Curriculum and Social Inquiry Commons^™

The Small Christian College - Best Hope For The Liberal Arts?, Patrick Allen

Faculty Publications - College of Education

As a faculty member in the College of Business, one of my favorite activities is advising new students during registration time. After looking over the course schedule book and deflecting questions concerning the identity of the easiest professor in Writing I, I like to talk with students about their personal goals and dreams for the future.

A Self-Awareness Centered Approach To Curriculum Development, Elaine Lucas Hayes

MA TESOL Collection

This is a collection of classroom activities developed by the author which reflect the hypothesis that culture is more of an inward than an outward. process, and that by developing the inner person, students about to enter another culture (as well a the general population) are best able to cope with the differences and complexities of the world in which they will be living. By investigating just who they are and what is important to them in life, people are able to make choices in life based on that awareness and not upon the pressures of the world around them, …

Meetings Without Measure: A Process Of Understanding, Lassie (M.F.) Dudley

MA TESOL Collection

The ability to understand others is not a fortunate talent or an inherited trait. There is a recognizable process of understanding which can be taught, learned, or practiced at any moment of the day. A person's ability to understand others is directly related to his ability to see others truthfully. In turn, his ability to see others truthfully is in direct relation to his freedom from his own desires and perceived needs. Self-acceptance, which is self-love, is crucial in attaining freedom from our own perceived needs, and therefore central to the process of understanding.

During the summer of 1984, I …

Second Language Acquisition In The Field: A Personal Experience, Mary Chase Dindorf

MA TESOL Collection

This report is an examination of the results of my own beginning second language acquisition in the field. For one year I observed myself in the process of acquiring Bahasa Malaysia and Bahasa Indonesia in the respective countries. I was able to document my experiences in a language acquisition diary. It is the data from which this report was written.

I found that my second language acquisition in the field is a complex process determined by need as well as preferred personal strategies, and limited by a saturation monitor.

The success of this acquisition depends primarily upon my needs as …

Ten Basic Grammar Hurdles For Mandarin Chinese Speakers: A Contrastive Guide For The Beginning Teacher Of Adult Mandarin Chinese Efl Students, Mark Anthony Steele

MA TESOL Collection

This handbook is written specifically for EFL teachers of Mandarin Chinese speaking students at the high elementary and intermediate levels of study. It is intended, through contrastive analysis, to provide the teacher with:

a) an understanding of why these students have particular difficulty with certain structures and sentence patterns in English;

b) a tool in predicting what ten of these patterns are; and c) strategies and activities for use in the classroom that will help the student overcome these ten hurdles in learning English.

The plan of this handbook rests on the belief that the more we as teachers understand …

Teaching/Training Social Language In Galang Refugee Camp: A Learning Process, Jon Phillips

MA TESOL Collection

From 1984 through 1986, I worked as an ESL Supervisor in the Intensive English as a Second Language component at Galang Refugee Processing Center in Indonesia. My job was to train locally hired teachers, and to provide them direction and support through classroom observation and individual teacher evaluation. In 1985, I and the other ESL supervisors perceived a great concern among refugees about their ability to interact with Americans in the United States. To meet that need, we wrote the Social Language unit, which was added to the ESL curriculum. The following paper will describe the rationale for writing such …

Country Music: Access To American Culture In The Esl Classroom, Deborah Hadas

MA TESOL Collection

This paper discusses the use of country music lyrics in teaching American culture. Country music, as any aspect of popular culture, reflects the values of the society which produce and experiences it. The paper starts with a brief history of country music. Then the values of work, family, romantic love and individualism are analyzed and matched with appropriate songs. Within each value a dichotomy emerges: the contrast between a cultural ideal and a more ambiguous reality. The paper concludes with suggestions as to how the songs may be used in the ESL/EFL classroom. Included are nine transcriptions and lesson plans, …

Planning Task-Oriented Field Trips For Beginning Esl Students, Nikki Sarita Ellman

MA TESOL Collection

Field trips into the surrounding community can be valuable learning tools for ESL students living in the target country. These trips expose students to different facets of American culture and give them the opportunity to communicate with native speakers. Preliminary activities, tasks to be done during the trips, and follow-up activities all help students get the most out of these excursions. Beginners in particular need these activities to orient them to what they are going to see, to focus their attention, and allow them to process their feelings about the experiences. This paper addresses the many factors that must be …

Identification Of Key Strategies For School Effectiveness And How They Are Implemented, As Perceived By Administrators And Teachers In Selected Exemplary Private Secondary Schools, Hedley J. Eager

Dissertations

Problem. Educators in the 1970s and early 1980s identified characteristics of effective schools. But researchers had not addressed the problem of identifying what strategies exemplary schools used to make the characteristics effective, nor how the strategies were implemented.

