published_or_final_version / Education / Master / Master of Education

published_or_final_version / Education / Master / Master of Education

published_or_final_version / Education / Doctoral / Doctor of Philosophy

published_or_final_version / Language Studies / Master / Master of Arts

published_or_final_version / Language Studies / Master / Master of Arts

A basic goal of an English for Specific Purposes (ESP) program is to enable the language learner to function within an academic discipline, science and technology occupation, or a vocational occupation by using English. This teacher researcher case study explores the English literacy development of three adult Japanese student pilots within a holistic English for Specific Purposes (ESP) program. The setting of this five month naturalistic case study was on a small airport in the Southwestern United States. Experiential literacy events were provided to encourage student pilots to develop English literacy while learning aviation concepts. A preliminary case study with one student was conducted to evaluate and modify data collection methods, and ESP curriculum and organization. Data collection included participant observation and field notes, dialogue journals between students and the teacher researcher, oral and written interviews, checklists, and audio-taping methods. Three themes emerged through the constant comparative method of data analysis: (1) self perception, (2) developing relationships, and (3) developing literacy strategies. These three themes reflect the process of how and through what particular issues students developed English literacy. Findings from the analysis of data suggest that English literacy develops differently, and has distinct meanings for each person. In contrast to traditional ESP and ESL programs that emphasizes the transmission of language, a holistic ESP program provides opportunities for adult student pilots to develop English literacy through a process of inventing and appropriating English for his/her own purposes and needs. Findings also indicate that learning the form and function of language is not enough. Other language processes and social interactions enhance learning and support language development. Current research within the English for Specific Purposes field focuses on the description of the language as product of a particular academic/scientific/occupational situation that a student needs to learn to be successful. This dissertation seeks to refocus the direction in ESP research and contribute to the understandings of the process of literacy development in a holistic ESP program.

No description available.

The effectiveness of a bilingual and a monolingual treatment condition was compared in the receptive training of novel action words presented to two bilingual, Spanish-dominant, minority-language preschoolers. In the bilingual condition, one set of actions and referents was trained in Spanish (L1) followed by training in English (L2). In the monolingual condition, another set of actions and referents was trained in L2 alone. For one child, superior L2 learning occurred in the bilingual condition, results consonant with reports by Garcia (1983a) and by Oskarsson (1975). For the other child, unexpectedly, the monolingual condition resulted in superior L2 learning. Her findings suggest that the effect of preference to learn in L2 may result in behavior which runs counter to expectations of performance based on observed dominance. Generalization of receptive learning to expressive performance was also assessed. Both children performed at sufficient levels to indicate learning was generalized from reception to expression.

This study examines the impact of two different models of teaching English to Chinese children, to see whether it meets learners&rsquo / needs. These two different approaches appear to lead to different result for children. The results of the analysis appear to show that this teaching programme is failing the children at Z&rsquo / SL. Therefore, the course needs to be reviewed and improved. Four research tools were used in this study: interviews, questionnaires, classroom observation, and document analysis. Interviews and questionnaires were distributed to coordinators and teachers at both schools. Questionnaires were also distributed to the parents of students. Classroom observation was done during normal class time by the researcher. The document analysis dealt with the analysis of the textbooks.<br /> <br /> The results of the study appear to show that the teaching programme in English at Z&rsquo / SL has failed to meet the children&rsquo / s needs. The materials are not designed for young learner&rsquo / s needs. They just emphasize the four skills of English in an English environment, but neglect the relatively unstable language situation of the children. The teaching methodology emphasized the direct method, but neglected children&rsquo / s needs. Children should be taught to know how to use a language in the society they live in and to learn a second language effectively for actual use. This study concludes that two-way bilingual education and the cognitive developmental approach are most effective to develop dual language proficiency for Chinese children in their native language and English in order to bring up the children as members of Chinese society. Additive bilingualism education is also appropriate for Chinese children when the home language is a majority language and the school is adding a second minority or majority language. Another consideration is that collaboration between parents and teachers is more effective to provide opportunities for children to maintain their own language and culture while children acquire a second language.

No description available.