Dissertations / Theses on the topic 'Students, Foreign – Study and teaching (Higher) – Australia'
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1
Dooey, Patricia. "Issues of English language proficiency for international students." Thesis, Edith Cowan University, Research Online, Perth, Western Australia, 2005. https://ro.ecu.edu.au/theses/628.
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In the last 20 years or so, there has been a phenomenal increase in the number of international full-fee paying students applying to study in Australian universities, The revenue provided in this way has helped to address the problems faced by cash-starved universities facing recurring funding cuts over the same period. Furthermore, the presence of such students on any university campus provides immeasurable enrichment to the student body in terms of cultural diversity and research potential, and indeed it is very tempting in an ever,-increasing global market, to be as flexible as possible with prospective international students. However, the process of admission also demands careful consideration on the part of the various stakeholders involved. Although several factors need to be taken into account, the most obvious and certainly of primary importance would be the need to prove proficiency in the English language, Given that English is the dominant means of communication in the university, all students are required to draw from a complex web of linguistic resources to construct meaning and to complete the range of tasks required of them during their tertiary studies, This volume deals :with the overarching theme of issues of English language proficiency for overseas students studying in an Australian university. This focus can be viewed from many angles, and there are certainly many key facets involved, a selection of which is explored in the papers of the portfolio. These include the following broad areas: recruitment and admissions, language testing and technology, curriculum and inclusivity, English language support, academic conduct and finally the specific needs of international students, as viewed from their own perspective.
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Kiley, Margaret. "Expectations and experiences of Indonesian postgraduate students studying in Australia : a longitudinal study /." Title page, table of contents and abstract only, 1999. http://web4.library.adelaide.edu.au/theses/09PH/09phk478.pdf.
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Kumar, Margaret Kamla Wati Singh. "The discursive representation of international undergraduate students a case study of a higher education institutional site." [Adelaide : M. Kumar,], 2004. http://arrow.unisa.edu.au:8081/1959.8/24983.
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This dissertation addresses the discursive representation of international undergraduate students from the areas of South East Asia and Africa. The central question is: how are international students discursively represented in an Australian university setting? The study considers the university's teaching and learning practices and cultures as well as wider matters of policy. The study draws on postcolonial theory particularly on selected aspects of the work of Edward Said, Homi Bhabha and Gayatri Spivak and in so doing demonstrates the usefulness of postcolonial theory for exploring issues associated with international students in universities.thesis (PhDEducation)--University of South Australia, 2004.
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Yeo, Inung. "Effective writing instruction for English-as-a-foreign-language university students in Korea." CSUSB ScholarWorks, 2003. https://scholarworks.lib.csusb.edu/etd-project/2300.
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Beginning with an analysis of current problems in English education in South Korea, this project is intended to suggest various ways to implement effective English education, especially for writing instruction. The project is designed for students who have low English proficiency in South Korean colleges and universities.
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Shaw, Peter. "The conceptions of art practice held by tertiary visual art students." Thesis, Queensland University of Technology, 1993. https://eprints.qut.edu.au/36703/1/36703_Digitised%20Thesis.pdf.
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This study explores student learning in a tertiary visual arts institution. Students' conceptions of art practice are described using the phenomenologically based educational research method of phenomenography. The study addresses the intentional content of student art practice in the contexts of the visual arts institution and the status of visual arts in the 1990s. Data collection was carried out through interviews with Honours Year visual arts students, which was processed using textual analysis to examine understandings related to the visual arts.
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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.
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Koo, Bonhee. "Developing the English interactional competence of junior college students in Korea." CSUSB ScholarWorks, 1998. https://scholarworks.lib.csusb.edu/etd-project/1449.
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Yang, Kwo-Jen. "The tension and growth Taiwanese students experience as non-native writers of English in a university writing program for international students." Diss., The University of Arizona, 1994. http://hdl.handle.net/10150/186805.
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A case study approach was adopted for this study. Four Taiwanese students enrolled in the writing program for international students at The University of Arizona were interviewed individually about (1) how they acquired the code of written English and what their L2 writing assumptions were upon entering The University of Arizona; and (2) what writing difficulties they experienced in a university writing program for international students and what their L2 writing assumptions were after completing a university writing program for international students. Findings from this research indicated that the four Taiwanese students did not have sufficient comprehensible input from pleasure reading or other voluntary, extracurricular sources. They acquired the code of written language from reading, participating in varied classroom activities such as small-group and whole-class discussions, peer review, teacher-student conferences, writing texts to different audiences for various purposes, analyzing model essays, practicing sentence combinations, and formal instruction in the composing process. Their writing difficulties could be summarized as follows: (1) not making good use of classroom activities to reshape ideas in terms of readers' expectations and their own writing intentions; (2) lack of experience to develop necessary reading and writing skills; (3) inadequate knowledge of the composing process; (4) inadequate syntax, vocabulary, or mechanics to express themselves in L2; (5) being influenced by their L1 rhetorical convention; (6) no intrinsic motivation to integrate with the target language, culture, or society; and (7) low expectations of success related to negative or weak teacher-student relationships. This research both reinforces and expands Krashen's (1984) model of second language acquisition and writing, showing the critical role of comprehensible input, the significance of natural acquisition over direct teaching of grammar rules and error correction, and the presence of an "affective" filter which is socially and culturally mediated, as well as cognitively and linguistically based.
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Rivers, Gary James. "University selection in Singapore : a case study of students' past and intended decision-making." University of Western Australia. Graduate School of Management, 2005. http://theses.library.uwa.edu.au/adt-WU2005.0072.
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This research focussed Singaporean student decision-making when choosing an institution for university studies. It is contended that if a university does not understand the dimensions of how prospective students make decisions when choosing an institution it cannot meaningfully offer representation to these potential customers. Fittingly, this thesis drew on past research from buyer behaviour and college choice studies. Adapting an established model of consumer decision-making (Engel, Blackwell and Miniard, 1990), the study investigated the degree of compliance with the Extended Problem Solving concept (Howard, 1963), including what factors determined and influenced choices, and whether students learn from past decisions. To this end, an exploratory / descriptive study used mixed methods (Creswell, 1994) to map out the dimensions of student decision-making within an Australian University and Singaporean Association case. Results indicated students? decision-making was closely aligned to simple models and their decision-making steps could be best described as (1) having a need, (2) searching and gathering information, (3) evaluating alternatives, (4) making choice/s, and (5) accepting an offer and enrolling in a university program. Further, respondents did not necessarily engage in extensive searching and gathering activities, as theorised, demonstrated limited learning and had few discernible influences on their choices. The implications for the University-Association case included the need to guide students through their decision-making processes by providing relevant data on which they could make informed choices, relative to career and income advancement. For those indicating that they would choose an institution for postgraduate studies, ensure undergraduate post-choice regret is minimised and offer more choices of management programs so that respondents would consider continuing their studies with the same institution. The study contended that, despite delimits and limitations, contributions to both theory and practise had been made and concluded with several ideas for future research, including proposing two alternative hypotheses.
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Ruhl, Janice Elisabeth. "American Deaf Students in ENNL Classes: A Case Study." PDXScholar, 1995. https://pdxscholar.library.pdx.edu/open_access_etds/4920.
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Many deaf students who seek post secondary education need some sort of developmental education in reading and writing to ensure success in college. These students often end up in college preparatory or remedial classes that are designed for native speakers of English. For many of the deaf students entering college, English is a second language or a first language that they have failed to achieve fluency in. This study describes the experience of two deaf students enrolled in English as a Non-Native Language classes for the first time at an Oregon community college. The Office of Students with Disabilities and the ENNL department cooperated in this trial to determine whether the ENNL program is an appropriate place for American deaf students needing developmental education in English. Observations, interviews and writing sample analysis were used to provide a multi-layered description of the experience from several perspectives. The deaf students were found to display similar errors in their writing samples as traditional ENNL students at the same level and benefited from instruction geared to non-native speakers of English. The rehabilitation counselor and ENNL instructors agreed that placement of the deaf students in ENNL classes is appropriate and the program continues in fall term. The deaf students of this study stated that they were better served by ENNL classes than by Developmental Education Classes. Curriculum and methodology used in ENNL classes were found to meet the educational needs of the deaf students, and only minor modifications were made to accommodate the students. The experience from these classes has convinced the ENNL department to continue accepting deaf students to the program and enrollment of deaf students in ENNL classes is expected to increase.
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Delahunty, Susan. "Portraits of Middle Eastern Gulf female students in Australian universities." Thesis, Edith Cowan University, Research Online, Perth, Western Australia, 2013. https://ro.ecu.edu.au/theses/585.
