Digital Commons Network^™

The Development Of A Certified Nursing Assistant English For Specific Purposes Curriculum: Teaching Materials And Methods, Nancy Waireana Tarawhiti

Theses and Dissertations

After careful review of English for Specific Purposes (ESP) and English for Medical Purposes (EMP) literature, I assisted in the development of a curriculum for an ESP Certified Nursing Assistant (CNA) Preparation course. The course participants were non-native English speaking employees of Utah Valley Regional Medical Center (UVRMC), currently working in the department of housekeeping, wanting to further their employment opportunities. The ESP CNA Preparation course was 12 weeks duration, three days per week, 5:30 pm – 7:00 pm.

My contribution to the curriculum was the development of teaching materials and methods and I used two guiding questions to assist …

Self-Access Centers: Maximizing Learners' Access To Center Resources, Benjamin L. Mcmurry

Theses and Dissertations

The Self-Access Study Center (SASC) at Brigham Young University's English Language Center (ELC) is a self-access lab where students can work independently to improve their language skills. Although some students have discovered how to use the SASC effectively, the majority of them appear to be unaware of the resources available in the center. Their trips to the SASC end up becoming more like a cyber cafe situation, where friends send email and chat online. If the SASC is used merely as a computer lab, then students are not using the resources available to fine-tune their English skills. The current project …

The Effect Of A Study Abroad On Acquiring Pragmatics, Johanna Katherine Brown

Theses and Dissertations

Pragmatics in Arabic needs to be studied for two main reasons: first, the large cultural difference between American and Middle Eastern society; and second, the recent surge in demand for Arabic speakers in the US. Especially in regard to refusals, what is acceptable in America is rarely acceptable in Arabic speaking countries. There are very few occasions when refusal of an offering of food or other hospitalities is acceptable. Arab culture requires one to provide family members with anything they need, including money. If that is not possible it is required to find the means for what they need. American …

An Examination Of The Role Of Writing In Mathematics Instruction, Amy Jeppsen

Theses and Dissertations

This study uses qualitative methods to investigate the use of writing in a content course for elementary education majors in which writing was considered an important part of mathematical learning. The study differs from previous studies by investigating the role of writing in the everyday instructional activities, rather than investigating writing as a separate mathematical activity. An analysis of the instruction and class discussions that took place in this class reveals that components of writing that were addressed implicitly and explicitly in classroom instruction were developed simultaneously with conceptual understanding, suggesting a much stronger and more integral relationship between writing …

Such A Deal Of Wonder: Structures Of Feeling And Performances Of The Winter's Tale From 1981 To 2002, Elizabeth Marie Burt

Theses and Dissertations

Structures of feeling represent the interaction between personal lived experience and fixed social values and meanings, which are found in interpretations of works of art. Studying various interpretations of any play in performance can provide a point of access into a culture because the choices made in the production can be compared to each other and to the written text and then reveal how the theatrical company views particular issues within their own time period. This study looks at productions of The Winter's Tale between 1981 and 2002 at the National Theatre and the Royal Shakespeare Company. Using numerous versions …

The Effects Of Divided Attention On Speech Motor, Verbal Fluency And Manual Motor Task Performance, Erin Hamblin

Theses and Dissertations

Research in dual task performance varies widely in its methodology and results. The present study employed three different types of activity to provide insights into the interference that occurs in dual task performance. Twenty young adults completed a speech task (repeating a sentence), a verbal fluency task (listing words beginning with the same letter), and right- and left-handed motor tasks (placing pegs and washers in a peg board) in isolation and in concurrent conditions. Speech kinematic data revealed that during concurrent performance of manual tasks, lip displacement and peak velocity decreased, while sound pressure level and spatiotemporal variability increased. The …

Computer-Aided Self-Access Pronunciation Materials Designed To Teach Stress In American English, Ann-Marie Krueger Bott

Theses and Dissertations

In recent years, increasing attention has been placed on providing pronunciation instruction that meets the communicative needs of nonnative speakers (NNSs) of English. Empirical research and pronunciation materials writers suggest that teaching suprasegmentals before segmentals to intermediate and advanced NNSs could be more beneficial in a shorter period of time. However, the majority of the materials available that emphasize suprasegmentals are textbook-based, relying principally on classroom settings and teacher feedback. The purpose of Pronunciation Progress: Stress in American English is to provide NNSs with pronunciation materials for self-access and student-directed learning environments. These materials are designed as a series of …

