Education Commons^™

The Transformative Impact Of A Semester-Long Us-Based Gelt Course On Pre-/In-Service Teachers' Cognition And Classroom Practices, Özge Güney

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

As English has become a global lingua franca used by a greater number of nonnative speakers than native speakers, a focus on native speaker norms in English language teaching (ELT) has become obsolete. There has been a call to incorporate different varieties of Englishes (native, nonnative, and nativized) and related cultures in both teacher education programs and the English classroom- an approach known as Global Englishes Teacher Education (GELT). This study investigates the influence of a GELT-informed teacher education course offered at a US state university on the cognition and (future) practices of pre-/in-service teachers, which aspects of the GELT …

Generic Expectations In First Year Writing: Teaching Metadiscoursal Reflection And Revision Strategies For Increased Generic Uptake Of Academic Writing, Kaelah Rose Scheff

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This thesis examines how student uptake of academic genres in First Year Writing (FYW) are challenged by the concept of writing expectations. Previous research on uptake has focused on uptake between genres with little attention to the role of writing expectations on the event of uptake or how to translate these expectations to students pedagogically. Identifying pedagogical uptake strategies for students to use across academic genres provides instructors with insight into student challenges in FYW and strategies for students to understand their own writing on a metacognitive level by assessing writing expectations. My thesis investigates uptake of academic writing in …

Mapping Narrative Transactions: A Method/Framework For Exploring Multimodal Documents As Social Semiotic Sites For Ethnographic Study, Anne W. Anderson

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This work grew from my attempts to find a method for studying a body of editorial cartoons—multi-modal documents producing cross-modal responses—that were created and published in an earlier time period, in order to answer questions about the culture in which the cartoons were produced and read. Initially my questions included wondering about the topics cartoonists addressed, the narratives cartoonists created to address the topics, how the narratives were framed, and in what ways the narratives might have been seen as attempts to shape the larger cultural discourse around the topics. However, given the number of possible combinations of information streams …

Enhancing Adult Refugees’ Metacognition, Motivation, And Multiliteracies: Metacognitive Instruction Within An E-Learning Environment, Imelda V. Bangun

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Adult refugees without print literacy are a diverse group. The reasons adult refugees lack print literacy varies widely among individuals. While meeting the needs of these adults is indeed important, instructors who work with these learners are frequently challenged to provide suitable e-learning environments in which these learners can thrive. Accordingly, the present study aimed to achieve four goals. First, it investigated the effectiveness of explicit metacognitive instruction within an e-learning environment in enhancing the motivational profile of adult refugees with limited literacy. Second, it researched the effectiveness of explicit metacognitive instruction accompanied with an e-learning environment in enhancing the …

Explore L2 Chinese Learners' Motivation Through L2mss: Selves, Mental Imagery, And Pedagogical Implications, Yao Liu

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Motivation is understood as the original drive of a person to make specific choices, engage himself or herself to make efforts, and to be persistent for the pursuit of the goals. Over the decades, numerous studies have been dedicated to studying this complex and significant construct, in both the fields of Second Language Acquisition and Social Psychology. Since the beginning of the last decade, the findings and theories of motivation research of the two fields mentioned above have been merged and integrated by Dörnyei (2005, 2009) to explain the second language learners’ motivation. This vigorous Second Language Motivational Self System …

Effects Of Learning A Second Language On English Academic And Low-Frequency Vocabulary Acquisition And Metalinguistic Knowledge, Hayriye Karliova

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This study compared the possible effects of learning a language from the Italic branch of the Indo-European language family as a second language (L2), namely Latin and Spanish, on English academic and low-frequency vocabulary acquisition and metalinguistic knowledge of native English speaker (NES) undergraduates in their first language (L1), English.

The study sought to attain two objectives: first, it aimed to discover the effects of learning Latin and Spanish as L2s with respect to the vocabulary acquisition of NES undergraduates; second, it aimed to detect the effects these L2s in terms of metalinguistic awareness. In both cases, the focus was …

International Teaching Assistants’ Perceptions Of English And Spanish Language Use At The University Of Puerto Rico-Mayagüez, Edward G. Contreras Santiago

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Globalization and sociopolitical factors impact migration patterns all over the world. In Puerto Rico, these factors created superdiverse environments where languages users have pushed the boundaries of language in order to make sense of their worlds. Even though this language dynamic is natural for locals, it is those who visit from different countries, specifically international graduate students, that have a difficult time adjusting to Puerto Rico’s rich use of English and Spanish. Understanding how international graduate students perceive the language used at the University of Puerto Rico, Mayagüez (UPRM) upon arrival is essential to provide a better experience for future …

