This thesis represents a journey: after many years of teaching both in Canada and overseas, I found myself working with students who were learning English and had profound intellectual disabilities, but had no idea how to teach them. This thesis, therefore, follows my path of exploration and discovery as I looked for ways to support these students’ learning. In chapter one, I provide an introduction to my study where I present an overview of the problem, discuss the confusion surrounding the meaning of various kinds of disabilities, consider several normative definitions of EAL (English as an Additional Language) and SNE (Special Needs Education), and provide my own stipulative definitions of EAL/SNE. I also state my research questions and purpose for conducting the study, illustrate the significance of the study, and acknowledge its limitations. In chapter two, I examine the strengths and weaknesses of the research literature and end with five principles that flow from my reading of the research. In chapter three, I explain my means of analysis, where I critically examine three Manitoba curriculum EAL documents and three Student Services/Special education resource documents. In chapter four, I summarize the six curricular documents (three in the area of SNE and three in the area of EAL) and criticize each one, determining its uses and relevance to students with EAL/SNE needs and how appropriate and helpful these documents are for classroom teachers who work with these students. Finally, in Chapter five, I discuss the implications of my study of these documents and suggest future needs in the areas of research, policy, and teaching in the area of SNE/EAL.

This study explores the experiences and perceptions of adult visitors to Canada who experience interaction problems. The researcher adapted Ilieva’s (2001) eight step culture exploration process to include the dimension of empathy which was used as a frame to help with analyzing the participants’ stories. The researcher expands the phenomenological lens by using a heuristic inquiry approach to highlight ten first-person accounts of adult English as an additional language (EAL) learners’ cross-cultural experiences in and out of classrooms. Using open-ended interviews as her primary data source, the researcher advocates for the use of empathy with EAL learners and her findings revealed main themes related to adult visitors’ acculturation such as acceptance of ambivalence, challenges with EAL, and cross-cultural learning. The information from the study provides a starting point to fill the gap in research involving the effectiveness of using empathy with EAL learners as a strategy for handling interaction problems.

Diverse cultures continue to intersect on the school landscape in Manitoba. This autobiographical narrative inquiry (Clandinin & Connelly, 2000) documents 4 years of my experience as a Grade 1 elementary teacher working with an increasing number of English as an Additional Language (EAL) students. Between 2008 and 2011, I invited each class of students to engage in a collaborative writing project entitled Our Class Story where they shared their personal journeys to Grade 1. Drawing upon my field notes, journal entries, previous writings, and photographs, I tell four separate stories of my experience as this class project evolved over time with different groups of students. I then explore how working on Our Class Story shifted my teaching practice and beliefs about teaching EAL Early Years Learners.

This study explores the experiences and perceptions of adult visitors to Canada who experience interaction problems. The researcher adapted Ilieva’s (2001) eight step culture exploration process to include the dimension of empathy which was used as a frame to help with analyzing the participants’ stories. The researcher expands the phenomenological lens by using a heuristic inquiry approach to highlight ten first-person accounts of adult English as an additional language (EAL) learners’ cross-cultural experiences in and out of classrooms. Using open-ended interviews as her primary data source, the researcher advocates for the use of empathy with EAL learners and her findings revealed main themes related to adult visitors’ acculturation such as acceptance of ambivalence, challenges with EAL, and cross-cultural learning. The information from the study provides a starting point to fill the gap in research involving the effectiveness of using empathy with EAL learners as a strategy for handling interaction problems.

Diverse cultures continue to intersect on the school landscape in Manitoba. This autobiographical narrative inquiry (Clandinin & Connelly, 2000) documents 4 years of my experience as a Grade 1 elementary teacher working with an increasing number of English as an Additional Language (EAL) students. Between 2008 and 2011, I invited each class of students to engage in a collaborative writing project entitled Our Class Story where they shared their personal journeys to Grade 1. Drawing upon my field notes, journal entries, previous writings, and photographs, I tell four separate stories of my experience as this class project evolved over time with different groups of students. I then explore how working on Our Class Story shifted my teaching practice and beliefs about teaching EAL Early Years Learners.

