Peer interaction is an important part of language learning. The results of previous studies showed advantages and disadvantages of peer interaction between native speakers and English learners. Using the educational simulation platform TeachLivE as the interaction platform, this qualitative descriptive case study explored the possibilities of bridging the gap between classroom language practice and real-life second language communication. The study recruited eight participants for a task-based interaction project. Using conversation analysis, the study revealed details in communication between adult English learners and their digital character peers. During the interactions, the participants were actively involved and the most frequent communication patterns were collaborative and cooperative. The analysis of interviews of participants and the interactor explored the factors that influenced the communication patterns between the young adult English learners and their digital peers. The results showed that the communication experience with digital characters was authentic and the virtual platform was critical to build the confidence of English learners' language use. Moreover, the multiple digital characters manipulated by interaction protocols were also helpful to create a scaffolding effect for practicing oral communication for the English learners.

Due to the variety and complexity of verb tenses in English, English as a Second Language (ESL) / English as a Foreign Language (EFL) learners often experience difficulty in mastering English verb tense system. This corpus-based study was conducted to ascertain the most frequently used verb tenses by English native speakers (NSs), specifically in their academic writing in a history course. As this study aimed to examine the naturally-occurring language produced by NSs, specifically in their academic writing, an original corpus of 101,713 words was assembled. The corpus consisted of 130 research papers written by 65 students. The corpus was analyzed, targeting certain linguistic items: the twelve verb tenses, modals, perfect modals, and imperatives. These targets were highlighted using a code-coloring method. Then, the items were calculated using Microsoft Excel. Excel calculations revealed the number of occurrences of each of the verb tenses, modals, perfect modals, and imperatives that was utilized in the corpus. The results revealed that the simple past tense was predominant, followed by the simple present tenses. Modals came third, as they occurred more frequently than any of the other verb tenses. The remaining targets had percentages ranging between 1.62% and zero. These findings could contribute in developing the methodology of teaching verb tenses to ESL/EFL learners in a way that reinforces their comprehension of the most important and most common items. In addition, this information is very important for materials designers and curriculum professionals.

Pronunciation teaching has long been overlooked in areas of research, especially those of language teacher cognition (Couper, 2017; Macdonald, 2002). In language teacher education, narrative inquiry provides a basis for expert mediation and growth in perceived areas of challenge (Johnson, 2009; Johnson & Golombek, 2002) through the lens of language teacher cognition (Baker & Murphy, 2011). Through tracking reflections of pre-service teachers who observed a pronunciation course led by an experienced English teacher, this study examines a secondary data set of narrative reflections in correspondence with an observed pronunciation course. The results are organized into themes and subthemes which highlight salient foci of the data. Through language teacher cognition, the findings highlight areas of knowledge and potential growth in pronunciation pedagogy that can be harnessed by language teacher educators for personal and professional development in language teacher education.

This exploratory study investigated the variables that predict academic writing difficulties (AWDs) among first-year doctoral students, international and domestic, at a large, publicly funded research university in Southeastern United States. Data were collected through an online survey. The final sample size contained 111 first - year students, domestic and international from various doctoral programs. The first analysis examined factors predicting first-year doctoral students' self-assessed writing difficulties, using Multiple Linear Regression. Five factors were statistically significant predictors of AWDs: Asian race, Colleges of Business, Engineering, and Science, and the age between fifty-five to sixty-four. The remaining factors associated with age, Race, or College were not statistically significant. The second analysis examined differences between domestic and international students using Multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA) and Multivariate analysis of covariance (MANCOVA). The MANOVA results indicated statistically significant differences in the AWD and GRE writing scores between domestic and international students, but no statistically significant difference was found between the two groups for Motivation. However, when GRE writing scores were used as a covariate, the MANCOVA revealed statistically significant differences for both Motivation and AWD between international and domestic doctoral students. The findings of this study have important pedagogical implications for doctoral students, graduate faculty, curriculum designers, university's administrators, and universities writing support programs.

