Digital Commons Network^™

A Model For Instructional Integration For Science And English-Language Development, Patricia Diane Andreano

Theses Digitization Project

This project recommends a professional development model for the integration of language arts and science skills to improve the literacy and scientific proficiency of elementary students, specifically English language learners. The goal is to prepare students to score well on the fluency aspects of the advanced levels of the California English Language Development Test (CELDT).

Developing Oral Proficiency Through Poem Recitation In Elementary English As A Second Language, Anne Picpican-Bell

Theses Digitization Project

This project addresses the need for a performance-based language-development curriculum to serve the growing number of non-English-speaker immigrants in California's public schools.

A Comprehensive Curriculum On How To Teach The Alphabet To Bilingual Kindergarteners, Raquel Mendoza Cabral

Theses Digitization Project

There are numerous methods teachers use to teach the alphabet to children. This thesis is a curriculum on how to teach the alphabet to English learners and English speakers. The author teaches kindergarten to students who are English speakers and to students who are Spanish speakers learning English as a second language. The school's instructional Reading Based Program (the Houghton Mifflin Lectura of California) offers many ideas and strategies but is missing some components necessary to meet distinct standards for kindergarten. The author developed this curriculum to meet the standards of teaching English speakers and English learners the alphabet to …

Bicultural Identity And Emergent/Developmental Reading Strategies In English As A Foreign Language In Taiwan, Yuqing Wang

Theses Digitization Project

This project demonstrates teaching strategies designed to illustrate bicultural identity development and reading skills in an English as a Foreign Language program for the elementary school level..

Foreign-Language Immerision As Preferred Bilingual/Biliterate Program Model For Elementary English Education In Taiwan, Shih-Hao Huang

Theses Digitization Project

The primary goal of this project is to clarify the contexts of English as Foreign-language instructional program in Taiwan. Bilteracy is the acquistion and learning of the decoding and encoding of print, using two linguistic and cultural sytems in order to convey mesages in a variety of contexts. Through learning biliteracy, second-language learners gain benefits in cognitive and cultural development.

The Intelligences Of Creative English-As-A-Foreign-Language Learning, Alvin Charles Yen

Theses Digitization Project

This project provides a model for incorporating creativity in teaching English as a foreign language (EFL). It includes an instructional unit comprised of six lessons followed by accompanying assessments. Culture and language cannot be separated as students learn a foreign language.

Coordinated Compliance Review: Guidebook For The English Language Learner Coordinator, Dilma Cordeiro Bonzer

Theses Digitization Project

The author has designed a guidebook to accompany the State of California Department of Education's Coordinated Compliance Review Manual. The purpose of the guidebook is to provide English language learners' (ELL) coordinators the information needed to facilitate and achieve compliance with the State of California's rules, regulations and policies that will insure that ELL students' needs are being addressed and met. The design and method of the project are discussed.

Extroversion And Introversion As Factors Affecting Adult English-As-A-Second-Language Learners, David Augustine Baptiste

Theses Digitization Project

The purpose of this research is to investigate if there is a significant difference in literacy skills between Level-Two extroverts and introverts after three years of English instruction at the community-college level.

Concept Attainment In Mathematics Within Content-Based Instruction For Secondary English As A Second Language, Kwang-Sug Lee

Theses Digitization Project

The purpose of this project is to provide a useful model, the Concept Attainment Model in Mathematics, which implicates the concept attainment teaching method based on adjunct content-based instruction by using visuals and manipulatives in order to help ESL students be successful for both substantive content areas.

Empowering Pre-Adolescent Second-Language Learners In The Middle School Years, Robert Charles Quintana

Theses Digitization Project

The thesis explores sociolinguistic issues facing pre-adolescent English-as-second-language learners. Topics covered include literacy issues, communicative competence issues at the intermediate and advanced English language development (ELD) levels, language and power relationships that affect pre-adolescent English language learners, politeness as a sociolinguistic tool, and the benefits of students acquiring the language of cooperative learning. The implications of these topics culminate in the development of a social studies curriculum unit designed for the middle-school classroom.

Mending The Broken Windows: A Curriculum Development Project Using Cooperative Learning Methods To Teach The Concepts Of Short Stories While Building A Community In The Classroom, Nicole Meltzer

MA TESOL Collection

This paper examines the purpose, process and results of using Cooperative Learning methods to study the elements of short stories in an intermediate English as a Second or Other Language high school class. The goal of this project was to create and build community in the classroom to alleviate the pressures felt by at-risk and immigrant students, while also meeting their academic needs. The project was conducted over three months time and was assessed through qualitative and quantitative methods.

Maintaining And Nurturing The Language And Culture Of Heritage Spanish-Speakers At The Elementary Level, Amanda Amarotico

MA TESOL Collection

In many schools across the United States native Spanish-speakers are enrolled in Spanish foreign language classes in order to fulfill a foreign language requirement. The Spanish foreign language class is inappropriate for the native Spanish-speaker’s needs. It is essential that these students be given opportunities to expand their linguistic skills to become fully bilingual and biliterate. Spanish classes for native Spanish-speakers exist at the high school level in many parts of the country, but elementary students are rarely given such opportunities.

