School of Languages and Linguistics - Theses
Permanent URI for this collection
Search Results
1 - 10 of 313
-
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)
-
ItemThe emergence of patterns in second language writing : a sociocognitive exploration of lexical trails(University of Melbourne, 2009)One of the enduring frustrations of the second language learner who has a sound knowledge of grammatical rules is the elusiveness of �naturalness�. Just what constitutes �naturalness� and how central it is to linguistic theory has also been a point of contention amongst linguists. Drawing upon a convergence of sociocultural theory and linguistic emergentism, this is a long-term investigation of the development of four ESL users� written lexicogrammatical patterning. A qualitative methodology (Lexical Trail Analysis) was developed in order to capture a dynamic and historical view of the ways in which the participants combined words. Recurring patterns, i.e. collocations and colligations, were traced in the learners� essays as they prepared for the IELTS exam and later in their university assignments once they entered their university courses. The participants received direct and indirect feedback on their writing and they were interviewed after revising their essays about what motivated their revisions and the history of lexicogrammatical patterns they had used. Selected lexicogrammatical patterns were later tested using the principles of dynamic testing. By tracing selected lexemes chronologically throughout the participants� written production and incorporating insights from the participants, it was possible to observe 1) the ways in which the participants� words are habitually combined, 2) how these combinations are transformed over time 3) why the participants combined words in certain ways and 4) how word combinations are affected by sources such as teacher feedback and reference texts. The analysis reveals that the participants were aware of their L2 patterns and used the feedback process as a forum for experimentation with new combinations. Feedback provided one source of assistance, but the participants noticed and sought to imitate native-like patterning through the use of a range of other resources such as dictionaries, other L2 users and L2 texts. In the gradual process of developing increasingly native-like means of participation, the participants were agents of change, seeking assistance and adapting patterns to suit their changing goals. These findings suggest that resourcefulness in tool use, the ability to imitate and adapt linguistic resources and sociocognitive resources such as memory and attention are paramount in the massive task of internalizing the lexicogrammatical patterning of a second language. This process of language patterning is theorized via a model which encompasses adaptations in the linguistic properties of language patterns as well as adaptations in sociocognitive status.
-
ItemAmbiguous subjects : dissolution and metamorphosis in the postmodern sublime, or dear circus aerialist(University of Melbourne, 2008)
-
ItemLanguages of the body : Kathy Acker's corporeal sublime(University of Melbourne, 2007)
-
ItemThe passion of the soul : sadomasochism and the cultural construction of pain(University of Melbourne, 2006)
-
ItemThe passion of the soul : sadomasochism and the cultural construction of pain(University of Melbourne, 2006)
-
ItemIn states and up town and down country : poetic landscapes of Richard Hugo(University of Melbourne, 2006)
-
ItemNo Preview AvailableWriting in the space : the development of a play from conception to performance(University of Melbourne, 1989)
-
ItemClassroom-based assessment and the issue of continuity between primary and secondary school languages programs(University of Melbourne, 2008)This dissertation has used an ethnographic study of classroom-based assessment practices to investigate the issue of continuity between primary and secondary schools languages programs. The study used ethnographic methods, including participant observation and case study, to investigate Indonesian language classrooms at two successive levels of schooling; Year 6 (the final year of primary school) and Year 7 (the first year of secondary school). Data collection for the main study took place in Term 4, 2005 (Year 6) and Terms I and 2 (Year 7) with a total ten weeks in each classroom; and was longitudinal in that the Year 7 participants included a group of students who had also participated as Year 6 students. Data included classroom observation, field notes and audio recording, teacher and student interviews, political and local documents and student work samples. The study found the primary and secondary school Indonesian classrooms represented two distinct assessment cultures. Further it was concluded that methodological differences in classroom-based assessment practices impacted as much on how 'competence' was constructed in the respective settings as differences in the valued enterprises and qualities. These included differences in transparency in relation to assessment processes, who was assessed (i.e., the group or individuals), how assessment-related information was used, the focus of assessment and notions of quality and standard. Issues emerging from the data analysis included the effect of classroom-based assessment practices on learners' goal orientation (and, thereby they defined �success'), and whether competence was constructed as a 'distributed' or individual trait. It was argued that these findings will contribute to a better understanding of the issue of continuity of languages education between the two phases of schooling. It was concluded that the findings have significance for languages education policy, planning and practice.
-
ItemWritten feedback in intermediate Japanese L2 classes: Teachers’ and students’ attitudes and practices( 2022)This thesis investigates the attitudes and practices of students and teachers surrounding written feedback in the context of an intermediate Japanese as a Second Language program. Despite the abundance of research investigating written feedback and the factors that influence its implementation and uptake in programs that teach English as an Additional Language, the field of research into second language acquisition has yet to explore written feedback outside of this context in any depth. Hence, the current study aims to begin to address this apparent gap in the existing literature by applying methodologies and theories from previous study to the novel environment of Japanese as a Second Language education. In particular, this was done in order to determine the validity of existing findings outside of the usual context and consider the reasons for any differences in results that might arise. Nine students and two teachers of an intermediate university JSL program provided both qualitative and quantitative data to the study via interviews, surveys, and collection of feedback provided on assignments. Analysis of this data then demonstrated that despite the difference in target language of the educational environment, teachers and students displayed similar attitudes and practices to those that had been observed in previously studied English as an Additional Language learning environments. Thus, the study demonstrates the validity of drawing upon previous literature from English as an Additional Language programs to inform pedagogy in other language learning environments, and facilitates further research on written feedback in environments that teach languages other than English.