Thesis (M.Ed.)--University of Hong Kong, 2000. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves i-vii, 2nd group). Also available in print.

Thesis (M.Ed.)--University of Hong Kong, 2002. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 88-90). Also available in print.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Wisconsin--Madison, 1984. / Typescript. Vita. Description based on print version record. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 70-86).

Thesis (Ph.D.)--University of Hong Kong, 1998. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves B1-B11). Also available in print.

<p> The persistent achievement (opportunity) gap between White and Latino students continues to plague our education system. As schools and policy makers attempt to narrow this gap, many districts are investigating dual language programs since the results of instructional practices that embrace a child&rsquo;s native language prove more effective than English-only practices. However, research in the field suggests challenges and inconsistencies with implementation, and few studies investigate the initial stages and the complexity of dual language program implementation. Researchers such as Honig (2006) have described the need for more qualitative research studies investigating how interactions among people, policies, and places impact implementation. Additionally, many studies focus on the implementation process from the lens of the administrator. This study adds the voices of parents and teachers in order to provide a more comprehensive view of the dual language implementation process from the perspective of key stakeholders directly impacted. </p><p> This qualitative case study investigated how various administrators, teachers, and parents interacted with each other, their environment, and the dual language policy during the first year of implementation at a suburban elementary school. Through surveys, interviews, and observations, this study analyzes how these interactions impacted program implementation. </p><p> Findings in this study suggest implementation is uniquely based on each individual community and the interactions between that place and the policy. Moreover, the success of a policy depends on the people and their interactions with the policy in order to create systems to sustain and maintain the program. This study highlights key factors supporting and hindering dual language program implementation during the first year and uncovers significant shifts in the status of language and culture as a result of program implementation efforts. </p><p> This study provides a helpful consideration of factors for those interested in implementing dual language programs in a deliberate and sustainable manner. </p>

Thesis (Ed.M.)--Boston University

<p> Acquiring higher levels of proficiency in less commonly taught foreign languages such as Arabic, Chinese, and Korean is an extraordinarily high stressful process. Stress contributes to the cognitive demand imposed on both students and teachers. The cognitive demand is defined as the degree of concentration required for a person to solve problems or complete a task in a given time. The purpose of this qualitative single case study is to investigate the impact of teacher perceptions of cognitive theories for instruction and instructional design. The conceptual framework for this study is based on the ways to reduce cognitive load. Three types of cognitive load are recognized such as extraneous, intrinsic, and germane. It is noted that if both intrinsic and extraneous cognitive loads leave enough space in the working memory then learners may invest extra effort in the learning processes. Based on the problem and the purpose of the study, the research questions for this study were: (1) How do DLI instructors perceive and describe the ways that can be used to reduce cognitive load and its associated stress for the learners of less commonly taught foreign languages, and help them to manage their levels of cognitive load?; and (2) How do DLI instructors perceive and describe the best instructional design that can be used to reduce cognitive load and its associated stress for the learners of less commonly taught foreign languages? Fifteen Defense Language Institute teachers participated in this study. In-depth face-to-face interviews were conducted with each participant. The data collected from the interviews were studied to identify common themes of the participants&rsquo; perceptions about the concept and impact of cognitive load. Data of the fifteen interviews were digitally recorded, transcribed, coded and analyzed using NVivo12 qualitative software, which helps to organize the themes that emerged. The data and the results of this study show that the participants have general background knowledge of Cognitive Load Theory (CLT). However, when it comes to practice, there are certain challenges and different practices to alleviate students' stress level. Hopefully, with further institutional training, the process of applying theory to practice will be facilitated and theories will be more relevant to classroom practice. The findings of this study can be used to determine the best instructional practice and curriculum design for less-commonly taught foreign language learners.</p><p>

