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DISSERTATION ABSTRACT Marko J. Mwipopo Doctor of Philosophy Department of Education Studies June 2016 Title: Secondary School Graduates’ Personal Experiences in the Context of English-only Language of Instruction Within and Outside the School Setting in Tanzania This dissertation documents the experiences of secondary school graduates in Tanzania who were instructed primarily through the English language. The study specifically examines the extent to which the English language facilitated or impeded the participants’ learning. This issue is important because Tanzania’s main educational goal at the secondary level is to build an egalitarian nation under the Education for Self Reliance (ESR) philosophy, advocated by J. K. Nyerere in 1967. The study employs symbolic interactionism as its primary method and utilizes frameworks and ideas from such fields as indigenous education and bilingual education. Works of scholars such as Frantz Fanon guided my work. The main focus of the study was to determine how Tanzanians see the language of instruction policy as relating to opportunity among students in secondary schools, i.e., whether Tanzanians frame the Swahili language as a problem, a resource, a right, or some other way, and how these language issues influence the cultural, economic, and political life of Tanzanians. Do Tanzanians see the Swahili language as a source of unity or divisiveness, as a means to some particular goals, or as a cause that needs to be fought for? This dissertation consists of five chapters. Chapter I includes a brief description of the historical background of Tanzania and emphasizes ESR, the principle and core philosophy guiding Tanzanian education after independence. Chapter II is a literature review and an examination of the design of contemporary Tanzanian education and the problems and challenges faced by that system. Chapter III covers research methods used in my research, including an explanation of setting and context, analysis, and interpretation. Chapter IV presents findings of the study, including thematically grouped quotes and my interpretation of the quotes, grouped according to the three main views on Swahili and English languages. Chapter V bridges the research questions to the findings and reflects on the implications of the study and related literature for educational practice and policy in Tanzania.

The primary goal of this study was to identify how middle school language teachers bridge the skills acquired and strategies taught in an elementary school language program with the skills taught and practiced at the middle school level. The study will answer in detail this question: What perceptions do middle school teachers form regarding their students' language skills and how do these perceptions impact a world language program? By identifying the language teachers' current perceptions as they relate to their lesson design and delivery, school districts may find relationships between the teachers' perceptions of their students' language abilities and the program's perceived benefits or deficiencies. The researcher examined a middle school language program through the participation of language teachers from three middle schools in an urban setting. The findings indicate that teachers in the program can improve the delivery of their instruction by implementing strategies identified as necessary for the continued growth of the program and for students' acquisition of the language skills needed in the 21st century. Three themes derived from the findings and results of this study are: 1) collaborating with the teachers from the previous level; 2) using question and answer techniques and; 3) minimizing the amount of time used for review. / Educational Administration

This study investigates the Involvement Load Hypothesis proposed by Laufer and Hulstijn (2001). The involvement load hypothesis posits that vocabulary learning is determined by involvement load or mental effort. Involvement load has three components, need, search, and evaluation and each component is scored for three levels: index 2 for the strongest, index 1 for a moderate degree, and index 0 for none. Each participant learned six words with graphic organizers at the high involvement load (need index 1, search index 1, evaluation index 2, total index 4) and six at the low involvement load (need index 1, search index 1, and evaluation index 0, total index 2). Immediately and one week after completing the graphic organizer task, vocabulary knowledge was measured using three vocabulary tests that tested different levels of vocabulary knowledge: a translation test, a difficult multiple-choice test, and an easy multiple-choice test. Quantitative analyses of data from 291 university and college students in Japan were conducted, and audio-recordings from five pairs were analyzed to examine learning processes. Repeated measures MANOVA and ANOVAs revealed significant differences between the conditions of the two involvement loads in the translation test and the easy multiple-choice test, but not in the difficult multiple-choice test. The effects of Task and Time were statistically significant, but there was no interaction. There were significant differences between the immediate test and delayed test observed in the translation test and the easy multiple-choice test, but not with the difficult multiple-choice test. The current study supports the involvement load hypothesis, but caution is advised. Even though the high involvement load graphic organizers yielded more vocabulary retention than those with less involvement load in two out of the three vocabulary tests, the differences in mean scores were small and extensive differences were not observed in the participants' discussions. Additional statistical analysis indicated that the three vocabulary tests measured three levels of vocabulary knowledge. Determining the effectiveness of graphic organizers for vocabulary learning was only mildly successful as forcing greater involvement load proved to be challenging. / CITE/Language Arts

