Education Commons^™

Playing The Blame Game: English Education In Omani Government Schools, Valentine Sergon

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Given that the Omani government has undertaken in recent decades a massive education reform to improve, among other things, the English level of Omani students, it is now time to evaluate how the system is faring, where it is failing and why. Under the new Education system enacted in 1998, Omani students begin learning English from grade one with the aim that, by grade twelve, students know enough English to be able to study at a university level in English. Unfortunately, a vast majority of students who enter university in Oman are forced to enroll in one to three semesters …

Sociocultural Analysis Of Second Language Learner Beliefs: A Qualitative Case Study Of Two Study-Abroad Esl Learners, Jin-Suk Yang, Tae-Young Kim

Dr. Tae-Young Kim (김태영, 金兌英)

Framed in Vygotsky’s sociocultural theory (SCT) of mind, this paper explores second language (L2) learning beliefs in study-abroad (SA) contexts. Previous research on learner beliefs has relied mostly on survey methods, while regarding belief as a static, internal representation of experience that is resistant to change. Due to the concern regarding the prevalence of a cognitive orientation, this qualitative research examines two L2 learners’ belief changes and their impact on motivated L2 behaviors from an SCT perspective. The data were collected mainly through pre- and post-SA interviews and monthly-collected journals with other triangulating methods such as L2 learning autobiographies and …

Gender Differences In Korean Secondary School Students' Learning Styles And L2 Motivation, Yoon-Kyoung Kim, Tae-Young Kim

Dr. Tae-Young Kim (김태영, 金兌英)

To date, gender differences in learning style has not been investigated from the perspective of L2 motivational self-system (Dörnyei, 2005, 2009). This study investigates the perceptual learning style preferences, ideal L2 self, ought-to L2 self, and motivated L2 behavior of 495 Korean male and female secondary school students. The results of the analysis, which is based on survey questionnaires, revealed that the female students were more strongly orientated towards visual learning, while the male students preferred kinesthetic learning. In addition, the female students exhibited a more vivid ideal L2 self and more motivated L2 behavior. The visual and the ideal …

Arabic Diglossia And Arabic As A Foregn Language: The Perception Of Students In World Learning Oman Center, Hilal Al-Mamari

Capstone Collection

The principle objective of this independent inquiry is to address the research question: what are the impacts of Arabic Diglossia, if any, on the experience of learners of Arabic as a foreign language? The study attempts to answer this question through the perception of a sample group of 23 learners studying Arabic as a foreign language in World Learning Oman Center in semester of Spring 2011.

Diglossia is defined by linguists as a sociolinguistic phenomenon in which a particular language has two varieties, one of which is considered High and more standard and used in exclusive domains, while the other …

There’S An App For That: Foreign Language Learning Through Mobile- And Social Media-Based Video Games, Trenton Edward Hoy

Masters Theses

There is no doubt that the video game industry is undergoing a major upheaval, yet in spite of the recent reconceptualization of video games, educational games as a whole remain the pariah of the industry. Very little has been done in the wake of recent social and industry trends to adapt instruction of academic subjects, especially foreign language, for delivery through video games. Prior studies discussing the potential of games developed specifically for language learning have focused primarily on general principles and have offered no recommendations for platform, genre, or other aspects of design. Through an online survey as well …

Collaborative Dialogues And L2 Learning: Korean Junior High School Students' Pair-Work In English Composition, Hyo-Sun Seo, Tae-Young Kim Dr.

Dr. Tae-Young Kim (김태영, 金兌英)

This classroom-based study investigates the relationship between collaborative dialogues and L2 development working in pairs on a collaborative writing task. Specifically, this study focuses on how the students’ pair talk exerted a positive influence on their L2 development. Over a six-week period, three pairs with differing levels of L2 proficiency engaged in a two-stage task: pair writing and individual writing. After the task completion, the six participants were interviewed individually. In order to identify the patterns of prominent pair interaction, the participants’ pair talks were transcribed and analyzed qualitatively in language-related episodes (LREs). The findings suggested that the patterns of …

The L2 Motivational Self System And Perceptual Learning Styles Of Chinese, Japanese, Korean, And Swedish Students, Jin-Suk Yang, Tae-Young Kim Dr.

Dr. Tae-Young Kim (김태영, 金兌英)

This paper explores the perceptual learning style, ideal L2 self, and motivated L2 behavior of Chinese, Japanese, South Korean, and Swedish high school students. Guided by Dörnyei’s (2005, 2009a) L2 motivational self system, this quantitative study extends Al-Shehri’s (2009) and Tae-Young Kim’s (2009a) research by reinterpreting the role of perceptual learning styles in the creation of learners’ ideal L2 self and the maintenance of their motivated L2 behavior. The statistical analysis found that learners’ perceptual learning styles (i.e., visual, auditory, and kinesthetic styles) were significantly correlated with their ideal L2 self and motivated L2 behavior. However, the results of the …

The Effect Of Korean Secondary School Students' Perceptual Learning Styles And Ideal L2 Self On Motivated L2 Behavior And English Proficiency, Yoon-Kyoung Kim, Tae-Young Kim Dr.

