I used a sociocultural perspective (Vygotsky, 1978) to examine teachers’ epistemological and efficacy beliefs about the teaching and learning of mathematics with multilingual students. Specifically, I use the work of Negueruela-Azarola (2011) who suggests that teachers’ beliefs are conceptualizing tools for thinking about activity. Beliefs, which are social and dynamic, arise from teachers’ lived experiences. What teachers believe is relevant because beliefs inform pedagogical practices and once established are hard to change (Brownlee, Boulton-Lewis & Purdie, 2002; Cross, 2009; Pajares, 1992). Established beliefs with regards to mathematics hold that it is the easiest subject for multilingual students since there is little language involved. On the other hand, established beliefs are that increased English vocabulary is mainly what students need to be successful in mathematics. Barwell (2009) and Moschkovich (2002), using sociocultural perspectives, argue that language is important in mathematics and that multilingual students can participate in mathematical discussions when using resources such as their own mathematical knowledge, objects, and codeswitching. I interviewed five teachers who had experience teaching mathematics to students whose first language was other than English. I found that some teachers had beliefs which contrasted with the philosophies of their training institutions and with their schools. Teachers were found to hold contradictory beliefs. The study showed the importance of terminology in that how teachers referred to their multilingual students reflected their beliefs. Multilingual students were welcomed in the classroom for their contribution to cultural diversity but teachers acknowledged increased workload, and periods of frustration when supporting their multilingual students in mathematics.

This thesis examines research done to explore teachers‘ and students‘ perspectives and use of Project-based Learning (PBL). The research was conducted at two ESL schools with distinct student populations in Victoria, BC and had 118 total participants. There were 30 teachers from three schools and 88 students from two schools. The teachers and students completed parallel questionnaires asking about their opinions of the various aspects involved in a PBL approach, their use or teachers‘ use of it, their opinions about examples of projects, and also completed open-ended questions about their opinions and experience with projects. The questionnaires were analyzed using Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS), non-parametric, 2 independent samples and is the primary quantitative data. The means and statistical significance between teachers and students were examined to find any main differences in opinion about PBL. Individual interviews were also conducted with teachers and students from two schools. Seven teachers also provided some artifacts from their classes which were examined to see if they corresponded with their perspectives. The latter two forms of data collection form the qualitative data in this study. Perspectives on PBL were found to be generally positive, with some mixed results within certain areas. Teachers‘ and students‘ perspectives were not that different, which is encouraging for those interested in using projects. Although teachers scored slightly higher in most cases, there were no stark contrasts between negative and positive attitudes. There were distinct differences between schools, as School A used project work more often due to different student backgrounds and needs. Teachers and students were the most favorable to more common practices in ESL classes, but still exhibited positive perspectives towards aspects of PBL as well. And lastly, the most common type of project being used in adult ESL is the presentation of some kind, falling under the production or performance project type (Stoller, 1997). Beckett‘s (1999) study found that students carried out projects successfully, but that their evaluations ―expressed dilemmas, frustrations, and tensions‖ (Beckett, 2002, p.60). No such comments were found when interviewing students about their project work presentations at School A, as most students felt that they were interesting, motivating, dynamic, and fun,‘among other comments. These results, along with means in the quantitative section exhibiting positive results reveals more support for the use of projects in adult ESL. The most significant discovery from this research was that teachers need to consider their students‘ backgrounds and needs when trying to implement a project. The initial assumption that School B, which had all immigrant students, would have more projects was completely wrong. I was surprised that they did not do more projects, and was faced with the reality that teachers need to take into consideration hectic lives outside of school and family obligations of immigrant students before using a PBL approach. The international students at School A were younger and seemingly more devoted to learning language through a variety of methods within their time in Canada.

