The implicit knowledge of constraints on wh movement in english among l2 learners a case study at english faculty of a university in vietnam m a

VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY – HO CHI MINH CITY UNIVERSITY OF SOCIAL SCIENCES AND HUMANITIES FACULTY OF ENGLISH LINGUISTICS AND LITERATURE THE IMPLICIT KNOWLEDGE OF CONSTRAINTS ON WH-MOVEMENT IN ENGLISH AMONG L2 LEARNERS: A CASE STUDY AT AN ENGLISH FACULTY OF A UNIVERSITY IN VIETNAM A thesis submitted to the Faculty of English Linguistics & Literature in partial fulfillment of the Master’s degree in TESOL By TẠ LÊ MINH PHƯỚC Supervised by NGUYỄN THỊ NHƯ NGỌC, Ph.D HO CHI MINH CITY, MAY, 2022 STATEMENT OF ORIGINALITY This is to certify that the thesis entitled: “THE IMPLICIT KNOWLEDGE OF CONSTRAINTS ON WH-MOVEMENT IN ENGLISH AMONG L2 LEARNERS: A CASE STUDY AT AN ENGLISH FACULTY OF A UNIVERSITY IN VIETNAM” submitted by Tạ Lê Minh Phước is a record of bona fide work under the instruction of Dr Nguyễn Thị Như Ngọc and the supervision of the Faculty of English Linguistics and Literature, Ho Chi Minh University of Social Sciences and Humanities I guarantee that the content of the thesis was not previously published by any others And the literature mentioned is properly acknowledged Ho Chi Minh City, May, 2022 TẠ LÊ MINH PHƯỚC i RETENTION OF USE I hereby state that I, Tạ Lê Minh Phước, accept the requirements of the University relating to the retention of use of my thesis archived in the library In terms of these conditions, I agree that the original version of my thesis should be accessible for the purpose of study and research Ho Chi Minh City, May, 2022 ii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS In order to complete my Master thesis, I have been very fortunate to receive a lot of support and guidance from many beloved people, whom I would love to say “thank you” First, a huge thank to my instructor Dr Nguyễn Thị Như Ngọc During the time I conducted my research, she was a whole-hearted mentor, a disciplined instructor and an inspiring teacher I was highly motivated by her dedication and patience She got me through the difficulties of writing a thesis and guided me how to orientate my career path My thesis could have never been possible without the help of Dr Lê Hoàng Dũng and Dr Nguyễn Đăng Nguyên, who taught me the very core theories of Research Methodology during my coursework I would love to extend my best gratitude to Ms Bùi Huỳnh Thủy Thương Without her, I might not have seen the light of Linguistics, which is my life passion She has always given me valuable pieces of advice and connected me to the world of knowledge Moreover, the thesis would have been impossible without the support of 103 students participating in the study I also would like to thank them from the bottom of my heart Last but not least, I want to sincerely thank my parents for supporting me both financially and emotionally They have been an endless source of motivation for me to pursue my academic path and truly materialize this ‘brainchild’ iii TABLE OF CONTENTS Statement of originality i Retention of use ii Acknowledgements iii List of abbreviations ix List of tables x List of figures xiii Abstract .xiv CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION 1.1 Background to the study .1 1.2 Aims of the study 1.3 Research questions 1.4 Significance of the study .4 1.5 Scope of the study 1.6 Outline of the thesis .5 CHAPTER 2: LITERATURE REVIEW .7 2.1 Implicit knowledge 2.2 Implicit learning 2.3 Instruction in EFL classrooms 2.4 Interlanguage grammar 11 2.5 Universal Grammar (UG) and Language acquisition 13 2.5.1 Universal Grammar in L1 acquisition: an overview 13 2.5.2 Universal Grammar in L2 acquisition .14 iv 2.5.2.1 The initial stage .15 2.5.2.2 The later stage .19 2.6 Wh-movement in English 21 2.6.1 Ross’s constraints 22 2.6.1.1 The Complex Noun Phrase Constraint .22 2.6.1.2 The wh-island constraint 23 2.6.1.3 The Sentential Subject Constraint 24 2.6.1.4 The Adverbial Island Constraint 25 2.6.2 That-trace effect 25 2.6.2.1 Subject extraction 25 2.6.2.2 Object extraction 26 2.6.2.3 Modifier extraction 26 2.7 Studies into the implicit knowledge of constraints on wh-movement in English 27 2.8 Conceptual framework of the study 28 CHAPTER 3: METHODOLOGY 31 3.1 Research design 31 3.2 Context of the study 32 3.3 Sampling .33 3.4 Research instruments 35 3.4.1 Language Proficiency Test .35 v 3.4.2 Questionnaire 35 3.4.2.1 Construct and design 36 3.4.2.2 Piloting 39 3.4.2.3 Reliability 39 3.4.2.4 Validity 40 3.5 Data collection procedure 40 3.6 Data analysis procedure 41 3.6.1 Intervals of means 41 3.6.2 Mean analysis .42 3.6.3 Inferential tests 45 CHAPTER 4: RESULTS AND DISCUSSION 46 4.1 Normal distribution 46 4.2 Research question 48 4.2.1 Complex Noun Phrase Constraint 48 4.2.1.1 Sentential complements 48 4.2.1.2 Relative clauses 49 4.2.2 Wh-island Constraint 50 4.2.3 Sentential Subject Constraint and Adverbial Island Constraint .51 4.2.4 That-trace effect 52 4.2.4.1 Subject extraction .52 4.2.4.2 Object extraction 53 vi 4.2.4.3 Modifier extraction .54 4.2.5 Further discussion .55 4.3 Research question 58 4.3.1 The presence of “that” 59 4.3.2 Modifier extraction 60 4.3.3 Subject extraction 62 4.3.4 Further discussion 63 4.4 Research question 64 4.4.1 The B1 group 64 4.4.2 The B2 group 67 4.4.3 The C1 group 69 4.4.4 Further discussion 71 4.5 Summary of the major findings 72 CHAPTER 5: CONCLUSION AND IMPLICATIONS .75 5.1 Conclusion 75 5.2 Pedagogical implications 76 5.2.1 Implications for EFL teachers 76 5.2.2 Implications for L2 learners .78 5.3 Limitations and recommendations for future research 79 REFERENCES 81 APPENDICES 90 vii APPENDIX 1: QUESTIONNAIRE ON THE IMPLICIT KNOWLEDGE OF CONSTRAINTS ON WH-MOVEMENT IN ENGLISH 93 APPENDIX 2: MINITAB OUTPUT OF PARTICIPANTS’ DEMOGRAPHIC CHARACTERISTICS 97 APPENDIX 3: MINITAB OUTPUT OF RELIABILITY OF THE QUESTIONNAIRE 98 APPENDIX 4: MINITAB OUTPUT OF JUDGMENTS ON INVESTIGATED STRUCTURES OF L2 LEARNERS 99 APPENDIX 5: SYNTACTIC THEORIES OF CONSTRAINTS ON WHMOVEMENT IN ENGLISH 113 APPENDIX 6: COURSE SYLLABI OF GRAMMAR COURSES AT EF .126 viii LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS ANOVA Analysis of variance ECP Empty Category Principle EF English Faculty EFL English as a foreign language IL Interlanguage L1 First language L2 Second language NL Native language SLA Second Language Acquisition TL Target language UG Universal Grammar ix