First and Second Language Acquisition Commons^™

Educating Students Who Do Not Speak The Societal Language: The Social Construction Of Language-Learner Categories, Guadalupe Valdés, Luis E. Poza, Maneka Deanna Brooks

Faculty Publications

On 21 September 2012, California Assembly Bill 2193 was approved by Governor Jerry Brown. The bill added sections to California’s Education Code defining the terms long-term English learner and English learner at risk of becoming a long-term English learner. It mandated that the Department of Education collect data on the number of students corresponding to both new categories and report those data to school districts. This specific example of the construction of categories and labels matters because it is a clear example of how coexisting discourses and language ideologies provide a set of cultural rules, conditions, practices, and power …

The Effects Of Explicit Listening Strategy Instruction On The Listening Comprehension Of English As Second Language (Esl) Community College Students, Yi Guan

Doctoral Dissertations

This mixed methods study explored the effects of explicit listening strategy instruction on the beginning-level ESL learner's listening comprehension at a community college in Northern California. Most previous studies measured the effectiveness of listening strategy instruction by comparing students' test scores, but little research explored the students' listening strategy development and their perceptions of the strategy instruction. Furthermore, no prior research exists on the effects of listening strategy instruction among community college students.

The researcher employed the concurrent triangulation approach, collecting and analyzing both quantitative and qualitative data simultaneously. Data sources included interviews, a listening test, background surveys, and classroom …

Study Abroad: An Essential Part Of Language Acquisition, Emillie Kenne

Honors Program Theses

The present qualitative study will demonstrate and provide evidence from personal interviews that other students had similar invaluable experiences after studying abroad. Two direct quotes from these interviews portray the impact studying abroad had on them. Lisa, a participant in the present study, stated, “It is impossible to explain to someone the emotions of living in a strange place with strange people and learning to love them in such a short amount of time.” Another participant, Rachel, expressed that, “You have lived experiences nobody here can ever understand, and you made memories you can try to share with people, and …

“We Give Way:” 6 Narratives Of The Academic Negotiation Between English And Afrikaans At The University Of Stellenbosch, Alexis K. Boyer

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

The negotiations between the African National Congress (ANC) and the National Party in 1992 led to the creation of South Africa’s eleven national languages including English and Afrikaans. This paper discusses the intricate relationship between these two languages at the University of Stellenbosch. This project attempts to understand how undergraduate and postgraduate students have negotiated the rise of English as a universal academic language and the maintenance of Afrikaans as Stellenbosch’s core language of instruction. The project works to determine how students view the changes to the policy and how those changes affect them, looking particularly at the effect of …

Language At Play: Digital Games In Second And Foreign Language Teaching And Learning. Language Learning & Technology, Steven L. Thorne, Erin Watters

World Languages and Literatures Faculty Publications and Presentations

A review of Language at Play: Digital games in second and foreign language teaching and learning Julie Sykes and Jonathan Reinhard 2013 ISBN 10: 0-205-00085-1 US 157 pp. Pearson New York, US

by Steven L. Thorne, Portland State University and University of Groningen and Erin Watters, Portland State University

Teaching Pronunciation: Is Explicit Phonetics Instruction Beneficial For Fl Learners?, Elizabeth M. Kissling

Latin American, Latino and Iberian Studies Faculty Publications

Pronunciation instruction has been shown to improve learners’ L2 accent in some, though certainly not all, cases. A core component of traditional pronunciation instruction is explicit lessons in L2 phonetics. Studies suggest that Spanish FL learners improve their pronunciation after receiving instruction, but the effect of phonetics instruction has not been directly compared with other pedagogical alternatives. This study reports on the pronunciation gains that first, second, and third year learners (n = 95) made after receiving either explicit instruction in Spanish phonetics or a more implicit treatment with similar input, practice, and feedback. The target phones included a …

Language Teaching Research & Language Pedagogy (Review), Elizabeth M. Kissling

Latin American, Latino and Iberian Studies Faculty Publications

This book extends Chaudron’s (1988) review of L2 classroom research to include the studies published in the last thirty years, with the intention of providing technical knowledge to teachers interested in conducting research or using research to inform their teaching. The scope is restricted to studies that investigate the effect of some instructional artifact or procedure on learners’ knowledge of the L2, for the most part within face-to-face classroom interactions. Ellis organizes the research into broad topics of interest and further subdivides them by theoretical or methodological construct. He balances presentation of research in both the cognitive and socio-cultural traditions …

The Lived Experiences Of Native Louisiana French Speakers Entering English-Only Elementary Schools In Lower Bayou Lafourche, Jolynda H. Strandberg

