Digital Commons Network^™

Technologically-Mediated Collaborative Learning Activities For The University Level Intermediate Spanish Classroom, Alyssa Jean Hepburn

Theses and Dissertations

Due to the availability of a collaborative technologically enhanced classroom in the second language department of Harding University and a desire to closer align teaching practices with the aims of the American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages, the author conducted research on using technology in various ways in a collaborative-style classroom. Her aims were to provide greater authenticity, as well as to focus on the three modes of communication, interpretive, interpersonal, and presentational. The author conducted research on the communicative model and how collaborative learning can be used to make the classroom more proficiency-based. Technology is a useful …

Using Authentic Videos To Enhance Language And Culture Instruction In A Formal English Language Learning Setting: Ten Videos And Accompanying Lessons, Rebecca Noelle Norris

Theses and Dissertations

English Language Learners benefit from exposure to English as it is spoken in everyday life by native speakers. This thesis explores the positive aspects of combining the visual and auditory modes to present authentic samples of contextualized language and culture through video. The ten videos, materials, and accompanying tasks provide authentic means for beginning English Language Learners to gain exposure to, and learn to use, the English language as it is spoken by native-speakers in the local setting. The videos, materials, and tasks also highlight varied cultural themes and may be used to supplement the existing texts for the Foundations …

Basic Writers Writing In Their Zone Of Proximal Development Through Intertextual Links, Cynda Alexander

Theses and Dissertations

Students in Basic Writing classes are separated from their peers who are mainstreamed into regular composition classes, stigmatizing them as having substandard skills. Preconditioned to question their ability to write, they arrive in class with zero confidence and varying degrees of ability to construct meaning. Students rely on their prior knowledge to fill in the gaps between texts. Their ability to accommodate and assimilate new information to their prior knowledge is dependent on their ability to link with it. Since semiotician Julia Kristeva first used the term intertextuality in 1967, there has been a great deal of interest in intertextuality, …

Understanding Fourth Graders' Decline In Reading Motivation From Students' And Teachers' Perspectives, Christine A. Hebert

Teaching & Learning Theses & Dissertations

Previous research by Chall and Jacobs (2003) documented the phenomena of the fourth grade slump, a period in which students switch from learning to read to reading to learn and the subsequent loss of motivation to read. The purpose of this research is to present a phenomenological qualitative study of whether a sample of fourth grade students, low-achieving readers and average achieving readers, exhibited a loss in their motivation to read. Students' responses to a standardized conversational survey and questionnaire, the Motivation to Read Profile (Gambrell, Palmer, Codling & Mazzoni, 2007) and teachers' responses to a researcher-developed questionnaire were examined …

A Case Study Of Spanish Language Use In A Texas Border Colonia, Maria E. Diaz

Theses and Dissertations - UTB/UTPA

This case study reveals a Spanish language marginalization in a South Texas community of mostly Latinos, who are the fastest growing group in the U.S. (Colombi & Roca, 2003); furthermore, approximately 77% of English language learners (ELLs) have Spanish as their heritage language (Hopstock & Stephenson, 2003). Nevertheless, ELLs do not receive much academic literacy support in their first language in many schools (Zehler et al., 2003). Thus, out-of- school social practices play an important role on maintaining a native language (e.g., Burrows-Goodwill, 2009; Reyes, 2006). However, researchers have not explored this phenomenon in Texas border colonias, or unincorporated areas …

Bridging Professional Development And Context: Integrating Mathematics And Academic Language In A District Facing Takeover, Patricia Swanson, David Whitenack

Faculty Publications

This quasi-experimental, multi-phase study uses mixed methods to evaluate a professional development initiative focused on integrating mathematics and academic language. The context is a highly diverse urban district facing state takeover. The professional development focused on the understanding of key mathematics concepts and developing content-specific academic language. It linked explicitly to district-adopted texts and prescribed lesson formats. Teachers perceived the strategies to be feasible and beneficial to student learning, and had high rates of implementation. Nonetheless, pacing guides pressuring teachers to quickly cover content pose challenges for continued implementation. Implications for (1) professional development focusing on integrating subject-matter content and …

