The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of four instructional methods - context clues, definition, elaboration technique, or word parts and word families- on the vocabulary growth and acquisition of adults enrolled in a community college developmental reading course. The study investigated whether performance in any or all of the four instructional methods was moderated by age or language. Seventy-three respondents participated in the study. Participants were enrolled in one of five sections of College Reading Preparatory II (REA0002) offered in the Spring of 2009 at Indian River State College in Fort Pierce, Florida. All five sections of REA0002 were taught by the same professor, a tenured faculty member, chair of the developmental reading department and Associate Professor of Developmental Reading at Indian River State College. The instruction and tests in all five sections of REA0002 were consistent with the research design which insured continuity and consistency in the use of the four instructional methods. All participants received the same treatment and quizzes. During the course of the study, participants first received a pretest, then the treatment or instruction, followed by an instructional quiz, and a delayed post-test was administered at the end of the study. An analysis of the data, which included the pretest, instructional quizzes with four quizzes independently and then combined for an aggregate score for an immediate post-test, and the delayed post-test, yielded mixed results. The four instructional quizzes independently showed definition instruction to have the highest positive impact on student learning. In a measure of gains from pretest to instructional quizzes immediately after treatment, significant improvement in student learning was found only with word parts instruction. / In a measure of performance from pretest to immediate post-test (aggregate score of instructional quizzes) there was a significant gain in students' vocabulary competence, and from pretest to delayed post-test there was a significant decrement in students' vocabulary competence. Age and language moderated vocabulary competence. Further tests of equivalency were mixed and should be interpreted cautiously, as there were a very small number of students in the group of 25 years or older and non-native English speakers. / by Jodi McGeary Robson. / Thesis (Ed.D)--Florida Atlantic University, 2009. / Includes bibliography. / Electronic reproduction. Boca Raton, Fla., 2009. Mode of access: World Wide Web.

This qualitative study investigated the teaching of reading in Grade 3 multilingual classes in one school in the Western Cape. It focused on the teaching strategies employed by teachers in teaching reading, the challenges teachers encountered in teaching reading to multilingual classrooms and the resources available to enhance reading in these classes. Data were collected by means of classroom observations and interviews with teachers. The findings of the study show that teachers experience problems with regard to the teaching of reading in Grade 3 classes. Firstly, learners have no competence in English which is the main language of learning and teaching and this has a negative impact on their reading abilities. Secondly, while code switching is one of the popular strategies in facilitating teaching and learning, it may be problematic in multilingual classrooms in that it may exclude other learners from the content explained in a different language. Thirdly, print rich environments enhance learners’ reading skills, but many underprivileged schools lack multilingual materials. The study concludes that teacher development is essential for the development of literacy in schools.

This qualitative study investigated the teaching of reading in Grade 3 multilingual classes in one school in the Western Cape. It focused on the teaching strategies employed by teachers in teaching reading, the challenges teachers encountered in teaching reading to multilingual classrooms and the resources available to enhance reading in these classes. Data were collected by means of classroom observations and interviews with teachers. The findings of the study show that teachers experience problems with regard to the teaching of reading in Grade 3 classes. Firstly, learners have no competence in English which is the main language of learning and teaching and this has a negative impact on their reading abilities. Secondly, while code switching is one of the popular strategies in facilitating teaching and learning, it may be problematic in multilingual classrooms in that it may exclude other learners from the content explained in a different language. Thirdly, print rich environments enhance learners’ reading skills, but many underprivileged schools lack multilingual materials. The study concludes that teacher development is essential for the development of literacy in schools.

This investigation is a case-study of adolescent literacy practices and some of the texts arising from them. Forty-five texts were initially analysed for their generic structure and semiotic composition from within the traditions of the sociolinguistic paradigm. Findings from these two processes of analysis were then reinterpreted from a Deleuzean perspective with the aim of opening out otherwise imperceptible generative forces implicated in differences between the creation of online texts such as MXIT instant messages; Facebook texts and emails, and traditional print-and-paper school based writing. The context for the study was a Pietermaritzburg government girls’ only high school. A mixed-methods approach was used throughout the research process. The sample of twelve learners was purposefully selected from across two grade 9 classes to whom subject-English was taught. The core component of the data is a single writing exercise in which the pupils were asked to write a film appraisal as 1) a MXIT or SMS message; 2) an email; 3) a Facebook message and 4) a conventional film review. There are two major findings from this study. First, in some contexts, adolescents demonstrate a high degree of differentiated control over the structural, linguistic and semiotic composition of their writing in English; second, in online literacy, there is a complex configuration of motivating contextual variables that teenagers co-opt. These generate dynamic forces that serve adolescents’ own social and affective purposes and which can supersede, subvert or cooperate with the stated purpose of a genre. A Deleuzean framework helps reveal the complex processes underlying adolescent literacies and enables the beginning of an interrogation of the pedagogic implications of recent innovations in communication technology and practices. / Thesis (Ph.D.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Pietermaritzburg, 2012.

Graduation date: 1993

Thesis (Ed. D.)--Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, 1992. / Vita. Abstract. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 222-230). Also available via the Internet.

