3
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503
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A Study of Death of a Salesman in the Light of Louis Althusser’s “Ideology”
Author
Author
Yazdani, Saeed
Exir, Mohammad
Abstract
A summary of the resource.
Althusser’s work on “ideology” offers literary critics the possibility of an entirely new kind of literary criticism. It has offered a revolutionary theory of society in whose terms literature could be understood, and a politically significant rationale for doing so. In the light of his work, it seemed that literary criticism could for the first time become both scientifically true and politically radical. The main purpose behind an ideology is to offer change in society and introduce a set of ideals where conformity already exists, through a normative thought process. What ideology creates in people’s minds is a sense of illusion of being important and also being free. The result of such an imposed thought is loss of identity which Althusser mentions as a process of turning individuals into subjects and the slaves of the system unconsciously. The core of all Miller’s works is fragmentation of the American society. He left for the history of theater, his great tragedy, Death of a Salesman, as an outstanding modern drama. Miller is an anomalous figure in the American theater, both reviled and exalted to the highest level for his work, often for the same reason. His themes are shaped more by social and political arguments than by the grieving of the human heart. Death of a Salesman mixes the tradition of social realism that informs most of Miller’s works with a more experimental structure that includes fluid leaps in time as the main character, Willy Loman, drifts into memories of his sons as teenagers and turns to be a victim of his own delusions of grandeur and obsession with success, which leads to failure. In this article an attempt is made to analyze Miller’s work the light of Althusser’s ideology, with reference to such new concepts as Interpellation (Subject), ISAs (Ideological State Apparatuses), RSA (Repressive State Apparatus).
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
2012
Keywords
Keywords.
Conference or Workshop Item
PeerReviewed
P Philology. Linguistics
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A Study of the Frequency of Language Related Episodes (LREs) in Homogeneous and Heterogeneous Dyadic Interaction and its Comparative Role in Improving EFL Learners’ Writing Ability
Author
Author
Ghafoori, Nasser
Javashi, Ramak
Abstract
A summary of the resource.
The study compared the relative frequency of the Language Related Episodes (LREs) in the pair talk data of homogenous and heterogeneous pairs of English learners and investigated the effect of two types of dyadic interaction on the learners’ writing ability. Ninety-eight female students of TEFL participated in the study. The participants’ English language proficiency was initially tested by First Certificate English (FCE) test the results of which were the basis for designing two groups of pairs. In the heterogeneous group, 15 participants who had low scores were paired with partners who had high scores in the test while in the homogeneous group, 15 participants were paired with partners who had similar English proficiency test scores. The pairs in both groups were assigned to perform six oral pair works including picture description and table description tasks. The transcribed pair-talks were analyzed for the frequency of the LREs. The Independent-groups t-test analysis showed a significantly higher occurrence of LREs in the heterogeneous pairs. Furthermore, the participants’ writing scores in the writing section of the FCE test, as the pretest, were compared with their writing scores in another version of FCE test considered as the posttest. The Paired samples t-test and the Univaiate Analysis of Variance analyses showed significant increases from pretest to posttest for both groups but no significant difference between the two groups’ gains. The findings of the study were explained in reference to Vygotsky’s notion of ZPD within the Socio-cultural theory. The study had several pedagogical implications and suggestions for further research.
Date
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2012-05-04
Keywords
Keywords.
Conference or Workshop Item
PeerReviewed
P Philology. Linguistics
-
https://eprints.ibu.edu.ba/files/original/812f69b95ffc0056393313dc0b97a416.pdf
f731a647a93a8b2d808bf8141a729a75
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Text
A YEAR OF CELEBRATIONS: RAISING CULTURAL AWARENESS IN
CLASS
Evgenia Koika
Unaffiliated, Greece
Article History:
Submitted: 10.06.2015
Accepted: 24.06.2015
Abstract
The multinational nature of the English speaking community as well as the increasing
use of English by non –native speakers, as it has become the lingua franca of our era, may
lead to the assumption that the English language is not tied to any particular culture. This
paper however suggests that teachers should choose a pluralistic approach with the ultimate
goal of raising their students’ intercultural communicative competence. Thus, it examines
both theoretically and practically, through extensive Needs Analyses, and a posteriori
students’ evaluations, the appeal of a cultural awareness approach and the success of its
implementation by means of a series of organized events. The Needs Analyses prove that the
students are eager to learn more about the countries which they overwhelmingly consider a
possible destination for studies and/or job (mainly US, UK, Australia, Canada and to a lesser
extent Ireland). Celebrations, sports, local cuisines, as well as music and the film industry are
absolutely cherished.
Their participation in events including British Tea Parties, Irish Saint Patrick’s Day
presentations and distinctive American Thanksgiving and Halloween celebrations prove the
merit of the cultural awareness approach in EFL. Thus Clarks’s objective “to learn by doing
rather than by being taught” can be applied in conjunction with a modern intercultural
communicative approach and a strategy of an English language contextualization. Hence,
students embark voluntarily on a learning process, improving not only their language but also
their research, organizational and communication skills, while achieving cultural
familiarization with all English-speaking people. In order to achieve the aforementioned, the
use of computer-based technology is a sine qua non since it offers flexibility and redefines
the roles of the teacher and the learners as the teacher assumes the role of the facilitator/guide
on the side, leading students to autonomy.
1
�1. Introduction
Culture by its very nature ought to become the central axis of English as a Foreign
Language (EFL) teaching in the sense that cultural awareness facilitates language proficiency
and language is a social practice; therefore language and culture are intricately interwoven.
The major goal of EFL, and for that matter of any foreign language teaching, is the mastery
of communicative competence. Therefore, learners of English ought to study its cultural
backgrounds so as to acquire cultural frames of reference and understand the cultural contexts
in which it is used (Alpetekin, 2002; Kramsch, 1993).
However, the multinational nature of the English speaking community as well as the
increasing use of English by non –native speakers, as it has become the de facto international
lingua franca of our era, may lead to the assumption that the English language is not tied to
any particular culture. In practice, we suggest that teachers should choose a pluralistic
approach like the one presented in this paper that encompasses the “big five”, namely the
United Kingdom, Ireland, the United States of America, Canada, and Australia with the
ultimate goal to take advantage of the English’s international character so as to raise their
students’ intercultural communicative competence (Mao, 2009).
2. Reasoning
There are sound arguments supporting the integration of culture in language teaching.
Firstly, cultural conflicts occur as a result of misinterpretations, ethnocentrism, stereotypes,
and prejudice (Levine & Adelman, 1982). Secondly, meanings are lost because of cultural
boundaries (Porter, 1987). Thirdly, “our students’ comprehension is frequently impeded not
by linguistic features, but by cultural ones….” Thus, “language can never be divorced from
culture” (Lazar, 1993). Actually, learners of English ought to be made aware that cultural
awareness leads to a better understanding of the nuances of the language, of connotations, of
cultural norms and contexts as well as to a better insight of native speakers’ way of thinking.
Understandably, this knowledge would make them much more effective communicators
(Stern, 1992 cited in Ghorbani –Shemshadsara, 2012). Furthermore, cultural learning is very
effective in increasing learners’ motivation, which greatly affects every learning process.
Culture classes contribute significantly to learner motivation because most learners like
culturally based activities such as role playing, dancing, singing or doing research on other
countries and peoples. Hammerly suggests that teaching about the target culture when
teaching the target language entices and motivates students (Hammerly, 1982 cited in Purba,
2011).
2
�Unfortunately, the score and certificate-oriented teaching of English in Greece wears
the energy of both the teachers and the learners in drilling the skills that are examined,
namely listening, speaking reading and writing leaving them no margin to cultivate a cultural
consciousness that would have made the teaching and learning of English both entertaining
and highly effective (Mao, 2009). The teaching of culture remains “insubstantial and sporadic
in most language classrooms” (Omaggio-Hadley, 1993, p.357) despite the fact that cultural
informed English teaching would benefit the students who learn more about the target
cultures through movies, songs and the internet than their English Language classes.
Regarding the merits of the specific approach called “A year of celebrations” it is
worth pointing out that it creates successive “Directed Motivational Currents” (DMC) which
maintain and re-enforce student motivation throughout the academic year. It doesn’t perceive
motivation as static and linear but as something dynamic, thus fluctuant. Therefore it strives
to create motivational pathways so as students to be caught in a powerful flow of motivation
that would impel them to engage in the learning process on their own volition and if possible
on their own initiative (Dornyei et al, 2014). Instead of a sterile “chalk and talk” teaching
method it offers a socially realistic and credible “language generating” series of activities not
only for purposeful language use but also for encouragement of “acquisition” (Scrivener,
2005; Crookall, 1984). Actually a major objective is to put students in situations that they are
first and foremost involved as individuals and the language is used as a tool for reaching a
goal rather than a goal itself. Learning becomes personal, exploratory, and thus motivational
as the principles of cooperative learning (CL), which is a highly effective instructional
approach regarding small groups in order to achieve common learning goals via collaboration
are utilized. Theoretically, CL has proven “superior to most traditional forms of instruction in
terms of producing learning gains and student achievement, higher order thinking, positive
attitudes toward learning, increased motivation, better teacher-student and student-student
relationships accompanied by more developed interpersonal skills and higher self esteem on
the part of the student” (Dornyei,1997, p.487). Students are divided into small groups and
learning takes place through peer teaching, joint problem solving, brainstorming, varied
interpersonal communication and individual study monitored by peers. All members,
including the teacher, cooperate by exchanging ideas, information and providing constructive
feedback.
