Since South Africa’s democratic government was elected to power in 1994, much attention has been given to restructuring the country’s education system. Peer-mentoring is one approach to meet current challenges in education given high teacher:learner ratios, greater diversity in student population and majority of learners being taught in English, their second and even third language. This research examined the impact of a peermentoring reading intervention with second language Grade 9 learners. The study utilized a sample of Grade 9 learners (N = 173) from a school in Gauteng. Biographical information was obtained and these learners were pre-tested in Grade 8 and post-tested in Grade 9 2007, using the Stanford Diagnostic Reading Test (SDRT). The entire Grade 9 group received the reading intervention for three months and their results were compared to a comparison group from the previous year who received no intervention. Results of learners’ vocabulary, comprehension and academic achievement scores were compared. Although both the comparison and the experimental groups showed an improvement on their vocabulary and comprehension scores, the experimental group’s gains were significantly higher. Of the Grade 9 experimental group, 30 learners (mentees) received individual paired reading mentoring and their scores were examined to determine the extent of improvement. The mentees group showed similar significant gains in their vocabulary and comprehension scores, and showed an overall improvement in their academic marks. Challenges faced, limitations and recommendations for future study are discussed.

Thesis advisor: C. Patrick Proctor / While the number of linguistically diverse students (LDS) grows steadily in the U.S., schools, research and practice to support their education lag behind (Lucas & Grinberg, 2008). Research that describes the attitudes and practices of teachers who serve LDS and how those attitudes and practice intersect with language and special education is limited (Klingner & Artiles, 2006). Despite varied teacher preparation coursework, all teachers are expected to educate LDS; therefore, it was essential for this study to investigate teachers' attitudes, coursework, and decision-making practices for and about LDS. Using a sequential explanatory research design (Creswell et al., 2003; Creswell, 2009), this study examines the language attitudes and coursework histories of sixty-nine inservice teachers. A subsample of nine teachers participated in an interview and responded to a case study dilemma about a LDS who struggled academically. Quantitative analyses reveal that teachers who completed language coursework reported strong positive language attitudes, compared to teachers without this coursework. Qualitative analyses, however, demonstrate a range of teachers' reflective judgment and desirable practices. Collective analyses of data indicate that teachers' positive language attitudes are predictive of desirable practices. Further, the interactions between teachers' reported knowledge, attitudes, and practice in two domains - language and special education - inform teachers' professional practice. Findings also indicate that teachers' professional practice, including collaboration, reflection, decision making, problem solving, and professional development, vary based on teachers' understanding of and attitudes about policy, assessment, and instructional practices. Most importantly, findings suggest that teachers' actual professional practice is inextricably linked to and contextualized in classroom, school, and/or district structures. / Thesis (PhD) — Boston College, 2011. / Submitted to: Boston College. Lynch School of Education. / Discipline: Teacher Education, Special Education, Curriculum and Instruction.

Thesis advisor: Lillie Richardson Albert / Currently, one of the most popular technology initiatives used in schools to prepare information- and technology-literate students is one-to-one laptop programs. However, limited research studies have investigated factors involved in laptop programs' integration process in schools from various participant perspectives by specifically focusing on ELL students and their needs. Through an ecological lens, this study investigated a one-to-one laptop program integrated into ESL classrooms in an urban middle school, which sustained the program for 6 years. The study included multiple perspectives of various school community members to capture an accurate account of factors necessary for the program's implementation and continuation. This study used a qualitative, single-case research design with exploratory purposes to investigate the multi-level nature of a one-to-one laptop program. Ecology was used as a lens to interpret data and show the relations between living (biotic) and nonliving (abiotic) factors in the program. In-depth data was collected through interviews, classroom observations, field notes, and archives. Collected data were analyzed through constructivist grounded theory using open, axial, and selective coding. The study demonstrated that multiple factors interact with each other and impact the laptop initiative in ESL classrooms. These factors and their interaction were visually represented as a conceptual model. Factors identified in findings were discussed under three main themes: financial, technical and leadership factors. Findings related to financial factors indicated that technical issues increased over the years due to the financial problems, which influenced the instructional use of laptops unfavorably and amplified doubts about the future of the program. Results related to leadership highlighted the importance of having multiple leaderships and allowing the participation of various school members in the decision making process. Results also showed that the federal mandates on achievement influenced the laptop program by changing the vision of the school from teaching with technology to improving instruction and achievement scores on standardized tests. Finally, findings emphasized the importance of including ESL leadership in the laptop program from the very beginning to adjust it to the needs of ESL students. Implications for teachers, administrators, educational researchers, policy makers, and future research are discussed. / Thesis (PhD) — Boston College, 2012. / Submitted to: Boston College. Lynch School of Education. / Discipline: Teacher Education, Special Education, Curriculum and Instruction.

