Communication Commons^™

Experiences Of Dyslexic Students Learning A Second Language: A Review Of The Literature, Lauren Ricci

Senior Honors Theses

A systematic review of the literature was conducted to explore the experiences that college students with dyslexia face learning a second language in the classroom setting while studying at a private institution in Central Virginia. This literature review offers an analysis of the scholarly research related to this topic. The processability theory is discussed in the first section, followed by a review of recent literature on how dyslexia affects the brain’s processing, specific experiences of students, and how to best support these students in second language acquisition (SLA). Lastly, the literature surrounds phonological processing, working memory, specific struggles in the …

Managing Multi-Language Classroom Motivates Start Of New Esl Program, Mark D. Weinstein

News Releases

Developing a new English as a second language (ESL) program was never what she had in mind, but Ashleigh Stout is proving that the most foreign experiences can oftentimes be the most fulfilling.

Can High School Students Check The Veracity Of Information About Covid-19? A Case Study On Critical Media Literacy In Brazilian Esl Classes, Karin Paola Meyrer, Dorotea Frank Kersch

Journal of Media Literacy Education

In a globalized world, critical media literacy is imperative when selecting the content we consume amid countless offers. Therefore, the purpose of this case study is to analyze which resources 3rd year high school students (16-17 years old) from an English as a Second Language class in Brazil use in the construction of authorial journalistic articles demystifying fake news about COVID-19 and if the interventions conducted previous to the task were helpful in their process of developing critical media literacy. To this end, firstly students analyzed news about COVID-19 from international websites; secondly, they discussed aspects of a video that …

Language Gap, Culture Chasm: Teaching Haitian Children In Springfield, Mark D. Weinstein

News Releases

A 2021 Cedarville University graduate is helping French-speaking Haitian children bridge not just a language gap but a huge culture chasm in his efforts to teach them English.

Student-Centered, Interaction-Based, Community-Driven Language Teaching, Sharon Lyman

All Graduate Plan B and other Reports, Spring 1920 to Spring 2023

This portfolio is a compilation that highlights some of the author’s accomplished work while in the Master of Second Language Teaching (MSLT) program at Utah State University (USU). Organized into sections that reflect the author’s teaching and research perspectives as a MSLT graduate student and instructor, who taught intensive English reading, writing, and conversation courses for the Intensive English Language Institute (IELI).

In the first section, teaching perspectives, the author describes her desired professional environment, shares her personal teaching philosophy statement, and accounts for her professional development through classroom observations. In the second section, research perspectives, two research papers and …

The Importance Of Using Information Communication Technology For Learning And Teaching The English Language In Kurdistan Of Iraq, Nabaz Noori Kareem

English (TESOL) Master Theses

Kurdistan as a region in north of Iraq has undergone significant changes regarding its educational system, and using ICTs (information communication technologies) for teaching and learning English has been given a great role in the system. There are many researchers who wrote about the benefits and the challenges of using ICTs. As the term ICT includes many kinds of devices and applications, students and teachers in Kurdistan are using various types of ICTs inside or outside of the schools. Students and teachers use ICTs for teaching and learning the skills of the English language such as reading, writing, speaking, and …

Chinese To English Translation: Identifying Problems And Providing Solutions, Shihua Brazill

Graduate Theses & Non-Theses

The purpose of this study was to identify problems and provide solutions for improving Chinese to English translation quality, including ways to avoid Chinglish. Both qualitative and quantitative research methods were used, including interviews of 20 faculty members and a survey of over 300 students at 7 universities in China. The study researched four problem areas: Chinglish, cultural awareness, machine translation (MT), and translation profession. The results indicated that causes for Chinglish stem from different levels including vocabulary, syntax, and cultural levels. Cultural awareness was found to be a key factor for improving translation quality, especially when it comes to …

An Investigation Into Native And Non Native English Speaking Instructors' Assessment Of University Esl Student's Oral Presentation, Rubaiyat Jabeen

All Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Other Capstone Projects

This thesis aims to conduct a mix-methods investigation into native English-speaking teachers (NESTs) and non-native English-speaking teachers (NNESTs) assessment of university level English as a second language (ESL) student's oral presentation. To collect data for this study, all faculty members and instructors currently teaching in at the departments of English and Communication Studies at Minnesota State University, Mankato (MNSU) were invited to participate in an online survey using Qualtrics Survey Software (Qualtrics). After receiving email invitations, altogether 31 people provided their consent to participate. Among the 31 teacher-participants, there were 19 NESTs and 12 NNESTs. The participants then took part …

Students Help Refugees, Immigrants Through Esl Programs, Mark D. Weinstein

News Releases

Cedarville University students are using English as a Second Language (ESL) programs to help Ahiska Turkish refugees in Dayton and Hispanic immigrants in Springfield adapt to life in the Miami Valley.

English In South Asia And Pedagogical Implications, Brittany R. Ehret

Senior Honors Theses

English at present maintains a significant role as a second or foreign language in the region of South Asia as well as globally. In a discussion of this topic, it is important to explore a brief history of the expansion of English and its origins in South Asia. It is also essential to provide a background of South Asian English and its unique linguistic characteristics as well as its use in different contexts of South Asia. The perspectives of linguists and educators who are native to the region of South Asia should be included as much as possible in this …

Expanding Audiences For Online Writing Labs: Owls In The English As A Foreign Language Context, Joshua Paiz

Purdue Writing Lab/Purdue OWL Graduate Student Presentations

This presentation from the 2014 Conference on College Composition and Communication (CCCC) discusses online writing labs (OWLs), specifically the Purdue OWL, in the traditionally-defined English as a foreign language (EFL) context. The ELF context often presents unique challenges for the teaching of English writing, including challenges of finding appropriate resources. This may lead EFL writing practitioners to rely on the information presented by OWLs to supplement their teaching. However, many OWLs were originally designed for the so-called native speaker (North American, UK, Australian, New Zealand) audience. This raises the question of whether or not OWLs are meeting the needs of …

Spectrographic Acoustic Cue Analyses For Foreign Accent Reduction Speech Therapy, Lance W. Porter

Journal of Undergraduate Research

In a world where more and more opportunities are opening up on an international level, it has become increasingly important to be able to communicate effectively. Accent reduction therapy was developed to help people reduce foreign or regional accents that would otherwise put them at a disadvantage. International students who are speakers of English as a second language (ESL), upon starting school in the United States, will often struggle because of strong accented speech in the already competitive world of academics. Strong accents can adversely effect their ability to communicate and succeed in the classroom. Upon graduation, the ability to …

Online Writing Labs: Resources For Second Language Writers, Joshua Paiz, Ghada Gherwash

Purdue Writing Lab/Purdue OWL Graduate Student Presentations

This presentation at the 2014 TESOL Developer's Showcase discusses best practices and special considerations for using Online Writing Labs as L2 writing support tools. This discussion is grounded both in recent OWL/Writing Center theory, as well as from the presenter's experiences working on a large­scale OWL in a variety of capacities. To add to the discussion on special considerations when using OWLs, this presentation also provides a discussion of a recently completed research project involving the Purdue OWL and how it is used to support EFL writing. It will highlight how, even in resources labeled as "ESL," can be overly …

Conscious Reconstruction: The Effects Of Second Language Acquisition On Self-Perception Of Gender Identity, Geneva Ged

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

Gender interacts with other facets of English Language Learners’ social identity like race and ethnicity to guide their learning experiences, desires, and outcomes; however, much of traditional Teaching English as a Second Language (TESOL) research has focused on how motivation and language learning beliefs differ between male and female English as a Second Language/English as a Foreign Language (ESL/EFL) students with the intent to identify difference, if it exists. English Language Learners who are studying abroad or who have immigrated to the United States have already established a gender identity influenced and created by their experiences in their first language …

Best Practices & Resources For Teaching Esl Written Communication, Linda S. Bergmann, Vicki Kennell

Purdue Writing Lab/Purdue OWL Presentations

This presentation, given at the Center for Instructional Excellence (CIE) Series II: Expanding Your Teaching Toolkit, offers instructors information on understanding and accommodating the ESL writers in their classrooms. Material is presented on the language abilities of the writers, on the ways in which cultural differences may be manifested in the writing itself, and on the types of accommodations that can be made in writing assignments and assessments. The talk includes information on best practices in writing for all writers and a bibliography of resources about L2 writers.

