Bilingual, Multilingual, and Multicultural Education Commons^™

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 …

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 …

An Interventionist Approach To Language Study Abroad: Exploring Metalinguistic Awareness In The Acquisition Of Spanish Through Digital Portfolio Documentation And Expert Mentorship, Meredith Mcgregor

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Language study abroad offers the possibility of acquiring a multitude of competencies, linguistic and otherwise. While historically study abroad research has emphasized linguistic gains in isolation, it has gradually moved towards a more sociocultural approach whereby individual factors and intercultural competencies are seen as integral to the process of acquiring knowledge of a language. With remaining gaps in the literature, and as new instruments emerge, so too do new opportunities for tracking and measuring learning outcomes in innovative ways. The present study, framed by the intervention hypothesis and sociocultural theory, utilizes the social media platform Google+ as a space to …

A Case Study Mapping Literacy Learning Opportunities And Identity Construction Among African Immigrant Youth In A Canadian Secondary School, Wambui J. Gichuru

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Studies with immigrant and refugee youth highlight challenges, school failure and early push-out rates (Anisef, 2008; James, 2012; Roessingh, 2010). There is limited research about how immigrant students especially from continental Africa negotiate their identity at school for positive outcomes. The goal of this qualitative case study was to explore literacy learning opportunities afforded by the school for African youth who were learning to become literate in English as an additional language in a Canadian secondary school and the implications for the students’ communicative and identity options.

The study utilized ethnographic tools, i.e., interview, classroom observation, mapping literacy activities and …