The purpose of this study was two fold: (1) to examine how the distribution of resources within and outside an Enhanced Language Training Program (ELT) affected a group of newcomers’ access to Internet literacy development; and (2) to discuss ensuing pedagogical and curricular implications for the ELT Program. The relationship between the distribution of resources and a group of newcomers’ access to Internet literacy development was studied through a hybrid of two frameworks: van Dijk’s (2005) digital divide and Warschauer’s (2004) social inclusion. The key findings were that the distribution of resources affected access four ways: (1) resources affected multiple types of access, (2) the effect of resource distribution on access was both cumulative and successive, (3) distribution of resources could either facilitate or impede access, and (4) Internet literacy development could potentially increase or decrease the resources. The findings resulted in implications for the ELT program and teaching.

The problem addressed in this study is that English Language Learners (ELLs) in a California school district are not meeting the targeted yearly grade level expectations or making the same progress as non-ELL students. Meeting this goal will help close the achievement gap between ELLs and their native-English speaking peers. The purpose of the qualitative study was to explore the local problem and identify how teachers provided academic instruction to support ELLs with academic instruction and investigate perceived causes of the inadequate progress in learning English and the academic content. The research was guided by Vygotsky's theory of development and the social/cognitive interactions with Ladson-Billings' approach to cultural relevance. These theories support how teachers and students maintain an active cognitive and social learning approach. The qualitative study investigated teachers' instructional practices for ELLs through classroom observations and interviews. Purposeful sampling identified 12 potential participants who met the criteria of providing ELL instruction. Four ELL teachers participated through observations and interviews. The data analysis examined, identified, and interpreted themes. Data saturation was reached as no new themes emerged. The following 4 themes resulted: (a) classroom environment, (b) curriculum content, (c) academic language, and (d) differentiation. A 3-Day PD was designed to guide future ELL pedagogy and strategic activity to promote social change by providing educators opportunities to practice research based ELL instructional approaches to teaching. The end goal is for improved academic and social achievements for ELL students.

During the last decades, a shifting paradigm has occurred in the classroom in connection to the technological evolution. Due to digitalization a student in Sweden can discuss with a counterpart on the other side of the globe. The aim of this study is to examine how the role of telecollaboration has been researched in a primary school context. The study will include several methods that could benefit the use of virtual exchange projects. This investigation will briefly explain the terminology and history behind telecollaboration and how it can be used in a modern classroom environment. An explanation on how the findings have been explored will be included in the methodology component. Thereafter, the study will present the research from the chosen articles connected to the aim and research question. The presented research will further be compared and connected to each other. In the following component, the data found will be connected back to the theoretical hypothesis mentioned in the introduction as well as the Swedish syllabus for English education in the primary school. The implications from investigating this subject were due to the lack of thoroughly conducted research on younger participants, the outcome rendered inadequate. An evidence on the insufficiency was that hardly any prior investigations used control groups to validate their findings.

This thesis examines the acquisition of the aspectual properties of the Spanish se in transitive constructions by L2 learners of Spanish. Based on a parameterized distinction of the telic features in English and Spanish, this study investigates whether second language (L2) learners are able to reset the aspectual value of the English parameter to that of Spanish in their interlanguage grammar. Results indicate that L2 learners' responses to a picture interpretation task vary according to proficiency levels. Low-intermediate and intermediate learners did not differentiate between telic and atelic constructions whereas advanced learners successfully acquired the telic properties of the transitive se constructions. Results were interpreted in the light of current theories of second language acquisition and the mental representation of aspect in interlanguage.

In a world where we are increasingly connected to one another, the English language surrounds us here in Sweden. Children today grow up in an environment where they are exposed to the English language and the Swedish language simultaneously through various media and activities. The informal learning that children gain through their activities has received more and more attention in recent years. The English that pupils learn outside of school has become known as extramural English. Thus, it is of interest to investigate the perspectives of English teachers in Sweden regarding extramural English and to what extent they incorporate it into their teaching. This study briefly explains extramural English as a phenomenon, discuss relevant theories and delve into previous research on the subject. The methods that are used for this investigation is a combination of quantitative and qualitative approaches. The target group for the research methods are English teachers with varying backgrounds. The results suggest that the majority of the participants perceive extramural activities as a valuable asset. However, the results further indicate that the teachers have a greater reluctance to integrate it into their teaching, and rather recognise it as a complementary tool to education. The study draws attention to the strengths of pupils' extramural activities, how motivation is a key factor in second language learning, as well as the complications in implementing these activities into teaching. The discussion further highlights the syllabus' connection to the results of the study.

The study included transcripts from seven students with Swedish as a second language in grade 3, with the purpose being focusing on how they experience language during mathematic lessons and how second language learners´ learning could be understood from a sociocultural perspective. Each student was individually interviewed. My method for interviewing the students was using a semi-structured way of interviewing, meaning that I had predefined questions with room for asking follow up-questions during the interviews. The students were asked questions about their background, and they also got to answer mathematical questions including mathematical terms and words. They were asked questions about what they found difficult and easy within the mathematical questions. The second language learners had in general low difficulty with the understanding of the mathematical language in the mathematical questions. The results show that the students have appropriated knowledge by scaffolding and the zone of proximal development, which is part of the sociocultural perspective of learning. A conclusion is that the students didn’t show any signs of having trouble understanding words within mathematics that usually causes confusion among second language learners. When it comes to further developing their language skills a support of pictures can be used to describe difficult words, further can physical material also be used while learning second language learners´ new mathematical terms and words. The physical material can also act in combination with pictures to easier explain new mathematical terms and words.

