Digital Commons Network^™

Literacies Of Bilingual Youth: A Profile Of Bilingual Academic, Social, And Txt Literacies, Michelle A. Mcsweeney

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

This dissertation identifies three types of language skills that urban Spanish/English bilingual youth possess (academic, social, and texting language), and reports on their relationship while documenting and analyzing the features of text messaging among this population. The participants in this study are Spanish-dominant bilingual young adults enrolled in a high school completion program in New York City. They are in the process of developing both Spanish and English academic literacy skills, and it is well known that they tend to perform below the grade they are enrolled in. For this reason, they are often referred to as being “language-less” (DeCapua …

Transnational Indigenous Migration: Racialized Geographies And Power In Southern Highland Ecuador, Victoria Stone-Cadena

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

This study examines the shifting landscape of social and economic inequalities in the remittance-dominated region of southern highland Ecuador, focusing on the transformations brought about by increased international migration since the early 2000s. The broader question is whether or not transnational migration has facilitated political and social upward mobility among indigenous communities. More specifically I ask: in what ways does indigenous identity figure in contemporary international migration practices, how does transnational indigenous migration complicate bounded notions of rural indigenous life, and how might the strategies employed by indigenous migrants transform social and economic inequalities in two small towns in the …

Maximizing Student Achievements: Mastering Aviation English, Stacey Mcintire, Juan Merkt, Jacqueline Luedtke, Timothy B. Holt, Jordan Brown

Publications

Flight training delays and corresponding increased costs appear to be widespread among universities with aviation programs. Students in these programs have to juggle demanding academics and flight training. Additionally, international students, for whom English is not their primary language, have the added disadvantage of learning complex aviation concepts in English. In order to maximize retention in collegiate flight programs, an experimental aviation English course has been designed to help frontload aviation vocabulary and take a proactive approach to teaching language skills that are essential in flight training.

Parents' And Teachers' Collaborative Perspective: An Input For A Model On Materials Development In A Multilingual Setting, Jane Kibla Lartec

Journal of Research Initiatives

This study explored the collaborative perspective of teachers and parents on the materials development in a multilingual setting. Respondents were six parents and six teachers from two pilot schools in a melting pot city of different languages and cultures. The research design employed was qualitative to gain insights, explore the depth, richness and complexity inherent in the social or cultural phenomenon. Data were gathered from interviews with the aid of audio recorder and interview guide based on Malone (2007). The responses were transcribed and then categorized into themes according to similarities pertaining to the development of materials. It was found …

“We All Is Teachers”: Emergent Bilingual Children At The Center Of The Curriculum, Ysaaca D. Axelrod

Occasional Paper Series

Incorporating data from an ethnographic case study of a bilingual (Spanish/English) Head Start program serving the children of Dominican and Mexican immigrants, Axelrod explores the tensions in parents’, teachers’, and administrators’ beliefs about language use and the role of play.

Efl Learners’ Post-Sojourn Perceptions Of The Effects Of Study Abroad, Sandra Steinwidder

Comparative and International Education / Éducation Comparée et Internationale

This qualitative study investigated in what ways tertiary-level English foreign language (EFL) learners believed that they had changed following their study abroad. The participants were 12 Austrian EFL learners who had been exchange students in the UK or US. I conducted a cross-sectional study, grouping participants according to the duration of their stay abroad, as well as the period of time since they had returned to their home country. Comparisions were drawn between students who spent one semester, and those who spent two. I also investigated the differences displayed depending on how long a student has been back in their …

The Post-Sojourn In Study Abroad Research—Another Frontier, John L. Plews

Comparative and International Education / Éducation Comparée et Internationale

No abstract provided.

Editors' Introduction, María Corral-Ribordy, Carlos Molina

CouRaGeouS Cuentos: A Journal of Counternarratives

No abstract provided.

Full Issue

CouRaGeouS Cuentos: A Journal of Counternarratives

No abstract provided.

Translanguaging In The Writing Of Emergent Multilinguals, Lydiah Kananu Kiramba

Department of Teaching, Learning, and Teacher Education: Faculty Publications

This article discusses the findings of an empirical study that investigated the writing practices in a multilingual, rural, fourth-grade classroom in Kenya. The study was undergirded by Bakhtin’s heteroglossia. Analysis of texts indicated that these emergent multilinguals used multiple semiotic resources to maximize the chances of meeting the communicative goals through translanguaging. However, the translanguaging process in writing was a tension-filled process in terms of language separation and correctness. The emergent multilingual writer went through tensions in the process of finding a balance between authorial intentions and the authoritarian single voicedness required by the school and the national curriculum. The …

School Connectedness, Language Acquisition And Academic Success: A Study Of English Language Learners' Experiences At A Comprehensive High School, Philip M. Alfano

Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to explore differences in perceptions of school connectedness among Long Term English Learner (LTEL) students and Redesignated Fluent English Proficient (RFEP) students in a comprehensive high school setting. The study also seeks to determine whether or not there is a relationship between English language acquisition and perceptions of school connectedness among these two groups.

