Education Commons^™

Software Developers’ Experiences With Call In The Context Of The Four Language Competencies (Reading, Writing, Listening, And Speaking) And Teacher And Learner Fit: A Qualitative Descriptive Study, Artem Kalyanov

Dissertations

Purpose: The purpose of this qualitative descriptive study was to explore how CALL software developers identify and describe their experiences with developing CALL software in the context of the four language competencies: reading, writing, listening, and speaking, along with teacher and learner fit.

Findings: The analysis of the collected data revealed six key findings that shed light on the developers’ experiences. The findings related to how CALL software developers combine different language competencies; how they implement continuous testing and evaluating of key elements of the language competencies; and how they ensure the development of a CALL program that is both …

Case Study: Reading Multicultural Literature To An Emergent Reader In The Home, Kiyna Twisdale

Theses and Dissertations

This case study was conducted to find what happens when a parent reads multicultural books to their young child at home. The qualitative data collected was used to determine the child’s reactions to the similarities and differences between them and the characters, as well as how multicultural books can be used to address sensitive topics and complex themes in the home. A caregiver, the researcher, collected data from read aloud sessions with her five-year old daughter. After reading seven multicultural books together, the research found that the child was able to make simple and concrete connections with the physical appearance …

Examining The Experiences That Motivate High School Students To Read For Leisure, Umair Farooq

International Graduate Program for Educators Master's Projects

In my role as a high school principal, I feel that reading is an essential tool for gaining a better grasp of the world around us and enhancing one's academic skills. As is the case with many others in my area, and before starting this research, I was worried about the decline in motivation to read for leisure that generally begins in the high school years (Brozo et al., 2014). Students' enjoyment of reading can be stifled by schools' use of forced reading practices, the selection of texts that do not match their identity, and a lack of knowledge of …

Closing The English Language Proficiency Gap In Post-Secondary Education In Canada, Priscilla Lothian-Hendrix

Dissertations

The proposed research employed a mixed-method approach to investigate why the linguistic standards of the Canadian Language Benchmark (CLB) (levels 5–8) are deemed satisfactory for English as a second language (ESL) learners at the college level. An examination of the Canadian English Language Proficiency Index Program (CELPIP) identified why an ESL learner with a CLB level of 5–8 requires English support services in post-secondary education to achieve academic success in Canada. The CLB levels of six female participants were analyzed using a questionnaire in reading, writing, listening, and speaking to explore their English levels in articulating the language, pronouncing words, …

Culturally Familiar Texts To Improve Reading And Writing Outcomes For High School English Language Learners: An Explanatory Sequential Mixed Methods Study, Taryn Courtney Robertson

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Research suggests that culturally relevant pedagogical strategies are essential for improving culturally and linguistically diverse student achievement. However, there is little research about which specific strategies provide the largest impacts. And there is even less research on which strategies help LatinX English Language Learners achieve academic success in the areas of reading and writing. The purpose of this study was to determine the impact of utilizing culturally familiar text, as compared to culturally unfamiliar text, on reading comprehension and summary writing outcomes for secondary LatinX ELL students. This study sought to determine if there were statistically significant differences in reading …

Predictive Nature Of Teacher Traits On Academic Achievement Of African-American Students, Lacoñia Rayelle Nelson

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Historically, biases, a lack of cultural diversity in teacher and administrative staff and misunderstanding about methods for teaching low socioeconomic students have related to the underperformance of African-American students when compared with their European American peers. Therefore, this quantitative, cross-sectional study was conducted to explore the impact of teachers' ethnicity, years of experience, and motives of hope and fear on the academic success of African-American students in reading and math. Data were collected from 55 7th- and 8th-grade teachers from a charter school system (25 reading teachers and 30 math teachers) using a survey and the Multi Motive Grid. Forward …

Influence Of Two Instructional Models On Reading Achievement Of Esl Middle School Students, Thomasine Campbell Hassell

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

English as second language (ESL) students are not meeting reading proficiency standards

compared to their native English-speaking middle school peers. To address the low achievement

scores among ESL students, the study site implemented an instructional hub in which trained

ESL resource teachers used the sheltered instruction observation protocol (SIOP) model. The

purpose of this quasi-experimental study was to examine the difference in reading achievement

scores between ESL students who participated in the instructional hub and those who

participated in traditional instruction. Krashen's second language acquisition theory and Terrell's

natural approach theory provided the framework for the study. Archival data from …

Thinking Outside The Box: Incorporating Critical Thinking Strategies In Esl Reading & Writing Instruction, Johanna Carranza

Master's Projects and Capstones

ABSTRACT

ESL students in the United States avail the resources of community college to achieve their goal of academic excellence. However, many community colleges struggle to prepare their students for mainstream four-year institutions. Aside from reading, writing, and speaking, learning a second language requires the development of critical thinking skills which are not emphasized enough for many ESL students in contemporary American academia.

