Dissertations / Theses: 'Language skills'

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Soverini, Veronica <1995&gt. "Language Learning Skills - Classroom Research." Master's Degree Thesis, Università Ca' Foscari Venezia, 2021. http://hdl.handle.net/10579/19939.

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The aim of this thesis is to analyze the employment of language learning skills in the study of a foreign language in a High School, throughout a research conducted during an internship at "Ettore Majorana-Elena Corner High School" of Mirano (VE). The project of this thesis consists of the investigation of three research questions: the first, concerning the employment of language learning skills through the direct observation of an English teacher; the second, concerning the strategies adopted by students in their study of English language outside the school environment; the third, regarding the analysis of the learning style profile of a student. At the end, thanks to the use of graphs and tables, it is provided a detailed analysis of the results achieved in 150 hours of observation through the employment of different instruments.

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Potrus, Dani. "Swedish Sign Language Skills Training and Assessment." Thesis, KTH, Skolan för datavetenskap och kommunikation (CSC), 2017. http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:kth:diva-209129.

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Sign language is used widely around the world as a first language for those that are unable to use spoken language and by groups of people that have a disability which precludes them from using spoken language (such as a hearing impairment). The importance of effective learning of sign language and its applications in modern computer science has grown widely in the modern aged society and research around sign language recognition has sprouted in many different directions, some examples using hidden markov models (HMMs) to train models to recognize different sign language patterns (Swedish sign language, American sign language, Korean sign language, German sign language and so on). This thesis project researches the assessment and skill efficiency of using a simple video game to learn Swedish sign language for children in the ages within the range of 10 to 11 with no learning disorders, or any health disorders. During the experimental testing, 38 children are divided into two equally sized groups of 19 where each group plays a sign language video game. The context of the video game is the same for both groups, where both listened to a 3D avatar speak to them using both spoken language and sign language. The first group played the game and answered questions given to them by using sign language, whereas the other group answered questions given to them by clicking on an alternative on the video game screen. A week after the children have played the video game, the sign language skills that they have acquired from playing the video game are assessed by simple questions where they are asked to provide some of the signs that they saw during the duration of the video game. The main hypothesis of the project is that the group of children that answered by signing outperforms the other group, in both remembering the signs and executing them correctly. A statistical null hypothesis test is performed on this hypothesis, in which the main hypothesis is confirmed. Lastly, discussions for future research within sign language assessment using video games is described in the final chapter of the thesis.
Teckenspråk används i stor grad runt om i världen som ett modersmål för dom som inte kan använda vardagligt talsspråk och utav grupper av personer som har en funktionsnedsättning (t.ex. en hörselskada). Betydelsen av effektivt lärande av teckenspråk och dess tillämpningar i modern datavetenskap har ökat i stor utsträckning i det moderna samhället, och forskning kring teckenspråklig igenkänning har spirat i många olika riktningar, ett exempel är med hjälp av statistika modeller såsom dolda markovmodeller (eng. Hidden markov models) för att träna modeller för att känna igen olika teckenspråksmönster (bland dessa ingår Svenskt teckenspråk, Amerikanskt teckenspråk, Koreanskt teckenspråk, Tyskt teckenspråk med flera). Denna rapport undersöker bedömningen och skickligheten av att använda ett enkelt teckenspråksspel som har utvecklats för att lära ut enkla Svenska teckenspråksmönster för barn i åldrarna 10 till 11 års ålder som inte har några inlärningssjukdomar eller några problem med allmän hälsa. Under projektets experiment delas 38 barn upp i två lika stora grupper om 19 i vardera grupp, där varje grupp kommer att få spela ett teckenspråksspel. Sammanhanget för spelet är detsamma för båda grupperna, där de får höra och se en tredimensionell figur (eng. 3D Avatar) tala till dom med både talsspråk och teckenspråk. Den första gruppen spelar spelet och svarar på frågor som ges till dem med hjälp av teckenspråk, medan den andra gruppen svarar på frågor som ges till dem genom att klicka på ett av fem alternativ som finns på spelets skärm. En vecka efter att barnen har utfört experimentet med teckenspråksspelet bedöms deras teckenspråkliga färdigheter som de har fått från spelet genom att de ombeds återuppge några av de tecknena som de såg under spelets varaktighet. Rapportens hypotes är att de barn som tillhör gruppen som fick ge teckenspråk som svar till frågorna som ställdes överträffar den andra gruppen, genom att både komma ihåg tecknena och återuppge dom på korrekt sätt. En statistisk hypotesprövning utförs på denna hypotes, där denna i sin tur bekräftas. Slutligen beskrivs det i rapportens sista kapitel om framtida forskning inom teckenspråksbedömning med tv spel och deras effektivitet.

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Нгуєн, В’єт Нган. "Language skills of bilingual and monolingual speakers." Thesis, Київський національний університет технологій та дизайну, 2019. https://er.knutd.edu.ua/handle/123456789/13194.

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Watkins-Mace, Sarah P. "The effects of first language literacy skills on second language literacy skills for native Spanish and native English speakers." Diss., Manhattan, Kan. : Kansas State University, 2006. http://hdl.handle.net/2097/224.

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Beddes, Sarah Rose. "An investigation of teaching methods for phonemic awareness first phoneme skill versus multiple phoneme skills /." Laramie, Wyo. : University of Wyoming, 2008. http://proquest.umi.com/pqdweb?did=1654491981&sid=1&Fmt=2&clientId=18949&RQT=309&VName=PQD.

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Torres, Jr Oscar. "ACQUIRING 21ST CENTURY LANGUAGE SKILLS: A CASE STUDY ON THE IMPACT OF TEACHERS' PERCEPTIONS OF STUDENTS' SECOND LANGUAGE SKILLS ON A WORLD LANGUAGE PROGRAM." Diss., Temple University Libraries, 2011. http://cdm16002.contentdm.oclc.org/cdm/ref/collection/p245801coll10/id/124461.

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Educational Administration
Ed.D.
The primary goal of this study was to identify how middle school language teachers bridge the skills acquired and strategies taught in an elementary school language program with the skills taught and practiced at the middle school level. The study will answer in detail this question: What perceptions do middle school teachers form regarding their students' language skills and how do these perceptions impact a world language program? By identifying the language teachers' current perceptions as they relate to their lesson design and delivery, school districts may find relationships between the teachers' perceptions of their students' language abilities and the program's perceived benefits or deficiencies. The researcher examined a middle school language program through the participation of language teachers from three middle schools in an urban setting. The findings indicate that teachers in the program can improve the delivery of their instruction by implementing strategies identified as necessary for the continued growth of the program and for students' acquisition of the language skills needed in the 21st century. Three themes derived from the findings and results of this study are: 1) collaborating with the teachers from the previous level; 2) using question and answer techniques and; 3) minimizing the amount of time used for review.
Temple University--Theses

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Cheung, Ngan-hin Elly, and 張顏顯. "The role of orthographic processing skills and writing skills in Chinese reading development." Thesis, The University of Hong Kong (Pokfulam, Hong Kong), 2011. http://hub.hku.hk/bib/B46934947.

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Davies, Susan. "English language skills of minority language children in a French Immersion program." Thesis, University of British Columbia, 1985. http://hdl.handle.net/2429/24625.

