<p>I denna studie undersöks hur bedömning av muntlig performans sker i en befintlig verksamhet av svenska för invandrare (sfi), och på vilket sätt processbarhetsteorin kan ha relevans för bedömning av andraspråksinlärares muntliga performans. Studien baseras på ett pedagogiskt samtal med fyra verksamma sfi-lärare och en jämförelse av muntlig performans mellan två godkända och två ej godkända andraspråksinlärare på sfi:s kurs D utifrån processbarhetsteorin.</p><p> </p><p>Studien visar att lärarna inte använder något grammatiskt bedömningsverktyg utan istället förlitar sig på intuitiv bedömning av hur inlärarna förmedlar ett visst budskap. Jämförelsen utifrån PT visar att de godkända andraspråksinlärarna har nått högre nivå av processbarhet, vilket visar på större grammatisk kompetens av de godkända inlärarna, i jämförelse med de ej godkända inlärarna.</p><p>I studien argumenteras för att processbarhetsteorin, i kombination med andra verktyg, är användbara både som bedömnings- och didaktiskt verktyg vid muntlig performans.</p>

<p>The purpose of the study was to examine how teachers currently working with students who have a mother tongue other than Swedish. The investigation has been carried out using three qualitative research interviews. It has been shown that some educators believe that inclusion in the regular classroom instruction has been giving the best results for students' language development. It has provided great opportunities for discussion and group work. Teachers have given tips on how to work with these students so that they develop in the Swedish language. I have been through the literature revealed that multilingualism opens up many avenues for children, but it also puts obstacles. Barriers preventing students' language development but also social development. Syllabus for Swedish as a second language show that the students will develop the linguistic skills so they can communicate in different contexts.</p>

This study explores how bilingualism impacts lexical selection within spontaneous spoken language production. The particular analysis focuses on the choice between synonymous verbs in English. The main hypothesis predicts that, as a result of crosslinguistic influence, bilingual speakers of French and English will opt for the English synonym which has structural correspondence to the French translation equivalent more often than monolingual speakers, who do not experience an influence from French. Structural correspondence exists in two distinct ways: in the form of cognates (e.g., applaudir/applaud vs. clap) and in terms of the number of free morphemes used to convey the same semantic information (e.g., lever/raise vs. put up). The language production data was generated by participants viewing video scenes and describing the action as it progressed. The frequency with which the different verbs were used was then compared across the different participant groups: monolingual English speakers and bilingual speakers of both French and English. The bilingual group was also subdivided based on language dominance. A range of different analyses were conducted. A framework is established for interpreting the data. Bilingualism can have one of three main effects on the speech of bilinguals relative to monolinguals: (a) an expanding effect, in which bilinguals use a wider range of lexical forms than monolinguals, (b) a limiting effect, in which bilinguals use a more limited range of lexical items than bilinguals, and (c) a modifying effect, in which the range of lexical items is basically the same between bilinguals and monolinguals but varies in terms of the frequency with which those lexical forms are used (a type of CLI labeled covert). These effects interact with certain speaker variables such as which language is the speakers dominant language. The stage(s) within the language production process at which CLI impacts ultimate lexicalization is also explored. Current models of language production which focus on lexical selection are discussed. The results of this study are most compatible with specific notions such as lexical access being target-language non-specific (see Costa, 2004, for example) and the Weaker Links Hypothesis (e.g., Gollan and Silverberg, 2001; Gollan, Montoya, & Werner, 2002).

Thesis (M. A.)--University of Hong Kong, 2006. / Title proper from title frame. Also available in printed format.

The complicated task of deciding whether reading and writing difficulties in a second language learner stem from dyslexia or from problems associated with second language learning serves as the primary theme of this study. The theoretical framwork of dyslexia-related issues is a phonological cause model (Ramus, 2004). Generally, the study is based on psycholinguistically oriented research of reading in a second language (eg. Kulbrandstad, 1998) and dyslexia in second language learners (Frederickson &amp; Frith, 1998; Geva, 2000; Miller Guron &amp; Lundberg, 2003). The overall aim of the study is to contribute to our knowledge of how reading and writing difficulties in bilingual adolescents could be expressed, characterised and delimited, in order to enhance our understanding of how various prerequisites effect literacy development and to facilitate identification and handling of dyslexia in bilinguals. The study is based on data from ten Spanish-Swedish speaking adolescents with reading and writing difficulties. The multiple case study perspective has made it possible to investigate a number of linguistic and cognitive parameters in both languages. Furthermore, comparisons were made with a bilingual group of ten Spanish-Swedish speaking adocelscents without reading and writing difficulties as well as with a group of ten monolingual Spanish and Swedish speaking adolescents with dyslexia. Dyslexia has been defined and delimited in a bilingual dyslexia profiles continuum. This continuum is one of the significant theoretical-methodological contributions of the thesis. Another important contribution is the research design, that is, the use of a bilingual matched comparison group (without reading and writing difficulties) as the norm. Furthermore, quantitative and qualitative analyses have been summarised as various profiles, such as reading profiles, writing profiles and oral discourse profiles. The results are discussed on both group and individual levels and show that language dominance ha a major impact on the manifestations of the reading and writing difficulties. The differences between the two orthographies are also of importance. Furthermore, advantageous results in both languages co-vary with extensive L1 education in the bilingual participants both with and without dyslexia.

