On the Interconnections Among Selected Aspects of English grammar in Slovak learners’ acquisition

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS	3
LIST OF TABLES AND FIGURES	4
CONTENTS	5
INTRODUCTION	7

1 FOREIGN LANGUAGE ACQUISITION	10
1.1 OPENING NOTE	10
1.2 FOREIGN LANGUAGE	11
1.2.1 SECOND versus FOREIGN LANGUAGE	11
1.2.2 ACQUISITION versus LEARNING	12
1.2.3 ACQUISITION, COMPETENCE and PERFORMANCE	13
1.2.4 NATURAL ENVIRONMENT versus FORMAL SETTING	14
1.3 FACTORS GENERALLY CONSIDERED INFLUENTIAL IN FOREIGN LANGUAGE ACQUISITION	16
1.3.1 THE ROLE OF LANGUAGE ENVIRONMENT	16
1.3.2 THE ROLE OF INPUT	17
1.3.3 THE ROLE OF THE FIRST LANGUAGE	18
1.3.4 INTERNAL PROCESSING	20
1.3.5 INDIVIDUAL LEARNER DIFFERENCES	22

2 RESEARCH CHARACTERISTICS	24
2.1 THE AIM AND OBJECTIVES OF THE RESEARCH	24
2.2 TARGET GROUP CHARACTERISTICS	24
2.3 RESEARCH METHODS	25
2.3.1 Methods of obtaining research data	25
2.3.1.1 Questionnaire	25
2.3.1.2 English grammar test	26
2.3.2 Methods of processing research data	27
2.3.2.1 Defining normal distribution and T-test	28
2.3.2.2 Correlation analysis	29

3 RESEARCH RESULTS	30
3.1 GENERAL CHARACTERISTICS	30
3.2 CORRELATIONS BETWEEN ACTIVE VERB FORMS AND OTHER ASPECTS OF GRAMMAR	31
3.2.1 Cloze test versus active verb forms	32
3.2.2 Auxiliary verbs versus active verb forms	32
3.2.3 Modal verbs versus active verb forms	32
3.2.4 Conditional clauses versus active verb forms	33
3.2.5 Passive voice versus active verb forms	33
3.2.6 Countable/uncountable nouns versus active verb forms	33
3.2.7 Grammatical articles versus active verb forms	34
3.2.8 Prepositions versus active verb forms	34
3.2.9 Summary	34
3.3 CORRELATIONS BETWEEN AUXILIARY VERBS AND OTHER ASPECTS OF GRAMMAR	35
3.3.1 Cloze test versus auxiliary verbs	35
3.3.2 Modal verbs versus auxiliary verbs	35
3.3.3 Conditional clauses versus auxiliary verbs	36
3.3.4 Passive voice versus auxiliary verbs	36
3.3.5 Countable/uncountable nouns versus auxiliary verbs	36
3.3.6 Grammatical articles versus auxiliary verbs	37
3.3.7 Prepositions versus auxiliary verbs	37
3.3.8 Summary	37
3.4 CORRELATIONS BETWEEN MODAL VERBS AND OTHER ASPECTS OF GRAMMAR	38
3.4.1 Cloze test versus modal verbs	38
3.4.2 Conditional clauses versus modal verbs	39
3.4.3 Passive voice versus modal verbs	39
3.4.4 Countable/uncountable nouns versus modal verbs	39
3.4.5 Grammatical articles versus modal verbs	39
3.4.6 Prepositions versus modal verbs	40
3.4.7 Summary	40
3.5 CORRELATIONS BETWEEN CONDITIONAL CLAUSES AND OTHER ASPECTS OF GRAMMAR	40
3.5.1 Cloze test versus conditional clauses	41
3.5.2 Passive voice versus conditional clauses	41
3.5.3 Countable/uncountable nouns versus conditional clauses	41
3.5.4 Grammatical articles versus conditional clauses	42
3.5.5 Prepositions versus conditional clauses	42
3.5.6 Summary	42
3.6 CORRELATIONS BETWEEN PASSIVE VOICE AND OTHER ASPECTS OF GRAMMAR	43
3.6.1 Cloze test versus passive voice	43
3.6.2 Countable/uncountable nouns versus passive voice	43
3.6.3 Grammatical articles versus passive voice	43
3.6.4 Prepositions versus passive voice	44
3.6.5 Summary	44
3.7 CORRELATIONS BETWEEN COUNTABLE/UNCOUNTABLE NOUNS AND OTHER ASPECTS OF GRAMMAR	44
3.7.1 Cloze test versus countable/uncountable nouns	45
3.7.2 Grammatical articles versus countable/uncountable nouns	45
3.7.3 Prepositions versus countable/uncountable nouns	45
3.7.4 Summary	45
3.8 CORRELATIONS BETWEEN GRAMMATICAL ARTICLES AND OTHER ASPECTS OF GRAMMAR	46
3.8.1 Cloze test versus grammatical articles	46
3.8.2 Prepositions versus grammatical articles	46
3.8.3 Summary	47

CONCLUSION	48
RESUMÉ	50
BIBLIOGRAPHY AND REFERENCES	52
APPENDICES	57
APPENDIX 1 (QUESTIONNAIRE)	57
APPENDIX 2 (ENGLISH GRAMMAR TEST)	58
APPENDIX 3 (SCORES ON TESTS)	65