Furthermore, it exploits the “soft power” of the English speaking countries, mostly
their media, the xenophilic tendencies of the students which encompass a great curiosity for
these cultures and peoples, a desire to broaden their horizons so as to avoid provincialism as
3
�well as a desire for new stimuli and challenges (Dornyei, 1994; Ghorbani-Shemshadsara,
2012). Furthermore, the learners, through the various tasks and projects that this approach
entails, acquire 21st century skills such as global citizenship, communication, collaboration
and critical thinking for problem solving (Fullan, 2013).
3. From Theory to Practice
A needs analysis questionnaire administered in the beginning of the course provides
the teacher with valuable data regarding the learning profile of the particular class, the
students’ likes and dislikes as well as their perceptions on a number of things. High school
students may have no choice regarding their attendance of the classes but if their opinion is
taken into consideration regarding the content and the form of the course even the most
indifferent ones will warm up to it. The needs analyses we have administered the last ten
years in different schools both in Athens and Thessaloniki show that students are eager to
learn more about the English speaking countries for both intrinsic and extrinsic factors.
Anything that has to do with celebrations, sports, local cuisines as well as music and the film
industry is an attention magnet. Furthermore, regarding their preferred method of working
pair and group work come first. Moreover they enjoy variety and the use of technology to
either create or to conduct research. These results correlate with research findings which
confirm that cultural learning is very effective to increase learners’ motivation, something
that greatly affects every learning process.
Based on the Needs Analysis, every September we present our students with a
calendar of celebrations from almost all English speaking countries. We have chosen to
employ the “4-F” approach to teaching culture focusing on festivals, fairs, food and folk
dances (Ariza, 2007). Every month there are one or two celebrations, some accompanied with
relative extra-curricular events and all of them paired with proper food motivators. Soon
enough the students become aware that “cultural activities and objectives have been carefully
organized and incorporated into lesson plans so as to enrich and inform the teaching content”
(Purba, 2011, p.51).
The lesson always starts with a “teaser”; something that will attract the students’
attention and act as a motivator. For instance, the students may be presented with objects like
figurines, magazines or decorative items that originate from the target culture and they are
challenged to find information either by conducting research or by being given clues to
investigate. The realia add to the real world credibility of the celebration and help to engage
students in authentic cultural experiences (Ariza, 2007; Frank 2013). Segments of movies are
4
�used extensively as they are one of the most contemporary and comprehensive ways to
encapsulate the look, feel and rhythm of a culture. Watching Jennifer Lawrence and Bradley
Cooper taking a stroll while children go “trick or treating” in “Silver Linings Playbook” has
proven quite attention catching. In the same vein, documentaries and advertisements are used
so as students to get an insight, for instance, of the ambiance of a 4th of July parade and a
Saint Patrick’s parade; they travel to the past through movies or documentaries on the Irish
famine or the civil rights movement of African Americans (Purba, 2011).
Students in pairs or groups are asked to research particular aspects of each celebration
so as to answer questions like: What traditional dishes are served in the United States on
Thanksgiving, and what is the history behind them? Or what is the historic event celebrated at
Guy Fawkes Night? The accumulated data may be used for a writing task, an oral
presentation in class or a role play activity. Therefore, students participate in a range of
“hands on” activities so as to make a “mind map” for every celebration aiming at grouping
information from different sources.
All this information would comprise a knowledge
repository for the group. On every lesson leading to a celebration there will be a task related
to it, while every effort is made for an interdisciplinary approach with the help of colleagues
(Frank, 2013).
A multi-sensory approach appeals to all types of intelligence so every effort is made
to include color, picture, body movement, sound and touch (During, 1997; Purba, 2011).
Moreover game based learning is applied whenever possible. Two examples of this approach
are the Halloween party and the Easter Egg Hunt. Regarding the Halloween Party the
students have already carved pumpkins and played trick or treat during school hours so in the
afternoon come to school dressed in costumes so as to have fun and play traditional games
such as bobbing for apples under one condition: that they would communicate in English.
The Easter Egg Hunt is a treasure hunt with clues, in English, that present linguistic and
intellectual challenges that appeal to all age groups (Frank, 2013).
Another example of experiential learning is the traditional tea party that the students
co-host so as to celebrate the Queen’s Birthday. They do research on tea and the traditional
dishes such as the scones and the salmon and cucumber sandwiches, tea’s significance on the
British culture, the history behind it and they present all these to teachers and parents who
attend this party. Consequently, the objective is to integrate the aforementioned cultural
elements in my language teaching using culturally sensitive and informed authentic tasks as
well as opportunities for firsthand experience of a variety of cultural and linguistic stimuli
(Sifakis & Sougari, 2003).
5
�4. Cultural Awareness Implications
At this point it is worth highlighting that we strive to compare and contrast the dark
aspects of the celebrations with the bright ones. For instance, when celebrating Thanksgiving,
students research the treatment of the Native Americans by the Pilgrims. These celebrations
can also be the starting point for research on contemporary issues. For example, on the
occasion of the Martin Luther King Day students may look into incidents like the police
shootings in Ferguson and elsewhere in the US, or into other types of discrimination like
Islamophobia. Therefore, all these cultural activities can give students food for thought as
regards much more serious issues (Ghorbani –Shemshadsara, 2012).
Another achievable result is the “cultural familiarization” with the British, Irish,
American, Canadian and Australian cultures and how those cultures relate to the students’
own native culture. The learners in every occasion are asked to compare and contrast the
particular celebration with a celebration or elements of their own country’s culture.
Therefore, the ultimate goal is intercultural communicative competence in the sense that by
raising the student’s awareness of their own culture they are also helped to interpret and
understand appropriately the cultures of the English speaking countries (Frank, 2013). Thus
Clark’s objective “to learn by doing rather than by being taught” (Clark, 1987, p.50) can be
applied in conjunction with an intercultural communicative approach and a strategy of an
English language contextualization.
5. Challenges
It would be an omission not to mention the enormous challenges such an approach
presents. Firstly it is difficult to convince all stakeholders of its legitimacy. Secondly, there
are challenges regarding the logistics, namely the preparations for each event. Thankfully, out
of experience, the parents’ association very rarely fails to grant requests for volunteers or the
provision of ingredients for food preparation. Last but not least, time management is of the
utmost importance and considerable time is spent on fore planning so as everything to run
smoothly.
At this point it is worth highlighting that the most important stakeholders, the
students, are staunch supporters of this approach, despite the extra workload it entails. The
vast majority of the students on an evaluation form filled anonymously on the last day of
classes, comment on the level of enjoyment, knowledge and communicative confidence they
acquired through this cultural journey. Furthermore, to skeptics who may argue that valuable
6
�teaching time is spent on cultural endeavors rather than the important four linguistic skills,
we refer them to the language output of students during simulations, presentations and roleplaying. Moreover, all tasks assigned introduce students to relevant vocabulary. Thus, the
learners use the language to achieve their goals and all this leads to implicit learning (Frank,
2013).
6. Conclusion
Concluding, we should highlight that the objective of this approach is to integrate
cultural elements in our language teaching using culturally sensitive and informed authentic
tasks as well as opportunities for firsthand experience of a variety of cultural and linguistic
stimuli. Cultural informed English teaching would benefit the students who learn more about
the target culture through movies, songs and the internet than the English Language classes as
the focus is more on the mastery of the four basic skills. And this has to change. Otherwise
we are selling our students short in the sense that we are not preparing them adequately for
the real world. All the above contribute in the acquisition of a plethora of 21st century skills
as they ameliorate the students’ research, presentation, critical thinking and teamwork skills.
References
Alptekin, C. (2002). Towards intercultural communicative competence in ELT. ELT Journal,
56(1), 57-64.
Ariza, D. (2007). Culture in the EFL classroom at Universidad de la Salle: An innovation
project. Revist Actualidades Pedagogicas 50/9-17, 9-17.
Clark, J.L. (1987). Curriculum Renewal in School Foreign Language Learning. Oxford:
Oxford University Press.
Crookall, D. (1984). The Use of Non-ELT Simulations. ELT Journal, 38/4, 262-273.
Dornyei, Z. (1994). Motivation and Motivating in the Foreign Language Classroom. The
Modern language Journal, 78/3, 273 – 284.
Dornyei, Z. (1997). Psychological Processes in Cooperative Language Learning: Group
Dynamics and Motivation. The Modern Language Journal 81, 482-493.
Dornyei Z., Muir, C. & Ibrahim, Z. (2014) Directed Motivational Current. In Lasagabaster,
D., Aintzane, D. & Sierra J.M. (Eds.), Motivation and Foreign Language Learning: From
theory to practice. Amsterdam: John Benjamins Publishing Company.
During, S. (1997). Teaching Culture. Australian Humanities Review 8/97, 1-15.
7
�Frank, J. (2013). Raising Cultural Awareness in the English Language Classroom. English
Teaching Forum 4/13, 2-11.
Fullan, M. (2012). From Great to Excellent: Launching the Next Stage in Ontario’s
Education Agenda. Toronto: Government of Ontario.
Ghorbani-Shemshadsara, Z. (2012). Developing CulturalAwareness in Foreign Language
Teaching. English Language Teaching, 5/3, 95-99.
Hammerly, H. (1982). Synthesis in language teaching. Blaine, WA: Second Language
Publications.
Kramsch, C. (1993). Context and culture in language teaching. Oxford: Oxford University
Press.
Lazar, G. (1993). Literature and Language Teaching. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University
Press.
Levine D.R &. Adelman, M.B. (1982). Beyond Language: Cross-Cultural Communication.
New Jersey: Prentice Hall.
Mao, W. (2009). Teaching Culture Within and Beyond Language. English Language
Teaching, 2/4, 144-148.
