According to national assessments of student performance, struggling readers in secondary grades continue to struggle, specifically in the areas of vocabulary development and reading comprehension. As a result, the identified students struggle with content area learning. It is important to examine content area teachers' perspectives and instructional needs about the role of reading/literacy in their content area. This study uses a correlational research design, consisting primarily of collection and analysis of inventory data, collected from 74 secondary English Language Arts (ELA) and Social Studies teachers in grades 6-12. The use of correlational design was selected to examine possible relationships between perceptions of ease of use, usefulness, and attitude towards literacy instruction and implementation of effective literacy practices. This study examines secondary English Language Arts (ELA) and Social Studies teachers' perceptions and implementation of effective literacy instruction practices, in grades 6-12, through the analysis of correlational data, collected through an inventory related to this topic. Using multiple regression analysis of data, results of this study found a significant relationship between ease of use and teacher attitude, as well as teacher attitude and implementation of literacy instructional practices associated with positive effects in student achievement. This study also shows the significance of ease of use when implementing instructional practices in the classroom, as well as examines differences related to teacher education, preparation, and content area. The results of this study have the potential to (a) inform ELA and Social Studies teachers in grades 6-12, school administrators, related department heads, and school district leaders with recommendations for professional development and (b) identify areas for future research. The results of this study could provide much needed insight into the instructional decision making of secondary content area teachers, specifically in the area of literacy instruction within the ELA and Social Studies content area classrooms.

Over the past decade, the population of students learning English as a second language in the United States has grown astronomically. Presently, the number of English learners (ELs) across the country has reached 4.8 million and is projected to rise in the coming years. Because of this steadily increasing metric, the demand for effective reading instruction as a critical component of overall academic achievement and learning success is crucial. As such, there is a great need for schools to address the language, literacy, and academic needs of ELs in mainstream classrooms. To address this concern, major responsibilities fall on teachers who are leaders at the forefront of instruction. As reading is a challenging task for ELs, teachers must be adequately prepared in order to promote content and language development in various ways. This research investigated teachers candidates' use of read-aloud strategies and explored: (1) experiences with supporting reading comprehension for ELs at various levels of proficiency and (2) perceptions about coaching and feedback sessions as a result of preparation through MELTS modules. Data was gathered from an initial questionnaire, semi-structured interviews, coaching session observation protocols, skill practice reflections, activity plans, and final assessment/evaluation rubrics. A qualitative phenomenological approach was adopted in order to develop an in-depth understanding of participants' perceptions about the MELTS preparation process and their experiences with teaching elementary EL students and avatars. Three main themes emerged from the data analysis: Teaching and Learning Strategies for ELs Through Read-Aloud Practices; The Importance of Guidance and Feedback in Teacher Preparation Programs; Difficulties and Challenges Teaching ELs at Different Proficiency Levels. Results showed the positive impact of well prepared teachers on the reading proficiency levels of ELs during instruction. It also revealed the significant role of guidance and feedback in the learning process. Overall, this research study underscores a substantial need for mentoring and collaboration as an important component in preparing teachers to address the learning needs of second language learners as they work towards achieving academic success. The study offered several recommendations regarding practical EL teaching strategies that emerged from the findings, and pedagogical implications were provided for future implementation in second language classrooms.

The purpose of this descriptive study is to characterize the natural context of routine storybook reading in an inclusive early learning environment by looking at educator variables and child language status. Early childhood researchers and scholars have well documented the importance of oral language development in young children for future reading and academic success. Evidence-based research literature advocates engaging young children in high quality interactive reading experiences, such as Dialogic Reading (Whitehurst, 2005), as effective means to facilitate young children's oral language development and emergent literacy acquisition. By understanding the features of natural story-time routines, researchers, speech-language pathologists, and early childhood administrators can better isolate the variables and develop models of educating early childhood practitioners in high quality professional learning programs for learning Dialogic Reading strategies. Data are presented for four early childhood educators in an inclusive early learning center and thirty-four young children, ranging in age from three- to five-years, populated naturally across their classrooms. Data were collected through demographic questionnaires, video-recorded observations of routine story-time activities, the Concerns-Based Adoption Model (CBAM) Stages of Concern Questionnaire (S0CQ) (Hall & Hord, 2019), and language assessment measures. Study results provide a unique description of the participating educators' storybook reading behaviors and their attitudes towards adopting Dialogic Reading as a new instructional practice, along with the quantified oral language needs of the children in their preschool classes. Results from this descriptive study provide an important contribution to researchers and practitioners to inform development of individualized high-quality professional learning programs related to Dialogic Reading (Whitehurst, 2005) as an instructional interactive storybook reading practice.

