Browsing by Subject "Second language learning"
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Item An experimental assessment of visual attention and sign language comprehension in ADHD and neurotypical second language learners of American Sign Language(2023-04-21) Joyce, Taylor Renee; Quinto-Pozos, DavidSign language requires the perceiver’s visual attention, whether accessed in the foveal or peripheral vision; managing visual attention in real-world conversation is a skill second language (L2) sign learners may need practice to master. This task may be a challenge for an individuals with differences in visual attentional processing, such as those with ADHD, but little research on atypical signed L2 learners exists to date. This report introduces a novel online experiment to investigate visuo-attentional differences in hearing, L2 signers of American Sign Language while undergoing signed language comprehension. Participants attempt to rapidly perceive both linguistic and non-linguistic visual stimuli in their immediate and periphery vision while attending to a visual anchor. A small analysis of L2 signers finds a robust effect of the attentional manipulation (distance from stimulus to anchor), but conflicting evidence for sensitivity to linguistic factors such as sign complexity, sign frequency, and the difference between signed language and non-linguistic gestural stimuli. Importantly, this task is demonstrated to be successful at probing visuo-attentional mechanisms in a sign language processing context, and will be suitable for a test population between neurotypical and ADHD L2 ASL learners. Further, the results suggest that even somewhat experienced L2 signers may be relying on general perceptual, rather than specific linguistic, processes for sign and sign-like stimulus processing, which serves important implications for L2 signed language learners of all neurotypes.Item Chinese students' emotional experiences in learning English as a foreign language(2016-05) Wang, Yidan; Schallert, Diane L.; Suizzo, Marie-AnneThis study expands on the growing body of literature on the emotional experiences of learning English as a second language outside English-speaking countries. This is an exploratory study that aims to answer the following three research questions: (1) How do Chinese college students experience shame differently for English learning in studying-related, test-related, and class-related situations? (2) How do Chinese college students from three different majors and years differ in their shame experiences of learning English in three academic settings? (3) Whether Chinese college students regard the emotional experiences of English learning as more positively or more negatively? A total of 143 Chinese college students recruited from Shanghai International Studies University in China, participated voluntarily in this study. These college students were from three different majors and all had studied English for more than 10 years. For the quantitative component, the modified version of Achievement Emotion Questionnaire (AEQ) developed by (Pekrun et al., 2005) was used to assess the shame emotions experienced by Chinese college students. For the qualitative component, interviews were conducted to provide supplemental and profound understanding of how Chinese college students perceive shame experiences in learning English as a second language, and how these experiences differed in class-related, learning-related, and test-related settings. Results indicated that Chinese college students experienced shame emotion in English learning differed significantly in class-related, learning-related, and test-related settings. They scored their shame experiences higher in learning-related setting than other two settings. However, statistics indicated that there was no difference of shame experiences for students from three majors across three academic settings. Quantitative results also revealed that college students from Shanghai International Studies University experienced more positive emotions than negative emotions when learning English in three academic settings. Qualitative findings from answers of four participants in interviews confirmed their relatively high scores in experiencing positive emotions. Chinese college students’ shame experiences in learning English as a foreign language were elaborately illustrated from participants’ answers to interview questions.Item Doing graduate school in a second language : resituating the self through language socialization in computer-mediated classroom discussions(2009-08) Ha, Myung Jeong; Schallert, Diane L.This dissertation adds to the growing body of research on L2 academic discourse socialization in classroom contexts. Although the importance of students' writing in socializing them into their target discourse communities has been well documented, much less has been made of how students learn through online activities when the division between more and less knowledgeable individuals are blurred. Addressing this gap, this qualitative extended case study explored the experiences and perspectives of novice L2 graduate students in academic literacy practices that involved online writing activities. The focal participants included five first-year female graduate students from different cultural backgrounds enrolled in a graduate class during fall 2008 semester. Data sources included interviews with focal students and with the professor, class observations, field notes, questionnaires, handouts, and students' reflective essays. Anchored in language socialization theories (Duff, 1996, 2003; Schieffelin & Ochs, 1986) and the notion of community of practice (Lave & Wenger, 1991; Wenger, 1998), this study provides an ecological perspective on these five L2 students' socialization into academic literacy activities. The findings revealed how the students negotiated competence, relations, and identities to participate legitimately as competent members of their classroom communities. This study also contributes to an understanding of the changing role of novice learners in a given academic community by analyzing how they variably exercise their agency and develop their subject positioning in academic literacy activities that are imbricated in social, cultural, and discoursal contexts. Ultimately, this study enriches the notions of academic discourse socialization by demonstrating