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The purpose of this study was to determine the English language skills of minority language children (experimental group) in a early total French Immersion program by comparing them with those of English-speaking children in French Immersion (English control group), and with those of minority language children in a regular English program (minority control group). Ten grade one children comprised each of the three groups of children. Listening comprehension of English was assessed using two standardized tests of English comprehension (the Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test and the Token Test for Children). English speaking skills were assessed using the Clark-Madison Test of Oral Language (a standardized test) and a ten to fifteen minute language sample. English metalinguistic skills were assessed with a phoneme deletion task used by Rosner & Simon (1971) and with two tasks used by Pratt, Tunmer & Bowey (1984): a morpheme correction task and a word order correction task. Questionnaires were used to assess attitudes towards the minority language and culture and to determine the children's home and language background. It was hypothesized that the English language skills of the experimental group would be at least as good as those of the English control group and the minority control group. The results supported the hypotheses. The experimental group did as well as the English control group on all of the measures of English comprehension and production tested. The minority control group scored lower than the English control group on all measures of English comprehension and production. They scored lower than the experimental group on the comprehension of complex commands and on the Clark-Madison Test of Oral Language. The three groups scored similarly on all of the metalinguistic tasks except on the morpheme correction task, where the minority control group scored lower than the English control group. Results support the suitability of early total French Immersion for minority language children who have their first language and culture valued and maintained.
Medicine, Faculty of
Audiology and Speech Sciences, School of
Graduate

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Christensen, R. Bryan. "Paying for language skills| The Department of Defense Foreign Language Incentive Program." Thesis, University of Colorado at Colorado Springs, 2013. http://pqdtopen.proquest.com/#viewpdf?dispub=3563610.

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Many organizations have a great need for people conversant in foreign languages and cultures. The U.S. Department of Defense operates globally and is always in need of people who can communicate across cultural and linguistic divides, and the gap between what is needed and the personnel who can meet those needs is often considerable. To address this deficit the DOD implemented an incentive pay in the mid 1980s to reward those servicemembers who could prove proficiency in a foreign language. The Foreign Language Proficiency Bonus (FLPB) has gone through numerous changes over the years and this study sought to answer the basic questions, what has been the effect and is it working? How much of an effect does the bonus have on members' actual behavior regarding FL acquisition? This mixed-methods approach analyzed the evolution of policy, conducted a statistical analysis of member testing data, and conducted interviews with 22 current and former recipients of FLPB to see what impact FLPB has had or could have in meeting the DOD goal of increasing FL proficiency within the force. This study focused on the Air Force implementation of the FLPB program, though findings are likely applicable across the military services. Key findings include the rapidly changing nature of FLPB policy, which has caused frustration for many AF members. Further, with numerous stakeholders involved, some points of policy and programs could potentially be working at cross-purposes with overall goals. Statistical analysis found several significant trends; however, many findings do not support FLPB as an effective program in its current form. Many AF members indicated a high desire to use their language skills but are frustrated at the infrequent ability to do so in any official capacity. Several suggestions are offered for how the AF could modify existing policy to achieve its goals for FL proficiency, as well as to maximize scarce financial resources to maximum effect.

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Khojah, Aishah. "Saudi Second Language Learners’ Receptive and Productive Skills in English Figurative Language." Thesis, The University of Sydney, 2013. http://hdl.handle.net/2123/9828.

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This study compares English and Arabic figurative expressions linguistically and conceptually and investigates how Arabic-speaking learners of English comprehend and produce English figurative expressions. It argues that English figurative expressions that are linguistically and conceptually similar to Arabic (SFE) are easy while English figurative expressions that are linguistically and conceptually different from Arabic (DFE) are difficult. Also, English figurative expressions that are linguistically different but conceptually similar to Arabic (S-DFE) are of medium difficulty. A comparative analysis was used to develop a set of tasks to test 100 students’ receptive and productive skills in English figurative language. The data came from 832 items identified in two ESL textbooks used with first year students at King Abdul Aziz University. The results show that SFE is much easier than DFE. S-DFE showed variable results but students tended to find them difficult. However, some examples of SFE were found difficult and of DFE easy. These indicate that similarities or differences across languages do not always make it easy or difficult for learners to understand and produce L2 expressions. The results also show evidence of positive transfer mostly with SFE, and negative transfer with DFE and S-DFE. The findings lend further support to the contrastive analysis hypothesis; however, they also support the cognitive approach because they show the role of learners’ linguistic and conceptual knowledge in the comprehension and production of L2 expressions. The findings of this empirical study demonstrate the essential roles of cross-linguistic comparisons of English and Arabic figurative language on the linguistic and conceptual levels for exploring learners’ receptive and productive skills in English figurative language. The classification of figurative language as easy or difficult has some implications for the teaching of English figurative expressions.

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Adams, C., Kelli Morgan, Julie Phillips, Emilee Rehm, Brianna Stampler, and Kerry Proctor-Williams. "The Narrative Skills of Children with Specific Language Impairment and Typical Language." Digital Commons @ East Tennessee State University, 2018. https://dc.etsu.edu/etsu-works/1815.

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Phillips, Julie, Courtney Adams, Kelli Morgan, Emilee Rehm, Brianna Stampler, and Kerry Proctor-Williams. "The Narrative Skills of Children with Specific Language Impairment and Typical Language." Digital Commons @ East Tennessee State University, 2017. https://dc.etsu.edu/etsu-works/1818.

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Purpose. The purpose of this research project was to compare the narrative content organization (macrostructure) of young children with specific language impairment (SLI) and those with typical language development (TL). While it is well-known that young children with SLI display poorer use of grammar (microstructure) than their TL language similar peers (Leaonard, 2014; Rice et al., 1998) less is known about their use of macrostructure. Thus, the research question was: What are the narrative skills of children with SLI as compared to their language similar peers with development TL? Based on research with older children (Gillam et al., 2016), it was hypothesized that children with SLI will have poorer narrative macrostructure of narratives than those with TL. Method. The experiment compared 6 children with SLI (mean age: 5 years, 2 months) and 8 language similar children with TL (mean age: 4 years, 8 months). Language equivalency was determined based on administration of the Clinical Evaluation of Language Fundamentals-Preschool-2 and the Rice/Wexler Test of Early Grammatical Impairment. As well, all the participants passed a hearing screening and performed in the average range on the Preschool Test of Nonverbal Intelligence. Researchers read two books, Gossie and Gossie & Gertie (Dunrea, 2002, 2002) to each child. After reading each book, the child retold the story while looking through the pictures as a guide, yielding 12 SLI samples and 16 TL samples. The stories were audio-recorded and transcribed using a consensus method of reliability. Researchers then coded the stories for presence and quality of the following components: Character, Setting, Initiating Event, Internal Response, Plan, Action/Attempt, and Consequence. Once coded, the components were then scored on a 3-point scale using Gillam et al. (2012) narrative development progressmonitoring tool. Results and Conclusions. First, outcomes of the two stories were compared using an ANOVA design with Story Components and Story as within group factors. Because Gossie & Gertie had one more character than Gertie, it naturally scored significantly higher on Characters. Otherwise, the stories did not reliably differ and were combined for further analysis. Next a mixed model ANOVA design with Story Components as a within group factor and Group as a between group faction was conducted. The results indicated no statistically significant main effects or interactions. The findings did not support the hypothesis, suggesting that the narrative skills of children with SLI are equivalent to their language similar peers with TL. It may be as children get older and their narratives become more complex, children with SLI begin to fall further behind yielding the differences reported in the literature. This project prompts future questions about narrative macrostructure skills of young age-matched children with SLI and TL and use of macrostructure skills in more complex stories.