Submitted to the Faculty of Arts in fulfillment of the requirements of the Master of Arts in the Department of African Languages at the University of Zululand, South Africa, 2010. / Lezi zilimi okuyisiSwazi nesiNdebele zidala izingqinamba endleleni amagama esiZulu aphinyiswa, abhalwa kanye nafundwa ngayo. Lokhu kudala umonakalo olimini lwesiZulu. Izingane ezifunda isiZulu eSifundazweni saseMpumalanga zizithola zibhekene nenkinga yokungaqondisisi into eziyifundayo, eziyikhulumayo kanye naleyo eziyibhalayo. Indlela othisha abaqeqeshwa ngayo kanye nabafundisa ngayo inomthelela endleleni abafundi abafunda ngayo ulimi lwesiZulu. Okunye okuyimbangela yokulimala kolimi lwesiZulu ukuganiselana, ukufuduka, imingcele ehlukanisa imiphakathi, imisakazo elalelwa imiphakathi, izinkulumo zaMakhosi kanye nabaholi. Abazali banegalelo ekubhebhezeleni umthelela odalwa ulimi lwesiSwazi nesiNdebele ezinganeni ezifunda isiZulu ezikoleni zaseSifundazweni saseMpumalanga. Abazali abazikhuthazi futhi abaziseki ngokwanele izingane zabo ezifunda isiZulu njengoba benza kwezinye izifundo. Lokhu kudala ukuthi ulimi lwesiZulu lungavikeleki emthelelweni edalwa ulimi lwesiSwazi kanye nesiNdebele. Izingane ezifunda isiZulu ezikoleni zaseSifundazweni saseMpumalanga zibhekana nezingqinamba ngenxa yomphakathi eziphila phakathi kwawo. Umphakathi eziphila phakathi kwawo ukhuluma ulimi olungaba isiSwazi noma isiNdebele. Ulimi lwesiZulu lusebenza njengolimi lwasesikoleni, emphakathini kuvame isiSwazi nesiNdebele. Imitapo yolwazi etholakala emphakathini waseSifundazweni saseMpumalanga unezincwadi ezimbalwa ezibhalwe ngolimi lwesiZulu. Izincwadi eziningi ezitholakalayo ezolimi lwesiSwazi nesiNdebele. Ukwanda kwemijondolo emphakathini kuholela enkingeni yokuphuka kolimi ngenxa yokwanda kwabantu abaqhamuka ezingxenyeni ezahlukene zezwe. Bambalwa othisha abafunde bagogoda ulimi lwesiZulu abangumnsinsi wokuzimilela eSifundazweni saseMpumalanga. Iningi lo thisha livela eSifundazweni sakwaZulu- Natal, liyaye liphindele emuva uma ithuba livela. Izikhungo lapho kuqeqeshwa othisha abafundisa isiZulu azikho eSifundazweni saseMpumalanga. Kuncane ukusekwa okutholwa othisha besiZulu kuBaphathi bezikole. Izimali ezitholwa uMnyango wesiZulu zincane uma ziqhathaniswa neminye iminyango ezikoleni. Othisha besiZulu bafundisa amakilasi anezingane eziningi. Lokhu kudala ukuthi babhekane nomsebenzi onzima, bangakwazi ukwelekelela abafundi ngendlela efanele. Izinga okuphumelela ngalo abafundi besiZulu liphansi uma liqhathaniswa nalelo okuphumelela ngalo abafundi abafunda ulimi lwesiSwazi nesiNdebele eSifundazweni saseMpumalanga. Abafundi abazinikeli ngokusemandleni abo ukuze bahlangabezane nemizamo yawothisha. Abafundi kumele baziqhenye ngolimi lwesiZulu, lokho kuyodala ukuba ezinye izilimi zingabi nomthelela ongemuhle ekufundeni kwabo.

Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI) / Linguists define dialect as a form of a language, and they agree that all dialects are equally legitimate forms of the language. The stratification of dialects, however, is based on social hierarchies and results in some dialects being privileged and others carrying stigma. The bias against nondominant dialects results in language discrimination and limits one’s access to social power. This inequity gives rise to additional obstacles that impede academic success for students who speak a nondominant variety. A significant portion of those obstacles can be addressed with appropriate teacher training and the incorporation of language studies in the secondary English classroom. Language studies will benefit students who speak the dominant dialect by preparing them for interactions with the wide varieties of English they will encounter in the increasingly diverse and global workforce. Students who speak nondominant dialects will be equipped with the tools to navigate and challenge the standard language ideology.

