Bilingual, Multilingual, and Multicultural Education Commons^™

The Experience Of Being A Migrant Child : An Early Childhood Perspective, Judith Candy

Theses : Honours

Most studies of migrant children have concentrated on English as a second language (E.S.L.), educational assessment and parental influences on learning. These studies have been mainly of older children and from the teacher's perspective. There has been little or no research into the child's own perceptions of the experience of being a migrant child, particularly from an early childhood perspective. This study aimed to fill this void by investigating young children's migration to Australia. The information was gathered by means of discussions with migrant children and their teachers in Years 2 and 3 of two schools in the Perth metropolitan …

The Assessment And Evaluation Of Esl Children's Writing : A Case Study Of One Esl Primary Child, Liza Phillips

Theses : Honours

The assessment and evaluation of the literacy achievements of ESL learners is emerging as a contentious issue in Australian schools. However, at this time no studies appear to be completed that focus on the identification of features of ESL children's writing and the processes involved in using the frameworks available in Western Australia to assess and evaluate ESL students. In this study, a qualitative research design was employed. Data were collected from one Year Five ESL student over a three week period in order to determine: a) which features of his English writing were identified by each evaluative framework available …

Where Are The Women? A Report Into Issues Related To Women's Access To Workplace Literacy Programs, Marion Milton

Research outputs pre 2011

This study sought to investigate the provision of workplace literacy courses available for women in female dominated industries, and women's access to and participation in those courses. Further, it was intended to interview women who had dropped out or not accessed available courses.

Prior to discussing the study, it seems appropriate to locate it within the current economic, social and political climate of the Australian workplace, with a particular focus on the increasing demand for literacy skills.

Esl Development In A Mainstream Classroom : A Case Study, Silvia Davidson

Theses : Honours

Learning English as a second language is a challenge faced by many children. This research has focused on the language learning and acquisition of a middle primary school student, new to Australia, from France. The English language development of this French student in a mainstream classroom of a primary school within Western Australia has been examined. The student, Rene, is a nine year old male child who is a fluent speaker of the French language. His English language development was studied over a ten week period where he was taught in a mainstream classroom with the assistance of a bilingual …

Word Processors In Secondary English : A Survey And Discussion Of Usage In West Australian High Schools, Stuart D. Hakeney

Theses : Honours

The word processor would seem to have many positive applications to student writing in the English classroom. Writers working in the field (Chandler, 1987; Jenkins, 1989; Snyder, 1994) all agree that whether the technology is used as an editing aid to help poor hand writers and weak spellers get through the "grind" of writing, or as a dynamic tool which can be used as a new and exciting way of making meaning, its usefulness in subject English should not be overlooked. However, initial inquiries undertaken as part of this study, suggested that word processing technology had been largely ignored in …

The Ultra Project (The Universities Language Teaching Research Agreement) : A Joint Investigation By Edith Cowan University, Western Australia And The Guangzhou Foreign Language University, The People's Republic Of China, Into The Use Of Intensive And Immersion Approaches To Language Teaching And Learning At University Level, Alistair L. Mcgregor, Ian G. Malcolm

Research outputs pre 2011

No abstract provided.

Language And Communication Enhancement For Two-Way Education : Report, Ian G. Malcolm

Research outputs pre 2011

Indigenous Australians command many languages including autochthonous (Indigenous) and contact languages (creoles and Aboriginal English). This project is concerned with the majority who speak English, especially those who speak English as a first language, in an Aboriginal English variety. The project was developed by Edith Cowan University in cooperation with the Education Department of Western Australia as a response to an increasing demand from teachers of Indigenous students for help in providing for their needs as speakers of Aboriginal English. It was funded from the DEBT National Priority (Reserve) Fund to enable the University to develop course modules in Aboriginal …

Language Attitudes In Relation To Language Functions: An Investigation Of The Attitudes Of The Botswana Cambridge 'O' Level Senior Certificate (Cosc) Students, Joel M. Magogwe

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

This research study attempts to assess the language attitudes among Botswana Cambridge '0' level Senior Certificate (COSC) students in relation to the official functions of Setswana and English. The study assumes that: (1) there is a general positive attitude towards English and Setswana and that allows for bilingualism; (2) the students are instrumentally motivated to learn English because of the socio-economic gains associated with it; (3) the students are integratively motivated symbol of nationhood to learn Setswana because Setswana is a and attitudes among L2 learners political independence; (4) in Botswana arc influenced language by the functions the language is …

Teaching Language To Adults. Mixed Ability Teaching : Meeting Learners' Needs., E. J. Mcgilp

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

Ainslie, Susan. (1994) Mixed ability teaching : meeting learners' needs. Centre for Information on Language Teaching and Research, London.