Omaggio-Hadley, A. (1993). Teaching Language in Context. Boston: Heinle & Heinle.
Porter, E. (1987). Foreign involvement in China’s colleges and universities: a historical
perspective. International Journal of Intercultural Relations, 11(4), 369-385.
Purba, H. (2011). The Importance of Including Culture in EFL Teaching. Journal of English
Teaching 1/1, 44-56.
Scrivener, E. (2005). Learning teaching. Oxford: Macmillan.
Sifakis, N. C. & Sougari, A.M. (2003). Facing the globalisation challenge in the realm of
English Language Teaching. Language and Education, 17/1, 59-71.
Stern, H.H. (1992). Issues and options in language teaching. Oxford: Oxford University
Press.
8
�
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2886
Title
A name given to the resource
A YEAR OF CELEBRATIONS: RAISING CULTURAL AWARENESS IN CLASS
Author
Author
Koika, Evgenia
Abstract
A summary of the resource.
The multinational nature of the English speaking community as well as the increasing use of English by non –native speakers, as it has become the lingua franca of our era, may lead to the assumption that the English language is not tied to any particular culture. This paper however suggests that teachers should choose a pluralistic approach with the ultimate goal of raising their students’ intercultural communicative competence. Thus, it examines both theoretically and practically, through extensive Needs Analyses, and a posteriori students’ evaluations, the appeal of a cultural awareness approach and the success of its implementation by means of a series of organized events. The Needs Analyses prove that the students are eager to learn more about the countries which they overwhelmingly consider a possible destination for studies and/or job (mainly US, UK, Australia, Canada and to a lesser extent Ireland). Celebrations, sports, local cuisines, as well as music and the film industry are absolutely cherished. Their participation in events including British Tea Parties, Irish Saint Patrick’s Day presentations and distinctive American Thanksgiving and Halloween celebrations prove the merit of the cultural awareness approach in EFL. Thus Clarks’s objective “to learn by doing rather than by being taught” can be applied in conjunction with a modern intercultural communicative approach and a strategy of an English language contextualization. Hence, students embark voluntarily on a learning process, improving not only their language but also their research, organizational and communication skills, while achieving cultural familiarization with all English-speaking people. In order to achieve the aforementioned, the use of computer-based technology is a sine qua non since it offers flexibility and redefines the roles of the teacher and the learners as the teacher assumes the role of the facilitator/guide on the side, leading students to autonomy.
Publisher
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International Burch University
Date
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2015-07
Keywords
Keywords.
Article
PeerReviewed
P Philology. Linguistics
-
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785
Title
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Acquisition and Learning in a Foreign Language: the case of Italian Language
Author
Author
Capasso, Danilo
Abstract
A summary of the resource.
Italian as a foreign language means that Italian is taught in countries where the first language (L1) is not Italian. It means that Italian is taught as a school subject for the purpose of communicating with foreigners or for reading printed materials. Considering this peculiar position of Italian language, is possible to apply the Krashen’s distinction between acquisition and learning? Do acquisition and learning share the same importance in Italian FL teaching? The aim of this paper is to provide some answers to these questions
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
2012-05
Keywords
Keywords.
Conference or Workshop Item
PeerReviewed
P Philology. Linguistics
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https://eprints.ibu.edu.ba/files/original/45702958ffbc3b4de30388d481ad5fd4.pdf
9b64b288f39d434086d4d51b6a5b22bb
PDF Text
Text
1st International Conference on Foreign Language Teaching and Applied Linguistics
May 5-7 2011 Sarajevo
Adult Education: Using Motivating Strategies and Techniques
Alma Piric
Department of English Language and Literature
University of Zenica, Bosnia and Herzegovina
almapiric@gmail.com
Abstract:Motivation is a key to success. It helps us understand why we do the things
we do, or why we learn and thrive to further develop our abilities to do something. In
language learning motivation plays a crucial role, because only the motivated students
will succeed. Without motivation our performance is diminished. Learners who are
not motivated tend to be distracted, bored, unfocused, and even frustrated. On the
other hand, motivated learners are eager to find out more, learn new things, pay
attention in class and conduct additional research at home in order to better
understand a given topic. That is why many teachers/instructors consider motivation
a crucial part of the instructional process. As teachers/instructors, we can certainly
contribute to the motivation of our students. We can motivate learners through
interesting classes, positive attitude as well as attractive exercises. This paper will
look into different types of motivation and their influence on the learners as well as
some techniques and strategies teachers/instructors can use to motivate their students.
Keywords: Adult education, andragogy, motivation
Introduction
Knowing what motivation is and that there are different types of motivations is not enough. Instructors
need to find out more, explore what they can do to further motivate their students and thus help them learn not
only the language they teach but also some skills that will help the learners in real life situations. There are some
common characteristics as well as strategies and techniques that every instructor can learn in order to make the
language learning experience a successful one for both the learner and the instructor.
Types of motivations:
According to Gardner and Lambert (1972) there are two main types of motivation: integrative and
instrumental motivation. Integrative motivation is the desire to become one with the target-language culture,
while instrumental motivation reflects the desire to succeed in a field of study or at workplace. Although these
are important distinctions, teachers rather look at motivation as intrinsic and extrinsic, the first one being the
cognitive drive that pushes the learner to learn for his/her own sake, whereas the extrinsic motivation is derived
from external incentives, for example if a learner completes a language course he/she will get a promotion.
Intrinsically motivated learners believe in what they are doing and consider it worthwhile. Extrinsically
motivated learners do not learn because they want to. They learn because they expect a reward, praise from their
parents or a promotion at workplace. Brown (1987) make s a distinction between global, situational, and task
motivation. While the global motivation reflects the overall attitude of the learner toward language learning,
situational motivation focuses on the context in which the learner finds him/herself. Task motivation is the most
focused on, analyzing how the learner approaches a specific task.
Types of learners:
There is a huge difference between pedagogy (the study of teaching children) and andragogy (the study
of teaching adults). While pedagogy has to reflect on the learner‘s abilities and attention spans at a given age,
andragogy focuses on learners who can greatly contribute through collaboration with the instructor as well as
each other. Andragogy recognizes the maturity of an adult learner. Given the maturity level of the learners, the
classes can be learner centered. Instructors can conduct a survey at the beginning of the given course to find out
what the adult learners would like to learn (in this case the learners do not determine the overall course
description, but rather the focus of the lessons in a given field of studies). Another benefit of adult learners is
that they bring in past experiences, which can for example confirm some of the theoretical parts of the course.
At the end of each course, the learners can evaluate the course and make suggestions as to where they would like
to see improvements. The instructors can then redesign the course based on these evaluations.
96
�1st International Conference on Foreign Language Teaching and Applied Linguistics
May 5-7 2011 Sarajevo
Being a Motivating Language Instructor:
No matter which type of motivation, one is clear; the learners have a reason for taking a language
course, and it is up to the instructor to help the student reach their goal. So how do we recognize motivated
learners? A motivated learner is someone who is willing to take risks and appreciates challenges. He or she
promotes a positive self-image and has specific goals that he/she wants to reach. A motivated learner is
ambitious and not discouraged when he/she makes mistakes. But motivated learners are not a recipe for a
successful language course, the language instructor needs to be motivated as well. Here are some common
characteristics that can be learned for the purpose of becoming a motivating language instructor.
1. Offer expertise (both knowledge and preparation)
Learners deserve to have knowledgeable and prepared instructors. An instructor does not need to have
the knowledge of all things, but at the same time, it is wise to review some grammar points or the essay structure
prior to teaching them. There are times when the instructor simply does not have the answer to a question the
learner raises. There is no need to be ashamed; instead the instructor can use it to his/her advantage. Tell the
student that you do not have the answer right at that moment, but that you will look it up and answer it next time
you have class. You can then make a whole lesson about it if you feel that the rest of the learners would also
benefit from knowing this.
Instructors whose native language is not English should not feel uncomfortable if they do not know how
to pronounce something. All they need to do is spend more time preparing for the class. Today, there are many
online dictionaries that not only provide the definition, but also the pronunciation of a given word.
An instructor‘s job is not only to be present in class, but also to prepare for it. Every now and then we
all improvise, but it is unfair to the learners if the instructor constantly improvises. Just as the learners are
dedicating their time and effort into the course they are taking, the instructors are expected to invest time in
preparing the lessons. Adult learners are more likely to notice it if the instructor is unprepared. This will
certainly cause them to be less motivated in class.
NOTE: Too many ―ums‖ and ―ahs‖ may cause your adult learners to question your competence.
2. Have empathy
Adult learners are most likely parents and have jobs. The instructors need to keep that in mind. Instead
of assigning lots of homework, the instructor can design the class so that most of the work is done there and then.
It is important to have rules, but at the same time, when it comes to adult learners, the instructors have to be
more flexible with the schedule and the attendance. Afternoon and late evening courses are better than morning
classes for those who are employed. Attendance should be taken seriously, but the instructors need to
understand that every parent will spend time with a sick child rather than attend a class. The instructors can ask
that the learners notify them if they will miss a class, so that the instructor can adjust the lesson or some of the
activities (if necessary) to a smaller group of students.
3.
Be enthusiastic
If we show that we love what we do, people will notice and approach it with a positive attitude.
Instructors need to be enthusiastic about their positions and transfer the positive attitude to their students.
Grammar is dry, but with the right approach, the instructor can make it fun and thus more interesting.
4.
Be clear
Instructors should use the power of language and organization to make sure that every aspect of their
course is clear. A very helpful tool is a syllabus. If it is clearly written, distributed at the very beginning of the
course and followed by the instructor there will be less confusion.