The target population was LTEL and RFEP students enrolled in grades 6-12 in public schools in Stanislaus County. Delimiting characteristics were applied to both the target population and the population sample to reduce variability. Quantitative data including artifacts and scaled …

Lesson Plan: "Hello My Names Are", Jennifer B. Delfino Ph.D.

Open Educational Resources

Themed after the name tag" Hello My Name Is," this activity asks students to introduce themselves in the context of the multiple names they use inside and outside the classroom. It is intended to encourage students to reflect on how they position themselves via multiple identities and also helps instructors learn how to pronounce students' preferred names as they should be pronounced.

On The Expression Of Higher Mathematics In American Sign Language, John Tabak

Journal of Interpretation

Abstract

The grammar and vocabulary of higher mathematics are different from the grammar and vocabulary of conversational English and conversational American Sign Language (ASL). Consequently, mathematical language presents interpreters with a unique set of challenges. This article characterizes those aspects of mathematical grammar that are peculiar to the subject. (A discussion of mathematical vocabulary and its expression in ASL can be found elsewhere (Tabak, 2014).) An increased awareness of the grammar of mathematical language will prove useful to those interpreters for the deaf and deaf mathematics professionals seeking to express higher mathematics in ASL.

In this article one will, for …

Contextualized Recognition Of Fingerspelled Words, Campbell Mcdermid, Lynn Finton, Alexis Chasney

Journal of Interpretation

Fingerspelling, an aspect of American Sign Language, is difficult for second language English-speaking adults to learn (Bahleda, 1998), yet mastery is required by professional ASL-English interpreters. This study compared novice and expert interpreters’ interpretation of fingerspelled words under the assumption that exposure to priming material in their L1, English, would enable the interpreters to recognize those terms when fingerspelled in their L2, ASL. In this study, participants (15 novices, 15 experts) were asked to interpret an ASL text with 25 “carefully” fingerspelled words embedded. Ten subjects were not given priming materials, ten a list of words in printed English that …

More Than Meets The Eye: Latino Students In A Two-Way Immersion Program And Stereotype Threat, Edgar Ubaldino Solares Vega

Dissertations and Theses

Figures from the 2010 Census indicate that there are 50.5 million Latinos (16% of the total population) living in the United States (US) today. From 2000 to 2010, the Latino population experienced a very rapid growth rate of 43%, which accounted for over half the total population growth. More and more Latino students are entering our public schools and face the reality that 62 years after the Brown V. Board of Education ruling to integrate schools and equalize educational opportunities, schools are more racially and economically segregated and more unequal than they were more than half a century ago. As …

A National Bilingual Education Policy For The Economic And Academic Empowerment Of Youth In St. Lucia, West Indies, Gabriella Bellegarde

Capstone Collection

This campaign portfolio argues the case for a national bilingual education policy on the island of St. Lucia, where youth speak both St Lucian Creole and St. Lucian standard English. The portfolio consists of a policy paper and brief, an advocacy plan, a communications plan, monitoring and evaluation plan. The Bilingual Education Taskforce (BET), made up of teachers, parents and principals, is an advocacy organization that discovered the need for a bilingual education intervention when they observed, assessed and analyzed the written work of struggling readers at their school, the Anse la Raye Infant School on the west coast of …

The Arts Community Without Community: Imagining Aesthetic Curriculum For Active Citizenship, Seungho Moon

Education: School of Education Faculty Publications and Other Works

This article is about teaching art-based inquiry and equity pedagogy. The author introduces an aesthetic-inspired afterschool curriculum in the urban context in the United States and theorizes the meaning of active citizenship and community. Conceptually framed by “community without community,” this article explicates the ways in which the ARtS children (Aesthetic, Reflexive thoughts, & Sharing) investigated the meanings of community through dance, poetry, and clay art. The author imagines and theorizes community that goes beyond emphasizing solidarity and a collective “we”-ness in the pursuit of social transformation. Rather, the author argues that “community without community” could be an important framework …