Dr. Tae-Young Kim (김태영, 金兌英)

In this study, 495 Korean secondary school students' visual, auditory, and kinesthetic preferences, ideal L2 self, motivated L2 behavior, and English proficiency were analyzed based on questionnaire surveys. Identifying possible effect of the participants' perceptual learning styles and ideal L2 self on their motivated L2 behavior was followed by an investigation of all variables' impact on English proficiency. The influence of the visual learning style and the ideal L2 self on motivated L2 behavior indicates that the students' visual style preference contributes strongly to the forming of a vivid ideal L2 self, which in turn results in a higher level …

An Activity Theory Analysis Of L2 Motivational Self-System: A Case Study Of Korean Esl Learners, Tae-Young Kim Dr.

Dr. Tae-Young Kim (김태영, 金兌英)

This study makes theoretical refinements by re-interpreting L2 motivational self-system from an Activity Theory (AT) perspective. I analyze longitudinal data obtained from four Korean ESL learners in Toronto. The findings suggest that the dynamism in ESL motivation can be systematically explained by longitudinal AT system models with L2 motivational self-system.

Korean Elementary School Students' English Learning Demotivation: A Comparative Survey Study, Tae-Young Kim Dr.

Dr. Tae-Young Kim (김태영, 金兌英)

This study explores Korean elementary school students’ decreased motivation for English learning by analyzing the questionnaire data obtained from 6,301 students in a large city in South Korea. The students’ school grades and their prior experience in private institutes were considered as the major factors behind the decrease in their motivation. There was a statistically significant and consistent decrease in the students’ satisfaction with their English learning experience; expectation of ultimate success in English; and intrinsic/extrinsic motivation and integrative/instrumental motivation. Prior experience in attending private institutes had a substantial impact on the students’ motivation. Those who attended private institutes (hakwons) …

Cultivating Knowledge In The School Garden: New Ways Of Teaching Literacy To Esl Students, Michele Durivage

MA TESOL Collection

My thesis project includes a combination of materials development and classroom-based research. In my paper, I explore existing garden-related curricula, and create original garden-based lesson plans to teach literacy to fourth grade ESL students. This curriculum development project contributes to the field of ESL in its innovative garden-based pedagogy. The field study took place during the spring semester of 2009 at Increase Miller Elementary School in Westchester County, New York. Using nature as inspiration for writing descriptive essays and poetry, the ESL students at Increase Miller produced imaginative writing pieces, using their own voices to express their thoughts. The students’ …

Instructional Practices That Hinder And Support Esl Students In The Self-Contained Esl Classroom And The Mainstream Classroom, Ebru N. Bozburun

MA TESOL Collection

This paper describes the academic challenges that many English Second Language (ESL) students must deal with from the moment they start attending a bilingual program at elementary school until they finish the last step of their academic experience. These students continually struggle to keep up with their peers, often fail the state mandated tests, and eventually, drop out before receiving their high school diploma. For the past three years, both as a self-contained ESL teacher and an ESL certified co-teacher in the mainstream classroom, I taught ESL Language Arts to Spanish- speaking students at a public junior high school in …

Using Technology In The Efl Classroom In Saudi Arabia, Neil Oby Morris

MA TESOL Collection

This paper explores the ways that technology, specifically the use of laptop computers and cellular phones, may be incorporated in the EFL classroom to enhance learning and lower the affective filter of male Saudi Arabian university students.

Saudi Arabia presents the EFL teacher with many challenges that are unique to this gender-segregated Islamic kingdom. Meeting these challenges and turning them into learning opportunities that other EFL teachers may find useful within their teaching contexts is the purpose of this paper.

The appendix includes a writing rubric and a 40-day materials introduction calendar. The calendar illustrates the day-by-day introduction of material …

Cognitive Load And Its Major Pedagogical Implications, Focus On Education In Jordan, Bassam Kutkut

MA TESOL Collection

Through my teaching experience in Jordan, I noticed the amount of work students had to do. I noticed the tremendous amount information they received from their teachers on a daily basis. I also noticed that students forgot most of the information they learned in class right after their exams. I was wondering if that’s the right way of teaching. Then, after my study at SIT, I learned that this is a cognitive overload that can impair the learning process.

Cognitive load refers to the information processing abilities in the human memory system which has limitations. When these limitations are exceeded, …

Sociocultural Dynamics Of Esl Learning (De)Motivation: An Activity Theory Analysis Of Two Adult Korean Immigrants, Tae-Young Kim Dr.

Dr. Tae-Young Kim (김태영, 金兌英)

This study examines the longitudinal trajectories of two Korean ESL immigrants’ L2 learning motivation from an Activity Theory perspective. Two highly skilled immigrants participated in the monthly semi-structured interviews over a period of 10 months. The research questions are as follows: (1) How does the relationship between ESL learners and their perceived social contexts affect and shape the way in which their ESL learning motivation develops? (2) How can the factors affecting the changes in ESL learning motivation be explained from an Activity Theory perspective? The recurring themes in the monthly interview data were coded and aligned to Engeström’s (1999a) …