Digital Commons Network^™

Arabic Teachers' Perception Of An Integrated Approach For Teaching Arabic As A Foreign Language In Colleges And Universities In The United States, Abeer Al-Mohsen

Doctoral Dissertations

This study examines the perception of Arabic teachers on whether an integrated approach is critical for students’ communicative competence in Arabic. Additionally, the study attempts to uncover what might be potential barriers to the integrated-approach program-wide implementation in the field of Teaching Arabic as a Foreign Language in higher education institutes in the United States. Although many studies investigated students’ perception of learning Modern Standard Arabic (MSA) only, few studies focused on teachers’ perceptions of the issue and understanding of what communicative Arabic instruction should entail.

Using a mixed-method study, the researcher conducted the study in two sequential phases: a …

Building Communicative Competence: An Evaluation Of The Effectiveness Of An Intensive Japanese-Language Program, Yukiko Konishi

Doctoral Dissertations

Even though language-program evaluations provide educators with various types of information on teaching practices and the programs in which they work, insufficient literature discusses issues related to language-program evaluation. This mixed-methods study examined the effectiveness of a Japanese-language program offered at a government-sponsored Institute located in northern California on language-program evaluation and developing communicative competence at postsecondary schools.

Data comprised two sets of surveys, six individual interviews, and one group interview. Survey respondents were 35 former students of the institute and 12 Japanese instructors who are currently teaching Japanese or have taught Japanese at the Institute. Of the 35 students, …

Multilingual Writers' Unintentional Plagiarism: Action Research In College Composition, Jacqueline D. Gullon

EWU Masters Thesis Collection

This study investigates the awareness of plagiarism and MLA citations among multilingual college students. It is an example of action research that began Fall Quarter 2013. The study conducted at Eastern Washington University in an English Composition for Multilingual Writers class involved students from Japan, Saudi Arabia, France, Germany, Spain, and China. The researcher used journal prompts to identify multi-lingual students' perception of plagiarism. The class had been designed to prepare the students for Standard American English composition writing. Students were given reading material and asked to cite and to paraphrase sentences and paragraphs. The data was analyzed, and the …

Games For Vocabulary Enrichment: Teaching Multilingual Writers At The College Level, Jennifer Hawkins

EWU Masters Thesis Collection

"This study explores the effectiveness of the game activity, Taboo, to teach ESL vocabulary in a college-level EAP course. It is mixed-methods research, including qualitative data in the form of student journals and quantitative data in the form of student assessments. It is also action research that reflects a novice teacher's experience of adapting a game activity to make it more effective for learning academic vocabulary. The study is centered on the voices of student writers who experienced the game in their classroom and wrote about the experience in journals. A comparative quantitative assessment measured students' learning outcomes on the …

Increasing Multimedia Literacy In Composition For Multilingual Writers: A Case Study Of Art Analysis, Sony Nicole De Paula

EWU Masters Thesis Collection

"This multiple case study/critical ethnography/autoethnography was done in two composition classes for multilingual writers at EWU in order to explore ways to foster multimodal literacies in English Language Learners (ELL's). "Digital composing environments force writers, readers, and texts to change .... Today, more than ever before, attention is being given to the role of the arts, multi-modality, and new literacies as they relate to research and practice in English language arts classrooms and operate within 21st century literacies" (NCTE.org, 2016; Jocius, 2016). Following the call from the NCTE, the author urges us to consider postmodern views of reading and writing …

Identifying As Author: Exploring The Pedagogical Basis For Assisting Diverse Students To Discover Their Identities Through Creatively Defined Literacy Narratives, Amber D. Pullen

EWU Masters Thesis Collection

This thesis explores the current discourse surrounding the redefinition of concepts such as text and authorship in the field of composition studies. Drawing from scholarship on topics ranging from multi-modal composition to feminist historical-appropriation, the author builds a case for redefining these concepts to include a broader range of texts and author-voices from which instructors can draw for course readings. By focusing on the particular instance of selecting readings to teach a literacy narrative unit in a first year college composition course, the author shows how redefining and broadening concepts of text and authorship may allow for students to more …

The Case Of Three Karen Refugee Women And Their Children: Literacy Practices In A Family Literacy Context, Sabrina Dm Quadros, Loukia K. Sarroub

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

The lack of research about the Karen—one of 135 ethnic groups from Myanmar—limits literacy educators charged with educating this refugee population in public schools. In this case study the authors explore the literacy practices of Karen families when at school and in their homes and within an ESL family literacy program. The case of these refugee families and their experiences are analyzed within a sociocultural theoretical framework along with a focus on literacy adaptation through the lenses of crosscultural studies, adult and language teachers involved in literacy practices, and literacy studies. Four core themes emerged from participant observation, including adult/ …