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This research explores the experiences and insights of ten Middle Eastern Gulf women as they cross international borders to study in Australian universities. The literature indicates that international students in Australia establish their identity within the context of their overseas existence. This is particularly important as Muslims may feel they are being placed in a precarious situation due to, more often than not, terrorism being linked to Islam. Also, when Muslim women wear Islamic or traditional attire, the general public tends to look upon them with curiosity. With this in mind, the complex and changed contexts faced by ten Middle Eastern Gulf female post-graduate students are investigated using qualitative research methods. Utilising a grounded theory approach to interpret data and identify themes from two online questionnaires and personal interviews, individual portraits are created to illuminate their experiences. The research findings reveal new knowledge indicating that education is a structured mechanism for the participants, resulting in the creation of a new hybrid self as a key instrument for survival. This enables them to better understand cultural contexts and barriers arising from class, tradition, religion and learning. The participants indicate that a two-way agreement between educators and learners is paramount to a smooth transition into the Australian education system and a positive return to their home communities.
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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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Niven, Penelope Mary. "Acquiring academic reading practices in History I : an ethnographic study of a group of foundation year students at Rhodes University." Thesis, Rhodes University, 2013. http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1007860.
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This thesis reports on a critical, ethnographic investigation into the reading practices of a group of 14 foundation year students at Rhodes University in 2002. The university had identified all the student-participants as 'underprepared' for university learning: they were from poor, socio-economic backgrounds, used English as an additional language, and had been educated in township or rural schools. Using the Socio-cultural model of literacy (Heath, 1984; Gee, 1990 & Street, 1993), the study explores the culturally-shaped attitudes and assumptions about reading that the students brought with them into a tertiary learning context from their homes, communities and schools. It reports on their subsequent efforts to become academic readers in the disciplinary context of History. Framing Theory (Reid and MacLachlan, 1994) was employed to analyse the kinds of matches and mismatches that arose between the students' frames about the nature and purpose of reading, and those implicitly accepted as normative by teachers in the History department. It accounts for the students' difficulties in achieving epistemological access in terms of a conflict of frames: both the students and their teachers usually failed to recognise each others' constructions about the nature and purpose of 'reading for a degree'. The study'S critical purpose required that its potential for generating emancipatory consequences needed to be investigated. Thus the study reports on how both sets of participants began to reframe their understanding of academic reading, by describing the ways in which they reflected on the findings in the final stages of the research process.KMBT_363
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Magambo, Joseph. "Investigating perceptions of students' language needs at a Rwandan institution of higher learning." Thesis, Rhodes University, 2009. http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1007268.
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The site of this research is the Kigali Institute of Science and Technology (KIST). The research was undertaken to investigate first year students' perceived English language needs in order to study successfully at KIST. The research was intended to pave the way for differentiated English language syllabuses for students of varying English proficiency. It sought to answer the following questions: (1) what are students' perceived language needs in order to study through the medium of English at KIST? (2) To what extent does the current English language programme address these perceived needs? And (3) what are the differences in students' perceived language needs at different levels of proficiency? The research was carried out in an interpretive paradigm using both qualitative and quantitative methods. It took the form of a case study utilising questionnaires to collect data. Questionnaires were administered to students, mainstream subject lecturers and English lecturers. The student sample consisted of 212 students chosen from the four previously identified levels of proficiency (beginner, elementary, intermediate and advanced). The lecturer samples consisted of seven subject lecturers and eleven lecturers in English. The research tools used to collect data were administered questionnaires and document analysis. The chi-square statistical test was used to analyse quantitative data especially in establishing differences that appeared between dissimilar proficiency levels. Findings have shown that, although English is no longer a credit-bearing course, students are still interested in learning it. Students expressed a high positive perception for learning language structures, listening and speaking, and a need for reading and writing. However, although it was possible to establish stakeholders' (students, subject lecturers and lecturers in English) perceptions of students' needs, it was not easy to establish what students' real needs and difficulties in English are. Attempts to get valid answers to my questions were not conclusive. Although this research has implications for the future of English language teaching/learning at KIST there is a need for further investigation of students' needs. An important starting point would be to begin a debate at KIST about the whole issue of students' needs. Such research would exploit research tools/methods not used in this research (e.g focus group interviews and observations).
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Du, Rand Sussara Maria. "Standards to facilitate optimal experiences of short-term study abroad nursing students at a higher education institution." Thesis, Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University, 2013. http://hdl.handle.net/10948/d1020659.
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Advances in technology have made globalization and internationalization a reality in the world. National borders are becoming more permeable and migration of goods, services, and health care workers takes place more readily. Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) have become competitors and vendors in the global knowledge economy and are expected to develop job seekers that are responsible and engaged global citizens and employees. Offering study abroad programmes is one of the ways that HEIs achieve this goal. It is estimated that in 2010, 4.7 million people studied abroad (OECD, 2012:360), and it is anticipated that this number will grow to 15 million by the year 2025 (Altbach & Knight, 2006:9). South Africa is emerging as a regional hub for study and research in sub-Saharan Africa (UNESCO: 2012b). Many organizations that train nurses are internationalizing their curriculum which effectively means that Schools of Nursing are seeking placement for students to study, gain insight into other cultures and practices, and to gain clinical experience in other countries. Students, the customers of the Higher Education Institutions, often pay large sums of money to undertake these study abroad programmes and therefore expect good quality learning experiences in return. The aim of this qualitative, contextual, exploratory, and descriptive study was to explore and describe the expectations and experiences of international nursing students and faculty members at a Higher Educational Institution in South Africa in order to develop standards that will enable HEIs to optimize the experiences of short-term study abroad nursing students. An in-depth contextual investigation was conducted on globalization and internationalization, as well as the higher education and health systems of three countries to understand the context of the study abroad programmes. Qualitative data was gathered from students and faculty members using focus groups and individual interviews to establish their expectations and experiences of the programme. Thematic synthesis was carried out on the contextual data and the qualitative data. Thereafter, thematic synthesis analysis was conducted using both sets of results to develop standards that can be used to optimize the experience of short-term study abroad nursing students at a HEI. A total of 35 standards were developed around the following main themes: the objectives of study abroad programmes should be stated clearly before arrival and include the expectations of the global, national, and local communities, the higher education institution and the staff and students; study abroad programmes should be managed in an ethical manner and in an enabling environment, as part of their strategic goals and plans of a HEI; students should be exposed to a variety of experiences and differences between the sending and hosting countries during their study abroad programmes; Standards to Facilitate Optimal Experiences of Short-term Study Abroad Nursing Students at a HEI; study abroad programmes should be evaluated at different intervals and levels to ensure quality of the programmes and to ensure that the objectives/outcomes are met. A limitation of the study was the sampling of the clinical mentors which did not include representatives from the overseas universities. It is recommended that the standards that were developed in this study be introduced and tested in HEIs and that more research be conducted on different levels and groups with regard to study abroad programmes in future.
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Yoshikawa, Sawako. "Some Possible Sources of Oral Foreign Language Anxiety (FLA) among Japanese Students in the United States." PDXScholar, 1996. https://pdxscholar.library.pdx.edu/open_access_etds/5204.
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This study attempted to locate some possible sources of oral Foreign Language Anxiety (FLA) among Japanese students in the United States. This study proposed that the following three factors were possible sources of FLA: 1) the subjects' traitlike anxiety, which is carried by individuals across all communication-bound contexts; 2) the subjects' self-perceived oral proficiency levels in English and 3) the subjects' gapsize (i.e., the distance between their self-perceived and their self-expected oral proficiency levels in English) . This research examined whether the above three independent variables and the dependent FLA variable were significantly correlated, and if so, which one had the strongest correlation with the FLA variable. Also, whether the subjects' biographical variables had a significant effect on their FLA levels was investigated. All the variables were quantified through a questionnaire. The subjects' FLA levels and traitlike anxiety levels were measured by a 10-item, Personal Report of Communication Apprehension inventory (PRCA, Mccroskey, 1978). The subjects' self-perceived oral proficiency levels were measured by asking the subjects to rate their self-perceived oral proficiency level from 1 (poor) to 5 (fluent). The gapsize was quantified by asking the subjects to rate it on a scale from 1 (minimal) to 5 (maximal). The statistical methodology used in obtaining the PRCA scores in this study differed from McCroskey's in its interpretation of Likert type scales. The scales were treated as interval data in McCroskey's study, while, in this study, they were interpreted as ordinal data. After hierarchically ordering the subjects' answers, non-parametric tests were performed on them. Overall, each of the three variables and the FLA variable were found to be significantly correlated at p < .01. The traitlike anxiety variable, the proficiency variable and the gapsize variable correlated at .46, -.45 and -.33, respectively. The participants' demographic variables (age, gender, status at school or year(s) of residence in English speaking places) did not have a significant effect on their FLA levels. A discussion of the results was provided, with references to previous studies.
