Doctor of Philosophy / Department of Psychological Sciences / Heather R. Bailey / Bilingualism refers to an ability to speak two or more languages and the daily experience involved in coordinating these two languages can have a strong effect on bilinguals’ cognition. For decades, research strongly supported the idea of bilingual advantage; however, recent studies have found no bilingual advantage. Not surprisingly, such conflicting findings raised concerns about the validity of previous research as well as several other methodological issues. For instance, simple cognitive tasks like the Simon task are commonly used in bilingualism research, but they may not best capture bilinguals’ daily experience using the two languages. Bilinguals are constantly suppressing one language while engaged in other tasks, which is better captured by complex working memory (WM) tasks. Most importantly, previous work has not empirically evaluated the effects of language mode on bilinguals’ cognitive performance. Language mode refers to the state of activation of each language. Bilinguals may be in monolingual mode if only one of their languages is activated, whereas they may be in bilingual mode if both of their languages are activated. Previous work has proposed that language mode can have an effect on performance. Thus, the main objective of this dissertation was to evaluate the possible effects of bilingualism on complex WM performance while controlling for language mode and various demographic variables. The Pretest provided initial evidence that language mode affected performance on a simple cognitive task like MPWI. Therefore, a similar language mode manipulation was used in the Main study while testing performance on several complex WM tasks (CSPAN, OSPAN, and RotSpan) and the Simon task for monolinguals, bilinguals in bilingual mode, and bilinguals in monolingual mode. No significant differences were observed between all bilinguals and all monolinguals on any of the measures. However, significant differences were observed once language mode was accounted for. That is, bilingual participants in bilingual mode outperformed both bilingual participants in monolingual mode and monolingual participants on measures of complex WM. Further, there were no differences between monolinguals and bilinguals in monolingual mode. Thus, being in monolingual mode and fully suppressing one language may require more inhibition resources than bilingual mode in which both languages are active, and as a result, there may be fewer resources left to complete the complex WM span tasks. Importantly, the current work shed light on the hotly debated issue of the existence of a bilingual advantage by identifying a third variable that may explain the conflicting results in the literature. That is, no bilingual advantage was observed, but the current data provide evidence of a bilingual mode advantage.

This thesis explores EMI students’ perspective on the role of the English language, multilingualism and language proficiency focusing on EMI students at five different schools in the UAE and Sweden. In order to explore the students’ perspectives a survey was conducted using a questionnaire that was distributed via e-mails. Overall the results demonstrate that a clear majority of the 94 informants have a positive attitude towards attending EMI schools and multilingualism. 20 different languages are reported as first language or languages used in different contexts. Even so, English is undoubtedly the language most of the students declare as their strongest language- Also, English proficiency is regarded to be significant for future undertakings such as university studies and employment locally and internationally.

abstract: Identification of primary language impairment (PLI) in sequential bilingual children is challenging because of the interaction between PLI and second language (L2) proficiency. An important step in improving the accurate diagnosis of PLI in bilingual children is to investigate how differences in L2 performance are affected by a length of L2 exposure and how L2 assessment contributes to differentiation between children with and without PLI at different L2 proficiency levels. Sixty one children with typical language development (TD) ages 5;3-8 years and 12 children with PLI ages 5;5-7;8 years participated. Results revealed that bilingual children with and without PLI, who had between 1 and 3 years of L2 exposure, did not differ in mean length of utterance (MLU), number of different words, percent of maze words, and performance on expressive and receptive grammatical tasks in L2. Performance on a grammaticality judgment task by children with and without PLI demonstrated the largest effect size, indicating that it may potentially contribute to identification of PLI in bilingual populations. In addition, children with PLI did not demonstrate any association between the length of exposure and L2 proficiency, suggesting that they do not develop their L2 proficiency in relation to length of exposure in the same manner as children with TD. Results also indicated that comprehension of grammatical structures and expressive grammatical task in L2 may contribute to differentiation between the language ability groups at the low and intermediate-high proficiency levels. The discriminant analysis with the entire sample of bilingual children with and without PLI revealed that among L2 measures, only MLU contributed to the discrimination between the language ability groups. However, poor classification accuracy suggested that MLU alone is not a sufficient predictor of PLI. There were significant differences among L2 proficiency levels in children with TD in MLU, number of different words, and performance on the expressive and receptive grammatical tasks in L2, indicating that L2 proficiency level may potentially impact the differentiation between language difficulties due to typical L2 acquisition processes and PLI. / Dissertation/Thesis / Ph.D. Speech and Hearing Science 2012

