Bilingual, Multilingual, and Multicultural Education Commons^™

Practices For Dispreferred Responses Using "No" By A Learner Of English, John Hellermann

Applied Linguistics Faculty Publications and Presentations

Responding in a manner that does not align with an action or affiliate with a stance implicated in just prior talk is potentially sensitive work. Conversation Analysis (CA) has shown that participants orient to the sensitive nature of sequences of talk used to project responses that do not align, or, are dispreferred (Pomerantz 1984) in some way. This paper examines such responses, especially with the use of no tokens. The talk comes from the interactions of one adult learner of English in a language learning classroom over the course of five ten-week terms. The findings show that the participant’s use …

Esl Placement And Schools: Effect On Immigrant Achievement, Rebecca Callahan, Lindsey Wilkinson, Chandra Muller, Michelle Frisco

Sociology Faculty Publications and Presentations

In this study, the authors explore English as a Second Language (ESL) placement as a measure of how schools label and process immigrant students. Using propensity score matching and data from the Adolescent Health and Academic Achievement Study and the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health, the authors estimate the effect of ESL placement on immigrant achievement. In schools with more immigrant students, the authors find that ESL placement results in higher levels of academic performance; in schools with few immigrant students, the effect reverses. This is not to suggest a one-size-fits-all policy; many immigrant students, regardless of school composition, …

Effects On L1 During Early Acquisition Of L2: Speech Changes In Spanish At First English Contact, Christina E. Gildersleeve-Neumann, Elizabeth D. Peña, Barbara L. Davis, Ellen S. Kester

Speech and Hearing Sciences Faculty Publications and Presentations

Spanish phonological development was examined in six sequential bilingual children at the point of contact with English and eight months later. We explored effects of the English vowel and consonant inventory on Spanish. Children showed a significant increase in consonant cluster accuracy and in vowel errors. These emerging sequential bilingual children showed effects of English on their first language, Spanish. Cross-linguistic transfer did not affect all properties of the phonology equally. Negative transfer may occur in specific areas where the second language is more complex, requiring reorganization of the existing system, as in the transition from the Spanish five-vowel to …

Partnerships To Recruit And Prepare Bilingual Teachers, Julie Esparza Brown

Education Faculty Publications and Presentations

To address the need for teachers with the skills to effectively teach English Language Learner (ELL) students, Portland State University (PSU) collaborated with three Portland area community colleges and 17 school districts to develop a program to recruit and prepare bilingual/bicultural teachers. This nine-year-old program provides a career ladder for education paraprofessionals. Candidates begin their work at the community colleges or at the upper division or graduate levels at PSU depending upon their backgrounds. This article describes the program, assessment of the program, and lessons learned. To date, over 190 candidates have completed the program and 99 percent have been …

The Use And Interpretation Of The Batería Iii With U.S. Bilinguals, Julie Esparza Brown

Dissertations and Theses

Within each classroom, many children excel academically while others struggle. Some students' difficulties are such that they require placement into educational programs different from grade level core and perhaps delivered outside of general education classrooms. For many, special education programs are the lifeline to reach their innate potential. For others misplaced into special education, their opportunities may be truncated. For the past 40 years (Dunn, 1968), disproportionate representation of minority children in some disability categories has been a problem. Educators commonly ask "Is a child's difficulties due to language differences or a learning disability?" One key area of confusion relates …

The Acquisition Of Two Phonetic Cues To Word Boundaries, Melissa A. Redford, Christina E. Gildersleeve-Neumann

Speech and Hearing Sciences Faculty Publications and Presentations

The study evaluated whether durational and allophonic cues to word boundaries are intrinsic to syllable production, and so acquired with syllable structure, or whether they are suprasyllabic, and so acquired in phrasal contexts. Twenty preschool children (aged 3 ; 6 and 4 ; 6) produced: (1) single words with simple and complex onsets (e.g. "nail" vs. "snail"); and (2) two-word phrases with intervocalic consonant sequences and varying boundary locations (e.g. "this nail" vs. "bitty snail"). Comparisons between child and adult control productions showed that the durational juncture cue was emergent in the four-year-olds' productions of two-word phrases, but absent elsewhere. …

Beyond The Classroom Walls: A Study Of Out-Of-Class English Use By Adult Community College Esl Students, Tracey Louise Knight

Dissertations and Theses

Research in Second Language Acquisition indicates that using English outside of the classroom is an important part of the language learning process. However, studies done on university level ESL and EFL students indicate that students use English minimally when outside of the classroom. This thesis furthers the research on English use outside of the classroom in order to more fully understand all types of language learners and the link between language proficiency and out-of-class English use.

