Education Commons^™

“My Work Doesn’T Need To Be Perfect As Long As The Effort Is There”: A Case Study Of Multilingual Student Perceptions Of Labor-Based Grading Contracts In The First-Year Writing Classroom, Allison M. Hosman

All Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Other Capstone Projects

Recent developments in the fields of both TESOL and Composition indicate a need for conceptualizing and developing assessment practices that support the needs of multilingual writers that are in line with the aims of justice-oriented pedagogies. One such specific pedagogical practice, assessment, has been proposed as an area of pedagogy in which to operationalize approaches that maintain and sustain justice in the multilingual composition classroom. Although contract grading, and more specifically labor-based grading contracts, have been at the center of such recent conversations, few investigations have centered multilingual students, asking how they perceive and understand such an assessment method in …

Teaching Culture In The Argentinian Efl Classroom: Beliefs, Practice And Challenges, María Mercedes Sempé

All Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Other Capstone Projects

The need to address culture in EFL/ESL classrooms has been stressed by scholars in the SLA field for decades (see Kramsch, 1993, 2009, 2011; Byram, 1988; Liddicoat & Scarino, 2013). The original intention of working with culture in the English classes as a means to develop language proficiency –sociocultural competence– was expanded, and nowadays, the focus is on the role culture instruction has in developing empathy and respect for other ways of living and in promoting reflection about learners’ own lifestyle –intercultural competence (Byram, 1988, 2008; Deardoff, 2006). This new focus on cultural instruction is reflected in national curriculums around …

Investigating Emerging Bilingual Learner Related Field Experiences In School Psychology Graduate Training, Austin Rogers

All Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Other Capstone Projects

There is limited research regarding school psychology field and practicum experiences that are devoted to developing skills related to emergent bilingual learners (EBL). This study attempted to better understand what types of EBL-related field and practicum experiences are most influential in preparing school psychologists to feel confident in their ability to provide school psychological services to EBL students. One hundred thirty-five practicing school psychologists were surveyed using a questionnaire focused on the types of EBL-related field and practicum experiences commonly found in exemplary multiculturally-focused school psychology graduate programs and practitioners’ perceptions of their ability to provide a number of services …

Intellect Does Not Have An Accent: The Lived Experiences Of Women Native Speakers Of Spanish With Professional Leadership Positions In United States And Have An Accented English Speech, Isabel E. Rodriguez-Mendoza

All Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Other Capstone Projects

This qualitative study examined the experiences of eleven multilingual professional women between the ages of 35 and 65 who share the following characteristics: Spanish is their first language; they speak English with an accent and migrated to the United States as adults and are required to engage in public speaking in their professional leadership careers in the United States. The study’s interview process provided participants with a platform to share their voices and stories. The findings discussed how their accents have shaped their leadership careers as well as the social-emotional aspect of their lives through a phenomenological approach.

The emergent …

Mediating The German Case System Through Concept-Based Instruction In An Online Learning Environment, Lea Pienkoss

All Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Other Capstone Projects

The English language clarifies the role of nouns through sentence structures, something German does through a case system consisting of four cases that are dependent on gender, form, and quantity (Stocker & Young, 2012). This complexity of the concept of cases often results in difficulties German language learners encounter when identifying and producing the correct forms in the new language. Thus, Ritterbusch et al. (2006) suggested teaching the case system concept-based, allowing a holistic understanding of the cases and their meaning. This case study reacts to the call to action by developing and analyzing the teaching of the meaning of …

Effective Characteristics Of Rural English Learner Programs, Sarah Huseby

All Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Other Capstone Projects

The purpose of this quantitative study was to examine specific characteristics of English learner programs in a rural areas in order to determine possible factors that promoted higher English language proficiency growth for English learners. The subjects in this study were English learner teachers and administrators from five micropolitan school districts in a rural Midwestern state. The school districts in this study were identified and recruited based on two specific criteria: a mircopolitan community and a student population of English language learners. The study utilized both survey and archival data. The survey was administered to all EL teachers and administrators …

A Study Of Refusal Strategies By American And International Students At An American University, Hiroko Tsuiki Moaveni

All Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Other Capstone Projects

Refusals are delicate speech acts for non-native speakers to negotiate because they require negative responses to an interlocutor's invitation or request. In addition to cultural variation, variables such as gender and modes of communication (e.g., emails) add dimensions to the complexity when performing refusals. The main objective of this study is to investigate the difference in refusal strategies between American and international college students as well as gender variation. Using a written Discourse Completion Task, six situations were developed and grouped in two stimulus types eliciting refusals to an invitation and a request. Each stimulus type involved an email refusal …

Teaching Cultural Prototypes And Detecting Prototypical Errors Of L2 Learners, Tina Bennett Mowrey

All Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Other Capstone Projects

The focus of this study is the problem of first language (L1) transfer of cultural prototypes to specific L2 lexical items. This paper will provide a method for identifying and understanding cultural nuances in the meaning of words during the process of learning. An explanation of the learning process will be presented and the iconic or the prototypical level of cross-cultural communication will be analyzed. The APP will present a teaching approach on how to ascertain the L1 cultural prototypes being transferred to specific L2 lexical items. How to negotiate the meaning of these cultural prototypes of lexical items will …

Stimulating Reading Excitement In Secondary Level English Language Learners, Rachael J. Schweigert

All Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Other Capstone Projects

The purpose of this paper is to examine how ESL teachers can stimulate reading excitement in secondary level English language learners. The current research about factor which affect reading enjoyment in secondary level English language learners will also be discussed. These factors include element in reading instruction, attitudes toward reading, readability of text, interest level in literature, and availability of meaningful literature. Current research regarding applications that can be used in classrooms will also be reviewed, such as reading models and reading strategies. Based on the results of this research, suggestions will be presented regarding literature that can be used …