published_or_final_version / Linguistics / Master / Master of Arts in Applied Linguistics

This two-part study employed an experimental design and interviews to examine the effects of videos on adult English as a Second Language (ESL) student listening comprehension. The purpose of the first part of the study was to compare the effects of video in two pre-listening activity conditions on beginner and upper-beginner adult ESL listening comprehension. The participants were 49 Language Instruction for Newcomers to Canada (LINC) students enrolled in two beginner and two upper-beginner ESL classes The beginner classes were randomly assigned either to the audio only (AO) condition or the audio with written script (AW) condition. The upper-beginner classes were similarly assigned to the two conditions, the AO condition or the AW condition. In the AO condition, the students listened to a tape recording of four pre-listening questions prior to viewing the video. In the AW condition, the students listened to the same tape recording and, in addition, were shown the same questions that were printed on large sheets of paper and held up at the front of the class by the teacher. The same pre-test was administered to all four classes. Twelve exercises including pre-listening questions, videos, and comprehension questions were completed. The beginner classes viewed videos from Learning English in the Community LINC 2 (Cameron et al., 1995), and the upper-beginner classes viewed videos from Learning English in the Community LINC 3 (Cameron et al., 1995). The same post-test was administered to all four classes. Results indicated that the written script in the AW condition significantly improved the listening comprehension ability of beginner and upper-beginner adult ESL students. The second part of the study was aimed at gaining insights into the pre-listening questions, the videos, and their value on teaching listening comprehension. All of the students were individually interviewed. Overall the students were positive about the showing of videos as aids for enhancing listening comprehension, the content of the videos, as well as the questions. Some of the students, however, found some of the instruments difficult to understand. They found that the vocabulary was unfamiliar or the speed of delivery was too fast. This lack of comprehension may have affected the results of Part One of the study.

Thesis (M.Ed.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Pietermaritzburg, 2007.

The purpose of this study was to understand the differences of conscious constructive responses and shifting strategies with the goal of understanding reading comprehension while reading nonfiction, fiction, and poetry texts. This naturalistic diagnostic study uses a think-aloud methodology. The study examines verbal, retrospective, and recall reports from fifteen seventh-graders of varying reading abilities; good, average, and weaker from one private school in the Midwest. After collecting a total of ninety verbal reports in three sessions, verbal reports were scored according to level of conscious constructive responses. Retrospective reports were scored for shifting utilization. Recall reports were scored to identify a reading comprehension score that was correlated with strategies. Based on these results, it was evident that conscious constructive responses existed with seventh-grade readers regardless of ability and text type. There were differences between utilization with text type, but little differences with ability level. Shifting strategies were evident with seventh graders, but there were no significant differences when text type and ability level were taken into consideration. Two conscious constructive responses, relating text to text and relating text to prior knowledge, correlated with recall scores demonstrating an increase in reading comprehension. Two shifting strategies, making liberal interpretations and looking for useful information significantly improved reading comprehension. Findings support the model of constructively responsive reading (Pressley & Afflerbach, 1995). / Department of Elementary Education

Thesis (MEd (Education))--Cape Peninsula University of Technology, 2016. / According to the White Paper for Post-School Education and Training Act (2013), only 15 percent of students in higher education complete their studies successfully. This is well below the international standard of 25 percent for students within a three-year degree course in contact education (residential education). The challenge facing universities is to ensure a higher throughput rate. This study aims to investigate a potential solution to one of the facets of this challenge. One such an initiative is Leesnet, an academic reading comprehension programme, which was implemented within the CPUT, Wellington campus since 2010. It is a reading comprehension strategy programme which aims to promote general academic performance in all content areas. The purpose of this research study is to explore and describe the nature and extent of transfer of reading comprehension strategies from Leesnet to a content area, Geography. A mixed method methodology was used. The qualitative research approach was used to explore and describe participants' descriptions of the nature of transfer of reading comprehension strategies and the quantitative data to explore and describe the extent of transfer of reading comprehension strategies. The study indicated that a degree of positive transfer occurred. It comments on the nature and purpose of the Leesnet programme, but also provides valuable information on participating students' metacognitive processes, highlights the conscious use of reading comprehension strategies and the context under which reading comprehension strategies were transferred. Conclusions and recommendations were made to identify focus areas for further research, to potentially improve transfer of reading comprehension strategies in the existing programme and to offer possible guidelines for the development of similar programmes.

