VARIABLES AFFECTING THE LEARNING OF ASPECTS OF POLYNESIAN BY ENGLISH - SPEAKING SCHOOL CHILDREN UNDER EXPERIMENTAL CONDITIONS.
Item
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Title
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VARIABLES AFFECTING THE LEARNING OF ASPECTS OF POLYNESIAN BY ENGLISH - SPEAKING SCHOOL CHILDREN UNDER EXPERIMENTAL CONDITIONS.
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Identifier
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AAI8319783
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identifier
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8319783
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Creator
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MORRIS, BETH KAPLAN.
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Contributor
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Louis J. Gerstman
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Date
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1983
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Language
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English
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Publisher
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City University of New York.
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Subject
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Language, Linguistics
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Abstract
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It has long been assumed that there is a post-pubertal decline in language learning ability. Such hypothetical limitations on adult L(,2) learning may be referred to as the "Age-Effect.".;This study investigated syntactic and semantic aspects of the Age-Effect. It was limited to the initial stage(s) of L(,2) learning where the capacity of pre- vs. post-pubertal children to learn a limited set of lexical concepts in a novel language (Hawaiian) was explored under experimental/classroom conditions. The potential age-related discontinuity in performance in Hawaiian was measured against other variables deemed to affect L(,2) learning.;Subject variables, apart from Age, investigated included: (1) sex, (2) reading level and academic standing in L(,1) (English), (3) presence or absence of a bi/multilingual background, (4) attitude toward foreign language learning and toward Hawaiian, and (5) socio-economic factors.;Task variables investigated included: (1) linguistic set (differential syntactic vs. semantic performance), (2) response type (tasks that were 'easier' and 'more difficult' requiring linguistic and metalinguistic decisions), and (3) interference factors from L(,1) (--->) L(,2).;The outcome of this study was a specification of the relative contribution(s) of each of the above-named factors to L(,2) performance when the variables were counterposed against one another.;Two-hundred twenty fourth, seventh- ninth and eleventh grade students in the New Rochelle and White Plains Public Schools in Westchester County, New York, were selected for treatment. Demographic information was collected through a Questionnaire, and performance was assessed using a test/post-test methodology.;A series of two-tailed t-tests revealed a statistically significant advantage for the two older groups over the fourth graders. Particularly noteworthy was the performance of the 'superior' seventh-eighth graders tested.;Within the age-groups, multiple regression analyses indicated a solid core of L(,1)-related proficiencies and school-academic factors (e.g., reading class) which consistently predicted test-score performance; for all three age groups across test/post-test conditions.;These findings suggest that a multiplicity of factors impinge upon successful, or unsuccessful, second language learning, and that AGE alone cannot account for variations in L(,2) performance.
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Type
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dissertation
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Source
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PQT Legacy CUNY.xlsx
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degree
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Ph.D.
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Program
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Speech and Hearing Sciences
