Background: Students of diverse ethnic backgrounds, including nonnative English speakers, also known as those who speak English as an additional language (EAL) are increasingly enrolling in prelicensure nursing programs. Information regarding success of EAL nursing students is limited, with emphasis on traditional prelicensure programs. Purpose: The purpose of this study was to explore the lived experience of recent EAL graduates of an accelerated second-degree baccalaureate nursing program by offering a firsthand account of being an EAL student in this type of nursing program. Theoretical Framework: Leininger's Theory of Cultural Care Diversity and Universality and Vygotsky's Theory of Socio-Historical Learning served as the theoretical framework. Methods: The research tradition of hermeneutic phenomenology utilizing the van Manen approach was applied to this study. Results: The study revealed five major themes: bridging cultures, needing more time, myriad of emotions, network of support, and finding my way. Several subthemes emerged to support major themes illustrating the complexity of being an EAL student in a fast-paced and challenging program. Conclusions: Exploring experiences of EAL graduates while enrolled in an accelerated second-degree baccalaureate nursing program offers insight into the challenges faced by EAL students and potentially influences nursing education, practice, and policy to improve the numbers of diverse nurses.

This study explored the phenomenon of negative transfer from English in the writing of proficient heritage vs. second language learners of Russian. Although a number of studies have examined negative transfer from English into Russian, and other studies have compared the performance of heritage language learners (HLLs) to second language learners (SLLs), little research has investigated the phenomenon of negative transfer in the writing of both HLLs and SLLs and compared the two groups. Thus, this study employed an exploratory approach to empirically investigate the differences in language transfer between the two groups of learners. Specifically, the study addressed the following questions: (1) What are the most common types of negative transfer from English that occur in the writing of students of Russian at the Intermediate High - Advanced levels? (2) Are there differences in types and amount of negative transfer used by HLLs vs. SLLs at comparable levels of proficiency? If so, what are the differences? The research was conducted at the Russian Flagship Program at Portland State University. Participants were 13 advanced students of Russian - 6 heritage speakers of Russian and 7 native speakers of English. The study analyzed the written work of students completed during one quarter. Errors were coded into 13 categories that emerged from the data and frequencies were compared between the groups. The results found that none of the errors were more frequent than 5 per 1000 words. The most common categories were semantic extension, commas after an introductory phrase, lexical borrowings, and null subject errors. However, some categories of errors were associated with only one group, SLL or HLL, and some were not. Specifically, the categories of null subject errors, loan translations, conjunction "yesli/li" (if/whether), adjectives for nationality, and negation errors were found only in the writing of second language learners. There were only two categories limited to the group of heritage language learners: conceptual shift and number errors. The categories of semantic extension, comma after an introductory phrase, lexical borrowings, reflexive possessive pronoun "svoj", capitalization, and preposition errors were found in writing of both groups of students. Overall, second language learners made more transfer errors that heritage learners. Ultimately, this study will be of interest to anyone interested in heritage and second language acquisition of Russian, language transfer in learners of Russian, or the teaching of advanced language courses.

The purpose of this study was to investigate, firstly, some Swedish upper secondary school students’ attitudes towards speaking in the English as a second language (ESL) classroom and, secondly, how these students suggest that speech anxiety should be dealt with. The participating students were both male and female and attended different school years and English courses. This qualitative study was based on interviews which were later transcribed and analyzed in relation to the research questions. The findings show that the students perceive speech anxiety differently depending on the context. The students also expressed that a way of reducing speech anxiety would be for teachers to communicate with their students to find solutions considering any discomfort and for the students themselves to be more prepared. It has been suggested that it is important to deal with speech anxiety in order to promote proficiency development. Therefore, the most important thing for teachers to do, according to the informants, is to make arrangements in the ESL classroom, together with the students concerned, which could help to make them more willing to communicate. However, the informants also suggest that students’ self-improvement, such as better preparations and reducing negative thoughts, needs to be included in the process to prevent speech anxiety for them to feel more comfortable when speaking in the ESL classroom.