Adult Migrant Learner Perceptions Of Dyadic Interaction In The Learning Of English As A Second Language In Australia, Philip G. Nichols

Theses : Honours

Student to student dyadic interaction (pairwork) is a recommended activity in the second language learning classroom but if learners do not find it useful or enjoyable, then its effectiveness is reduced and the learners' motivation diminished. In this study a survey questionnaire with both open and closed questions was used to ask 207 intermediate and advanced adult migrant learners of English of diverse ethnicity about their perceptions of pairwork. Twenty-four learners from the sample were interviewed. The results revealed that most students found pairwork useful and enjoyable, but that perceptions differed according to region of origin and to previous language …

Strategies In Learning Japanese As A Second Language In Secondary School, Sharon Gay Ainsworth

Theses : Honours

Strategies used by learners of Japanese as a second language were examined. A total of 26 students, seven male and seven female students in Year 8 and six male and six female students in Year 11 in secondary education from two single sex schools were surveyed to investigate preferred language learning strategies. The instrument used was the Strategy Inventory for Language Learning (Oxford 1990). Six language learning strategy categories were used to classify sample responses. Subjects were also interviewed individually to find out what strategies they used in classroom and non-classroom settings. Students maintained a diary for a six week …

The Effect Of Word Processing On The Revising/Editing Strategies Of Primary Esl Writers, L. John Oliver

Theses : Honours

The focus of this study was on the effect of word processing on the revising and editing strategies of primary ESL writers. Six year 5/6 'intensive' ESL students completed a number of written tasks, using both computer and conventional 'pen and paper' methods. Their handwritten and word processed work was analysed and compared in terms of the frequency, nature and extent of changes made. Statistical analysis of these data, as well as audio-taped verbal protocols, interviews, and observational notes, was used to determine the effect(s) of word processing on the revising/editing strategies of these students. Of the four major revision …

Prose Fiction Preferences Of Lower Secondary Urban Aboriginal Boys, Stephen James White

Theses : Honours

The purpose of this study was to investigate the prose fiction preferences of lower secondary urban Aboriginal boys. The Likert scale scores from the 2 x 4 factorial design were analysed using an ANOVA test of significance. It was found that the research group significantly preferred action genres to non-action genres, Aboriginal characterisations to white Australian characterisations, and contemporary story extracts to traditional story extracts.

The Educational Aspirations Of Upper Primary Non English Speaking Background Students In A Mainstream Government School, Shirley Lienert

Theses : Honours

Researchers have described Non English Speaking Background (NESB) students as educationally disadvantaged but recent statistics show that some NESB students are actually outstripping their English Speaking Background (ESB) peers in educational achievement. In this study 121 students in upper primary classes in a Western Australian government school were surveyed so that NESB and ESB students could be identified and the proportion of NESB students within the sample group established. Information was gathered from both NESB and ESB students by administering a sociogram, the Lawseq test and a Likert scale questionnaire with variables of attitudes towards school, attitudes towards teachers1 influence …

How Do Aboriginal Students Account For Their Lack Of Academic Success In W.A. Secondary Schools, Jeffrey Jon Mcquade

Theses : Honours

The provision of education to Aboriginal students has been the subject of many reports and inquiries over the years, each expressing various degrees of concern about aspects of Aboriginal participation and retention in the school system and the generally low levels of academic performance achieved by Aboriginal children. Numerous theoretical explanations have been proposed to account for the serious inequities which continue to exist between the academic performance of Aboriginal children and their non-Aboriginal peers. Some of these are reviewed in this thesis so as to provide a conceptual framework in order that readers may judge the results of this …

The Effect Of Expository Writing As A Pre-Reading Activity On Comprehension Of Expository Text, W. B. Day