Leveling The Field: Using Rubrics To Achieve Greater Equity In Teaching And Grading, Dannelle D. Stevens, Antonia Levi

Education Faculty Publications and Presentations

Rubrics can be used to assure greater consistency in grading and as a teaching tool to promote greater equity, especially with students who are first generation and /or non-native speakers of English.

The Interactive Work Of Prosody In The Irf Exchange: Teacher Repetition In Feedback Moves, John Hellermann

Applied Linguistics Faculty Publications and Presentations

This article examines the interactive import of prosody from a perspective of participants' orientation to talk in interaction, taking advantage of data from institutional discourse to focus on the prosodic packaging of recurring turn sequences of the same discourse activity. The analysis focuses on the third slot of a ubiquitous three-part classroom discourse sequence, the IRF exchange (Sinclair & Coulthard 1975), a site in which teachers make repetitive feedback moves following student responses. Examination of more than 25 hours of classroom discourse and more than 300 third-turn teacher feedback types uncovered a systematic use of prosody for these teacher repetitions …

Power, Linguistic Diversity And Education, Eva Núñez-Méndez

World Languages and Literatures Faculty Publications and Presentations

Brief editorial outlining the author's views on issues around diversity, bilingualism and multiculturalism, arguing for the benefits of multilingualism.

Portland Dialect Study - High Rising Terminal Contours (Hrts) In Portland Speech, Rebecca A. Wolff

Dissertations and Theses

This study reports on the use of an intonation contour used in declarative clauses that is referred to in at least some of the literature as a "High Rising Terminal Contour" (HRTs). The intonation pattern is characterized by a final rise, which is similar to the pitch change used in yes-no questions. The purpose of this study is to document the use of this intonation pattern by residents of Portland, Oregon, in order to see what light it can shed on the HRT's status and function, especially among the young to see if it can be implicated in language change. …

A Descriptive Study Of First-Year Students Of Color At Portland State University: The Student's Perspective, Dorothy Claire Oliveros

Dissertations and Theses

The population of the United States is rapidly growing and the country's demographics are changing. As the U.S. population nears 269 million, 74.2 million represent ethnic minorities. Hence, many more ethnic minority students will enter the hallways of academe. Therefore, it is important for institutions of higher education to provide ethnic and racially diverse students opportunities for academic and social development within the educational setting.

Attending predominantly white institutions can cause ethnic minority students social, cultural, and mental adjustments that may affect academic achievement.

This thesis is an examination of the similarities and differences among first-year African American, Latino, and …

Assessing Second Language Proficiency In An American University, Suwako Watanabe, Patricia Wetzel

World Languages and Literatures Faculty Publications and Presentations

There are currently two nation-wide trends that impinge significantly on language teaching and assessment at the university level in the U.S. One is the general wave of education reform, the other is the so-called "proficiency" movement in language teaching. That being said, these two categories are much too broad in their definitions and implications to be of any use in discussing what we wish to address here: actual practice in the second language classroom. We will therefore begin by constraining the relevant characteristics of each of these. We will then proceed to discuss their ongoing implications for what actually happens …

The Adjunct Model Of Content-Based Instruction: A Comparative Study In Higher Education In Oregon, Georgann Sue Percival

Dissertations and Theses

Content-based instruction (CBI) in all forms is widely used in ESL programs in higher education. The adjunct model of CBI, which links ESL classes to academic content courses, is regarded as an effective way to provide a transition between ESL and academic classes. Considering the growing numbers of limited English proficiency students entering colleges and universities for degree and vocational programs, the adjunct model provides an innovative means for ESL programs to serve these students. This comparative study investigates how adjunct model courses are planned, administered, and taught in eight colleges and universities in Oregon. Telephone surveys were used to …

Teaching Phonetic-Ideograph Rules To English Speaking Students Of Chinese, Jillian Ji-Fen Tsai

Dissertations and Theses

The purpose of this study was to investigate whether the teaching of phoneticideograph rules would improve the memorization and character retention abilities of English-speaking students of Chinese. Two groups participated in the experiment, an experimental group and a control group. The experimental group was taught using the Concentrated Character Recognition Method, which employs the teaching of phonetic-ideograph rules, while the other group was taught using a more traditional teaching approach, without receiving instruction on phonetic-ideographic rules. Subjects were enrolled in the first-year university Chinese class. All subjects were pre-tested before the treatment. Data of subjects who scored much higher than …

Teaching Peace Education In Esl/Efl Classes: An International Perspective, Cheryl Lynn Hill

