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.

Communicative Language Teaching (CLT) is identified as dismissing translation, applying to all "translation" the restricted expression of translation within the discredited Grammar Translation Method (GTM). Recent, negative classifications of the GTM are considered and, this dissertation observes, the concept of the GTM is shown as prone to being mythologized. A summary definition of the GTM is offered. Of the five Prussian language teachers viewed by history as originating the GTM, Joahnn Valentin Meidinger and, to a lesser degree, Heinrich Gottfried Ollendorff are shown offering methods and an approach to translation that are most similar to the definition of the GTM used today. Johann Heinrich Philipp Seidenstücker, Johann Franz Ahn, and Carl Julius Ploetz are found also to stand in the lineage of the GTM, but with important qualifications. The name "Grammar Translation Method" is asserted by this dissertation to originate in the Reform Movement, specifically, Wilhelm Viëtor’s Der Sprachunterricht muß umkehren! (1882) and a lecture of Viëtor’s from 1899. Viëtor is noted characterizing "traditional" methodologies with the terms "Grammatik" and "Übersetzung," beginning with Meidinger’s Practische Französische Grammatik (1783). Translation is found to remain problematic for the Reform Movement. A separate, concurrent movement, resulting in the Direct Method, is seen banishing all use of translation, and arguably lives on in CLT today. The formulation of a novel definition of the translation of texts is attempted. This definition, along with opinions from Translation Studies, is applied to a statement by Viëtor, where translation is particularly problematized, with the goal of mitigating this problematic. The dissertation recommends that CLT similarly use this definition of translation, so as to mitigate its own skepticism towards translation.

abstract: This investigation's goal was to add to the small body of research on pragmalinguistic acquisition of L2 Spanish. Specifically, it centered on the production of complaints in Spanish. Data was collected via a written Discourse Completion Task (DCT) of a complaint-provoking situation presented in a website voiceboard to two non-native speaker (NNS) students groups of different proficiency levels and to a native speaker (NS) control group. The lower proficiency group was comprised of 11 NNS enrolled in a 200 level beginning/intermediate Spanish grammar class and the advanced proficiency group of 11 NNS enrolled in a 400 level advanced Spanish conversation and composition class. Neither group contained any participants who had studied abroad or lived in a Spanish-speaking country for more than 3 months. The control group consisted of 10 NSs of Spanish who were all natives or current residents of Northern Mexico. Data from the DCT was categorized into strategies which were organized into Head Acts and Supporting Moves, Deference and Solidarity Politeness systems, according to the frameworks of Blum-Kulka, et al. (1989) and Scollon and Scollon (1983), respectively. The results of the analysis revealed that all three groups of participants have overarching similarities in the use of multiple Head Acts, some used several times throughout a response, to realize a complaint and used some Supporting Moves to mitigate these Head Acts. The lower proficiency group diverged from the advanced proficiency group and NS control group in that lower proficiency students not only used a fewer total strategies and strategy types, but also preferred Head Acts and Supporting Moves that expressed discomfort or dislike over strategies that expressed criticism, or requested a solution from the listener, these being the primary strategies preferred by the advanced proficiency and control group participants. It was also found that the percentage of Supporting Moves decreased with the raise in proficiency level, also. After a discussion of the results, pedagogical implications are given based on these results to help students notice and acquire pragmalinguistcally appropriate responses to complaint-provoking situations. / Dissertation/Thesis / M.A. Spanish 2012

abstract: Current research shows a positive relationship between the use of written synchronous computer-mediated communication (SCMC) and oral production (Isenberg 2010; Kern 1995; Payne & Whitney, 2002). No prior investigations specifically analyze the effect of SCMC on the conjugation of simple present tense verbal forms in narratives produced by learners of Spanish in online environments. This semester-long study addressed this issue by systematically analyzing the effect of written SCMC on the oral production of present-tense verb conjugations in two different oral tasks by students in two different intermediate level online Spanish courses. Written chat (WC), a type of synchronous group discussion, was used in the treatment group in order to examine the crossover effects of written SCMC on present tense forms in oral production tasks among intermediate Spanish students in online courses. Both online groups engaged in 30 minutes of concentrated interaction with the instructor and other students each week. The control group engaged in 30 minutes of oral interaction per week while the experimental group was exposed to 15 minutes of oral chat and 15 minutes of WC in the 30 minute session of interaction. Specifically, this study employed a pretest/posttest quasi-experimental design and tested the differential effects of a combination of oral and written SCMC online interaction and SCMC solely oral online interaction on the acquisition of Spanish present tense verb forms. The findings show a significant difference in oral gains among the experimental group. / Dissertation/Thesis / M.A. Applied Linguistics 2012

