Digital Commons Network^™

Elementary Teacher's Evolving Pedagogy Using Siop To Support Reading Instruction For English Learners, Karisa King

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Improving reading instruction for English language learner (ELL) students is a growing concern at a K-5 urban elementary school in a large city in a Midwest state. Classroom teachers are challenged in their knowledge and skill set to consistently and effectively integrate the Sheltered Instruction Observation Protocol (SIOP) model in their classrooms to support ELL student reading success. The purpose of this case study was to investigate how elementary classroom teachers, as adult learners, evolved their pedagogy while implementing the SIOP model in the reading instruction of ELLs. The conceptual frameworks used in guiding this qualitative case study were drawn …

Perceptions Of Acculturative Stress And English Language Learning In Latino Immigrants, Jamilah L. Byrom

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

AbstractThe process of English language learning (ELL) is a phenomenon, within the acculturation process, that poses challenges for first-generation Latino immigrants and potentially contributes to the susceptibility to acculturative stress. There has been little research on how second language acquisition influences acculturative stress. This study examined the perceptions of the experiences of young adult Latino immigrants who completed an English language learning program in the Washington, DC Metropolitan area. A generic qualitative study using face-to-face virtual interviews inquired about first-generation, young adult Latino immigrants’ perceptions of acculturative stress relative to experiences in adult ELL programs. Berry’s model of acculturation guided …

Exploring The Strategies English As A Second Language Teachers Use To Teach Students, Unika Lasha Felton

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

AbstractIn the local school district under study located in southern United States, English as second language (ESL) students are experiencing lower than expected standardized testing scores according to expectations set forth by the state Department of Education. The purpose of this project study was to explore the strategies ESL teachers use to teach ESL students. The conceptual framework was Gagne’s conditions of learning theory, which is used to assess students’ lack of preparation for future academic and career success. The research question asked what strategies ESL teachers use to teach ESL students. A qualitative exploratory case study with purposive sampling …

The Effects Of Sheltered Instruction Observation Protocol Strategies On The Reading Proficiency Of English Language Learners, Robin Padget

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

English language learners (ELLs) need additional support to achieve academic success. The problem addressed in this study was the need to know if the sheltered instruction observation protocol (SIOP) support for ELL students was effective in improving their reading achievement. The purpose of this causal-comparative study was to determine if there was a significant difference in reading achievement scores between ELLs who received the SIOP support and those who did not. SIOP provides a framework for teaching both language and content instruction. Krashen’s language acquisition theory was used as the theoretical framework for this study. The research questions compared grade …

Narratives Of Disability And Displacement: Oral Histories Of The Lived Experiences Of Disabled Refugees, Jennifer Lynn Ward

Doctoral Dissertations

Disabled refugees are considered as the most marginalized group of all displaced populations. Disabled displaced people are at particular risk of violence, exploitation, and abuse. Additional barriers to accessing humanitarian assistance, education, health care, and other services exist for disabled displaced people. The purpose of this study was to collaborate with disabled refugees who have resettled in the United States and to create a space for their stories to be told. This research project explores the narratives of the lived experiences of disabled displaced people through the lenses of three theoretical frameworks: human rights, disability justice, and Critical Refugee Studies. …

The Effect Of Teaching And Learning Vocabulary In Lexical Chunks On The Listening Comprehension Of Adult Learners Of Arabic, Bassam Al-Maqtari

Doctoral Dissertations

This study aimed to investigate how teaching and learning Arabic vocabulary items in multiword form (i.e., chunks and phrases), rather than in single form (i.e., one word at a time), affects learners’ ability to comprehend Arabic listening passages and to examine the relationship between students’ auditory knowledge of words, and that of phrases and listening comprehension. Data sources included three types of tests: the Arabic listening comprehension test, the single-word auditory knowledge test, and the multiword auditory knowledge test. The sample consists of 39 students (experimental group=20, control group=19). The study was separated into a quasi-experimental pretest-posttest portion (Phase 1) …

Teaching Critical Thinking Skills In A Chinese Immersion School, Pui Hung Helen Wong

Doctoral Dissertations

As a frontline teacher and administrator, I received feedback consistently from parents and students asking for a fun and effective method of instruction for Chinese language development in the US. This study explored the micro-level of how teachers in Chinese immersion schools create an environment to support development of students’ critical thinking skills while learning Chinese. I applied a qualitative approach to the research and designed a case study focused on answering the following research questions: How do teachers help their students to develop critical thinking skills when teaching in a Chinese immersion program? What are the challenges teachers have …

