Compared to research on English as a First Language (EL1) reading comprehension, there is a dearth of studies investigating English as a Second Language (ESL) reading comprehension. This dissertation reports findings from two studies which examined the cognitive processes underlying English reading comprehension in Chinese ESL students. Two-hundred and forty six Grade 8 students in an English immersion program in a junior middle school in China were administered a battery of reading-related and reading comprehension tests. The first study investigated the cognitive predictors of English reading comprehension in these students. It tested whether the Simple View of Reading model (Gough & Tunmer, 1986) applied to Chinese ESL students and whether the effects of breadth and depth of vocabulary contributed to different levels of reading comprehension. The results showed that the Simple View of Reading model did not predict Chinese English-immersion students’ reading comprehension well. Vocabulary as well as inference and strategy added further variance to the general understanding of text. Vocabulary breadth and depth explained unique variance in reading comprehension, with vocabulary breadth contributing more to general understanding of text and vocabulary depth to deep processing of text. The second study explored characteristics of reading comprehension difficulties among Chinese English-immersion students. Three groups of comprehenders matched on age, nonverbal intelligence, and word reading speed were identified from the 246 Grade 8 Chinese English-immersion students: 33 unexpected poor comprehenders, 28 expected average comprehenders, and 30 unexpected good comprehenders. The three groups differed in vocabulary and higher-level processes. Vocabulary breadth and depth distinguished between the unexpected poor comprehenders and the expected average comprehenders. Inference, strategy, listening comprehension, summary writing, and morphological awareness distinguished between the expected average comprehenders and the unexpected good comprehenders. The findings suggest that vocabulary is the main source of reading comprehension difficulties in these unexpected poor comprehenders. The advantage of the unexpected good comprehenders group was primarily due to discourse comprehension and strategic processes, and is only possible with high language proficiency. Taken together, both vocabulary and higher-level skills are essential to successful reading comprehension in Chinese English-immersion students. The higher-level skills can be used more efficiently to help these students’ reading comprehension when they have acquired adequate vocabulary knowledge. / Thesis (Ph.D, Education) -- Queen's University, 2012-12-19 11:58:53.81

The cognitive processes underlying reading achievement in Chinese English immersion students are not yet clear. This study investigated the effects of phonological awareness (PA) and naming speed (NS) on reading achievement and explored the evidence for cross-linguistic transfer in Chinese English immersion students. In addition, the differences between immersion and non-immersion students on Chinese measures were examined. The participants were 135 English immersion students and 103 non-immersion students from Grades 2, 4, and 6 in mainland China. For English immersion students, English predictors proved to be strong predictors of English reading achievement at the three grade levels. However, the unique predictors of English reading achievement were English PA in Grades 2 and 4, but English NS in Grade 6. Chinese PA was a significant predictor of Chinese achievement, but only in Grade 2. There was little evidence of cross-linguistic transfer. With regards to the Chinese performance of the two groups of students, English immersion students demonstrated an advantage over non-immersion students in Grade 6, but no significant differences were found in Grades 2 and 4; these results suggest either the long-term effect of a bilingual program or a selection effect. Results are discussed in terms of theories of reading development, and suggestions are offered for overcoming the limitations of the present study in future research. / Thesis (Master, Education) -- Queen's University, 2008-09-01 19:45:30.791

