ENG 204, Spring 2005, E. Johnson

Semester Project, Final Project: Format

You will combine your analyses of the speaker's use of English into a paper that will give an overview of the person's major problems in fluency, both in pronunciation and in standard use of words and grammar. Give an introduction to the speaker and suggest why this person has had an easy or a difficult time learning English, as informed by your class reading. The final paper can and should incorporate parts of the previous exercises. You should include quotes from the speaker in your paper, as well as plenty of linguistic examples.

• Paper must be typed, double-spaced. (Phonetic characters may be handwritten.)
• Length will vary, but I expect it will take at least 5 pages to do a thorough analysis.
• Due on 4/15 (draft) for peer review, with final paper to be turned in on 4/18.
• Appendixes may be handwritten (see below).




You MUST turn in the graded copy of all previous project assignments. If you have corrections to make to the transcription, the corrected version must be turned in also. Previous analyses of errors will be incorporated into the paper itself and so will not need to be revised. Journal entries can be collected together and also appended at the end. If you refer to any of your earlier work in the paper, you can label that portion as, e.g. Appendix 1.

Arrange the project neatly. You may want to use this in the future as part of your portfolio for the teacher education program. It will be returned to you at the final exam.

You will have an opportunity in class to meet in small groups for peer review of the final project. The guidelines are attached here. Also, see sample papers on reserve in the library.

 

Final Project: Content

Introduction: Briefly introduce your subject and the methodology you used in your research.

Whom did you interview? (no names, just approximate age, sex, country of origin, etc.)

Where and when did the interview(s) take place?

What will you do in this paper?




Phonological Analysis: Give a description of the person's pronunciation.

Begin with a brief assessment of intelligibility.

Discuss a few areas where this person's speech is different from an American English speaker.

For each problem area, give examples. For example:

1. Final /-z/ devoicing: endings that would be pronounced as /z/ by a native speaker are pronounced with an /s/

"was" is pronounced /ws/ instead of /wz/

(continue with list of words with the same error)

Summarize the types of errors. Include here an assessment of the effects of the person's native language, if you know something about its phonology.




Grammatical Analysis: Describe morphological, syntactic, and semantic errors.

Begin with a description of how you became aware of these errors.

Discuss the types of errors you found, including a list of sentences that contain each type of error.

In the list, explain exactly what is wrong with the sentence. This may include a re-writing of what the sentence should be. For example:

1. Problems with plural endings: some words that should be plural are singular and words that should be singular are plural

"I bought a textbooks to learn English."

The word textbooks should be textbook. [this example could also be indicative of problems with use of determiners: which is the more common error?]

Conclude with a diagnosis of the speaker's grammatical difficulties.




Language Acquisition Factors: Explain the person's fluency or lack of fluency.

Begin with a general assessment of the speaker's fluency in English.

Give a biographical sketch of the person, including what languages they speak and how, where, and when they learned them. You should include quotes from the speaker.

Relate this person's experiences to what you have learned in class about factors that affect second language acquisition, including

identity, motivation, attitude (include affective filter)

classroom vs. communicative learning (monitor model)

the LAD and the critical period

Based on the above evidence, draw your own conclusions about why the person has this level of fluency in English.





Conclusion: Assessment of the research: Explain what you learned by doing this project, including your reflection on the ESOL classes you attended. Discuss things you would do differently if you did this project again.





Checklist

Final Project (in envelope, folder, or binder)

• •graded copy of the assignments above in folder or envelope
• •6-8 page essay with a description of the speaker and his or her speech
• •corrected transcription as Appendix 1
• •CD (turn in separately)
• •title page with your name at the top, followed by your class time, with your speaker's pseudonym and native language and your partner's name below that
• •any other artifacts that you wish to include
• •at least two peer reviews of your draft


The CD will not be returned to you. The projects will be graded and returned at the end of the final exam.

 

Guidelines for Peer Review of Projects

1. Does the introduction contain a clear statement about the person's background and level of fluency in English?

2. Are the pronunciation errors clearly described in phonetic terms?

Are there sufficient examples of errors to get a clear understanding of the person's accent?

3. Are there concrete examples of grammatical, morphological, and syntactic errors?

Does the author explain how frequent these types of errors are and label them appropriately?

4. Can you get a clear understanding of how this person learned English and what his/her experiences were like?

What is the author's assessment of the reasons for (lack of) fluency? Is this a reasonable guess, considering what you have learned about language acquisition?

5. Where does the author candidly describe his or her own role in the research, and its strengths and weaknesses?

6. How does the author demonstrate an understanding of phonetics/ phonology, grammar (morphology, syntax, semantics), and applied linguistics in this analysis?