Yolkkh: The Story Of My People, Amna Zelimkha Yandarbin

Theses and Dissertations

The name of my project is: Yolkkh, The Story of My People. With this project I present a series of scarves each one bearing an illustrated scene in order to tell a story – my story and the story of the Noxci people. Noxci are the people who are referred to as “Chechens” by Russians and are generally known by that title. As a Muslim, I have witnessed the way Western media tend to dehumanize my community. In order to contrast this dehumanizing process, I thought that telling the story of my family would help reverse Islamophobic tendencies and raise …

Exploring Elementary Education Teachers’ Instruction Of Academic Language For English Language Learners, Irina Malykhina

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

General education teachers who teach language arts, math, science, and social studies are challenged with incorporating academic language instruction into content instruction for English language learners (ELLs). Little is known about how general education teachers use instructional strategies for teaching academic language to ELLs. A deeper understanding of teacher experiences with implementing academic language instruction to ELLs can help guide future efforts to collaborate on implementation for effective literacy programs that address ELLs’ academic language needs. The purpose of this qualitative case study was to explore how elementary general education teachers plan, implement, and assess academic vocabulary instruction to ELLs. …

Voice As A Tool For Learning: Using Personal Narratives To Eliminate Boundaries, Alexandra Reyes

Middle Grades & Secondary Education: Faculty Presentations (1999-2023)

In educational linguistics, educators rely on social interactions and real-world experiences to inform pedagogical practice. Such hands-on learning opportunities are not always accessible to students, due to a variety of external factors. Narratives have long been used as tools for teaching and learning in various contexts, particularly when field experiences are unavailable or unfeasible. Personal narratives can be especially powerful, as they provide insight to others’ lived experiences and transcend cultural, geographic, historical, generational, and linguistic worlds. In this presentation I explore the use of written and video personal narratives as a meaningful supplement to (and potential substitute for) field …

Using A Smart Phone To Learn Spanish: Does It Work And Will Students Use It?, Andrew J. Demil, Alysha Assaf, Ryan Cragun

The Coastal Review

Over time, mobile devices have penetrated the classroom, requiring new and beneficial ways to implement classroom instruction. Research suggests that Short Message Service (SMS) based instruction is an effective tool for acquiring second language (L2) vocabulary and idiom knowledge (Hayati, Jalilifar, & Mashhadi; Lu,). Additionally, studies have found that students believe that mobile learning (m-learning) is beneficial to acquiring a second language (Cavus & Ibrahim; Hayati, Jalilifar, & Mashhadi; Lu, 2008). This study examined whether m-learning can lead to Spanish vocabulary familiarity and if sentence comprehension outperforms reading definitions. Participants were 29 native English speakers studying Spanish as a second …

Digital Representation For Assessment Of Spoken Efl At University Level: A Case Study In Vietnam, Thi Bich Hiep Vu

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

Assessing the speaking performance of students who are studying English as a Foreign Language (EFL) has mainly been conducted with face-to-face speaking tests. While such tests are undoubtedly interactive and authentic, they have been criticised for subjective scoring, as well as lacking an effective test delivery method and recordings for later review.

Technology has increasingly been integrated into speaking tests over the last decade and become known as computer-assisted or computer-based assessment of speaking. Although this method is widely acknowledged to measure certain aspects of language speaking effectively, such as pronunciation and grammar, it has not yet proved to be …

An Exploration Of Virtual Reality To Facilitate Authentic Tasks In Efl Learning In A Vietnamese Tertiary Setting, Thi Ngoc Diem Hoang

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

During the past decade, English language teaching has received more consideration in Vietnam than ever before evidenced by strategic funding by the government. However, the English competence of the Vietnamese population remains low due to the lack of an authentic learning environment inside and outside the classroom despite significant and ongoing national investment. A suggested solution to this issue is the synergy of Task-Based Language Teaching (TBLT) and virtual reality (VR) mobile technology to create an authentic language learning environment. The potential of technology to facilitate language learning is a recognised but underresearched area of language education in higher education …

A Qualitative Study Of The Lao American College Experience, Jerry Sithiphone

University of the Pacific Theses and Dissertations

The majority of the Lao American population arrived in the United States after the end of the “American War in Southeast Asia” in 1975 as political refugees. Nevertheless, as Asian Americans, Lao Americans are also stereotyped to be the “model minority” and therefore do not face the same educational and socioeconomical challenges like other communities of color. However, Lao Americans are not the model minority and face numerous obstacles as the community is overlooked and history is forgotten by mainstream America. The lack of scholarly literature on Lao Americans highlights not only the general misunderstanding of the community, but also …

Equity In Language Programs: Revitalizing Indigenous Languages In Secondary School In Anchorage, Alaska, Betsy Watson (Paskvan)

