Cette thèse s’inscrit dans une série d’études récemment entamées qui cherchent à caractériser les lectes d’apprenants avancés de l’anglais. Nous présentons une analyse de quelques facteurs sémantiques, discursifs et inter-linguistiques qui sous-tendent l’emploi des formes verbales en anglais langue étrangère par des apprenants avancés francophones et catalanophones en milieu guidé. À partir d’un corpus de narrations orales élicitées à partir d’un livre en images, nous examinons la distribution de la morphologie temporo-aspectuelle par rapport à l’aspect sémantique des prédicats (l’hypothèse de l’aspect) et le type d’information temporelle que ces prédicats encodent dans la narration (l’hypothèse du discours). L’emploi de la morphologie verbale est considéré également du point de vue du style rhétorique de l’apprenant, c’est-à-dire des choix systématiques faits dans une tâche communicative spécifique à partir d’un répertoire appris de formes cibles, mais aussi à travers le filtre inconscient du mode de sélection et d’organisation de l’information en langue maternelle. Même si l’anglais, le français et le catalan grammaticalisent des distinctions aspectuelles, ceci ne permet pas aux apprenants étudiés de faire un emploi de la morphologie verbale tout à fait semblable à celui des locuteurs natifs. Des coalitions prototypiques entre la sémantique des prédicats et celle de la forme verbale, qui caractérisent l’emploi de la morphologie verbale aux stades moins avancés, persistent dans l’emploi des prédicats duratifs (a)téliques et débouchent sur un emploi généralisé du progressif en anglais, souvent dans des contextes où la présence de ce marqueur génère une tension avec le type d’information temporelle encodée. Les moyens d’encoder le déroulement dans la langue maternelle des apprenants semble brouiller leurs hypothèses relatives à l’emploi du progressif en discours dans la langue cible. Seul un sous-ensemble d’apprenants très avancés utilise la morphologie verbale d’une façon véritablement libérée du sémantisme de la construction verbale, de façon similaire aux locuteurs natifs. Pour ces apprenants, le progressif acquiert une fonction discursive et sa présence n’est plus systématique dans les contextes où l’information sur le caractère non-borné d’une situation peut être récupérée à partir d’autres éléments, sémantiques ou syntaxiques. Il existe en effet des légères différences entre les productions des apprenants et des locuteurs natifs en ce qui concerne la palette de fonctions discursives que les formes verbales présentent dans la narration. L’analyse du marquage aspectuel d’une relation temporelle spécifique, celle de simultanéité, nous a permis d’identifier quelques traits qui distinguent des stades successifs dans la variété d’apprenants avancés de l’anglais, ainsi que la présence d’une perspective temporelle en anglais langue cible manifestement construite à partir des choix linguistiques transférés de la langue maternelle des apprenants, même très avancés. Notre étude ouvre des pistes de recherche sur l’étanchéité des oppositions grammaticales dans le domaine de la morphologie verbale, sur les coalitions atypiques qui peuvent surgir en discours et la façon dont ces usages périphériques peuvent s’apprendre (et s’enseigner) dans un milieu guidé. Il en résulte aussi que la production orale chez des apprenants avancés se construit à travers le filtre d’une façon de penser le monde qui reste, de façon irréductible, celui de la langue maternelle. / Our dissertation belongs to a recently initiated line of studies seeking to characterise the advanced English L2 variety. We present an integrated analysis of some semantic, discourse and cross-linguistic factors underlying the use of verb forms by advanced French and Catalan learners of English as a foreign language. Using a corpus of oral picture book narratives, we explore the distribution of tense-aspect morphology in relation to the aspectual class of predicates (the Aspect Hypothesis) and the temporal information they encode in narrative discourse (the Discourse Hypothesis). The use of tense-aspect forms is also considered from the perspective of the so called L2 rhetorical style, the systematic linguistic choices learners make in a given communicative task drawing on their learnt repertoire of L2 devices but also on information selection and organisation patterns unconsciously transferred from their L1. While English, Catalan and French grammaticalise aspectual distinctions, this does not ensure a nativelike use of aspectual marking in English L2. Prototypical predicate/form coalitions in learner production were found to remain strong in the use of tense-aspect morphology with durative (a)telic predicates and to lead to an across-the-board reliance on aspectual marking, often in tension with the plot-advancing role of the predicate. The degree of grammaticalisation of the progressive aspect in learners’ L1 seems to interfere with the hypotheses of use concerning the progressive form in English L2. Only a subset of the learners, the most advanced ones, employ tense-aspect forms in