Method. Administrators and teachers in selected exemplary private secondary schools responded to the Quality Schools Index for Private Schools (QSIPS). Key strategies for school effectiveness were ranked on the basis of mean weighted scores for: (a) extent of use of the strategies within the school; and (b) their importance to quality schooling. Selected personnel were interviewed in six schools to determine how …

Teacher Education And The Politics Of Engagement: The Case For Democratic Schooling, Henry A. Giroux, Peter Mclaren

Education Faculty Articles and Research

Henry A. Giroux and Peter McLaren argue that many of the recently recommended public school reforms either sidestep or abandon the principles underlying education for a democratic citizenry developed by John Dewey and others in the early part of this century. Yet, Giroux and McLaren believe that this historical precedent suggests a way of reconceptualizing teaching and public schooling which revives the values of democratic citizenship and social justice. They demonstrate that teachers, as "transformative intellectuals," can reclaim space in schools for the exercise of critical citizenship via an ethical and political discourse that recasts, in emancipatory terms, the relationships …

Readings In American History And Culture For Japanese College Students A Materials Development Program, Teresa Bruner Cox

MA TESOL Collection

This paper describes a materials development project carried out at a junior college in Osaka, Japan. The purpose of the project was to develop a set of English language readings about American history and culture suitable for use in a content area course for Japanese students majoring in English at the college. Theory and related research on readability applicable to EFL/ESL content-focused materials are surveyed and discussed in an attempt to identify key factors and to develop an approach to writing the readings and supporting exercises. This is followed by a description of how six American history and culture readings …

Syllabus Guideline For The Congress Bundestag Language Training Program With Sample Lesson Plans For Structural, Sociolinguistic, And Cultural Specifics Plus Comments On The Academic Preparation Component Of The Program, Ursula Verena Holzer

MA TESOL Collection

This project is based on the Congress Bundestag Program of 1986, in particular the language training aspect. It first introduces the program with its goals and objectives and the syllabus that was worked with in August 1986. Based on this experience, a revised syllabus guideline is designed here which contains

A. Phonetics

B. Theme/Range of Vocabulary

Grammatical Features and

Cultural/Sociolinguistic Aspects

C. Feedback and Assessment

D. Competencies

E. Academic Skills Development.

Additionally, some structural, sociolinguistic and cultural specifics from the syllabus are examplified through lesson and activity plans. Finally, the paper gives a description of what was done in Academic …

Presenting Cultural Awareness, Andrew Willimetz

MA TESOL Collection

This project is a collection of activities and materials for teaching U.S culture in ESL classes. The overall purpose of the activities and materials IS to provide structured opportunities for students to interact with the target culture, either directly through the cultural environment of the U.S or indirectly through viewing the values and beliefs of the students' "original culture.

Beginning Esl Reader – A Teacher’S Guide, Ann Catherine Smith

MA TESOL Collection

This project is a collection of ten lessons, each lesson based on a reading. The readings are for beginning adult students, whose reading ability is limited to identifying initial consonants and high-frequency sight words. The readings average three short paragraphs and include basic vocabulary and structures. They discuss themes which are relevant issues to refugees and/or immigrants adapting to United States culture -discrimination, moving to another city, losing a job, family relationships. The themes are not necessarily relevant only to refugees and immigrants but because these populations are newer to the society, issues such as losing a job can be …

Beyond The Classroom: Teaching Esl To Adult Indochinese Refugees Via Experiential Activities, Andres Ray F. Reyes