Prior research has demonstrated that bilinguals outperform monolinguals on tasks requiring set shifting – that is, the ability to shift between different ways of thinking about an object or situation. For example, bilingual children have been shown to outperform monolingual controls on false-belief tasks and on the Dimensional Change Card Sort (DCCS) task. The present study aimed (a) to examine whether the bilingual advantage in false-belief and DCCS tasks can be replicated when accounting for languages/cultures and socio-economic status and (b) to determine whether inhibitory control, metarepresentation, and/or working memory underlie the advantage, if any exists. Three language groups (24 English monolingual, 24 French monolingual, and 24 English-French bilingual preschoolers) were tested on the following tasks: false-belief (FB) tasks, the DCCS task, an inhibitory control task (Stroop task), a metarepresentation task (Identity Statements task), a working memory task (Backward Word Span), and receptive language proficiency tests. Socio-economic status was measured through a parental questionnaire containing questions about parental income and education. Results showed that the three language groups were equivalent on socio-economic measures. Despite having significantly lower language proficiency scores, bilinguals’ raw scores on FB and DCCS tasks did not differ from monolinguals’ raw scores. After statistically controlling for language proficiency and age, bilinguals had significantly higher FB scores, but did not differ from monolinguals on DCCS scores. Analyses were then performed to determine whether inhibitory control, metarepresentation, and/or working memory help bilinguals “do more” in FB “with less” language proficiency. Working memory emerged as the likely candidate that compensates for the negative effect of bilingual children’s low language proficiency on FB performance because, after controlling for age and language proficiency, it was the only cognitive ability that fulfilled both criteria: (a) its measure correlated significantly with FB and (b) there was a bilingual advantage over both monolingual groups in the measure. A mediation analysis confirmed that the working memory measure significantly mediates the relation between bilingual status and FB while controlling for age and language proficiency. Both components of the working memory measure – that is, understanding of task instructions and maintenance/manipulation capacity – mediate this relation.

The goal of this paper is to explore the origins of modern-day racism and to discuss ways to reduce discrimination in the United States. Research on bilingualism and bilingual education indicates that bilingualism can be one method that helps reduce racism and increase cultural acceptance. For example, bilingual education can help establish multicultural identities in school children by providing better educational opportunities for English learners, teaching a new language and culture to native-English speakers, and integrating diverse cultures in classroom settings. Therefore, bilingual education can be a powerful tool in facilitating cultural awareness and reducing racial tensions in the U.S.

Prior research has demonstrated that bilinguals outperform monolinguals on tasks requiring set shifting – that is, the ability to shift between different ways of thinking about an object or situation. For example, bilingual children have been shown to outperform monolingual controls on false-belief tasks and on the Dimensional Change Card Sort (DCCS) task. The present study aimed (a) to examine whether the bilingual advantage in false-belief and DCCS tasks can be replicated when accounting for languages/cultures and socio-economic status and (b) to determine whether inhibitory control, metarepresentation, and/or working memory underlie the advantage, if any exists. Three language groups (24 English monolingual, 24 French monolingual, and 24 English-French bilingual preschoolers) were tested on the following tasks: false-belief (FB) tasks, the DCCS task, an inhibitory control task (Stroop task), a metarepresentation task (Identity Statements task), a working memory task (Backward Word Span), and receptive language proficiency tests. Socio-economic status was measured through a parental questionnaire containing questions about parental income and education. Results showed that the three language groups were equivalent on socio-economic measures. Despite having significantly lower language proficiency scores, bilinguals’ raw scores on FB and DCCS tasks did not differ from monolinguals’ raw scores. After statistically controlling for language proficiency and age, bilinguals had significantly higher FB scores, but did not differ from monolinguals on DCCS scores. Analyses were then performed to determine whether inhibitory control, metarepresentation, and/or working memory help bilinguals “do more” in FB “with less” language proficiency. Working memory emerged as the likely candidate that compensates for the negative effect of bilingual children’s low language proficiency on FB performance because, after controlling for age and language proficiency, it was the only cognitive ability that fulfilled both criteria: (a) its measure correlated significantly with FB and (b) there was a bilingual advantage over both monolingual groups in the measure. A mediation analysis confirmed that the working memory measure significantly mediates the relation between bilingual status and FB while controlling for age and language proficiency. Both components of the working memory measure – that is, understanding of task instructions and maintenance/manipulation capacity – mediate this relation.

No description available.

Individual differences in early literacy skills can be attributed to children’s previous history of emergent literacy experiences during their preschool years. The purpose of this qualitative study was to learn about the emergent literacy experiences of one Libyan American preschooler and one Syrian American preschooler and how their families support these experiences in their bilingual homes. Through the lens of social theory of learning (Lave & Wenger, 1991; Wenger, 1998) and sociocultural theory (Rogoff, 1990; Vygotsky, 1978), this multi-case study was designed to explore family literacy practices with a preschooler in a naturalistic setting. The questions guiding this study were: (1) How did the texts, tools, and technologies available in two bilingual home settings impact the emergent literacy practices of a Libyan American child and a Syrian American child? (2) What support did family members provide for these two children as they developed emergent literacy practices in their bilingual home settings? Data sources included a demographic questionnaire, digital-recordings of family literacy practices with a preschooler, audio-recorded in-depth interviews with the parents, home visits, the preschoolers’ writing samples, and photographs of literacy activities, materials, and the home environment. The recorded family literacy practices and interviews were transcribed and analyzed to identify emerging themes. Both within-case analysis and cross-case analysis were conducted. Findings revealed that the preschoolers in both families use a multimodal process such as talking, drawing, singing, chanting, recitation, technologies, and sociodramatic play in their daily literacy experiences. The parents are not concerned with teaching their children specific literacy skills; but they naturally use techniques for keeping them on task and questioning skills to enhance oral language and comprehension development. These families’ home literacy practices are Americanized by living in the mainstream social group, and English is frequently used among the family members. However, their bilingualism and religious literacy practices enrich and vary their children’s emergent literacy experiences and their family literacy practices. The significance of this study resides in the importance of getting to know individual families’ backgrounds to better understand and respect the cultural practices of family literacy.