Additional Motivating Strategies:
In addition to the motivation that the learner brings to the classroom, teachers can contribute through
interesting lessons, as well as positive feedback. How do we make sure that we add to learner‘s motivation?
There are several strategies and techniques that guaranty success and thus motivate students.
1.
Friendly atmosphere
Learners need to feel recognized and valued. Learning is much easier if the learners feel safe and
comfortable. Sometimes it is not enough to praise correct answers only. Instructors need to pay close attention
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�1st International Conference on Foreign Language Teaching and Applied Linguistics
May 5-7 2011 Sarajevo
to learner‘s progress and acknowledge it. It is not always the matter of grading. Instructors can simply point out
that the progress is noticeable by nodding when the learner raises his/her hand and thus acknowledging the
learner. These seemingly small gestures help the learner build confidence and further develop his/her intrinsic
motivation, as well as encourage him/her to participate more.
NOTE: Some instructors tend to push their students. This approach my actually help in a given situation, but the
downside of it is that the learners do not learn to be responsible, because every time they are in the classroom
setting the instructor pushes them to produce language, for example.
2. Sense of accomplishment
Another way to ensure motivation is through tests and competitions. Learners want a reward, and in the
classroom the reward comes in form of a grade. So, testing and grading students will certainly be a motivating
factor. Though taken individually, tests are used to compare the learners‘ abilities. Instead of focusing on tests
only, instructors can also organize competitions through which the learners will have an opportunity to present
their knowledge. If the individual learners do not feel comfortable being on their own in a competition, they can
be paired up, or even put into small groups. If the competition is not graded, the instructors can come up with a
small reward, such as movie theater tickets or a book for each member of the group that has won the
competition. If the student who usually does not win or get a very high grade finds him/herself on the winning
team, he/she will be intrinsically motivated to continue the good work, as they will feel the sense of
accomplishment.
3.
Connecting language to learner‘s interests and needs outside of class
Each learner has interests outside of class. Instructors can ask the learners to share those and then focus
the lessons on these topics. For example, if the learners play a particular sport, the instructor can create a lesson
on the history of the given sport. Lots of times, the learners do not have the necessary vocabulary to describe
things, so the instructor can ask that each learner prepares a short presentation in which he/she will present their
favorite sport (how it‘s played, what the rules are, naming some teams and competitions, etc.).
4.
Creating life situations in the classroom
Adult learners usually take language courses to improve their skills for a specific purpose. A lawyer
may have some new clients who speak another language; a businessman may be conducting business with
foreigners and feels the need to speak their language. If, at the beginning of the course, the learners share the
purpose of their language learning, the instructor can make connections to their needs. For example, one whole
class can be dedicated to teaching learners how to make phone calls and leave a message. Adult learners
appreciate the pragmatic aspects of a class, especially if they end up using the things they have learned in class in
real life situations.
Conclusion:
It can be concluded that along with the intrinsic and the extrinsic motivation that the learner brings to a
language course, the instructor can also greatly contribute by offering expertise, having empathy, being
enthusiastic, and clear. There are also some additional strategies and techniques such as creating a friendly
atmosphere, acknowledging the progress a learner has made, basing the lessons on the learners‘ interests outside
of class, and or creating real life situations in the classroom to teach learners how to handle them in a foreign
language, that can contribute to the learners‘ existing motivation to learn. Instructors should be aware of the fact
that all these skills and characteristics can be easily learned. They need to keep an open mind and be willing to
try the suggested strategies and techniques.
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�1st International Conference on Foreign Language Teaching and Applied Linguistics
May 5-7 2011 Sarajevo
References
Brown, H.D. (2000). Principles of Language Learning and Teaching (4th ed.). Englewood Cliffs NJ: PrenticeHall.
Ellis, R. (1986). Understanding Second Language Acquisition. Oxford: Oxford University
Press.
Ellis, R. (1994). The Study of Second Language Acquisition. Oxford: Oxford University
Press.
Gardner, R.C., & Lambert, W.E. (1972). Attitudes and Motivation: Second Language Learning. Newbury House.
Larson-Freeman, D., & Long, M.H. (1994). An Introduction to Second Language Acquisition Research.
Longman.
99
�
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Title
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Adult Education: Using Motivating Strategies and Techniques
Author
Author
Piric, Alma
Abstract
A summary of the resource.
Motivation is a key to success. It helps us understand why we do the things we do, or why we learn and thrive to further develop our abilities to do something. In language learning motivation plays a crucial role, because only the motivated students will succeed. Without motivation our performance is diminished. Learners who are not motivated tend to be distracted, bored, unfocused, and even frustrated. On the other hand, motivated learners are eager to find out more, learn new things, pay attention in class and conduct additional research at home in order to better understand a given topic. That is why many teachers/instructors consider motivation a crucial part of the instructional process. As teachers/instructors, we can certainly contribute to the motivation of our students. We can motivate learners through interesting classes, positive attitude as well as attractive exercises. This paper will look into different types of motivation and their influence on the learners as well as some techniques and strategies teachers/instructors can use to motivate their students
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
2011-05
Keywords
Keywords.
Conference or Workshop Item
PeerReviewed
P Philology. Linguistics
-
https://eprints.ibu.edu.ba/files/original/417b5d28379477c5c25e2c929d0909c6.pdf
2f03371545e7eb0bb9cd0e36a1ec30a4
PDF Text
Text
ADULT L2 ACQUISITION OF REFLEXIVE VERBS IN RUSSIAN AND POLISH
A.V. Peeters-Podgaevskaja & Alicja Verhagen
University of Amsterdam, The Netherlands
Article History:
Submitted: 07.06.2015
Accepted: 21.06.2015
Abstract
From previous
research, perceptual saliency and morphophonological
and
morphosyntactic regularity significantly contribute to a successful acquisition of morphemes
(Goldschneider & DeKeyser 2001). This pilot study investigates if and to what extent these
features are predictors in the acquisition of reflexive verbs in adult L2 Polish and Russian.
Despite these languages being closely related, their reflexive verbs differ dramatically. Polish
uses a particle siẹ that has a high sonority value and can be freely placed in a sentence.
Russian uses a reflexive affix which is placed directly after the finite verb ending and has two
phonetically reduced variants -sja and -s’ that depend on the phonological context.
In this pilot study, we hypothesized that i) perceptual saliency (understood as higher
sonority and a prominent position in a sentence) facilitated perception and sentence repetition;
ii) morphosyntactic regularity and predictability positively affected written production. Two
groups of Dutch first-year students learning Russian and Polish respectively as L2 at the
University of Amsterdam were recruited. Russian and Polish native speakers served as
controls. In order to test perception/comprehension and (re)production of reflexive verbs in
L2, a sentence repetition task (SRT) was used. The task consisted of 15 target sentences and
10 distractors for each language (syllable length: 17–22), and was administered in e-prime.
The sentence position of the target structure and semantic categories of reflexive verbs were
controlled. In order to test written production, a sentence translation task (STT) was
developed that contained 15 Dutch items. For the controls, accuracy in both tasks was at
ceiling. The Dutch-L2 groups performed significantly worse. The accuracy scores on target
structures in SRT were better in Polish (61% vs. 40%). In the STT, the Russian L2 students
outperformed the Polish L2 participants (84% vs. 58%). The results of this study support the
idea that perceptual saliency and morphophonological uniformity affect perception and
1
�(re)production, while morphosyntactic regularity and predictability (boundness) is relevant for
written production.
1. Introduction
L2 acquisition of reflexive verbs in the Slavic languages is a challenging issue, given
the fact that there is much more variation in form and meaning as compared to languages,
such as English, German, or French. From teaching experience we know that acquisition of
reflexive verbs is problematic in bilingual children as well as in adult foreign language
learners. However, it is not yet clear which properties slow down or even impede a successful
learning process. It takes sometimes years before the most basic reflexive verbs are acquired,
and even highly proficient Slavic L2 learners still have difficulty with automatized production
of target verbs: reflexive markers are frequently omitted when needed, or added to verbs when
dispensable and redundant.
2. Reflexivity in Slavic languages
According to the most recent classification of reflexive verbs (Knjazev 2007: 260), the
Slavic languages are dealing with two types of reflexivity: heavy reflexivity expressed by
means of reflexive personal pronouns (sebja or siebie ‘oneself’); and light reflexivity coded by
reflexive particles and affixes. Reflexive affixes which are placed directly after a finite verb
ending (bound morphemes) are characteristic for the East-Slavic languages, whereas reflexive
clitic particles (free morphemes) occur in other Slavic languages. Moreover, all reflexive
verbs can be divided into two major groups of Subject reflexives and Object reflexives
(Knjazev 2007: 265). Subject reflexives are connected to the notion of agentivity which
always involves causation and volition. Object reflexives lack the idea of a willing causer
with his energy, control and intentions, and are hence related to inanimate objects, processes
etc. Within these two groups Knjazev (2007: 268-297) distinguishes ten semantic categories
which are not necessarily present in all Slavic languages. The Subject reflexive verbs contain
proper reflexives (co-referential), reciprocal, possessive, causative, absolutive and
autocausative reflexives, whereas the Object reflexive verbs include decausative, conversive,
modal quasi-passive and passive reflexives. Next to it, there are different impersonal reflexive
constructions which remain beyond the scope of this paper.
As concerns the relationship between reflexive verbs and verbs they are originally
derived from, two groups can be distinguished: reflexiva tantum (such as bojat’sja ‘to be
scared’ or skitat’sja ‘to wander’ in Russian), and motivated reflexive verbs that are formed on
2
�the basis of transitive counterparts by adhering a reflexive marker (sometimes together with a
prefix) that creates a new meaning, which can be either transparent (consider vstrečat’ ‘to
meet’ and vstrečat’sja ‘to meet each other’, or myt’ ‘to wash’ and myt’sja ‘to wash oneself’ in
Russian), or idiomatic (e.g. naxodit’ ‘to find’ and naxodit’sja ‘to be situated’, or torgovat’ ‘to
deal/trade in’ and torogovat’sja ‘to bargain’ in Russian). A combination of grammatically
marked reflexivity and new semantics causes difficulty in learning process.
