Browsing by Subject "English language--Study and teaching--Foreign speakers"
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Item Adult ESL learners reading and discussing The great Gatsby: literary response to and perception of reading and discussing a narrative novel written in English(2008-05) Chu, Hyung-Hwa, 1972-; Schallert, Diane L.; Fairbanks, Colleen M.The purpose of this study was to examine how adult students in a reading class offered in a college-affiliated ESL program responded to The Great Gatsby (Fitzgerald, 1925; GG, afterwards) in small group book discussion sessions over eight weeks, and how they perceived their reading and discussing experiences. Analysis of students' literary responses demonstrated students' strategies in constructing textual meaning and transformation of their meaning-making strategies across time. Students in this study made sense of the text by making connections between the textual world and the text, themselves, and the world around them. Students also brought into discussion their reading experiences and a critical approach to the text. The percentage of comments devoted to each response category illustrated the changes in the focus of discussion and meaning making strategies across time. Taking up the novel, initially students spent more time discussing the historical context of the text and formulating connections with themselves and the world. Students were self-conscious about their reading difficulties. Further along in their reading, as they derived more information from the text, their discussion became more text-centered. Inferential comments and emotional reactions became more frequent elements in discussion, and talk about the reading experience itself and contextual information about the text diminished. Perceptions expressed about their reading experience of the literary text in their second language were predominantly about the enjoyment of reading and challenges and rewards in terms of: 1) language challenges, 2) culture challenges, and 3) literary challenges. Analysis of students' perceptions of their experiences in literary discussion as they read GG revealed their enjoyment of discussions and appreciation of how literary discussion had enriched their interpretation of the novel by providing opportunities for: 1) checking up on the textual information, 2) exchanging opinions, and 3) building a sense of learning community.Item Comparing teacher perception of English language learners at the high school level: a case study of E.P.I.S.D.(2007-12) Mancha, Guillermo, 1972-; Thomas, Michael P.; Northcutt, NorvellThe academic achievement gap between English language learners (ELLs) and other student groups, especially at the secondary level, is a problem that only will increase as Hispanic demographics increase at state and national levels. It is imperative to examine the factors that affect or influence the academic achievement of ELLs and identify issues within the educational culture, systems, and constituents that have a negative effect on the academic performance of ELL students. This case study research examined the practices and organizational frameworks through the perspectives, or mind maps, of teachers who work with ELLs at E.P.I.S.D. in Texas. The study was guided by three research questions: (a) What is the mind map of high school teachers in producing a high-performing ELL, (b) what is the mind map of high school teachers in producing a low-performing ELL, and (c) how do these two mind maps compare with one another? Using an Interactive Qualitative Analysis (IQA) methodology, this study actively engaged constituents in reflective, meaningful discourse surrounding a phenomenon of interest, resulting in rich, comprehensive data that can be utilized for decision making in strategic planning and implementation of change. The IQA process and analysis served as a needs assessment technique on how to better serve ELLs.Item ELL students in Texas' high-stakes testing landscape(2007-05) Sánchez, San Juanita Muñoz; Valenzuela, AngelaThis is a study of quantitative data from a large school district. Analytical methods compared the performance of English Language Learner (ELL)/Limited English Proficient (LEP) students and their non-LEP counterparts to isolate major differences. The research was designed to measure the performance gap between ELL and non-ELL students on assessment examinations at a varying level of language competency and content. Multivariate regression analytics was used to determine the importance of multiple factors and their relationship to ELL students’ performance on standardized exit level exams. TAKS examination results were examined for educational inequities affecting ELL students based on test scores as the primary gauge of performance and to provide a content basis for predictive modeling of the author’s CCSSE conceptual model. A literature review using critical race theory was integrated to the non-quantitative portion of the study’s design whereby TAKS regulations were analyzed to discern whether English Language Learners are disadvantaged or adversely affected. The research seeks to provide a model to consider via an analysis by which curriculum