Bilingual, Multilingual, and Multicultural Education Commons^™

The Politics Of Official English: Exploring The Intentions And The Outcomes Behind English-Only Policies In The United States, David Gonzalez Nieto

Graduate Doctoral Dissertations

Although the Constitution did not declare English the official language of the United States, its complete linguistic dominance in such a linguistically diverse nation is unparalleled. Despite its supremacy, the last three decades have witnessed a renewed nationalistic movement that claims the role of English is threatened and that its establishment as the official language of the United States is crucial to protect the language and the unity of the nation.

So far, attempts to institutionalize English at the federal level have failed, but 28 states have adopted English as their official language and/or legislation that limits the use ...

Community Based Participatory Research: The Application And Lessons Learned From A Study With Lgb College Students, Caitlin M. Stover

Journal of Health Disparities Research and Practice

Lesbian, gay, and bisexual (LGB) individuals are members of a vulnerable group where health disparities have been identified. To gain a better understanding of the LGB college student healthcare experience and its contribution to the healthcare disparities found in LGB population, a community based participatory research (CBPR) approach was used to fill the gap. This paper will outline the CBPR process with an emphasis on how the principle investigator applied the tenets of CBPR when working with a local LGB college community. Several lessons learned from the research process are also shared in this paper.

Understanding How Components Of Black Racial Identity And Racial Realities May Impact Healthcare Utilization: A Randomized Study, Alexander M. Chaitoff, Thomas Wickizer, Ismail White

Journal of Health Disparities Research and Practice

Purpose: Studies have suggested that even when minority groups have potential access to healthcare, they may have inadequate utilization (realized access). This study explores the application of a theory from the social psychology and political science literatures concerning how racial centrality and racial realities, specifically amongst Blacks, may influence patients’ healthcare utilization preferences.

Methods: We created a survey with two (pseudo) randomized, controlled experimental treatments designed to assess whether racialized hospital and physician characteristics elicited a preference from Black or White respondents, as well as questions aimed at understanding participants’ different beliefs and levels of knowledge about past and current ...

Flattening Hierarchies In A Round World: A Multilogue Response To Goldenberg’S “Youth Historians In Harlem (Part 2 Of 2)”, Michael Bowman

Education's Histories

Michael Bowman continues the discussion of Barry Goldenberg's work, asking what history does and who benefits from flattening hierarchies.

The Importance Of Maintaining A Heritage Language While Acquiring The Host Language, Anna L. Vallance

Honors College Theses

Few issues are as relevant to modern education as the topic of bilingual students. As the school-age population in the United States becomes increasingly diverse, teachers and other educational professionals need to know how they can best serve their English learners (students who speak a first language other than English). A common question that many educators grapple with is what role a student’s heritage language (native language) ought to play in the classroom. Specifically, how important is it that students maintain their heritage language? By critically reviewing the existing literature relating to the subject, this article strives to answer ...

Mother Tongue Interference In English Language Pronunciation Of The Chinese Immigrant In The United States, Chaowei Hu

Master's Projects and Capstones

English is one of the most widely used languages in the world. As an unofficial lingua franca, it serves a key role in cross-cultural communication. Chinese immigrants in the US will certainly encounter many difficulties in acquiring L2 proficiency. Some of these challenges are tied to 1) Chinese immigrants’ history in the US and the variety of Chinese dialects; 2) distinctions between Chinese and English phonological systems; 3) diversity among Chinese Americans; 3) mother tongue influence on English language learning; and 4) foreign language anxiety.

Digital Lessons For Enhancing Communicative Skills: A Handbook For Turkish Efl Teachers, Hale H. Demirel

Master's Projects and Capstones

It is necessary for English teachers who are interested in exposing their students to the authentic and communicative use of English to have access to model instructional materials. This project sought to develop a handbook and an accompanying website for teachers of English working with intermediate ESL/EFL students at university level. The handbook includes two theme-based lessons that emphasize the development of communicative competence with the help of engaging free digital tools. The content of the handbook can be improvised or modified and adapted to meet the needs of unique teaching-learning situations in case of need.

A Literacy-Level Curriculum For Adult Spanish-Speaking English Language Learners With Limited Formal Education, Kirsten L. Keihl

Master's Projects and Capstones

Many Spanish-speaking adult immigrants in the United States face an immediate need to learn English, but also suffer from a lack of formal education as many did not complete middle school or high school. These learners need a curriculum that is tailored specifically to their needs. This project provides a communicative curriculum for teaching English and Spanish literacy, English speaking and listening skills, and basic classroom skills utilizing native language instruction when helpful using learning strategies and authentic materials that are appropriate for adults. It also addresses sociocultural and sociopolitical concerns of this population and utilizes culturally relevant materials.

