Romanian Sign Language Learners and Their Communication Strategies
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University of North Dakota UND Scholarly Commons Theses and Dissertations Theses, Dissertations, and Senior Projects January 2019 Using Context To Communicate: Romanian Sign Language Learners And Their ommC unication Strategies Rebecca A. Melville Follow this and additional works at: https://commons.und.edu/theses Recommended Citation Melville, Rebecca A., "Using Context To Communicate: Romanian Sign Language Learners And Their ommC unication Strategies" (2019). Theses and Dissertations. 2573. https://commons.und.edu/theses/2573 This Thesis is brought to you for free and open access by the Theses, Dissertations, and Senior Projects at UND Scholarly Commons. It has been accepted for inclusion in Theses and Dissertations by an authorized administrator of UND Scholarly Commons. For more information, please contact [email protected]. USING CONTEXT TO COMMUNICATE: ROMANIAN SIGN LANGUAGE LEARNERS AND THEIR COMMUNICATION STRATEGIES by Rebecca Melville BA in Missions & Anthropology, Eastern University, 2011 A Thesis Submitted to the Graduate Faculty of the University of North Dakota in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts Grand Forks, North Dakota August 2019 © 2019 Rebecca Melville This thesis, submitted by Rebecca Melville in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the Degree of Master of Arts from the University of North Dakota, has been read by the Faculty Advisory Committee under whom the work has been done and is hereby approved. __________________________________________ Dr. Albert Bickford, Chairperson __________________________________________ Dr. Keith Slater __________________________________________ Dr. Kristine Trammell This thesis is being submitted by the appointed advisory committee as having met all of the requirements of the School of Graduate Studies at the University of North Dakota and is hereby approved. _______________________________________________ Dr. Chris Nelson, Associate Dean School of Graduate Studies _______________________________________________ Date iii PERMISSION Title Using Context to Communicate: Romanian Sign Language Learners and their Communication Strategies Department Linguistics Degree Master of Arts In presenting this thesis in partial fulfillment of the requirements for a graduate degree from the University of North Dakota, I agree that the library of this University shall make it freely available for inspection. I further agree that permission for extensive copying for scholarly purposes may be granted by the professor who supervised my thesis work or, in his absence, by the chairperson of the department or the dean of the Graduate School. It is understood that any copying or publication or other use of this thesis or part thereof for financial gain shall not be allowed without my written permission. It is also understood that due recognition shall be given to me and to the University of North Dakota in any scholarly use which may be made of any material in my thesis. Signature ________________________________________ Date ________________________________________ iv Table of Contents List of Figures vii List of Tables ix Acknowledgements xi Abbreviations xii Abstract xiii Chapter 1 Introduction 1 Chapter 2 Methodology 5 2.1 Research questions 5 2.2 Participants 5 2.3 Research tasks 8 2.4 Transcription explanation 10 2.5 Coding for strategy types 11 2.5.1 Achievement strategies 11 2.5.2 Avoidance strategies 17 2.5.3 Confirmation strategies 18 2.6 Some problems that were encountered 19 Chapter 3 Results 21 3.1 Most common communication strategies 22 3.2 Relationship between proficiency score and variety in the use of communication strategies 36 3.3 Base languages of communication strategies 38 3.4 Relationship between proficiency score and percentage of LSR-based strategies 47 3.5 Types of communication strategies in broad categories 49 3.6 Last achievement strategies used before success 50 Chapter 4 Discussion 52 v 4.1 Learners’ conscious decisions 52 4.2 Possible explanations for unexpected results 57 4.3 Questions about previous research 59 4.4 Confirmation strategies 60 4.5 Higher proficiency linked to better use of communication strategies 62 4.6 Other motives 66 4.7 Most effective communication strategies 66 4.8 Notes for future research 66 4.9 Applications for learners 67 Chapter 5 Conclusion 69 Appendices 70 References 86 vi List of Figures Figure Page Figure 1: Alvin’s CS Distribution R1T1 23 Figure 2: Alvin’s CS Distribution R1T2 23 Figure 3: Alvin’s CS Distribution R2T1 24 Figure 4: Alvin’s CS Distribution R2T2 24 Figure 5: Fay’s CS Distribution R1T1 26 Figure 6: Fay’s CS Distribution R1T2 26 Figure 7: Fay’s CS Distribution R2T1 27 Figure 8: Fay’s CS Distribution R2T2 27 Figure 9: Jenny’s CS Distribution R1T1 29 Figure 10: Jenny’s CS Distribution