x, 89 p. A print copy of this thesis is available through the UO Libraries. Search the library catalog for the location and call number. / The primary purpose of this study is to investigate whether the use of textual Synchronous Computer Mediated Communication (SCMC) can help students improve oral language proficiency when compared with a group of students who engage in face-to-face oral and written practice. A second objective is to investigate how the use of synchronous computer mediated written practice motivates and enhances the students' learning of the language. The participants ( N =56) were 9 th and 10 th grade English-speaking students enrolled in a beginning Spanish class. A paired sample t test was conducted to evaluate whether SCM written exchanges or face-to-face written practice influence language production. The results indicated that the mean language production for CMC written exchanges ( M = 1.79, SD = .833) was significantly greater than the mean language production for face-to-face written exchanges ( M = 1.11, SD = .737, p = .002). Qualitative results suggests that engaging learners in authentic interaction with other students of slightly higher language proficiency through the use of textual synchronous technology enhances their language skills as well as their overall learning experience. / Committee in charge: Kathleen Scalise, Chairperson, Educational Leadership; Philip McCullum, Member, Educational Leadership; Paul Yovanoff, Member, Educational Leadership; Robert Davis, Outside Member, Romance Languages

The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between English language proficiency scores as measured by the ACCESS for ELLs and achievement and growth scores on the reading subtest of the Measures of Academic Progress (MAP). The sample consisted of 2,006 3rd-5th grade English language learners (ELLs) from a large Midwestern school district. Results confirmed that an increase in English proficiency is associated with higher reading achievement scores. The unique variance explained by each of the domain scores (reading, writing, speaking, and listening) on the ACCESS for ELLs supports the use of a weighted composite score for decision making purposes. When considering within-year MAP growth by differing levels of proficiency, a curvilinear trend emerged. The two lowest proficiency groups demonstrated significantly lower reading growth than the two moderate and two highest proficiency groups. The greatest growth was seen by the two groups in the middle of the proficiency spectrum. Given the increased demands on measuring the achievement and progress of all students, including ELLs, and the use of standardized achievement scores for program and teacher evaluation, the results of this study suggest that a dichotomous classification of ELL/non-ELL might not accurately reflect the variability in growth at various levels of English proficiency. Implications for interpreting and using scores by ELLs are discussed.

Gamification is a new but upcoming feature in classrooms that has grown with the digitalisation in Swedish homes and schools. The aim of this literature review is to research how gamification can influence upper secondary students’ language proficiency in English as a foreign language. Five sources were analysed, four journals and one conference paper, and the results show that gamification could increase language proficiency if it is used in a moderate amount and that the summative assessment with instant feedback could be beneficial for students when moderating their own language development. Motivation seems to be the key word in the results and the main subject that all the authors agree can be created and beneficial to the students' language proficiency. The results also showed that gamification is a new feature that has to be researched more in order to give a valid answer to the question of whether or not gamification is appropriate to use in school.

Today the majority of children and teenagers in many countries spend a great deal of time doing extramural English activities, where playing games is included. It is therefore important to study how extramural English activities affect students’ proficiency. This thesis aims to investigate how games as an extramural activity, and extramural English activities in general could benefit upper secondary EFL and ESL students’ English language proficiency. The method used was that of a systematic literature review where six studies from varying places and with participants of varying ages and levels of education were analyzed and compared. The results show that five of the articles found a positive correlation between time spent on extramural English activities and English grades and/or vocabulary, while on study showed that there was no correlation between time spent on extramural English activities and development of academic vocabulary in students who had already reached a high level of proficiency. More research is needed in the field, particularly studies establishing causation rather than just correlation, longitudinal studies, as well as studies investigating whether gender is an important factor affecting the potential benefits of extramural English activities.

Responses of six severely language delayed (SLD) children were obtained on three measures of central auditory processing and one measure of language proficiency. The results of these measures were compared to the results obtained from six normal-hearing children, matched in age and Performance IQ on the WISC-R. The 12 children were tested with the Pitch Pattern Sequence Test (PPST), the Dichotic Digit Tests (DDT), and the Pediatric Speech Intelligibility Test (PSI). Differences in the central auditory abilities as well as the history of each child were presented in .a case study format. The results of the history information demonstrated no unusual problems among these 12 subjects. Ten out of 12 subjects demonstrated abnormal results on at least one measure of the central auditory battery.

