Education Commons^™

Teacher Anxiety And Resilience As Socio-Ecological Experience: A Critical Ethnography Of Early-Career English As An Additional Language Teachers In Post-Pandemic Ontario, Canada, Aide Chen

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

This critical ethnographic study investigated the anxiety and resilience experiences of English as an Additional Language (EAL) teachers in Ontario, Canada during their early careers after the pandemic. The study drew on literature regarding the TESOL profession’s precarious nature, resilience and anxiety concepts, pandemic impacts on language education, and debates on native-speakerism. It employed four-level theoretical frameworks, including the theories of critical praxis (Freire, 1970), reflexivity (Byrd Clark, 2020), ecological systems (Bronfenbrenner,1979), and the community of practice (Lave & Wenger, 1991) for its design and implementation. Four pre-service and three in-service English language teachers participated, providing weekly reflective journals for …

Learning To Teach For Equity, Diversity, And Social Justice: A Mixed Methods Case Study Of Initial Teacher Education In Ontario, Canada, Kate Paterson

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Drawing on critical race theory, culturally and linguistically sustaining pedagogy, and ecological systems theory, this mixed methods case study explored the integration of equity, diversity, and social justice across one initial teacher education program in Ontario, Canada. Survey data (n=272) provided insight into prospective teachers’ endorsement of social-justice-related beliefs at program entry and exit. Demographic data were collected to obtain a current snapshot of initial teacher education representation rates, addressing a dearth of such data in the Ontario context. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with teacher candidates (n=15) and key stakeholders (n=4) to gain an understanding of how equity was conceptualized …

Teachers’ Work: Communicating On Difficult Knowledge In Ontario Schools, Zsofia Agoston Villalba

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

This thesis examines how K-12 teachers in Ontario navigate the complexities of teaching "difficult knowledge"—topics such as racial and ethnic injustices, Indigenous perspectives, immigration experiences, and gender issues—within the parameters of the school and the curriculum. Utilizing an institutional ethnography approach, the study examines the curriculum as an institutional text that coordinates and shapes teachers’ practices. Working with and against the curriculum, teachers find innovative ways to engage their students on difficult knowledge topics. Based on interviews with 12 K-12 teachers, this research explores teachers’ work and pedagogical approaches. They employ diverse teaching methods like storytelling, open dialogues, and collaborative …

English Literacy Curricula In A Sino-Canadian Transnational Education Program: Teachers’ Implemented Curriculum, Rong Hai

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

This case study explored the English literacy curricula in a Sino-Canadian Transnational Education Program that is accredited by British Columbia (BC). Underpinned by nested pedagogical orientations and critical multimodal literacies, this study focuses on how the BC English literacy curricula were implemented in three English literacy teachers’ classes. Data show that two pedagogical orientations (i.e., transmission and social constructivist) were used by English literacy teachers in the transnational education program. This study also found little evidence of transformative pedagogy in all three teachers’ English literacy teaching. The implications include missed opportunities to engage students to critically analyze and evaluate the …

The Use Of Digital Storytelling In Bilingual/Multilingual Students' Meaning-Making: A Systematic Literature Review, Qianhui Ma

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

This thesis is a systematic literature review of 24 empirical studies on using digital storytelling for bilingual/multilingual students’ meaning-making. Through thematic and scientific analyses, this review identifies the contextual backgrounds of the reviewed studies; for example, most of them were conducted in secondary schools in America. The strength analysis reveals that more than half of the papers lack sufficient details in analyzing and presenting data, and this may impact the trustworthiness of the claimed results. The reported uses of digital storytelling for bilingual/multilingual students include supporting learners as designers, promoting education equity, and incorporating multiliteracies pedagogy. The review also reported …

The Effects Of Song Use On Vocabulary Learning: Studies Of Distribution Of Practice, Modes Of Input, Retrieval, And The Input-Output-Input Sequence Of Exposure, Niousha Pavia