and instruction specialists, educators, and policymakers can determine the importance of certain factors affecting second language learners via the exit level TAKS examinations in an effort to develop alternative measurement policies to assess ELL students. The author offers instructional and policy recommendations based on her research.Item Good ESL teachers: from the perspectives of teachers & adult learners(2004) Shono, Sarah; Schwarzer, DavidThis dissertation is a qualitative study in which the perceptions of ESL teachers and adult ESL students were elicited via a series of interviews regarding what they believe renders an ESL teacher good. The participant’s portrayals of good ESL teachers included a description of the individual differences that distinguish between good and ineffective ESL teachers as well as the pedagogical practices of these teachers. ESL teacher and student participants’ perceptions did not always match. Five individual differences were described by participants: (1) a respectful professional, (2) a caring educator, (3) a cultural mediator, (4) a patient instructor, and (5) a native speaker. In addition, the participants described eleven pedagogical practices of good ESL teachers: (1) allowing personalized speaking time in class, (2) teaching authentic language & culture, (3) engaging students, (4) negotiating the curriculum, (5) conducting an organized class, (6) demonstrating subject area knowledge, (7) integrating content areas, (8) building learner autonomy, (9) Building learner confidence, (10) catering to learners’ cognitive learning styles, and (11) tolerating ambiguity. This study fills a gap in the literature on good teachers by presenting the perceptions held by both students and teachers of good ESL teachers in particular. Implications are drawn that may be of interest to ESL teachers, language teachers in general, language programs, as well as language teacher training departments.Item The lived reality of English language learners in an urban high school : perspectives of students and staff(2007-05) Bashara, Mary Wiley, 1950-; Reyes, Pedro, 1954-English Language Learners represent a growing and academically underserved minority in US public schools. Historically, ELLs have experienced less than desired achievement goals such as timely high school graduation and well-developed English facility. Certain factors--influenced by school organizations—contribute to the overall success of these students. Among these are: quality of instructional programs, school connectedness, student self-image and self-efficacy, and ongoing progress toward academic and related goals. Educational decisions do not always reflect all knowledge regarding ELL student learning; and expectations for ELL academic achievement continue to rise. The purpose of this study is to explore the lived reality of English Language Learners in one urban high school by comparing the perceptions of ELL students with the perceptions of staff members who work with them. By comparing the students’ perceptions with the perceptions of staff, it may be possible to identify a “shared reality”--a summary of what daily life and the overall school experience are like for many ELLs in this individual school. Perceptions exclusive to students or to staff may indicate important differences between what the two groups believe, experience, and communicate regarding school. From this study, schools who serve ELLs may gain a deeper understanding of how to enhance the lived experience and the overall success of ELL students—who individually and collectively struggle to thrive and succeed in school, despite considerable obstacles and unfavorable odds.Item The lived reality of English language learners in an urban high school: perspectives of students and staff(2007) Bashara, Mary Wiley; Reyes, Pedro, 1954-English Language Learners represent a growing and academically underserved minority in US public schools. Historically, ELLs have experienced less than desired achievement goals such as timely high school graduation and well-developed English facility. Certain factors--influenced by school organizations—contribute to the overall success of these students. Among these are: quality of instructional programs, school connectedness, student self-image and self-efficacy, and ongoing progress toward academic and related goals. Educational decisions do not always reflect all knowledge regarding ELL student learning; and expectations for ELL academic achievement continue to rise. The purpose of this study is to explore the lived reality of English Language Learners in one urban high school by comparing the perceptions of ELL students with the perceptions of staff members who work with them. By comparing the students’ perceptions with the perceptions of staff, it may be possible to identify a “shared reality”--a summary of what daily life and the overall school experience are like for many ELLs in this individual school. Perceptions exclusive to students or to staff may indicate important differences between what the two groups believe, experience, and communicate regarding school. From this study, schools who serve ELLs may gain a deeper understanding of how