This study examines the ways in which adult male students approach learning English as a second language. A number of recent studies have indicated that many male learners experience considerable difficulty participating in language classes. In particular several studies have found that course failure rates of male language students were higher than those of females. The objectives of the present study, therefore, are to: describe the preferred strategies of a group of male students for approaching language learning; describe the strategies they use when interacting in class discussion; and to examine the relationship between learning strategies and ESL academic achievement. This broad subject has been narrowed down to a specific focus on how male ESL students develop oral and aural skills. The subjects are a small group of students of the Adult Migrant English Service Program, Canberra. Data have been obtained through questionnaires, interviews and observations in classroom settings. The questionnaires and interviews aim to reveal how frequently, and in what situations, certain learning strategies appear important to the male students' participation in language learning. These strategies include those of memory, cognition, compensation, meta-cognition, social communication and emotion. The observations examine patterns in interaction. Both the questionnaire and observations provide the basis for statistical analysis. Literature covering the role of strategies and styles in second language learning, the characteristics of adult learners; and gender differences in the range of strategies used by adult learners has been examined and used as a foundation for the present study. Strategies for listening and speaking are often used without conscious attention given to them. However, given the right learning environment, male students may develop a range of strategies that may assist them in ESL learning. This environment exists both informally, in the community, and in the ESL classroom. It was found that students who used ESL frequently in community life, such as in a workplace setting, had developed a "strategy awareness" and were able to call on a broad range of strategies to help them when interacting with other speakers. Within the classroom, it was observed that unstructured discussions using open-ended themes encouraged male students to use a variety of strategies, such as asking questions, asking for clarification and expanding ideas, to enable them to participate in the communication. The findings of this study suggest that an awareness of and ability to apply appropriate learning strategies have an important place in helping male students participate in selected language learning activities and to develop their ESL skills. An examination of Australian Second Language Proficiency Rating scores and the Certificate in Spoken and Written English III results revealed that students who were successful in these assessment measures, were those who were observed and who reported frequent awareness and utilisation of the above mentioned strategies. Finally, it can be suggested that because not all male students have equal opportunities to use ESL in community life, the English language teacher is in an ideal position to develop students' strategy awareness. For this to occur, the teacher also needs to create a learning environment whereby students are encouraged to select from these strategies and to utilise them in appropriate ways.

<p>Detta examensarbete beskriver problem och hinder som uppstår vid nyföretagande och entreprenörskap. Arbetet initierades i en period som karaktäriserades av stora nedskärningar inom den svenska högteknologi industrin och väldigt få examensarbeten var tillgängliga.</p><p>Den entreprenöriella processen och tankesättet har varit väldigt tongivande för det svenska samhället. Denna anda har producerat flera stora internationella storföretag. Även om inte alla entreprenörer når de internationella företag i storlek så har småföretagen en minst lika viktig roll för utvecklingen av samhället med det kreativa tankesättet och synen på affärsmöjligheter.</p><p>Rapporten består av litteraturstudie och en fallstudie Hermes Technologies. Med hjälp av modeller kring den entreprenöriella processen, teorier om de psykografiska förhållandena på högteknologiska marknader samt teorier kring skapandet av en markand och prissättning samt analysverktygen Affärsplattformen har en teoretisk bas byggts upp för att sedan appliceras på en fallstudie.</p><p>Teorin framhäver hur viktigt upptäckten av affärsmöjligheten är för framgång tillsammans med ett kreativt hanterande av resurserna.</p><p>Fallstudien består av uppstarten till grundandet av ett högteknologiskt utvecklingsföretag inom marknaden för Electronic Shelf Labeling system, ESL-system. Casestudien genomfördes vid ProNova Science Park i Norrköping som en del i pilotprojektet ”FörInkubatorn” vilket senare utvecklades till Drivbänken. Genom att tillämpa teorin på fallstudien framkom det att flera faktorer för att med framgång genomföra grundandet av Hermes Technologies saknades eller var bristfälliga.</p><p>Här framgår även hur grundandet av Hermes Technologies har genomförts. Vidare framförs hur detaljhandeln ställer sig inför införandet av ESL-system istället för dagens pappersmarkeringar.</p><p>Analysen klargjorde vilka faktorer som låg till grund för ett misslyckade samt vilka åtgärder som krävdes för att uppnå en mer tillfredsställande nivå. Erfarenhet var den ensamt största bristfälliga faktorn som resulterade i att projektet inte lyckades. För att kunna påverka denna faktor krävs det ofta flertaliga försök inom nyföretagande.</p><p>Resultatet påvisar att de teorier, som används i litteraturstudien, bör användas tillsammans med varandra för att uppnå bästa resultat vid nystartandet av ett företag. Detta kommer av att man på detta vis belyser problemet från flera infallsvinklar vilket ytterligare klargör de hinder som kan uppkomma eller har uppstått.</p>