Writing Program Design For Esl Writers, Kacie M. Kiser

English Theses & Dissertations

Research and scholarship in the field of second-language writing have suggested that English as second language students (ESLs) require different modes of instruction than their native English speaking peers within the composition classroom (Matsuda, 1996; Silva, 1994). Yet ESL students are commonly marginalized in institutions' writing programs due to several commonplace beliefs shared by administrators that ESL students can be taught according to the same standards as mainstream students. Therefore, writing program administrators and instructors often do not have specific knowledge of ESL writing issues and, thus, do not know how to pedagogically accommodate these students or design a program …

Hybrid Language Teaching And Learning: Assessing Pedagogical And Curricular Issues, Joshua J. Thoms

Dimensions

In recent years, several economic factors have led to an increase in the number of hybrid courses offered in foreign language departments at the postsecondary level in the U. S. Hybrid courses incorporate several technological applications not typically used in a traditional face-to-face course. Hybrid courses combine contact time in a traditional classroom with virtual days, in which students are responsible for working with content on their own or in small groups outside of the classroom. This study reports on student and instructor perceptions of and reactions to a hybrid course piloted in three lower-level Spanish language courses at a …

Got Languages? Powerful Skills For The 21st Century

Dimensions

SCOLT Dimensions Volume 46

Perceptions Of The Culture And Communications Standards, Jana Sandarg, Carol Wilkerson

Dimensions

This article discusses the impact of the Standards for Foreign Language Teaching in the 21st Century on language programs at American universities. Surveys were administered to American students and to faculty at a university in Spain asking questions about the five goal areas of the standards. Responses from these groups were analyzed and compared with responses of faculty at American institutions. Although most faculty informants in the U.S. and in Spain said they were familiar with the goals of the standards, findings indicate that grammatical accuracy is perceived to be the primary focus of language programs in the U.S. Faculty …

Service Learning And Foreign Language Acquisition: Working With The Migrant Community, Susan Wehling

Dimensions

Volume 46 Issue 1 Article 5

21st Century World Language Education: Issues Of Target Language Use, Christina Huhn

Dimensions

World language educators face many challenges progressing into the 21st century. This research describes the practices of world language educators and presents a rich description of what constitutes an engaging 21st century world language classroom. The use of the target language as a crucial component in the world language classroom as well as barriers and challenges to its use emerged from this qualitative research. Among the obstacles identified are variations in pedagogical approaches, support of target language use, issues of language choice, and conflict between student and teacher perspectives. The research also highlights the benefits of professional development.

Recuerda Que Yo Estoy Aqui Tambien : A Bilingual Picture Book, Liliana Ivette Funes

Graduate Student Independent Studies

My independent study for my Integrative Masters consists of a bilingual (Spanish/English) picture book that is based on personal experience, and endeavors to describe the emotional distress and anxiety children can experience as second language learners entering a monolingual classroom for the first time. The book addresses not only the emotional and academic struggles of the child, but also the ways in which peers and teachers can intervene to ease the child's transition into English. Thus the book can serve as a resource to support monolingual classrooms. The study also includes a personal reflection of the process and journey, I …

Preschool Participation And Linguistically Diverse Learners' English Language And Literacy Acquisition, Tara Szabo Maxson

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Linguistically diverse learners are a rapidly growing subpopulation of the students currently served by schools and future forecasts indicate that population growth is expected to continue. Students who enter school speaking a language other than English need adequate time and opportunity to English. Furthermore, children who attain grade-level literacy by the third grade demonstrate greater achievement in school and life. Because language and literacy acquisition in the early elementary years leads to later success and English language learners (ELLs) need time and opportunity to master both, it is imperative that school systems focus on interventions to ensure both early and …

Otis: A Coyote In New York City An Original Children's Story, Lexi Gross

Graduate Student Independent Studies

This thesis represents a year-long project that has taken on many forms, been influenced by many factors, and has now been crafted into an original children's story about a coyote in New York City. The work is based on a true story and explores the tension between city life and the natural world.

