The main purpose of this study was to examine the effects of type of testing method and reading proficiency level on readers' comprehension scores. A secondary purpose was to examine any interaction between these two factors. In addition, a question of interest was whether Bernhardt's Second Language Reading Model could help explain the comprehension processes of these group of readers. / The subjects were 162 Malaysian ESL students from three levels of reading proficiency courses at the National University of Malaysia. The subjects read a 306-word passage about the Thanksgiving Day holiday. Subjects then performed either a multiple-choice task or an immediate written recall task. Comprehension was measured by the scores obtained on the two tasks. Both tasks were measured on the same scale based upon number of weighted idea units or propositions. / A 3 x 2 Factorial ANOVA was applied to examine the effects of testing method and reading proficiency level on subjects' comprehension scores. The results of the ANOVA reveal that there is a main effect for type of testing method. However, there seems to be no significant effect of proficiency level on the comprehension scores. The results also indicate an absence of interaction between the two factors. The qualitative analysis of 81 recall protocols provides evidence in support of Bernhardt's Second Language Reading Model. / The study calls for the use of multiple-assessment techniques in ESL reading comprehension. The immediate written recall task is recommended as a valid assessment instrument for classroom application. Further pedagogical and testing implications are discussed. / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 54-07, Section: A, page: 2496. / Major Professor: Frederick L. Jenks. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--The Florida State University, 1993.

The purpose of this study is to investigate the effect of cultural bias in essay topics on non-native speaker (NNS) undergraduate writing performance. To do this, this study uses the essay subsection of Florida's College Level Academic Skills Test (CLAST). Motivation for this study came from: (a) a call for research in this area; (b) evidence that racial/ethnic minority groups perform inconsistently on the CLAST essay exam, while White Non-Hispanics demonstrate consistent pass rates across administrations; and (c) evaluations of prior CLAST essay topics that show that some CLAST topics are culturally biased. / In order to determine whether cultural bias in essay topics affects NNS writing performance, other factors that influence writing proficiency were controlled for in the sample selection process and in the research design: the reader, the writer, the task, and the scoring procedure. Each of the 56 subjects in this study was assigned either a culturally biased or culture fair essay topic at random. The mean score of the culturally biased group (n = 29) was then compared to the mean score of the culture-fair group (n = 27). The results of both the parametric and nonparametric statistical tests led to the rejection of the null hypothesis at the 95 percent level of confidence or higher. / The findings of this study are consistent with the alternative hypothesis which states that on average, NNSs produce better writing scores on culture-fair essay topics than on culturally biased essay topics. Thus, if some CLAST exams contain culturally biased essay topics, while some contain culture-fair essay topics, this inconsistency may explain the observed inconsistencies in the pass rates of racial/ethnic minority groups. If exams are not culture-fair, they may not provide equal opportunities for all examinees to achieve a passing score. / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 55-04, Section: A, page: 0890. / Co-Major Professors: Frederick L. Jenks; Elizabeth Platt. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--The Florida State University, 1994.

The original purpose of this study was to explore an alternative concept for selecting multicultural literature for secondary schools in Trinidad, a pluralistic country. The investigator studied models of instruments that are used to select multicultural literature in pluralistic countries, such as Great Britain, Canada, Australia and the United States, where Multicultural Education has been instituted. It was the investigator's intention to create a model for selecting multicultural literature suited to Trinidad's multicultural needs. / The investigator found that no instrument could be sensitized to all human variables, hence the reason that selected literature is often censored. Censorship has no place in intellectual growth and is definitely contrary to the purpose for multicultural literature which seeks to educate about as many cultures as possible. The recommendation, then, is for teachers to prepare to teach their students about culturally sensitive aspects that may appear in the literature being taught. In this way, teachers will not impinge upon the intellectual growth of their students. / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 55-10, Section: A, page: 3083. / Major Professor: Frederick L. Jenks. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--The Florida State University, 1994.

