Bilingual, Multilingual, and Multicultural Education Commons^™

Seven Steps To Engaging At-Risk Students With Text, Jelani Jabari Ph.D.

National Youth Advocacy & Resilience Conference

Diminishing student engagement with text remains a colossal challenge with children at-risk. In this highly interactive session, participants will explore a seven-step process for engaging students with text as well as techniques for presenting highly engaging literacy lessons. Attendees will walk away with names, reading level, descriptions (and actual samples) of several engaging texts.

‘‘Where I’M From’’ And Belonging: A Multimodal, Cosmopolitan Perspective On Arts And Inquiry, Tiffany A. Dejaynes

Publications and Research

The paper draws upon a year-long practitioner inquiry with adolescents who conducted auto-ethnographies as part of a research course in their urban public high school. Through ethnographic data collection, youth researched their own lives, cultures, and beliefs with the end goal of producing multimodal films that represented their embodied senses of ‘‘Where I’m From’’, broadly defined. As youth collected and interpreted culturally and personally meaningful artifacts, stories, memories, and family discourses, the cosmopolitan habits of mind and heart that it is argued are important for nurturing reflective citizens of the world. In the process of video production or self-curation, youth …

Teac 921b: Seminar In Literacy Studies (Special Topics: Schooling And The Multilingual Mind)—A Peer Review Of Teaching Project Benchmark Portfolio, Theresa Catalano

UNL Faculty Course Portfolios

This portfolio will document the creation and implementation of a new doctoral seminar in my department. This introductory course to multilingualism and schooling (TEAC 921B) will cover topics related to teaching and learning in the multilingual classroom. The key goals for creating this portfolio are to aid me in creating this new doctoral seminar that reflects and builds on departmental goals for graduate students. In particular I would like to document and address the implementation of two new activities to my teaching ; a language study/journal, and the creation of a documentary film. I foresee using this course portfolio as …

A Multiple Case Study Of Whiteness And Critical Literacy Practices Among White Elementary Teachers In Urban Public Schools, Amanda Rose Vandehei

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

The purpose of this study is to investigate whether white elementary teachers' perception of Whiteness influences critical literacy practices in elementary classrooms in an urban school district in the Southwest United States. This study consists of six white elementary school teachers.

Using Hardiman's model of White Identity Development, (WID) this study specifically explores the phenomenon of Whiteness and how teachers view themselves as having white privilege and advantage in American society. Hardiman's WID model includes five stages of white racial identity development in which a white person begins with no awareness of him or herself as a racial being and …

Reader's Theater For Deaf Students: A Tool For Developing Literacy Skills, Caroline Suggs

Undergraduate University Honors Capstones

Reader's theater is a method used in classrooms to encourage the development of literacy skills. Research has shown that the use of reader's theater in a classroom is linked to increased fluency, increased comprehension of text, and positive attitudes towards reading. Because research also shows that Deaf people are often delayed regarding literacy in English, a unit employing this method serves to bridge the gap between expected and actual levels of English literacy among deaf students. Intended for use with Deaf middle school students who sign, this unit of reader's theater is a plausible option in a bilingual approach since …

Grammar Enhanced Biliteracy: Naskapi Language Structures For Facilitating Reading In Naskapi, William Joseph Jancewicz

Theses and Dissertations

The Naskapi language is the language of instruction in the early primary grades of the school in the Naskapi community. Only recently have Naskapi-speaking teachers received formal instruction in pedagogy, with a cohort of Naskapi teachers following courses for their Bachelor of Education degree towards careers teaching in the Naskapi language in their local school. These adults are highly motivated to become literate in their mother tongue in order to teach or prepare curriculum materials in the Naskapi language. This thesis explores how basic grammatical structures can be mastered, and provides insight into the form that pedagogical grammatical instruction should …

Community University Project For Literacy (Cupl), Carol Chandler-Rourke

Office of Community Partnerships Posters

The Community-University Project for Literacy (CUPL) provides an academic structure for undergraduates to work as tutors in community-based learning centers. Students who enroll in CUPL commit to tutoring four hours each week at a community learning program while attending a credit-bearing academic seminar at UMass/Boston offered each semester. That is the Language, Literacy and Community in the Fall semester and ESL Tutor Training Seminar in the Spring semester.

Educating English Language Learners: The Literacy Gap In The Underacheiving Demographic, Stephanie Merrick

Senior Honors Theses

With the recent rise in immigration, the demographics of the American classroom are changing. English Language Learners are becoming more common, and with this change comes the challenge of effectively educating them. Unfortunately, this demographic has been observed to have a major achievement gap, as many students are placed in mainstream classrooms without basic literacy skills. This gap can be bridged through intentional focus on literacy with these students. This thesis examines styles of education for English Language Learners and instructional strategies in an effort to identify which styles and strategies can bridge the literacy and achievement gap most effectively.