Thesis (Ph.D. (Education))--North-West University, Vaal Triangle Campus, 2004.

Detta examensarbete beskriver problem och hinder som uppstår vid nyföretagande och entreprenörskap. Arbetet initierades i en period som karaktäriserades av stora nedskärningar inom den svenska högteknologi industrin och väldigt få examensarbeten var tillgängliga. Den entreprenöriella processen och tankesättet har varit väldigt tongivande för det svenska samhället. Denna anda har producerat flera stora internationella storföretag. Även om inte alla entreprenörer når de internationella företag i storlek så har småföretagen en minst lika viktig roll för utvecklingen av samhället med det kreativa tankesättet och synen på affärsmöjligheter. Rapporten består av litteraturstudie och en fallstudie Hermes Technologies. Med hjälp av modeller kring den entreprenöriella processen, teorier om de psykografiska förhållandena på högteknologiska marknader samt teorier kring skapandet av en markand och prissättning samt analysverktygen Affärsplattformen har en teoretisk bas byggts upp för att sedan appliceras på en fallstudie. Teorin framhäver hur viktigt upptäckten av affärsmöjligheten är för framgång tillsammans med ett kreativt hanterande av resurserna. Fallstudien består av uppstarten till grundandet av ett högteknologiskt utvecklingsföretag inom marknaden för Electronic Shelf Labeling system, ESL-system. Casestudien genomfördes vid ProNova Science Park i Norrköping som en del i pilotprojektet ”FörInkubatorn” vilket senare utvecklades till Drivbänken. Genom att tillämpa teorin på fallstudien framkom det att flera faktorer för att med framgång genomföra grundandet av Hermes Technologies saknades eller var bristfälliga. Här framgår även hur grundandet av Hermes Technologies har genomförts. Vidare framförs hur detaljhandeln ställer sig inför införandet av ESL-system istället för dagens pappersmarkeringar. Analysen klargjorde vilka faktorer som låg till grund för ett misslyckade samt vilka åtgärder som krävdes för att uppnå en mer tillfredsställande nivå. Erfarenhet var den ensamt största bristfälliga faktorn som resulterade i att projektet inte lyckades. För att kunna påverka denna faktor krävs det ofta flertaliga försök inom nyföretagande. Resultatet påvisar att de teorier, som används i litteraturstudien, bör användas tillsammans med varandra för att uppnå bästa resultat vid nystartandet av ett företag. Detta kommer av att man på detta vis belyser problemet från flera infallsvinklar vilket ytterligare klargör de hinder som kan uppkomma eller har uppstått.