MA TESOL Collection

This paper deals with the use of beyond-the-classroom experiential activities to teach ESL and aspects of U.S. culture to adult Indochinese refugees in the U.S. The paper begins with a discussion of the needs of refugees as they come face to face with their new setting, the U.S. The following section discusses the importance of experiential activities as a tool to address the needs of refugees. The next section contains an experiential activities guide based on six major topics: supermarket, post office, transportation, telephone, hospital and employment. The guide presents activities that can be used with adult Indochinese refugees to …

Beginning An Esl Program: Underlying Issues And Site-Specific Recommendations, Jonathan D. Reasoner

MA TESOL Collection

This paper examines the issues involved in starting up an English as Second Language program. The range of issues discussed is limited to three major areas: assessment of language needs in a community; curriculum considerations for the target student group; and teacher training. There are two separate parts within the paper: Part I, a consideration of underlying issues involved in beginning an ESL program in general; and Part II, potential plans for program start-up at an actual site--the First Baptist Church of Flushing, New York.

Planning for a new program at the specific site serves to focus the general discussion …

Functional Literacy: Should It Be Mandatory?, Jeannette Swartz

UNF Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Millions of United States citizens are functionally illiterate. Included are persons who cannot read or write or perform simple arithmetic at all. The reasons for failure of voluntary literacy are reviewed, and consideration given to mandatory literacy as a solution to the problem. The effect of functional illiteracy on the military is examined, as well as the relationship of illiteracy to poverty and crime. A survey of educators reveals an awareness among them of this illiteracy problem, and also reveals that some of these educators favor mandatory literacy. The issue of civil rights in relation to mandatory literacy is discussed, …

Teaching Reading With Worlds In Color In A Home Schooling Environment, Grace Indoccio Matty

MA TESOL Collection

This paper purports that a home learning environment is a workable alternative to a formal school education. It examines the reading acquisition process of one child through the approach, Words in Color, in a home schooling environment. It's intent is to heighten awareness of the traditional system of education and to describe materials and techniques that can be used in helping a child to learn to read the English language.

Symbols Of America Standard-Bearer Of A New World Order An Autobiographical Interpretation Of U.S. Culture And Civilization In The Twentieth Century, Andrew J. Dimauro

MA TESOL Collection

Throughout my internship in Latin America I was faced with the dilemma of representing U.S. culture and civilization. This paper represents the synthesis of an introspective process of self-realization as a cultural being. The format is partially autobiographical and partially historical. The process involved the separating out of certain cultural tendencies derived from a largely materialistic background of training and replacing these with a more spiritual view of American identity which I perceived to be consistent with the original intentions of the Founders of the U.S.A. The process thus led to a more enlightened vision of U.S. culture and its …

Dialects In Discourse: Regional Speech Of United States English, Laura Wilson Bergan

MA TESOL Collection

This project provides materials that are to be used to improve the listening comprehension and communicating skills of intermediate and advanced students of ESL by exposing them to the sounds and rhythms of different dialects of United States English. The project consists of samples of genuine speech that are unrehearsed and unedited, as is the 'real English' that ESL students encounter in the United States. By listening to the tapes, students can grow accustomed to the natural flow of casual spoken English.

The Dangers Of Project Wild: A Special Report, John W. Grandy, Jennifer Lewis, Kathleen J. Savesky

The Institute for the Study of Animal Problems [ISAP]

In response to our concerns, Project WILD officials asked our organizations to submit a critique of the material, together with any changes which we consider necessary in the materials. We have done so. The result is this Special Report.

You will see that our organizations have provided a detailed and thoroughly documented critique of Project WILD which conclusively supports our two primary recommendations:

(1) Discontinue distribution of the Project WILD guides until the problems which we have documented are satisfactorily solved; and,

(2) Notify, insofar as possible, all of those who have received the Project WILD guides and ask them, …

An Analysis Of The Black Image In Children's Literature In Terms Of Characterizations, Illustrations, And Language, Joan Smith Dickson

Theses and Dissertations

This descriptive study analyzed two samples of children's literature to determine the frequency, if any, of negativism toward black people in terms of characterizations, illustrations, and/or language. One sample consisted of eighteen (18) books published prior to 1965 which had been removed from elementary school libraries because they were "outdated and portrayed black characters in a demeaning, stereotyped manner" (Lisby, Note 1). The second sample of twenty-five (25) books published since 1965, depicting at least one major black character, was randomly selected from elementary school libraries. The two samples of books were read and analyzed using a checklist instrument to …

