-lexical reading and writing. Finally, in the domain of visual kanji recognition, visual attention is addressed. An originally defined phenomenon of ‘kanji illusion’ leads to the interesting result that linguistic factors are not solely responsible for failures to notice kanji errors. This represents a new kind of explanation for L2 kanji reading difficulties, from a psycholinguistic perspective.
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Linford, Bret Gene. "The acquisition of subject pronouns in second language Spanish." Diss., [Missoula, Mont.] : The University of Montana, 2009. http://etd.lib.umt.edu/theses/available/etd-05292009-154201.
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Thesis (MA)--University of Montana, 2009.<br>"Major Subject: Modern and Classical Languages and Literatures" Contents viewed on November 11, 2009. Title from author supplied metadata. Includes bibliographical references.
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Goro, Takuya. "Language-specific constraints on scope interpretation in first language acquisition." College Park, Md. : University of Maryland, 2007. http://hdl.handle.net/1903/7345.
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Thesis (Ph. D.) -- University of Maryland, College Park, 2007.<br>Thesis research directed by: Linguistics. Title from t.p. of PDF. Includes bibliographical references. Published by UMI Dissertation Services, Ann Arbor, Mich. Also available in paper.
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Gardner, Eliza Racquel. "Language Acquisition with English Language Learners Who Have Developmental Delays." BYU ScholarsArchive, 2017. https://scholarsarchive.byu.edu/etd/6725.
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The current study examined the effects of language instruction with two preschool age students who are English language learners who have developmental delays using the incidental teaching method. Language targets were randomly chosen according to the language level of each student and the targets were either in Spanish (L1) or English (L2). The students were in a special education classroom and researchers worked with them one-on-one, using the natural learning environment to teach and to better implement learning objectives. Targets were withheld during play and students had to mand, tact, or use intraverbal skills to receive the item. Their reward was the object they desired after they manded, tacted, or used intraverbal language. The experimental effects were measured using a single case, repeated acquisition design. The intervention was maintained for five months. The results indicated that acquisition of English (L2) is acquired faster after Spanish (L1) has been appropriately taught. Implications for further research are discussed.
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Parrilla, Larissa Karina. "Multimedia Technologies' Influence on Language Acquisition in English Language Learners." ScholarWorks, 2016. https://scholarworks.waldenu.edu/dissertations/2682.
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English as a Second Language (ESL) learners at the upper elementary level have struggled to demonstrate the vocabulary required to read in English at grade-level. Although multimedia technologies have demonstrated positive effects as language acquisition educational tools at the university level, it remains unclear how useful they are for language acquisition at the elementary level. This quasi-experimental study used dual coding theory as a framework to examine the relationship between the level of reading comprehension upper elementary students developed and their construction of word meanings through use of multimedia technologies. The study utilized convenience sampling of 85 students divided into treatment and control groups in a Puerto Rican Montessori school. The treatment consisted of use of multimedia technologies that included video, audio, images, and words in a digital environment for vocabulary acquisition instruction. Data sources included pretest and posttest results for the Maze Close test that measures reading comprehension. These results were analyzed using a paired t test. Results indicated that students in treatment groups developed greater reading comprehension than did those in control groups. However, the difference in scores between the groups was not significant, so the null hypothesis was not rejected. Further research is required in order to determine whether a positive relationship can exist between multimedia technology usage and development of upper elementary student vocabulary and reading comprehension. This study indicates the importance of examining whether multimedia technology use in elementary student English reading comprehension can create reading gains for upper elementary ESL students.
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Brown, Cynthia A. 1967. "Acquisition of segmental structure : consequences for speech perception and second language acquisition." Thesis, McGill University, 1997. http://digitool.Library.McGill.CA:80/R/?func=dbin-jump-full&object_id=34704.
