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Applying the Principle of Simplicity to the Preparation of Effective English Materials for Students in Iranian High Schools

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APPLYING THE PRINCIPLE OF SIMPLICITY TO THE PREPARATION OF EFFECTIVE ENGLISH MATERIALS FOR STUDENTS IN IRANIAN HIGH SCHOOLS By MOHAMMAD ALI FARNIA A DISSERTATION PRESENTED TO THE GRADUATE COUNCIL OF THE UNIVERSITY OF FLORIDA IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY UNIVERSITY OF FLORIDA 1980 ACKNOWLEDGMENTS I would like to thank Professor Arthur J. Lewis, my advisor and chairperson of my dissertation committee, for his valuable guidance, not only in regard to this project, but during my past two years at the Uni- versity of Florida. I believe that without his help and extraordinary patience this project would never have been completed, I am also grateful to Professor Jayne C. Harder, my co-chairperson, for the invaluable guidance and assistance I received from her. I am greatly indebted to her for her keen and insightful comments, for her humane treatment, and, above all, for the confidence and motivation that she created in me in the course of writing this dissertation. I owe many thanks to the members of my doctoral committee. Pro- fessors Robert Wright, Vincent McGuire, and Eugene A. Todd, for their careful reading of this dissertation and constructive criticism. I would like to express my sincere gratitude and appreciation to my younger brother Aziz Farnia, whose financial support made my graduate studies in the United States possible. My personal appreciation goes to Miss Sofia Kohli ("Superfish") for typing the final version of this dissertation. ii TABLE OF CONTENTS Page ACKNOWLEDGMENTS , LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS ^ ABSTRACT ^ii CHAPTER I I INTRODUCTION The Problem Statement 3 The Need for the Study 4 Problems of Iranian Students 7 Definition of Terms 11 Delimitations of the Study 17 Organization of the Dissertation 17 II REVIEW OF THE LITERATURE 19 Learning Theories 19 Innateness Universal s in Language and Language Learning ... 25 First Language Acquisition (L:|) 27 Language Acquisition Order 31 Second Language Acquisition (L2) 37 Contrastive Analysis 38 Error Analysis 39 Traditional Grammar 52 Historical Background 52 The Grammar System 55 Strengths 58 Weaknesses 59 Structural Grammar 61 Historical Background 61 The Grammar System 65 Strengths 72 Weaknesses 72 Transformational Generative Grammar 73 Historical Background 73 The Grammar System 77 Strengths 83 Weaknesses 84 iii CHAPTER £Mi III METHODOLOGY 86 Description of the Existing Texts Being Used .... 86 The Selection of the Corpus . 92 The Types of Structures Selected for Discussion ... 93 Remarks on Generative Transformational Grammar ... 103 IV PRESENTATION OF DATA AND ANALYSIS 119 Noun Forms and Verb Phrases Part I: Noun Forms 119 Patterns for the Number System of Nouns 123 Unchanged Plural 125 Notn-Count 126 Collectives 126 Apparent Plurals 127 Always Plural 127 Unchanged Plurals Ending in ^ 127 Part II: Verb Phrase 128 Patterns for Linking Verb Complementation .... 133 Patterns for Intransitive Complementation .... 134 Patterns for Transitive Complementation 135 V SUMMARY, CONCLUSION, AND RECOMMENDATION 137 Summary 137 Conclusion 141 Recommendation for Curriculum Development 142 BIBLIOGRAPHY 147 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH 155 iv :: LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS Following are the abbreviations of terms used throughout this study: Adj . adjective Adv.: adverb Af.: affix Art.: article *: asterisk (ungrammatical element) Aux. auxiliary CA: contrastive analysis Def.: definite D & Det.: determiner DO: direct object lA:IT A • error analysis IC: imnediate constituent 10: indirect object first language 4: second language LAD: language acquisition device M: modal MV: main verb N: noun NP: noun phrase V NP^: noun phrase singular MPpi noun phrase plural 0: object Pron.: pronoun S: sentence T: tense TGG: transformational generative gratmiar UW: uninflected word V: verb V^. : verb intransitive y^: linking verb VP: verb phrase V^: verb transitive vi Abstract of Dissertation Presented to the Graduate Council of the University of Florida in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philoslophy APPLYING THE PRINCIPLE OF SIMPLICITY TO THE PREPARATION OF EFFECTIVE ENGLISH MATERIALS FOR STUDENTS IN IRANIAN HIGH SCHOOLS By Mohammad Ali Farnia December 1980 Chairperson: Arthur J. Lewis Co-chairperson: Jayne C. Harder Major Department: Curriculum and Instruction The purpose of the study has been to recommend linguistically based principles for preparing effective materials for teaching English as a second language in Iranian public high schools. The researcher examined six English textbooks currently in use in Iran to discover the sequence for presenting English noun forms as they reflect number, and the