The Skillmax Program was launched by the New South Wales State Government at the end of 1988 as a result of concern about the underutilisation of the skills of overseas qualified and experienced immigrants in the labour force. The program is administered by the NSW Adult Migrant English Service. The aim of this study is to evaluate how well the Skillmax Program is achieving its aim of assisting non-English speaking background immigrants to maximise the use of their overseas experience and skills within the NSW labour market. The main source of data for the evaluation was a questionnaire distributed to all students who had studied in the program from July, 1993 to June, 1994. Those in the final program intake surveyed had just completed courses, those in the first intake surveyed had completed courses nine months previously. The questionnaire was sent to 458 ex-students in August, 1994 and 217 questionnaires were returned. Additional data was obtained from a literature search, a survey distributed to Skillmax program staff and a focus group meeting of the Skillmax Program's teachers, educational and vocational counsellor and program manager. Key research findings are: 71.9% of all respondents had found employment since enrolling in the Skillmax Program and 67.7% were still employed when the study was conducted; 84.9% of those respondents who had completed or partially completed courses ending from six to nine months before the study was conducted had found employment and 78.5% were still employed when the study was conducted; 66.7% of those respondents in employment had found employment at the same occupational level as in their countries of birth; 52% of all respondents were either unemployed (28.1%) or underemployed (23.9%); 85.9% of those respondents in employment considered that the Skillmax Program had contributed significantly to their success in finding employment. The study compares the findings of the current study to those from a previous Skillmax Program evaluation concluded in 1992 (Mograby & Eddie, The Skillmax Program Evaluation Report, 1992). Employment outcomes of participants in the current study are significantly better than those in the previous study. The study argues that improvements in employment outcomes can primarily be attributed to program improvements made since the 1992 evaluation. The study concludes that the Skillmax Program is achieving its aims. Recommendations for program improvement and future directions for the program are made.

Form-focused instruction makes up an important part of the literature on second language acquisition research. Current approaches to second language instruction have called for an integration of message-focused and form-focused instruction in the L2 classroom. At the same time, a growing interest is the pedagogical applications of form-focused research, which proposes a means of addressing form in the classroom using various instructional options, some of which involve incidental and pre-planned focus on form.This study examined the nature and occurrence of pre-planned and incidental focus on form in two secondary school ESOL classrooms, and what thinking underlay the two teachers' practices in choosing a particular option. The study reports on the methods and approaches that two teachers employed in the context of their own ESOL classrooms, in which form-focused instruction occurred, and explored the extent to which different levels of experience influenced the instructional decisions of two ESOL teachers.The results showed that there was a considerable amount of attention to form in lessons that purported to be 'communicative' and certainly were so. It also became clear that in these classes, a focus-on-form was not just a reactive phenomenon, it was also proactive since the students played an important part in both initiating and responding focus on form episodes. Much of the focus on form that arose was triggered by a problem in using English accurately, not by a problem in communication. That means that, although the lessons were 'communicative', the students regularly paid attention to language for its own sake.It is suggested that both pedagogy and teacher education/development may benefit from a perspective in which both good and not-so-good practice is seen as cognitive and reflective activity.

Five student-researchers and the author engaged in a continually-evolving, student-driven qualitative research study. Despite significant disadvantages, including navigating a. foreign culture without speaking the language, these invulnerable learners succeeded. Ultimately of greatest interest to the six were an analysis of their collective knowledge and experiences, and their individual transformation over the course of the study. The findings are organized around emergent themes and their evidence. Themes participants identified include resilience, the Mexican family, teachers and education, Mexican pride, and misconceptions about Mexicans. Resilience: A combination of personal resources (e.g., resilience) and environmental resources helped student participants to feel cared about, supported, and significant in school. Schools, as external mediators, were critical environmental resources in alleviating negative effects of student participants' stress. Family: Families, especially participants' parents, were their greatest source of motivation, inspiration, and support. The five student participants' concluded that the best means of promoting the ability to avoid problems is to instill in children early on a strong, non-negotiable value system. Teachers and Education: Participants and their families viewed education, and related necessary sacrifices, as key to success in this country. Academic frustrations included often-unchallenging curricula, isolation in the English as a Second Language program, and being treated as "less than" by teachers and peers. Pride in Being Mexican: The five expressed strong pride in being Mexican, and chose to demonstrate this through showing the dominant culture that Mexicans are capable, intelligent, hard-working people. Participants were also committed to serving as role models and counselors to those struggling as they had. Misconceptions about Mexicans: Interdependence, generosity, altruism, and camaraderie are attributes highly valued among most Mexican individuals. Misconceptions about Mexicans abound and are exacerbated by the American media. / Graduation date: 2000

