Language and Literacy Education Commons^™

Approaches And Methods In Language Teaching: An Investigative Look At A Total Physical Response In Chattanooga Area Classrooms, Alicia R. Hannah

Honors Theses

I was sitting on a leather couch at a local hangout trying to cram for a test in my Advanced Spanish Grammar class. In front of me, I had my textbook open to a picture of a crowded South American intersection and I was frantically trying to memorize a list of more than 100 Spanish vocabulary words related to automobiles. I had been studying Spanish since the eighth grade and was just amazed that 10 years later I was still having trouble internalizing certain words. I was talking aloud to myself, trying to remember the verb "to start the car." …

Differences In Language Acquisition Among Students When Using Materials They Choose Vs. Teacher's Reading Program, Alicia Gomez Bastar

Theses and Dissertations - UTB/UTPA

This investigation considers four groups of university level students enrolled in remedial English as a foreign language courses at the University of Montemorelos, NL, México. The reading comprehension and vocabulary development of these 55 students were compared when the students selected their own reading materials and when the teacher's program of readings was used. In addition, the students' attitudes toward reading and the class procedures were considered. This research intended to compare two treatments, students' CHOICE and teachers' PROGRAM, in terms of student improvement for reading comprehension and vocabulary, as well as student attitude. The results showed significant differences for …

Attitudes Of Mexican Nationals Toward The Use Of Code Switching In The Rio Grande Valley, Jennifer M. Vojtko

Theses and Dissertations - UTB/UTPA

The purpose of this study is to establish the beliefs and attitudes of Mexican Nationals living in the Rio Grande Valley toward the use of code switching, or the use of two or more languages during a speech act. Because of the high influence of the Spanish language in the Rio Grande Valley, code switching is more commonly referred to as Spanglish. Researchers have been studying code switching since the early fifties; however, limited research has been conducted on attitudes toward code switching. The goal of this study is to offer a comprehensive look at the attitudes demonstrated by Mexican …

Measuring Spelling Growth Over Time In Elementary Writing Samples, Pamela M. Ansell

Masters Theses

Developmental spelling stage theories have been proposed and disputed for 30 years. The current study used Gentry's (1982) model to assign category ratings to narrative writing samples produced by 32 students over two years to observe developmental growth over time. In addition, quantitative measures were obtained from the samples, including an index of control (Laminack & Wood, 1996) and a percentage correct. Analyses were also used to test the effectiveness of using a writing lab approach (Nelson, Bahr & Van Meter, 2004) on spelling development. During the last half of second grade, all 32 students received intervention guided by the …

An Examination Of Relationships Of Reading And Writing Self-Efficacy Beliefs, Standardized Placement Test Scores, And Diverse Community College Students' Perceptions Of Those Relationships, Ann Woolford-Singh

Theses and Dissertations in Urban Services - Urban Education

Social cognitive theory explains the role that one's level of confidence plays in the accomplishment of a specific task. According to Bandura (1982, 1995), self-efficacy beliefs should align with performance. The purpose of this study was to explore the relationships among reading/writing self-efficacy beliefs and reading/writing standardized placement test scores of diverse community college freshmen. Additionally, this study sought to understand the sources of these students' reading/writing self-efficacy beliefs through the descriptions of experiences they feel have influenced those beliefs.

There were three major research questions: (1) What is the strength of the relationships among reading/writing self-efficacy beliefs and reading/writing …

Using Multimedia To Enhance Reading Skills In Modern Standard Arabic: Strategies To Enhance Reading Skills In Modern Standard Arabic – High Intermediate Level, Kamal Alekhnawy

Archived Theses and Dissertations

This thesis is an attempt to develop a software program designed to enhance reading skills of learners of Modern Standard Arabic at the high intermediate level. This is one of the very few attempts at creating CALL programs for Arabic learning, a medium that is in dire need of development if Arabic language teaching is to keep up with future trends in second language learning as a whole. Research was conducted on how reading skills can best be developed through traditional means as well as on how CALL programs might achieve better and faster results than those traditional means. The …