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The purpose of this hermeneutic phenomenological study was to investigate the lived experiences of native Louisiana French speakers entering English-only elementary schools in lower Bayou Lafourche, Louisiana. Native Louisiana French speakers entering English-only elementary school was defined as those whose home language was Louisiana French prior to entering elementary school. While language attrition for non-English speakers and Louisiana French culture had been explored, the in depth, lived experiences of native Louisiana French speakers entering English elementary schools were unexplored (Blyth, 1997; Ryon, 2002; Sexton, 2000). Understanding how entering English-only schools affects student perceptions and identity was important in determining school …

The Role Of Expectations On Nonnative English Speaking Students' Wrtiting, Sara Marie Van Dan Acker

Dissertations and Theses

This study centered on the expectations of a non-native English-speaking undergraduate student and her teacher in a general education course at Portland State University during winter term 2012. This was a qualitative case study, where I collected data throughout the duration of the course by means of interviews, classroom observations, and written assignment sheet data. I triangulated verbal data from interview transcripts from the two participants, along with data from the observation notes and the assignment sheets in order to gain a better understanding of the expectations each participant had about writing assignments.

Data from four sources were collected and …

Pedagogía De Hablantes De Herencia: Implicaciones Para El Entrenamiento De Instructores Al Nivel Universitario, Lina M. Reznicek-Parrado

Department of Modern Languages and Literatures: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

This study researches the differences in pedagogical needs between learners of Spanish as a Foreign Language (FL learners) and learners of Spanish as a Heritage Language (HL learners) at the university level. By using the UNL Modern Languages and Literatures Department as an illustrative case and based on an analysis of the Heritage Language student profile in the context of the United States, this study seeks to explore arguments in favor of providing training for university-level instructors of Spanish that responds to the specific pedagogical needs of Heritage Language Learners.

The relevancy of this study is not only based on …

Language Learning, Ecological Validity, And Innovation Under Conditions Of Superdiversity, Steven L. Thorne

World Languages and Literatures Faculty Publications and Presentations

This article describes three pedagogical proposals oriented toward moving language learning to the center of higher education, and further, to emphasizing the importance of both continued first (L1) and additional/foreign (L2) language learning as central to academic and professional success. The first project, titled Language-Integrated Knowledge Education (or LIKE), aims at making explicit the linguistic resources necessary for full participation in written and spoken academic contexts, in both students' first as well as (potentially) multiple foreign languages. The second project describes the benefits and rationale for broadening the use of online intercultural exchange within foreign language education as well as …

Global Learning Outcomes Of A Domestic Foreign Language Immersion Program, Kathleen Ann Godfrey

Dissertations and Theses

There is a critical need for college students to receive an education that fosters global learning in preparation for life in an increasingly interdependent and interconnected world. Universities recognize this need and endeavor to provide a range of programs that target global knowledge and skills, and meet the needs of traditional and non-traditional students. Domestic foreign language immersion programs can contribute to student global learning and development by providing students with an opportunity to participate in a rich global learning experience in the U.S. While some researchers have investigated impacts of domestic foreign language immersion on language proficiency, few studies …

Semantic And Phonological False Memories In Adults' First And Second Language, Amber Victoria Sapp

Undergraduate Honors Thesis Collection

I explored second language acquisition in adults by examining false memories for semantically and phonologically related word lists in both the participants' first language and second language. I expected less proficient bilinguals who are initially acquiring their second language would make more phonological false memory errors, like children learning their first language. In contrast, I anticipated that more proficient bilinguals would make more semantic false memory errors in the DRM paradigm as the semantic stores for their two languages overlap more fully. Forty-one English-Spanish bilinguals (High Proficiency: n = 17; Low Proficiency: n = 24) completed a false memory task …

Implementing A Culturally And Linguistically Responsive Phonics Curriculum That Incorporates Music To Meet The Needs Of English Language Learners In The Response To Intervention Process, Danielle Miller

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The purpose of this study is to investigate the effect of the Sing, Spell, Read, Write (SSRW) phonics curriculum that uses explicit and systematic methods and incorporates music to teach literacy skills implemented as a tier-two reading intervention in the Response to Intervention process to meet the cultural and linguistic needs of English Language Learners. A sequential explanatory mixed methods design will be used to explore the research questions. Using a quantitative quasi-experimental comparison method, the researcher gathered archived data relating to ELLs reading achievement using the reading portion of the Criterion-Referenced Competency Tests and the STAR Reading assessment. The …

English Loan Words In Japanese: Exploring Comprehension And Register, Naoko Horikawa