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Yu, Baohua, and 喻寶華. "Cross-cultural adaptation and second language acquisition: a study of international students in universities of thePeople's Republic of China." Thesis, The University of Hong Kong (Pokfulam, Hong Kong), 2008. http://hub.hku.hk/bib/B40888009.
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Neuharth, Jay Stanley. "Empowering ESL Students for Out of Classroom Learning." PDXScholar, 1995. https://pdxscholar.library.pdx.edu/open_access_etds/4909.
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Since its publication in 1898, The Turn of the Screw has been the focus of diverse critical interpretation. It has reflected shifts in critical theory that include the Freudian, psychoanalytic, mythological, structuralist, reader-response, linguistic, and new-historical schools. The majority of critical interpretations have focused on the governess's narrative and have excluded the prologue, or frame narrative, that begins the novella. The critics who did examine the prologue overlooked James's departure from the traditional use of frame narration and the importance of the structure of the frame in creating a text of insoluble ambiguity. James departed from traditional frame narration in four ways. By using only an opening frame, the reader is forced to rely on the prologue in order to determine narrative reliability. By creating a condition of reciprocal authority between the unnamed narrator and Douglas, the opening frame denies the possibility of using either character to substantiate the reliability of the other. The condition of reciprocal authority is constructed through a dialogue pattern in which the narrator and Douglas interpret each other's gestures and comments and finish each other's sentences. It is the use of the pattern in the prologue that prepares the reader to accept it in the governess's narrative. The governess repeats the dialogue pattern with Mrs. Grose and Miles. Their discussions appear to validate the governess as a reliable narrator when in fact her reliability is as impossible to determine as the reliability of Douglas or the frame narrator. The result of these departures from traditional frame narration is the construction of a text of insoluble ambiguity.
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Farina, Marcella. "The working relationship of international teaching assistants and undergraduate students." Master's thesis, University of Central Florida, 1999. http://digital.library.ucf.edu/cdm/ref/collection/RTD/id/5223.
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University of Central Florida College of Arts and Sciences ThesisThe present study was conducted to ascertain undergraduate views about the effectiveness of International Teaching Assistants (ITAs) in the American classroom. The study was administered to a stratified cluster sampling by college of the target population, undergraduate students at the University of Central Florida, in Orlando, Florida. The instrument used, Questionnaire of Undergraduates about International Teaching Assistants (QUITA) as developed by Wanda Fox (1990), is composed of a total of 40 items regarding personal and academic background, cultural exposure to and views about non-native speakers of English, and ITA-classroom effectiveness and problem-solving strategies. On the basis of data from the Fall 1998 semester, approximately 15% of the total number of ITA-taught course sections per college were surveyed. The subjects responded anonymously using computerized answer sheets. Upon completion of the data collection phase, all surveys were analyzed for response frequencies. In addition, background and demographic information regarding the participants and information regarding undergraduate exposure to IT As and IT A instruction were also summarized. The Likert-type items were combined to reveal an overall ATITA (Attitude toward International Teaching Assistants) score. The results of the ATITA portion of the study indicate that undergraduate student views toward IT As and IT A instruction are between neutral and mildly positive. Furthermore, survey responses indicated that undergraduates resolve conflicts involving IT As through personal means. The closing recommendations suggest maintaining open lines of communication between undergraduates, ITAs, and administrators alike.
M.A.
Masters;
Department of Foreign Languages and Literatures
Arts and Sciences
TESOL
72 p.
x, 59 leaves, bound : ill. ; 28 cm.
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Godfrey, Kathleen Ann. "Global Learning Outcomes of a Domestic Foreign Language Immersion Program." PDXScholar, 2013. https://pdxscholar.library.pdx.edu/open_access_etds/1034.
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There is a critical need for college students to receive an education that fosters global learning in preparation for life in an increasingly interdependent and interconnected world. Universities recognize this need and endeavor to provide a range of programs that target global knowledge and skills, and meet the needs of traditional and non-traditional students. Domestic foreign language immersion programs can contribute to student global learning and development by providing students with an opportunity to participate in a rich global learning experience in the U.S. While some researchers have investigated impacts of domestic foreign language immersion on language proficiency, few studies of other kinds of global learning outcomes are available, and research is needed to gain an understanding of program impacts and make improvements.
The purpose of this study was to determine the extent to which participation in a domestic foreign language immersion program was perceived to influence global learning and development. The study used a mixed-methods design that incorporated as a key instrument a retrospective survey of former participants in a university-level domestic foreign language immersion program. Perspectives from short-term study abroad, foreign languages, transformative learning, and global citizenship informed the research.
The study found that participants in a domestic foreign language immersion program perceived influence in all three domains of global development. The degree of perceived influence was similar in the three domains except in the area of social responsibility, which received a significantly lower rating. Finally, student characteristics, including age, language level, prior international or other intercultural experience, and on/off-campus residence were not associated with perceived program influence. A qualitative analysis helped explain these findings.
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Chimbganda, Ambrose Bruce. "A study of the summarizing strategies used by ESL first year science students at the University of Botswana." Thesis, Rhodes University, 2007. http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1002623.
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One of the major problems faced by speakers of English as a second language (ESL) or non-native speakers of English (NNS) is that when they go to college or university, they find themselves without sufficient academic literacy skills to enable them to navigate their learning successfully, such as the ability to summarize textual material. This thesis examines the summarizing strategies used by ESL first year science students at the University of Botswana. Using multiple data collection methods, otherwise known as triangulation or pluralistic research, which is a combination of quantitative and qualitative methods, one hundred and twenty randomly sampled students completed questionnaires and summarized a scientific text. In order to observe the students more closely, nine students (3 high-, 3 average- and 3 low-proficiency) were purposively selected from the sample and wrote a further summary. The nine students were later interviewed in order to find out from them the kinds of strategies they had used in summarizing the texts. To obtain systematic data, the summaries and the taped interview were coded and analyzed using a hybrid scoring classification previously used by other researchers. The results from the Likert type of questionnaire suggest that the ESL first year science students are 'aware' of the appropriate reading, production and self-assessment strategies to use when summarizing. However, when the data from the questionnaire were cross-checked against the strategies they had used in the actual summarization of the text, most of their claims, especially those of the low-proficiency students, were not sustained. As a whole, the results show that high-proficiency students produce more accurate idea units and are more capable of generalizing ideas than low-proficiency students who prefer to "cut and paste" ideas. There are also significant differences between high- and low proficiency students in the manner in which they decode the text: low-proficiency students produce more distortions in their summaries than high-proficiency students who generally give accurate information. Similarly, high-proficiency students are able to sort out global ideas from a labyrinth of localized ideas, unlike average- and low-proficiency students who include trivial information. The same trend is observed with paraphrasing and sentence combinations: high-proficiency students are generally able to recast and coordinate their ideas, unlike low-proficiency students who produce run-on ideas. In terms of the discrete cognitive and meta-cognitive skills preferred by students, low proficiency students are noticeably unable to exploit pre-summarizing cognitive strategies such as discriminating, selecting, note-making, grouping, inferring meanings of new words and using synonyms to convey the intended meanings. There are also greater differences between high- and low-proficiency students when it comes to the use of meta-cognitive strategies. Unlike high-proficiency students who use their reservoir of meta-cognitive skills such as self-judgment, low-proficiency students ostensibly find it difficult to direct their summaries to the demands of the task and are unable to check the accuracy of their summaries. The findings also show that some of the high-proficiency students and many average- and low-proficiency students distort idea units, find it difficult to use their own words and cannot distinguish between main and supporting details. This resulted in the production of circuitous summaries that often failed to capture the gist of the argument. The way the students processed the main ideas also reveals an inherent weakness: most students of different proficiency levels were unable to combine ideas from different paragraphs to produce a coherent text. Not surprising, then, there were too many long summaries produced by both high- and low-proficiency students. To tackle some of the problems related to summarization, pre-reading strategies can be taught, which activate relevant prior knowledge, so that the learning of new knowledge can be facilitated. During the reading process students can become more meta-cognitively aware by monitoring their level of understanding of the text by using, for example, the strategy suggested by Schraw (1998) of "stop, read and think". Text analysis can also be used to help the students identify the main themes or macro-propositions in a text, and hence gain a more global perspective of the content, which is important for selecting the main ideas in a text. A particularly useful approach to fostering a deeper understanding of content is to use a form of reciprocal or peer-mediated teaching, in which students in pairs can articulate to each other their understanding of the main ideas expressed in the text. As part of the solution to the problems faced by students when processing information, we need to take Sewlall's (2000: 170) advice that there should be "a paradigm shift in the learning philosophy from content-based to an emphasis on the acquisition of skills". In this regard, both content and ESL teachers need to train their students in the explicit use of summarizing strategies, and to plan interwoven lessons and learning activities that develop the learners' intellectual ways of dealing with different learning problems so that they can make learning quicker, easier, more effective and exciting.