English verb phrase, limited to the auxiliary system, linking verbs, intransitive, and single-object and double-object transitive verbs. As the initial step in analyzing the textbooks' presentation, the researcher identified the noun forms designated for the study and marked the points at which they appeared in the six textbooks. The results of this examination were considered with attention to sequence and consistency of presentation. They were also studied from the vii standpoint of the principle of simplicity. Where the materials violated these considerations, suggestions were made for improvement. The number system of nouns was examined according to the follow- ing subsystems: (1) the plural inflectional morpheme, and (2) the one- form nouns. Although the examination of the plural inflectional morpheme indicated minor evidence of learning problems, consideration of the interlingual aspects of one-form nouns provided the investigator with more abundant evidence for sources of uncertainty and error for native speakers of Farsi. The auxiliary system was examined according to the following formula: Aux. »- T (M + 0) + (have + en) + (be + ing) Three types of auxiliary, namely tense auxiliary, modal auxiliary, and aspective auxiliary were investigated in accord with the principle of simplicity and suggestions for presentation of auxiliary system has been made. The discussion of linking verb complementation was organized around five patterns: 1. The adjective phrase complements with the verb be (NP + be + Adj.) 2. The adjective phrase complements with other linking verb (NP + + Adj.) 3. Noun phrase complements with verb be (NP^ + be + NP-j) 4. Noun phrase complements with other linking verb (NP^ + + NP^) 5. Adverbial phrase complements (NP + be + Adv.) vi i i All of them revealed sufficient evidence to conclude that these patterns are the most difficult structures for Farsi speakers to master because of mother- tongue interference. The transitive and intransitive complements were examined according to the following patterns; 1. Single-object complements (NP^ + Tr.V + NP2) 2. Double-object complements (NP^ + Tr.V + NP2 + NP^) 3. Pattern for intransitive verbs (NP + Int.V) The greatest difficulty was seen to be word order because of mother- tongue interference. Based on the evidence provided throughout the study, the researcher has identified a number of interlingual problems in the textbooks under investigation. The conclusion is that preparation of materials should be based on an accurate and orderly description of the English language in the context of the learners' native language and as appropriate to their goals and opportunities. ix CHAPTER I INTRODUCTION It has been said that all normal human beings achieve proficiency in their first language. This notion has attracted the attention of many researchers in the field of applied linguistics. Studies have been carried out in this regard to find out factors which explain the order and degree of acquisition. Studies of children's f irst-and-second- and adult*s' second-language acquisition have generated some theories about the similarities and differences in process, order, and development of first- and second-language acquisition. Such studies have also developed certain implications and suggestions for facilitating second- language acquisition and solving problems that could hinder the task. Some psycholinguists have argued that second-language learning can be characterized as an ability which can best be achieved up to the age of adulthood (Lennenberg, 1964; Millon, 1974). On the other hand, there are other views which consider adult learners to have an over- whelming advantage over children. Proponents of such views emphasize that the adult learner has already developed linguistic sophistication and a knowledge of many abstract concepts through his native language. Therefore, in learning a second language, all he needs to acquire is new verbal symbols representing the same old concepts (Ausubel , 1964). Structural linguists, in accord with behavioral psychologists, assume that language learning is behavior, consisting of sets of habits 1 2 which are learned through imitation and practice. They suggest that a learner's second-language acquisition can be facilitated wherever there are similarities in both the learner's native and target language. Wherever there are contrasts, however, second-langauge acquisition is likely to be retarded and problems may develop (Lado, 1957). Pro- ponents of this theory, known as the contrastive analysis hypothesis, moreover suggest that the language teacher should prepare the learner for the contrastive nature of language formation and function, and should drill those patterns in the target language which are different from those of the learner's native language in order to help the new habit form in the learner. Psychol ingui Stic view concerning
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