M.A. (Applied Linguistics) / Please refer to full text to view abstract

M.Ed. (Psychology of Education) / Two critical problems experienced by significant numbers of children in the junior primary phase of school are, difficulties with reading and the lack of motivation to read. It is important that the reluctant reader receives the necessary help to become an efficient and motivated reader as reading influences many aspects of the child's life besides scholastic achievement, for example self-concept and social interaction. This study consists of a literature survey, the aim of which is to identify strategies and to develop guidelines for the construction of a reading motivation programme for reluctant readers who may also be experiencing reading problems. In an attempt to achieve the above goals use has been made of: 1) the language-experience approach, 2) the incorporation of cognitive and metacognitive strategies. The language-experience approach is a means of teaching children to read by capitalizing on their interests, experiences, and oral language facility. Students dictate stories and accounts based on their experiences; these materials are then used as the basis of the reading programme. This approach has distinct advantages for reluctant readers as it capitalizes on the child's unique experiences: Interest is virtually guaranteed as reading and sharing their own stories boost the morale of children whose previous reading experiences may have been fraught with failure. The aim of teaching metacognitive strategies for reading is to make the pupil aware of himself as a reader so that he realizes that he is in control of the reading process. The reader must become aware of his thought processes during reading: This reflection on personal thought processes is called "metacognition".

This two-part study employed an experimental design and interviews to examine the effects of videos on adult English as a Second Language (ESL) student listening comprehension. The purpose of the first part of the study was to compare the effects of video in two pre-listening activity conditions on beginner and upper-beginner adult ESL listening comprehension. The participants were 49 Language Instruction for Newcomers to Canada (LINC) students enrolled in two beginner and two upper-beginner ESL classes The beginner classes were randomly assigned either to the audio only (AO) condition or the audio with written script (AW) condition. The upper-beginner classes were similarly assigned to the two conditions, the AO condition or the AW condition. In the AO condition, the students listened to a tape recording of four pre-listening questions prior to viewing the video. In the AW condition, the students listened to the same tape recording and, in addition, were shown the same questions that were printed on large sheets of paper and held up at the front of the class by the teacher. The same pre-test was administered to all four classes. Twelve exercises including pre-listening questions, videos, and comprehension questions were completed. The beginner classes viewed videos from Learning English in the Community LINC 2 (Cameron et al., 1995), and the upper-beginner classes viewed videos from Learning English in the Community LINC 3 (Cameron et al., 1995). The same post-test was administered to all four classes. Results indicated that the written script in the AW condition significantly improved the listening comprehension ability of beginner and upper-beginner adult ESL students. The second part of the study was aimed at gaining insights into the pre-listening questions, the videos, and their value on teaching listening comprehension. All of the students were individually interviewed. Overall the students were positive about the showing of videos as aids for enhancing listening comprehension, the content of the videos, as well as the questions. Some of the students, however, found some of the instruments difficult to understand. They found that the vocabulary was unfamiliar or the speed of delivery was too fast. This lack of comprehension may have affected the results of Part One of the study. / Education, Faculty of / Language and Literacy Education (LLED), Department of / Graduate

This study explores the factors that influence the ways in which intermediate students learn comprehension strategies. A substantial scholarship offers evidence of the success of three factors: the teacher, Support structures, and the efficacy of the specific comprehension strategies taught.

In Experiment I, I tested the effects of a vicarious reinforcement procedure on the establishment of conditioned reinforcement for observing books (CR+ for observing books) using a pre- and post-intervention embedded with a multiple probe design across two dyads. All four participants could textually respond to kindergarten or first-grade level high-frequency words but choosing and prolonged looking at books (observing books) did not function as a preferred activity for them. The independent variable was the establishment of CR+ for observing books using a vicarious reinforcement intervention. During the intervention, the participants observed a peer confederate reading books while the confederate received frequent social approvals from the experimenter; the participants did not receive social attention (social praise from the experimenter) and were denied access to books during the intervention. The dependent variables were the rate of acquisition of textual responses and the duration participants spent observing printed words. Results in the first experiment showed three of four participants had an accelerated rate of acquisition of textual responses after books functioned as conditioned reinforcers. Two participants spent a longer time observing printed words after the establishment of CR+ for observing books. However, since denial and observation are components of vicarious reinforcement it is unclear whether vicarious reinforcement effects rather than observation by denial are responsible for the putative vicarious reinforcement effect. In the second experiment, I analyzed the necessity of social attention within the procedure and also investigated the sufficiency of the denial component. More specifically, I removed the vicarious reinforcement and isolated the effects of the observational conditioning-by-denial intervention (OCDI) on establishing CR+ for observing books in Experiment II. I selected six beginning readers who were in the process of learning to textually respond to high-frequency preschool words. The dependent variables were the rate of acquisition of textual responses, discriminative remembering (i.e., conditioned seeing), and measures of an observational learning repertoire. During the OCDI, two participants and a peer confederate were asked to perform the same task. Contingent upon correct responses, the confederate received books for emitting correct responses while the participants did not. Following the OCDI, all participants acquired CR+ for observing books and five of the participants demonstrated an increase in their degree of observational learning repertoires. Results from the second experiment showed all six participants had a faster rate of acquisition on learning new sight words, and they also demonstrated more accurate discriminative remembering responses after the establishment of CR+ for observing books. These findings are discussed with regard to the educational significance of CR+ for observing books as an empirical definition of reading readiness for young children. In addition, the findings call in to question whether prior literature on vicarious learning is in fact not necessarily a function of seeing response-consequence relations since the effect may be a result of observation under denial conditions.