It is widely recognised that parents play an important role in children’s emotional and intellectual development, including their success at school. Recently, there has been a growing awareness of the potential of parents to support and enhance children’s English foreign language learning, especially since English learning resources are easily accessible through electronic media. In appreciation of this, there has been an increased interest in recent years in finding ways to harness parental potential through the creation of home-school partnerships in many parts of the world, including in the field of teaching English as an additional language. An important point of departure for developing effective home-school dialogues is an informed understanding of what parents are already doing to support their children’s learning, as an awareness of this can help schools and governments provide parents with targeted input to assist and improve their efforts. However, to date, this remains under researched. Of the limited research that has been undertaken, very little has examined parental efforts to support their children’s learning at home in non-western settings, and research into parental support for children’s foreign language learning is virtually non-existent. In order to address this research gap, the study reported in this thesis examines parental support for young children’s foreign language learning in Saudi Arabia with respect to English T.V. viewing. Drawing upon Vygotsky’s concepts of mediation and the ZPD, it aims to examine the extent and the ways in which parents currently mediate their children’s viewing of English T.V. programmes in Saudi Arabia, the factors which impact on their mediation practices, and how this is seen to contribute to their children’s experience of English language learning. The study is comprised two stages. The first stage entails the distribution of a questionnaire to 500 parents of children aged 6-8, who are currently learning English in a number of private schools in Jeddah, in Saudi Arabia in order to gain a global overview of parental perspectives on mediation. This is followed by stage 2, which aims to examine the features and quality of parent-child mediational dialogues. This is achieved by collecting recordings of the dialogues of two parent-child dyads watching DVDs of English T.V. programmes over a four-week period as well as interviewing parents and their children on the experience. The results of the study show that parents believe in the importance and value of supporting their children’s learning (both in general and with regard to their EFL learning). Moreover, they show that they are actively engaged in trying to do so. However, they also highlight a number of ways in which their mediational practices could be improved so that these are less directive and more responsive to their children’s learning needs and growing ability to self-regulate. More broadly, they highlight the need to engage with the complexity of parental mediation as an activity system in discussions of the quality of mediational practice. That is, to understand that parental efforts to mediate need to be considered alongside task, sociocultural setting and, most importantly, the child’s engagement with parental efforts. A number of implications are drawn from the results of the study. Chief among these is that research into parental mediation should look at the inter-relationship between the different elements of the parental mediational system identified and that this provides richer in-depth understandings of parental efforts to support their children than are currently available from those who seek to understand this merely as parental scaffolding. In addition, it is argued that the picture this in-depth analysis revealed provides valuable information which can be used to inform the need for home-school partnerships and the support parents need to make sure they engage in these effectively in settings such as Saudi Arabia where there is currently little appreciation of the importance of parental involvement and the concept of home school partnerships remains in its infancy. In line with the emphasis on the complex multidimensional understanding of mediation as activity as illustrated by the results of the study, it is argued that efforts to promote parental involvement should primarily focus on how parents can help promote quality learning experiences for their children.

If human beings are believed to be individually unique, why are students evaluated with standardized tests? Differentiated instruction, honoring individual differences of each learner, provides an alternative answer to the question by employing tiered performance tasks to address personal needs in assessment situations. To explore the applicability of differentiated instruction in an English as a Foreign Language (EFL) environment, this case study explored Taiwanese college students’ perspectives on tiered performance tasks and educational implications of the perspectives with regard to EFL learning and teaching at the tertiary level. Grounded in the humanistic stance of education and sociocultural view of learning, the study’s premise is that culturally responsive learner-centered instruction will promote English learning experience in a Chinese context. Data gathering techniques employed included observations, interviews, videotaping, and artifact collection, while data analysis procedures followed a three-step process: data reduction, data display, and conclusion drawing and verification. A total of 12 participants demonstrated generally positive responses to tiered performance tasks offered in a final examination for a freshmen English listening and speaking class. An overall acceptance of the assessment strategy was generated through recognition and appreciation of choices of leveled tasks, heightened motivation, increased efforts, improved English skills, and greater confidence. Concerns caused by the challenging tasks included complexity level, time required to complete the task, partnership, and score. Affirmative results were particularly evident in low-ranking students. The acceptance of tiered performance tasks indicated that differentiated instruction is promising in supporting English language learning of college EFL learners in Taiwan. Implications pointed to the needs of an authentic assessment to link teaching and learning, as well as an equitable relationship between the educator and the learner. Suggestions for future research were offered.