x, 56 p. / This thesis considers the importance of cheng-yu (Chinese language-specific, idiomatic lexical-syntactic units) in second-language acquisition at the intermediate and advanced levels and examines current research in order to formulate an instructional approach. Informed by linguistic and pedagogical research on idioms generally, the study aims to apply research relevant to Chinese language idioms specifically. Main topics to be considered include: the importance of cheng-yu in higher-level discourse including the social significance of cheng-yu use; the patterned structure of cheng-yu; idiom teaching methods and a review of idiom content and presentation in commonly-used Chinese language textbooks; and the significance of corpus data in cheng-yu instruction. Results confirm the importance of cheng-yu in discourse and recommend practicable, research-based classroom strategies. Finally, a sample lesson is provided which encourages the use of corpus data and utilizes research findings on the structure of cheng-yu and on teaching practices thought to foster acquisition. / Committee in charge: Dr. Zhuo Jing-Schmidt, Chairperson; Dr. Yugen Wang, Member

abstract: Online language learning is becoming increasingly popular with advances in technology that facilitate the acquisition of language in virtual environments (Duensing et al., 2006). Much of the recent literature on online foreign language instruction has focused on the possibilities presented by online technologies but has failed to examine the practical side of how and by whom online language courses are delivered. Several authors have published articles on the skills needed to be a successful online language teacher using empirical approaches (Comas-Quinn, 2011; Ernest et al., 2013; Shelly et al., 2006) and some focus more on the theoretical discussions (Compton, 2009; Hampel & Stickler, 2005). The current study drew on the existing frameworks in the previous literature to operationalize and measure the participants’ online language teaching skills while they taught a class online. These participants were graduate student instructors of Spanish at a large public university (n = 3). Using a case study approach to data analysis (Duff, 2008), and gathering data through a background questionnaire, pre-and post assessments, bi-monthly teaching journals, self- and researcher observations, an exit survey and a semi-structured post-interview, this study investigated how the participants online language teaching skills, proposed by Hampel and Stickler (2005) and Compton (2009), changed over the course of them teaching an online language course and the factors that seemed to influence more or less development in each skill area. Additionally, it compares the main findings from this study with those found in previous literature and offers recommendations of how to promote the development and sustainability of these online language teachers’ skills. This study serves as one of the few empirical studies conducted in the United States that concretely operationalizes and measures through carefully designed instruments the prescribed online language teaching skills in an effort to gain insights into what contributes to their development and how to sustain their continued growth. / Dissertation/Thesis / Masters Thesis Spanish 2015

English Language Learners (ELLs) are students who speak a language other than English; they are the fastest growing student population in United States’ (US) public schools and will include over 17 million students by the year 2020 (NCES,2015). The dramatic increase in the ELL student population means that all mainstream classroom teachers will teach at least one ELL within their first year of graduating from a teacher preparation program. However, most US teachers hold misconceptions about ELLs and feel unprepared for ELL instruction (Coady, Harper, & de Jong, 2011). More empirical research is needed to inform teacher preparation programs on the practices that work best to prepare teachers for effective ELL instruction. Video refection and video annotation tools have become increasingly popular in teacher preparation (Calandra & Rich, 2015; Rich & Hannafin, 2009). Video annotation tools provide affordances to teacher candidates’ understanding of pedagogy and support teacher professional development (Borko et al., 2008). Still, most of the empirical research that has been done on teacher candidates’ use of video reflection reports on general education, English-speaking student learning contexts, and the research that has been done on teacher candidates use of video to reflect on ELL instruction is limited. This research aimed to fill the gap in what is known about video reflection for ELL teacher preparation, and examined how three, undergraduate, final semester teacher candidates used V- Note (a video annotation tool), and instructional coaching to reflect on instruction for elementary-aged ELLs. Sociocultural Theory was used to answer the following research questions: (a) How does video-elicited reflection shape undergraduate teacher candidates’ beliefs about ELLs and instruction for ELLs? (b) How does video-elicited reflection affirm, challenge, or reconstruct teacher candidates’ beliefs about ELLs and instruction for ELLs? Data included interviews, written reflections, and a researcher’s journal. A qualitative multiple-case study analysis (Stake, 2013) was used to generate case and cross case findings surrounding Taylor, Susan’s and Erica’s cases. Taylor’s case revealed that as Taylor used video-elicited reflection, her instruction increasingly included more language accommodations and began to include student-centered learning, video-elicited reflection reconstructed Taylor’s beliefs about using one-on-one instruction with ELLs, and collaborative coaching behaviors influenced Taylor’s instruction of ELLs more than directive coaching behaviors did. Susan’s case findings showed that video-elicited reflection challenged Susan’s misconceptions about ELLs’ language needs, Susan needed more explicit modeling to demonstrate how teachers can intentionally support ELLs’ language needs with accommodated instruction, and instructional coaching supported Susan’s understanding of ELLs’ English language proficiency levels and how these levels could be used to inform instruction. Erica’s case findings revealed that video-elicited reflection reconstructed Erica’s beliefs about collaborative learning, video-elicited reflection created a space where Erica explored using accommodations to support ELL comprehension, and video-elicited reflection developed Erica’s beliefs about language. Cross case findings reported on similarities across Taylor’s, Susan’s and Erica’s cases. The first cross case finding showed that video-elicited reflection challenged teacher candidates’ misconceptions about ELLs. The second cross case findings reported that video-elicited reflection allowed teacher candidates to develop an understating of language through appropriation, and the third cross case findings illustrated that video-elicited reflection mediated teacher candidates’ ELL pedagogical development. Findings from this research led to a discussion on the continuous use of video annotation and instructional coaching as permanent scaffolds that promote teacher candidates’ understanding of ELL pedagogy. Additionally, a discussion surrounding a cyclic model of teacher professional development that employs video-elicited reflection is shared, and the use of video-elicited reflection to facilitate teacher candidates’ participatory appropriation is discussed.