Early Literacy Abilities In Spanish-English Emergent Bilingual Children From Varied Dialectal Backgrounds, Antonietta Mastrota

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The Hispanic population within the United States has grown to a considerable amount. The state of Florida’s population is 25% Hispanic, with projected estimates of this population continuing to grow in the coming years (Ortman & Shin, 2011). Statistics show that 28.3% of the state’s population, over the age of five, speak a language other than English at home. With this considerable number of Spanish-speakers comes the responsibility to adjust certain educational practices to best meet their needs. Literacy is an essential part of learning, and therefore assessing early literacy is an essential part to any child’s academic development.

Phonological …

Exploring Spanish Heritage Language Learning And Task Design For Virtual Worlds, Brandon J. King

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

In this exploratory case study, I take a constant comparative methods type approach to exploring a shift in second language acquisition (SLA) away from approaches built on the assumption that language participants in the U.S. are monolingual English speakers (Block, 2003; Ortega, 2009, 2013; Thompson, 2013; Valdés, 2005), with little initial investment in the language or its culture (Rivera-Mills, 2012; Valdés, Fishman, Chavéz, & Pérez, 2006). This bias has entrenched a monolingual speaker baseline for statistical analysis within many experimental designs (Block, 2003; Ortega, 2009, 2013; Thompson, 2013; Valdés, 2005). Further, I redress this methodological bias by applying sociocultural theoretical …

The Relationship Between Trait Emotional Intelligence And L2 Motivation, Jelena Vuksanovic

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Motivation is considered an important factor in initiating and sustaining the second language (L2) process. Since learning an L2 can be seen as a lengthy process, one that needs sustained motivation over a long period of time, learners need to be able to successfully deal with their and others’ emotions in order to generate and sustain their motivation for learning. The role of learners’ emotions and trait emotional self-efficacy, or trait emotional intelligence (EI), in L2 motivation and language learning has been a relatively unexplored area. To fill this gap, the current study posed three research questions that addressed the …

The Dynamics Of The L2 Motivational Self System Among Saudi Study Abroad Students, Fahad Alharbi

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Adult second language acquisition takes time over an extended period of time during which the L2 motivation of learners goes through periods of ups and downs. Dörnyei, MacIntyre and Henry (2015) recognized the inherently dynamic nature of L2 motivation and called for adopting the Complex Dynamic System Theory (CDST) when studying this phenomenon. While using a CDST perspective, this mixed method study drew on Dörnyei’s (2009b) model of the Motivational Self System to examine the L2 motivation of 86 Saudi study-abroad students. Also, the construct of the Anti-ought to Self (Thompson, 2015) and aspects of the Appraisal Theory (Schumann, 2001) …

Reification, Resistance, And Transformation? The Impact Of Migration And Demographics On Linguistic, Racial, And Ethnic Identity And Equity In Educational Systems: An Applied Approach, Rebecca Ann Campbell

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Using an applied anthropological approach focused on language, this study investigates the relationship between linguistic, racial, and ethnic identities and school resource access in the context of migration. This project examines how these identities are established, experienced, reified, and resisted by various school actors. Exposing power at its roots through a multi-level analysis, this research informs on how people negotiate socialization into particular identities, propelling them toward positions in school and society of varying opportunity.

Focused on two elementary schools in a central Florida county that has been and is undergoing demographic changes, this work offers applications for educational institutions …

Promoting L2 Motivation Via Motivational Teaching Practice: A Mixed-Methods Study In The Turkish Efl Context, Zeynep Erdil

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The shift toward bilingualism and multilingualism in historically monolingual societies resulting from globalization has positioned second/foreign language (L2) learning research as a significant field. Extensive research in L2 motivation over decades has demonstrated motivation to be a significant determiner of L2 learning achievement and has yielded many sound L2 motivation theories and frameworks. The latest L2 motivation framework is the L2 Motivational Self System (L2MSS) offered by Dörnyei (2005, 2009). Numerous studies have been conducted to validate this theory in different English as a foreign language (EFL) contexts (e.g., in China, Iran and Japan: (Taguchi, Magid & Papi, 2009); in …

The Influence Of Context On L2 Development: The Case Of Turkish Undergraduates At Home And Abroad, Zeynep Koylu