The author of this professional paper and report on the creation of an after school Spanish Club discusses the …

Doesn't Everyone Speak English Anyway? Multilingualism In The Age Of Globalization, Lori J. Hopkins

The University Dialogue

No abstract provided.

Dual Language: It's Effectiveness And How It Impacts Learning With Regards To Science Taught Thematicly In Elementary, Elsa J. Gonzalez

All Graduate Projects

The primary purpose of this project is to develop a month long integrated thematic unit for 2nd graders in a dual language program that address research findings in the area of effective student learning in dual language programs. Incorporation of science methodology, ESL strategies, and thematic teaching are also researched for effectiveness and addressed in the project. Dual Language and its effectiveness will also be compared to other bilingual programs. Dual language with appropriate implementation increases student achievement in learning a second language (Kirk, 2002).

Second Language Acquisition Through Reading, Comprehensible Input, Limited Grammar, And Cultural Study: A Handbook For The Secondary Language Teacher, Judith A. Willis-Nicolai

All Graduate Projects

Second language practitioners share the goal that their students reach communicative competence in the target language. Recent research findings regarding learning, however, have spawned a debate that has driven teachers to rethink the efficacy of the traditional practice of direct instruction of language usage. The Standards for Foreign Language Learning, as well as research that examines second language acquisition, support content-based instructional strategies that employ sustained language use, cultural infusion, and contextual grammar instruction in a constructivist classroom. This project reviews that research, then synthesizes and applies the findings of the research through the development of units that implement strategies …

Elementary Spanish Language Instruction, Norma Leticia Peralez

All Graduate Projects

Foreign languages have always been taught in high school and in college. Students who are eager to learn a new language should not have to wait until they are older. This project will provide second grade teachers with three units that can be used to begin an elementary Spanish language instruction program. Teachers will be able to start their students with the basics and slowly move them into conversations. This project was selected due to high interest being shown from students and parents at a local second grade elementary classroom. The goal of this project is to have a second …

Building Family Partnerships: A Series Of Workshops Focusing On Russian Family Involvement, Mark Christopher Pittrof

All Graduate Projects

A series of workshop materials were developed to help educators meet the needs of an increasing Russian population, by increasing school, family, and community partnerships. The targeted families are those who's children are enrolled at Point Defiance Elementary in mainstream classrooms. The materials included in this series of workshops consist of assessments, cultural and historical understandings, current practices in education, and tools and strategies for continuous growth. The content of these workshops will provide all school staff in urban or rural communities skills to increase partnerships and positively effect student learning.

Does My Identity Speak English? A Pragmatic Approach To The Social World Of An English Language Learner With Language Impairment, Robin L. Danzak, Elaine R. Silliman

Communication Disorders Faculty Publications

The case description provides a comprehensive picture of the complex social and linguistic factors that shape the social identity of an English language learner with the additional challenge of language impairment (LI). These issues were explored over 6 months with Fernando, an 8-year-old, Spanish-speaking male with LI in grade 3. A pragmatic, or practical, approach to problem solving was developed for two purposes: first, to obtain a multifaceted understanding of Fernando’s world at school, and second, to arrive at possible educational/clinical solutions that met a standard of cultural appropriateness and practicality. The patterns found that, contrary to teacher interpretations of …

Seeing Fluency First Through The Kaleidoscope Of Grammaring, Martha Iancu

Faculty Publications - Department of Sociology

Fluency First inspires second language students to become readers, a major step forward in their language and academic development. By providing meaningful content and practices that nurture all language skills in accord with the grammaring principles and practices proposed by Larsen-Freeman, Fluency First offers great promise in the struggle to overcome the inert knowledge problem.

Restrictiveness And Race In Special Education: The Issue Of Cultural Reciprocity, Howard P. Parette

Faculty Publications - College of Education

The issue of segregation of students with disabilities across cultural groups
is a function of cultural values demonstrated by charter schools and the
resulting dissonance between these values and those demonstrated by
families. Lack of understanding about school culture and diverse family
value systems can lead to varying family responses to the school culture,
including assimilation, integration, separation, and marginalization.
Assuming a posture of cultural reciprocity is suggested as a means for education professionals in charter schools to more effectively understand families of children with disabilities. This four-step process includes (a) identifying the education professional’s interpretation of family and child …

Teacher Perceptions Of Cross-Cultural Adaptability And Instructional Practices In International Locations, Debra S. Lee

Dissertations and Theses @ UNI

The purpose of the study was to investigate differences in cross-cultural effectiveness between classroom teachers in international settings and classroom teachers in Iowa, and to examine, within a multicultural education framework, instructional practices of international teachers.

