Bilingual, Multilingual, and Multicultural Education Commons^™

Design, Participation, And Social Change: What Design In Grassroots Spaces Can Teach Learning Scientists, Miguel Zavala

Education Faculty Articles and Research

hile a science of design (and theory of learning) is certainly useful in design-based research, a participatory design research framework presents an opening for learning scientists to rethink design and learning as processes. Grounded in the autoethnographic investigation of a grassroots organization's design of a local campaign, the author traces the successive transformations of design artifacts, delineating a narrative character to design within grassroots spaces. One major lesson is that centering the question of participation is not just about including historically marginalized peoples at the core of design; it has the potential to “desettle” projects at a fundamental level, challenging …

From Marginality To Mattering: Linguistic Practices, Pedagogies And Diversities At A Community-Serving Senior College, Andrea Springirth, Hannah Göppert

Publications and Research

The cultural diversification of colleges and universities which initially targeted the needs of a specific minoritized group raises questions concerning the inclusion of every individual and the maintenance of the advances which have been made for the original population. This paper provides insight into the challenges and merits at the intersection of linguistic and racial/ethnic diversification within CUNY’s Medgar Evers College. Historically tied to the Black Campus Movement, the college is committed to being an agent of social transformation for the surrounding community. Aiming to understand the perspectives on language and diversity of the key stakeholders at the college, a …

Intercultural Interactions Among Burmese Refugees In Multicultural Middle School Classrooms, Matthew Carl Mcparker

Dissertations and Theses

The largest refugee group entering the United States in recent years is from Burma. Refugee students face a daunting set of challenges, from language and cultural differences to living in poverty, in becoming successful in their new homes. To be successful in schools and gain cultural and social capital, refugee students must learn and internalize the specific norms of their classrooms. In middle school, students are particularly reliant upon their peers for support, making peer interactions especially important. In multicultural settings, students have ample opportunities for intercultural interactions, which can help refugee students navigate their new settings and become more …

"That's The Test?" Washback Effects Of An Alternative Assessment In A Culturally Heterogeneous Eap University Class, Abigail Bennett Carrigan

Dissertations and Theses

To determine learner attitudes toward an alternative assessment, additional washback effects, and possible relationships between cultures of learning and learner attitudes, a mixed methods study was conducted in an advanced multicultural EAP (English for Academic Purposes) class in the USA, where a poster project was implemented as a summative assessment. Qualitative and quantitative data from a pre- and post-test questionnaire as well as classroom observations and an interview with the instructor were used to investigate learners' attitudes towards the assessment. The twenty-four participants representing five cultures of learning from the Middle East, South America and Southeast Asia expressed largely positive …

Identity And Language Learning In Multilingualism, Seullee Talia Lee

Sandanona

Why does a language learner learn a new language? How is one’s identity negotiated in certain language learning contexts? One’s identity has a tremendous impact on his/her language learning trajectory. This presentation describes key concepts of identity research in the Second Language Acquisition field. Also, the presenter suggests an imagined identity option for an English language learner as a legitimate multilingual citizen, not as a deficient non-native speaking second-class citizen.

Gamifying Social Justice In The English Classroom, Yoshimi Ochiai

Sandanona

English has a power to build a peaceful world. In this workshop, participant will experience the dynamics of trade between developed and developing countries through a game. The presenter will provide examples of pre- and post-stage activities to introduce the game in English classroom, too.

I’M No Therapist: Tesol And Mental Health, Stacy Walsh

Sandanona

TESOL and mental health are inextricably linked. The presenter will use her experience in both fields to explore the who, what, why and how of creating a safe and healthy classroom community. She’s no therapist, but she will also consider approaches that have the potential to empower students and teachers.

‘Maximizing Learning Opportunities’ In Practice: A Retrospective, Xavier Muñoz

Sandanona

What can ‘maximizing learning opportunities’ look like in the classroom? The presenter will share their journey of coming to recognize and intentionally plan for this strategy in practice. Along the way, attendees will stop for photo ops (i.e., specific instances of the strategy in action) using multiple lenses (i.e., frameworks).

Language As A Marker Of Cultural Identity For Tcks, Nick Cooper

Sandanona

The presenter will make conference participants aware of the linguistic and cultural conflicts that Adult Third Culture Kids experience in educational systems. Together we will come to understand the self-identity conflicts experienced by ATCKs, the hybrid identification process of blended accent, and mode of pronunciation as an adaptive strategy.

Elementary Teaching Strategies For Lgbtq Inclusion, Nicole E. Cox

Capstone Projects and Master's Theses

It is the responsibility of teachers to create a classroom environment that is both inclusive and validating to the identities of students and their families. This capstone project explores how teachers can create this environment for students and families that are a part of the LGBTQ community. Because of the discrimination that presents itself through bullying based on LGBTQ identities, and the lack of LGBTQ representation within classroom lessons, there is a need for a higher quantity and quality of resources for teachers to create these inclusive environments, specifically in elementary schools. To assess our local community, teacher interviews were …

Guidebook For Esl Teachers Of Chinese Students, John M. Tubbs

Master's Projects and Capstones

There are currently many Chinese speakers studying and working in the United States. Some of them find English pronunciation to be very challenging. The Guidebook is meant to be a tool for the teachers of Chinese speaking ESL students. English language instruction in China is often teacher centered, with the instructor lecturing and students taking notes. Most classes do not focus on communicative skills. Different language groups often vary in terms of which English sounds they find difficult to pronounce. Vowel sounds have been identified as a particular challenge for Chinese speaking students. The front-vowels in English are the focus …