In the field of L2 (second language) writing, a great number of studies have been done to explore learners’ writing processes and writing strategies since the last three decades. However, the relationship between learners’ strategy use and writing performance is still not clear-cut, and researchers still debate about whether L1 (first language) writing processes and strategies are similar to or different from L2 writing processes and strategies. To explore these controversial issues, this study has examined the L1 and L2 academic writing processes of 35 Chinese ESL (English-as-a-second-language) learners by using concurrent think-aloud protocols and retrospective interviews. In line with previous strategy studies, the findings of present study also revealed that learners selected, used, and evaluated a wide range of writing strategies (i.e., approach, rhetorical, communication, cognitive, metacognitive, affective, and social strategies) in both L1 and L2 tasks. Moreover, the results of qualitative and quantitative analyses indicated that the overall pattern of strategy use by learners was similar between L1 and L2. Specifically, learners tended to transfer their approach, rhetorical, communication, and cognitive strategies across languages. As for the correlations between writing strategies and writing scores, statistical tests did not detect any significant relationships between learners’ strategy use and their writing performance in either the L1 writing task or the L2 writing task. One main implication suggested by the present study is that learners should not only be encouraged to reflect on their L2 writing performance and strategy use, but also be provided with the opportunities to reconsider and reflect on how they usually approach and process L1 writing tasks. / Graduate

Twenty percent of Canadians do not speak English as their first language. This is the highest reported proportion of non-native English speakers to comprise Canada’s national demographic in 75 years (Statistics Canada, 2011). Factoring into Canada’s classrooms, this demographic contrasts sharply with a public school professoriate comprised mainly of white middle class females (Bascia, 1996; Cone, 2009; Cooper, 2007; Gambhir, Broad, Evans, Gaskell, 2008; Hodgkinson, 2002). The resulting gap that exists culturally and linguistically between many of Canada’s teachers and many of Canada’s most vulnerable students is cause for concern, especially in regards to the low level of achievement many ESL students experience in the classroom (Watt & Roessingh, 2001). Despite a discourse steeped in advocacy and empowerment, there is little agreement on how to most effectively prepare preservice teachers to work with diverse learners (Cochran-Smith, 2001; Ladson-Billings, 2001). There is however, a general consensus that preservice teachers need experience working with diverse populations in order to develop the knowledge and skills necessary to assist minority students to reach their full potential (Goodlad, 1990; Phillion; Malewski, Sharma & Wang, 2009). My research attempted to address these gaps by investigating how incorporating community-based learning (Dallimore, Rochefort & Simonelli, 2010) into a teacher education course informed preservice teachers’ understandings of ESL learners, their lives, and ultimately, the pedagogical approaches necessary to most effectively support them. Subjugating the needs and perspectives of community members in community-university partnerships is a criticism recycled throughout the discourse on community-based engagement (Bortolin, 2011; Giles & Cruz, 2000; Howard, 2003; Stoecker & Tryon, 2009; Vernon & Ward, 1999; Ward & Wolf-Wendel, 2000). For this reason, this research sought to pay particular attention to the principles of reciprocity in community engagement, as well as how community partners experienced the partnership. Data was collected from students, community partners, and the instructor and analyzed using a qualitative, open-coding approach to inform a holistic understanding of how all participants experienced the project, how community members could be incorporated as co-educators in a teacher education course, and how assumptions of student participants were challenged. The findings suggest a number of advantages to participants in participating in a community-based learning experience, ways to improve the design and implementation of community-based courses, and recommendations for future research. These directions include assessing and challenging existing attitudes and assumptions about ESL learners by practicing teachers by looking at projects that bring community partners and school-based practitioners together to encourage reflection on these attitudes and assumptions. / Graduate / 0530 / 0745