500 Essential English Words For Esl Missionaries, Carrie A. Thompson

Theses and Dissertations

In order to help ESL missionaries teach the gospel from their hearts using their own words, I have developed a 500-word list of core gospel vocabulary in English. To enhance the 500-word list, I included a lexicon with simple definitions, some grammatical information, and examples of the words in context. The resulting product complies with the standards for master's projects established by the Department of Linguistics and English Language. Published literature shows that the development of specialized corpora can be beneficial for students learning another language. Additionally, specialized corpora act as a catalyst for in-depth vocabulary analysis and the development …

The Rhetoric Of Newspaper Rivalry In The Face Of Image Restoration And Transformation, Andrea Ludlow Christensen

Theses and Dissertations

This thesis is a study of the rhetoric of newspaper rivalry, particularly under the pressures of image restoration and transformation. I use methods of critical discourse analysis to look at newspaper articles in Utah's two dominant newspapers, the Salt Lake Tribune and the Deseret Morning News. I compare a sample of news articles from each paper in 2002 to a sample in 2003, when the Tribune was working to restore its image after a scandal involving two of its reporters, and the News was working to transform its image as it transitioned from an afternoon newspaper to a morning newspaper. …

Using A Diglot Reader To Teach Kanji: The Effects Of Audio And Romaji On The Acquisition Of Kanji Vocabulary, Kazumasa Aoyama

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effectiveness of a computer-based Japanese/English diglot reader on the breadth and depth of the acquisition of kanji-words. On a diglot reader, L2 text is embedded in L1 text, thus allowing L2 learners to receive enough context to understand the L2 text and learn vocabulary in it. This study was also conducted to determine the effects of two methods of presenting pronunciation of kanji-words, audio recording and romaji, on the acquisition of the meaning and pronunciation of kanji-words as well as the overall effect of learning of pronunciation on the learning and …

Teacher Training Via Digital Apprenticeship To Master Teachers Of Arabic: Exposure, Reflection, And Replication As Instruments For Change In Novice Instructor Teaching Style, Jeremy L. Palmer

Theses and Dissertations

The Modern Language Association (MLA) recently reported that from 1998 to 2002 there was a 92% increase in Arabic programs throughout the United States. With the increase in media coverage of current events in the Middle East, more and more students are desiring to learn about the region's languages and cultures. More teachers of Arabic are needed to meet this growing demand for Arabic instruction. This thesis investigates whether deliberate intervention via explicit and implicit exposure to the instructional behavior, skills, and strategies of master teachers of Arabic, combined with replication thereof, as well as critical personal reflection, positively alters …

Beliefs About The Education Of Children: A Comparison Of Hispanic Immigrant And Anglo-American Parents, Elodie Gisele Martine Bertola

Theses and Dissertations

In light of the fact that the number of Hispanic children enrolled in American schools is dramatically increasing and that these children are at higher risk of academic difficulty than any other group, the present study investigates the educational and child-rearing beliefs held by Hispanic parents. Understanding these beliefs is pivotal in any attempt to improve Latinos' educational attainment since current research recognizes that parental educational beliefs influence home-literacy practices, which in turn influence subsequent academic achievement. The research questions focus on two types of potential differences in terms of educational and child-rearing beliefs: (1)intercultural (Anglo-Americans vs. Hispanics), (2) intracultural …

The Effect Of Learning Centers And Interactive Bulletin Boards On Student Vocabulary Word Knowledge, Kristin Marie Schleher

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this project was to determine the effect of different vocabulary strategies on student comprehension. A main focus of the research is to determine the impact of learning centers and interactive bulletin boards in helping students develop word knowledge in the subject area of social studies. This study takes place in a fourth grade general education classroom in an elementary school in southern New Jersey. The research includes qualitative data from student surveys and interviews, and teacher questionnaires and interviews, as well as the two vocabulary interventions: a learning center and an interactive bulletin board. The students completed …

The Effects Of Collaborative Strategic Reading Among Third Grade Students, Inez Lee Barberio

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to determine whether the use of Collaborative Strategic Reading in a third grade class significantly improved test scores in vocabulary and comprehension in a given social studies unit exam. Two third grade classes were researched. The use of CSR was compared to the testing results of another third grade class that was taught through the use of traditional "textbook" teaching methods. The researcher taught the experimental group through the use of CSR while the control class was taught by their regular classroom teacher. Each class was tested using the same pretest and post-test. Mean …

Auditory And Visual Correlates Of The Processing Of Gapping Structures In Adults, Tara Hansen

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to compare event-related potential (ERP) effects of speech processing and effects in sentence reading elicited by sentences containing gapping structures, or a "missing" verb. N400 and P600 waveforms were collected in 20 adults between 18 and 30 years of age. Two experiments were conducted with each participant. In the two experiments ERP recordings were collected as sentences, some containing gapping structures, were presented to the subjects. In one experiment sentences were presented through headphones in sentences spoken at normal rate and with normal intonation. In the second experiment sentences with the same gapping structures …