to enhance the lived experience and the overall success of ELL students—who individually and collectively struggle to thrive and succeed in school, despite considerable obstacles and unfavorable odds.Item The nature of negotiation of meaning between teacher and student in the second language classroom(2003-12) Shim, Young-sook, 1973-; Schallert, Diane L.Negotiation of meaning refers to interactional work executed by interlocutors to achieve a mutual understanding when a communication problem occurs. This type of interaction has drawn considerable attention in second language acquisition (SLA) research because it gives language learners opportunities to receive comprehensible input and produce comprehensible output. This dissertation describes an investigation of negotiation-of-meaning processes between the teacher and students in an English-as-asecond-language (ESL) classroom. The purpose is to describe (1) the negotiation process through a careful examination of classroom discourse and (2) the relationship between linguistic meanings and the social contexts in which interactions take place. A qualitative approach was employed for data collection and data analysis. Data were obtained from nine students and a teacher in an intermediate listening/speaking ESL classroom. Major data sources included classroom observations, interviews, and stimulated recall interviews. For a more focused data analysis, four distinct components of the negotiation of meaning process were identified: (1) trouble sources that caused communication difficulty, (2) the participants’ perception of communication problems, (3) the decision-making process about whether to pursue negotiation, and (4) the resolution process of communication problems. The findings of this study revealed that trouble sources are not restricted to language problems but extend to non-linguistic factors and other context-specific factors. In addition, it was found that the types of trouble sources are associated with the participants’ decision-making processes and their ways of resolving communication problems. With regard to the participants’ perception of comprehension difficulties, the data revealed a complex process influenced by the types of problem and the agents who are perceiving. In addition, the way and degree that a participant verbalizes a perception of understanding and non-understanding affects subsequent perceptions and negotiations. Regarding the decision-making process, six factors that affect the participants’ decisions are discussed in particular: institutional, situational, affective, cultural, and physical factors and receptivity. The results also showed that the nature of the classroom environment, such as the teacher’s scaffolding and the collaborative efforts of the whole class, enables negotiation processes to be constructive and productive. Taken together, the findings suggest that the teacher-student negotiation process in the ESL classroom is an enormously complex process involving both cognitive and social practices.Item New literacies for ESL children : communicating with peers in an online chat(2007-05) Koh, Young Ihn, 1978-; Schallert, Diane L.The purpose of the study was to explore young L2 learners’ experiences and impressions when engaged in synchronous CMC activities. Nine elementary ESL students living in the United States participated in two groups in a total of ten chat sessions during which they contributed postings to three types of tasks. Data sources included the written chat transcripts, questionnaires, interviews, essays, field notes, and pictures. Data were presented as two case studies of each group’s experiences. Results were presented in the following five categories: (a) the children’s participation patterns based on their quantitative output; (b) their language use within messages (recognition of an error, language play, and non verbal cues); (c) their interactive patterns (playful resistance, tension in the groups, and group dynamics); (d) the influence of task type on their CMC participation; and (e) the children’s various impressions of the online chat. The children seemed fond of the CMC experiences due to its hybrid combination of oral and written language use features, writing that resembles the immediate flow of a conversation. The hybrid nature of CMC encouraged the children to enjoy conversational elements by freely suggesting ideas on various subjects and sharing opinions with their peers. Moreover, the children had opportunities to make self-corrections and to provide corrective feedback to other children in the group. Additionally, results indicated that in terms of new literacies for the new age of the Internet, the children were already proficient in managing the CMC medium and were able to develop new skills during a short span of time. They were sophisticated enough to allow themselves to engage in various types of language play in this carnivalesque environment (Bakhtin, 1984). Also, the children employed numerous strategies to compensate for the lack of non verbal cues in the chat room: emoticons, other symbol systems, capital letters, and repetition. However, an unpleasant and aggressive atmosphere often emerged due