Graduate Research

L'analyse contrastive
by Alice Allain, lecturer, French Department, UNB

Research relating to contrastive analysis formed the basis for this report. Errors made by learners are sometimes the result of transfers from their first language. In this study, contrastive analysis was used to detect and describe error samples collected as data. Concluding discussions looked at the value of this process as pedagogical tool for predicting and highlighting certain grammatical structures.

October, 1993 - University of New Brunswick

Motivation and the Adult Second Language Learning Environment
by Paula Kristmanson, research officer, Second Language Education Centre, UNB

This Master's thesis explored the perceptions of adult learners in terms of their on-going motivation to learn a second language. A qualitative interpretative methodology guided the data collection and analysis for this study. Through questionnaires and one-on-one interviews, themes emerged relating to factors which influence motivation. The influence of others, the influence of self and the influence of the language learning context formed the framework for the discussion of participant insights. The study concluded with the possible implications of this research for the adult second language learning and teaching.

May, 1994 - University of New Brunswick

The Effects of Analytic/Experiential Second Language Teaching on the Written Grammatical Accuracy of a Grade Seven Early French Immersion Class During one Academic Year
by Lisa Kenney, French Immersion teacher, G.C. Rowe Junior High, Cornerbrook Newfoundland

This report examined the impact of an analytic/ experiential method of teaching on the written grammatical accuracy of a grade seven early French immersion class. Curriculum units based on this methodology were developed and used for one academic year. Students were tested at the beginning and the end of the year in order to measure progress in terms of grammatical accuracy. This report concluded by proposing this method, which follows the guidelines set out in National Core French Study, as an effective approach toward second language learning.

October, 1994 - University of New Brunswick

Becoming Bilingual: New Brunswick Civil Servants in Language Training
by Loretta Kuttner, Evaluation Consultant, NB Department of Education

This qualitative thesis examined the experiences of civil servants engaged in language training. Three major themes emerged from the data collected through questionnaires, interviews, and focus groups: 1) orienting to task; 2) speaking the second language; 3) the importance of the context. These themes were explored through existing research in second language acquisitions and government language policy. Observations from this study have implications for future language training of this sort.

May, 1995 - University of New Brunswick

Eleven years later: second language usage among the population of the 1985 graduates of the Fredericton High School Immersion Program
by Mary McKean, second language and immersion teacher, Devon Middle School, Fredericton, NB

Ms. McKean investigated the current patterns of second language usage among the 1985 immersion graduates of Fredericton High School to determine if they use French in their daily lives or at work and to find out if participating in this program has had an effect on their lives. She sent a survey questionnaire to the fifty-nine graduates of the 1985 program and received thirty responses. The analysis of the results provides fascinating reading for anyone interested in the long term effects of the immersion program.

October, 1996 - University of New Brunswick

Educational Project as an Effective and Interesting means of Meeting the Objectives of the Multidimensional Curriculum
by Michelle Porter, French second language teacher, Cornerbrook, Newfoundland

The National Core French Study (NCFS) forms the research framework for this Master's report. The concept of "educational projects" is examined as a means of addressing the objectives of the NCFS. In particular an actual project entitled "the Paris experience" is the focus for the analysis. The project is described in terms of how it addresses the goals set out in the communicative/ experiential, language, cultural, and general language education syllabi of the NCFS.

October, 1996 - University of New Brunswick

The Middle School organization and its effect on the French Immersion Program
by Mary Walton-Rossignol, immersion teacher, George Street Middle School, Fredericton, NB

This report looks at five Middle Schools in New Brunswick where immersion teachers are struggling with the implementation of this new organization, some successfully, others less so. With the province encouraging school districts to develop their own plan of implementation and their own organizational structure within the Middle School philosophy, some immersion teachers foresee the demise of the immersion program while others see the middle school organizational structure as a new opportunity for growth.

December, 1996 - University of New Brunswick

Multiple Intelligences in Japanese as a foreign language learning
by Michiko Nishijima, Instructor of Japanese language, UNB

Gardner's "multiple intelligences" theory was used as the basis for this Master's report. A multiple intelligences inventory was administered to determine the preferred learning styles of a group of university level Japanese language learners. This data was used to develop a curriculum which both accommodates varied intelligences and which encourages students to develop effective strategies for language learning.

