Language and Literacy Education Commons^™

Embracing Écriture Inclusive Students Respond To Gender Inclusivity In The French Language Classroom, Rebecca Lynn Garbe

Honors Program: Student Scholarship & Creative Works

In 2017, the French Academy published a declaration opposing the official integration of écriture inclusive into the French language for fear that it would put it in “péril mortel.” Specifically, the Academy targeted a newly proposed punctuation, le point milieu, or the middot, that would allow those writing in French to express both the masculine and feminine endings of words with a dot between the two. This addition would disrupt traditional gendered interpretations within the language and make space, not only for the goals of French feminists, but also for visibility of non-binary French-speaking people. The Academy argued, however, …

The Language Outcomes Of Hmong Dual-Language Immersion Program, Chao Vang

Doctorate in Education

The purpose of this study was to investigate the impact of a K-12 Hmong dual-language immersion program on kindergarten through fifth-grade Hmong students’ academic performance in the category of reading Hmong and English. Moreover, the parents of those students were investigated concerning specific factors they used in choosing a dual-language immersion program for their child. Hmong bilingual students have different perspectives about their cultural identities, retaining the Hmong culture, and learning English when the Hmong language was used as the instructional language. It was also imperative to determine the most prevalent factor that parents consider when selecting a program with …

Progress In International Reading Literacy Study: Measuring And Making International Comparisons Of Student Achievement In Reading, Australian Council For Educational Research

Assessment GEMS

Progress in International Reading Literacy Study (PIRLS) is an ongoing, cyclical international study of student achievement in reading. It is directed by the International Association for the Evaluation of Educational Achievement (IEA). PIRLS measures the reading comprehension performance of students and collects a wide array of contextual information about students, schools, curricula and educational policies and systems. PIRLS is designed to inform educational practice and policy by providing an international perspective of teaching and learning in reading literacy.

A Case Study Comparing Fingerspelling Production Between Two Interpreters With Eipa Scores Of 3.0 And 4.0., Morgan Miller

Theses/Capstones/Creative Projects

Approximately 14% of Deaf and hard-of-hearing (D/HH) students in K-12 educational settings use a sign language interpreter for access to the general education curriculum and the classroom environment . The Educational Interpreter Performance Assessment (EIPA) is commonly used to evaluate the skills of an interpreter as a prerequisite of being hired. This case study analyzes and evaluates the fingerspelling (FS) production of two American Sign Language interpreters while interpreting a lesson. The two interpreters had different EIPA scores: one had recently attained a 3.0 and the other held a 4.0 rating. The data shows marked differences in fingerspelling production in …

Letter From The Editor

Georgia Journal of Literacy

A Letter from the Editor

A Balanced Approach To Literacy Instruction And Support For Diverse Learners, Bonnie Mondesir, Robert A. Griffin

Georgia Journal of Literacy

In this article, the authors explore various theories to inform educators and educational leaders who are looking for ways to better meet the literacy needs of all of their diverse students, including striving readers, culturally and linguistically diverse readers, and proficient and excelling readers. They call on educators to embrace a balanced approach that is informed by multiple bottom-up and top-down theories to better meet the needs of all their students. Focus is first given to Gough’s and LaBerge and Samuels’ information processing models (bottom-up models) followed by the psycholinguistic, schema, and transactional reader response top-down theories. Discussion of both …

A Book Review Of The Writing Strategies Book, Dale Suzanne Ioannides

Georgia Journal of Literacy

Instructional Coach Dale Ioannides shares a review of Jennifer Sarravallo's The Writing Strategies book.

About The Authors

Georgia Journal of Literacy

Read this to learn more about this issue's authors.

