The use of English Determiners in Dialogue Journals by Japanese Second Language Learners

Author

Adriana Rodrigues Bridger

Date of Graduation

2008

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Type

MA

College

Eberly College of Arts and Sciences

Department

World Languages, Literatures and Linguistics

Committee Chair

Susan M. Braidi

Committee Member

Sandra Stjepanovi

Committee Member

Marfa Amores

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to describe the use of English determiners in dialogue journals by Japanese second language learners. The entries of the journals of six Japanese students in an ESL class collected over an eight-week period served as the main source of data for this research project. Three analyses wert! performed: the accuracy order of the articles (the. al an. and@). possessives. and other determiners: the accuracy order of predeterminers. central determiners. and postdeterminers: and an error analysis of the articles a/an. the. and the@ article. The following major findings emerged: the accuracy order of the English determiners was from most accurate to the least accurate: 0. possessive. other determiner. the. and al an: high percentages of errors of underextension of a/an and the as well as the low percentages of substitution and overextension errors: and problems with a/an in Type 4 [-SR. - HK! and the in Type 2 [+SR. +HK! contexts. These resu Its contribute to research on ESL learners· use of English articles in a natural written discourse.

Recommended Citation

Bridger, Adriana Rodrigues, "The use of English Determiners in Dialogue Journals by Japanese Second Language Learners" (2008). Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports. 7989.
https://researchrepository.wvu.edu/etd/7989