Academic writing is central to doctoral growth. The purpose of this study was to better understand the similarities and differences between first-year native- and nonnative-speaking doctoral students in terms of academic writing and writer development. Data were collected for two semesters, including observational notes, transcribed audio diaries and interviews, and writing samples from three first-year doctoral students from an applied field of social science. Ethnographic data analysis described how text production and composing processes changed over the first year in relation to social and cultural factors. The first year of the doctoral program was critical to their growth as writers and emerging researchers. With diverse cultural, linguistic, and educational backgrounds, all three participants completed similar doctoral-level academic writing tasks with different levels of confidence, yet all achieved reasonable levels of success as demonstrated by grades and overall positive feedback. Their writing processes made evident both similarities and differences in the difficulties encountered and the strategies used to overcome those difficulties. By the end of the first year, all participants had established preferred writing habits and processes; however, text production and composing processes varied depending on the genres of writing and course contexts. In addition, their writing experiences and development were shaped by sociocultural factors: settling into the city and program, competing responsibilities, interactions within the doctoral program, and academic acculturation. Overall, the commonalities and differences observed in the participants' developmental trajectory as academic writers were not determined by their native or nonnative status, but by participants' individual differences. Native-nonnative differences existed but were relatively trivial, suggesting that the two sub-populations at the doctoral level may share more similarities than differences. Native or nonnative status did not automatically equate to advantages or disadvantages in the current research context. The study provided theoretical and practical insights into first-year doctoral students' shared experiences and individual challenges as native and nonnative writers, generating implications for doctoral-level student support services and writing pedagogy. The findings demonstrated that only by examining academic text in relation to the context will the researcher gain clarity about the wide range of factors that play into the writer's writing process and product. Methodologically, the study offered recommendations for future studies using a longitudinal and ethnographic approach in examining academic writing development and highlighted the audio diary as a data collection method.

This qualitatively analyzed protocol-analysis study investigated the cognitive processes English for Academic Purposes (EAP) students used while applying Dynamic Written Corrective Feedback (Evans et al., 2010) throughout a 16-week semester. The goal was to extend research literature on DWCF by investigating participant's cognitive processes to deepen understanding of DWCF and compare patterns of processing feedback between color and traditional editing codes. Eleven international university students participated in four think-aloud sessions with DWCF at three-week intervals. Five participants received typical editing codes feedback. Six others received color codes feedback. In each session, participants wrote independently following a prompt for 10 minutes. Immediate coded feedback was provided, and the participants thought aloud as they applied the feedback to writing corrections and feedback charting. If needed, additional feedback and revision with think-aloud occurred. Brief retrospective questions followed. The resulting verbal reports were transcribed and screencapture observations were added. Forty transcribed sessions were analyzed using Storch and Wigglesworth's (2010) language-related episodes (LREs) as an initial coding scheme. Additional codes emerged and were documented during the study. All LREs with their associated engagement and editing resolutions were tallied and charted to identify patterns which were then described with data excerpts. Overall findings illustrated differences regarding participant processing between the two types of feedback. Generally, the color-coded feedback group engaged in more extensive engagement without necessarily resulting in more expected editing resolutions to feedback. Data patterns within LREs show more consistent upward trends of resolutions over the semester with editing codes. This finding combined with patterns of task confirmation and feedback clarification suggested that editing codes feedback was more meaningful and manageable. The color codes possibly added some unnecessary cognitive load towards learner processing. Patterns for reading and self-confirmation did not have clear differences between feedback groups. All participants attended to the feedback provided. Findings have implications for future research and practitioners interested in DWCF.

The purpose of this study was to investigate the most common writing errors made by undergraduate Saudi students with special focus on the five most common errors. The study also examined whether the type of prompt has an effect on the frequency of these errors. 58 English major students participated in this study, and each student wrote two timed essays. The first one was persuasive and the second one was compare and contrast. In order to analyze the data, the researcher used an error inventory developed by Bushong and Mihai (2012) based on Ferris (2002), which categorized ten types of errors. However, five other errors were added to this category later, which resulted in a combination of fifteen types of errors. The findings revealed that missing/unnecessary word was the most frequent type of error (17.86%), followed by spelling errors (15.66%), wrong choice (14.00%), article (7.68%), wrong noun form (6.68%). In addition, the results showed that the type of prompt had no effect on the number of errors. However, it had an influence on the frequency and types of errors, which was manifested in the differences between the last two categories of the five most common errors found in prompts A and B.

Factors affecting English learners' (ELs) motivation and identity have been explored in second language (L2) learning contexts; however, research examining L2 motivation and identity under the effect of bullying victimization is rare although ELs are one of the populations that are physically and psychologically affected from bullying. Using a unique perspective by merging L2 motivation, L2 identity, and bullying concepts under social ecological framework, this dissertation study is the first study investigating the relationship between bullying victimization, L2 Motivational Self System, and L2 identity. The data were derived from 1022 ELs through a self-report survey that was adapted and tested for measurement model validity and reliability. Partial least square structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) results indicated that there was a strong relationship between bullying victimization, including traditional bullying and cyberbullying, L2 Motivational Self System, and L2 identity. Traditional bullying victimization and cyberbullying victimization affect ELs' feared L2 selves. This suggests that the feared L2 self may be added as a component to Dörnyei's L2 Motivational Self System, especially when bullying victimization becomes a factor in language learning process. In addition, cyberbullying victimization positively correlated with ELs' oriented identity, which may indicate that ELs as agents were more motivated to learn English to overcome the negative effects of bullying victimization and to orient to the target culture. Based on the results, potential implications were provided for teachers and curriculum developers to help ELs cope with bullying in class and outside the classroom environment.