This study assessed the impact of Greek bilingual education programs on (1) the academic achievement of students who attend Greek language schools and Greek bilingual programs, (2) the ability of these students to speak the Greek language; and (3) the ethnic identity and self-concept of the Greek-American students. / The general hypothesis of the study was that Greek-American students who attend Greek schools or Greek bilingual programs will have higher academic achievement, better language preservation and more positive self-concept than those who do not attend such schools. The major purpose of the study was to determine whether Greek bilingual education would prove effective in increasing the Greek-American students' knowledge and ethnic identity. / The study took place in Chicago. The instruments of the study were two questionnaires and a language test. The first questionnaire was the Student Greek Language Attitude Questionnaire (SGLAC) and was used to measure the attitude towards the Greek language. The second questionnaire was the Greek American Student Culture Attitude Inventory (GSCAI), and was used to measure Greek-American students' attitudes toward and knowledge of the Greek culture. The Regents Comprehensive Examination in Modern Greek was used to assess student proficiency in modern Greek. The instruments were administered to two groups of students who attend Greek bilingual schools and students who attend monolingual schools. Also, student school records were obtained to ascertain the academic achievement of students. The size of the sample was exactly 139 students of seventh and eighth grade. All subjects were approximately of equal socioeconomic status. / The collected data were analyzed through quantitative procedures, such as t-test and chi-square analyses. The findings of the study indicated that there were significant differences between Greek-American students who attend Greek schools or Greek bilingual programs and Greek-American students who attend English monolingual schools. / Overall, Greek-American students who attend Greek schools or Greek bilingual programs have higher academic achievement in all the academic areas of study: math, English, social studies, and science. Also they have better preservation of the Greek language and more positive self concept towards their ethnic identity and culture, than Greek-American students who do not attend Greek schools or Greek bilingual programs. / A significant finding is that Greek bilingual education has positive effects on pupils' educational development. / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 54-02, Section: A, page: 0416. / Major Professor: Byron G. Massialas. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--The Florida State University, 1993.

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of practice with rate-controlled speech as compared with practice with speech delivered at normal rates on short-term listening comprehension and levels of confidence of advanced Chinese EFL learners. The present study was designed by incorporating an information processing theory of language learning, a concept of confidence, and the compressed speech technology. / A pretest-posttest control group design was adopted in this study. Twenty-four Chinese advanced EFL learners were randomly assigned to either the experimental (compressed) or the control (normal) group. No significant difference in short-term listening ability or in levels of confidence was detected between the two treatment groups on pretests. / A total of twenty hours of practice was given to the subjects, one hour daily for a period of four weeks. A 35-item short-term listening material was used for each practice session. The experimental group first listened to speech extended (20%) to rates between 120 and 145 wpm, and then to speech at normal rates between 150 and 180 wpm, and finally to speech compressed (20%) to rates between 180 and 215 wpm. Contrastively, the subjects in the control group listened to speech presented at normal rates throughout each practice session. / After adjusting for initial differences in both short-term listening and confidence scores on the covariates (pretests), a significant difference was found between mean short-term listening and mean confidence scores on the posttests at the.05 level. / The data provide strong evidence for significant effects of practice with rate-controlled speech on short-term listening comprehension and confidence level in advanced Chinese EFL learners. / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 53-10, Section: A, page: 3461. / Major Professor: John M. Keller. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--The Florida State University, 1992.

The purpose of this study was to identify the factors that influence international students in their selection of university-related intensive English programs in the southeastern United States and to rate the relative perceived importance of each factor. The study also contained an investigation of the relationships among perceived influence of categories of factors, the culture of the student, and demographic variables. Moreover, it examined the importance of two specific types of factors: student service factors and institutional policy factors. / The Intensive English Program Questionnaire was administered to 314 students enrolled in nine university-affiliated intensive English programs in the southeastern United States. Means were computed for each influencing factor, yielding a rank order of factors by perceived influence. Factors were categorized, and category means were computed. Category means were analyzed in one-way and three-way analyses of variance to examine variation by culture and demographic variables. Means were computed to rate the importance of student service variables. Differences in the perceived importance of institutional policy factor means were analyzed by one-way analysis of variance. / The results showed that the perceived importance of influencing factors could be ranked in order from most to least important. Moreover, the results demonstrated that categories of factors influencing program choice varied by culture, as determined by native language of the students. Categories that varied significantly between groups were academic aspects, influence of others, and university services. Broader cultural groupings showed no significant differences. The study also showed that student services offered by the university are more influential in program choice than are services offered by the intensive English program. Finally, the study demonstrated the importance of a policy whereby academically admissible students are guaranteed admission to the university upon successful completion of the advanced level of the intensive English program. / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 55-03, Section: A, page: 0493. / Major Professor: Frederick L. Jenks. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--The Florida State University, 1994.

The primary goal of the research was to investigate the capability of ESL readers to cope with the interference to reading comprehension in "bottom-up" processing caused by language-based deficiencies through the application of more "top-down" processing. In particular, the study investigated the facilitating effect of thematic context on the completion of a series of cloze tasks by ESL readers. / The 128 subjects in this study were primarily students in intensive English programs at Florida universities. A battery of three cloze tests on the same topic and a battery of three tests on three unrelated topics constituted the instruments in the study. The passages from which the clozes were constructed had been matched for readability, and the clozes had met statistical criteria to be considered equivalent forms. / A one-way analysis of covariance, with TOEFL scores serving as covariate, was applied to determine if the group taking the related-topic clozes performed any differently from the group taking the unrelated-topic clozes. Further observation of the data was carried out by plotting the results of subgroups determined a posteriori. / The correlations between the TOEFL and the cloze battery scores were above.88 for both groups, and no significant difference was found between the groups in the ANCOVA. Similarly, the plotting of scattergrams and graphing of regression lines for subgroups (determined by TOEFL) did not suggest that subjects at different proficiency levels differed in their application of thematic context in the completion of the cloze tasks, although thematic context did appear to interfere with the performance of less proficient subjects. Although the study did not support the notion of compensatory strategies, it was proposed that the cloze may limit the ability to apply top-down processing. The findings were related to the use of thematic materials in ESL curricula and to proficiency testing for admission decisions. / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 49-10, Section: A, page: 2952. / Major Professor: Frederick L. Jenks. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--The Florida State University, 1988.