Philosophiae Doctor - PhD / Nigeria is one of the most multilingual nations in Africa which consists of over 450 languages (Adegbija, 2004; Danladi, 2013). It has a population of more than 150 million people, with three major languages, namely Hausa, Yoruba and Igbo, and a number of minority languages. Despite its linguistic and cultural diversity, English is the main medium of instruction from primary to tertiary education. The negative effects of learning through the medium of English second language (L2) are evidenced in the learners’ poor achievement in the external examination results of the National Examination Council (NECO) and the West African Examination Council (WAEC). There is an assumption that learners’ poor performance in English (L2) is due to little attention given to English writing in schools, and the use of less appropriate or effective teaching approaches (Babalola, 2011). There is a special concern about the poor writing proficiency levels of learners, particularly in the Junior Secondary School (JSS) phase which is an exit to Senior Secondary School level where learners are expected to show strong academic literacy skills. Writing is a process which is central to learners’ learning across the curriculum and it enables learners not only to access knowledge from different sources, but also to display the acquired knowledge in different domains. Learners’ poor writing skills are a great concern given that English (L2) is the main medium of instruction at all levels of education in Nigeria. In light of the above, this study set out to explore the pedagogical strategies and problems encountered by both teachers and learners in English (L2) academic writing in Junior Secondary School (JSS 3) classrooms in the Ekiti State, Nigeria. Guided by Second Language Acquisition theory, the study explored the factors that influence second language learning, in relation to the sociocultural and contextual factors that influence learners’ writing abilities. Through the lens of the Genre Pedagogical Theory and the Social Constructivist theory, it investigated teachers’ pedagogical strategies in English (L2) writing, and analysed learners’ written texts in order to understand the extent to which they reflected the features of specific genres that support learners’ writing skills. Four JSS3 teachers in three schools were purposively selected to participate in the study. The study employed a qualitative research paradigm, underpinned by the interpretive theory. Through the use of an ethnographic design, the day-to-day happenings such as thoughts and engagements of both teachers and students in the English (L2) lessons were observed and recorded by means of an audio-recorder in order to build a comprehensive record of the participants’ practice in the classroom. In addition, both semi-structured and unstructured interviews were conducted with the individual teachers. The students’ written texts and other relevant documents were collected and analysed for the purpose of data triangulation. Ethical considerations such as informed consent, voluntary participation, respect and anonymity of participants were observed throughout the study. In this study, the findings show that the teaching of English (L2) writing is still a challenge to many teachers due to a variety of factors which include linguistic, pedagogical and structural factors. As a result, learners’ academic writing suffers, especially writing to learn at secondary school level. Specifically, the findings of this study indicate that the teachers made use of traditional teaching approaches in the teaching of English (L2) writing as against the approaches recommended in the curriculum. The study also reveals that most of the JSS(3) students’ level of proficiency in English writing is below the expected levels stipulated in the curriculum document, although some of them displayed good basic interpersonal communication skills (BICS), Other contributing factors to the learners’ low academic writing proficiency in English (L2) include teachers’ limited understanding and application of the Genre-Based Approach in teaching writing, inadequate language teaching and learning resources, learners’ limited exposure to English (L2) and limited writing opportunities. The study concludes that while the use of the Genre-Based Approach is not the only strategy to enhance learners’ writing skills, the teaching of writing remains crucial as it is central to language use in different knowledge domains. Students’ writing proficiency is critical for cognitive and socio-economic development as it has implications for students’ access to knowledge and academic literacy which spills over to tertiary education. In a country like Nigeria where the main language of instruction is English, there is a need to prioritise teacher development and to revisit the curriculum to determine how it meets the academic needs of learners in this century.

English Language Learners (ELLs) are considered to be at higher risk for developing emotional and behavioral difficulties due to their limited English proficiency. As a result, the present study examined the identification of emotional and behavioral risk (EBR) among ELLs and non-ELLs through the use of universal behavior screening measures. The study consisted of 395 students enrolled in kindergarten through 5th grades, ranging in age from 5 years, 6 months to 12 years, 4 months. Over half of participants (52.4%) were male and a majority (42.8%) identified as Hispanic/Latino(a). Approximately one-fifth (19.7%) of students were classified as ELLs. Teachers completed the electronic version of the BASC-2 Behavioral and Emotional Screening System-Teacher Form (BESS) for each student in their classroom. Demographic student data was provided by the school via the school’s electronic database. Results showed no relationship between ELL status and EBR. However, there was a relationship between gender and the identification of EBR among ELL students, where males demonstrated increased risk levels. In addition, students' reading ability, age, and gender predicted whether ELL and non-ELL students would be identified as at-risk for emotional and behavior problems. Although results did not show a relationship between language proficiency and EBR, ELLs remain a group vulnerable for being identified as at-risk for emotional and behavioral difficulties, due to academic and/or social-emotional problems that they may experience. In practice, schools may want to consider using an integrated approach to conducting universal screening, where schools screen for reading difficulties and behavior concerns, thus allowing them to address a broader range of concerns through early intervention programs.