Dissertations / Theses on the topic 'English language Study and teaching Foreign speakers Attitudes'
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Hendricks, Jessica. "Language attitudes, medium of instruction and academic performance: a case study of Afrikaans mother tongue learners in Mitchell's Plain." Thesis, University of the Western Cape, 2004. http://etd.uwc.ac.za/index.php?module=etd&.
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The purpose of this study was to determine the implication for learning for learners whose home language is different from the medium of instruction at school.The study is focused on a group of Afrikaans learners for whom English is not a foreign language. Rather, English is a language that they are in contact with on a daily level through the media, their peers and in the classroom. The study looked at why these learners find themselves in English classes when the language policy of the country makes provision for their specific home language in the classroom. It also tried to determine whether these learners experience problems in their learning as they shift from Afrikaans as a home language to an English medium of instruction in class.
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Nyawaranda, Vitalis. "Teachers' beliefs about teaching English as a Second Language (ESL), two case studies of ESL instruction in Zimbabwe." Thesis, National Library of Canada = Bibliothèque nationale du Canada, 1998. http://www.collectionscanada.ca/obj/s4/f2/dsk1/tape10/PQDD_0019/NQ44535.pdf.
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Yu, Kwan-mei, and 余君美. "Christianity and English language teaching: astudy of an English conversation class for Mainland Chinese scholarsat an English-speaking church in Hong Kong." Thesis, The University of Hong Kong (Pokfulam, Hong Kong), 2007. http://hub.hku.hk/bib/B38732932.
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Seki, Taeko. "Attitudes to and motivation for learning English in Japan." Thesis, University of Stirling, 2004. http://hdl.handle.net/1893/60.
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The aim of this research is to determine Japanese first-year university students’ attitudes to and motivation for learning English. A successful English-language education system is crucial for Japan, under great pressure to internationalise during her most prolonged recession ever. To help make the education system successful, knowledge of learners’ attitudes and motivation is essential. Chapter 1 discusses Japan as a stage for English-language education. Japan is identified as uniquely homogenous and insular. Internationalisation of industry and a drop in the college-age population forcing universities to compete for students are identified as recent phenomena driving reform in the English-language education system. Chapter 2 describes the roughly 130-year history of Japanese English-language education from first contact to the present day. Changes in the English-language education policies of successive Japanese governments are discussed through examination of the Ministry of Education ‘Course of Study’ guidelines. Chapter 3 surveys the theoretical literature on attitudes and motivation in foreign and second language learning. Significant and relevant empirical research from Japan and other countries is reviewed. Chapter 4 determines an approach to the main research question through a number of subsidiary questions, using the theoretical framework from Chapter 3. A detailed research design (methods, schedule, and data collection procedures) is drawn up and discussed. Chapter 5 presents and analyses the findings of the two questionnaires which form the main data collection method. The computer program SPSS is used in analysis. Chapter 6 presents and analyses the findings of the two group interviews and two individual interviews by categorising and descriptive explanation. Chapter 7, the final chapter, reviews the research process and answers the subsidiary and main research questions. Key themes are that Japanese students are highly motivated to learn English for communication, and that the English classes currently offered at universities do not meet the demands of Japanese students. These answers and themes are used as the basis for some recommendations for English-language education in Japan.
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Rothschild, Denise Terry. "The adult English as a second language writer and the writing workshop approach : performance, biodemographic variables, and attitudes." Thesis, University of British Columbia, 1991. http://hdl.handle.net/2429/31462.
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Research in written composition in first language (L1) has undergone a major paradigm shift from interest in product to interest in processes experienced by writers as they compose. Changes in instructional approaches have begun to follow: in many L1 classrooms a variety of process or workshop approaches to the teaching of writing have been implemented. Second language (12) composing research and instruction are also undergoing a similar paradigm shift— with some reservations about the value of implementing a process or workshop approach in the second language classroom. The question now being asked is, "How effective are the various process/workshop approaches in the 12 classroom situation?"
The current study, building upon mother-tongue research as well as the mainly case study research which provided the foundation of the English as a second language (ESL) literature on composing, examines the effects of a process or workshop approach on the writing performance of adult English as a second language learners. In addition, the study investigates certain biodemographic variables such as first language, and an affective variable, attitudes toward writing, all of which were hypothesized to interact with the treatment.
This study is a controlled experiment in which the treatment consisted of instruction in writing using a workshop format. Two pre- and posttest measures-informal (classroom conditions) and formal (test conditions) writing tests-were used to ascertain writing growth. On each test overall scores were analysed as well as two sub scores, one for content and organization, and one for structure and mechanics. In addition, a pre-instruction background survey was given to elicit information on seven biodemographic variables, and a post-instruction survey on attitudes toward writing was administered.
Results were mixed. For writing quality, only results obtained on the formal (test-like) measure were significant or near significant in favor of the treatment, the workshop approach. Of the biodemographic variables, only length of time in an English-speaking environment could be interpreted because of a cell distribution problem: it may be that those students with less than two years in a second language environment benefit more from the workshop approach than students with more time and experience in their adopted culture. Regarding attitudes toward writing, the workshop group showed significantly more positive attitudes than the product group. In addition, the content of responses to an open-ended question about writing revealed differences between the two conditions. The workshop students' comments showed awareness of (1) writing as communication and (2) writing as a process requiring time for the development, revision, and editing of ideas and language.
These findings indicate that this variety of workshop approach may offer a viable alternative to product-oriented instruction. The formal (test conditions) measure suggests that the workshop may be of benefit in helping students improve their writing, particularly the content and organization aspects. Results from the attitude survey imply that students in the writing workshop are receptive to this approach and that they exhibit more positive attitudes toward writing than do students in the product group. If attitude is indeed the key to improved motivation and performance, as many suggest, these results have important implications for the L2 classroom.Education, Faculty of
Language and Literacy Education (LLED), Department of
Graduate
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Beliles, Emily. "The effect of attitude toward the target language and culture, and of input on English second language proficiency in a study-abroad immersion setting." Thesis, Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University, 2015. http://hdl.handle.net/10019.1/98089.
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Thesis (MA)--Stellenbosch University, 2015.ENGLISH ABSTRACT: As the number of Asian students studying English abroad continues to increase, there is a growing need for language learning programs that help students to increase their English proficiency in the most effective way possible. Studies have shown that exposure alone is not sufficient for improving proficiency. The question is: “Can a second language (L2) learner truly learn the target language if they do not like the people who speak it?” Schumman’s (1978) acculturation theory proposes that the degree to which a learner integrates into the target culture through decreasing their social and psychological distance from it will determine the degree to which they learn the target language. Central to this process is the learner’s attitude toward the target language and the target culture. By fostering positive attitudes toward the target language and culture, can we aid L2 students in transforming the L2 input that they receive while studying abroad into meaningful intake through which they can, in turn, achieve greater proficiency in the L2? This thesis explores the above questions through a research study investigating the relationship between attitude toward the target language and target culture, and L2 proficiency; amount of L2 input and L2 proficiency; and amount of L2 input and attitude toward the target language and target culture. A small-scale study was conducted with Korean L2 English students studying abroad in the USA. Ten participants completed a language background questionnaire, an attitude questionnaire, and an English proficiency test. The data collected via these instruments were analysed to determine if any correlations exist between the above-mentioned three sets of variables. Results showed no correlations between attitude and L2 proficiency. However, descriptive analysis showed a clear positive correlation to exist between several L2 input variables and L2 proficiency, and between L2 input and attitudes toward the target language.
AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Namate die aantal Asiese studente wat Engels oorsee studeer toeneem, styg die behoefte aan taalonderrig-programme wat studente help om hulle Engelse vaardigheid op die mees effektiewe wyse moontlik te ontwikkel. Studies toon dat blootstelling op sigself nie voldoende is vir die bevordering van taalvaardigheid nie. Die vraag is: “Kan tweedetaal- (T2-) leerders werklik ’n teikentaal aanleer indien hulle nie hou van die sprekers van daardie taal nie?” Schumman (1978) se akkulturasie-teorie stel voor dat die mate waartoe leerders hulself in die teikenkultuur integreer deur hulle sosiale en psigologiese afstand daarvan te verminder, bepalend is van die mate waartoe hulle die teikentaal sal aanleer. Sentraal tot hierdie proses is die leerders se houding teenoor die teikentaal en die teikenkultuur. Deur positiewe houdings teenoor die teikentaal en -kultuur onder T2-studente te bevorder, kan ons hulle help om die T2-toevoer wat hulle tydens oorsese studies ontvang te omskep in sinvolle T2-inname wat verhoogde T2-vaardigheid tot gevolg kan hê? Hierdie tesis verken die bostaande vrae op grond van ’n navorsingstudie wat ondersoek doen na die verhouding tussen T2-vaardigheid en houding teenoor die teikentaal en -kultuur; hoeveelheid T2-toevoer en T2-vaardigheid; en hoeveelheid T2-toevoer en houding teenoor die teikentaal en -kultuur. ’n Kleinskaal-studie is uitgevoer met Koreaanse T2-Engelssprekers aan’t studeer in Amerika. Tien deelnemers het elk ’n taalagtergrond-vraelys, ’n houding-vraelys en ’n Engels-vaardigheidstoets voltooi. Die data wat deur middel van hierdie instrumente ingesamel is, is geanaliseer ten einde vas te stel of daar enige korrelasies bestaan tussen die bogenoemde drie stelle veranderlikes. Resultate toon geen korrelasies tussen houdings en T2-vaardigheid nie, maar beskrywende analise dui wel op ’n duidelike positiewe korrelasie tussen verskeie T2-toevoer-veranderlikes en T2-vaardigheid, asook tussen T2- toevoer en houdings teenoor die teikentaal.
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Thaipakdee, Supaporn. "Relationships Among Writing Quality, Attitudes Toward Writing, and Attitudes Toward Computers in a Computer-Mediated Technical Writing Class for English as a Foreign Language Students." Thesis, University of North Texas, 1992. https://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc278582/.
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The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship of word processor use by foreign college
writers and their attitudes toward writing, writing revision practices, writing quality, attitudes toward the use of computers, and time spent on computers. The results indicate that students' attitudes toward
writing and their perceptions of computer usefulness significantly affected their writing quality. Students with more positive attitudes toward writing and the usefulness of computers tended to produce better quality writing. In addition, the findings indicate that students' writing revision practices significantly affected their attitudes toward writing. Students who revised their writing more frequently tended to have better attitudes toward writing than those who did not. In contrast, students' levels of computer anxiety, computer confidence, computer liking and their writing revision practices did not significantly
affect the quality of their writing. Furthermore, the amount of time that students spent on computers did not significantly affect their attitudes toward using computers in writing.
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Ngai, Ki-yan Carolyn, and 魏祈恩. "A study of student perception of authentic materials and its relationship with language proficiency." Thesis, The University of Hong Kong (Pokfulam, Hong Kong), 2003. http://hub.hku.hk/bib/B27056326.
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Arrieta, Marie. "Teacher and Student Perceptions of World Englishes (WE) Pronunciations in two US Settings." PDXScholar, 2017. https://pdxscholar.library.pdx.edu/open_access_etds/3411.
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The present study investigated the perceptions and attitudes of two groups each of ESL teachers and students in the United States regarding World Englishes (WE) pronunciations before and after watching a video on WE accents. Data gathered via online surveys were analyzed using a combination of quantitative and qualitative methods. The results show that the perceptions of the teachers in the study ranged from somewhat negative to mildly positive, both pre- and post-video, which is consistent with Brown's (1993) findings that teachers' perceptions changed little if at all after being briefly exposed to WE stimuli. The education of the teachers in this study did not seem to influence their responses, either. Both groups of teachers responded almost identically even though the Midwest (MW) teachers' education ranged from no TESOL training to MA TESOL and all the teachers in the Northwest (NW) had MA TESOL degrees. These teachers' exposure to WE topics also varied greatly from teacher to teacher. Although the results of the study could not establish a correlation between lack of WE exposure and lack of WE classroom implementation, the teacher responses were, again, consistent with the literature in that the advantages of WE implementation are often appreciated only after extensive training on the matter. Student results were slightly more encouraging than their teachers', as students were generally more enthusiastic about WE before and after stimuli. A majority of students surveyed expressed they would like their teachers to incorporate more WE materials into their lessons and, after watching the video, all but one student indicated they would take an Accents of the World class as they considered it "important to learn about the ways people in other parts of the world speak English."
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Dodici, Adria Danielle. "The Relationship Between Teachers' Multicultural Attitudes and Their Instructional Practice with English Language Learners: A Mixed Method Study." PDXScholar, 2011. http://pdxscholar.library.pdx.edu/open_access_etds/141.
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Teachers of English language learners (ELLs) are often ill prepared to provide content area instruction tailored to their students' needs. This explanatory mixed method study examined the relationship between 15 ELL teachers' multicultural attitudes and use of sheltered instruction (SI). The purpose of the study was to ascertain whether teachers' multicultural attitudes influenced their use of SI. Data were gathered using a Demographic Questionnaire, Multicultural Efficacy Scale (MES), Classroom Instruction Questionnaire, and semi-structured interviews. A correlational analysis found no statistically significant relationship (i.e., r = -.34; p = .22) between participants' scores on SI observations and the MES. A correlational estimate for the four highest SI scorers indicated a relationship between the two sets of scores (i.e., r = .75; p = .25). Qualitative data did not indicate any patterns that might distinguish the high and low SIOP scorers; however, Aptitude Measurement Interaction may explain the different correlational results.
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Barnes, Bruce D. "Perceptions of students from a Korean university about the attributes of effective lecturers of English as a foreign language." Thesis, Edith Cowan University, Research Online, Perth, Western Australia, 2008. https://ro.ecu.edu.au/theses/228.
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The purpose of this study was to gain an understanding of what Ewha Womans University students perceive to be the attributes of effective EFL lecturers and to measure the levels of importance they place on each of these attributes. The first section of the study (Stage 1) elicited a list of attributes from a stratified sample of the freshmen students enrolled in EFL. The second section (Stage 2) gathered and analysed ratings and rankings of these attributes from a proportional-stratified sample of the same population. In the end, a list of attributes was produced with corresponding discussion of the values the students placed on each one.