The use of passive voice has long been an area of difficulty for English learners. Celce-Murcia & Larsen-Freeman (2015) noted that it is learning when to use the English passive that presents the greatest long-term challenge to ESL/EFL students (p. 352). Because textbooks are a source of language input for English learners, this study investigated the frequency of passive voice verbs in samples from four academic textbooks in courses commonly taken by freshmen. The study also examined whether there are significant differences between the frequencies by textbook. The data was collected from four General Education Plan (GEP) subject textbooks used in freshman classes at a large metropolitan university in the southeastern United States, namely English composition, history, psychology, and biology. The data was then compiled into a corpus of approximately 20,000 words created specifically for the current study, with 5,000 words randomly and sequentially selected from each of the four textbooks. The study utilized a table created by Folse (2009) to analyze differences between the basic passive voice tenses found in the textbooks. The study examined the be-passives, get-passives, and have-passives and their frequency in different tenses. The findings revealed that passive voice occurred in academic textbooks with an overall frequency of 7.06% (of all conjugated verbs). The results also found significant differences between the academic genres (p lt& 0.05). In this particular corpus, passive voice occurred more in biology than in the other subjects. Therefore, the results of the study indicated a need to explicitly teach the basic be-passive voice to English language learners to all English learners, but teachers also need to be especially aware that certain university subjects (e.g., biology) use more passive voice verb forms than others.

The purpose of this hermeneutic study was to understand, describe and interpret secondary English Language Arts (ELA) teacher candidates'(TC) experiences with writing instruction while attending English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL) methods courses. The study included a purposeful convenience sample of 15 (fifteen) secondary ELA teacher candidates' (TC) attending 4 (four) different sections in 2 (two) ESOL methods courses. TCs were invited to participate in inquiry driven activities including written reflections in response to a literacy questionnaire, oral interviews responding to open-ended questions and focus/work groups' discussions, which allowed them to reflect about their past and present literacy and learning experiences and become reflexive about the application of knowledge and practices in their future classrooms. The phenomenological hermeneutic qualitative design granted the researcher insight into participants' literacy and learning experiences as lived in relationship with their contexts, in a specific place and time. Colaizzi's (1978) seven-stages data analysis procedure, enabled the analysis and thorough description of TCs' experiences with writing instruction along their schooling and teacher education career. The following thematic categorization of participants' experiences was outlined: a)- TCs' experiences with instruction received and knowledge developed in teacher education programs, b)- TCs' recognition of good and bad practices in educational settings, including planning accommodations in general education classrooms, c)- TCs' experiences with ELs in authentic settings, d)- TCs' awareness process of ELs in schools, and e)- TCs' experiences with and about writing instruction to teach ELs. Further in depth data analysis guided the researcher into the interpretation of the fundamental structure of the phenomenon of teacher education experiences with writing instruction. TCs' experiences, drawn from different learning settings (including methods and content courses and field practicum), were articulated thanks to their participation in inquiry based learning activities. This breath of experiences specifically informed TCs' writing instruction experiences while attending ESOL methods courses. TCs' reflective and reflexive stances position them at the center of the educational phenomenon, in which TCs develop from facilitators of classroom communication to facilitators of learning processes and intercultural mediators. The phenomenon of TCs' lived experiences with writing instruction while attending ESOL methods courses, and by extension, content area courses and field practicum, needs to be analyzed, described and interpreted in order to develop practices conducive to inform the curricular development of teacher education programs and courses, to better prepare TCs to teach every learner develop knowledge and literacy, paying special attention to ELs'proficiency in English as a second language (ESL).

The focus of this qualitative, descriptive case study was to (a) investigate the knowledge English Language Arts preservice and inservice teachers had about eTextbooks and Open Educational Resources (OERs) and (b) how they planned to use that knowledge to develop their current/future 6-12 grade students' comprehension and content knowledge. Included within the study were specifics regarding how eTextbooks and OERs can be used to support adolescent learners and how online comprehension skills can be developed. Data were analyzed in order to determine themes related to the use and planning for eTextbooks and OERs in the secondary ELA classroom. Data sources for this study included the participant interviews, document analysis, and a focus group interview. Findings revealed that participants (N=6) were both excited and apprehensive about using technology and that although they had some personal experiences with eTextbooks and OERs, they would need more specific support in helping their future or current students to develop online reading comprehension skills. Implications and recommendations are offered for preservice teacher educators, classroom teachers and professional developers, researchers, and publishers.