Bilingual, Multilingual, and Multicultural Education Commons^™

Closing The Gap

Closing the Gap Newsletter

Newsletter of the College of Education

Language, Sovereignty, Cultural Contestation, And American Indian Schools: No Child Left Behind And A Navajo Test Case, Teresa Winstead, Adrea Lawrence, Edward J. Brantmeier, Christopher J. Frey

Teaching and Learning Faculty Publications

In this interpretive analysis elucidating fundamental tensions of the implementation of the 2001 No Child Left Behind (NCLB) Act within Native-serving schools, we point to ways in which NCLB further limits the already contested sovereignty tribes exercise over how, and in what language their children are instructed. We discuss issues related to the self-determination exercised by schools, some problematic cultural assumptions inherent in the NCLB law, and the legal tension between NCLB and the 1990/1992 Native American Languages Act. Finally, we examine the detrimental effects that NCLB accountability measures could have on Navajo communities, and look at how the Navajo …

Teaching Cultural Awareness Using The Four Skills, Alison Garza

MA TESOL Collection

The following project examines the validity of teaching cultural awareness in a language classroom and includes five readers’ theatre plays that help students explore five different countries from around the globe. The countries were determined by the nationalities of the students that participated in the project. The setting for this study was a pull out ESL program in a public school with a large multi-ethnic population. Besides the plays, there are lesson plans, activities sheets and a biography of multi cultural books for children. All activities are designed to incorporate the four skills: reading, writing, speaking and listening.

The paper …

Nate And The One Sixty-Eight, Michael S. Mcmillan

MA TESOL Collection

This paper explores the fate of 168 students who failed the Level 4 test at the American University Alumni (AUA) Language Center in Bangkok, Thailand. It examines enrollment trends of all Level 4 students during a one-year study period spanning 2006 and 2007, and reveals what happened to the students – who dropped out (and when), and who continued to study. It also examines why students might have dropped out. It then takes a critical look at certain aspects of the Level 4 test, explores what makes a test a “good” test, and recommends a series of improvements to AUA’s …

Motivating Students To Learn, Luz María Cueva Zepeda

MA TESOL Collection

This thesis presents four activities that motivated my students in a public High School in a small city in Mexico to learn by inviting them be active participants in their language learning process. Added to the regular classroom work, these activities encouraged everyone to make an extra effort. Students had the opportunity to shine and to comprehend that they each have a greater potential for learning. Students gained another perspective about learning English. They were given the opportunity to enrich their experience not only in speaking English, but in applying their efforts to new challenges. They did so by writing …

Attending To Your Needs As A Teacher: The Impact Of Being An Introvert When Teaching Foreign Languages, Gretchen B. Livingston

MA TESOL Collection

This paper explores the role that being an introvert plays in foreign language teaching. As a Spanish teacher and an introvert, I expend extraordinary energy to compensate for my natural tendency to recede. The profession I have chosen requires exceptional and constant effort.

I define introvert in the context that I understand it. I recognize the limitations of the label and try to look beyond those.

I share different pieces of my own life story and share different contexts to illuminate how I have become a successful introvert teacher.

I speak to the paradox that what I love most about …

Intercultural Books In Practice, Maire Mhic Mhathuna, Una Hill

Articles

This paper examines the practical use of intercultural and multicultural books in Early Years settings in the Irish context. Questionnaires were sent to seventy early years’ settings in the Dublin region, focusing on the criteria they used for selecting such books. These responses indicated that staff viewed inclusion, the story, age appropriateness, illustrations and the language of the books as being important. The practitioners’ responses are compared with the views of authors on diversity issues and similarities and differences identified. Overall there was a greater emphasis on children in the practitioners’ survey while the authors focused on issues. A list …

Antidote To Marginalism: An Alternative Method Of Instruction For English Language Learners, Robert Gabriel Arias

Theses Digitization Project

This study will conclusively demonstrate that a two-way or dual-language immersion strategy works best to achieve the goal of bilingualism and biliteracy for our ELLs (English Language Learners).

Fluency And Comprehension Process For English Language Learners, Dolores Judy Vargas

Theses Digitization Project

The purpose of this study is to reengage low-performing students. This study will incorporate meaningful activities, strategies, and techniques to improve reading, writing, listening, and speaking skills.

A Dual Language Immersion Parental Guide For Teachers And Administrators, Tamara Lee Madrid

Theses Digitization Project

The purpose of this study was to develop a parental guide for teachers and administrators that will help them to organize and implement 10 effective parent meetings for the parents of kindergartners in a Dual Immersion Program. Seven schools in San Bernardino City Unified School District have the Dual Immersion program. Out of those seven schools, only one of them holds monthly parent meetings.

Dual Language Educators: Tambien Tenemos Sentimientos, Monica Sophia Apodaca

Theses Digitization Project

The purpose of this study will show that teaching is a career that involves a relatively high degree of stress. Without the proper coping skills or strategies, educators can face the risk of burn-out. This study will provide a qualitative and quantitative look into the professions of a group of dual language educators, offering suggestions and insights into the stressors unique to this group of educators.