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Ragsdale, Ronald Andrew. "Attitudes, Motivations and Expectations of Students and Instructors in an Intensive University ESL Summer Session." PDXScholar, 1993. https://pdxscholar.library.pdx.edu/open_access_etds/3567.
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All international students have specific motivations and expectations when learning English as a Second Language (ESL) in the United States, and recognizing the diversity of those motivations and expectations is the first step toward providing successful second language instruction. This study was designed to elicit the attitudes, expectations and motivations of two unique groups of students studying in the same classes in an ESL summer session at Portland State University (PSU), the preconception of the instructors, and the impressions and evaluations of the program upon its completion by the students, instructors, coordinators and administrators.
A successful curriculum can only be adapted to fit the needs and expectations of those students who share the same needs and hold the same expectations. When the learners fall into disparate groups, with distinct, and perhaps contrary needs, a given curriculum can be only a compromise at best, and a failure for some at the worst. During the summer session at PSU, the Department of Applied Linguistics offers a full range of intensive ESL courses for visiting international students. In the year of this study there were two distinct groups of students enrolled in the Reading/Writing ESL classes. One group was the traditional eclectic mix of international students who for the most part were on an academic track toward eventual enrollment in regular programs at PSU. The other was a group of Japanese students studying at PSU from Otemae College. These two groups of students entered the program with different motivations for studying English and different expectations from the summer program at PSU.
Because the general academic focus of the program was established in advance of the enrollment of most of these students, it was designed to fit the more traditional students' expectations and motivations. The specific expectations and motivations of the Otemae students were not explicitly considered, leaving the real potential for a negative experience. This is a serious consideration for those designing the curriculum for the summer sessions, for the instructors who are given the task of teaching these distinct groups of students, and for the coordinators of the short term programs who must convince their clients of their effectiveness so they will choose PSU again in the future.
Using a semantic-differential survey to assess the students' attitudes, motivations, and expectations, and comparing the results with general demographic data, it was found that the students did indeed separate into two distinct groups with clear differences in motivations and expectations. The Otemae students also formed a large demographic block within the classes which could not be discounted in the lesson plans. Even though the Otemae students had been integrated into the reading and writing classes, these skills were less important to them in the needs analysis portion of the attitude survey than were conversational and pronunciation skills. Reading and writing skills were also rated lower overall by the Otemae students than they were by the traditional students.
These and other factors lend support to the contention that the two groups of students had needs and expectations that were not wholly compatible, which put a strain on the teacher/student relationships as well as on the individual instructors' intended goals. This strain was further verified in instructor interviews, student interviews and in a departmental evaluation at the end of the summer term.
If expectations are not met, or attitudes are not compatible between students and instructors, or motivations are at odds between groups of students, learning can be obstructed, and the experience can be less positive for all concerned. Although the summer session, with Otemae students integrated into the regular classes, went well in the estimation of some, there is convincing evidence that there is need for improvement.
Recommendations for improvement include integrating the Otemae students into speaking and listening classes instead of reading and writing classes, having a curriculum designed with both groups in mind that instructors would have available before the summer term begins, conducting a term by term needs analysis, providing introductory sessions on American classroom style, and attempting to reduce the percentage of Otemae students in any given class by actively recruiting more international ESL students to PSU.
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Bunts-Anderson, Kimberly. "Relations between teachers' conceptions of in-class and out-of-class interactions and reported teaching practices teachers' belief study /." Phd thesis, Australia : Macquarie University, 2006. http://hdl.handle.net/1959.14/82707.
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Thesis (PhD)--Macquarie University, Division of Linguistics & Psychology, Department of Linguistics, 2006.Bibliography: p. 372-438.
Introduction: the influence of second language teachers' conceptions and the role of interactions in language learning -- Literature review -- Theory and methodology -- Teachers' conceptions of in-class interactions -- Teachers' conceptions of out-of-class interactions -- Differences between EAP teachers' experiences and conceptual development: in-class and out-of-class interactions -- Two categorical frameworks for ICI and OCI context: similarities, differences and relations -- Discussion and conclusion.
Spoken interaction with others is one of the most powerful tools in learning and teaching a second language. This investigation is concerned with uncovering and categorising the ways a group of L2 teachers' describe their experiences and beliefs of two types of spoken interaction; those that occur in the classroom (ICI) and those that occur outside the classroom (OCI). Twenty-eight EAP teachers were interviewed using phenomenographic and ethnographic investigative approaches and asked to describe their experiences and how they thought about and used spoken interactions in the teaching and learning of a situated lesson. The conceptions that emerged as consistent (reported as experienced most frequently across the group and within individual transcripts) were identified and categorised into two sets of categories of description (COD) one for each type of interaction. Across the group of teachers, five stable ICI categories of conceptions were identified and four stable OCI categories of conceptions were identified. These categories describe the range of conceptions that emerged across the group as a whole and do not attempt to rate the understandings of individual teachers. -- The conceptions of interactions in both sets of categories followed a hierarchal pattern of development from less complete to more complete understandings of these interactions. These descriptions formed two frameworks that are supported by similar patterns describing less complete and more complete understandings of various concepts in sets of categories published in other education settings (Marton & Booth, 1997). Exploration into the teaching and learning approaches reported in the teachers' experiences of ICI and OCI indicated that the utilization of interactions was constrained by the ways these interactions were conceived. Relations between more developed conceptions of both phenomena emerged in situations where more developed conceptions were reported. In these situations both ICI and OCI were simultaneously present in the teachers' awareness and perceived as different aspects of the same teaching/ learning situations. Across the group the teachers reported less powerful ideas of how to utilize OCI than how to utilize ICI.
Mode of access: World Wide Web.
xvii, 496 p. ill
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Jensen, Marie-Thérèse 1949. "Corrective feedback to spoken errors in adult ESL classrooms." Monash University, Faculty of Education, 2001. http://arrow.monash.edu.au/hdl/1959.1/8620.
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Lagunas, Silvia Viramontes. "Teacher attitudes and perceptions of limited English proficient students toward academic achievement, motivation and ability." CSUSB ScholarWorks, 1998. https://scholarworks.lib.csusb.edu/etd-project/1566.
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Oliver, L. J. "The effect(s) of word processing software on the equality of the composing process, product, and attitudes of adult academic ESL (English as a second language) writers." Thesis, Edith Cowan University, Research Online, Perth, Western Australia, 1993. https://ro.ecu.edu.au/theses/1145.
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The focus of this study was on the effect of word processing on the quality of the composing process, product, and attitudes of adult academic ESL writers. Twenty adult ESL students, comprising an ‘intact’ EAP (English for Academic Purposes) group, completed a number of written assignments as part of their ESL unit, using either word processing or conventional ‘pen and paper’ composition methods. Their handwritten and word processed work was analysed and compared through the use of an holistic/analytic scale of writing quality. In addition to this analysis of the ‘finished product’, texts were analysed in terms of the frequency, nature and extent of revisions made within the composition process. Statistical analysis of the writing quality and revision data – as well as audio-taped verbal protocols from selected subjects, interviews, and observational notes, were used to determine the effect (s) of word processing on the composing process, product and attitudes of these subjects. The data indicate that word processing does improve writing quality – and that it also influences revising behaviours and subject attitudes towards writing. There does not appear, for these subjects, to have been any significant correlation between revision and writing quality.
