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Project

"Do you understand me?" The speaking skills of low-literate adult learners of Dutch.

Adults who want to learn to speak Dutch (NT2 learners) do not easily find a role model, because significant differences in speaking skills can be detected among native speakers. Although native speakers experience a large amount of freedom in their speaking, "correct" intonation of Dutch sentences is considered to be a success factor for highly educated adult learners with a medium level of Dutch. In this project however we focus on low-literate NT2 learners with a low level of Dutch and a mother language (L1) from a non-Germanic language family. The following research questions are answered: 1) Do word knowledge and intonation of Dutch determine the variation in the quality of speaking, and 2) Is the quality of speaking determined by L1? Participants complete speaking assignments and a test on word knowledge. The results of this project could give substance to an important societal debate and might emphasize the important role of Antwerp University in this domain.
Date:1 Apr 2020 →  31 Mar 2021
Keywords:LANGUAGE VARIATION, TEACHING METHODOLOGY, DUTCH AS A FOREING LANGUAGE
Disciplines:Didactics of school subjects, Dutch language, Language proficiency