The thought of learning another language makes some people cringe, while others display neutral to positive reactions. To understand the complex experiences of students learning a new language, this study investigated the affective psychological development encompassing language anxiety (LA) among nonnative Englishspeaking college students in the United States (US). The purpose of this study was to identify LA, while keeping in mind that some of the LA experiences may be moderate to none, and to explore the nature of this phenomenon. Ten university students from nine different countries were interviewed concerning their experiences learning and functioning in English in the US. While only a few studies have reviewed the nature of LA encompassing the possible existence of facilitating LA, this study investigated both the positive and negative effects of anxiety on second language learning. The answer to the research question, "How do college students in the US whose native languages are not English experience LA" was pursued by using qualitative analyses. The results indicated a new construct of LA, identity frustration, and its relationships to the other LA constructs already specified in the literature. The study also suggested the timing when students cease to translate between the two languages to be the point where they experience a lower level of LA. In addition, four other themes emerged. They are culturerelated LA; the recursive nature of LA; relationships among selfexpectation, selfconfidence, and LA; and facilitating LA, termed euphoric language tension.

The main focus of this dissertation is to investigate to what extent Japanese English-as-an-additional-language (EAL) learners have mastered default grapheme-phoneme correspondence (GPC) patterns of North American English vowels. The underlying motivation of this research comes from my observation that many mispronunciations of English vowels by Japanese EAL learners in formal learning settings are caused by their misinterpretation of English spellings rather than by phonological factors. Traditionally, Japanese speakers’ mispronunciations of English vowels have been attributed to a phonological factor that there is a mismatch of vowel inventories between English and Japanese. However, Nogita and Lin (2016) found that when vowel length and diphthongization are taken into consideration, native Japanese speakers are able to produce all the 13 North American English vowels although not necessarily in a native-like manner. This seems to suggest that other factors than the vowel inventory difference are responsible for the Japanese speakers EAL pronunciation errors. One such factor can be that Japanese EAL learners have not grasped the English GPC patterns and their misinterpretation of the spellings causes their pronunciation errors. To see if a GPC problem really plays a role, this dissertation examines how Japanese EAL learners map all the 13 North American English vowels with English vowel graphemes. In order to examine Japanese EAL learners’ knowledge of English vowel GPC, I conducted both reading and spelling tasks with English-like one-syllable nonsense words. In the reading task (e.g., reading aloud <snad>, <staw>, <stoe>, <nube>, etc.), the results showed that the Japanese EAL participants read vowel letters differently from native English speaking participants 40.1% of the time. In the spelling task (e.g., listening and spelling out native utterances of such syllables as [sneɪ], [zɑ:d], [gaʊ], [fʌd], etc.), the results showed that the Japanese EAL participants spelled out vowel sounds differently from native English speaking participants 60.0% of the time. These results suggest that the Japanese EAL participants’ English vowel grapheme-phoneme mapping patterns were quite different from those of the native English-speaking participants. In more details, the results showed that some correspondences were performed very well in both grapheme-to-phoneme and phoneme-to-grapheme directions presumably because of the similarities between the English GPC and the standardized Japanese romanization GPC: specifically, <e>-[ɛ] (in a closed syllable) and <oi, oy>-[ɔɪ]. In contrast, some correspondences were performed very poorly in both directions presumably in part because of the differences between the English GPC and the standardized Japanese romanization: specifically, <aw, au>-[ɑ:], <ow, ou>-[aʊ], <uh#>-[ʌ#] (# = word-final), <i>-[ɪ], and to a lesser extent <o>-[ɑ:] (in a closed syllable), and <o#, oe#, oh#>-[oʊ]. There were also correspondences that were performed very well only in the grapheme-to-phoneme direction but not in the other direction: specifically, word-medial <ee>-to-[i:] and <a_e>-to-[eɪ]. To a lesser extent, the <u>-to-[ʌ] conversion was also much less problematic than the [ʌ]-to-<u> conversion, although the <u>-[ʌ] correspondence was performed relatively poorly overall. Finally, none of the correspondences were performed very well only in the phoneme-to-grapheme direction but not in the other direction, but there were correspondences that showed this tendency. For example, the [æ: (æə)]-to-<a> conversion was much less problematic than the <a>-to-[æ: (æə)] conversion. Pedagogically, these results seem to suggest that Japanese EAL learners can benefit from being taught English default GPC patterns in order for them to improve on their graphophonic skills. / Graduate / 2017-08-23 / 0290 / 0279 / akitsugu@uvic.ca