Outcomes Of Speech And Language Pilot Program For International Students, Kelly Fussman

Mahurin Honors College Capstone Experience/Thesis Projects

Universities in the United States host a substantial number of international students every academic year. As of the 2015-2016 academic year, Western Kentucky University, located in south-central Kentucky, alone hosts over 1,400 international students. These students often face a number of challenges upon arrival in the United States, especially when it comes to language and cultural differences. A considerable body of research indicates that international students’ educational performance and outcomes are significantly impacted by their cultural identities, psychological and sociocultural experiences, and attitudes in relation to English-speaking societies. Many international students attribute academic and social difficulties to a lack of …

The Acquisition Of Bare Nominals By Three Populations Of Spanish-English Bilingual Adults, Lauren Elizabeth Miller

Open Access Dissertations

The present study contributes to our understanding of cross-linguistic influence by studying three different groups of Spanish-English speakers’ knowledge of the distribution of definite articles in both of their languages using a battery of tests that require them to draw on different linguistic abilities. These three groups include native English speakers who learned Spanish after adolescence, native Spanish speakers who learned English after adolescence and simultaneous bilinguals who grew up in the United States speaking both English and Spanish from birth. Specifically, this study explores interpretation, production and intuition regarding the acceptability of definite articles in different contexts. Since the …

On Attitudes Toward Spanish Varieties: A Bilingual Perspective, Julio F. C. Ciller, Carmen F. Florez

Writing and Language Studies Faculty Publications

This study explores the attitudes of 25 English-Spanish bilingual speakers from Tucson (Arizona) towards their own variety and compares them with their attitudes toward monolingual varieties of Mexican (from Hermosillo) and Peninsular Spanish (from Murcia and Madrid). Our analysis points to a clear influence of the standard language ideology (MILROY, 2001) on shaping these attitudes, escalated by a tendency among bilinguals in diglossic societies to feel insecure about their own variety as a minority language, or towards a feeling of linguistic self-hatred.

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Este estudo explora as atitudes de 25 falantes bilíngues de espanhol e inglês de Tucson (Arizona) com …

L2 Effect On Bilingual Spanish/English Encoding Of Motion Events: Does Manner Salience Transfer?, Heidi E. Parker

Open Access Dissertations

This study explores the potential effect of a second language (L2) on first language (L1) encoding of motion events. The domain of interest is MANNER and the goal is to investigate if the degree of manner salience can be restructured under the effect of a L2. Slobin (2004, 2006) proposes an expansion of Talmy’s (1985, 1991, 2000) binary typology and observes that the degree of manner saliencevaries cross-linguistically. The two languages investigated in this study, Spanish and English, are at divergent points along the cline of manner salience. In addition, Slobin (1996b) suggests dividing MANNER into tier one (T1) …

A Correlational Study Of Teacher Demographics And Racial Color-Blindness, Dudley Freeman

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

Two primary camps of thought guide K-12 education: Color-blind ideology and Multiculturalism (Rattan & Ambady, 2013). Color-blindness implies color does not matter (Neville, Lilly, Duran, Lee, & Browne, 2000). Shifting student demographics in K-12 education and unchanging demographics of a predominately White, female teaching force create a need for better understanding the dynamics affecting teachers and their interaction with the students they teach. This correlational study utilized multiple regression analyses to answer the following research question: How accurately can racial color-blindness be predicted from the linear combination of age, years-of-experience, and political philosophy for K-12 teachers located in an urbanized …

Academic Vocabulary Instruction And Adult English Language Learners In The Arabian Gulf: A Phenomenological Study Of Instructor Perspectives, Indrani Ibrahim

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The purpose of this phenomenological study was to describe 11 ESL instructors’ experiences and perceptions of why some adult learners in their college level ESL programs in the Gulf States of the Middle East have challenges to academic reading comprehension success. The theories that guided this study were epistemological and axiological ones whereby participants’ descriptions of perceptions regarding academic vocabulary instruction, instructional self-efficacy, and experiences were explored. Adult learning theory of Malcolm Knowles’ coupled with the social cognitive theory espoused by Albert Bandura are the frameworks that underscore the adult learner context and their social learning and instructional environments within …

Exploring Gesturing As A Natural Approach To Impact Stages Of Second Language Development: A Multiple Baseline, Single Case Study Of A Head Start Child, Guillermo I. Mendoza

