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In the field of English-as-an-additional-language (EAL) reading, numerous studies have investigated EAL learners’ employment of reading strategies, along with its potential relationships with other variables (e.g., language proficiency, major, and cultural background). The majority of existing findings have often failed to account for any internal processes or supplementary information about EAL strategic behaviour in academic reading. This study investigated 26 Chinese EAL graduate students’ reading strategy use across three reading modes and any relationships between EAL reading strategy use and task performance. Data included video recordings of participants’ test performances, a post-task stimulated recall, and a post-task reading perception survey. Results indicated that Chinese EAL graduate readers employed wide varieties of reading strategies, with cognitive strategies and social the most frequently and least frequently identified. Multivariate analysis showed statistically significant differences in strategy use within the cognitive category, indicating that EAL reading strategy use is complex, often employing several individual strategies at any time. Correlational analyses revealed no significant associations between overall strategy use and task performance. E-reading strategy use was positively correlated with task performances, but similar strategy employment on paper revealed dissimilar associations. The main implication of this study is that EAL educators and researchers must be mindful that readers’ perceptions may influence modality preference; however, modality preference may not positively influence EAL reading performance. / Graduate / 0279 / 0535 / 0290 / hillcj@uvic.ca

<p> Each year hundreds of foreign-born and other non-native English speakers (NNS) enroll in U.S. public community colleges. More than 40% of these applicants do not pass the entrance exams and are then directed to take a series of noncredit courses before entering the mainstream freshmen composition. The word mainstream refers to the regularly credited courses that one takes to earn credits towards one&rsquo;s certificate or degree program. There are studies comparing the non-native speakers (NNS) to native English speakers (NNS) in the freshmen composition class. Other studies examine the mainstream writing class from the NNS student writer&rsquo;s point of view. However, there is no literature that discusses the placement of the NNS student in the developmental course from the perspectives of the NNS student, the developmental writing instructor, and the administrator. By interviewing NNS students in the developmental writing class, community college staff, faculty, and administrators who interact with these students, we gain multiple perspectives about the placement of this population in the developmental writing class. The results of this study inform community college educators that some NNS students in developmental writing courses may have detoured from the mainstream path with little regard for some of their cognitive, affective, or linguistic needs.</p>

Many students in an allied health program at a Middle Eastern Arab university were experiencing difficulties with courses taught in English, resulting in poor academic achievement, low grade point averages, a high failure rate amongst its first year students, and an adverse impact upon a future skilled and educated work force for the region. Tinto's theory of institutional action for students' success served as the conceptual framework for the inquiry that used a qualitative explanatory case study method to examine the experiences of those students who were facing difficulties with their studies. To address questions about why students were failing and leaving the school and how the institution might remedy this educational problem, the study employed initial and follow-up interviews and reviews of academic records and portfolios of 6 currently enrolled or recently graduated students over age 21, who volunteered to participate. Content and thematic analysis of the collected qualitative data produced findings indicative of lack of college readiness among students and gaps in institutional practices such as remedial methods for the unprepared students. Based on the study findings, a policy recommendation for improving the educational practices was introduced to support building a better educational environment at the school. The positive social change implications of this study are not only limited to establishing programs to support the students' success and improve retention rates at the institution but also may include the establishment of more effective approaches to the reform measures of the educational system in the country.

<p> ELs are a marginalized population in American schools. They are denied a just, equal, and inclusive education. Those whose primary language is other than English are segregated from the other students in school and prevented from enrolling in courses that would allow them to meet prerequisites for college applications.</p><p> This qualitative case study examining the impact of elective courses on ELs' achievement demonstrated that these students were capable of the same achievement as, if not better than, their English-proficient peers. They demonstrated fewer behavior incidents, achieved increased test scores, and maintained grade point averages higher than those of other ELs. Their teachers and administrators viewed them favorably and supported their enrollment in elective courses. </p><p> This small sample of ELs has demonstrated that they are capable of academic achievement and supports the call to permit their enrollment in elective courses. Schools are obligated to provide them with college and career readiness opportunities, and electives would facilitate this preparation.</p>