Life After The El Label: Conversations About Identity, Language, And Race, Veronica Arizaga Aguayo

Doctoral Dissertations

Currently, the English Learner (EL) label is found in every facet of education concerning learners with home languages other than English. While the EL label is designated to objectively identify students who are indeed learning English, it also brings with it an unintentional, outward forced identity that institutes an unwillingness among peers and teachers to socially and academically engage with EL-labeled students. Not only has the label warranted inequitable academic opportunities, wide graduation gaps, and a consistently wide achievement gap, it has also perpetuated a deficit model and negative perceptions of the learners, especially with the racialized rhetoric that has …

The Early Grade Reading Assessment: Assessing Children’S Acquisition Of Basic Literacy Skills In Developing Countries, Australian Council For Educational Research

Assessment GEMS

The Early Grade Reading Assessment (EGRA), administered individually in about 15 minutes, measures the most basic foundation skills for literacy acquisition in the early grades. The assessment was developed by the Research Triangle Institute (RTI) through funding provided by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) and the World Bank, in addition to resources provided by RTI. In the context of this emerging focus on measuring basic literacy skills, EGRA was developed to provide a battery of assessments of basic reading skills for developing countries to monitor the status of early reading in primary schools. The assessment tool was …

Implementing Writing In Content Areas: Teachers’ Perceptions As Writing Instructors, Matthew Davis Shemwell

Theses and Dissertations

Teachers across content areas have a shared responsibility to incorporate writing instruction into the curriculum; however, analysis of needs assessment survey data collected during Striving Readers Comprehensive Literacy grant application in 2014 revealed that the faculty of the participating high school did not embrace writing instruction responsibility. The purpose of the study was to investigate teachers’ perceptions, confidence, and use of writing instructional strategies throughout content areas at the conclusion of implementation of the five-year grant. The researcher conducted an explanatory sequential mixed methods design that utilized a survey, interviews, and lesson plan document analysis. The survey sample consisted of …

The Impact Of The Use Of Mobile Computing On Vocabulary Learning In The Language Classroom, Lorena Harger

Graduate Research Papers

Mobile computers offer accessibility anytime and anywhere, and they are being used more and more for teaching and learning. The purpose of this review is to explore the impact of using mobile applications and devices in vocabulary learning among language learners. The review also addresses the perceptions of students and teachers regarding the use of mobile computers in the classroom. In this paper, thirty peer-reviewed journal articles published in the last eleven years were critically analyzed. From the reviewed research, it was found that using mobile computers not only enhances vocabulary learning and retention but also contributes to students’ motivation …

A Library Without Books: The Importance Of Language Representation In Public Libraries, Caelyn Armshaw

Theses/Capstones/Creative Projects

The focus of this project is to assess the degree of access to Spanish-language books in the Omaha Public Library system. After constructing a map of all Omaha Public Libraries using Global Information System (GIS) and analyzing the population around those areas, I cross-referenced individual library catalogs to compare raw numbers of English-language books to non-English and specifically Spanish-language books. The ultimate finding of this project is that even though approximately 10% of Omaha citizens included in the census speak Spanish as their primary language, Spanish-language books make up only 2% of the total books across all Omaha Public Libraries. …

Embracing Écriture Inclusive Students Respond To Gender Inclusivity In The French Language Classroom, Rebecca Lynn Garbe

Audre Lorde Prize

In 2017, the French Academy published a declaration opposing the official integration of écriture inclusive into the French language for fear that it would put it in “péril mortel.” Specifically, the Academy targeted a newly proposed punctuation, le point milieu, or the middot, that would allow those writing in French to express both the masculine and feminine endings of words with a dot between the two. This addition would disrupt traditional gendered interpretations within the language and make space, not only for the goals of French feminists, but also for visibility of non-binary French-speaking people. The Academy argued, however, …

Grading For Growth: Introducing New Assessment Approaches In Traditional Grading Models, Beth A. Walsh-Moorman, Katie Ours, Aubrey Deaton, Maura Mcginty-O'Hara

Language Arts Journal of Michigan

This article explores three teachers’ experiences introducing a new assessment approach in an existing school-wide, grading framework. Teachers explore how they were able to manipulate the school framework in a way that allowed (and required) students to revise and rewrite until they had achieved mastery on key writing assignments.

