abstract: This thesis examines the narratives and meta-commentary of Indonesian users of English about their English as a Second Language (ESL) experiences. It approaches interview data with ten Indonesian second language (L2) speakers of English from a narrative analysis/inquiry perspective. Each interview was transcribed according to a modified set of discourse analysis (DA) transcription conventions, then coded by the researcher. The first research question addressed what linguistic devices members of this population used to achieve cohesion and coherence in their narratives, and the second research question examined how members of this population portrayed their L2 selves in their narratives. The data yielded 21 linguistic devices that fell into three levels of frequency. Connectives, discourse markers, and repetition were by far the most common linguistic devices, followed by adverbials, embedded clauses, intensifiers, and the word like (non-comparison uses), which were somewhat frequent linguistic devices. The data also showed that participants constructed their L2 selves using three main categories: agency, identity, and perceptions of English and the U.S.. In regard to identity, participants invoked membership categorization, where they portrayed their identities in relation to other individuals. The study concludes with suggestions for future research, especially relating to Indonesian L2 users of English. / Dissertation/Thesis / Masters Thesis English 2015

Made available in DSpace on 2014-12-17T15:01:22Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 AlessandroALA_DISSERT.pdf: 1662616 bytes, checksum: c000a859b64ca5e0d06f0ed970192748 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2010-08-05 / Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Cient?fico e Tecnol?gico / The nonionic surfactants are composed of substances whose molecules in solution, does not ionize. The solubility of these surfactants in water due to the presence of functional groups that have strong affinity for water. When these surfactants are heated is the formation of two liquid phases, evidenced by the phenomenon of turbidity. This study was aimed to determine the experimental temperature and turbidity nonilfenolpoliethoxyled subsequently perform a thermodynamic modeling, considering the models of Flory-Huggins and the empirical solid-liquid equilibrium (SLE). The method used for determining the turbidity point was the visual method (Inoue et al., 2008). The experimental methodology consisted of preparing synthetic solutions of 0,25%, 0,5%, 1%, 2%, 3%, 4%, 5%, 6%, 7%, 8%, 9%, 10%, 12,5%, 15%, 17% and 20% by weight of surfactant. The nonionic surfactants used according to their degree of ethoxylation (9.5, 10, 11, 12 and 13). During the experiments the solutions were homogenized and the bath temperature was gradually increased while the turbidity of the solution temperature was checked visually Inoue et al. (2003). These temperature data of turbidity were used to feed the models evaluated and obtain thermodynamic parameters for systems of surfactants nonilfenolpoliethoxyled. Then the models can be used in phase separation processes, facilitating the extraction of organic solvents, therefore serve as quantitative and qualitative parameters. It was observed that the solidliquid equilibrium model (ESL) was best represented the experimental data. / Os tensoativos n?o-i?nicos s?o constitu?dos por subst?ncias cujas mol?culas, em solu??o aquosa, n?o se ionizam. A solubilidade destes tensoativos em ?gua deve-se ? presen?a de grupamentos funcionais que possuem forte afinidade pela ?gua. Quando esses tensoativos s?o aquecidos ocorre ? forma??o de duas fases l?quidas, evidenciada pelo fen?meno da turbidez. Este trabalho teve como intuito determinar os dados experimentais da temperatura de turbidez do nonilfenolpolietoxilado e posteriormente realizar uma modelagem termodin?mica, considerando os modelos de Flory-Huggins e o emp?rico de equil?brio s?lido-l?quido (ESL). O m?todo empregado para determina??o do ponto de turbidez foi o m?todo visual (Inoue et al., 2008). A metodologia experimental consistiu na prepara??o de solu??es sint?ticas de: 0,25%, 0,5%,1%, 2%, 3%, 4%, 5%, 6%, 7%, 8%, 9%, 10%, 12,5%, 15%, 17% e 20% em massa de tensoativo . Os tensoativos n?o-i?nicos utilizados de acordo com seu grau de etoxila??o (9,5, 10, 11, 12 e 13). No decorrer dos experimentos as solu??es foram homogeneizadas e a temperatura do banho foi aumentada gradativamente ao passo que a temperatura de turbidez da solu??o foi verificada visualmente Inoue et al. (2003). Esses dados da temperatura de turbidez foram utilizados para alimentar os modelos avaliados e obter par?metros termodin?micos para sistemas de tensoativos nonifenolpolietoxilados. Em seguida os modelos poder?o ser utilizados em processos de separa??o de fases, facilitando a extra??o de solventes org?nicos, pois servir?o como par?metros quantitativos e qualitativos. Foi observado que o modelo de equil?brio s?lido l?quido (ESL) foi o que melhor representou os dados experimentais obtidos

