<p> The purpose of this study was to determine what instructional strategies expert teachers of English language learners (ELLs) in the primary grades perceive as most effective for teaching reading to ELLs. Another purpose of this study was to determine what expert teachers of ELLs in the primary grades perceive as the barriers to the reading achievement of English learners. The final purpose of this study was to determine what strategies expert teachers of ELLs in the primary grades recommend to overcome perceived barriers. Quantitative data were collected from effective teachers who taught primary grades in Riverside County, California, using an electronic format. The effective teachers were identified based on teaching at a school with an API of 800 or more with an ELL population of 40% or more and based on data criteria. Effective teachers in the primary grades were chosen based on student achievement, Dynamic Indicators of Basic Early Literacy Skills (DIBELS) assessments, and site principal recommendations. A Likert scale was used for the survey. The effective teachers ranked effective instructional strategies in the five components of reading and had the ability to insert additional instructional strategies, barriers, and ways they overcame barriers in an open-ended question on the survey. The findings indicated the participants found the instructional strategies for teaching the five components of reading to be effective to teach ELLs in the primary grades to read. Based on the data analyzed, all teachers in the primary grades should be knowledgeable in the five components of reading as well as the effective instructional strategies for implementation. In addition to ensuring that teacher preparation programs and all current teachers in Grades K-3 are prepared for teaching reading to ELLs in the primary grades, this researcher also recommends that the leaders at the sites be well-versed in the five components of reading and effective instructional strategies. Additional research is recommended to identify leadership trends at the successful schools, such as accountability, data used to guide instruction, staff development planning, and student intervention programs.</p>

<p> This study investigated whether learners with a phonemic vowel quantity distinction (VQD) in their L1 have an advantage when acquiring allophonic vowel length in L2. Many languages contain a phonological rule to devoice final consonants. While English maintains a phonemic contrast between voiced and voiceless syllable codas ("bat" vs. "bad," e.g.), it accompanies an allophonic contrast in the duration of the preceding vowel, resulting in longer vowels before voiced codas than before voiceless ones. German-L1 English learners (group 1), whose L1 has devoiced codas and VQD, and Russian-L1 English learners (group 2), whose L1 also devoices codas but has no VQD, performed a vowel production and XAB vowel perception task, designed to determine whether group 1 perceived and produced longer vowels before English voiced stop codas, compared to group 2. Both perceived but did not produce vowel lengthening before English voiced codas, which was significantly different from native English speakers. </p>

<p> The increased number of English language learners (ELLs) presents a difficult task for middle school building principals. The challenge of ensuring the success of ELLs in future years will force schools to rethink educational practices. This study focused on how middle school building principals strategically planned, organized, and managed their schools to meet the needs of ELLs. The phenomenological study was based on the growing student population of English as a second language (ESL) in school districts in Eastern New York. Ten principals were interviewed and a triangulation of data was achieved through observation and collection of documents. The researcher found through bridging that middle school principals engaged in relationship building with parents, students, teachers, and community to create a sense of belonging in the school. As a result, principals are encouraged to provide professional opportunities for the faculty to become certified ESL teachers, accessible to community members, bilingual, and engaged in community building.</p>

<p>This study investigates features of high-level academic writing in English with the aim of understanding the development of L2 English learners&rsquo; academic writing skills as they follow a course of study in an English-speaking country. The study focuses on L2 writers&rsquo; text quality and use of clause subordinators as a measure of writing complexity. The typology of the writers&rsquo; L1s provides the organizational framework for the study, with three language typology groupings determined by a writer&rsquo;s L1 word order tendency: (1) configurational languages, (2) nonconfigurational languages, and (3) Asian languages. </p><p> The corpus analyzed included written work collected at the beginning, the middle, and the end of a semester from 19 international graduate-level students enrolled in a semester-long academic writing course specifically for international students. The principal features examined in the corpus of texts collected were writers&rsquo; use and frequency of subordinators, and text comprehensibility. To provide a comparative reference for the academic writing course findings, a separate dataset composed of 240 TOEFL^&reg;iBT independent essays was also examined for evidence of similar features. </p><p> The results revealed that (1) writers from configurationally different L1s write texts in English that are significantly different in quality and complexity, and; (2) the analysis of the significant differences between groups&mdash;sentence length, sentence complexity, comprehensibility, total subordinator frequency, and specific subordinator usage&mdash;shows the groups are distinct in their text construction and use of subordination, and that the configurational group&rsquo;s texts are most different from other groups. Writers&rsquo; self-reflections on the progression of their writing skills during the study abroad context add insights to the quantitative findings. The study&rsquo;s findings suggest directions for future research in L2 writing development, inform EFL pedagogy and L2 English learners&rsquo; preparation for study abroad, and underscore the importance of colleges and universities providing comprehensive writing support to incoming international students. </p>