A Deeper Semiotic Richness: Empowering English Language Students Through Digital Storytelling, Karah Parks

Master's Projects and Capstones

The current philosophies underpinning TESOL higher education curricula and classroom practices still reinforce the essentialized narrative of the native speaker and teach English as an objective, disinterested, linguistic system of static signs (Blommaert, 2010; Kramsch, 2009; Larsen-Freeman, 2015; Pennycook, 1997). This has significantly limited the development students’ identities, and agency within English language speaking communities. To address this issue, this project contains a supplemental, online digital storytelling curriculum for intermediate to advanced adult learners at the university level in U.S. colleges as a means of scaffolding intentional identity development through multimodal, symbolic competence in the English language. Entitled Creative ...

Hispanic Preservice Teachers’ Peer Evaluations Of Interdisciplinary Curriculum Development: A Self-Referenced Comparison Between Monolingual Generalists And Bilingual Generalists, Song An, Daniel Tillman, Meilan Zhang, William H. Robertson, Josefina Tinajero

William H. Robertson

The Achievement Gap: A Dual Nation Perspective, Myka Chavez

Honors Projects

This essay seeks to explore the achievement gap, which is a disparity in educational achievement between certain economic and racial groups, by taking a unique approach and bringing a fresh perspective. Specifically, this research focuses on how this gap is manifested in two countries: the U.S. and England. This dual nation perspective opens the door for more information and a better understanding of the gap as a whole. Analysis will be done regarding the various issues surrounding the gap in each country such as its causes, effects, and past/present solutions. Based on how these issues occur in each ...

The Anticanonical Lesson Of Huckleberry Finn, Sharon E. Rush

Sharon E. Rush

Some books included in the canon of American literature no longer belong there, because they presently lack normative approval. Adapting concepts found in constitutional law, an anticanon of American literature functions the way the anticanon of constitutional law would operate and explicitly removes books from the canon. In law, the anticanon identifies outdated interpretations of the constitution. In education, it is time to consider removing from the canon and placing in an anticanon books that are inconsistent with multicultural education. One such book is Mark Twain's Huckleberry Finn, which is part of the canon of American literature and viewed ...

The Anticanonical Lesson Of Huckleberry Finn, Sharon E. Rush

Sharon E. Rush

Some books included in the canon of American literature no longer belong there, because they presently lack normative approval. Adapting concepts found in constitutional law, an anticanon of American literature functions the way the anticanon of constitutional law would operate and explicitly removes books from the canon. In law, the anticanon identifies outdated interpretations of the constitution. In education, it is time to consider removing from the canon and placing in an anticanon books that are inconsistent with multicultural education. One such book is Mark Twain's Huckleberry Finn, which is part of the canon of American literature and viewed ...

Exploring Children's Perceptions Of African American English, Tamika L. Lewis

FIU Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The differences in attitudes toward African American English (AAE) and Mainstream American English (MAE) were investigated among elementary students (N=34) and middle school students (N=40) using the Speech Evaluation Instrument (SEI). Participants listened to audio recordings of speakers of AAE and MAE and then completed the SEI.

Both elementary and middle school students perceived MAE positively (p =.005), as hypothesized. However, for both hypotheses related to AAE, the researcher hypothesized that both groups would perceive the language negatively; however, in both cases, the researcher failed to reject the null hypothesis. Comparing how each group perceived the two languages ...

Job Satisfaction, Role Strain, Burnout, And Self-Care Among American Sign Language/English Interpreters, Carrie Humphrey

Master's of Arts in Interpreting Studies (MAIS) Theses

This study is an analysis of various factors relating to job satisfaction, role strain, physical injury and/or mental/emotional hardship, and burnout in the American Sign Language (ASL)/English interpreting profession in the United States. It includes 81 responses by interpreters using an online survey that collected data on individual interpreter background and demographics, role strain components, burnout, self-care, and job satisfaction. The responses were analyzed through a multiple linear regression focusing on job satisfaction as the dependent variable. They were also analyzed in a bivariate correlation to identify potential relationships among the 60 variables. The results of this ...

