"I Am Understanding How to Write" : Clause Production in A-language English in Basic Education for Adults
Toppola, Taru (2023)
2023
Englannin kielen ja kirjallisuuden maisteriohjelma - Master's Programme in English Language and Literature
Informaatioteknologian ja viestinnän tiedekunta - Faculty of Information Technology and Communication Sciences
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Hyväksymispäivämäärä
2023-02-23
Julkaisun pysyvä osoite on
https://urn.fi/URN:NBN:fi:tuni-202301301868
https://urn.fi/URN:NBN:fi:tuni-202301301868
Tiivistelmä
This thesis examines clause production in A-language English in basic education for adults. The curriculums for basic education and the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages do not syntactically characterize any clause types, patterns, or clause elements on different language proficiency levels or in different phases of basic education for adults. The aim of the thesis is to investigate what clause structures and patterns immigrant students produce at the end of the introductory phase and the final phase in basic education for adults. The aim is also to analyze what clause structures and patterns the materials targeted for these groups emphasize and what structures and patterns the teachers teaching English in basic education for adults see as relevant for each phase.
The study consists of three parts with different data sets. The data from the teachers was collected via an online questionnaire and it yielded 33 responses nationwide. The data for the student elicitation test was collected in two schools providing basic education for adults. The materials analyzed were recently published Dive into English series textbooks and workbook targeted for adults in basic education.
The data from the questionnaire for English teachers revealed that in the introductory phase, the most important independent clause types are declarative clauses. The data from the materials analyzed for this thesis supported this view. There is a consensus among the teachers that copular clauses, intransitive clauses and transitive clauses with direct objects are the most important clause patterns in the introductory phase. The text production exercises in the materials analyzed centered around copular clauses and transitive clauses. The students produced a variety of clauses in both phases. In the introductory phase, declarative clauses and transitive clauses, in particular, were the most common clauses produced. However, the students also used indirect objects. In addition, they produced interrogative clauses and compound clauses. These are mostly not supported in the material and the teachers do not expect them at the end of the introductory phase.
In the final phase, teachers saw that students should be able to use more clause elements such as objects, adverbials, and clause links such as coordinators and subordinators. The materials aimed for the final phase included more coordinated clauses than the material aimed for the introductory phase. Furthermore, the clause production the material supported was more versatile. There was a significant increase in the number of interrogative clauses in the exercises. There were not great differences between the two phases in the students taking part in the elicitation test. The major differences were that in the final phase, the students experimented more readily with clauses and their elements.
The study consists of three parts with different data sets. The data from the teachers was collected via an online questionnaire and it yielded 33 responses nationwide. The data for the student elicitation test was collected in two schools providing basic education for adults. The materials analyzed were recently published Dive into English series textbooks and workbook targeted for adults in basic education.
The data from the questionnaire for English teachers revealed that in the introductory phase, the most important independent clause types are declarative clauses. The data from the materials analyzed for this thesis supported this view. There is a consensus among the teachers that copular clauses, intransitive clauses and transitive clauses with direct objects are the most important clause patterns in the introductory phase. The text production exercises in the materials analyzed centered around copular clauses and transitive clauses. The students produced a variety of clauses in both phases. In the introductory phase, declarative clauses and transitive clauses, in particular, were the most common clauses produced. However, the students also used indirect objects. In addition, they produced interrogative clauses and compound clauses. These are mostly not supported in the material and the teachers do not expect them at the end of the introductory phase.
In the final phase, teachers saw that students should be able to use more clause elements such as objects, adverbials, and clause links such as coordinators and subordinators. The materials aimed for the final phase included more coordinated clauses than the material aimed for the introductory phase. Furthermore, the clause production the material supported was more versatile. There was a significant increase in the number of interrogative clauses in the exercises. There were not great differences between the two phases in the students taking part in the elicitation test. The major differences were that in the final phase, the students experimented more readily with clauses and their elements.