Doctoral Dissertations

"Wherever there is a situation of domination and subordination between any two groups, whatever their color or religion, this will be reflected in the language relationship: one language dominating the other." —wa Thiong’o (2011, p. 244) Indigenous language and culture education efforts in Anchorage, Alaska are limited by omissions in the public school curriculum. One of the many reasons for this is that policy makers believe there is not sufficient demand for Alaska Native languages in public schools. Further there is a perceived lack of language teacher-leaders and experts to build programs for Alaska Native language instruction. This study used …

Pilipinx Radical Imagination: Healing And Visioning In Our Process Of Becoming, Anthony Abulencia Santa Ana

Doctoral Dissertations

There are estimated 10.4 million Filipinos living or working abroad primarily in the Middle East, Europe, Canada, and the United States searching for a better life for themselves and their families (Commission on Filipino Overseas, 2013). Due to economic motivation, assimilating to the host country's culture, values, and traditions is an act of survival. While the majority of the research has focused on the domestic workers’ experience, rarely has there been a study focusing on Filipinos in the diaspora positive contributions to the host country and their Pilipinx Radical Imagination. As a result, the purpose of this qualitative study is …

Learning From The History Of Language Oppression: Educators As Agents Of Language Justice, Sandra Rodriguez-Arroyo, Ferial Pearson

Journal of Curriculum, Teaching, Learning and Leadership in Education

There is a long history in this country of language oppression that has led to policies currently in place that affect the way educators are asked to teach. Therefore, educators must understand national and local language policy to know how it affects their students and how they can perform their duties as educators. Even though the U.S. does not have an official language, states have enacted language policies through court decisions and legislation. These policies have led to students being denied access to English as a Second Language (ESL) and bilingual education programs, resources, and accommodations, all of which lead …

Zoomprov. Improvisation Exercises For Language Learning In Online Classes With Zoom Or Similar Tech For Beginning And Intermediate Learners And Beyond, Mona Eikel-Pohen

Languages, Literatures, and Linguistics - All Scholarship

The improv language exercises in this compilation are chosen from the experience I gathered 20 years ago, but also from the amazing work of Lauren Esposito and Scranton Improv & Comedy that have been more real than anything else to me this past summer, and from Jim Ansaldo, who taught me how to structure improv exercises online. They are organized by level, referring to the Common European Framework of References for Languages. That means, A1 exercises can be conducted at the beginners level but also at all other higher levels, but B2 exercises should not be imposed upon beginners or …

Picking Up Steam: The Role Of Languages And Linguistics, Keith Mason

The Transdisciplinary STEAM+ Journal

Languages and linguistics are powerful skills that enhance STEAM curricula and careers. A variety of approaches and methods to language teaching and learning inform educators how to proceed with the enhancement of STEAM programs. Linguistics, the science of language, can help STEAM students, especially within the science and mathematics components, because of its reliance on hypothesis formulation for scientific inquiry and data collection and analysis. Language, an important aspect of the human experience, elevates or picks up the STEAM experience.

Using Contextualized Materials To Teach English Grammar, Jingyi Yang

Master's Projects and Capstones

Grammar learning is the foundation of language learning. Despite its importance, many ESL adult learners consider grammar learning a challenging part, and the effectiveness of grammar instruction has been evaluated low. This is because of inappropriate teaching approaches and the lack of contextualized learning materials. Inappropriate teaching approaches include traditional PPP (Presentation, Practice, Production), which hinder the effectiveness of research-based teaching approaches. Decontextualized and meaningless grammar forms are additional underlying challenges of grammar learning. This field project uses task-based language teaching (TBLT) as a theoretical framework. The three literature review themes explore the importance and challenges of grammar, grammar instruction …

Language Concordance In Medicine And The Need For Medical Schools To Require Taking A Foreign Language As An Intervention Method To Minimize Language Barriers In The U.S., Mary K. Yousif

Honors College Theses

During medical school future student doctors are exposed to a multitude of patients, both natives and non-natives. However, there is no course offering (such as a foreign language or culture class) provided within the curriculum that prepares them for these future interactions. With communication being one of the primary skills used in healthcare, it is imperative to discuss the effects it can cause on a patient if not established. Overall, the goal of this research is to conduct a literary investigation regarding this matter and educate the medical community about the importance of providing effective communication in medicine. This begins …

A Learning Nightmare For An Immigrant Family, Arlyn J. Sorto

Capstones

Just two years after settling in Texas, a Honduran mother and her two kids must grapple with the hardships of remote learning due to limited access to the internet and a language barrier during a global pandemic.