The growing number of language minority students graduating from a U.S. high school and entering college has motivated many studies. These students are often referred to as Generation 1.5, a term that loosely indicates they arrived in this country at an early age and had most of their education in U.S. K-12 settings. The studies that have focused on this population often group refugees with other immigrants. Although refugees may not have arrived in this country at an early age, those coming from war torn countries as teenagers have often had their formal education interrupted in their home countries with the result that schooling in the U.S. comprises most, if not all, of their education. The purpose of the current study was to investigate how refugee students experience academic literacy practices in their first year of college, the challenges they face in this process, and the resources and strategies they use to cope with postsecondary reading and writing demands. In order to carry out this investigation, a qualitative year-long multiple-case study (Duff, 2008) was conducted. Participants were seven refugee students attending a small liberal arts college. Data collection involved interviews with the focal participants and faculty, class observations, and written documents. Findings revealed that all seven participants were successful completing their first year in college, passing all the classes they registered for. At the same time, the day-to-day struggle to keep up and cope with reading and writing assignments presented these students with several challenges resulting from their still developing English language proficiency, lack of background knowledge, and unfamiliarity with academic genres, to name a few sources of difficulty. These challenges were offset by the motivation showed by the seven participants and their ability in developing coping strategies and drawing upon the resources made available to them. Repeated use of resources and uncritical acceptance of support, however, sometimes yielded undesirable results. The findings indicate that many of the strategies used by the participants involved peers, tutors, and professors who, within the supportive college environment, offered these students the assistance they needed.

This dissertation investigated Taiwanese English as Foreign Language (EFL) learners' incidental noticing and their subsequent language learning in relation to learner proficiency level and dyadic type in a text-based computer-mediated communication (CMC) environment. Sixty participants were included to form 30 dyads. At random, eight low-intermediate and eight advanced nonnative English speakers (NNESs) were paired with 16 native English speakers (NESs) to form 16 NES-NNES dyads; another 14 advanced NNESs and 14 low-intermediate NNESs were paired to form 14 mixedproficiency NNES-NNES dyads. The results revealed that the synchronous computer-mediated communication (SCMC) medium could, in general, enhance the occurrence of learners' incidental noticing and their subsequent second language (L2) learning regardless of learners' proficiency levels and dyadic types. No significant differences were found in the amount of the language-related episodes (LREs) produced by the NES-NNES dyads when compared to the NNES-NNES dyads. With regard to the number of LREs generated by the learners of different proficiency levels, the results showed that: (1) in the NESNNES dyads, no significant difference was found between the low-intermediate and advanced learners, and (2) in the NNES-NNES dyads, the low-intermediate learners produced a significantly greater number of LREs than their advanced interlocutors. In terms of the effect of interlocutors' proficiency levels on the number of LREs produced by the learners, the results revealed that: (1) the low-intermediate learners in the NESNNES dyads produced a significantly greater number of LREs than the low-intermediate learners in the NNES-NNES dyads, and (2) the advanced learners in the NES-NNES dyads also produced a significantly greater number of LREs than the advanced learners in the NNES-NNES dyads. With respect to the learners' performance on both posttests, the results of chi-square analyses showed that: (1) no significant differences were found both within and across the two dyadic types, and (2) no significant differences were found between learners of different proficiency levels within and across both NES-NNS and NNES-NNES dyads. Logistic regression analyses revealed that five LRE characteristics (type, source, complexity, proficiency, and successful uptake) in the NES-NNES dyads and three LRE characteristics (proficiency, timing and successful uptake) in the NNES-NNES dyads were shown to be significant predictor variables of the learners' subsequent L2 learning. Successful uptake was the most prevalent predictor variable of the learners' subsequent L2 learning across the two dyadic types. Besides, proficiency appeared to be the second prevalent variable but played a different role in these two dyadic types. Considering the language aspects focused in the LREs, negotiations on the linguistic features of grammar, vocabulary, and spelling were much more prevalent than the pragmatic aspects of language.