This investigation consisted of two studies related to a timed-writing task. The first study was an investigation of the effect of three pre-tasks on the quality of timed-writing focusing on five variables: syntactic complexity, writing fluency, lexical diversity, content, and comprehensibility. The second study concerned the longitudinal effect of engaging in timed-writing on the development of syntactic complexity, writing fluency, and lexical diversity.The participants were 84 university students studying English at a university in Japan in which the timed-writing task was implemented as a part of class activity for over nine months. The study adopted a Latin squares design and participants in the experimental group completed 12-minute timed-writing tasks with three pre-task conditions: outlining, oral rehearsal, and reading. For the outlining condition, the participants completed 5 minutes of individual planning before completing the timed-writing task. For the oral rehearsal pre-task, they rehearsed the plan they completed during the planning session orally in pairs before completing the timed-writing task. For the reading pre-task, the participants read an article related to the timed-writing topic before the planning and timed-reading sessions. Of 18 timed-writing sessions, the participants had chance to engage in each of the three pre-tasks six times, and the texts written at Time 1, Time 3, Time 4, and Time 6 were used as data. The participants in the comparison group only took the pretest and posttests. The pretest was conducted and before the intervention session, Posttest 1 was conducted after three months, and Posttest 2 was conducted nine months after the intervention period. The first phase of Study 1 was focused on the analysis of the quantitative data. To compare the effect of three pre-tasks on five variables—syntactic complexity, writing fluency, lexical diversity, content, and comprehensibility—the texts were converted to quantitative data using text analysis software that made the data ready for statistical analysis. The texts were scored by raters for content and comprehensibility and used for analysis. The second phase of Study 1 was focused on the analysis of the qualitative data. Based on the findings from the quantitative data, stimulated recalls were conducted with three students. The purpose of these sessions was to examine what the participants did during the pre-task and planning sessions and how their thinking affected the quality of their final timed-writing products. The post-course questionnaire and additional text analyses were also conducted to supplement the findings of the quantitative data. Study 2 concerned the longitudinal effect of implementing the timed-writing tasks on the development of syntactic complexity, writing fluency, and lexical diversity. The pretest and two posttests the participants in the experimental group and comparison group completed were compared. The results revealed that none of the three pre-tasks impacted the syntactic complexity, writing fluency, lexical diversity, content, and comprehensibility measures of the immediate writing task to a statistically significant degree. One possible reason is the participants’ English proficiency level. As suggested in a previous study by Johnson et al. (2012), the participants’ English proficiency must reach a certain level in order to benefit from a pre-task that reduces the working memory burden. The participants in this study were CEFR A2 level, which is categorized as a basic language user, so their English proficiency was perhaps not developed enough to fully benefit from the pre-tasks. The results of the questionnaire indicated that nearly 50% of the participants found reading pre-task most helpful because it was effective in terms of idea generation and learning vocabulary and grammar. Their comments were supported by the descriptive statistics of content and lexical diversity scores, which outperformed outlining group. About 40% of the participants found oral rehearsal was most helpful because it was effective for idea generation and organizing the idea. However, the comments included both positive and negative ones. How much they can benefit from oral rehearsal pre-task is more influenced by individual differences compared with other two pre-tasks. Although some participants found outlining task useful, only 10% of the participants found it was most effective. Regarding the longitudinal effect of implementing the timed-writing activity, the current study showed that it had a significant effect on developing writing fluency. After continuing timed-writing activities for nine months, greater gains were observed for the experimental group than for the comparison group. For syntactic complexity and lexical diversity, there only significant difference between the pretest and two posttests for both groups was mean length of clause. However, because the growth was significant for the experimental group and the comparison group, it was not merely the effect of timed-writing. There was no time effect or group differences on any of three lexical diversity measures. The results of the study support the developmental order of CFL measures suggested in previous studies that propose that they develop in the order of writing fluency, syntactic complexity and lexical diversity. / Applied Linguistics