Dissertations and Theses

English loan words (ELWs) have become a considerable part of the contemporary Japanese vocabulary. Meanwhile, it has been shown that there are individual differences in the rate of ELW comprehension. Among the factors for low comprehension is age; people over 60 years old have been shown to comprehend fewer ELWs than the overall age group. As Japan is expected to soon enter the era of an aging society, the issue of ELW comprehension is likely to present serious social and personal problems. The purpose of this study was to identify the current state of frequently used ELWs in contemporary written …

Comparing The Teaching Of Culture In Esl/Efl Classrooms, Daniela Silva

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The present research is interested in investigating if culture is approached in efl and esl classrooms. If it is, we want to know the differences in curriculum (textbooks and syllabi), especially as it pertains to cultural knowledge, in an efl class in Brazil, compared to an esl class in the united states. We will also investigate the classroom practices for incorporating culture into the English language classrooms in those contexts. Finally, we will check which cultural teaching approaches are evident in those efl and esl classrooms. Although it is difficult to define precisely what is meant by the term "culture", …

Aplicación Pedagógica De La Lingüística De Corpus A Una Clase De Gramática Avanzada De Español Como Segunda Lengua, Yanira B. Paz

Hispanic Studies Faculty Publications

Este estudio recoge las experiencias de la enseñanza de un curso de gramática avanzada de español como segunda lengua usando la lingüística de corpus (LC) como herramienta pedagógica. Si bien el uso pedagógico de LC en lenguas como el inglés ha sido ampliamente reportado, son escasos los estudios relacionados con el español. Como se desprenderá de estas experiencias, la LC permite el estudio de las estructuras de la lengua (objetivo de una clase de gramática avanzada) y, al mismo tiempo, permite ver estas estructuras y sus usos en producciones reales y naturales aparte de presentarlas en contextos textuales y culturales …

English Language Learners: The Impact Of Language And Socio-Cultural Factors On Learning, Lori Navarrete, Silvana M. R. Watson

Counseling & Human Services Faculty Publications

[Introduction] Our daily educational experiences can be enriched by learning in culturally and linguistically diverse classrooms because we learn from others whose experiences and beliefs are different than ours. We learn to communicate effectively and respectfully with individuals of varied backgroundsand then may then think twice about stereotypes, prejudices, and discriminatory behaviors because we grow as individuals, as stewards of knowledge, and as change agents. We become good citizens in a pluralistic society.

Aplicabilidad De La Tipología De Funciones Retóricas De Las Citas Al Género De La Memoria De Máster En Un Contexto Transcultural De Enseñanza Universitaria, David Sánchez-Jiménez

Publications and Research

The aim of this paper is to compare the rhetorical functions gathered from the citations of (14) fourteen master´s theses written by seven Spanish and seven Philippine authors. A typology of nine categories was used in order to identify the cultural rhetorical differences that exist in the use of citation from the contrast between contrasting this element in the Philippine and Spanish cultures. The methodology used is textual analysis of the linguistic context of these citations and its subsequent classification within these nine categories. The results show that there are quantitative and qualitative differences between the cultural conventions of citations …

The Effect Of Direct And Indirect Corrective Feedback Taking A Sociocultural Approach, Brenda Aromu Wawire

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Debate on the effectiveness and usefulness of written corrective feedback has centered on Truscott's 1996 article that placed a strong case against grammar correction as ineffective and harmful and therefore should be abandoned. A growing body of research has proved the value of judicious and purposeful error correction and has also put forward guidelines to guide such pedagogy. The second language acquisition process is deemed to be a very complex and slow process. Therefore it is paramount that corrective feedback be structured according to an individual learner's linguistic ability. Contributing to this research base, this study investigated whether there is …

The Relationship Between Student Self-Efficacy And English Proficiency In A University Intensive English Program, Vanessa Carrie Cook

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the relationship between learner self-efficacy and English-language proficiency in a native English environment involving participants from various non-native English backgrounds. Participants were 43 English language learners in a university-level Intensive English Program in the Southeast United States. Previous studies, including those by Idrus and Sivapalan (2010); Nasseri and Zaferanieh (2012); Rahimi and Abedini (2009); Teng (2005); Tifarlioglu and Cinkara (2009); Wong (2005); and Hsieh and Kang (2010), have examined self-efficacy and learning outcomes for students who shared a comlanguage and were studying English in the students' native language environments. Findings in these …

Intersection(S) Between Sociocultural Knowledge, Classroom Discourse And Stance, John Munyui Muchira

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Speakers of all languages align their talk to that of their peers in order to create identity in social discourse. While students' interactions in class reveal awareness of their personal educational achievements, they also exhibit a desire to inform others about their socio-cultural knowledge, their beliefs, and feelings. A number of studies have shown how participants create interactional environments where they can not only expand their knowledge in instructional styles but to a great extent construct and reconstruct their personas. Sociocultural knowledge and stancetaking has a great impact on classroom discourse and language learning. My study was conducted on an …

