First-generation college students represent a significant percentage of all college students and comprise various sub-identities and unique backgrounds. Compared to continuing generation college students, many first-generation students arrive on college campuses without complete understanding of how to navigate college life. Factors, such as family support, finding a sense of belonging, and the availability of resources and campus support, play key roles in the overall success of first-generation college students. The current study sought understanding of these aspects of college life and their relationship to the success of Black, first-generation, graduates of predominantly White institutions. The purpose of this qualitative, phenomenological study was to document the undergraduate experiences of Black, first-generation college graduates who attended predominantly White institutions. Recorded Zoom video interview sessions of 11 participants supplied the study data. Each interview lasted between 60 to 75 minutes. The data revealed that the participants persisted and graduated despite having minimal financial support, navigating psychological barriers, such as feeling the need to assimilate and facing macro-aggressions regarding race. Scholarship money was the most common deciding factor when choosing their alma maters. Factors such as support from Black faculty and staff and personal motivation were key to their persistence and graduation.

Department of English / PhD (English) / The study sought to investigate the role played by learners’ mother tongue, in the teaching and learning of English in secondary schools in Zimbabwe. Two secondary schools in Masvingo District were used as a case study. The study was informed by bilingualism, models of bilingualism and related theories such as Second Language Acquisition (SLA) and Communication Strategies. The selected communication strategy that was focused on is code-switching. This communication strategy reveals the important role that the learners’ L1 can play in learning English. The study, therefore, sought to gain insights into the beliefs of secondary school teachers and learners of English about the use of code-switching in the teaching and learning of English. The study also sought to investigate the ESL teachers’ perceptions on the relationship between code-switching and emerging varieties of English called New Englishes, as well as the teachers’ perceptions on the teaching of such local varieties of English. The inquiry adopted a qualitative research paradigm and focused on two purposively sampled secondary schools comprising one rural day, and one urban boarding school that also enrols day learners. It was the researcher’s belief that these schools would offer useful insights about the role of the learners’ L1 in the teaching and learning of English. The study employed three data collection tools, namely observation, interviews and focus group discussions. Ten Form One and ten Form Three English lessons were observed per school, to give a total of twenty lessons. The four ESL teachers whose lessons were observed at the two schools were interviewed. The researcher also held focus group discussions with a sample of a group of ten Form One and ten Form Three English learners per school. Thus, four focus group discussions were held. Data were analysed and presented qualitatively through identification of emerging themes, and through descriptions, narratives, direct quotes, and tables. Results show that the ESL teachers and learners who participated in the study code-switched from English to the learners’ L1 as a communication strategy and teaching and learning tool, mainly to foster understanding among learners and between the learners and their teachers, and for other communicative and social functions. Results also indicate that there was more code-switching at School B (rural day secondary school) than at School A (urban boarding secondary school), although the teachers’ and learners’ code-switching functions at the two secondary schools were by and large similar. It also emerged that the frequencies of the teachers code v switching differed from teacher to teacher, with Teacher A (urban boarding secondary school) code-switching moderately and Teacher B (urban boarding secondary school) code-switching minimally, while Teacher C and Teacher D (rural day secondary school) code-switched frequently. With regard to the learners, the study revealed that Class A learners (urban boarding secondary school) code-switched moderately during formal classroom exchanges with their teacher, but code-switched a lot among themselves. Class B learners (urban boarding secondary school), Class C and Class D learners (rural day secondary school), code-switched minimally during formal classroom exchanges with their teachers. However, as was the case with Class A learners, they code-switched a lot among themselves. The teachers were largely tolerant of their learners’ code-switching although they showed awareness of the possible negative effects of learners’ code-switching in the learning of ESL. As for the learners, the majority expressed an appreciation of their teachers’ code-switching but there were also negative sentiments against the teachers’ code-switching. The inquiry also revealed that there was unanimous agreement among the four teachers that there is a relationship between code-switching and New Englishes. In addition, two of the teachers expressed the view that there is nothing wrong with teaching the local variety of English in the schools, while the other two said they preferred the teaching of ‘standard’ English. In light of the findings, the study recommends that language policy planners revisit the English-only policy in the school and consider adopting the endonormative rather than the exo-normative model of English for the education system. The study also recommends that the Ministry of Primary and Secondary Education should hold workshops to sensitise teachers on how code-switching may best be employed as a teaching and learning tool. Furthermore, the study recommends that ESL teachers be guided by the Postmethod pedagogy, a sense of plausibility as well as the notion of relativism in their decisions on code-switching. In addition, the inquiry recommends that the Zimbabwe Schools Examinations Council be sensitive to aspects of the local variety of English rather than set exo-normative models. Finally, the study recommends that further research be done on code-switching in school types which were not included in the sample for the present study.