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DuBois, Elizabeth Ann. "The Voices of Special Educators: How Do Special Educators Teach English Language Learners Who are Receiving Special Education Services?" Thesis, Portland State University, 2017. http://pqdtopen.proquest.com/#viewpdf?dispub=10286409.
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Disproportionality in special education has been examined from various perspectives over a 50-year period. English Language Learner (ELL) students have been included in the discussion among researchers in the past two decades as a disproportionate number of ELL students are referred to special education. Though the problem of disproportionality has been acknowledged, documented and discussed over a period of decades, there is a lack of research from the voices of special educators. The purpose of this study was to describe special education teachers’ experiences teaching students currently or previously enrolled in an English language learner program who are receiving special education services. This study explored teachers’ views of what supports, resources and strategies contribute to student success and their views of the eligibility determination and referral process . In order to address this gap in the literature, an exploratory descriptive qualitative study was conducted by interviewing special educators. The results indicate the participants lacked support in all areas examined including professional development, resources, instructional strategies and the referral and assessment process. This study indicates structural inequity, a systematic bias in the form of a patterned and differential distribution of resources, contributing to limited opportunities for students who are English language learners who are receiving special education. Implications of the study to address structural inequity include the use of culturally responsive pre-referral strategies and knowledge of the acculturation process when considering the needs of an ELL student who is struggling academically and incorporating culturally response teaching methods in both general and special education.
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Leung, Pui-sin Sandy, and 梁佩仙. "Student's responses to three types of teaching materials used in an English as a second language classroom of a local community college." Thesis, The University of Hong Kong (Pokfulam, Hong Kong), 2006. http://hub.hku.hk/bib/B36729656.
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Lewko, Candace P., and University of Lethbridge Faculty of Education. "Migrating through Currere : a narrative inquiry into the experience of being a Canadian teacher." Thesis, Lethbridge, Alta. : University of Lethbridge, Dept. of Education, 2009, 2009. http://hdl.handle.net/10133/2466.
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The research questions of this thesis, “Migrating Through Currere: A Narrative Inquiry
Into the Experience of Being a Canadian Teacher,” are three-fold: What is the experience
of being a Canadian teacher? How do personal and trans/national migration histories
influence this experience? How does being a teacher of English-as-a-Second/Additional-
Language of adult immigrant and refugee students affect this experience? The aim of this
thesis is to better understand how auto/biographical migration stories are connected to a
pedagogical life and how this connection influences a teaching praxis. The following
quotation sets the teacher in migration: “What is the experience of being…a stranger in a
land not one’s own” (Pinar, 1975a, p. 399)? Curriculum reconceptualist theory asks the
teacher to engage in processes of self-reflexivity in social, historical, and pedagogical
contexts. The experience of being a Canadian teacher is reflected in my family’s and
others’ migration stories during the first wave of migration of immigrants to Alberta.
Four narratives of my own arose out of self-reflection on topics of identity, culture,
home, location, and ethnicity. Each narrative is developed using William F. Pinar’s
(1975a) method of currere. The narratives are interspersed throughout the thesis from the
regressive to the synthetical moments of currere; they are juxtaposed against
autobiographies written by first and second generation Canadians. A review of the
literature illuminates the works of educational philosophers such as Maxine Greene and
contemporary curriculum scholars including Ted T. Aoki, Dwayne Huebner, Janet L.
Miller, Leah Fowler, Erika Hasebe-Ludt, and Cynthia Chambers, in addition to Pinar.
The inquiry reveals how a historical return to the self can inform the teacher of the
meaning of the teaching experience found in the pedagogical, lived, and historical
v
circumstances of the self and other. A new awareness of the teaching self emerges in the
foreign and familiar of the classroom. Tensions found in dichotomies of language,
culture, and ethnicity become generative spaces to reflect on the experience; home
becomes a portal through which the teacher views the world with empathy. The teacher
lives perceptively in a culturally diverse classroom and amongst the complexities of
another’s life circumstances.ix, 157 leaves ; 29 cm
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Sutton, Candace. "A case study of two teachers' understanding of and attitudes towards bilingualism and multiculturalism in a South African primary school." Thesis, Rhodes University, 2006. http://eprints.ru.ac.za/497/.
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Addiego, Emily Spady. "The First Year: Development of Preservice Teacher Beliefs About Teaching and Learning During Year One of an MA TESOL Program." PDXScholar, 2013. https://pdxscholar.library.pdx.edu/open_access_etds/985.
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This qualitative, longitudinal study followed four first-year MA TESOL students through their initial year in a teacher training program with the goal of determining whether their overall beliefs about teaching and learning changed over time as a result of program curriculum and other outside factors. An analysis of semi-structured interviews with each participant, conducted one to two times per quarter, revealed that participants' beliefs appeared to evolve as a result of coursework and teaching practice. Participants' identities as teachers also showed signs of evolution and development. The participants attributed the majority of their development to hands-on teaching practice, though there was evidence that they began to integrate more theoretical aspects of program curriculum by the end of the year. However, the participants also demonstrated a lack of interest in theoretical and research-related coursework that persisted throughout their first year. Participants' lack of interest and stress brought on by unfamiliar material may have limited the amount of integration of research and theory into their practice. Findings suggest a mismatch between program goals and student goals, with students being focused on teaching practice and the program being focused on both the practical and theoretical aspects of the curriculum.
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Elabdali, Rima. "Wiki-based Collaborative Creative Writing in the ESL Classroom." PDXScholar, 2016. https://pdxscholar.library.pdx.edu/open_access_etds/3378.
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Despite the growing number of L2 studies examining digitally-mediated collaborative writing, the vast majority of these studies have focused on academic writing tasks. This study examined the dynamics and perceptions of groups of ESL students who used wikis to write collaborative short stories. The study also compared the short stories written in groups with posttest short stories written individually in terms of creativity, accuracy, and complexity. The study involved nine students taking a Creative Writing course in an intensive English program at a large university in the U.S. It followed a multiple case study design; the students were divided into three pairs and one triad (four case studies). For three weeks, the groups engaged in a series of wiki-based and creative writing activities and produced four collaborative short stories. During the following three-week period, the students wrote nine individual short stories using a similar writing prompt to the one used in the collaborative task. For each student, the collaborative and individual writing samples were compared on the three dimensions of creativity, accuracy, and complexity to examine whether collaboration influenced the quality of the product. Further, the dynamics of collaboration were explored through analyzing the wiki discussions and revision histories for each group. Finally, students' perceptions of the task were surveyed through individual interviews and self-assessment questionnaires. While there was not a clear effect of collaboration on the creativity and accuracy of the short stories, the complexity was slightly higher for the majority of the informants. The analysis of the short stories also indicated that ESL students faced difficulty writing in a genre that does not have a strict pre-established outline. Analysis of the wiki discussions and revision history showed trends of group dynamics in the four case studies. Further analysis of perception data revealed that although the majority of the informants had a negative perception of the collaborative task, they expressed a positive attitude toward the individual creative writing task.
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Wilkinson, David Miles. "Adult ESL Students: Traits and Goals - A Case Study." PDXScholar, 1993. https://pdxscholar.library.pdx.edu/open_access_etds/4662.
