Centre for Sports Economics and Law - Doctoral Theses
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Item Linguistic and sociolinguistic development in L2 speaking: a comparison between Chinese ESL learners in different learning contexts(University College Cork, 2023) Mu, Di; Howard, MartinThe aim of this longitudinal comparative study is to examine the impact of learning contexts on second language learners' linguistic and sociolinguistic development in speaking. To achieve this purpose, comparisons were made between the learning outcomes of two groups of Chinese ESL (English as a Second Language) learners studying in a SA (study abroad) or an AH (at home) learning environment over a three-month period. Specifically, the learning outcomes were assessed through linguistic development measured by grammatical accuracy and syntactic complexity in spoken English as well as sociolinguistic development measured by three indicators, namely -ing/in alternation, -t/d deletion, and use of contractions in spoken English. In addition, the quantitative correlations between the learners' linguistic and sociolinguistic development as well as between their linguistic/sociolinguistic development and different types of influencing factors (individual, contextual, stylistic, and linguistic) were explored in order to further analyze and compare the similarities and differences between the learners in the two learning contexts. A total of 16 SA learners and 10 AH learners participated in the research and completed pre-interview questionnaires, sociolinguistic interviews and reading aloud tasks at the beginning and end of the three-month study. By analyzing the data collected from the three instruments, this study provided answers to the four research questions. For the first question regarding linguistic development, it was found that neither group of learners made statistically significant progress over three months, but the comparison between the two groups at different time points showed that the AH context was overall more favorable to the acquisition of grammatical accuracy, and the SA context was generally more beneficial to the acquisition syntactic complexity. Similar results were obtained for the second question concerning sociolinguistic development—no statistically significant progress was observed in both groups over the three-month period, but the comparison between the two groups at the two time points indicated that the SA context in general provided greater benefits to the acquisition of -ing/in alternation in conversation and -t/d deletion in reading, as compared to the AH context. The third question explored the quantitative correlation between linguistic and sociolinguistic development. The findings revealed that the correlation between linguistic and sociolinguistic development was relatively low for learners in the SA group, while relatively high for learners in the AH group, suggesting that the SA learners’ sociolinguistic development was more independent than the AH learners. The last question examined the quantitative correlations between linguistic/sociolinguistic development and four types of influencing factors. The results suggested that all four types of factors, i.e. gender, contextual factors, speech style, and linguistic factors, exerted some extent of influence on L2 learners’ linguistic or sociolinguistic development, although the degree of influence varied between the two groups and/or between the different indicators. Despite some limitations, this study provided some pedagogical implications and suggestions for L2 acquisition researchers, university language learners and university language teachers.Item A values based creative learning centred accounting pedagogy(University College Cork, 2020-06) Murphy, Nora; Doyle, Eleanor; Cork Institute of TechnologyThis Portfolio of Exploration provides a narrative account of self-study action research – of the practice of lecturing Accounting. The Action Research focused on aligning educational values of dialogue, openness and inclusion to practice, through developing and introducing a creative learning centred accounting pedagogy. The motivations in the research stemmed from a dissonance between identified espoused educational values and those evident from educational practice. In the literature on the lecturing of Accounting, a gap is identified. While much research offers novel techniques for application in the technique of accounting education, transformational change of the lecturer is generally absent. To address this gap, this research reports on transformation, which occurred first in me, the lecturer, as I internalised and engaged with a creative way of being. A creative way of being is identified as the means to ‘bridge the gap’ between theory and practice by challenging previous assumptions underlying a text book-led approach which, heretofore, focused on measurable outcomes. The action research approach is complemented with Kegan’s (1982, 1994) theory of Adult Mental Development to deliver on the research goals, reported over three essays. Essay One ‘Reflection’ provides a Professional Development Review to track the development of my meaning making and to unearth the assumptions underlying my accounting lecturing practice. This reflective phase of the research formed the basis for identification of a set of developmental principles to explore in the next phase of the action research. Essay Two ‘Transition’ engages in planning for action by researching themes of creative dialogue, critical dialogue and andragogy/pedagogy as the selected mechanisms for the expression of educational values in practice. In this phase of the action research I engaged with a range of source thinkers on Higher Education to clarify and challenge assumptions underlying my developmental goals. Essay Three ‘Observation and Reflection’ analyses the action of implementing a creative way of being through a series of research cycles, which examined a new pedagogy of learning-centred accounting practices. Each action research cycle was evaluated through criteria derived from the four quadrants of psychological self (interpersonal, cognitive, intrapersonal and affective as applied in Kegan, 1999 and outlined in Drago-Severson, 2011; 2016). Collectively the analysis reveals developmental change over four action research cycles. The Portfolio Conclusion reports on an internal creative change in the lecturer related to thinking (intrapersonal self) and feeling (affective self) about practice. The change required pushing standardised accounting lecturing techniques outside of the realm of the technical range to adaptive transformational changes. It is found that a values-based first-person action research approach has the capacity to entice a wider community of action researchers to engage in reflective questioning resulting in accounting educational reform.