Concerns among educators continue to grow with the increased enrollment of Second Language Learners (SLL) in classrooms throughout the United States. This influx has stressed the boundaries of current methods of literacy instruction, which are not designed to meet the needs of these at-risk students. Literacy instructional methods need to be remediated through early intervention, followed by effective literacy instruction that is designed to meet the specific needs of SLL. Effective literacy instruction overcomes differences in culture and background by using meaning-based instruction coupled with engaging and varied contexts. This study evaluated the effectiveness of incorporating meaning-based instructional activities into a two-way bilingual kindergarten classroom. The instruction, Systematic and Engaging Early Literary Instruction (SEEL), is designed to explicitly instruct at-risk children in the acquisition of early reading skills. Specifically, the study assessed the effectiveness of SEEL instruction by comparing a classroom of children who received SEEL instruction with a classroom of children receiving other supplemental literacy supports.

The purpose of this degree paper is to look at some adolescents’ use of English inconversations outside of school. Adolescents in today’s society come into contact with theEnglish language in various different ways and one of these can be through oral interactionwith others.By using a mixed-method approach consisting of a questionnaire and interviews thisqualitative study provides an insight into some adolescents’ extramural Englishinteractions. The goal is to find out why some students at a school in the south of Swedenchoose to speak English in settings where there is no apparent reason for them to do so. Theaim is also to see what the conversations look like and what attitudes the students havetowards English. It was found that the main reason is because the students think it is morefun to speak English than Swedish. They claimed that they can express themselves better inEnglish and that it sounds better to speak English. The conversations occur spontaneouslyand errors are corrected. Two groups of students were interviewed and their answersdiffered, because their attitudes towards English differed. The students, who engaged themost in extramural English conversations, were well aware of the usefulness of English.

Syftet med undersökningen var att undersöka klassrumsinteraktionen i två sjundeklasser med elever med blandade språkbakgrunder. Undersökningen innehåller ett undervisningsförsök där eleverna i smågrupper skulle omsätta innehållet i en faktatext till en bild. Genom observationer, bandinspelningar och intervjuer undersöktes kommunikationen i smågrupperna. Bilder samlades in och analyserades.Det visade sig att klassruminteraktionen mestadels var monologisk men med en strävan från lärarens sida att få eleverna mer delaktiga. Kommunikationsmönstret skilde sig åt mellan grupperna, några diskuterade mycket medan andra ritade under tystnad. Bilderna föreställde oftast gubbar som utförde aktiviteter i naturen.Mina slutsatser var att man borde fostra eleverna in i ett dialogiskt förhållningssätt till den naturvetenskapliga diskursen och andra elevers yttringar. Det är också viktigt hur man utformar gruppuppgifterna så att eleverna måste kommunicera med varandra för att lösa uppgiften. Bildskapandet ger eleverna ytterligare ett sätt att uttrycka sig på och kan fungera som ett stöd när de ska förklara saker för varandra. / The purpose of the study was to investigate the interaction and communication in two seventh grade classrooms. The pupils had different linguistic backgrounds and the study had a focus on the development of Swedish as a second language.During a biology lesson the pupils where formed in mixed groups. They where given a text about the legal right of access to private land and open country. Together they should draw a picture that would explain to tourists what the law was about.In the study different methods where used; observations of the classroom and of the small groups, tape recording of small group talk and interviews with the teacher and the pupils as well as picture analysis.The study showed that the interaction in the classroom was dominated by the teachers voice. This had an effect on the communication in some of the small groups were the pupils did not listen to each other. But in other groups the pupils had a more democratic communication. It is of great importance how the teacher forms the tasks in order to get the pupils to communicate and listen to each other.

This study examined explicit and systematic reading instruction for Hispanic, limited English, lower SES students in a southwest Florida school district. Additionally, collective teacher efficacy was assessed to determine if differences existed between a Reading First and a non-Reading First school. A total of 68 students participated in the study and were divided equally between a Reading First and non-Reading First school. While the Reading First school concentrated resources on grades 2 and 3, all students received some degree of Reading First strategies. Available reading measures for analyses at the time of the study included the Group Reading Assessment and Diagnostic Evaluation (GRADE), the Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test (FCAT), and the Dynamic Indicators of Basic Early Literacy Skills (DIBELS). Results from two-way analyses of variance (ANOVA) did not reveal significant differences between the two groups on a pre and posttest administration of the GRADE. When the two groups were combined, repeated measures ANOVA indicated a significant difference between pre and post administrations of the GRADE with the posttest being significantly higher. Grades 4 and 5 showed significant gains between pre and posttest while grades 2 and 3 did not. It was hypothesized that as students' English proficiency improved, reading instruction became more meaningful and thus positively influenced the posttest. Both the GRADE and the DIBELS Oral Reading Fluency test were significantly correlated with the FCAT. Regression analyses revealed that both were significant predictors individually and combined of the FCAT reading score. Collective teacher efficacy was assessed with the short-form of the Collective Teacher Efficacy Scale (CTES). A total of 38 Reading First teachers and 30 non-Reading First teachers completed the CTES and a brief biographical questionnaire. Results indicated significantly higher collective teacher efficacy in the non-Reading First school. Findings did not support the hypothesis that the intensity of the Reading First program and the teacher training required would result in significantly higher collective efficacy. Differences in level of teacher education, experience, and years teaching in a school were speculated as potential variables influencing the level of collective efficacy. Implications from this study were discussed along with recommendations for future research.