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

This dissertation investigates the effects of the distribution of practice, modes of input, retrieval, and the input-output-input sequence of exposure on incidental vocabulary learning from songs. This thesis takes an integrated article format, organized into five chapters, including an introduction, articles one, two, and three, and a conclusion. The participants (N=225) across all three studies involved Thai students learning English as a foreign language (EFL) in Thailand. All three studies measured vocabulary learning gains by comparing participants' scores on the vocabulary knowledge tests used for pretests, immediate posttests, and two weeks delayed posttests. Study one partially replicated and …

Learning Verb-Noun Collocations Through Multiple-Choice Exercises: Do Distractors Benefit Or Hinder Later Recall?, Mengxue (Alyssa) Li

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

This study aimed to investigate under what conditions multiple-choice exercises benefit second language learners’ acquisition of lexical phrases. Of particular interest was the question whether the distractors in the multiple-choice items create interference when learners’ later try to recall the lexical phrases. Twenty advanced ESL (English as a Second Language) learners were given 20 multiple-choice items on verb-noun collocations (e.g., run a business, take a toll, speak volumes) followed by feedback. They were then tested on the same collocations two weeks later by means of gap-fill items. The participants were invited to verbalize their thoughts during the exercise and …

Exploring Translanguaging And Identity Among Jordanian Graduate Students In Ontario, Mohamad Almashour

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

This study investigated the use of translanguaging strategies by Jordanian graduate students in Ontario, Canada, as a means of adjusting to the local language and culture. It further scrutinizes the influence of these practices on their identities. The study also probes into the potential opportunities and impediments that these students may encounter in higher educational establishments in Ontario.

Data collection was accomplished through semi-structured online interviews, which were subject to qualitative analysis to respond to the research queries. The analytical process was grounded in a theoretical framework combining sociocultural theory, critical literacy, and language ecology, thereby offering a profound understanding …

Uncovering The Myths Of Shared Reading English Picture Books For Chinese Families: A Narrative Inquiry, Yijuan Ge

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

This doctoral research explored the experiences of Chinese parents in parent-child shared reading on English picture books (EPBs). It was unique in its approach, taking the perspective and standpoint of the parents as the research stance, and was one of the few studies in the existing literature to do so. The Narrative Inquiry proposed by Polkinghorne (1995) was adopted to explore Chinese parents' voices, especially the unspoken ones. The study aimed to learn from Chinese parents' experiences, provided valuable insights into their reflections and expectations of their family literacy activities, and contributed to the limited research on English family literacy …

Systematic Literature Review: Literacy Practices In Chinese Immigrant Families, Qingning Chen

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Family literacy is important for Chinese immigrant families who are concerned for their children's English and Chinese biliteracy development. This systematic literature review uses multiliteracies as the theoretical lens to analyze 17 studies from the ERIC database. The review aims to synthesize reported family literacy practices (including both English- and Chinese-related literacy practices) in English-dominated countries and analyze how literacy is perceived in the literature. Findings suggest that Chinese immigrant families use various materials, blended situated practices, and overt instruction as the main pedagogical approaches to support children's biliteracy development in family contexts. Most researchers and parents conceptualize literacy as …

Enhancing Cultural Awareness Policy And Pedagogy At A Bilingual Nursery School, Rola Touckly

The Dissertation-in-Practice at Western University

Globalization and migration have impacted the cultural demographics at educational settings worldwide. Families with young children relocating to new countries experience distress and a sense of cultural loss, in terms of language, beliefs, and values. Grounded in the social constructivist worldview, this organizational improvement plan proposes how to support cross-cultural kids and their families during the periods of transition and adaptation, at an international nursery school located in the Middle East. Influenced by the cross-cultural adaptation theory and a multidimensional ethical framework, the problem of practice addresses the need to develop a relevant policy and to enhance culturally responsive practices. …

Building Intercultural Capacity In School Teams To Support Refugee Students, Heather A. Young