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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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Won, Kim Jong. "A model of the writing process applied to English writing for Korean college students." CSUSB ScholarWorks, 1998. https://scholarworks.lib.csusb.edu/etd-project/1440.
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Van, Dan Acker Sara Marie. "The Role of Expectations on Nonnative English Speaking Students' Wrtiting." PDXScholar, 2013. https://pdxscholar.library.pdx.edu/open_access_etds/1110.
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This study centered on the expectations of a non-native English-speaking undergraduate student and her teacher in a general education course at Portland State University during winter term 2012. This was a qualitative case study, where I collected data throughout the duration of the course by means of interviews, classroom observations, and written assignment sheet data. I triangulated verbal data from interview transcripts from the two participants, along with data from the observation notes and the assignment sheets in order to gain a better understanding of the expectations each participant had about writing assignments.
Data from four sources were collected and analyzed: interview transcripts, assignment sheets, the course syllabus, and classroom observation notes. Interview transcripts were the primary source of data, and were triangulated with the other abovementioned data sources.
The themes that emerged from verbal interview data were categorized and then subcategorized according to theme. The first category that emerged was Assignment Expectations. This was subcategorized into: Summarize, Examples, Reflect, Critical Thinking, and Theory Application. The second category was Evaluation, which was comprised of the themes Grading and Rubric. The third category that emerged was Student Interaction With Assignment, in which six subcategories emerged: Process, Experience, Time, Reading, Preparation, Understanding, and ESL. Lastly, the category background emerged, which contained the subcategories History and Background.
The findings of this study showed that due to the student's extensive background with various academic writing assignments prior to entering the course, she had similar expectations of specific assignment sheet attributes as the teacher. However, there were more salient differences in expectations between the teacher and the student in terms of how the student interacted with the assignment at the individual level. Likewise, expectations of assessment illustrated the murky nature of evaluation, even in a situation where the student had had extensive experience with academic writing assessment in the past.
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Kauffman, Donna Carey. "The effects of a goal-oriented syllabus on college-bound English as a second language (ESL) students." Diss., This resource online, 1992. http://scholar.lib.vt.edu/theses/available/etd-10192006-115600/.
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Winberg, Christine. "The comprehension of figurative language in English literary texts by students for whom English is not a mother tongue." Thesis, Rhodes University, 1994. http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1002649.
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This study applies Sperber and Wilson's relevance theory to the comprehension of figurative language in poetry. Students' understanding of metaphor as a linguistic category and comprehension of metaphorical texts are analysed in terms of the principle of relevance. Patterns of comprehension in English first language (Ll) and English second language (ESL) students' analyses of metaphorical texts are discussed and through an analysis of similarities and differences in these patterns of comprehension an attempt is made to develop a pedagogy around relevance theory. Relevance theory's particular emphasis on the role played by "context" in cognition is seen to have significance for the teaching of literature in South African universities. Relevance theory's account of cognition generates a range of educational principles which could be specifically applied to the teaching of metaphor. An appraisal of the strengths and difficulties students experience in expressing their understanding of metaphor in an academic context is included. This was done to further develop relevance theory into a pedagogical approach which takes into account the academic context in which writing occurs. The investigation of the particular difficulties that English metaphor poses for ESL students entailed acquiring a working knowledge of the ways in which metaphor is taught and assessed in DET schools. The interpretations of students of different linguistic, social and educational backgrounds reveal unifying elements that could be incorporated into a pedagogy based on relevance theory. Such a pedagogy would be appropriate to the multilingual/multicultural/multiracial nature of classes in South African universities and would be a more empowering approach to the teaching of English metaphor.
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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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Puhl, Les. "An evaluation of the procedures used to assess and remediate the perceived writing difficulties of undergraduate students in the Faculty of Education at Edith Cowan University." Thesis, Edith Cowan University, Research Online, Perth, Western Australia, 1992. https://ro.ecu.edu.au/theses/1127.
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The standards of written literacy of teacher-education students at Edith Cowan University are perceived by many staff to be inadequate. The Faculty of Education's response to this perceived inadequacy is to carry out a mandatory skills-based remedial writing programme for students whose literacy competencies are judged to be deficient, The instrument used to assess the students' literacy competencies is the English Skills Assessment test. The students' performances in the various skills which the test purports to measure, also determine the area in which they are given remedial instruction if the results of the test suggest this is necessary. However, many Faculty of Education staff are concerned that there are important conceptual, structural, and organisational inadequacies in students' writing which are not identified by the English Skills Assessment test and, therefore, are not attended to in remediation programmes based on the results generated by this test. This study was an evaluation of the remedial literacy programme conducted by the Faculty of Education at Edith Cowan University. The programme was evaluated from two perspectives (a) a theoretical perspective and (b) a practical perspective. Firstly, the study evaluated the procedures used by the Faculty of Education to diagnose and remediate writing difficulties among its first year student intake by comparing the assumptions underlying those procedures to the assumptions underlying a contemporary perspective of writing and the teaching of writing. This comparison revealed that not only were many of the procedures used by the Faculty ineffectual, but also some of the procedures used had the potential to inhibit the literacy development of its students. Secondly, the study investigated whether the English Skills Assessment test was able to identify (a) all the areas in which students experienced difficulties inwriting and (b) the students who were likely to experience the difficulties. The performances of 426 first year primary and secondary teacher education students attending the Mount Lawley Campus of the Edith Cowan University in the English Skills Assessment test were compared with their performances in a research-essay assignment, carried out as a normal part of their course work. The results of this aspect of the study reinforce the findings of an earlier study (Holbrook & Bourke, 1989) which reported that the English Skills Assessment test neither identified all the areas in which tertiary level students experience difficulty in their real writing nor the students likely to experience difficulties, This study shows that Holbrook and Bourke's findings, which related to narrative text, also applied when students wrote expository text. These results challenge the validity of the Faculty's use of the English Skills Assessment test as a means of identifying students with writing problems and show that any remedial writing programme based solely on the areas identified by the test will have a limited impact on the development of students' written literacy. In addition to the data originally sought for this study, other information came to light which showed the limitations of the way in which the Faculty conceptualises students' literacy needs. The emphasis of this programme is diagnosis and remediation. This conceptualisation has produced a literacy unit which is peripheral to the mainstream academic programme and which teaches the surface features of language in decontextualised, skills-based lessons. As a consequence, the unit: (a) is accorded marginal status by lecturers and students alike, ( b ) bears little relationship to what is happening in other units of the course, and (c) contributes little, if anything, to students' literacy development. It is clear from the findings of this study that the Faculty of Educator's remedial literacy programme contains serious flaws which cannot be rectified by attempting to modify the existing programme, The study concludes by recommending that the Faculty of Education should abandon its existing programme, along with its remedial emphasis, and institute a new programme designed to cater for the literacy needs of all its students. That is, all incoming students should be required to undertake a foundation unit which outlines the Faculty of Education's requirements and expectations of students, and teaches them the structures and processes (reading, writing, and thinking) required for successful learning in Bachelor of Arts (Education) courses.
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Howell, Ellen Sook Hyang. "Life experiences that influence language acquisition in generation 1.5 students." CSUSB ScholarWorks, 2006. https://scholarworks.lib.csusb.edu/etd-project/3100.
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The study examines the life and educational experiences of five Generation 1.5 students at California State University, San Bernardino and analyzes how the first cultural socialization affects later English academic language learning. The study used three methods of gathering data: a survey questionnaire, participant-observation, and one-on-one interviews. The study also reviews other case studies that describe life and educational experiences as well as the language and cultural connections of Generation 1.5 students. An analysis of lexical, structural and interactional differences of the spoken and written modes of the English language is also included. The study's findings indicate that learning the vocabulary of the written language was a key factor in being a member of the academic community.
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Oxford, Raquel Malia Nitta. "Effects of Technology-Enhanced Language Learning on Second Language Composition of University-Level Intermediate Spanish Students." Thesis, University of North Texas, 2004. https://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc4688/.
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Today's global culture makes communication through writing in a foreign language a most desirable tool to expand personal and professional relations. However, teaching writing is a complex, time-consuming endeavor in any language. Foreign language teachers at every level struggle to fit writing into an already full curriculum and need the most effective methods and tools with which to teach. Technology may provide a viable scaffold to support writing instruction for teachers and students.