在越來越重視幼兒學齡前英語教育的社會中，全美語沉浸式教學，成為父母期待子女學好英語的選擇，然而人們對全美語沉浸式教學，有正反兩極端的意見，本研究探討參加過全美語沉浸式教學之國小學童在國小英語的學習態度，以期能對全美語沉浸式教學的影響有所暸解，並對幼兒英語學習有所助益。 本研究資料分別取自於桃園ㄧ國小六年級學童及其家長的問卷與訪談。266位學生〈13位全美語和253位非全美語學童〉與220位家長〈12位全美語和208位非全美語家長〉的問卷，採四種統計方法進行分析：描述性統計、單因子變異數分析，LSD事後比較與皮爾森相關分析。而26位學生〈13位全美語和13位非全美語學童〉與10位家長〈5位全美語和5位非全美語家長〉的訪談，提供更進一步資料，反映學童對於英語學習的態度。資料分析結果如下： 1. 參加過全美語沉浸式幼稚園之國小學童比未參加過的學童，在國小英語的學習上顯示較多的學習信心。 2. 參加過全美語沉浸式幼稚園之國小學童比未參加過的學童，在國小英語的學習上顯示較高的學習興趣。 3. 參加過全美語沉浸式幼稚園之國小學童比未參加過的學童，在國小英語的學習上顯示較強的學習信念。 本研究亦發現參加過全美語沉浸式幼稚園之國小學童的家長比未參加過學童的家長，對於子女在英語學習上，顯示較高的信心、興趣與信念，與學童的資料分析結果相當一致。 / English immersion preschools, the choices for parents who expect their children to learn English well, exist in our society that values early English education. However, there are studies for and also against immersion learning. This study aims to investigate the English learning attitude of the primary school students who have attended English immersion preschools. The study is suggested to reveal the effect of the English immersion preschools in order to provide better English education for young learners in the future. This study employed questionnaires and interviews for the sixth graders and their parents of P primary school in Taoyuan. Two self-reported questionnaires respectively for 266 sixth graders (13 English immersion learners and 253 non-English immersion learners) and 220 parents (12 parents of English immersion learners and 208 parents of non-English immersion learners) were analyzed by four statistical methods: descriptive statistics, one-way ANOVA, LSD post hoc analysis, and Pearson correlation. Moreover, in-depth interviews were conducted for 26 learners (13 English immersion learners and 13 non-English immersion learners) and 10 parents (5 parents of English immersion learners and 5 parents of non-English immersion learners), which offered further information indicating learners’ English learning attitude. The results of the findings are summarized as follows. First, English immersion learners demonstrated more confidence than non-English immersion learners toward English learning in the primary school. Second, English immersion learners display more interest than non-English immersion learners toward English learning in the primary school. Third, English immersion learners hold stronger belief than non-English immersion learners toward English learning in the primary school. The results of this study also revealed that parents of the English immersion learners indicated more confidence, interest, and belief than parents of non-English immersion learners toward their children’s English learning in the primary school. The results are consistent with those of the learners.

Thesis advisor: C. Patrick Proctor / With U.S. classrooms increasingly characterized by linguistic diversity, teacher education has come under heightened scrutiny to respond to these realities. Recent shifts in Massachusetts language policy provide an informative example. Federal oversight prompted the state to implement an ambitious initiative requiring teachers to earn an endorsement in Sheltered English Immersion (SEI). The rollout of this initiative coincided with the final years of the state’s English-only education mandate, and the SEI endorsement remains a requirement for teachers today. As a growing body of research highlights the ideological dynamics of language policy, particularly in English-only educational contexts, this dissertation has two overlapping goals: (1) To develop a theoretical framework for the study of monolingual language ideologies in relation to policy interpretation and (2) to apply this framework within a critical policy analysis of the Massachusetts SEI endorsement initiative. This dissertation consists of three papers. Paper 1 puts forth a theoretical framework for studying monolingual language ideologies. Through a historical analysis of U.S. language policies and previous research on language ideologies, this paper demonstrates how dynamics of race and racism overlap with language policy and teacher education in U.S. contexts. Paper 2 is an empirical study of SEI instructors’ roles as policy interpreters within the SEI endorsement initiative. This study documents how 33 SEI course instructors interpreted the SEI endorsement course in ways that reinforced or augmented the state’s design. Paper 3 highlights these instructors’ discourses around the topics of language policy and race. Drawing on poststructural policy analysis, this paper explores the varying degrees to which participants addressed these topics in relation to the course’s emphasis on language pedagogies. Together, these papers offer a framework for the study of language ideologies with implications for language policy, policy interpretation, and teacher education in multilingual contexts. / Thesis (PhD) — Boston College, 2019. / Submitted to: Boston College. Lynch School of Education. / Discipline: Teacher Education, Special Education, Curriculum and Instruction.