<p> This dissertation explores the ways to teach the literary works of William Clark Falkner and William Faulkner to ESL (English as a Second Language) students in today&rsquo;s digital environment. William Faulkner&rsquo;s great-grandfather, William Clark Falkner, wrote romantic literary works, and William Faulkner critically uses the motifs of his great-grandfather&rsquo;s works to establish his literary world. Applying Bakhtin&rsquo;s dialogical theory, this study explores how these two authors imagine the social formations of the American South differently in their literary works. The coined term, social combination&mdash;which is defined as the individuals&rsquo; mutual effort to have equal relationships for a certain time&mdash;is used as a key term to examine how these two authors depict the characters&rsquo; personal relationships. William Faulkner employs his characters&rsquo; social combination as a resistance against the American South&rsquo;s romantic illusions that are represented by William Clark Falkner&rsquo;s literary works. William Faulkner&rsquo;s historical perspective is beneficial for today&rsquo;s ESL students, who explore their new egalitarian formations in their digitally expanded world. The last part of this study outlines how an American literary teacher can connect the works of William Clark Falkner and William Faulkner when teaching ESL students by using today&rsquo;s digital environment. Using three digital platforms&mdash;Moodle, WordPress, and Google Drive&mdash;a teacher composes egalitarian relationships among class members and inspires students&rsquo; autonomous discussion on these two authors&rsquo; works. Through these activities, ESL students are expected to comprehend that the literature of the American South is not only the historical development of the foreign region, but the phenomenon that is connected to their own social formations.</p>

<p> The purpose of this empirical-phenomenological study was to reveal the lived experiences of monolingual Southeast Texas intermediate mathematics teachers who instruct ELL students. The study addressed a lack of knowledge about ELL mathematics instruction by monolingual teachers. The first theme pertained to complex mathematical word problems that represent linguistic challenges leading to student text anxiety. The second theme encompassed the linguistic assumptions by teaching staff that include assumptions about the language of mathematics and assumptions about ELL language acquisition. The third theme stemmed from the expressed demographic changes involving ELL students in the mathematics classroom that included changes in classroom climate. The fourth theme revolved around the challenges the teachers identified regarding communication with parents of ELL students. The fifth theme pertained to the high pressure that teachers expressed from administration and the general community to improve strategies for ELL mathematics instruction and testing. The sixth theme reflected teachers' interests in better professional development programs for ELL mathematics instruction. The seventh theme emerged from teachers' expressions about instructional strategies, with focus on key words in mathematics and the breakdown of complex mathematical word problems. Recommendations for leadership and suggestions for future research stemmed from these findings. </p>

<p> In this intervention study, I engaged principles of culturally responsive research to examine the effectiveness of explicit reading comprehension strategy instruction for English Learners (ELs) with specific learning disabilities (SLD). This study replicated and extended previous research (Jitendra, Hoppes, &amp; Xin, 2000) by modifying instruction found to be effective for native English speakers (i.e., explicit reading comprehension strategy instruction with a self-monitoring procedure). Modifications included: (a) integrating culturally relevant text, (b) providing native language support, and (c) melding strategies from the fields of teaching English as a second language and special education. Through a co-teaching model, I provided instruction to four participants during a 135-min literacy block in a fifth-grade general education classroom for 13 weeks. A multiple probe across participants design (Gast &amp; Ledford, 2010) evaluated effects of instruction on two dependent variables: (a) participants&rsquo; sophistication with applying comprehension thinking strategies while reading, as measured by comprehension thinking strategy rubrics (Keene, 2006) and (b) participants&rsquo; comprehension, as measured through percentage accuracy with responding to verbally-posed, researcher-developed literal and inferential comprehension questions. I assessed maintenance of effects for up to 8 weeks after participants exited the intervention. I assessed generalization to on-grade-level text and to a standardized achievement test (<i>Woodcock Johnson Tests of Academic Achievement III-R</i>; Woodcock, McGrew, &amp; Mather, 2001). Additionally, I examined participants&rsquo; self-efficacy as readers at pre- and postintervention by collecting information from the <i> Motivation to Read Profile</i> survey and interview (Gambrell, Palmer, Coddling, &amp; Mazzoni, 1996). Finally, I measured participants&rsquo; perceptions of the social acceptability of intervention procedures and outcomes through a researcher-developed, 9-item, Likert-scale survey. Results of this study show a functional relation for accuracy with answering literal and inferential comprehension questions and for sophistication with applying comprehension thinking strategies to read instructional-level text. All four participants performed within a similar range on on-grade-level probes as compared to instructional-level probes before and after the intervention. Participants improved or maintained scores on a standardized achievement test. Intervention effects maintained at the end of a 2- to 8-week period at a level above respective baseline performance. Moreover, participants&rsquo; attitudes toward reading and their motivation toward reading increased or maintained at high levels. Results from social validation questionnaires showed favorable impressions of the intervention&rsquo;s procedures and outcomes. Findings are discussed with regard to the need for future research and the implications for practice.</p>