Stakeholders' Perceptions Of English Language Learners Meeting Adequate Yearly Progress In Reading, Susan Calibo Loney

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

English language learners (ELLs) in a Midwestern urban elementary school have not been meeting the local school's adequate yearly progress (AYP) in reading in 3 consecutive years on statewide test scores. Meeting school standards is important because failing to meet AYP for 6 consecutive years can result in the restructuring or closing of any public school in the nation. The rationale for this qualitative case study was to examine the perceptions of stakeholders, 7 parents, teachers, and school administrators, all of whom have demonstrated knowledge of and proximity to the school's AYP decisions, to develop vocabulary strategies that may increase …

Perceptions Of Emergency Preparedness Among Immigrant Hispanics Living In Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, Rebekah Doyle

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Tornadoes are occurring with increased frequency in Oklahoma. Emergency preparedness planning is essential to decreasing individuals' risks of injury or death from a tornado. Research on immigrant Hispanics' knowledge and perceptions of emergency preparedness is limited. The purpose of this study was to explore the perceptions and lived experiences of immigrant Hispanics who had experienced a tornado or other crisis weather conditions in Oklahoma during spring of 2013. The research questions explored their perceived risk for injury and knowledge of tornado preparedness planning. The health belief model provided the theoretical underpinnings for this qualitative phenomenological study. Semi structured interviews were …

Multimedia Technologies' Influence On Language Acquisition In English Language Learners, Larissa Karina Parrilla

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

English as a Second Language (ESL) learners at the upper elementary level have struggled to demonstrate the vocabulary required to read in English at grade-level. Although multimedia technologies have demonstrated positive effects as language acquisition educational tools at the university level, it remains unclear how useful they are for language acquisition at the elementary level. This quasi-experimental study used dual coding theory as a framework to examine the relationship between the level of reading comprehension upper elementary students developed and their construction of word meanings through use of multimedia technologies. The study utilized convenience sampling of 85 students divided into …

Cultural Relevance In An English Language Learners' Classroom: A Qualitative Case Study, Katherine L. Roe

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Colleges and universities typically provide remedial reading coursework for English language learners (ELL) to develop academic reading proficiency. However, a disproportionate number of ELLs fail to exit remedial classes. Prior research has indicated cultural relevance can motivate and stimulate learning; however, the extent to which a culturally relevant classroom curriculum makes a difference in the ELL classroom experience has not been fully explored. This study describes the experience of cultural relevance in an academic reading ELL college class. Moll's funds of knowledge was used as the conceptual framework in a qualitative case study to examine how cultural strengths and knowledge …

Afterschool Program Effects On English Learners' Reading And Teachers' Reading Curriculum Perceptions, Helen Marie Mayfield

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

This project study addressed the problem of 3rd grade English language learners (ELLs) not passing the state mandated reading test at the same rate as other students between 2009 and 2013 in Georgia. The purpose of the study was to examine the effects of an elementary school's afterschool program (ASP) on ELLs' reading achievements and to investigate 3rd grade afterschool teachers' perceptions of the reading curriculum using a mixed methods explanatory sequential design. Schema theory, the framework used to guide this study, indicated prior knowledge and experiences are necessary to comprehend new ideas or concepts. Prior knowledge and experiences can …

Empowering English Language Teachers Through History, Eun-Young Julia Kim

Faculty Publications

TESOL training programs typically offer courses in methods and pedagogy, along with other classes to equip future English language teaching (ELT) professionals with essential teaching skills and knowledge. Not as frequently offered or required, however, is a course focusing on critically examining political and philosophical aspects of ELT. This article discusses why I believe it is important for TESOL curriculums to include topics on the diachronic development and synchronic variations of the English language and to engage students in topics that would allow them to critically examine embedded power relations in ELT. By reflecting on my own classroom experience as …

Language Rich Early Childhood Classroom: Simple But Powerful Beginnings, Erin E. Flynn

School of Social Work Faculty Publications and Presentations

This article highlights research exploring the benefits of small group storytelling as a way to promote rich language in early childhood classrooms. Using the storytelling of children from a preschool classroom serving lower SES children, the collaborative affordances of story circles are explored. Results show that small group storytelling engages children in ways of using language associated with literacy learning. When storytelling, children use language in extended, multi-clause turns, relaying what happened in another context. Story requires children to communicate what happened as well as the interpersonal significance of events. Small group storytelling also gives children a chance to practice …

The Politics Of Official English: Exploring The Intentions And The Outcomes Behind English-Only Policies In The United States, David Gonzalez Nieto

Graduate Doctoral Dissertations

Although the Constitution did not declare English the official language of the United States, its complete linguistic dominance in such a linguistically diverse nation is unparalleled. Despite its supremacy, the last three decades have witnessed a renewed nationalistic movement that claims the role of English is threatened and that its establishment as the official language of the United States is crucial to protect the language and the unity of the nation.