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Angeli, Nicolle. "Temperament, Joint Engagement, and Language Skills in Toddlers." Digital Archive @ GSU, 2006. http://digitalarchive.gsu.edu/psych_theses/9.

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This study investigated how emotion-regulation would moderate the relationship between shyness and joint engagement and how joint engagement would mediate the relationship between shyness and language skills. Fifty-three mother-child dyads were observed in the laboratory according to the Communication Play Protocol (Adamson & Bakeman, 1999) when the toddlers were 24 and 30 months of age. Mothers completed the Temperament Behavior Assessment Questionnaire-Revised (Rothbart & Goldsmith, unpublished). Toddlers also completed the Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test-III (PPVT-III; Dunn & Dunn, 1997) and Expressive Vocabulary Test (EVT; Williams, 1997). The relationship between shyness and the percentage of time spent in non-symbol-infused coordinated joint engagement was moderated by a toddler’s ability to self-soothe. Shyer toddlers had significantly lower receptive language scores than less shy toddlers, and this relationship was partially mediated by the percentage of time toddlers spent in symbol-infused supported and coordinated joint engagement states. INDEX WORDS: Temperament, Shyness, Emotion-regulation, Language Skills, Joint Engagement

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Davis, Lauren M. "Exploring the Spoken Language Development of School-Aged Children on the Autism Spectrum with Minimal Verbal Language." Thesis, Griffith University, 2020. http://hdl.handle.net/10072/398435.

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Children on the autism spectrum demonstrate wide variation in their expressive communication skills, with a significant proportion having minimal verbal language. Research has tried to identify factors that might influence or predict language acquisition, with limited success. Further research is needed to understand, and ultimately address, the communication needs of this group of children to better support their communication development. Therefore, the primary aim of this study was to investigate spoken language development in children on the autism spectrum with minimal verbal language by addressing three research questions: 1. What are the social communication profiles of school age children on the autism spectrum with minimal verbal language? 2. What proportion of school age children on the autism spectrum with minimal verbal language develop spoken language over a 4-year period? 3. Do children on the autism spectrum who do and do not go on to develop spoken language differ based on their (a) social-communication skills or (b) personal, family, and environmental factors? The study used data from children with minimal verbal language participating in the Longitudinal study of Australian Students with Autism, a cross-sequential study investigating the educational experiences and outcomes of students on the autism spectrum. Data at four time points were drawn from a set of measures of child and family demographics, autism characteristics, social-communication skills, and adaptive behaviour. A mixed methods approach was used to address the research questions, including qualitative content analysis methods and descriptive and inferential statistics. Results of this study indicate that just over half of the participants developed some level of spoken language ability over the 4-year period. When comparing groups of developers and nondevelopers of language, no significant differences were found for the social-communication skills evaluated on The Pragmatics Profile of Everyday Communication Skills in Children (PP); however, a medium effect size was found for interaction with adults. While no significant differences were found between groups on the identified factors, medium effect sizes were also reported for autism characteristics, parent education, and parent diagnoses. Findings provide valuable information regarding the language abilities of children with minimal verbal language, including subgroups within this population, and how they present with complex profiles of social-communication skills as well as personal, family, and environmental factors. These skills and factors require investigation in larger groups of children to determine their potential significance in the language development of children on the autism spectrum with minimal verbal language. Findings offer preliminary evidence for a new method for quantifying qualitative insights into children’s social-communication skills using the PP. Collectively, these findings will assist professionals working with this group of children by providing a better understanding of the unique profiles of children on the autism spectrum who enter formal schooling with minimal verbal language, that can be used to tailor and implement individualised supports aimed at facilitating and promoting positive communication outcomes.
Thesis (Masters)
School Educ & Professional St
Arts, Education and Law
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Shelton, Susan Allsop. "Sentence-Level Construction Methods: Skills Taught Are Skills Used." BYU ScholarsArchive, 2017. https://scholarsarchive.byu.edu/etd/6505.

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The findings of this study predict that students who utilize five specific sentence constructions on timed single-draft writing compositions will have higher holistic scores than students who do not utilize the specific constructions. Students in the treatment group who were taught to use the five constructions through thorough and consistent instruction in a semester length first year writing course showed statistically significant gains, 4.698 points on a 0-18 scale, based on comparison of pre-test and post-test writing samples. The findings suggest that specific style instruction at the sentence level should be part of the first year writing course curriculum, and possibly in the writing curriculum of secondary education as well.

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Alvarenga, Denise Maria de Figueiredo. "Developing Young Learners’ Logical/Deductive Thinking Skills and Second Language Skills through a CLIL approach." Master's thesis, Faculdade de Ciências Sociais e Humanas, Universidade Nova de Lisboa, 2012. http://hdl.handle.net/10362/8651.

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Trabalho de Projecto apresentado para cumprimento dos requisitos necessários à obtenção do grau de Mestre em Teaching English as a Second / Foreign Language.
Este trabalho de projeto procura explorar os enúmeros benefícios do uso de uma abordagem CLIL no ensino da língua inglesa como língua estrangeira e simultaneamente avaliar a possibilidade de melhorar competências matemáticas e competências associadas a uma língua estrageira através de uma abordagem CLIL, com crianças do 1º ciclo do Ensino Básico. Este action research tem como objetivo responder à pergunta É possivel melhorar competências matemáticas e competências associadas a uma língua estrangeiraatravés de uma abordagem CLIL? Este action research foi estruturado usando uma abordagem CLIL e desenvolveu-se numa escola privada, envolvendo um grupo de 18 crianças que frequentavam o 4º ano de escolaridade. Estas crianças inscreveram-se no English Club que tinha lugar uma vez por semana durante meia hora. As crianças participantes neste projecto trabalhavam em grupos tendo participado em cinco ciclos de trabalho com diferentes níveis de dificuldade, onde tiveram de completar atividades matemáticas que envolviam problemas matemáticos de lógica e dedução. Estes cinco ciclos de trabalho foram desenvolvidos usando uma abordagem Task-Based Learning. Tendo em conta toda a informação recolhida neste projeto, é possible concluir que as crianças foram capazes de combinar a língua inglesa como meio de comunicação e a linguagem matemática na resolução de todas as actividades proposta. Todas estas actividades matemáticas tinham como principal objetivo que as crianças deste projeto progredissem no desenvolvimento das competências matemáticas ligadas à logica e à dedução e que também desenvolvessem competências associadas à aquisição do inglês como língua estrangeira.
Abstract: This project work seeks to explore the numerous benefits of introducing a CLIL approach within the ELT classroom, simultaneously evaluating the possibility of improving mathematical skills and developing second language skills through a CLIL approach with young learners aged nine and ten. This action research project aims, thus, to provide an answer to the research question Can young learners improve both their Mathematical thinking skills and second language skills through a CLIL Approach? This action research was developed using a CLIL approach and took place in a private primary school, involving a group of 18 young learners attending the fourth grade, who enrolled in an English Club, which took place once a week for half an hour. Young learners participated in groups of three or four in five teaching cycles, with increasing levels of difficulty, where they were asked to complete a problem solving task within a task cycle designed in accordance with a Task-Based Learning approach. Taking into account the findings of this research, it was possible to conclude that young learners were able to combine English as a means of communication and the language of mathematics in order to perform problem-solving activities which aimed to help learners progress in skills regarding a second language and mathematical reasoning.