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This study was conducted to examine the traits and goals of students enrolled in the ESL program at Clark College in Vancouver, Washington over the past two academic years (1992 and 1993). The study looks at the degree of awareness that these students have of further educational opportunities in the academic and vocational areas, and the degree to which the ESL program at Clark College engenders this awareness. Data was collected from two cohorts of students enrolled in the ESL program on two separate occasions, each approximately one year apart. The goals of the study included the following: ( 1) gathering background data for the students attending the ESL program; (2) collecting information regarding students' past and present knowledge of computer technology; (3) awareness of the financial aid programs available; (4) future goals in the areas of education and employment. Comparison of the responses from the two cohorts provides instructors and administrators a clear picture of the students they are serving and provides the rationale for providing the material and logistical support required to allow ESL students to enter into mainstream programs at the community college level.
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Othman, Noor A. "Prior educational experiences and cultural factors in the learner's attitudes and behaviours : a case study of distance learning English course at UiTM, Malaysia." Thesis, University of Stirling, 2009. http://hdl.handle.net/1893/10376.
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This thesis is a case study that investigates the attitudes and behaviours of learners of a Preparatory English distance learning course (BEL 100 e-PJJ) offered at the Universiti Teknologi MARA (UiTM), Malaysia, and whether those attitudes and behaviours are influenced by their prior educational experiences and whether cultural factors may also have influence in the attitudes and behaviours of these learners. The research adopts a mixed-method case study design combining quantitative and qualitative approaches to the data collection and analysis. Thematic analysis has been adopted as a tool to analyse the interview data qualitatively. The thematic analyses constructed thematic networks which Attride-Stirling (2001) stressed served as an organizing principle and an illustrative tool in interpreting the analysed interview data. Another major source of data collected for this study was the asynchronous forum discussion transcripts. To match the needs of this study, several categories and examples of Henri’s (1992) framework combined with elements from Garrison, Anderson and Archer (2000) CoI model and Hofstede’s (1991) cultural values tool were adapted in analysing the asynchronous forum discussion transcripts. This was to identify the factors which contributed to the attitude and behaviour of the BEL 100 e-PJJ learners. This study has highlighted that the process of learning and teaching of the UiTM Malay/Bumiputera learners depend on the support and training given to the distance learners and facilitators. Learners’ attitudes, behaviours, facilitators’ intervention and purposeful tasks were found to be important in supporting active participation and effective interaction within the course.
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Jo, Phill. "Strategic reading for English as a foreign language." CSUSB ScholarWorks, 1999. https://scholarworks.lib.csusb.edu/etd-project/1725.
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Morris-Wilson, Ian. "Attitudes towards Finnish-accented English." Thesis, University of Stirling, 1999. http://hdl.handle.net/1893/3464.
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The thesis opens with a discussion of what attitudes are, and develops with a review of studies of attitudes towards pronunciation error, attitudes towards foreign accents and perception of foreign-accented speakers. The empirical part of the thesis attempts to identify how native (British) and Finnish listeners of English react to and evaluate typical segmental features of mispronunciation in the English speech of Finnish men and women of various ages. Two experiments using modifications of the matched-guise technique were conducted, one to consider error evaluation and to establish a hierarchy of segmental mispronunciation, the other to examine speaker evaluation, the image of the speaker created by the mispronunciation. Recordings of Finnish-accented English were presented to male and female listeners of various ages, and reactions collected. Statistical analyses of the results were carried out and the following general conclusions were drawn: the English labiodental lenis fricative /v/ when mispronounced in the typical Finnish manner as a labiodental frictionless continuant [u] is not tolerated by native English listeners at all, though it is highly tolerated by Finnish-speaking listeners (and Swedish-speaking Finns) themselves; the degree of mispronunciation in Finnish-accented English seriously affects listeners' estimations of the speaker's age, bad mispronunciation prompting under-estimation of age and good pronunciation over-estimation; both Finnish-speaking listeners and English-speaking listeners have almost identical clear pre-set standards about what constitutes 'good' and 'bad' pronunciation; a Finnish speaker's phonemically 'better' and 'worse' pronunciation affects the image listeners have of the speaker, status/competence traits in particular being up-graded for better pronunciation, solidarity/benevolence traits remaining broadly unaffected, and Englishspeaking listeners generally being more positive towards the Finnish-accented speakers than compatriot Finns.
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Takagaki, Bob. "The acquisition of the English system of pronominalization by adult second language learners." Thesis, University of British Columbia, 1985. http://hdl.handle.net/2429/25526.
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The study presented in this paper is a second language study of the acquisition of the English system of pronominalization by adult learners of English. It is a partial replication of Ingram and Shaw's (1981) first language acquisition study on the same topic.
One hundred and eighty four subjects and twenty control subjects were administered a written task that involved making anaphoric assignments to pronouns in thirty five test sentences, representing seven different sentence construction types.
Analysis of the data indicated that the two syntactic constraints of precedence and dominance played major roles in the anaphoric assignments made by all subjects. In addition, these two syntactic constraints were instrumental in delineating developmental stages in the acquisition process. A comparison of the response patterns displayed by the present study's subjects and those displayed by Ingram, and Shaw's subjects revealed a number of differences. These differences suggested that the acquisition process was not invariant and highly sequential in nature, but dynamic and highly creative, allowing a great deal of latitude in terms of the processing strategies employed.Education, Faculty of
Language and Literacy Education (LLED), Department of
Graduate
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Powell, Deborah Sue. "Increasing cognitive functioning in science for English language learners." CSUSB ScholarWorks, 1997. https://scholarworks.lib.csusb.edu/etd-project/3024.
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Zaal, Frida. "Attitudes towards Grammar Teaching : According to One Czech and Five Swedish Teachers of English to Speakers of Other Languages." Thesis, Högskolan i Halmstad, Sektionen för humaniora (HUM), 2013. http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:hh:diva-23932.
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The principal aim of this study was to investigate what grammar is taught by Teachers of English to Speakers of Other Languages (TESOL) in both Swedish compulsory school (years 6-9) and upper secondary school (gymnasiet), how it is taught and why. Further questions investigated what research TESOL base their teaching on, what their attitudes are in relation to the relevant curriculum, and what research into grammar teaching (e.g. approaches and methods) has revealed. The study also examined the Swedish National Agency of Education’s views on grammar teaching. Six interviews were conducted with five teachers of English to speakers of other languages working in Swedish schools, and one Czech teacher of English to speakers of other languages working at an international school. The findings were evaluated against research into grammar teaching. Although the Swedish National Agency of Education recommends that school years 6-9 should include an explicit focus on grammar, it does not specify exactly what should be taught. At upper secondary level, teaching grammar is not mentioned at all in the main syllabus. As the only reference to it is buried in the accompanying detailed explanatory notes, teachers tend to interpret the English syllabus differently. Consequently, the syllabus does not encourage equal educational opportunities. Despite the Agency’s vague recommendations, five out of the six teachers in this study do teach grammar and believe it to be a key to language learning. However, the methods used by the five Swedish teachers in this study do not appear to be research informed, and three of them rely heavily on the textbook producers’ choice of grammatical items to focus on. On the other hand, the teacher in the international school clearly uses methods that are research informed. One of the problems appears to be that the teachers in Sweden do not have easy access to current research findings that are comprehensive and non-conflicting, neither during their time at university nor in their working life.