Staying Power, Elizabeth M. Brockman

Language Arts Journal of Michigan

Using a wide-angle lens spanning three decades, the author proposes that a 1991 OJELA article has “staying power” in the field. Its original purpose—to celebrate the highly recursive revision and personal voice of Emily, a high school junior—is still relevant today, nearly thirty years after the fact. In other words, Emily (who must be nearly 50!) can still vividly model revision strategies and habits of mind with the power to enlarge our own students’ writerly horizons, bolster their rhetorical confidence, and accelerate their literacy growth. However, English teachers today can do more than value the original purpose; they can broaden …

The Tesol 6 Principles Of Exemplary Teaching Of English Learners: Perceived Effectiveness In The Community College Esl Classroom, Stephanie N. Marcotte

All Theses And Dissertations

Community college English as a second language (ESL) programs provide targeted English language support to diverse student populations. Limited research exists pertaining to the instruction taking place within community college ESL programs. The purpose of this phenomenological study was to explore community college ESL faculty-perceived effectiveness in their use of the TESOL 6 principles for exemplary teaching of English learners. The study asked, What is the community college ESL faculty’s perspective of their effectiveness in their application of the TESOL 6 Principles? Participants in this study included full-time, adjunct, and retired professors from community colleges across Massachusetts. They were invited …

The Future Of Narrative Discourse Analysis: First Steps Toward Automated Scoring, Ryan Sainsbury

All Graduate Plan B and other Reports, Spring 1920 to Spring 2023

The purpose of this study examined the extent to which measures calculated using an automated, online discourse analysis program demonstrated predictive variance of a hand-scored metric of oral narrative proficiency with regards to macrostructure elements. An additional goal of this study was to explore the potential clinical utility of these automated measures by examining the extent to which they correlated with a hand-scored metric of macrostructure proficiency.

Pearson product correlation and multiple regression analyses were utilized to examine 240 oral narratives of children ages 6-9 that were analyzed using both an automated discourse analysis program and a hand-scored metric of …

An Investigation Of Pictography And Verbal Rehearsal On College Students’ Recall Of Expository Texts, Joshua Woodruff

All Graduate Plan B and other Reports, Spring 1920 to Spring 2023

Purpose: This study investigated the effects of pictography with and without verbal rehearsal on informational recall of two types of expository texts. This study is part of a research program to further develop a treatment for younger students with language impairment called Sketch-and-Speak.

Procedure: 66 undergraduate students between the ages of 18 and 40 were tested on recall of concrete versus abstract expository texts in a randomized group experiment across three conditions: pictography with and without verbal rehearsal versus re-reading. Participants were trained on the assigned testing condition and then proceeded to the experimental procedure. In the experimental procedure, …

Increasing Arabic Language Graduate Students’ Awareness Of The Impact On Culture Of The Arab Labor Immigrants, Wafa Mahdi

Capstone Projects and Master's Theses

Arabic language students may learn how to write, read, and speak the language but may not understand contemporary Arab cultural aspects. One cultural aspect that Arabic language students should be aware about is the issues of labor migration in the Arabic-speaking regions. Understanding about labor migration may aid in acquiring job opportunities and in effective, culturally-appropriate communication in Arab countries. Therefore, I created a two days lesson for Arabic language graduate students at Middlebury Institute of International Studies at Monterey In Monterey, California.

Caregivers' Perceptions Of Literacy Toolbox For Children In Foster Care, Raelynn Meade

Honors Program Theses

At any given time, there are about 443,000 children in foster care system in the United States (Morton, 2015). When children reside in a home that lacks temporary stability or safety, foster care is a family-supported service to ensure children are placed in safe and stable homes (U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, n.d.). At no fault to their caregivers, 35% to 73% of children in the foster care system experience language delays. This occurrence is significantly higher than the 6% to 15% seen in children who are not raised in foster care (Krier, Green, & Kruger, 2018; Stock …

Meeting The Needs Of Students In A Communicative Classroom, Rachel J. Singer

All Graduate Plan B and other Reports, Spring 1920 to Spring 2023

This portfolio is a compilation of written pieces which highlight what the author believes to be key issues and perspectives in the field of second language teaching. The content of the portfolio is centered in second language acquisition theory and is framed by the author’s diverse teaching experiences as a university Arabic instructor, ESL aide, and middle school Spanish teacher.

The portfolio contains three sections: (1) teaching perspectives, (2) research perspectives, and (3) an annotated bibliography. The teaching perspectives section contains the author’s teaching philosophy statement which emphasizes communicative language teaching, target language use in the classroom, and the role …

Student-Centered, Interaction-Based, Community-Driven Language Teaching, Sharon Lyman

All Graduate Plan B and other Reports, Spring 1920 to Spring 2023

This portfolio is a compilation that highlights some of the author’s accomplished work while in the Master of Second Language Teaching (MSLT) program at Utah State University (USU). Organized into sections that reflect the author’s teaching and research perspectives as a MSLT graduate student and instructor, who taught intensive English reading, writing, and conversation courses for the Intensive English Language Institute (IELI).

