How high school students learn grammar

How high school students learn grammar Longitudinal study of Dutch high school learners acquiring the English possessive construction

By Johan Kobben

How high school students learn grammar Longitudinal study of Dutch high school learners acquiring the English possessive construction

Research Master Thesis Linguistics Department Grammar and Cognition research group Radboud University Nijmegen 2012

Johan Kobben 0605808 First Supervisor: Prof. Dr. Helen de Hoop Second Supervisor: Prof. Dr. Roeland van Hout

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Acknowledgements First of all I would like to thank Helen for her insights, help and support throughout the writing process of this thesis. I could not have succeeded in finishing this thesis without her views and determination to get the most out of it. Her level of support and commitment she shows her students in general, and me in particular, are an inspiration. I also want to thank Roeland for his invaluable comments and help in interpreting the statistical results and reporting them properly. His positive criticisms were harsh from time to time, but he was always there to help and guide me toward an improved version. His ability to recognize weak spots and his willingness to help strengthen them were essential in improving the thesis. I also owe my colleagues at the linguistics department of the Radboud University Nijmegen a debt of gratitude. They made me feel right at home: Ad, Kees, Linda, Lotte, Margot, Martine, Peter, Robert and Wessel. Finally I would like to thank my family and friends for their love and support when writing this thesis. Especially Aukje for her understanding when I was writing this thesis and my parents for their interest. Without their help I would not have been able to complete this thesis.

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Table of contents Chapter 1 Introduction

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Chapter 2 - p.4 Contrastive study of the English and Dutch possessive construction 2.1 - p.4 Introduction 2.2 - p.5 Factors influencing the possessive pattern distribution 2.3 - p.17 Possessive pattern distribution in English and Dutch 2.4 - p.30 Instruction of the English possessive construction in Dutch high school text books 2.5 - p.40 Conclusion Chapter 3 - p.42 Study of Dutch high school learners acquiring the English possessive construction 3.1 - p.42 Introduction 3.2 - p.42 Methodology 3.3 - p.48 Results 3.4 - p.56 Discussion 3.5 - p.64 Conclusion

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Chapter 4 Transfer effects and instruction 4.1 Introduction 4.2 Transfer effects vs instruction effects 4.3 Instruction and general intelligence 4.4 Recommendations for teaching 4.5 Conclusion

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Chapter 5 Conclusion-

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References-

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Appendixes-

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