This study examines student performance in two foreign language programs, partial immersion (content taught through the exclusive use of a second language) and FLES (Foreign Language in the Elementary School). Are students who study math, science, and social studies through a second language hampered when compared with their non-immersion peers? Does intensive study of a second language interfere with native language usage? Is partial immersion more effective than FLES in producing fluency in the second language? Normal curve equivalent scores of the California Achievement Test (CAT) were used to measure language arts, reading, and math performance. The North Carolina third grade tests for science and social studies were used to measure mastery of state objectives in those subjects. French listening comprehension skills, and in some cases speaking skills, were assessed through the American Association of Teachers of French (AATF) FLES Test. Mental ability was measured using the CTB-McGraw Hill Test of Cognitive Skills. Separate analysis of covariance (ANCOVA) tests were performed for reading, language, math, total battery, science, social studies achievement test response variables. An ANCOVA was also done for French listening skills. A socioeconomic status (SES) Index and IQ scores were used aS covariates in all of these tests. Separate analysis of variance (ANOVA) tests were run on each ANCOVA for the purpose of comparison. Number Cruncher Statistical System software was utilized for all computations. Significant main effects are analyzed. The analysis of scores for both treatment groups revealed there was no difference due to treatment in language, reading, mathematics, science, or total battery. Achievement of FLES and partial immersion groups was Similar. After adjustment for SES and IQ, the immersion group scored significantly less than the FLES group in social studies (p < .05). The immersion group scored Significantly higher than the FLES group in French listening skills (p < .0001). The results of this study provide data to school districts interested in elementary foreign language programs. It contributes to the growing body of research in immersion as an educational alternative. / Ed. D.

The author believes that the mediation of classic literature through drama would increase student's opportunity for academic success on the secondary and post-secondary levels of education. This project develops curriculum and materials using dramatic adaptations of ancient literature created by the author.

The effectiveness of a bilingual and a monolingual treatment condition was compared in the receptive training of novel action words presented to two bilingual, Spanish-dominant, minority-language preschoolers. In the bilingual condition, one set of actions and referents was trained in Spanish (L1) followed by training in English (L2). In the monolingual condition, another set of actions and referents was trained in L2 alone. For one child, superior L2 learning occurred in the bilingual condition, results consonant with reports by Garcia (1983a) and by Oskarsson (1975). For the other child, unexpectedly, the monolingual condition resulted in superior L2 learning. Her findings suggest that the effect of preference to learn in L2 may result in behavior which runs counter to expectations of performance based on observed dominance. Generalization of receptive learning to expressive performance was also assessed. Both children performed at sufficient levels to indicate learning was generalized from reception to expression.

This study examines the potential benefits of using the native language of learners in a principled way by reviewing research that represents the dominant view of using only the second or target language (L2) against a growing body of literature that argues for principled L1 use. The development of the direct and monolingual method and its key aspects are discussed, and bilingual methods and arguments for implementing the first language (L1) in a foreign language classroom are reviewed and evaluated. An attitudinal case study investigating learners' attitudes towards L1 use in the classroom showed that students prefer a mixture of L1 and L2, and that the principled use of the L1 has positive effects on the learner. / by Isabel Osswald. / Thesis (M.A.)--Florida Atlantic University, 2010. / Includes bibliography. / Electronic reproduction. Boca Raton, Fla., 2010. Mode of access: World Wide Web.

Oftentimes it is the foreign language classroom that provides the basic foundation for language exposure and acquisition. In the context of the foreign language classroom there is not much exposure to the TL outside of this setting. This being the case, the quantity of the TL should be relatively high as it is an essential requisite for language acquisition. In addition, most recent research tends to suggest that high quantities of TL from the instructor is ideal. The main purpose of this study has been to focus on university-level foreign language classrooms to explore the issue of language choice, Ll or TL, among instructors. Over a ten week period, six languages were observed and audiotaped on five separate occasions. The study asked the following questions: 1) If Ll (English) is used in university-level foreign language classrooms, what is the ratio of Ll to TL?; 2) For what purposes is the Ll used?; 3) What are teachers' and students' perceptions and attitudes regarding use of the Ll in the foreign language classroom? A categorization grid was created to answer the second research question. A student questionnaire and teacher interview were administered to answer the third research question. The results were analyzed using descriptive statistics. It was found that three out of the six languages used the Ll an average of 10% or less of the time, while the remaining three languages used the Ll for an average of 13% or more of the time. In regard to the second research question, four out of the six languages used the Ll most frequently for the purposes of language analysis and vocabulary translation. This investigation has attempted to explore and discuss practices within some foreign language classrooms at the university-level and to create greater awareness of those practices.

published_or_final_version / English / Master / Master of Philosophy

Many public school reading programs utilize basal reader texts. Any materials developed for use by bilingual students would be best keyed to the basal reader being utilized in the classroom. The Ginn 720 series is one such basal reader series. Developing materials for use by bilingual students in conjunction with the Ginn 720 series would insure that the materials would be used by the classroom teacher. Focusing on a level in the series which is subsequent to the initial levels could demonstrate the utility of these materials in meeting the on-going needs of bilingual students. Level 7 is generally used by students in third grade, and the third grade is generally the grade selected for making the transition from the student's native language to that of English. Therefore, the purpose of this project is to develop supplementary reading materials keyed to the Ginn 720 Basal Reader, Level 7, for use by the regular classroom teacher in order to instruct the Spanish-speaking student in vocabulary skills. Focus on vocabulary skills, a principal activity in any reading curriculum and one which is a prerequisite to so many other reading skills, would greatly assist this bilingual student. These curriculum materials will be reviewed by local experts in education in the northeast Florida area in order to obtain input for their refinement.

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The major finding of this project is that through the use of multiple sign systems, monolingual teachers can support their bilingual students. These strategies employ the use of comprehensible input from the teacher, peer interaction, extended lanuage and activities for the students whose primary focus is to help the students make connections from the text to their own lives.

Outgoing students have the advantage over quiet students in oral class participation. Our problem was to determine whether this relationship was the same in the medium of writing by studying differences in quantity and quality of writing between a quiet and an outgoing group.