The acquisition of (in)definiteness in English as a foreign language by Tanzanian L1 Swahili ...

334 Pages·2016·3.4 MB·English

The acquisition of (in)definiteness in English as a foreign language by
Tanzanian L1 Swahili secondary school learners
by Gerald Eliniongoze Kimambo
Dissertation presented for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy (General
Linguistics) in the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences at Stellenbosch
University
Supervisor: Dr Simone Conradie
Co-supervisor: Dr Johan Oosthuizen
December 2016
Stellenbosch University https://scholar.sun.ac.za
Declaration
By submitting this dissertation electronically, I declare that the entirety of the work contained
therein is my own, original work, that I am the sole author thereof (save to the extent
explicitly otherwise stated), that reproduction and publication thereof by Stellenbosch
University will not infringe any third party rights and that I have not previously in its entirety
or in part submitted it for obtaining any qualification.
December 2016
Copyright © 2016 Stellenbosch University
All rights reserved
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Abstract
The study reported in this dissertation examined the acquisition of (in)definiteness in English
as a foreign language (EFL) by secondary school learners with Swahili as their first language
(L1) in Tanzania. It focused on (i) the anaphoric, associative and encyclopaedic contexts (for
definiteness), (ii) the first mention, opaque and transparent contexts (for indefiniteness), and
(iii) the use of articles in specific and non-specific contexts, in writing and in speaking.
Although English is the medium of instruction from secondary school onwards in Tanzania, it
is still a foreign language. Consequently, most learners only receive exposure to English in
the EFL classroom, and most EFL teachers struggle with English themselves (Qorro, 2006).
It is thus unsurprising that these learners manifest non-target-like performance in their EFL
use of articles (among other aspects of English). This study aimed at determining which
contexts of the English article system manifest as non-target-like in Swahili-speaking learners’
EFL use and, based on the findings, providing EFL teachers in Tanzania with suggestions
regarding the contexts that require special pedagogical attention.
Whereas English realises grammatical definiteness via its article system, Swahili realises
semantic-pragmatic definiteness via the context of interaction. For this reason, data from
Swahili-speaking EFL learners could be used in the present study to address the Article
Choice Parameter (Ionin, Ko & Wexler, 2004), the Fluctuation Hypothesis (ibid.), the
Syntactic Misanalysis Account (Trenkic, 2007) and the Missing Surface Inflection
Hypothesis (Prévost & White, 2000).
Based on a cross-linguistic analysis of English and Swahili, the specific predictions were that
Swahili-speaking EFL learners would omit articles at the elementary level of proficiency, and
that they would fluctuate between definiteness and specificity at the intermediate level of
proficiency. The mixed methods study reported in this dissertation involved collecting (i)
quantitative data from 163 Swahili-speaking EFL learners by means of an acceptability
judgement task, a forced choice elicitation task and a picture-description task, and (ii)
qualitative data from 10 EFL teachers via semi-structured interviews.
An analysis of the quantitative data indicated that the learners transferred the bare noun
phrase structure of their L1 Swahili and used ‘noun+pronoun’ pairings to realise definiteness
in English, mostly at the elementary level of proficiency. They also fluctuated between
definiteness and specificity. Concerning the contexts referred to above, the use of the
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indefinite article, the anaphoric use of the definite article and the opaque use of the indefinite
article manifested as non-target-like more often than the other contexts.
The interview data revealed that most of the teachers did not have a sufficient level of
proficiency in English, training in implementing the current curriculum or expertise in
teaching the article system communicatively. The findings of the present study suggest the
need to revise the current language in education policy and to ensure that teachers receive
training in implementing the curriculum and making use of the Focus on Form approach.
The study concludes with some specific suggestions for EFL teachers in Tanzania regarding
teaching the English article system to their Swahili-speaking learners.

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Opsomming
Die studie waaroor in hierdie proefskrif gerapporteer word, het ondersoek ingestel na die
verwerwing van (on)bepaaldheid in Engels as Vreemde Taal (EVT) deur hoërskoolleerders
met Swahili as eerstetaal (T1) in Tanzanië. Dit het gefokus op (i) die anaforiese, assosiatiewe
en ensiklopediese kontekste (vir bepaaldheid), (ii) die eerste-verwysing, ondeursigtige en
deursigtige kontekste (vir onbepaaldheid), en (iii) die gebruik van lidwoorde in spesifieke en
nie-spesifieke kontekste, in geskrewe sowel as gesproke taal.
Alhoewel Engels in Tanzanië die onderrigmedium is vanaf hoërskoolvlak, is dit steeds ‘n
vreemde taal. Gevolglik ontvang meeste leerders slegs blootstelling aan Engels in die EVT-
klaskamer, en sukkel meeste EVT-onderwysers self met Engels (Qorro, 2006). Dit is dus nie
verbasend dat hierdie leerders (onder andere) Engelse lidwoorde op nie-teikenagtige wyses
gebruik nie. Die studie het ten doel gehad om vas te stel watter kontekste van die Engelse
lidwoordstelsel op nie-teikenagtige wyses gebruik word deur Swahili-sprekende EVT-
leerders en om, gebasseer op die bevindings, voorstelle te maak aan EVT-onderwysers in
Tanzanië aangaande watter kontekste spesiale pedagogiese aandag benodig.
