Education Commons^™

Creating Theatre-Based Curriculum For Use In The Esl/Efl Language Classroom: A Model, Alexandra Williams-Fleck

Master's Projects and Capstones

Many countries require the study of the English language as part of the standard curriculum in K-12 schools. Unfortunately, many students lack the interest and motivation to learn, despite English’s potential to open future academic and professional doors. This is particularly true for students living in countries where English is not a nationally spoken language. They receive no language support from their surrounding environment, which affects their rate of language acquisition. Coupled with a prevalence of out-of-context materials and non-native English-speaking teachers (NNESTs) who may be unable to impart the non-verbal and cultural implications of the language, students are at …

Increasing Parent Involvement For Esl Parents, Cristina N. Holmes

Master's Projects and Capstones

Parents of ESL students are often misguided and misunderstood. As educators, it is important to understand theory and applying teaching frameworks to various cutural backgrounds. This handbook addresses some of the needs of ESL parents, focusing on the parent involvement framework, and applies to the daily lives of parents. By focusing on the school, family, and community, this paper explains why it is important for ESL parents to be involved in their child's education and how they can become more involved on the path to academic success.

English Language Learning Through Visual Arts Practices: A Curriculum For Conflict-Affected Youth In Secondary Education, Jenny Lemper

Master's Projects and Capstones

This field project summarizes recent research in conflict and education, and presents an English language learner curriculum designed to address the current gap in quality education for conflict-affected youth. The curriculum contains six modules and develops English language literacy through student visual arts projects using text and images. The purpose of the curriculum is to familiarize students to the various confidence-building and coping mechanisms available in creative expression and to develop valuable visual and verbal language related life skills, therefore equipping students with tools to support successful futures.

English Language Learning Through Visual Arts Practices: A Curriculum For Conflict-Affected Youth In Secondary Education, Jennifer Lemper

Jennifer Lemper

This field project summarizes recent research in conflict and education, and presents an English language learner curriculum designed to address the current gap in quality education for conflict-affected youth. The curriculum contains six modules and develops English language literacy through student visual arts projects using text and images. The purpose of the curriculum is to familiarize students to the various confidence-building and coping mechanisms available in creative expression and to develop valuable visual and verbal language related life skills, therefore equipping students with tools to support successful futures.

English As A Second Language: Writing Challenges, Self-Assessment, And Interest In For-Credit Esl Courses At Southeastern University, Katherine M. Jones

Selected Honors Theses

Whether Chinese, French, Swahili, Hindi, or English, learning a language requires time and dedication. One of the more challenging languages to learn is English, yet English is becoming more prevalent around the globe. According to a statement by Teachers of English to Speakers of Other Languages, Inc. (TESOL), English is now “the most widely taught language in the world” (“Position Statement on English as a Global Language”). Many individuals are striving not only to learn English but also to master it. These individuals include businessmen, doctors, politicians, scholars, athletes, and students. As English is swiftly becoming the international lingua franca …

Developing Multimodal Digital Literacy: The Application Of Digital Storytelling As A New Avenue For Effective English Learning With Efl Elementary School Students In Korea, Tecnam Yoon

Doctoral Dissertations

The purpose of this mixed method research study is to investigate the educational effects of digital storytelling as a communicative language learning strategy in an EFL elementary school class in Korea. In order to find out the benefits and challenges of digital storytelling in EFL class, this study was conducted for 12 weeks in a rural elementary school. Digital storytelling was selected and utilized in the after-school English class, as main teaching and learning tool. Guiding research questions were 1) what are the potential benefits and challenges of digital storytelling for young EFL learners when it is employed in a …

Perspectives On Teacher Quality: Bilingual Education And Esl Teacher Certification, Test-Taking Experiences, And Instructional Practices, Nancy Lemberger, Angela Reyes-Carrasquillo