Determining how prospective and enrolled students perceive an institution can be of significant importance for institutions of higher education, especially if enrollments are low or if efforts are being made to recruit specific groups of students. In recent years, Florida State University (FSU) has had a relatively higher percentage than other Florida public universities of first-time-in-college (FTIC) Hispanic students who were admitted but failed to enroll. The number of Hispanic transfer nonmatriculants also increased between 1985-87. / This study investigated the perceived factors that influenced enrollment decisions of Hispanic students at FSU. A comparison was made between enrollment factors identified by Hispanic student nonenrollees with enrollment factors identified by enrollees. Both FTIC and transfer students from Florida's public community colleges were included in the sample which covered academic years 1987-88 and 1988-89. Data were collected through a self-administered questionnaire and telephone interviews. The response rate was 45 percent for nonenrollees and 68 percent for enrollees. / Results of the survey showed that the most important factors influencing Hispanic students not to enroll at FSU were that FSU was not their first choice, that financial assistance was not received,and that students could not afford to attend. For enrollees, the most important factors were that they had received prompt information about FSU's programs, that FSU fulfilled the students' preference for a large institution, and that they had been accepted to the program of their choice. Data from open-ended questions in the survey and interviews provided additional information about students' perceptions of the university, in areas of recruitment practices, role models, campus environment, and others. / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 51-03, Section: A, page: 0758. / Major Professor: Louis W. Bender. / Thesis (Ed.D.)--The Florida State University, 1990.

In this study, the effects of instructions and time on other-correction behavior by native speakers (NSs) of English when speaking with nonnative speakers (NNSs) and on how much NNSs talk in conversations with NSs were examined. / The subjects were selected by availability from the student body of Barat College in Lake Forest, Illinois and were randomly assigned to one of two groups of pairs. These pairs, consisting of one NS and one NNS, met on three occasions. Each time, they received written instructions directing them to converse for at least ten minutes. The conversations were tape recorded. The two groups differed in that the NSs in one group were also instructed to correct the English of their NNS partners while those in the other group did not receive such instructions. / The number of other-corrections in each session was counted, and the amount of time during which the NNS was speaking was measured in seconds. Analysis of Covariance (ANCOVA) was performed on each of these measured variables using a mixed design of two treatment levels and three trials, with NNS scores on the SPEAK Test of spoken English proficiency serving as the covariate. No effect of instructions or time on other-correction or speaking quantity was found. Also, no significant relationship between NNS proficiency in spoken English and other-correction or speaking quantity was found. However, a significant relationship between other-correction and age of the NS was found; higher other-correction scores were associated with older NS subjects. / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 49-10, Section: A, page: 2952. / Major Professor: F. L. Jenks. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--The Florida State University, 1988.

In this study the results are presented of a disciplined inquiry into the area of motivation to learn and systematic ways of influencing learners in this regard. Attention focuses on the clinical use of motivational messages, a strategy based on Keller's (1984, 1987a&b) ARCS model. Through this strategy learners are prompted, by means of, usually written, messages, normally delivered outside the classroom periods, to adjust their disposition to undertake learning tasks. Such messages are designed and used according to a systematic, replicable process. / It is defended that a naturalistic mode of inquiry is the most appropriate one for the particular research interest, and that, within that mode, a case study approach, within an embedded multiple-case perspective, is called for. Reference is made to the existing knowledge base in the area of motivational design, as well as to that of the chosen research paradigm and methodology. / Three basic research interests are addressed in the study, i.e. that of the validity of the strategy under consideration, the question as to how and why the messages work, and the issue of their optimality. Evidence is presented and discussed to substantiate the proposition that the motivational messages strategy worked similarly well in the case of two of its applications almost three years apart. Of a total of ten propositions regarding the interaction between the messages and the learners, the messages and the instructor, and the messages and the environment, nine are found substantiated and one insubstantiated in the light of the data collected. It is also argued that evidence supports the contention that the strategy adapts itself to the circumstances of its application. / As to the overall interpretation of the totality of phenomena discussed, the study concludes that motivational messages should not be looked upon in isolation, but as part of a more complex motivational system, in the context of which they enhance the effectiveness of the other components involved. / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 51-02, Section: A, page: 0403. / Major Professor: John M. Keller. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--The Florida State University, 1990.