The purpose of this research was to determine any benefits of weekly/structured, in-class, computer-assisted grammar drill and practice on the composition quality and quantity of intermediate university Spanish learners. A related purpose was to determine whether students who participated in such practice would access a computer-based writing assistant differently during writing than students without the treatment. The research design was a nonequivalent groups pretest-posttest design. Fifty-two subjects' compositions were graded with both holistic and analytic criteria to analyze composition quality and quantity, and statistical analyses assessed interactions of treatment and effects. The computer-based Atajo writing assistant, which could be accessed during composition, had a logging feature which provided unobtrusive observation of specific databases accessed by each student. There were no statistically significant differences found between the two groups in overall composition scores or in subscale scores. Improvements across time were observed in composition performance for both the experimental and control groups. The implementation of computer-based grammar and vocabulary practice did show a small to moderate positive effect; that is to say, students who received weekly, structured computer grammar and vocabulary practice had higher scores for composition quality and quantity on the posttest measure and accessed the databases less than the control group. The consistent positive trends in the composition data results intimate that over a more extended period of time, computer-based grammar instruction might enhance the quality and quantity of written composition in the foreign language classroom.
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Sprague, Maureen Denise. "Foreign Student Enrollment Planning in Five Oregon Institutions with English as a Second Language Programs." PDXScholar, 1992. https://pdxscholar.library.pdx.edu/open_access_etds/4562.
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Planning for foreign students in institutions of higher education takes many forms. This study set out to find out how this planning takes place within and between three particular units in five universities and colleges in Oregon. The three units chosen as the focus of this study work closely with foreign students in the initial admissions process, in the orientation, visa status and services area of their stay, and thirdly in academic coursework in English as a second language programs. The titles of the units are, the admissions office, the international student services office and the English as a second language program. This is a descriptive study and as such employed an interview format to gather current data on this topic. Interviews were held with the officers in charge of the each of the three units at each of the five institutions. The objective of the interviews was to find out the nature of planning for foreign students in each unit as well as the extent of coordination between units in planning for the enrollment of foreign students. The literature on planning for foreign students in institutions of higher education suggests that although the numbers of foreign students attending institutions in the U.S. continue to increase, there is not an indication of institutions setting policy for foreign students. In addition, planning for foreign student enrollment has not been an integral part of the admissions office planning framework, as formal enrollment planning for domestic students is still in the early stages. The results of this study reflect some consistency between the literature and the state of enrollment planning in the five institutions participating in this study. The nature of planning for foreign students in the admissions unit, the international student services unit, and the English as a second language program unit are distinctively characteristic of the individual programs and also of the university or college with which the units are affiliated.
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Quinn, Lynn. "An examination of the drafting-responding process used to develop students' writing in an English Language for Academic Purposes Course." Thesis, Rhodes University, 2000. http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1002642.
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Many students when they arrive at university do not possess the “cultural capital” (Bourdieu 1977) which is favoured by the institution. The purpose of the English Language for Academic Purposes (ELAP) course and the drafting-responding process is to help students to begin to acquire the “cultural capital” required to succeed at university. The research reported on in this thesis examined the drafting-responding process as it is used to develop students’ writing in the ELAP course at Rhodes University. The process involved students submitting drafts of their essays on which they received constructive and formative feedback from their ELAP tutor. This feedback was then used to revise their essays before a final version was submitted for assessment. The research took the form of a case study with an essentially interpretive orientation. I examined the drafts (with the tutor’s comments) and final versions of seven students’ ELAP essays. Additional data was obtained by interviewing the students and the tutor. Underpinning my beliefs regarding the role of writing in learning as well as my orientation to research is an understanding of knowledge and learning as being socially constructed. All writing is embedded in and dependent on, not only the immediate social circumstances, but also the broader social and cultural context. In analysing and discussing the data in this research I used Halliday’s (1985) definition of context, in which he draws a broad distinction between the immediate context of situation and the broader context of culture The research findings showed that the drafting-responding process can help students with the process of developing the academic literacy they need in order to write essays within specific situational contexts, in this case, the context of the ELAP course. In addition, at a broader level, it can help students to begin the process of being initiated into the culture of the university as a whole.
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Tang, Guimin. "Contextualization: an Experimental Model for EFL Writing Instruction in China." PDXScholar, 2017. https://pdxscholar.library.pdx.edu/open_access_etds/3487.
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Chinese students learning English as a foreign language seem to get good marks in tests, but are poor or limited in their ability to write in English. This dilemma of China's EFL writing instruction seems to be related to the decontextualized EFL writing practices. This study aims to examine how Chinese EFL college students respond to changes in their writing instruction that pays attention to the context of EFL teaching and learning. In this study, context refers to three levels: linguistic context, situational context and cultural context.
Using the mixed methods approach, I conducted the study by engaging 60 second-year undergraduate students from a university in China and five Chinese students studying in a joint program in a university in the United States. The Write-to-learn Model based on my context-oriented framework was used in the study.
The findings of the study show that following a 5-month training with the Write-to-learn Model, the experimental group improved significantly more than the control group with respect to English writing, indicating that adding context to EFL teaching and learning created positive writing outcomes for EFL students. In addition, the results of this study also demonstrate that the Chinglish phenomenon was related to decontextualized EFL writing practices and thought patterns resulting from culture. Adequate comprehensible input of authentic materials was found to be a good remedy to minimize EFL students' Chinglish expressions. This study found that the Write-to-learn Model was an effective approach in China's EFL writing classes.
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Ashton-Hay, Sally Ann. "Interactive peer-based learning in a comparative case study : what do students gain?" Thesis, Queensland University of Technology, 2011. https://eprints.qut.edu.au/46111/1/Sally_Ashton-Hay_Thesis.pdf.
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As English increasingly becomes one of the most commonly spoken languages in the world today for a variety of economic, social and cultural reasons, education is impacted by globalisation, the internationalisation of universities and the diversity of learners in classrooms. The challenge for educators is to find more effective ways of teaching English language so that students are better able to create meaning and communicate in the target language as well as to transform knowledge and understanding into relevant skills for a rapidly changing world. This research focuses broadly on English language education underpinned by social constructivist principles informing communicative language teaching and in particular, interactive peer learning approaches. An intervention of interactive peer-based learning in two case study contexts of English as Foreign Language (EFL) undergraduates in a Turkish university and English as Second Language (ESL) undergraduates in an Australian university investigates what students gain from the intervention. Methodology utilising qualitative data gathered from student reflective logs, focus group interviews and researcher field notes emphasises student voice. The cross case comparative study indicates that interactive peer-based learning enhances a range of learning outcomes for both cohorts including engagement, communicative competence, diagnostic feedback as well as assisting development of inclusive social relationships, civic skills, confidence and self efficacy. The learning outcomes facilitate better adaptation to a new learning environment and culture. An iterative instructional matrix tool is a useful product of the research for first year university experiences, teacher training, raising awareness of diversity, building learning communities, and differentiating the curriculum. The study demonstrates that English language learners can experience positive impact through peer-based learning and thus holds an influential key for Australian universities and higher education.
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Battle, Joel C. "The Effect of Information Literacy Instruction on Library Anxiety Among International Students." Thesis, University of North Texas, 2004. https://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc5552/.
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This study explored what effect information literacy instruction (ILI) may have on both a generalized anxiety state and library anxiety specifically. The population studied was international students using resources in a community college. Library anxiety among international students begins with certain barriers that cause anxiety (i.e., language/communication barriers, adjusting to a new education/library system and general cultural adjustments). Library Anxiety is common among college students and is characterized by feelings of negative emotions including, ruminations, tension, fear and mental disorganization (Jiao & Onwuegbuzie, 1999a). This often occurs when a student contemplates conducting research in a library and is due to any number of perceived inabilities about using the library. In order for students to become successful in their information seeking behavior this anxiety needs to be reduced. The study used two groups of international students enrolled in the English for Speakers of other Languages (ESOL) program taking credit courses. Each student completed Bostick's Library Anxiety Scale (LAS) and Spielberger's State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI) to assess anxiety level before and after treatment. Subjects were given a research assignment that required them to use library resources. Treatment: Group 1 (experimental group) attended several library instruction classes (the instruction used Kuhltau's information search process model). Group 2 (control group) was in the library working on assignment but did not receive any formal library instruction. After the treatment the researcher and ESOL program instructor(s) measured the level of anxiety between groups. ANCOVA was used to analyze Hypotheses 1 and 2, which compared pretest and posttest for each group. Research assignment grades were used to analyze Hypothesis 3 comparing outcomes among the two groups. The results of the analysis ascertained that ILI was associated with reducing state and library anxiety among international students when given an assignment using library resources.