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Picard, Michelle Yvette. "The serpent both in water and on land : a critical phenomenological investigation of foreign students' experiences of learning English in South Africa." Thesis, Rhodes University, 2000. http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1002639.
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In this dissertation I attempt to examine “the experience of the perspective” of foreign students introduced into English classrooms in South Africa. I acknowledge the importance of focussing on the individual’s narrative, since it is “only through an unconscious synthetic activity of consciousness” that perspectives are connected together (Carspeken 1996:11), but, along with Freire, I believe that “generative themes” can only be investigated in “man-world relationships”. The researcher needs to examine the phenomenon in context of the world that it originated from, since “historical themes are never isolated , independent, disconnected or static” (Freire 1972: 73). In this dissertation I, therefore, carefully follow the classic phenomenological steps to analyse data from my respondents and then immediately contextualise it in term of literature about the learners background, the educational and political system in which they currently find themselves as well as general literature about the phenomenon of immigrants and learning of a second language. The premise underlying this research is the “taken-for-granted certainty” (Carspeken 1996:11) that there is something unique in the South African situation which results in foreign students experiencing the learning of English in a particular way within this context.
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Edwards, Alison. "English in the Netherlands : functions, forms and attitudes." Thesis, University of Cambridge, 2014. https://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.708354.
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Chou, Pei-Ying. "Co-teaching and reciprocal teaching for English-as-a-foreign-language reading." CSUSB ScholarWorks, 2006. https://scholarworks.lib.csusb.edu/etd-project/2873.
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The purpose of this project is to help promote elementary English-as-a-foreign-language (EFL) students' reading comprehension. The project investigates the co-teaching model and its implementation in the Taiwanese English class. Curriculum and lesson plans are included.
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Russell, Margo K. "A Comparison of Linguistic Features in the Academic Writing of Advanced English Language Learner and English First Language University Students." PDXScholar, 2014. https://pdxscholar.library.pdx.edu/open_access_etds/2023.
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Writing for an academic purpose is not an easy skill to master, whether for a native English speaker (L1) or an English language learner (ELL). In order to better prepare ELL students for success in mainstream content courses at the university level, more must be known about the characteristics of student writing in the local context of an intensive English program. This information can be used to inform ELL writing instructors of which linguistic features to target so that their students produce writing that sounds appropriate for the academic written register.
Two corpora of 30 research essays each were compiled, one of L1 student writing done in various departments at Portland State University, and the other of ELL writing produced in an advanced writing course in Portland State University's Intensive English Language Program. The corpora were compared for the frequencies of 13 linguistic features which had been previously found in significantly different frequencies in L1 and ELL essays (Hinkel, 2002).
The tokens of each feature in each essay were counted, and the frequency rate was calculated in each case. The results of the Mann-Whitney U test found 6 features with significantly different frequency rates between the two corpora. The following features were more frequent in L1 essays than in ELL essays: modal would, perfect aspect, passive voice, reduced adjective clause, and it-cleft. In addition, the type/token ratio was found be significantly higher in L1 essays than in ELL essays.
An analysis of how each of the significant features was used in the context of ELL and L1 essays revealed the following: Both student groups were still acquiring the appropriate use of modal would; the majority of students in both groups did not utilize it-clefts; the lower type/token ratio in ELL essays meant that these students used a more limited vocabulary than did L1 students; and ELL students were still acquiring the accurate and appropriate uses of perfect aspect, passive voice, and reduced adjective clauses, whereas L1 students used these features grammatically and for the standard uses.
To apply these findings to the ELL writing classroom, instructors should help students raise their awareness of these six features in their own academic writing by leading students in identifying grammatical and ungrammatical uses of these features and providing practice in differentiating between uses which are standard to the register of academic writing and uses which are appropriate only in conversation. Two sample activities are included to illustrate how to implement these recommendations.
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Randolph, Gerda Ann Packard. "Building written language: A program for second language literacy in English." CSUSB ScholarWorks, 2000. https://scholarworks.lib.csusb.edu/etd-project/1866.
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Kennedy, Sara 1973. "Second language learner speech and intelligibility : instruction and environment in a university setting." Thesis, McGill University, 2008. http://digitool.Library.McGill.CA:80/R/?func=dbin-jump-full&object_id=115651.
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The purpose of this study was to investigate changes in the pronunciation and intelligibility of instructed and uninstructed second language (L2) learners over time, and to identify instructional, environmental, and methodological factors playing a role in pronunciation and intelligibility.Seventeen L2 graduate students at an English-medium university recorded three personal anecdotes over five months. The students also regularly logged their exposure to and use of English. Nine of the students (instructed group) were concurrently taking an oral communication course focussing on suprasegmental pronunciation. Classroom instruction was regularly observed and recorded. All 17 students were interviewed at the end of the study.
L1 listeners heard anecdotes from three instructed and three uninstructed students, matched for length of residence and first language (L1). Listeners also heard anecdotes from four L1 English speakers. One group of listeners retold each anecdote after hearing it (discourse-level task). The other group paused the recording of each anecdote whenever a word was unclear (word-level task). Each group of listeners also rated excerpts for accentedness, comprehensibility, and fluency.
Results of quantitative and qualitative analyses showed that: (a) no unambiguous changes in the pronunciation or intelligibility of either L2 learner group occurred over time; (b) word-level intelligibility measures more consistently differentiated L1 and L2 groups, and the instructed and uninstructed L2 groups; (c) compared to the instructed group, the uninstructed group logged relatively more English exposure/use for academic activities and relatively less for interactive social activities; (d) many instructed L2 learners did not believe that their pronunciation had noticeably improved, but almost all expressed satisfaction with their ability to communicate in English; (e) at the end of the study, many uninstructed learners reported persistent difficulties in communicating in English.
The results suggest that instruction in suprasegmental aspects of pronunciation sometimes may not lead to improved intelligibility or pronunciation. In addition, some L2 learners can be as intelligible as L1 speakers, depending on the listening task. Finally, results suggest that L2 learners' perceptions of their communicative ability and their patterns of L2 exposure/use are related. Implications for university preparation and support programs for L2 graduate students are discussed.
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Masube, Elizabeth Tobani. "The influence of teacher discourse moves on comprehensibility of language content by English first additional language (EFAL) learners." Thesis, University of Limpopo (Turfloop Campus), 2010. http://hdl.handle.net/10386/642.
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Thesis (M.ED.) --University of Limpopo, 2010This study was intended to investigate how teacher discourse moves influence comprehensibility of language content by the English First Additional Language (EFAL) learner and promote active participation by the learner in classroom interaction. The research is a Case Study which was conducted at a primary school in the Greater Sekhukhune District in Limpopo Province The Qualitative research approach was applied in the Case Study since the research is concerned with experience as it is lived ‘or felt’ or ‘undergone’ by participants. the key concern of this research is understanding the phenomenon of interest, from the participants’ perspectives, not the researcher’s. The situation in most Black schools is that first of all, teachers who teach English First Additional Language (EFAL) are not first speakers of English themselves. Secondly, learners have a problem of acquiring information through English as an additional language hence the question of comprehensibility of English language content. Teachers and especially learners are de-motivated as they lose interest in what goes on in Englishclassroom interaction due to the comprehensibility of English First Additional Language content As participant observer the researcher in this study concludes that the use of discourse moves by the teacher in classroom interaction enables the learner to comprehend the language content. Also that the teacher’s code-switching and code-mixing into the learners’ home language develops not only comprehensibility of EFAL language content but most of all promotes active learner participation in classroom interaction. This in turn helps the teacher to achieve the desired learning outcomes.