<p> English Language Learners (ELLs) is the fastest growing segment of the public school population. Today&rsquo;s schools face unprecedented challenges in preparing ELLs as they lack instructional supports and fair and valid assessments to support academic learning in classroom settings. This study invokes the principles of design-based research, where both qualitative and quantitative data were triangulated and analyzed to further advance the theory of multimodality and assessment within a sociocultural perspective for linguistically diverse students in two sixth grade classrooms during a unit in photosynthesis. The main research question guiding this study: <i> How do multimodal tasks support science learning in linguistically diverse classrooms?</i> This question leads to three main perspectives, first I examine the two teachers&rsquo; perspectives on the use of multimodal tasks, next the students&rsquo; perspectives on the use of multimodal tasks and finally using a science and language learning rubric, which I created, I examine student learning in the classrooms based on students&rsquo; English learner status and proficiencies in English language arts, science, and vocabulary acquisition and usage. The teachers used some multimodal tasks to communicate ideas and the students created visual diagrams and comic strips to represent their understanding of photosynthesis. Results show the specific scaffolding strategies used by the teachers during the tasks, like analogies, contextualization of vocabulary use, re-representation of ideas through different modes and re-representation of modes in every task were also appropriated by the students. Rubric scoring indicated ELLs had the highest gains in the scores in the visual diagrams, redesignated students had the highest scores in the comic strip and those designated as above proficient in language arts and science had the highest scores in final visual diagram, indicating how ELL status, proficiencies in language arts and science influence the integration of science and language learning. With the advent of Next Generation Science Standards and related assessments, the findings illustrate the importance of aligning the multimodal tasks to learning goals, weaving links amongst the multimodal tasks, modeling the use of representational tasks for ELLs to integrate the understanding of science content and language and assessing students&rsquo; learning over time using visual representational tasks.</p>

English as a Second Language (ESL) teachers’ beliefs about motivation are important but underexplored. Because research on human beliefs indicates that existing beliefs are the filters for new information, a better understanding of teacher beliefs about motivation is necessary in order to provide training on effective motivation strategies for ESL teachers. In order to investigate the beliefs and perspectives of ESL teachers on motivation, 11 teachers at a university intensive English program, from a pool of 32, volunteered to participate in a self-reporting, open-ended interview to share their thoughts and beliefs about motivation. The interviews were recorded, transcribed, divided into comments, and grouped into categories. The transcripts and their coding were checked and approved by each of the participating teachers in the study. The teacher comments were organized around 9 categories of beliefs about motivation. Results of the data analysis indicated that ESL teachers have both specific and varied beliefs about the nature of motivation, and those beliefs correlate consistently with their classroom strategies for motivating students. As a result, teacher training that focuses on motivation strategies without understanding teachers underlying beliefs about the nature of motivation may not be successful. The findings also indicated that the 9 common strategies for motivation (shared by 6 or more teachers) were generally represented in practical guides for motivation which were based on both language learning and general constructs. In addition, as a group, these teachers demonstrated a breadth and depth of beliefs about motivation that could be used as a resource for filling any gaps in individual teacher’s knowledge or beliefs about motivation. Furthermore, these teachers identified group dynamics, student-teacher and student-student interactions, as the most important single factor effecting student motivation. Therefore, any theory of language learning motivation must be able to account for or explain classroom social variables and their effects on motivation. Finally, the ESL teachers’ recollections of the origins of their beliefs focused on early life, language student, and language teaching experiences, which hints that any effective teacher training on motivation should be experiential in nature, whether through language learning, classroom observation, or practice teaching. / text