Owls Across Borders: An Exploratory Study On The Place Of Online Writing Labs In The Efl Context, Joshua Paiz

Purdue Writing Lab/Purdue OWL Graduate Student Presentations

The study reported on in this presentation at the 2013 Symposium on Second Language Writing (SSLW) examined the content creation best practices of four content development teams working on the Purdue OWL. Utilizing focus group methods the study sought to examine what strategies developers utilized to overcome the challenges faced while developing L2 instructional content for a global audience. By examining the various drafts of resources before they finally went live on the Purdue OWL, this study investigated the linguistic and rhetorical choices that developers made in an attempt to create content that would be of maximal user to L2 …

Un Currículo Interdisciplinario De Base Teórica Par Enseñar Inglés Como Segunda Lengua (An Interdisciplinary Theory-Based Esl Curriculum), Francisco Soto Mas

Francisco Soto Mas

Among Hispanic immigrants in the United States (US), learning English is considered necessary for economic and social achievement. As a consequence, there is a high demand for English as a Second Language (ESL) classes. Despite the recognized benefits of ESL programs, both at the individual and social levels, more research is needed to identify education strategies that effectively promote all aspects of learning English as a second language. This article describes an ESL curriculum that incorporates a theory-based pedagogical approach specifically designed for immigrant Hispanic adults on the US-Mexico border region. The article also describes the implementation of the curriculum …

Esl Learning Through Drama, Chamkaur Gill

Chamkaur Gill

Extract: Drama-based activities can assist learners develop their speaking, listening, reading and writing skills through constant exposure to the target language. Annarella (2000) and Boudreault (2009) refer to the guided imagery and imagination in drama techniques which assist in the development of these skills.

Book Review - Hart, W. (2002) Never Fade Away, James Kent Knaack

Journal of Southeast Asian American Education and Advancement

No abstract provided.

Critical Performative Pedagogy : Augusto Boal's Theatre Of The Oppressed In The English As A Second Language Classroom, Ross Mckeehen Louis

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Performative pedagogy combines performance methods and theory with critical pedagogy in an effort to carry out the dual project of social critique and transformation. Performance offers an efficacious means of completing this project by privileging students’ historicized bodies, by implementing contingent classroom dialogue, and by exposing students to the value embedded in performance risk. In this study, I apply performative pedagogy to an English as a Second Language (ESL) context in response to its problematic pedagogical history. In particular, I argue that Augusto Boal’s Theatre of the Oppressed practice should be adapted as a method for doing performative ESL pedagogy. …

Journal Of Pedagogy, Pluralism And Practice, Volume I (3), Fall 1998 (Full Issue), Journal Staff

Journal of Pedagogy, Pluralism, and Practice

No abstract provided.

Planning A Vacation In The U.S.: A Multipurpose Theme In The Esl Classroom, Janet Lynne Entersz

MA TESOL Collection

By means of an in-depth presentation of twenty four activities based on the theme of planning a vacation in the U.S., the author attempts to demonstrate the advantages, for both teachers of English as a second language and students, of using a thematic approach in the classroom to achieve not only language proficiency but such goals as healthy student-teacher relationships, communicative competence and cultural awareness as well. Preceding the twenty four activities is a discussion of the author's assumptions about and personal insights into language learning and language teaching, upon which the activities and advocacy of using a thematic approach …

Communication Practice Exercises: Values Clarification Techniques At Work In The Esl Classroom, Frederick H. O'Connor, Edwin E. Lombard

MA TESOL Collection

No abstract provided.

A Series Of Dialogues For Foreign Students Who Have Just Arrived In The United States, Stephen B. Gelman

MA TESOL Collection

From my experience with beginning or intermediate students who have just arrived in the States, I have found that they lack confidence in dealing with real situations outside the ESL classroom and in interacting with Americans because of their inability to speak or understand normal spoken English. They need some preparation and encouragement to ease the cultural shock they will encounter.

In this project, I have used a series of dialogues to prepare the students for the most common situations they will experience almost immediately, such as opening a checking account or eating in a restaurant. Another purpose of these …