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

In the field of second language acquisition (SLA), the study abroad context (SA) has gained attention as a site that offers the potential of significant second language (L2) development due to high amounts of input and interaction opportunities compared to at home foreign language (AH) and domestic immersion (IM) contexts (Pérez-Vidal, 2014). In previous research, the SA context has been a country where the L2 is the local language (e.g., English in the United Kingdom). However, with the increase of student mobility programs across Europe, such as ERASMUS, and the status of English as an International Language, another study abroad …

International Teaching Assistants In The Us University Classroom: A Mixed-Methods Study Of Individual Differences And L2 Pragmatic Competence, Erhan Aslan

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

International teaching assistants (ITAs) are considered advanced English users with relatively high standardized language proficiency test scores. However, they may experience difficulties during their interactions with undergraduate students. Some of these difficulties may arise from affective factors such as ambiguity, stress, and adjustment and can impact language use. From an individual differences perspective, a second language user with high communication anxiety may have difficulty comprehending or producing appropriate pragmalinguistic forms. Using a mixed-methods approach, this study examined the underlying factors in ITAs communication anxiety and willingness to communicate in the US classroom and how these factors explained their pragmatic competence, …

Situated Directives In Italian L2 Service-Learning Encounters, Kristin Cardellio

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Interaction with local speakers of a second language (L2) in a naturalistic setting during study abroad is beneficial to language learning in many respects; particularly in the development of pragmatic competence, or the awareness and ability to use the appropriate language for a specific social context (Kinginger, 2011; Magnan & Back, 2007; Schauer, 2009; Shively, 2011). Service-learning - volunteering in the local community combined with an academic pursuit - during study abroad provides the opportunity for meaningful interaction between language learners and local speakers of the L2 in authentic and collaborative settings (Overfield, 2007). This study examines the interactions of …

The Effects Of Processing Instruction On Chinese Learners' Acquisition Of Spanish Copulae, Wesley Curtis

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Processing instruction (PI) is a language teaching technique based upon the model of input processing developed by VanPatten (1993, 1996, 2002, 2004). The present study investigated the effects of PI as well as two other experimental conditions (traditional instruction and control) on the acquisition of the Spanish copulae ser and estar by 66 Chinese university students enrolled in a blended (partially presential and partially online) fourth-semester language course. The PI treatment condition included non-paradigmatic grammar explanations, processing strategies designed to help learners avoid commiting errors they may be predisposed to make, and structured input activities which eliminate redundant features of …

Learning Without Being Taught: A Look At How Schools, The Home And The Neighborhood Influence "Race" Conceptualization, Owen Christopher Gaither

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

ABSTRACT

Where do we get our ideas about the concept of `race'? The conceptualization of `race' has long been a topic of interest in the social sciences and society in general. The word `race' has been used and defined in different ways and different purposes throughout U.S. history. The definition of `race' therefore is arbitrary, changing according to the situation, but the consequences of how the word `race' is used are concrete and effect peoples lives daily. This research, in accord with much of the literature on the topic, shows that public schools play a major role in the conceptualization …

The Impact Of An Online Learning Community Project On University Chinese As A Foreign Language Students' Motivation, Shengrong Cai

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This study empirically investigated the impact of an online learning community project on university students' motivation in learning Chinese as a foreign language (CFL). A newly-proposed L2 motivation theory - the L2 motivational self system (Dörnyei 2005; 2009) - was used as the theoretical framework for this study. The three aspects of motivation (ideal L2 self, ought-to L2 self, and L2 learning experience), as described in this theory, were measured before and after the online project. Specific motivating and demotivating features of the online project were generated from participants' responses. Four individuals with different heritage and technology backgrounds were selected …

Perspective Shifting In Relative Clauses By Elementary-Aged Spanish-English Bilinguals: A Cross-Linguistic Study, Xigrid Tayri Soto

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Language-specific theories of sentence processing suggest that individuals interpret sentences based on the characteristics of their native language (e.g., Bates & MacWhinney, 1989). As such, competing linguistic cues are taken into account (including word order, morphology, and animacy) and the cue selected is most likely to yield a correct interpretation in the native language. However, research in this area has produced conflicting results. MacWhinney (2005) has proposed that examining the role of perspective shifting in sentence comprehension may demonstrate how cognitive and syntactic factors work together to facilitate sentence comprehension. The aim of the current study is to investigate the …