This study critically examines my classroom practice in teaching young learners aged four-and-a-half to six years old. It focuses on the following research question: How can I create a stimulating environment in my classroom to promote awareness of and a love for reading? My classroom-based action research methodology places me, the practitioner, at the centre of the investigation. The work examines closely my professional values and my strong belief in the capacity of learners to be curious, absorb and make sense of what they encounter and experience in a stimulating environment. It investigates how such an environment develops the potential of learners to love and embrace reading. The process of engaging reflectively and analytically in practitioner research has helped me to gain a better understanding of my learners’ needs and to improve the ways in which I promote reading in the reception year of formal schooling. I claim that the creating of a stimulating environment in my classroom is grounded in my ability to motivate, model and scaffold the learners to engage in reading confidently. Together, the learners and I have created a living theory of education, one that is open to further reflection and development. Ongoing interaction between theoretical discourse and practical experiences enable me to develop my professional knowledge and to synthesize my values and practice. The investigation continuously confirms the advantages of a print-rich environment and how it can be used to promote a love for reading amongst young learners. The claims and knowledge generated in this study are personal and true for me, while the living transformational process demonstrates how I have developed professionally.

M.Ed. (Psychology of Education) / Two critical problems experienced by significant numbers of children in the junior primary phase of school are, difficulties with reading and the lack of motivation to read. It is important that the reluctant reader receives the necessary help to become an efficient and motivated reader as reading influences many aspects of the child's life besides scholastic achievement, for example self-concept and social interaction. This study consists of a literature survey, the aim of which is to identify strategies and to develop guidelines for the construction of a reading motivation programme for reluctant readers who may also be experiencing reading problems. In an attempt to achieve the above goals use has been made of: 1) the language-experience approach, 2) the incorporation of cognitive and metacognitive strategies. The language-experience approach is a means of teaching children to read by capitalizing on their interests, experiences, and oral language facility. Students dictate stories and accounts based on their experiences; these materials are then used as the basis of the reading programme. This approach has distinct advantages for reluctant readers as it capitalizes on the child's unique experiences: Interest is virtually guaranteed as reading and sharing their own stories boost the morale of children whose previous reading experiences may have been fraught with failure. The aim of teaching metacognitive strategies for reading is to make the pupil aware of himself as a reader so that he realizes that he is in control of the reading process. The reader must become aware of his thought processes during reading: This reflection on personal thought processes is called "metacognition".

Magister Educationis - MEd / This qualitative study investigated the teaching of reading in Grade 3 multilingual classes in one school in the Western Cape. It focused on the teaching strategies employed by teachers in teaching reading, the challenges teachers encountered in teaching reading to multilingual classrooms and the resources available to enhance reading in these classes. Data were collected by means of classroom observations and interviews with teachers. The findings of the study show that teachers experience problems with regard to the teaching of reading in Grade 3 classes. Firstly, learners have no competence in English which is the main language of learning and teaching and this has a negative impact on their reading abilities. Secondly, while code switching is one of the popular strategies in facilitating teaching and learning, it may be problematic in multilingual classrooms in that it may exclude other learners from the content explained in a different language. Thirdly, print rich environments enhance learners' reading skills, but many underprivileged schools lack multilingual materials. The study concludes that teacher development is essential for the development of literacy in schools. / South Africa

This study provides empirical research on the Language Experience Approach (LEA) to introducing the reading and writing process to beginner, First Language (L1) and Second Language (L2) readers. This is a worthwhile area of current research because LEA is a precursor to Whole Language. In the province of British Columbia, Whole Language is quickly becoming a very popular reading program. Whole Language incorporates a great deal of LEA in theory and in practice. Yet, while many researchers and educators have praised LEA and Whole Language in general, with particular value for L2 students, little empirical research on LEA exists. This study attempts to provide some of this necessary empirical research. An experiment was designed with an independent variable and several dependent variables. The independent variable consisted of one treatment using LEA and another treatment not using LEA. The dependent variables measured growth in reading and writing ability, growth in reading interest, and growth in ESL acquisition. Three Grade One classrooms were involved. Two used a popular, basal reader program and the other used LEA. Fifty percent or more of the students in the three classes were L2 students. Five research hypotheses were formulated. They were: (a) reading ability In the experimental group (LEA) would be greater than in the control group (basal readers), (b) creative writing ability in the experimental group would be greater than in the control group, (c) reading interest in the experimental group would be greater than in the control group, (d) Second Language acquisition would be greater with the L2 students in the experimental group than with those in the control group and, (e) L2 students in the experimental group would perform better in reading and writing ability and would have a greater increase in reading than their L2 peers in the control group. The experiment ran for seven months. During the course of the experiment, a formal checklist was used, in periodic visits to the classrooms, to ensure the experimental group was using LEA and the control group was not. Pretests were given in readiness, ESL ability, skill in independent writing, and in attitude towards reading. Posttests were given in vocabulary growth, reading comprehension, ESL ability, skill in independent writing, and attitude towards reading. The research hypotheses were designed in the experiment as five null hypotheses. Rejection of these null hypotheses occurred if p < .05. ANCOVA were used as tests of significance. Of the five null hypotheses, only the one for reading ability was rejected. There were significant differences in reading ability between the LEA and basal reader groups. The scores on the reading posttests favored the subjects using the basal readers. There were no significant differences in writing ability, reading interest, and L2 acquisition between the two groups and between the L2 subjects in the two groups. The results indicate more empirical research is urgently required. Before Whole Language, similar in philosophy and technique to LEA, is hastily adopted in British Columbia as the next, major Language Arts program, more empirical research is needed to determine whether or not Whole Language is in fact, a superior program. / Education, Faculty of / Language and Literacy Education (LLED), Department of / Graduate