Language and Literacy Education Commons^™

The Effects Of Digital Technology On Basic Writing, Leslie Denise Norris

English Theses & Dissertations

At this study's research site—a small, Virginia community college—faculty, staff and students use digital technology to share information daily, which could cause a problem for some students: students may need digital literacy instruction before the college requires those courses. Another potential problem is that scholars (Stephens, Houser, and Cowan) indicate that some instructors across the academy treat students negatively if students do not demonstrate digital, rhetorical dexterity when communicating—particular digital skills that some students lack.

For this study, I surveyed basic writing (BW) instructors and students at the research site to learn more about their digital experiences. The surveys yielded …

Medical Spanish For U.S. Medical Students: A Pilot Case Study, Lauren Davidson, Sheri Spaine Long

Dimensions

In an effort to expand the teaching of medical Spanish to medical students, a one-week pilot course was developed and implemented at The University of Alabama School of Medicine (UASOM) in January 2010. Objectives included offering a refresher course in Spanish for medical students before third-year clerkships and providing a model for medical schools interested in developing medical Spanish courses. The pilot course included the teaching of Spanish language and related cultural information to students at varying levels of Spanish proficiency by an experienced Spanish for Specific Purposes (SSP) instructor. Students completed an evaluation to suggest future directions for the …

From Orality To Literacy: A Curricular Model For Intensive Second-Year Collegiate Language Instruction, Per Urlaub, Jan Uelzmann

Dimensions

This article documents a curriculum reform of the second-year German program at the Department of Germanic Studies at the University of Texas at Austin. This curricular reform had two goals: (1) compressing two semesters of intermediate-level language instruction into a single semester; (2) incorporating a strategy-based approach to literary reading in the second language. The article will first compare the previous curriculum and then introduce a conceptual framework for the reform process. This framework is based on three distinct pedagogical principles that the article will outline. Further, the article will describe the planning and implementation stages of the reform and …

World Languages: Learners Wanted

Dimensions

SCOLT Dimensions Volume 47

Perspectives On Teaching And Learning English Literacy In China., Cynthia B. Leung, Jiening Ruan

Faculty Books

This is one of two volumes by the same editors that explore historical, philosophical, and cultural perspectives on literacy in China. This volume focuses on Chinese literacy, while the other volume is on English literacy. Since the founding of the People’s Republic of China, the country has witnessed a dramatic increase in its literacy rate, but not without challenges. The essays in this volume provide a comprehensive, cross-disciplinary look at changes in Chinese literacy education from ancient times to the modern day. Together, the essays address a wide array of topics, including early Chinese literacy development, children’s literature, foreign translated …

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 forty-fifth annual Fay B. Kaigler Children's Book Festival held on the campus of The University of Southern Mississippi in Hattiesburg, Mississippi in 2012.

How People Learn English As Second Language, Aldemaro Romero Jr.

Publications and Research

No abstract provided.

Mapping Writing Development In Young Bilingual Learners, Ana M. Hernández, Ed.D., Magaly Lavadenz, Ph.D.

Practitioner Journal Articles

A growing interest in Two-Way Bilingual Immersion (TWBI) programs has led to increased attention to bilingualism, biliteracy, and biculturalism. This article describes the writing development in Spanish and English for 49 kindergarten students in a 50/50 Two-Way Bilingual Immersion program. Over the course of an academic year, the authors collected writing samples to analyze evidence of cross-linguistic resource sharing using a grounded theoretical approach to compare and contrast writing samples to determine patterns of cross-linguistic resource sharing in English and Spanish. The authors identified four patterns: phonological, syntactic, lexical, and metalinguistic awareness. Findings indicated that emergent writers applied similar strategies …

Beatrice The Butterfly Visits The New York Public Library, Gail Goldspiel

Graduate Student Independent Studies

This original work of children's literature tells the story of Beatrice, a young butterfly who explores the 42nd Street New York Public Library with a class. Intended for children in grades K-3, this book serves as a first introduction to the library and can be read by parents, teachers, and librarians.

Preventing Long-Term English Learners: Results From A Project-Based Differentiated Eld Intervention Program, Magaly Lavadenz, Ph.D., Elvira G. Armas, Ed.D., Rosalinda Barajas

Practitioner Journal Articles

In this article the authors describe efforts taken by a small southern California school district to develop and implement an innovative, research-based English Language Development program to address a growing concern over long-term English Learners (LTELs) in their district. With support from the Weingart Foundation this afterschool program served 3^rd and 7^th grade LTELs between 2008–2011 to accelerate language and literacy acquisition and prevent prolonged EL status. Program evaluation results indicated that the intervention was associated with improved English language proficiency as measured by the California English Language Development Test. Results also showed a heightened awareness of effective …

Career Development And Professional Attrition Of Novice Esl Teachers Of Adults, Farahnaz Faez, Antonella Valeo

Education Publications

Research and development in language teacher education and, more recently, teacher accreditation has had enormous impact on the professional lives of ESL teachers in Canada. There has been less interest, however, in examining the career development and employment experiences of accredited ESL teachers as they transition from TESL programs to ESL classrooms. In this article, we report on a study examining this issue for ESL teachers of adults in Ontario, in which 147 ESL teachers responded to a survey and a select group participated in follow-up interviews. The data were collected for a broader study investigating the link between teacher …