This thesis investigates the command 8th-graders in Arabic home language instruction have of written Modern Standard Arabic and if the type of instruction they have received and/or contact with written Arabic affect their performance. Background chapters discuss variables connected to the Arabic language (diglossia, research on reading and writing in Arabic) and variables connected to HLI in Sweden (set-up, steering documents).  The testing material consisted of a translation test from Swedish to Arabic combined with a questionnaire that addressed various factors of relevance to language acquisition.  The translations were analysed on three levels: (1) handwriting, (2) spelling and (3) morphosyntax. The main result of the analysis was that the participants were highly heterogeneous: some participants produced incomplete translations in handwriting that was barely legible, whereas others had good results for all measures. Many of the participants relied on a phonological strategy for spelling. For example, even short, high-frequency words such as personal pronouns and prepositions had not been spelled correctly.  The results for handwriting, spelling and morphosyntax were checked against the variables (1) years of HLI, (2) extra instruction in Arabic outside of HLI and (3) contact with written Arabic in the free time. The results for the effect of participation in HLI were inconclusive. However, many, but not all, of the participants with good results on the translation test had received extra instruction in Arabic, either in Sweden or prior to coming to Sweden. Reading Arabic in the free time was not in all cases connected to good results, but not reading Arabic in the free time was in most cases connected to a low command of written Arabic. Regarding these results, it is suggested that additional factors (motivation, support from the family, etc.) could be at play.  Previous research has addressed the question of heterogeneity in HLI classes. The findings of this thesis illustrate how great the heterogeneity can in fact be, and thus have implications for the set-up of Arabic HLI in Sweden.

The role of technology in education has expanded to a near universal reality. In foreign languages the field of Technology-enhanced Language Learning, has long sought to effectively implement instruction with these tools, and often to great success, often through the guise of Computer-assisted Language Learning. However, most studies investigating the student perception of class structures incorporating technology are based on what instructors have implemented. Students, the counterparts of instructors, often own more than one technological tool and will often employ these tools in their studies. For learners of foreign languages, certain aspects of technology are selected for various tasks based on personal beliefs on how effective these modes of technology may be. This study seeks to discover which technologies students of Japanese select, how they employ those tools and if it makes them feel more confident in their studies. This study also seeks to answer how much technology students wish their instructors would use and hopefully inspire foreign language instructors to adopt technology in a way that aligns with student preference.

Studies on the incidence of socio-pragmatic competence in the teaching of mother tongues are very scarce. The aims of this qualitative study are two folded: First, we want to describe the teachers’ use of socio-pragmatics in the subject of Spanish as a mother tongue. In addition, we want to determine the degree of use of socio-pragmatics u in this specific subject. a mixed method was applied. The results were obtained by means of aclassroom’sssemi structuredsIt was assumed that there would be a sociopragmatic approach in the teaching of mother languages but it was found to be different in each class and it depended on the teachers’ academic training and on the teaching materials, which do not always met the requirements of the subject’s curriculum. The present study assumes that there is a big difference between what appears in the curricular plan and what happens inside the classroom. Sociopragmatic aspects are not sufficiently reflected in the pedagogical practice due to two main reasons: on the one hand, internal and external factors that affect teaching negatively; and, on the other, the fact that teachers are not sufficiently acquainted with socio-pragmatic views. The results show that in all classes the teaching of socio-pragmatic aspects works although mostly intuitively. The degree of employment of socio-pragmatics is different depending on the knowledge that the teacher has about socio-pragmatic competence. Finally, yet importantly, it was found that various internal and external factors affect mother tongue teachers. These factors have a big impact on the properly development of the subject and, specifically, on the teaching of socio-pragmatic competence.