29.4565, Diss: Gaelic, Scottish; Celtic; Goidelic; Applied Linguistics; Language Acquisition: Nicola Carty: ''Slighean gu fileantas: An exploratory study of the nature of proficiency in adult L2 Scottish Gaelic''

[The LINGUIST List]

LINGUIST List: Vol-29-4565. Mon Nov 19 2018. ISSN: 1069 - 4875.

Subject: 29.4565, Diss: Gaelic, Scottish; Celtic; Goidelic; Applied Linguistics; Language Acquisition: Nicola Carty: ''Slighean gu fileantas: An exploratory study of the nature of proficiency in adult L2 Scottish Gaelic''

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Date: Mon, 19 Nov 2018 10:17:12
From: Nicola Carty [nicola.carty at glasgow.ac.uk]
Subject: Slighean gu fileantas: An exploratory study of the nature of proficiency in adult L2 Scottish Gaelic

 
Institution: University of Glasgow 
Program: Celtic & Gaelic 
Dissertation Status: Completed 
Degree Date: 2015 

Author: Nicola Carty

Dissertation Title: Slighean gu fileantas: An exploratory study of the nature
of proficiency in adult L2 Scottish Gaelic 

Dissertation URL:  http://theses.gla.ac.uk/6376/

Linguistic Field(s): Applied Linguistics
                     Language Acquisition

Subject Language(s): Gaelic, Scottish (gla)

Language Family(ies): Celtic
                      Goidelic 


Dissertation Director(s):
Roibeard Ó Maolalaigh
Esther Daborn

Dissertation Abstract:

This thesis explores the measurement of adult second language (L2) oral
proficiency in Scottish Gaelic (henceforth Gaelic). Gaelic is a minority
language in Scotland, and is currently the object of a major effort to reverse
language shift. Adult L2 users of Gaelic have been identified as key agents in
this effort, but some weaknesses in adult Gaelic language-in-education policy
are making it difficult for adult L2 users to fulfil this role. One such
weakness is the absence of an empirically-derived means of assessing
proficiency in Gaelic, through which adult L2 users and their teachers can
assess their progress. This project aims to address this weakness. Data from
two tasks — an interview and a narrative — performed by adult L2 users of
Gaelic are analysed from the perspective of the complexity, accuracy, and
fluency framework, as the three main dimensions of proficiency. Data are also
analysed for Communicative Adequacy, using raters’ judgements. These data
provide the first examination of Gaelic L2 proficiency from the perspective of
second language acquisition (SLA) research. Adult L2 users of Gaelic have a
wide range of learning experiences and motivations for learning the language.
This study also explores these experiences and motivations, and discusses how
these relate to proficiency. Results show that individuals’ Gaelic language
skills interact in complex and unpredictable ways, depending on the nature of
the task being performed. There is some evidence that the interview task
encourages complexity and fluency, while the narrative task encourages
accuracy at the expense of complexity. Results also show that the
Communicative Adequacy rating scale developed for this project is valid and
reliable, but that assessments of proficiency are subjective, to a large
extent. Finally, the results confirm that adult L2 users of Gaelic draw on a
vast range of experiences and are motivated in many different ways to learn
the language. The outcomes of the project contribute to existing scholarship
on the experiences and motivations of adult L2 users of Gaelic, confirming
previous findings. The results also confirm previous findings in second
language acquisition research that complexity, accuracy, fluency, and
Communicative Adequacy in an L2 interact in complex ways, and that these
interactions can be mediated by different task conditions. Finally, the
outcomes of this exploratory research serve as the basis for future, more
large-scale research into the acquisition of Gaelic as a second language by
adults.




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