Applied Linguistics Commons^™

Principal Agency 50 Years After The Lau Decision: Building And Sustaining Bilingual Education Programs For Asian Languages, Kevin M. Wong, Zhongfeng Tian

Education Division Scholarship

This study examined how three champion principals of Asian language dual language bilingual education (DLBE) programs—Cantonese, Korean, and Mandarin—in California have navigated the oscillating language-in-education policies after the Lau decision. We explored principals' various roles through a lens of agency in a social justice leadership framework, specifically considering the opportunities and challenges for agentive leadership from three different phases: foregrounding and engaging, planning and implementing, and evaluating and sustaining. Findings demonstrate that the success of DLBE programs goes beyond the overarching language policies that supposedly enable bilingual education; rather it hinges on the bottom-up commitment, collaboration and resilience of principals, …

Promoting Emergent Literacy In Preschool Through Extended Discourse: Covert Translanguaging In A Mandarin Immersion Environment, Robin E. Harvey, Kevin M. Wong

Education Division Scholarship

Rich oral language practices, including the opportunity and ability to participate in cognitively and linguistically challenging extended discourse, are foundational to early literacy development. To meet children’s needs in their first exposure to the languages of schooling, educators may engage students in extended discourse multilingually. The current study focuses on student-centered translanguaging conversations to examine strategies that preschool teachers employ to support young children’s emerging bilingual and biliteracy development in a Mandarin immersion preschool serving primarily nonheritage learners of Mandarin in the United States. Findings indicate that, despite the school’s Mandarin-only policy, teachers engaged in covert translanguaging practices to extend …

Lsp Needs Analysis In The Context Of International Minor League Baseball, Julia Moore

University Honors Theses

Examining the language and cultural needs of international minor league baseball players through the lens of English for Specific Purposes (ESP) this study utilizes applied linguistics and sports sociology and aims to inform player development strategies to enhance on- and off-field communication. Survey data was gathered on language use preferences, focusing on players' attitudes and behaviors in professional settings. Ethical considerations included surveys in English and Spanish and voluntary participation, with data collected at the Oakland Athletics Complex in Mesa, Arizona, from 18 out of 20 players.

Findings reveal that players recognize the importance of English proficiency for effective gameplay …

Openings And Closings In Human-Human Versus Human-Spoken Dialogue System Conversations, Judit Dombi, Tetyana Sydorenko, Veronika Timpe-Laughlin

Applied Linguistics Faculty Publications and Presentations

Although conversation openings and closings are ritualized speech acts (House & Kádár, 2023), they do require interactional work (Schegloff, 1986). Thus, they are important elements of interactional competence (Roever, 2022) and have been studied extensively in L2 interactions, including various types of technology-mediated communication contexts (e.g., Abe & Roever, 2019; 2020). However, to our knowledge, no research on openings and closings has been conducted with newer technologies such as spoken dialogue systems (SDS). To address this gap, this study compares conversation openings and closings across two modalities: a role-play with a human interlocutor versus with a fully automated agent. We …

Predicting Language Proficiency Using A Multiple Regression Model, Madisen Barrieau

Senior Honors Theses

Businesses that design language learning products have a common goal to impart language proficiency to users. Many variables play a role in reaching language proficiency, including time spent in study, method of learning, use of technology, motivation, and more. This study involved creating several multiple regression models in R on a dataset featuring many of these variables. This research sought to identify the relative weight and measurability of these variables unto the goal of predicting language proficiency. Several regression models were created, and the best model showed that language similarity and length of residence in target culture, among other factors, …

Cross-Cultural And Cross-Proficiency Analysis Of Selected Cohesion Indices In Student Essays, Audrey Buenavista Morallo

Journal of English and Applied Linguistics

Cohesion is important in writing because of its role in writing quality development (Abdi Tabari & Johnson, 2023) and in making texts comprehensible (Ghasemi, 2013). It can differentiate between proficient and deficient writing (Crossley et al., 2016b, 2019), demonstrating its use as an index of language proficiency. Despite being an index of proficiency, little is known about cohesion use in second-language contexts (Abdi Tabari & Johnson, 2023; Crossley, 2020; Crossley et al., 2016a). To address this, this study investigated the use of connectives, givenness, and lexical overlap in essays from the Philippines, Singapore, and China available in a corpus. A …

Exploring The Impacts Of Genai On English And Applied Linguistics: Implications For A Future-Ready Journal, Jasper Roe

Journal of English and Applied Linguistics

This perspective paper discusses several key revelations relating to generative artificial intelligence (GenAI) and its relevance to the fields of English and applied linguistics. The article proposes a number of research initiatives and areas for further study, while envisioning the future of the Journal of English and Applied Linguistics in the GenAI era.