In 2000, the passage of Proposition 203 in Arizona virtually replaced bilingual education with a Structured English Immersion (SEI ) program. In 2006, the State legislature passed House Bill (HB) 2064 which essentially segregated ELL students for four hours of the school day in an SEI classroom in which English Language Development (ELD) was taught. In 2008, the four-hour SEI block was mandated in public schools across Arizona.This study investigated the lived experiences of public school teachers teaching the four-hour SEI block, the relationship between what these teachers know about second language acquisition and the strategies they utilized, and what they identified as the strengths and weaknesses that resulted from the four-hour SEI block and its implementation.Nine K-12 SEI teachers from one school district in Southern Arizona participated in this study. Qualitative research methodologies were used to collect and analyze data.The results of this study showed that teachers' experiences and teaching strategies were diverse and greatly influenced by their classroom composition, professional development, interpretation of the laws surrounding the program, and directives given by administrators. Findings from this research also indicated that teachers identified substantially more concerns than advantages related to the four-hour SEI program. Specifically, teachers thought the SEI classroom provided a safe environment in which students could practice English. However, teachers were concerned about the negative social and academic repercussions experienced by ELLs as a result of the SEI program and also expressed their own professional concerns related to the four-hour model.

abstract: Arizona's English Language Development Model (ELD Model) is intended to increase and accelerate the learning of English by English Language Learners (ELLs), so that the students can then be ready, when they know the English language, to learn the other academic subjects together with their English speaking peers. This model is part of a response to comply with the Flores Consent Order to improve services for ELLs in Arizona public schools. Whether or not it actually has improved instruction for ELLs has been the subject of much debate and, in 2012, after four years of the requirement to use Arizona's ELD Model, the ELL students who were identified as reclassified for the six districts in the study did not pass the Arizona's Instrument to Measure Standards (AIMS) test. The model's requirement to separate students who are not proficient from students who are proficient, the assessment used for identification of ELLs, and the Structured English Immersion four hours of English only instruction are at the nexus of the controversy, as the courts accepted the separate four hour SEI portion of the model for instruction as sufficient to meet the needs of ELLs in Arizona (Garcia, 2011, Martinez, 2012, Lawton, 2012, Lillie, 2012). This study examines student achievement in Reading and Math as measured by AIMS standards-based tests in six urban K-8 public school districts between 2007-2012. This period was selected to cover two years before and four years after the ELD model was required. Although the numbers of ELLs have decreased for the State and for the six urban elementary districts since the advent of the Arizona ELD Model, the reclassified ELL subgroup in the studied districts did not pass the AIMS for all the years in the study. Based on those results, this study concludes with the following recommendations. First, to study the coming changes in the language assessments and their impact on ELLs' student achievement in broad and comprehensive ways; second, to implement a model change allowing school districts to support their ELLs in their first language; and, finally, to establish programs that will allow ELLs full access to study with their English speaking peers. / Dissertation/Thesis / Ed.D. Educational Administration and Supervision 2012