Representations Of Self In Reflection Essays Of Philippine University Students, Isabel Pefianco Martin

English Faculty Publications

In the Philippines, there are few, if any, studies of student compositions that investigate the use of language as an effective, efficient, and creative means of expressing the self. This study is an attempt to contribute to knowledge about student writing in the Philippines. In particular, the study aims to describe the various ways freshman students from a private university in Manila represent themselves in their reflection essays, a writing task required in the core humanities courses of the university. Two sets of compositions, one written in the English language and another in the Filipino language, are analyzed for ways …

Points Of Departure: Developing The Knowledge Base Of Esl And Fsl Teachers For K-12 Programs In Canada, Farahnaz Faez

Education Publications

In this paper, I examine the contextual factors that impact the development of knowledge base of teachers of English as a second language (ESL) and French as a second language (FSL) for teaching in Kindergarten through Grade 12 programs in Ontario. Using a sociocultural orientation to second language teacher education and prominent knowledge base frameworks from the field, I discuss how a variety of local contextual factors impact the development of teacher candidates’ (TC) knowledge base in pre-service teacher education programs in Canada. Individual factors include: the linguistic and cultural backgrounds of candidates’ in ESL and FSL programs, the TCs’ …

On A Roll: Enticing English Language Learners To Absorb Vocabulary, Eileen Hennessy

The Utah English Journal

It’s true what they say: Teaching is full of surprises. It’s never boring and no day is ever like the previous or the next. Many times in my career I have been astounded by the knowledge that those little second grade brains bring to my Room 25. And, every once in a while, I am astounded for the opposite reason. That was case on this particular day when I was introducing a lesson on multiplemeaning words to my English language learners. Naturally, I wanted them to determine on their own what multiple-meaning words were.

If The Ninja Explores The Cave, Go To Page 8, Rebecca Stasney

The Utah English Journal

In the lowest level of developmental writing at my community college, students really do learn skills from the ground up. Our objectives include covering basic grammatical concepts such as parts of speech, plurals, and subject-verb agreement. We also discuss different elements of writing such as main idea, supporting details, and transition words. Many college students feel resentful for being placed in a class that teaches them skills that are so elementary, and as a result, they are often resistant to class activities and assignments. In my experience, the choose-your-own adventure writing project is a great way to incorporate these learning …

Children Teaching Children: A Study Of A Multilingual Head Start Setting, Sandra Martinez-Siranaula

Graduate Student Independent Studies

This study presents transcriptions of a multilingual Head Start setting (filmed for The Office of Head Start in spring 2010) - including sections on research in second-language acquisition as well as curriculum examples and recommendations, bibliography and online resources.

Stop The Coughin': Immersing Ell Students Into The Reading Culture, Mariya Ogden

The Utah English Journal

For me, moving to California from St. Petersburg, Russia, was an exciting thrill beyond belief. Everything looked just like in the American movies I watched growing up: the quiet suburbs, pizza delivery, and the smiling public. The schools were colorful, the playgrounds weren’t broken, and the teachers called you by your first name, not your last. Yet, there were certain cultural aspects that clashed with this new American society that I was in. I made friends on the playground, but always felt outside of the loop. For some reason, my clever Russian jokes sounded idiotic and weird when translated to …

United In Literacy: Narrative Accounts Of Encounters With Young Adult Literature, Mary Rice

The Utah English Journal

The purpose of this paper is to describe the experiences I have had reading, learning, and growing in that apprenticeship with my students and the young adult literature they read. After providing some background on social literacy practices as a basis for the idea that such enriching experiences can occur between teachers and students and that they can be unifying, I will share my stories and the understandings I have developed. Although I have stories of reading young adult literature with many students, I have selected specific narratives featuring boys to preserve the continuity of experience and because the notion …

The Development Of Conceptual Socialization In Turkish International Students : A Language Socialization Perspective On Conceptual Fluency And Social Identity, Deniz Ortactepe

Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)

This longitudinal, mixed-method study relied on the assumption that international students as newcomers to the American culture experience conceptual socialization which enables them to gain competency in the target language through exposure to the target language culture. By collecting qualitative and quantitative data three times over a year, the present study examined the linguistic and social development of Turkish international students as a result of their conceptual socialization in the U.S. The stories of participating Turkish students provided evidence for the multi-faceted nature of identity (re)construction which required a closer look at not only the participants' investment, audibility and symbolic …