Disproportionate Representation Of Minority Students In The Special Education Program At The Kingsway Regional School District, Anthony J. Fitzpatrick

Theses and Dissertations

The purposes of this study were to (a) determine the proportion of representation of minority students in special education programs on a federal, state, and district-wide level; and (b) determine the needs of the Kingsway Regional School District in addressing any disproportionate representation that exists. The subject sample was the special education population in the United States as determined by IDEA. The sample population would be studied to ascertain the proportion of representation and the determination standards used to classify them. It was concluded that Kingsway did not have a problem with disproportionate representation but rather an issue with consistent …

The Effects Of A Word Study Spelling Program In A Differentiated Classroom, Lauren M. Cassano

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to determine if implementing a word study spelling program in a differentiated classroom could improve students' long-term retention of spelling words. This study compared a word study program with a more traditional spelling approach. The findings of the experiment indicated that no significant difference existed between the two different methods of instruction.

After receiving parental permission, the study began in a third grade classroom with 20 students. A pretest/posttest design was used in two phases. Phase I of the study used a traditional spelling approach using basal words obtained from the Scholastic reading series. …

Design, Development And Evaluation Of Chinese Radical And Character Tutorial By Hypermedia, Su-Ling Hsueh

Theses and Dissertations

This project report describes the instructional design, development and evaluation of the Chinese Radical and Character Tutorial (CRCT) project. The web-based CRCT project integrated hypermedia resources (audio, video, graphics, animation and hyperlinks) to teach undergraduate and graduate students basic Chinese radical and character recognition and writing. One-to-one test, expert review and small-group test were utilized in the formative evaluation. Statistical significance was found in the small-group test, which suggests that supplemental hypermedia material can effectively facilitate student learning of Chinese reading and writing outside of the classroom. Moreover, the qualitative data indicated that students enjoyed using CRCT's drills, feedback features …

The Effects Of The Accelerated Reader Program On The Reading Habits And Reading Frequencies Of Fourth Grade Students, Kathleen Wendt

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to determine if participation in the Accelerated Reader program affected the reading habits and reading frequency of fourth grade students. This study focused on two fourth grade classes at Folsom School. The two fourth grade classes had used the Accelerated Reader (AR), as part of their reading program in the library, since the beginning of the 2002-2003 school year.

A total of 38 students participated in this survey. The students were encouraged by the researcher to read and take quizzes on books supported by the Accelerated Reader program. All 38 students took both the …

The Effectiveness Of The Wilson Reading Program In Improving Spelling And Decoding Skills Of A Selected Sample Of Special Needs Children, Helen E. Rosica

Theses and Dissertations

The Wilson Reading Program was designed by Barbara Wilson and published in 1988 for the first time. It was originally designed for students diagnosed with dyslexia, but its focus has been expanded to include struggling readers and spellers who are below their classmates. Wilson is based on the Orton-Gillingham multisensory principle. It is well organized and systematic.

The Wilson Reading Program was administered to a small group of two students, aged nine to eleven who receive all their academic instruction in a self-contained special education classroom. These students have similar intelligence levels, and a similar degree of difficulty with reading …

Autonomous Consolidation Of Heterogeneous Record-Structured Html Data In Chameleon, Philippe Chouvarine

Theses and Dissertations

While progress has been made in querying digital information contained in XML and HTML documents, success in retrieving information from the so called "hidden Web" (data behind Web forms) has been modest. There has been a nascent trend of developing autonomous tools for extracting information from the hidden Web. Automatic tools for ontology generation, wrapper generation, Weborm querying, response gathering, etc., have been reported in recent research. This thesis presents a system called Chameleon for automatic querying of and response gathering from the hidden Web. The approach to response gathering is based on automatic table structure identification, since most information …

Effective Teaching Strategies Of Foreign Languages In Secondary Diverse Classrooms, Helen Singletary-Brinson

Theses and Dissertations

The traditional style of teaching (teachers solely in charge of the classroom) seems to be a thing of the past, due in part, to the increasing diversity of students in the classroom. How can teachers abandon their traditional roles and adapt to the trends of teaching to promote more meaningful learning for students? To respond to the above question, the researcher investigated the degree of readiness of selected foreign language teachers teaching in culturally diverse classrooms at the secondary level in central Mississippi. All participants were purposefully selected. Methods and procedures employed were limited to observations of teachers, teacher-student interaction …

Impact Of The Kindergarten Teacher Reading Academy On The Instructional Practices Of Kindergarten Teachers, Mary Lynnette Grant

