This study identifies the academic vocabulary from the IGCSE science textbooks by using online software. Then compare the words identified with the new Academic Vocabulary List (AVL) (Gardner & Davies, 2013a) to generate 139 academic core vocabulary (ACV) from Chapter 1 of the science textbooks. A trial lesson is conducted to explore ways of teaching those ACV to a group of ESL/EFL students in an international high school programme in Mainland China, where English is the medium of instruction. The researcher utilizes an inductive, inquiry-based approach to teach the lesson, with visuals as the main teaching aids. The measurement instruments include a pre-test, an immediate post-test and a one-week delayed post-test. A questionnaire is employed after students’ participation of the trial lesson unit, in order to get students’ perspectives on and perceptions of such an academic vocabulary learning LAC programme. The results suggest that learning the meaning of ACV through pictures is effective to students. The majority of students (93.3%) believe that the learning of ACV will benefit them in academic study, although almost half of them (40%) think that participation of such an academic vocabulary learning programme is not necessary. Although students have shown improvement in the tests, the research result is very likely to be only applicable to this particular group of students at this specific time of the academic year. This is because these students are generally positive about learning and have very good interaction with the teacher and classmates in the classroom. They are from Class A, which consists of students of relatively higher English ability. Another important factor is that this study is taken at the end of an academic year for Year 10 students. One implication of the findings is that for future study of this type, it is important to test students’ vocabulary size with reference to the new AVL so that the research can be more focused on students’ real needs. The study implies that the time of the study (at the beginning of a new semester or at the end of an academic year), the students’ English proficiency level and the instructor of the lesson are crucial factors that might affect the study. The current study also indicates that the students’ own content teacher plays a vital role in their science key academic vocabulary learning, i.e., the content teacher seems to be in the best position to teach content vocabulary, as the study finds that students are more likely to learn academic vocabulary during class time, rather than spending extra time on vocabulary learning after class. / published_or_final_version / Education / Master / Master of Education

Imitation, modeling, emulation: these are terms frequently appearing in reference to the teaching of writing. Their history includes the model teacher, the materials used as models, and the modeling method. Two-thirds of this work focuses on imitation's applications in the teaching of composition in America 1636-1988 (an overview of the "petty" or grammar schools, the private academies, and the early colleges). The remaining third traces imitation's use from pre-Greco-Roman times through the Renaissance. Imitation methods date back to the beginnings of rhetoric; they were the teaching paradigm until at least the Middle Ages. The ideal model teacher had a close relationship with few students at a time, was a moral model, and was a practicing professional. Models were at first current speeches, but expanded to include poetry, sermons, letters, and finally all types of prose. Problems in application occurred when models became dated or removed from their purpose. The imitation method included imitation of the teacher, practice, prelection (criticism and analysis), and emulation, the point at which the student takes off to write original work. In America imitation was clearly the inherited paradigm, but it was weighed down by its legacy from the Middle Ages and Renaissance: over emphasis on style and grammar. Today imitation methods are surfacing as ways of teaching composition. Research is in the embryonic stages. The use of models and of classical imitation methods in today's classrooms seems to be increasing. A study of what imitation was and how it was used may help in avoiding its possible problems and applying its many merits.

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Call number: LD2668 .T4 1951 W48 / Master of Science

A dissertation submitted to the Faculty of Arts Unitrers:Ltyof the witwatersrand, Johannesburg for the degree ~f Master of Arts. Johannesburg, 1992. / This investigat:i.ondemonstrates that school-leavers" experience the greatest amount pf difficulty in answering comprehension questions that demand inferencing related to stylistic effects in written passages. It also demonstrates that the texts use,d in Transvaal Education Department written comprehension examinations and the questions<asked on the texts ar,enot syntactica.lly difficUlt to.process. A brief introduction to comprehension testing in the Republ)~c of •South Africa is followed bY an explanation as to how 2077 scripts from the Transvaal province were seleqted and treated" to establish which questions ma't:riculatioU candid~tes found most, difficult and which the easiest. \\t'he items most ca.ndidates<,failed, and those for which most scored 70% er'more, were then categorised accol:'d.in,•tg•o two , different taxonomies"" to,reveal that the c(}f.ficultquestioIj~ reguire inferencing procedures that easy questions do not. ,/, ,;;:-~ . , ... . .... , _ _ _ ,f,~", ' __ ' ' , , ." ", ,,' ,',", " __ ~~;;;o<'; T,O,conf-rm that comprehensJ.on'·dJ.ffl.cultyfor school"'leavers stems ~rom what they are asked to infer, and not from the inhere\~t syntactic complexity of the t~,ts or questions the:mse:l)ves,the syntax of both,the difficult and easy items is scrutinized. The inferencing tasks demanded of candida~es in the six ~ost difficult questions are desc:.;:ih~d in detai~l."and,sonte,of the findings of this investigation are related·to ongoing research in Britain. The study questions. whe~;:::(er c(;)mp::.~ehertsa1b0inlity is best tested by the kinds of g:jlestir\lclRit'nldSic1atesfound :most difficult and suggests ways teachers may use to prepare candidates for a comprehem~ion examination of this kind.

