Bilingual, Multilingual, and Multicultural Education Commons^™

The Culture Conundrum: Training Faculty And Staff For Effectively Working With International Students, Mckenna S. Pencak

Capstone Collection

Over the past five years, the number of international students studying at the University of Notre Dame has increased by 30 percent. The increase in the numbers of undergraduate international students, as well as Chinese international students, has been even more significant. This rapid growth in the number of international students has created challenges for University faculty, staff, and administrators, both inside and outside of the classroom. International students typically face different challenges adjusting to an American university from their American peers, stemming from differences between their home country cultures and American culture. When an international student is facing a …

Long-Term Impacts And Outcomes: Sit Study Abroad, Marianne Mcgarrity

Capstone Collection

This capstone reports on the results of the SIT Study Abroad Long-Term Impacts and Outcomes survey, a research project designed to investigate how alumni would self-report impacts of their study abroad experience with regard to academic, personal, and professional outcomes. The principal question the study sought to answer was “How and to what extent do SIT Study Abroad programs impact alumni in the long term?” This paper focuses largely on the career outcomes of the alumni who participated in this research. A large percentage of SIT Study Abroad alumni report that impacts to their career choices were significant and that …

Teaching The Moral Imagination: How Global Education Aids In Peacebuilding, Charlee Bianchini

Capstone Collection

In this paper I present distinctive information from written resources and in-depth interviews with 17 constituents who are in some way involved in the incorporation of Global Education curriculum in the US. I specifically looked at Brookwood School in Manchester-by-the-Sea, Massachusetts, a private school looking to develop programming around this subject. I also looked at World Learning Youth Programs in order to gain insight from an institution solely focused on GE. The aim of the research was to learn why and how Global Education programs are being incorporated into curriculums, what skills schools are aiming to have their students learn …

Wildcats International Neighbors: Bridging International Students With Local Community At Northern Michigan University, Manato Kaisho

Capstone Collection

In Fall 2013 semester, Wildcats International Neighbors (W.I.N.) was designed and implemented as a pilot program for the International Programs Office (IPO) at Northern Michigan University (NMU). It was a cross-cultural program to connect international students and local community members for mutual cultural exchange. Moreover, this program served as a support program for international students during their transition to American culture. Fall 2013 semester was first time when the IPO implemented this program. At the end of the semester, the IPO conducted a program evaluation, and the office discovered there were several aspects of the program that needed to be …

Intercultural Communication In Brazil: An Approach To Engage Multicultural North Dakota State University Students In Study Abroad, Allison Wright

Capstone Collection

Intercultural Communication in Brazil (IC Brazil) is a course-embedded program aimed at multicultural students by building off of the curriculum in one of the general education requirement courses at North Dakota State University (NDSU). It has been designed to fit within the confines of NDSU’s existing study abroad structure and uses a targeted approach to student recruitment that can be utilized by other faculty-leaders at NDSU, universities, and members of the IE field.

IC Brazil is an experiential learning course-embedded program that contains on-campus learning, fieldwork in Rio de Janeiro, and course reflections upon the students’ return. IC Brazil students …

Mi Cultura, Su Cultura: A Cultural Exchange Program For Central College, Whitney J. Longnecker

Capstone Collection

Central College is a 1,500-student, liberal arts higher education institution located in Pella, Iowa. The College boasts a study abroad participation rate of over 50 percent; however, the institution seeks to internationalize the campus beyond study abroad. At the request of Central College President Dr. Mark Putnam, a global taskforce consisting of faculty, staff and students formed to consider internationalization strategies and the taskforce is keen to welcome international students to the institution. Currently, a very small number of international students attend Central College and international student support services are decentralized and limited.

Mi Cultura, Su Cultura (MCSC) was developed …

In Our Image: The Attempted Reshaping Of The Cuban Education System By The United States Government, 1898-1912, Mario John Minichino

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Abstract

During the fourteen years between 1898 and 1912, the influences imparted upon the School System of Cuba were substantial. In the period immediately following the conflict with Spain, known in the U.S. as the Spanish American War, a concerted effort was underway to annex the island of Cuba. This study was undertaken to discover what courses were introduced into the K-12 curricula following the U.S. intervention, who introduced those changes, and what, if any influence those changes brought to the culture of the island. This investigation and analysis was necessary to reinvigorate the discussion regarding the history of the …

Family English Learning: A Workshop On Using English At Home, James Johnston

Sandanona

Mothers play an integral role in language acquisition—we do refer to our native languages as “mother tongues,” after all. In South Korea, mothers play an especially important role, pushing Korea to be the largest education market in the world.