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Sloan, Carol BonDurant. "Planning for Academic Success: Survey of University Professors' Assessments of Non-native Students' Language Skill Needs." PDXScholar, 1994. https://pdxscholar.library.pdx.edu/open_access_etds/4777.
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The purpose of this study is to examine which language skills university professors believe are most essential for academic success in Portland State University classes. The study can shed light on a question for future research: Do current academic ESL classes at Portland State University teach the necessary skills to help international students maximize their second-language learning potential in university-level courses. Enrollment statistics for 1993 I 94 show 53 percent of the 815 international students declared majors in two programs: the school of Business Administration and the school of Engineering and Applied Science. This study asked 31 instructors from business and engineering to assess which language skills--reading, writing, listening or speaking--were most important to success in their undergraduate and graduate classes; how they used the language skills; how international students performed in their classes compared with native speaking students; and to describe any critical incidents which appeared to have been caused by lack of comprehension of orally-presented materials. Interview questions were designed to establish a profile of each class and assess the relationship between the amount of culturally-embedded vocabulary and the degree of difficulty experienced by non-native speaking students. Three patterns emerged from the research. First, the ranking of language skills followed results of earlier national surveys showing the importance of reading and listening. All faculty ranked reading the "most important" language skill; reading and listening were ranked equally "most important" by engineering faculty; and writing varied by level and discipline; and speaking was ranked "least important" by all faculty. Second, all faculty ranked textbooks the preferred use of reading skills; note taking was the most-used listening skill; and class discussion was the mostused speaking skill. Writing activities varied by level and discipline, although reports and essay answers were the most frequently mentioned uses. Third, faculty said international students performed better in quantitative than qualitative classes. Within both disciplines, classes which manipulated numbers were less problematic than those which manipulated language with culturally-embedded context or vocabulary. Implications for ESL curriculum design suggest emphasis on skills considered most important by academic faculty.
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Junker, Rebekka Susanne. "ZwischenSprachen Zum Potenzial exophonischer Literatur für eine Didaktik der Literarizität im universitären DaF-Unterricht in Südafrika." Thesis, Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University, 2015. http://hdl.handle.net/10019.1/96921.
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Thesis (MA)--Stellenbosch University, 2015ENGLISH ABSTRACT : Between Languages – Exploring the potential of exophonic literature for the implementation of didactics of literariness in German foreign language teaching at tertiary level in South Africa This thesis aims to make a contribution to the field of literature study in foreign language teaching in South Africa. It investigates the practical implications of Claire Kramsch’s theory of “symbolic competence” of the multilingual subject, Michael Dobstadt’s and Renate Riedner’s theory of a “Didaktik der Literarizität” as well as theories of multilingualism and exophony. Specifically this thesis looks at how these approaches can be combined and then implemented at advanced levels in foreign language teaching (B1 and B2), namely German modules at Stellenbosch and other South African universities where a multilingual background of language learners is the norm. The thesis thus explores how exophonic literature as an educational tool can help students to improve their language learning and shows the range of possibilities that exophonic literature offers in the field of foreign language learning. On the basis of the theories and a survey amongst the students studying German in their third year in Stellenbosch, two sets of lesson plans are developed for university students with B1/B2 level in Stellenbosch. The literature used was Maja Haderlap‘s poem “Als mir die Sprache abhanden kam” as well as Yoko Tawada’s Essay “Bioskoop der Nacht”. These lesson plans shall serve as examples on how Dobstadt/Riedner’s and Kramsch’s theories can be implemented in practise using exophonic literature in a multilingual environment.
AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING : Hierdie tesis beoog om ‘n bydra tot die gebied van literatuurstudie in vreemde taal-onderrig in Suid-Afrika te lewer. Dit bestudeer die praktiese implikasies van Claire Kramsch se teorie “simboliese kompetensie” van veeltaligheid, Michael Dobstadt en Renate Riedner se teorie van ‘n “didaktiek van letterkundigheid” asook ander teorieë van veeltaligheid en “eksofonie”. Daar word veral gefokus op hoe hierdie benaderinge gekombineer kan word en dan toegepas moet word op hoër vlakke van vreemde taal-onderrig (B1 en B2); naamlik by die Duitse modules van Stellenbosch en ander Suid-Afrikaanse universiteite, waar studente met ‘n veeltalige agtergrond die norm is. Die tesis ondersoek dus hoe “eksofoniese” literatuur as onderrigmiddel studente met verbetering van taalvaardighede kan help. Verder stel dit die omvang van moontlikhede ten toon wat “eksofoniese” literatuur in die gebied van vreemde taal-onderrig kan bied. Gebaseer op die bogenoemde teorieë en ‘n opname onder studente wat in hul derdejaar Duits aan die Universiteit van Stellenbosch studeer, word twee lesplanne vir Stellenbosch studente op B1/B2 vlak ontwikkel. Die literatuur wat gebruik is, is Maja Haderlap se gedig “Als mir die Sprache abhanden kam” sowel as Yoko Tawada se essay “Bioskoop der Nacht”. Hierdie lesplanne sal dien as voorbeelde van hoe Dobstadt/Riedner en Kramsch se teorieë prakties toegepas kan word deur die gebruik van “eksofoniese” literatuur in ʼn veeltalige omgewing.
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Fetter, Robert Scott. "An Examination of the English Vocabulary Knowledge of Adult English-for-academic-purposes Students: Correlation with English Second-language Proficiency and the Validity of Yes/No Vocabulary Tests." PDXScholar, 1995. https://pdxscholar.library.pdx.edu/open_access_etds/4903.
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The importance given to vocabulary in second language instruction and in theories of second language acquisition has increased greatly in the last fifteen years. It is thus important for second language teachers/researchers to have valid, useful methods of assessing the vocabulary needs and vocabulary knowledge of their students as well as valid and useful methods of assessing the efficacy of various methods and techniques of teaching and learning vocabulary. This study examines the usefulness and validity of a relatively new type of checklist vocabulary test method known as the 'YES/NO' method. In the YES/NO method, nonsense words are listed together with real test words. A subject's test score is calculated by applying both the percentage of real words checked and the percentage of nonsense words checked to a mathematical formula. Sixty-six students enrolled in a college-level Englishfor- academic-purposes (EAP) program took three vocabulary tests. Correlation was calculated between the participants' scores on the 'Structure' and 'Listening' subsections of the Comprehensive English Language Test (CELT) and the participants' scores on all three vocabulary tests scored both as YES/NO tests and as simple-checklist tests. The following three findings were noteworthy: (1) correlation between CELT subtest scores and vocabulary test scores was more consistent and stronger when the vocabulary tests were scored as simple-checklist tests compared to when they were scored as YES/NO tests, (2) few students scored above recommended exit-level scores on the CELT subtests but below 5,000 on the vocabulary tests, and (3) a 120-real-word vocabulary test correlated more consistently and strongly with the CELT subtests than either of two 60-real-word vocabulary tests. Three conclusions were made: (1) adult EAP students preparing to study at English-medium institutions of higher education need knowledge of the 5,000 most-frequent words [lemmas] of English, (2) the YES/NO method of testing the L2 vocabulary knowledge of adult EAP students is not better than the simple-checklist method, and (3) a good direction for work on the improvement of tests intended to measure the L2 vocabulary knowledge of adult EAP students may be to explore how to elicit valid responses on long simple-checklist tests.
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Chung, Kim-Choy, and n/a. "Brand image and brand trust in choice of international tertiary education provider." University of Otago. Department of Marketing, 2009. http://adt.otago.ac.nz./public/adt-NZDU20090826.121449.
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Increased competition for top students, reduced public funding, and comparative "shopping" by prospective students have resulted in universities taking a more market-oriented approach to improve student enrolment (Moore 2004). The outcomes of this market-oriented approach of universities are: First, students are increasingly seen as customers of knowledge by universities, and universities as suppliers of knowledge to these customers (Svensson & Wood ,2007). Second, students are being faced with an array of education choices and information (passively or actively gained). As with physical product consumption, the institution brand with its underlying appeals can function as a route map for students through this bewildering variety of choices/information.
Despite the plethora of studies on education purchase, the impact of brands on students' choice of international tertiary education provider has not been fully explored. This is especially so within the context of brand image and brand trust. The purchase of an international tertiary education can be a risky (uncertain) venture because of the time and cost involved. Consumer's trust in a brand contributes to a reduction of uncertainty in consumer purchases (Garbarino & Mark 1999). However, the concept of brand trust is not explored in education. While the research on brand image within the context of education is not new, its definition and measurement varied or seldom explore in relation to country-of-origin, promotion channel and individual values in student's choice decisions. This thesis aims to address these research gaps. It explores the impact of two psychological associations with brand: brand image and brand trust (in relation to individual values, country of origin and promotion channel) on Chinese students' choice of international tertiary education provider, using the Bednall and Kanuk's (1997) decision-making model as the research's underlying framework.
