Bilingual, Multilingual, and Multicultural Education Commons^™

English Language Teaching Using The Whole Student Philosophy, Tahira Y. Muhammad

MA TESOL Collection

Education in Kuwait is centered on rote learning methodology. Historically, the Kuwait educational system was created to mimic the Egyptian rote learning systems that date back to Pharaonic times. Furthermore, Kuwaiti educators are convinced that rote learning is the optimal form of education. In this paper, I will attempt to prove that this method is unsuccessful, and that educators, within their classroom and lesson planning, should adapt their teaching strategies to the adoption of the whole language philosophy.

The major limitation of this research is that the observer is also participant. However, the fact that the observer is fully trained …

Using L1 Culture To Acquire L2 Culture: Zpd Framework, Amjad Taha

MA TESOL Collection

Teaching the target language culture has been recently receiving much attention and focus in the fields of second/foreign language teaching. This paper examines the importance of using the learners’ L1 culture as a tool to teach the target language culture. In addition, the paper stresses the idea that the learners develop a dynamic, hybrid identity and space that represents both their L1 and L2 culture. These manifestations are presented in a profound framework that shows the development stages that the learners go through in developing their third spaces by using their L1 culture.

This paper includes four main sections: an …

Analysis Of National Association Of Bilingual Education, Sam J. Baumer

Capstone Collection

This research illustrates the benefits in coalitions as mechanisms for bolstering advocacy by bringing together diverse perspectives to help fuel more creativity in the process of furthering bilingual education and social change. This case study examines the role of the National Alliance for Bilingual Education (NABE) and its policy advocacy approach in the midst of the debate surrounding how best to educate our nations school children. An examination of the historical context of the issue and the current political paradigm that NABE navigates illustrate their approach to tackling the contested issue.

Road Scholar Service-Learning Corps: Reflection And Reciprocity In Rajasthan, India, Lezlie R. Weber

Capstone Collection

Road Scholar (RS) is the name for the programs developed and offered by Elderhostel, Inc., the not-for-profit leader in lifelong learning since 1975. RS inspires adults to learn, discover and travel (Road Scholar, 2012). Currently, RS is in the process of launching five new service-learning programs over the next two years. Road Scholar runs five different programs yearly to India; of the current programs offered there is no service-learning component throughout any of the programs. The specific location in India was chosen due to the need for an additional English teacher at the public school. There are a growing number …

Internationalization Of K-12 Schools Through The Eyes Of Public School Principals, Megan M. Landwehr

Capstone Collection

Today’s teacher education students have more opportunities than ever to incorporate study abroad into their degree and licensure requirements. This Capstone examines the value that public school principals place on internationalization, especially when it comes to hiring teachers. I approached this qualitative study utilizing action research through case studies. Data was gathered by conducting six in-depth interviews. Of these, three are current principals and three have been principals their entire careers and are now retired. The main research question is; what value do principals in Wake County, North Carolina place on global competence of teacher job applicants? The findings answer …

La Educación E Identidad De Niños Sordos Españoles: Un Estudio Comparando Con Los Estados Unidos. The Education And Identity Of Deaf Spanish Children: A Study In Comparison To The United States., Dana Michael

Spain: Language, Community, and Social Change

As a part of the community service component of the SIT: Spain: Language, Culture and Social Changes, I was afforded the opportunity to work at a local school assisting students in learning and practicing English. In my opinion, the most beneficial part of this community service project was working with a deaf girl and the exposure I received to Spanish Sign Language, the Spanish deaf community and their culture. With my background as a Deaf Studies major, I have been given a wealth of knowledge and experience with the American deaf community and I used this knowledge to compare to …

Exploring Locally To Grow Globally: A Community Excursion-Based Elective For Intensive English Programs, Andrea L. Bernasconi

Capstone Collection

The community excursion-based elective course (CE) has been designed for the Intensive English Program (IEP) at the International Language Institute (ILI) in Northampton, Massachusetts. The class provides access and information to international adult learners who are interested in learning more about the local community and culture for academic, professional and personal purposes. CE students will be exposed to various businesses, organizations, institutions and services in the community while being fully supported by a qualified teacher.