Thesis advisor: Sarah Beckjord / This thesis examines the motivations for English language acquisition among Latino immigrants currently residing in the United States. By interviewing 34 adult students enrolled in ESOL classes in the Boston area, the author attempts to determine whether their desire for language acquisition is motivated by integrative or instrumental factors. These results are analyzed in light of the current debate on the assimilation of Latino immigrants, ultimately concluding that this segment of the population is indeed desirous of integration into the mainstream U.S. society. / Thesis (BA) — Boston College, 2008. / Submitted to: Boston College. College of Arts and Sciences. / Discipline: Romance Languages and Literature. / Discipline: College Honors Program.

The aim of this piece of research is to analyze how Martin Luther King Jr. was portrayed in three U.S newspapers based on framing theory. Through the use of qualitative frame analysis, ten newspaper articles are studied from the period 20/04/1967-11/05/1967. The dates were selected in relation to King’s public opposition to the Vietnam war. The results show that the articles are in most cases characterized by a focus on difference of opinion, polemic responses, and appeals to MLK to stop opposing the war. When understood from the lens of framing theory, this way of writing has been termed the conflict frame. Furthermore, three classroom tasks related to the newspaper articles are suggested. These activities are based on the Swedish curriculum for teaching English as a second language, schema theory, and framing theory.

Via a systematic literature review, this thesis investigates the possible benefits of employing social media as a learning tool in English as a second language classroom. The thesis is focused on the motivation for learning, potential grammar and vocabulary gains as results of using social media at the upper-secondary level. This systematic literature review is relevant since the current Swedish upper-secondary school’s curriculum promotes technology implementation and at the same time social media has become an everyday feature of many students’ lives. In order to measure the possible benefits of social media, this thesis uses a modified version of Koole’s (2009, p. 27) The Framework for the Rational Analysis of Mobile Education (FRAME) model, which originally was used to determine the optimal way for learning on a mobile platform. This thesis adapted that model and altered it to be applicable for social media platforms instead of mobile devices. The literature review found relevant peer-reviewed studies for this topic through a scholarly education database. The age of the participants in the chosen studies vary from 15-19 years old, and all the chosen studies focus on English as a second language in relation to an education system. The reviewed studies show that social media usage is mainly beneficial for motivation to enhance English vocabulary and grammar proficiency. However, social media usage does not show any significant benefits for grammar proficiency and vocabulary gains when students engage with social media. Although motivation to partake on various social media platforms in ESL does show that students tend to have a desire to expand their ESL knowledge. This review study is in agreement with the reviewed studies regarding the potential benefits of social media for ESL. The reviewed studies on their own were inconclusive as to why social media usage was beneficial. By comparing all the studies result, this literature review thesis promotes the idea that it is the social factor from engaging with social media that is the main reason that motivates students to acquire further ESL knowledge in a school setting or extramurally. Thus, the thesis suggests that an integration of social media in the Swedish upper-secondary school should be taken into consideration due to its proven motivational benefits