This study was an ethnographic case study of a Vietnamese unaccompanied minor in a post secondary setting. There were two guiding questions for the study: (1) How does the subject perceive language as it relates to educational experience? (2) What kinds of observable personality, cognitive, or affective factors have contributed to his language and educational experience, and in what way have they contributed? The subject for this study was selected because he had declared himself an unaccompanied minor and immigrated to the United States as a young adult. He was an ESL student who graduated from an American high school within two years of arrival. He was deemed successful by the academic community based on hours of completed course work and grade point average. The subject was extremely motivated to receive a four year degree, but was hampered by college requirements in classes which required high levels of English proficiency and competence. The theoretical base for this research was phenomenology. The subject, purposefully selected, was observed for six months in three different classroom settings: philosophy, physics, and English composition. Validity/replicability was obtained through triangulation of personal interviews and written questionnaires, interviews with faculty and other college personnel, and examination of artifacts such as school records, diaries, and journals. With the exception of school records, portions of artifacts are included in this thesis. The subject exhibited unusual abilities to comprehend complex written and oral material, relate information across disciplines, and adapt to instructional requirements and methodologies. Based on the results of this case study, three hypotheses were generated: 1) Listening skills and memory/recall, or auditory memory, appear to be essential to the subject's academic success. 2) General information about learning styles and strategies may be less useful than specific strategy application in academic situations for this subject. 3) Explicit, structured writing instruction may be more useful than process writing for this subject. / Graduation date: 1996

The purpose of this study was to apply instructional system theory to the process of developing authentic English as a foreign language (ESL) materials for Indonesian pre-departure scholars. The researcher established a theoretical framework for the process through an intensive review of instructional system literature and selected an applied process model for adaptation to developing authentic ESL materials. The Stiehl-Schmall ISD model was adapted and later validated using a modified Delphi process. Seventeen panelists, randomly selected from the area of instructional systems design, ESL, and Indonesian EFL practitioners, were involved in the validation process. Feedback from panelists was analyzed and it was determined that the model was applicable for Indonesian intensive English programs. It was also found that the model, as adapted, was considered practical and useful by EFL practitioners, though many of them were not knowledgeable in instructional systems design. Indonesian EFL practitioners expected the development of the model to substantially improve the quality, effectiveness, efficiency, and relevancy of authentic English used in Indonesian intensive English programs. / Graduation date: 1993

This thesis has explored the effects of sentence combining on the writing of English-speaking Freshman writing students at Taylor University, Upland, Indiana, to establish local base-line data for future research with sentence combining on ESL students. Under the assumption that regular practice in sentence combining would result in improved ability in written communication, four classes of students at two levels were pre-tested using the cloze procedure on three short passages of college-entrance-level reading material. Two classes were taught sentence combining techniques through the semester, one exclusively and one as an adjunct to other rhetorical. concerns. Two were taught with an emphasis on global writing processes. All were again post-tested using the cloze procedure at the end of the semester and asked to write a time-limited essay.An analysis of covariance was done to purge the residual scores of the pretest influence since random assignment of experimental and control groups was not possible. Statistically significant improvement among those taught sentence combining was noted.Having established statistical validity among a native, English-speaking control population the implication for ESL would be that the assumption now needs to be taken to the next level, applying the form and techniques of this study to an ESL population.In order to prepare for such a further step in research, some restructuring of materials would be necessary. The cloze tests (3 pre- and 3 post-tests) from this study need to be re-scored by acceptable answer as well as exact answer scoring procedure. Frequency lists of acceptable answers for each blank need to be established. For the pre- and posttests of the ESL population, the same cloze test passages could be used and scored by clozentropy -- weighing acceptable answers according to their frequency in the native speaker pretest. Then statistical significance of the technique on the teaching of writing in ESL by means of the technique of sentence combining could be determined either verifying or nullifying the hypothesis that the same conclusions would be reached with ESL students.Were similar findings to be reached in research with an ESL population, the importance of practice in sentence-level manipulation practice in techniques of sentence-combining would appear to be worth noting, Incorporation of sentence combining into a teaching of writing syllabus would seem to be a logical, pedagogically sound practice.