The types of excursions identified in this Capstone project differ in several ways from the extra-curricular activities and cultural exchanges that are commonly offered by …

Community Perspectives- How Study Abroad With Service Learning Impacts The Locals, Sarah J. Delcambre

Capstone Collection

This case study focuses on the community perspectives of homestay families, partner organizations, and local program staff that collaborated with Xplore USA Summer Language Adventure Camps in the Summer of 2011, in Asheville, North Carolina. The researcher focused on the service work aspect of the Xplore programming, and its impact on the local community via the local community’s perspective, to inform the reader of an underexplored subject. Interviews and survey results showed that the volunteer service projects performed by Xplore students and their local brothers and sisters were perceived as beneficial by an overwhelming majority of all local parties concerned: …

Challenges In The Land Of Hope: Phoenix Area Refugees And The Recession, Valerie E. Nightingale

Capstone Collection

Refugees in the United States today have greater access than ever to training programs and specialized service providers who assist with cultural adjustment to the U.S. as well as pre-employment training, job placement and retention services. Service providers develop job opportunities in the local community through partnerships with dedicated employers who see value in hiring new Americans and purpose in collaborating with voluntary agencies to overcome barriers for employees. During the recession there has been greater challenges for employment specialists to find employment for refugee clients and employers have noted some reluctance in hiring employees with low or non-existent English …

Addiction In Alaska: How Alcohol Abuse Is Impacting Community Members In Native Villages Throughout Rural Alaska, Cristina Casillo

Capstone Collection

Across rural Alaska are over 200 Alaska Native villages so isolated, they are only accessible by airplane, boat, and snowmachine. These villages strive to keep their Native culture alive and rich, but continue to struggle against Western influences. Introduced to Alaska Natives by European and Russian explorers in the 1700s, this paper examines how alcohol addiction is affecting community members throughout villages in rural Alaska. The research was conducted in two Iñupiaq Eskimo villages, Point Hope and Selawik, both located above the Arctic Circle in rural Alaska. Drawing from three years of personal observations and a series of interviews, this …

Consulting Cultural Informants: A Look At The Extent To Which Students Use Informants And Other Strategies To Learn From Their International Experiences, William Scott Leroy

Capstone Collection

This study explores the extent to which students from the United States consult with cultural informants while abroad when experiencing what Taylor (1994a, 1994b) refers to as “cultural disequilibrium”. The study also explores how this strategy compares to other learning strategies and which informants students most frequently consult.

Two research methods were used: a survey of 85 students who recently returned from an international program and interviews with nine students from the same sample. The survey sought to explore strategies students employ when facing cultural disequilibrium while the interviews aimed at uncovering why students preferred some learning strategies over others. …

Bai And Bilingual: Improving Academic Achievement Through Bilingual And Multicultural Education, Priscilla Hsu

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

This paper aims to examine minority language policy and practice in China, particularly among the Bai minority in Yunnan Province. There are large discrepancies between what law stipulates and what occurs in practice. Based on a literature review and findings from my study, minority students in rural areas are at a comparative disadvantage with minority students in urban areas who have greater access to resources and better educational facilities. Offering bilingual and multicultural education is of greater importance to rural minority students in creating a culturally relative environment to improve academic achievement.

Conversation Strategies: Preparing Learners For Real-World Interaction, Angela Richardson

Sandanona

Workshop/Demonstration

Conversation strategies play an important role in successful communication and socialization, yet they are not often explicitly taught in language classrooms. In this workshop/demonstration we will explore how to use conversation strategies as a means for building both confidence and fluency, while also preparing students for real-world interactions.

Summer Bridge Program At The University Of San Francisco For Conditionally Admitted Chinese Students, Adrienne M. Bergenfeld

Capstone Collection

While serving as a graduate intern at the University of San Francisco, I concluded that the conditional admit Chinese students were missing an essential element for academic success.

To insure a higher success rate for these students, I am proposing the creation of a Summer Bridge Program to bridge the gap between pedagogical learning and experiential learning. The program will focus on the acquisition of English as well as successful acculturation into the university. This “Bridge Program for International Students” will help students understand United States’ academic culture and the expectations of the university, introduce students to USF resources and …

Intercultural Competency Training For Semester At Sea, Leah Charbonneau

Capstone Collection

Semester At Sea, a comparative education study abroad program, is a unique experience that provides participants an opportunity to challenge their worldview. Semester At Sea cultivates opportunities beyond the classroom to explore issues of culture and identity. However, little training is provided to give participants the tools to navigate in intercultural contexts.

