Upotreba određenog člana u engleskom jeziku u teoriji mentalnih prostora : mogućnost primene u nastavi engleskog kao stranog jezika

Abstract

The aim of the study was to empirically evaluate a “cognitive” approach to the use of the definite article. The selected theoretical framework included cognitive linguistics, mental spaces theory, cognitive semantics and figure and ground. The study was based on three “cognitive” uses of the definite article: discourse prominence, point of view, role/value distinction. The first part of the dissertation outlines the “traditional” and “cognitive” approaches to the study of the. A prototypical use of the definite article is proposed (discourse prominence), supported by the analysis of examples of article use found in relevant textbooks. The second part presents the empirical study which included first-year students of the English Department, Faculty of Philosophy, University of Niš, and students from other departments. The participants were divided into three groups: the control group, experimental group E1, which received instructions based on the “cognitive” approach, and experimental group E2, which received instructions based on the “traditional” approach. The experimental program lasted for nine weeks, and included weekly classes and posttests. The instructions that the participants received were in the form of recorded material accompanied by illustrations of contextualized content. The use of the definite article was illustrated by means of the figure/ground distinction. All of the instructions were given in English. The obtained data were coded and statistically analyzed using the ANOVA and t-test. The results indicate that the students of the English Department made more progress in correct article use when compared to the other participants. The experimental group which received instructions based on the “cognitive” approach achieved greater success than the one which received instructions based on the “traditional” approach, and the control group. The students of the English Department made a statistically significant improvement for the point of view use, while the other participants did so for the role/value distinction.