<p> Latino males from an English Language Learner (ELL) background are not successfully graduating from high school and going to college. This study seeks to understand this phenomenon through narratives of young Latino males in the Los Angeles area. Guided by Yosso's theory community cultural wealth theory, this qualitative study examines the challenges experienced by Latino males in their high school English Language Learner programs, and how these challenges were met. community cultural wealth theory provides six tenets of capital that communities of color possess: aspirational, familial, linguistic, social, navigational, and resistance. These types of cultural wealth exist in the lives of students and can assist students in attaining successful educational outcomes. Interviews with 16 Latino male ELLs between the ages of 18 to 25 were conducted over a 2-month period. The 16 Latino male ELLs were divided into groupings of high school graduates in college, high school graduates, high school students finishing their diploma requirements, and high school dropouts. Along with these interviews, four parent interviews were also conducted in order to gain a holistic perspective of the Latino males' experiences. Latino male ELLs illustrated the utilization of multiple forms of community cultural capital in their narratives; forms of social, linguistic, and navigational capital made a difference in Latino male ELLs that reported not only finishing high school, but also attending college. Conclusions of the study will be used to make recommendations for improvements in counseling services, assisting newly arrived ELLs to high school, and specific changes to policy.</p>

Monolingual, monocultural approaches to education in Canada overlook the tremendous cultural and linguistic resources present in our classrooms and communities. Connecting language teaching and learning with a politics of global location and broader social issues relating to migration and diversity, this dissertation explores how dichotomous understandings of ‘native’/’nonnative’ students neglect these interlocking and intersecting dimensions of experience. The dissertation employed Lather’s (2007) critical praxis methodology to generate data from a collaborative research project involving teachers, students, and university-based researchers. The purpose of this project was to explore the educational significance of engaging students in authentic forms of cultural production that drew upon their cultural and linguistic resources, diverse histories, and multiple modes of representation in classroom-based learning. While endeavouring to contribute to positive change in education practice, the dissertation directs a critical gaze toward the dominant and marginalizing practices and discourses that materialized during this work. Drawing upon ethnographic data gathered over the course of the project, including classroom observations, interviews with students and teachers, multimodal artifacts of student work, and researcher field notes, the dissertation maps moments of ‘otherness’ that marked nonnative ‘others’. Located where sameness and difference meet, these pedagogical pivot points became sites for negotiating understandings of cultural difference. The discoveries arising from the study are presented as two stories, offering what Lather (2007) calls a “double(d) reading” of the empirical work of the project. The first story articulates a critical analysis of the research, based on efforts to incorporate plurilingualism in education and meet the needs of students as plurilingual social actors. The second story deconstructs these aims, examining the desires of liberatory educators to create contexts of empowerment for immigrant students. The significance of the study is its contribution to expanding conversations about how educators and researchers interested in language learning might talk about difference and the social subject in education, adding greater complexity to address the multiple dimensions of students’ experiences in globalized educational contexts.

<p> This research traces the historical development and foreign policy objectives of English language instruction in Japan as a state sponsored initiative. The primary objective of this work is to examine the role of English foreign language education over the past one hundred and forty years by comparing Meiji policy formation with post World War II occupation reforms in relation to the social, political, and intellectual objectives of changing Japanese approaches to internationalization. The widely held conceit among EFL scholars and historians that classroom methodology (and the entrance exam system it subsumes) is at fault for the poor state of Japanese communicative English, ignores the internationalization objectives historically central to national language education policy in Japan. Universal English education for widespread international communication was never an objective of education policy, but was the fabricated assumption of a chauvinistic West, perpetuated by conservative elements in the Japanese government to improve Japan's international standing. The anti-democratic Japanese Ministry of Education embraced the 'western methods with eastern philosophy' approach to internationalization established during the nineteenth century, rejecting English education policy for widespread oral fluency. The liberal-democratic perspectives attendant to the culture of English speaking peoples threatened the Confucian hierarchical structure of Japanese society. In order to resist western homogenizing forces, but still advance domestic interests in an interdependent world, it was necessary to sustain English-speaking elites to negotiate foreign pressures. As a consequence English education has served as the gatekeeper of a strictly meritocratic national education system designed to proliferate a minority of talent for modernization, administering the organs of government, and preserving Japanese identity against foreign cultural contamination.</p>

