Education Commons^™

Enhancing Language Development For English Learners, Frank L. Silva

Electronic Theses, Projects, and Dissertations

Previously accepted and current research has been reviewed regarding the development of English proficiency for English Language Learners. The particular areas of concern deemed crucial for language development are the domains of reading, writing, listening and speaking. The critical components for effective English Language Development instruction as well as the strategies considered the most effective and efficient were also investigated. The review resulted in the creation of an English Language Development unit that includes the essential components and various strategies that are considered effective in developing English proficiency for English Language Learners.

The Effect Of A Writing Course On The English Language Arts State Assessment Examination In A South Texas High School, Esmeralda V. Munoz

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study is to analyze the impact a writing course will have on test scores for At-Risk students who are taking the English I and/or English II State of Texas Assessment of Academic Readiness End-of-Course exam. The group analyzed was comprised of 2nd and 3rd year cohort students.

Sacred Spaces: A Narrative Analysis Of The Influences Of Language And Literacy Experiences On The Self-Hood And Identity Of High-Achieving African American Female College Freshmen, Michelle Flowers Taylor

LMU/LLS Theses and Dissertations

Late-adolescent African American students face unique difficulties on their journey to womanhood. As members of a double minority (i.e., African American and female) (Jean & Feagin, 1998), certain limiting stereotypes relevant to both race and gender pose challenges to these students. They must overcome these challenges in order to excel within the various and changing environments they move through on a daily basis (hooks, 1981, 1994). Within the context of social justice, this dissertation provides insight into the role that language and literacy practices play to help enable the positive and affirming development of self-hood of African American college freshmen. …

Bilingual Intercultural Education In Ecuador : Education As A Means Of Language Revitalization., L Danielle Robinette

College of Arts & Sciences Senior Honors Theses

No abstract provided.

Clinician Recasts And Production Of Complex Syntax By Children With And Without Specific Language Impairment, Rebekah Wada

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

This study examined whether children with specific language impairment (SLI) respond differently than children who are typically developing in response to an intervention composed of the strategies of priming and recasting. Twenty-six children between the ages of 6 years, 10 months to 10 years, 11 months participated in the study (13 with SLI and 13 developing typically). The intervention was completed in one session. Findings revealed that both children with and without SLI were able to be primed to produce subject relative and object relative sentences with subject relative clauses being easier to produce than object relative clauses.

Defining Primary And Academic Discourse Through Instructional Methods In A Single Junior High Classroom, Ashley Nicole Gerhardson

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

In this study, I examine the use of academic discourse in the school setting and discuss the relation of the primary discourse to academic discourse. I focus on the verbal exchanges between a teacher and her students as these students acquire the academic discourse of the English classroom. The study focuses on the ideas of primary discourse and secondary or academic discourse as presented by Gee (1996) and focuses on his idea of Social languages.

Using a microethnographic study, I develop the idea of how the teacher related to her students and how a single educator felt about the purpose …

Assessing Preference For Home Language Or English Praise In English Language Learners With Disabilities, Casey James Clay

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Assessing preference for stimuli has been shown to be of value when determining potential rewards for individuals with disabilities. Researchers have found that preference for forms of social interaction can be identified for persons with disabilities. Furthermore, these same social interactions can be used as rewards for these same persons. This study conceptualized different languages as different types of social interactions. Assessing preference for languages may be of use to identify forms of social reinforcement that can be used with English Language Learners (ELLs) with disabilities. Identifying reinforcers may be of value for this population to inform how to structure …

Integrating Cultures Within Formal Schooling: Exploring Opportunities For Cultural Relevancy In Peri-Urban Senegal, Karla A. Sarr

Doctoral Dissertations

Within the context of Education for All's (EFA) mandate for universal primary school attendance, the cultural relevancy of education is particularly salient to issues of educational quality. Drawing from the literatures on Indigenous knowledges and education, Culturally Relevant Pedagogy, and mother-tongue based multilingual education (MTB-MLE), the lens of analysis for this study acknowledged that incorporating students' cultures and Indigenous knowledges within formal schooling may contribute to increased learning opportunities and thereby improve student outcomes. The purpose of the dissertation was to focus on the experiences of one Senegalese peri-urban primary school in incorporating students' cultures and realities. Research participants included …

Paraprofessionals' Experiences And Understandings Of The Maternal Infant Health Outreach Worker Program (Mihow) In West Virginia, Amy Knell Carlson

Theses, Dissertations and Capstones

MIHOW, the Maternal Infant Health Outreach Worker Program, is a parent-to-parent home visitation program that aims to enhance early childhood development and parent education in economically disadvantaged and geographically isolated families with children birth to three. This qualitative case study conducted in two rural Appalachian counties examined the perceptions and experiences of paraprofessionals who are trained and work as home visitors in the MIHOW Program. Findings were interpreted in relation to extant literature on the use of paraprofessionals in home visitation. Three themes emerged from the data. The first theme related to the use of a strength-based approach and how …

La Lengua Del Oyente: Some Effects Of Listener Language On Spanish-Speaking Preschoolers’ Verbal Behavior, Gerardo Castillo Ii

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Bilingual children represent a large population of preschool and school-aged children in the United States. Challenges may arise when the verbal community in which a child spends most of his or her time does not reinforce his or her primary language. Previous research has shown that children adjust their language to match the language of their listener (Genesee, Boivin, & Nicoladis, 1996). It is possible that having a native-language communication partner at school would improve child engagement, as measured by child mean length of utterance and quantity of child initiations. The purpose of this study is to examine whether listener …

An Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis Of Caregivers' Support For Their Preschool Children's Language And Social Skills Development, Sheri Stein Blum

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Some children have difficulty communicating due to a lack of age-appropriate language and social skills. Researchers have explored how music and language share features that shape language processing. The purpose of this interpretive phenomenological analysis was to explore the experiences of caregivers of preschool children who participated in a music-based program and to understand their perspectives related to children's language and social skill development. Learning style and sensory integration processing theories were used as framework to provide foundations of skills in this study. Research questions addressed caregivers' choices related to this program for their children, their experiences of their children's …

Traditional Methods Versus Tprs: Effects On Introductory French Students At A Medium-Sized Public University In The Midwestern United States, Rishani Samari Merinnage De Costa

All Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Other Capstone Projects

The purpose of this study was to measure the effectiveness of introducing a Teaching Proficiency through Reading and Storytelling (TPRS) approach in a French immersion classroom in comparison with a method which does not incorporate a story context within the lesson. This research was conducted in an introductory college level classroom setting. It is hypothesized that the language skills of the students in the experimental group using the TPRS method would show greater improvements on measures of listening, vocabulary, culture, grammar and writing abilities than those taught using methods which do not incorporate the story context. The research utilized a …