Writing Research Papers: A Guide For International Students, Veronica Andrew

Master's Projects and Capstones

The recent dramatic influx of international students to universities in the United States has presented many difficulties, both to those students and to those who work in American higher education. One of the most significant of those challenges is helping international students learn, understand, and practice the conventions of research that are a part of academic writing curricula. Grounded in the pedagogical theories of critical literacy, community of practice, and process-based learning, this project presents international students with concepts and skills used in source-based writing. The project, in the form of a workbook, introduces students to the research-related ideas of …

From Culture Shock To Cultural Adaptation: A Workbook For International Students, Gregory R. Sugajski

Master's Projects and Capstones

San Francisco’s complex communal tapestry can lead to cultural disorientation, dislocation, and unfamiliarity for recently arrived F-1 and M-1 international students, a series of events that when related to problematic adaptation issues and negative adjustment implementations is known as culture shock. Easing the adaptation process for this population is considered to be of academic importance from a progressive, economic, sociocultural, and intercultural perspective. Thus, the organizing purpose and principle of the project is to enable cultural adaptation for students who reside in San Francisco by instilling in them proximal, behavioral, and situational safety awareness. The project takes the form of …

Teaching Academic Skills To Chinese Undergraduate Students In U.S. Academic Institutions, Ruisi Gui

Master's Projects and Capstones

The purpose of this field project is to help Chinese undergraduate students succeed in the American classroom through guidance on academic skills. To achieve this goal, a series of situationally-based curriculum modules about different academic skills are developed as the central part of this project. This curriculum is designed not only for Chinese undergraduate students, but also for instructors in U.S. academic institutions to increase their awareness of the academic skills issues among international students.

This project is presented in the form of a teaching manual and a brief syllabus. The teaching manual provides Chinese undergraduate students with practical rules, …

Perceptions Of Eighth Grade State Writing Assessment At A Nationally Recognized Middle School, Jillian M. Quandt

Department of Teaching, Learning, and Teacher Education: Theses and Other Student Research

This study seeks to understand how one at-risk middle school in Nebraska is consistently beating eighth grade Nebraska State Writing Assessment (NESA-W) averages. The school has significant populations of Hispanic, special education, and low-income students. The study answers the following two research questions. What strategies does the at-risk school utilize to enable its students to exceed the Nebraska average on the NESA-W? What attitudes do the school’s writing teachers, administrators, students, and their parents hold about the NESA-W? Students and their parents answered a multiple-choice survey; teachers and administrators answered a longer, open-ended survey. The researcher used a combination of …

Learning Through Reading: A Handbook Of Literature-Based Lessons For Esl, Lota I. Rygiel

Master's Projects and Capstones

Learning through Reading: A Handbook of Literature-based Lessons for ESL A Field Project written by Lota Rygiel in the spring of 2016. This project is a handbook of lessons for adult ESL students at intermediate or advanced proficiency levels of English as a Second Language. The handbook offers the use of authentic materials in the form of short stories and poems in English. The authentic materials serve as a challenge to students (Krashen's "i + 1" level): with careful guidance of the instructor they will be interesting and meaningful to students. The use of various literary genres corresponds to the …

Teaching Culture Through Social Situations In English As A Second Language Classes, Irina Andreeva

Master's Projects and Capstones

To develop communicative competence, second language learners in addition to mastering linguistic, strategic, structural and discoursal aspects of the language, have to acquire sociolinguistc rules and conventions. The project sought to design a handbook to teach communicative competence along with sociolinguistic competence, as second language learners can never succeed in being fluent speakers in the target language without developing both competences. The handbook includes series of lessons to promote a deeper appreciation of how culture and language interact.

Applying New Technologies To Upgrade Non-English Speakers’ English Speaking Skills, Xiaoqiong Wang

Master's Projects and Capstones

As technologies are getting more and more advanced, modernized information technologies start to step into the field of education. The application of multimedia- assisted instruction is getting more and more popular. This can stimulate students’ interests as well as promote students’ development and improve teaching efficiency. Teachers’ work should be student centered, and teachers’ function is to provide help and guidance in students’ studies. With the introduction of new technologies, students start to be fond of having classes. They start to have interests in studies. This can create a positive learning environment to students, which meets the social requirements of …

Teaching Diversity Through Multicultural Children's Literature: A Guidebook For Korean English Elementary School Teachers, Yeon Sook Lee

Master's Projects and Capstones

This project focuses on developing guides and lesson plans promoting multiculturalism, intended for Korean teachers to use during English language immersion camps. The goals are to encourage students to affirm themselves as unique individuals, accept and respect others who are different, learn about other cultures, overcome prejudice, apply critical thinking skills to issues related to cultural diversity, and become advocates for social justice. With these goals in mind, a literature review of established conceptual frameworks for multicultural education is presented, along with an exploration of ways in which students benefit from multicultural literature. Results of recent studies and surveys of …

Latina/O Immigrant Parents Becoming Better Advocates For Their Middle School Aged Adolescents, Karina E. Araiza

Master's Projects and Capstones

The purpose of this project is to provide Latina/o parents with different tools and strategies to better advocate for their children in the American school system. The 9-session program is specifically targeted for Latina/o parents of children in the middle school years that are going through the challenging transition to adolescence.

Through Solorzano’s (2001) Latina/o Critical Race Theory lens, parents are asked to reflect, analyze, and conclude on different topics dealing with their children’s development in education. More specifically the cultural and language barriers within the school system, the traditional and non-traditional forms of parent engagement, various channels that exist …