Master of Arts / Department of Modern Languages / Abby Franchitti / The role of first language (L1) has been controversial in foreign language (FL) learning and teaching. This study examines the relationship between L1 use and gender and level of education of EFL teachers as well as gender and EFL proficiency level of learners in an Afghan university setting. It also investigates the relationship between FL use and learner anxiety by learner gender and EFL proficiency level. The study hypothesized that female FL teachers use the L1 more than male teachers in FL classrooms. Second, low FL proficiency learners consider L1 use as necessary in FL classrooms. Third, low FL proficiency students experience more anxiety with the exclusive use of FL than higher level learners. Fourth, female learners experience more anxiety than male students with the exclusive use of FL by learners and teachers. Twenty EFL teachers participated in the study by completing a 19-item questionnaire and sixty EFL learners by completing a 27-item questionnaire about their views towards L1/FL use and learner anxiety. The data, analyzed through SPSS software, included calculating frequencies and percentages, computing correlations, and conducting independent-samples t-tests to compare the mean difference between the variables. The first hypothesis was not supported as male teachers reported using the L1 more than female teachers. The study also revealed that male teachers with BA and MA degrees used the L1 more than female teachers with BA degrees. In contrast, female teachers with MA degrees used the L1 more than male teachers with BA and MA degrees and also more than female teachers with BA degrees. The results supported hypothesis two. More elementary learners considered the use of L1 as necessary than intermediate and advanced students. The findings also supported hypotheses three and four. Elementary learners as well as female students experienced more anxiety with the exclusive use of FL than intermediate and advanced level students and male learners. The principal conclusion indicated a significant positive correlation between the exclusive use of FL and learner anxiety.

This dissertation is comprised of three teacher-researcher studies carried out with the intention of showing teachers how to move beyond the monolingual paradigm to build upon linguistic and cultural diversity in their everyday practice. The monolingual paradigm is linked to ideologies regarding proficiency in English as the principle means of academic success and citizenship. These studies challenge this traditional way of viewing education by treating learning "as an emerging property of whole persons' legitimate peripheral participation in communities of practice" (Lave, 1991, p. 63), whether these are interest-based communities of practice beyond the classroom or bilingual communities of practice within the classroom. In order to recognize and explain this learning and inform teaching practices, I adopt a social semiotic approach in order to explore how meaning is constructed through language, and also through social interactions with all modern aspects of society, including gesture, image, performance, and music (Kress, 2012; van Leeuwen, 2005). I explore how these interactions allow youth to create diverse identities, beyond immigrant, refugee, limited English proficient, learner, and "other", in three educational arenas: 1) Outside of the classroom in interest-based communities of practice at school, 2) in a secondary dual-language content classroom, and 3) online in an educational transnational telecollaboration project. In all three studies I triangulate quantitative data of student participation and academic achievement with qualitative participant narratives and teacher-researcher observations. What results is insight into the impact of creating multimodal trajectories for youth to perform identities and knowledge as language users in schools, where historically messages of youth's social identities are ascribed in much more constricting ways (Harklau, 2003). Viewing these youth as language users, rather than learners, sends a message to both educators and youth that in education, identity formation trumps skills development, and this can lead to higher expectations, more engaging learning, and opportunities for youth to question race-language educational legacies (Malsbary, 2014; Wenger, 1998).

