Digital Commons Network^™

Strategies In Learning Japanese As A Second Language In Secondary School, Sharon Gay Ainsworth

Theses : Honours

Strategies used by learners of Japanese as a second language were examined. A total of 26 students, seven male and seven female students in Year 8 and six male and six female students in Year 11 in secondary education from two single sex schools were surveyed to investigate preferred language learning strategies. The instrument used was the Strategy Inventory for Language Learning (Oxford 1990). Six language learning strategy categories were used to classify sample responses. Subjects were also interviewed individually to find out what strategies they used in classroom and non-classroom settings. Students maintained a diary for a six week …

Effects Of Participant Roles On Input Interactions And Comprehensible Output, Larry Douglas Morgan

Dissertations and Theses

The purpose of this thesis is to investigate what effect, if any, the social roles between second language learners and their conversational partners have on the types and frequencies of the following discourse categories: (a) input interactional modifications (b) corrections of language learners' linguistic errors by others and (c) language learners' production of comprehensible output. This study also seeks to corroborate previous research findings with regards to negotiation of meaning interactions and other-corrections of language learners' linguistic errors.

Working It Out: Esl Literacy Skills, Strategies, And Systems In The Workplace, Mary Louise Cohn

Dissertations and Theses

This study investigates the strategies and resources a group of non-native English speakers with limited reading ability use to fulfill literacy functions work. The nineteen study subjects are employed as production workers in a large electronics manufacturing company. Using in-depth interview data, limited testing and document analysis, the study addresses three major research questions: 1) For what functions are reading and writing actually used in the workplace? What level of reading and writing do these functions assume? 2) How do these literacy functions relate to the rest of the work system? 3) How do limited readers fulfill these literacy functions? …

Foreign Student Enrollment Planning In Five Oregon Institutions With English As A Second Language Programs, Maureen Denise Sprague

Dissertations and Theses

Planning for foreign students in institutions of higher education takes many forms. This study set out to find out how this planning takes place within and between three particular units in five universities and colleges in Oregon. The three units chosen as the focus of this study work closely with foreign students in the initial admissions process, in the orientation, visa status and services area of their stay, and thirdly in academic coursework in English as a second language programs. The titles of the units are, the admissions office, the international student services office and the English as a second …

Help: A Holistic English Literacy Program For Multicultural Elementary Classrooms Of Students Acquiring English As A Second Language, Monica A. Ford

Theses Digitization Project

No abstract provided.

A Whole Language Approach Integrating Children's Songs In Spanish To Enhance Language Acquisition And Literacy In The Spanish Immersion Primary Grades, Homero R. Capetillo

All Graduate Projects

An alternative method for the development of second language acquisition and literacy in a second language program was explored. A collection of Spanish children's songs and lessons utilizing "whole language" teaching strategies were compiled to supplement the language arts cμrriculum. The premise for this study was that children's songs could be used to develop activities that would enhance second language acquisition and literacy skills. Implications for the integration of music to provide a cogent transitional vehicle from spoken to written language structures are discussed.

Experience-Based Dialogues In Secondary English-As-A-Second-Language Classrooms, Carlina V. Lobos

All Graduate Projects

An informal study was conducted to explore the effectiveness of experience-based dialogues in the promotion of oral language use in secondary-level English-As-A-Second-Language classrooms. The twenty-one dialogues field-tested in the project were developed interactively, by teacher and students, in the sociocognitive context of each of the learner's background knowledge, experience and immediate communication needs. Experience-based dialogues are a method of language teaching and learning that focuses on the communicative act rather than on isolated or discrete grammatical items. An overview of the results of the informal study was presented here. Strategies for teachers to develop and implement, using this approach, were …

Thematic Approach To Teaching Science In Kindergarten For Use With First And Second Language Students, Gerene Marie Sadberry

All Graduate Projects

Thematic Science units were established for the Wapato kindergarten in both Spanish and English. Approximately three hundred students are participants in the program for which this curriculum was designed. This study suggests how selected science objectives may be implemented using the thematic approach. Each theme contains a media resource list of Items available from the Wapato Primary Media Center and suggested activities which will help to integrate the science unit with other subject areas. The Intent of the curriculum design ls that children learn language and science naturally when they are developed in a meaningful context.