The purpose of this quantitative case study was to examine the position of an instructional literacy coach as perceived by high school administrators, teachers, and coaches in one Florida school district and to determine if any perceptual variance existed among those groups. A problem existed with understanding how the instructional literacy coach position manifested in different school contexts and how that manifestation impacted workplace dynamics. Given the dynamic nature of instructional coaching, this study further explored the level of congruence or incongruence between key faculty groups in order to better understand perceptions of coaching as a professional learning tool. The population of interest consisted of faculty members (N = 108) from eight public high schools. Data from the researcher-developed survey titled Perceptions of Instructional Literacy Coaches Instrument (PILCI©) were collected and analyzed. An evaluation of the data found statistically significant differences among faculty groups with respect to high school instructional coach perceptions. Overall, a moderate level of perceptual congruence existed between faculty groups (teacher-coach and coach-administrator) who were co-located in the school district hierarchy, while the differences that existed for teachers-administrators could not be explained by their position. Secondary faculty members will be informed through these findings about the perceived expectation of the instructional coach position within a school district that has a partnership with the University of Florida Lastinger Institute, and how that may impact workplace dynamics. The results also sought to improve organizational school leadership behavior, and to understand school-faculty relationships as it related to perceived successful professional learning outcomes.

Reading is a challenging task for English as a Second Language (ESL) students (Pang, 2008; Nassaji, 2011). Instructors and researchers have explored various ways to promote ESL students' reading development. Since research on story-based pedagogy has shown benefits in the area of language development, stories can be used to promote ESL reading development. Furthermore, research on Digital Booktalk shows that when students engaged in after-reading video production activities they found a new purpose in reading (Gunter & Kenny, 2012). Additionally, digital storytelling (DST) research has revealed that DST can foster learner motivation and autonomy (Hafner & Miller, 2011; Kim, 2014). In this study, ESL instructors engaged adult ESL students in a video book trailer (VBT) production project. ESL students learned story structural elements, drafted story summaries, and used Web 2.0 tools to produce a VBT to retell the stories they read. This phenomenological study investigated ESL students' experiences in the VBT project. Data was gathered from questionnaires, interviews, classroom observations, and student assignments. Student interviews, classroom observations, and open-ended questions in questionnaires were coded. There were two cycles of coding where codes and pattern codes were developed. Data from questionnaires, classroom observation recordings and student assignments triangulated findings from interviews. This study revealed participants' learning benefits, challenges, and their comparisons with their earlier educational experiences. First and foremost, it is suggested that a VBT project could provide integrated and implicit English learning opportunities for reading, vocabulary, writing, pronunciation and speaking. The primary obstacles reported by participants were insufficient time and energy as well as demanding linguistic expectations. When comparing this project with their earlier learning experiences, participants identified that digital production tasks were somewhat familiar. While learning to produce their own VBTs, They developed their digital skills for English learning purposes and mastered video editing skills. Project completers reported that they were excited that they were reading for a brand-new goal and increased their self-efficacy in using English and working on academic projects. Pedagogical implications were provided for future implementation in second language classrooms.

This qualitative study investigated the lived experiences of administrators, teachers, and parents from an elementary school that was in its first year of dual language transition. The majority of past studies conducted on dual language education focused on students' linguistic and academic outcomes (Lindholm-Leary, 2012). Studies investigating dual language schools' planning, policies, and classroom implementation are significantly less, and those that have, were at schools that were already functioning as dual language with the intent to examine what made the school successful (Alanis & Rodriguez, 2008; Freeman, 1996; Hunt, 2011). Through a phenomenological and case study approach, the current study examined the overall effect that transitioning from a monolingual to a dual language school had on the school culture with foci placed on the curricular and policy planning at the macro-level and its implementation at the micro-level. The study collected data from a variety of sources, including classroom observations, documents, photographs, and interviews with the school's principal, dual language teachers, and parents of the dual language program. Qualitative coding cycles concluded the following four themes, listed alphabetically: (a) classroom language use and second language differentiation, (b) dual language support, (c) language policy and curriculum development, and (d) teachers' dispositions on dual language teaching. This study highlighted the importance of inclusive leadership when planning a new dual language program. Additionally, the study shed light on the implementation process of the planned dual language program in which teachers need flexibility to adjust the language and curricular policies that were established at the macro-level.