2.1 Reflexivity in Polish and Russian
Although the semantic range of reflexive categories in Russian and Polish show
considerable overlap, they are not identical. Moreover, morphological coding of reflexivity in
both languages is completely different. First of all, there is no passive reflexivity in Polish.
Therefore, Russian sentences as exemplified in (1) have no Polish equivalents:
1) Dom
stroitsja
izvestnym
arxitektorom.
house build-PRS-3SG-REFL famous-INSTR architect-INSTR
‘This house is being built by a well-known architect.’
Secondly, reciprocity is insufficiently distinctive in Polish. For example, verbs, such as
bawić siȩ ‘to amuse oneself/each other’ or wynagrodzić siȩ ‘to award oneself/each other’, can
be interpreted either as possessive reflexive or as reciprocal. Thirdly, the Polish particle siȩ is
a free morpheme and can relatively freely move in the sentence. In contrast, the Russian affix
-sja is a bound morpheme, and its position in the sentence is fixed which makes it
syntactically more predictable. Finally, the Polish reflexive particle consists of one syllable
with a nasal vowel that has a high sonority value (see Goldschneider & DeKeyser 2001: 22),
while the Russian affix is always unstressed and has a smaller phonetic substance by virtue of
the post-tonic vowel reduction of /ja/ to a schwa or even to a zero phoneme in certain finite
forms.1 Thus, the Russian reflexive affix has two phonetically weak allomorphs (-sja [s’ә]
occurring after consonants, and -s’ [s’] after vowels),2 whereas the Polish siȩ is
morphophonologically regular and salient.
3. The current study
3.1 Research goals and predictions
Previous research has shown that perceptual saliency, morphophonological regularity,
morphosyntactic predictability, semantic complexity, and frequency significantly contribute
3
�to a successful acquisition of morphemes (Goldschneider & DeKeyser 2001). Although Polish
and Russian are quite similar with respect to semantic categories and functions of reflexive
verbs, they differ dramatically regarding perceptual saliency and morphosyntactic regularity
and predictability of their reflexive markers. This study aims at determining whether or not
the abovementioned features affect L2 acquisition of reflexive verbs, and if so, which
linguistic tasks this concerns.
In the study, we predicted that (i) perception and sentence repetition would be favored
by higher sonority and morphophonological uniformity of the reflexive marker and by a
prominent position of a reflexive verb in the sentence; (ii) morphosyntactic predictability of
the reflexive marker would positively affect written production.
3.2 Method
Subjects
For this study, two groups of Dutch first-year students learning Russian (n=10) and
Polish (n=6) respectively as L2 at the University of Amsterdam were recruited. Both groups
were at the end of their first year (an intermediate level), had no previous knowledge of
Russian or Polish, received the same amount of input and worked with comparable language
courses. Russian (n=5) and Polish (n=5) native speakers were used as controls.
Experimental tasks
Two tasks were developed to test perception/comprehension and (re)production of
reflexive verbs in L2. A sentence repetition task (SRT) was used to test perception and oral
(re)production of reflexive verbs. In a paper-and-pencil translation task (STT) written
production of reflexive verbs was tested.
The choice of the SRT was determined by its high reliability as an indicator of overall
language proficiency (see references in Marinis & Armon-Lotem 2015). If sentences are long
enough to disallow ‘parroting’, participants must rely on their knowledge of lexicon and
grammatical system to be able to repeat the sentences verbatim. Therefore, structures which
are not fully acquired will not be reproduced. In our study, if the participants would have
some trouble with perception and processing of verbal semantics, and the basic grammar was
not automatized yet, it would be measurable in their responses. Because we needed to control
for target structures, other types of tasks were not appropriate. In retelling, for instance, the
students would be free to choose any structures they wanted and might make use of an
avoidance strategy.
4
�Stimuli
The items were selected from the study books used in the language courses, and
controlled for semantics of the reflexive verbs: they must be frequent and belong to one of the
following five semantic categories: proper reflexive, possessive, autocausative, decausative,
and reciprocal.
The SRT consisted of a set of 15 target sentences and 10 distractors for each language,
and was administered in e-prime. All items were well-known and slightly adjusted with
respect to syntactic complexity and sentence length varying between 17 and 22 syllables. The
target structure was in the beginning, in the middle, or in the end of the sentence (as
exemplified in 2-7). The Polish się was used in a pre-verbal (as in 5) and post-verbal position
(as in 6-7), and with distant placement with respect to the main verb (as exemplified in 8).
Russian items:
2) Ja poproščalsja
s
nej i
povtoril obeščanie prislat’ ej
I say.goodbye-PST-REFL with her and repeated promise
send
lekarstvo.
her medicine
‘I said goodbye to her and repeated my promise to send the medicine to her.’
3) Vozle
školy naxoditsja
nebol’šoj park attrakcionov.
next.to school find-PRS-3SG-REFL small
park amusements
‘A small amusement park is (situated) next to the school.’
4) Esli ty
if
ne perestaneš’ rugat’ menja, ja obižus’.
you not stop
scold me
I get.offended-PRS-1SG-REFL
‘If you don’t stop with scolding me, I will get offended.’
Polish items:
5) Kiedy się
when
REFL
poznaliśmy, miała długie warkocze i
meet-PST-1PL had
long
różową sukienkę.
hair braids and pink
dress
‘When we met each other she had long hair braids and a pink dress on.’
6) Zamykam oczy, kiedy już
I.closed
chcę
położyć
eyes when already I.want lie.down-INF
‘I close my eyes when I want to go asleep and
przytulić się
do ciebie
cuddle-INF
to you
REFL
to cuddle with you.’
5
się
spać i
REFL
sleep and
�7) W tej
sytuacji radzę wyjechać do domu i
in that situation rather depart
nie martwić się
to house and not worry-INF
studiami.
REFL
lessons
‘In this situation you should rather go home and should not worry about your study.’
8) Chciałem się
I.wanted
REFL
z
najładniejszą
japońską konkubiną żenić,
with most.beautiful Japanese concubine marry-INF
‘I wanted to marry a beautiful Japanese concubine,
to
ona nie chciała.
but she not wanted
but
she
did
not
want
to.’
In the STT, the participants were given ten Dutch target sentences and five distractors
for each language. Every sentence contained five to seven content words. By virtue of the task
we could not control for the position of the verb and the reflexive particle in the sentence. In
order to avoid the effect of positive language transfer no Dutch reflexive equivalents were
used that could be interpreted as a cue for reflexivity in the target language.
Procedure
For the SRT, each student was tested individually. Every sentence was played twice
without any interval between two trials. Then, the students had to repeat what they heard. All
coding for accuracy was done automatically in e-prime. Two practice items were administered
to familiarize the students with the task and the electronic equipment. Including instructions
and practice items, the task took approximately 20 minutes to administer. The STT was taken
in a classroom setting. Before the test started, the students were given a list with all (both
reflexive and non-reflexive) verbs used in the task. They had three minutes to refresh their
knowledge of the target verbs, after that the list was withdrawn, and the students started with
the translation task. The task took approximately 25 minutes. Accuracy scores were used as a
measure of students’ ability to correctly perceive and (re)produce sentences and target
structures. No reaction time was measured.
4. Results
Sentence Repetition task
For the controls, accuracy in both tasks was almost at ceiling, whereas both Dutch-L2
groups performed significantly lower. There was almost no difference observed between the
two languages on full sentence repetition accuracy: 33% for Polish vs. 31% for Russian. Two
6
�thirds of the sentences were either not completed, or contained grammatical errors, or were
repeated with omissions and lexical substitutions. In Russian, only 47 out of a total of 150
items were target-like repeated. In Polish, 30 out of 90 sentences were correctly reproduced.
The results on target structure accuracy in the SRT were, however, higher: with an average of
57% in Polish vs. an average of 43% in Russian.
Table 1
Position of the target structure in the sentence (SRT)
Beginning
target without
verb
other
Middle
target without
End
other
target without
other
reflexive lexemes verb
reflexive lexemes verb
reflexive lexemes
Russian 48%
0%
2%
49%
24%
2%
32%
4%
12%
Polish
3%
3%
53%
0%
8%
44%
17%
11%
75%
From table 1, the Polish L2 participants were much better in reproducing the target
structure than the Russian L2 students. The Russian scores on the fronted position and the
position in the middle of the sentence of the target structure were almost alike. In the middle
of the sentence, however, the Russian L2 students attempted to repeat the verb stem, while
forgetting the reflexive affix in 24% of all items. Thus, trying to capture the meaning they
failed to reproduce the correct morphological form. In Polish, a clear decline of the scores was
observed, with the highest score on fronted position, and the lowest on final position.
Interestingly, the Polish L2 participants repeated the verb stem without reflexive particle in
the end of the sentence considerably more often than the Russian L2 students did.
As regards the position of the Polish reflexive się, a slight difference between the preverbal and post-verbal placement was observed. The distant placement caused more difficulty
which led to many lexical substitutions (see table 2).
Table 2
Position of the Polish reflexive się (SRT)
7
�Target verb
Without reflexive
Other lexemes
Pre-verbal
60%
3%
7%
Postverbal
64%
6%
0%
Distant placement
54%
4%
17%
Sentence Translation task
In the STT, on the contrary, the Russian L2 students significantly outperformed the
Polish L2 students on full sentence accuracy (77% vs. 15%), and scored much better on target
structure accuracy (84% vs. 58%).