The Dissertation-in-Practice at Western University

In a period of globalization and forced migration, refugee numbers are increasing exponentially, and unprepared school systems embrace students as families settle in unfamiliar territory. This Organizational Improvement Plan (OIP) explores the experiences of a school team at Calluna Elementary School (CES, a pseudonym) in Southern Ontario, where staff strive to build their collective intercultural capacity in order to best serve an influx of newcomers who have survived war and significant loss. The Problem of Practice (PoP) involves addressing staff struggles with trauma-informed pedagogy, early literacy instruction, and maintaining an asset-focused perspective, through a refugee critical race theory lens. To …

Exploring The Effects Of A Chinese Heritage Language School On The Identity Construction Of Its Adolescent Students, Angela Dong

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

This qualitative case study examines the identities of four adolescent students in a Chinese heritage language school in Atlantic Canada using a combination of semi-structured interviews, classroom observations, and textbook analyses. Drawing from the conceptual approaches of reflexivity and translanguaging, this study explores the participants’ understandings of what it means to be Chinese, how Chineseness relates to feelings of Canadianness, and the role Mandarin plays in their overall identity constructions. Existing literature (e.g. Lu, 2001; Shin, 2010) has found that maintaining fluency in a heritage language has positive effects on speakers’ cultural identities. The findings of this study show that …

Text Comprehension In Monolingual And Bilingual Adult Readers, Sharan K. Grewal, Deanna Friesen, Olivia Ward

Undergraduate Student Research Internships Conference

The present study examined whether University students who learned English as a second language differed from English monolingual students on their ability to detect inconsistent content in short informational texts about animals. Adults completed a self-paced reading task, performed text recalls, and completed a True/False test. Half of the texts contained information in the 5th sentence that contradicted the 2nd sentence’s information (inconsistent condition). The other half did not contain any contradictions (consistent condition). Participants also completed language and cognitive tasks as individual differences measures. Results revealed a significant interaction between language group and consistency, wherein monolingual adults spent more …

Increasing The Academic Achievement Of English Language Learning Students: An Inquiry Into Culturally Responsive Pedagogy, Kimberly A. Bartlett

The Dissertation-in-Practice at Western University

The English Language Learner (ELL) international boarding students at an independent, not-for-profit school have consistently demonstrated lower levels of academic achievement than their local peers. This Organizational Improvement Plan (OIP) proposes to address this Problem of Practice (PoP) by creating a professional learning community (PLC) to institute more culturally responsive pedagogy. This OIP suggests a compelling correlation between inclusiveness and academic success, and therefore the school needs to raise its level of cultural competency, introduce more equitable assessments, and increase coordination among the various departments and systems that support the ELL students. The implementation of the proposed solution relies on …

Reading Strategy Intervention And Reading Comprehension Success In Bilingual Readers, Bailey Frid

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Previous research has found that specific reading strategies predict reading comprehension success in bilingual readers (Frid & Friesen, 2020; Friesen & Frid, 2021). Yet, the pattern in which readers recruit these strategies has not been investigated. In the first study, the patterns of strategy recruitment used by skilled vs. poor bilingual readers was analyzed with previously collected think-aloud data. Results showed that skilled bilingual readers recruit a variety of strategies, they pair necessary inferences with other strategies and utilize comprehension monitoring strategies. In contrast, poor readers perseverate on specific strategies, recruit fewer strategies in total and make more incorrect statements. …

The Effects Of Multilingualism And Music Experience On Tone And Vowel Discrimination Ability, Niloufar Ansari Dezfuly

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

This study investigates the effects of language background (monolingual/bilingual and early/late bilingual exposure), knowledge of a tonal language and music experience on auditory discrimination by employing tone and vowel discrimination tasks. A total number of 8,769 observations were analyzed using logistic regression to answer the following questions: (1) Do vowel and tone discrimination abilities correlate with language background in diverse groups of speakers such as monolinguals and bilinguals of different types (early/late bilinguals)? (2) Does musical training affect tone and vowel discrimination? (3) Does knowledge of tonal language affect tone discrimination? The findings suggest that with regard to vowel discrimination, …

Utilizing "Third Space" To Support Students With Refugee Backgrounds, Susie Redecop

Undergraduate Student Research Internships Conference

This infographic provides a snapshot of my research on third space theory and provides examples of how it can be used in the classroom to support students with refugee backgrounds. If home is a child’s first space and school is a second space, a third space is an environment where these two spheres merge. Third spaces interrupt cultural essentialism and create new opportunities for understanding, collaboration and harmony (Lotherington, 2013). Teachers can use third space theory to combine culture and curriculum to make learning meaningful and accessible for all learners.

