Bilingual, Multilingual, and Multicultural Education Commons^™

"Beating The Odds": How Bi-Lingual Hispanic Students Work Through Adversity To Become High Achieving Students, Mark Hassinger

All Graduate Projects

The purpose of this qualitative study was to examine characteristics of academically successful Hispanic students. Rather than ask ourselves why so many Hispanic students are failing, this study takes a more positive approach to this subject. Despite repeated failures and early academic difficulties, some Hispanic students continue to fight through the adversity. Some children have a positive attitude toward school although there are monumental barriers for these at-risk children. This study asks, "What piece of the puzzle do these students possess that the others do not?" In essence, this is an "asset-oriented" approach rather than a deficit-assessment approach. The purpose …

Does My Identity Speak English? A Pragmatic Approach To The Social World Of An English Language Learner With Language Impairment, Robin L. Danzak, Elaine R. Silliman

Communication Disorders Faculty Publications

The case description provides a comprehensive picture of the complex social and linguistic factors that shape the social identity of an English language learner with the additional challenge of language impairment (LI). These issues were explored over 6 months with Fernando, an 8-year-old, Spanish-speaking male with LI in grade 3. A pragmatic, or practical, approach to problem solving was developed for two purposes: first, to obtain a multifaceted understanding of Fernando’s world at school, and second, to arrive at possible educational/clinical solutions that met a standard of cultural appropriateness and practicality. The patterns found that, contrary to teacher interpretations of …

Five Things Most People Believe About American Education That Are Wrong, David E. Drew

CGU Faculty Publications and Research

Will Rogers said, "People's ignorance isn't the problem; it's what they know for sure that isn't true." One reason that reform of our educational system often fails is that every politician and voter holds strong opinions about American schools. After all, they all went through the school system. Some of those opinions are simply wrong.

Using Food As A Content Domain In An English-As-A-Second-Language Program, Janna Edith Kaas

Theses Digitization Project

The purpose of this project is to propose project based learning by cooking food as a way of teaching English as a second language to elementary school children. In using foods, recipes, and cooking utensils, the students are using all their senses to help them understand the messages presented.

Has The Passage Of Proposition 227 Had An Effect On The Redesignation Rates Of English Language Learners In The Rialto Unified School District?, Moises Mauricio Merlos

Theses Digitization Project

The purpose of the project was to develop a study that would test whether the promise of students learning to speak English fluently in a shorter amount of time was met by Proposition 227.

Comprehension And Vocabulary Strategies Using Related Tradebooks With Social Studies For Bilingual And Bicultural Middle School Students, Jennifer Suzanne Tindall

All Graduate Projects

In many schools, students from ethnic minority groups are immersed in secondlanguage reading curricula with minimal attention to their native language literacy (Droop & Verhoeven, 2003). These children face the challenge ofleaming to read in languages that they have not mastered orally. As a result, these second-language students can then experience considerable gaps in their understanding ofreading because reading instruction in any language strongly builds on oral language proficiency. For these reasons, second-language literacy learning is an enormous issue in our schools today (Goodman, Goodman, & Flores, 1984). This is why the author chose to research effective reading instruction for …

A Handbook For First Grade Children's Literature: A Teacher's Guide To Pre-Reading Comprehension Strategies For The Second Language Learner, Tiffany Lynn Wise

All Graduate Projects

Relevant literature pertaining to reading, reading comprehension, comprehension evaluation, characteristics of readers, findings regarding strategy instruction and its use on comprehension, and specific pre-reading strategies was studied. The need for second language learners to receive comprehension strategies in order to develop schemata, activate prior knowledge, and develop meaning for unknown vocabulary was noted. Teaching specific reading strategies to increase the second language learner's comprehension of a text was emphasized. A handbook of pre-reading strategies to be used with first grade learners was created for teacher use. The handbook outlines each pre-reading strategy, its purpose, and the procedure to follow when …

Exemplary Bilingual Teachers In Puerto Rico: A Multiple-Case Study, Aurea Laracuente Araújo

Dissertations

Problem. Within a context of inadequate pre-service training, insufficient administrative support, and an ambivalent social environment regarding the teaching of ESL in Puerto Rico, a number of conscientious bilingual teachers try to overcome the odds of the system and have an impact on students' ability to speak English. Some even become exemplary teachers. How do they learn to meet so many expectations successfully in spite of real short comings found in their job, and how do they acquire the skills and competencies necessary to be exemplary bilingual teachers in Puerto Rico?

Method. A qualitative multiple-case study design was …

Promoting Reading Literacy In The Home Of Spanish Speaking Students, Erica G. Rodgriguez

All Graduate Projects

Research related to the bilingual and bicultural issues of emergent literacy, family literacy, and intergenerational literacy, factors that promote literacy, parent involvement, and family literacy programs was read, evaluated, and summarized. From this literature review it became evident that when children develop literacy skills in their native language and/or English and learn to interact with literacy, learning to read and write becomes easier. A handbook, written in English and Spanish, was designed and printed providing reading strategies and activities for parents to promote reading literacy in the home.