Culturally Responsive Teaching: An Investigation Of Effective Practices For African American Learners, Antonia L. Hill

Dissertations

Diversity increasingly characterizes the population of the United States. As the number of African Americans, Latina/os, and Asian populations increase, there will be drastic implications for teaching and learning in classrooms where students of color dominate. The purpose of this mixed methodological study was to examine the characteristics, practices and frequency of use of fifty -two strategies employed by two teachers in a predominately African American urban public school to determine their impact on student learning and engagement. The fifty-two effective and culturally responsive strategies used in this study were created by Dr. Johnnie McKinley, Professor in Educational Psychology at …

Working For And With Latino/Latina Immigrant Newcomers In The English Language Arts Classroom, Bernadette Musetti, Spencer Salas, Theresa Perez

Faculty Articles

The article discusses how the English language arts practitioners work with the Latin immigrants who are newcomers in learning English language in middle and high school in the U.S. Accordingly, practitioners provide more instructional time to contextualized learning and literacy on first and second language and advocate them to attain a high level of literacy. Moreover, it states that the literacy development of the newcomers must be anchored in patience, flexibility and conscientiousness.

Global Learning Community Network: Heritage Language Learning Project Using Social Interaction Software, Melda N. Yildiz

NERA Conference Proceedings 2008

This paper presents the study called "Global Learning Community Network." The project promotes teaching language, culture, history and literacy through media production in teacher education. It focuses on: (1) examining cultural and linguistically responsive curriculum designed for K12 students who were in the US as heritage language learners; (2) multilingual tutoring and mentoring to K12 students about culture, language, and history of the US and Turkey using Web 2.0 technologies; (3) indentifying teacher candidates' reactions, discoveries, and experiences with the project; and (4) the process of developing learning objects such as digital storytelling projects focusing on across cultures throughout history.

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 …

Five Approaches To Literacy In Correctional Education, Thom Gehring, Gary H. Sherwin

Journal of Critical Issues in Educational Practice

This article introduces literacy from a few “big picture” perspectives, and then reviews five paradigms that have shaped the teaching and learning of literacy in residential confinement institutions for juveniles and adults. The paradigms are specific to correctional education, but they will be familiar to all alternative teachers and advocates of literacy instruction.

Extroversion And Introversion As Factors Affecting Adult English-As-A-Second-Language Learners, David Augustine Baptiste

Theses Digitization Project

The purpose of this research is to investigate if there is a significant difference in literacy skills between Level-Two extroverts and introverts after three years of English instruction at the community-college level.

Empowering Pre-Adolescent Second-Language Learners In The Middle School Years, Robert Charles Quintana

Theses Digitization Project

The thesis explores sociolinguistic issues facing pre-adolescent English-as-second-language learners. Topics covered include literacy issues, communicative competence issues at the intermediate and advanced English language development (ELD) levels, language and power relationships that affect pre-adolescent English language learners, politeness as a sociolinguistic tool, and the benefits of students acquiring the language of cooperative learning. The implications of these topics culminate in the development of a social studies curriculum unit designed for the middle-school classroom.

Resources To Support And Expand Native American Kindergarteners Shared Reading Experiences Integrated With Open Court Unit 6, Stephanie Lynn Hull

All Graduate Projects

Relevant literature pertaining to shared reading, the benefits of shared reading, shared reading and the diverse learner and recommendations for the Native American learner was studied. The need for using culturally relevant material in the classroom and creating a positive learning environment for Native American students was discussed. A project utilizing shared reading strategies in the kindergarten classroom was created for teacher use in the Mount Adams School District. The project included the integration of culturally relevant stories with the objectives of Open Court Unit 6. The project also included a list of resources available from the Harrah Elementary School …

The Role Of Nifl Content Standards And Casas Competencies In An Esl Adult Education Teacher’S Course Development, Mary Anne Sullivan

MA TESOL Collection

This project explores the relevance of the National Institute of Literacy (NIFL) Equipped for the Future (EFF) Content Standards to an Adult Education ESL Teacher’s course development and the prioritization of the CASAS competencies in an Adult Education ESL Teacher’s course development. It examines their role among other sources of input for teacher course development. And finally it concludes that the degree of implementation of the EFF Content Standards and CASAS competencies is dependent on the appropriateness to the context.

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 …

Tenant Partners For Community Education: A Family Literacy Project, Pamela J. Anderson

MA TESOL Collection

The purpose of this paper is to discuss, describe, and evaluate a family literacy program I developed as a pilot project for Southeast Asian immigrant families with elementary school-aged children living in the Tenderloin neighborhood of San Francisco.

I will give an overview of this project and review recent research on the different approaches to family literacy. Using a working definition of family literacy based upon current research and implementation in the field, the Indochinese Housing Family Literacy Project-a description of its structure and expected outcomes, lesson plans, and useful findings from current working programs-will be explored and described. Finally, …

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.