Are We Here For The Same Reason? Exploring The Motivational Values That Shape The Professional Decision Making Of Signed Language Interpreters., Audrey Ramirez-Loudenback

Master's of Arts in Interpreting Studies (MAIS) Theses

The goal of this research is to begin a discussion in the ASL/English interpreting field about how personally held motivations and values impact the decision making process. From the decision to enter this field to the decisions an interpreter makes on a daily basis, values are central to understanding that process. The first step in this analysis was to collect data from current interpreters and interpreting students to see what motivational values are prioritized within professional communities. This data was collected through an online questionnaire made available through multiple social media websites that support various ASL/English interpreting communities ...

Decisive Battles In Levant, Fathi Habashi

Fathi Habashi

The Levant has been a battle ground since ancient times. The Battle of Kadesh took place in 1274 BC showed the supremacy of iron in war, in the Battle of Yarmouk in 636 AD the Arabs entered the Middle East, in Hittin in 1187 Saladin defeated the Crusaders, in Ein Jalut in 1260 Baibars saved Egypt from destruction by the Mongol, in Marj Dabiq in 1516 the Ottomans opened the way to occupy Egypt and the Middle East, while in World War I General Allenby of the British Empire entered Jerusalem in 1917 thus marking the beginning of the end ...

Teacher Perspectives On Professional Development Needs For Better Serving Nebraska's Spanish Heritage Language Learners, Janet Marie Eckerson

Theses, Student Research, and Creative Activity: Department of Teaching, Learning and Teacher Education

A growing number of heritage language speakers of Spanish are enrolling in Spanish language courses during secondary school. Current scholarship has suggested that these heritage language learners (HLLs) have very different instructional needs than learners of second or foreign languages. Because Spanish language instruction in Nebraska secondary schools has been traditionally conceptualized only as foreign language instruction, classroom teachers may not be adequately prepared to meet the needs of HLLs. This dissertation examined the experiences of Nebraska secondary Spanish teachers who worked with HLLs in order to inform the creation of relevant professional learning experiences for pre- and in-service teachers ...

Social Justice Education: Using Communication Activism Pedagogy To Help University Cultural Centers Increase Campus Diversity & Inclusivity, Sophia T. Vu

Journalism

This study examined how student affairs professionals, especially those in cultural centers, could increase campus diversity and inclusivity. More specifically, it sought to find a theoretical basis for social justice education programs that could increase campus climate. It was performed as a single site case study at California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo. Three Cal Poly student affairs professionals were interviewed for qualitative data which were then compared and analyzed with the literature surrounding campus diversity and inclusivity. The study concludes that student affairs professionals can increase campus diversity and inclusivity by developing social justice education programs that not ...

From Msa To Ca: A Beginner's Guide For Transitioning Into Colloquial Arabic, Lina Gomaa

PDXOpen: Open Access Textbooks

This book is for students who have studied Modern Standard Arabic (MSA) for one year or more and would like to learn colloquial Arabic basics using their knowledge of MSA. It aims at transitioning learners from Novice Mid level to Intermediate Low through presenting situations useful for living in an Arab country. The book has several features including hyperlinks, practice dialogues with open answers, cultural tips, and more.

Please see the Open Textbook Library for faculty Reviews of this textbook

Beginning Japanese For Professionals: Book 1, Emiko Konomi

PDXOpen: Open Access Textbooks

This is the first book in a three book series and includes Lessons 0 - 4. The second book is available here: https://doi.org/10.15760/pdxopen-14 The third book is available here: https://doi.org/10.15760/pdxopen-19

This textbook is designed for beginning learners who want to learn basic Japanese for the purpose of living and working in Japan. Unlike textbooks written primarily for students, whose content largely centers on student life, this book focuses more on social and professional life beyond school.

As a beginning level textbook, this book includes many elementary grammar patterns (Japanese Language Proficiency ...

Somali Parents' Involvement In The Education Of Their Children In American Middle Schools: A Case Study In Portland, Maine, Abdullahi Ahmed

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Across the nation, language minority students comprise one of the largest minority groups in U.S. public schools. The increase of linguistically diverse students, especially Somalis, brings unique challenges to Portland, Maine public schools. Different subgroups have their unique characteristics, yet the U.S. education system treats immigrants and English Language Learners (ELL) as somewhat the same (Barrera, 2006; Hosp & Reschly, 2004). Although there are many reasons for the underachievement of minority students in public schools, one way to mitigate low performance of students is engaging parents by creating mutual relationships between parents and schools and involving all families in the education of children of all ages (Christen & Sheridan, 2001; Crespo-Jimenez, 2010; Cutler, 2000).