So far, attempts to institutionalize English at the federal level have failed, but 28 states have adopted English as their official language and/or legislation that limits the use of …

The Importance Of Maintaining A Heritage Language While Acquiring The Host Language, Anna L. Vallance

Honors College Theses

Few issues are as relevant to modern education as the topic of bilingual students. As the school-age population in the United States becomes increasingly diverse, teachers and other educational professionals need to know how they can best serve their English learners (students who speak a first language other than English). A common question that many educators grapple with is what role a student’s heritage language (native language) ought to play in the classroom. Specifically, how important is it that students maintain their heritage language? By critically reviewing the existing literature relating to the subject, this article strives to answer that …

A Literacy-Level Curriculum For Adult Spanish-Speaking English Language Learners With Limited Formal Education, Kirsten L. Keihl

Master's Projects and Capstones

Many Spanish-speaking adult immigrants in the United States face an immediate need to learn English, but also suffer from a lack of formal education as many did not complete middle school or high school. These learners need a curriculum that is tailored specifically to their needs. This project provides a communicative curriculum for teaching English and Spanish literacy, English speaking and listening skills, and basic classroom skills utilizing native language instruction when helpful using learning strategies and authentic materials that are appropriate for adults. It also addresses sociocultural and sociopolitical concerns of this population and utilizes culturally relevant materials.

Digital Lessons For Enhancing Communicative Skills: A Handbook For Turkish Efl Teachers, Hale H. Demirel

Master's Projects and Capstones

It is necessary for English teachers who are interested in exposing their students to the authentic and communicative use of English to have access to model instructional materials. This project sought to develop a handbook and an accompanying website for teachers of English working with intermediate ESL/EFL students at university level. The handbook includes two theme-based lessons that emphasize the development of communicative competence with the help of engaging free digital tools. The content of the handbook can be improvised or modified and adapted to meet the needs of unique teaching-learning situations in case of need.

Mother Tongue Interference In English Language Pronunciation Of The Chinese Immigrant In The United States, Chaowei Hu

Master's Projects and Capstones

English is one of the most widely used languages in the world. As an unofficial lingua franca, it serves a key role in cross-cultural communication. Chinese immigrants in the US will certainly encounter many difficulties in acquiring L2 proficiency. Some of these challenges are tied to 1) Chinese immigrants’ history in the US and the variety of Chinese dialects; 2) distinctions between Chinese and English phonological systems; 3) diversity among Chinese Americans; 3) mother tongue influence on English language learning; and 4) foreign language anxiety.

A Deeper Semiotic Richness: Empowering English Language Students Through Digital Storytelling, Karah Parks

Master's Projects and Capstones

The current philosophies underpinning TESOL higher education curricula and classroom practices still reinforce the essentialized narrative of the native speaker and teach English as an objective, disinterested, linguistic system of static signs (Blommaert, 2010; Kramsch, 2009; Larsen-Freeman, 2015; Pennycook, 1997). This has significantly limited the development students’ identities, and agency within English language speaking communities. To address this issue, this project contains a supplemental, online digital storytelling curriculum for intermediate to advanced adult learners at the university level in U.S. colleges as a means of scaffolding intentional identity development through multimodal, symbolic competence in the English language. Entitled Creative ESOL: …

Introduction: Foreign Films And Higher Education, Heba A.N. El Attar Ph.D.

Cultural Encounters, Conflicts, and Resolutions

No abstract provided.

Approaches To Teaching Latin American Culture Through Film: Children’S Plight In Poverty- And Violence-Ridden Countries, Delia V. Galvan Ph.D.

Cultural Encounters, Conflicts, and Resolutions

Students at the beginning levels of foreign language study have many borders to cross and many challenges to negotiate. This paper reports the results of a preliminary study involving the use of full-length films to engender intercultural sensitivity and understanding among two groups of first-year students of Spanish. Both films depict hardships of children in Spanish-speaking countries—as a result of conscription or as a result of child labor. The paper discusses the contextualization of the films for the students, the students’ responses to questionnaires, portions of classroom discussion that indicate growth in the areas of focus, and implications of the …

El Paseo By Harold Trompetero: Approaching Popular Film From Colombia In A North American Classroom, Matias Martinez Abeijon Ph.D.

