The purpose of this study is to discover if there exists a difference between the perceived roles and functions of intensive English program (IEP) directors and what they actually are. The study is a partial replication of Matthies (1983). A total of 46 subjects participated in a nation-wide survey which asked the respondents to rate the importance of functions and skills in good job performance and in self-assessment of ability. The findings indicated that IEP directors rate the activities associated with administration higher in importance than teaching skills, yet rate themselves better at teaching overall. Additionally, the respondents have more and higher degrees in Linguistics and Applied Linguistics than previously seen by Matthies (1983).

Current ESL instructors and theorists agree that university students of ESL have a need for a large passive vocabulary. This research was undertaken to determine the effectiveness of a semantic field approach to passive vocabulary acquisition in comparison to a traditional approach. A quantitative analysis of the short-term and long-range results of each approach is presented. Future research and teaching implications are discussed. The outcome of the experimentation lends tentative support to a semantic field approach.

Four young children who were learning English as a second language were observed during their participation in an English Language Development class in a school in the North Texas area. Demographic data and checklists were used to describe progress in expressive language and the key vocabulary approach to beginning literacy as adapted by Trietsch and Monk. Data from the interviews with the classroom teachers of the subjects and anecdotal records were used to describe the interaction of the subjects with other English-speaking children and adults. Comparisons were made between progress in writing the key vocabulary and progress in expressive language and between progress in writing the key vocabulary and the progress of interaction with other English-speaking children and adults. The subjects progressed in literacy in English as a second language while learning English as a second language.

This study evaluated the effects of error correction procedures on sight word acquisition. Participants were four typically developing children in kindergarten and first grade. We used an adapted alternating treatment design embedded within a multiple baseline design to evaluate instructional efficacy of two error correction procedures; one with preferred items plus error correction and one with error correction only, and a concurrent chain schedule to evaluate participant preference for instructional procedure. The results show that there was no difference in acquisition rates between the procedures. The evaluation also showed children prefer procedures that include a positive reinforcement component.

This study aims to contribute uniquely to both the debate and the literature on diversity and difference within the college sector in Scotland. It investigated how migrant ESOL learners are supported within one large college in Glasgow, and adopted a qualitative approach underpinned by a previously under-used strand of Foucault’s theory of practices of the self to interpret the language and practices of both ESOL learners and their lecturers. It analysed how the college situates the migrant learners’ experience by examining the discourses of two focus groups of learners and staff, as well as seven individual members of staff and selected learners at both Intermediate and Advanced levels. The research found that both the learners and their lecturers have to negotiate quite different manifestations of power as they work towards their individual goals. The learners’ practices illustrate their sophistication as they assimilate behaviours and language which help to ease their progression through and beyond the college, while the lecturers work within the challenges of their role to enable, with evident care, the goals of the learners which are entangled with their own. The findings raise issues for practitioners working within the field of ESOL learning and teaching, specifically how to support students in negotiating the learning process, and the associated layers of power embedded within the practices of the college. The key beneficiaries of this study are the lecturers but, ultimately, the migrant ESOL learners and the potential is identified for Foucault’s framework of practices of the self to be used to support lecturers in developing more culturally sensitive practices.

Call number: LD2668 .T4 1986 H36 / Master of Science / Curriculum and Instruction

M.Ed. (Psychology of Education) / As the South African education system is moving towards complete reorganisation and fundamental restructuring, teachers have been forced to take a look at the language being used in their now multilingual classrooms and also at their own teaching of language, as opposed to the teaching of school-based literature. Some teachers see this as a challenge, and with the attention now being paid in the school curriculum to the communicative use of English, are attempting to change their beliefs and conceptions about instruction, language and learning. For many teachers of English second language pupils, the answers lie in the whole language philosophy, as it stands for justice, democracy, and empowerment and against injustice and a stratified society. However, the whole language movement grew from an original focus on the reading, writing and learning processes of native speakers of English, and is only beginning to affect second language learners. The focus of this study is therefore on the implementation of whole language with English second language pupils, with the aim of improving the instruction and education of these learners as well as enhancing the support systems and training for whole language teachers. The whole language philosophy is it different way of thinking about teaching and learning, and thus teachers need to be continually encouraged to examine their own assumptions about learning and teaching. The theory framework for this study includes readings in the origins of whole language, the whole language belief system, English second language learning and connections between whole language and English second language pedagogy. The theoretical framework is constructed with the aim of supporting the construct and approaching the research question from different angles. The nature of the research question presupposes a monographic study as research format, which in tum directs the research to observations, an individual interview and document analysis. The discussion of the monographic study takes place against the background of the qualitative research paradigm. The teacher and Grade One English second language pupils of a Language Assistant Programme, characterised by whole language principles, are the target group of this study. The findings of the inquiry indicate that the whole language philosophy can be applied to English second language learners, but needs to be complemented with an understanding of second language acquisition and English second language teaching methods. It was also found that teachers need continual support in transforming the whole language philosophy into practice and in examining their own beliefs and assumptions about learning and instruction.

M. Ed. (Inclusive Education) / Please refer to full text to view abstract

Communication in a second or multiple languages has become essential in the globalized world. However, acquiring a second language (L2) after a critical period is universally acknowledged to be challenging (Lenneberg, 1967). Late learners hardly reach a nativelike level in L2, particularly in its pronunciation, and their incomplete phonological acquisition is manifested by a foreign accent—a common and persistent feature of otherwise fluent L2 speech. Although foreign-accented speech is widespread, it has been a target of social constraints in L2-speaking communities, causing many learners and instructors to seek out ways to reduce foreign accents. Accordingly, research in L2 speech has unceasingly examined various learner-external and learner-internal factors of the occurrence of foreign accents as well as nonnative speech characteristics underlying the judgment of the degree of foreign accents. The current study aimed to expand the understanding of the characteristics and judgments of foreign accents by investigating phonological awareness, a construct pertinent to learners’ phonological knowledge, which has received little attention in research on foreign accents. The current study was exploratory and non-experimental research that targeted 40 adults with Korean-accented English living in the United States. The study first examined how 23 raters speaking American English as their native language detect, perceive, describe, and rate Korean-accented English. Through qualitative and quantitative analyses of the accent perception data, the study identified various phonological and phonetic deviations from the nativelike sounds, which largely result from the influence of first language (Korean) on L2 (English). The study then probed the relationship between foreign accents and learners’ awareness of the phonological system of L2, which was measured using production, perception, and verbalization tasks that tapped into the knowledge of L2 phonology. The study found a significant inverse relationship between the degree of a foreign accent and phonological awareness, particularly implicit knowledge of L2 segmentals. Further in-depth analyses revealed that explicit knowledge of L2 phonology alone was not sufficient for targetlike pronunciation. Findings suggest that L2 speakers experience varying degrees of difficulty in perceiving and producing different L2 segmentals, possibly resulting in foreign-accented speech.

A thesis submitted to the Faculty of Education, in fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Education / This study explores the factors which influence the design and implementation of EAP content-based courses for second-language learners at tertiary level. It draws upon international experience in this area, information from a case study of an adjunct EAP, content-based engineering course at the University of the Witwatersrand and the experience of other EAP practitioners in Southern Africa. A set of key ,comprehensive factors which affect the success and effectiveness of EAP content based courses are identified. / Andrew Chakane 2018