The purpose of this qualitative, ethnographic case study was to learn the nature of the discursive practices of English learners in playground peer cultures. Additionally, it sought to understand the relationship between these practices and ideology, gender, and school performance. Three questions guided this study: (1) what is the nature of the actual discursive practices of English learners in peer culture, playground interactions? (2) how do gender and ideology play a role in children's games? and (3) what is the relationship between these discursive practices and school performance?This inquiry was conducted over ten months at a school in Northern California where four English learner second graders were observed playing each day during their lunchtime recess. Data sources included audio and video taped observations and field notes, audio taped interviews, and artifact collection. Data analysis was ongoing, characterized by member-checking, peer review, and multiple codings.The findings of this study reflected the dynamic, sophisticated nature of discursive practices which were co-constructed in peer culture settings. These practices included the exploration and explanation of new games, uses of imitative and counter-imitative behaviors, performed rule talk, integrated displays of gesture, pitch and silences, and code-switching strategies. Students employed these for a variety of purposes, including the facilitation of alignment within groups, the manipulation of social organization, the orchestration of inclusion or exclusion, and the creation of positions of power.This research also proposed a working model within which the playground became a site for the interpretive reproduction of ideologies. Students at Westside demonstrated that they had appropriated adult ideologies in creative ways. They negotiated these in their peer cultures, and preserved and transformed adult culture.Finally, this study revealed that, based on the discursive practices observed on the playground, proficiency levels and instructional goals, as determined by the California English Language Development Test (CELDT) and the state English Language Development (ELD) standards were inaccurate and underestimated student ability. Policy reform reflecting greater awareness, both of the social nature of discourse, as well as the power of peer cultures, was recommended.

This study aimed to investigate the role of time constraint on second language reading comprehension via the recruiting of 47 Saudi participants who were learning English as a second language. Subjects shared similar level of English proficiency; all participants were in their third semester of English at Aljouf University, Saudi Arabia, at the time of data collection. Participants were divided into three time groups; limited (20 minutes), extended (30 minutes), and unlimited (40 minutes). In terms of stimuli, a reading text was adapted from a standard English proficiency exam, TOEFL. The text consisted of 699 words and was of moderate level in difficulty, calculated as between 8th and 9th grade for native English speakers; passive structures comprised 6% of the text. Questions were also divided into three groups to elaborate the effect of time constraint on each type of questions. The particulars of the study were as follows. Firstly, this study analyzed effect of time constraint on the overall performance on the TOEFL reading passage. Then, effect of time on the three groups, including vocabulary-based questions, literal comprehension questions, and higher order inferential questions. Results revealed that time constraint tends to be an affective factor in reading. In the overall comparison among the 3 different time groups, the unlimited time group showed the highest performance on the reading comprehension task. ii In view of the categories of questions, no significant difference was found on the vocabulary-based questions between time condition groups. The overall low vocabulary scores across groups and the lack of significant effect for time constraint suggest that extended time does not compensate for poor vocabulary knowledge. On the other hand, the unlimited time group demonstrated the best performance relative to the other two groups on the literal comprehension and higher order questions. Of all three categories, the higher-order questions were the most difficult for all three time constraint groups. Overall, the results of this study show that time given to the reading task significantly affects overall reading comprehension scores, but they also suggest that this effect varies in relation to the types of questions.

Thesis advisor: Vincent Cho / Demographic shifts in American society and public schools have increased the urgency among educators and other stakeholders to ensure educational equity and excellence are a reality for all students (Brown, 2007; Dean, 2002; Gay, 2000; Johnson, 2007). One very notable shift in the United States has been the dramatic enrollment increase of English Learner (EL) students. Supporting ELs’ achievement on standardized testing and increasing their graduation rates have been particular challenges, the meeting of which has required school districts to think differently. Culturally responsive school leadership (CRSL) has been one solution, through the application of which districts can focus on teacher preparation, culturally responsive curricula, school inclusiveness and the engagement of students and parents in community contexts. This study is part of a larger study that examined leadership practices that foster equity, included twenty semi-structured interviews of district leaders, school leaders, and teachers. Findings from this study indicate that school leaders have enacted and supported culturally responsive behaviors to educate ELs and suggest how leaders might employ CRSL behaviors for the dual purpose of supporting ELs’ achievement on standardized testing and increasing their graduation rates. / Thesis (EdD) — Boston College, 2020. / Submitted to: Boston College. Lynch School of Education. / Discipline: Educational Leadership and Higher Education.