5. Discussion and conclusions
In this pilot study, we investigated which linguistic properties could be seen as good
predictors of accurate acquisition of reflexive verbs in Russian and Polish. We also
investigated for which tasks these features could be of importance. The most striking outcome
of the study was a very low score on full sentence repetition accuracy in both language
groups. Some plausible explanations can be found for this fact. First, it might have to do with
a relatively low proficiency of the students. Although the items were extracted from the
learning materials which were extensively used in the course, the cognitive load of the task
was obviously too high for this proficiency level. The knowledge of grammar and semantics
was proceduralized but not automatized yet which led to a poor performance. Second, the
mean length of sentences possibly exceeded the memory span of most students. While a mean
utterance length (MUL) for young (bilingual) children is established between 7 to 13 syllables
(Marinis & Armon-Lotem 2015), the information on a MUL for adult foreign language
learners is contradictory (see Munnich, Flynn & Martohardjono 1994; Bley-Vroman &
Chaudron 1994). We determined a MUL on our own that seemed to be too demanding for the
participants involved. Third, poor performance might have to do with a lack of training in
memorizing and recalling verbal information in a foreign language. These skills were not
specifically trained during the course. Fourth, the participant’s own perception of the nature of
the task cannot be excluded: some students tried to repeat as verbatim as possible, while other
students probably tried to convey the approximate meaning only.
When comparing the accuracy scores on target structures one can see that the results
were certainly dependent on the position of the target verb in the sentence: fronted position
8
�facilitated accuracy. The students were able to recall the beginning of the sentence better than
the end which is not so strange. However, this tendency was much more clear in Polish than
in Russian. In Polish, the target structure in fronted position was perceived and reproduced in
75% of all responses, whereas in Russian only in 48%. Despite the lower scores on final
position, the percentage of the target-like responses was still higher in Polish than in Russian,
where final position in combination with reduction led to an extremely poor performance: the
reflexive verb as given in (4) was reproduced only once.
The distant placement of the Polish particle with respect to the main verb also affected
the scores. The target structure as given in (8) was correctly reproduced only twice. However,
the phonological context also played a role, as in Russian example (2). Despite the fronted
position in the sentence, and because of consonant assimilation and contraction with the
preposition s ‘with’, the target verb was correctly repeated only by one student. In contrast to
Russian, an adjacent position of the reflexive particle and the preposition z ‘with’ had less
effect on target structure accuracy in Polish. These facts can be explained by a higher sonority
value of the reflexive particle się that was easier perceived than the Russian reduced affix
-sja.
Importantly, full sentence accuracy in the translation task was significantly higher in
Russian than in Polish. The Russian L2 students were five times as good as their Polish L2
peers. Although the procedure was the same for both language groups, the Polish L2 students
showed very poor proficiency in written skills which can partially be explained by insufficient
practice. (This was also emphasized by the students themselves.) However, morpheme
boundness and morphosyntactic predictability of reflexive verbs cannot be ignored. Russian
verbs have to be learnt as one whole, while Polish verbs are seen as two words, whereby the
grammatical marker is of less importance. Although we controlled for positive language
transfer by avoiding Dutch reflexive verbs, negative language interference was observed.
Posture verbs, decausative verbs, and reflexive verbs expressing emotions that correlated in
Dutch to not-reflexive or ambitransitive verbs, or to a combination of a state verb with an
adjective/a participle, repeatedly missed the reflexive marker in the STT.
To conclude, the results of this pilot study support the idea that perceptual saliency,
understood as a combination of phonetic substance and a prominent position in the sentence,
and morphophonological uniformity are relevant in acquisition of morphemes with respect to
perception and repetition, while morphosyntactic regularity and predictability are influential
in written production. Still, we need more statistical power to confirm our observations.
9
�Endnotes
1
Russian is a stress-based language which has systematic vowel reduction in unstressed
syllables. This concerns the vowels /a/, /o/, and /e/. In contrast, Polish has a fixed stress
pattern on the penultimate syllable and no qualitative vowel reduction.
2
Moreover, the [s’] of -sja is incorporated into an affricate [c] after /t/ that is found in the
palatalized infinitive suffix -t’ (borot’sja ‘to fight’) and in the non-palatalized -t of the 3
singular and plural forms (boretsja ‘he/she fights’, borjutsja ‘they fight’). This makes
perception even more complex.
References
Bley-Vroman, R. & Chaudron, C. (1994). Elicited Imitation as a Measure of Second
Language Competence. In E.E. Tarone, S.M. Gass & A.D. Cohen (Eds.), Research
Methodology in Second Language Acquisition. Hillsdale – Hove: Lawrence Erlbaum,
245-261.
Goldschneider, J.M. & DeKeyser, R.M. (2001). Explaining the “Natural Order of L2
Morpheme Acquisition” in English: A Meta-analysis of Multiple Determinants.
Language Learning 51:1, 1-50.
Knjazev, Ju.P. (2007). Grammatičeskaja semantika. Russkij jazyk v tipologičeskoj
perspektive. Moscow: Jazyki slavjanskix kul’tur.
Marinis, T. & Armon-Lotem, S. (2015). Sentence Repetition. In S. Armon-Lotem, J. de Jong
&
N. Meir (Eds.), Assessing Multilingual Children: Disentangling Bilingualism from
Language Impairment. Bristol – Buffalo – Toronto: Multilingual Matters, 95-150.
Munnich, E., Flynn, S. & Martohardjono, G. (1994). Elicited Imitation and Grammaticality
Judgement Tasks: What They Measure and How They Relate to Each Other. In E.E.
Tarone, S.M. Gass & A.D. Cohen (Eds.), Research Methodology in Second Language
Acquisition. Hillsdale – Hove: Lawrence Erlbaum, 227-243.
Verhagen, A.Z. (2014). T2 acquisitie van Poolse en Russische reflexieve werkwoorden. MA
thesis, University of Amsterdam.
10
�
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ADULT L2 ACQUISITION OF REFLEXIVE VERBS IN RUSSIAN AND POLISH
Author
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Peeters-Podgaevskaja, Alla
Verhagen, Alicja
Abstract
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From previous research, perceptual saliency and morphophonological and morphosyntactic regularity significantly contribute to a successful acquisition of morphemes (Goldschneider & DeKeyser 2001). This pilot study investigates if and to what extent these features are predictors in the acquisition of reflexive verbs in adult L2 Polish and Russian. Despite these languages being closely related, their reflexive verbs differ dramatically. Polish uses a particle siẹ that has a high sonority value and can be freely placed in a sentence. Russian uses a reflexive affix which is placed directly after the finite verb ending and has two phonetically reduced variants -sja and -s’ that depend on the phonological context. In this pilot study, we hypothesized that i) perceptual saliency (understood as higher sonority and a prominent position in a sentence) facilitated perception and sentence repetition; ii) morphosyntactic regularity and predictability positively affected written production. Two groups of Dutch first-year students learning Russian and Polish respectively as L2 at the University of Amsterdam were recruited. Russian and Polish native speakers served as controls. In order to test perception/comprehension and (re)production of reflexive verbs in L2, a sentence repetition task (SRT) was used. The task consisted of 15 target sentences and 10 distractors for each language (syllable length: 17–22), and was administered in e-prime. The sentence position of the target structure and semantic categories of reflexive verbs were controlled. In order to test written production, a sentence translation task (STT) was developed that contained 15 Dutch items. For the controls, accuracy in both tasks was at ceiling. The Dutch-L2 groups performed significantly worse. The accuracy scores on target structures in SRT were better in Polish (61% vs. 40%). In the STT, the Russian L2 students outperformed the Polish L2 participants (84% vs. 58%). The results of this study support the idea that perceptual saliency and morphophonological uniformity affect perception and (re)production, while morphosyntactic regularity and predictability (boundness) is relevant for written production.
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International Burch University
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2015-07
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PeerReviewed
P Philology. Linguistics
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922
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Advertising Myths in Modern Text-Image Ad Formats
Author
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Mirza, Dzanić
Abstract
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In the advertising industry today, it is notable that the use of visual elements such as images is fast growing. Earlier ads stated their messages mostly via the textual medium, but in the contemporary advertising the use of images has become more and more common and the relationship between text and visual image became complementary (Leiss et al. 1990: 199). It is up to the readers to decode the intended message that the advertiser conveys. The advertiser’s aim is to make the message more ambiguous. How the reader will interpret it depends on their understanding of the elements (textual and visual) that constitute the ad and how these elements complement each other. According to Leiss et al. (1990: 198), semiotics is a method that is used in studying social phenomena. As far as advertising discourse is concerned, it is one of the fields in which meaning must be inhered and thus can be investigated from the standpoint of semiotics. The French theorist Roland Barthes was one of the first to apply semiotic tools in analyzing popular culture (including advertising discourse), In his work Barthes presents advertising as a myth, which he defines as a type of speech. It can refer to how an ad is presented to us, i.e. which techniques (verbal or non-verbal) are exploited as persuasive tools. Also Barthes (1972: 107) points out that ‘everything can be a myth provided it is conveyed by a discourse’. Myths can be expressed by both writing and some sort of representation (images, drawings etc.). In this sense, when analyzing an ad (text plus image, for instance) we are dealing with that particular image, which is given for that particular signification.