The aim of this empirical study is to investigate the role of the L1 (Swedish for the purpose of this study) at upper secondary schools in Sweden, in English class. It also examines teachers’ and students’ attitudes towards the use of the L1 in the ESL classroom. The method that has been used for this thesis is a qualitative research method. In order to collect data, structured open-ended interviews were conducted. A total of eleven upper secondary students from the same school, and six upper secondary ESL teachers from four different schools, participated in this study. The results show that almost all of the participating students and teachers think that the L1 should be allowed in the classroom, as it can be used as a resource for learning. For instance, as the results demonstrate, the L1 was mainly used as a tool to clarify instructions, explain difficult terms, explain vocabulary and grammar rules, when translating, to manage discipline, and when they are socializing with each other. The majority of the participants suggest that the L1 worked as a very helpful tool in the learning process, especially in situations where students lacked understanding. However, there were also critical responses towards the use of the L1, particularly since the L1 can be easily overused. Previous research shares these latter views regarding the use of the L1 in the classroom, and confirms that it is important that learners are exposed to as much English as possible for successful language learning and development.

Today English is a world language; it is spoken by millions both as first and second language almost all over the world. The varieties best known to Swedish pupils are the varieties British and American English. Another variety of English, which is spoken by both native and non-native speakers, is a mixture of British English and American English called Mid-Atlantic English. As long as the English language has been a part of the Swedish curriculum, the leading variety taught has been British English, but lately American English has influenced Swedish teenagers because of its prominent status in media. Since both British English and American English are used in Swedish schools, different attitudes can be perceived among pupils and teachers towards these two varieties. The aim of this paper is to determine if Swedish pupils are using British or American English or if they mix these two varieties. Attitudes and prejudice amongst pupils and their teachers towards these two varieties are looked into as well as whether the pupils speak the variety of English they claim they speak. The question of why the pupils speak the variety they do is also investigated. The results show that most pupils mix British and American English and that American English features predominate in the mix. According to this investigation, teachers and pupils find British English to be a bit “snobbish” while American English can sound a bit “cocky” to them. This investigation concludes that the two major influences on the pupils are their teachers and different kind of media.

English is used worldwide as a native, second and foreign language and as a language of international communication. The uses and status of English in Sweden have been discussed in terms of its influence and ubiquity, with its presence in daily life leading some to consider English could be better described as a second, rather than foreign, language in the country. This study analyses how English is presented in the Swedish educational television series Pick a colour and considers how this can be related to the status of English as a global language and specifically the use of English in Sweden. This paper uses an approach drawing on nexus analysis, together with content analysis, to trace the key language ideologies surrounding English presented in Pick a colour and its surrounding texts, and to locate them within the context of the existing discourses in place. Analysis reveals that the series and related documents make attempts to move away from traditional native speaker British English and American English models of the language, and towards a “Global English” not linked to any specific geographical region and with a focus on communicative competence. However, as British English and American English and native-speaker models of the language are not directly challenged in the documents, and are given the greatest prominence in the series, it seems moving away from the status quo is still difficult in practice. The Swedish settings shown in the series, and emphases on the use of English in pupils’ daily lives allude to English being approached in a way more similar to a second, rather than foreign language in Sweden.

My aim with this study is to investigate the teaching strategies applied in teaching English to students with another mother tongue than Swedish. According to Second Language Acquisition (SLA) theory, factors such as age, language competence and mother tongue influence can affect language acquisition. SLA theory also states that multilinguals tend to select one of their languages as their primary source of information and this language is the language that most resembles the target language; Swedish and English are both Germanic languages and therefore share language closeness. Results showed that regardless of age and mother tongue, equal numbers of students chose to source Swedish only or both Swedish and their mother tongue when translating texts from English; only 3 chose to source their mother tongue only. There is to date little research that directly connects teaching approaches with SLA, particularly when dealing with multilingualism. I believe a potential area for research could be to investigate the possibility of developing teaching strategies that can potentially harness prior language knowledge. My investigation also showed that English is taught to native and non-native Swedish speakers alike through the medium of the Swedish language; that is to say the course books consist of English text with vocabulary translations and grammatical exercises from Swedish to English. A suggestion would be to reduce the use of the English to Swedish translation methods, particularly for students with a limited knowledge of Swedish, and incorporate into lessons more communicative teaching methods using authentic materials and real situations.