Building Bridges For International Internships, Sharron Gray Abernethy

Dimensions

Most universities regard internships as key elements in the development of strong programs in foreign language and international trade education. However, it is widely recognized that a successful internship program is difficult to establish and even more difficult to sustain. This article describes the University of Alabama in Huntsville’s foreign language international trade internship program and outlines the process the author used to establish it locally in year one and expand it to an international program in year two. The Business and International Education Office (BIE) of the U.S. Department of Education considers our program to be a model, and …

No Child Left Behind In Foreign Language Education, Lynne Mcclendon

Dimensions

The No Child Left Behind (NCLB) Act of 2001, the revised Elementary and Secondary Education Act, is one of the most sweeping educational reform movements in recent times. While there are many subcomponents of this Act, one area specifically touches on foreign language education: “highly qualified teachers.” This article examines the term “highly qualified teacher” as defined by NCLB, as well as effective practices highly qualified foreign language teachers, curriculum program specialists, and college of education instructors can employ to leave no child behind in foreign language education. Using this information, teachers, curriculum program specialists, and college of education instructors …

Using Learner And Teacher Preparation Standards To Reform A Language Major, Rosalie M. Cheatham

Dimensions

While foreign language educators in many university programs have worked to modify courses to reflect the emerging research on the best practices for enabling language acquisition by student learners, the overall curriculum design of language majors remains very similar to structures in place more than two decades ago. This article describes a series of initiatives that have led to a major redesign of a French curriculum at a state university that uses as its organizing principle the two recently developed professional Standards documents: the Standards for Foreign Language Learning in the 21st Century (National Standards in Foreign Language Education Project, …

Assessing Readiness Of Foreign Language Education Majors To Take The Praxis Ii Exam, Carol Wilkerson, Judith H. Schomber, Jana Sandarg

Dimensions

Ten of the 13 states in the Southern Conference on Language Teaching (SCOLT) region require the Praxis II Exam for teacher licensure in French, German, or Spanish. Perceptions of high failure rates on this exam call into question the quality of teacher education programs. Test takers and reviewers find required tasks and performance levels on the Praxis II unaligned with the expectations for beginning teachers established by the American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages (ACTFL). After describing the sections of the exam and their limitations, this article offers strategies to prepare students for the tasks required and ways …

The Tpr Test: Total Physical Response As An Assessment Tool, Scott T. Grubbs

Dimensions

The exigencies of producing students who are able to meet the demands of the global society have given second language study a new sense of purpose and importance among educators and policy-makers. Proficiency assessment, however, still relies heavily upon traditional discrete-item testing that focuses on grammatical structures and is often devoid of meaningful context. Total Physical Response (TPR), long a mainstay of foreign language instruction, has been frequently overlooked as a viable means for assessing proficiency. TPR is not only a valid means for gauging foreign language proficiency at increasingly complex levels, but it is capable of reinforcing core foreign …

Assessing The Impact Of Narrow Listening: Students’ Perceptions And Performance, Victoria Rodrigo

Dimensions

Narrow listening (NL) is an approach to developing listening skills at intermediate to advanced levels. NL refers to listening to a single segment extensively and repeatedly for the purpose of meaning. The first part of this article reviews the listening material available in the foreign language setting and presents a case for introducing NL. It is followed by a study of students’ perceptions of this approach and their performance on a listening comprehension test (N = 100). The results indicate that the practice of NL using audio library material is not only perceived as a useful and stimulating learning experience …

Accounting For Activity: Cognition And Oral Proficiency Assessment, Miguel Mantero

Dimensions

Framing the present investigation within activity theory, this research analyzes the speaking guidelines of the American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages (ACTFL) and places the role of cognition and co-construction of meaning at the forefront of determining oral proficiency in a foreign language. Eight Spanish Oral Proficiency Interviews (OPIs) were analyzed in an effort to understand the overall role of cognition in developing and assessing oral proficiency. The findings are that although the ACTFL Proficiency Guidelines–Speaking provide for an understanding of the various linguistic functions involved in speaking, they do not completely reflect the level of cognition evident …

Assessment Practices In Foreign Language Education

Dimensions

SCOLT Dimensions Volume 39

Student Electronic Portfolio Assessment, Denise Egéa-Kuehne

Dimensions

A brief review of the traditional types of assessment used in second language education is followed by a discussion of the limitations of standardized testing. The author then addresses the challenge of assessing a student’s development over time with a performance-based approach, showing how one alternative assessment form, the electronic portfolio, can help teachers keep track of a student’s progress over a long period of time and also provide valuable information for curriculum specialists, principals, school boards, parents, and the community. The technologies necessary to support the development of electronic portfolios and its stepby-step procedures are described.