This report focuses on language transference between alphabetic (English) and logographic, non-alphabetic (Chinese) languages, with respect to the importance of phonemic awareness in literacy acquisition. Within large ESL/EFL classrooms, language learners from all cultures are taught in the same way. Instruction rarely caters for specific problems directly associated with L1 transfer or the learner’s culture. The purpose of this report is not only to gain a better understanding of the differences in literacy acquisition between the two languages (English and Chinese), but also to assess the impact of this difference on Chinese children learning how to read in English. Research is examined that focuses on the role that phonemic awareness plays in the acquisition of English literacy and in the acquisition of Chinese literacy. The relationship between Chinese orthographic features and word recognition processing in English as a second language is explored as well as cross-language transfer of phonological awareness and its effect on English literacy acquisition. Pedagogical implications are also discussed on how to apply these findings to the classroom for instructors of English as a second language. / text

Research has showed repeatedly the value of extensive reading in the L2 classroom for improved reading comprehension (Elley & Mangubhai, 1981; Mason & Krashen, 1997; Renandya, Rajan, & Jacobs, 1999). However, additional support beyond traditional extensive reading practices may be needed for very low proficiency learners. This report reviews research on implementing an extensive reading program for beginning level adult-education English language learners. It presents arguments for supporting extensive reading through shared reading, including read-alouds, use of children’s literature, and strategy modeling techniques. It also discusses the benefits of student-generated texts for boosting vocabulary and comprehension skills. The report concludes with pedagogical implications for including a strong reading component in the adult education ESL curriculum and suggestions for evaluating the strength and utility of such a program. / text

While studies have shown that teacher and peer feedback are beneficial to students, research has also found that teachers can appropriate students' texts in their feedback, taking away authorship in the process (Brannon & Knoblauch, 1982; Goldstein, 2004). The present study addressed the type of written feedback that I gave my ESL composition students and the type of feedback they gave each other during the writing process, and it examined their responses to the feedback they received. As the response stance taken when providing feedback is a determiner of the level of control the feedback conveys (Straub & Lunsford, 1995), I investigated the stances that both I and my students took while providing feedback. Since my goal had been to avoid text appropriation, I wanted to learn if I was successful in taking a less controlling stance in the feedback that I gave to my students. In addition, I wanted to discover whether the stance my students took while giving feedback would change over the course of the semester. Further, I used a consciousness-raising pedagogical tool — the Cover Sheet — to examine the responses of the students to the feedback to determine if they thought critically about the feedback they had received. At the end of the study, I discovered that my intention to only provide feedback that was not considered controlling was too idealistic and that at least for ESL students, it is easier to understand feedback if it is more direct. Additionally, I found that those students who had an easier time understanding the feedback I gave them and used it to revise their papers ended up getting a higher grade in the course.

Improving the teaching of English as a foreign language in public schools is a high priority for the Dominican administration elected in 2004. Consequently, the government’s plan of action includes a pilot project that integrates language teaching strategies and methods already found in the country’s private, K-12, foreign language programs. The purpose of this naturalistic inquiry was to investigate English teaching through case studies at two private schools in hopes of guiding the country’s educational policy. The schools were selected based on their contrasting methods of foreign language instruction. One school, Imersão, follows a structured immersion program where most academic subjects are taught in English. The second school, Cervantina, teaches all subjects in Spanish, the students’ first language, and provides one hour a day of English instruction. The research process included repeated observations of classroom activities, interviews with administrators, staff and students, and reviewing teachers’ lesson plans and student products in English. The study found that effective English language teaching can be accomplished through varying methods, as elements that promote language learning were seen in each of the schools. The programs were observed to be similar in the importance placed on meeting the academic needs of students with differing abilities, as well as cultural and linguistic backgrounds, by having language classes emphasize the importance of grammar and vocabulary alongside culturally relevant authentic communication opportunities. Even though students at both schools are able to communicate orally and in writing in English, Imersão students appear better equipped to contend with complex academic situations in the second language. However, in order to concentrate almost entirely on the teaching of English, Imersão falls short of the immersion objective of concomitantly developing the primary language at age-appropriate levels. The results also suggest that encouraging students to analyze, deduce, and think in the foreign language while learning subject content in English is advantageous. Future research into this topic should explore where the threshold of optimum exposure to the foreign language inside and outside of the classroom might be in order to achieve language proficiency, therefore allowing the administration to maximize the use of limited education resources.