Journal of Multilingual Education Research

This descriptive exploratory study looked at the certification process, test-taking experiences, and instructional practices of a group of graduate bilingual education (BE) and English-as-a- Second-Language (ESL) teachers to understand why some had problems passing teacher certification tests after completing their degrees. The study surveyed 63 BE and ESL teachers on their certification and test-taking experiences and their perceived instructional strengths. From this group of 63 participants, 15 volunteer teachers were interviewed and observed in their classrooms. Findings reveal most teachers passed certification tests on the first or second attempt. However, several failed tests due to language, content, and time difficulties, …

Creating Inclusive Learning Communities For Ell Students: Transforming School Principals' Perspectives, Kathryn Brooks, Susan R. Adams, Trish Morita-Mullaney

Susan Adams

School-level administrators are often concerned about tertiary supports for English language learners (ELLs), such as translating signs and school documents or offering Spanish classes for their teachers. Although modeling and learning the heritage language(s) of the ESL population can be helpful, its focus on language differences can limit our considerations of broader systemic challenges that impact the success of ELLs in our schools. This article shares the dialogues that school administrators are having about ELL students and discusses the use of social justice and equity focused professional learning communities as a way to transform this discourse to address the broader …

English Proficiency / Fluent English Proficient Students, Susan R. Adams

Susan Adams

K-12 students whose first language is not English are identified upon enrollment in U.S. schools through a home language survey and are immediately assessed to determine whether English as a second language (ESL) services are required. Students who do not pass this initial screening assessment are classified as English Language Learners (ELLs), or as limited English proficiency (LEP) students, and are identified to receive school-provided English language development (ELD) and accommodations. Students who pass the initial screener or who demonstrate English proficiency two years in a row on state-mandated annual assessments are deemed fluent or fully English proficient (FEP) students …

Success With Ell's: Writing In The Esl Classroom: Confessions Of A Guilty Teacher, Susan R. Adams

Susan Adams

"Success with ELLs" suggests effective approaches to teaching English language learners in ways that can be of benefit to all students in mainstream middle and high school English classes.

U.S.- Educated Multilingual Students In Community College: Transitioning From Esl To English 101, Melinda S. Harrison

Theses and Dissertations

This thesis focuses on U.S.-educated multilingual students as they transition from a community college academic English as a Second Language program to and through a semester-long first-year composition course. Research on non-native English speakers has indicated that U.S.-educated multilingual students have both similar and varied background and literacy experiences compared to native English speakers and international students; they also often present unique literacy needs compared to their peers. These various and shifting similarities and differences sometimes complicate placement and instruction in college courses.

My case study focused on three U.S.-educated multilingual students' experiences in the final semester of a community …

A Look At Intercultural Communication In The Adult Esl Classroom: Using English To Empower Not Overpower, Ashley Elizabeth Nelson

Communication Studies

An ethnographic telling of time spent in an ESL (English as a Second Language) classroom and the intercultural forms of communication that took place.

English In South Asia And Pedagogical Implications, Brittany R. Ehret

Senior Honors Theses

English at present maintains a significant role as a second or foreign language in the region of South Asia as well as globally. In a discussion of this topic, it is important to explore a brief history of the expansion of English and its origins in South Asia. It is also essential to provide a background of South Asian English and its unique linguistic characteristics as well as its use in different contexts of South Asia. The perspectives of linguists and educators who are native to the region of South Asia should be included as much as possible in this …

Unpacking The Language Of Stem For English Language Learners, Kristin Lems, Jason Stegemoller

Faculty Publications

This article is a follow-up to a workshop we presented at STEMTech 2013 entitled “Unpacking the language of STEM for English language learners.” We chose this topic because, in our roles as co-directors of the ESL STEM Success Grant (a 5 year national professional development grant from the Office of English Language Acquisition, U.S. Department of Education), we have been exploring ways that teachers across the grade levels can rise to the challenge of more effectively teaching English language learners (ELLs) in the STEM disciplines. (STEM, of course, stands for Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics.) When teachers embed their understandings …