School of Languages and Linguistics - Theses
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Item'I told them from my tight blue pants' : the queer challenge to identity in the poetry of Frank O'Hara(University of Melbourne, 1998)
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ItemNo Preview AvailableWriting in the space : the development of a play from conception to performance(University of Melbourne, 1989)
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ItemKin and country: aspects of the use of kinterms in Arandic languages( 1998)The central hypothesis of this thesis is that aspects of the use of kinterms in Arandic languages (or dialects) are dependent upon pragmatic factors to do with broad levels of relationship beyond the genealogical, especially those between people and country, and between countries and Dreamings. It is suggested that other pragmatic factors such as the notions of closeness and distance are significant in determining the use of kinterms. Through an analysis of ‘unexpected’ uses of kinterms it is shown that systematic patterns of skewing exist in Arandic systems, and the factors which determine this are explored. Particular types of kin are marked by the use of specialised kinterms, by respectful codes of behaviour, and by the use of special registers.
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ItemDeutsche Exilliteratur in Australien( 1983)Translation of first paragraph of forward: The present work is an attempt at the first description and documentation of German exile-literature in Australia. As no literary stocktaking has so far taken place, there was no possibility of any reliance on preceding material. This meant that the work represents a painstaking gathering together of material. A not insignificant part of this material is based on unpublished material, spread far across Australia and often hard to get at. For example, poems, manuscripts, memoirs and novels (about the existence of which no one had the slightest idea), were discovered in drawers and in the papers of deceased people.
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ItemComprehensible output in NNS-NNS interaction in Japanese as a foreign language( 1993)This study is a partial replication of Pica et al’s study (1989) of comprehensible output, and investigates comprehensible output in NNS-NNS interaction in Japanese as a Foreign Language. Data were collected using two different types of tasks (information gap and jigsaw tasks) in three sub-groups of different proficiency levels (High-High, Low-Low, and High-Low) in order to find out (1) to what extent the tasks provide opportunities for learners to modify their initial output in response to requests for clarification and confirmation, and (2) the extent to which learners actually modify their output in response to interlocutor requests. The results show that comprehensible output is an important phenomenon in NNS-NNS interaction. Unlike the result of Pica et al, task types had more effect on opportunities for comprehensible output and actual production of comprehensible output than request types. Not much difference was found among different proficiency groups.
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ItemApplying the context-adaptive model: evaluating a DEET funded English Language Program( 1995)Financially able governments around the world are embarking on major projects to retrain the growing numbers of unemployed. Education systems now dominated by 'market economy' -thinking government bodies holding the reigns on policy making and funding. It would appear from the writing of Bell and Goldstein (1995:21) that the situation in Australia is parallel to that of Canada. It is summarised in the words: "Many workers who have permanently lost their jobs in t:llls current economic recession have been advised to upgrade their educational credentials and obtain new work skills. In these changing economic times, upgrading, training and 'lifelong learning' are seen by many to be the key to finding and keeping a good job." This statement could easily be made about Australia, where the Federal Government is funding many types of training programs for the unemployed. The one being evaluated here is an English as Second Language (ESL) program funded by the Department of Employment Education and Training (DEET) for retrenched workers from the Textile Clothing and Footwear (TCF) industry. The program to be discussed is located at Victoria College, a registered private provider of education and training in Melbourne. Initially, the college offered English Language Intensive Courses for Overseas Students (ELICOS) accredited by an industry body, the National ELICOS Accreditation Scheme (NEAS). It has now broadened its scope to offer business and DEET funded courses. The evaluator has been closely connected to the program in the capacity of teacher, coordinator and (DEET) liaison officer. The first chapter presents the historical background of language program evaluations. Reports on outcomes from closely related areas, are presented next, as relevant background literature. The model chosen for the framework of this evaluation is the Context-Adaptive Model (CAM) (Lynch 1990). The second chapter leads to an evaluation design by adapting steps of the model to the evaluation context. It takes into consideration "such issues as the social and political basis and motivation for the language learning and teaching" (Lynch In press 94 13) which are important background to the evaluation. The data collection design is presented in the third chapter with the thematic framework for the evaluation. The design has quantitative and qualitative data collected for separate audience goals. The fourth chapter shows how qualitative and quantitative data is collected from various sources. The qualitative data consists of post-course questionnaires; case studies and interviews. Quantitative data consists of Australian Second Language Proficiency Rating (ASLPR) results in the form of precourse and post-course proficiency ratings for all the students and as well as a two-year charting of the four macro-skills for the case studies. In the fifth chapter, the results are discussed and arguments for the validation of the data and methods are put forward in the sixth chapter. The evaluation conclusions can then be drawn from the different perspectives presented in the last chapter.
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ItemAssessing Australian children with the Test for Auditory Comprehension of Language - Revised: is it a useful tool?( 1996)This thesis examines the performance of a group of Australian children, aged between 5;6 and 7;0 years, on the Test for Auditory Comprehension of Language - Revised (TACL-R: Carrow-Woolfolk, 1985). Using a combination of traditional test analysis and Rasch measurement, item difficulty, item discriminability, distractor effectiveness, person ability, and reliability were examined. The application of the TACL-R basal and ceiling rules was also considered, and the Australian children's performance on the test was compared to that of their American counterparts. The findings call into question the validity and reliability of the TACL-R for use with Australian children. The TACL-R ceiling rule appeared inappropriate for these children. Numerous items were identified as being problematic, and possible causes are discussed. Person fit statistics suggested that the test was an ineffective assessment of auditory comprehension for too many children. Reliability measures were low. Although the Australian children's performance was in some ways comparable to the American normative data, the use of overseas norms was concluded to be inappropriate. Future research could further examine the issues discussed in this paper. Such research could lead to modification of the TACL-R and the development of local norms. Until that time, the TACL-R should be used with caution in Australia.