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Gunduz, Seda. "The Impact of Immigrant Language Skills on Canadian Wages." Thesis, Université d'Ottawa / University of Ottawa, 2017. http://hdl.handle.net/10393/36624.

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This thesis consists of three chapters investigating the impact of immigrant language skills on Canadian wages. The first chapter, “Linguistic diversity among Canadian immigrants: 1981-2006”, describes the changes in linguistic diversity among Canadian immigrants, as measured by a preferred linguistic distance measure, the Levenshtein Distance (LD) Index, and documents socio-demographic characteristics of recent immigrants as well as their labour market performance based on their language capital at the time of entry. The LD is an approximation of immigrants’ language skills in the Canadian official languages and represents the “distance” of an immigrant’s reported language to the Canadian official languages. Using the 20% micro-data files of the Canadian Censuses between 1981 and 2006, I assign each immigrant an index number based on two language measures: mother tongue and home language. French and English are defined as the Canadian official languages in Quebec and outside of Quebec, respectively. The main findings suggest that although immigrants’ mother tongues became more “distant” to the Canadian official languages in both regions over time, the language skill of an average immigrant based on home language remained almost the same in Quebec, in particular, between 1981 and 1996. In terms of immigrants’ socio-demographic characteristics and their labour market performance, general patterns were similar across the two regions, although there were significant differences by language groups. In particular, the change in immigrants’ wages by language groups is suggestive of the role of language skills in determining wages. The second chapter, “Immigrant versus native men? Substitutability and the role of linguistic diversity in Canada”, estimates the degree of substitutability between immigrant and native men by incorporating immigrants’ language skills into the analysis and calculates the potential wage effects of immigration on Canadian wages. Using the 20% micro-data files of the Canadian Censuses between 1981 and 2006 and imposing a nested-CES production function on the Canadian economy, I estimate immigrant-native substitutability based on immigrants’ language skills in addition to education levels and years of labour market experience. I use the LD Index to represent immigrants’ language skills by the distance of the mother tongue and home language of an immigrant to English outside of Quebec and to French in Quebec. I define three language groups for immigrants as the high language-skilled, the medium language-skilled, and the low language-skilled. The key findings are as follows. First, home language-based estimates suggest imperfect substitutability in Canada outside of Quebec in some cases. Second, by language skill groups, the low language-skilled immigrants are more likely to be imperfect substitutes for the Canadian-born. Third, the findings for Quebec are substantially different from those for Canada outside of Quebec. My simulations suggest that the long-run effect of immigration on immigrants’ wages was negative between 1981 and 2006 while the long-run effect of immigration on the wages of the Canadian-born was small but positive over the same period. The third chapter, “Gender, linguistic diversity, and labour market substitutability”, uses the same methodology and data sources as in the second chapter to incorporate female workers into the analysis of immigrant-native substitutability. This study estimates the elasticity of substitution between immigrant language groups and natives for female workers and the pooled sample of male and female workers. The findings suggest that the degree of substitutability between female immigrants and female natives is similar to the degree of substitutability between male immigrants and male natives. The main results do not change for the pooled sample. Due to potential differences between language accumulation processes between female and male immigrants, the third chapter also estimates female-male immigrants substitutability based on language skills, education levels, and years of labour market experience. The findings suggest that female and male immigrants are imperfect substitutes outside of Quebec regardless of language measures.

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Pavelko, Stacey Lynne. "Emergent writing skills in preschool children with language impairment." Doctoral diss., University of Central Florida, 2011. http://digital.library.ucf.edu/cdm/ref/collection/ETD/id/5006.

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Much research demonstrates that alphabet knowledge, phonological awareness, and emergent writing are all significant predictors of later reading and writing outcomes, and that children with language impairments (LI) are particularly at risk for later literacy difficulties. Further, children with LI consistently demonstrate depressed emergent literacy skills in the areas of phonological awareness, print concepts, and alphabet knowledge; however, little is known about their emergent writing skills. Therefore, the purposes of this study were twofold: (1) to compare the emergent writing skills of preschool children with language impairment to their typically developing peers using a range of writing tasks and a detailed, consistent scoring rubric for each task; and, (2) to explore the relationships among emergent writing skills and alphabet knowledge, phonological awareness, and oral language. The participants included four groups of preschool children: 11 4-year-old children with LI; 11 4-year-old language typical (LT) children, age-matched to children with LI; 20 4-year-old children with typical language; and, 21 5-year-old children with typical language. Children with language impairment scored between 70 and 84 on the Language Index of Assessment of Literacy and Language (ALL) (Lombardino, Lieberman, & Brown, 2005), and children with typical language scored between 85 and 115. All children passed a bilateral hearing screen, scored within the normal range on a non-verbal intelligence screen, demonstrated an unremarkable developmental history relative to sensory, neurological, and motor performance, spoke English as their primary language, and had mothers with at least a high school education or equivalent. During two sessions, children were administered the ALL and five emergent writing tasks: Write Letters, Write Name, Write CVC Words, Picture Description, and Sentence Retell.; The writing tasks and accompanying scoring rubrics were adopted from a previous study by Puranik and Lonigan (2009). Results indicated that children with LI demonstrated significantly less advanced letter and word writing skills than their language typical, age-matched peers. In addition, significant relationships between all emergent writing tasks and alphabet knowledge were observed for all children as well as significant relationships between oral language and phonological awareness for children with typical language. No significant relationships between any of the emergent writing tasks and phonological awareness or between oral language and alphabet knowledge were found. Further, results indicated the same developmental patterns exist in written as well as oral language for children with LI. This study has therapeutic implications for speech-language pathologists. In particular, emergent writing tasks need to be included in comprehensive assessment and intervention approaches for children with LI. Assessments need to yield accurate descriptions of emergent writing skills relevant to later literacy outcomes. Finally, integrated intervention approaches that combine initial sound awareness tasks with alphabet knowledge and emergent writing tasks may achieve the best learning outcomes.
ID: 030422949; System requirements: World Wide Web browser and PDF reader.; Mode of access: World Wide Web.; Thesis (Ph.D.)--University of Central Florida, 2011.; Includes bibliographical references (p. 163-180).
Ph.D.
Doctorate
Education

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O'Prey, Gareth. "Stimulus equivalence and precision teaching : teaching rudimentary language skills." Thesis, University of Ulster, 2005. http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.428629.

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Hollman, John W. "Reading skills in an African language : processing Bari orthography." Thesis, University of Reading, 1992. http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.316361.

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Kudin, Belma. "Teachers take on L2 pupils' school-related language skills." Thesis, Malmö högskola, Lärarutbildningen (LUT), 2014. http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:mau:diva-27902.

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Detta arbete syftar till att få ökad kunskap om hur lärare beskriver att de arbetar för att möta andraspråkselever i deras språkutveckling samt vilka stödstrukturer lärarna beskriver att de använder i utvecklingen av elevernas skolspråk. Jag anser att det är viktigt område att belysa då forskare anser att skolspråket är en bidragande faktor till att andraspråkselever som grupp, presterar sämre än enspråkiga elever i den svenska skolan. I min undersökning har jag använt mig av den kvalitativa intervjun som metod och intervjuat sex verksamma lärare som arbetar i grundskolans tidigare år. Resultatet av empirin visar att lärarna ansåg att avsaknaden av den språkliga basen utgjorde ett hinder för andraspråkseleverna i utvecklingen av skolspråket, vilket bidrog till att lärarna insåg vikten av att arbeta med att utvidga basen, parallellt med skolspråket. Resultatet visade vidare att informanterna använde sig utav olika stödstrategier som enligt informanterna utvecklar andraspråkselevernas skolspråk. De stödstrategier som framkom ur empirin var bland annat användningen av varierade uttrycksformer där bilder blev ett sätt för informanterna att förstärka undervisningen. Lärarna menar även att integrering av språk i ämnesundervisningen är en central utgångspunkt som bidrar till ett välutvecklat skolspråk, även vikten av en tydlig planering samt att motivera eleverna belystes av informanterna.

