English 5

The purpose of this assignment is to get you started on your research and to provide you with a way to keep track and document the research that you do.  It also helps me to make sure that you are finding the right kinds of sources and gives me a chance to help you before you too far on the wrong track.

For this paper, you must find use at least 5 research sources, and 3 of those sources must be academic sources—books or journal articles as outlined on the assignment description.  You will only have to write 3 research logs, even though you will use 5 sources in your paper.

Please get help from the librarians to get started on your research! 

A research log is basically a place that you keep track of information.  Below, I have provided you with the information that you must include in your log for each of your 3 sources.  It would be a good idea for you to keep logs on all of your sources, but you only need to turn 3 in to me.

3 Research Logs will be due on Wednesday, March 29.

This assignment will be graded on its completeness and timeliness.  If you hand them in late, you will lose points.  If you do not complete all of the information or you do not stay within the guidelines on the assignment, you will lose points.

Note:  It is often helpful to keep Xerox or digital copies of the information that you find.  You should set up a file on your computer or flash drive where you can download copies of journal articles or keep a list of useful websites.

Date: __________________________

Research Log # ___

What is the author and title of this source?

How much time did you spend finding, reading, and documenting this source?

How did you find this source? (Include information like the search engine or database that you used, the keywords that you typed in, or anything else that led you to this source)

Why did you decide to look at this source?  Why did you choose it?  Was the source what you expected it to be? (at least 25 words)

What type of source is this? (journal, on-line source, book, newspaper, magazine, etc.):

Document all of the information that you will need to write your bibliography or Work Cited entry. (This will include author, date of publication, publisher, journal volume and issue, page numbers, etc.  Make sure you include the call number if it is a book in the library and the URL if it is an on-line source.  This is for your own benefit in case you want to find the information again.)

Write a 1 or 2 sentence summary of the entire source.  (This is so you will know what kind of information is in the source.)

Evaluation of material­ (how/what will it contribute to your paper or support your argument? How does it relate to the other information that you’ve found?  Will it offer background information, define a term, support your argument, give opposing views to your argument?):  Write at least 50 words.

Paraphrased ideas or “direct quotes” that you might want to use in your paper (Record the page numbers where the quote is found, so you can easily find it again.):  Write at least 100 words.

Thoughts or reactions you had while reading this information: Write at least 25 words.

SEE STUDENT SAMPLES BELOW.

Date: _______11/ 20/ 2013_________

Research Log 1

What is the author and title of this source?

Tahta, Sonia..“Age Changes in the Ability to Replicate Foreign LanguagePronunciation and Intonation.”

How much time did you spend finding, reading, and documenting this source?

It took almost one hour.

How did you find this source? (Include information like the search engine or database that you used, the keywords that you typed in, or anything else that led you to this source)

I searched for “second language, age, and pronunciation” on ERIC. This article was the fifth research result of the first page.

Why did you decide to look at this source?  Why did you choose it?  Was the source what you expected it to be? (at least 25 words)

In my paper, I am going to write counterargument, so I need to prove why child learners are superior to adult learners. When I searched for correlation between age and pronunciation, I found this article. Pronunciation is one of advantages of child learners, and age is related with pronunciation. This article gives some evidence that pronunciation of children who are younger than six years old is more proficient than adult learners. This article is really good for my counterargument, so I chose it for my opinion.

What type of source is this? (journal, on-line source, book, newspaper, magazine, etc.):

This document is a journal article.

Document all of the information that you will need to write your bibliography or Work Cited entry. (This will include author, date of publication, publisher, journal volume and issue, page numbers, etc.  Make sure you include the call number if it is a book in the library and the URL if it is an on-line source.  This is for your own benefit in case you want to find the information again.)

Tahta, Sonia..“Age Changes in the Ability to Replicate Foreign LanguagePronunciation and Intonation.” Language and Speech24.4 (1981): 363-372. ERIC. Web. 21 Nov. 2013.

Write a 1 or 2 sentence summary of the entire source.  (This is so you will know what kind of information is in the source.)

This article shows correlation between age and pronunciation. The author describes that if children who are younger than six years old acquire a second language, they will not speak with a foreign accent; on the contrary, if learners are late adolescents or adults, their accents are highly unlikely to be like that of native speakers.

Evaluation of material­ (how/what will it contribute to your paper or support your argument? How does it relate to the other information that you’ve found?  Will it offer background information, define a term, support your point of view, give opposing views to your point of view?):  Write at least 50 words.

This article will support my counterargument that child learners have a lot of advantages of second language learning, and this article shows how age is related in pronunciation, which is one of advantages of them. The author gives credible evidence that pronunciations of children are better than adult learners through research studies. Therefore, this source is credible, and my counterargument will be perfect.

Paraphrased ideas or “direct quotes” that you might want to use in your paper (Record the page numbers where the quote is found, so you can easily find it again.):  Write at least 100 words.

“This younger-better effect is especially marked for pronunciation. Generally, an accent-free L2 is virtually certain if acquisition begins before 6, fairly likely if acquisition begins before puberty, somewhat unlikely if acquisition begins in early adolescence, and highly unlikely if acquisition begins in late adolescence and adulthood (Scovel, 1969; Asher and Garcia, 1969; Seliger, Krashen and Ladefoged, 1975;Krashen, 1976;Oyama, 1976; Tahta, Wood and Loewenthal, 1981). All these studies used fluent L2 speakers, with usually several years' residence in the L2 country, and most examined the pronunciation of fairly lengthy pieces of discourse or prose, where the speaker's attention was at least as much on the communication of ideas as on articulation (363).”