The Connections Of Music, Culture, And Language: A Qualitative Case Study Of The Musical Experience Of A Newcomer Program, Jessica Strawderman

Masters Theses, 2020-current

In this qualitative case study, I investigated the philosophy and process of an elementary newcomer program and explored the perceived benefits for newcomer students of the musical experience, aiding in transition from full-time English as a second language (ESL) services in self-contained class to a general education setting. The studied school division serves a high population of students who are English Language Learners (ELLs), representing a multitude of languages and cultures. The division places students of immigrant families who have no social or educational experience speaking English in the newcomer program. In order to gain a deep understanding of the …

Cultural Identity Formation: A Personal Narrative, Jose Carbajal

Faculty Publications

This paper provides an autoethnography of personal experiences and perceptions of being a minoritized individual. This is the story of a professional social worker learning to adapt to social norms and expectations of self. I discuss the struggles I experienced as an adolescent and as a young adult attending college. This narrative highlights the intersection of faith and social work at moments in my professional development. It is at this intersection that this social worker learns to live a holistic life without feeling discriminated against or ashamed of his identity. I begin to actualize a reality with imperfect beings who …

Evaluating A Speech Training Software Program Called Nativeaccent Based On Empirical Studies, Farideh Nekoobahr, Jacqueline Hawkins, Kristi L. Santi, Janeen R. S. Antonelli, Johanna Leigh Thorpe

Journal of English Learner Education

This article evaluates a Computer-Assisted Language Learning program called NativeAccent and demonstrates that the software is designed based on systematic instructional strategies and empirically-proven theories. The instructional strategies include an initial assessment, training sessions, a final reassessment, repeated measurement, graphic presentation and systematic and rigorous interpretive guidelines, and individualized dosage. The empirically-supported theories are rooted in the four research-based theories of Universal Design for Learning, Learning Science, Intelligent Tutoring System, and Automatic Speech Recognition. In matching the components of the four theories mentioned above to the design of NativeAccent and evaluating the software, the purpose is to help administrators, educators, …

The Power Of A Name: Nontraditional Names, Teacher Efficacy, And Expected Learning Outcomes, Lasonya L. Moore, Martha S Lue Stewart Dr., Dena D. Slanda, Anais Placencia, Meznari M. Moore

Journal of English Learner Education

Names serve as important identifiers and carry with them hopes for a generation as well as pride in one’s culture. A name is often an extension of one’s culture or language and represents their identity. With the increasing student diversity across our nation, many students in our K-12 public schools may have uncommon or nontraditional names. Public school teachers, who are predominantly White, may find these names unfamiliar, difficult to pronounce or difficult to spell. Despite a name’s unfamiliarity, classroom teachers must have the knowledge and disposition to create a space that signals to a student that their name is …

Integrating Critical Multiliteracies Pedagogy In Esl/Efl Teaching, Sujin Kim, Kathleen A. Ramos, Hyunsun Chung, Sungshim Choi

Journal of English Learner Education

This article argues for enacting a synthesis of English language teaching (ELT) and critical pedagogy into what we call critical multiliteracies pedagogy (CMP) in the context of ESL/EFL teaching. CMP challenges and expands language and literacy instruction beyond a skills-based pedagogy to be inclusive of diverse modes, voices, and identities to address critical issues across local, global, and transnational contexts in ESL/EFL classrooms. Particularly, we share how an international professional development program has promoted CMP for 20 Korean English teachers working with adolescent multilingual learners in South Korea. Findings show how participating teachers critically reframed their vision of ELT, enacting …

From Esl To Eal: Moving From A Deficit Framework To An Asset Framework, Karen Bordonaro

Journal of English Learner Education

This article describes a self-directed autoethnographic research study of how the author moved from a deficit to an asset perspective in working with non-native speakers of English. Reframing this perspective took place by investigating how the author’s lived experiences as an ESL instructor intersected with the learning theories of language learner autonomy, plurilingualism, and internationalization at home to create positive flashpoints. These flashpoints included offering choices, marking learner success, and embedding cultural information into domestic settings. By engaging in these reflections, a widened perspective of moving from English as a second language to English as an additional language was reached. …

Collaborating With K-12 Partners: Improving Preservice Teachers’ Self-Efficacy In Teaching Rural English Learners Science Through A Guided Experiential Learning Opportunity, Dana Manning, Erin Pearce

Journal of English Learner Education

With changing demographics in the United States, educator preparations programs (EPPs) must consider incorporating more experiential learning opportunities for preservice teachers to grow in their self-efficacy when working in diverse classrooms. At a rural university in the southern United States, researchers designed an instructional unit that transcended three educator preparation courses to provide an opportunity for students to design and deliver a 5E science lesson to English learners from a rural school district. The results from this study indicate that preservice teachers’ self-efficacy in teaching English learners increased as evidenced by the Teacher Sense of Self- Efficacy Scale, adapted for …

Embracing The New Normal: Infusing Academic Language And Technology To Empower Ells, Scott B. Freiberger

Journal of English Learner Education

This au courant, research-based article offers specific program ideas for teachers during this unprecedented time when supporting our ELLs is especially needed.