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Slack-Hines, Patricia. "The relationship between receptive language skills and school readiness." Huntington, WV : [Marshall University Libraries], 2001. http://www.marshall.edu/etd/descript.asp?ref=39.

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Claessen, Mary Elizabeth. "Phonological processing skills in children with specific language impairment." Thesis, Curtin University, 2013. http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/123.

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There is much debate in the literature about the cause, presentation, diagnosis and treatment of specific language impairment (SLI). Research has been hampered by the heterogeneity evident within the diagnostic group as well as a paucity of tasks to measure specific skills and thus increase our understanding of the underlying deficit. One prominent theory is that children with SLI have an underlying deficit with phonological processing skills although the role of phonology in the establishment of accurate, well specified phonological representations is still unclear.This program of research aimed to add to the body of evidence by addressing these key methodological issues and exploring the phonological processing skills of children with SLI. In the initial phase of the research, two silent measures of phonological representations were designed and developed to fill a recognised gap. The Quality of Phonological Representations task aims to explore the accuracy of a child’s stored phonological representation of a multisyllabic word. The Silent Deletion of Phonemes task aims to explore how well specified a stored phonological representation is, and requires a child to perform a silent deletion task on a stored phonological representation.The Quality of Phonological Representations and Silent Deletion Of Phonemes were then used as part of a comprehensive battery of phonological processing measures to explore the phonological processing skills of a well-defined group of children with SLI (n=21), typically developing children matched for age (n=21) and typically developing children matched for receptive language skills (n=21). The task battery also included measures of phonological awareness, short-term and working memory and rapid automatised naming.Children with SLI had generally weaker phonological processing skills than typically developing children matched for age. The profile was more varied when compared to typically developing children matched for language. Despite employing tight selection criteria, there was a wider spread of scores for children with SLI than for typically developing peers. The children with SLI demonstrated weaker performance on both short-term and working memory tasks, as well as a measure of quality of phonological representations.Overall, the children with SLI demonstrated an interesting pattern of phonological processing skills, with particular difficulty observed in phonological and working memory. Children with SLI also evidenced lower quality stored phonological representations of multisyllabic words. Performance on measures of phonological awareness was strong indicating that such skills can be taught, but that improvement in this area does not necessarily improve the quality of the underlying phonological representation.The research provided some support for a specific processing account of SLI. It also highlighted the importance of phonological and working memory in the development of accurate phonological representations.

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Moya, Mario Raul Angel. "Using language learning strategies to develop ab-initio PGCE students' skills in primary modern languages." Thesis, University of Bedfordshire, 2014. http://hdl.handle.net/10547/320282.

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The announcements concerning the introduction of modern languages in Key Stage Two in England (https://www.education.gov.uk/schools/teachingandlearning/ curriculum/national curriculum2014, [accessed 8 March 2013]), although not a new initiative, have renewed the need to train generalist primary teachers in teaching modern languages. Following an initial announcement of the introduction of the English Baccalaureate, the poor outcomes achieved by England in the European languages survey (COE, 2012) and the news that modern languages would be part of the primary curriculum (http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/education-18531751 [accessed 21 June 2012]) contributed to refreshing the agenda of languages in the country and the role of early second language learning appears to be slowly resurrecting. In order to provide trainee teachers with the skills necessary for teaching young learners modern languages, this study focuses on increasing subject knowledge and pedagogical competence in a short time by developing trainees’ reflective practice, broadly following the tradition of strategy-based instruction (Macaro, 2001; Cohen, 2007; Oxford, 2011), but within a social constructivist understanding of learning using collaboration. The research, which follows a mixed method case study approach, proposes and trials a teaching approach that incorporates language learning strategies in a collaborative manner. The design of a revised strategy-based approach has a three-fold purpose: (i) to enable primary trainee teachers to develop the linguistic skills necessary to teach another language through the use of the linguistic knowledge they already possess in their own mother tongue (Saville-Troike, 2012); (ii) to use self-regulation to build confidence and competence in the target language; and (iii) to enable trainees and pupils to develop their language learning autonomy. Results indicate that, within the case studies reported here, such an approach seemed to be an effective way of learning and teaching another language simultaneously for adults, as it provided ab-initio language learners with a basis for the development of linguistic skills thus increasing their capacity for languages. Whilst there is no claim to generalisation here, the studies indicate that using language learning strategies may create and sustain interest and engagement in the subject—a condition that has been identified as critical to the success of any teaching approach. Whilst the results were positive in terms of developing acceptable levels of linguistic competence in adult learners over a short time, the use of a strategy-based method with children did not prove satisfactory, perhaps because of the high metacognitive demands placed on them when they had not yet developed high level abstract thinking, particularly the amount of prior knowledge needed and the language required to verbalise complex cognitive processes.

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Robitaille, Elizabeth Grove. "Supporting teachers in assessing the language and literacy skills of preschool English language learners." Diss., Restricted to subscribing institutions, 2009. http://proquest.umi.com/pqdweb?did=1872172531&sid=1&Fmt=2&clientId=1564&RQT=309&VName=PQD.

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Daily, Stacy Lynn 1967. "Oral bound-morpheme skills of school-age, language-learning disabled and normal language children." Thesis, The University of Arizona, 1993. http://hdl.handle.net/10150/278328.

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This study tested the hypothesis that oral bound-morpheme impairment is characteristic of school-age children with a language-based learning disorder. Ten school-age children (Mean age: 10:3) classified as language-learning disabled and ten controls (Mean age: 9:9) classified as "normal language" were presented with four tasks that assessed oral bound-morpheme skills. A two-way analysis of variance revealed significant group and task differences. Fisher a priori tests indicated significant group differences on three tasks: a measure of English bound-morpheme skill levels, a measure of ability to generalize English bound morphemes, and a measure of ability to learn novel bound morphemes. The findings suggest that the core deficit underlying the oral bound-morpheme impairment does not resolve with maturation and experience.

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Lyu, Yeonhwan. "Simulations and Second / Foreign Language Learning: Improving communication skills through simulations." See Full Text at OhioLINK ETD Center (Requires Adobe Acrobat Reader for viewing), 2006. http://www.ohiolink.edu/etd/view.cgi?toledo1147363791.

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Sousa, Sherry Ann 1961. "PRAGMATIC LANGUAGE SKILLS IN LEARNING DISABLED ADOLESCENTS (ASSESSMENT, CLASSROOM, OBSERVATION)." Thesis, The University of Arizona, 1985. http://hdl.handle.net/10150/275327.

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Raymond, Stephanie M. "The Effect of Narrative Language Intervention on the Language Skills of Children with Hearing Loss." Scholar Commons, 2019. https://scholarcommons.usf.edu/etd/7902.