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Through an investigation of the acquisition of feature geometric representations in first and second language acquisition, this dissertation demonstrates how the Feature Geometry theory contained in Universal Grammar actively guides and constrains the acquisition of segmental representations by children. In addition, it demonstrates how the mature feature geometry in a speaker's mental grammar restricts the range of nonnative phonemic contrasts that he or she will be sensitive to in the input and, hence, able to acquire as an L2 learner.<br>Three related areas of research are explored and integrated in this work: first, a theoretical study explores the feature-geometric representation of sonorant and non-sonorant laterals, based on their behavior in a variety of phonological processes cross-linguistically, and suggests that [lateral] is not a phonological feature, but rather that laterality is a phonetic property that derives from a specific feature-geometric representation; second, an experimental study investigates the acquisition of phonemic contrasts by English children and demonstrates that segmental representations are acquired in a uniform order that is consistent with properties of Feature Geometry; finally, a series of experimental studies examines the perception and acquisition of the English /l-r/, /b-v/, /p-f/, /f-v/ and /s-theta/ contrasts by native speakers of Japanese, Mandarin Chinese and Korean.<br>The findings from each of these studies are synthesized to obtain a comprehensive picture of how segmental representations are acquired and how this L1 knowledge impinges on the acquisition of L2 phonemes: it is argued that the monotonic acquisition of feature-geometric structure by young children restricts their sensitivity to particular non-native contrasts, and the continued operation of this existing feature geometry in adult speech perception constrains which non-native contrasts adult learners will be sensitive to in the L2 input and, therefore, capable of acquiring; the circumstances in which the native grammar facilitates perception of non-native contrasts and in which acquisition is possible are also discussed.
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Itani-Adams, Yuki. "One child, two languages bilingual first language acquisition in Japanese and English /." View thesis, 2007. http://handle.uws.edu.au:8081/1959.7/28484.
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Thesis (Ph.D.)--University of Western Sydney, 2007.<br>A thesis presented to the University of Western Sydney, College of Arts, School of Humanities and Languages, in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy. Includes bibliographies.
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Barlow, John Stephen. "Intonation and second language acquisition : a study of the acquisition of English intonation by speakers of other languages." Thesis, University of Hull, 1998. http://hydra.hull.ac.uk/resources/hull:3873.
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In the field of second language acquisition (SLA) research, the study of intonation, and prosodic systems generally, suffers from a considerable under-representation.This has far-reaching consequences. From the large body of empirical work on various aspects of SLA over the last three decades, a great deal has been turned to pedagogical use. Indeed, the field of SLA is closely linked to that of language pedagogy, as the dual acquisition theoretical and pedagogical character of many current journals and conferences shows.However, the mutually nourishing relationship between SLA research and language teaching suffers if either component is inadequate.In the case of intonation, this is exactly the case. At a time when the processes of SLA are under analysis from a wide range of linguistic, psychological and sociolinguistic perspectives, relatively little is known, even on a simple descriptive level, about the acquisition of intonation. There is no body of studies of L2 intonational form comparable, for example, to the 'morpheme studies' or to studies of 'developmental sequences' which informed much thinking in the field in the 1970s and 1980s (see Ellis 1994, Ch.3); no substantial body of work, that is, which might form the basis of further research.The present study aims to contribute to current knowledge on the acquisition of intonational form in second languages. It seeks to provide a detailed account of how certain aspects of L2 English intonation develop, both in terms of their phonetics, and also in terms of the linguistic and discoursal ends to which they are put. The study is divided into two parts:Part One: in which the theoretical and descriptive bases of the study are established. It deals first with aspects of intonational form in English, describing in detail the prosodic systems which are employed to mark various aspects of informational structure within the spoken language, and also considers briefly the current state of language teaching in these areas (Chapter One). Then a review of research into the acquisition of sound systems in second languages is presented, looking particularly at intonational form and other aspects of prosodic production and perception (Chapter Two).Part Two: in which the experiments which have been undertaken as part of this study are presented. Firstly, the procedural and analytical aspects of these experiments will be described (Chapter Three). The findings will then be presented and discussed (Chapters Four to Seven). Finally, findings will be summarised and some general conclusions drawn (Chapter Eight).