<p>The demographics of public schools in the United States have changed over recent years to include millions of English language learners (ELLs), students whose first language is not English and who demonstrate limited proficiency in English. During this same time period, school personnel have struggled to identify ELLs for gifted programs because of language and cultural barriers. The problem addressed in this study was that researchers do not have a clear understanding of why or how some ELLs are being identified for gifted programs despite the documented difficulty with gifted identification of ELLs. Using a qualitative method and embedded single-case study design with a school district's gifted identification process for Spanish-speaking ELLs as the main unit of analysis, the purpose of this study was to explore the ways in which three Spanish-speaking ELLs in a southeastern U.S. school district were identified for a gifted program. Data sources included in-depth interviews with nine teachers and three parents of these students, and a document analysis of state-required gifted characteristics checklists completed by these teachers during the gifted referral process. Data were analyzed and coded to identify patterns related to how these Spanish-speaking ELLs were identified for the gifted program in the school district. From the coded themes, the four patterns of rapid learner, translation abilities, problem solving and creative thinking skills, and motivation emerged as key factors in the school district's gifted identification process for Spanish-speaking ELLs based on teacher interviews, parent interviews, and document review of the gifted characteristics checklists. Recommendations based on the findings included creation of additional gifted checklists that incorporated the characteristics of translation skills, rapid progress in English acquisition, and leadership in the ESL classroom as criteria in the gifted identification process for Spanish-speaking ELLs, professional development for teachers in how to use these factors in the process of identifying gifted Spanish-speaking ELLs, and parent meetings and personal communication to ensure parents of ELLs understand the gifted referral and identification process in the district. Recommendations for future research included studies of other school districts' gifted identification processes for ELLs and studies of the gifted identification process for ELLs from other countries and cultures. </p>

<p> The landmark 2001 No Child Left Behind (NCLB) Act has been a step forward in federal policy for the ever-increasing population of English Learners (ELs), fostering inclusion in standards-based assessments and college and/or career-readiness efforts, yet, ELs continue to struggle academically. The current 5.4 million ELs make up <i>the</i> lowest performing academic group in the United States (US) today. Despite its good intentions, NCLB is leaving behind the very students it was designed to help. The emphasis on various programs/services adopted by public schools based on the plethora of evidence-based instructional strategies has uncovered a less emphasized, yet, critical gap in research: attention to, enforcement, and/or a comprehensive and systematic analysis of the educational rights of ELs. Across the US, districts are learning of their lack of knowledge needed to meet legal requirements. The incentive to increase EL-related knowledge, beyond instructional strategies, is paramount. </p><p> This study presents a systematic analysis of EL-related case law outcomes using a four-step method of analysis and "simple-box scoring." Seven trends were identified using these legal policy research methodologies: (1) EL-related legislation, claims, and violations, (2) equal education opportunity violations, (3) inequitable educational programs, (4) inadequate EL programs and services, (5) funding issues, (6) ineffective EL identification, and (7) assessment. </p><p> As NCLB reauthorization draws closer, persistent focus on improving ELs' education suggest policy-making needs will increase, particularly with Common Core State Standards (CCSS), including alternatives to costly litigation. While essential knowledge may be gained from this study, such data are but one aspect of overall challenges and do not reveal uncontroverted guidelines for educating ELs. This study bridges the gap of critical knowledge needed to meet legal requirements for ELs, each of whom are entitled by law to access mainstream curriculum. Further limitations and implications are presented. </p>

<p> The seven-month participatory qualitative inquiry (Emerson, Fretz, &amp; Shaw, 2011) explored how a first grade team in a metro Charlotte elementary school perceived and enacted instructional grouping and differentiation for English Learners within a prescribed literacy curriculum. Informed by a Vygotskian theoretical framework for understanding the social construction of teacher identity (Holland, Lachicotte, Skinner, &amp; Cain, 1998), the study examined how institutionalized practices interacted with teachers' lived experiences and professional subjectivities to mediate how they made sense of and potentially improvised their teaching of the English Learners in and outside of mainstream classrooms. Data analysis revealed the complexities of teachers' professional selves as they made sense of their teaching within the structure of "Balanced Literacy." Findings included teachers' recasting of English Learners as "struggling readers;" the ambiguity of ESL within the context of the standardized reading curriculum; and, finally, the conflicting subjectivities of teachers as they negotiated the remediation of English Learners. </p>

<p> English Language Learners (ELLs) are one of the fastest growing student populations throughout the country. With ELLs come unique challenges schools must navigate to best serve these students. One challenge is the identification of these students and proper placement and service within ELL programs offered by schools. Another challenge is determining if an ELL also has a disability, particularly a learning disability, since language proficiency problems can mimic learning disability symptoms. This study sought to discover how states identify ELLs, and especially ELLs with disabilities (ELLWDs). The researcher examined the policy documents of all 50 states, analyzing and coding those documents for key elements relating to ELLs and ELLWDs found within previous research. Additionally, to better triangulate data, the researcher examined student populations for a sample of 15 states through state reported USDOE sources and US Census sources to determine how well the subgroups of ELLs and ELLWDs might be identified based on population comparisons. The study found that states tend to use the federal definition of limited English proficient as a basis for their definition of ELLs and that a little more than half of the states addressed the issue of ELLWDs at all. They do not have a formal identifying definition for these students. While federal DOE and OCR oversights have increased awareness and service for ELLS, more work remains, in particular with creating a common identification matrix for ELLWDs and raising awareness of their presence in the student population.</p>