Since the publication of Truscott’s paper in 1996 arguing against the effectiveness of grammar correction in second language (L2) writing, there has been an ongoing debate regarding the effectiveness of written corrective feedback (WCF) in the field of second language acquisition (SLA). This debate has continued due to conflicting research results from research examining short-term effects of WCF and scarcity of research investigating its long-term effects (Ferris, 2004, 2006). Using a mixed-method research design, this study investigated the effects of direct and indirect WCF on students’ revision accuracy of the same piece of writing as well as its transfer effects on new pieces of writing over time. The present study also investigated the differential effects of direct and indirect CF on grammatical and non-grammatical errors. Using a stimulated recall strategy, the study further explored students’ perception and attitude regarding the types of feedback they received. Fifty-three intermediate level English-as-a-second-language (ESL) students were divided randomly into four groups: direct, underlining only, Underlining+meta- linguistic, and a control group. Students produced three pieces of writings from three different picture prompts and revised those over a three-week period. To examine the delayed effects of feedback on students’ writing skills, each group was also asked to produce a new piece of writing two weeks later. The results demonstrated that all three feedback groups significantly outperformed the control group with respect to revision accuracy in all three writing tasks. WCF did not have any significant delayed transfer effects on improving students’ writing skills. Short-term transfer effects on overall accuracy, however, were found for Underlining+metalinguistic CF, but not for other feedback types. In terms of grammatical and non-grammatical accuracy, only Direct CF displayed significant short-term transfer effects on improving grammatical accuracy. These findings suggest that while Direct CF was successful in improving short-term grammatical accuracy, both direct and indirect CF has the potential to improve accuracy in writing. The findings also clarify that no single form of CF can be effective in addressing all types of linguistic errors. Findings from the qualitative study demonstrated that different aspects of direct and indirect CF helped learners in different ways to successfully attend to different types of CF. In the case of Direct CF, learners who successfully corrected errors believed that the explicit information or correction was useful for them. They believed that it helped them understand what errors they made and helped them remember the corrections. Learners who were successful in correcting errors from indirect CF in the form of underlining and in the form of underline in combination with metalinguistic CF indicated that these two types of indirect CF helped them notice the errors, think about the errors, guess the correct form(s) or feature(s) and also remember the correction. The findings also indicated that both grammatical and non-grammatical errors could be difficult for learners to correct from indirect CF if they do not have sufficient L2 proficiency. Findings from the qualitative study also indicated that while learners considered both direct and the two indirect CF as useful, indirect CF in the form of underlining together with metalinguistic CF was preferred by a majority of learners as it provided valuable information about the errors made as well as promoting thinking and better understanding. / Graduate / 0290 / khaledk@uvic.ca

This thesis explores the influences of social networks and social support on the literacy engagement of 7 high school students from a multicultural, multilingual, and economically disadvantaged urban neighborhood in a large, diverse North American city. Specifically, this study describes (1) students’ social networks and social literacy interactions; (2) the types of social support the network relationships provide for participants’ literacy; and (3) the ways in which this socioliterate support might affect participants’ literacy engagement. Guided by Ecological Systems Theory (Bronfenbrenner, 1979, 1992/2005), at three times during an 18-month period the 7 participants completed social network maps and interviews, checklists about their reading and writing choices, and retrospective interviews about their reading and writing practices on self-selected texts. These data were analyzed on the basis of Tardy’s (1985) typology of social support and the tripartite model of engagement proposed by Fredricks, Blumenfeld, and Paris (2004), then individual case reports were created for each participant. For cross-case analysis (Stake, 2006), the individual reports were compared across similar, predetermined themes. Two primary conclusions are supported by the data and analysis: These adolescents received varying amounts and types of socioliterate support from certain members of their social networks, particularly teachers and family members, and this support positively influenced their literacy engagement when they were facing difficult or uninteresting tasks. The study provides an understanding of the relationship between social support, motivation, and engagement in single literacy events, including proposed relationships between these three concepts, as well as perspectives on the role of technology in adolescent social network formation and on the sources from whom adolescents seek literacy-based social support. The study describes pedagogical spaces that can provide and activate such literacy support and suggests topics for future research relating to adolescent literacy, socioliterate networks and support, and literacy engagement.