Talking Yourself Up: Multimodal Conversation Analysis Of Status In An Improvised Setting, Aubrey Lewarne

University Honors Theses

A single-case analysis looked at two individuals performing a scripted exercise during an Applied Improvisational workshop. The analysis examined how performers modify their linguistic and embodied actions in order to perform an assigned status role. The analysis was undertaken to better understand how social status can be constructed in everyday talk-in-interaction. I first outlined the three major theoretical frames that are relevant to the analysis: Applied Improvisation as a pedagogical approach, the use of Conversation Analysis (CA) for the analysis of language in educational contexts, and the concept of status from a sociological perspective. I then present a single-case study, …

The Elusive Endonym, Thomas Eccardt

Publications and Research

The term ‘exonym’ was coined in 1957 by Marcel Aurousseau, an Australian geographer, to denote a place name used in a non-native language. ‘Endonym’ was later coined analogously as its counterpart, meaning the native name for a place. An example exonym would be the English word Germany, referring to the country whose inhabitants know it as its endonym Deutschland. These terms are useful to cartographers and also the United Nations, since it publishes documents in its six official languages, referring to places all over the world.

The topic of endonyms and exonyms would seem to fall into the …

Cultivating Connections: Future Approaches To Tourism Esl Pedagogy, Kelly Abrams

Student Research Symposium

My poster will display my research that investigates the pivotal role of English for Specific Purposes (ESP) in Cuba's tourism sector and its broader implications for global tourism contexts. Through qualitative methods including written questionnaires and oral interviews with people working in the tourism industry in Cuba, I examined the significance of language proficiency, particularly English, in various industry roles within Cuba's tourism and hospitality sector. Findings highlight how ESP facilitates effective communication, elevates service standards, and fosters career progression for individuals working in the sector. Furthermore, my research underscores the interconnectedness of language and tourism, emphasizing the importance of …

My Father's Story: An Ethnography About Language Loss, Ariel Wilsey-Gopp

Student Research Symposium

War disrupts everything, including a child’s developing language and cultural identity. My father grew up in both Serbia and Germany during the post-WWII political upheaval. By the time he was an adult, he knew five languages, yet lacked his own language and languaculture (Agar, 1994).

It benefits us to understand more completely the effects of language loss as political borders continue to shift and human migration increases. Research in social sciences, psychology, and biology all examine the effects of trauma, the brain, and child development. Applied linguistics examines language loss in relation to Second Language Acquisition (Altarriba & Heredia, …

Prosodic Analysis Of Wh-Indeterminate Questions In L2 Korean, Jung In Lee

Student Research Symposium

Wh-indeterminate questions, particularly wh-questions and yes-no questions, in Korean are ambiguous due to the limited morpho-syntactic markers in the sentence. The absence of these markers leaves two questions syntactically identical, leading to lexical ambiguity. The disambiguation of these two questions relies primarily on prosodic cues. Drawing from previous studies in the L1 Korean context, this study examines the intonation patterns of English learners of Korean in producing and perceiving wh-questions and yes-no questions and explores if there is any sign of L1 influence from English. Five English learners of Korean, who received formal instruction in Korean at a U.S. university, …

Importancia De La Sensibilidad Cultural Y Lingüística A La Identidad Autista En Clases Convencionales / Importance Of Cultural And Linguistic Sensitivity To Autistic Identity In Mainstream Classrooms, Thelma M. Solis

The Agora

Resumen en español:

La investigación presente argumenta que la sensibilidad cultural y lingüística a la identidad autista de niños con el trastorno del espectro autista (TEA) es importante porque ayuda a que sean comprendidos en sus clases convencionales, y por ende incrementa su autoestima y crea un andamiaje a su integración en la cultura académica. Las áreas problemáticas en el ámbito médico y académico son retrasos en diagnósticos de TEA en grupos minoritarios, evaluaciones psicológicas posiblemente deficientes en sensibilidad cultural y lingüística de culturas minoritarias, y clases convencionales generalmente diseñadas exclusivamente para estudiantes neurotípicos. Los objetivos son detallar prácticas de …