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Woodall, Billy Ray. "Language-switching in second language writing /." Thesis, Connect to this title online; UW restricted, 2000. http://hdl.handle.net/1773/7545.
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Swanson, Kimberly Anne Bankart. "Acquisition versus suppression of phonological processes in the second language acquisition of French and English." [Bloomington, Ind.] : Indiana University, 2007. http://gateway.proquest.com/openurl?url_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info:ofi/fmt:kev:mtx:dissertation&res_dat=xri:pqdiss&rft_dat=xri:pqdiss:3243793.
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Thesis (Ph.D.)--Indiana University, Depts. of French & Italian and Linguistics, 2007.<br>Title from PDF t.p. (viewed Nov. 17, 2008). Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 67-12, Section: A, page: 4529. Advisers: Daniel A. Dinnsen; Albert Valdman.
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Charters, Areta Helen. "The second language acquisition of Mandarin nominal syntax." Thesis, University of Auckland, 2005. http://hdl.handle.net/2292/2405.
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This thesis establishes a natural acquisition order for 18 nominal structures in Mandarin SLA, and assesses the extent to which that order can be explained as a consequence of cognitive processing demands. The natural acquisition order is based on a longitudinal study of three adults learning Mandarin in a classroom environment in Auckland, New Zealand. Two representatives of an average emergence order are derived from the three individual orders: a ranking of mean emergence times (RMT) and a ranking of mean emergence ranks (RMR). Processing demands are calculated in three different ways: once on the basis of six developmental stages identified in Pienemann’s Processability Theory (Pienemann, 1998c), once on the basis of a detailed analysis of each nominal structure according to the generative grammar of LFG (Bresnan, 1982, 2001); and finally on the basis of the Minimalist Programme (Chomsky 1995; 1999; 2000). All rest upon a prior analysis of lexical feature structures and constituent structures evident in the learner’s output over the course of a year. The standard six-stage model of Processability Theory proves unable to differentiate between most nominal structures, because they fall within the single developmental category of so-called ‘phrasal’ structures. However, processing demands calculated on the basis either of LFG or of the MP prove to be highly correlated with both individual and average emergence orders. On the basis of these results, various generalisations are made about the relevance of different kinds of syntactic processes to the determination of emergence order. In particular, c-structural complexity and thematic structure are found to be factors most significantly associated with later emergence times. LFG and MP each provide interesting insights into different aspects of syntactic processing that impact on the acquisition of a second language; LFG throws light on the significance of the grammaticalisation of thematic structure; the MP throws light on the processes of lexical construction, and the interactions between this and constituent structure. Both indicate the significance of delays in feature valuation or unification as c-structural complexity increases.
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Brown, Cynthia A. "Acquisition of segmental structure, consequences for speech perception and second language acquisition." Thesis, National Library of Canada = Bibliothèque nationale du Canada, 1997. http://www.collectionscanada.ca/obj/s4/f2/dsk2/ftp02/NQ44371.pdf.
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Schmiedtova, Barbara. "At the same time ... the expression of simultaneity in learner varieties /." Berlin ; New York : Mouton de Gruyter, 2004. http://site.ebrary.com/id/10197197.
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Kayama, Yuhko. "Second language acquisition of Japanese relative clauses." Thesis, McGill University, 2005. http://digitool.Library.McGill.CA:80/R/?func=dbin-jump-full&object_id=100636.