<p> Adult second language (L2) learners often experience difficulty producing and perceiving non-native phonological contrasts. Even highly proficient bilinguals, who have been exposed to an L2 for long periods of time, struggle with difficult contrasts, such as /r/-/l/ for Japanese learners of English. To account for the relative ease or difficulty with which L2 learners perceive and acquire non-native contrasts, theories of (L2) speech perception often appeal to notions of similarity. But how is similarity best determined?</p><p> In this dissertation I explored the predictions of two theoretical approaches to similarity comparison in the second language, and asked: [1] How should L2 sound similarity be measured? [2] What is the nature of the representations that guide sound similarity? [3] To what extent can the influence of the native language be overcome?</p><p> In Chapter 2, I tested a `legos' (featural) approach to sound similarity. Given a distinctive feature analysis of Spanish and English vowels, I investigated the hypothesis that feature availability in the L1 grammar constrains which target language segments will be accurately perceived and acquired by L2 learners (Brown [1998], Brown [2000]). Our results suggest that second language acquisition of phonology is not limited by the phonological features used by the native language grammar, nor is the presence/use of a particular phonological feature in the native language grammar sufficient to trigger redeployment. I take these findings to imply that feature availability is neither a necessary, nor a sufficient condition to predict learning outcomes.</p><p> In Chapter 3, I extended a computational model proposed by Feldman et al. [2009] to nonnative speech perception, in order to investigate whether a sophisticated `rulers' (spatial) approach to sound similarity can better explain existing interlingual identification and discrimination data from Spanish monolinguals and advanced L1 Spanish late-learners of English, respectively. The model assumes that acoustic distributions of sounds control listeners' ability to discriminate a given contrast. I found that, while the model succeeded in emulating certain aspects of human behavior, the model at present is incomplete and would have to be extended in various ways to capture several aspects of nonnative and L2 speech perception.</p><p> In Chapter 4 I explored whether the phonological relatedness among sounds in the listeners native language impacts the perceived similarity of those sounds in the target language. Listeners were expected to be more sensitive to the contrast between sound pairs which are allophones of different phonemes than to sound pairs which are allophones of the same phoneme in their native language. Moreover, I hypothesized that L2 learners would experience difficulty perceiving and acquiring target language contrasts between sound pairs which are allophones of the same phoneme in their native language. Our results suggest that phonological relatedness may influence perceived similarity on some tasks, but does not seem to cause long-lasting perceptual difficulty in advanced L2 learners.</p><p> On the basis of those findings, I argue that existing models have not been adequately explicit about the nature of the representations and processes involved in similarity-based comparisons of L1 and L2 sounds. More generally, I describe what I see as a desirable target for an explanatorily adequate theory of cross-language influence in L2 phonology.</p>

<p> A disproportionate number of high school dropouts are Latino immigrant students with emergent English language skills. Statistically, students that meet these demographic characteristics are more likely to drop out of high school before receiving their diploma. Thus, these same students will then enter the workforce ill equipped for job advancement or the requirements of postsecondary education. </p><p> A set of negative experiences, referred to as the process of marginalization, may occur in high school, leaving these students alienated and less confident of success than their English-speaking peers. This study used a qualitative research method approach to investigate the factors that lead some high school students to drop out and others to persevere and to become academically successful. This situation was explored by trying to understand Mexican and Central American immigrant students' perceptions of and reactions to possible high school marginalization processes and how this process effects their academic success in 11th and 12th grades. </p><p> More specifically, this dissertation study employed a qualitative design to develop a case study of students and a school and community profile. Several instruments used in the study included a sampling and eligibility questionnaire, a semistructured questionnaire, and an open-ended Interview with high school Latino immigrant youth to examine their perceptions of the process of marginalization and the resiliency factors that they used to overcome them. Based on the study's results, several recommendations are made for schools to reform the negative impact of marginalization and increase feelings of empowerment and inclusion for this group</p>

<p> Providing students at risk of becoming long-term English learners (LTELs) with the instruction and support they need to reclassify as fluent English proficient before entering high school increases their access to grade-level or advanced placement curriculum that will satisfy college entrance requirements and, presumably, postsecondary academic success. The purpose of this study is to determine whether the support provided through College Success Path by the Students First Unified School District (a pseudonym) to its seventhand eighthgradersat risk of becoming LTELs has the potential to lead to university matriculation.</p><p> Descriptive (mean, median, mode, and standard deviation) and inferential (independent measure <i>t</i>-test) statistical analyses of student learning outcomes revealed nonsignificant results at the .05 level.</p><p> Notable findings emerged after looking at score distributions and frequencies (cross-tabulations) for the District Writing Assessments and California Standardized Tests, English Language Arts learning outcomes. The treatment group experienced greater numbers of students moving from lower proficiency levels to higher proficiency levels in terms of the posttests than the control group did. </p><p> Descriptive and inferential statistical analyses of identified student learning outcomes did not yield significant results at the .05 level. Cross-tabulations conducted to analyze score distributions on the same student learning outcomes revealed results in favor of the treatment group. However, A-G completion rates and academic GPA data revealed results in favor of the control group. </p><p> The reality regarding the English learner (EL) population in California is changing as the number of LTELs increases in our public schools. In light of current state legislation, providing equal educational opportunities for ELs, especially LTELs, is vital to their success. This relates to the theoretical foundation of this study because it hearkens back to Paulo Freire's idea of actively participating in one's current reality and working to transform rather than conform to the world around them.</p>