English language learners (ELLs) are the fastest growing student group in U.S. public schools. ELLs also consistently lag behind their native-English speaking peers in academic achievement. These facts set the stage for the study that evaluated one school district’s program to prepare their teachers to effectively educate ELLs. This program included a year-long series of six professional development courses that covered ELL-specific topics. The study’s evaluation tools included an online survey completed by teachers who took the courses, teachers’ feedback on course evaluation forms, interviews of district-level officials familiar with the program, and an examination of the homework assignments from each course. The program evaluation showed that teachers and district officials thought the courses helped prepare the teachers to instruct ELLs. However, the teachers’ feedback about the program’s influence included some specific references to teaching ELLs, but more examples from general education settings. The evaluation also found that only about 10% of the homework assignments required direct instruction of students. These evaluation results suggest that the program could be strengthened to include more opportunities for teachers to practice instructing ELLs. This additional practice could increase teachers’ confidence to serve the needs of ELLs in their classrooms.

Morphological awareness (MA) is the knowledge of word structure and capacity to manipulate the meaningful parts of words (Kuo & Anderson, 2006). This study examined derivational MA in the English reading processes of 85 linguistically diverse middle school students in grades six through eight. 56 participants had a native/home language (L1) of Spanish, Portuguese, Chinese, Haitian Creole, or Cape Verdean Creole (CVC) and were acquiring English as a second language (L2). 29 participants were L1 English speakers, which facilitated comparisons between L1 and L2 English readers in how three predictors—MA, word reading, and vocabulary knowledge—related to English reading comprehension. Tests were administered in English to assess word reading, reading comprehension, MA, reading vocabulary, and silent word reading fluency for all 85 participants. The study a.) Explored the unique contribution of English MA to English reading comprehension; b.) Examined this relationship in light of English word reading and English vocabulary knowledge; c.) Compared linear regression models to examine which factor (or combination of these factors) explained the most variation in English reading comprehension; d.) Looked at differences in the relationships between the reading variables for L2 English readers, based on L1 background; and e.) Explored L1 background as a possible moderator between MA and L2 English reading comprehension; and e.) Observed potential differences in these relationships between L1 and L2 English readers. All four measures correlated with L2 English reading comprehension for the combined group of L2 English readers, yet MA showed the strongest association. MA was also found to predict L2 English reading comprehension—as did word reading and vocabulary knowledge—when controlling for grade/ time of testing, district, and socio-economic status (SES). Using the same control variables, the bivariate model of MA and English word reading was equal in strength to the model combining MA, word reading, and vocabulary knowledge to predict L2 reading comprehension. Vocabulary knowledge did not add significant predictive value. Differences by L1 background were seen in correlations and in various regression models predicting L2 English reading comprehension. Controlling for grade/time of testing, district, and SES, MA alone created the best model to explain variance in L2 reading comprehension for Chinese speakers. For Portuguese speakers—using the same controls—the combination of MA, word reading, and vocabulary created the best predictive model for L2 English reading comprehension. The bivariate model of vocabulary and MA and the combined model with all three variables equally predicted English reading comprehension for Spanish speakers. No models effectively predicted English reading comprehension for Haitian Creole speakers. The model combining all three predictors explained the most variance in L2 reading comprehension. Additionally, L1 did not moderate the relationship of MA to L2 English reading comprehension. For L1 speakers of English, MA uniquely predicted English reading comprehension—as did word reading, and vocabulary—when controlling for grade/time of testing, district, and SES. However, the best predictor of L1 English reading comprehension was the combined contribution of MA, word reading, and vocabulary knowledge. L1 and L2 English readers differed in the correlations between variables and in how well the various regression models explained variance in English reading comprehension. The controls of grade/time of testing and SES were significant as predictors in models of L1 English reading comprehension. Z- tests did not reveal significant differences when comparing the correlation coefficients of independent variables in the regression models. Implications for instruction and future research are presented.