Date
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2012-05
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Conference or Workshop Item
PeerReviewed
P Philology. Linguistics
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834
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Age as a Factor of Second Language Acquisition
Author
Author
Milatović, Biljana
Abstract
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This paper, titled Age as a Factor of Second Language Acquisition examines the relationship of age factor to second language acquisition. It examines the development of the theories relating age to language development. The idea that the early age is a major factor in native-proficient in second language acquisition is a widely held and popular belief. Such views have been supported by many theories that were first proposed in the middle of the 20th century. This decision is usually based on the belief that younger children learn second languages more easily and more rapidly than adolescents and adults. The aim of foreign languages at the beginning of school education is to make children familiar with other means of communication other than their mother tongue, as well as to make them accept the use of other languages in a natural way and therefore start to acquire a multilingual competence that will enable them to communicate in a foreign language in daily situations and contexts which are typical of that age.
Date
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2012-05-04
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Conference or Workshop Item
PeerReviewed
P Philology. Linguistics
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1007
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Alan Paton’s Cry, the Beloved Country: Narrating Pain and Oppression
Author
Author
Mohammadshahi , Soolmaz
Exir, Mohammad
Abstract
A summary of the resource.
Alan Paton, in Cry, the Beloved Country, heightens sensitivities throughout the world to the unrelenting, legalized racial discrimination in South Africa. Not onlydoes he dramatically portray the exploitation of native black people in a country where they have always been the majority, but he also creates a hopeful view of bringing change about through compassion and empowerment rather than through violence. He presents this vision at a time when the issue was unpopular with white people in many nations and through a story that is more revelatory than shocking or inflammatory. Stephen Kumalo clearly represents the native black South African from a traditional tribal community, specifically a Zulu tradition. He has the naiveté of the humble country parson with little worldly experience out of his familiar environment. Some literary critics would call him the suffering hero: He must experience suffering before he attains a complete awareness of life and makes the most of his talent and creativity. Even his first name recalls the Christian saint who underwent martyrdom through suffering. Stephen is not without faults. He has his share of pride (as first seen when he boards the train and pretends to be someone of importance) and even a measure of quick anger (as seen with Gertrude, Absalom, and John). As the story begins, Stephen’s attitude toward the socio-political situation around him is somewhat detached. James Jarvis, too, is revealed through his words and actions. The readers suffer with him through the tragedy of his son’s death and learn that he is very human in his own grief and suffering, yet not quick to vengeance or retaliation.
Date
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2012-05
Keywords
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Conference or Workshop Item
PeerReviewed
P Philology. Linguistics
-
https://eprints.ibu.edu.ba/files/original/46ece3bbe2fbe29c8617f38bfa75e92c.pdf
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PDF Text
Text
1st International Conference on Foreign Language Teaching and Applied Linguistics
May 5-7 2011 Sarajevo
Albanians thinking ―Greek‖. Language acquisition within
acculturation process for second-generation Albanians in Greece
Themistokles Gogas
Epirus Institute of Technology
themistokles.gogas@education.lu
Abstract:The last years in Greece second generation immigrants who study at Greek
schools use Greek language fluently and in many cases they speak Greek in such a
proficiency that are not recognizable as non-Greeks. Primarily this means that these
individuals master the mechanism of parole. Moreover, these persons meet the
demands of education, which signifies the mastering of langue. In a secondary level
of approach the question arising is whether the structural elements of langue i.e. the
archetypes corresponding to abstract notions are similar to those of the greek native
speakers. Considering that young Greeks acquire the ‗greek‘ meaning of a word, the
research is focused on the examination of the way young immigrants acquire the
meanings of words. More specifically, which way young immigrants perceive
abstract meanings? In their own linguistic frame or through dominant language? In
other words, I shall approach the production of langue in its base, i.e. in the level of
the abstract notions.
1. Introductory note
The story goes back to 1946. In his Clear Thinking, Jepson argued:
If you translate the English word into the Russian word demokratichesky, you are,
linguistically speaking, translating with perfect accuracy, but you are not, in fact,
conveying meaning any more than you would be conveying meaning by using the word
'large' to describe a large inkpot or a large railway station. To us who have been trained
in the Liberal tradition of some three hundred years, democracy implies the
fundamentals of personal liberty.[…] But to the Russians, all these things which seem
to us so precious and so essential are no more than outmoded bourgeois inhibitions. To
them 'democracy' implies the classless state in which the means of production are
owned in common.
Despite the obvious Cold-War logic of this statement, one has to admit the apparent: the social, political,
economic or cultural context within which a word acquires its meaning. Susan Gal (1987) worked on this
field and examined bilingual minorities. Her approach is focused on abstract notions on domination or
subordination within their historical and politico-economic context. On a similar work, Maxwell (2004)
examines the ‗Magyarization‘ in Hungarian, German and Slovak languages under the Whorfian hypothesis.
He concludes to the importance of political realm in the formation of the word‘s meaning. A study of
Moschonas (2004) on Greek language reveals the ideological trends in a metalinguistic discourse. He also
concludes to the significance of political domain in the formation of language.
2. Theoretical frame
The conceptual construction of an individual about the world is based upon his/her language.
Hence, young persons acquire the meanings of the words of their ‗mother tongue‘ thanks to their living
experience within the limits of their linguistic (and national) community. Focal point of this paper is the
different way the world is perceived by users of different languages, for as Wardhaugh (1992: 220) states:
―you perceive only what your language allows you, or predisposes you to perceive. Your language controls
your ‗world-view‘. Speakers of different languages will, therefore, have different views‖. However, this
principle cannot apply to the same extend in cases of immigrant communities. The young members of an
immigrant community are exposed to both: the linguistic environment of their mother tongue, as well as to
that of the dominant language. Which language is the decisive, i.e. that who will facilitate a specific
individual to form his/her worldview?
Starting from the Linguistic Relativity Hypothesis (LRH) given by Whorf (1956) language, thought
and culture are interconnected. Stubbs (1997: 372) argued that ―[m]uch of the puzzle posed by Whorf and
others remains unresolved: it is particularly difficult to escape the circularity of arguments where language is
both cause and evidence‖. This peculiarity enables only approaches dealing with the socio-cultural
dimensions of language (Risager, 2006), or the mechanism that creates stereotypes or assumptions (Johnson,
1972). Also, it is important to be noted here the criticism on LRH, along with hints on racism of such
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statements (Stubbs, 1997: 361). ―If Aristotle had spoken Nootka (an American Indian language) then we
would have different logic‖. This statement is just an argument in the deployment of Stubbs‘ (op.cit.: 359)
criticism on Whorfian hypothesis, and it is followed by a counter-argument: bilinguals speak different
languages but they do not perceive the world differently. Bilingualism raises the issue of cultural dominance
over language. In particular, in case of immigrant communities the acculturation process plays an important
role in the perception of language.
The term acculturation refers to the process of cultural contact as well as the outcome of this
contact (Redfield, Linton & Herskovits, 1936: 149; Berry & Sam, 1997: 293-294; Padilla & Perez, 2003;
Baldwin, Longhurst, McCracken, Ogborn, & Smith, 2004: 45). Acculturation has been studied extensively
mostly in the West, since the long period of de-colonisation led researchers to investigate the adaptation
of the indigenous people to the dominant culture (Hallowell, 1945; Cheung-Blunden & Juang, 2008).
Additionally, western societies after the end of the ‘period of nationalism’ experienced a massive flow of
immigrants, a phenomenon which ignited several researches. At this period (1990 and forth) the
interesting of the research has been focused on the changes occurred in the immigrants’ culture and the
process to be adapted to the culture of the local (dominant) (Beiser, 2000).
Berry (2003: 19) spots the major problems of acculturation on the definition of the term itself. Also, the
measurement process and the consequences it may cause on the formation of policy. He argues that major
problems of acculturation are: whether acculturation influences all groups who are in contact (irrespective of
their social or political status) and ii) if acculturation is an individual procedure or it takes place within larger
groups.
3. The research
In Greece at present lives a considerable number of immigrants. To a certain extent the second
generation of them has been fully integrated into Greek schools. In most cases teachers are not in position to
understand whether a pupil is immigrant or not. This is due to the perfect use of Greek language they posses
(oral and written). Examining these cases, my initial question deals with the levels of Greek language they
posses: definitely vocabulary, grammar and syntax are equivalent to mother tongue. The question is whether
they ‗think Greek or not‘. This means not merely the composition of thoughts in the ‗Greek way‘, but
additionally the structure of the abstract notions not in their mother tongue, but according to the Greek
patterns.
Counter to what Woolard (1985) argues, I made the hypothesis that the cultural hegemony of the
dominant language remains unchallenged if (and only if) hegemony applies on the social corpus through
education.
3.1. Methodology
The research was based on Hoffstaetter‘s (1957) work. In this, Hofstaetter measured the
psychological equivalence of abstract words on Americans and Germans. He concluded that an abstract
word is perceived different by both groups. Consequently, the perception of the world has to be different.
Hence, there is a gap between the psychological and the lexical correspondence when switching from one
language to the other. In his research, Hofstaetter developed a tool in order to measure the impact of each
word upon Americans and Germans. The individuals were given the word loneliness and asked to describe it
according to a chart. In the present research, I implemented Hoffstaetter‘s method, asking the subjects to
describe the word loneliness.
Population of the research are the Albanian immigrants of Greece, for they possess certain
attributes facilitating sampling: they are the most numerous minority group; they are scattered all over
Greece; most of them live in Greece since early 90s and are well accustomed to researches; and they pay
specific attention to the education of their children. The research has been conducted during the academic
year 2009-2010 and took place at the same time in Greece and Albania with the assistance of students of the
Department of Applied Foreign Languages.
3.1.1. Sample
The sample has been chosen through random selection. Thus subject‘s groups were:
Control Group 1 (CG1): Native adult Greeks, who were born in Greece, studied in Greek schools and have
never been exposed to foreign linguistic environment.