Integration Of Keyboarding With Fourth Grade Writing, Kevin Russell

All Graduate Projects

Keyboarding is an enhancing tool in the writing process of elementary school children in grades one through four. Studies show that learning computer keyboarding with appropriate software and instruction in the elementary grade level is a skill that is proactive towards student growth in their own writing skills. The development of supplemental keyboarding and writing activities and assessment rubrics are presented. A total of ten different technologically enhanced writing activities are presented for use in the classroom or a lab setting. The activities are complete with lesson plans, design templates, overviews of materials and assessments. The activities are designed to …

Morpheme Acquisition In Second Language Learners, Timothy Andrew Schuwerk

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This study explored morpheme acquisition in learners of English as a Second Language (ESL). Specifically, it looked at the development of eight selected individuals from Korea over the course of an intensive 8-week instruction program and tracked their acquisition of three specific English morphemes: indefinite articles used with singular count nouns, progressive -ing forms, and third person -s markers. The individuals were given an assessment test to place them at the correct level within the program prior to their selection for the study. The participants provided four sets of data in the form of writing samples at fixed intervals during …

Fay B. Kaigler Children's Book Festival, Karen Rowell, Rosemary Chance, University Of Southern Mississippi

Fay B. Kaigler Children's Book Festival Programs

The program for the thirty-seventh annual Fay B. Kaigler Children's Book Festival held on the campus of The University of Southern Mississippi in Hattiesburg, Mississippi in 2004.

The Role Of Imaginative Literature In First Year Composition, Randee Teresa Cowles

Theses Digitization Project

This study steps into a long running discussion of the place of imaginative literature in First Year Composition (FYC) courses. Chapter one surveys the scholarship, including the work of Erika Lindeman and Gary Tate, two compositionists whose debate has been at the center of this discussion, and three scholars' responses to the issues their debate raises. Instructors might be able to include imaginative literature in FYC courses if they use the literature to support the courses' rhetorical goals rather than to "teach the literature" itself.

Bridging The Gap By Using Mini Shared Reading, Ljubica Radisich Quilici

Theses Digitization Project

The purpose of this study was to investigate an alternative teaching strategy for assisting five first grade students who were struggling with learning how to read. This project examined how Mini Shared Reading, a melding of Shared Reading and Guided Reading, enabled these students to progress five to ten reading levels in five weeks.

Aiding Non-Reading Spanish Speaking Adults With Worksource Orientation And Usage Through Low-Level Spanish Reading Workshops, Amy Claussen

All Graduate Projects

The goal of this project is to teach adult Hispanic low-level readers to utilize the Worksource of Kittitas County and to improve their reading in their language of origin. Research shows that the transfer of knowledge from the primary language to a new second language is not possible without mastery in the primary language first.

Flexible Reading Groups For Literacy In A First Grade Classroom, Sharon Ann Parker

All Graduate Projects

The professional literature on the configuration of flexible reading groups for reading instrnction in a regular first grade classroom was examined to determine if flexible grouping yields any benefit to students who have been assessed to be below grade level in reading. The research showed support for the idea that flexible, fluid grouping is an accelerant to producing higher levels of reading improvement. As a result, an instructional handbook was created to aid educators in the implementation of flexible reading group instruction.