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ItemInterpreting for speech pathology: an ethnographic study( 1998)Australia is a multilingual and multicultural society in which approximately 20% of the population speaks English as a second or other language. This mix of languages and cultures presents a considerable challenge for the predominantly English-speaking speech pathology profession and means it is often necessary for speech pathologists to work with interpreters when providing services to patients from non-English speaking backgrounds. There has been limited political or professional action to address the specific needs of non-English speaking adults who have speech and/or language impairments, and limited research which can inform the ways speech pathologists and interpreters work together during the assessment of such patients. Recent changes in the funding of health care and language services in Victoria has created a need to understand the nature of interactions between these two professional groups and to define more effective work practices. This ethnographic study explores the difficulties that speech pathologists and interpreters experience when working together, and describes one context in which these difficulties occur, the assessment of speech and language impairment in patients from non-English speaking backgrounds. Data from interviews with members of both professions, observations and video recordings of actual assessments, and written materials pertinent to both professions was analysed in order to identify the salient features of interactions between the two professional groups during speech pathology assessments. This study highlights the linguistic and ethical difficulties that face interpreters in speech pathology, as well as the need to define more precise roles for both interpreter and speech pathologist in this context. There is also a need for increased, and more specialised, training for both professional groups in order that they develop the knowledge and skills required to understand and manage the variety of factors which can impact on interpreted speech pathology assessments. A number of practical recommendations are made for facilitating future collaboration between speech pathologists and interpreters. The limitations of this study are addressed and avenues for further research canvassed.
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ItemThe classicism of Molière and of Racine( 1940)This thesis seeks to give an appreciation of the works of two great writers – Molière and Racine. Much space would be necessary in order to give a complete appreciation, and that is why a special aspect has been chosen – that of classicism. There are many different ideas as to what constitutes a classic, but one may say that the classical element of a work is that part which causes the work to escape death – that is, the part which causes the work to become immortal. There has been much of this undying spirit throughout literature, even in the earlier times: after all, it is nothing else than a harmony between matter, and the way of expressing it; for all poetry, all literature indeed, consists of these two things. This thesis seeks to show that this harmony is achieved in two different types of literature (but the difference between them is seen to be more apparent than real, when we examine the fundamental methods of the writers). If Molière had adopted the style of Racine, would he have succeeded in producing master-pieces? Molière’s genius understood the French spirit, and his comedy has much more of the eternal spirit than a comedy would have had if he had written in a more rigid style. That does not mean that Molière has never failed. He is human, and his work bears traces of that fact. This thesis does not propose to compare the good with the bad, but it seeks to give an appreciation of those classical elements which were so remarkable…. And after all, who will be judge of a work? One may give one’s ideas, and one’s reasons and proofs – that is all. If a work has survived, it is possible that it contains something immortal, and that it has been accepted by its judges. One may say, then, that the whole world is the judge of a work, and that if successive generations have accepted it, it is immortal. That does not mean simply that a work is immortal if it is immortal; but rather that a work is immortal if it contains something more than what is confined within the narrow limits of a single place or time…. some of those things which appeal to the whole world. There is no doubt that Molière and Racine have been accepted. The former appeals to almost everybody, but the latter is understood by Englishmen, for instance, only after much greater effort. Does that mean that Racine is less classical than Molière? Not necessarily. Classicism is a harmony between matter and the way of expressing it. If Molière’s way is easier to understand; is it not also true that Racine’s way is one of the glories of literature, and that much satisfying pleasure is found in his work? It is impossible to estimate with any sense of finality the quantity of classicism which each writer achieves. This thesis begins by giving an idea of the evolution of this type of literature. An Englishman considers a classic to b ‘something connected with antiquity’. This idea has been formed by the tradition of a classical education which has long been considered the summum bonum by schoolmen of our country. I have used this idea of what is classical as a starting point, following the psychological principle of proceeding from the known to the unknown. Thereafter follows a short study of the roots of that classicism which is the product both of the French spirit and of the time. The pages devoted to the development of classicism – to the history, so to speak – and the pages of the classical doctrine are necessarily full of information found I authorities, but it is necessary to seek for facts before having ideas about them. These are the facts. There is a list of the chief books I have read in preparing this thesis, but I stress the fact that the ideas of the third part have developed with me as I read Molière and Racine. And after all, it is not a strange thing that these two men of genius have been able to enthuse – even today. Is it not a further proof that they are true classicists?
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ItemA socio-linguistic study of the Iranian community in Melbourne( 1994)This paper examines aspects of the sociolinguistic interactions of individuals within the Iranian community in Melbourne. The focus is on first generation Farsi speakers in the Iranian community and their relationships to their language and culture. The study goes on to examine the Iranian community in the light of its attitudes, beliefs, self-image and language as a small, isolated and fragmented ethnic community. The major points discussed are the concepts of interaction, language and the environment in which Iranians interact with each other. The study moreover seeks to examine how Iranians see themselves in a multi-cultural environment like Melbourne and how they perceive their country of origin. In adopting a socio-linguistic approach, the author will examine in detail the influence of the environment in Melbourne on this speech community. This includes a brief examination of how the speakers of this speech community cope emotionally with what is happening in their country of origin and the ways that they develop and maintain relationships with other groups in Melbourne.