An Intergenerational Literacy Project For Migrant Families, Sandra E. Harmening, Amy C. Kiesz

All Graduate Projects

The relationship between student achievement and parental involvement was reviewed and found to be significant. A model project was developed to include seven migrant families intergenerationally within the context of the classroom. The purpose was to enhance the relationship between students and parents/guardians and between these low literacy families and the school institution. The result was projected to be a better understanding of each family's heritage, an increase in volunteerism at the school site, more interest in school work and accomplishment, and the possible residual effect of parental desire to improve their literacy skills.

Development Of A Family Literacy Program To Improve English Reading And Language Acquisition Of Limited English Speaking Parents And Children., Terri Lee Ritter

All Graduate Projects

A family literacy program to assist Hispanic parents and children in improving English reading and language acquisition skills was developed. Limited English speaking families in Quincy, Washington were served by a variety of lessons, developed in response to need. The results showed a desire by families to continue with the project, as well as an higher achievement in score on the reading and language sub-tests of the Metropolitan Achievement Test by students having a seventy percent program attendance rate in comparison with limited English speaking students of non-participating families. Program modifications for the following school year were discussed.

Nine Complementary Principles To Retain Adults In An Esol/Literacy Program, Edmund T. Hamann

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

The following list of principles is my attempt to share general recommendations to teachers of ESOL and/or limited literacy adults based on my specific practice running a bilingual family literacy program and confirmed by my more recent experience as a volunteer bilingual literacy teacher at the Asociación Latinoamericana (in Atlanta). Though I believe in bilingual classroom environments, I think the principles identified here are also pertinent to monolingual ESL environments.

Where Are The Women? A Report Into Issues Related To Women's Access To Workplace Literacy Programs, Marion Milton

Research outputs pre 2011

This study sought to investigate the provision of workplace literacy courses available for women in female dominated industries, and women's access to and participation in those courses. Further, it was intended to interview women who had dropped out or not accessed available courses.

Prior to discussing the study, it seems appropriate to locate it within the current economic, social and political climate of the Australian workplace, with a particular focus on the increasing demand for literacy skills.

Teaching Esl Literacy To The Functionally Illiterate Adult: Using Language Experience And Words In Color, Kimberly Gerould

MA TESOL Collection

This thesis attempts to arrive at a personal approach to teaching reading in English as a second language to functionally illiterate adults in a multilingual ESL classroom. There is a brief review of some of the research on teaching reading and on the reading process, as well as a review of the major teaching reading methodologies. Two approaches to teaching reading, the Language Experience Approach and Words in Color, are then focused on. The author suggests ways in which these two approaches can be adapted to the adult ESL classroom and integrated with other approaches. Finally, a series of concrete …

An Esl Program With Laotian Refugees, Patricia A. Ryan-Croes

MA TESOL Collection

This project is a report on an ESL program developed for and taught to a Laotian couple who arrived in Brattleboro, Vermont in December 1979. The program took place from January to March 1980. The purpose of this report is to present and discuss issues, incidents, suggestions and conclusions regarding the teaching of ESL to Laotian refugees which may be helpful to program organizers and teachers.

The first part of the report details the refugee couple's background before their arrival in Brattleboro. Next is a description of the process of organizing the program and establishing the classroom procedure. This is …

Methods And Materials For Esl Literacy, Ann Ebersole Strauch

MA TESOL Collection

Literacy education for adolescents and adults has been a perplexing problem for ESL teachers, who are generally unprepared for this specific type of instruction. Materials designed for native-English speakers are not suitable for ESL literacy instruction, and teacher-training institutions are not providing preparation for ESL literacy for prospective ESL teachers. Furthemore, very little research has been done on ESL literacy. In spite of this dearth of information and lack of suitable didactic materials available, substantial numbers of nonliterate students are seeking ESL instruction. This thesis addresses the need for methods and materials specifically intended for ESL literacy instruction.

Library research …

The Development Of English As A Second Language In Aboriginal And Migrant Children : A Pilot Study, A. L. Mcgregor

Research outputs pre 2011

Research programs developed in Queensland under the Van Leer Foundation Project and the Mount Gravatt Teachers College Language Research Project have yielded practicable approaches for the gathering and analysis of speech data from children of various age groups. On the basis of this research it has been possible to study patterns of language development in first language and to develop appropriate literacy materials for children at various levels of primary education. To date comparatively little is known about patterns of second language development. The question as to whether structures develop in the same sequence and at the same rates as …

Features Of Serbo-Croatian For Language Teachers, Eric G. Vaszolyi

Research outputs pre 2011

Teachers of migrant children experience a great many difficulties in trying to understand and resolve their pupils' language problems. One basic problem is all too familiar: the teacher speaks English and the migrant child does not understand it or only understands it to some, rather limited, extent. Another problem area: the pupil picks up some English in the classroom, on the playground and out in the street but speaks it with a peculiar accent and peppers it with phonemic, grammatical and semantic errors. The child's deviations from the generally accepted patterns of English (i.e. the prevalent variety of English spoken …