Since no existing measures or scales related to brand image and brand trust suitable for use in this thesis were identified from the literature, a two-stage research method to collect both qualitative (in-depth interviews) and quantitative data was used to develop measures for this thesis. The adopted research design is consistent with Anderson Churchill (1979) and Gerbing's (1988) guideline for scale development.
Information gathered from 36 in-depth interviews, 416 pilot surveys in Singapore and Malaysia, and 287 surveys (post enrolment data) in New Zealand revealed that choice patterns for international tertiary education providers are focused on: i) A university's brand image, as reflected in the brand positioning messages of an institution competencies, course related issues, and brand identity (university values and missions statement); ii) Brand trust as reflected by the expressed opinion of friends and family members and students' positive experiences with university staff; iii) The social political image of a university's country of origin; iv) The perceived direct barriers to tertiary education (English language proficiency and course admission requirements); and v) High Context communications through education fairs, corporate sponsorships of scholarships/bursaries and international student exchange programs.
In addition, a customer-centric approach to the student-university relationship helped improve the identity and brand image of a university. The presence of senior academic staff (professor level) at education fairs; good accessibility of academic staff on campus; having knowledgeable and culturally sensitive frontline staff (reception & marketing personnel); and small, customised tutorial classes would identify the university as customer-centric and contribute to a positive university life experience. These help projected an image that the university is concerned with their students' learning outcomes. Not only will positive university life experiences lead to improved learning outcomes for students, it helps strengthen future alumni-university relationships, resulting in alumni being willing to promote their alma mater to their children, friends and colleagues. This free publicity can help enhance the brand image and brand trust in a university, differentiating it from other universities.
This thesis verified the findings of McMahon (1992) that superior economic development in the destination country is not an important 'pull' factor in student mobility. It complimented the findings of Gray, Fam and Llanes (2003) by showing the importance of customised strategy in international education offerings and illustrated the link between brand image and country image (socio-political) in the purchases of educational services, evidence that was absent in the study by Zhou, Lawley and Perry (2000).
While pre-enrolment data from the in-depth interview and pilot survey indicated that Singapore and Malaysian Chinese students are value bound in their decision of New Zealand as their intended study destination, there is no evidence from the main survey (post-enrolment) that individual values had an influence on their choice decision. The in-depth interview indicated that Singapore and Malaysian Chinese students found New Zealand society appealing because of its low corruption and high level of honesty and fairness because these values help to reinforce group harmony, a prominent characteristic of Chinese society. Further research is recommended in this area. Overall, this thesis will contribute to the body of knowledge in students' decision-making and university branding.
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Dunn, Linda Carol Andrews. "An evaluation of the academic success of students who participated in the English for non-native residents program at Portland State University." PDXScholar, 1990. https://pdxscholar.library.pdx.edu/open_access_etds/3969.
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Many programs exist across the United States to prepare non-native English speaking students for academic work. The effectiveness of these programs has been the subject of various research projects, with mixed results. Some have found that the programs they have examined seem to have led to higher achievement among participants. Others have found that it is difficult to show any effect. However, the amount of time and resources devoted to such programs warrants continuing efforts to evaluate their success.
This study compares the academic records of non-native English speaking students who were enrolled in the English for Non-native Residents Program (ENNR) at Portland State University (PSU) with those of a group of similar students who did not enroll in the program, with the goal of answering the following questions: (1) Does enrollment in the ENNR program have a positive effect on academic performance at PSU? (2) Does enrollment in the ENNR program have a positive effect on performance in composition classes? (3) Does enrollment in the ENNR grammar workshop have a positive effect on performance in the basic composition course? (4) Does enrollment in the ENNR program have a positive effect on performance in PSU courses requiring relatively more reading?
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Paez, Georgia Somerville. "The Student Service Related Problems of International and English as a Second Language Students in a Selected Community College." Thesis, North Texas State University, 1985. https://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc331264/.
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The study focused on the student service related problems of culturally distinct groups of students attending a community college. The groups selected for the study were sixty international students and sixty English as a Second Language students. The researcher administered the Michigan International Student Problem Inventory, an instrument which has been widely used to indicate foreign students' problems. Combining the use of naturalistic research methodology, the researcher utilized an indepth interview to document the problems they were facing. Patterns and trends among the problems were analyzed and reported. The results indicated that many international students experienced concerns in the area of financial aid, had difficulties with some of the immigration regulations and work restrictions, and experienced forms of racial and social discrimination. The English as a Second Language students tended to experience most difficulties in the area of English language functioning but also experienced problems related to academic functioning and making friends. The student service areas most closely related to the international students' concerns were Financial Aids, Admissions, Placement, Counseling, and English Language Services. English as a Second Language students' problems were most closely related to the areas of English Language Services, Admissions, Counseling, and Academic Advisement. Recommendations generated by the study include the development of a new instrument to include topics generated by the students in the open-ended section of the questionnaire, a translation of the instrument into the major languages of the English as a Second Language population, and the need for future research on subgroups of the populations who indicated a greater number of problems than the others. Institutional recommendations are included which focus on how the college could address the problems which the students identified.
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Nguyen, Ngan T. "West Wind Blows: Voices of Vietnamese Teachers and Students of English– A Case Study of Nha Trang University." Ohio University / OhioLINK, 2011. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=ohiou1304001658.
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Hessel, Gianna. "The impact of participation in ERASMUS study abroad in the UK on students' overall English language proficiency, self-efficacy, English use anxiety and self-motivation to continue learning English : a mixed-methods investigation." Thesis, University of Oxford, 2016. https://ora.ox.ac.uk/objects/uuid:7ae490c6-2303-4889-ae67-df3deb5eb870.
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It is widely assumed that participation in study abroad contributes to developing second language (L2) proficiency, as well as related outcomes such as higher levels of L2 learning motivation and intercultural competence. However, empirical studies into the outcomes of participation in study abroad have been affected by a series of methodological limitations, including complete reliance on participant self-assessment, the omission of longitudinal design elements, failure to control for non-equivalent comparison groups where these are included and insufficient sample sizes for testing programme effects. Thus, the present study investigates further the impact of studying abroad with the EU's ERASMUS programme on the participants' overall L2 proficiency, their self-efficacy and anxiety in using the L2 with native and non-native speakers and on their self-motivation to continue learning the L2. To this end, a longitudinal mixed methods design was employed in which 143 German university students who applied for an ERASMUS exchange with a British university for the academic year 2012-2013 and were either accepted or rejected/ withdrawn formed the abroad and comparison groups. All students completed C-tests of overall English language proficiency and questionnaires that inquired into the students' mobility history, their L2 learning background, L2 motivation, intergroup attitudes and aspects of the study abroad experience itself. Both instruments were administered online at the onset of the study abroad period (September 2012), one term into the programme (December 2012) and prior to the students' return (either December 2012 or June 2013). This predominantly quantitative group-level study served to establish the outcomes of participation in study abroad for the students' linguistic and motivational development. Repeated interviews with a sub-sample of 15 participants served to illuminate the observed outcome patterns in terms of the motivational dynamics during study abroad, as well as common factors associated with individual differences in linguistic development. The results of the study show that during the first 3 months abroad the ERASMUS students made significantly higher gains in overall English proficiency than the group of potentially mobile students who continued to study at home. The effect of the learning context was large and highly significant (p =.001), even after the influence of pre-existing participant characteristics on the students' proficiency development was controlled for. During the subsequent 6 months of the study abroad period, however, progress among the ERASMUS group slowed and the between-group differences were no longer significant. The participants' L2 proficiency level at programme entry emerged as the strongest predictor of overall L2 proficiency gain, explaining up to 31.5% of the variance. The students' attitudes towards their own national group, their perceptions of self-efficacy and feelings of anxiety when using English in social interactions, the perceived present-future L2 self-discrepancy and gender explained another 13.6% of the variance in overall L2 proficiency gain. Learner-external factors, including participation in English language instruction, participation in clubs and societies, the number of academic contact hours and type of enrolment, and free time spent with co-national peers, including friends and family back home explained a further 10.9%. The qualitative analysis of the students' accounts provided further insights into the ways in which these factors play out in L2 learning abroad, as well as into the students' perceptions of aspects of studying abroad that contributed most to their linguistic development. Regarding the motivational impact of the study abroad experience, the study found that ERASMUS students tended to develop significantly higher levels of self-efficacy in using English in social interactions as compared to the group of potentially mobile students who continued to study at home, while both the levels of perceived present-future self-discrepancy and English use anxiety with native and non-native speakers fell during the first 3 months abroad. While the overall impact of the study abroad experience on the students' motivation to continue learning the L2 was perceived as positive by the vast majority of participants, a decline in learning motivation was observed for most students after the initial 3-month period. The qualitative analysis showed that this decline can be plausibly explained by developments in the students' English self-concept that occurred in response to the study abroad experience. Evidence-based recommendations are made regarding ways in which the linguistic and motivational development of ERASMUS students can be more effectively supported by higher education institutions.