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

There is an increase in Hispanic English Language Learners (ELL). Poverty levels and lack of teacher training can also be stacked against the ELL population. Gesturing is a teaching technique that is used in successful methods such as The Natural Approach (NA) and Total Physical Response (TPR) in helping ELL students in English comprehension and output. This study examined the effects that increased teacher gestures have on the number of words spoken by the child in multiple settings. Data were collected in the context of a multiple baseline design across three settings. The results indicate that there was an effect …

Humanizing Mathematics Through Ethnomodelling, Milton Rosa, Daniel Clark Orey

Journal of Humanistic Mathematics

Ethnomathematical techniques and modelling tools allow us to examine systems taken from the real world and offer us insight into forms of mathematics performed in holistic contexts [3]. A pedagogical approach that connects a diversity of cultural forms of mathematics can be implemented by the use of ethnomodelling, a process of translation and elaboration of problems and questions taken from non-academic systems. Here, we offer examples of studies conducted in Brazil and in the United States that explore this pedagogical approach. Our goal is to broaden the discussion of possibilities for ethnomathematics and associated ethnomodelling perspectives that respect the …

Using Manipulatives To Investigate Esol Students' Achievement And Dispositions In Algebra, Donna L. Marsh

Doctor of Education in Teacher Leadership Dissertations

The purpose of this embedded quasi-experimental mixed methods research was to investigate the effectiveness of concrete and virtual manipulatives on the achievement of English Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL) as they employ them to explore linear and exponential functions in high school Sheltered Common Core Coordinate Algebra. Also of interest were the effects concrete and virtual manipulatives have on their disposition towards mathematics and math class. Another goal was to investigate the benefits and disadvantages of using concrete and virtual manipulatives versus traditional instructional practices.

This was a 5-week study. The control group (N=20) was instructed through the use of …

Perceptions Of Hmong Parents In A Hmong American Charter School: A Qualitative Descriptive Case Study On Hmong Parent Involvement, Kirk T. Lee

Dissertations and Theses

Parental involvement plays an essential role in the United States (U.S.) educational system. However, parental involvement poses many challenges for Hmong parents in American schools. Many assumptions are made on the parts of teachers, staff, and Hmong parents about parents' roles pertaining to their involvement in their children's education. Hmong parents struggle to reconcile beliefs, attitudes, and values that they bring with them from Laos with the expectations found in the U.S. due to their unfamiliarity with the U.S. educational system.

This study employed the used a qualitative, descriptive case study approach to examine the perceptions of Hmong parents involvement …

(Im)Possible Identity: Autoethnographic (Re)Presentations, Seungho Moon, Chris Strople

Education: School of Education Faculty Publications and Other Works

In this paper, we examine experience, identity, and their intersections. Working from an autoethnographic positionality, we investigate the insufficiencies of language and the limitations of any given researcher with an intent to address multiple realities and their respective interpretations of meaning. Autoethnographic narratives with the use of visual, written, and multimedia representations further acknowledge the dilemmas of qualitative researchers when they cannot fully describe subjectivities in research. What is deemed to be valid research is often indicative of a theoretical framework that aggressively seeks to invalidate other perspectives and ways of knowing. Thus, we create research spaces by employing counter-narratives …

The Impact Of Implementing A Culturally Responsive Latino Poetry Unit To Examine Language, Identity, And Culture In A Middle School Language Arts Classroom, Kari Loecker

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

The purpose of this practitioner research study was to examine the implementation of a culturally responsive poetry unit in a majority Latino middle school in Nebraska. The experiences of Latino and non-Latino eighth-grade language arts students were documented in an effort to understand the level of engagement and conclusions drawn from the poetry. This study also explores the effectiveness of using a multicultural poetry unit to address state standards. Data sources include student written work, whole-class and individual discussions, pre and post surveys, and daily entries in a teacher research journal. Latino students found the poetry to be representative of …

A Study Of Home Emergent Literacy Experiences Of Young Latino English Learners, Guy Trainin, Stephanie Wessels, J. Ron Nelson, Patricia Vadasy

Department of Teaching, Learning, and Teacher Education: Faculty Publications

This empirical study explored the home environment literacy practices of young Latino English learners and their families. The participants were 217 incoming Kindergarten Latino EL students and parents. The data collection included a completed HLEQ by the parents. In addition, children were administered the PPVT, the pre- LAS, the PALS-K screening, the Woodcock Reading Mastery assessment, and the Wide Range Achievement test. All of the literacy assessments given to the children provided the researchers with comprehensive look at their literacy knowledge base. The results of this study indicate that there were two significant paths for students’ achievement: availability of books …