Code-switching is a common feature of bilingual language use and has multiple factors that influence the frequency and type of code-switching. 56 Spanish-English bilingual children recorded sessions of Spanish-designated and English-designated interactions with a caregiver at 2.5 and 3.5 years. These sessions were transcribed and coded for all code-switched utterances. At both ages, we found: (1) Children switched to English more frequently than they switched to Spanish. (2) Their degree of English dominance was a positive predictor of their frequency of switching to English, but a negative predictor of their frequency of switching to Spanish. Between 2.5 and 3.5 years, children became more English dominant, and their rate of switching to English increased while their rate of switching to Spanish decreased. The present findings suggest that the strongest influence on bilingual children’s code-switching is their relative proficiency in their two languages and as that proficiency changes, their code-switching changes. / Includes bibliography. / Thesis (M.A.)--Florida Atlantic University, 2020. / FAU Electronic Theses and Dissertations Collection

This essay presents research on the usage of pedagogical translanguaging in the teaching of English in lower primary schools in Sweden (grades F-3). The focus of the study is to research if and how pedagogical translanguaging is used in English teaching. The data was collected using a qualitative method. Through classroom observations, findings showed that the use of pedagogical translanguaging was recurrent in all six observations. The most common method of pedagogical translanguaging was the use of the first language to enhance pupils’ understanding and code-switching. This paper might help teachers that are struggling to uphold the old paradigm of target language only in foreign language learning but also opens up for a multilingual approach in other subjects.

This essay explores sociolinguistic implications in the novel This Is How You Lose Her by Junot Diaz. I investigate this literary work of Diaz in terms of the usage of code-switching by applying an adaptation of conversation analysis and a theoretical framework provided by Brown and Levinson (1999) that suggests that code-switching can be used to achieve interactional goals with other speakers. Also, I argue for widespread support of allowing multilingualism to be a more significant part of learning in the Swedish classroom. The conclusion drawn from this study tells us more about how politeness and code-switching can be applied in literary form and that different switches are used in different speech acts depending on which face is being threatened.  I have also presented examples of how teachers can use Diaz’s novel to conduct a literary or linguistic project using multilingual literature to raise awareness of sociolinguistics and language variations in alignment with The Swedish National Agency for Education (2011) directives

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Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI) / This thesis began, as I imagine most theses do, as a very formal and very orthodox research paper. While it continues to be this to a measurable extent, it has undergone a metamorphosis. In these pages I discuss the serious challenges faced in schools (as well as the setbacks endured inside their walls) by native-English speaking children of all cultures and creeds, who speak forms of English other than Standard English (hereafter SE) in their homes and with their family and friends. I then contrast these challenges with the stark advantages enjoyed by children who, due likely to their inherited socio-economic class, make regular use of SE inside their residences and with their peers and relations. One non-standard dialect of English found in widespread use by young boys and girls in the United States is African American English (hereafter AAE). Because success in U.S. schools depends heavily on students’ production and comprehension of SE, those youngsters who already employ SE as their principal language are at an immediate educational advantage, one that is, by default, not afforded to children who as a rule speak a dialect/language other than SE, such as AAE. Within these pages you will find an official statement made by the TESOL (Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages) Executive Committee that soundly validates African American English as a true, rule-governed linguistic system, and thus a language. I also discuss my view that to devalue a child’s language in school, by not validating it as true, operative speech—“Don’t talk that way, that’s wrong!”—is, in essence, to devalue the whole child. It is an act that will be perceived negatively and reacted to negatively by most children. In addition to these issues, I discuss the prevalence of AAE in American society at large, as well as its prevalent use by non-African American youth.

The purpose of this study was to understand the issue of the language of instruction to school literacy learning in rural Haiti. Using a narrative approach, 10 participants who live and work in a rural village in Northern Haiti were involved. I sought to examine their experience and perspectives on the issue as well as their level of awareness and the ways they navigate through the system to succeed in life. The dissertation also investigated their struggle to learn using a language over which they do not have much command and that they do not speak at home and in their community. This dissertation drew from critical pedagogy, as a conceptual framework that advocates for emancipation by providing quality and equitable education for all students as agents of change filled with intellectual potentiality and the ability to address oppressive patterns in society and challenge the status quo. Data from subjects were collected from focus groups, in-class observations, and semi-structured interviews. The analysis of the data was done utilizing three coding cycles and three themes were identified: 1) Students’ production based on the language in use, 2) The importance of the setting for language mastery and literacy learning, and 3) The role of language mastery in students’ success in school and in the workplace. The study suggests implications for future research, parents, and school leaders. The findings identify gaps and purpose to add to the literature given the paucity of research on the issue of the language of instruction as applied to schools in rural Haiti.Keywords: literacy learning, language of instruction, mother tongue, bilingualism, code-switching