Terwyl Engels grammatikale bepaaldheid aandui deur sy lidwoordstelsel, dui Swahili
semanties-pragmatiese bepaaldheid aan deur die konteks van interaksie. Om hierdie rede kon
data van Swahili-sprekende EVT-leerders gebruik word om in die huidige studie die
Lidwoordkeuse Parameter (Ionin, Ko & Wexler, 2004), die Fluktuasie Hipotese (ibid.), die
Sintaktiese Misanalise Verklaring (Trenkic, 2007) en die Ontbrekende Oppervlaksinfleksie
Hipotese (Prévost & White, 2000) aan te spreek.
Gebaseer op ‘n kruislinguistiese analise van Engels en Swahili, was die spesifieke
voorspellings dat Swahili-sprekende EVT-leerders lidwoorde sou weglaat op die elementêre
vaardigheidsvlak, en dat hulle sou fluktueer tussen bepaaldheid en spesifiekheid op die
intermediêre vaardigheidsvlak. Die gemengde-metodes studie waaroor gerapporteer word in
hierdie proefskrif het die insameling behels van (i) kwantitatiewe data van 163 Swahili-
sprekende EVT-leerders deur middel van ‘n aanvaarbaarheidsoordeletaak, ‘n geforseerde-
keuse-ontlokkingstaak en ‘n prentjie-beskrywingstaak, en (ii) kwalitatiewe data van 10 EVT-
onderwysers deur middel van semi-gestruktureerde onderhoude.
‘n Analise van die kwantitatiewe data het aangedui dat die leerders die blote-
naamwoordfrase-struktuur van hul T1 Swahili oorgedra het en
‘naamwoord+voornaamwoord’-afparings gebruik het om bepaaldheid aan te dui in Engels,
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meestal op die elementêre vaardigheidsvlak. Hulle het ook gefluktueer tussen bepaaldheid en
spesifiekheid. Wat die bogenoemde kontekste betref, het nie-teikenagtige taalgebruik meer
voorgekom by die gebruik van die onbepaalde lidwoord, die anaforiese gebruik van die
bepaalde lidwoord en die nie-deursigtige gebruik van die onbepaalde lidwoord, as by ander
kontekste.
Die onderhoud-data het gewys dat meeste van die onderwysers nie ‘n voldoende vlak van
vaardigheid gehad het in Engels nie, en ook nie voldoende opleiding in die implementering
van die huidige kurrikulum of kundigheid in die onderrig van die lidwoordstelsel op ‘n
kommunikatiewe wyse nie. Die bevindings van die huidige studie dui op die noodsaaklikheid
daarvan om die taal-in-onderrig beleid te hersien en om te verseker dat onderwysers
opleiding ontvang in die implementering van die kurrikulum en in die gebruik van die Fokus-
op-Vorm benadering.
Die studie sluit af met ‘n paar spesifieke voorstelle vir EVT-onderwysers in Tanzanië
aangaande die onderrig van die Engelse lidwoordstelsel aan hulle Swahili-sprekende leerders.
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Acknowledgements
My deepest gratitude goes to my supervisor Dr Simone Conradie and co-supervisor Dr Johan
Oosthuizen for their unwavering support, critical eye, patience, and feedback on my work. I
am also grateful to Prof Pieter Muysken for his input to the methodology section of this study.
I also express my appreciation to Prof María del Pilar García-Mayo and Dr Jaensch Carol for
taking time to respond to my queries when I needed their help. My gratitude also goes to my
PhD examination committee members, Prof Felix Banda (University of Western Cape, SA),
Prof Marianna Visser (Stellenbosch University, SA) and Prof Usha Lakshmanan (Southern
Illinois University Carbondale, USA), for their useful questions and comments.
It is with a sense of profound gratitude that I acknowledge the help of Dr Frenette Southwood
for her advice and for pictures to elicit spontaneous oral production data. Many thanks also
go to her and to Dr Marcelyn Oostendorp for suggesting relevant literature to my research. I
am also grateful to Ms Maura Respich for linking me with five English native speaker
controls in the USA. Likewise, I am thankful to Ms Lauren Onraet and Ms Jennali Cowley
for their willingness to edit my oral production data. It is with immense gratitude that I
acknowledge the support and help accorded to me by Prof Martin Kidd in running statistical
tests and Ms Christine Smit for administrative services.
My sincere gratitude goes to Dr Abel Mreta, Dr Gastor Mapunda, Dr Rose Upor and Dr
Erasmus Msuya for their support at different stages of my studies, to Dr Yunus Ng’umbi, for
his helping hand whenever I needed it, to Dr Dominic Makwa, for his encouragement and
useful comments. I am indebted to my many colleagues who supported me: Brighton
Msagalla, Godfrey Muganda, Godwin Njiro, Joseph Olomy, Kelvin Mathayo, Nicholous
Asheli and Paschal Mdukula for their translation services as well as Michael Karani and Paul
Luhende, for sharing their expertise in African linguistics, particularly in Bantu linguistics.