Two common forms of teaching English to English-language learners are bilingual education and sheltered English immersion. While both programs claim successful second language acquisition, other effects of the programs need to be considered. This research examines one of those effects: self-efficacy, or students' perception that they will be successful or unsuccessful in doing a specific task or acquiring a specific skill. Using archival records and semi-structured interviews with open-ended questions, this qualitative study draws on the work of Bandura (1977, 1986, 1997) to explore differences in self-efficacy between students who have participated for 5 years in a two-way Spanish-English bilingual immersion (TWBE) or an immersion/sheltered English program (SEI) at the same school. Interviews with the parents of the 11 Hispanic students allowed for comparisons of parent satisfaction with the two language programs. Findings indicated that students in both programs are similar in many ways; however there were marked differences between the two groups. Although all of the student participants considered themselves bilingual, those who were in the SEI program cannot read or write the language and use it only for social situations. Furthermore, students who have been in the TWBE program reported using practice, study, and note taking as success strategies in school, while their SEI peers used doing homework and turning it in as a success strategy. Students in TWBE reported having more successes in Spanish while their SEI peers reported struggling more in school and with Spanish. A major finding in parent interviews was that although all the parents expressed the desire that their children know Spanish, only some chose to put their children in the bilingual program. What decision processes parents use to place their children in the programs is unknown. Additionally, parents whose children were in the TWBE program reported that their children had more success experiences with home, friends, and family, the language program and with both Spanish and English. The TWBE parents also indicated that their children had more extended family members who served as models for them because their children can speak and write Spanish and thus have additional contact with extended family.

This phenomenological study includes exploration of the instructional experiences and the schooling factors that have been in place both assisting and failing academically six long-term English learners who attend a comprehensive urban high school in Los Angeles. Long-term English learners have attended schools in the United States (U.S.) for more than six years and are not yet fully proficient in English. Qualitative and quantitative data sources, include demographic questionnaire, one-on-one focused interviews, classroom observations using English learner Shadow Study Protocol (Soto, 2012), academic transcript analysis, and a focus group, were analyzed using descriptive content analysis and Critical Sociocultural Theory (Handsfield, 2012; Lewis, Enciso, & Moje, 2007). The researcher identified two instructional experiences-lessons not engaging students in social interactions or learnercentered activities, and instruction did not help students gain proficiency in the English language-that hindered these students’ advancement-and three schooling factors-enrollment in Structured English Immersion (SEI) programs throughout schooling, lack of knowledge about the reclassification process and low academic literacy skills and lack of understanding of how to succeed. To remedy this situation as it impacts numerous students, Legislators should pass laws that support bilingual education and schools should offer English learners the opportunity to develop their native language to be successful in developing bilingualism.