As such, there are two major problems that this project aims to address. The first is that English as a Second Language (ESL) and English instructors have different expectations for ESL students. ESL instructors do not focus …

Learning To Read In English: Vocabulary Knowledge, Phonological Awareness In Relation To Oral Reading Fluency In Chinese-English Bilinguals, Michelle (Ruyun) Huo

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

Second language (L2) acquisition has received increasing interest due to the large number of people immigrating or learning an L2 (e.g., Statistics Canada, 2016). Word reading fluency has been found to be a strong predictor of text reading fluency and comprehension (Fuchs, Fuchs, Hosp & Jenkins, 2001). For people learning to read in L2, skills such as oral reading fluency serve as an indicator of overall reading competence in their L2. The current study examined oral reading fluency in relation to vocabulary knowledge, rapid naming (RAN) and phonological awareness in English and Mandarin in Chinese-English bilinguals. Participants included 40 Chinese-English …

Reading Across Different Orthographies: Urdu, Arabic, Hindi And English, Amna Mirza

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

Research on relationships across literacy skills for multiple languages suggests the need for a complex framework that includes linguistic typology as well as cognitive and cultural variables (Schwartz, Geva, Share, & Leikin, 2007). Literature shows that bilinguals activate both languages they know for all linguistic tasks regardless of which language is being used at the time (Kroll & Bialystok, 2013). In that case, learning a third or any additional language is qualitatively different than second language (L2) acquisition. Findings for readers of Roman scripts demonstrate that L1 reading and L2 proficiency influences L2 reading (Cummins, 1979). The current research examined …

Teaching Listening For Prominence In Combination With Reading To Help Students Determine New Information, Margaret Genereux

School of Education and Leadership Student Capstone Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to assess whether teaching adult English Language Learners (ELLs) to listen for new information spoken with prominence on the target new information increased their ability to make inferences about meaning. Data collected included: a pre and post-test to assess students’ learning during the intervention; an uptake sheet to solicit students’ self-perception of their learning about pronunciation and placement of new information; and a Likert scale to elicit participants’ self-assessment of their ability to identify and use prominence. While results of the post-test on selecting the correct inference were inconclusive, quantitative and qualitative data indicated …

Exploring Effective Reading Strategies That Promote Higher Level Thinking And Comprehension For A Chinese-Speaking College Student, Panyang Wu

Masters Theses/Capstone Projects

The purpose of the case study was to explore some effective literacy strategies that prompt higher-level thinking abilities to help one Chinese English as Foreign Language (EFL) student who struggles with academic reading in college classes at a small, liberal arts college. Only one participant named Cathy was involved in the study. Cathy is a Chinese student who studied at college as a regular undergraduate student and had poor performance in her college level literacy class, as indicated by her professors and Cathy herself. Cathy was expected to improve reading comprehension by receiving an intensive one-month reading development intervention, which …

Stakeholders' Perceptions Of English Language Learners Meeting Adequate Yearly Progress In Reading, Susan Calibo Loney

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

English language learners (ELLs) in a Midwestern urban elementary school have not been meeting the local school's adequate yearly progress (AYP) in reading in 3 consecutive years on statewide test scores. Meeting school standards is important because failing to meet AYP for 6 consecutive years can result in the restructuring or closing of any public school in the nation. The rationale for this qualitative case study was to examine the perceptions of stakeholders, 7 parents, teachers, and school administrators, all of whom have demonstrated knowledge of and proximity to the school's AYP decisions, to develop vocabulary strategies that may increase …

The Relationship Among Esol Services, Vocabulary, And Reading Comprehension In Primary Grades, Cassandra Marie Arcila-Knortz

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

With the growing English for speakers of other languages (ESOL) population in the United States, English instruction is becoming vitally important in schools. Despite this growing need, many schools are eliminating ESOL support services that promote English learning, and some schools are eliminating ESOL support services in primary grades. The purpose of this quantitative study was to determine whether providing ESOL support in kindergarten improved students' reading level, vocabulary, and reading comprehension. Vygotsky's social learning theory and theory of proximal development provided the theoretical framework of the study. The research questions concerned differences in comprehension scores, vocabulary scores, and reading …

Expanding The Literary Enterprise: How We Experience The Texts Of The Advanced Placement English Literature And Composition Curriculum, Molly Ostrow

Honors Theses

How we read the texts of the Advanced Placement English Literature and Composition curriculum.