to the children’s adept abilities at playing around, teasing, and resisting the task online. Nevertheless, children claimed in interviews that the CMC chat was “fun” and that they generally believed that such an activity could help them learn English.Item New literacies for ESL children: communicating with peers in an online chat(2007) Koh, Young Ihn; Schallert, Diane L.The purpose of the study was to explore young L2 learners’ experiences and impressions when engaged in synchronous CMC activities. Nine elementary ESL students living in the United States participated in two groups in a total of ten chat sessions during which they contributed postings to three types of tasks. Data sources included the written chat transcripts, questionnaires, interviews, essays, field notes, and pictures. Data were presented as two case studies of each group’s experiences. Results were presented in the following five categories: (a) the children’s participation patterns based on their quantitative output; (b) their language use within messages (recognition of an error, language play, and non verbal cues); (c) their interactive patterns (playful resistance, tension in the groups, and group dynamics); (d) the influence of task type on their CMC participation; and (e) the children’s various impressions of the online chat. The children seemed fond of the CMC experiences due to its hybrid combination of oral and written language use features, writing that resembles the immediate flow of a conversation. The hybrid nature of CMC encouraged the children to enjoy conversational elements by freely suggesting ideas on various subjects and sharing opinions with their peers. Moreover, the children had opportunities to make self-corrections and to provide corrective feedback to other children in the group. Additionally, results indicated that in terms of new literacies for the new age of the Internet, the children were already proficient in managing the CMC medium and were able to develop new skills during a short span of time. They were sophisticated enough to allow themselves to engage in various types of language play in this carnivalesque environment (Bakhtin, 1984). Also, the children employed numerous strategies to compensate for the lack of non verbal cues in the chat room: emoticons, other symbol systems, capital letters, and repetition. However, an unpleasant and aggressive atmosphere often emerged due to the children’s adept abilities at playing around, teasing, and resisting the task online. Nevertheless, children claimed in interviews that the CMC chat was “fun” and that they generally believed that such an activity could help them learn English.Item Pre-referral interventions for English language learners(2006) Martinez, Catalina Ana; Tharinger, Deborah J.; García, Shernaz B.This study investigated the academic interventions developed by elementary school pre-referral teams for English language learners (ELLs), the profiles of ELLs referred to these teams, the background and experience of pre-referral team members, and the impact of the interventions. The participants were pre-referral teams at six elementary schools in a large, urban school district with high ELL enrollment. The study focused on the pre-referral process for 40 native Spanish-speaking ELLs experiencing academic difficulties who were referred to one of the six participating pre-referral teams. A descriptive design was utilized. Content analysis of existing written records, as well as data recorded on researcher-developed forms, comprised most of the data in this study. Teacher interviews provided additional contextual information. The findings revealed that all of these ELLs’ classroom teachers were knowledgeable in ELL instructional best practices, compared to about half the pre-referral team members. Furthermore, the prereferral process in this district seemed most effective at the first stage, in which ELLs’ teachers collaborated with their equally knowledgeable fellow teachers to develop classroom interventions. The ELL group was divided into three subgroups to facilitate the analysis of trends related to the outcomes of the pre-referral process. These groups were: ELLs who were referred to special education by the pre-referral team and who qualified for services as students with learning disabilities (LD) (SEQs, n=13), ELLs who were referred by the pre-referral team and did not qualify for services (SEDNQs, n=7), and those ELLs who were not referred to special education by the completion of this study (NSEs, n=20). Similarities in attendance and teacher profiles were noted for all three groups. Differences existed amongst the three groups in Spanish and English language proficiency, language program placement and academic failure histories. Further research is needed to determine the appropriateness of the specific interventions developed for failing ELLs. Further investigation on pre-referral team models used for addressing ELL needs is also needed to determine the effectiveness of these teams.Item Profiles of English language learners who received reading-related learning disability services(2006) Liu, Yi-Juin; Ortiz, Alba A.Researchers have examined the validity of IQ-achievement