The proposed Semester At Sea (SAS) Intercultural Competency Training (ICT) program will offer a semester-long intensive training program with the purpose of providing participants with a foundation in intercultural competency and sensitivity. The purpose of the SAS ICT design is to incorporate experiential educational practices and classroom learning …

English As A Foreign Language Professional Development Practicum: Placing Skilled Teachers Where They Can Grow A Program Proposal For The Schools Of Cañadilla, S.A. Santiago, Chile, Ellen Marie Dizzia

Capstone Collection

Chile is currently making great investments in English as a foreign language (EFL) programming as a means for international communication and commerce. The following mobility program has been designed for family run Cañadilla, S.A. to connect qualified, concerned EFL professionals with semi-private primary and secondary schools in Santiago. An in depth needs assessment was performed in their eight schools under Cañadilla’s Coordinator of English programs to determine the most efficient way to begin improvement. Professional development has been named a cornerstone in this process. This program intends to draw learned, practiced EFL teachers to participate in a hands-on professional development …

Arabic Diglossia And Arabic As A Foregn Language: The Perception Of Students In World Learning Oman Center, Hilal Al-Mamari

Capstone Collection

The principle objective of this independent inquiry is to address the research question: what are the impacts of Arabic Diglossia, if any, on the experience of learners of Arabic as a foreign language? The study attempts to answer this question through the perception of a sample group of 23 learners studying Arabic as a foreign language in World Learning Oman Center in semester of Spring 2011.

Diglossia is defined by linguists as a sociolinguistic phenomenon in which a particular language has two varieties, one of which is considered High and more standard and used in exclusive domains, while the other …

Emerging Youth Leaders: A Redesign Of A Two-Way Youth Exchange Between The Us And Senegal, Aspen L. Felt

Capstone Collection

The U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs is increasingly focused on youth exchange programs to build bridges of understanding between peoples and address ongoing social, environmental, and political challenges in an increasingly globalized world. The Emerging Youth Leaders program is a unique Department of State exchange program that brought a group of thirty Senegalese and American students together for 6 weeks in Dakar and the San Francisco Bay Area in the summer of 2010 around the themes of democracy and governance in civil society. Over the course of the U.S. based portion of the program I …

Hacia La Educación Intercultural: Una Investigación Sobre Discursos De Diferencia Cultural En Escuelas De Santiago Y Las Implicancias Para Una Comunidad Y Sociedad Diversa, Clara Lippert

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Ese ensayo examina la diversidad cultural en el contexto de algunas escuelas en Santiago, Chile, analizando el discurso de diferente que utilizan las escuelas y las implicaciones que lleva ese discurso en una sociedad diversa. Analiza y evalúa los programas que existen dentro del Ministerio de Educación con el programa de la Educación Intercultural Bilingüe (PEIB), así con los proyectos independientes que existen dentro de otras escuelas que también tratan de la diversidad cultural. Tiene una mirada específica en las escuelas en la comuna de Santiago con altos niveles de estudiantes inmigrantes, analizando cómo las escuelas responden a esa realidad. …

“Se Ha Levantado La Bandera Mapuche”: La Identidad Del Estudiante Mapuche Y Cómo Se Relaciona Con El Perfil De Egreso Del Establecimiento Intercultural, Gale Stafford

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

El Liceo Intercultural Técnico Profesional Guacolda tiene como fondo histórico la necesidad de la educación y apoyo para personas mapuches. El Liceo se plantea como metas el desarrollo de una especialidad y también el fortalecimiento de identidad mapuche de sus estudiantes. Sin embargo, proporciona una educación intercultural para apoyar a los mapuches. Este aprendizaje se identifica más por el afecto docente al alumno y también la contextualización del aprendizaje occidental anterior y presente con lo mapuche. Se estudian el perfil de egreso del estudiante mapuche versus los estudiantes actualmente a través de su aprendizaje de lo intercultural y lo mapuche, …

La Educación Intercultural Bilingüe En Cusco: Un Análisis Crítico Del Discurso De Algunos Sectores Involucrados Con Su Implementación, Maggie Hutchison

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

En la segunda mitad del siglo XX en el Perú, la iniciativa de la Educación Intercultural Bilingüe, o la EIB, ha sido una manera importante de promover la revaloración de las lenguas y culturas indígenas y contribuir a un cambio social donde los espacios nacionales políticos y sociales incluyen por primera vez a las poblaciones indígenas sin la discriminación del pasado. La EIB tendrá mayor posibilidad de realizar un cambio social en el Perú si tiene el apoyo de todos los sectores involucrados con su implementación exitosa y más extendida. Cada sector tiene su propio discurso y comprensión de la …

Voluntariado En La Ciudad De Los Niños De Granada - Volunteering At The “Ciudad De Los Niños” Of Granada, Lauren Begasse

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Throughout the course of the semester, I had the opportunity to work at La Ciudad de Los Niños, a facility devoted to bettering the lives of children living in Granada, Spain. I chose to write about this topic because of the positive influence it had on my learning, both culturally and linguistically. I gathered the content of my paper solely through my experience working there, through formal and informal interviews with workers and students, and by using the facility’s website. In keeping a work journal, I was able to monitor my language growth and document different facts about the Ciudad …