Plurilingualism In The Fsl Classroom And Beyond, Rachel L. Wohlgemut

Undergraduate Student Research Internships Conference

In Canada, there are 269 different languages that are spoken daily (Statistics Canada, 2016). So why should we limit ourselves to French and English, when we have a multitude of other languages to explore? Here is where plurilingualism comes in. Plurilingualism is “[a]n approach to language learning that incorporates multiple competencies in different languages working in tandem to promote learning” (IGI Global, 2021). It “aims for transfer of knowledge and skills across languages” (Cummins, 2005). In my presentation, I will explain how teachers can use plurilingualism to the benefit of teachers and their learners alike through digital identity texts. I …

Ontario High School Science Word List (Ohswl), Mohamed Mahfouz

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

This research aims to explain the development of an Ontario High School Science Corpus and subsequently an Ontario High School Science Word List (OHSWL). The OHSWL is a list of the most frequent technical words in the Ontario high school science curriculum. The science corpus was compiled from Ontario science textbooks and public written lecture material. A total of 803 lemmas were identified as part of the OHSWL. The coverage of the OHSWL in the science corpus vs non-science corpus is 7.79% and 1.52% respectively. The high frequency vocabulary (top 3,000 words) of the Corpus of Contemporary American English (COCA) …

A Case Study Of Efl Learners’ Identity And Investment In A Private Educational Company In China, Jing Yan

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

In response to the scant literature on Chinese English as a foreign language (EFL) students’ identity and investment in language learning within private settings, this study employed exploratory case study to report findings regarding Chinese EFL learners’ identity and investment at a private educational company in mainland China. This study used the model of investment as the theoretical underpinning. Data presented in this paper were collected through three adult students’ learning materials in three different English learning programs and interviews with both students and three teachers who taught the students respectively. Findings reveal how students constructed identities as related to …

Exploring The Experiences Of High School Syrian Refugee Students With Interrupted Formal Education And Their Teachers In Eld Classrooms, Hiba Barek

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Exploring the experiences of Syrian refugee Students with Interrupted Formal Education (SIFE) and their teachers in English and Literacy Development (ELD) classrooms is an emergent topic of interest in the field of education in Canada. There is a need to understand the ways in which ELD teachers respond to the cultural, linguistic, and ethnic diversity of Syrian refugee SIFEs and create learning opportunities for those students while supporting them emotionally, socially, and academically. Thus, the aim of this research was to explore the nature of the experiences of high school Syrian refugee SIFEs and their teachers in ELD classrooms in …

Becoming A Cosmopolitan Teacher: Empirical And Theoretical Inquires, James S. Budrow

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

The contemporary conditions of the world are largely defined by global interconnectivity, heightened mobilities and super-diversity. Teachers and students are increasingly immersed in these conditions that prompt the heightened calls for internationalization of curricula and culturally relevant and inclusive school pedagogies. Teachers are also mobile, taking on positions beyond their local educational jurisdiction, where they must learn to navigate the intercultural and/or transnational conditions of unfamiliar locales and school communities. In turn, teacher education must respond by preparing teachers for both the super-diversity they may encounter in ‘local’ schools as well as for teaching ‘beyond their local.’ To better understand …

How Can We Predict Incidental L2 Vocabulary Learning? A Meta-Analytic Examination Of The Involvement Load Hypothesis, Akifumi Yanagisawa

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

This dissertation investigated Laufer and Hulstijn’s (2001) Involvement Load Hypothesis (ILH). The ILH claims that the retention of unknown words is conditional on one motivational factor (need) and two cognitive factors (search and evaluation) and predicts the relative effectiveness of activities on incidental vocabulary learning. While research tends to provide general support for the ILH, several studies revealed that the ILH prediction is not always accurate. Aiming to provide a summative evaluation of the ILH and enhance its predictive ability, the present thesis conducted a series of three meta-analytic studies to examine research that tested the …