Are Today's Teachers Being Prepared For Diversity? An Analysis Of School Catalogues, James Jennings, Illene Carver

Trotter Review

A recent content analysis study shows that while leading educators in Massachusetts stress the importance of preparing teachers for an increasingly diverse world, most teacher preparation schools virtually ignore the issue of racial and ethnic diversity in catalogues recruiting new students. This not only discourages people from diverse backgrounds from becoming teachers, but could also create a lack of understanding in the classroom of the black, Latino, and Asian students being taught.

A summary of A Content Analysis of Racial and Ethnic Themes in Catalogues Distributed by Teacher Preparation Schools in Massachusetts, 1989 and 1990, a report issued by …

A Research And An Adaptation Of Methodologies To Develop Supplementary Materials And Activities For The Study Of Foreign Language, Melané Mildré

All Graduate Projects

The use of a typical textbook tor the instruction of the first year study of the Spanish language appears to be tedious as well as inadequate in its presentation of grammar drills, vocabulary selection, and its potential of allowing the student to develop fluency in the language. As a result, the writer researched a variety of methodologies currently being employed in the instruction of foreign language. Intending to improve upon the usage of a textbook as well as to add variety to the classroom procedure, the writer then developed or adapted supplementary materials to correlate to the textbook presently being …

The Educational Aspirations Of Upper Primary Non English Speaking Background Students In A Mainstream Government School, Shirley Lienert

Theses : Honours

Researchers have described Non English Speaking Background (NESB) students as educationally disadvantaged but recent statistics show that some NESB students are actually outstripping their English Speaking Background (ESB) peers in educational achievement. In this study 121 students in upper primary classes in a Western Australian government school were surveyed so that NESB and ESB students could be identified and the proportion of NESB students within the sample group established. Information was gathered from both NESB and ESB students by administering a sociogram, the Lawseq test and a Likert scale questionnaire with variables of attitudes towards school, attitudes towards teachers1 influence …

How Do Aboriginal Students Account For Their Lack Of Academic Success In W.A. Secondary Schools, Jeffrey Jon Mcquade

Theses : Honours

The provision of education to Aboriginal students has been the subject of many reports and inquiries over the years, each expressing various degrees of concern about aspects of Aboriginal participation and retention in the school system and the generally low levels of academic performance achieved by Aboriginal children. Numerous theoretical explanations have been proposed to account for the serious inequities which continue to exist between the academic performance of Aboriginal children and their non-Aboriginal peers. Some of these are reviewed in this thesis so as to provide a conceptual framework in order that readers may judge the results of this …

The Effect Of Word Processing On The Revising/Editing Strategies Of Primary Esl Writers, L. John Oliver

Theses : Honours

The focus of this study was on the effect of word processing on the revising and editing strategies of primary ESL writers. Six year 5/6 'intensive' ESL students completed a number of written tasks, using both computer and conventional 'pen and paper' methods. Their handwritten and word processed work was analysed and compared in terms of the frequency, nature and extent of changes made. Statistical analysis of these data, as well as audio-taped verbal protocols, interviews, and observational notes, was used to determine the effect(s) of word processing on the revising/editing strategies of these students. Of the four major revision …

Prose Fiction Preferences Of Lower Secondary Urban Aboriginal Boys, Stephen James White

Theses : Honours

The purpose of this study was to investigate the prose fiction preferences of lower secondary urban Aboriginal boys. The Likert scale scores from the 2 x 4 factorial design were analysed using an ANOVA test of significance. It was found that the research group significantly preferred action genres to non-action genres, Aboriginal characterisations to white Australian characterisations, and contemporary story extracts to traditional story extracts.