<p> Instead of accepting the adage that adolescent motherhood had a negative effect in young women's lives, this researcher used a portraiture methodology to illuminate the goodness of adolescent motherhood for two <i>Mexicana </i> women in a southern New Mexico mountain town (Lawrence-Lightfoot &amp; Davis, 1997; Pillow, 2004). I examined how the ideological conditions of the hierarchy of gender that femininity and motherhood contextualize the conditions in which two first-generation Mexican American women became pregnant while still in high school. I framed that result within the historical structuring of the education of adolescent mothers to understand how the participants were able to experience a campus-based daycare, parenting program, and health center when they most needed it in order to graduate from high school. This research followed how the participants contended over the years with issues of legal work status, culture, healthcare, romance, language, resiliency, agency, discipline, contraceptives, and sexuality. From 24 hours of audio transcriptions, the experiences of the two participants were presented chronologically from 2004-2013 in order to show how context informed the decisions the women made at the intersection of woman, mother, worker, and student identities. Through a feminist standpoint, I examined the portraits to reveal important insight into the experience of adolescent motherhood to illuminate possibilities for social justice (Bowman, 2011). My findings are based upon the themes that emerged from the data and the critical consciousness I gained from researching their experiences.</p>

<p> Learning to speak a foreign language can be a difficult and time-consuming endeavor, involving verbal exchanges in a target language. It is a process that includes learning about, understanding, and to some extent identifying with members of another culture who speak a different language. The inclusion of collaborative activities in the language classroom provides a natural setting for conversation and increases the learners' opportunity to use the target language. When working in small groups or in pairs, students are practically forced to communicate to accomplish a learning task. Students learn together so they are subsequently able to perform better individually. </p><p> The primary purpose of the current study was to examine if a collaborative assessment preparation strategy with immediate feedback used in an intensive adult English language program at the Defense Language Institute English Language Center (DLI) had an effect on achievement, confidence and satisfaction with the learning experience. A secondary purpose was to examine the relationships among students' entry proficiency level, language anxiety, confidence, satisfaction and achievement when DLI students used the collaborative strategy. DLI provides English language training to members of foreign militaries from over 100 countries. This quasi-experimental study included 76 participants from 21 different countries, enrolled in upper-intermediate General English courses at DLI. The instructional intervention used by participants in the experimental group included individual and pair completion of practice quizzes using immediate feedback assessment technique (IF AT) answer sheets. Participants in the control condition went through the same lesson plans as their experimental group peers but without completing any of the practice quizzes. Data were collected over the course of one week using test scores, survey instruments, interviews and classroom observations. </p><p> Results showed that there was no significant difference between control group and experimental group on the outcome measures. However, the relationship between confidence and achievement was significant. Analysis of learner perceptions of the instructional strategy revealed three overarching themes: (1) students valued collaborating and discussing with peers during quiz completion; (2) the feedback they received; and (3) learning from their mistakes. Students perceived making mistakes and disagreements with their partners as less enjoyable. Instructors mentioned the immediate feedback learners received, the active learner engagement, and learner confidence as the most beneficial attributes of the intervention. The overarching concern of instructors was the time it took to complete the quizzes, due to the already limited time available to cover course content. </p><p> Limitations of the study include the short data collection period resulting in limited exposure to the intervention, the uniqueness of the participants, and the inclusion of only upper-intermediate level books in the experiment. Future research should include all levels of the General English curriculum, participant scores from practice quizzes, and learner perceptions by culture group.</p>

<p> There have been multiple research studies focused on cross-cultural and interlanguage pragmatics in general, as well as specific studies analyzing the production of apologies from different native languages and from English learning contexts. However, the research related to Hispanic learning contexts of English as a Foreign Language (EFL) is more limited. In Colombia, only two pragmatic studies have been conducted about the production of speech acts and both of them focused on the pragmatics of Spanish as mother tongue. </p><p> This project analyzes the pragmatic competence development of Colombian EFL learners in a pedagogical environment where English pragmatics is not reinforced, comparing the selection of apology strategies used by EFL learners in role play situations in order to determine the variation between proficiency levels. Finally, retrospective verbal reports from the EFL learners and perception forms of American native speakers of English were collected in order to assess cross-cultural perceptions regarding the intelligibility, appropriateness, and politeness of the apologies. </p><p> The results of the study show that even without explicit pragmatic education or immersion opportunities in the target culture, these Colombian EFL learners have acquired some pragmatic competence in English. However, their general selection of apology strategies do not approximate either English or Spanish. Also, their discourse reflects the Colombian patterns of social behavior and preserve many features of Spanish pragmatics, which reinforces the idea of a transitional stage of inter-language pragmatic development.</p>