Dissertations and Theses

This study offers an exploration of peace education ESUEFL classes, from the perspective of the teacher and the students. Using questionnaires designed by the researcher, qualitative and quantitative survey data were collected from a convenience sample of thirteen ESUEFL teachers and seventy ESUEFL students. The teacher survey focuses on the following questions: 1) How do ESI.JEFL teachers define peace education; 2) Why have some ESUEFL teachers decided to teach peace education in their classes; and 3) How do ESUEFL teachers incorporate peace education into their classes. The student survey carried out in three EFL classes in Israel, Italy, and Japan …

Esl Cd-Rom Principles And Their Application: A Software Evaluation, Stephanie Burgi Lamonica

Dissertations and Theses

CD-ROM applications within the past 5 years have aided the availability of Computer Aided Language Learning (CALL) on a mass consumer level. This study assesses how the instructional design of commercial CALL English as a Second Language (ESL) CD-ROM materials make up for the lack of a human instructional component. The framework within which the evaluation takes place is communicatively based. Using a tool developed specifically for the study, 8 software from 6 companies were systematically evaluated. The 3-step process followed in the evaluation makes concessions for student, instructional designer, and instructor needs. Research questions address how the areas of …

Japanese Intelligibility And Comprehensibility Assessments Of Different English Accents, David Michael Levin

Dissertations and Theses

As the result of historical events and the adaptive nature of the language itself, English is generally accepted today as the world's international language. While various countries have adapted the English language to serve their own specific needs, the question of whether or not the changes made to English in these countries, for example phonological, will still enable the language to be intelligible in the international arena. If English is to be the de facto world language, then international intelligibility should be an important goal.

For this research, 211 Japanese university students were asked to assess the intelligibility and comprehensibility …

Developing A Language In Education Policy For Post-Apartheid South Africa: A Case Study, Nancy Murray

Dissertations and Theses

The dismantling of apartheid laws, the all-race elections of 1994, and a new Constitution signal opportunities for fundamental change in South Africa's educational system and language policies. This study describes the development, still in progress, of a new language in education policy. The primary focus is on the various issues involved in the making of a policy--the assumptions and principles which provide the foundation for a new policy, the active participants in the policy debate and formulation, the perceptions of the role of English in South African society and schools, English as the medium of instruction, and possible consensus at …

A Case Study Of Twelve Japanese Esl Students' Use Of Interaction Modifications, Darin Dooley

Dissertations and Theses

This case study examines Japanese ESL students' use of interaction modifications in a content based course. Twelve female subjects were observed and recorded during a nine week period. Their use of interaction modifications (clarification requests, confirmation checks, and comprehension checks) and responses to interaction modifications (single word, full or partial repetition, or reformulation), during teacher-fronted and small group situations, were recorded and coded using the COLT observation instrument.

The study found that the subjects used clarification requests over four times more often in small group or pair-work situations than in teacher-fronted classes. Also, the subjects used confirmation checks over five …

Promotion Of Verbal Interaction Through Structured Pair Activities, Vidya Rangachari

Dissertations and Theses

Group work has come to play an increasingly significant role in the second language classroom due to its myriad advantages. Researchers have found that bringing language learners together for various activities provides them with greater opportunities to improve on the quality as well as the quantity of their linguistic output. A small group size and a structured activity are believed to be extremely beneficial to the language learners. In this study, eight ESL students were brought together in dyads and asked to interact verbally for the purpose of performing three types of goal-oriented activities within a specified time limit. The …

Some Possible Sources Of Oral Foreign Language Anxiety (Fla) Among Japanese Students In The United States, Sawako Yoshikawa

Dissertations and Theses

This study attempted to locate some possible sources of oral Foreign Language Anxiety (FLA) among Japanese students in the United States. This study proposed that the following three factors were possible sources of FLA: 1) the subjects' traitlike anxiety, which is carried by individuals across all communication-bound contexts; 2) the subjects' self-perceived oral proficiency levels in English and 3) the subjects' gapsize (i.e., the distance between their self-perceived and their self-expected oral proficiency levels in English) . This research examined whether the above three independent variables and the dependent FLA variable were significantly correlated, and if so, which one had …

A Preliminary Comparison Of Two Esl School Models For Newcomer Students, Elizabeth Carol Essex

Dissertations and Theses

Due to the ever growing numbers of immigrants entering this country, school districts are faced with ever greater challenges for educating newly arrived immigrant students. Often these students arrive with little to no English ability and little to no school experience. Several educational program models, including ESL and bilingual education, have been popularized in school districts experiencing immigrant population growth. Recently, a supplemental model, the newcomer center/program, has gained popularity. The newcomer model seeks to educate and nurture newly arrived immigrant students with little to no English ability in the social and school expectations of the United States. Due to …

The Constraints Of A Typological Implicational Universal For Interrogatives On Second Language Acquisition, Dee Anne Bess

Dissertations and Theses

A typological implicational universal based on a diverse sample of the world's languages describes a hierarchy for interrogatives. The universal hierarchy states that in any given language, inversion in Yes-No questions (YNQs) implies inversion in information questions (WHQs in English), which, in turns implies the fronting of the information word pronoun to sentence-initial position.