“It is clear that after a year or two, younger learners are at an advantage in pronunciation. In the first year or two, older learners have less trouble with morphology and syntax, which may give them more chance to attend to pronunciation. It is not very clear whether older or younger learners are at an advantage in pronunciation during acquisition (364).”

“Snow and Hoefnagel-Hohle (l')77) looked at sounds (phonemes) of differing ease and difficulty and found differential effects of amount of practice, and some effects of age. We looked separately at the pronunciation (articulation) of foreign words and phrases, and at intonation.: judges often commented that the foreign "sound" was a matter of intonation or lilt, rather than of pronunciation. After 12, accents were usually present and usually rather marked. These findings suggest that age-related changes in the ability to replicate foreign-language sounds may differ for intonation and pronunciation. A rough guess based on Tahta et al. (1981) would be that the ability to replicate intonation declines earlier than the ability to replicate pronunciation (364-365).”

_Thoughts or reactions you had while reading this information: Write at least 25 words.

One of problems of adult learners is pronunciation. When adults learn a second language, they get in trouble with pronunciation because they keep their accents of native language, so it is hard to pronounce as fluent as native-speakers. However, child learners can adapt to different pronunciation, and I need to prove that facts. As a result, this article is really good for my counterargument, and I can support my argument; I am so glad to find this article!

Date: _______11/20/2013______

Research Log 2

What is the author and title of this source?

Tseng, Theresa Jiinling. “Theoretical Perspectives on Learning a Second Language”

How much time did you spend finding, reading, and documenting this source?

It took almost two hours.

How did you find this source? (Include information like the search engine or database that you used, the keywords that you typed in, or anything else that led you to this source)

This source is a book. We learned about it when we did paraphrasing assignment, and I was reminded of this book.

Why did you decide to look at this source?  Why did you choose it?  Was the source what you expected it to be? (at least 25 words)

I tried to find some articles about that first language influences the second language, but I could not find in online; at that time, I reminded of this book, which we learned about influence of first language, so I chose it for supporting my argument. This article is what I expected, so I can explain that adult learners have difficulties in second language because they have habits of their first language.

What type of source is this? (journal, on-line source, book, newspaper, magazine, etc.):

This document is an anthology.

Document all of the information that you will need to write your bibliography or Work Cited entry. (This will include author, date of publication, publisher, journal volume and issue, page numbers, etc.  Make sure you include the call number if it is a book in the library and the URL if it is an on-line source.  This is for your own benefit in case you want to find the information again.)

Tseng, Theresa Jiiling. “Theoretical Perspectives on Learning a Second Language.” ESL Writers: A Guide for Writing Center Tutors. Ed. Shanti Bruce and Ben Rafoth. Portsmouth: Boynton/Cook-Heinemann, 2004. 16-29. Print.

Write a 1 or 2 sentence summary of the entire source.  (This is so you will know what kind of information is in the source.)

This book shows that first language of learners can affect their second language. When learners transfer from the first language to the second language, they may be confused about it because they may experience transfer error. Transfer error means that learners do not follow grammar rules of the new language because they keep the rules of their first language.

Evaluation of material­ (how/what will it contribute to your paper or support your argument? How does it relate to the other information that you’ve found?  Will it offer background information, define a term, support your argument, give opposing views to your argument?):  Write at least 50 words.

I never thought about a book as a source!! Although we can use book as a source, I did not find books. However, online sources are limited in numbers, so this book is really good for me. The section gives me supporting ideas, so I can explains why adult learners get in trouble when they feel unfamiliar to their new language.

Paraphrased ideas or “direct quotes” that you might want to use in your paper (Record the page numbers where the quote is found, so you can easily find it again.):  Write at least 100 words.

“The language habits of L2 learners’ first language (L1) influence their learning of the second language. This assumption is called the Contrastive Analysis Hypothesis (CAH), and it states that learners have an easier time learning a second language when it is structurally similar to their first language, and they have a more difficult time when the two are substantially different.” (17)

“The error in this example is known as a transfer error because Maria followed two Spanish grammar rules that do not transfer to writing in English: (1) nouns go before adjectives in word order, and (2) adjectives must match nouns in singularity/ plurarity. Tutors could help Maria by pointing out the error instead of letting her discover it herself. Errors caused by the interference from learners first language are difficult, and sometimes impossible, for them to figure out without help. In the example, Maria felt that she was correct because she followed familiar Spanish grammar rules. Without explicit correction, Maria’s meaning gets distorted because news is not the plural form of new, as Maria had imagined. Unless tutors know their student’s native language, however, they will not be able to recognize specific transfer errors.” (18)

Thoughts or reactions you had while reading this information: Write at least 25 words.

Finally, I finished all research logs, so I can complete my research paper. This book gives me explanation about relation between first language and second language, so I can strengthen my arguments that adult learners have difficulties when they learn a new language. I am so happy to finish my research logs, and I hope that all processes of research logs help me write paper well.