Language and Literacy Education Commons^™

Spring 2014, Uni Literacy Clinic Anthology, University Of Northern Iowa

UNI Literacy Clinic Anthologies

The anthology contains the writings of children participating in the UNI Reading Clinic tutored by UNI students enrolled in the Advanced Literacy Practices course and the co-requisite Experience in Literacy: Tutoring course. As their literacy skills progress, each child contributes a written work to the anthology for their clinic.

Gjr Volume 37 Number 1 Spring 2014, Lina Soares, Christine Draper

The Georgia Journal of Reading Archive

The Georgia Journal of Reading's Spring 2014 issue includes:

Message from the Editors by Lina B. Soares and Christine A. Draper (pg. 4)

President’s Page by Loleta Sartin (pg. 5)

Quantum Shifts by Gerald Boyd (pg. 6)

Literacy Coaching: Providing Leadership and Support for the Next Generation of Teachers by Katie Stover and Crystal Glover (pg. 8)

Significance of Prior Knowledge Activation: A Close Look at a Bilingual Kindergarten Student’s Response to a Poem by Alma Stevenson (pg. 14)

The Effect of Explicit Instruction with Writing Conventions Among Preservice Teachers by Laurie A. Sharp (pg. 18)

Tacky and a Tambourine: …

El Pasado Lingüístico Colonial Y Las Lenguas De Instrucción En La Educación Filipina, David Sánchez-Jiménez

Publications and Research

No abstract provided.

The Predictive Validity Of Oral Reading Fluency Measures On The Louisiana Educational Assessment Program For Third And Fourth Grade Students, Tracy Elkins Bennett

Doctoral Dissertations

Good, Kaminski, Simmons and Kamenui (2001) declared a national awareness of the benefits of early reading success and the negative consequences of early reading failure. One method discussed for prevention of reading failure was the implementation of screening programs employed to measure reading skills, predict success of future reading success, and inform instruction that would hopefully eliminate reading failure. In the current study, the primary research question was to investigate the Dynamic Indicators of Basic Early Literacy Skills (DIBELS) Oral Reading Fluency (DIBELS ORF) benchmark and screening program and its predictive abilities on reading comprehension achievement measured by the integrated …

The Impact Of Standards-Based Report Cards On Reading Achievement In The Third Grade, Terri L. Wyrosdick

Theses and Dissertations

School districts across the nation are transitioning away from traditional A-F letter grade report cards in favor of standards-based report cards (SBRC). Previous studies have indicated that many parents were confused by SBRC. The purpose of this study was to determine if a difference exists between the reading achievement of third-grade students using traditional A-F letter grade report cards and those students using SBRC. Pre-existing CRCT data of the pass/fail percentage of third graders from five school districts and 118 schools in 2009 and 2010, the year prior to and the year of implementation of SBRC, were analyzed. A chi …

"The Poor Kid Finds The Pirate Treasure": Depictions Of Social Class In Newbery Medal And Honor Books 2004-2013, Danielle Eileen Forest

Teaching & Learning Theses & Dissertations

Background: Given events of recent years like the economic recession, issues related to social class are more important than ever before. Although educational scholars have devoted increasing attention to social class, it has not been widely studied in curricular materials like children's literature. Because books can influence children's views of the world, understanding what values and ideologies are communicated about class in literature is important.

Focus of Study: Grounded in the theoretical perspectives of critical literacy and the sociology of school knowledge, the purpose of this study was to deconstruct portrayals of social class in books earning the …

"That Doesn't Sound Like Me:" Student Perceptions Of Semiotic Resources In Written-Aural Remediation Practices, Jennifer Johnson Buckner

English Theses & Dissertations

This dissertation examines students' composing practices when working with unfamiliar modalities, attending to students' messy material and cognitive negotiations prior to their production of a polished multimodal project. Working from a conceptual vocabulary from composition studies and semiotics, I frame composing as an act of semiotic remediation, attending to students' repurposing and understanding of written and aural materials in composition and their impact on their learning. Specifically, this research uses a grounded theory methodology to examine the attitudes, experiences, and composing practices of first-year writing students enrolled in a composition II course at a private, liberal arts institution in the …

Students' Perceptions Of Interaction In A Hybrid Foreign Language (L2) Arabic Course In Light Of Their Affective Domain, Hanan Elsayed Ahmed Eltayeb Youssef

Theses and Dissertations

Abstract Hybrid courses were developed to maintain the advantages associated with distance learning, while solving the problem of learner-instructor interaction. This would indicate that successful learner-instructor interaction is one of the core features of this type of class which enables it to best serve the learner. To verify the above, a descriptive, qualitative case study was designed to investigate students' perceptions of interaction (student-instructor and student-student) in a hybrid foreign language Arabic course, taking into account their affective domain. The structure of the hybrid course which was investigated consisted of a videoconferencing session conducted by the main teacher, followed by …

Fusing Language Learning And Leadership Development: Initial Approaches And Strategies, Sheri Spaine Long, Jean W. Leloup, Leann Derby, Ramsamooj J. Reyes

Dimensions

During a recent visiting professorship at the United States Air Force Academy (USAFA), it became clear that language faculty— both military and civilians— stated that they included leadership while teaching foreign languages and cultures.2 However, many of the same educators could not explicitly spell out their approach to doing so. This gap launched a line of inquiry about the relationship between teaching languages and leadership development. Subsequently, it sparked a grassroots effort by the faculty of the USAFA Department of Foreign Languages (DFF), including the Office of International Programs (DFIP), to form a Faculty Learning Community (FLC) to focus explicitly …

Learning In Parallel: Using Parallel Corpora To Enhance Written Language Acquisition At The Beginning Level, Brody Bluemel