Theses and Dissertations

The research question for this study was: Did the Kindergarten Teacher Reading Academy (KTRA) Professional Development Model impact the kindergarten teachers¡¯ instructional practices? Moat (2004) indicated that professional development should be job-embedded with substantive and sustaining power. This research employed a qualitative method. The Participant Knowledge Survey (pre-and posttest), was administered to all kindergarten participants at the KTRA. Six kindergarten teachers were then selected to participate in follow-up. This follow-up included a classroom observation and teacher interview at each teacher¡¯s school. All participants are certified kindergarten teachers that teach in public schools in Mississippi. The results of the interview revealed …

Does Birth Order Affect Intelligence?, Carolyn M. Lambert

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this exploratory investigation was to determine whether birth order has an effect on intelligence. Seventy-four undergraduate students from Rowan University participated in my study. During class-time, I handed out a questionnaire with questions pertaining to the student's birth order within their family and SAT scores. The SAT scores served as a measure of intelligence. The SAT scores were broken into seven different ranges, between 800 - 1400 & above. The birth order variable was broken down into four levels; firstborn, middle child, youngest and only child. The different levels of birth order and SAT scores were compared …

The Effect Of Teaching With Acoustical Guidance (Tag) On The Mastery Of A Grand Rond De Jambe (En Dehors) And A Ballotte, Heidi Dutch Schneider

Theses and Dissertations

This study examined the effect of Teaching with Acoustical Guidance (TAG) on the mastery of two ballet skills, the Grand Rond de Jambe (en dehors) and a Ballotte'. Dance technique classes still follow traditional methods of teaching and mastering skills without much integration of motor learning concepts. TAG Teach is a method that uses positive reinforcement, shaping, and a hand held device that produces an acoustic sound to mark correct behaviors at the moment they occur. The purpose of this study was to determine if TAG was a faster and more effective technique to aid in the mastery of two …

"Into The Light Of Christian Civilization": St. Elizabeth's Boarding School For Indian Children (1886-1967), Carole A. Barrett

Theses and Dissertations

This study uses archival sources and oral history interviews to construct a history of St. Elizabeth’s Boarding School for Indian Children an institution sponsored by the Protestant Episcopal Church and located on the South Dakota side of the Standing Rock Reservation. St. Elizabeth’s opened in 1886 and closed in 1967. In the 1930s the school closed, and students attended a local public school; however, the mission continued to board children. Essentially the goals of the school, first set down by Bishop William Hobart Hare, continued to shape St. Elizabeth’s after it became a mission home. The major goal of this …

A Rhetorical Analysis Of Value Claims In The Glenn Beck Program, James John Bailey

Theses and Dissertations

A Rhetorical Analysis o f Value Claims in the Glenn Beck Program explores the use o f rhetoric to promote morals and traditional Judaeo-Christian values on Glenn Beck’s radio program to the greater society. This value analysis seeks to reveal the quality o f the argumentation that is implemented and a selection o f the theoretical reasons for its appeal to the program’s listeners. The program extols a traditional Judaeo- Christian view that is not commonly seen or practiced in America after the decade o f the 1940s. The radio program seeks to counter the inroads o f modernism and …

As The World Goes To College: International Student Experiences, Kimberly Gillette

Theses and Dissertations

Students from all over the world come to the United States each year in pursuit of higher education. Representing over 200 countries, students come to learn English, improve their skills or learn new ones, gain educational experience, and/or earn a degree. To achieve their goals, these students must make successful transitions to their new educational and social environment.

The purpose of this inductive qualitative study was to discover what international students perceived as being important to them for making a successful transition to a university in the United States. This study was limited to international students who were unfamiliar with …

Developing An Electronic Film Review For October Sky, Farrah Dawn Keeler

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this Electronic Film Review (EFR) Project was to take the feature film October Sky and apply the EFR approach to an ESL setting. By the use of a special EFRaid player, high-intermediate to low-advanced ESL/EFL students access vocabulary and cultural material in short segmented clips in order to improve their listening and overall comprehension of the film. This material was developed and tested by the materials developer of this project.

The Use Of Performance Enhancing Supplements And The Need For Drug Testing Policies, James J. Battersby

Theses and Dissertations

This study examined the use of performance enhancing supplements of Buena Regional High School student-athletes and the need for drug testing policies. The subjects included 120 student-athletes who had participated at the varsity or sub-varsity level. The student-athletes completed a 21 item survey that consisted of 6 items that measured the students demographics such as age, gender, grade, race, sport and level. The survey also consisted of 15 statements that determined student's use of performance supplements, reasons why they use supplements, the types of supplements that are used and their feelings about drug testing policies. The data were analyzed using …