Thesis advisor: Lillie R. Albert / Researchers have found that as students progress through school, the importance of language grows due to the content specificity that emerges, especially in the secondary grades, and due to the preparation of these students to enter adulthood once their schooling is completed. Even as students' instruction in various content areas becomes more in-depth and specialized, so does the terminology employed in the content. It is because of this specificity and union of language and learning that English-language learners' (ELLs') ability to comprehend and produce content-area academic language is crucial to their success. When questioning the quality of instruction ELLs are receiving in mathematics, the attention logically shifts to the pedagogical abilities of their teachers. However, historically, mathematics teachers have lacked language-acquisition knowledge and strategies necessary to adequately address the needs of linguistically diverse learners. In order to authentically promote and pursue quality mathematics education for all students, teachers of mathematics must be trained in recognizing the language demands of mathematics and in applying or developing strategies to address the nuances of the language in this subject area. The research in this study contributes to this work. This dissertation documents the effects of an intervention, woven into a secondary mathematics methods course and designed to prepare mathematics teachers to support ELLs' content and language learning. The study was based on the assumption that mathematics is much more than computations, and thus, requires a shift in the how the role of the mathematics teacher is viewed. Both qualitative and quantitative empirical evidence regarding the intervention's influence on the participants' attitudes and preparedness to teach the academic language of mathematics were generated. Twenty-nine students over the course of two years took part in this research. Five students from the second year were selected for an in-depth case study based on their range of experiences with learning other languages, interactions with linguistically diverse youth, and practicum placements for the subsequent spring semester. The larger group of preservice teachers was surveyed at the beginning and end of their enrollment in the course, and their course assignments were collected. In addition, case-study participants were interviewed at the start and completion of the semester, and their practicum-office submissions were examined. A framework to encourage pupils' acquisition of mathematical academic language is proposed. Essential outcomes indicate that the intervention not only affected the participants' beliefs and attitudes towards their own preparedness for teaching ELLs in mainstream mathematics classes, but also it imparted concrete strategies for the modification of teaching and learning experiences in the preservice teachers' future practices. The results of this study correlate to existing literature regarding linguistically responsive pedagogy and extend this theory by integrating language-acquisition strategies throughout a content-methods course for the middle- and high-school levels. / Thesis (PhD) — Boston College, 2012. / Submitted to: Boston College. Lynch School of Education. / Discipline: Teacher Education, Special Education, Curriculum and Instruction.

abstract: In a growlingly digital world, scholars must understand the changes in textuality and communication associated with Web 2.0 technologies to incorporate potential pedagogical benefits to language curricula. For example, with the affordance of these technologies, language learners (LL) are increasingly exposed to language contact zones found both on and offline. A practice that could potentially support the communicative practices of LL within these multilingual spaces is translanguaging, or the use of strategies employed by LL when engaging with diverse codes by utilizing the resources of their semiotic repertoire as well as their language(s). Previous research has focused principally on contexts of bilingual education and identity formation vis-à-vis translanguaging. Therefore, the present study is the first to examine the actual translanguaging practices of second language (n=5) and heritage language learners (n=5) of Spanish in a digital language contact zone: Facebook affinity spaces, or common interest spaces. The dynamic data gathered from screen capture recordings of the participants’ interactions and think-aloud protocols in the affinity spaces, stimulated recall interviews, and written reflections were analyzed using content analysis and critical discourse analysis. This analysis revealed key findings in the data that focused on translanguaging practices, negotiation strategies, and performative competence - or the procedural knowledge which focuses on how learners communicate rather than what they communicate. First, the participants displayed a preference toward the separation of languages in written output, adhering to the ideals of linguistic purism, while simultaneously engaging in translanguaging practices via non-linguistic semiotic resources, such as the use of emojis, in their communication. Second, the participants’ self-reported proficiency levels for their writing abilities in Spanish correlated with their use of outside digital resources as a mediation tool. The findings show that, theoretically, the conceptualization of communicative competence must be expanded in order to incorporate the languaging practices of interlocutors in digital contexts. Pedagogically, educators need to support the development of LLs’ digital literacies, or communicative practices that are facilitated by technology, and address the bias toward linguistic purism to help students reap the cognitive benefits offered by translanguaging practices. / Dissertation/Thesis / Doctoral Dissertation Spanish 2018