English is a widely used language, and its standing as a tool for communication among people who do not share a common first language is ever increasing. Young students all over the globe therefore learn English in school. This study aims to investigate what some recent research says regarding what methods to use when teaching young learners a second language. It then aims to compare the research findings to the methods English teachers of young learners in four elementary schools in the southern Norrland area of Sweden employ in their instruction. The study was conducted through observations and interviews with participating teachers.        It was found that research advocates that teachers should use English frequently and in great quantities during lessons with young learners. Teachers should also vary their instruction and use different avenues to make the language accessible to students (for example through course-books and through active learning situations such as stories, songs, physical activities, and drama). The results of the study show that teachers attempt to employ the methods that research advocates, but that difficulties arise in regards to the teachers’ familiarity with the language, their self-confidence as teachers, and a lack of space, time, and material.

This qualitative research study examined the usage of whole-language instruction in the classrooms of four self-professed whole-language teachers. Data were collected from the following sources: classroom observations; interviews with the teachers and their principals; and a study of lesson plans, student work, textbooks, and curriculum guides. The following conclusions were drawn from the study. The teachers' pre-existing philosophical views regarding language instruction influenced the effectiveness with which they implemented whole-language instruction more than any other single factor. These philosophical bases also determined, to a large extent, the kinds of whole-language practices and strategies the teachers used in their instruction. The skills-oriented teachers most often stated that they used whole-language instruction in order to review or reinforce skills. The more holistic teachers most often stressed language development, language appreciation, and self expression. The data collected in this study led to the conclusion that teachers must become knowledgeable of whole-language principles and make a personal commitment to the whole-language philosophy in order to develop integrated, coherent whole-language instructional programs. The data also led the researcher to conclude that assessment of whole-language instruction was an area of ambiguity and uncertainty for the teachers involved in the study. The following recommendations were made from the study. Teachers should make conscious efforts to become cognizant of their basic philosophies and beliefs regarding how children learn and develop. Teachers should then ensure that their practices are consistent with their beliefs. Increased emphasis should be placed on developing appropriate means for assessing the effectiveness of whole-language instruction. School districts should provide adequate in-service opportunities and support services and receive the commitment of the teachers before initiating district-wide whole-language programs. Further research should be conducted on how teachers are affected when they are required to teach in ways which are inconsistent with their basic philosophies and/or teaching styles.

Master of Arts / Department of Modern Languages / Earl K. Brown / Considerable research exists on the various uses of modals of obligation in English, while the number of studies on Spanish modals is limited. The research of Fairclough (2000) looks at the variation and changes of the Spanish modals DEBER 'should' and TENER QUE ‘to have to’ spoken in Houston. Another study was conducted on modals and their variation in San Juan, Puerto Rico by Jose Santos (1994). However, most of the research does not include the verb NECESITAR 'to need'. This study examines and compares the uses of the modal verbs TENER QUE and NECESITAR. First, this paper presents previous research on modality, the changes and usage of modals in English, and the limited research on Spanish modals. Then the researcher examines the results of data collected using Twitter in order to determine for what main verbs TENER QUE and NECESITAR act as modal verbs, the frequency with which the Twitter users in the Spanishspeaking capitals in Central and South America use these verbs, and in what tense do these two modals occur most often. After discussing the results of the data collection, the study includes a brief discussion on the implications for teaching modals of obligation in Spanish to second language learners. This study finds overall that TENER QUE is preferred over NECESITAR. However, some verbs collocate with NECESITAR more than the average suggesting that patterns of collocations play a key role in determining the use of NECESITAR.

This thesis investigated the literacy practices of a group of Somali refugee women participating in Canada’s federally‐funded ESL program LINC (Language Instruction for Newcomers to Canada). Assuming that many Somali women arrive in Canada with limited experience with print literacy, and so encounter novel challenges in their settlement and learning experiences, I interviewed 4 Somali women about their uses and perceptions of the value of literacy in their lives and their experiences of learning to read and write in Canada. A cross‐case analysis revealed how social forces constrain and enable the women’s literacy practices, shaping both how they access and use literacy, as well as the ways in which they understand and value literacy. Implications are outlined for ESL educators, researchers and policy makers.