Workplace authenticity for African Americans has received much attention in recent years, both in various research domains and in popular media. However, empirical research is scarce regarding what drives Blacks' decisions around whether to outwardly express their inner racial identity at work and what impact (in)authenticity has on workplace outcomes. The lack of empirical research is likely due, in part, to the fact that there are few existing measures designed to assess Blacks' workplace authenticity. Thus, the purpose of the current research was to develop and provide initial validation evidence for a situational judgment test (SJT), called the African American Workplace Authenticity Scale (AAWAS), aimed at measuring Blacks' propensity to use various identity negotiation strategies related to authenticity. Those identity negotiation strategies included identity shifting, referred to as code-switching by laypeople, avoidance, and authentic self-expression. The first phase of the research included item generation and refinement of the item pool using a web-based sample of Black working adults (n=207). For this phase, 38 items were created. Each item included one scenario and three response options each; each response option corresponded to one of the three aforementioned identity negotiation strategies, and each identity negotiation strategy is considered its own subscale. Furthermore, each scenario involved a situation wherein a Black individual was presented with pressure to conform to their White counterparts at work. An exploratory factor analysis was conducted to determine which items to retain, which resulted in a three-factor solution and the retention of 13 items. The second phase of the research involved gathering initial validation evidence for the 13-item scale, again using a web-based sample of Black working adults (n=252). For this phase, confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) and analysis of measurement invariance between genders was completed to determine whether the three-factor solution fit on a new sample and whether the scale can be used to make meaningful comparisons between males and females. Additionally, the relationships between the AAWAS and existing scales related to authenticity and response bias were explored using correlations. The CFA generally supported the three-factor solution, and metric invariance was found between males and females. Evidence for convergent and discriminant validity from the correlational analyses is presented. Moreover, the subscales of the AAWAS demonstrated good reliability according to rules of thumb for Cronbach's alpha (Identity Shifting Cronbach's α = 0.79, Avoiding Cronbach's α = 0.85, and Authentic Self-Expression Cronbach's α = 0.85). Overall, the AAWAS demonstrated promising psychometric properties thus far and has the potential to facilitate causal modeling in the area of workplace authenticity for Blacks with further validity evidence. / Doctor of Philosophy / Workplace authenticity for African Americans has received much attention in recent years, both in various research domains and in popular media. However, empirical research is scarce regarding what drives Blacks' decisions around whether to outwardly express their inner racial identity at work and what impact (in)authenticity has on workplace outcomes. The lack of empirical research is likely due, in part, to the fact that there are few existing measures designed to assess Blacks' workplace authenticity. The current research is focused on developing and providing initial validation evidence for a situational judgment test (SJT), called the African American Workplace Authenticity Scale (AAWAS), aimed at measuring Blacks' propensity to use various identity negotiation strategies related to authenticity.

Focusing on a series of multiparty recordings carried out between the months of October and March 2012 and drawing on a theoretical framework based on work of linguists such as Auer (1999), Backus (2005), Bakker (2000), Maschler (2000) and Matras (2000a and 2000b), this thesis traces the evolution of a continuum of language alternation phenomena, ranging from simple code-switching to more complex forms of 'language alloying' (Alvarez- Càccamo 1998) such as mixed codes and fused lects in multilingual Mauritius. Following Auer (2001), the different conversational loci of code-switching are identified. Particular emphasis has been placed upon, amongst others, the conversational locus of playfulness where, for instance, participants' spontaneous lapses into song and dance sequences as they inspire themselves from Bollywood pop songs and creatively embed segments in Hindustani within a predominantly Kreol matrix are noted. Furthermore, in line with Auer (1999), Backus (2005) and Muysken (2000), emerging forms of language mixing such as changes in the way possessive marking is carried in Kreol and instances of semantic shift in Bhojpuri/ Hindustani words like nasha and daan have been highlighted and their pragmatic significance explained with specific reference to the Mauritian context. Finally, in the fused lect stage, specific attention has been provided to one key feature namely phonological blending which has resulted in the coinage of the discourse marker ashe and its eventual use in the process of discourse marker switching. In the light of the above findings, this thesis firstly critiques the strengths and weaknesses of the notion of the code switching (CS) continuum (Auer 1999) itself by revealing the difficulties encountered, at the empirical level, in assigning the correct label to the different types of language alternation phenomena evidenced in this thesis. In the second instance, it considers the impact of such shifts along the language alternation continuum upon language policy and planning in contemporary Mauritius and advocates for a move away from colonial language policies such as the 1957 Education Act in favour of updated ones that are responsive to the language practices of speakers. / Linguistics and Modern Languages / D. Litt. et Phil. (Linguistics)