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Children with hearing loss have limited auditory access to their native language and struggle to develop appropriate language skills. These children consistently demonstrate less complex oral language output, smaller vocabulary inventories, and delays in overall communicative proficiency. With the extensive implications hearing loss has on language development, a child with hearing loss requires immediate access to appropriate and effective intervention to address deficits and curb long-term language delays. However, there is a paucity of research investigating the effects of various language intervention programs with children with hearing loss. Much of the existing research focuses on the consequences of a selected language modality or lacks the rigor needed to produce conclusive evidence. While it has not been extensively investigated with children with hearing loss, narrative language intervention has been effective at improving a number of language skills of children with a variety of disabilities and language needs. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of narrative language intervention on the narrative retelling skills and vocabulary use of children with hearing loss. To do so, a multiple baseline research design and a repeated acquisition research design were implemented. Participants included two children ages 5 and 9 diagnosed with bilateral sensorineural hearing loss and fitted to an amplification device. Each child received weekly, individualized narrative language intervention with a focus on use of target vocabulary words. Both participants demonstrated weekly increases in narrative retell scores and repeated pre-test to post-test gains in the use of targeted vocabulary. Results suggest narrative language intervention improved the narrative retell ability and vocabulary use of children with hearing loss.

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Siu, Ching-yee Truely. "An evaluation of a writing skills programme for form six students." Click to view the E-thesis via HKUTO, 1989. http://sunzi.lib.hku.hk/HKUTO/record/B38626627.

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Wilson, Kristina Erickson Karen A. "Phonological awareness, speech, and language skills in children with clefts." Chapel Hill, N.C. : University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, 2007. http://dc.lib.unc.edu/u?/etd,1021.

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Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, 2007.
Title from electronic title page (viewed Dec. 18, 2007). "... in partial fulfillment of the requirements of the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in the Department of Allied Health Sciences (Speech and Hearing Sciences)." Discipline: Allied Health Sciences; Speech and Hearing Sciences; Department/School: Medicine.

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Tse, Luk Siu Ping Miranda, and 謝陸兆平. "The development of oral language skills in preschool learning environments." Thesis, The University of Hong Kong (Pokfulam, Hong Kong), 1990. http://hub.hku.hk/bib/B31232012.

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Kraut, Rachel Elizabeth. "The Development of Second Language Reading and Morphological Processing Skills." Diss., The University of Arizona, 2016. http://hdl.handle.net/10150/596121.

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Decades of research have shed light on the nature of reading in our first language. There is substantial research about how we recognize words, the ways in which we process sentences, and the linguistic and non-linguistic factors which may affect those processes (e.g. Besner & Humphreys, 2009). This has led to more effective pedagogical techniques and methodologies in the teaching of L1 reading (Kamil et al., 2011). With the ever-increasing number of L2 English speakers in U.S. schools and universities, research in more recent has begun to investigate reading in L2. However, this field of inquiry is not nearly as robust as that of L1 reading. Much remains to be explored in terms of how L2 readers process words, sentences, and comprehend what they read (Grabe, 2012). The studies in this dissertation add to the growing body of literature detailing the processes of L2 reading and improvement in L2 reading skills. The first two studies will focus on a topic that has sparked lively discussion in the field over the last 10 years or so: the online processing of L2 morphologically complex words in visual word recognition. Article 3 discusses the effects of a pedagogical intervention and the ways in which it may influence the development of second language reading. Broadly, the studies in this dissertation will address the following research questions: (1) how do L2 readers process morphologically complex words? (2) Is there a connection between their knowledge of written morphology and their ability to use it during word recognition? (3) What is the role of L2 proficiency in these processes? (4) How does extensive reading influence the development of L2 reading skills? Many studies of L2 word processing have been conducted using offline methods. Accordingly, the studies in this dissertation seek to supplement what we know about L2 morphological processing and reading skills with the use of psycholinguistic tasks, namely, traditional masked priming, masked intervenor priming, and timed reading. Secondly, this collection of studies is among the few to explore the relationship between online processing and offline morphological awareness, thereby bridging the two fields of study. Thirdly, unlike most studies of online processing, the data from this dissertation will be discussed in terms of its implications for the teaching of L2 morphologically complex words and L2 reading skills. Thus, this dissertation may be of interest to those working in L2 psycholinguistics of word recognition and sentence processing as well as ESL practitioners.

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JAFFE, LYNNE ELLEN. "READING SKILLS OF SEVERELY LANGUAGE-IMPAIRED CHILDREN (DISORDERED, ACADEMIC, INTERMEDIATE)." Diss., The University of Arizona, 1986. http://hdl.handle.net/10150/188190.

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The research literature has substantiated that many children diagnosed as having oral language impairments demonstrate reading problems at school-age. Few studies, however, have investigated the achievement of language-impaired children on individual reading skills, or the relationship between type of language deficit and type of reading disability. The purpose of this study was to investigate the performance of children with receptive language impairments (Receptives), children with expressive language impairments (Expressives), and children with no identified language or learning problems (Controls) on the reading skills of word attack, word recognition, vocabulary and comprehension. The subjects, ages 10-0 to 12-11, were 29 children enrolled in self-contained classes for the severely language impaired (SLI), and 37 normal children. The SLI subjects were categorized as Receptives (n = 24) or Expressives (n = 5) based on their performance on the Test of Language Development-Intermediate (TOLD-I). Reading scores were obtained for four subtests of the Woodcock Reading Mastery Tests-Revised (WRMT-R) and for two subtests of the Iowa Tests of Basic Skills (ITBS). Results of univariate analyses demonstrated Controls performed significantly (p < .05) better on all of the reading subtests than did either of the language-impaired groups. No difference was found between the Receptives and the Expressives on any subtest, possibly due to the small number of Expressive subjects. Because no differences were found between the language-impaired groups, they were combined to form a single group. Results of correlational analyses demonstrated correlations above .45 among all reading subtests for the Controls, indicating they measure similar abilities. For the SLI group, the subtests of the WRMT-R were highly correlated with each other (r < .65), but shared moderate correlations (.27 to .49) with the ITBS subtests. For the SLI group, the two ITBS subtests shared a low (.24) correlation. The Control group demonstrated reading achievement within normal limits, whereas the SLI group scored at least 2.4 years below the Controls on all subtests. For each group, profiles of subtest performance were flat, indicating that neither group demonstrates particular reading strengths or weaknesses.

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AlKadhi, Aseel. "Assessing early sociocognitive and language skills in young Saudi children." Thesis, City University London, 2015. http://openaccess.city.ac.uk/13675/.

