Thesis (Ed.D.)--Boston University / PLEASE NOTE: Boston University Libraries did not receive an Authorization To Manage form for this thesis or dissertation. It is therefore not openly accessible, though it may be available by request. If you are the author or principal advisor of this work and would like to request open access for it, please contact us at open-help@bu.edu. Thank you. / The purpose of the present study was to investigate the influence of rhetorical specification in writing assignments on the writing performance of EFL students from above average universities in Taiwan. Rhetorical specification refers to the amount of information provided in the writing assignment with regard to the purpose of a composition, its topic, audience, and ways of presenting ideas. The research questions were (1) How do writing assignments with varying degrees of rhetorical specification affect the overall writing quality, the content, and the rhetorical structure? (2) How do writing assignments with varying degrees of rhetorical specification affect EFL writers with varying amounts of writing instruction? (3) How do writing assignments with varying amounts of rhetorical specification affect the use of Chinese writing features in EFL students' English texts? (4) How do students assess the usefulness of rhetorical specification? Participants were assumed to be at three levels of proficiency, ranging from basic to advanced: 60 Non-English major freshmen, 50 English major freshmen, and 57 English major juniors. Each participant composed two essays in response to two writing tasks: a writing assignment that contained specific information about topic, purpose, and audience, and a task that contained little rhetorical information. Repeated measures ANOVA, paired-samples T-tests, and Chi-square statistic were undertaken to examine the effects of prompt types on several writing features. Also, the researcher interviewed 12 participants to explore their evaluations of the rhetorical information. The findings of the study are: (1) EFL students across groups benefited from rhetorical specification with regard to content richness and effective rhetorical structure. (2) English junior students were the most successful in utilizing the rhetorical information to represent a developed rhetorical problem and to compose better texts. (3) Rhetorical specification enabled Chinese-speaking EFL students to conform to English writing norms with less transference of Chinese writing features. (4) Most students indicated that among the rhetorical elements, purpose specification was considered most valuable in composing more effective essays, although they also reported that addressing the purpose demands was a challenging task. / 2031-01-01

This thesis is focused on dynamic assessment (DA), an instructional approach based on Vygotskian sociocultural theory, applied to French pronunciation instruction, which can be neglected or inconsistent in the foreign language curriculum. DA aims to combine instruction and assessment into a cooperative, mediated approach in which the mediator works with the learner to identify and develop emergent abilities. These emergent abilities can appear in what is often referred to as the zone of proximal development (ZPD), or the difference between what a learner can do independently and what he/she can do with mediation, which in the present study was the difference between what the participant could pronounce correctly with or without mediation. In carrying out an individual DA session with a learner, the author aimed to find suggestions of potential benefits by applying DA to French pronunciation instruction and gain a more detailed understanding of the learner's performance than is generally possible from a traditional assessment, which is totally devoid of mediation for the sake of validity and reliability. The study includes a discussion of some potential benefits and limitations related to the use of DA for teaching French pronunciation to intermediate L2 learners based on what was observed in the DA session, for example suggestions of increased awareness of pronunciation, suggestions of increased independent performance, and suggestions of decreased errors in specific problem areas.

The purpose of this study was to survey Mississippi foreign language teachers in regards to demographic information pertaining to their educational and professional experiences and how often they employ certain activities taken from the Mississippi Foreign Language Curriculum Framework (2000). The data were then examined to see if a relationship existed between specific teacher demographic data and how they implemented the state-mandated curriculum. A researcher-designed survey instrument was developed. In order to establish the validity and reliability of the instrument two samples were taken: Mississippi foreign language teachers and teachers subscribing to the on-line listserv FLTEACH. A total sample of n= 323 was obtained for reliability and confirmatory factor analysis. Confirmatory factor analysis was used to empirically justify the reduction of the survey items into 4 of the strands found in the curriculum framework. The Mississippi teachers' surveys were separated from the total, retaining a sample of n = 116 for further study. Descriptive statistics such as frequencies, percentages, and cross-tabulations, were used to analyze the data. Demographic data indicated that the majority of the foreign language teachers surveyed have obtained more than the minimum requirements in language study and pedagogy for certification in Mississippi. The survey also indicated that the majority of teachers surveyed employed a variety of instructional activities for their students, but that they relied most on vocabulary and grammar activities. A MANOVA was used to test the null hypothesis that increased teacher education in subject area and/or pedagogy did not increase the frequency of specific instructional choices of foreign language teachers. Results indicated that the frequency of certain instructional choices did increase as the number of hours in content hours of study increased, but it was not found to be statistically significant at an alpha of á = .05.

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In compliance with NCLB, states receiving Title I funding were to ensure that all teachers of core subject areas, including foreign languages, were highly qualified by the end of the 2005-2006 academic year. Given that 44 states assess teacher quality through The Praxis Series tests, and 32 of these rely on one of the Praxis II subject-matter tests to gauge foreign language competency (ETS, 2010a), research examining the perspectives of teacher candidates and faculty members regarding these licensure tests is needed. The purposes of this study were to (a) examine the perspectives of teacher candidates and faculty members regarding the Praxis II, (b) determine how their unique perspectives were influenced by their own classroom experiences as language learners, and (c) consider how the Praxis II experience might contribute to curricular reform including suggestions for altering pedagogical strategies, coursework, and the requirement of additional exposure to the target language independent of the four-walled classroom. Lortie’s (1975) framework of “apprenticeship of observation” (p. 61) provides a context to understand the perspectives of the Praxis II tests for licensure in foreign languages. The data revealed that three categories of Spanish teacher candidates emerged: (a) Confident Completer, (b) Surprised Prevailers, and (c) Frustrated Disregarders and each group prepared differently for the Praxis II as a result of their experiences in the language classroom as apprentice observers. Faculty members offered both similar and different perspectives of the Praxis II than did teacher candidates. Data suggested that the Praxis II can also serve to alter the behavior of teacher candidates and faculty members which may improve foreign language teacher preparation. Suggestions including course development and instructional strategies are included to assist teacher candidates in meeting the expectations of the Praxis II.

The aim of this study is to: (1) examine whether non-native EFL teachers experience feelings of foreign language teaching anxiety; (2) investigate whether non-native EFL student teachers experience feelings of foreign language teaching anxiety; (3) examine how the participants’ feelings of foreign language teaching anxiety compared with other cultural groups in previous studies; and (4) examine how foreign language teaching anxiety affects foreign language classroom instruction. In total, 79 non-native EFL teachers and 131 non-native EFL student teachers participated in this study by completing a battery of questionnaires. The results indicated that both non-native EFL teachers and student teachers experience varying levels of foreign language teaching anxiety. However, foreign language teaching anxiety does not appear to have any effect on the foreign language teaching/learning activities the teachers or student teachers use in their classrooms. / text