Dimensions

This article illustrates the pedagogical value of incorporating parallel corpora in foreign language education. It explores the development of a Chinese/English parallel corpus designed specifically for pedagogical application. The corpus tool was created to aid language learners in reading comprehension and writing development by making foreign language texts more accessible to them. The study follows the application of this parallel corpus in two beginning level high school Chinese classes and describes the experience of both instructor and students in implementing this technology. The positive learning outcomes observed through students improvement in comprehension and composition demonstrate the value of parallel corpora …

Student Attitudes And Perceptions Of Using Facebook For Language Learning, Craig Gamble, Michael Wilkins

Dimensions

This research provides insight into Japanese students’ perceptions and attitudes of participating in activities through Facebook for language learning. In addition, the authors discuss the overall implications of and potential uses for Facebook in the field of second language learning and teaching. Ninety-seven students from three private universities in Japan participated in this study. A 26-item quantitative questionnaire using a 7-point Likert scale and an open-ended qualitative questionnaire were used in this study. The results showed a small increase in positive attitudes toward most activities for language learning following the completion of the study compared to prior perceptions, but there …

Influencing Students’ Pronunciation And Willingness To Communicate Through Interpersonal Audio Discussions, Cindy E. Lepore

Dimensions

This article discusses a study that investigated pronunciation development in second language learners by monitoring willingness to communicate variables. Students (N = 37) in a second-semester, introductory French course participated in online interpersonal audio discussions with classmates through VoiceThread. Pronunciation development and willingness to communicate were monitored through self-assessment after completing each activity. Analysis revealed that participation in the activities combined with a feedback-supported environment resulted in an overall increase in perceived pronunciation abilities that positively correlated with willingness to communicate variables. Additionally, the pedagogical benefits of using audio discussions to improve pronunciation are presented.

Extending The Classroom: Digital Micronarratives For Novice Language Learners, Felix A. Kronenberg

Dimensions

Digital Storytelling offers many advantages for language learning, especially within a project-based framework. In this article, the use of Digital Micro-Narratives is proposed as particularly useful for second language learners at the novice level. As a sub-genre of Digital Storytelling, Digital Micro-Narratives focus more on frequently updated content and continuous feedback and less on crafting a flawless final product, as is the case with more traditional Digital Storytelling. The value of Digital Micro-Narratives lies within a procedural framework that fosters agency, authenticity, the use of multiple modes and media, and which addresses individual learner differences and inspires identity formation.

The Early Grade Reading Assessment: Assessing Children's Acquisition Of Basic Literacy Skills In Developing Countries (Superseded Version), Australian Council For Educational Research

Assessment GEMS

The Early Grade Reading Assessment (EGRA), administered individually in about 15 minutes, measures the most basic foundation skills for literacy acquisition in the early grades. The assessment was developed by the Research Triangle Institute (RTI) through funding provided by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) and the World Bank (Gove & Wetterberg, 2011), in addition to resources provided by RTI. The EGRA was developed to provide a battery of assessments of basic reading skills for developing countries to monitor the status of early reading in primary schools. The assessment tool was first implemented in The Gambia and Senegal …

Perception Of A Regional Spanish Sound: The Case Of /S/-Weakening, Angela George

Dimensions

While taking foreign language classes or interacting in the target language community, language learners will be exposed to dialectal differences. This paper addresses how adult learners of Spanish in beginning, intermediate, and advanced Spanish courses at a large US university perceived a common sociolinguistic feature of Spanish, /s/-weakening, which can vary for stylistic, gender, and geographical reasons. The implications for teaching and learning foreign languages will be addressed, noting the importance of teaching common sociolinguistic features that are salient to native speakers but less salient to second language learners.

Skype Videoconferencing For Less Commonly Taught Languages: Examining The Effects On Students’ Foreign Language Anxiety, Joe Terantino

Dimensions

This study compared students’ foreign language anxiety levels while completing oral assessments administered face-to-face (F2F) and via Skype videoconferencing for university courses delivered under the self-instructional language program (SILP) model (Dunkel, Brill, & Kohl, 2002). Data were gathered by administering a modified Foreign Language Classroom Anxiety Scale (FLCAS) survey (Horwitz, Horwitz, & Cope, 1986) and conducting subsequent interviews with the students. Results indicate that there was not a significant difference in anxiety levels or changes in anxiety between the two delivery methods. These findings suggest that Skype videoconferencing may be a viable alternative to F2F interviews, because it did not …

Mutually Beneficial Service Learning: Language Teacher Candidates In A Local Community Center, Susan A. Hildebrandt

Dimensions

This article reports on a project designed to provide mutually beneficial solutions to challenges faced by world language teacher candidates, their preparation program, and a local community center. The project provided opportunities for teacher candidates enrolled in a world language (WL) teacher education course to complete clinical experiences through a service learning experience at the center. Teaching Spanish to children from low-income families provided candidates valuable classroom experiences with younger learners. This article explores benefits and challenges of WL teacher candidates teaching Spanish in a local community center.

Uniting The Corps: Uniting The Core

Dimensions

SCOLT Dimensions Volume 49

Fay B. Kaigler Children's Book Festival, Karen Rowell, The University Of Southern Mississippi, The University Of Southern Mississippi's School Of Library And Information Science

Fay B. Kaigler Children's Book Festival Programs

The program for the fourty-seventh annual Fay B. Kaigler Children's Book Festival held on the campus of The University of Southern Mississippi in Hattiesburg, Mississippi in 2014.

International Internet Access Levels And Student Implications, Eric Youn

2010-2016 Archived Posters

International students may face challenges in performance and in participation if Internet access levels in their country of residence are low. Using the viewpoint of the Internet as a utility, the study reviewed historical utility provisions to developing countries. This information will be further analyzed to create proposals to increase Internet access for international students and their communities.