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Children with early language delay form a heterogeneous group. Although a significant number will catch up and develop language in the normal range, some will continue to have difficulties with language. Predicting the outcome for these children represents a challenging task for clinicians. It has been suggested that the assessment of sociocognitive skills contributes distinctively to the prediction of persistence of language and communication difficulties and the nature of these difficulties. In the absence of standardized assessments in Saudi Arabia for children with early language delay, this study aimed to take a first step to filling this gap by developing a battery of early sociocognitive and language measures. The battery consisted of six measures assessing sociocognitive and language skills using direct and indirect methods, some existing and some newly developed or adapted for this project. Sociocognitive measures were the Early Sociocognitive Battery (ESB; Chiat & Roy, 2006b), together with a new Motor Imitation test (MI) and Sociocognitive Questionnaire (SCogQ); language measures included the Sentence Repetition test (Wallan, Chiat, & Roy, 2011), a new Arabic research adaptation of the Language Use Inventory (O’Neill, 2009), and a preschool adapted version of the Arabic Picture Vocabulary Test (Shaalan, 2010). Since this project was performed in a very different language culture and included a wider range of sociocognitive and language measures than most previous studies, a second aim was to investigate relations between the different sociocognitive and language skills. The battery was administered to 161 Saudi children between the ages of 2;0-3;5 years, divided into three six-months age groups and almost equally divided into boys and girls. Addressing the first aim of this study, results showed that all the measures with the exception of the SCogQ were reliable, valid, and age sensitive. These findings suggest that the measures are fit for purpose and have the potential to identify children with early language delay. Parental concern matched children’s performance on direct and indirect measures of language for the majority of children. Turning to the second aim of the study, regressional analyses using the three language assessments as outcome measures showed that the ESB and MI were important predictors of pragmatic language and receptive vocabulary when other measures had been taken into account. It is concluded that the substantial set of data that this study has produced on the wide-ranging battery of assessments can serve as a reference for clinical comparison and as a foundation for standardization with a fully representative sample of young Saudi children. These measures not only enable the formal identification of a delay in Saudi preschoolers but are also informative about strengths and difficulties and can guide intervention. The results add to current understanding of the role sociocognitive skills play in language development, and provide the foundation for longitudinal research investigating relations to longer term outcomes.

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Шевченко, Л. В. "The value of language skills in modern branches of economy." Thesis, Київський національний університет технологій та дизайну, 2018. https://er.knutd.edu.ua/handle/123456789/10805.

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Moralidi, A. V. "Speech input processing skills as a measure of language development." Thesis, University College London (University of London), 2005. http://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/1445263/.

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Speech and language delay in early childhood is a common problem, which may result in important implications for the child. Speech perception deficits may be related to the problems that interfere with the academic performance of some individuals in the population. This study assesses the developing Speech Input processing testing for children (SIPc) which aims to determine phonological skills difficulties in children of 4-6 years, that have not been identified with speech and/or language difficulties before starting school. This study assesses whether SIPc items, presented in quiet or with background noise, are good predictors of such difficulties, more specifically, the use of SIPs and how different items may be different measures of language development. In order to investigate potential association between SIPc and chronological age/language development we used the following standardized assessments: RAPT and CELF. The investigations showed a significant association and sensitivity for some SIPc items, in both conditions of presentation, with some of the language scores and with chronological age. Moreover, it was determined which SIPc pairs were easy and difficult for children in our sample to discriminate. No phonological properties or syllable positioning were found to influence SIPc pair discrimination.

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Boggs, Teresa. "Book Reading as a Means for Increasing Oral Language Skills." Digital Commons @ East Tennessee State University, 2013. https://dc.etsu.edu/etsu-works/1508.

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Xiao, Xiaoyun, and 肖晓云. "Development of syntactic skills in Chinese children." Thesis, The University of Hong Kong (Pokfulam, Hong Kong), 2010. http://hub.hku.hk/bib/B43754089.

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Xiao, Xiaoyun. "Development of syntactic skills in Chinese children." Click to view the E-thesis via HKUTO, 2010. http://sunzi.lib.hku.hk/hkuto/record/B43754089.

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Elftorp, Fredrik. "How to Improve Students’ Writing and Speaking Skills." Thesis, Jönköping University, 2008. http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:hj:diva-1192.

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English is one of three core subjects in upper secondary school and it is essential that students

receive a good education in this subject. Since writing and speaking are such prominent parts

of the English language, the teacher is obliged to possess knowledge of how to improve

students’ proficiencies in an efficient way. The question is how to use this knowledge when

the teacher is supposed to compose different methods for lessons, evaluate the exercises and

give proper feedback to the students.

This investigation is based on various literary sources, interviews with teachers and

questionnaires with students and the background information is the basis for the interview

questions and the questionnaire.

There are endless possibilities for appropriate exercises to improve writing and speaking and it

is impossible to investigate every single one there is in a relatively short essay. I have,

however, found a fair number of methods, which will be described in this paper. In order to

evaluate exercises, the teacher needs to be prepared and know what to focus on in the exercise

as it is in progress, but also listen to the students’ opinions since they know if they have

learned anything or not. Correction of spoken errors should be handled cautiously by the

teacher but the students should be made aware of the written mistakes they make.

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Fricke, Silke. "Phonological awareness skills in German speaking preschool children." Idstein : Schulz-Kirchner, 2007. http://deposit.d-nb.de/cgi-bin/dokserv?id=2946256&prov=M&dok_var=1&dok_ext=htm.

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McComish, Cara Shirley Crais Elizabeth R. "The relationship of mealtime communication and oral-motor feeding skills to later language skills in premature infants." Chapel Hill, N.C. : University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, 2008. http://dc.lib.unc.edu/u?/etd,1497.

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Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, 2008.
Title from electronic title page (viewed Sep. 16, 2008). "... in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Speech and Hearing Sciences in the Department of Allied Health Sciences." Discipline: Allied Health Sciences; Speech and Hearing Sciences; Department/School: Medicine.

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Nguyen, Ha Thi Thanh. "MACRO AND MICRO SKILLS IN SECOND LANGUAGE ACADEMIC WRITING: A STUDY OF VIETNAMESE LEARNERS OF ENGLISH." OpenSIUC, 2016. https://opensiuc.lib.siu.edu/theses/2008.

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The ability to write in a second language is one of the major skills required in academic settings. However, research about the effectiveness of academic programs on second language writing in long term perspective is rather scarce and the findings are mixed (e.g. Archibald, 2001; Elder & O’Loughlin, 2003; Hu, 2007; Knoch et al., 2014, 2015; Storch 2007). The present study aimed to contribute further empirical evidence about the effectiveness of academic training on the development of the writing skills of Vietnamese second language learners enrolled in an undergraduate English program. The investigation was designed in view of the L2 writing standards set by the Common European Framework of Reference (CEFR) and in reference to the specificities of the Vietnamese English language educational system. The sample involved a total of 90 participants, 30 from each of the following CEFR English language proficiency levels: B1, B2, and C1. The instrument was modeled after the IELTS Academic Module Writing Task 2 which requires test-takers to write a minimum of 250-word essay on a given prompt. The participants’ essays were scored by two independent raters following the IELTS Writing Task 2 Band Descriptors. The data was analyzed through 5 one-way ANOVAs, which aimed to compare the three levels of proficiency, B1, B2, and C1, on their overall writing scores, and on each of the two macro (Task Response and Cohesion and Coherence) and micro sills (Lexical Resources and Grammatical Range and Accuracy) The results revealed two main trends. First, it was found that the writing skills of Vietnamese L2 learners of English have shown a significant improvement in the course of their study, across proficiency levels. Second, the development was of a bigger magnitude between levels B1 and B2 and on a smaller scale between levels B2 and C1. The latter trend appears more meaningful when juxtaposed with the expected IELTS writing band score ranges for each of the three CEFR levels investigated in the present study. Specifically, the obtained scores matched the CEFR standards at level B2, but were above the expected minimum score for level B1 and below the minimum expected score for level C1. These findings carry valuable implications for the specific Vietnamese educational context, highlighting both the strengths and lacks of the English language writing curriculum. They pinpoint issues related to the placement of students in CEFR levels without specific empirical data as well as raise questions about the time, effort, and teaching practices necessary to secure learners’ progress from lower to higher proficiency, particularly after level B1. Another contribution of the study is that it examined developments in L2 academic writing both on the macro and micro level, and has, thus, offered a more comprehensive picture of the different components of the writing skill and their development through a course of study. In contrast, existing research has either looked at the writing skill in a holistic way or focused on one or some of its elements, but has rarely approached writing as a balanced composite of macro and micro skills.