This paper examines how EFL teachers can integrate mothers in their students’ learning process using a family-oriented approach.

Latino Emergent Bilingual Students' Experiences With The Middle School Transition, Kerry Pecho

Theses and Dissertations

This thesis reports the findings of a qualitative study that examined how Latino emergent bilingual students anticipate and experience the transition from a bilingual elementary school program to middle school. Sixth, seventh, and eighth grade students who were native Spanish-speakers participated in focus group discussions. Overall, participants described positive transition experiences, and much of the content was not unique to these students (e.g., feeling nervous, looking forward to more activities). Other content, though, revealed transition experiences that may be unique to this population (e.g., dramatic shift in ethnic and linguistic backgrounds of peers). Participants' responses suggested that they experience a …

Advanced Eal Class, Relative Clauses, Jihyun Sung

Sandanona

Participants will have a chance to think about what are the core(s) of relative clauses for learners along the form, meaning, and use dimensions by exploring some relative clause activities and analyzing students’ grammatical errors.

An Investigation Of American Students’ Tonal Acquisition Towards Disyllabic Words With Same Or Different Tones, Yuan Yuan

Seton Hall University Dissertations and Theses (ETDs)

Mastering Mandarin tones is an indispensable path to achieving high Chinese language proficiency and a headache to a lot of American learners. Scholars keep studying this area, but this problem remains unsolved.

Through long-time observation of beginners, I found an interesting phenomenon: many students were able to correctly produce a certain tone (Tone X) which was contained by a monosyllable. However, when the students encountered a disyllabic word with the tone which they were skillful at (Tone X) and another different tone (Tone Y), the students showed no advantage on Tone X. This phenomenon motivated me to do research on …

A Study Of U.S. Education Outcomes For Female Students From The Republic Of Georgia, Nino Bitsadze

Seton Hall University Dissertations and Theses (ETDs)

This qualitative study sought to understand how living and studying in the United States affected the personalities, beliefs, attitudes, and careers of a group of female students from the Republic of Georgia. The researcher traveled to Tbilisi, Georgia’s capital, to interview twenty alumni of U.S. study programs (on undergraduate and graduate study levels) individually. Jack Mezirow’s Transformational Learning Theory and David Kolb’s Experiential Learning Theory provide the theoretical framework for the study.

The findings revealed that living and studying in the U.S. matured the participants personally as they got to experience the challenges that accompany living independently in an unfamiliar …

Se Puede Y Se Debe: Educating Heritage Students, Edward Pinto, Itzia Luna, Isaac Meza

Symposium Of University Research and Creative Expression (SOURCE)

Teaching heritage students requires a wide variety of best practices that focus on the development of the students’ vocabulary, cultural competence, and grammar, in addition to the four language skills (reading, writing, listening, and speaking). I will focus on the best practices of encouraging students to read many genres, providing a range of writing topics, assigning oral interviews with the community, and granting students the freedom to speak both English and Spanish in the classroom. Another effective teaching strategy for heritage language learners is using a macro-approach.

The Academic And Cultural Adaptation Of Chinese International Students At Umass Boston: The Struggles And Progress From The Perspectives Of Students And Professors, Pingping Chen, Theodora Chocos, Lorena Fuentes

English Faculty Publication Series

This panel will articulate the struggles and progress of Chinese international students in their learning processes at UMass Boston. Additionally, the challenges some professors have faced in teaching Chinese international students and the pedagogical practice they have used to engage these learners in their courses will be addressed.

This panel was presented as part of the 2014 8th Annual University Conference on Teaching, Learning, and Technology on May 15, 2014. The theme of the conference was "Teaching both What and How for Deep Learning at Every Level."

College Graduation: It's A Big Deal, Raksmeymony Yin

SURGE

College graduation is a big deal for everyone. It’s especially important to me as a graduate of the Philadelphia public schools, as a child of a low-income family, and as a first-generation Cambodian immigrant.