This dissertation aimed to deepen knowledge and understanding of the impact of individual differences on Second Language (L2) learning and development. It investigated how a learner's chronic regulatory focus (RF, promotion vs. prevention) and regulatory mode (RM, assessment vs. locomotion) are related to linguistic characteristics. It also assessed how RF and RM moderate the effect of task complexity on the linguistic performance of writing, touching a highly controversial issue in the task based language instruction, in terms of complexity, accuracy, and fluency (CAF). In an experiment, 55 college EFL learners were asked to complete the regulatory focus and mode questionnaires, and then to perform two writing tasks with varying task complexity; picture description task and argumentative writing task. For analysis, learners' regulatory foci and modes were evaluated, and learners' writing performances were assessed with three CAF measures. Correlation analyses revealed 1) the positive correlation between the level of assessment and lexical complexity 2) the negative correlation between the level of prevention and all measures of CAF, and 3) the negative correlation between the level of locomotion and accuracy. In order to analyze differences among the four groups divided by the predominance of RF/RM, the One-way ANOVA was conducted. The results revealed the significant mean differences in fluency and complexity across groups. In the analysis testing the effect of task complexity, the Paired sample t-test revealed learners significantly increased fluency and lexical complexity but no change in accuracy. However, the patterns determined from the individual group data were somewhat different from those obtained from the pooled group data. In addition, the results of the analysis of disaggregated data using 4x2 Repeated-measures ANOVA showed a significant main effect of task complexity on the measures of lexical complexity and again a significant main effect of regulatory orientations on the measure of fluency. The results of this study provided empirical support for establish theory and important implications for Second Language (L2) learning and development. / A Dissertation submitted to the School of Teacher Education in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy. / Fall Semester 2018. / November 13, 2018. / Includes bibliographical references. / Mostafa Papi, Professor Directing Dissertation; Michael Leeser, University Representative; Phil Hiver, Committee Member; Elizabeth Jakubowski, Committee Member.

Due in large part to their open access and affordability, community colleges have long played a central role in providing students with immigrant backgrounds who are English language learners (ELLs) with access to postsecondary education. Researchers have noted that English as a second language (ESL) courses have been the primary form of support provided by institutions to foster the college persistence and success of ELLs. Nevertheless, despite their importance, little is known about the extent to which participants who engage in postsecondary ESL programs are likely to succeed in college. Therefore, the purpose of this study is to analyze quantitative administrative data and use qualitative data to examine how ELLs seeking postsecondary education acquire the knowledge, skills, and abilities they need to be successful in college programs. It does so by exploring the role of two ESL pathways at a Large Urban Community College System (LUCCS): (1) the English Language Immersion Program (ELIP) and (2) the traditional ESL sequence. In the quantitative phase of the study, I use a propensity score matching approach together with a large administrative dataset to examine the effects of ESL pathways on ELLs college English enrollment and performance, credit accumulation, and college progression and degree outcomes. I find no evidence that participation in ELIP versus traditional ESL leads to significant impacts on college English enrollment and performance within three and five years. I also find consistent evidence that students who participate in ELIP versus traditional ESL earn fewer college level credits, but they also earn significantly fewer equated credits over three and five years--suggesting they spend less time on remedial coursework. Results also indicate that ELIP participants are more likely to persist and less likely to drop out, but there is no effect on graduation and/or transfer within three and five years. Finally, results indicate that males, younger students (age 23 and younger), and foreign-born, U.S. educated (generation 1.5) students experience less negative impacts on college credits and more positive impacts on several of the longer term outcomes. Next, qualitative methods were used to help explain the quantitative results. In particular, interviews and focus groups were conducted to explore with program instructors, staff, and students' their perceptions of their engagement in ELIP and traditional ESL and its respective role in students' success in college programs. Findings suggest that null impacts on college English enrollment and performance could be explained by the finding that both ESL pathways emphasize the acquisition similar skills and employ parallel instructional approaches to help students acquire these skills. Findings also suggest that negative impacts on college credit completion may be due to the programs' respective college enrollment experience. The structure and length of the traditional ESL sequence helps explain negative results for equated credits. Differences in persistence and drop out as well as differences for subgroups are found to be partially explained by the activities and interactions that are fostered by a high intensity program. This study provides suggestive evidence that the ESL pathway taken by degree-seeking students at LUCCS has important implications for their college outcomes. It also suggests that there exist heterogeneous impacts by gender, age, and immigrant status. ESL program staff and college administrators can use these findings to explore strategies that will better support ELL student success.

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