April, 1997 - University of New Brunswick

Early French Immersion and Learning Difficulties: Reflections from Adolescent Students and Their Parents
by Anne Fitzgerald, French Immersion methods and resource teacher, Saint John, NB

This study is an interpretive inquiry using a qualitative approach involving Early French immersion students who are now in Junior or Senior High School and their parents. The students experienced learning difficulties while in elementary school and they may or may not be learning disabled. The study should shed light on the experience of the students who experience difficulties in learning and how the students cope with these difficulties as they progress to the middle school and senior high school levels. We hope that this study will enhance our understanding of the factors which contribute to successfully coping with learning difficulties within the context of the French immersion programme.

September, 1997 - University of New Brunswick

Process Writing in French Immersion
by Jacinthe Robichaud, French Immersion Teacher, St. Dunstan's School, Fredericton, NB

This research project investigated the language development of French immersion students in terms of their writing skills. The focus of the thesis is a teaching approach called "process writing" which takes the beginner second language learner through the steps an author would take in order to publish written work. Authentic student writings were used as the data for this qualitative study.

April, 1998 - University of New Brunswick

The Cultural Significance of Language Nests in the Revival/ Maintenance of a Native Language
by Imelda Perley, Maliseet language teacher and part-time lecturer, UNB

The Maliseet Language is on the endangered list facing near extinction. In an effort to revitalize and maintain Maliseet, Language Nests are introduced as a medium for language loss reversal. Storytelling is a vital strategy applied in the Language nest format to merge oracy and literacy in a multilingual setting. This research is being conducted in conjuction with the Micmac/Maliseet Institute at UNB.

(in progress)

La correction de certaines erreurs chez des élèves de 5e année immersion précoce et 7e année immersion tardive
by Guylaine Bérubé, French Immersion teacher in Burnaby, BC

Ms Bérubé brings her several years of experience as an immersion teacher and as a lecturer at the university level to the issue of the correction of errors in the second language classroom and provides a structured approach to the solution of this problem. The report contains an analysis of the types of errors encountered in an immersion class and demonstrates the use of a unique solution to the problem. For her report Ms. Bérubé calls upon a number of her fellow teachers to try out her method in their classrooms to determine if her approach is applicable beyond the walls of her own classroom.

September, 1998 - University of New Brunswick

Achieving second language communicative competence through a middle level interdisciplinary unit
by Annette Hondas, Superior Middle School, Bathurst, NB

This study examined the language development of students enrolled in the immersion program at the middle school level. The middle school philosophy has a significant impact on curriculum and this research was conducted to determine what influence it may have on the French language development of students in the immersion environment. Ways of supporting continued language development at the middle school level was examined.

August, 1998 - University of New Brunswick

Middle French Immersion at Grade Six: An Examination of the Family Background of the Parents and Stakeholders' Perception of the Program

by David Hogan, Master's student, Faculty of Education, University of New Brunswick

This thesisÊwill examine two grade six Middle French immersion programs, at two district 18 schools in New Brunswick. Using data collected from a larger study (Dicks, 2000), and with the use of focus groups, this secondary analysis of the MFI program explores the socio-economic status of the students/parents, the reasons parents and students give for choosing the MFI program, and the stakeholders' perceptions and attitudes toward the MFI program. It is anticipated that the data collected from this study will ameliorate our understanding of the MFI program and of its stakeholders.

In progress- University of New Brunswick

 

Form-Focused Instruction and Metalinguistic Activity in Second Language Learning

by Xavier Gutierrez, Ph.D. Student, Faculty of Education, University of New Brunswick

The purpose of this study is to observe and analyze the effects that introducing Form-Focused Instruction (FFI) and Metalinguistic Activity (MA) in communicative programs may have on second language learning. A specific model of language project that introduces both FFI and MA and maintains communication as the main goal will be used as the means of instruction. The objective of the study is to observe and analyse how this particular model workds and how differently it works from the regular curriculum.

In progress- University of New Brunswick


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