This work deals with anxiety being involved in ESL teaching to adult students. Its causes and negative consequences are discussed. Its aim is to reveal whether anxiety is a real issue in ESL that should be acknowledged and if it is, what can be done in order to prevent it or at least identify it and be able to work with it. The theoretical part deals with the delimitation of the term anxiety and puts anxiety in the psychological and pedagogical context. The development of research in this area is described and the relevant findings are presented. Practical part consists of mixed research dealing with the extent to which anxiety impacts foreign language learning in the first part. The second part based on interviews with anxious learners brings into light the specific causes of foreign language classroom anxiety which allows the conclusions in the form of practical recommendations to be drawn for English teachers. Key Words: Anxiety, adult learners, ESL classes, recommendations

Abstract : Information and communication technologies (ICTs, henceforth) have become ubiquitous in our society. The plethora of devices competing with the computer, from iPads to the Interactive whiteboard, just to name a few, has provided teachers and students alike with the ability to communicate and access information with unprecedented accessibility and speed. It is only logical that schools reflect these changes given that their purpose is to prepare students for the future. Surprisingly enough, research indicates that ICT integration into teaching activities is still marginal. Many elementary and secondary schoolteachers are not making effective use of ICTs in their teaching activities as well as in their assessment practices. The purpose of the current study is a) to describe Quebec ESL teachers’ profiles of using ICTs in their daily teaching activities; b) to describe teachers’ ICT integration and assessment practices; and c) to describe teachers’ social representations regarding the utility and relevance of ICT use in their daily teaching activities and assessment practices. In order to attain our objectives, we based our theoretical framework, principally, on the social representations (SR, henceforth) theory and we defined most related constructs which were deemed fundamental to the current thesis. We also collected data from 28 ESL elementary and secondary school teachers working in public and private sectors. The interview guide used to that end included a range of items to elicit teachers’ SR in terms of ICT daily use in teaching activities as well as in assessment practices. In addition, we carried out our data analyses from a textual statistics perspective, a particular mode of content analysis, in order to extract the indicators underlying teachers’ representations of the teachers. The findings suggest that although almost all participants use a wide range of ICT tools in their practices, ICT implementation is seemingly not exploited to its fullest potential and, correspondingly, is likely to produce limited effects on students’ learning. Moreover, none of the interviewees claim that they use ICTs in their assessment practices and they still hold to the traditional paper-based assessment (PBA, henceforth) approach of assessing students’ learning. Teachers’ common discourse reveals a gap between the positive standpoint with regards to ICT integration, on the one hand, and the actual uses of instructional technology, on the other. These results are useful for better understanding the way ESL teachers in Quebec currently view their use of ICTs, particularly for evaluation purposes. In fact, they provide a starting place for reconsidering the implementation of ICTs in elementary and secondary schools. They may also be useful to open up avenues for the development of a future research program in this regard. / Résumé : Les technologies d’information et de communication (TIC) sont devenues omniprésentes dans notre société. L’abondante panoplie de dispositifs rivalisant avec l’ordinateur, allant de l’iPad au Tableau blanc interactif, pour n’en nommer que quelques-uns, a permis aux enseignantes et enseignants ainsi qu’aux élèves de communiquer et d’obtenir de l’information avec une vitesse et une accessibilité jamais égalées jusqu’à aujourd’hui. De ce fait, il serait attendu que les pratiques éducatives traditionnelles, qui ne semblent plus compatibles avec les attentes des élèves et les besoins de main-d’œuvre d’aujourd’hui soient modifiées (Ahmed et Nasser, 2015). Malheureusement, la recherche indique que les réalités d’intégration des TIC sont toujours loin de la rhétorique. Plusieurs