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 …

Visual Language: Using Color, Myth And Image To Present Grammar In The Spanish Language Classroom, April Miller Mcmurtry

MA TESOL Collection

Spanish grammar can be presented in a memorable way by using a system of color-coding and storytelling. This materials development project includes three stories written or adapted by the author to present the gender of nouns, noun/adjective agreement and verb inflection. Images of the sun and the moon, and the colors purple and orange are used to illustrate masculine and feminine gender of nouns. Chameleons and the color green exemplify adjectives. Additionally, patterns of verb conjugation charts are presented using color to show how verbs inflect to agree with the subject pronoun and tense. While learning Spanish grammar, these colors …

Confronting The Insider-Outsider Polemic In Conducting Research With Diasporic Communities: Towards A Community-Based Approach, Bruce A. Collet

School of Educational Foundations, Leadership and Policy Faculty Publications

Researchers focusing on diasporic contexts face the difficult task of wearing their “academic hats” while at the same time building meaningful relationships with immigrant communities. This is no more apparent (and important) than with “non-community” (i.e. outsider) researchers. Here diasporic communities, having already experienced the trauma of forced migration, must see the academic researcher as one they can trust and who is invested in their long-term well being. In this paper I address methodological and philosophical concerns related to the insider-outsider researcher distinction and to conducting research as an “outsider.” The principle aims of the paper are to critically examine …

Using A Resiliency Perspective To Inform Bilingual Teachers’ Classroom Inquiry, Brooke Kandel-Cisco, Yolanda Padrón

Scholarship and Professional Work – Education

Recent research has established the importance of teacher quality in the academic success or failure of students (Darling-Hammond, 2000; Sanders, Wright, & Horn, 2004) and policy initiatives, such as NCLB, have propelled the issue of teacher quality to the forefront of educational reform in the U.S. While No Child Left Behind (NCLB) has been successful in establishing minimum teacher quality standards for general educators, the act has failed to highlight the importance of quality for teachers of second language learners (Nieto. 2003).

Teacher quality is especially impo1tant for second language learners. both because of the pedagogic and Iinguistic complexities inherent …

Improving Reading Comprehension In Dual Language Programs, Susana E. Franco-Fuenmayor, Brooke Kandel-Cisco, Yolanda Padrón

Scholarship and Professional Work – Education

The low achievement levels and high dropout rates of English Language Learners (ELLs) continue to be a great challenge for educators. One area that can provide us with useful information on how to improve the education of ELLs is dual language programs. Research in this area indicates that native language development is important for academic success. The present study examined the cognitive reading strategies of students enrolled in a dual language program. The results indicate that both language groups of students were using successful cognitive reading strategies to comprehend text. The study also describes how the questionnaire used in the …

Promoting Higher Academic Achievement Among Culturally And Linguistically Diverse Students, Edna Morris

All Graduate Projects

Designing a multicultural literature based library for use in the classroom setting to promote higher academic achievement among culturally and linguistically diverse students was the purpose of this project. Studies supporting the connection between culturally relevant literature and its use in the classroom with academic achievement among culturally and linguistically diverse students were summarized. The result of this research analysis supports the use of culturally relevant literature and activities with young children. The project provides brochures, resources and guides for use of culturally relevant literature with young children.

Integrating Transformative Multicultural Practice Into The Traditional Physical Education Curriculum, Kari Lea Breeden

All Graduate Projects

This study is intended to serve as a resource for upper elementary physical education teachers seeking supplemental materials to integrate diversity through multicultural education in their traditional physical education classroom. Two questions are the basis for this study: ( 1) Can multicultural education be integrated into the upper elementary physical education classroom? (2) How can teachers' use this study as an assessment tool in their upper elementary physical education program? This study is built upon the work of scholar James Banks. It will extend the work of James Banks by showing how his concept of changing the curriculum to integrate …

Instructional Models And Strategies For Language Acquisition And Literacy, Sheri Ann Ruiz

All Graduate Projects

This study introduces research that shows the most effective teaching models and strategies for language acquisition for students whose primary language is not English in the United States; although most of the research and suggestions presented are also effective for teaching all students, regardless of the student's language level. First, a short background of the history of bilingual education is reviewed. Then, the language domains and various stages oflanguage acquisition are explained. Later, an overview of the research of the most effective teaching models and strategies are provided to inform preschool through 12th grade classroom teachers, Para educators (teaching assistants), …

Exhibit Curriculum For Dominicans In New York: Lesson Outline, Sarah Aponte, Dania Diaz

Open Educational Resources

The Dominicans in New York is a display highlighting the experiences and contributions of the New York Dominican population. This exhibit uses primary source materials from the archival collections of the CUNY Dominican Studies Institute Archives as well as secondary source materials from the Dominican Library including documents, photographs and memorabilia to create a visual history of Dominicans as they developed communities that became integral part of New York’s incredibly diverse human landscape. The purpose of the exhibit is to introduce, through carefully selected images, the complexity of the Dominican experience in New York to the general public, students, scholars, …

"Making Connections" : Selected Proceedings Of The 2007 Michigan Teachers Of English To Speakers Of Other Languages Conference, Christen M. Pearson, Kay M. Losey, Nigel A. Caplan

MITESOL Proceedings

No abstract provided.