The present study investigates the pupils' spoken English in the classroom as opposed to their spoken English outside school, and suggests ways of how the teachers can incorporate the pupils' pre-knowledge into the teaching of ESL. Today the pupils' pre-knowledge of ESL is developed into their own vernacular, which I choose to refer to as “Media English”, as opposed to the “Academic English” they are taught in school. Two classes in year 8 have answered a questionnaire, and the pupils show both willingness to learn, and awareness of the necessity of knowing the English language, since most pupils spend a lot of their free-time on the Internet. Additionally, four teachers have answered a second questionnaire, and both pupils and teachers agree that the pupils rather talk in small groups, if they talk at all, a finding which is supported by previous studies. The conclusion is that pupils and teachers need to collaborate, but most importantly, the teachers need to encourage the pupils to talk.

Doctor of Philosophy / Curriculum and Instruction Programs / Linda P. Thurston / This study utilized an ecobehaviorial approach to investigate the relationship between English language learner language use in middle school content area classrooms and instructional grouping configurations. The participants in the study included 28 native Spanish-speaking students who attended urban middle schools. These students were all identified as being English language learners (ELL) in need of English as a second language support services. This study used the Ecobehavioral System for the Complex Recording of Interactional Bilingual Environments (ESCRIBE) software to record data regarding contextual factors and ELL student behavior using 15 second momentary time sampling in mathematics, social studies, science, reading, and language arts classes. The program analyzed this data to determine conditional probabilities of various student behaviors given each contextual factor. The focus contextual factor of this study was instructional grouping configurations: whole class, small group, one-to-one, and individual instruction. The focus student academic responses included academic language production (writing, reading aloud, and talk academic), academic language reception (reading silently, student attention, and other academic), and other non-academic responses. In this study, the participants were most likely to produce academic language during small group and one-to-one instruction. They were least likely to engage in academic talk during whole class and individual instruction. If teachers want to encourage ELL students to produce academic language, they should consider using more small group and one-to-one instructional grouping configurations.

At the beginning of the 21st century, few challenges for educators compared to that of meeting the academic needs of the growing number of limited English proficient (LEP) students. Divergent views on whether those needs were best met through instruction in the student's first language and English, known as bilingual education, or instruction solely in English, compounded the challenge and led to varied language support programs. The present study looked at the prekindergarten (preK) language support program as a predictor of 3rd grade reading achievement of students with the intention of helping educators understand how best to serve LEP students. The study included an analysis of 3rd grade reading achievement for four groups of students with a primary home language of Spanish who attended bilingual or ESL prekindergarten. Multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA) followed by descriptive discriminant analysis (DDA) was used to analyze scores from the Iowa Tests of Basic Skills (ITBS) reading test and the Texas Assessment of Knowledge and Skills (TAKS) reading test. No statistically significant difference in 3rd grade reading achievement was found among the four groups at the .05 level. There was, however, a small-to-medium effect size. The MANOVA indicated that the group to which the students belonged accounted for 5.5% of the variance in their scores. The DDA revealed the ITBS explained most of the difference in the group performance. The findings suggest that ESL instruction is a viable option to bilingual instruction for LEP preK students.

When the Bush administration set out to revolutionize public education through the requirements commanded by No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 (NCLB), framers of the legislation chose language that appeared inclusive of all students in U.S. schools. The law demands that English language learners take the mandated exams early in their academic careers in the United States even though research indicates most will fail due to lack of time to acquire sufficient language proficiently to demonstrate their learning on the exams. Viewed through a critical theory lens, the inclusive nature of NCLB is in fact, oppressing ELL students. One district in Texas The study involved ELL students in grades 1-12 in a school district in North Central Texas that uses its family literacy center as an intervention to aid ELL families in English language acquisition. Students fell into three categories: students and parents who attend the family literacy center English classes, students whose parents attend the family literacy center English classes but the students do not attend, and students and parents who do not attend the family literacy center English classes. The quantitative data for the study were reading and math Texas Assessment of Knowledge and Skills (TAKS) and Texas English Language Proficiency Assessment System (TELPAS) scores of ELL students administered by the district in spring 2005. The independent variable was attendance at the family literacy center English classes. A series of one-way analyses of variance (ANOVA) and descriptive statistics (mean, standard deviation, homogeneity of variance) was applied to the data and significant differences were observed on only two measures of the TELPAS. The qualitative data were phenomenological interviews of teachers at the district-run family literacy center. Data derived from in-depth phenomenological interviews were between August and September 2005.