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Bumandalai, Ubambor. "The Development of Two Units for Basic Training and Resources for Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages: "Developing English Language Learners' Listening Skills" and "Developing English Language Learners' Speaking Skills"." BYU ScholarsArchive, 2013. https://scholarsarchive.byu.edu/etd/3414.

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Today, a countless number of untrained and volunteer English as a second or foreign language teachers are working throughout the world to help meet the rising need for English teachers. Many of these volunteers have little or no training in teaching English. However, Basic Training and Resources for Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages (BTRTESOL) is a book and website that can be used as both a teacher-training program and a self-learning resource to help prepare these volunteer teachers. The idea for this program started with Dr. Lynn Henrichsen, who later invited a team of graduate students at Brigham Young University to work with him. This report documents the developmental process of two BTRTESOL units, namely, Unit 6A, "Developing English Language Learners' Listening Skills" and Unit 6B, "Developing English Language Learners' Speaking Skills." Both of these BTRTESOL units were designed to, first, familiarize novice and volunteer teachers with what it takes to listen and speak in a second language so that these teachers can identify the needs of their students successfully and plan and teach effectively. In addition, Unit 6A identifies several factors that make the second language listening process challenging. Unit 6B, on the other hand, describes four important characteristics of successful speaking activities. Finally, some of the most commonly used listening and speaking activities are recommended for novice and volunteer teachers to use with all levels of students. Additional resources, both print and electronic, are included at the end of each unit to help users learn more about each subject area and get additional teaching ideas.

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Peck, Edyl Zarah. "Language and Literacy Skills, Attitudes, and Motivation of At-Risk Adolescents." Thesis, University of Nevada, Reno, 2018. http://pqdtopen.proquest.com/#viewpdf?dispub=10821816.

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Purpose: The purpose of this study was to explore the language/literacy skills of at-risk adolescents. In addition, this study aimed to know more about at-risk adolescents’ perceptions, attitudes, and motivation about their language/literacy skills as well as their learning experiences.

Method: A mixed method design was conducted in this study. There were two phases to this study. Ten 18- to 19-year old at-risk adolescents participated in Phase 1, which included the Test of Integrated Language and Literacy Skills, Perceived Language/Literacy Survey, Attitude Survey, and a Motivation Survey. Eight at-risk adolescents participated in Phase 2 including an educational conference and surveys.

Results: Thirty percent (3/10) of at-risk adolescents tested had a language/literacy disorder. There was a significant correlation between how at-risk adolescents perceived their language/literacy skills and their TILLS identification test score (X²(2) > = 4.286, p = 0.038). At-risk adolescents who answered the Attitude Survey about their learning experiences varied in how much they liked school, how much effort they put in to completing homework, and if they felt they were able to apply school experiences to a job. In general at-risk adolescents tended to prefer to learn kinesthetically, liked Language Arts, and disliked Math. In general, at-risk adolescents dreamed obtaining a professional job that required higher education. When asked about obstacles to their dreams, responses varied and included nothing, education, and finances. For those that participated in the educational conference, learning about their language/literacy did not significantly change their locus of control but significantly changed their interest in obtaining speech and language services.

Discussion: The language/literacy skills, attitudes, and motivation of at-risk adolescents who are identified as homeless varied. This adds to the current literature and support that some at-risk adolescents can benefit from speech and language services. Preliminary information about at-risk adolescents’ preferred learning modality is also introduced with these findings. A significant subset of adolescents have good awareness of their language/literacy skills supplementing that with more questions that probe the use of language/literacy skills, at-risk adolescents can accurately screen their own performance.

Conclusion: These findings support previous work suggesting that at-risk adolescents would benefit from speech-language services. Speech-language pathologists can play a critical role on teams with social workers and psychologists to help identify language/literacy skills of at-risk adolescents, which could subsequently impact their ability to plan, problem solve, overcome past experiences, obtain employment, and ultimately, live independently.

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Dwyer, Edward J. "Encouraging Word Identification Skills." Digital Commons @ East Tennessee State University, 2016. https://dc.etsu.edu/etsu-works/3401.

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Harris, Karen Patricia. "Speech-language pathologists' professional efficacy beliefs about assessing the language skills of bilingual/bicultural/bidialectal students." [Tampa, Fla.] : University of South Florida, 2004. http://purl.fcla.edu/fcla/etd/SFE0001071.

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Cardwell, Jacqueline Ann. "The English language skills of minority language children in French immersion programs : a follow-up investigation." Thesis, University of British Columbia, 1989. http://hdl.handle.net/2429/27403.

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The purpose of this investigation was to re-evaluate the English language skills of a group of minority language children enrolled in French Immersion programs (experimental group) in order to establish whether these skills have been maintained, are better, or worse than the same skills in English children in French Immersion (English control group) or minority language children enrolled in regular English programs (minority control group). Of the original thirty children who participated in Davies' (1985) investigation, seven experimentals, seven minority controls and nine English controls were located again and able to participate in the 1989 follow-up study. English language comprehension was assessed using two standardized tests of English comprehension (the Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test-R, and the Token Test for Children). Similarly, English metalinguistic skills were evaluated using two standardized tests which tap metalinguistic awareness at both the lexical and structural level (the Test of Language Competence and the Word Test). Finally, English language production was evaluated based on a picture-description sample elicited from each child. It was hypothesized that the English language skills of minority language children in French Immersion would, as was the case in 1985, continue to be as good as those of the English control and minority control groups. The results confirmed this hypothesis. In addition, the results showed the experimental group to be performing significantly better than the minority control group on vocabulary comprehension and interpretation of ambiguous sentences. The experimental group also performed significantly better than the English control group on vocabulary comprehension. The English control group scored higher than the minority control group on recognition of semantic absurdities. All three groups performed similarly on the picture description task. These results confirm that minority language children are excellent candidates for French Immersion and suffer no delays in English language ability over the long term. In fact, these children display certain linguistic advances over the other groups of children in this study.
Medicine, Faculty of
Audiology and Speech Sciences, School of
Graduate

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Tápanes, Vanessa. "Effects of Dual Language Learning on Early Language and Literacy Skills in Low Income Preschool Students." Scholar Commons, 2007. http://scholarcommons.usf.edu/etd/3804.

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This paper presents a framework for literacy skill development relating to both monolingual and dual language learners. The purpose of this study was to identify the differences that may exist between monolingual and dual language learners' performance on literacy tasks, before having a significant amount of exposure to the preschool curriculum. The sample included 78 monolingual language learners and 44 dual language learners who were assessed using the Woodcock Language Proficiency Battery-Revised (WLPB-R). The researcher used scoring methods that took into consideration split vocabulary in dual language learners where a conceptual scoring technique was used (Bedore, Pena, Garcia, & Cortez, 2005). The research design employed was casual comparative where the effects of dual language learning on letter knowledge, concepts of print, vocabulary, listening comprehension, and broad language development were investigated. Findings from two Multivariate Analysis of Variances indicated that there were significant differences between monolingual and dual language learners on early language and literacy skills. This study contributes to the literature regarding dual language development and the use of appropriate scoring methods. Particularly, the outcomes from this study provide guidance regarding best practices for assessment of dual language learners to identify learning and language difficulties.

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