The Development Of Korean Children’S Abilities To Use Structural Cues For Sentence Comprehension, 연세대학교 심리학과, Minju Kim, Hyun Joo Song

Psychology Faculty Articles and Research

The present study used a preferential looking paradigm to examine the types of structural cues used by 24- and 21-months-old Korean children when processing the meaning of sentences with a novel verb in Korean. In the first two of the three experiments, participants were shown two videos positioned adjacent to each other, depicting independent or causative behaviors, and were made to listen to sentences with a nominative or accusative case marker. It was found that in Experiment 1, the 24-month-old infants looked at causative rather than independent behaviors for longer in the accusative condition, but not in the nominative condition. …

A Phenomenology Of Academic Support In Culturally And Linguistically Diverse Homes Of At-Risk Students, David Barber

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

I examined the home environment and the amount of academic support non-English speaking parents are able to provide for their English Language Learner (ELL) children in the United States school system. In particular, the focus is on the families of children who struggle academically in the state of Georgia, where non-English speaking children are mainstreamed into regular education classrooms with limited support. Although there has been a great deal of research on how ELLs learn and what type of program can be used to best facilitate mastery of academics as they are learning the English language, the focal point of …

The Semiotic Ecology And Linguistic Complexity Of An Online Game World, Steven L. Thorne, Ingrid Fischer, Xiaofei Lu

World Languages and Literatures Faculty Publications and Presentations

Multiplayer online games form complex semiotic ecologies that include game-generated texts, player-to-player communication and collaboration, and associated websites that support in-game play. This article describes an exploratory study of the massively multiplayer online game (MMO) World of Warcraft (WoW), with specific attention to its qualities as a setting for second language (L2) use and development. This empirical study seeks to answer the following question: What is the nature of the linguistic ecology that WoW players are exposed to? Many studies have described the developmental opportunities presented by commercially available gaming environments (e.g., Gee, 2003, 2007), their value as sites of …

Digital Games For Language Learning: From Hype To Insight?, Frederik Cornillie, Steven L. Thorne, Piet Desmet

World Languages and Literatures Faculty Publications and Presentations

Special issue of ReCall topics the concept of ludic engagement as a form of developmentally productive activity specifically digital game-based second or foreign language learning (DGBLL).

Not You/Like You, With You: Toward A Praxis Of Love, Learning, And Liberation In Teaching Efl Writing — On Zombies, De-Colonial Feminisms, And Freire In Efl Contact Zones, Jessmaya Morales

MA TESOL Collection

This paper explores EFL writing as a critical contact zone in which identity and subjectivity are found, denied, contested, de/constructed and occupied. The author opens with an account of a dream, utilized as a metaphor to examine EFL learning through the analytical lens of Paulo Freire’s Pedagogy of the Oppressed. The paper’s first section is a self-reflexive discussion of Freire’s pedagogy and why his unambiguous analyses of power, subjectivity, and the “banking system of education” are vital to the field of ELT. In the second section, the author discusses subjectivity, identity, and intersectionality as rooted in the work of …

Cuisenaire Rods: Pedagogical And Relational Instruments For Language Learning, Sevilay Akarcay

MA TESOL Collection

Cuisenaire Rods are pedagogical and relational instruments with great potential for exploring the way a language works. With their flexibility and simplicity, they allow the students to focus on the process of learning; helping them notice patterns, make associations, and engage in a social and personal relation with the language and deepening their awareness of themselves as learners. The Cuisenaire Rods’ potential for creating simplicity within complexity enables a way of working with language that engages the playful and creative powers of the users. In the introductory part of the paper, the author explores Caleb Gattegno’s approach to learning and …

Genetic Characteristics Of An Ancient Nomadic Group In Northern China, Haijing Wang, Lu Chen, Binwen Ge, Ye Zhang, Hong Zhu, Hui Zhou

Human Biology Open Access Pre-Prints

Nomadic populations have played a significant role in the history of not only China but also in many nations worldwide. Because they had no written language, an important aspect in the study of these people is the discovery of their tombs. It has been generally accepted that Xiongnu was the first empire created by nomadic tribe in the 3rd century B.C. However, little population genetic information is available concerning the Donghu, another flourishing nomadic tribe at the same period because of the restriction of materials until Jinggouzi site was excavated. In order to test the genetic characteristics of ancient people …

Review Of Marianne Gullberg And Kees De Bot (Eds): Gestures In Language Development., Gale Stam

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.