In the field of second language vocabulary learning, numerous studies had been done to investigate language learners’ use of vocabulary learning strategies, as well as relationships between the use of vocabulary learning strategies and other individual variables (e.g., personality, intelligence, major, learning style, etc.). To fill the gap in the literature reviewed, the present study examined the use of vocabulary learning strategies reported by 95 Chinese undergraduate engineering students, and relationships between the use of vocabulary learning strategies and three key variables, i.e., language proficiency, vocabulary size, and gender. Results of this study indicated: 1) With a reported frequency of overall vocabulary learning strategies use of medium, Chinese undergraduate engineering students use determination strategies most frequently, while social strategies the least. 2) There is a negative relationship between the use of overall vocabulary learning strategies reported by Chinese undergraduate engineering students and their language proficiency. In terms of the use of the five categories of vocabulary learning strategies, determination, cognitive, and metacognitive strategies are positively correlated to Chinese undergraduate engineering students’ language proficiency. While social and memory strategies are negatively correlated. On the level of individual vocabulary learning strategies, ten individual vocabulary learning strategies are significantly correlated with language proficiency. 3) Chinese undergraduate engineering students’ use of overall vocabulary learning strategies and vocabulary size are positively correlated. In terms of the use of the five categories of vocabulary learning strategies, social strategies is negatively correlated with vocabulary size while the remaining four categories are positively correlated. On the level of individual vocabulary learning strategies, significant correlations are identified between the use of three individual vocabulary learning strategies and vocabulary size. 4) No significant difference is found between male and female Chinese undergraduate engineering students on uses of overall vocabulary learning strategies, although male Chinese undergraduate engineering students employ overall vocabulary learning strategies more frequently than females. When analyzing the use of the five categories of vocabulary learning strategies, male students employ social, memory, and cognitive strategies more frequently than female students while female students employ determination and metacognitive strategies more frequently. In terms of the gender differences on the use of individual vocabulary learning strategies, female students employ two individual vocabulary learning strategies more frequently than male students at significant levels. Findings of the present study illustrate Chinese undergraduate engineering students’ reported use of vocabulary learning strategies, as well as correlations between the use of vocabulary learning strategies and language proficiency, vocabulary size, and gender. It is recommended that English language teachers in China spending more time on vocabulary learning strategies training and taking advantages of the individual vocabulary learning strategies that can contribute to students’ language learning. / Graduate / kellycai0913@gmail.com

The purpose of this study was first to describe the impact of the relationship between adolescent newcomers in South Winnipeg secondary schools and their teachers. Additional sub-questions examined teacher valuation of newcomer’s cultural background and solicited advice for both EAL newcomers and educators. Data was collected via semi-structured interviews with recent EAL adult graduates that arrived in Manitoba between the ages of 13-17, with the intent of discovering common themes from their experiences. Results revealed the importance of EAL newcomers having a caring, patient teacher with a sense of humour that has a sincere interest in who they are and in their cultural heritage. They also clearly show the need for schools to look for more effective and authentic ways to connect newcomers with their Canadian peers. This report concludes with recommendations for teachers and administrators to consider when developing teacher PD and programming for newcomer adolescent EAL students. / October 2015

In Canada, the generation 1.5 university student demographic is just beginning to become noteworthy of research. Several quantitative studies on the adjustment of the children of immigrants in university exist, but qualitative research is scarce. This thesis aimed to reveal the voices and experiences of nine generation 1.5 youth who experienced the university system in Canada. In addition, it aimed to survey the language and literacy programming at three Winnipeg post secondary institutions. Methodologically, multiple case study research design, supplemented by archival research analysis were used. The findings from in-depth interviews show that participants were challenged in meeting the demands of some tasks that required proficiency in CALP. The institutional programming survey showed that two of the institutions provide language programming for newcomers, while one of the three institutions does not appear to provide programming that supports the unique needs of ESL/EAL G1.5 students. Recommendations for improved educational services and further research are provided.

Based on the premise that novice EAL learners have limited working memory resources to comprehend academic text, L1 explanatory notes were seen as a possible instrument to use in decreasing the cognitive demands of reading and increase the available working memory resources available for discussions. The hypotheses of this study were largely unsupported but from the data emerged a new hypothesis for second language acquisition; The Formality Hypothesis. This hypothesis posits that the presence or absence of the L1 signals various levels of formality in the learning task. Isolation of the L2 may therefore signal high levels of formality leading to the development of learners’ CALP (Cummins, 1979) whereas incorporation of the L1 into L2 input signals lower levels of formality leading to the development of learners’ BICS (Cummins, 1979).

In Canada, the generation 1.5 university student demographic is just beginning to become noteworthy of research. Several quantitative studies on the adjustment of the children of immigrants in university exist, but qualitative research is scarce. This thesis aimed to reveal the voices and experiences of nine generation 1.5 youth who experienced the university system in Canada. In addition, it aimed to survey the language and literacy programming at three Winnipeg post secondary institutions. Methodologically, multiple case study research design, supplemented by archival research analysis were used. The findings from in-depth interviews show that participants were challenged in meeting the demands of some tasks that required proficiency in CALP. The institutional programming survey showed that two of the institutions provide language programming for newcomers, while one of the three institutions does not appear to provide programming that supports the unique needs of ESL/EAL G1.5 students. Recommendations for improved educational services and further research are provided.