The role of phonological awareness and memory in second language Essay

The role of phonological awareness and memory in second language - Essay Example The nature of cognitive constructs has not been a simple topic either in the field of applied linguistics, or in the pedagogy field of studies; nonetheless, a number of researches have shown that the levels of awareness and working memory were important in learning L2 as well as in first language (L1). The specific goals of this paper are to review the previous findings on these topics and to explore empirically crucial facts about them. To provide an accurate definition of "fluency" has not been an easy task for SLA researchers. Theoretically, there are two approaches in defining "fluency": in a broader sense, fluency is a global oral proficiency, and in a narrower sense, fluency is considered as the component of oral proficiency that is purely a performance phenomenon (Lennon, 2000). In line with this, Kormos and Denes (2004) argued in their study of perception of fluency that there are high-order fluency, which can be equated with proficiency, and low-order fluency, which is represented by temporal aspects of fluency. The current research takes the narrower perspective (i.e. low-order fluency), following Lennon's definition of fluency (2000: 26): "rapid, smooth, accurate, lucid and efficient translation of thought or communicative intention into language under the temporal constraints of online processing." In short, this is the capacity to use language in real time. Kormos and Denes (2004) proposed that fluency may not only be a temporal phenomenon: for some people, conceptualization of fluency might include grammatical precision and lexical diversity. This finding highlights the fact that fluency is often discussed with the context of its complexity and accuracy. These three aspects of language presentation have been used to describe language learners' performance for the oral/written assessment and also to indicate their proficiency underlying their interpretation. Researchers have claimed that fluency, complexity and correctness are in competition with one another for attention resources (Ellis & Barkhuizen, 2005; Skehan, 1996). In other words, it is unlikely that a learner can achieve fluency, complexity and accuracy simultaneously since his/her attention and memory capabilities are limited. For instance, in a study that compared fluency, complexity and accuracy, Skehan (1998) discussed that fluency is associated with meaning-based communica tion, which in turn is associated with lexicalization. Therefore, a learner's performance may be over-lexicalized if fluency is consistently prioritized. Skehan and Foster analyzed the influence of task structure and processing load on narrative performance and found that fluency has increased when the assignment performance was meaning-oriented: for example, when 1) tasks were on personal matters (1997), and 2) tasks contained comprehensible, inherent, sequential structure (1999). In addition, the set of fluency measures generated no significant correlations between the proportions of form complexity and accuracy. In the field of SLA, the establishment of the appropriate standards of fluency has been a major concern.

US History project 1A Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

US History project 1A - Essay Example This over taxation led to the "Taxation without Representation† uproar. Additionally, other events such as the Boston Massacre and the Boston Tea Party escalated the conflicts between England and the American colonies into a revolution. Consequent to the many events that led to the American Revolution, England and the colonists had different views of the American Revolution and call for independence. While some believed that the American Revolution was justified, others’ opinions opposed the revolution. This paper explores the events that led to the start of the American Revolution and the colonist and the English views of the revolution. Events Preceding the American Revolution In the years preceding the American Revolution, certain events, which culminated in the revolution and the independence of the American colonists, occurred. For instance, in 1754 a plan was drawn by representatives from Maryland, New York, Pennsylvania, Massachusetts, Connecticut, Rhode Island an d New Hampshire at a meeting in Albany, New York against the prospect of war between the French and Britain. Although the individual Colonial legislatures rejected the common defense plan drawn by Benjamin Franklin, the members of the Albany Congress approved the document. Though it failed, the plan was among the first major attempts by the colonists towards the formation of a union and the basis for the fight for independence. The other event that preceded the American Revolution was the ascension to the throne of the twenty-two year old Prince of Wales to become King George III after the death of King George II. In addition to the Acts mentioned earlier, the Parliament passed the Currency Act, which prohibited the American colonies from printing paper money. In 1965 came the enforcement of the Quartering Act at the request of the commander-in-chief of all British military forces in the colonies General Thomas Gage. This act required colonists to provide shelter and food for Britis h soldiers and their horses. In the same year, a colonist group referred to as the "Sons of Liberty" rapidly grew throughout the colonies and became violent to stamp agents and supporters of the Stamp Act. In august of the same year, a mob burned the home belonging to Massachusetts Lieutenant Governor Thomas Hutchinson, followed by serious rioting in New York. Closer to the independence and bowing to pressures caused by the unrests in among the colonists and pleas from British merchants that were hurt by the colonies' boycott of British goods, the British Parliament repealed most of the acts in 1770. However, others such taxes, such as the tax on tea was retained. December 1770 was marked by the ending of the trials of Captain Thomas Preston and eight other soldiers charged with murder in the "Boston Massacre". The English point of view Generally, in the 1763-1783 periods, the British had constantly varied and fluctuating views of the American Revolution. That is, there was never a massive conviction among various segments of the British population, Tories, Whigs, or radical eighteenth-century Commonwealth-men on the American Revolution and independence (Mackesy & Shy, 1993). In fact, only a few British greatly perceived the political principles and issues central to the British and colonist conflicts. Furthermore, even in situations where such men had a common stance