Seniors, French, And Conversation Groups: An Investigation Into Seniors Who Pursue French As A Leisure Activity, Alan D. Russette

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

The dissertation investigates the motivation to learn French as an additional language later in life and maintain and/or improve one’s proficiency in it through participation in an L2 conversation group in an Anglophone setting. The research study consisted of participation in and observation of weekly French language conversation groups over the course of a 12-month period, a multiple round qualitative interview approach involving twelve participants, and document analysis.

The research study investigates what experiences led these learners to pursue French as a minority language, and why they choose to maintain it though it is not necessary for their daily lives …

A Language Barrier To Human Capital Development: The Case Of Guatemalan Students, Fidel Pérez Macal

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Not being proficient in a school’s predominant language of instruction can represent a language barrier for students’ human capital development. In Guatemala, 24 languages are spoken apart from Spanish, which is the language of instruction in the majority of schools, and about 40 percent of the total population has a non-Spanish language as a mother tongue. National standardized tests show that non-Spanish mother tongue (non-SMT) students are outperformed by SMT students in elementary and secondary schools.

My thesis analyzes whether non-SMT students face a language barrier and traces its source. Two main findings emerge. First, non-SMT students are not yet …

The Impact Of Multiliteracies And Multimodality On Esl Learners: Using Neuroimaging Technologies, Wenyu Huang

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Educational neuroscience has become an important role in understanding education and the association with brain development. However, few previous studies have applied neuroimaging techniques to multiliteracies research, which is an important literacy pedagogy addressing multimodal learning and cultural and linguistic diversity. This study used functional near infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS) to investigate the association of multiliteracies learning on adult English Second Language (ESL) students’ performance through multimodal tasks.

Students’ multimodality background was collected through a technology questionnaire. Behavioural and fNIRS data were collected before and after multiliteracies learning. Results showed that there was no significance change in behavioural responses while the …

Exploring The Acquisition Of American Sign Language By Deaf Kindergarten Children: Early Language Access And The Use Of Appropriate Resources, Jenelle Rouse

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

This dissertation explores the accounts of educators and parents regarding the accessibility of American Sign Language (ASL) and its acquisition by deaf children in Ontario, Canada. It is generally known that deaf children’s ASL acquisition and proficiency is directly affected by their early exposure to the language; the earlier and greater the exposure, the greater the acquisition and proficiency, while later and inadequate exposure results in poorer acquisition and proficiency. In the face of societal and educational systems in Ontario, there have been some attempts to provide opportunities for deaf children and their families to develop and acquire ASL (Snoddon, …

Building Leadership Capacity For The Effective Implementation Of A Professional Development Tool In K-12 School In A Region In Arctic Canada, Sonia Osbourne

The Dissertation-in-Practice at Western University

This Organizational Improvement Plan (OIP) aims to identify and remediate the organizational factors that are presently leading to the faulty delivery of a professional development framework (PDFM) tool in an educational organization in the Canadian Arctic. Implementation of change initiatives in organizations is a complex undertaking and can be further complicated by contextual factors such as culture. In this region, a large percentage of students are Inuit, and teachers and school leaders are both Inuit and non-Inuit. Inuit Qaujimajatuqangit (IQ), translated as Inuit traditional knowledge, is a foundation upon which education is delivered in the region. Therefore, this organizational change …

The Use Of Reading Strategies In Second Language Adult Learners, Taninder Atwal

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

The current study examined the use of reading strategies in connection to reading comprehension success. 38 graduate students, who did not consider English their first language participated in this study. The participants’ vocabulary knowledge, word reading fluency, decoding, and working memory were measured. Think-alouds captured strategy use and reading comprehension was assessed through questions about the text. Results indicate that vocabulary knowledge was correlated to reading comprehension success but word fluency, decoding and working memory were not. A factor analysis on strategy use revealed that three factors emerged to account for unique variance in reading comprehension performance. These factors were …