Recent data have shown that only 34% of eighth graders and 37% of 12th graders were reading at or above proficiency (NAEP, 2015). A total of 21% of Hispanic eighth graders were reading at or above proficiency, and only 25% of Hispanic 12th graders were reading at or above proficiency. Of African-American students, 16% of eighth graders and 17% of 12th graders were reading at or above proficiency. In order for adolescents to become successful and productive adults, they need to acquire advanced literacy skills. Many of these demands require an education beyond high school (Rothman, 2012). Concern for English learners (EL) is even more warranted due to the fact that they represent the fastest growing school-age population in the United States and tend to exhibit lower academic achievement than their non-EL peers (Matthews & Ewen, 2006; National Clearinghouse for English Language Acquisition [NCELA], 2006; Padolsky, 2005; Thomas & Collier, 2001; Klingner, Artiles, & Barletta, 2006). To address this issue, the present study was conducted to examine the effects of a Vocabulary Scenario Technique English Learner Peer Protocol (VST-ELP) with ninth-grade English learners (ELs) who were struggling with literacy. The technique's purpose was to increase students' vocabulary in order to improve their listening, speaking, reading, and writing skills. The study employed an experimental design, specifically a pre-test/post-test comparison group design with a total of 34 participating students and one classroom teacher. The study was conducted over four weeks with six hours of intervention. An analysis of variance revealed that there was an increase in mean scores from pre to post in the experimental group on both the synonym and sentence tests. Findings suggest that the Vocabulary Scenario Technique English Learner Peer Protocol (VST-ELP) was effective with ninth-grade EL students who were struggling with literacy. Clinical implications and future research directions were discussed.

Reading attitude plays a vital role in the academic achievement of students. This thesis reports findings from a study of how parents' reading attitudes and habits may influence their children's reading attitudes and habits. Students and parents attending a metropolitan university's Saturday Reading Camp (SRC) in the United States participated in this study. Participants completed a survey that examined participants' reading attitudes and habits. Results from this study showed minor similarities between the reading attitudes of parents and their children. However, there were more significant similarities between the reading habits of parents and their children.

The motivation to read plays a key role in any student's reading development and success. In the context of 21st century literacies and learning, students engage in reading with print and digital texts and read in traditional and multimodal settings. This situated thesis explored the topic of second grade students' motivation to read through the lens of reading performance and time spent reading and improving their reading skills using i-Ready. Fourteen second grade students in a Central Florida elementary school classroom received the Motivation to Read Profile- Revised (MRP-R) (2013), an established survey, that is designed to gauge elementary school age students' motivation to read. In addition, the researcher selected the top 25% students who showed progress in reading using i-Ready results from Diagnostic 1 and Diagnostic 2 and conducted one informal conversation interview about their motivation to read. The MRP-R (2013) data was analyzed using elementary statistics in the areas of reader self-concept and value of reading. The informal conversational interview data was analyzed in terms of themes in the area of value of reading—i.e., other sources/books students like to read, if they like to read electronic sources or print ones, and what they read when they use the Internet. In summary, this study may guide myself as a teacher, and potentially other teachers, to make connections between what students are motivated to read and selecting text(s) for them to read when on i-Ready. The ultimate value of this study lies in guiding teacher instruction and decisions to maximize student motivation to read. The results from this study showed that the group that spent the most time was more positively motivated to read than the remaining second graders. However, the group that showed the most growth was not more or less motivated to read.