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Yates, Karen. "Teaching linguistic mimicry to improve second language pronunciation." Thesis, University of North Texas, 2003. https://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc4164/.
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This thesis tests the hypothesis that a whole language approach to ESL (English As A Second Language) pronunciation with emphasis on suprasegementals through the use of linguistic mimicry is more effective than a focus on segmentals in improving native speakers perceptions of accent and comprehensibility of ESL students' pronunciation of English. The thesis is organized into seven chapters. Chapter 2 is a discussion of the factors that affect the degree of foreign accent in second language acquisition. Chapter 3 gives a background on current ESL pedagogy followed by a description of the linguistic mimicry approach used in this research in Chapter 4. Chapter 5 and 6 are discussion of Materials and Methods and Conclusions and Implications.
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Silburn, Gail Deirdre. "The effect of teaching text organisation on reading in English as a second language." Thesis, Rhodes University, 1991. http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1001438.
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This research investigated the effect of teaching text organisation on reading in English second language to schoolgirls. All subjects underwent a training programme of five one-hour sessions on consecutive school days. The experimental group were trained in the use and recognition of top-level organisation as a reading strategy, based on work done by Bartlett (1978) and Carrell (1985). The control group were trained in unrelated grammar exercises. A pre-test was administered to each group before their programme began. Post-test 1 was administered immediately after the training was completed, and Post-test 2, three weeks later. These tests required a written recall of two passages once they had been read, and an answer to a question on their organisation. The null hypotheses stated that the experimental group's training in the use and recognition of top-level organisation as a reading strategy would make no difference in their ability to read and recall information or to recognise and use top-level organisation in their recalls. For the quantity of information recalled, no differences were found in the Pre-test and Post-test 1; a statistically significant difference was found in Post-test 2 in favour of the experimental group. For the quality of information recalled, the control group remembered more top-level idea units in the Pre-test; there was no difference in Post-test 1; the experimental group did better in three out of five levels in Post-test 2. There was no difference in the Pretest in either group's use of the passage's top-level organisation to structure recalls, but the experimental group did better in both post-tests. The control group did better in the Pre-test in recognising the passage's top-level organisation, but the experimental group did better in both post-tests. The null hypotheses were rejected as the experimental training made a difference, although this difference only became apparent three weeks later, and not immediately after the training. The experimental group's nullifying the control group's Pre-test advantage in Post-test 1 and surpassing it in Post-test 2, powerfully supports Bartlett's and Carrell's findings that teaching the strategy did make a difference and that this effect could be maintained over three weeks
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Chen, Selma Shu-Mei. "The effects of L1 word order and English proficiency on non-English speakers' sentence processing." Virtual Press, 1989. http://liblink.bsu.edu/uhtbin/catkey/720150.
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This study is a partial replication of Davison & Lutz's (1984) experiment. It was designed to test if L1 word order and English proficiency are involved in non-native speakers' sentence processing. This study concentrates on the roles of syntax and pragmatics/semantics in sentence processing. By comparing two corresponding syntactic structures with similar meanings but different forms in context, we can detect the different degrees of the salient property of a certain NP. The perception of the salient NP is related to the definition of the sentence topic, which functions as the link between the sentence and the discourse. The salient NP can be identified by applying our linguistic knowledge, syntactic rules, and our real world knowledge, pragmatic principles,. The choice of syntactic structure is conditioned heavily by pragmatic principles. It is believed that response times correspond to the degrees of salience.Sixty international students participated in the experiment. Stimulus sentences were presented with a computer program and response times were recorded in seconds by the computer automatically. A cloze test was given for the measuring of English proficiency.The data collected were analyzed with SPSS-X. The MANOVA was carried out to compare the differences between VO/OV language types, target sentences (transformed and untransformed ones), five types of syntactic constructions, and the interactions ofword order by target sentences, target sentences by syntactic constructions, and L1 word order by target sentences by syntactic constructions. The response times for English proficiency were used as a post hoc variable. Significance was set at .05.The results revealed that there was a significant difference across five syntactic constructions (p < .05). The other tests were not significant. Two important limitations on this study are problems arising out of randomization parameters in the experiment, and the lack of lower level English proficiency subjects.Department of English
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Huang, Jing, and 黃景. "Autonomy, agency and identity in foreign language learning and teaching." Thesis, The University of Hong Kong (Pokfulam, Hong Kong), 2009. http://hub.hku.hk/bib/B41757981.
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Berwick, Richard. "The effect of task variation in teacher-led groups on repair of English as a foreign language." Thesis, University of British Columbia, 1988. http://hdl.handle.net/2429/29230.
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An experiment was conducted to determine how learners and teachers of English as a foreign language in Japan cooperatively attempt to improve the comprehensibility of their talk in English during performance of various conversational tasks. The basic practical issue under study was the possibility that certain kinds of teacher-led groups and tasks would be more effective in generating repair and negotiation of the language by which tasks are accomplished than others, and that these group-task combinations might eventually be employed as alternatives to traditional teacher-fronted forms of foreign language instruction.
The study was operationalized in a 2 x 5 between-and-within subjects, repeated-measures analysis of variance design. Two, six-dyad, teacher-led groups -- homogeneous (Japanese teacher/Japanese learner) and mixed (native English speaking teacher/Japanese learner) -- were formed in order to compare the frequency of 12 repair exponents generated during performance of five tasks. Teaching goals were represented in two tasks, instruction in use of the string-searching function of a laptop computer 1) with and 2) without the computer physically present. Non-teaching (social and cooperative problem-solving) goals were embodied in three additional tasks, 3) free discussion, and construction of a Lego (snap-together) toy accomplished with participants facing 4) away from and 5) towards each other. Task categories were also divided into experiential and expository activities (respectively, Tasks 2 and 5, and Tasks 1 and 4) following a model for use of reference in English. Experiential dyadic activity was related to the occurrence of exophoric (pointing out) reference and expository dyadic activity to the incidence of anaphoric (pointing back) reference in the task transcripts.
Results of the analysis of variance indicated that while tasks differed on the basis of repair and reference, the groups did not: Dyadic talk was more responsive to the nature of the task than to the language background of the teacher. Further analysis suggested more frequent and elaborate repair during tasks which combine non-teaching goals and experiential processes as compared with tasks emphasizing teaching goals and expository processes. Qualitative analysis of task transcripts supported this distinction and elaborated specific discourse functions for such repair exponents as referential questions and confirmation checks which characteristically co-occur in conversational discourse.