Changing Negative Attitudes Of Elementary Children Toward The Aged Through Positive Interaction And Aging Education Within The School Curriculum, Mary Emily King

UNF Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Children develop attitudes at an early age, both positive and negative. Negative attitudes toward the aged can be changed through direct contact between the elderly and through aging education within the curriculum. Children have negative attitudes toward the elderly and the aging process. Direct contact can change these views by providing interaction between children and the elderly while aging education can bring about an awareness of the aging process and of the aged. With aging being an inevitable and important part of being human, it is necessary as well as important for educators to help children develop positive attitudes toward …

Exercises For Student-Generated Social And Political Issues In The Esl Classroom, William Michael Conley

MA TESOL Collection

This paper is based on a second internship which took place at the TASIS school in England during the summer of 1983. The paper includes three lessons entitled "Values Geography," "Problem in the City," and "The Changing City." These three exercises were used to create an environment in which students could develop a heightened awareness of social and political issues and their importance on a local and global level. These student-determined issues are also designed to increase cross-cultural awareness and improve students' communicative competence.

American Culture As Seen Through Magazine Advertisements, David Edward Cignoni

MA TESOL Collection

This paper is designed as a resource for teachers who wish to teach American culture, and the influence of advertising on this culture, through the use of magazine advertisements. The lessons which can be derived from the materials are planned for advanced students of English who possess a good conversational ability in the language and who wish to learn more about American culture.

Part I presents for the reader a general overview of American advertising, describing how it developed, how it works, and how it mirrors and influences our culture and behavior. Part II describes the various appeals which advertising …

An Analysis Of Twenty Books For Young Adults In Terms Of Family Characteristics, According To Selected Sociological Variables, Elaine Vann Wise

Theses and Dissertations

An analysis of the families in twenty books, five taken from each of the 1980-1983 lists of Books for Young Adults, was used to determine if the families in the books accurately portrayed the American family. Three instruments were applied to the fictional families to gather information on the family history, characteristics, and relationships.

The families in young adult literature were found to accurately reflect the American family in marital status, number of children per family, and the persons with whom children were living. An unrealistic number of the families, however, were characterized as middle class or affluent. Only two …

Stephen F Austin State University Journal Of Education Vol. 1 No. 1, Mary Appleberry, Ronnie Barra, Nancy Clark, Kent Cochran, Michael Fitsko, Thomas D. Franks, Patsy Hallman, Betty Harrison, Douglas J. House, Milton Payne, Dale Perritt, Glenn C. Shinn, Wendall Spreadbury

Stephen F. Austin State University Journal of Education

No abstract provided.

The Quality Of Public Education In Boston: An Assessment And Some Recommendations, Karen Seashore Louis

Center for Survey Research Publications

Motivation, self-esteem, achievement and the development of tolerance and acceptance of others -- these are the goals that most, like Crain, et al., have come to accept as legitimate objectives of public schooling. Yet, there is substantial opinion that the public schools of Boston have been unable to achieve standards in these areas that are acceptable to the public, the students who occupy the schools, and the professionals who run them. For example, a recent survey of Boston residents' attitudes toward the schools indicates that approximately 3/4 of all respondents -- irrespective of race, or whether there were any school …

The Visual Arts In The Civilization Classroom, Thomas M. Carr Jr.

French Language and Literature Papers

Although the visual arts have long been a feature of civilization courses, instructors do not always exploit their full potential. This paper presents a checklist to help teachers identify the relevant aspects of the arts for study. Its goal is to facilitate comprehensive treatment of works of art by focusing on three areas: the aesthetic dimension, the social context, and the artist’s own experience. The checklist is followed by a series of activities which encourage students to integrate the various aspects of the arts while practicing their language skills.

An Experiment Language Training Program Under The Microscope, Shari Joy Berman

MA TESOL Collection

This study examines an adolescent language learning program that took place in Mexico in 1979. It includes a case study of a group of adolescents that traces their attitudes and development through an intensive Spanish course and subsequent home-stays. It offers suggestions as to location, pedagogy and scheduling based on participant feedback and personal observation. It also outlines specific areas for further research.