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This thesis investigates the second language acquisition of Japanese relative clauses (RCs) by native speakers of English or Korean. Researchers have argued that Universal Grammar (UG) can be accessed in adult second language (L2) acquisition. The Full Transfer Full Access (FTFA) Hypothesis (Schwartz and Sprouse 1994, 1996) claims that after initial transfer from L1, learners reset their parameter values and are able to acquire L2 properties that are different from their L1. Japanese and English relativization: while Japanese relativization does not involve movement in the syntax (Kuno 1973, Saito 1985, etc.), English relativization involves obligatory operator movement and is subject to movement constraints like Subjacency. Because of Subjacency, certain RC structures are prohibited in English. In Japanese, on the other hand, a zero pronominal, pro, is base-generated in the gap position of an RC and coindexed with the relative head noun, and thus long distance relativization is possible. I argue that the presence or absence of pro is also a parametric difference between Japanese and English; pro is present in Japanese, but not in English. In order for English speakers to acquire Japanese RCs, they need to reset the values of these two parameters.<br>Experimental studies were conducted with high-intermediate and advanced learners of Japanese (15 English speakers and 18 Korean speakers). Tests examined the learners' knowledge of the two grammatical properties in Japanese---namely, the lack of wh-movement and the presence of pro. Korean is different from English but similar to Japanese with respect to the parameters in question. Following FTFA, it is hypothesized that English-speaking learners initially transfer their L1 values, and that eventually they are able to switch parameters to the L2 values by accessing UG. The results of several tasks (including interpretation tasks and judgment tasks) confirm this hypothesis; while Korean speakers generally performed well irrespective of proficiency levels, English-speaking intermediate learners transferred their L1 values, failing to accept grammatical Japanese sentences that are not possible in English. English-speaking advanced learners, on the other hand, performed better than intermediate learners, and exhibited evidence that they had acquired the two properties of Japanese, supporting FTFA.
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Kliegl, Reinhold, Doris Philipp, Matthias Luckner, and Ralf T. Krampe. "Face Memory Skill Acquisition." Universität Potsdam, 2001. http://opus.kobv.de/ubp/volltexte/2011/5706/.
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Umeda, Mari. "Second language acquisition of Japanese wh-constructions." Thesis, McGill University, 2008. http://digitool.Library.McGill.CA:80/R/?func=dbin-jump-full&object_id=112128.
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Note:<br>This dissertation investigates the second language (L2) acquisition of Japanese wh-constructions by Chinese- and English-speaking learners. The focus of this study is twofold; first, it examines whether parameter resetting is possible in L2 acquisition, as both Chinese and English wh-constructions are parametrically different from Japanese wh-constructions. Second, it examines whether parameter resetting is affected by the learners' first language (Ll). Not only do Chinese and English wh-constructions differ from Japanese wh-constructions, but they also differ from each other. Chinese is, like Japanese, a wh-in-situ language, while English is a wh-movement language. Chinese wh-constructions, therefore, can be said to be more similar to Japanese wh-constructions than English wh-constructions. It is investigated whether the similarity between Chinese and Japanese and dissimilarity between English and Japanese affect the course and/or the ultimate attainment in the acquisition ofwh-constructions in Japanese.[...]<br>Cette dissertation enquete sur l’acquisition des constructions wh du japonais appris comme langue seconde (L2) par les anglophones et les sinophones. Le point de mire de cette etude est double. Dans un premier temps, elle cherche a savoir si le changement parametrique est possible en acquisition L2, puisque les constructions wh de l’anglais et du chinois sont parametriquement opposees a celles du japonais. Deuxiemement, elle cherche a savoir si le changement parametrique est affecte par 1a langue matemelle de l’apprenant. Non seulement les constructions wh de l’anglais et du chinois sont differentes de celles du japonais, elles different egalement l’une de l’autre. Le chinois, comme le japonais, est une langue wh-in-situ, alors que l’anglais est une langue a movement wh. Les constructions wh du chinois peuvent done etre decrites comme etant plus semblables a celles du japonais qu’a celles de l’anglais. Ce travail cherche a sa voir si la similarite entre le chino is et le japonais et la dissimilarite entre l’anglais et le japonais ont un effet sur le processus et/ou le resultat final de 1’acquisition de ces constructions en japonais.[...]