Cultivating Knowledge In The School Garden: New Ways Of Teaching Literacy To Esl Students, Michele Durivage

MA TESOL Collection

My thesis project includes a combination of materials development and classroom-based research. In my paper, I explore existing garden-related curricula, and create original garden-based lesson plans to teach literacy to fourth grade ESL students. This curriculum development project contributes to the field of ESL in its innovative garden-based pedagogy. The field study took place during the spring semester of 2009 at Increase Miller Elementary School in Westchester County, New York. Using nature as inspiration for writing descriptive essays and poetry, the ESL students at Increase Miller produced imaginative writing pieces, using their own voices to express their thoughts. The students’ …

Metaphorizing Grammar And Writing: Visual Learning In The English Classroom, Kulsoom F. Rizvi

MA TESOL Collection

My goals for this thesis include exploring how metaphors are used in the classroom and, in doing so, providing ways in which to help both teachers and students transcend their understanding. I will: (1) analyze and respond to the research on metaphors in the classroom, (2) illustrate and discuss the rationale of different metaphors I have collected from teachers as well as some I created for the English classroom, and (3) share student generated metaphors in the English classroom.

How Esol Teachers Become Aware Of Communicative Peace, Josette Leblanc

MA TESOL Collection

This paper examines the implications that the relationship between teacher language awareness and communicative peace may have on educational programs for teachers of English for speakers of other languages (ESOL). The evaluation begins by analyzing proposals set out by the applied peace linguist Francisco Gomes de Matos, who suggests that ESOL teachers should teach communicative peace as an element of communicative competence, and also that education programs should provide training to support this approach. By juxtaposing current literature on structural and linguistic violence with Gomes de Matos’ classroom techniques, the hypothesis is made that teachers who would teach communicative peace …

Framework And Rationale For Developing A Single Language Exploratory Program For Students In Grades 1 – 3, Amy Bentley

MA TESOL Collection

This materials development project provides middle and high school language teachers, in a public school setting, the rationale and curriculum for implementing an introductory language program to elementary aged children in their school. This paper explores the author’s school community and the interest in providing an introductory language program for elementary aged students in the school district. The author, a second language teacher in the school, is also an advocate for introducing this type of programming, with the hopes that it will create enthusiasm and motivation for further language study in the students’ middle and high school years. The project …

Sustained Silent Reading In The Esl Classroom: The Silent Motivator?, Megan V. Ahonen

MA TESOL Collection

This classroom based research paper investigates the use of Sustained Silent Reading (SSR) in the ESL classroom. The purpose is to determine if implementing a SSR program would increase students’ interest and desire to read in English outside of the classroom for pleasure. This paper will share background information on the students and school, different reading inventory samples and questionnaires with student responses, and current findings on SSR compared to my own personal findings. The final chapter is devoted to roadblocks and limitations encountered along the way throughout this study

Creating Avid Readers Across Content Areas: Explicit Reading Instruction In The Esl Classroom, Rashmi Koushik

MA TESOL Collection

Colleges are experiencing budget crises on a paramount scale and are funding programs that place higher demands on students to be able to read academic texts in specific fields of study. Unfortunately, students are often overwhelmed with the level of reading and the types of content that they encounter. Even more often, L2 (Second Language) learners are often left out of academic reading instruction in the college-level ESL classroom, and therefore rarely advance into academic pathways. This paper seeks to define and articulate the use of explicit reading instruction to help L2 learners become better readers in English, particularly of …

Folklore Or Britney Spears: Efl Decisions In An Increasingly Global World, Erin C. Anderson

MA TESOL Collection

This paper explores my decisions concerning texts in the EFL classroom in the post-communist cities of Bruntál, Czech Republic in 1993 and Bila Tserkva, Ukraine in 2005. By examining my use of Slavic folklore in these EFL contexts, through the lenses of post-colonialism, folklore studies, and globalization, it is apparent that what has motivated my students has not necessarily been consistent with the goals of post-colonialism, i.e., the development and maintenance of national cultural values. In fact, students have been found to be most motivated by the use of texts they share a fondness for and a familiarity with, …

From Riyadh To Portland: The Study Abroad Experiences Of Five Saudi Arabian Female Students, Dana Kampman

MA TESOL Collection

The number of Saudi Arabian students enrolled in college and university programs in other countries is increasing. This paper reports on a qualitative research project conducted with five female Saudi college students enrolled in a summer program at Portland State University. It examines how notions of culture can explain the source of the challenges that the students faced and how they overcame these challenges. Implications for pre-departure orientation and on-site support are presented and discussed.