Theses : Honours

The purpose of this study was to examine the effect of a pre-reading expository writing task on comprehension of expository text. It was undertaken in order to ascertain the usefulness of writing as a pre-reading activity in the development of schema theoretic reading teaching strategies. The theoretical position of the study was that writing before reading would activate prior knowledge in the form of content and structure in the working memory of the reader and thereby enhance reading comprehension. The sample, comprised selected from a small, of 51 year 6/7 students, school in the outskirts of was the metropolitan area. …

Evaluating The Effectiveness Of The Retelling With The Aid Of A Story-Map Procedure With Weaker Readers, Madeleine Boekeman

Theses : Honours

This study examines the effectiveness of the 'Retelling with the aid of a story-map procedure' as an instructional approach which could help weaker readers in their second year of schooling. Based on the literature and research findings which support a view of language as a developmental, holistic and natural process, the 'Retelling with the aid of a story-map procedure' was chosen. It was hypothesised that it would help the weaker readers make connections between oral language and written language, develop meaning seeking behaviours and increase their 'data pool' of linguistic knowledge. The goal of this study was to seek answers …

The Effects Of Internalising A Narrative Text Structure On The Comprehension And Recall Of Narrative Texts, Julie M. Bayly

Theses : Honours

This study was an analysis of an aspect of oral language comprehension. The major purpose was to evaluate the impact of the facilitating effect of a knowledge of a narrative text framework, upon listeners' comprehension of narratives.

One research question was addressed: In the immediate recall of a simple, unfamiliar narrative text, presented orally, once only, will year six listeners who have been taught the schematic structure of narratives perform significantly better than similar year six students who have not?

A teacher-devised listening text was modified from an S.R.A. (1975) listening kit. The results of that test were used as …

An Investigation Into Some Of The Processes And Strategies Underlying The Receptive Behaviour Of The Interlanguage Speaker, Kaye Malcolm

Theses : Honours

This study is based on Selinker's (1972, revised 1988) paper which describes the construct of interlanguage. Selinker claimed that the learner's interlanguage could be accounted for on the basis of three psycholinguistic processes and two strategies. He demonstrated how the operation of these processes and strategies could be inferred from the data of the learner's interlanguage performance in relation to the relevant first and second language systems, The processes and strategies identified by Selinker were: the processes of language transfer, overgeneralization and transfer of training, and the strategies of second language learning and second language communication. Selinker's claims relate to …

The Effect Of The Teaching Of An Explicit Top-Level Expository Text Structure On The Structure Of Year Seven Children's Semantic Memory, Les Phul

Theses : Honours

In order to examine the effect of the teaching of a top-level expository structure through writing on children's schemata for text structure, children in year seven were asked to display graphically the relationships between 42 randomly presented text items related to a central topic. The text items were designed to approximate the kinds of information that may be found in an encyclopaedia or a science text about a given topic. One class of children was then allocated to the control group and the other to the experimental group. The experimental group was taught the top-level structure for a scientific report …

Creativity In Aboriginal Students And The Implications For Language Teaching, Raeme Goves-Jacka

Theses : Honours

The current level of scholastic success of Aboriginal students in Western Australian schools is overviewed together with some concerns regarding Aboriginal cognition. The issues which appear to inhibit in Aboriginal children the sort of cognitive development which is beneficial for schooling are reviewed. These are seen as cultural discontinuity, Vygotsky's belief in the cultural transmission of language, political constraints and the concept that different cultures with different needs produce different modes of thinking. Aboriginal child rearing practices are also reviewed together with the definition, process and product of creativity. The review also deals with the creative person, the creative environment, …

Multicultural Education : A Book Of Readings, Gary Partington (Ed.)

Research outputs pre 2011

The problem of obtaining texts with material relevant to the core course in Aboriginal and Multicultural Education in the W.A. College led me to suggest a book of readings selected by those teaching the course. Obviously this was a trap for the unwary, for the diversity of recommendations that I received meant that unless the book was to be of mammoth proportions, some lecturers were bound to be disappointed. This was compounded by difficulties in tracking down authors to obtain their permission in time to publish.