a way which is genuinely liberated from the semantic congruence with the predicate, similar to what was observed in English L1. In this case, the progressive has a discourse-specific function and becomes optional when viewpoint information can be retrieved from other elements in the context. Form-function mappings in the domain of tense-aspect morphology remain, nevertheless, more limited or do not match the ones observed in English L1. The analysis of the expression of simultaneity allows us to identify certain proficiency-related traits in the advanced English L2 variety regarding the distribution of the progressive and the non-progressive forms and the use of other linguistic devices, in coalition with tense-aspect morphology. The cross-linguistic comparison with Catalan and French L1 reveals the existence of a subtle L1 temporal perspective in the expression of simultaneity in English L2, even with the most proficient learners. These findings invite to a reflection on the margins of grammaticalised contrasts, where atypical coalitions arise, and how learners can grasp such peripheral uses in an instructional setting. They also indicate that L2 oral production at the advanced stages remains bound to a way of thinking the world which is the legacy of our L1.

The purpose of this single case study was to understand the perceptions of Latino Spanish-speaking English learners on the efficacy of developmental education services at a western United States community college. The conceptual frameworks used in the investigation included critical theory related to human emancipation, social learning theory aligned to second language acquisition, and contemporary adult learning theories. The goal of the investigation was to understand how students used and perceived the developmental education services to transition from Spanish language instruction to English coursework. Research questions focused on how the developmental education services contributed to the successful completion of the child development practicum for Latino Spanish-speaking English learners. The primary data collection method was in-depth individual interviews of a purposeful sample of 9 successful students. Data were transcribed, coded, and themes were developed based on the components of the conceptual frameworks. Findings indicated that participants relied on Spanish instruction for comprehensible context, but needed consistent education support services and information from a culturally responsive institution in a language they understood. The results prompted the development of a multicultural introduction to college course designed to facilitate access to developmental education services. Implications for social change include developing curriculum to inform Spanish-speaking English learners in the community college system and remediating the shortage of qualified Latino preschool teachers in the community, thereby providing positive role models for young Latino children.

abstract: This action research study examines what common perceptions and constructs currently exist in educating adult immigrants in Arizona and considers how might the integration of citizen science with the current English curriculum promote higher order thinking and educational equity in this population. A citizen science project called the Mastodon Matrix Project was introduced to a Level 2 ELAA (English Language Acquisition for Adults) classroom and aligned with the Arizona Adult Standards for ELAA education. Pre and post attitudinal surveys, level tests, and personal meaning maps were implemented to assess student attitudes towards science, views on technology, English skills, and knowledge gained as a result of doing citizen science over a period of 8 weeks. / Dissertation/Thesis / Ed.D. Educational Leadership and Policy Studies 2012

abstract: This dissertation delves into some EFL stakeholders' understanding of spiritual identities and power relations associated with these identities as performed in an undergraduate EFL teacher education program at a Christian university in Indonesia. This study is motivated by an ongoing debate over the place of spirituality, especially Christianity, in ELT. In this project, religions are considered to be windows through which one's spirituality is viewed and expressed. Spiritually associated relations of power indicate discrepancies due to positioning of one person committed to a spiritual view in relation to those having similar or different spiritual views. The purpose of exploring spiritually associated identities and power relations is to provide empirical evidence which supports the following arguments. The integration of spirituality in ELT, or lack thereof, can be problematic. More importantly, however, spirituality can be enriching for some EFL teachers and students alike, and be presented together with critical ELT. To explore the complexity of power relations associated with some EFL stakeholders' spiritual identities, I analyzed data from classroom observations, four focus group discussions from February to April 2014, and individual