Several researchers have proposed that typological implicational universals such as this one for interrogatives may constrain not only the primary languages on which they are based, but also the interlanguages of second language learners.

This study, a partial replication of one by Eckman, Moravcsik, and Wirth …

Humor Recognition: A Comparative Analysis, William T. Argent

Dissertations and Theses

There are various approaches to the explanation of humor in the field of humor research. Some of these theories, while providing interesting insight into the phenomenon known as humor, remain limited in their ability to account for how humor is recognized. Others do not even address the issue. This thesis compares five different theories in humor research by analyzing the humorous short story "My Watch" by Mark Twain. These theories are: 1. a typological approach to humor, 2. a social- functional model, 3. incongruity theory, 4. Grice's Cooperative Principle taken from linguistic pragmatics, and 5. the General Theory of Verbal …

The Influence Of Student Gender On Teacher/Student Interactions In Esl Classrooms, Lisa Sybil Mann

Dissertations and Theses

Because teacher/student interactions provide opportunities for correction and comprehensible input, a major component of successful language learning, equitable distribution of teacher/student interactions in the language classroom is an important element for the success of all second language students.

The purpose of the present study was to determine whether differences in teacher/student interactions based on student gender occurred in four college English as a Second Language instructors' classrooms. The role of instructor gender and student ethnicity in teacher/student interaction content and frequency were also examined. Informal interviews were designed to determine the instructors' awareness of their classroom behaviors as they relate …

An Exploratory Evaluation Of Language And Culture Contact By Japanese Sojourners In A Short-Term Us Academic Program, Elizabeth Anna Hartley

Dissertations and Theses

Short-term intercultural exchange programs provide a wealth of information and experiences for participants. Participants are given the opportunity to travel out of their native country and are exposed to new languages and cultures. This case study looks at the Japanese sojourners in the Northwest/Pacific Rim (NWPR) summer program. The purpose was to examine the language use of the Japanese sojourners throughout the course of the NWPR program. This case study sought to determine when the Japanese sojourners used English and/or Japanese, in which situations, what strategies the Japanese sojourners employed and who initiated contact with whom. All of the data …

The Socio-Cultural Content Analysis Of English As A Foreign Language Textbooks Used In Junior High School In Taiwan, Republic Of China, Vivian Yann-Ling Lu

Dissertations and Theses

The English textbooks evaluated are used to prepare students for the competitive high school entrance examinations in Taiwan, thus students spend a great deal of time studying them. Though the textbooks were stated to be designed for language and cultural learning purposes, it seems no study exists that examines to what degree there is clear articulation between the government's stated culture learning goal and actual textbook content. Therefore, this study examines to what degree the textbooks allow students to reach said goal, that is, "to increase culture awareness of the societies and cultures of foreign countries and our own" (Junior …

Investigating Vowel Duration As A Perceptual Cue To Voicing In The English Of Native Spanish Speakers, Becky Jean George

Dissertations and Theses

Researchers in the cognitive sciences, and in particular those in acoustic phonetics, investigate the acoustic properties in the speech signal that enable listeners to perceive particular speech sounds. Temporal cues have been found to convey information about the linguistic content of an utterance. One acoustic characteristic that is particularly well documented in American English is the difference in vowel duration preceding voiced and voiceless consonants, which has been found to play a role in the perception of the voicing of postvocalic word-final consonants. Research on vowel duration and its role in the perception of the voicing distinction of the following …

Correction Of Classroom Oral Errors: Preferences Among University Students Of English In Japan, Akemi Katayama

Dissertations and Theses

Correction of oral errors in foreign or second language classrooms has been an issue of great concern. Although the literature on error correction is abundant, the studies on student reaction to this pedagogical practice are few.

This study investigated the preferences for correction of classroom oral errors among university students of English in Japan. Data were collected from anonymous questionnaires. The study examined the students' attitudes toward the views about correction of oral errors which have been controversial among foreign and second language educators. The study also investigated the students' preferences for correction of different types of oral errors (e.g., …