Diphthongization of the vowel /e:/ into the diphthong [ei] is a common phenomenon in Dutch and can be transferred to an L2; we found in our bachelor thesis that, although the French vowel /e/...Show moreDiphthongization of the vowel /e:/ into the diphthong [ei] is a common phenomenon in Dutch and can be transferred to an L2; we found in our bachelor thesis that, although the French vowel /e/ should not be diphthongized, Dutch learners of French tend to do this. Interestingly, they do this more when the vowel /e/ occurs in the first syllable of a word. That is why we investigated in the current study if coarticulation with neighboring sounds plays a role in the diphthongization of the French vowel /e/ in Dutch learners of French. Furthermore, we didn't only focus on production, but we also investigated whether Dutch learners of French can perceive the difference between the French monophthong /e/ and the Dutch diphthong [ei] and whether neighboring sounds influence this perception in an AXB task. Finally, we examined whether the perception of the participants was correlated with their production. We found that the neighboring sounds indeed seem to influence both the production and the perception of the diphthongization of the French vowel /e/; when the /e/ was followed by the dental sound /t/, it was significantly more diphthongized than when it was followed by the labial sound /p/. Interestingly, although the /t/ gives rise to more diphthongization in production, the participants perceived the least diphthongs in a /t/ context in the perception task, which could be explained as a compensation effect for coarticulation. It was less clear whether the participants were able to distinguish between the monophthong /e/ and the diphthong [ei] in the perception task. Finally, we didn't find a correlation between the production and perception of the diphthongization of the French vowel /e/ in Dutch learners of French.Show less
The current study provides insight into how Dutch students react to two different didactic methods used to learn English vocabulary. In order to investigate this, students at a high school in The...Show moreThe current study provides insight into how Dutch students react to two different didactic methods used to learn English vocabulary. In order to investigate this, students at a high school in The Hague voluntarily participated. The participants were divided over two classes which were split into two groups. One group memorized 15 words with help of visualization while the other group memorized the words with plain memorization in silence. Results showed that the group who memorized the words with plain memorization did better on the questionnaires they had to fill out to test their retainment. The same questionnaire had to be filled out again a week later and showed that the students did not remembered much, as they now made more mistakes. To see how this pattern arose, opinions of students were asked on how they felt about the method they had to use.Show less
This paper examines the phenomenon of unaccusativity on the basis of the learnability of the perfective auxiliary by English native speakers of Dutch as a second language. The unaccusative...Show moreThis paper examines the phenomenon of unaccusativity on the basis of the learnability of the perfective auxiliary by English native speakers of Dutch as a second language. The unaccusative/unergative divide between intransitive verbs has been shown to apply across languages and is widely considered to be innate, although the syntactic manifestations differ between languages. One of the most salient distinctions between unaccusative and unergative verbs is the choice of either HAVE or BE as the perfective auxiliary, and Dutch is one language that makes such a distinction. In a series of papers Sorace (1993, 2000, 2004) suggests that the divide is more complex than a two-way split and that auxiliary selection is gradient, with verbs that fall into certain categories being more consistent in their auxiliary choice both within and across languages, and also more easily learnable. This gradience is summarised in the Auxiliary Selection Hierarchy. This paper describes an experiment investigating the interlanguage of Dutch L2 speakers. The findings show a strong tendency for the selection of BE for unaccusative verbs, and also a slight gradient effect in accordance with the ASH.Show less
This thesis investigates factors that logically influence the quality of English among Western European countries. The factors explored in this thesis are linguistic distance between the mother...Show moreThis thesis investigates factors that logically influence the quality of English among Western European countries. The factors explored in this thesis are linguistic distance between the mother tongue and English, the effect of dubbing versus subtitling as well as teaching methods. The countries that will be looked at are the three Nordic countries of Finland, Norway and Sweden, as well as France, Germany and the Netherlands. The thesis is of a wide explorative nature and aims to provide data for future research into the situation in each of these countries. In doing so, this research includes extensive literature reviews on each of the three factors. In addition, empirical data were gathered by interviewing laymen, linguists as well as English language teachers from six Western European countries.Show less
The research question addressed in this thesis concerns the best method for teaching a second language to primary school students in Africa. This issue is addressed by comparing four case studies:...Show moreThe research question addressed in this thesis concerns the best method for teaching a second language to primary school students in Africa. This issue is addressed by comparing four case studies: one in Europe and three in Africa.Show less
Second language learning is difficult when social context is involved, especially if the culture of the target language is inherently different from the native one. A full command of a second...Show moreSecond language learning is difficult when social context is involved, especially if the culture of the target language is inherently different from the native one. A full command of a second language involves a linguistic and ideological ‘reframing’ process. At this stage, pragmatic competence is crucial to interlanguage learners. The realization of speech acts, such as implementing politeness strategies, requires a high command of not only linguistic but also social knowledge. This research investigated Chinese English learners’ command of making polite requests with regard to applying different politeness strategies by conducting tests amongst Chinese high school and university students. After analysing the results, some problems are displayed and explanations are ventured.Show less