Cultural Encounters, Conflicts, and Resolutions

This article explores the manner in which popular films from Colombia—

specifically comedies, such as the movie El paseo, directed by Harold Trompetero in 2010, which has been the highest grossing movie to date in the history of movies produced in Colombia–may be used in the classroom in the context of a World Language, Literature, and Culture department in the United States. It is the contention of this study that such a choice is far from common due to diverse issues, which include the limited access to international distribution of the majority of the so-called “national film” or, in …

Understanding Arab Culture Through Cinema, Abed El-Rahman Tayyara Ph.D.

Cultural Encounters, Conflicts, and Resolutions

The article examines the use of cinema as a tool for teaching about Arab culture and assesses the process in which learners acquire a higher level of intercultural communicative competence. The essay draws primarily on multilayered class activities and students’ responses to pre- and post- screening surveys related to eight Arab films. The article reveals that the evaluation of the learners’ intercultural competence and their familiarity with Arab culture in particular is a long process that filled with misunderstandings, gaps, inconsistencies, and contradictions on the part of the learners. To successfully conduct this type of teaching, the article also points …

Pearls Of Meaning: Preschool Children Respond To Multicultural Picturebooks, Xiufang Chen, Susan Browne

College of Education Departmental Research

Employing a qualitative practitioner research method, this study examined pre-school children's responses to multicultural picture books and gained insight into how pre-school children make meaning about illustrations and textual features that include aspects of culture. The authors explored how multicultural literature can be used to develop cultural awareness and sensitivity among young children. Mem Fox's, Sophie (1994) emerged as a salient text that evoked personal connections and response to complex issues such as cycle of birth, life, and death. We contend that early exposure to multicultural literature contributes to ongoing processes of meaning making and serves as a rich reservoir …

Can Films Speak The Truth? Mathieu Kassovitz’S La Haine (1995) And Philippe Faucon’S La Désintégration (2011), Annie Jouan-Westlund Ph.D.

Cultural Encounters, Conflicts, and Resolutions

La Haine, (Dir. Mathieu Kassovitz, 1995) and La Désintégration (Dir. Philippe Faucon, 2011), set in France’s urban periphery, depict the struggle of second and third-generation immigrants growing up in the housing projects and their desire to live like ‘other’ French young people. The analysis offers a comparative study of the films’ reception with a community of viewers made of American students in a Contemporary French Culture course. Following the three paradigms of exclusion (social, racial, and cultural); gender representation; and aestheticism and realism, this study demonstrates that, within certain limits, these cinematic propositions, of similar prophetic nature but different …

Intercultural Communicative Competence: Literature Review, Lee F. Wilberschied Ph.D.

Cultural Encounters, Conflicts, and Resolutions

Intercultural Communicative Competence (ICC) is a cluster of capabilities that will become even more essential, not only to negotiate borders of many dimensions as globalization proceeds, but also to enhance the ability to maneuver one’s way in a world that changes by the minute. The process of developing ICC prepares the learner to manage and appreciate border crossings on many levels. This brief review of the literature offers a summary of the components of ICC, how it is similar to and different from other competences, and recommendations on how to assess it. This overview may be helpful when considering the …

Teacher Perspectives On Professional Development Needs For Better Serving Nebraska's Spanish Heritage Language Learners, Janet Marie Eckerson

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

A growing number of heritage language speakers of Spanish are enrolling in Spanish language courses during secondary school. Current scholarship has suggested that these heritage language learners (HLLs) have very different instructional needs than learners of second or foreign languages. Because Spanish language instruction in Nebraska secondary schools has been traditionally conceptualized only as foreign language instruction, classroom teachers may not be adequately prepared to meet the needs of HLLs. This dissertation examined the experiences of Nebraska secondary Spanish teachers who worked with HLLs in order to inform the creation of relevant professional learning experiences for pre- and in-service teachers. …

Enhancing Language Development For English Learners, Frank L. Silva

Electronic Theses, Projects, and Dissertations

Previously accepted and current research has been reviewed regarding the development of English proficiency for English Language Learners. The particular areas of concern deemed crucial for language development are the domains of reading, writing, listening and speaking. The critical components for effective English Language Development instruction as well as the strategies considered the most effective and efficient were also investigated. The review resulted in the creation of an English Language Development unit that includes the essential components and various strategies that are considered effective in developing English proficiency for English Language Learners.

Building A Community Of Practice For English-As-A-Foreign Language Tutors During Private Tutoring, Doaa S. Mahrous

Electronic Theses, Projects, and Dissertations

The creation of a community of practice of tutors--a shared practice among a group of people who share the same domain--enables second-language learners to facilitate their acquisition of English by embracing new learning strategies while they learn the target language. The community of tutors’ perspective allows for the incorporation of the individual’s particular second-language-acquisition needs and goals. This presentation presents a proposed study that took place at the Yasuda Center at California State University, San Bernardino in the summer of 2015. Students in the English Language Program housed in the College of Extended Learning were asked to participate in tutoring …