This case study examines the views of one subgroup, Somalis, on education and schooling as well as their involvement in their children’s middle schools. The study employed a mixed method design using interviews and surveys ...

Raising Student Achievement Through Programmatic Initiatives And Instructional Improvement, Philip S. Georgia

Dissertations

This dissertation consists of a program evaluation, a change leadership plan, and a policy advocacy proposal.

The program evaluation studies the impact of initiatives implemented at an elementary school near a large city in Illinois using a case study methodology. The school was required to restructure during the 2013-2014 school year as a result of the performance mandates outlined in the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001. To compare the post-restructuring status of the school with the pre-restructuring status, student growth data for multiple grade levels and for each federal subgroup was collected. In addition, the staff’s perceptions ...

Teaching English As A Foreign Language: A Multicultural Perspective, Nouf Ali Alotaibi

All Graduate Plan B and other Reports

This portfolio is a compilation of the author’s beliefs and practices of what constitutes effective second language teaching. It is based on the author’s teaching philosophy and the work has been done during two years of study at the Master of Second Language Teaching (MSLT) program. The teaching philosophy centers on how to implement communication inside the language classroom, develop literacy, integrate culture teaching into language instruction, and how to use technology to facilitate language learning and teaching. The teaching philosophy is followed by three artifacts, which review the literature addressing different topics on language, literacy, and culture ...

Enhancing Language Development For English Learners, Frank L. Silva

Electronic Theses, Projects, and Dissertations

Previously accepted and current research has been reviewed regarding the development of English proficiency for English Language Learners. The particular areas of concern deemed crucial for language development are the domains of reading, writing, listening and speaking. The critical components for effective English Language Development instruction as well as the strategies considered the most effective and efficient were also investigated. The review resulted in the creation of an English Language Development unit that includes the essential components and various strategies that are considered effective in developing English proficiency for English Language Learners.

Building A Community Of Practice For English-As-A-Foreign Language Tutors During Private Tutoring, Doaa S. Mahrous

Electronic Theses, Projects, and Dissertations

The creation of a community of practice of tutors--a shared practice among a group of people who share the same domain--enables second-language learners to facilitate their acquisition of English by embracing new learning strategies while they learn the target language. The community of tutors’ perspective allows for the incorporation of the individual’s particular second-language-acquisition needs and goals. This presentation presents a proposed study that took place at the Yasuda Center at California State University, San Bernardino in the summer of 2015. Students in the English Language Program housed in the College of Extended Learning were asked to participate in ...

Increasing Student Achievement Through Supporting English Language Learners, Michelle George

Dissertations

The purpose of this advocacy document is to demonstrate the need for a policy to implement a two-way immersion program in Spanish and English. The intent of this policy is to provide opportunities for students to be successful in a global society, acquire a second language, and develop a strong global awareness. This advocacy document includes an analysis of the educational, economic, social, political, moral, and ethical need for the policy change. The primary needs addressed through research are the ability to implement strong instructional practices of language development for English as a Second Language (ESL) student and to develop ...

Creating A Framework For Success For High School African American Males: A Policy Advocacy Document, Ilandus Hampton Sr.

Dissertations

The policy advocacy document is an alternative to the traditional doctoral dissertation. This approach arose from the educational administration preparation reform agenda which calls for more thoughtful approaches to educational policy development, a concern that educational leadership express itself in a moral context, and a desire to develop reflective practices in administration. (Browder, 1995). This document attempts to ensure public schools, high schools in particular, are providing African American males with the skills and knowledge necessary to be academically successful so that they are given the opportunity and support necessary to achieve economic and social advancements throughout life. The policy ...

"Because Of My Identity:" Valuing The Experiences Of Latina Students In The Culturally Responsive Service-~Learning Classroom, Janessa Schilmoeller

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

This qualitative case study examined the experiences of three Latina students in a higher education service-learning program. A review of service-learning literature found limited research dedicated to understanding the qualitatively different experiences of students of color operating in historically and predominantly white higher education institutions’ service-learning programs. Though the diversity benefits of service-learning are documented, research is inconclusive on whether service-learning program culture adequately meets the needs of all racially/ethnically diverse students. The study utilized student interviews and classroom observation to build understanding of the unique experiences of three Latina students participating in a service-learning course taught by a ...

Table Of Contents, Antonio Medina-Rivera Ph.D, Lee F. Wilberschied Ph.D., Heba A.N. El Attar Ph.D

Cultural Encounters, Conflicts, and Resolutions

No abstract provided.