interviews with 23 teachers and students from February to September 2014. Findings showed that Christian and non-Christian English teachers had nuanced views regarding the place of prayer in ELT-related activities, professionalism in ELT, and ways of negotiating spiritually associated power relations in ELT contexts. Students participating in this study performed their spiritual identities in ways that can be perceived as problematic (e.g., by being very dogmatic or evangelical) or self-reflexive. Classroom observations helped me to see more clearly how Christian English teachers interacted with their students from different religious backgrounds. In one class, a stimulating dialogue seemed to emerge when a teacher accommodated both critical and religious views to be discussed. This project culminates in my theorization of the praxis of critical spiritual pedagogy in ELT. Central to this praxis are (a) raising the awareness of productive power and power relations associated with spiritual identities; (b) learning how to use defiant discourses in negotiating spiritually associated power relations; and (c) nurturing self-reflexivity critically and spiritually. / Dissertation/Thesis / Doctoral Dissertation English 2014

This study investigates Swedish upper-secondary teachers’ views and reported practices regarding pronunciation instruction in the English-as-a-foreign-language classroom. It adopts a mixed-method design, analysing qualitative data collected from a focus-group interview (N=4) and quantitative data collected from an online survey (N=54).  To investigate the views and reported practices of teachers, the following research questions were posed:  1. What are the views and attitudes of English teachers in the Swedish upper-secondary school regarding pronunciation and pronunciation instruction?  2. How do English teachers in the Swedish upper-secondary school describe their own practices in pronunciation instruction?  Results indicate that teachers generally value comprehensibility as the most important aim of pronunciation instruction. However, a native-like accent still seems to be highly valued, and nativeness norms still seem to affect teachers’ views and practices to some extent. Finally, our findings indicate that teachers spend very little time on pronunciation teaching in general, and they highlight that other aspects of language instruction are more important.

The educational change brought about by the South African Constitution and the Language in Education policy has resulted in many parents choosing to send their children from pre-school to an English medium school, so that their children can become proficient in the English language. As a result, many learners are learning in a language that is not their mother tongue and are therefore struggling to acquire reading and writing skills. Although there are many misconceptions regarding the learning of a language, the underlying theory on how learners learn a second language through Cummins BICS and CALP theory is explored in this research. The main purpose of this study was to evaluate the effects of the Sheltered Instruction Observation Protocol (SIOP) on teaching English Second Language (ESL) learners in primary schools. The study further intended to determine the effectiveness of SIOP in the South African context. To facilitate the understanding of the problem statement of this study, an evaluation framework based on the Context- Input-Process-Product (CIPP) model of Stufflebeam’s model was applied. The research was carried out at one primary school who had predominantly ESL learners in the school and who had teachers trained in implementing SIOP. The main research question posed by this research is to determine the effectiveness of SIOP on teaching an ESL learner in a primary school in the South African context. The sub-questions of the research are to what extent does SIOP differ from traditional methods, how does SIOP affect teachers’ planning and instruction in the classroom; to what extent to the learners understand the content when the teachers implement SIOP and to what extent does SIOP contribute to the improvement of academic performance of ESL learners in content areas. To answer the research question, mixed methods was used to fit together the insights provided by qualitative and quantitative research into a workable solution and therefore make use of the pragmatic method as a system of philosophy. As qualitative data was collected first, followed by the analysis of the secondary data, the typology used for the research is the QUAL quan. Interviews and observations were carried out on teachers who are currently implementing SIOP using interview protocol and observation protocol and data obtained from the University of Pretoria was analysed to determine academic performance of ESL learners. Legitimation occurred at various stages of the research which included peer review and member checking, From the data collected through interviews and observations, the following themes emerged, namely (i) language focus; (ii) difference between SIOP and the traditional