本研究以台北縣及桃園縣立案且以美語為主要托育方式之合格私立幼稚園(托兒所)之主管為對象，採取立意及滾雪球抽樣方式，選取台北縣私立幼兒園(園所數有七十五所)和桃園縣私立幼兒園(園所數有八所)共計八十三所。 研究目的有四：一、瞭解全美語幼兒園「市場導向」；「核心競爭能力」及「組織績效」的內涵及現況分析；二、探討不同「背景變項」的全美語幼兒園在「市場導向」、「核心競爭能力」及「組織績效」的差異情形；三、探討全美語幼兒園「市場導向」、「核心競爭能力」及「組織績效」之間的相關分析；四、探討全美語幼兒園「市場導向」、「核心競爭能力」對「組織績效」之聯合預測力分析。 本研究採用「園所基本資料」問卷、「市場導向」、「核心競爭能力」及「組織績效」量表，採問卷調查為資料蒐集分法。研究結果發現如下： 一、全美語幼兒園「市場導向」、「核心競爭能力」及「組織績效」的內涵及現況分析 (一) 全美語幼兒園「市場導向」 在情報產生部分各題項的回答趨向於「大致符合」；在情報回應部分除了可透過同業的外聘教師獲知競爭者情報及定期(至少一個月兩次)對市場趨勢舉行會議研討兩個題項趨向於「有點符合」之外，其餘都趨向於「大致符合」；在情報傳播部分各題項的回答趨向於「大致符合」。 (二) 全美語幼兒園「核心競爭能力」 在創新能力的部分各題項的回答趨向於「大致符合」；在人資管理能力部分除了「經常辦理師資訓練(研習)以提升教師專業素質」趨向於「大致符合」之外，其餘各題項都趨向於「非常符合」；在策略管理能力部分各題項的回答趨向於「大致符合」；最後在行銷運籌能力的部分各題項的回答也趨向於「大致符合」。 (三) 全美語幼兒園「組織績效」 在「組織績效」(財務控管、顧客滿意、運作品質、學習成長)各部分之各題項的回答皆趨向於「大致符合」。 二、不同「背景變項」在全美語幼兒園「市場導向」、「核心競爭能力」及「組織績效」之差異情形 全美語幼兒園在「市場導向」(情報產生、情報傳播、情報回應)、「核心競爭能力」(創新能力、人資管理能力、策略管理能力、行銷運籌能力)與「組織績效」(財務控管、顧客滿意、運作品質、學習成長)，不會因園所「基本變項」(規模、師生比、經營型態、兼營項目)之不同而呈現差異存在。 三、探討全美語幼兒園「市場導向」、「核心競爭能力」及「組織績效」之相關分析 全美語幼兒園「市場導向」與「核心競爭能力」之間具有正相關；全美語幼兒園「市場導向」與「組織績效」之間具有正相關；及全美語幼兒園「核心競爭能力」與「組織績效」之間具有正相關。 四、探討全美語幼兒園「市場導向」、「核心競爭能力」對「組織績效」之預測力分析 「核心競爭能力」(創新能力、人資管理能力、策略管理能力、行銷運籌能力)皆以「情報產生」為最大預測因子，其預測力在23%~54%之間；且在「組織績效」變項中的「財務控管」的最佳預測變項是「創新能力」；「顧客滿意」的最佳預測變項是「行銷運籌能力」；「運作品質」的最佳預測變項是「策略管理能力」；「學習成長」的最佳預測變項是「策略管理能力」；「組織績效整體」的最佳預測變項是「行銷運籌能力」。「核心競爭能力」變項中的「創新能力」、「策略管理能力」及「行銷運籌能力」為「組織績效」最主要的三個預測變項。 / This study selected 83 English immersion preschools ranging from Taipei and Taoyuan Counties from the purposive and snowball sampling techniques. The research aims are: 1. Exploring the contents and current situation of the Market Orientation, core competitive competence and organizational performance in the English Immersion Preschools; 2. Exploring the significant differences of the Market Orientation,core competitive competence and organizational performance in the English Immersion Preschools across various background variables; 3. Examining the correlation relationship among the Market Orientation, Core Competitive Competence and Organizational Performance in the English immersion preschools; and 4. Examining the accutable variance in the organizational performance from the Market Orientation and core competitive competence in the English Immersion Preschools .The result findings are as followed: 1. The contents and current situation of the Market Orientation, core competitive competence and organizational performance in the English Immersion Preschools. (1) The Market Orientation The items of the construct (Information Production) are approaching in the “almost agreement”; The items of the construct (Information Correspondance) approach in the “almost agreement”except two items such as getting the competitor’s information from the part-time teachers of counter parters; and regular meeting to the current marketing trend approaching to “somewhat agreement”. (2) The Core Competitive Competence The items of three constructs (Innovative Ability, Strategic Manament Ability and Marketing Coping Ability) in the English Immersion Preschools approach “almost agreement”; however, the items of the construct (Personnel Management Ability) approach higher hierarchy of scale—“agree strongly”. (3) The organizational performance The items of four constructs (Financial Control, Customer Satisfaction, Operating Quality and Learning Development) in the English immersion preschools approach “almost agreement”. 2. There are no significant differences existed in the Market Orientation, core competitive competence and organizational performance in the English Immersion Preschools across various background variables. 3. There is positive correlation relationship existed among the constructs of the Market Orientation, core competitive competence and organizational performance in the English Immersion Preschools. 4. “Information Product”can account for between 23% and 54% variances of the core competitive competence (Innovative Ability, Personnel Management Ability, Strategic Manament Ability and Marketing Coping Ability); Innovative Ability, Strategic Manament Ability and Marketing Coping Ability are the primary predictive variables to the “Organizational Performance”.

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