I would also like to thank the 163 learners for accepting to participate in the present study
despite their busy schedules during the time of data collection. I cannot forget to thank their
parents for allowing them to participate in the study. I extend my gratitude to the heads of
schools and to the EFL teachers who participated in this study for their cooperation in the
period of data collection.
I express my gratitude to the 2014 cohort doctoral students: Asante Lucy Ntenje, Aurelia
Mallya, David Wafula, Davis Nyanda, Jackie Zinale and Marie Nafula, for their unfailing
encouragement. My gratitude also goes to the audience of the 2015 ALASA conference for
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their invaluable input to this study. I owe my deepest gratitude to my beloved wife, Agnes,
for her encouragement and prayers and for being able to withstand the challenges of taking
care of the family for the three years I was away.
This study would not have been possible without the scholarship that I was awarded by the
African Doctoral Academy (ADA). For this, I am profoundly grateful. I am also grateful to
my employer, the University of Dar es Salaam, for exempting me from teaching
responsibilities to dedicate time on my doctoral studies. Notwithstanding all the help and
support I received from all these individuals, all errors in this dissertation remain my own.
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Table of contents
Declaration............................................................................................................................. i
Abstract ................................................................................................................................ ii
Opsomming ......................................................................................................................... iv
Acknowledgements .............................................................................................................. vi
Table of contents ................................................................................................................ viii
List of tables ...................................................................................................................... xvi
List of figures ..................................................................................................................... xix
List of abbreviations ............................................................................................................ xx
CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION ....................................................................................... 1
1.1 Introduction ............................................................................................................... 1
1.2 Problem statement and focus ..................................................................................... 5
1.3 Aim of the study ........................................................................................................ 6
1.4 Research questions and objectives ............................................................................. 6
1.5 Background to the study ............................................................................................ 7
1.5.1 Linguistic situation in Tanzania ................................................................................. 7
1.5.1.1 Swahili in Tanzania ................................................................................................... 7
1.5.1.2 English in Tanzania ................................................................................................... 9
1.5.2 Educational policy and language in education in Tanzania ......................................... 9
1.5.3 Curriculum reform to Competency-Based Language Teaching (CBLT) in Tanzania 13
1.5.3.1 Components of the CBLT curriculum ...................................................................... 14
1.5.3.2 Characteristics of the CBLT approach ..................................................................... 14
1.5.3.3 Teaching grammar in the CBLT curriculum............................................................. 16
1.5.3.4 The implementation of the CBE curriculum in Tanzania .......................................... 17
1.6 Rationale of the study .............................................................................................. 18
1.7 Theoretical framework of the study ......................................................................... 19
1.8 Research design ....................................................................................................... 21
1.9 Organisation of the dissertation................................................................................ 21
1.10 Defining key terms .................................................................................................. 22
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CHAPTER 2: CROSS-LINGUISTIC ANALYSIS OF DEFINITENESS AND
SPECIFICITY IN ENGLISH AND SWAHILI .................................................... 25
2.1 Introduction ............................................................................................................. 25
2.2 The morpho-syntactic structure of the English nominal complex ............................. 25
2.2.1 Modifiers ................................................................................................................. 26
2.2.2 Determiners ............................................................................................................. 27
2.2.3 The DP hypothesis ................................................................................................... 30
2.2.4 Head movement within the nominal projection ........................................................ 32
2.3 The semantic structure of English ............................................................................ 33
2.3.1 Definiteness in English ............................................................................................ 33
2.3.1.1 Familiarity ............................................................................................................... 33
2.3.1.2 Identifiability ........................................................................................................... 35
2.3.1.3 Uniqueness and inclusiveness .................................................................................. 35
2.3.1.4 Inherently definite noun phrases in English .............................................................. 36
2.3.2 Indefiniteness in English .......................................................................................... 39
2.3.3 Specificity in English ............................................................................................... 40
2.4 Definiteness and specificity in Bantu ....................................................................... 42
2.4.1 Pre-prefixes ............................................................................................................. 42
2.4.2 Subject marking and the subject position ................................................................. 44
2.4.3 Object marking ........................................................................................................ 45
2.4.4 Demonstratives ........................................................................................................ 48
2.5 The morpho-syntactic structure of Swahili ............................................................... 49
2.5.1 Nominal morphology ............................................................................................... 50
2.5.1.1 Pre-nominal determiners .......................................................................................... 51
2.5.1.2 Post-nominal determiners ........................................................................................ 51
2.5.1.3 Adjectival modifiers ................................................................................................ 52
2.5.1.4 Relative clause modifiers ......................................................................................... 52
2.5.2 Verbal morphology .................................................................................................. 54
2.5.2.1 Subject marker......................................................................................................... 54
2.5.2.2 Object marker .......................................................................................................... 55
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