24.930, Diss: Language Acq: Upor: 'The Acquisition of Tense-Aspect Morphology among Tanzanian EFL Learners'

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LINGUIST List: Vol-24-930. Thu Feb 21 2013. ISSN: 1069 - 4875.

Subject: 24.930, Diss: Language Acq: Upor: 'The Acquisition of Tense-Aspect Morphology among Tanzanian EFL Learners'

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Date: Thu, 21 Feb 2013 10:53:58
From: Rose Upor [upor at 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(s):
Don McCreary
Lioba Moshi
Margaret Lubbers-Quesada

Dissertation Abstract:

Though the acquisition of tense-aspect has been widely studied over the last two 
decades (e.g. Bardovi-Harlig, 1992a, 1994, 1998, 2000; Salaberry, 1999, 2000a, 
2000b; Andersen and Shirai, 1995; Shirai, 1991, 2007, etc.), most of its focus 
has been on L2 acquisition. Recently, aspectual studies have branched towards 
investigation in foreign language settings (Robison, 1990, 1995; Ayoun & 
Salaberry, 2008; Collins, 2002) of which the current study is no exception. This 
cross-sectional study investigates the acquisition of tense-aspect morphology 
among 309 Tanzanian EFL learners. This diversity of participants has been 
rarely examined in the field of FLL and SLA. Using the Lexical Aspect 
Hypothesis (LAH), the study addresses two main areas (1) the distribution of 
tense-aspect morphology, and (2) an account for the distribution of tense-aspect 
morphology. The investigation employed picture stories through which the 
participants wrote narratives about and statistical analysis that tested the study 
hypotheses. The findings underscore the effect of lexical aspect on the use of 
past tense markers and on individual groups of participants while highlighting a 
significant departure from the predictions of the LAH: intermittent emergence of 
past marking across lexical aspectual classes (telic > atelic > telic > atelic) and 
overgeneralization of the progressive to statives despite participants being 
tutored. 


Other findings include no significant effect of instruction across some groups of 
learners even though they are more than a grade level higher than other 
participants and evidence of native language influence on the progressive 
aspect. Possible theoretical factors that might account for the study findings are 
discussed as well.






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