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Because several challenges exist when providing English as a Second Language (ESL) services to culturally and linguistically diverse (CLD) students with autism spectrum disorder (ASD), such services may be overlooked in deference to other educational needs. Therefore, this study used a survey to obtain information from 121 special education teachers in the state of Utah to explore the types of ESL services offered to CLD students with ASD. Results indicated that only 30% of the special educators participating in the study provide second language services in their classrooms. Results also show that language services provided by speech language pathologists are typically provided in English only and do not address second language needs. Almost 80% of participants agree that it is important to provide ESL/Bilingual services to CLD students with ASD. Lack of training, lack of use of second-language materials and difficulty ensuring appropriate placement are cited as challenges faced by participants when working with CLD students with ASD. This study suggests that CLD students with ASD in Utah are not receiving appropriate language services. Results show the need for improvement in teacher training and provision of second language materials and resources for special education teachers.

The current study examined the effects of language instruction with two preschool age students who are English language learners who have developmental delays using the incidental teaching method. Language targets were randomly chosen according to the language level of each student and the targets were either in Spanish (L1) or English (L2). The students were in a special education classroom and researchers worked with them one-on-one, using the natural learning environment to teach and to better implement learning objectives. Targets were withheld during play and students had to mand, tact, or use intraverbal skills to receive the item. Their reward was the object they desired after they manded, tacted, or used intraverbal language. The experimental effects were measured using a single case, repeated acquisition design. The intervention was maintained for five months. The results indicated that acquisition of English (L2) is acquired faster after Spanish (L1) has been appropriately taught. Implications for further research are discussed.

Much of how Florida and other states across the country justify the practice of mainstreaming English language learners into regular content classrooms rests on the premise that with the guidance of state officials, local school districts adequately train content teachers to work with English language learners. Yet little to no research exists that can help identify and analyze the overall efficacy of these programs. Consequently, this study has attempted to determine whether district training sessions in Florida are sufficiently covering the state-mandated content areas that teachers are required to learn and to what extent in-service teachers agree or disagree that they received the appropriate amount of instruction that would prepare them to instruct English language learners. Training sessions in three large Florida school districts with high proportions of English language learners were studied using a mixed-methods approach that gathered quantitative and qualitative data from observations, surveys and in-depth interviews. Among other things, the findings revealed a pattern of districts overemphasizing cross-cultural awareness issues to the detriment of other critical areas teachers need to know such as methods and curriculum. In addition, there was a general consensus on the part of participants that the trainings lacked specificity and were both impractical and redundant. A number of specific recommendations are offered such as ways to modify the focus of the curriculum, provide incentives to teachers, and create more accountability and oversight of the training sessions themselves. Policymakers are strongly urged to prioritize these types of programs by providing training sessions with more resources and attaching to them a larger sense of importance.

This study utilizes Lave and Wenger’s (1991) communities of practice (COP) model to explore how ELLs navigate their positions within and between their many language learning communities. Drawing on Norton’s (1995, 2013) work on ELLs’ identity negotiation and Wenger’s 1998 work on the reinforcing impacts of identities between multiple COPs, this study explores what adults consider to be their COPs, how they perceive themselves within and between them, and how past, current, and imagined or possible COPs impact each other. A constructivist, multiple case study design was used to focus on participants’ perceptions of their identity negotiation processes through their own narratives across three interviews and weekly audio-recorded self-reports. Eight adult ELLs participated in the study, and their narratives revealed the temporal and situational nature of their connections to past, present, and future identities as English learners, as professionals, and as members of their communities. They experienced persistent explicit and subtle barriers to participation in their COPs with native English speakers, including a range of linguistic gatekeeping strategies. The study revealed several themes of COP membership, in particular an identification with a larger, less concrete, immigrant group that lead the participants to focus their narratives and English-learning efforts on their ability to advocate for themselves and for other immigrants in the United States. Recommendations from the ELLs and the researcher are presented for a more holistic approach to adult ELL instruction that incorporates more of the multiple facets of ELLs’ learning trajectories in the target-language context.