In the first section, teaching perspectives, the author describes her desired professional environment, shares her personal teaching philosophy statement, and accounts for her professional development through classroom observations. In the second section, research perspectives, two research papers and …

Teacher Expectations, Self-Efficacy, And Collective Efficacy In Three Tennessee Literacy Networks, Amanda Tinker

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this quantitative study was to determine if there was a significant difference in the dependent variables- teacher expectations, self-efficacy, and collective efficacy among the three levels of the independent variable- membership in one three literacy networks in Tennessee- Leading Innovation for Tennessee (LIFT), Read to Be Ready Coaching Network (RTBR), and Tennessee Early Literacy Network (TELN)- and if significant correlations existed between the dependent variables for each network. The population consisted of 161 K-3 Tennessee teachers who had been involved in the work of one of the three networks. Participants responded to an online survey via Google …

Students' Attitudes Towards Standardized Testing: A Literature Review, Kelly Gard

Curriculum and Instruction Undergraduate Honors Theses

Standardized testing is a task that all students must undertake during their educational careers. Standardized tests are large determinants to course placements, exceptionality placements, grades, school sanctions or rewards, and education policy. It is imperative that all students have an equal opportunity to succeed on standardized tests. However, bias, stress, and anxiety in standardized testing often hinders the opportunity for many students to excel on the tests.

The purpose of this literature review is to discuss the research conducted on standardized testing bias which includes the prevalence of testing bias as well as the causes and types of testing bias. …

Departments And Disciplinary Gatekeeping: The Sociolinguistics Of Spanish In Us Academia, José Del Valle

Publications and Research

In his contribution, José del Valle looks at the intersection of the sociolinguistic study of Spanish in the US and the transformations of Spanish language departments in higher education. Del Valle traces the history of the institutionalization of Spanish teaching and study and its effects on linguistic research’s position within Spanish departments. Shifts in approaches to the use of language in social practice, and the growing demands on language units to act as service departments for language learners, has isolated scholars in those institutional homes from broader integration into sociolinguistic research.

Getting To Denver: Instructor Participation In The Design Of Writing Program Assessment Technologies, Soha Fransis Turfler

English Language and Literature ETDs

This dissertation presents a framework for writing instructor participation in the design of writing program assessment technologies. I base this framework on a case study into the participation of 16 non-tenure track (NTT) and graduate teaching assistant (GTA) writing instructors in the design of a final portfolio assignment prompt for the first-year composition (FYC) program at the University of New Mexico (UNM). I specifically question how Writing Program Administrators (WPAs) and assessment designers can address the needs, interests, and values of writing instructors in the design of writing program assessment technologies, including the important need for agency and professional autonomy. …

Educator Researched Methods And Interventions That Increase Below Level Readers’ Fluency And Comprehension, Shawnee Knott, Shannon Tovey

Georgia Journal of Literacy

A student walks into a classroom multiple grades below grade level and already on day one that student is behind and will most likely be behind their entire school year. Many teachers are faced with this scenario year after year. Students entering their classrooms unprepared for the on-level content they need to be on. Reading below grade level is just the beginning of the learning gap that exists in today’s classrooms. Teachers work hard to close that gap, but by upper elementary is it too late? What can teachers do to help these students grow and become successful learners?

This …

What’S Next For Literacy Education In Georgia? An Interview With Dr. Caitlin Dooley, Deputy Superintendent, Georgia Department Of Education, Shannon Tovey Howrey

Georgia Journal of Literacy

An interview with Dr. Caitlin Dooley

Making “Sense” Of Grammar Instruction: A Multisensory Approach To Teaching Grammar, Sarah Myroup

Virtual 2020 Spring Student Showcase for Research and Creative Inquiry

A piece created by a future teacher for future teachers, this presentation is based upon an article written to submit to the annual journal published by the Assembly for the Teaching of English Grammar. Intended to foster ideas to create a multisensory approach to grammar instruction, this presentation offers three recommendations for future teachers to consider: make grammar instruction personal, adaptable, and inquiry-focused. This presentation will detail each recommendation with evidence from research and personal experiences.