discrepancy formulae and of referral, assessment, and diagnostic procedures for English language learners (ELLs; Collier & Hoover, 1987; Johnson et al., n.d.; McCardle et al., 2005; Ochoa et al., 1983; Ortiz, 2001; Palmer et al., 1989; Rodriguez & Carrasquillo, 1997; Wagner et al., 2005; Zavala & Mims, 1983). Findings suggest that linguistic and cultural biases in assessments contribute to misdiagnoses, and thus to disproportionate representation of ELLs in special education (Collier & Hoover, 1987; Gerber & Durgunoglu, 2004; Johnson et al., n.d.; McCardle et al., 2005a; Ortiz, 1997; Palmer et al., 1989; Rodriguez & Carrasquillo, 1997). This descriptive study examined the characteristics of ELLs when they initially entered special education as three, four, and five year olds and then when they were identified as having learning disabilities. In addition, students’ educational histories were traced from initial entry to their identification as having earning disabilities to describe the paths that led to their LD classification. Findings revealed that while all students received reading-related instruction in a bilingual special education classroom, only 9 of the 19 students met criteria for reading-related disabilities. Five students had learning disabilities in math and/or written expression, while another five was never identified with a learning disability, but received instruction in a bilingual special education resource room. Further analyses revealed concerns relating to the district's identification and placement processes: (a) use of inappropriate assessment procedures and instruments, (b) questionable eligibility determinations, (c) lack of consideration for factors (other than reading-related) that may contribute to the assessment results (e.g., head trauma and student having been in the country less than a year before being assessed), and (d) special education placements based on traditional practice rather than individual needs. The results of this study will help educators better understand existing practices in special education policy on referral, assessment, and eligibility determinations involving young ELLs. Policy and research recommendations to improve existing practices in these areas are given.Item A proposal of original songs for the advanced ESL classroom(1989) Dwyer, Eric S., 1963-; Lindfors, Judith WellsItem The teacher and learners as language models for learning English: language and interaction in the adult ESL classroom(2006) Kim, Yoon-kyu; Schallert, Diane L.The two major types of target language available to learners in the second language classroom are commonly through interactions with the teacher and with other learners. Research on language of teachers and learners in the language classroom has produced mixed results not clearly addressing what the two types of target language look like and how each relates to learners’ language learning process. The present study pursues a detailed descriptive analysis of the features of the language and interaction of the teacher and the learners and examines how the features relate to the second language learning process. For this study, I analyzed the discourse of adult ESL learners and their teachers engaged in task discussions on the same topic. The learners were grouped into three groups with one group interacting with the teacher and the other two interacting among themselves. Then, the learners were regrouped into three groups composed only of learners who had had different conditions in the previous task for a follow-up task discussion requiring similar language use, but for a different task. Analysis of the data showed that the teachers used facilitative language, repeated learner utterances, focused on the objective structures, and provided lexical items and corrective feedback. Learners, on the other hand, were able to use the objective structures but not in varied forms, and errors were not resolved likely due to limited language proficiency. Use of the dictionary was another feature found in the discussions among learners. The teachers and the learners both adopted interactional devices for negotiation in communication breakdowns. Interestingly, however, while almost all teacher-based discussions remained on task, the learner-based discussions often strayed off topic. When the interactions were examined carefully, the teachers were found to assist and mediate learners with pedagogical goals, and the learners also assisted each other by coconstructing utterances. In the follow-up tasks, the learners from the teacher-based groups were more adept at using the objective structures and various lexical items than learners from the learner-based groups. The learner-based group learners were unable to employ a variety of the objective structures, which was also the case for some learners from the teacherbased groups despite their attentive learning experience with the teacher. Learners from neither of the groups could properly address errors. In the follow-up tasks, learners almost always remained on task carrying out successful negotiations and assisting each other with learners from the teacher-based groups mostly organizing the flow of the task.