A Multiple Case Study Of Whiteness And Critical Literacy Practices Among White Elementary Teachers In Urban Public Schools, Amanda Rose Vandehei

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

The purpose of this study is to investigate whether white elementary teachers' perception of Whiteness influences critical literacy practices in elementary classrooms in an urban school district in the Southwest United States. This study consists of six white elementary school teachers.

Using Hardiman's model of White Identity Development, (WID) this study specifically explores the phenomenon of Whiteness and how teachers view themselves as having white privilege and advantage in American society. Hardiman's WID model includes five stages of white racial identity development in which a white person begins with no awareness of him or herself as a racial being and …

An Examination Of The Correlation Between The Seven Critical Leadership Functions And Middle School African-American And Hispanic Student Achievement, Shannon A. Flounnory

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This quantitative study examined possible correlations between each of the seven critical leadership functions and achievement in the areas of mathematics for eighth grade African-American and Hispanic students. The 117 participants included school leaders and students from 12 of the 19 middle schools in a metropolitan school district in the southeastern region of the United States. Principals from the middle schools in the district distributed the Critical Leadership Functions Questionnaire to members of their leadership team (e.g., assistant principals, school counselors, department chairs, etc.). CRCT scores measured student achievement. The researcher conducted a correlation study, using Pearson’s multivariable correlation data …

The Role Of Young Hoosier Book Award Nominees In The Classroom: Using Approaches To Multicultural Education As A Lens For Evaluating Literature, Shaylyn Barrie Marks

Open Access Dissertations

This study demonstrates the need for the integration of multiculturalism in the K-12 curriculum as well as provides a heuristic based on the work conducted by Sleeter and Grant (2009) to evaluate literature for level of multiculturalism. In the study, the researcher uses an evaluate heuristic to critically analyze and evaluation ten of the books from the 2011-2012 Young Hoosier Book Award (YHBA) nominee list. The heuristic created for this study is applied to the books appearing on the YHBA nominee list to evaluate each book on an individual basis, but also by association, the types of books that that …

Grammar Enhanced Biliteracy: Naskapi Language Structures For Facilitating Reading In Naskapi, William Joseph Jancewicz

Theses and Dissertations

The Naskapi language is the language of instruction in the early primary grades of the school in the Naskapi community. Only recently have Naskapi-speaking teachers received formal instruction in pedagogy, with a cohort of Naskapi teachers following courses for their Bachelor of Education degree towards careers teaching in the Naskapi language in their local school. These adults are highly motivated to become literate in their mother tongue in order to teach or prepare curriculum materials in the Naskapi language. This thesis explores how basic grammatical structures can be mastered, and provides insight into the form that pedagogical grammatical instruction should …

Are Best Practices In Literacy Culturally Relevant? An Investigation Into What Primary Literacy Teachers Do To Teach Literacy Skills To Minority Students, Tammie Pittsley

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this qualitative case study was to determine if average primary (K-3) teachers were implementing best practices in literacy with culturally relevant teaching in their classroom practice. The cooperating district is located in southeastern Georgia and is a majority minority district. The school district personnel predominantly consists of White female teachers; however, the student population has become increasingly diverse. As a result, the need to teach literacy skills while incorporating the tenets of culturally relevant teaching is increasingly important. The study consisted of an online survey using the platform Survey Monkey and two focus group interviews. The survey …

A Case Study Of Four High School Esl Students' Oral Reading Fluency And Affect, Katie Devaney

All Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Other Capstone Projects

This study examines the affective elements present when students learning English as a Second Language (ESL) are reading aloud. Special attention is paid to anxiety, motivation, and attitudes. Participants of this study included four ESL students who received English language support one to two hours per day, were literate in their L1, and were intermediate to advanced language learners in a midwestern suburban town. To identify affective elements related to oral reading fluency, participants were interviewed and observed in their ESL classroom. Each also participated in a think-aloud session in which he or she was asked questions when stumbling or …

The Influence Of Dual Language Education Upon The Development Of English Reading Skills Of Kindergarten Through Grade Two Students, Corey W. Reynolds

Seton Hall University Dissertations and Theses (ETDs)

The Influence of Dual Language Education Upon the Development of English Reading Skills of Kindergarten through Grade Two Students.

The purpose of this inductive and quantitative research study is to examine the influence of dual language education upon the development of literacy skills in English proficient kindergarten through grade

2 students. Secondly, this research is purposed to aid in filling the void in the limited way in which educational researchers have examined quantitative research of early elementary English proficient dual language students' reading development disaggregated by gender and ethnicity. Finally, this study is purposed to be utilized as an integral …

Strategies To Support Children's Reading Progress At Home: Tools For Parents Of Bilingual Children, Esperanza Gomez-Gribben

Graduate Student Independent Studies

The idea of gathering tools for parents of bilingual children to utilize at home to support their children's reading progress emerged from the combination of different factors. My placements during my studies at Bank Street College of Education provided me with the opportunity to learn reading strategies and utilize them with young children in the classroom.