methods of teaching; (iii) planning and assessment; (iv) learner attitude towards SIOP and (v) Grade R influence. Although data collected from the University of Pretoria showed gains achieved, the methodology conducted in this research was not an experimental design. A paired ttest was used to determine gains made between the target school, comparison school and the whole sample. Therefore, tentative statements regarding the influence of SIOP on academic performance is thus made in this research. Although no experiment was undertaken for this research, the findings from the data show that the null hypothesis indicates that there is no significant difference between the scores of the baseline assessments and the follow-up scores. As the significant values (p-value) were less than .05, the null hypothesis can be rejected. As part of the analysis, the effect sizes were also calculated which indicates a large effect size for the total scores and reading scores while the phonics scale showed a medium effect and the mathematics scale showed a small effect size. Based on the results of the study, it was found that the programme needed some revisions to make better use of the existing opportunities. The following recommendations and suggestions are that an experiment design should be explored to ascertain actual contribution SIOP can make to an ESL class. SIOP should be implemented as a teacher development programme and possibly a module for teacher training at university level. Resources needs to be readily available for teachers to use which could contribute to the improvements of academic performance of ESL learners. Teachers should form planning teams with other teachers to share good practices and lastly adequate support is needed for the implementation of SIOP. The importance of this study is that it provides insight into and understanding of the role of implementing an intervention programme to improve academic performance of ESL learners. It also sheds light on the need for an intervention programme and the extent to which the programme can improve academic performance of ESL learners. The main contribution of this study to the body of knowledge was its insight into and understanding of a number of factors, categorised as inputs, process and outcomes, that had an effect of the implementation of the SIOP programme. The development of the conceptual framework was applied by the CIPP evaluation model, as a framework that illustrated the relationships and outcomes of the SIOP programme that had previously not been done. This study thus emphasises the importance of intensive research and proper planning of intervention programmes. The aim of this inquiry was to determine the effectiveness of a model of teaching that was developed in the USA. Throughout the research, the findings presented indicated that the Sheltered Instruction Observation Protocol would be a functional model to employ in South Africa’s education system and, if implemented correctly, would yield positive results. Therefore, this study was an initial step towards implementing a programme that would improve academic performance in schools, where the LoLT is different from the mother tongue. Although some valuable information was obtained, there is much scope for further research on how to evaluate the effects of SIOP on academic performance of ESL learners. / Dissertation (MEd)--University of Pretoria, 2011. / Science, Mathematics and Technology Education / unrestricted

Computer-mediated communication (CMC) offers opportunities to assist world language students to become global communicators in a digital society. However, perceptions of high school world language (HSWL) teachers on the suitability of these applications are not known. The purpose of this qualitative case study was to explore and document the professional perspectives of HSWL teachers who have taught over 10 years, to learn the benefits and obstacles that they must consider in teaching communicative language skills with CMC. The research questions explored possible reasons that would motivate or dissuade from teaching with these applications. The technology acceptance model extension (TAM2) provided the conceptual framework for this study because it elucidates the cognitive and social processes that affect teacher decisions when reviewing a technology to support their instruction. The collected data included 6 in-depth interviews, field observations, and document reviews. The data analysis began with a precoding based on TAM2, and coding to identify emergent themes such as student immaturity and content-specific professional development. In the findings, the teachers perceived CMC as unsuitable due to the digital divide and the focus on grammatical competence. However, the teachers noted the possible benefits of content-specific professional development. This study contributes to positive social change by providing insight into the current role of computer technology in HSWL instruction and suggestions for how to encourage teachers to adopt innovative uses of digital technology in their CLT practices.