This paper studies the educational effect of the two-way immersion dual language programs (DLE) in California’s public elementary school system using statewide testing scores as the common measurement tool. The average California Test Standards (CTS) test scores for English language arts (ELA), Mathematics and Science on the California statewide assessment, STAR, for 5th graders in the years 2009-2012, were utilized to compare student achievement for dual language participants to students in similar schools in the same district. Similar schools are matched to the participating schools by the state assigned schools ranking. This study evaluated DLE programs in terms of academic achievement and its effect on minimize the achievement gap between English learners (ELL) and English speakers (ES). The analysis consists of a series of OLS regression models that evaluates test scores on a series of variables that can help the state government assess quality of education received by DLE participants. I found a highly statistically significant correlation between ES’s achievement level and DLE participation, this relationship was consistent even when I considered scores from the far right tail of the achievement distribution. A positive but not statistically significant correlation was found for ELL in the participating schools. It should be noted that in this study, only those student who had yet to be identified as English proficient were considered under the ELL subgroup. Therefore, the end of the year examination might be testing language proficiency more than academic achievement. Nevertheless, DLE was found to be positive for all regressions.

<p> In light of the paradigm shift from teacher-centered to learner-centered instruction occurring globally, the need for committed teachers is critical. Due to the influx of foreign nationals securing positions in the U.S. educational system, the teacher workforce has become more diverse. This diversity manifests a broad range of beliefs and values in regard to the teaching and learning process that are culturally inherited by an individual. Hence, "cultural incongruence" between the teacher and school organization is more likely to occur. A lack of understanding of how the cultural and educational aspects of normative commitment influences teachers' implementation of learner-centered instructional practices can lead to school systems experiencing organizational conflict. </p><p> Six multicultural English-as-a-second language teachers, three males and three females, representing six countries were purposely selected to participate in the study. The normative commitment survey from Meyer and Allen (2009) Three Component Model of Organizational Commitment, professional performance documents and a semi structured interview served as the data collection methods. The interview data was analyzed using Laughlin et al. (2006) to the start coding process. The information gathered from the surveys and professional review documents was triangulated with the interview data to evaluate consistencies or inconsistencies amongst the sources. The data yielded six reoccurring themes throughout the study. (1) Cultural Congruence, (2) Cultural Incongruence, (3) Paradigm Shifts in Teacher Training, (4) Pedagogical Identity Manifestation, and (5) Societal Obligation. Further, the findings of this study can contribute to the development of cultural educational training with a focus on instructional methodology for school districts with high English-as-a-second language populations. These findings can also be used in the hiring process in order to evaluate potential organizational congruence.</p>

<p> English language teaching and learning receive considerable attention in Saudi Arabian schools as seen in existing efforts of development. A primary purpose of this study is to participate in these efforts of development through the application of a modern constructivist instructional practice for English language teaching and learning on the intermediate school level. This study, in part, strives to determine whether or not the adoption of Task-Based Language Teaching (TBLT) would be a more effective means of increasing the students' reading comprehension achievement scores when compared to the traditional teaching method of the English language that involves (among other things) prompting and drilling of students. This study also strives to gain issues and insights that accompany the application of TBLT through constant comparison and contrast with those that accompany the traditional teaching method. </p><p> This mixed-method study is quasi-experimental that uses a pretest and posttests for collecting quantitative data, and classroom observation and researcher log for collecting qualitative data. The study involved 122 participants divided into treatment and control groups. The treatment group has received ten weeks of English language instruction via the TBLT method while the control group has received ten weeks of English language instruction via the traditional teaching method. The independent variable is the use of TBLT in the classroom and the effect/dependent variable is the students' reading comprehension achievement scores. </p><p> A Two-Factor Split Plot analysis with the pretest as the covariate is used for analyzing the quantitative data. Analysis of qualitative data included synthesis, rich, and detailed description for classroom observation and grounded theory for researcher log data. The findings show that teaching via the TBLT method has significantly helped students increase their reading comprehension achievement scores more than that of the traditional teaching method of the English language. The findings also suggest that the TBLT method, as a constructivist practice, is a better way for English language teaching and has involved practices that are desired in a modern educational context when compared to the traditional teaching method of the English language.</p>