Control Group 2 (CG2): Native adult Albanians, who were born in Albania, studied in Albanian schools and
have never been exposed to foreign linguistic environment.
Experimental Group (EG): Young persons of Albanian origin who were born in Greece, completed their
compulsory education in Greek schools and study at present at Greek tertiary education institutions.
The student-assistants distributed a large amount of questionnaires, while CG1 responded properly on 134
questionnaires, CG2 on 98 and EG on 87. Specific attention has been paid for the exclusion of those subjects
who derive from mixed marriages or those who come from the Greek Minority of South Albania.
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3.1.2. Tool
Research tool has been selected the bipolar set of opposite qualities as given by Hofstaetter. This is based on
a set of 24 bipolar attributes a word may possess. The pairs of antithetic qualities were placed on the two
edges of a 10-scale chart.
Below is given an example of two pairs of antithetic qualities (black-white and small-big).
1
2
Black
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
White
The subject has to ‗tick‘ the position on which s/he believed the quality matches the notion. Thus in the
antithetic pair ―black-white‖ ticking 1 means the subject believes that ‗loneliness‘ is totally black, 5 means is
grayish, while 10 means that loneliness is totally white.
The results were categorized and summed up on the chart for each one of the 3 groups. Purpose of the
research was to sketch the way the word in question is perceived. It was taken for granted that adult Greeks
and Albanians would provide the average ‗national sketch‘, while the results of the experimental group had
to give the answer to which ‗national sketch‘ resembles the sketch of the young Albanian students.
The results have been elaborated statistically: normalization of the sample, extraction of average and
implementation of Pearson correlation for each pair of groups (CG1-EG; CG2-EG and CG1-EG).
3.2. Findings
The answers given by the subjects were normalized, due to the different size of the sample. In Table 1
below are given the average scores for each antithetic pair for each group before the normalization
(BN) and after (AN).
Studying the results taken out of the antithetical pairs, one may see that for both people (i.e. for CG1
and CG2) loneliness is something big, strong, ill, sad, deep, bad, cold, abrasive, wild and old ―thing‖.
Small
Weak
Ill
Lucid
Coward
Empty
Sad
Shallow
Good
Quiet
Fresh
Nice
Tense
Angular
Energetic
Cold
Abrasive
Benign
Near
Liberal
Tall
Humid
Unstable
Young
Table 1: Average scores per pair of groups before and after normalization
CG1
CG2
EG
BN
AN
BN
AN
BN
AN
96.5 0,72015
73
0,7449
60.6
0,69655 Big
96.5 0,75373
68.2 0,69592
65.9
0,75747 Strong
46.6 0,34776
34.9 0,35612
30.7
0,35287 Healthy
95.8 0,71493
62.7
0,6398
57.2
0,65747 Blurry
52.9 0,39478
72.8 0,74286
36.3
0,41724 Daring
50.8
0,3791
50.1 0,51122
33.9
0,38966 Full
36.5 0,27293
34.8
0,3551
34.5
0,39655 Cheerful
94 0,70149
71.3 0,72755
61.1
0,7023 Deep
105.5 0,78731
77.6 0,79184
69.8
0,8023 Bad
58 0,43284
66.8 0,68163
35.2
0,4046 Loud
86.3 0,64403
70.6 0,72041
66
0,75862 Moldy
101.1 0,75448
72.4 0,73878
68
0,78161 Ugly
67.2 0,50149
41.1 0,41939
46.3
0,53281 Calm
71.2 0,53134
41.6 0,42449
47
0,54023 Round
93.6 0,69851
40.4 0,41224
48.7
0,55977 Passive
35.1 0,26194
40.5 0,41327
29.8
0,34253 Warm
41.2 0,30746
36.8 0,37551
33.5
0,38506 Gentle
100.9 0,75299
70.8 0,72245
61.2
0,70345 Ferocious
81 0,60448
53.7 0,54796
63.1
0,72529 Distant
74.3 0,55448
72 0,73459
52
0,5977 conservative
77.2 0,57612
67.3 0,68673
49.2
0,56552 Short
81.8 0,61045
64.4 0,65714
48.1
0,55287 Drought
55.8 0,41642
65.9 0,67245
32.4
0,37241 Stable
99.7 0,74403
66.6 0,67959
64.3
0,73908 Old
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Unsurprisingly the EG the description matches the case. The difference is spotted on a series of attributes for
which CG1 and CG2 present significant differences. Thus, Greeks believe that loneliness is coward, empty,
energetic, distant and unstable, while Albanians think of something brave, full, pathetic, near and stable.
Surprisingly the young Albanian students think of loneliness the greek way! Prima faciae Albanian student
experience loneliness in a ‗greek way‘. Applying Pearson correlation, the results are as on Table 2.
Obviously on pairs 5, 6, 10, 19, 20 and 23 CG1-EG appear similarities. On the contrary CG1-CG2
and CG2-EG present significant difference. To a lesser extend on pairs 4, 13, 14, 15, 21 and 22 CG1-EG
exist similarities, while CG2-EG present difference or are antithetical. There is only one pair (No 11) on
which CG2-EG present higher significance than CG1-EG, but this cannot alter the overall picture
Table 2. Pearson correlation values for each pair of groups
No
CG1-CG2
CG2- EG
CG1- EG
1
Small
0,89
0,94
0,83
Big
2
Weak
0,79
0,85
0,73
Strong
3
Ill
0,85
0,78
0,84
Healthy
4
Lucid
0,51
0,47
0,79
Blurr
5
6
Coward
Empty
-0,41
-0,18
-0,13
-0,25
0,74
0,88
Daring
Full
7
Sad
0,86
0,79
0,92
Cheerful
8
Shallow
0,93
0,86
0,89
Deep
9
Good
0,91
0,93
0,97
Bad
10
Quiet
-0,04
-0,36
0,78
Loud
11
Fresh
0,47
0,92
0,31
Moldy
12
Nice
0,94
0,98
0,96
Ugly
13
Tense
0,26
0,17
0,45
Calm
14
Angular
0,31
-0,06
0,59
Round
15
Energetic
-0,53
-0,34
-0,05
Passive
16
17
Cold
Abrasive
0,87
0,94
0,81
0,80
0,93
0,74
Warm
Gentle
18
Benign
0,93
0,91
0,95
Ferocious
19
Near
-0,01
0,09
0,08
Distant
20
Liberal
-0,12
-0,20
0,61
Conservative
21
Tall
0,03
-0,21
0,54
Short
22
Humid
0,44
-0,33
0,36
Drought
23
Unstable
-0,48
-0,47
0,77
Stable
24
Young
0,79
0,78
0,85
Old
4. Conclusions
The word ‗loneliness‘ is not merely a conventional symbol, but it possess a particular psychological
‗gravity‘. The perception of this particular word takes place through a gradual socializing process within a
specific cultural and linguistic community. Thus, young Greeks acquire the ‗greek‘ vision of loneliness to
the extend that young Albanians get the vision of their own socio-cultural group. In tha case under
investigation, young Albanians born and bread in Greece are exposed to a dual socio-cultural environment:
the maternal and the ‗dominant‘.
The particularity of the case has to do with the subjects of the experimental group, who sompleted
primary and secondary education in Greek schools and continue their studies in Greek tertiary academic
institutions.
Dittmar‘s (1976, p. 238) position describes the dialectic process within which linguistic and social behavior
exist. In that sense, there is a continuous interaction, while material conditions are crucial factor for the
formation of both behavioral aspects. The school is a major domain where social behavior is imposed in a
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hegemonic way. Hence, the linguistic patterns are dictated, dominating the subject and formatting his/her
linguistic boundaries.
The research aimed to reveal the particular power of the education through the process of
acculturation in the formation of one‘s linguistic perception. Indeed, education socializes individuals
according to the norms of the dominant socio-political, cultural and linguistic group. For Bourdieu (1976:
194) ―Culture is not merely a common code or even a catalogue of answers to recurring problems; it is a
common set of previously assimilated master patterns from which, by an ‗art of invention‘ similar to that
involved in the writing of music, an infinite number of individual patterns directly applicable to specific
situations are generated‖. Education participates in this process turning the cultural patterns of the individual
in order to conform with the dominant. As it seems in the present research the power of education is not
limited on cognitive, behavioral or ideological matters, but it goes deeper, to the level of the construction of
abstract notions. Remembering Anderson‘s (1991) Imagined Communities, Latin, in late-medieval period
was a language spoken by just a few. He assumes that even fewer would have used Latin in their dreams.
The final question of the present is: the youngsters of the Experimental Group in which language do they
dream?
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Extent
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666
Title
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Albanians thinking ―Greek‖. Language acquisition within acculturation process for second-generation Albanians in Greece
Author
Author
Gogas, Themistokles
Abstract
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The last years in Greece second generation immigrants who study at Greek schools use Greek language fluently and in many cases they speak Greek in such a proficiency that are not recognizable as non-Greeks. Primarily this means that these individuals master the mechanism of parole. Moreover, these persons meet the demands of education, which signifies the mastering of langue. In a secondary level of approach the question arising is whether the structural elements of langue i.e. the archetypes corresponding to abstract notions are similar to those of the greek native speakers. Considering that young Greeks acquire the ‗greek‘ meaning of a word, the research is focused on the examination of the way young immigrants acquire the meanings of words. More specifically, which way young immigrants perceive abstract meanings? In their own linguistic frame or through dominant language? In other words, I shall approach the production of langue in its base, i.e. in the level of the abstract notions.
Date
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2011-05
Keywords
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PeerReviewed
P Philology. Linguistics