27.2106, Diss: American Sign Language, Lang Acq: Leah Caitrin Geer: 'Teaching ASL Fingerspelling to Second-language Learners: Explicit Versus Implicit Phonetic Training'

[The LINGUIST List via LINGUIST]

LINGUIST List: Vol-27-2106. Mon May 09 2016. ISSN: 1069 - 4875.

Subject: 27.2106, Diss: American Sign Language, Lang Acq: Leah Caitrin Geer: 'Teaching ASL Fingerspelling to Second-language Learners: Explicit Versus Implicit Phonetic Training'

Moderators: linguist at linguistlist.org (Damir Cavar, Malgorzata E. Cavar)
Reviews: reviews at linguistlist.org (Anthony Aristar, Helen Aristar-Dry, Robert Coté, Sara Couture)
Homepage: http://linguistlist.org

*****************    LINGUIST List Support    *****************
                       Fund Drive 2016
                   25 years of LINGUIST List!
Please support the LL editors and operation with a donation at:
           http://funddrive.linguistlist.org/donate/

Editor for this issue: Ashley Parker <ashley at linguistlist.org>
================================================================


Date: Mon, 09 May 2016 10:28:53
From: Leah Geer [leah.geer at gmail.com]
Subject: Teaching ASL Fingerspelling to Second-language Learners: Explicit Versus Implicit Phonetic Training

 
Institution: University of Texas at Austin 
Program: Department of Linguistics 
Dissertation Status: Completed 
Degree Date: 2016 

Author: Leah Caitrin Geer

Dissertation Title: Teaching ASL Fingerspelling to Second-language Learners:
Explicit Versus Implicit Phonetic Training 

Linguistic Field(s): Language Acquisition

Subject Language(s): American Sign Language (ase)


Dissertation Director(s):
Richard P Meier
David Quinto-Pozos
Megan Crowhurst
David Birdsong
Martha Tyrone

Dissertation Abstract:

This dissertation explores the use of explicit phonetic instruction to
students acquiring a second language (L2) in a new modality. Studies of spoken
language L2 teaching have shown that learners can be trained to attend to
phonetic cues in their new language and that explicit training is the most
effective means by which to achieve this. Second-language learners of American
Sign Language (ASL) struggle with fingerspelling comprehension more than many
other aspects of language-learning; previous work has suggested that part of
this challenge is due to the inability to observe and make use of phonetic
cues present in the fingerspelling stream. The goal of this dissertation is to
determine whether explicit training can benefit ASL learners for
fingerspelling comprehension tasks. 

Two studies assessed an explicit phonetic training program for ASL learners.
An implicit fingerspelling training based on a popular ASL curriculum was also
developed and used as a control with which to compare the effect of the
explicit training. Designed based on a combination of interactions with L2
students in the classroom, descriptions of coarticulatory features in
fingerspelling production, and studies of cues L2 students use to comprehend
fingerspelling, the explicit training consisted of two main portions. The
first detailed the properties of hold versus transition segments in
fingerspelling; the second focused on phonetic variation in fingerspelling
production. 

The first study involved 18 third-semester ASL students in a five-week summer
session. The second involved 80 students taking ASL III in a 15-week fall
semester. In both studies, students were divided into two balanced groups
based on grades earned in their previous ASL course. One group received the
explicit training and the other, the implicit fingerspelling training. Pre-
and post-tests involved a fingerspelling comprehension task with two
experimental conditions and a control condition. In one condition, periods in
which signers hold a letter posture were masked (transitions-only), and in the
other condition, periods of transition from posture to posture were masked
(holds-only). 

Results from the first study revealed a strong effect of the explicit training
across experimental conditions, though participants struggle most with the
transitions-only condition. Results from the second study revealed a weaker
overall effect of the explicit training, but a stronger interaction with the
transitions-only condition, which the explicit training helped to address
specifically. Taken together, results from both experiments reveal that
explicit instruction is more effective in improving students’ fingerspelling
comprehension scores. These effects are not ephemeral. With only one exposure
to the training program, which lasts approximately 30 minutes, higher scores
persist three and six weeks post training.




------------------------------------------------------------------------------

*****************    LINGUIST List Support    *****************
                       Fund Drive 2016
Please support the LL editors and operation with a donation at:
            http://funddrive.linguistlist.org/donate/

This year the LINGUIST List hopes to raise $79,000. This money 
will go to help keep the List running by supporting all of our 
Student Editors for the coming year.

Don't forget to check out Fund Drive 2016 site!

http://funddrive.linguistlist.org/

For all information on donating, including information on how to 
donate by check, money order, PayPal or wire transfer, please visit:
http://funddrive.linguistlist.org/donate/

The LINGUIST List is under the umbrella of Indiana University and
as such can receive donations through Indiana University Foundation. We
also collect donations via eLinguistics Foundation, a registered 501(c)
Non Profit organization with the federal tax number 45-4211155. Either
way, the donations can be offset against your federal and sometimes your
state tax return (U.S. tax payers only). For more information visit the
IRS Web-Site, or contact your financial advisor.

Many companies also offer a gift matching program, such that
they will match any gift you make to a non-profit organization.
Normally this entails your contacting your human resources department
and sending us a form that the Indiana University Foundation fills in
and returns to your employer. This is generally a simple administrative
procedure that doubles the value of your gift to LINGUIST, without
costing you an extra penny. Please take a moment to check if
your company operates such a program.


Thank you very much for your support of LINGUIST!
 


----------------------------------------------------------
LINGUIST List: Vol-27-2106	
----------------------------------------------------------