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Mahmood, Nafisa. "Using Google Docs to Support Collaborative Learning and Enhance English Language Skills among Non-Native English Speaking Students." Thesis, University of North Texas, 2018. https://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc1404538/.
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Collaborative writing technologies such as Google Docs is believed to be a helpful tool in supporting the development of constructivist learning environments. However, not much research has been done among special populations outside the United States. This dissertation examines how using google docs can enhance collaborative learning among non-native English-speaking students at a university in Oman. A total of 52 students participated in this study, where they completed a collaborative writing activity using Google Docs. This exploratory study yielded quantitative as well as qualitative data. Interviewees shared their experience of using Google Docs for the collaborative writing activity. The research shows that Google Docs promoted collaborative interactions among students, such as learning from each other and communicating with the teacher. Interestingly, the data indicate that students used alternate social media such as WhatsApp to communicate with their group mates regarding the collaborative writing activity. Overall, the results obtained here confirm that the Google Docs can be used to enhance collaborative learning among non-native English-speaking students.
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Guillot, Blandine. "Les repr{u00E9}sentations sociales de l'{u00E9}criture et le rapport {u00E1} l'{u00E9}criture en langue {u00E9}trang{u00E8}re : une approche didactique pour l'enseignement et l'apprentissage de l'{u00E9}crit en FLE en milieu universitaire australien = Social representations in students' writing and the relation to writing in a foreign language : a didactics-based approach to the teaching and learning of written French as a foreign language in an Australian tertiary institution." Phd thesis, 2010. http://hdl.handle.net/1885/150714.
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This thesis examines the ideas of social representations and the "relation to writing" (Barre-De Miniac 2000) in a multilingual context. Firstly, the thesis examines these ideas, arising from the research field of didactics of teaching French as a first language, in the multilingual context of a French program at an Australian university. Secondly, it analyses the progress in writing ability made by students from the second to the fourth year of French studies, and compares the ways in which they describe the process of writing in their first language and in a foreign language. The objective is to understand the process of writing in its psychological, social and cognitive dimensions. An analysis of the topic (Berthoud 1996) carried out on the discursive corpus of teachers (based on individual interviews) illustrates the limitations of the concept of "relation to writing" in a multilingual context, and makes it possible to identify an idea specific to this teaching situation: the "relation to the foreign language" being learned. An analysis of the topic carried out on the discursive corpus of learners (discussion groups) indicates that their written work in a foreign language originates with ideas, and that the "transposition to writing" in a foreign language can be recognised as a key point in the awareness of linguistic phenomena insofar as this as moment of writing engages knowledge of at least two languages. The situation of transition between languages, made more explicit through the process of writing, is akin to the "zone of proximal development" (ZPD) in Vygotsky's sociocultural theory in that the development of learning strategies and the internalisation of the language are apparent in this negotiation process. A comparison of the processes of writing in a foreign language and writing in a first language shows that the student's level of ability influences the attention given to different aspects of writing. The analysis of written data is divided into three parts. First, those elements in the guidelines for written assignments that reinforce literacy in the foreign language through writing are identified. Secondly, the students' written work enables exploration of another possibility in their "relation to writing". Adopting an analytical approach based on M. K. Halliday's systemic-functional linguistics to determine the writer's investment in his or her output, the data show that the investment varies depending on the stage the student has reached in their foreign language learning. Finally, an analysis of. the comments made by those reading or marking the work establishes a certain continuity of the topics between spoken and written discourse, and highlights the fact that these comments mainly confirm the importance of the "relation to language". The thesis contributes empirical oral and written data in a multilingual university context in which the "relation to writing" can be observed through a grasp of the continuity of the topic. It also constitutes a theoretical contribution to the teaching methodology of writing in a foreign language in that it highlights ideas including the "relation to language", the "relation to learning" and the "transposition to writing".
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Kiley, Margaret Mary. "Expectations and experiences of Indonesian postgraduate students studying in Australia : a longitudinal study / Margaret Kiley." Thesis, 1999. http://hdl.handle.net/2440/19424.
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Bibliography: leaves 359-374430 leaves : ill. ; 30 cm.
This study examines the changing expectations and experiences of thirty-three Indonesian postgraduate students who were interviewed every three months during candidature in Australia.
Thesis (Ph.D.)--University of Adelaide, Depts. of Applied and Molecular Ecology, 1999
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Glew, Paul J., University of Western Sydney, and Centre for Educational Research. "Learning and teaching in ESL : perspectives on educating international students in Australia." 2008. http://handle.uws.edu.au:8081/1959.7/41785.
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This Doctor of Education (EdD) portfolio addresses the learning by and teaching of English to full-fee-paying international students from language backgrounds other than English in a secondary school setting in Australia. It focuses on the two strands of English second language (ESL) learning and teaching in schools. The first of these is ESL for the general school curriculum in New South Wales (NSW). The second is English language intensive courses for overseas students (ELICOS). The EdD portfolio consists of two volumes. Volume 1 consists of five published journal papers, two refereed papers and one unrefereed paper published in national, state or local conference proceedings. These papers examine theory, pedagogy and teacher knowledge about English language education for high school aged international students. English language programs for overseas students are now a global market driven by commercial interests. I argue for an increased understanding of the needs of overseas students in the Australian education system, and that quality English language education and student welfare are both central to an effective ELICOS program for high school aged international students. Volume 2 comprises a resource for policy makers, principals and teachers entitled ‘Excellence in ELICOS: A Resource for quality preparation programs for high school aged international students in Australia’. Volume 2 is informed and underpinned by the scholarship, research, and theoretical work presented in Volume 1 but also draws on the author’s professional experience of implementing a holistic approach to international student welfare and English language education in a secondary school in NSW. Volume 2 presents a practical framework, approach and supporting resource that might assist in the establishing, implementing and sustaining of quality, intensive English language courses that are sensitive to the diverse educational and welfare needs of overseas students. Volume 2 was developed in response to the needs and demands of principals and teachers for proven, research driven curricula and policies that meet the needs of the growing population of international students enrolled in NSW secondary schools.Doctor of Education (Ed.D.)
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Wang, Nan. "Beliefs about language learning and foreign language anxiety : a study of university students learning English as a foreign language in mainland China." 2005. http://hdl.handle.net/1828/787.
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The purpose of this study was to investigate foreign language anxiety and beliefs about language learning of university students learning English as a foreign language (EFL) in mainland China. In addition, the relationship between foreign language anxiety and students7 beliefs about language learning was studied. A total of 175 first and second year university students participated in the study. A set of questionnaires consisting of the Beliefs About Language Learning Inventory (Honvitz, 1987), Foreign Language Classroom Anxiety Scale (Honvitz, 1983) and a background questionnaire were translated into Chinese and administered to the subjects. Several similarities and differences were observed between the Chinese subjects7 responses to the BALLI and those of American foreign language students (Honvitz, 1988), Taiwanese EFL students (Yang, 1992), Korean EFL students (Truitt, 1995), American students of French (Kern, 1995), American students of Japanese (Oh, 1996), and Turkish-speaking students of English (Kunt, 1997). The Chinese subjects in this study reported higher levels of foreign language anxiety than the subjects in previous studies. Two BALLI factors were found to be significantly correlated with foreign language anxiety: "the difficulty about language learning" (r = .544 p< .01) and "beliefs about foreign language aptitude" (r = -.255 p< .01), suggesting that Chinese EFL students who believe English is not a very difficult language and perceive themselves as having higher language aptitude in language learning tend to have lower levels of language anxiety. This study contributes to the understanding of EFL students7 beliefs about language learning, and the frustrations and difficulties they experience in foreign language classrooms.
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Hayashi, Akiko. "The effect of text structure on ESL students' recall of information." 2004. http://hdl.handle.net/1828/441.
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Conner, Matthew Michael. "Preparing students for the upper-division literature/culture classroom: a multiple literacies approach." Thesis, 2005. http://hdl.handle.net/2152/2406.
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