University of Macau / Faculty of Social Sciences and Humanities / Department of English

University of Macau / Faculty of Social Sciences and Humanities / Department of English

A personalized system of instruction (Fred S. Keller, 1968), "English 3200," was designed to teach applied sentence writing skills to high school students. Using the programmed textbook of the same name (J.S. Blumenthal, English 3200, New York: Harcourt, Brace, Jovanovich, 1.972), English 3200 was piloted and implemented in a two-phase study during the Summer Session and Fall Quarter, 1979. The project was undertaken at Burris Laboratory School, an academic department in Ball State University Teachers College, to evaluate English 3200 in terms of its exportability to public school settings. A total of 49 high school students from seven Muncie, Indiana, area high schools participated in the study.Three criteria were identified for determining the exportability of English 3200. First, was the course economically efficient in its use of student and teacher time, space, and materials? Next, was English 3200 effective in teaching grammatical usage in sentence writing? Finally, was the instructional package desirable for exportation t o public school settings?Instructional procedures and materials were developed to maximize the efficiency, effectiveness, and desirability of English 3200. Study guides and alternate forms of unit tests were constructed. Procedures for identifying and utilizing student proctors, for monitoring, stimulating, and assessing student progress, and for general management and operation of English 3200 were delineated and refined. The essential composition was established for English 3200 as an exportable instructional design appropriate to public high school settings.The process of data gathering ran concurrently with the Pilot and Implementation Phases of English 3200. Pre- and post-tests were administered to assess comprehension and application of grammatical principles. The scores were analyzed in terms of t test ratio and percentage increases. Open-ended student course evaluations were collected following completion of each Phase. Teacher Observation data provided an informal source of observations, events, and comments generated and recorded during the study.Data from the two-phase study yielded a number of findings. English 3200 was found to be affective in teaching grammatical usage in sentence writing at a .01 level of significance during the Implementation Phase and at a .05 level of significance during the Pilot Phase. Implementation of the course posed no unusual demands on student and teacher time, on financial resources, or on space allocation. The self-pacing aspect of English 3200 made possible more efficient use of student and teacher time. English 3200 was found to be characterized by a number of perceived strengths, including self-pacing, increased student responsibility, and pride of accomplishment.The exportability of English 3200 to public school settings had been evaluated on the basis of three criteria: economical efficiency, teaching effectiveness, and desirability. English 3200 was shown to be "readily exportable" when evaluated against the three established criteria.

The freshman course in "writing about literature" is a metaphor of the profession of English. Political disagreements with English departments, vocational pressures exerted from outside the English department, and philosophical differences among composition specialists intersect in the composition course based on literature as they do in no other course. A new paradigm for teaching writing and a revival of rhetorical studies have led many institutions to exclude the reading of imaginative literature from freshman composition courses.This dissertation argues, however, that to include literature in freshman composition is both desirable and possible. Through a history of composition teaching in America, Chapter One analyzes relationships among rhetoric; literature, and composition, demonstrating that writing and reading were effectively interrelated for almost 300 years. It attributes the ineffectivenessabout literature" courses in recent years to an unexamined rhetorical theory and an inappropriate method of objective literary criticism.To reintegrate literature with composition on more solid grounds, Chapters Two and Three explore the needs of freshman students as writers and readers. Chapter Two examines contemporary research in composition, proposing a substitute for current traditional rhetoric. Chapter Three examines literary theories and response to literature, proposing a substitute for objective criticism.Chapter Four reviews proposals to integrate reading and writing, revealing a widespread assumption that writing about literature--in freshman courses as in graduate seminars--means writing objective, analytical, critical prose. It cites significant evidence from many fields that developing writers need to express personal, affective, and poetic ideas as well as to develop critical understanding.Chapter Five proposes a rhetoric for freshman composition that includes the reading and writing of transactional, expressive, and poetic discourse. Organized by means of Janet Emig's "inquiry paradigm," it clarifies a view of reality, a set of assumptions, an intellectual heritage, and a theory for this rhetoric. Finally, it offers one example of an introductory freshman composition course consistent with the rhetorical framework. Using conventional readings in American literature, it suggests methods of teaching and evaluating designed to create an environment in which the activities of reading and writing can be expected to reinforce one another.