Linguistically gifted and talented students often do not receive appropriate instruction in the classroom. Little research has been conducted about how teachers of Advanced Placement and International Baccalaureate courses provide instruction to students who demonstrate advanced proficiency in a second language. The purpose of this multiple case study was to explore how teachers of these courses provided instruction for students who demonstrate advanced proficiency in Spanish. The conceptual framework was based on Krashen's second language acquisition theory and Gardner's multiple intelligences theory. Participants included 2 teachers from 2 high schools in 1 county in a western state. Data were collected from individual teacher interviews, reflective journals, and documents such as course standards and course descriptions. Single case analysis involved coding and category construction, using the constant comparative method for interview and journal data, and a content analysis for documents. Cross case analysis involved an examination of all data sources and cases to determine themes and discrepant data. A key finding was that, in addition to course rigor, teachers used a variety of instructional strategies, such as flexible grouping, choice, higher order thinking skills, and formative assessments to meet the needs of all students, including advanced proficiency students. Recommendations are to improve the identification of linguistically gifted and talented students and to provide professional development in differentiated instruction. This study contributes to positive social change by providing educators with a deeper understanding that students who are proficient in languages will be invaluable in building a strong global community.

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This study is a quasi-experimental, longitudinal investigation into the role that extensive reading and reading strategies play in the cultivation of reading self-efficacy. Conducted over the course of one academic year, how changes in reading self-efficacy translate into changes in reading comprehension was examined. In addition, the participants' perceptions of the utility of extensive reading and reading strategies, and how those perceptions related to reading self-efficacy were investigated. A final goal was to ascertain how retrospective ratings of reading self-efficacy influence current levels of the construct. The participants (N = 322) were first and second-year, non-English majors at a four-year, co-educational university in Osaka, Japan. The participants were divided into four groups: an intensive reading group (control group), an extensive reading group, a reading strategies group, and an extensive reading/reading strategies group. Data for the study were obtained from six major sources: a reading comprehension test, a reading strategy test, a reading self-efficacy questionnaire, a perceived utility of extensive reading questionnaire, a perceived utility of reading strategies questionnaire, and a sources of reading self-efficacy questionnaire. The questionnaires and tests were administered three times over the course of the academic year. Before conducting the quantitative analyses on the data gathered with the above instruments, the dichotomous test and questionnaire data were analyzed using the Rasch rating-scale model to confirm the validity and reliability of the instruments and to transform the raw scores into equal interval measures. By employing MANOVAs, ANOVAs, Latent Growth Curve Modeling, and Pearson correlation coefficients, the data were then analyzed to ascertain differences between groups and within groups for all tests and constructs measured. The results showed that the participants in the reading strategies and extensive reading/reading strategies groups gained significantly more in reading self-efficacy over the academic year than those in the extensive reading and intensive reading groups. In addition, all three experimental groups outperformed the intensive reading group in reading comprehension. Furthermore, results from the latent growth curve model showed that gains in reading self-efficacy were related positively to gains in reading comprehension. In a similar vein, the results showed that gains in reading strategy skill led to changes in reading self-efficacy, while reading amount was not significantly related to changes in reading self-efficacy. The results also suggested that those who more highly regard extensive reading as useful to improving reading comprehension exhibited higher levels of reading self-efficacy over the course of the study. On the contrary, there was no significant difference in levels of reading self-efficacy between those who highly rated reading strategies as useful and those who did not rate them as highly. Finally, Pearson correlation coefficients showed moderately strong relationships between junior high and high school (retrospective) levels of reading self-efficacy and university (current) levels. These results underscore the importance of self-efficacy in the learning process and how the cultivation of self-efficacy should be a goal of any educator or administrator in an EFL context. The findings also highlight the detrimental effects of teaching methodologies, such as grammar-translation, that deprive learners of the opportunity to develop their own cognitive abilities. With the introduction of reading strategy intervention and/or extensive reading practice, the participants in the experimental groups of this study were able to develop the skills needed to overcome comprehension breakdowns in the reading process, and this help them become more autonomous, empowered readers. / CITE/Language Arts