Experiences Of Dyslexic Students Learning A Second Language: A Review Of The Literature, Lauren Ricci

Senior Honors Theses

A systematic review of the literature was conducted to explore the experiences that college students with dyslexia face learning a second language in the classroom setting while studying at a private institution in Central Virginia. This literature review offers an analysis of the scholarly research related to this topic. The processability theory is discussed in the first section, followed by a review of recent literature on how dyslexia affects the brain’s processing, specific experiences of students, and how to best support these students in second language acquisition (SLA). Lastly, the literature surrounds phonological processing, working memory, specific struggles in the …

Second Language Acquisition In The Era Of Technology And Artificial Intelligence: Exploring New Frontiers, Mimoun Akhiat

All Graduate Reports and Creative Projects, Fall 2023 to Present

This portfolio is the capstone project of the Master of Second Language Teaching program. It offers perspectives and insights into major themes of importance to the writer. It begins with a general introduction pertaining to the writer’s education and teaching background, his goals for joining the program and an overall reflection of this experience. Following this is the writer’s teaching philosophy comprised of a description of professional environment and a teaching philosophy statement centered on the principles of multimodality, authenticity, and collaboration. The second section of this portfolio is entitled hands-on teaching experience where the writer presents and reflects on …

Challenges And Opportunities Of Developing An Efl Writing Course In Algeria: A Collaborative Auto-Ethnographic Study, Wafa Zekri, Kamal Belmihoub

Publications and Research

No abstract provided.

La Voz Del Autor En El Discurso Médico Y Sus Implicaciones En Ele, David Sanchez-Jimenez

Publications and Research

La demanda de profesionales de la salud que pueden prestar atención lingüísticamente concordante al paciente en contextos multilingües explica el aumento de los cursos de español médico en el currículo de pregrado y posgrado en instituciones universitarias de Estados Unidos en las últimas décadas. El aprendizaje de los estudiantes matriculados en estos cursos requiere el conocimiento de las características retórico-discursivas propias de los principales géneros discursivos que estudian durante su carrera para fines específicos en el campo de la salud los alumnos universitarios de español, cuyo fin último será el de replicarlos eficazmente en su práctica profesional. Por ello, en …

“I Want To Help End Linguistic Discrimination”: Community-Based Global Learning In An Upper-Level Spanish Class, Jessica Cox

11th National Symposium on Spanish as a Heritage Language (Archived)

Community-based global learning (CBGL) can be a high-impact practice for heritage learners by promoting students’ awareness of linguistic ideologies in local and global communities. This presentation will share the aims and structure of a CBGL program and assessment of that program, with a focus on learners’ critical language awareness.

Teachers’ Raciolinguistic Ideologies In The Shl Classroom: Considerations For Shl Teacher Development, Valeria Ochoa, Sergio Loza

11th National Symposium on Spanish as a Heritage Language (Archived)

Abstract: As Latinx enrollment in US university Spanish-language courses continues to rise (Beaudrie & Marrero-Rivera, forthcoming), numerous studies detail the transformative potential of SHL pedagogy for US Latinxs as an educational experience (e.g., Holguín Mendoza, 2018; Leeman, 2005). Recent progress has been driven by the study of language ideologies as a critical area of inquiry to reckon with the disparities that US Latinxs face within SHL education (Loza & Beaudrie, 2022). Such disparities are predicated on dominant raciolinguistic ideologies that often impose idealized language varieties and identities on Latinx youth (Barillas Chón, 2022). Although critical materials, curriculum, and pedagogical approaches …

Pedagogical Principles In Action: Open Educational Resources For The Teaching Of Spanish As A Heritage Language, Amy Aldrete

11th National Symposium on Spanish as a Heritage Language (Archived)

"Pedagogical principles in action: Open educational resources for the teaching of Spanish as a heritage language"

Keywords: Spanish as a Heritage Language, OER, textbooks, frameworks

The emergence and expansion of Open Education Resources (OER) create new opportunities for stakeholders at all levels of education; they facilitate social inclusion and access to education, an essential human right, due to low production costs and availability (UNESCO, 2019; Farrow, 2016). In addition, OER allow teachers to share and edit teaching resources and to adapt them to the specific needs of their students (COERLL, 2021). In the area of Spanish as a Heritage Language …