The Effects Of The Mode Of Homework On The Achievement Of Middle School Spanish Language Students, Sarah Moore Merayo

Theses and Dissertations

This study focused on the relationship between the mode of homework completion (either via paper and pencil or via the computer) and student performance on a written test. After taking a pretest, students from three classes received computer-based, pencil/paper, or no homework, and then took a unit test to see if the type of homework they completed affected their performance on that test.

Exhibit Curriculum For Dominicans In New York: Lesson Overview, Sarah Aponte, Dania Diaz

Open Educational Resources

The Dominicans in New York is a display highlighting the experiences and contributions of the New York Dominican population. This exhibit uses primary source materials from the archival collections of the CUNY Dominican Studies Institute Archives as well as secondary source materials from the Dominican Library including documents, photographs and memorabilia to create a visual history of Dominicans as they developed communities that became integral part of New York’s incredibly diverse human landscape. The purpose of the exhibit is to introduce, through carefully selected images, the complexity of the Dominican experience in New York to the general public, students, scholars, …

From Nuevo León To The Usa And Back Again: Transnational Students In Mexico, Edmund T. Hamann, Víctor A. Zúñiga, Juan Sánchez Garcia

Department of Teaching, Learning, and Teacher Education: Faculty Publications

The movement of Mexicans to the United States is both longstanding and long studied and from that study we know that for many newcomers the attachment to the receiving community is fraught and tentative. The experience of immigrant children in U.S. schools is also relatively well studied and reveals challenges of intercultural communication as well as concurrent and contradictory features of welcome and unwelcome. What is less well known, in the study of migration generally and of transnational students in particular, is how students moving in a less common direction — from the U.S. to Mexico — experience that movement. …

An Investigation Into Teacher Turnover In International Schools, Glenn Odland

Seton Hall University Dissertations and Theses (ETDs)

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Interaction In Languages Other Than English Classes In Western Australian Primary And Secondary Schools: Theory, Practice And Perceptions, Rita Tognini

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

This descriptive study investigated the interaction of teachers and learners in ten primary and secondary school languages other than English (LOTE) classes in Western Australia, with the aim of providing a detailed picture of its nature and patterns. Teachers' and learners' perceptions of this interaction were also examined as part of the study, through interviews conducted with them.

¡Oye!: Língua E Negócio Entre O Brasil E A Espanha, Laura Villa, José Del Valle

Publications and Research

Neste estudo sobre a promoção internacional do espanhol, centramos a análise no acordo ¡Oye! Espanhol para professores, assinado em setembro de 2006 entre o Banco Santander espanhol e a Secretaria de Educação do Estado de São Paulo, cuja finalidade era a formação de 45.000 professores de espanhol para atuarem no ensino médio brasileiro. O acordo, que envolveu também o Instituto Cervantes espanhol, recebeu uma forte oposição por parte da comunidade educacional, que se mobilizou para sustar sua implementação. Neste trabalho, apresentamos e analisamos diferentes ações e discursos face ao acordo por parte dos agentes envolvidos no debate, ao mesmo …

Self-Reported Listening Strategies By Students In An Intensive English Language Program, Holly Montgomery

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this research is to add to knowledge about cognitive and metacognitive listening strategies by second language learners. A survey was developed and administered in which questions solicited a retrospective self-report of students' listening habits. The listening strategies used for this study are limited to main idea identification and translation, because they succinctly exemplify the broad groups of strategies to which they belong. Respective sections of the questionnaire address academic, authentic, and informal listening contexts, in order to isolate and differentiate between the strategies' reported use in each, revealing discrepancies and similarities between reports of strategy use in …

Using The Novel To Teach Multiculturalism, Michelle Loris

English Faculty Publications

Description of a fourteen week course taught by Michelle Loris, professor of English at Sacred Heart University. The course, titled Recent Ethnic American Fictions, introduced students to several concepts from contemporary literary theory. The theories included New Criticism, Deconstruction, Cultural Studies, New Historicism, and Feminist Theory. The assumption was that these concepts would give students the tools to become critical readers, which would then provide them with a deeper understanding of these multicultural novels and their particular cultural contexts. For a semester, reading and thinking about these multicultural novels engaged and challenged the students' assumptions about themselves and the America …

Mural, Painting And Art Education Project With African Refugees And The African Community Center Of West Michigan, Carrie Schoenborn, Jill Eggers

Student Summer Scholars Manuscripts

In starting the project at the African Community Center, we spent time getting to know the center, the people who use it and how it is used. We began by simply being at the center and helping with whatever needed to be done. We answered phones, met people who came and cleaned the donation closet. Yaka, the director, brought us to visit many of the families that use the center and we talked to both the refugees and Yaka about the experiences these individuals had coming to the United States; the difficulties they faced in Africa, on their journey to …