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.

An Acoustic Analysis Of The Different Realization Of The (Th) Sounds In Serbian Pronunciation Of English, Jovana Marinovic

Culminating Projects in TESL

This study investigates several acoustic correlates of the phonetic realizations of [0] and [o] produced by Serbian speakers of English. The impressionistic phonetic transcriptions and aural perception accounts indicate that Serbians have difficulty pronouncing the English non-sibilant [0] and [o] segments accurately. It is reported (Dimitrijevic-Savic & Jerotijevic, 2011; Koffi, 2015a) that they substitute [t], [f], [s], and [ts] for [0]; and [d] and [z] for [o]. The present study uses an acoustic phonetic methodology to investigate how Serbians pronounce these two segments. Speech samples from seventeen native Serbian speakers are investigated. These samples are part of George Mason University …

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 …

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.

Long Term English Language Learners: Failure Is Not An Option, Jennifer Diaz-Zamora

Dissertations, Masters Theses, Capstones, and Culminating Projects

There is a sizable number of English Language Learners (ELL) that are not succeeding in schools and are academically “falling through the cracks.” The purpose of this thesis is to gather information that identifies reasons why students are not succeeding academically and which strategies individual teachers can implement to help these students attain academic success. The literature reveals that Long Term English Language Learners have lower levels of literacy and tend to drop out more frequently compared to native English speakers. This is a qualitative study using a focus group at a middle school. Data were collected from individuals in …

Automated Learner Classification Through Interface Event Stream And Summary Statistics Analysis, Edgar E. Troudt

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

Reading comprehension is predominately measured through multiple choice examinations. Yet, as we will discuss in this thesis, such exams are often criticized for their inaccuracies. With the advent of "big data" and the rise of ITS (Intelligent Tutoring Systems), increasing focus will be placed on finding dynamic, automated ways of measuring students' aptitude and progress.

This work takes the first step towards automated learner classification based on the application of graphic organizers. We address the following specific problem experimentally: How effectively can we measure task comprehension via human translation of written text into a visual representation on a computer? Can …

The Importance Of Thinking Aloud And Reading Strategies For Awareness In Reading Comprehension, Nancy Heacock

Culminating Projects in TESL

Reading strategy awareness plays a significant role in reading comprehension and the educational process. Think Aloud importance, has long been the ignored skill in English language teaching, research, learning, and assessment. The lack of effective reading strategies exacerbates the problem of poor readers and poor education success. One solution to the problem of poor reading comprehension is the learning of metacognitive reading strategy skills. Metacognitive reading strategy ability needs to be focused in language learning and teaching. The present study is an attempt to find out whether think alouds or verbal protocols enhances EFL students' reading comprehension. Furthermore, it attempts …

The Walled Fortress: An Autoethnography Of An International Student Who Became An Esl Educator, Elizabeth Ann Corah-Hopkins

Wayne State University Dissertations

Through autoethnographic research, I conduct an intimate investigation into my experience as a sojourner college student in West Germany to see how my emotive response to that experience and its associated sense of self work to generate a deeper and more empathetic understanding of my role as an English as a second language (ESL) professional. I employ a layered account whereby I weave personal narrative, poetry, and sketching into academic writing so as to reach the emotive core of the research. I explore complex discriminatory relations in the classroom and beyond and learn how I as an ESL professional have …

Attitudes Towards The Use Of Technology Among The College Students Who Study English As A Second Language (Esl), Monerah Alduwairej

ETD Archive

This research study aimed to evaluate the impact that technology could have on the development of language skills of English Second Language (ESL) college students. The importance of this topic was underlined in the comprehensive literature review that highlighted the existing debate between computer technology being a vital aid and helpful in the ESL classroom. This study focused on obtaining the student perspective concerning the use of technology and how technology may impact the learning process. A survey with Lkert scale questions and three open-ended questions were used in the study. The 50 student participants were gathered from Cleveland State …