It is well documented that in American schools today, classrooms are becoming more diverse in regard to socio-economic status, ethnicity, race, intellectual ability, language, and religious heritage. School children today represent an incredibly diverse population. Conversely, the teacher population continues to be primarily female, White and from a monocultural background. This creates a mismatch between student and teacher backgrounds, perspectives, and cultural understanding, which …

Factors Which Affect The Attitudes Of Teachers Of English Language Learners Enrolled In Mainstream Classrooms, Gail Ingrid Hirschfield

Graduate Student Dissertations, Theses, Capstones, and Portfolios

Increased immigration to the United States over the past fifty years has led to a dramatic increase in enrollment of language minority students in schools throughout the United States. Federal and state laws mandate that public schools accommodate the unique needs of these linguistically and culturally diverse students. English language learners (ELLS) require academic and affective support from their teachers when they are included in mainstream classrooms.

Teachers' attitudes toward their students have been shown to be a predictor of student success. Teachers with positive attitudes are more likely to have received training and are also able to modify their …

Relationships Between Non-Linguistic Variables In Second Language Acquisition And The Attained English Language Proficiency Of Taiwanese University Students, Chihming Hsieh

Graduate Student Dissertations, Theses, Capstones, and Portfolios

Second language acquisition (SLA) research, the study of how people learn to communicate in a language other than their native language, encompasses a broad range of questions from a wide variety of perspectives. One of the most widely recognized facts about SLA was that some individuals are more successful in learning a second language than are others (Gass & Selinker, 2001). Students with the same initial linguistic abilities, who receive the same education, even in the same institution, often do not achieve the same linguistic competency levels at program completion (Dornyei, 1998). This phenomenon cannot be explained purely by linguistic …

A Comparison Of An International Student And An Immigrant Student: Experiences With Second Language Writing, W. Jason Stegemoller

Faculty Publications

This study is a comparison of an immigrant student and international student’s experiences with L2 writing acquisition. The study examines a teacher of a basic writing course at a community college in the US and two of the students in the class. The students are one female Korean student who attended high school in Korea, and one male Korean student who attended high school in the US. To explore these issues, this study utilized a modified version of analytic induction and a combination of qualitative methods. The findings indicate that some differences exist between the two students. Some of these …

Flarr Pages #37: Spanish: Me Llamo O Me Yamo? Survival Of Phoneme /L/ (Ll) In Andean Countries, Jacqueline Alvarez

FLARR Pages

The phoneme /1/ (as calle=street, apellido=last name, Have= key or caballo= horse) has disappeared in many zones of Spanish America to give place to the "yeismo", a linguistic phenomenon characterized by the predominance of the /y/ over other phonemes like /1/. Because of this, the word calle is pronounced caye, apellido=apeyido, Ilave=yave and caballo=cabayo.

The Role Of Identity In Language Acquisition: A Cross- Generational Perspective., Darlene Annette Snider

MA TESOL Collection

In this paper I will reflect on the role of identity as it relates to second language acquisition. My hypothesis is that second language acquisition can be slowed or even halted when students cannot adapt to the culture of the language they are studying. Student’s facing cultural conflict tend to distance themselves from the community thereby creating barriers in the learning process. This hypothesis is based upon my own experience as a third generation Canadian. I believe the effective classroom will work to reduce cultural conflict by affirming the learner’s cultural identity and sense of self as they explore the …

Flarr Pages #38: Spanish: Me Llamo O Me Yamo? Survival Of The Phoneme /L/ (Ll) In Andean Countries, Jacqueline Alvarez

FLARR Pages

No abstract provided.

Challenges To Multiculturalism, Jorge Capetillo-Ponce

New England Journal of Public Policy

An anti-bilingual education referendum was offered to citizens of Massachusetts in November of 2002. The referendum read, in part, “The current state law providing for transitional bilingual education in public schools will be replaced with a law requiring that, with limited exceptions, all public school children must be taught English by being taught all subjects in English and being placed in English language classrooms.” The University of Massachusetts Gaston Institute analyzed the results of that referendum, here reported on by Jorge Capetillo-Ponce.

Is It Simply A New Language Or Is It A Learning Problem?, Lynda M. Warner

Master of Education Program Theses

English Language Learners (ELLs) have been over-identified for placement into special education classes for more than 20 years. Causes include a lack of precisely defined constructs for disabilities, funding methods used by states, failure to follow federal legislation, weak prereferral systems to special education in schools, a huge influx of non-English speaking students to the classroom, and a lack of training amongst teachers. Correctly identifying ELLs who also need special education is difficult, but teachers can safeguard against improper identification by taking into account the social, educational, cultural, and language aspects of students' special circumstances, i.e., the needs of the …

Why We Need More Aboriginal Adults Working With Aboriginal Students, Damien Howard

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

The culturally shaped communicative context of classrooms has been documented to be an important influence on social and educational outcomes for Indigenous students. There is increasing evidence that it may be a critical factor in the outcomes of Indigenous students with conductive hearing loss (CHL) during their school years. This article describes research that explores social and educational disadvantage associated with conductive hearing loss in two remote schools with wholly Indigenous class groups taught in English by non-indigenous teachers.