enseignantes et enseignants d’écoles primaires et secondaires n’utilisent pas les TIC d’une façon efficace et ce, autant dans leurs activités d’enseignement que dans leurs pratiques évaluatives. La présente étude, de type exploratoire-descriptif, vise à 1) décrire les profils des enseignantes et enseignants d’anglais langue seconde (ALS) utilisant les TIC dans leurs activités quotidiennes d’enseignement et leurs pratiques évaluatives; 2) décrire les pratiques d'intégration des TIC dans les activités d’enseignement et les pratiques d'évaluation de ces enseignantes et enseignants; et 3) décrire les représentations sociales (RS) des enseignantes et enseignants concernant l'utilité et la pertinence de l'utilisation des TIC dans leurs activités quotidiennes d'enseignement et leurs pratiques d'évaluation. Pour atteindre nos objectifs, nous basons principalement notre cadre théorique sur la théorie de la RS et nous définissons les concepts et les construits les plus étroitement associés qui sont considérés comme fondamentaux pour la thèse actuelle. Nous avons recueilli nos données auprès d’un échantillon de 28 enseignantes et enseignants d’ALS du primaire et du secondaire qui travaillent dans les secteurs publics et privés. Le guide d'entretien utilisé à cette fin comprend un nombre d’items visant à favoriser l’élucidation des RS des enseignants en matière de l’usage quotidien des TIC dans les activités d'enseignement ainsi que des pratiques d'évaluation. De plus, nous avons réalisé nos analyses dans une perspective de statistique textuelle, un mode particulier d’analyse de contenu, afin d’extraire les indicateurs sous-jacents aux représentations des enseignants. Les résultats suggèrent que, bien que presque tous les participants utilisent un large éventail d'outils de TIC dans leurs pratiques, il s’avère que la mise en œuvre des TIC n’est pas exploitée à son plein potentiel et, en conséquence, est susceptible de produire des effets limités sur l'apprentissage des élèves. En outre, aucun des interviewés affirment qu'ils utilisent les TIC dans leurs pratiques d'évaluation et ils tiennent encore à l'approche traditionnelle du papier-crayon dans l'évaluation de l'apprentissage des élèves. Le discours commun des enseignantes et enseignants révèle un écart entre le point de vue positif en ce qui concerne l'intégration des TIC, d'une part, et les utilisations réelles de la technologie pédagogique, de l'autre part. Ces résultats sont utiles pour mieux comprendre la façon dont les enseignantes et les enseignants d'anglais langue seconde au Québec perçoivent leur utilisation des TIC, en particulier à des fins d'évaluation. En effet, ils fournissent un point de départ pour reconsidérer la mise en œuvre des TIC dans les écoles primaires et secondaires. Ils pourraient également être utiles pour élaborer des pistes pour le développement d’un futur programme de recherche à cet égard.

An increasing amount of people play games in their spare time, especially children and teenagers. Several studies have shown a positive correlation between gaming and ESL grades. It is therefore important to examine how teacher perceive and use games and extramural gaming in their classrooms, which is the aim of this thesis. In order to fulfil this aim, the research questions "how and to what extent are games used in the classroom", "how and to what extent is gaming as an extramural activity used in the classroom" and "what attitudes do teachers have towards using games or extramural gaming in the classroom" were used. Data was gathered using a mixed-methods design with a questionnaire and interviews. The questionnaire was distributed to 53 Swedish ESL teachers (47 of which completed the entire questionnaire), and three Swedish ESL teachers were then interviewed to provide further information. The results showed that games are not used in these teachers’ Swedish EFL classrooms, and students’ interest in games as an extramural activity is only used to a very small extent in their classrooms. The participating teachers’ attitudes were mildly positive to the possibility of students learning from games, and positive to the possibility of student becoming more interested if games were used or referenced in education. However, teachers could generally not see themselves using gaming to their advantage, and many claimed not to know how they would use games or their student’s extramural gaming in the classroom. This suggests a lack of knowledge among the teachers, and a need for further education on the subject so that the full potential of this increasingly popular extramural activity can be taken advantage of in the classroom.