Even so, it is anticipated that the collection of readings finally assembled will contribute …

Functional Language In Vietnam And Australia : Some Differences In The Use Of Functional Language Between Vietnamese And Australian Speakers, Eleanor A. Ensor

Research outputs pre 2011

The linguistic problems encountered in such areas as phonology and syntax by Vietnamese learning English are already dealt with in several publications. This paper however, explores a further avenue of common problems which are socio-linguistic in nature, relating to the settlement process of Vietnamese into Australian society...

The Communicative Approach To Language Teaching: Some Important Aspects, Roland T. Williams

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

The past decade in the study and teaching of language - foreign Ianguages (FLI. English as a second language (ESLI. and English as a foreign language (EFL) - has seen a shift away from perceiving language as 'code' (a linear sequence of structural elements) to perceiving language as the performance of communicative acts within social contexts. Up to the early 1970s language teaching was seen as a matter of exposing students to sequentially·graded grammatical structures (for example, the pres~nt continuous verb form, I am walking might l;Ie taught before the past form I walked) and invented language forms divorced from …

The Early Childhood Multicultural Classroom: Implications For Teacher Education, Rita Kino

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

This article records findings and impressions gained from a selfbrlef·ing study of multicultural early childhood settings in British schools~ It begins by providing background information which motivated interest in the work. It presents the issues relevant to early childhood multi· cultural programmes around which questions were asked of ~nd administrators in a wide range of British early childhood settings. Conclusions are then presented, founded on replies to these These conclusions are useful for interpreting attitudes to the issues which are prevalent in Britain and may have a bearing in the Australi!ln early childhood setting.

Cultural And Linguistic Factors Affecting The Educational Achiements Of Aboriginals - An Aboriginal Perspective, Vic Forrest

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

Much has been written on Aboriginal education both within Western Australia and Australia generally but, in terms of the delivery of education to Aboriginal students, it can be argued that there has been little change in the attitude of those in control. This paper, in looking at Aboriginal education, will examine some of the following points: definitions of Aboriginality; the nature of cultural differences; the exclusion years in Western Australia; Government policies; language as a barrier; and current achievements of Aboriginal students.

The Language Of 5 1/2-Year-Old Children From Homes Where Macedonian, Vietnamese And An Aboriginal Tribal Language Are Used As The Language Of The Home, A. L. Mcgregor

Research outputs pre 2011

Throughout the world migration patterns and changing attitudes towards education and other cultures have led over the past three or four decades to a remarkable growth in the learning of second or foreign languages. Within this area the learning of English by speakers of other languages takes up the largest numbers and is to be found in every part of the globe.

Nevertheless to date comparatively little is known of processes and patterns in second language development. Evidence on phonological and semantic development is exceedingly skimpy. Hernandez (in Ervin-Tripp 1970), Malmberg (1945), Wode (1976) and Ervin-Tripp (1974) have examined the …

Attitudes Towards Migrants And Needs In Teacher Training : Some Research Findings, R. W. Sealey

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

The area of immigrant education has become a major source of interest, concern, comment, and research in recent years. This interest has its origins in the concern felt and views expressed at various conferences that many pupils in our schools are in need of an educational approach which will take cognisance of their linguistic and cultural differences.

Report To The Academic Council Of Nedlands College From The Ad Hoc Committee On Aboriginal Education, Aboriginal Education Committee

Research outputs pre 2011

The following expanded brief originating from the above recommendation was given to the committee:- "Many graduates returning to College on ex-students' day as well as students on practice reported that they had found difficulties in handling classes that contained Aboriginal and part Aboriginal students, and suggested that the College should do more to prepare students in this area. A conference on Aboriginal Education held at Mount Lawley College in 1977 made recommendations on the place of Aboriginal Education in initial teaching training.

The Academic Council of this College decided to form an ad hoc committee to advise the Courses Committee …

Teaching Children Of Different Cultural Backgrounds : A Survey Of 1976-1977 Graduates From Nedlands College Of Advanced Education, M Kaplan

Research outputs pre 2011

The composition of the student population in secondary schools in Western Australia has changed considerably in recent years. The overall increase in the number of students being retained in school at all levels of secondary education has resulted in a growing number of children of Aboriginal/part Aboriginal and/or migrant parents in the secondary streams. These children who previously tended to finish their schooling in the primary school are now entering secondary schools to complete their education.