School of Languages and Linguistics - Theses
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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.
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ItemFinding Hawu: landing pages, finding aids and the Alan T. Walker Collection( 2016)Linguists working in language description have developed valuable grammars and dictionaries for many of the world’s small or endangered languages. However, without access to the primary data used to produce these tools, it can be difficult to scrutinise their accuracy. Language documentation aims to improve access to field data using online archives. Thus it shifts the focus from a grammar or dictionary to the data itself. Alan T. Walker collected an extensive written and audio record of Lii Hawu (the Hawu language), a small language spoken on the Sabu islands in eastern Indonesia, from May 1975 to January 1976. He subsequently published a description of the language titled A Grammar of Sawu (1982). Walker’s primary data (the Walker Collection) is now available digitally in the Pacific Regional Archive for Digital Sources in Endangered Cultures (PARADISEC). In this thesis, I consider the practical steps involved in creating a finding aid and inventory as a guide to the extensive Walker Collection. I also argue that landing pages and finding aids are essential elements of archival description. They are necessary to ensure digital language collections are accessible for both researchers and community members. I also discuss how primary data such as Walker’s can be used more widely, with the support of finding aids and inventories, to further document and revitalise small or endangered languages.
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ItemVery often the answer's not black or white: current practice, clinician and parental experiences of genomic testing in paediatric genetics clinics( 2015)Developmental delay (DD) has been estimated to affect 1 – 3% of the population and the underlying cause often remains unknown. For parents, receiving a diagnosis for their child’s DD can be a source of validation, and may impact upon their child’s prognosis, treatment and access to available supports. New genetic technologies, chromosomal microarrays (CMA), are now used across Australia to help end the ‘diagnostic odyssey’ families often experience. CMA tests have the capacity to identify genetic changes at much higher resolutions than was previously possible, but may increase the complexity and uncertainty of results. There is no research into the process of these consultations and the way in which this information is communicated to patients attending a genetics clinic. Using qualitative techniques and guided by the frameworks of symbolic interactionism and interactional sociolinguistics, this study provides a rich and nuanced analysis of paediatric genetic consultations. A multi-layered approach was used, enabling investigations of both the ‘front stage’ (consultations) and ‘backstage’ (interviews with parents and clinicians) to facilitate and further understand emerging patterns. Four data sources were used: (1) pre-consultation surveys with parents (n=32); (2) audio-recordings from consultations (n=32); (3) post-consultation telephone interviews with parents (n=32); and (4) post-consultation interviews with clinical geneticists (n=10). Overwhelmingly, parents were complimentary regarding consultations and described feeling reassured. Those who were disappointed were largely parents who were desperate for a diagnosis. The vast majority of parents reported a positive relationship with the clinician and felt that the genetic information had been explained in a very useful manner. Clinicians described consultations as varied and dependent on many factors including parents’ hopes and diagnostic expectations. They identified their primary role as a diagnostician but also acknowledged the therapeutic benefits these consultations could provide to families. Clinicians displayed mixed opinions regarding new tests, appreciating the benefits while also wary of inherent complexities and uncertainties that more detailed genetic testing would bring. Seven phases were identified within consultations, and on average clinicians contributed more words than parents, however there was variation across and within consultations. Although content of consultations was extremely similar, clinicians appeared to have varied approaches, and different styles were described including the clinical assessment approach and conversational style. Some parents were able to describe their experiences of their child’s development as a ‘narrative’, while during other consultations clinicians seemingly had a checklist of closed questions. Most clinicians used an historical narrative to describe the evolution of genetic testing; comparing past and current limitations with the promise of future genomic technologies. Findings enabled the development of an ‘ideal’ consultation in this setting, which highlights the importance of a positive clinician-parent relationship, especially in light of diagnostic uncertainty and advancing genomic testing capabilities. Narrative medicine could play a valuable role both for parents and clinicians as they make sense of genomic testing and diagnostic uncertainty. With the impending introduction of whole genome sequencing into a clinical setting, now is an ideal time to reflect and learn from past and present experiences, in order to maximise the therapeutic potential of such scientific discoveries.