the dialogic and transformative nature of academic literacy practices mediated by online discourses in order to highlight ever more contextual information.Item Identity, belonging, and the transmigrant experiences of adult ESL learners enrolled in an intensive English program(2011-05) Giroir, Shannon Marie; Schallert, Diane L.; Horwitz, Elaine K.; Palmer, Deborah; Plakans, Lia; Urrieta, LuisThis dissertation reports on the narrated experiences of nine adult ESL learners enrolled in an Intensive English Program (IEP) as they negotiated a sense of belonging to new linguistic communities of practice outside of their home countries. In this qualitative multiple-case study, I analyzed first-person accounts of the language socialization process by which the learners’ participation in new social communities resulted in shifts in their social positionings and changes in their self-concept. In my analysis, I drew upon theoretical frameworks that view learning as a situated social practice in which individuals form new identities as a result of their (non)participation in communities of practice (Lave & Wenger, 1991; Wenger, 1998). In order to investigate the research problem, I conducted ethnographic forms of data collection over a six-month period. I became a participant observer in an advanced level Listening and Speaking course during one semester and conducted regular formal classroom observations. In addition to observations, I conducted individual in-depth interviews with the learners, and they participated in a photo-narrative assignment in which they documented their experiences through photography. This camera project culminated in a formal, narrative presentation to the class, which was recorded and used for analysis. The five women and four men who became the focal participants of the study were diverse in age, academic and professional ambitions, and cultural and linguistic background. The findings of the study presented in this dissertation represent my interpretive analysis of the participants’ narratives of departing their home countries and negotiating a meaningful sense of self vis-à-vis the host community as well as the various transmigrant communities that were important to them. The findings show that, through the process of L2 learning and transmigration, the participants constructed migrant identities (Block, 2007), and these identities could be both expansive and restrictive. Additionally, the findings show the ways in which these language learners were agentic in accessing L2 communities and forging attachments within them, and how these moves were designed as “answers” to how they were discursively positioned within the worlds that were important to them.Item Scaffolding extensive reading in the beginning adult education ESL classroom(2011-05) Meredith, Nancy Grona; Pulido, Diana C.; Horwitz, Elaine K.Research has showed repeatedly the value of extensive reading in the L2 classroom for improved reading comprehension (Elley & Mangubhai, 1981; Mason & Krashen, 1997; Renandya, Rajan, & Jacobs, 1999). However, additional support beyond traditional extensive reading practices may be needed for very low proficiency learners. This report reviews research on implementing an extensive reading program for beginning level adult-education English language learners. It presents arguments for supporting extensive reading through shared reading, including read-alouds, use of children’s literature, and strategy modeling techniques. It also discusses the benefits of student-generated texts for boosting vocabulary and comprehension skills. The report concludes with pedagogical implications for including a strong reading component in the adult education ESL curriculum and suggestions for evaluating the strength and utility of such a program.Item Studying Spanish in Texas: an exploration of the attitudes and motivation of Anglos(2009-12) Martin, Annjeanette; Horwitz, Elaine Kolker, 1950-Motivation has been widely studied in the field of second language learning as one of the most important predictors of linguistic proficiency. Initial studies suggested that socio-cultural factors such as attitudes toward the target group were strongly associated with a desire to learn and the effort expended in learning the target language. Though a second wave of studies emphasized more individual contributions to learner motivation, there has recently been a return to a more contextualized view of learning and the role that motivation plays within a given social context. The present study examines the specific socio-cultural context of the Southwestern U.S. in which Anglos, the dominant socio-linguistic group, have chosen to study Spanish, a minority language. Analyses address intensity of motivation, attitudes toward Spanish and Spanish speaking populations, and motivational orientations; this study also examines issues of social distance and discusses differences in perception regarding Spain and Mexico based on self-report questionnaires from the participants involved. Results indicate that Anglo learners of Spanish are moderately motivated to learn Spanish; though they responded quite positively on items related to desired fluency, participants do not seem necessarily willing to invest the time and effort required to achieve that fluency. Findings suggest that participants have somewhat neutral attitudes toward the Spanish language and Spanish speakers. Participants seem generally positive about the need for English speakers to understand and appreciate Hispanic culture; they are more reticent, however, on issues of language learning responsibilities. It also appears that participants have slightly more negative perceptions of Mexico than of Spain. In addition, results show that motivational intensity is moderately associated with attitudes, supporting many of the initial studies of motivation in language learning that found that more positive attitudes are associated with higher levels of motivation. Although many participants responded that they were only taking Spanish courses to fulfill the language requirement, they also seemed to recognize that there were other compelling reasons to study Spanish. Participants indicated that the usefulness of Spanish was the most important reason for studying the language and that a desire to have a more personal connection with the target group and culture was the least important reason.