The Effects Of Captioned Videotapes On The Listening Comprehension Test Scores Of Esl Students, Yuan-Chyuan Andy Lin

Dissertations and Theses

This study was meant to provide some empirical evidence to confirm or disconfirm the assumption that the use of captioned videotapes will enhance the listening comprehension of second language students. This study compared the listening comprehension test results of intermediate English as a Second Language (ESL) students using videotapes with and without captions. Two episodes of an educational program were selected for the study. Students viewed one episode with captions and a second episode without captions. A total of sixty-four students participated in this study. Thirty-two students in Class 1 watched Video I with captions first and then watched Video …

An Investigation Of English Spelling Problems Of Arabic-Speaking Students, Deborah Georgette Keim

Dissertations and Theses

In this two-part study, English spelling errors of Arabic speaking students are investigated. Specifically, an empirical study is done to document and investigate exactly what kinds of English spelling errors Arabic-speaking students actually make. Then these data are analyzed and spelling error patterns are discovered. Next, a study is done to determine if the presence of spelling errors in written work has a significant negative effect on readers' evaluations of this writing.

Effects Of Setting On Japanese Esl Students' Interaction Patterns, Noriko Yamamoto

Dissertations and Theses

Japanese ESL students are often evaluated negatively by their teachers because of their quiet verbal behavior in the classroom; yet, this study suggests that such silence may be situation specific. The purpose of this study is to describe characteristics of eight Japanese ESL students' production and interaction by comparing with those of four non-Japanese students, across three settings: teacher-fronted, group work, and NS-NNS conversation.

Thanking In American English And Egyptian Arabic: A Cross-Linguistic Cross-Cultural Study, Ahmed Hosni Gabr

Archived Theses and Dissertations

No abstract provided.

Code-Switching In The Written Mode, Elisabeth Anne Yoder

Archived Theses and Dissertations

No abstract provided.

East Harlem In The 1950s: Oral Histories, Dorothy Gale Petrilak

Graduate Student Independent Studies

East Harlem has long been the refuge for each successive wave of immigrants which has come to these shores. For the past two generations, Puerto Ricans have inhabited the tenements abandoned by each group as it moved up the social and economic ladder.

Amid the seeming despair and hopelessness which characterizes a ghetto, children grow, dream and hope. When I grew up in East Harlem during the 1950's, was my life any different than it is for the children who call ''El Barrio'' home today? And if so, why? It was in hopes of answering these questions that I set …

Content-Based Approaches And Second Language Instruction, Pi-Chu Su

All Graduate Projects

Integration of content-based instruction into an English curriculum based on communicative goals is suggested to better solve the problems of materials and syllabus design in Taiwan. Historical antecedents and the rationales for content-based instruction are reviewed to illustrate a modern perspective on the interwoven relationship between language and content learning. The project proposes a three-year content-based English program for Taiwan's elementary and preschool students. A first year curriculum and model lessons for mathematics, science, social studies, and language arts are presented.

Metaphoric Extension As A Basis For Vocabulary Teaching In English As A Second Language, Dennis L. Bergmann

Dissertations and Theses

This thesis addresses the problem of teaching and learning vocabulary in English as a Second Language (ESL), and proposes that a vocabulary based on the process of metaphoric extension could be taught directly. Despite the fact that an inadequate vocabulary is one of the main obstacles for intermediate-level ESL students, both ESL teachers and applied linguists have emphasized other aspects of English more than the study of vocabulary teaching and learning. Consequently, ESL students have few strategies for learning vocabulary other than reliance on the dictionary, and the predominant strategy for teachers is to present words rather unsystematically in the …

A Study Of The Perceptual Learning Style Preferences Of Japanese Students, Elizabeth Ann Hoffner

Dissertations and Theses

This study was based on a study by Joy Reid (1987) on the perceptual learning style preferences of English as a Second Language (ESL) students. The purpose of this study was to identify the perceptual learning style preferences of three groups of students: Japanese students studying in the US, Japanese students studying in Japan, and American students studying in the US. The perceptual styles studied were visual, auditory, kinesthetic, and tactile, with the additional styles of group and individual learning also being studied. The learning style preferences were identified so as to determine the relationship between style and the variables …