Exploring The Educational Involvement Of Parents Of English Learners, Elizabeth M. Vera, M Susman Israel, Laura Coyle, J Cross, Laura Knight-Lynn, I Moallem, G Bartucci, N Goldberger

Center for Research Quality Publications

The purpose of the current investigation was to examine the relationships among a range of specific barriers and facilitators of parent involvement and a variety of types of school involvement within a diverse group of immigrant parents of English Learners (ELs) in four elementary school districts. In-home types of educational involvement such as monitoring homework and asking children about their school day were the most commonly reported behaviors, and utilizing community resources was found to be the least common type of parental involvement. Involvement type was predicted by parental demographic factors such as comfort with English language, educational background, and …

Seven Strategies For Teaching The Novel, James Young

The Utah English Journal

Most elementary and secondary teachers have independent reading programs that allow students to choose novels based on their interest and reading levels. After reading the novel on their own at home, students are either given short comprehension tests or asked to write reports to give them credit for the work they have completed. Sometimes, however, teachers want all of the students in a class to experience the same novel together. He or she might want to teach the class a reading technique associated with a novel, like how to locate the conflict in a story or how to examine the …

Today's Kids Need The Classics Too, Lorraine Wallace

The Utah English Journal

It is no secret that 21st Century adolescents are reading less than their parents and grandparents did. Because modern technology has tapped into teens’ craving for color, action, and sound, books have a hard time competing with the X-box and the Wii. The “gotta have it quick and easy” attitude of today’s teens and young adults seems to make reading anything of substance, involving depth of thought or processing time, a pastime gone the way of wringer washers and push mowers.

So how do secondary English teachers who want their students to read tap into the insatiable appetite teens have …

Experiencing The Cuwp Summer Institute, Liz Knight

The Utah English Journal

The Central Utah Writing Project is part of the network of over 200 National Writing Project sites. It was established in 2008 and serves the school districts of central Utah; every summer the CUWP sponsors a 3-4 week institute that brings together teachers from a variety of disciplines to study the art of teaching writing. This past summer I spent three weeks at the Central Utah Writing Project’s Summer Institute. I was there as the graduate assistant to the administrators, part-participant and part-observer. I was mid-way through the MFA program in Creative Writing at Brigham Young University, and had been …

Living Through Literature: The Benefits Of Small Learning Communities And Cross-Content Collaboration, Dawan Coombs, Brian Preece

The Utah English Journal

"Coombs, what are you doing here?” Matt asked as he walked into the room, geared up for history class with Mr. Preece. “I’m here for your class,” I replied with a smile. I knew where this was going; we’d had conversations similar to this before. “But this is history,” he retorted. “We don’t have your English class ‘til next period. You and Mr. Preece don’t even seem like you’d be friends.” Mr. Preece and I raised our eyebrows at Matt’s comment, but the sentiments he expressed were similar to those we had heard before. As this and other exchanges like …

Using Picture Books In The Secondary Classroom, Kaye Brockbank

The Utah English Journal

One of my favorite picture books is Stand Tall Molly Lou Mellon by Patty Lovell. It is a fantastic picture book about, among other things, following the advice of those we admire. The story also deals with topics such as being who you are despite what others think of you and standing up to bullies. Molly Lou’s story is perfect for introducing or supporting classroom discussions on these topics. The story is quick and to the point, and, despite what teen students might say, they really do enjoy having a story read to them. Picture books are a fun, quick …

"It's Such A Cool Word!" Reflections On In-Dept Vocabulary Instruction In A Middle School Language Arts Classroom, Naomi Watkins

The Utah English Journal

After several years of teaching vocabulary in a very traditional manner—list of words, copy the definitions, memorize them, take a test—I had grown weary of spending my time on instruction that I knew (even from my own personal experience as a student) did not work. I wanted instruction that resulted in my students really using the words in their own speech and writing, rather than just having superficial knowledge or merely being able to recognize words. I knew that my students were capable of a deeper processing level and of acquiring more sophisticated “everyday” words and academic language. I really …

Bullies, Bystanders, And A Birthday, Janae Shepherd

The Utah English Journal

Kelly Jo… Kelly Jo Fransden, the bully of Forbes Elementary School. She was in my classroom and my neighborhood, and I had to see her at church. She wasn’t particularly pretty, although for some reason she seemed to think she was. She strutted around the classroom and anywhere else with an air about her that she was somehow better than everyone else. As some kids today would say, she thought she was “all that and a bag of chips.” I’m still not sure why she acted that way. Perhaps it was her own lack of self-confidence, her projection of what …

Word Ways: Revisiting Ancient Greco-Latin Myths To Build Vocabulary, Jacqueline S. Thursby

The Utah English Journal

I recently assigned an old children’s tale to my senior undergraduate students called “!e Story of the Cruel Giant Barbarico, the Good Giant Benefico, and the Little Pretty Dwarf, Mignon,” written by Sarah Fielding, who lived from 1710 to1768. It was an unfamiliar story to them and written in the archaic style of 18th century English. The primary characters in the story were the giants, Barbarico and Benefico, and the sweethearts, Fidus and Amata. The names clearly reflect characteristics of the players in the story. By using root Latinate forms, Sarah Fielding foreshadowed the characters’ primary personality attributes: Barbarico (barbarous: …