Research
During my time at Central Michigan University, I was a member of the Honors Program and the McNair Scholars Program, both of which require a thesis-length research project in order to graduate from the programs. To this end, I designed and conducted original research which culminated in a paper entitled, "Why Do Teachers Always Want You to Talk Like People Don't?": A Study of Textbook Spanish Grammar and Its Use by Native Speakers, under the guidance of Dr. Cathy Hicks-Kennard.
In order to complete this project, I studied two variations of a particular structure in Spanish. Using corpora, I researched how frequently they were used by native speakers of the language, and also how much time was devoted to each in high school Spanish textbooks. Through this comparison, I was able to summarize that high school Spanish textbooks are teaching that there is only one “right” way to speak, and discussed the effects that this can have on students. Because of this research project, I have learned to pay extra attention when introducing new grammar and vocabulary, making sure that I emphasize that this is simply one way to express that particular meaning in Spanish. This is especially crucial in classes with native Spanish speakers, but is an important concept for all language learners to understand as early as possible in their language development.
In order to complete this project, I studied two variations of a particular structure in Spanish. Using corpora, I researched how frequently they were used by native speakers of the language, and also how much time was devoted to each in high school Spanish textbooks. Through this comparison, I was able to summarize that high school Spanish textbooks are teaching that there is only one “right” way to speak, and discussed the effects that this can have on students. Because of this research project, I have learned to pay extra attention when introducing new grammar and vocabulary, making sure that I emphasize that this is simply one way to express that particular meaning in Spanish. This is especially crucial in classes with native Spanish speakers, but is an important concept for all language learners to understand as early as possible in their language development.
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My Master's seminar paper built off my previous research, this time focusing on English and the textbooks used in ESL courses. "ESL Textbooks: Reflective of Native Speaker Speech or Protective of Prescriptive Teaching?" was written under the guidance of Beckie Gaydos, with Dr. Samuel Rosenthall as second reader. This research determined the frequency of use by native English speakers of three word pairs that differ in their descriptive use from the prescriptive rules that dictate how they “should” be used. This data was compared with how five college-level speaking textbooks treat those same word pairs. From these comparisons, professors will be able to determine the accuracy and effectiveness of these texts, and can reconsider if and how their textbook should be used in class. Recommendations were also provided to this end in the form of lesson plans and supplemental teaching ideas.
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Seminar Paper | |
File Size: | 271 kb |
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