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Spreading The Good Word: What Student Affairs Can Learn From The Jehovah's Witnesses, Z. W. Taylor

Essays in Education

Although institutions of higher education are thoroughly polylingual, evidenced by the linguistic diversity thriving on college campuses all over the United States and beyond, postsecondary communication is primarily in English. As a result, this conceptual essay introduces the translation and equity work performed by the Jehovah's Witnesses and how that work may translate into student affairs and higher education work.

“I Don’T Love Language; I Love Children”: Students’ Knowledge, Attitudes, And Beliefs About Linguistics And Their Choice To Major In Speech-Language Pathology, Michelle Veyvoda, Amanda Howerton-Fox

Excelsior: Leadership in Teaching and Learning

Purpose: This pilot study explored the linguistic attitudes, knowledge, and beliefs of undergraduate majors in speech-language pathology (SLP) and the role an interest in linguistics played in their choice of the SLP major.

Method: Fifteen undergraduate students declared as SLP majors participated in this mixed-methods study. Participants responded to a survey and open-ended questions measuring their knowledge about and interest in linguistics; they also wrote a narrative essay describing their decision to major in SLP. Data was collected via Qualtrics. Descriptive statistics were done on the quantitative data, and thematic coding using NVivo 12.1.0 was done on qualitative …

College Admissions For L2 Students: Comparing L1 And L2 Readability Of Admissions Materials For U.S. Higher Education, Zachary W. Taylor

Journal of College Access

Advancements in computational linguistics have allowed educational researchers to examine large amounts of text and assess the reading difficulty of that text for speakers whose first language is English (L1), and speakers whose first language is not English (L2). Considering L2 students exploring higher education, extant research suggests these L2 students do not access United States (U.S.) higher education as the same level as their L1 peers. Using popular measures of L1 and L2 readability, the current study analyzes admission instructions from 341 randomly-selected four-year U.S. institutions of higher education and finds L2 readability is more difficult (30.9) than L1 …

The Relationship Between Listening Proficiency And Speaking Improvement In Higher Education: Considerations In Assessing Speaking And Listening, Erickzon Dany Astorga

Higher Learning Research Communications

This study examines the outcomes of having recourse to listening skills as support to improve oral skills in English language teaching. In this context, data from 120 students at a specific higher education institution was analyzed; 60 of whom were provided with totally listening-focused instruction and activities, while a separate group of 60 students receiving normal institutional English teaching. A comparative analysis of pre- and post-test rubric labels and scores indicated a close link between listening proficiency and a slight improvement in functional and interactive oral sub-skills. The results of this study have implications for defining the foundations of future …