A Case Study In How French Teachers Understand Purpose In Educating Immigrant Students, Dana Doggett

Senior Theses

The purpose of the study was to comprehend how two French teachers understood their roles in teaching immigrant students. To achieve this goal, I observed classes at a middle school in Pau, France over the course of three months. I recorded extensive field notes and conducted two in-depth interviews with both of the teachers I observed. After returning to the United States, I coded my notes, identifying and analyzing patterns in the data. Among other conclusions, I discovered that these teachers emphasized students’ individual identities, including their diverse national and cultural backgrounds, while at the same time pushing the students …

Challenges And Opportunity Of Online Learning In Developing Countries With Specific Focus On Liberia., Andrew Paygar

Political Science Theses and Capstones

To explore online learning in developing countries with a particular focus on Liberia is 2 the focus of this paper. As it is being explored, the following questions will be addressed: How did online learning originate? What would be the advantages and disadvantages of online learning in developing countries? What are some of the unique circumstances faced by Liberia in online education?

Our Trickster, The School, Adrea Lawrence

Education's Histories

This serialized essay examines the school as a trickster in the history of education, calling upon the history of American Indian education as a test case.

Intercultural Communication In Florida: The Immigrant Story - A Program For Adult Learners, Stephanie V. Wobensmith

Capstone Collection

Although participation in university study abroad programs has grown steadily within the United States in recent years, many students are still being left without access to the important intercultural learning that it allows. Adult learners, students over the age of 25 who often have family and work responsibilities outside of the academic setting, are frequently included in this underrepresented demographic. In order to create a more accessible program for these students, the Intercultural Communication in Florida: The Immigrant Story (ICC in Florida) program uses the same learning paradigm as short-term study abroad but combines it with lessons learned through newer …

An Analysis Of Acculturative Stress, Sociocultural Adaptation, And Satisfaction Among International Students At A Non-Metropolitan University, Hajara Mahmood

Dissertations

This quantitative descriptive study was designed to analyze levels of acculturative stress and sociocultural adaptation among international students at a non-metropolitan university in the U.S. in relation to college satisfaction and certain demographic characteristics. Surveys were used to measure international students’ levels of acculturative stress, sociocultural adaptation, including five subscales of sociocultural adaptation, and college satisfaction (N = 413). Demographic questions included gender, age, country of origin, length of stay in the U.S., degree level, and English language comfort. Results indicated a negative correlation between students’ levels of sociocultural adaptation and acculturative stress. In particular, increased competency among the five …

International Undergraduate English Language Learners' Perception Of Language And Academic Acquisition Through Online Learning: A Qualitative Phenomenological Study, Olga Dejesus

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

Many institutional programs are changing to incorporate more online opportunities as a way to meet the needs of their students. Therefore, international English language learners are being encouraged to take online courses in order to complete their programs of study at United States colleges or universities (Tan, Lee, & Steven, 2010). In this qualitative phenomenological study, the researcher sought to investigate international undergraduate English language learners' perception of and experiences with language and academic acquisition through online learning. This study was conducted with a selected group of 10 undergraduate international students enrolled in the Liberal Arts program at a private …

Defining A Cross Content, Cross Cultural Curriculum For Foreign Language, Hannah P. Seage

Honors Theses

This thesis posits a 4th grade foreign language curriculum emphasizing cultural content in a parallel structure to social studies content as a means of addressing the interdisciplinary literacy stressed in the new Common Core State Standards (CCSS). Both the cultural content element and the parallel curriculum structure are compared to viable alternative emphases or structures prevalent in contemporary pedagogical material and practice. Standards of comparison for content foci are derived from the American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages (ACTFL) World Readiness Standards for Learning Languages aligned with the CCSS and standards of comparison for curriculum structure are derived …

Developing A Cross-Cultural And Cross-Content Foreign Language Curriculum, Sophia R. Seage

Honors Theses

This thesis seeks to clarify the implementation of the cross-cultural and interdisciplinary French curriculum described in the associated work, Defining a Cross-Cultural and Cross-Content Foreign Language Curriculum (Seage). Using Social Studies as the primary source of cross-content exchange, the proposed curriculum is composed of three units of entry level French instruction that position the learner to acquire a second language through the broader process of acquiring an understanding of a second culture. By connecting the underlying philosophy outlined in the accompanying work to the recently implemented Common Core State Standards and the American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages' …

Promoting Diversity In The Universal : Rethinking Universal Design For Learning., Jill Sadowski

College of Arts & Sciences Senior Theses

No abstract provided.