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Alf, Kerstin, and erik starck. "Vocabulary acquisition and the second language learner." Thesis, Linnaeus University, School of Language and Literature, 2010. http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:lnu:diva-8475.
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<p>Abstract</p><p>It is unclear how L2 students acquire vocabulary – how is it taught – or wheather it can even be taught. In an SSL (Swedish as second language) program for young adults the ambition has been to integrate the L2 students’ into the national high school (gymnasium) courses as quickly as possible, in order to meet the students’ demands for subject education and to challenge them on an appropriate knowledge level. Teachers noticed quite early that the course – integrated L2 students seemed to have a deeper understanding of words and an easier flow in their speech. The study was conducted to map and learn more about the differences in vocabulary with L2 students who were integrated in the national L1 programs in several subjects and L2 students who have chosen to focus, in an isolated group, on SSL only. How does the students’ vocabulary evolve in relation to time? The study is based on the vocabulary knowledge scale as the methodological tool and Stephen Krashen’s monitor model as the theoretical practice, and in particular the input hypothesis and the hypothesis of acquisition and learning in combination with Pauline Gibbons’s methodologies in scaffolding. In the study the test results of eight SSL students are compared; four of the students have chosen to integrate with the L1 classes and four of them have chosen not to integrate with the L1 students. We will show that students that participate in national “high school” courses on the same premises as the L1 students will, through exposure to vocabulary in text books, lectures and post scaffolding, learn their vocabulary at a faster and higher rate than students who focus on the structural functions and, often non-contextual, vocabulary training alone.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p>
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Pham, Son Bao Computer Science & Engineering Faculty of Engineering UNSW. "Incremental knowledge acquisition for natural language processing." Awarded by:University of New South Wales. School of Computer Science and Engineering, 2006. http://handle.unsw.edu.au/1959.4/26299.
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Linguistic patterns have been used widely in shallow methods to develop numerous NLP applications. Approaches for acquiring linguistic patterns can be broadly categorised into three groups: supervised learning, unsupervised learning and manual methods. In supervised learning approaches, a large annotated training corpus is required for the learning algorithms to achieve decent results. However, annotated corpora are expensive to obtain and usually available only for established tasks. Unsupervised learning approaches usually start with a few seed examples and gather some statistics based on a large unannotated corpus to detect new examples that are similar to the seed ones. Most of these approaches either populate lexicons for predefined patterns or learn new patterns for extracting general factual information; hence they are applicable to only a limited number of tasks. Manually creating linguistic patterns has the advantage of utilising an expert's knowledge to overcome the scarcity of annotated data. In tasks with no annotated data available, the manual way seems to be the only choice. One typical problem that occurs with manual approaches is that the combination of multiple patterns, possibly being used at different stages of processing, often causes unintended side effects. Existing approaches, however, do not focus on the practical problem of acquiring those patterns but rather on how to use linguistic patterns for processing text. A systematic way to support the process of manually acquiring linguistic patterns in an efficient manner is long overdue. This thesis presents KAFTIE, an incremental knowledge acquisition framework that strongly supports experts in creating linguistic patterns manually for various NLP tasks. KAFTIE addresses difficulties in manually constructing knowledge bases of linguistic patterns, or rules in general, often faced in existing approaches by: (1) offering a systematic way to create new patterns while ensuring they are consistent; (2) alleviating the difficulty in choosing the right level of generality when creating a new pattern; (3) suggesting how existing patterns can be modified to improve the knowledge base's performance; (4) making the effort in creating a new pattern, or modifying an existing pattern, independent of the knowledge base's size. KAFTIE, therefore, makes it possible for experts to efficiently build large knowledge bases for complex tasks. This thesis also presents the KAFDIS framework for discourse processing using new representation formalisms: the level-of-detail tree and the discourse structure graph.
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Blumberg, Sarah Lynn. "Semantic Category Effects on Hebrew Language Acquisition." Thesis, The University of Arizona, 2011. http://hdl.handle.net/10150/144236.
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