As a parent of bilingual children, these strategies had been valuable in furthering my children's reading skills in both English and Spanish. While talking to other parents of bilingual children, I have learned about their frustrations of not knowing how to support their children's …

Common Strategies Used By Kindergarten Teachers To Instruct Reading To English-As-A-Second-Language Students, Emma Kaye Penn

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This research was designed to describe, analyze, and interpret what reading strategies experienced kindergarten teachers believe are essential to instruct English-as-a-Second-Language learners how to read. Through in-depth interviews, experienced kindergarten teachers were given a voice to describe what they consider essential reading strategies to instruct English-as-a-Second-Language learners to learn how to read.

The participants were four licensed, non-probationary kindergarten teachers instructing reading in English to a minimum of 51% English-as-a-Second-Language population. Selected kindergarten programs were consistent in program design. Processes were influenced by the gateway approach. The stories teachers told about their experiences in teaching ELLs how to read was …

Innovative Literacy Content, Methods, And Assessment In English-As-A-Foreign Language Primary Instruction, Tzu-Ru Tsai

Theses Digitization Project

The primary goal of this project is to offer Taiwanese teachers diverse innovative literacy instruction and assessments to motivate students' reading processes. Sample curriculum/lesson plans are included.

Aiding Non-Reading Spanish Speaking Adults With Worksource Orientation And Usage Through Low-Level Spanish Reading Workshops, Amy Claussen

All Graduate Projects

The goal of this project is to teach adult Hispanic low-level readers to utilize the Worksource of Kittitas County and to improve their reading in their language of origin. Research shows that the transfer of knowledge from the primary language to a new second language is not possible without mastery in the primary language first.

Resources To Support And Expand Native American Kindergarteners Shared Reading Experiences Integrated With Open Court Unit 6, Stephanie Lynn Hull

All Graduate Projects

Relevant literature pertaining to shared reading, the benefits of shared reading, shared reading and the diverse learner and recommendations for the Native American learner was studied. The need for using culturally relevant material in the classroom and creating a positive learning environment for Native American students was discussed. A project utilizing shared reading strategies in the kindergarten classroom was created for teacher use in the Mount Adams School District. The project included the integration of culturally relevant stories with the objectives of Open Court Unit 6. The project also included a list of resources available from the Harrah Elementary School …

Comprehension And Vocabulary Strategies Using Related Tradebooks With Social Studies For Bilingual And Bicultural Middle School Students, Jennifer Suzanne Tindall

All Graduate Projects

In many schools, students from ethnic minority groups are immersed in secondlanguage reading curricula with minimal attention to their native language literacy (Droop & Verhoeven, 2003). These children face the challenge ofleaming to read in languages that they have not mastered orally. As a result, these second-language students can then experience considerable gaps in their understanding ofreading because reading instruction in any language strongly builds on oral language proficiency. For these reasons, second-language literacy learning is an enormous issue in our schools today (Goodman, Goodman, & Flores, 1984). This is why the author chose to research effective reading instruction for …

Boys' Perceptions And Experiences Of Their Placement In A Secondary School Remedial Program : An Examination Of Self-Esteem, Attitude, Motivation And Reading Achievement, Angela Milmoe

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

Remedial EngIish education has long focused on the development of students reading and writing skills, but research suggests that greater emphasis may need to be placed on affective factors such as self-esteem, motivation, attitude and perception. The influence of such 'non-cognitive' factors on any adolescent student's literacy development is often underestimated. For students experiencing difficulties in literacy, the interaction between perceived ability of degree of success in literacy and the affective factors often impact negatively on self-esteem, attitude and motivation. The relationship between self-esteem, attitude, perception, motivation and literacy needs to be explored, especially when dealing with students with literacy …

Promoting Literacy Through Literature And Content-Based Radings In The Secondary English-As-A-Second-Language Classroom In Conjunction With The In Contact 1 Curriculum: A Handbook For Educators, Tanya Lynn Adamson

All Graduate Projects

The use of literature and content-based readings in the secondary ESL classroom was researched. The research suggests that providing second language learners with meaningful readings that provide for comprehensible input will build schema and background knowledge that will help them to be successful in their content area classes. A handbook for educators was created to supplement the existing curriculum, as well as to show readers that this type of supplemental reading handbook can be created by anyone to be used with any type of ESL curriculum. This handbook contains both literature and content-based resources that coincide with the themes and …