Exploring Service Learning In Study Abroad: An Evaluation Of The Umbra Institute’S Urban Spaces Course, Lisa M. George

Capstone Collection

Over the proceeding decades, service learning programs combining academic study with community service have been growing in popularity at U.S. institutions of higher education. This growth has been equated to service learning’s ability to assist students with achieving personal and academic goals, as well as broader goals of civic engagement for communities. With these programs occurring in an increasingly interconnected world, that is also seeing growth in study abroad participation, it is only natural that students would seek out similar service learning opportunities in their international destinations.

Today more than 80% of students enrolled at The Umbra Institute in Perugia, …

Preparing Teen Girls To Enter The Workforce Through A Job-Readiness Training Program In The Dominican Republic, Genevieve F. Corrin

Capstone Collection

A recent shift has concentrated international community development efforts on women, many specifically aiming to work with adolescent women. This capstone explores the design, facilitation and potential developmental impact of work-readiness training for teen girls in Cabarete, Dominican Republic. Such training comes with many challenges and possibilities for positive outcome. Methodologies and frameworks introduced through SIT courses aid in the examination of these challenges, the solutions used to transform them and possible preventative approaches. Tools gleaned from the spring SIT TDEL course, to which this capstone is linked, inspire the creation of the training. These tools are also used to …

Racial-Ethnic Identity Development In Hispanic Young Adolescent Students : Synthesis Of Literature., Katherine Elizabeth Stemle

College of Arts & Sciences Senior Theses

This paper serves as a meta-analytic analysis of the research published on the development of racial-ethnic identity development in young adolescent Hispanic students. The purpose of the analysis of the peer-reviewed literature is to help support the instruction and development of young adolescent Hispanic students in the classroom. The major emphases of this paper are the definition of racial-ethnic identity, the background and major theories connected to racial-ethnic identity development, the major factors unique to the racial-ethnic identity of Hispanics students, and a list of research based methods teachers can use to help Hispanic students explore and establish a strong …

Autoethnography And Teacher Education: Snapshot Stories Of Cultural Encounter, Maureen F. Legge

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

In this paper I discuss how I framed and wrote an autoethnographic personal narrative of my lived experience as a New Zealand physical education teacher educator in the presence of two cultures, Māori and Pākehā. Central to my qualitative study was writing as a method of inquiry. Using this method I wrote a series of descriptive ‘snapshot stories’ derived from field experiences, over an 11 year period, that involved close and prolonged encounters with physical education teacher education (PETE) students in tertiary classrooms and 4 day marae stays. The storied accounts served as data for self-reflexivity about my role as …

Language Learners, Inequality Regimes, And Secondary Schooling: Dilemmas Of The New South, Karen Gober

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This paper explores the structure of the secondary education system in Northwest Arkansas and how it shapes the culture of education for newly arrived Latino immigrants. Significant achievement gaps remain between non-Hispanic white students and Latinos within secondary education. Uncovering possible causes for this gap is necessary in order to allow equal educational opportunity for all students. While prior researchers debate the method of language instruction as a barrier to education, there has been little attention to the relationship between organizational structure and levels of achievement. In-depth interviews with teachers and administrators reveal a consistent theme: large amounts of time …

Holistic Approach To Promoting Student Engagement: Case Studies Of Six Refugee Students In Upper Elementary, Kathleen Mullen

Boise State University Theses and Dissertations

The pre-migration context experienced by many refugees significantly impacts their ability to develop human capital. This, combined with increased placement in areas with little immigration history, can make it more difficult for refugee students to engage fully with school. This study explores the pre-and post-migration experiences of six upper elementary refugee youth and the experiences of school staff new to working with refugee students. Staff found that these students expanded the skill range they needed to address but, like native-born youth, they were best able to engage with school when staff used a holistic focus to promote student learning.