We specify a model for the conceptual interpretation of relative adjectives (like \big"), which covers a crucial aspect of the underlying comprehension process { the comparison to a norm that is associated with a comparison class. Building on an elaborate domain ontology and knowledge about intercorrelations, comparison classes are dynamically created depending on the context in which adjectiva...

Can grammatical gender influence how people conceptualize the referents of nouns? Using an implicit measure, we investigated whether such an effect could be found in a task where neither grammatical nor biological gender is highlighted. In the current study, conducted in English, speakers of French, German and Romanian with knowledge of English were asked to generate adjectives they associate w...

Computation with information described in natural language (NL) has intrinsic importance because much of human knowledge is described using these languages. Soft Computing approach to NL-Computation concerns with semantic imprecision of natural languages through the use of NL precisiation, generalized constraints and prototypical forms. NLs are basically systems for describing perceptions. NL p...

We present a comparative analysis of the performance of a statistics-based system for the formation of semantic groups of adjectives when various sources of linguistic knowledge are introduced. We identify four different types of slufllow linguistic knowledge that are applicable to this system, and we quantify the performance gained by incorporating each such knowledge module, We perform experi...

This study examines the links between L2 linguistic knowledge, L2 listening strategy use, self-determined motivation, and L2 listening anxiety relative to L2 listening proficiency. Prior theoretical and empirical work suggests that these variables are interrelated in complex ways, and this hypothesis is tested here using structural equation modeling with a sample of 300 high school foreign lang...

Critical pedagogy (CP) empowers L2 learners to have a voice in the classroom and in the society. This study was an attempt to investigate whether the current classroom discourse  in  Iran  can  endow  the  L2  learners with  a  critical  awareness  to  actively transform their learning processes and creatively engage in collaborative dialogues to construct new knowledge. To this end, the discou...

In this study we explore whether world knowledge (WK) processing differs between individuals listening to their native (L1) or their non-native (L2) language. We recorded event-related brain potentials in L1 and L2 speakers of Spanish while they listened to sentences uttered by native speakers of Spanish. Sentences were either congruent or incongruent with participants’ WK. In addition, partici...

Title of Document: VALIDATING A THEORY-BASED MODEL OF L2 READING COMPREHENSION: RELATIVE CONTRIBUTIONS OF CONTENT-SPECIFIC SCHEMATIC KNOWLEDGE AND L2 VOCABULARY KNOWLEDGE TO COMPREHENDING A SCIENCE TEXT Eunjou Oh, Ph.D., 2010 Directed By: Professor Peter Afflerbach, Department of Curriculum and Instruction Professor Robert Mislevy, Department of Measurement, Statistics, and Evaluation The study...