Social Discourse Of Literature Circles With A Focus On Gender, Laurie Hornor

Graduate Research Papers

This research study examined the social discourse of literature circles with a focus on gender within a fifth-grade regular education classroom. The researcher examined the nature of social discourse that was held by students and examined whether gender appeared to influence social discourse. The results from this study showed that gender did have an impact on how students responded to literature within discussion groups. Two main gender-related characteristics of the discussions were noted. The first characteristic was that males and females did hold beliefs that paralleled culturally-determined gender roles. These beliefs had an impact on how students responded to literature. …

How “Struggling” Readers Engage In Literacy Events In Middle School Science: An Analysis Of Interactions In Literacy Events, Kristin Cartwright Palmer

Teaching & Learning Theses & Dissertations

This study examined opportunities for participation and learning for "struggling" readers in a sixth grade science classroom. Literacy practices, language differences, activity structures, and the social and cultural identities and associated practices and everyday funds of knowledge of both "struggling" and nonstruggling readers in one sixth grade science classroom were documented and analyzed using a qualitative research design. Over sixteen hours of audio and video recordings as well as numerous student work samples were transcribed and analyzed. Analyses of the classroom interactions and artifacts documented in this study revealed several important affordances available in the context of this classroom related …

Effects Of Single-Sex Classrooms Versus Coeducational Classrooms On Math And Literacy Achievement, Constance Matchell

College of Education Dissertations

This research project was designed to add to the limited available research concerning the effectiveness of single-sex education within a public elementary school setting. Following the first year of implementation of a single-sex classroom pilot program, the effects by gender of classroom grouping (single-sex education versus coeducation) on reading and math achievement were investigated for three consecutive grade levels from second grade through fourth grade.

This research project was designed to add to the limited available research concerning the effectiveness of single-sex education within a public elementary school setting. Following the first year of implementation of a single-sex classroom pilot …

A Study Of The Model Of Mastery As A Theoretical Framework For Coaching Teachers Writing Workshop, Jennifer Lynn Kimbrell

Theses and Dissertations

The study investigated a coach's use of a theoretical framework called the Model of Mastery to assist three teachers in becoming self-regulated in the teaching of writing workshop by moving them through three settings: acquisition, consolidation, and consultation. The goal of the coach was to assist teachers in developing expertise in procedural, declarative, and strategic knowledge as it relates to writing in order to mentor others. The findings indicated the Model of Mastery allows a coach to stay focused on where the teachers are in their learning and to determine change over time in the development of their professional knowledge.

Twenty-Seven Authentically-Based Esl Grammar Supplements: Shifting From Form To Function, Kelly Phillip

Theses and Dissertations

The language teaching profession has seen many changes in how to teach grammar in the language classroom. The pendulum has swung widely from a grammar only approach to an almost complete omission of its teaching. In general, teaching grammar can be a very daunting endeavor even for the most skilled educator. In addition, some language teachers do not have authentic materials or are using books that have sentence-based grammar exercises. The focus of this thesis is to determine the importance of grammar and communicative activities in the language classroom and to design authentically-based grammar supplements that are grammar-based but still …

Pembelajaran Model Circuit Training Untuk Meningkatkan Kompetensi Gramatikal-Leksikal Mahasiswa Bahasa Jerman, Rosyidah Rosyidah

Bahasa dan Seni: Jurnal Bahasa, Sastra, Seni, dan Pengajarannya

This article reports on a research aimed at improving the students’ grammatical-lexical competence using learning model circuit training. The subjects were the students of the German Department who took part in the lecture Struktur und Wortschatz 1 Off AA in 2009. The results show that the process consists of four main phases: motivation, going around, training, and presenting; and the actions had the effects: all students were totally active and75 % of the students could present the learning materials correctly, the average point at the end of the second cycle (70,58) can be regarded as successful.

Teacher’S Scaffolding Moves In Communication Strategies In Secondary School Efl Classes, Wahyu Usadiati

Bahasa dan Seni: Jurnal Bahasa, Sastra, Seni, dan Pengajarannya

Teachers have their own strategies in communicating their messages in EFL classes. The strategies may be in the form of verbal and nonverbal signals to get the message through to the students. The results of the study show that scaffolding moves were mostly used by the teacher, consisting of organizing and maintaining student’s interest and motivation, modeling, code switching, explaining or elaborating, eliciting student’s response, checking student’s comprehension, and providing wait time. Non-verbal signals always occur for the accompaniment of the verbalization of the teacher’s messages.