Based on these findings, it was concluded that Japanese teachers are capable of generating appropriate conversational repair in dyadic interaction with learners largely on a par with their native English-speaking counterparts. To this extent, their potential contribution to learners' acquisition of a foreign language is of an equivalent value. Furthermore, teacher-led small groups can be effective contexts for generating a rich supply of conversational repair and. thus should be considered as alternatives to traditional teacher-fronted foreign language classroom instruction. Finally, tasks which support achievement of social and problem-solving (i.e., non-teaching) goals through experiential activity are effective contexts in which normal forms of conversational repair can be generated. Since such tasks can be adapted easily to classroom settings, they merit consideration among the range of task options available to teachers and other instructional planners.Education, Faculty of
Educational Studies (EDST), Department of
Graduate
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Liu, Songhao. "The acquisition of the Chinese de-construction by native English speakers." HKBU Institutional Repository, 2010. http://repository.hkbu.edu.hk/etd_ra/1192.
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Mohamed, Hashim Issa. "Academic writing as social practice: a critical discourse analysis of student writing in higher education in Tanzania." Thesis, University of the Western Cape, 2006. http://etd.uwc.ac.za/index.php?module=etd&.
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This thesis was a critical analysis of students academic second language writing at Sokoine University of Agriculture. Student writing in English as a second language in higher education has excited much interest in the English as a Second Language writing research and discussion in Tanzania. The interest was motivated by frequent criticisms from examiners regarding students literacy performance in the English as a Second Language writing in the post primary and higher education where the language of instruction is English as is configured in the Tanzanian language policy.
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Yuen, Susie. "ESL university students' coping strategies : a qualitative study of academic reading." Thesis, University of British Columbia, 1988. http://hdl.handle.net/2429/28316.
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The ability to read and write academic discourse in a second language often determines an ESL student's scholastic progress. Recent related research has focused on the academic reading of ESL university students at the text level, often at the single or multi-paragraph level (Block, 1986; Carrell, 1985, 1987), and has looked at categories that were general across subject areas.
This study explores how first year university ESL students cope with the reading demands of two specific credit courses, English Literature and Introductory Psychology, within the context of the course requirements, the instruction, and the nature of the academic discipline itself.
The research method focused on ethnographic interviews with ten students from various Asian countries and their Canadian instructors, on classroom observations, and on the researcher's extensive field diary.
Analysis of the findings identified three major coping strategies: self-management, background knowledge and experience, and reliance on the instructors in the disciplines. The nature of the genre, the students' interest in the discipline, and their perseverance in reading comprehension appear to influence their choice of strategies in meeting specific academic objectives. These strategies contributed to the background knowledge component of the academic tasks that the students face. Their efforts at academic tasks were guided by the concern to do what was required to complete course assignments. Essentially, course assignments directed the action component or agenda, of the students' academic tasks. Reading-to-learn involved approaching the genre-specific reading tasks at the whole text level within the context of what was required to successfully fulfil the course requirements of the particular genre. The primary reality of the students was to demonstrate an adequate level of academic proficiency.
In contrast with previous research, findings indicated the importance of genre-specific reading tasks at the whole-text level rather than generic reading at the paragraph level, and the importance of relating coping strategies to the context of what was required to fulfil course requirements rather than the study of strategies in isolation. Thus, the findings were consistent with a theoretical model (Mohan, 1986) analyzing academic tasks into an action component and a knowledge component.Education, Faculty of
Language and Literacy Education (LLED), Department of
Graduate
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Sun, Lixia. "Reviewing computer-assisted language learning (CALL) in a vocational school in China." Thesis, University of the Western Cape, 2005. http://etd.uwc.ac.za/index.php?module=etd&action=viewtitle&id=init_5543_1178702325.
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In recent years, advances in computer technology have motivated Chinese teachers to reassess computer use and consider it as a valuable part of daily foreign language learning and teaching. Software programmes, USB (Universal Serial Bus) technology, and computer networks are providing teachers with new methods of incorporating culture, grammar, and real language use in the classroom. Students gain access to audio, visual and textual information about the language through the use of computers. The aim of this study was to investigate vocational school English students and teachers concerns and behaviours about integrating information technology into English instruction.
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Yu, Hsien-Yu. "Computer-assisted English as a foreign language curriculum design." CSUSB ScholarWorks, 1997. https://scholarworks.lib.csusb.edu/etd-project/1311.
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Isaacs, Talia. "Towards defining a valid assessment criterion of pronunciation proficiency in non-native English speaking graduate students." Thesis, McGill University, 2005. http://digitool.Library.McGill.CA:80/R/?func=dbin-jump-full&object_id=98938.
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This exploratory, mixed-design study investigates whether intelligibility is "enough," that is, a suitable goal and an adequate assessment criterion, for evaluating proficiency in the pronunciation of non-native English speaking graduate students in the academic domain. The study also seeks to identify those pronunciation features which are most crucial for intelligible speech.Speech samples of 19 non-native English speaking graduate students in the Faculty of Education at McGill University were elicited using the Test of Spoken English (TSE), a standardized test of spoken proficiency which is often used by institutions of higher learning to screen international teaching assistants (ITAs). Results of a fined-grained phonological analysis of the speech samples coupled with intelligibility ratings of 18 undergraduate science students suggest that intelligibility, though an adequate assessment criterion, is a necessary but not a sufficient condition for graduate students to instruct undergraduate courses as teaching assistants, and that there is a threshold level (i.e., minimum acceptable level) of intelligibility that needs to be identified more precisely. While insights about the features of pronunciation that are most critical for intelligibility are inconclusive, it is clear that intelligibility can be compromised for different reasons and is often the result of a combination of "problem areas" that interact together.
The study has some important implications for ITA training and assessment, for the design of graduate student pronunciation courses, and for future intelligibility research. It also presents a first step in validating theoretical intelligibility models which lack empirical backing (e.g., Morley, 1994).
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Groot, Ingeborg. "Note-taking in English as a second language acquisition." Virtual Press, 1991. http://liblink.bsu.edu/uhtbin/catkey/770936.
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The purpose of this study was to investigate and describe several aspects of English as a second language (ESL) note-taking in response to lectures. The objective of this study was to analyze note-taking production. In addition, the study had hoped to trace note-taking progress as it correlated with language proficiency progress, but due to circumstances beyond the control of the researcher this idea had to be abandoned. Instead, the study focused on the first six weeks of a learner's academic semester in the target language.The researcher observed twenty students in order to obtain insights into the note-taking production of low ESL students in response to lectures. The methods used were: class observation, notebook collection, a two-part questionnaire, and a follow-up questionnaire. It was found that in the first six weeks of academic study, this group of low ESL students had difficulty taking notes due, largely, to language proficiency problems, such as the rate of delivery. Other reasons why the students had difficulties taking notes included their lack of formal training in note-taking and the fact that they were not using special strategies and skills. Thus, all this study can say about note-taking in second language acquisition is that it is difficult for low ESL students.Department of English
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冼雅琳 and Nga-lam Caroline Sin. "English and globalization: attitudes of some Hong Kong speakers." Thesis, The University of Hong Kong (Pokfulam, Hong Kong), 2005. http://hub.hku.hk/bib/B31642421.
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Jung, Miso. "When English as a Second Language students meet text-responsible writing." CSUSB ScholarWorks, 2005. https://scholarworks.lib.csusb.edu/etd-project/2906.
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This thesis follows two international freshman students in an English composition class at California State University, San Bernardino. The results indicate that the students generally experienced feeling challenged and overwhelmed about the unfamiliar topic, but detailed assignment guidelines played a key role for students to progress in understanding the assignment.