The Effect Of Expository Writing As A Pre-Reading Activity On Comprehension Of Expository Text, W. B. Day

Theses : Honours

The purpose of this study was to examine the effect of a pre-reading expository writing task on comprehension of expository text. It was undertaken in order to ascertain the usefulness of writing as a pre-reading activity in the development of schema theoretic reading teaching strategies. The theoretical position of the study was that writing before reading would activate prior knowledge in the form of content and structure in the working memory of the reader and thereby enhance reading comprehension. The sample, comprised selected from a small, of 51 year 6/7 students, school in the outskirts of was the metropolitan area. …

Analysis Of English Articles Used By Japanese Students, Noriko Iwasaki

Dissertations and Theses

English articles are perhaps the most difficult grammatical items for Japanese students to master. However, because these are among the most frequently occurring grammatical items in English, Japanese students must concern themselves with them.

Patterns Of Rhetoric/Patterns Of Culture : A Look At The English Writing Of Japanese Students, Suzanne Raschke

Dissertations and Theses

That a link exists between language and culture has long been accepted; however, not only the extent, but also the exact nature of that link remains unclear. In recent years, rhetoricians have raised questions about how culture affects the patterns of organization and other rhetorical features of writing. At present, the search for answers to these questions is made difficult by the cultural bias imposed by the language of any analysis of writing that may be undertaken and by a lack of criteria that can be used in performing such an analysis.

An Evaluation Of The Academic Success Of Students Who Participated In The English For Non-Native Residents Program At Portland State University, Linda Carol Andrews Dunn

Dissertations and Theses

Many programs exist across the United States to prepare non-native English speaking students for academic work. The effectiveness of these programs has been the subject of various research projects, with mixed results. Some have found that the programs they have examined seem to have led to higher achievement among participants. Others have found that it is difficult to show any effect. However, the amount of time and resources devoted to such programs warrants continuing efforts to evaluate their success.

This study compares the academic records of non-native English speaking students who were enrolled in the English for Non-native Residents Program …

The Effects Of Computer Assisted Esl Instruction On Limited English Proficient Students, Raul M. Sanchez

All Graduate Projects

A study was conducted to determine whether computer assisted instruction or the traditional ESL teaching method was more effective in teaching Limited English Proficient (LEP) students, English language proficiency. Twenty-two second grade subjects were separated into two groups at one elementary school in Yakima, Washington. The experimental group received computer assisted ESL instruction, while the control group was instructed with the traditional ESL teaching method. Analysis of the results supported the research hypotheses for one of the three dependent variables. The null hypothesis could not be rejected for a second variable, while for a third variable, a significant difference was …

Study Of Referential And Display Questions And Their Responses In Adult Esl Reading Classes, Susan Lindenmeyer

Dissertations and Theses

The technique of asking questions in the classroom has prevailed in first language classes for many years. This teaching technique has also been widely used in ESL reading classes. Though there has been extensive research about teachers' questions and students' responses in first language classrooms, there is a paucity of studies in second language classrooms.

This is a descriptive study of six experienced college level English as a Second Language (ESL) teachers and their discussions of the same reading selection with ninety-eight non-native speakers in each of their classes. Teacher-led discussions were audiotaped and twenty minutes of each class were …

The Effect Of The Teaching Of An Explicit Top-Level Expository Text Structure On The Structure Of Year Seven Children's Semantic Memory, Les Phul

Theses : Honours

In order to examine the effect of the teaching of a top-level expository structure through writing on children's schemata for text structure, children in year seven were asked to display graphically the relationships between 42 randomly presented text items related to a central topic. The text items were designed to approximate the kinds of information that may be found in an encyclopaedia or a science text about a given topic. One class of children was then allocated to the control group and the other to the experimental group. The experimental group was taught the top-level structure for a scientific report …