The purpose of this study was to increase our knowledge of how upper-secondary English teachers in Sweden work to ensure that students who are socially passive reach the learning objectives regarding oral proficiency in the English subject. The study explores how six English teachers interpret the underlying factors causing students to be passive in English class, and what they do about this. The data consists of semi-structured interviews which were transcribed and analyzed using thematic analysis. The findings show that even though the interviewed teachers could agree that it is important to identify the reasons why some students show a passive behavior in class, this is not always possible in practice. Furthermore, the teachers seem to have developed some strategies to ensure that the concerned students reach the learning objectives. In addition, they agree that the socially passive students should be able to reach the targets despite their passivity. Despite this, the teachers also express a need for continued education in this regard. In particular, teachers who graduated recently and have limited experience are finding it more difficult to deal with students who are unwilling to participate in second language learning, which causes a situation where some students may not get the help they need to develop the desired language skills.

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This qualitative study explored stakeholders’ (administrators, teachers, and parents) perspectives of English learners in the learning center, a response to intervention model, at a school district in Central California. Research existed concerning the yearly academic growth of students in a learning center, but there was a lack of knowledge about what these stakeholders thought of it. It is important to find out what they think of the program in order to see if it is a positive or negative for English learners. This study adds to the existing scholarship by describing what the stakeholders think of this intervention for English learners. Using interviews and observations, this qualitative study showed that parents of these English learners were satisfied with their children participating in this program and had seen growth in their children over the year. These findings may be useful for administrators, teachers and parents of English learners who want to provide reading intervention like the one at the learning center. This study concludes by providing areas of further research and conclusions.

The purpose of this study was to analyze the perceptions of public elementary school principals in Kern County who have participated in the SB 472 ELPD Institute and their preparedness as instructional leaders for teachers teaching English learner students. And to identify what resources, support, and/or professional development opportunities elementary school principals feel that they need as instructional leaders to support teachers teaching English learner students the skills to gain academic English language proficiency and content knowledge. Through the use of a survey instrument and interviews key findings were identified and discussions of the findings in relation to current research literature are noted. Suggestions for future research and recommendations for educators working with the English learner student population are included in this dissertation.

An interdisciplinary approach to learning styles and teaching styles among Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander students (NHPI) and Western teachers, this thesis suggests specific learning components necessary for academic success for Oceanic learners. This was accomplished by examining academic literature in the fields of anthropology, history, intercultural communication, linguistics, Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages (TESOL), and Hawaiian studies. The thesis blends the current literature with qualitative research findings from questionnaire results of university students from the Pacific Islands and questionnaire results from Western university faculty. The results of this research provide insight to addressing tactile learning, natural environments, spirit/core wisdom, and awareness of the differences in communication styles for NHPI students in a U.S. university. The results also provide insight on two major themes that inhibit learning: first, that NHPI students face fear and a lack of confidence on a daily basis in the general class environment, and second, that their teachers also have a low regard of the NHPI student because of unmet expectations that are culturally relevant to Western education systems, but that are in direct contrast of Oceanic values. This thesis suggests that both teachers and students often miscommunicate by unknowing conflicting value systems.

This study investigated the salient cultural variables in play in an adult TESOL classroom. Two instructors paired students and offered their rationales for having done so. They created 71 dyads, which were examined and categorized according to Storch's four patterns of interaction. Results showed that the instructor who created pairs according to certain student cultural variables had a 12% higher rate of acquisition-enhancing patterns than did the instructor who did not pair in this same fashion. Instructor rationales were then analyzed to determine which cultural variables were found to be most salient in the creation of each of the four interaction patterns. Among them were issues of facework, trust, cultural norm remaking, and role ascription or achievement. By extension, the findings showed that using cultural variables when pairing learners in the TESOL classroom might significantly enhance second language acquisition.

China is the top sending country of international students to Western universities. Chinese students can benefit a country's economy and aid in internationalizing campuses, providing opportunities for students to develop global competencies. However, as the number of Chinese students is increasing, so is the awareness of their difficulties in acculturating to the Western system of higher education. The literature attributes some of these difficulties to cultural, academic, and social factors. Filling a gap in the research, this cross-level study compares the preparation programs of four different types of secondary institutions. Results of surveys and interviews were correlated between faculty and alumni evaluating satisfaction and effectiveness of university preparation. The students generally were satisfied with their preparation training as compared to the faculty at the secondary schools. Results of this study will help bridge the gap of eradicating the difficulties Chinese students face in the Western higher education system.