A Comparative Study Of The Language Assessment Battery, The Woodcock-Munoz Language Survey And The Portfolio Assessment Results Of Language Learners, Louise Langlois Chaker

Seton Hall University Dissertations and Theses (ETDs)

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Whole Language Experiences For Bilingual/Biliterate Students, Judy Karyl Ruliffson

Theses Digitization Project

No abstract provided.

Using Directed Listening-Thinking Activities To Increase Production In English For Spanish Speaking Fourth And Fifth Graders, Alma Rosa Gonzáles

Theses Digitization Project

This project used an active research approach in order to measure how the incorporation of Directed Listening-Thinking Activities (DLTA) in the classroom promoted increased production in English oral language skills for Spanish speaking fourth and fifth graders.

A Whole-Language Approach To Bilingual Language Arts Curriculum, Grades K-4, Martha M. Floyd

All Graduate Projects

Bilingual Language Arts objectives were established by grade level, K-4, in both Spanish and English. One hundred six limited English proficient students are participants in the bilingual program for which this curriculum was designed. This study suggests how selected objectives can be implemented using a whole language approach during a 1-week cultural unit. The intent of the curriculum design was that children learn language naturally when it is in a meaningful context. Implications for success in using a whole-language approach are discussed.

A Creation Of Pedagogical Children's Literature That Addresses Sexual Abuse And Child Abuse In A Bilingual Format, Karen J. Hernandez

All Graduate Projects

The purpose was to create a series of stories for children that deal with sexual and child abuse. The stories were written in Spanish and English. Special attention was given to make them relative to the Hispanic culture. Background research supported the existence of sexual and child abuse. Symptoms were listed and the rights and responsibilities of teachers to report suspected cases were identified. The use of creative fiction and bibliotherapy was suggested for prevention programs in an elementary curriculum.

The Language Of 5 1/2-Year-Old Children From Homes Where Macedonian, Vietnamese And An Aboriginal Tribal Language Are Used As The Language Of The Home, A. L. Mcgregor

Research outputs pre 2011

Throughout the world migration patterns and changing attitudes towards education and other cultures have led over the past three or four decades to a remarkable growth in the learning of second or foreign languages. Within this area the learning of English by speakers of other languages takes up the largest numbers and is to be found in every part of the globe.

Nevertheless to date comparatively little is known of processes and patterns in second language development. Evidence on phonological and semantic development is exceedingly skimpy. Hernandez (in Ervin-Tripp 1970), Malmberg (1945), Wode (1976) and Ervin-Tripp (1974) have examined the …

Observations On The Language Acquisition Of A Thai/English Bilingual Child, Michael A. Betcher

MA TESOL Collection

A child subject, bilingual in Thai and English, was studied during his 25th months for aspects of transference* and interference in his developing speech. A speach diary was kept on a daily basis. Attention was focused on prosodic features (intonation/tonality), word borrowing and code switching. Examples of all these phenomena were recorded, but the most significant was that of prosodic interference, wherein English intonation indicating stress, excitement or urgency was carried over into the strictly regulated Thai intonation system. * A term which is used to avoid the negative implications of "interference" and to indicate the use of a syncretic …

An Annotated Bibliography Of M.A.T. Projects, Reports And Papers In The S.I.T. Library, David Michael Bumbar

MA TESOL Collection

This project is an annotated and edited bibliography of the independent professional projects, reports and other materials that have been written by students in the Master of Arts in Teaching program. This booklet which is a reference guide to the MAT writings found in the S.I.T. library has been indexed according to the major topics within the MAT program and is accompanied by a set of index cards.

E.S.L. At Borrego Pass School: The Program For Kindergarten Through Second Grade, Anne Bermant

MA TESOL Collection

This paper is a report on my first year as an E.S.L. teacher. The paper describes the school where I worked and the program I set up there. Included are my personal feelings and beliefs about what I was doing. This paper deals only with my portion of the E.S.L. instruction at the school. For information on the upper level program (grades 3-5) refer to Charles E. Hancock's I.P.P. I have included in my paper suggestions for activities in working with young children (grades kindergarten through second) and some observations about working with Navajo children in particular.

The Efficiency Of Bilingual Children In Understanding Analogies In The English Language, Veta Walker Mercer

Language, Literacy, and Sociocultural Studies ETDs

It is felt that the bilingual population in the southwest is of significantly large enough proportions to warrant specialized emphasis on its education problems. These children need to become better comprehensive readers, not merely word-callers. Teachers frequently assume that if their pupils recognize the words of selection, comprehension is assured. Unfortunately, this is not true in many instances. There are many aspects of English language which might cause bilingual children some difficulty. A few of these might be the analogy, synonym, homonym, multiple meaning, antonym, and the idiomatic expression. This study is designed to reveal the extent which bilingual children …