R1T2 29 Figure 11: Jenny’s CS Distribution R2T1 30 Figure 12: Jenny’s CS Distribution R2T2 30 Figure 13: Ionuț’s CS Distribution T1 32 Figure 14: Ionuț’s CS Distribution T2 32 Figure 15: Rachel’s CS Distribution T1 34 Figure 16: Rachel’s CS Distribution T2 34 Figure 17: Relationship between Proficiency Score and Variations in CSs- Task 1 37 Figure 18: Relationship between Proficiency Score and Variations in CSs- Task 2 38 Figure 19: Alvin’s Base Languages, R1T1 (NS1) 39 Figure 20: Alvin’s Base Languages, R2T1 (NS2) 39 Figure 21: Fay’s Base Languages, R1T1 (NS3) 40 Figure 22: Fay’s Base Languages, R2T1 (NS3) 40 Figure 23: Jenny’s Base Languages, R1T1 (NS2) 41 Figure 24: Jenny’s Base Languages, R2T1 (NS2) 41 vii Figure 25: Ionuț’s Base Languages, R1T1 (NS2) 42 Figure 26: Rachel’s Base Languages, R1T1 (NS2) 42 Figure 27: Alvin’s Base Languages, R1T2 (NS1) 43 Figure 28: Alvin’s Base Languages, R2T2 (NS2) 43 Figure 29: Fay’s Base Languages, R1T2 (NS3) 44 Figure 30: Fay’s Base Languages, R2T2 (NS3) 44 Figure 31: Jenny’s Base Languages, R1T2 (NS2) 45 Figure 32: Jenny’s Base Languages, R2T2 (NS2) 45 Figure 33: Ionuț’s Base Languages, T2 (NS2) 46 Figure 34: Rachel’s Base Languages, T2 (NS2) 46 Figure 35: Proficiency Score vs. Percentage of LSR-based Strategies, Task 1 48 Figure 36: Proficiency Score vs. Percentage of LSR-based Strategies, Task 2 48 Figure 37: Last-Used Achievement Strategies (Task 1, Rounds 1&2) 50 Figure 38: Percentage of Success for Last-Used Strategies (Task 1, Rounds 1&2) 51 viii List of Tables Table Page Table 1: Learner Proficiency Scores 8 Table 2: Alvin’s Strategy Distribution 22 Table 3: Fay’s Strategy Distribution 25 Table 4: Jenny’s Strategy Distribution 28 Table 5: Ionuț’s Strategy Distribution 31 Table 6: Rachel’s Strategy Distribution 33 Table 7: Numbers & percentages of all CSs used in each task 35 Table 8: Proficiency Score vs. Variation of CSs 37 Table 9: Alvin’s Base Languages, R1T1 (NS1) 39 Table 10: Alvin’s Base Languages, R2T1 (NS2) 39 Table 11: Fay’s Base Languages, R1T1 (NS3) 40 Table 12: Fay’s Base Languages, R2T1 (NS3) 40 Table 13: Jenny’s Base Languages, R1T1 (NS2) 41 Table 14: Jenny’s Base Languages, R2T1 (NS2) 41 Table 15: Ionuț’s Base Languages, T1 (NS2) 42 Table 16: Rachel’s Base Languages, T1 (NS2) 42 Table 17: Alvin’s Base Languages, R1T2 (NS1) 43 Table 18: Alvin’s Base Languages, R2T2 (NS2) 43 Table 19: Fay’s Base Languages, R1T2 (NS3) 44 Table 20: Fay’s Base Languages, R2T2 (NS3) 44 Table 21: Jenny’s Base Languages, R1T2 (NS2) 45 Table 22: Jenny’s Base Languages, R2T2 (NS2) 45 Table 23: Ionuț’s Base Languages, T2 (NS2) 46 Table 24: Rachel’s Base Languages, T2 (NS2) 46 ix Table 25: Proficiency Score vs. Percentage of LSR-based CSs 47 Table 26: Number & Percentage of CSs by Category 49 x Acknowledgements I want to thank the members of my thesis committee, Albert, Keith, and Kristine, for giving me so much of their time and advice, and for being such an encouragement to me throughout the whole writing process. I also want to thank all of the friends who let me use them as an editor and who kept me from giving up. xi Abbreviations CS Communication Strategy FSL Filipino Sign Language KSL Kenyan Sign Language L1 First language L2 Second language (or any language other than the speaker’s first language) LSR Limbajul Semnelor Romanesc (Romanian Sign Language) NS Native Signer R1T1 Round 1, Task 1 R1T2 Round 1, Task 2 R2T1 Round 2, Task 1 R2T2 Round 2, Task 2 SLCL Sign Language Classifier xii Abstract This study focuses on the communication strategies used by second language learners of Romanian Sign Language (LSR), including learners of different proficiency levels, and investigates whether the learner’s proficiency level affects the kinds or variety of communication strategies they use. Unlike previous studies of communication strategies by language learners, it focuses on learners of a signed rather than a spoken language. The study consisted of two tasks—the first being a structured task where the learner was given a list of ten words to communicate to an interlocutor (a Deaf native signer). The second task was less structured and asked the learner to describe a video to the interlocutor. The study finds that learners choose their communication strategies by thinking about the knowledge they share with the interlocutor and then making conscious decisions about the most effective strategies to use with that particular person. This is not necessarily a function of their proficiency in the language. In fact, unlike findings from previous studies, beginning learners in the present study used more LSR-based strategies than the advanced learners, which can be explained by the fact that their language background did not happen to overlap as much with that of the interlocutor. In interviews, learners stated that they chose certain strategies because they knew they would be more familiar to the interlocutor.