LINGUIST List 24.930
Thu Feb 21 2013
Diss: Language Acq: Upor: 'The Acquisition of Tense-Aspect Morphology among Tanzanian EFL Learners'
Editor for this issue: Lili Xia
<lxialinguistlist.org>
Date: 20-Feb-2013
From: Rose Upor <upor
udsm.ac.tz>
Subject: The Acquisition of Tense-Aspect Morphology among Tanzanian EFL Learners
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Institution: University of Georgia
Program: Linguistics Program
Dissertation Status: Completed
Degree Date: 2009
Author: Rose Acen Upor
Dissertation Title: The Acquisition of Tense-Aspect Morphology among Tanzanian EFL Learners
Linguistic Field(s):
Language Acquisition
Dissertation Director:
Don McCreary
Lioba Moshi
Margaret Lubbers-Quesada
Dissertation Abstract:
Though the acquisition of tense-aspect has been widely studied over the last twodecades (e.g. Bardovi-Harlig, 1992a, 1994, 1998, 2000; Salaberry, 1999, 2000a,2000b; Andersen and Shirai, 1995; Shirai, 1991, 2007, etc.), most of its focushas been on L2 acquisition. Recently, aspectual studies have branched towardsinvestigation in foreign language settings (Robison, 1990, 1995; Ayoun &Salaberry, 2008; Collins, 2002) of which the current study is no exception. Thiscross-sectional study investigates the acquisition of tense-aspect morphologyamong 309 Tanzanian EFL learners. This diversity of participants has beenrarely examined in the field of FLL and SLA. Using the Lexical AspectHypothesis (LAH), the study addresses two main areas (1) the distribution oftense-aspect morphology, and (2) an account for the distribution of tense-aspectmorphology. The investigation employed picture stories through which theparticipants wrote narratives about and statistical analysis that tested the studyhypotheses. The findings underscore the effect of lexical aspect on the use ofpast tense markers and on individual groups of participants while highlighting asignificant departure from the predictions of the LAH: intermittent emergence ofpast marking across lexical aspectual classes (telic > atelic > telic > atelic) andovergeneralization of the progressive to statives despite participants beingtutored.
Other findings include no significant effect of instruction across some groups oflearners even though they are more than a grade level higher than otherparticipants and evidence of native language influence on the progressiveaspect. Possible theoretical factors that might account for the study findings arediscussed as well.
Page Updated: 21-Feb-2013