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A thematic unit on immigration and migration in the United States provided a useful scaffold for engaging all students, including elementary English learners, in academic language learning.

This panel presents a re-conceptualized framework regarding making inquiry in English/language arts classrooms possible for English Learners (ELs): (1) authentic assessment that recognizes ELs’ cultural, linguistic capital; (2) tailored instruction that focuses on integration of drawing, discussion, and intentional use of various text types; and (3) pedagogical praxis, a critical element to bring about instructional change.

The construct of academic language—while of great interest, in part, because of recently adopted or revised content and English-language development (ELD) standards that explicitly focus on academic language—and its role in the academic success of all students, including young learners and English learners (ELs), is far from clearly understood. Nowhere is the issue of the construct of academic language more contested than in the locus where many students are formally introduced to schooling in the United States; that is, in kindergarten classrooms. Kindergarten is many students’ formal introduction to public education in the United States, and this includes ELs, who represent a growing percentage of students in U.S. schools. Indeed, about 16% of kindergarteners in the country are classified as ELs (U.S. Department of Education, 2019a). Beginning at the kindergarten level, academic language is a primary focus of College and Career Readiness (CCR) standards, such as the Common Core State Standards (CCSS), which require students to engage in cognitively and linguistically complex academic practices (van Lier & Walqui, 2012). Similarly, ELD standards in the U.S. have recently been written anew or revised to correspond to the ambitious CCR standards, and, therefore, English language proficiency (ELP) expectations inherent in the ELD standards have become more rigorous as well. A hallmark of both ELD standards and CCR standards is a predominant focus on academic language. Yet consensus is lacking on what academic language is, exactly, and how it is operationalized in classrooms; some researchers argue that the construct of academic language may not even exist as it is currently conceptualized (e.g., Bunch, 2014; Gutiérrez et al., 2011; Valdés, 2004). In this study, I provide a description of classroom language usage in formal literacy contexts in kindergarten, inclusive of ELs, through a qualitative analysis of language use at the lexical, syntactic, and discoursal levels in academic literacy events. Additionally, I investigate whether students’ degree of exposure to academic language in kindergarten, language status, prior exposure to formal classroom contexts, gender, and age are related to academic language proficiency at the end of one academic year and when controlling for beginning-of-year academic language knowledge. Qualitative analyses illustrated that, while classroom discourse contained a relatively small percentage of lexically and syntactically complex language, students were exposed to a wide range of language during formal literacy events, from high-frequency to low-frequency (sophisticated) words, and from syntactically simple to complex utterances, across a variety of language functions aligned with the state’s literacy standards, both within and across classrooms. Greater amounts of sophisticated words and syntactically complex structures were present during shared reading activities specifically and, to a lesser degree, during foundational literacy activities. Exemplars from qualitative analyses illustrated that common, high-frequency words and simple syntactic structures were, at times, employed to present and discuss academic language and concepts and also employed, at times, as an instructional support for some ELs. Lessons that featured language functions related to the reading strand of the literacy standards and, to a lesser degree, the foundational literacy skills strand, afforded opportunities for sophisticated vocabulary and complex syntax. At this formative grade, then, the use of common, high-frequency words and simple syntax in service of teaching academic vocabulary and academic concepts during shared reading and other literacy activities was characteristic of the classrooms observed. Quantitative analyses indicated a significant relationship between academic language proficiency, as measured by a standardized language proficiency assessment, and language status, gender, and academic language exposure. However, when controlling for students’ beginning-of-year academic language proficiency (operationalized as their pretest scores), the relationship between academic language proficiency and academic language exposure in the classroom was no longer significant. In consideration of both qualitative and quantitative results, then, minimal exposure to academic language may not be sufficient to promote academic language proficiency. I recommend that literacy instruction could be enhanced to maximize exposure to and productive use of sophisticated words and syntactically complex language, as appropriate for kindergarten ELs and EOs, and in consideration of their developing language proficiency. Findings contribute to a more comprehensive understanding of the language used in academic literacy contexts as instantiated in kindergarten classrooms, and begin to explore under what linguistic conditions all students, ELs and EOs, can more readily develop academic language proficiency in the earliest of elementary grades. / Applied Linguistics