Par le biais d’une étude de cas portant sur un conseil scolaire anglophone ontarien, la recherche entreprise avait pour objectif l’analyse de la mise en œuvre de politiques touchant l’éducation des élèves réfugiés du niveau secondaire en Ontario, soit la politique à l’égard des élèves English language learners de 2007 ainsi que la Stratégie ontarienne d’équité et d’éducation inclusive de 2009. La réalisation d’entrevues semi-dirigées auprès d’informateurs clés du conseil scolaire, du ministère de l’Éducation de l’Ontario et d’un organisme local d’aide à l’établissement des nouveaux arrivants, l’analyse de documents publiés par les deux premières entités ainsi que l’observation non participante à des réunions de comités consultatifs du conseil scolaire ont permis l’exploration de l’impact constaté ou potentiel de la mise en œuvre de ces politiques sur la mise en place d’un modèle de système inclusif de prestation de programmes et services en matière d’éducation des élèves réfugiés du niveau secondaire.

The purpose of this study was two fold: (1) to examine how the distribution of resources within and outside an Enhanced Language Training Program (ELT) affected a group of newcomers’ access to Internet literacy development; and (2) to discuss ensuing pedagogical and curricular implications for the ELT Program. The relationship between the distribution of resources and a group of newcomers’ access to Internet literacy development was studied through a hybrid of two frameworks: van Dijk’s (2005) digital divide and Warschauer’s (2004) social inclusion. The key findings were that the distribution of resources affected access four ways: (1) resources affected multiple types of access, (2) the effect of resource distribution on access was both cumulative and successive, (3) distribution of resources could either facilitate or impede access, and (4) Internet literacy development could potentially increase or decrease the resources. The findings resulted in implications for the ELT program and teaching.

Canada welcomes and supports refugees from all over the world. However, they encounter many struggles that force them to with withdraw from their English language classes. This Narrative Inquiry explores the lived experiences of two adult refugee students who could not continue with their English classes due to the hardships they encountered. Through research conversations I document their experiences in two narrative accounts, and read across them to find common threads. These common struggles include financial strains, employment, childcare, isolation and mental health. The findings point to the importance of further supporting refugee students in different ways. My recommendations are that ESL teachers develop lessons that include settlement, support services, and Canadian culture information. English language programs need to incorporate support services with professionals trained in ESL, and the different levels of government need to be part of the discussion on how to provide stronger supports through childcare, employment and information accessibility. / February 2016

abstract: Using a sociocultural framework, this dissertation investigated the writing processes of 31 ESL learners in an EAP context at a large North American university. The qualitative case study involved one of the four major writing assignments in a required first-year composition course for ESL students. Data were collected from four different sources: (a) A semi-structured interview with each participant, (b) process logs kept by participants for the entire duration of the writing assignment, (c) classroom observation notes, and (d) class materials. Findings that emerged through analyses of activity systems, an analytical framework within Vygotskian activity theory, indicate that L2 writers used various context-specific, social, and cultural affordances to accomplish the writing tasks. The study arrived at these findings by creating taxonomies of the six activity system elements - subject, tools, goals, division of labor, community, and rules - as they were realized by L2 writers, and examining the influence that these elements had in the process of composing. The analysis of data helped create categories of each of the six activity system elements. To illustrate with an example, the categories that emerged within the element division of labor were as follows: (a) Instructor, (b) friends and classmates, (c) writing center tutors, (d) family members, and (e) people in the world. The emergent categories for each of the six activity system elements were then examined to determine if their effects on L2 writing were positive or negative. Overall, the findings of the present study validate arguments related to the post-process views that an explanation of L2 writing processes solely based on cognitive perspectives provides but only a partial picture of how second language writing takes place. In order for a more comprehensive understanding of L2 writing one must also account for the various social and cultural factors that play critical roles in the production of L2 texts. / Dissertation/Thesis / Ph.D. English 2012