Effective Reading Comprehension Strategies For Native American Adolescents With Reading Difficulties, Mary C. La Velle

All Graduate Projects

The need for culturally appropriate reading comprehension pedagogy for Native American Adolescents was studied in light of multicultural philosophies. The historical trend to assimilate this group of students rather than acknowledge their unique contributions was an area targeted for improvement in this project. A need was established to target reading comprehension since the evidence points to a lack of explicit instruction in this area for middle school students. Strategies for promoting reading comprehension were identified in a teacher's manual that will be used in conjunction with the novel, Walk Two Moons, by Sharon Creech. Colville Tribal Elders discussed the comprehension …

Implementing Writer's Workshop In A Kindergarten Classroom, Katie Hauschildt

Graduate Research Papers

Can children be taught to write in kindergarten? Should children be taught to write in kindergarten? How do you teach children to write in kindergarten? These and many other questions about the appropriateness of writing and how to teach writing have been swirling around the education community for many years. As a kindergarten teacher I myself began wondering about these questions and how to answer them. I was intrigued by the idea of providing a framework in my classroom that would encourage emerging readers and writers to create and manipulate their own text.

In an effort to better understand the …

"Speling It Rite Eevn Aftr The Test" : What Students Can Tell Us, Jennifer L. Heckmann

Graduate Research Papers

This paper describes a teacher inservice designed to aid teachers in implementing a developmental spelling program in an elementary setting. Developmentally appropriate instruction in spelling takes into account a student's existing knowledge of words. Such a program consists of understanding each student's level of knowledge, selecting word lists to meet the students' needs; providing explicit instruction about spelling patterns, and continually assessing students' spelling progress through authentic, written work

The questions this project will address include: (a) Why should a developmental spelling program be implemented, (b) what research supports a developmental approach to spelling instruction, (c) what are the potential …

Vocabulary Development In A Literature-Based Instructional Program, Gwen Johnson

Graduate Research Papers

Teachers need to assist students in developing rich vocabularies in a variety of ways. As teachers present effective strategies for learning vocabulary, students will improve their speaking and writing abilities as they grasp newfound meanings of words. This project reviews the professional literature on vocabulary development instruction and then presents a staff development plan that will help teachers see the benefits of exploring different ways that students can increase their vocabulary knowledge in a literature-based instructional reading environment.

Writing In The Kindergarten Classroom : It Can Be Done!, Stephanie Kartman

Graduate Research Papers

When discussing early writing Vicki Spandel (2001) brings up the following very important point: "We need to notice the little things (not just the big milestones) and put them to work to encourage our young writers, who are often doing much more than they get credit for'' (p. 321 ).

This project was built upon the idea that teachers would support writing through various instructional methods such as interactive, shared, and direct writing instruction. These activities are meant to supplement the Marion Independent School District kindergarten curriculum.

Shared Reading For Teaching English As A Foreign Language To Young Learners In Russia, Inna V. Kuznetsova

Graduate Research Papers

Shared Reading has proven to be very effective in developing language and literacy skills of children in the West. This project introduces Shared Reading as a curriculum component of English as a foreign language for young children in Russia. Review of the literature regarding the effectiveness of Shared Reading is described. The project includes two units of four lessons each that illustrate implementation of Shared Reading, oral language and other literacy activities. The project concludes with specific recommendations for dissemination of this work.

Implementation Of Literature Circles, Dawn Lewis

Graduate Research Papers

Literature circles are a current and effective technique requiring a group of students to read the same text and then meet to discuss their thoughts on what they read. The purpose of the project is to explain to teachers the components of literature circles and the benefits they have for students. The project will look specifically at what both the student and teachers roles' should be throughout the implementation. It will also inform teachers of different ways to incorporate literature circles into their own classroom.

Reading Motivation Of Middle School Students, Sandra K. Leinen

Graduate Research Papers

The purpose of this literature review was to examine the motivation factors that influence middle school students' reading motivation. The literature review addresses the issue of declining reading motivation of middle school students as they progress through the grade levels. This review deals with four main areas: motivation, intrinsic motivation, extrinsic motivation, and self-efficacy. Literary resources were gathered and results of a reading survey completed by students at AHST Middle School were included. Information from both sources were reviewed and analyzed. The results of the literature review and the Avoca-Hancock-Shelby-Tennant (AHST) Middle School database indicate ways to increase middle school …